I own nothing—thanks for the reviews.
I wish everyone was loved tonight
And somehow stop this endless fight
Just the chance that maybe we'll find better days
A week had gone by since the wedding and activity had picked up in the small town of Tree Hill.
Currently, Lucas was standing in front of a door he knew all too well. He slowly raised his hand and knocked. He heard rushed footsteps and soon enough a brunette stood in front of him.
"Well if it isn't Columbo himself", Brooke teased as she opened the door further.
"Hey Brooke", Lucas responded with a shy smile.
"What brings you by, detective boy?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, "I kinda wanted to see Peyton."
She nodded her head and smiled, "Of course you did. P. Sawyer, you have a visitor!"
"Tell Nathan I'm still mad!" she yelled from her room.
"Guess again", Brooke commented. Peyton trudged down the stairs with a frown on her face; one that quickly disappeared.
"Lucas", she said with a firm grin.
"Hey", he opened his arms and she quickly obliged.
"I'm gunna go somewhere else", Brooke announced as she walked into the kitchen.
"How are you doing?" Peyton asked carefully. Lucas swallowed before speaking.
"Do you wanna go for a walk? I mean are you up for it?" he gently placed his hands over her expanded stomach. She smiled and placed her hand on top of his.
"Sure, Brooke I'm going out!" the brunette appeared in the kitchen doorway.
"Be careful, you get out of breath easily", she warned like a mother, "Lucas, make sure she doesn't try to over do it", she asked with a concerned look.
"Don't worry, we'll go once around the block", he assured her.
"I'm still here", Peyton spoke loudly as she waved her arms in front of her.
Lucas smiled. "Come on, Blondie", he reached for her hand and gently pulled her to the door.
Brooke and Peyton shared a smile and the two blondes were gone.
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"Nathan, I'm home", Haley called out as she released a breath.
She had picked up extra shifts at the café. Money was more then tight and she was the only one with a job. Needless to say, the responsibility fell on her shoulders.
"Hey", he greeted her with a kiss as he walked into the room.
"How's your knee?" she asked when he limped slightly.
Some of the activity had occurred after Naley's vow renewal. In a drunken haze, Rachel hijacked their limo, but not before Cooper jumped in. Nathan and Haley looked past it and used Lucas's Mustang; Keith's dream car, to drive to the airport.
At the same time Rachel and Cooper were driving back to the wedding. They got into a fight and Rachel grabbed the wheel, causing Copper to loose control and send the limo flying over the side of the bridge. Nathan ran from the car and stared over the side. He looked at Haley and jumped in. Thankfully Lucas and Karen drove by because after five minutes Nathan hadn't reappeared.
He had been admitted to the hospital and after a series of tests were done he was sent home.
"It's better, still a little sore though", he said dejectedly.
"Any news?" she asked cautiously.
"Yeah, actually Cooper was discharged earlier. He stopped by, said he needed to get out of town, but wished us luck on everything", he wrapped his arms around Haley's waist.
"What about the redheaded demon", she asked with disgust in her voice.
"She hasn't stopped by, but I know she was released."
"I still cannot believe Cooper slept with her. They're like twelve years apart", she said incredulously.
"I can't believe she lied about being pregnant."
"Surprisingly, that doesn't shock me", Haley mused with a smile.
"Brooke called", Nathan suddenly remembered, "Peyton was having some kind of back pain and she wanted to talk to you about it", Haley nodded.
"Peyton's still not talking to you?" she asked with a smirk.
Nathan sighed. "No, she won't take my calls and she kicked me out of the house the other day. I don't get why she's so mad."
"Nathan, you could have died."
"Yeah, but you're my wife and you weren't that mad at me", he argued.
"I had faith that you would be fine . . . deep down, but on the outside I was a mess."
"Exactly, why couldn't Peyton have faith?"
"Peyton has a complex about everyone leaving. She thought you would be added to that list", she rubbed his arm and broke from his embrace.
"Maybe I'll go back over later", he spoke more to himself.
Haley nodded and bit her lip. "So, how else are you doing?"
Nathan let out a puff of air. This was the conversation he wanted to avoid. "How can I be Hales?"
"I know it's hard", she said sympathetically.
"That's not it though, I was so crappy to Lucas when he brought it up a few weeks ago and the whole time he was right", he berated himself.
"Nathan, it's easy to want to see the good in people."
"But I should have known better. I should have listened to Lucas and I should have helped him", he continued his rant.
"Nathan—"
"I asked him, Hales. I flat out asked him if he did it and he completely skirted around the question, he said that Jimmy had a lot of issues, but I didn't want to think about that because he was changing. He was a completely different person then he used to be and for a fleeting moment I had the father I always wanted", he didn't even notice he was crying until he felt Haley wipe at his tears.
"It's okay", she cooed with tears of her own.
"No, its not, Lucas must hate me."
"No he doesn't, trust me. He knows what its like to want to see the best in people."
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"So, this is new", he commented on her outfit.
"Yeah, a dress is easier", she said while shrugging, "I have to pee like every twenty minutes, this is easier to deal with."
He laughed and she pouted, "Are you seriously laughing at me?"
"Come on", he tried to argue.
"No, you do not get to be right. It's so annoying, constantly having to unbutton and unzip and pull down, then to pull up and re-button and re-zip, then I do it all over again."
"I could always help", he smirked and Peyton immediately blushed.
"I'll take that into consideration", she spoke with a quirked brow. He nodded his head and the two continued to walk.
"So, was there any particular reason you stopped by?" she asked after a moment of silence.
"Last week, at the wedding you said you were still here. I just need someone to talk to", Peyton bit the inside of her cheek to stop the grin that begged to form.
"Does this have anything to do with what's been all over the news?"
"It has everything to do with that", he admitted quietly.
She could see the doubt and questioning in his blue eyes.
"Lucas, what you did was unbelievable. A lot of people would have ignored what their heart told them, a lot of people would have stopped when it looked like there was no way to go. You didn't, you pushed forward and made sure you got the answer you knew was right."
The other activity in the town was the conviction of Dan Scott in the murder of his brother Keith. Lucas had been working with Mouth to find the answer he desperately craved. The school had a select number of security cameras set up. The tapes from the day of the shooting were locked up; that's where Brooke's keys came in. Lucas had gotten them from her after school the day they talked at lunch.
A few days later he opened the cabinet in the AV room, with Mouth as a lookout and found the hidden clue. They were all labeled so it wasn't hard to find; watching it was a whole different story. After a few deep breaths he and Mouth sat in the AV room and watched that terrifying day unfold.
They saw Jimmy shoot the bullet that ultimately hit Peyton; they saw Lucas and Nathan wish each other well, they watched as Nathan slammed Mouth up against a wall, they both held their breath when they saw Lucas walk through the door with Peyton in his arms. Tears formed in Lucas's eyes when Keith came in and walked in front of Lucas. They saw Keith and Jimmy go back and forth in some sort of debate. Jimmy waved the gun around and Keith flinched as a reaction. The young boy got to his knees and ultimately shot himself. Keith rushed to his side and hung his head.
They both watched as a third person entered the hallway. He picked up the gun and Keith stood. They stared at each other and a shot was fired. Keith was sent crashing to the floor.
Dan Scott had shot him.
"I just . . . he shot his own brother", Lucas said in disbelief, "my father shot the only man that was ever a father to me", his voice trailed off and Peyton immediately grabbed his hand.
"It's okay", she tried to soothe him.
"I mean Nathan and I have had our differences, but I would never shoot him."
"That's the difference between you and Dan. He is a monster and he let everything that represented power take over his life."
"You're pretty insightful you know that?" he teased.
Peyton chuckled. "I have a lot of help. So, anything else?" she asked in curiosity.
"Oh, I forgot . . . guess who's back on the Raven's", a grin spread across his lips.
"Lucas", she shouted, "that's amazing", she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into hug. She furrowed her brows and quickly pulled away from him.
"What about your heart?"
"That's the catch, because of my heart condition and the medication; I can only play for fifteen minutes."
"That's better then nothing", she spoke optimistically.
"I know it is, especially with playoffs for the State Championship coming up. Since Skills has my old number Whitey gave me a new one", he said with a smile. She raised her brow as a sign for him to continue, "twenty-two . . . its Keith's old number."
"He'd be really proud of you Lucas", she whispered. He nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"There was something else I wanted to talk to you about", they were stopped in front of her house.
"What's up?"
"I know its still like a month away, but wouldyouliketogotopromwithme?" he finished in a rushed breath.
"Huh?"
He sighed and took a deep breath. "Would you like to go to prom with me?"
Peyton smiled at the nervousness his voice held.
"Of course", the words rolled off her tongue easily.
"Great", he grinned and kissed her forehead, "I have to get going, me and my mom have to head into Charlotte for a few days, the lawyer has some last minute questions and things like that", he said softly.
"Okay, well if you need anything call me", Peyton said with a smile. She leaned up to kiss his cheek.
"I'll see ya when I get back", he walked away while looking at her. She waved and felt her heart skip at the look in his eyes.
Lucas Scott was back.
So take these words and sing out loud
Cause everyone is forgiven now
Cause tonight's the night the world begins again
It wasn't that long of a breakup, but technically they aren't back together lol. I originally had For Blue Skies as this chapter, but I liked this song here more. Let me know what you think.
