Thanks for the feedback, you know I love you all! The song is one of my all time favorites, but I'm not sure how well it goes with the chapter. P.S - I just changed the songs, it was always supposed to be Cold Day In The Sun. Meh. I'm excited for this to be over. We're in the home stretch.
Took the high dive into your brain
And you made your lonely calls
You just might wear your welcome out
If you don't let it go
There's nothing that you couldn't say
Cause you've said it all before
"Alright, why are we going to this thing?" Haley whined as she picked up a tube of lip gloss.
Peyton rolled her eyes as she slammed shut her compact. "Haley, stop whining. I just… I want a chance to talk to Brooke."
Sighing sympathetically, the musician nodded. "I know you do, Peyton."
"Do you think I'm crazy?"
Shaking her head, Haley came to sit next to Peyton on the edge of her bed. "No, she's your best friend. If it were me and Lucas, I'd be trying to do the same thing."
"I know. And this end of the year Beach Party is just the thing - I mean, look - if it doesn't give Brooke and I a chance to talk… at least we can drown our sorrows in a ton of alcohol."
Haley laughed, "You've got a deal there, my friend - I doubt Nathan and I will be talking."
Peyton walked over, pulling the saddened girl into a bear hug. "Hey, we're going to have fun tonight - I promise! Even if there will be drama, we'll have a good time."
Rolling her eyes, Haley followed her roommate out of the bedroom and down the hall. "Yeah, we better!"
--
"Knock, knock," Peyton called out as she entered through Lucas's bedroom door.
Pulling on his shirt, Lucas turned towards the soft voice. "You know, why bother saying the words if you're just going to walk in anyways?"
Peyton laughed, walking over to hug him, not so subtly stopping the movements of him getting dressed by running her hands up his back. "Mm, maybe we should skip this party," she whispered into his neck, nipping the skin there.
Lucas groaned, needing to push her away. "Babe, as much as I would love that - you want to talk to Brooke. I need to talk to her. And we need to have a night of fun."
Quirking a brow, Peyton scoffed, "Since when isn't sex fun?"
Lucas pressed a kiss to her mouth. "Oh it's always fun with you. And as soon as we get back tonight, I'm going to completely ravish you."
"If only Karen knew what goes on behind this door," she sighed playfully.
"Ugh, okay - bringing up the mom isn't the way to go if you want sex."
Peyton giggled, picking up the purse she'd dropped near the door. "Okay, we have to go - Haley's waiting for us in the car."
Just as she was about to walk out the door, Lucas pulled her wrist gently, tugging her back to him. "Peyton…"
Lucas's tone was not a happy one, she noted. "What's wrong Luke?"
"I just want you to know how much I love you."
Peyton grinned and leaned up to kiss him quickly. "I love you too."
"No… I really love you, Peyton. And sometimes I don't think you get how much. I know Brooke is your best friend and you'd do anything for her, but I can't lose you again. I know she's hurting right now and you're probably having second thoughts, but…"
Effectively ending his rambling, Peyton cupped his face and kissed him - slow, sweet, and raw with love.
When they broke apart, the pair were breathless and smiling. She leaned her forehead against his. "Since when do you ramble Lucas Scott?"
"I picked up a thing or two from the annoying girls I've spent my summer with," he teased.
Peyton pinched his side playfully before pulling away. "Seriously Luke, this is it for us. I'm not leaving you again, I promise. With or without Brooke… I'm in this relationship for good."
Lucas sighed, relieved. He grabbed her hand and smiled. "Lead the way, my dear."
--
Arriving at the scene, the trio took in their surroundings. It was exactly what they had expected: high school seniors toiling around with cups of beer in their hands, music blaring, kids swimming in the ocean and dancing on the sand, and Brooke Davis at the center of it all.
The three friends looked at each other and laughed awkwardly.
Haley spotted Nathan not to far from them, and began to walk the other way. "Okay… I'm just gonna head this way."
"You should go with her Luke," Peyton commented.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I see Brooke - might as well get it done, right?"
She was trying to be strong, but Lucas recognized the fragility behind the mask. "Yeah." He kissed her softly on the lips, then on the forehead before following his best friend.
--
"What are you doing here, Peyton?" The brunette questioned. All traces of the sad, forlorn girl from yesterday had disappeared, being replaced with the Brooke Davis that Peyton had been waiting for - snaky, sarcastic, and vengeful.
"I heard there was a party," she quipped, attempting humor.
Brooke frowned and starting walking away from Peyton, but the blonde girl ran after her. "Brooke… come on, please?"
Turning around in a flurry, she shouted, "What Peyton? Please, what?!"
Gulping slowly, Peyton found it hard to meet her best - ex-best - friend's eyes. She couldn't bear to see the pain there.
"Brooke, I'm sorry."
It was all she had to give. She knew there should be some other explanation - some amazing speech to make it all better. But there simply wasn't.
She'd fallen in love with her best friend's ex-boyfriend, and all of the excuses and explanations in the world couldn't make up for that. Not in Brooke's eyes.
Sighing tiredly - Brooke angrily ran a hand through her hair. "Look, I know you're sorry, Peyton- but I don't care. You did a crappy thing… and I don't know how to forgive that. Even if I did, I'm not sure I want to."
And there it was - the words that effectively broke Peyton Sawyer's heart in half.
And even as Brooke Davis walked away - she silently admitted to herself that hers did too.
--
"Oh come on, seriously?" Brooke looked up toward the sky, "Are you kidding me, God?!"
Lucas squinted, unsure of what to say. Brooke rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
Figuring that he'd been the one to approach his ex girlfriend, he better start the conversation. "Brooke, I'm sorry."
"I swear, that's the only word you and your girlfriend know," she grumbles.
His eyes flash with sympathy, which just serve to piss her off even more. "Look, Lucas - I'm hosting a party here," she gestures with her arms wide open, "so if you came here to apologize - whatever. I don't need it."
Brooke moves to walk away, but Lucas gently keeps her in place, moving his hand to her arms. Tears flood her eyes at his touch, but she pretends to just look away in annoyance.
"Brooke… I am truly sorry." He emphasized each word, wanting her to know he truly felt sorrow for the situation he'd put them all in. "I never meant for this all to happen. I didn't want to hurt you - hell, I really didn't even want to fall in love with her, because loving her; it's hard. But I did. And I can't apologize for wanting to be with her. But I can apologize for not telling you - for leading you on. I should've never done that Brooke. You were amazing to me… you didn't deserve that."
Near the end, Brooke was tearing up even more - she couldn't be here. "Then why did you Lucas?"
Lucas grappled for some explanation - but the only one he could think of, the one that went along the lines of his love for Peyton being too strong, wasn't something he thought she wanted to hear. "Do you really want to know?"
His tone indicated she didn't. "No, I guess I really don't, Luke."
"I'd like for us to be friends…"
Brooke held up her hand, laughing mirthlessly. "No. Lucas… just no. You can't expect everything to be okay, Luke! You let me think we were going to get back together while you were screwing my best friend." Holding a hand to her heart, tears were pouring, and she couldn't care less. "I can't forgive you. Or her. I'm just done."
Lucas wasn't sure if he'd just made things better or worse.
Looking across the way he met eyes with Peyton, who was talking to his brother. In that moment all that mattered was the smile that lit up her face when their eyes connected.
--
Peyton watched her boyfriend leave the scene of the conversation he'd just had with Brooke and work his way over to his forlorn looking best friend - uncharacteristically downing a cup of beer.
Peyton nudged her shoulder into Nathan's, who was trying his hardest not to watch his wife.
"Tell me what's on your mind," she spoke softly.
Nathan shrugged, looking into the liquid in his cup. "I don't even know."
"Hey, I know I'm living with Haley… but you're still my friend too. You can talk to me."
"I just…" he sighed, "I know I did the right thing, I know that. But I miss her."
"Are you trying to convince me… or yourself?"
He playfully bumped their shoulders once more. "You're a pain in my ass, Sawyer."
"Aww, I love ya too, Nate," she spoke, a teasing lilt in her voice.
The former lover turned to watch the two blondes they both loved. Peyton, with a smile on her face, and Nathan with sad eyes.
"You know," Peyton began, "when Lucas made it clear he wanted us to start something again, I freaked out. At first it was about Brooke, and how much it would hurt her. But deep down… I didn't want to get burned again. He broke my heart, Nathan. I'd never let someone in like that, and it killed me when we didn't work out."
Nathan clearly was trying to ignore the point of her story, so she hesitated for a moment. "But Nate, if I hadn't taken that chance, that would've hurt my heart worse. Because he is my heart, and I can't deny that. All that you're left with after suppressing that love - is a hollow ache that never really goes away."
Sitting in silence for moments, she began to walk away, but came back to hug him quickly. Looking over at the pair of best friends, she spoke again "Even when it hurts Nathan, we love them. For better or worse," she stressed.
--
Peyton sat just feet away from the shore, occasionally a lick of ocean tide lapping at her feet. Her arms were wrapped around herself to shield from the breeze that was rapidly cooling the summer night.
As Lucas approached, he couldn't help but take in the way her now slightly curled hair - from their earlier bout of him dunking her in the water - framed her face, slightly blowing in the breeze. He sighed, smiling - sometimes she still took his breath away. He didn't think that was ever going to go away, and he looked forward to that feeling never fading.
She looked up as the man who'd been on her thoughts all night planted himself in the sand next to her.
With only a soft smile, he wrapped his arm around her as her head fell to his shoulder.
"Of all the places to end up tonight, I'm glad it's here with you," she murmured into his ear.
Lucas exhaled a low laugh, tightening his hold on her. "Me too."
"How'd it go with Brooke?"
He smiled; he loved that there were no traces of jealousy in her voice. She was genuinely interested. Shrugging, he answered: "As expected. We hurt her… and I don't know when/if she's going to forgive that."
Lucas could feel his girl frown into his shoulder, and he wished that everything could work out well for everyone. It was a hopeless wish, but it didn't stop him from thinking it.
Just as he was about to apologize once again, he heard the soft strains of a familiar song floating from where mouth was playing the deejay role. He pressed a kiss onto the side of her head before standing up, offering his hand to her.
After joining him, their hands gently locked together, she gave him a smile. "Where are we going?"
He shook his head slowly. "Nowhere."
Placing his one hand on her hips, and grasping one of hers with his other, he pulled her flush against his body. As soon as their skin made contact, he felt her heart thundering against his. "Listen to the music," he whispered.
As they swayed to the beat, Peyton's heart didn't cease to flutter erratically. He kissed the top of her head, and she snuggled in closer.
Oh yeah, this was where she was meant to be.
And as a dejected Brooke Davis looked on across the beach… she knew it was too.
It's your cold day in the sun
Looks like your bleeding heart has already won
You're so afraid that you are the only one
You are the only one
You know
Don't be afraid cuz you're not the only one
You're not the only one
I know
Let me know what you think!