The airport was reasonably empty, considering it was currently half past three in the morning. Most of the people in the building were practically falling asleep. Surprisingly, Peyton was wide awake. She was wired and nervous. She knew for sure that Lucas had gone to Los Angeles to see Brooke. She wasn't sure why he went, but she knew the outcome could not have been in her favor. In the pit of her stomach, Peyton unequivocally believed that whatever was going on between her and Lucas Scott, was going to come to an end the moment his eyes met hers, from the terminal.

Peyton's phone vibrated, and she opened it to find a text from Lucas.

Gate 112

She closed her phone and took a deep breath.

The walk to gate 112 wasn't far from where Peyton had been standing, when she received the message from Lucas.

The blonde's gut was telling her to keep her distance, but her heart was telling her to plant her lips on Lucas', to reassure him that no matter what Brooke may think about their relationship, Peyton wanted him. She wanted them to be together.

Scores of people made their way out of the gate. Some greeted by loved ones, and some with no greeting at all. Peyton felt happy that she was able to see Lucas home.

She saw him.

His spiky hair was hard to miss in the crowd. The boy's eyes looked restless, which worried Peyton. She wanted to bring him in her arms and see the speckles of light she'd grown so accustomed to seeing in the past few weeks.

He saw her.

A faint smile formed in the corners of his mouth.

Breathless.

Just the sight of the skinny girl set his damaged heart of kilter. Even at 3 in the morning, Peyton Sawyer still looked gorgeous as hell. All previous thoughts that had been crowding his mind fleeted, making room only for thoughts of kissing the girl who stood just 20 feet before him.

They were both taking equal steps towards one another, to meet in the middle of the walking distance.

Hi. He whispered to the girl.

Hi yourself. She replied, and then wrapped her arms around his neck. She needed to feel his touch. She wanted to know that everything was okay.

Without hesitance he invited her embrace and let his hands find their place on the blonde's back.

Its good to be home.

Even though he was barely gone for a day, his trip sent him to a completely different world, one in which he did not want any part of. Tree Hill was where he belonged. Tree Hill held Peyton.

Lucas drove Peyton's car back to his place. Their ride back was quite, but his right hand didn't leave Peyton's knee the whole time.

Whatever feeling of awake she had once had was now dissipating. Peyton was ready to sleep, the last thing she was in the mood for, or capable of was having a long conversation. Lucas took note of this when they reached his house.

She had fallen asleep just before they got home.

Swiftly, the boy pulled Peyton into his arms, he carried her into his bedroom and laid her feather light body underneath the covers, onto the mattress.

Before joining her, he wanted to make sure Haley was okay.

Sure enough she was just that. His best friend was sleeping on the living room sofa with the television left on some infomercial. Lucas covered Haley with a blanket that sat upon the top of the couch and turned the television off.

He took a moment to look at her. She seemed so peaceful in her sleep. Lucas could recall countless sleepovers they had before puberty. Many times he would abuse the fact that she fell asleep before him, drawing on her face, filling her hands with shaving cream and once when they camped out in his back yard, he had moved her out from the tent and into a small pool Karen had bought him. Haley was a heavy sleeper, so torturing her was easier than it should have been.

Lucas placed a soft kiss on her temple and walked back to his bedroom, eager to follow Peyton's footsteps of quickly falling asleep. It was almost 4:30 in the morning, the sun would be up soon. It was nearly impossible for Lucas to fall asleep when the sun was up.

He slipped off his jeans, and took Peyton's converse off of her feet before cuddling underneath the blankets.

She must have noticed his presence in the bed, for she scooted back to meet the boy's body. He brought her in closer to him and snuggled his face into her neck. Her breathing patterns quickly sent him into a world of dreams.

You chose the wrong girl, Lucas. Peyton said to him, standing in the middle of his room. Her expression was blank and her voice was filled with an uncomfortable amount of sadness.

No, no, no. I love you, Peyton. He explained to the girl.

She disappeared.

His surroundings changed. Now his feet were planted in the middle of the Rivercourt.

You chose the right girl, Lucas. The brunette girl stated, before tuning away from him to throw a basketball into the chain hoop.

The sound of the metal clashing together woke the boy up. His body was sweaty and his breaths were heavy.

You okay, Lucas? The soft voice asked, also coaxed into awake over the nightmare Lucas had just experienced.

She rubbed her eyes and placed her head onto the boy's damp chest.

It was just a bad dream.

He kissed the top of her head.

We need to talk.

Peyton sat up, sensing the seriousness in his voice. This was not a conversation she could sleep through.

Is this about where you went?

He nodded, and took a moment before continuing.

I think by now you know that I went to see Brooke.

The mere mention of her name made Peyton feel as if someone dropped a boulder into her stomach. It was a mixture of guilt and fear. She was secure about her feelings for Lucas, but she wasn't quite sure where Lucas stood, considering his feelings for Brooke.

Yes.

I went to see her for us. I needed to tell her about us, Peyton.

Peyton had wanted she and Lucas to tell Brooke together. This spur of the moment bombshell on her best friend didn't sit well with her, but she was happy to see Lucas cared enough to fly 3,000 miles just to divulge the truth.

Did you tell her… about us?

The boy found referring to he and Peyton as an "us" to be comforting. That was something he longed to do, for a very long time.

I did. She wasn't happy, Peyton.

She brought her knees to her chest. In all honesty, Peyton expected Brooke to react badly, but she had hoped the brunette would give her blessing and let them explore their feelings. That's the thing, Lucas and Peyton never got their chance. At least in Peyton's eyes.

But her anger was at me, she didn't say anything about you.

This puzzled Peyton. She figured if anyone, Brooke would be angry with her and not with Lucas.

I think we should have told her together.

Lucas shook his head. I don't. I think that would have made things worse.

He thought if Peyton had to deliver the news and see Brooke's reaction first hand that she would decide to end things, like she did before. Her friendship with Brooke meant everything to her. Although Lucas didn't want to get in the middle of that again, he had no choice. His heart couldn't be without Peyton again.

I still think I should explain things to her.

It wasn't his place to tell Peyton what she should and shouldn't do. However she wanted to handle the situation, he was going to back her up and support her.

Maybe you could write her a letter. He suggested.

Peyton wasn't much of a letter writer, she always let her artwork speak for her. However, the idea of sending Brooke a letter made perfect sense. When Brooke was in a heightened emotional state, it was nearly impossible for the blonde to get a word in.

I think I'll do just that.

Lucas reached for one of Peyton's hands which was currently clutching her chest. He brought it to his lips and lightly kissed her skin.

Brooke's opinion doesn't change the fact that I want to be with you. You know that, right?

He needed to know everything was going to be okay.

She smiled at the boy.

Now I do. She leaned over and let her lips graze his soft, pillowy mouth.