"Just one more thing…" Brooke said as she finished dabbing the crimson gloss across Peyton's pouted lips. "Oh Brooke, come on, you have me dressed up like I'm heading off to a… to a…" she stammered.
"To you're wedding?" Brooke supplied. Peyton clamped her mouth shut. There was no use with arguing. Brooke twisted the top back on the bottle of gloss and stuffed it into the bag she had sitting on the counter. She pulled out a small bag and handed it to her best friend of nearly her entire life.
"What's this?" Peyton questioned, looking suspiciously at the little white bag in her palm. "Open it…" Brooke said softly. Peyton raised an eyebrow and poured the contents out onto her palm.
A small silver chain with a locket attached and a smooth blue stone rested on her pale skin. She looked up confused as she lifted the chain. "How did you get this?" She questioned.
Brooke smiled a weak smile. "I called your dad and had the locket over-nighted here. You're getting married Peyton… something old… It was your moms. The stone is blue, the bag is new and the clothes are borrowed." She wiped the corner of her eye. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry but… my best friend is about to get married." He voice quaked with each word.
Peyton's lips trembled and she pulled Brooke into a hug. "Oh Brooke, thank you…" she whispered softly. "What are best friends for?" Brooke replied, pulling away and wiping her eyes again. "We are not going to mess up our make up." She said firmly. "Not yet at least… we still have to make it through the ceremony and everything."
Peyton smiled. "I'm getting married Brooke…" she said softly. "To Lucas…" She let out a breath. "I can't believe that after everything, after all the drama, the tears… we're still gonna be together in the end."
Brooke laughed, the silvery sound echoed around the hotel bathroom. "Peyton, you and Lucas are meant to be together. You know that, I know that and whether he'll admit it or not, he's known it all along too."
Peyton smiled. "Well, I guess it's now or never right?" she said putting the locket around her neck and slipping the stone back into the small bag and looking around for somewhere to put it.
Brooke had loaned her a silky white dress which showed off her slender figure. It clung to her hips and the hem ended just above her knees showing off her legs. Brooke smiled and stuffed the bag into Peyton's bra. "You can always use some extra padding." She teased. Peyton rolled her eyes and turned to face the mirror.
Brooke smiled and rested her head on Peyton's shoulder. "You're beautiful…" she whispered, the warmth of her breath cascading across her skin. Peyton smiled softly at the reflection of herself in the mirror. Her curls were tight and flowing around her face, her make up perfectly applied and the dab of perfume on her neck filling the room.
She reached for Brooke's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Time to go get my man." She whispered. Brooke nodded and they emerged from the bathroom. Haley was sitting on the edge of the double bed. She glanced up and her mouth dropped as she jumped up from her perch.
"Wow… Peyton… You're… you're…" she stammered.
"Gorgeous?" Brooke completed her unfinished sentence. "She is isn't she? Amazing what's under all that angst!" she teased. Peyton playfully slapped her. "Where are the boys?" she questioned.
"They're at the chapel." Haley answered. "We're supposed to meet them there. Don't want Luke seeing the bride before the wedding." Brooke nodded. "Well let's get going, what are we standing around for? We've got a wedding to get to." She smiled and they headed out of the hotel room.
Lucas paced nervously in the waiting room of the chapel. The muffled sounds of the preacher reciting the verses to the couple ahead of him could barely be made out through the wall. Nathan looked up at him from his seat near the wall.
"Dude, you really need to calm down." He told Lucas. Lucas stopped pacing and turned towards him. He threw his hands up in the air. "Calm down? Are you serious? I just asked the girl I've loved pretty much my whole life to marry me and now we're getting married less than twenty-four hours later and…" he paused long enough to glance down at his watch. "She's running late…" he sighed.
"Lucas. She'll be here." Nathan assured his brother. "You love her, she loves you. That's all that matters right?" he got up and patted his brother on the shoulder. "Don't worry so much okay? She'll be here."
Lucas sighed. "I guess you're right." He admitted. "I'm just… worried that she'll realize I'm an ass and that I've done nothing in the past few months to show her otherwise…"
Nathan sighed. "You are an ass, but so am I, and Haley loves me anyways." He replied. "It's been Peyton and Lucas since high school, that's never going to change. You guys are always going to find your way to each other… this proves it. You're getting married man, in like half an hour." He smiled.
"Lucas?" Peyton breathed.
Nathan and Lucas snapped their heads in the direction of her voice and their mouths dropped open. "Wow…" Lucas mumbled breathlessly. "You look… amazing…"
Peyton's cheeks flushed with crimson. "I do amazing work." Brooke laughed proudly.
The doors opened and the previous couple exited as a few attendants threw rice at them. The bride smiled and the groom laughed as he held her close and left the building. Lucas and Peyton watched them leave and then glanced at each other. He linked his fingers through hers and they entered the chapel and walked towards the altar. "That's going to be us…" he smiled.
Peyton nodded and a huge smile formed across her face, the corners of her eyes crinkling. Brooke, Haley and Nathan trailed in after them and took their places on either side of the couple. The reverend smiled at them.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join…" he looked down at his paper. "Lucas Eugene Scott…" Lucas grimaced at the sound of his middle name. "And Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer in Holy Matrimony."
They turned towards each other and linked their hands together. "The bride and groom have decided to write their own vows…" he motioned for Peyton to begin.
Peyton smiled softly. "Lucas, you've changed my life…" she began. "You've seen me through the best of times… and the worst. You've helped me to learn to believe in art and music and love, even when I couldn't see the light in any of it. Someone once told me that just because you know the song is going to end doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the music… and I believe that, but I also believe that without you, there isn't any music at all…" a single tear slid down her cheek. "You told me that my art mattered, that it got you here…" she smiled. "And I want you to know that my art wouldn't even exist without you… You are my art…"
Lucas smiled and the reverend nodded towards him. "Peyton… From the day that I saw you, I knew you were my forever. I couldn't imagine seeing myself with anyone else. I couldn't see myself looking into anyone else's eyes and seeing everything that I see when I look into yours. I always wanted to write, it was always my dream, but if you didn't exist in my life, there would be no words for me to put down on paper… no dreams to make come true. You asked me once who I wanted next to me when all my dreams came true, and now… my dream is coming true. You are my dream…"
Tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes. Brooke and Haley whimpered and wiped their faces. Nathan beamed. The reverend smiled and looked down at his book. "By the powers vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride…"
Lucas smiled and brushed his hands across her cheeks, wiping the tears away with his thumbs. "I love you Peyton Sawyer…" he said with a smile. "Peyton Scott…" she corrected. He grinned and pressed his lips to hers. "Finally!" Nathan, Haley and Brooke chorused.
Lucas and Peyton broke the kiss and smiled at the group. "You act like you've been waiting for years for this to happen." Lucas teased. The attendants began tossing rice and Lucas linked his fingers through Peyton's. "Now it's time for the honeymoon." He laughed as they walked out the door.