Peyton woke the next morning with a nagging headache and awful thirst that accompanied a night drinking. She was reluctant to open her eyes and face the day ahead but her rumbling stomach left her with no choice. She rubbed furiously at her eyes as the sun streamed in through the bedroom window. Never a morning person, Peyton was finding it hard to pull herself out of slumber. Finally she rolled over, figuring she could wake Luke and they would go get breakfast somewhere. Neither could claim to be a competent cook and she really needed a big breakfast to see her through the initial stages of her hangover. As she ran her hands over the cool pillow beside her, it took her sleep addled brain a couple of minutes to realise that Lucas was no longer in bed beside her.

She dragged herself from beneath the covers and into the kitchen to find her boyfriend. The kitchen was empty but she found a glass of water sitting in the middle of the table, a wild flower picked from their back garden inside. She lifted the flower to her nose and smelled the sweet perfume, smiling at how romantic her man was. Next stop was his study but she didn't find him there either. When she finally entered their living room she saw the note he'd left her propped up on the sideboard.

Good morning sunshine,
I hope the hangover isn't too bad, I'm going to shoot around for a while, try to get rid of mine. If you get hungry you should drop in on Nate and Haley, that's what I usually do. I have a few errands to run today but I should be back for dinner. Have a great day, Love Lucas XoX

Peyton smiled while weighing the merits of a trip to Nate and Haleys, eventually deciding it was her only option unless she wanted to starve. As she was showering a disturbing thought entered her mind, throwing her into a mild panic. What if he ran into Brooke while he was out? Brooke thought she had told Lucas about Michael last night, this could be really bad. Hopping out of the shower she wrapped herself in a towel and made a beeline for her phone. She rang Lucas's number but was frustrated to hear the ringing coming from his study. What was the point of a cell phone if you left it at home? A phone call to Brooke was no more successful, her cell was switched off.

Peyton, by now fraught with worry was getting dressed faster than she ever had. Her hangover and hunger forgotten, she had to find Luke.

Arriving at the Rivercourt she found Nathan, only Nathan. As she approached him he saw the look of fear on her face.

"Sawyer, something wrong?"

"Have you seen Lucas?"

"He left about five minutes ago. Did something happen?"

"No, I just need to talk to him urgently, I'm probably just over reacting. He didn't happen to say where he was going did he?" She asked a little desperately.

"No, I assumed he was going home. Are you sure everything is alright, you look really pale?" he held his hand to her forehead to see if he could feel a fever.

"Yes....no....I don't know Nate. I really need to find him before he speaks to anyone else. If you see him can you ask him to call me straight away?"

"Sure.....bye Peyt...." he trailed off as she was already back behind the wheel of her car.

Peyton ran into Clothes over Bros, frantically searching for Brooke. Milicent was a little alarmed.

"Peyton, can I help you? Brooke's not here right now."

"DAMN IT! Sorry Millie, do you know where she is?"

"Yes, she went around to help Karen clean up from the party. You just missed Lucas, he was looking for her too."

"WHAT? Did you tell him where she was?"

"Sure. Is everything OK Peyton, you don't look well?"

"I'm fine," Peyton cried as she bolted from the shop.

Lucas pulled up in front of his mother's house. It would be a minor miracle if he could escape the house without being put on cleaning duty but he really had to talk to Brooke. He tried sneaking in through the back door so as not to attract any attention from his mother.

Luckily, Brooke was the only person in the kitchen and his plan might stand a chance of working. She was emptying half full beer bottles and sorting them for recycling. Of course she was wearing a Chanel shift dress and Jimmy Choo heels to do it. Classic Brooke Davis.

He quickly held his finger up to his mouth so she would understand they had to whisper.

She gave him a confused smile as he stepped further into the kitchen and began talking very quietly.

"Brooke, do you have any free time to help me with something later this week?"

"I have a fashion shoot in New York on Thursday but I should be back by lunchtime Friday. What can I help you with?"

"I need to plan something for Peyton's birthday and I will need you and Haley to help. Can we meet at your place around 3.30 on Friday?"

"Sure, sounds good." Brooke hesitated a moment.

"So....everything's OK with you and Peyton then? I mean, after last night?"

"What? Oh, you mean our first night living together? Things couldn't be better Brooke. Look, I need to get out of here before my Mom ambushes me so I'll see you Friday."

"Sure, see you then," Brooke gritted out, annoyance at her best friend bubbling up to the surface. She hadn't told Lucas! Of all the stupid things to do.

Brooke had moved on to loading the dishwasher when, five minutes later, Peyton burst through the door. The look on her face was enough to tell Brooke that she was trying to stop Lucas before he got to Brooke.

"You're too late, he just left," Brooke stated sternly.

"Oh god, Oh god, what have I done," Peyton collapsed into a chair, resting her head on the table.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic, I didn't tell him anything. What were you thinking Peyton?"

"Thank god, oh thank you Brooke," she exclaimed standing up and running her hands through her hair.

"Well, I'm waiting for an answer," Brooke demanded as she crossed her arms and tapped her toe on the floor.

"I put it off until this morning and he was gone when I woke up, I spent the morning chasing him around town."

"Well, now that you're here, and I just saved your ass, you can help," Brooke stated, handing Peyton a pair of yellow rubber gloves.

Lucas had spent the afternoon picking out Peyton's gift and was smiling smugly to himself on his way home from the jewellery store. She was going to be blown away by her birthday this year. He had promised never to let her doubt his love for her ever again, and he would certainly keep the promise. He remembered the final piece of the plan and turned the car around and headed for TRIC, he would need to speak to Owen about booking the club for next weekend.

Peyton arrived home that night to a quiet house and decided Lucas mustn't be home yet. She ordered take out, enough for two, and went to change into her PJ's. She was done putting off the inevitable and resolved to come clean to Lucas as soon as he got home.

As she switched on the light to their bedroom she almost jumped out of her skin with fright. Lucas had been sitting on the edge of their bed in the dark, holding a small box in his hands. The scene was achingly familiar. He looked up and into her eyes and in that moment she knew. He knew.

"Lucas....." she tried gently, walking over to sit beside him on the bed.

"Do you know what I've been doing today?" he asked with tears in his voice.
"I'm sorry Luke, I was going to tell you last night."

"I was planning your birthday Peyton. I arranged a party, a gift, and for your dad to fly in from Florida. I wanted you to have the perfect day, for this to be the start of a new us. Like we talked about in the hotel room, do you remember?"

"Yes, I remember," Peyton sobbed. She tried to reach over and take his hand but he pulled it away, still fiddling with the box.

"Do you remember what you said to me that day? That we had to be honest with each other from now on, it wasn't going to work any other way. You were right Peyton."

"Luke please, just let me explain. I didn't want to tell you in front of everyone."

"How did you meet him?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Through Brooke, he helped her with the fashion line. It was a one time thing, I swear, I never wanted to take it any further than that. I was lonely and I just wanted to feel something."

He looked at her strangely for a minute.

"Did you go out with him just for sex?"

Peyton stood up and began pacing in front of him.

"Don't do that Lucas," she warned. "You have every right to be pissed that I lied but you don't get to judge me on what I did before we got back together."

"Why the hell not, you do it all the time," he yelled. "I'm never done explaining to you my relationship with Lindsay, hell, I even wrote a book about it. At least I was in a relationship with her, not just trawling for sex like some......."

"DON'T YOU DARE FINISH THAT SENTENCE," she screamed at him. She continued in a lower tone. "I'm begging you Luke, don't say something you can't take back later."

He looked at his lap for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. They had both calmed considerably by the time he looked back up at her.

"Just answer me one thing Peyton. I was telling you last night about how meeting Michael might mean I didn't have to work with Lindsay anymore. Did you consider not telling me at all?"

Peyton looked guiltily down at the floor, tears dripping from the end of her nose. Lucas stood in front of her.

"I think you should go stay with Brooke tonight."

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