Okay, I'm horrible – it's been over a month since my last update, and I just feel awful. I lost inspiration for a while, but after getting this one out, I think it's back. I promise to have another one up within a week.

I hope this chapter makes up for it, and you all enjoy; and haven't forgotten about my fics! I'm working hard on All We Ever Needed.

The song belongs to Gavin! This is a long one, over 3000 words to make up for the wait!

I've had other options too
But all I want is you
Girl, your body fits me like a glove
And you showered me with words of love

As promised, the next morning when Peyton came over for their daily routine, Haley left Lucas alone and let him sleep.

Peyton was sitting on the edge of Haley/Karen's bed, leaning back, resting her weight on the palm of her hands. The curious blonde surveyed the room, taking in all the changes that had been made since Haley had moved in. It was definitely no longer Karen's room; even though it was summer and Haley had missed the last few weeks of school, textbooks were piled up on the desk, next to a picture of herself, Brooke, Haley, and Bevin on the night of Haley's faux bachelorette party. On the nightstand sat a large framed photo of Nathan and Haley on their wedding day, and near it laid the bracelet from the Cracker Jack box Haley hadn't taken off since a certain brunette Scott brother had given to her, which reminded Peyton to question Haley about.

Haley walked into the room and plopped down on the bed next to Peyton, freshly dressed and ready for the day. "What?" Haley questioned insecurely as Peyton stared at her.

"Seriously Hales, you've officially been living in this house for not even 3 weeks now, and you've taken over. You do know Karen is coming back right?" She teased, leaning her shoulder into Haley's.

Haley laughed slightly. "I do. I just have a lot of stuff, and nowhere to put it – and for now I'm pretending that I don't have to move in 9 weeks to who knows where?"

Peyton nodded sympathetically, and then changed the subject. "So, should we wake Lucas and get going? He's usually up before both of us and pestering our asses out the door."

Haley bit her lip and focused on the carpet. Lying was never her area of expertise. "Oh yeah – Lucas wasn't feeling so well last night, I uh, think he's coming down with something, so I figured we should just let him sleep in and rest up."

Peyton stared at her friend suspiciously, curious of what was really going on and why Haley was using her overly cheery voice and avoiding her eyes, but let it go. "Alright, then I guess it's just us girls today. Let's go!"

Peyton linked her arms through Haley's and led them out of the house and down the sidewalk, towards the beach. A clearly awake Lucas watched through his window, his face etched in sorrow.

Three hours later found Haley lying on her stomach on top of her beach towel reading and old issue of Glamour, while Peyton was on her back in the sand, listening to her latest music fix on her I Pod.

The curly blonde removed her earphones and sat up on her elbows. "Okay Hales, you've been acting weird ever since you lied to me about Lucas's whereabouts this morning. What is up?!"

"What do you mean? I told you the truth," Haley barely stuttered out.

Peyton rolled her eyes. "Okay, you think I don't know when you're lying? Now, why were you?"

Haley nodded and pulled her hair back. "You're right – I shouldn't lie for him. I'm supposed to be neutral here. Lucas was really upset last night, and all he said was… for you to have fun on your date tonight."

Peyton closed her eyes and swallowed thickly. She should've known this was it.

"Peyton, you wanna tell me about this date you haven't even bothered to mention to me?" Haley's tone was hurt, with a hint of confusion.

Peyton turned on her stomach to lay the same way as Haley. "There's this new guy in town, Aidan. He's pretty cute, and really nice, and he asked me out on a date – I said yes."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Okay, that's shorter than the Cliff's Notes version."

"Alright – Lucas and I have been getting too close lately. We've almost kissed like 10 times, and our flirting has reached an insane level. I can't be doing this when my best friend is still hopelessly in love with him. I need not to feel this way about Lucas. And I'm single – why not go out on a date? It's just a harmless date; doesn't mean it has to lead to a relationship."

"Okay, basically what I heard is you're using this guy to get over Lucas, or forget about him. You know I love you, but Lucas and I have been friends our whole lives – I can't condone you doing this to him. You're better than this; this isn't you."

Peyton nodded her head miserably. "I know, you're right. But the date is tonight – I'm still going to go. I just don't want to hurt Brooke – and I don't want to take the risk of hurting myself."

"But aren't you hurting right now by not giving your heart what it wants?"

Lucas laid in his bed, his pillow over his face, and all thoughts centered on Peyton. He knew he was being a child by not going out with her and Haley today, but knowing that she was willingly going out with some other guy tonight was breaking his heart.

His thoughts were interrupted by the shrill ring of his phone. His heart leapt, and he hoped it was Peyton calling.

"Hello?" He nearly shouted into the phone, not bothering to check who was calling.

"Hi Lucas!" Came a raspy voice he recognized as his ex-girlfriend's. He had to keep his groan of annoyance in check.

"Hi Brooke," his dull voice answered back.

"Wow, you sound broodier than ever. That new girl of yours no longer yours?" She questioned, and he could tell she was trying not to be snappy.

"Something like that, yeah." He rolled his eyes in annoyance at himself.

He swore he could hear a faint squeal coming from the other end of the conversation. "Really? Well, I'm sorry to hear that, Lucas."

"Thanks Brooke."

"This may or may not be great timing, but considering your summer fling is over, I just wanted to talk to you about something. I know you said we were stuck in a horrible cycle, but why can't we work on our relationship when I get back? Like really work on it – talk things through, communicate, and make and effort to make 'us' work." She paused and drew in a breath, before speaking at a near whisper. "I love you, Lucas."

Lucas couldn't bring himself to feel anything, so he did the worst possible thing he could. "Sure Brooke… let's work things out."

He knew it made him a grade A jerk for thinking what he was, but he hated being alone. And when Lucas Scott got hurt from Peyton Sawyer… his best defense was running to Brooke Davis; a tactic he knew all too well.

Later on that same night, Haley and Peyton were at the latter's house, getting Peyton ready for her date tonight.

Haley could tell Peyton wasn't all that thrilled; though she looked amazing, as she always did, she didn't make much of an effort to do her hair or make-up, and she put on the first cute outfit she saw in her closet. Haley had seen her take more time getting ready to meet Lucas to casually hang out.

"Alright Blondie, usually when one goes out on a first date they are one of two things: Nervous or excited. Now, you don't seem nervous, and that look definitely isn't one of excitement. Peyton… you don't have to do this as some sort of last attempt at showing that you're a good friend to Brooke. This is getting out of hand."

Peyton sighed and set down the tube of lip gloss she was previously too intent on applying to her already over glossed lips.

"Haley, I'm doing this for me, not Brooke. Whatever I said earlier… just forget about it. I think the UV rays were getting to me," Peyton waved her hand as if to wave away the subject.

Haley rolled her eyes and forced Peyton by the shoulders to face her, and look her in the eyes. "Peyton, you've got to stop punishing yourself for whatever it is you think you've done wrong. If I remember correctly, you had feelings for Lucas first, and Brooke swept in after you two almost hooked up. If anything she was in the wrong. You just… you're a girl in love, and that's not a crime," Haley spoke softly near the end, letting her words sink in. She looked down at her watch and widened her eyes. "Okay, I'm majorly late for meeting Luke. Call me later or tomorrow if you want to talk."

Peyton nodded and watched her friend walk out the door. She surveyed herself in the mirror, dreading the date that was to come, and still mulling Haley's words over in her head.

Lucas shook his head and playfully clicked his tongue and pointed to his watch.

Haley laughed, out of breath from running to make it on time. "I know, I know… I'm sorry I'm late!"

"Where were you girlie, usually you're the one calling me and screaming if I'm one minute late."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Okay, you over dramatic little girl, I'm only 8 minutes late, and I was with Peyton helping her get ready." As soon as the words slipping out of her mouth, she mentally slapped herself.

Lucas's jaw locked and he winced. "For her date?"

Haley crossed her arms in front of her chest, a frown following the action. "Listen, I know how upset you are about all of this, but come on, your best friend is taking you out and we are going to have fun! And you are going to forget about Peyton… at least for tonight."

Lucas nodded and plastered on a fake smile. Forgetting about Peyton Sawyer was never an option.

Peyton sat across from Aidan, pushing her food around on her plate and trying hard to fake enthusiasm. They were sitting at a lovely outdoor café, with the warm summer night blowing a slight breeze. The food was fantastic, the setting was definitely romantic, but Peyton could only think of Lucas, not the incredibly kind and gorgeous man sitting across from her. Aidan had light brown hair that curled at the ends, and fell right above his eyes. His deep brown eyes were what struck her first; they seemed to pull you in. He was tall and muscular, and seemed to be the perfect man; only blue eyes and short blonde hair clouded her vision.

Her head shot up from looking at the napkin in her lap when she heard Aidan clear his voice. His eyes were full of concern or annoyance – she couldn't tell at this point. "Is there something wrong, Peyton? You've seemed… distant all night."

Peyton lowered her eyes in guilt. "No, I'm fine… I'm sorry, I've just had a lot weighing on my mind, but I'm having a great time, Aidan."

The handsome boy smiled and set his hand on top of hers. Peyton slowly and subtly withdrew her hand to pick up her glass of water and nervously take a sip. He noticed but let it slide, and opted to tell her a clever anecdote about his job.

Peyton was about to respond when she heard an all-to-familiar laugh penetrate her ears. As she turned around, just like she though, she saw Lucas walking with Haley along the boardwalk. There was no way they wouldn't see her on her date.

Not more than twenty seconds later, she felt a presence at her side, and turned agonizingly slow to look into those blue eyes she loved so dearly.

"Luke, Hales… hi guys. Um, Aidan, these are two of my best friends, Lucas Scott and Haley James. This is Aidan Wilson, he's going to be a senior next year, as well," the other three people could tell she was chattering on nervously.

Always the polite one, Haley reached over and shook the man's hand, smiling. "Nice to meet you."

"You too, Haley." He then leaned over to shake Lucas's hand, but Lucas just stared at him in contempt. When he knew there wasn't going to be a handshake, Aidan dropped his hand and grimaced.

Haley pulled on her best friend's arm. "Lucas, we should go – these two are obviously on their date, let's leave them be."

The look in the curly blonde's eyes was pleading. "No! I mean, you two don't –"

"Yeah, Hales, let's stick around, besides I want to hear how this date is going so far."

Peyton caught the snarky tone immediately, and threw him a glare. "On second thought, Hales you're more than welcome to stay, Lucas you can leave."

Haley cringed and waited for the storm to brew.

Lucas and Peyton were caught in a deadly glare, both fuming and neither backing down.

"So Aidan… um, tell us about yourself," Haley smiled encouragingly and took the empty seat next to Peyton. Peyton found Haley's hand under the table and squeezed it quick, thanking her silently for staying. Lucas huffily sat down next to Aidan, noticeably angered. Aidan didn't look overly thrilled for the intrusion on their date, but knew these were Peyton's friends, and that was important.

"I'm originally from Raleigh, but my father and mother were born and raised here, so right in the middle of my junior year they decide they can't wait any longer to move back…"

As Aidan rattled on about his life, Lucas was taking Peyton in. She looked absolutely beautiful, and knowing that she was on a date with this pretentious jackass sitting next to him, made him absolutely nauseous. Peyton caught him staring, and as his eyes roved up her body to her face, they were caught in an intense lock.

When Aidan mentioned he loved basketball, Lucas's head shot up.

"Really? Luke plays basketball too!" Haley exclaimed, trying to ease the palpable tension.

"Really man? You any good?"

Lucas scoffed, not even wanting to pretend he liked this guy. "Yeah, I guess."

"He's just being modest, he's great."

"What position you play?"

Lucas rolled his eyes, and folded his arms.

Peyton was getting fed up. "Shooting guard, Aidan," she spoke politely.

"Wow, so am I, looks like there's going to be some competition this year," the newest addition to the group tried to joke.

"Oh great, on and off the court," Lucas mumbled.

Peyton slammed her hand down on the table. "Will you stop it?" She hissed.

"Stop what?" He asked innocently.

"Being a stubborn jackass – what is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? Are you kidding me Peyton, do you really want to get into this now?"

Peyton stood up, fire in her eyes, and hands shaking from anger. "Will you excuse us, we'll be right back."

She pulled Lucas up, and dragged him around the corner, out of view from prying eyes. When they were finally out of sight and completely alone, she shoved his chest… hard.

The look on his face was one of shock and before he could respond or question her, she spoke, with venom in her voice.

"How dare you? First, you ignore me this morning, because you're a jealous little boy, who can't handle the fact that I'm dating someone else, and then you crash my date, and you're a complete jerk to me and Aidan, who has been nothing but nice to you! This has got to stop!"

"Excuse me, Peyton? I am so sick of being the one blamed for all of this. Peyt – that night in your room, you were the one questioning me about what we could've been, not the other way around. You started this whole thing, and in true Peyton Sawyer fashion, when it got too hard, you ran! I was willing to work it all out, but you couldn't do that. And then that night in the ocean – you were the one leaning in for the kiss, Peyton. More often than not, it's you starting this between us. I can't handle it anymore. Either you want me or you don't – it's a simple as that. But don't go around on dates trying to make me jealous, it's beneath you." Lucas was seething at this point, but knew he had to put it all out on the line.

Peyton felt the bile rising in her throat and took a moment to compose herself, the tears falling from her eyes, unstopping.

"Lucas, it's comp-"

He rolled his eyes and turned away, hands on his hips, frustration evident in his voice. "I know it's complicated, Peyton, it's the only word you ever use. I know this will hurt Brooke, and I know she's your best friend Peyton. But this is you and me we're talking about – forget about her. Make yourself happy, make us happy. You know it's what you really want."

Peyton opened and closed her mouth, near sobs, not knowing how to respond.

"She's your best friend, and yes she'll be upset and maybe you guys will go through a rough patch, but you guys will smooth it out – best friends can work out anything. I think she's great, but she's not you. I don't want to get in between the two of you – but I have to be with you, Peyton."

As he ended his speech, Peyton felt her heart clenching, and she knew she had to right all her wrongs, and make the best decision for all of them. After moments of silence, with neither knowing what more to say, Lucas started to walk away.

"Okay, Peyton, I guess I have my answer. I'll be seeing you."

Peyton watched him retreat, not wanting to let him go again.

"Lucas!"

At the sound of her voice he stopped in his tracks, and turned to look at her.

Words were futile at this point, and Peyton knew only one way to make him stay. Without hesitation she walked over to him, wrapped her arms around him and pulled his mouth down to hers.

The kiss was slow and languorous; full of raw emotion. Her tongue swept across his lips, wanting only to taste his mouth again, after going so long without it. Lucas was no fool, and quickly obliged, happy that she was taking the first step. One of his hands slid up to cup her face, and the other cradled the small of her back. Both of her hands were in his hair, gripping for dear life.

Their mouths still moving frantically together, he backed her up to the wall of the restaurant, pressing into her, letting her know how much he wanted this; had yearned for this very moment.

When they pulled away, lips swollen from their desire-fueled kisses, he looked into her emerald eyes, to find them shining brighter than he could ever remember. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, then leaned down to rest his against hers, his hands moving at the same time to entwine with hers.

"No running?" He asked, his tone of voice resembling that of a scared child's.

Peyton pressed her lips to his and mumbled into the kiss, "No running."

I'll forgive you for what you've done
If you say that I'm the one

I hope this made up for my lack of updates! I think you all are so amazing for sticking with me and loyally reviewing, it makes my day!

I hope this wasn't too fast, but we still have some roadblocks ahead! And sorry to say, but Aidan isn't gone yet – he's serving his purpose. Let me know what you all think.