A/N - Here's another chapter for you guys! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot.


Lucas Scott hates unrequited love affairs. They are absolutely rotten in his opinion. He is a sucker for epic romance; he loves to read about it. From Fitzgerald's Daisy and Gatsby to Austen's Jane and Mr. Bingley, he could appreciate the struggle of loving someone you could not be with, whatever the circumstances. But he hates unrequited love in his own life.

He guesses that Peyton's love for him is unrequited, in a sense. They've never been together, not technically. They've never wanted to be together at the same time, except for a brief moment last year and it all ended in the worst way possible. It had been tragic, but not beautifully tragic. No, this type of unrequited love was not beautiful, it was troubling. There was a time when Lucas thought that he would always have feelings for Peyton. Surely the length of his pathetic crush, flourishing in the seventh grade until it was finally returned in the eleventh, was enough evidence. Everything about her was troubling, he couldn't exactly help himself. He blames his good guy complex.

Peyton Sawyer certainly seemed like the right type of mess. Daddy issues, just like him, with a missing mother and a permanently fixed scowl just begging to be turned into a smile by one hard-working boy. How could he not be fixated upon her? With endless legs and that wild blonde hair, and her quiet reservation that set her apart from everyone she hung out with.

Brooke Davis certainly seemed like the wrong type of mess. She didn't just have daddy issues, she had issues galore. But she sure knew how to sweep them under the rug. She seduced everyone from boys to men and everything in between. She'd put her lips to their ears and whisper things that would make their eyes roll back in their heads and their toes curl and then she would rock their world for a night, maybe even two if they were lucky.

But there was one grand difference between them, and Lucas did not realize it's entire scope until he found himself moving to Charleston halfway through his junior year in high school. Once he'd realized it, he'd sat himself down and a wrote a letter and then addressed this letter to his right mess and his wrong mess and hoped that they would understand that he saw things clearly now.

He's dialing her number before he really knows what he's going to say, but he isn't much of a planner when it came to these things anyway. "Can you meet me?"

He can't deny that he's surprised when she agrees quickly. He thought there would be at least a little begging on his part involved. He finds himself at the Rivercourt without really remembering how he'd gotten there. It was 7 AM on a Monday morning; they had an hour before school started.

She'd beaten him there. She was in his favorite dress, the little white one that cinched in at her tiny waist and then flared out, with the pretty sweetheart neckline. It was a sign of the start of Spring, as was the sunshine that was nearly blinding him.

"That dress, of all dresses?" He asks once he's standing before her. He swears that he almost sees a smile, almost.

"I thought you said you liked this dress." Everything about her tone lets him know that she had definitely worn it on purpose.

"You know it's my favorite." He says, smiling. He tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He tries not to be offended when she flinches slightly at his touch.

"What's going on? I've barely seen you in school this past week. You been avoiding me?" She asks him.

He shrugs. "Yeah, maybe a little."

Brooke Davis frowns up at him. "Luke, I know it was rough after the game last weekend, but I never said I didn't want to be friends anymore."

"I never said that either. I'll always be your friend, Brooke." He says, his smile growing.

"Stop smiling like that." She says petulantly, swatting at his arm.

"Like what?"

"Like you're in on some secret and I'm not." She crosses her arms and stands up straight at her full height, which does not do much as she stands next to him at his full height. It only makes him chuckle.

"I just want to walk to school together." He says simply. He can tell that this is not something she was expecting.

"You called and asked me to meet you at seven in the morning so we can walk to school together?" She doesn't sound angry, or even annoyed. She just sounds confused.

"No, I called and asked you to meet me at seven in the morning in the hopes that along the way to meeting you I'd think of something remotely decent to say to you about how right you were. But you're standing here in my favorite dress with the sun reflecting off you so that you're practically glowing and it makes me nervous." He admits. She looks slightly taken aback but her cheeks flush at the compliment. She takes in what he's said and then the color drains from her face. It becomes passive, almost business-like.

"Right about you and Peyton?" She asks. He's not sure if she'd intended to whisper it, but her words are so low that he almost misses them.

He shakes his head, draws her into a tight hug. She is stiff in his arms but he still holds on as if he is holding on for dear life.

"Lucas, I am not pushing you away, I am holding on for dear life."

"You were right about a lot of things, but you were wrong about that." He says into her hair. He knows she is relieved despite whether or not she believes him deep down because her body relaxes into his and her arms wrap around his waist.

She doesn't move for a little while, but eventually breaks the silence and when she does she sounds so scared that it pierces him to his core and he hates himself for breaking her yet again. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Is all he says.


They had walked to school in silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It was the type of silence where you were lost in your own thoughts but you also knew the other person was lost in their own thoughts too, so it was okay. They get a few double takes on their way into school, even a whisper or two. The disappearance of the Head Cheerleader and co-captain of the basketball team from the post-championship celebrations had certainly caused a buzz. Rumors of the two reuniting had quickly been dispelled when the two did not interact all week, but were clearly revving back up at the sight of them today. Lucas rolls his eyes; if only they knew the truth.

They reach his locker first, where Nathan and Haley are chatting animatedly against their own lockers. Haley has her back to them but turns around when she sees Nathan's surprised expression aimed at the two people standing behind her. Lucas greets the couple as he opens his locker door.

"Lucas and—and Brooke. Can't say I haven't missed seeing this." She says grinning. She opens her mouth to say something else but doesn't get to it as the words of passing students reach their ears.

"Told you she'd take him back. She took him back after the last time that he picked Peyton. Lack of self-respect, much?" The two girls walking past them shoot them quick glances before rushing into a nearby classroom.

Brooke's expression has gone from thoughtful to that same passive, blank look she'd had earlier that morning when she'd awaited his answer about him and Peyton. She walks away without a word to any of them.

He calls out to her but it's too late, she's already lost in the crowd. Lucas slams his locker door shut with a booming crash that causes voices in the hallway to hush and heads to turn in his direction. He leans his forehead against the cool metal, hoping it'll stop him from feeling as hot as he does now.

"Are you guys back together?" Nathan asks after a moment has passed.

Lucas lifts his head off of his locker, and then shakes it. "No, we're not. Everything's so complicated. I don't where my head's at, I don't know much of anything right now. But I do know that that girl means the world to me and I don't stand a chance of keeping her in my life if everyone has it in their heads that I'm supposed to be with Peyton." He knows he's speaking loudly, he knows everyone can hear him but he doesn't care anymore. He doesn't care about anyone except Brooke right now.

"I hate to say it Luke, but everyone can think what they want. It's what Brooke thinks that actually matters. And she thinks you're supposed to be with Peyton whether everyone else does or not." Haley says before reaching over and giving his arm a light squeeze. She smiles up at him, but it's a sad smile and he does not like it. She kisses Nathan goodbye and heads for class leaving Nathan to look like a deer caught in headlights.

"What? You agree with her?" Lucas practically barks at him.

Nathan throws his arms up in the air in an 'I surrender' type of gesture. "Unrequited love is hard to compete with man, you can't blame Brooke for giving up."

Lucas Scott hates unrequited love affairs.