Lucas got ready for the party and couldn't help looking forward to seeing Peyton again. He had respected her wishes and had not spoken to her since the day in her office. It had been unbelievably hard; especially explaining to Lindsay why they had kept on walking when they'd seen her at the mall. Not that Lindsay had been mad, just curious. He had lived without speaking to Peyton for three years, why was it so hard now? It hadn't even been a fortnight. Deep down he knew the answer but was not ready to admit that to himself.

He hadn't been looking forward to tonight at first, the thought of not being able to go near Peyton, and having to come up with excuses why so Lindsay wouldn't get suspicious. Now Lindsay had been called back to work in New York for a couple of days and he hoped that would give him a chance to make amends with Peyton.

He had heard the band rehearsing at Tric earlier that day and couldn't wait for tonight, they sounded awesome. Peyton was really putting her heart and soul into the record label and he was so proud of her. He had always known she would succeed but he'd had a hard time making her believe it. Now she was a heartbeat away from all her dreams coming true and he wished she would let him be there when it happened. Just as a friend, he told himself.

Peyton walked into Tric as the band were finishing their sound check. She had arrived a little early to make sure the guys had everything they needed. She was probably more nervous than they were and she quickly got herself a drink. Once they were finished Peyton walked over to them and the keyboard player let out a loud wolf whistle. She blushed a little and laughed it off.

'How you guys feeling about tonight?'

'Not too bad, we've played live before so this should be a walk in the park,' explained Charlie.

'Good, it's a good crowd of people tonight so at least there won't be any hecklers,' she joked.

'Nice to know you have faith in us, why the hell would we get heckled?' Chris asked with mock outrage.

'Because you suck but you were the only band I could afford to sign,' she joked back.

They hadn't known each other very long but her relationship with the band was already very comfortable. They thought nothing of teasing each other.

'Listen, you have two sets tonight and there's also a DJ so once you're done you're welcome to join the party.'

'Thanks Peyton, how could we pass up the opportunity to have you insult us some more,' grinned Charlie.

Peyton made her way to her office to check over a few things before everyone arrived and caught her reflection in one of the stage mirrors. Maybe the wolf whistle had been accurate; she did look pretty good tonight. Brooke had made sure of that, insisting that she show Lucas what he was missing. Peyton was dreading seeing him at all.



Her hair was down in its naturally wavy state and a shade darker than she'd had it in high school. She was wearing an original Brooke Davis design, a simple white strapless dress with a gold design across the bust. It flowed out from her waist to just above her knees and she finished the look with a pair of sky high gold stilettos.

When the band was half way through the first set and the party was in full swing, Lucas finally located his blonde ex girlfriend. She was watching the band and smiling every so often at them. One of them in particular he noticed and he felt a wave of something bad come over him. Most people would recognise the feeling as jealousy but Lucas was too deep in denial for that. He watched her walk over to the DJ who had just arrived and soon they were deep in discussion. He went back to watching the band and noticed the bass player looking over towards Peyton.

Who did this loser think he was, did he really think he had a shot with Peyton? She was way too smart to mix business with pleasure and he wasn't even her type. Lucas ordered another drink and waited for Peyton to become available. His brother sat down beside him and ordered himself a drink too.

'You know, if you stare at her any harder she might just disappear,' Nathan observed with an amused tone.

'Who?' asked Lucas, his face flushing slightly.

'You only have one gorgeous, blonde ex girlfriend Luke, who do you think I'm talking about?'

'Oh, I'm just waiting until she's free; I need to talk to her.'

'You sure that's a good idea? She was pretty adamant about not wanting you in her life. That hasn't changed in a week.'

'I can't just let that be it Nathan. She was such a huge part of my life; I can't just let her walk away. I want us to be friends.'

'But that's not what she wants, why are you making this about you? Can't you see how hard it would be for her to watch you and Lindsay being a couple? Do you plan on inviting her to the wedding? That would be fun for her,' he said with a huge amount of sarcasm.

'She'll get over it Nathan, a few months from now she won't be in love with me and we'll all be friends.'

'Yeah, I can see that happening. Three years after you left her alone in a hotel room never to be heard from again and she's still in love with you. Do you really think that will just go away over night? Reverse the situation dude, what if she was the one who moved on. Would you be able to watch her and her new man be a couple, get married and have babies?'

Lucas was silent.

'Luke you have a choice to make. It's not an easy one; someone's going to get hurt either way. You can keep being stubborn, marry Lindsay and eventually realise what we already know. You love Peyton. This will mean a crappy marriage for you and Lindsay and a painful life on the sidelines for 

Peyton. Or, you can realise it now and end your engagement. Lindsay will be hurt but this is a better way of hurting her than giving her a crappy life with someone who doesn't love her the way he should. Maybe in this scenario Peyton will forgive you and you'll get everything you ever wanted. You won't know until you try. One thing is for sure, you've never shied away from doing the right thing before. Why start now?'

'Nathan...'

'All I know is the douche bag who has treated both Peyton and Lindsay like crap these last few weeks is not the brother I know. I hope he comes back soon.'

With that Nathan went to find Haley to dance.

Brooke and Peyton were sitting at a table beside the dance floor, having a great time and enjoying the cocktails. Brooke was having a great time because Owen was here, and not in the bar tender capacity. They had been talking most of the night and Brooke had finally decided to cut the act and just be herself. It had worked better than weeks of flirting had, he had asked her on a date and she was ecstatic. The fact that he wanted her and not Brooke Davis, fashion icon and all round fabulous girl made her happy.

The band had finished their set and come over to sit beside the girls. Brooke was chatting to Charlie but she kept sneaking glances at Peyton and Chris. They had been eye flirting all night and seemed to get along really well. She could see what Peyton meant about his likeness to Jake. Brooke decided that if Peyton was going to have a fling to get over Lucas/make him jealous, then this guy would be perfect for the job. She just hoped Lucas was watching them now.

Peyton was having fun; Chris was really funny but still kind of shy. His eyes were beautiful too, she could get lost in them for days. They were possibly the second best pair of eyes she had ever seen. She had made the decision to move on with her life and this guy would have been ideal if not for the fact that she was kind of his boss. Things could get messy and her label was new, she couldn't afford to take that chance. She wasn't Lindsay!

It had been a while since Peyton had been with anyone and she was starting to feel the old urges coming back. She would have to find someone else to take care of them as Chris was off limits, but she was glad to be getting her life back. She hadn't wanted a life without Lucas but you can't always get what you want. It was a lesson she had learned early in life.

Lucas sat down heavily beside Haley. He had been having a miserable time tonight. After a few drinks and a chat with Nathan he could admit that his feeling for Peyton were a lot deeper than he wanted them to be. He had made an impossible situation for himself and he couldn't see a painless way out of it. Watching Peyton with the moron guitarist hadn't been fun either. He had caught her eye a few times but she quickly turned away. No matter how good she appeared to everyone else, he could see the hurt in her eyes.

'Hales, why does it have to be so hard?'

'What's that?'

'Love,' he said simply.



'It doesn't, sometimes I think we make it harder than it has to be?'

'What do you mean?'

'Take me and Nathan for example, married and expecting a baby in high school. We didn't have to put that kind of pressure on ourselves but I wouldn't have it any other way. I think the difficult parts are what shape a relationship.'

'OK...'

'And look at you and Peyton, no end of difficult bits. That might mean you will come back stronger than ever, if you finally take your head out of your ass that it.'

Lucas could tell Haley had surpassed her 3 drink maximum; she always got harshly honest when she did.

'What if it's too difficult Hales? To break Lindsay's heart, to get Peyton back, for us to be together again.'

'If you don't want the hassle of dealing with the problems then you don't deserve her anyway. Lindsay's heart is going to get broken anyway, that was decided long ago. It's just a question of when and how. Lucas, I want to do a little test with you. Think Friends and just answer every question I ask without thinking, straight away. OK?

'OK,' he laughed.

'What do you like better on toast, Peanut butter or plain butter?'

'Peanut butter.'

'Who's a better bond, Connery or Brosnan?'

'Connery.'

'Who's the better band, Snow Patrol or Travis?'

'Travis.'

'Who's the mother of your kids, Peyton or Lindsay?'

'Peyton.'

'And we have a winner!'

The party will continue in the next chapter, please review!