I'm so happy OTH is back on now. It makes my week to get to watch it. And Leyton sex this week, eh? Pretty cool. I'm glad Brooke and Peyton are friends again. I know a lot of Leyton-ers insist on hating Brooke, but I really like her (well, when she isn't being a horrid bitch, anyway). Next week looks really great. PsychoDerek scares the crap out of me. I hope Peyton kills him then and there.
Alright, update.
Peyton wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted. She was completely oblivious to everything expect her lips against his. Her mind dully registered his hand moving to cup her face and hers resting softly against his chest. She barely heard a car driving loudly past the court. She was in a state of total bliss.
And then something clicked. Lucas. She was kissing Lucas, who was not her boyfriend. Lucas, who was dating her best friend. And said best friend was already angry with the two of them for sharing the same bed and lying to her about it. No matter how right it felt, it wasn't.
She pulled back almost instantly.
Lucas stared at her in slight shock, his jaw stretched forward and his mouth slightly agape. He looked confused about what had just happened. After a moment he seemed to come to his senses, and immediately started stuttering. "Peyton, I…"
Peyton ran a hand through her hair, her heart pounding. "We shouldn't have done that," she muttered, feeling sick and tired again. Lucas opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by a shrill ring from his cell phone.
He flipped his phone open and glanced at the screen, his forehead creasing more each second. "It's…Brooke," he said, his eyes scanning the message again. "She's on her way to my house. She wants to talk." He flipped the cell phone shut and glanced at Peyton.
"Look, Luke," Peyton began, feeling awkward. Her lips were still tingling, her cheek burning where his hand had been moments before. The air seemed much thicker and she was finding it difficult to breathe. Swallowing, she said quickly, "You should go."
Lucas tilted his head slightly, looking shocked and hurt. "Peyton," he began in a hoarse tone, but when he saw her shaking her head he redirected the sentence. "Peyton, I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have done that."
Peyton gave a little wave, but her hand was shaking uncontrollably. "It's- just forget it," she murmured. "You should really go." Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment. All she wanted was to be alone again.
Lucas stared back at her, tossing his phone in his hands nervously. His mouth was hanging open slightly as he struggled with his words. His mind seemed to have gone momentarily blank. "I- We'll talk later?" He couldn't think of anything else to say. Peyton nodded impatiently. He ran a hand over his face. "Okay, I'll go."
Lucas got to his feet awkwardly, glancing down at Peyton. She kept her eyes on the river, not really seeing it. There was an odd numbness taking over most of her body. She felt completely powerless to do or say anything.
"I should, um," Lucas began, shifting his feet. "I should give this to you." He bent down and placed his phone in the grass beside her. Peyton looked at it, then up at him, and then back at the river again. He kept his eyes on her, confused. "I'll just call you when I'm done talking with- her. Okay?"
Peyton nodded slowly, shivering as a strong gust of cold wind hit her, blowing her curly hair over her face. There was a brief moment of silence between the two of them, in which she could feel Lucas's eyes burning holes in the back of her head. After about a minute she heard him mutter something and start walking away.
--
Lucas jumped into his car, thrust the keys in the ignition, pressed hard on the gas, and drove off as quickly as he could. His mind was still racing, trying to comprehend everything that had happened in the last few minutes. Peyton's speech, his response, the kiss… Did I really kiss her?
He pressed his foot on the brakes as he neared a red light, his heart pounding. His mind was screaming at him to keep driving, to go home and work things out with Brooke. But there was a small, much more subtle feeling in the pit of his stomach that was telling him to turn around. Telling him to go back to Peyton.
As the light turned green again, Lucas pulled into a quick U-turn. His foot became heavier on the gas as he sped up to almost eighty miles an hour, his eyes set on the road in front of him. In his mind he saw Peyton's shocked face after she'd pulled away from him. He saw the guilt, the confusion and sadness in her eyes.
And he saw the slight accusation there directed toward him. The look that simply read, "Why the hell did you do that? You have a girlfriend!" He knew that she was upset with him. He wasn't sure if there was anything he could say to her when he showed up.
Lucas's hands were shaking as he pulled the steering wheel quickly to the right, making another sharp U-turn. His tires screeched against the pavement as he sped off in the direction of his house.
Though his heart was completely disagreeing with his mind, he told himself aloud, "I have to do this first."
--
Peyton wasn't sure how much time had lapsed. The sun had almost fully set, now just lingering on the edge of the horizon, the sky almost completely black save for a dull orange glow. She noticed that it was unusually quiet where she was. There wasn't anyone across the river, nor were there any cars driving past. She glanced down at Lucas's cell phone, still lying in the damp grass. It hadn't rung yet.
Footsteps behind her caused her to jump. The steps sounded familiar. She sighed loudly, running a hand through her hair again. "Lucas, I told you, leave!" She pushed herself to her feet, shoving the phone and her hand deep inside the pocket of her sweater. Turning on her heel, Peyton glanced around at the person standing closely behind her.
Her heart stopped. For a long moment she simply stared, her eyes wide, saying nothing.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she whispered eventually.
There was a harsh laugh and two more heavy footsteps. "No, the real question is, what the hell are you doing here?" Kyle snapped.
--
As Lucas pulled into his driveway, he immediately saw Brooke sitting on the steps outside his room. She looked a complete mess, her hair tangled and frizzy and her face red from crying. When his headlights hit her, she wiped at her face furiously and got to her feet, crossing her arms in the process.
Lucas stepped out of the car, slamming the door loudly and shoving his keys in his pocket. He said absolutely nothing, and neither did she. He walked closer to her, feeling slightly guilty as he stared at her tear-stained face. She seemed more upset than she had earlier in the day.
He stopped dead in front of her, shoving his hands into his pockets awkwardly. "So, do you want to go inside?" he offered. "It's kind of cold out here." He pulled the door open and held it for her.
She gave him an angry stare before stepping into his room. Lucas sighed heavily entered also, closing the door behind him. He hit the lights, shielding his eyes as the brightness filled the room. When he'd finally adjusted to the light, he saw Brooke staring around in complete silence. Her eyes moved from Peyton's full backpack on the bed, to her mess of clothing covering the floor, and to the bag of makeup on the bedside dresser.
"So how long has she been staying here?" Brooke's voice was raspy and she sounded less than pleased.
Lucas thought for a moment, reminding himself that Brooke already knew the truth, so there was no point in lying. He swallowed. "She showed up early Saturday morning," he responded dully. Brooke's back was to him, but he saw her head moving in a curt nod. He felt the urge to continue, to explain. "She didn't want me to tell anyone. Had she given me permission to, I would've told you right off the bat. But I didn't want to betray her trust."
Brooke swung around, looking angry now as opposed to hurt. "Oh, so you'd rather betray my trust?" she snapped. "You'd rather lie to my face continually about another girl sleeping in your bed? Especially when that girl is Peyton!" She ran a hand through her hair, her hand shaking uncontrollably. She looked more hurt and upset than Lucas had ever seen her. "What's going on between you two, Lucas?"
He knew this was coming. Brooke's assumptions, her accusations of his infidelity. It was all he could do to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Brooke, nothing's going on between me and Peyton," he argued. "I'm just being here for her."
Brooke crossed her arms again, pursuing her lips, her eyes shining with tears again. She seemed to be struggling with the idea of saying something. After a long moment of biting her bottom lip, she spoke. "Really?" Her voice was cold and angry. "Because on my way over here, I passed the river court, and guess what I saw, Lucas? You and Peyton kissing."
Lucas felt his stomach drop.
"You want to tell me what that was about?"
--
Kyle two a few more furious steps forward. "Are you gonna answer me? What are you doing here?" His eyes were glowing, his jaw twitching. He seemed slightly insane.
Peyton stepped backward, stumbling slightly as the ground beneath her switched from the pavement of the court to grass. She was fingering the open phone in her pocket, her hands tracing over the numbers 911 softly. When she spoke, her voice shook. "How did you find me?"
Kyle threw his head back, laughing. "It's really not that hard when I call someone asking for you, and they tell me to leave you the hell alone," he spat. Peyton's eyes widened in surprise. For every step he took toward her, she took another back. Kyle quickened his pace. "You don't want to answer my first question, that's fine. I've got another one. Who the hell were you kissing before?"
Peyton gulped. How long has he been watching me? She dialed the numbers 911 into her phone, her finger now lingering over the call button. She was frightened, but she felt the need to wait before calling for help. For all she knew, nothing would happen.
"Can you hear me, bitch?" Kyle shouted, his voice breaking the stillness of the night.
Peyton found her voice. "Why-why do you care who I kiss?" she stuttered. "I'm not…I'm not even with you anymore, Kyle. I thought I made that clear when I left."
Kyle snorted, stopping in his tracks. "You mean when you stole my money, ran me over, and hopped a plane to a different state?" he asked.
"Oh, don't even start with me!" Peyton shouted back. She was getting angry again, just as she always did when she fought with Kyle, an action that almost always led to a black eye. "I wouldn't have had to steal your money if you hadn't torn up my ticket. I wouldn't have had to run you over if you'd just gotten out of my way!" She was breathing heavily now, her face screwed up in anger and her eyes filling with furious tears. "And I sure as hell wouldn't have had to leave if you didn't attack me every day!" She paused, biting her lip, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. It was the first time she'd admitted, aloud, that her boyfriend beat her. There was an instant weight lifted from her shoulders, but it did nothing to settle her stomach.
Kyle raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Attack you?" he laughed. He looked livid. "Don't give me that shit, Peyton. You got off easy." He took a heavy step toward her, rolling the sleeves of his shirt was he went, looking as though he was about to enter a fight to the death. "You don't even know what I'm capable of."
Peyton pushed down on the call button, and a second later his fist shot across her face.
--
"Brooke, I-"
Lucas stared at her, his mouth hanging open, his eyes wide. He hadn't been expecting this. He never thought it possible for her to know about something that had occurred such a short time ago. He was utterly speechless. There was nothing he could say to her.
A fresh stream of tears came pouring out of Brooke's eyes. She uncrossed her arms, shoving her hands deep in her pockets, looking suddenly awkward and confused. "So I'm guessing I didn't just imagine that," she murmured.
He continued to stare at her, his mouth still agape, completely at a loss for words. The house phone on his dresser rang loudly, but he chose to ignore it.
When the ringing stopped, Brooke took a deep breath. "Lucas, tell me the truth," she said quietly. "Do you- do you love her?"
Lucas forced himself to laugh. "Do I love her?" he asked incredulously. "Brooke, she's one of my best friends. Of course I love her." Deep down he knew that wasn't what he meant, but it was easier to stray away from what she was really asking.
Brooke sighed angrily. "I'll rephrase the question," she shot back, sounding exasperated. "Are you in love with her?"
Lucas's breath caught in his throat. He stared at Brooke, his heart pounding, his tongue tied at the back of his mouth. He exhaled slowly, his mind processing the question. He wasn't sure how to answer. "Brooke-" he began, shifting his weight uncomfortably, but he was saved the task of answering when the phone rang again. "I should get that," he murmured, crossing the room to pick it up. Brooke closed her eyes tightly, as though she was trying to block out a nightmare.
Lucas picked up the phone and instantly heard a shaky breath on the other end. "Luke, is that you?" came Haley's voice. She sounded like she'd been crying. In the background he heard Nathan talking to someone with a deep voice.
"Haley, what's wrong?" Lucas asked, his voice filled with concern. "Are you okay?"
She responded almost immediately. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just- Nathan and I were driving past the court and… there's something going on. There's ambulances and police and-"
Brooke let out an impatient sigh, and Lucas instantly cut Haley off. "Look, Haley," he began, giving Brooke pleading eyes. Something in his mind dully registered the river court, but at the moment his attention was on the question Brooke had just imposed on him. He stood up. "Haley, I'd love to talk, but I'm kind of in the middle of something right now. I'm glad you're okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
He took the phone from his ear, his finger moving to the end call button, but Haley's frantic yell on the other end caused him to lift it back to his ear. "Lucas, wait!"
Brooke let out an impatient groan, but he ignored it. "What, Haley?" he asked, his voice louder than before.
Haley let out a long, shaky breath. In the background, Lucas could hear the sirens of a police car and the sound of commotion. "Lucas," Haley said. Her voice sounded raw with tears. "I think…I think its Peyton."