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Chapter Two

"Lucas," Karen Rowe's gentle voice interrupted his plethora of thoughts, as he poked and prodded at his breakfast. He jolted his head up curiously, nodding so that his mother would continue, "Are you going to eat that breakfast or just stare at it?"

He placed his fork down, the aroma of scrambled eggs filling his nostrils, "I'm not really that hungry." He said finally.

Karen sighed, taking a seat directly opposite of her son, so that she could face him. She smiled compassionately, as she stared into his eyes. Her voice was full of that motherly love, and kindness, "Luke, you want to talk about it?"

"Mom- it's almost Senior Year. You'd think I would stop running to you every time I'm having a bit of trouble. Don't you think it's weird?" Lucas grinned, knowing that his mother was always there for him to fall back on. The sole understanding that he always had someone to talk to was a comfort as warm as no other.

Karen's face lit up, finding the opportunity to give her two cent's worth of consolation, "Oh, Lucas. When have you ever been superior to my advice?" She chuckled, "What's it about now? Fussing with Brooke? Peyton?"

"Both?" Lucas said, his cheeks swelling into a slightly pink hue.

Karen nodded, "They want to know which one you love more, and you can't decide."

Lucas cocked his eyebrow upwards, "I should have remembered you were that good."

She laughed again, as she quilted Lucas' hand with her palm, "Listen Luke, you think basketball is hard? Trying to score, and getting the ball? Well then, girls are even harder. You're not always going to get what you want, and you're not always going to play on the same court. You're not even always going to win! Try that for hard. You may be the prettiest boy in the world – which you are – and the smoothest talker any girl's ever met – which you better not be –" Karen smiled lightly, "And yet you still might not get her. Now your problem doesn't lie in the getting her part, but in the choosing. And that's even harder!"

Lucas couldn't help but interrupt, "Thanks Mom- because I didn't know that already." He smirked gently, urging her to continue.

"Ha ha," she said dryly, before carrying on, "Luke, before you go studying these two girls like they're some book, maybe you should take a deeper look at yourself. Are you ready for a relationship? Would it not be easier to be friends with Peyton and Brooke, rather than a boyfriend to one, an enemy to another? This isn't a situation that could be analyzed over one summer, Lucas. You need to give yourself more time than that – believe me, I give you all the credit in the world, but Lucas, you can break one girl's heart in the blink of an eye. It's not something that can be fixed when you want it to. What you decide will ultimately make or break your relationships with them. As a mother, I think it's safer for you to just be friends with them. But hey, it's only an option." Karen paused for a moment, studying her son's thoughtful eyes, "I have to head out to the café. I'd love to chat with you some more, Luke, but I can't. Deb can't stay there on her own for much longer."

"It's okay, you go. I'll laze around here- it's not like I have anything better to do," Lucas smiled, as he walked Karen to the door.

"Now listen, Lucas. If you need to, I don't know, talk or anything- I'm here, okay?" Karen said, before stepping out.

"Yeah, yeah, I know Mom." Lucas beamed, the fresh morning breeze gentle against his cheek, "I'll come by the café later since Hayles isn't around. I know you'll need some extra help."

"Thanks Lucas." Karen smiled, "You take care of yourself."

The door clicked softly, as Karen left. The silence pounded in Lucas' ears, realizing that he had absolutely nothing to do. He sauntered over to his room, looking around for something to do. He sat in front of his computer, a string of curiosity luring him onto his Instant Messenger. He logged on momentarily, and scanned the list of his friends. Skills, Mouth, Peyton…

Almost instinctively, he opened up a conversation with the latter.

Lucas: Hey

He anticipated her reply, nearly forgetting the situation they were in. She didn't allow him to forget for long, however. She took several moments to reply, and when she finally did, her reply seemed bitter.

Peyton: Have you made up your mind yet?

Lucas typed a quick "not exactly" after which Peyton logged off.

Well that wasn't such a good idea. Lucas logged off himself, collapsing on his bed. He quickly realized that the sooner that he made his decision, the sooner things would go back to normal. It wasn't such a simple decision, however, to made overnight. After all, his mother was right. He could either make or break his relationships with either girl, and he didn't want that. He truly didn't.

But how was he going to tell one, or the other: Sorry, I like her. Can we just be friends? That would go well! His thoughts were fleeting in an endless labyrinth, one that he could not escape. He wished for a loophole, an escape button, anything. Would this completely and totally destroy his summer? By the looks of it, there was no doubt about it. His head was heavy against his pillow, as he stared at the freshly-painted ceiling. He looked at his night table- on it, was a framed picture of him and Hayley, as children.

Things were so easy back then. They went to school, they came back. They laughed and giggled their days away. Their decisions were unanimous- but they didn't exceed the importance of the flavour of an ice cream, or which cartoon was their favourite. Of course, they had their brawls now and then, but they were solved with a smile and a, "Let's never fight again." Lucas missed Hayley more and more. He respected Nathan Scott, as a friend, as a teammate – as a brother – but he couldn't help but feel inferior to him with regards to Hayley. Hayley always went to Lucas; with everything. Now, not so much. She had a husband to talk over her problems with. It has no longer a mutual relationship- more often than not, Lucas would feed the discussions with his trivial issues, while Hayley narrated the tales of her blissful romance. It didn't help that Hayley was now out of the State, undoubtedly canoodling in the chilly environment of Alaska with Tree Hill's most coveted Jock.

A sudden urge inspired him to call Peyton. Whether or not he would regret it later on, he would find out. The phone was at his ear, ringing incessantly. Ring… ring… ring… With every ring, Lucas came to doubt himself more and more, until his composure completely faded.

"Hello?" her soft voice answered on the other end.

"Peyton, hey," Lucas said quietly.

"Luke, I told you I'm not going to talk to you until you made your choice." She said stiffly, "When you've made your choice, we'll talk. With Hayley, Nate, Brooke and everybody gone, maybe you'll finally realize how pertinent this is. Maybe, you'll get so bored you'll finally realize that you have to do this." She sounded quite satisfied with herself.

"Can we ignore this for a few hours, and go out?" Lucas said, in spite of the situation.

"As what, Lucas?"

"As friends, nothing more." Lucas replied quickly.

Peyton paused, "What if I don't want to be friends?"

A silence enveloped them, until Lucas shattered it. His voice was gentle, and still, "Listen Peyton-" he didn't know where he was going with this, but he decided to continue, "- I haven't decided yet. However, if I don't do something now, I won't be able to decide because my head's gunna explode. Please, Peyton! We'll go out to the park or something, get some ice cream?"

"That sounds awfully date-like to me," Peyton noted.

"Well, it won't be." Lucas said, "And if you're so set on not talking to me, then don't, okay? I'd just look like the biggest loser if I went to the ice cream parlour, and took that ice cream to the park where I would sit on a bench – all alone."

Peyton seemed to be going through an internal war, "Fine, where should I meet you?"

"I'll walk by your house," Lucas smiled into the phone, "See you soon."

"Yeah, yeah." Peyton hung up the phone bluntly. She walked over to the mirror, fixing a strand of her hair before thinking: What am I going to impress him for? She untidied her hair again, giving her slim silhouette a final glance before she walked out of her room. She figured a sprits of perfume wouldn't hurt, though. She awaited Lucas' arrival, in the kitchen as she snacked on a granola bar.

How was she supposed to act? Bitter? Anticipating? Normal? He did say he just wanted to hang out. But she did tell him that there was no hanging out until, well, he made his choice. Why did things have to be so complicated?

Meanwhile, Lucas was finally making his way to Peyton's house – on foot. It was a cool morning, chilly and yet pleasant. With pocketed hands, he sauntered over to Peyton's calmly hoping that she wouldn't be as chilly towards him as the weather was. He rang her doorbell, putting on one of his signature smiles as he leaned against the door frame.

"Hey," Lucas said, when she opened the door.

"Hey, yourself," she smiled, succumbing to his magnificent stare. For a moment, their eyes seemed to meet in this indescribable bond. Afraid of what it was making her feel, Peyton turned her head, lowering her gaze, "Hold on, I'll grab a sweater." She gave him a nod, as she disappeared inside, "You can come in, you know that, right?" She called from upstairs.

"Yeah, I kinda like it out here." And so Lucas waited for her, for the few moments that she took.

When she came down, she jogged to the door, closing it carefully. Peyton sighed, her golden locks bouncing with her every step, "So, where are we going now?"

"I was thinking, we should go get some ice cream- then go to the park," Lucas suggested, "Anything you need to get done today?"

"Nope," she said stiffly, studying his warm face, "But ice cream sounds good." Her face lit up lightly, as they walked side-by-side, "Luke, have you started thinking about anything in particular?" She asked gently.

"What, you mean that?" Lucas looked at her for a moment- she looked awfully troubled, "Peyton, I thought we weren't going to talk about that today…"

"I thought so, too!" Peyton stopped, "But I need to know if you've at least given it some thought."

"Sure, I have! What, you think I've just been dodging it? No! I know I have to decide sometime, Peyton. I'm totally aware of it, all of it." Lucas blurted out quickly, pausing for a few moments, "I know you want an answer," he said, softly this time, touching her cheek, "But I can't give it to you yet. I don't know what I'm going to do, Peyton- and that's the truth."

"Luke, I don't think today is such a good idea." Peyton said finally, her voice barely audible.

"I think it is," Lucas nodded affirmatively, "Now, we are going to go get ice cream – as friends – and we will laze away the Summer days together. Any objections?"

"Yeah, one. How's this fair to Brooke again?" Peyton asked gently.

"And how's this not fair to Brooke again? We're not doing anything; we're not planning on doing anything. She could have hung out with us if she didn't flee Tree Hill." He replied coolly, "Am I right?"

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Double Scoop, Triple Chocolate Rocky Road and Banana Toffee Sorbet."

"What?" Was all Lucas replied to this recital.

"It's what you're getting me at the ice cream parlour." Peyton skipped happily, down the sidewalk.

Lucas quickly caught up with her, with an air of complaint, "Isn't someone being a little too demanding here? When I was thinking ice cream, I was thinking Strawberry Single Scoop – something that won't leave a crater in my wallet."

"Hey, this was your idea. I might as well take advantage of it." Peyton giggled playfully, "I haven't been out for ice cream in the longest while-"

Lucas interrupted her deftly, "If I don't recall, the last time you were out for ice cream was with me."

"And the minute we got out of the ice cream parlour, you dropped all of your ice cream on your shirt," Peyton laughed, "I remember that so clearly." She covered her mouth as she laughed, seeing that Lucas was blushing gently. It wasn't exactly one of his most prided moments. "Okay, I'll stop," Peyton said, with a wide smile, "But it was still nothing compared to that time where you wiped out in the school cafeteria…" she started to giggle insanely, "Huge hot-shot jock wiping out in the Caf. Now that was excellent."

"Hey, hey, hey- coming from the Queen of Embarrassing Moments! How about that time where you sat on a bunch of ketchup, and well- you know the rest," Lucas grinned.

Peyton's eyes widened, as she smacked him playfully – hard, nevertheless, "Oh no, you didn't! That was horrifying! I can't believe you'd mention that!" She said through giggles, and laughs.

"Well, we're on a bit of an embarrassing moment spree, so I thought I shouldn't leave you out." He smiled at her, "How about that time-" Peyton quickly placed her index finger on his lips, silencing him. A moment of thoughtful hush enveloped them, as she smiled at him.

"Must we recall every one of my hugely humiliating moments?" she asked, her cheeks subtly rosy.

Lucas chuckled, raising his eyebrow, "Truce?"

Peyton smiled, looking up at him, "Truce." She said happily, "Only because I feel bad for you."

Lucas intervened with a shocked cough, and chuckle, "You feel bad for me? Care to elaborate, Goldy Locks?" He grinned at her, studying her flawless complexion.

Peyton clouded her face with seriousness and composure as she spoke, "Well, because I know that you have so many more embarrassing moments, and it's just – humiliating, Lucas. That's what it is, humiliating." She nodded, and sighed, "I'd prefer to keep allowing you to believe that I don't remember any of your silly moments, just so you can continue to be as, er, cool."

"If you put it that way, then thank you, Peyton Sawyer, thank you from salvaging me from the embarrassment." Lucas said earnestly, letting his arms fall to his sides. After walking for a little while longer, they appeared in front of a small, cozy ice cream parlour, "Are we dining in or out?"

"I wouldn't mind sitting in for a while – just to avoid any accidents," she winked at him, walking through the door that he was holding open for her. She flashed him a smile on her way in, as she awaited his presence at the counter.

"Two Double Scoop, Triple Chocolate Rocky Road and Banana Toffee Sorbet." Lucas smiled more to himself, feeling Peyton's curious gaze against his face.

"You remembered that?" she asked quizzically.

"Well, sure. It's what I get – all the time." He chuckled.

"You're lying." Peyton said, biting her lip.

"And?" Lucas challenged.

Peyton said nothing more, awaiting her ice cream patiently. She couldn't say, however, that she wasn't impressed. She always knew Lucas was an excellent listener – no wonder she was so crazy about him. She could talk and talk and talk, and know that it wasn't going through one ear and out the other.

"You okay, Peyton?" Lucas finally said, remarking her silence. His gaze was steady, and curious – nevertheless kind, and genuine. He took a taste of his cone, the cold traveling up his spine. The sweet taste of the ice cream toyed with his taste buds, encouraging him to take more.

Peyton jerked her head upwards, "Yeah, I'm fine!" She laughed lightly, "Just thinking." She said, as they strolled over to a leather booth, painted bright red. It was oddly comfortable. They sat across from each other, their elbows leaning against the circular table.

"What about?" Lucas asked gently, yearning to get inside of the mind of the beautiful blonde for a moment.

"Something," Peyton said stealthily. Lucas knew it wasn't going to be that easy.

"An important something?" Lucas prodded at the subject further, hoping that he could crack her. He knew better, however. Peyton wasn't one to speak her mind at any given moment. He knew that, he accepted that. He was even drawn to that mystery of hers.

"A life-or-death something, Lucas." Peyton hid a smile, as she evoked the utmost inquisitiveness from her companion.

"Are you going to tell me, Peyton?" He asked, looking straight into her eyes.

"Not now, I'm not," Peyton said quietly, "Lucas?" Lucas nodded, "If we're going to hang out this summer as often as you said we would, can you promise me something?" Lucas nodded, again, "Can you promise me we'll just be friends – all summer?" She added carefully, "No confessions, no gestures, nothing. I just-" Peyton sighed, looking away for a moment. This was clearly hard for her, considering how much she wanted him to choose, how much she wanted him, "I just want all of this to be fair to Brooke. All three of us have been juggling these relationships like they're meaningless, and they're not. They mean so much – at least to me they do. My friendship with Brooke, my friendship with you – I can't imagine life without it. Please, let's just not screw this up. If Brooke finds out we've been doing this behind her back, and it hasn't been innocent, and has been a little too friendly, she's never going to forgive me, Luke."

"I promise." Lucas nodded, "And will you promise me something too?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me, that the next time I have broccoli in my teeth, you'll tell me?"

Peyton started to laugh insanely, "Any day." She said finally, grinning, "Does that count for ice cream on chin, as well?" She started to giggle under her breath, after which Lucas practically slapped his chin, ridding it of the Rocky Road residue.

Lucas shook his head, "I saw that coming – totally saw that coming." He said, taking the last bite of his cone and waiting for Peyton to finish.

"So we're going to the park, then?" Peyton asked moments after.

"Sure, if that's still the plan." Lucas said warmly.

"Well, it hasn't exactly changed," she smiled lightly, "The park it is."