I own nothing—thanks for the reviews.

One Tree Hill in two days! I'm pretty excited. The channel that it comes on here constantly shows that commercial and it's so frustrating lol. Enough rambling . . .


I'm falling even more in love with you

Letting go of all I've held on to

I'm standing here until you make me move

I'm hanging by a moment here with you

I'm living for the only thing I know

I'm running and not quite sure where to go

And I don't know what I'm diving into

Just hanging by a moment here with you

"I want it to mean that you want me!"

Silence. Ear deafening silence. She was sure that if it were nighttime the crickets would be chirping the loudest in this very room. She almost wanted to find a pin just to drop it.

Her breath was caught in her throat. Why was she so surprised by his admission? They had said that they would find their way back after he let go of the monsters he was holding on to. Here he was; monster free and waiting for her. Asking for her.

"I need to go out", she mumbled as she walked to the door.

"Peyt."

She stopped with her hand on the knob and turned to face his sad expression.

"Will you be okay with Keith for a little?"

"We'll be fine."

She opened the door and quickly rushed out. He watched her practically run away and was determined not to let her go. His own legs began to move.

"Peyton", he called out as he chased after her.

"Lucas, leave me alone", she begged as she made her way for the stairs.

"We need to talk about this", he demanded as they descended the wooden flight of stairs.

"I'll be back", she promised as she walked past the living room where Brooke was watching television.

"Peyton?" the brunette called out.

"Peyton, come on."

"What's going on?" Brooke asked with a scared face.

"I'll be back, help Luke if he needs anything", she directed her comments to her best friend. Brooke nodded and watched as the blonde opened the front door.

"Pey—" Before Lucas could finish his sentence she was out the door. He ran a hand over his face and through his messy blonde hair.

Brooke looked at him with curious eyes.

"What the hell was that?"

"That was the problem in trying for something more."

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Nathan grumbled as he walked to the front door. He and Haley were in the middle of a rather enjoyable make out session until this person rudely interrupted it. True, they had no idea what they were interrupting, but that didn't make him any less agitated.

His wife had been up and down with her moods. Sometimes he didn't know if she was going to hit him or hug him. She complained about her weight; often. Nathan did the best he could to diminish her negative thoughts and although they didn't always work, today they did.

He opened the door with a face that was sure to let the person know he was angry.

"Hey."

That small, broken greeting melted away his hard face and cold posture. Peyton stood in front of him doing her best to hold back her tears. He could tell she was biting her lip and she refused to blink her water filled eyes.

Without thinking he wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tightly. She buried her face into his chest and let out a shuttered sigh.

"What happened?" he asked as he pulled her back at arms length and looked into her eyes.

"I just need to talk to you", she whispered with a hoarse voice.

"Let me go tell Haley I'm going out", she nodded and he walked through the foyer and into the kitchen where Haley was sitting on the stool on the phone.

"Pssst", he called for her attention. She glanced up and put her hand over the mouthpiece to block out the noise. "I'm going out."

She nodded and he sent her a questioning glance. She mouthed 'Lucas' and he instantly knew the reason why Peyton was so upset. She sent him a look and he mouthed 'Peyton'. Both best friends knew it was going to be a long day.

They had walked to the Rivercourt and Peyton didn't start talking until they arrived.

"So, what's the problem?"

"I just . . . I know that he and I have Keith and I couldn't be more thrilled with that. He is an amazing father. But, what if he and I aren't meant to be together? We had our chance . . . twice and we've broken up. Maybe fate was trying to tell us something. Lucas and Peyton can have a child, but can't be in a relationship."

He watched as she paced back and forth. He knew he needed to find a way to make this right. He had to find the words that would calm all her fears and let her know that there wasn't anyone else out there for her. That she needed to stop hiding.

"Sawyer", he called out to her. She stopped her pacing and walked over to sit on the bench next to him.

"Sorry, I just have so much going on in my mind and it scares the crap out of me and—"

"Peyton, what did you tell me when Haley left?"

She stared up at him in shock and shook her head to think, "Sometimes they come back", she whispered.

"Who's the one person that left you and came back for you?"

"Lucas."

"I was scared as hell when Haley came back. The last thing I wanted to do was give her a chance—"

"How did you know you should?" she asked desperately.

"I didn't, but I knew that not being with her wasn't going to help me. I was a train wreck without Haley. I figured I couldn't get any worse being with her and I knew that I loved her. no matter how stubborn I was, I was still completely in love with her", he spoke passionately.

"But this is like mine and Lucas's third chance. We have too much good in our lives to risk screwing it up."

"Peyton, you need to stop being scared. He's open with you; he tells you if something scares him. You said you would get back together if he could change, well he's changed and he's waiting for you."

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Interrupting a make out session was bad. Especially when it came to Nathan and Haley. Haley would be the first to admit that she was hot and cold about being intimate. She honestly didn't feel beautiful being seven months pregnant. She was hot all the time and moody. She was uncomfortable and on edge about everything.

Her husband, bless his heart, did the best he could to soothe her. He would whisper in her ear that she was gorgeous whenever she was staring in the mirror. He gave her as many pillows as she needed when she slept or sat somewhere. He was patient and she loved him for that. Hence, the grope fest they indulged in on their couch. Then the doorbell rang and soon the telephone followed.

"Lucas, I get that this is difficult for you, but I'm really tired", the pregnant blonde yawned.

Lucas had called her frantically talking about Peyton and how he had messed things up. He begged for her to come over and even though she protested adamantly, eventually she gave in. Now; she was sitting on the couch, watching as her best friend paced back and forth.

"Hales, I messed up big time. I should have just kept my mouth shut and let things play out at there own pace, but no I had to jump the gun", he muttered angrily.

"Lucas—"

"Maybe Peyton isn't even the one for me. I mean, love shouldn't be this hard."

"Okay, now I know why I'm here", she spoke aloud and patted the cushion next to her.

He took the seat and spoke again. "I'm serious, we had our chance . . . maybe time ran out", he shrugged and Haley's eyes bulged out.

"Lucas, you have loved this girl since you were seven years old. Things have gotten in your way before and nothing has stopped you."

"It's just so frustrating. I mean, I know how I feel about her and I'm pretty sure I know how she feels about me, she's just so damn stubborn. And that makes it so much harder. I know she knows she loves me, but getting her to let herself go there again is really hard."

"I know that you're frustrated, but right now she needs the Lucas that promised to come back to her."

"How do I know that I'm still that guy?" he challenged.

"When she left what was she thinking?"

"She was scared", he responded without hesitation.

"Why was she scared?"

"Because, she wants to trust me again, but trusting me comes with the occasional pain."

"The fact that you know how she felt without even asking her, proves I'm right."

"Hales—"

"Lucas, she's your other half. Your vision may be clouded with fear and that's why you doubt this, but take it from someone who has seen you with and without Peyton; you need to be together. So, stop worrying and stop doubting. She doesn't know it, but she's waiting for you."

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She quietly walked into the dark house. She hadn't meant to stay out as late as she did. She and Nathan kept talking and then they played a game of one on one and then they watched a movie. Before she knew it, it was dark and she knew she had to go home.

She was nervous. She didn't know if she should talk to Lucas now or wait until the morning. Now would be better to get it over with, but she was tired and she was sure Keith would crying in a few hours and she needed some sleep, so she opted to talk tomorrow.

Before she walked into her bedroom she took a detour into Keith's. The door opened without the traditional squeak and she was grateful for it. Tiptoeing over to the crib, she peered down and smiled instantly. The even movements of his chest rising and falling gave her a peace she never knew existed before. She bit her lip and reached her hand up to his mobile. Soon enough the soft music filled the room and her son fidgeted a little before letting sleep take over once more. She hummed the words to the song and shivers unconsciously worked down her spine as she remembered their Valentine's Day. It was like an epiphany, her answer was obvious.

She looked down and Keith once more and turned to leave the room. She walked down the hall and noticed Lucas's closed door. She walked into her bedroom and stopped in her tracks. Lucas Scott was on her bed. That sneaky, sneaky boy. She wasn't too sure if he was sleeping or not. His breaths were even, but she could see the slight flutter of his eyelids every few seconds. She cleared her throat and he jumped up from the bed; stuffing his hands in his pockets in the process.

"Sorry", he muttered sleepily, "I wanted to wait for you and I figured that I wouldn't know when you got home unless I could see you . . . I didn't really think this through", he admitted with a laugh.

"Sorry that I'm home so late. I just lost track of time."

He nodded and removed one hand from his pocket, rubbed the back of his neck, and then shoved that hand back into his pocket. He knew what he wanted. His talk with Haley had put any lingering, ridiculous doubts out of his mind. He just hoped Peyton would also.

"I'm sorry", she broke the awkward silence. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did earlier. I was just scared and my typical walls went up and I don't know. I'm just really sorry that I walked out", she whispered.

"It's alright, now I know how it feels", he joked and she laughed in spite of the situation. "So, listen, I'm sorry about coming at you the way I did earlier, I just felt like that was the right time to do it. Once again, our timing was off", he tried to make light of the tension.

She decided not to waste anymore time. Nathan's words were ringing in her ears and she knew it had to be done right now, no more small talk. She grabbed his hand to hold his attention.

"Can you promise me that you won't hide out, because I'm not strong enough to deal with that again", she whispered with watery eyes.

He stared into her eyes and his heart broke. He had made her so insecure in his love for her and he didn't even realize it. He made a mental note to kick his own ass if he ever hurt her again.

"I promise you that will never happen again", he whispered back with clouded eyes of his own.

She knew it was a risk. She knew he could never really promise her something like that. But the look in his eyes when he spoke was enough to make her trust him fully.

"Okay", she whispered with a smile.

"Yeah?"

"Okay", she whispered again as she locked her arms around his neck. He grinned like a Cheshire cat and his hands clasped tightly around her waist. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and he spoke softly.

"Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, will you be my girlfriend?"

She smiled into his neck. "Absolutely."

There's nothing else to lose, there's nothing else to find

There's nothing in the world that can change my mind

There is nothing else

There is nothing else

There is nothing else


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