Peyton gripped the phone and closed her eyes afraid to open them for fear of waking up to a horrid realization that it was all just a dream, a mere figment of her imagination. Lucas listened to the steady rhythm of her breathing. "I'm dreaming." She whispered aloud to herself. "It's a dream. Just a dream. Wake up Peyton. Stop doing this to yourself." She ordered. "Even if it's not a dream… he can't be serious."
"No…" he replied as if she were speaking to him. "Peyton… I'm serious."
Peyton's eyes fluttered open and she loosened the death grip she had on the phone. Her fingers throbbed and pulsated. "Lucas…?" she finally said, her voice creaking with each syllable. "I…I don't… I don't know what to say…" she stammered.
He smiled. For the first time in a long time it reached his eyes. They glinted as the florescent light hit them, dazzling light blue pools. "Say yes." He said finally. "Come to the airport. I'm not making the same mistake twice. I won't leave again without you."
"Lucas…" she began. She inhaled sharply and sat down on the edge of the pool table. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before continuing. "It's not fair for you to joke with me like this… I don't… I can't take it and I want you to know I hate you for trying to pull something like that. I can't believe you think I would actually believe that after everything you'd just change your mind like that… you really must think I was born yesterday!" She sighed and shook her head as the tears formed at the edges of her green eyes, clouded and dark with emotion. "You of all people should know that I hate jokes especially ones that…"
"Peyton." He interjected. "Stop." He sighed. "I'm not joking. And I didn't just 'change my mind'." He paused and ran his free hand over his newly shorn hair. "When you asked me that night at Tric if I still loved you… I didn't answer you because I was afraid to admit that in the last 3 years, nothing has changed. Peyton… I still remember every second that I spent with you. I remember the way you're hair looks when the sun hits it in the morning. I remember the way you smell when you climb out of the shower and wrap a towel around you." He smiled at the memory. "Peyton, truth is, I do love you, I still love you, I never stopped." He articulated each word, each syllable as if it were his last.
She listened intently, all the while thinking about what Lindsey had said in the library. About each word that he'd written about her was carefully chosen, poured over and rewritten until they were perfect. As he explained his feelings and revisited memories she thought he would have long since forgotten, her lips curled into a smile.
She swallowed hard.
The tears brimmed and spilled over the edge of her eyes, droplets sticking to her lashes and streams of black running down her cheeks. "I never stopped either." She admitted. "Lucas… Yes. Yes of course I'll marry you. Tonight, tomorrow…" he paused. "I would have married you yesterday."
He nodded although he knew she couldn't see it. "Then marry me tonight." He said softly. "Come to the airport."
She bobbed her head up and down slowly. Her blonde hair shifted with the movement. "I'll be there. Ten minutes. Don't leave." She said quietly.
"True love always, right?" he questioned.
She smiled as she thought about the old black closet door in her childhood home. She nodded. "True love always." She agreed. "Ten minutes. I'll be seeing you." She flipped the phone shut and clutched it to her chest. Then the shocking realization hit her.
"Oh my god, I'm getting married." She said aloud to herself.
She rushed to her car. She'd thought of selling it and now as she slid across the seat and slammed the door, she was glad she'd changed her mind. If it hadn't been for the Comet, she may have never met Lucas. She may have never broken down on the side of the curling road that day. She may never have looked into those deep blue eyes and been able to see her future looking back at her.
She smiled and cranked the car.
Those ten minutes were the longest ten minutes of her life. She caught every red light on the way. As she pulled up at the very last light she cursed the red glow as it illuminated the darkness and reflected off of the hood of her car. She stared at it, praying for it to change to green.
The arrow flashed green and she smiled and turned into the airport parking lot and dipped into a free space near the entrance. She flew from the car and through the automatic doors. She searched the bustling crowd of people and that's when her eyes locked with his.
He stood and smiled. Her lips curled into a grin and she walked towards him, stopping barely a breath away from him.
"You came…" he said softly, lifting his hand to her face and caressing her cheek. He ran his thumb along her skin before dipping his hand to the back of her head and gripping her curls tightly in his hand. He closed the distance between their mouths, crushing her lips under his. Her hands trailed up his chest and snaked around his neck, she pulled him closer, her lips moving against his in the familiar motion.
It was as if the last three years had never happened. It was as if she'd said yes all those nights ago in Los Angeles.
He pulled away slightly, unable to release his grip on her. He tilted his forehead against hers, their noses still touching and her warm breath rushed against his still open lips. He smiled. "Peyton Sawyer will become Peyton Scott." He said softly.