Lucas watched silently as Peyton slept. Each rise and fall of her chest as she slumbered was carefully etched into his mind for safe keeping. She stirred a bit and turned her face away from the window and towards him. A smile crept across his lips as she mumbled his name in her sleep. They were three quarters through the nearly five hour flight and he'd spent the last hour watching intently as she slept. He'd been wondering what she was dreaming about up until she'd said his name aloud.
He brushed a curl away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She stirred again and her eyes fluttered open. The golden flecks reflected the dim light in the small space. She smiled softly and gazed up at him with the deep green eyes he'd fallen in love with so long ago.
"I didn't mean to wake you…" he began. She shook her head, diverting the apology. "It's okay." She replied as she sat up in the seat and pulled off the blanket the attendant had supplied. "How much longer til we land?" she questioned.
He shrugged and looked at his watch. "About an hour I'd say. In a hurry to get somewhere?" he teased. She grinned and laugh lines creased the corners of her eyes. "Nowhere important."
He rolled his eyes and folded his arms and turned away from her playfully. "Oh I see how it is." She grinned and snaked her arm through his, pulling him back towards her. "I'm in a hurry to get to the most important moment of my life." She smiled. "I can't believe that I'll be getting married in a few hours."
He nodded and uncrossed his arms. He intertwined his fingers with hers and squeezed lightly. "Me either." He smiled. "Did you ever call Brooke?" he questioned.
Peyton bit her bottom lip and shook her head a little. "Not yet…" she admitted. "I wasn't sure what to say. I mean 'hey B. I just wanted to let you know that I'm about to get on a plane and go to Vegas to marry Luke. See you tomorrow.' Just didn't seem like the greatest way to break it to her."
He shook his head. "Well neither does 'hey Brooke, I got married last night and didn't tell you til now. Surprise!'" he replied. Peyton furrowed her brow. "Did you call Haley? Or Nathan, or your mom for that matter?" she questioned, turning his question against him.
He turned his head away from her and stared at the empty seat across from them. "Not exactly…" She seized his cheek in her hand and forced him to face her again. "Lucas Scott! How do you expect to get married and not tell any of them?!" she scolded. "I did, kinda sorta tell them…" he said softly.
Peyton raised her eyebrow. "How exactly do you 'kinda sorta' tell someone something?" she urged. "You either tell them, or you don't tell them. There's no way to kinda tell someone something."
He smiled a little. She'd seen the smile many times before and she knew he'd done something sneaky. "What?" she pressed. "What did you do to get around having to tell them in person or on the phone?"
He smiled again. "I waited til I knew they'd be asleep and I left Nate & Hales a message and I wrote mom a letter which I have to drop in the mail when we land." Peyton couldn't help but laugh. "You're mother is going to freak out." She said with a smile. "Dear Mom, How are you? How are Andy and Lilly? Hope everything is going well can't wait to see you. Love you, Love Lucas. P.S. By the way, me & Peyton got married tonight! See you soon."
He laughed too. "Peyton and I." he corrected. She rolled her eyes and nudged his arm with her hand. "Whatever. You know Haley is going to kill you when she finds out that you didn't tell her about this before hand."
He shrugged a little. "I think Brooke is going to be the one doing the killing." He replied. You haven't even told her about it. At least I called Haley. Peyton frowned. "I know, but if I call her, she's going to be pissed off first because I'll be waking her since it's like 3 in the morning and second because I didn't tell her before I left."
He raised an eyebrow. "You didn't even call her and tell her you were coming to see me or anything?" he questioned. Peyton shook her head. "No… You called… and then I thought you were joking and when I realized you weren't I just grabbed my purse and headed to the airport…" she admitted. Crimson cascaded across her cheeks and she lowered her eyes.
Lucas reached over her to the airplane phone and handed it to her. "You have to tell her now or she's going to be more mad."
Peyton nodded. "I guess you're right. Now's better than later." She released his hand and dialed Brooke's number, listening quietly and fearfully as each ring echoed in her ears.
After two rings, fright overcame her and she quickly hung up the phone. Lucas shook his head and dialed Brooke's number again. "Hey Brooke, it's Lucas, sorry about that hang up, there was some turbulence." He paused for her response. "Yeah, turbulence… I'm on a plane."
"A PLANE?!" Brooke shrieked, loud enough for Peyton to make out her words clearly, even with the foot of space between her and the receiver. Luke grimaced and pulled the phone away from his ear a bit. "Yeah, I'm… well Peyton and I are on our way to Vegas."
"VEGAS?! What the hell do you plan on doing in Vegas?!" she screamed. Lucas smiled a bit. "Well, I'll let Peyton tell you all about it." He said as he handed Peyton the phone. She covered the receiver with her hand. "I hate you." She mouthed. He smiled. "If you hated me, you wouldn't be marrying me." He replied softly.
She tried her best to make an angry face but couldn't help but let the smile show through. "PEYTON?!" Brooke shrieked. "Brooke, calm down, I'm here." Peyton said finally. "What the hell are you doing on a plane? And why with Lucas? And why to Vegas. Oh my god! You're going to marry him aren't you?! Jesus are you pregnant?! Peyton Sawyer, you tramp!"
Peyton rolled her eyes and Lucas tried to stifle the laugh that was forming in his throat. Brooke's shrill rasps could be heard echoing in the cabin. "Brooke, yes, I'm marrying him…" she paused and before Brooke could squeal again she cut her off. "Shut up and let me finish. I'm not pregnant, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before I left. I'm not a tramp. And Haley & Nathan won't know until they hear the message Luke left on their answering machine. Feel special you were the first to know."
She took a deep breath and waited for Brooke's response. She was expecting a lecture or at least an angry outburst but Brooke's words to her best friend surprised even Peyton.