Lucas had spent the last few days keeping himself busy, coaching the team, writing his book and painting the house. He hoped when Peyton came home she would appreciate his efforts. He had been a first class asshole and now his girlfriend wouldn't answer his calls. Most of what she said had been right, he was a hypocrite. He didn't understand why he expected more from her than he did of anyone else, himself included.

He knew how distraught she had been at the time she'd slept with Michael, the same frame of mind he'd been in when he had tried to kiss Brooke. No matter how much he protested that he was mad she hadn't told him, he would now admit that it was the thought of her being with someone else that had pushed him to the edge. He now understood how she felt when he was with Lindsay.

The house was starting to take shape. A worried Nathan had offered to help but Lucas needed the solitary time to think. He needed to find a way to make this right. He would lie awake at night gripped with terror that she wouldn't come back to him. That she would realise what a prick he was and decide it wasn't worth the trouble.

Though Nathan was worried about Lucas's state of mind he was pissed too. His best friend was heartbroken, again, and hiding out in Florida. Haley had urged him to look out for Lucas for the week but he worried that nobody was looking after Peyton. Sure, she was with her dad but she was an incredibly private person. She might not even tell him that something was wrong.

Lucas sat alone in the gym after practice was over, needing a moment to himself. He looked over towards the corner of the gym where the cheerleaders would practice. It felt like yesterday he would watch Peyton warming up, her mass of blond curls and chickeny legs making him smile. It had given him great pleasure to know that the mask she always wore in this gym was impenetrable to everyone but him. He used to be the only one who knew that passion and insecurity that lay beneath. She had been dating his brother but spoke to him more than she ever had Nathan. Even when he was with Brooke and she was with Jake, he knew there was something there that no-one else could touch, it was the same with him.

He had lived with the shame of being Dan Scott's bastard son and never spoke of it with anyone. Until the day her car broke down. He still wasn't sure what had caused him to unload the entire story onto her, Nathan's girlfriend, but he had and it felt good. There was something in him that had always known her as his soul-mate. Like when you recognise someone from a dream, that's how he'd felt the first time he saw her.

He was so lost in his memories he didn't hear his brother sit in the bleachers next to him.

"Man, you were pathetic back then. Always staring after her like a lovesick puppy," Nathan spoke softly.

Lucas turned to face him wearing a lost expression.

"What can I say?" he asked just as softly. "I knew she was meant for me from the first time I saw her."

"Yeah, I think she knew it too. She never put out for me again after she met you. That's why I dumped her ass," joked Nathan.

Lucas let out a short burst of pained laughter.

"She dumped your ass Nate, after you wrapped her car around a lamp post."

"Yeah, I wasn't exactly boyfriend of the year back then. I know we laugh about it now but I do have regrets about the way I treated her. She deserved better," observed Nate, not even trying to hide the meaning in his statement.

"I know," admitted a shamed Lucas, staring at his feet. "Back then all I could think was she was too good for you. That if I had a chance with her I'd never let her down like that, I'd make her feel special. Now look at us."

Nathan put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Luke, I can't give you much advice on how to fix this. All I'll say, as a brother and a friend is this, grand gestures and romantic speeches are great. They're what you're good at but they can't solve every problem. You and Peyton are both really good at pretending to talk about things, without ever really going deeper than your comfortable with. I know you both say you're over the past but your not, how can you be? Your history is huge, don't ignore it. It will come back to bite you in the ass."

"What if it's too hard Nate?" Lucas asks desperately. "I'm scared that if we keep talking about it she'll realise that she doesn't forgive me, what then?"

"I don't know man, but you have to take the chance. If you don't, every little fight is going to blow up in your face, because there is always something else behind it."

Lucas was silent for a while, taking his brother's words on board. "Do you know when she'll be back?" Lucas asked hopefully.

"Tuesday," Nathan said reluctantly. "I'm picking her up from the airport."

Peyton sat on her father's porch, scribbling furiously on her pad. Her need for her art had been reawakened in the last few days, she had always found it incredibly cathartic to get her feeling out onto paper. It was one of the many ways she identified with Lucas. She had spent the her time here wallowing. She hadn't spoken to her dad about what had happened but Larry knew his daughter well. She was in pain and she would let herself feel it for a while, before suppressing it and acting like it was never there. She was exactly the same as he was, and he knew it would only lead to more pain.

Larry came out onto the porch carrying two cups of coffee and sat down next to her. She smiled her thanks at him before taking a mouthful. She went back to her drawing, as he knew she would.

"Peyton, honey, we need to talk about what is going on," he said softly. She stopped drawing and looked at him a little frightened.

"Dad, I'm OK. I just wanted to visit you for a little while. I'll be gone on Tuesday."

"Sweetie, it's not a problem that you're here," Larry said emphatically. "I just can't stand to see you hurting. Can you tell me what's wrong?"

Peyton let out a deep sigh, considering his question.

"It's just.....Lucas and I. We're having a hard time keeping it together. You'd think after all the time we wasted not being together we'd be able to let the stupid stuff go."

Larry smiled at her, pleased she had confided.

"I'm guessing that when you fight, it feels like there is something else going on, something bigger lurking behind every word. Am I right?"

Peyton nodded her head, confused at how he could know.

"Peyton, I don't want you to be offended but you are exactly like me," he chuckled. "You bury all your hurt way too deep and it needs to come out somehow. Now your mother, she was like Lucas. She was a romantic alright, and we clashed sometimes. But there is nobody in the world I would rather have clashed with."

Peyton smiled, her father's eyes always lit up when he spoke about her Mom.

"I keep telling him, and myself, that I forgive him for everything. But I don't think it's exactly true daddy," she said in a small voice.

Larry put his arm around her and she rested her head on his chest.

"Honey, do you love Lucas?"

Peyton nodded her head furiously against his chest, too choked to speak.

"And does he love you?"

She nodded again.

"Then the rest is crap. You can say "I forgive you," it's just words. It might take years to put the past behind you. That doesn't mean you can't work on what you have now. I've never seen you glow like you do with him, it's like me with your mother. That's worth fighting for."

"Thanks daddy," Peyton said with a watery smile.

"And do me a favour, if you're going to make up, do it now. No point in putting these things off. Your Mom and I had a stupid argument the day she had her accident. I've spent almost twenty years regretting that I didn't get the chance to take back what I said."

Peyton hugged him with all she was worth, he'd never told her that before. "Dad, did you know Mom was the one the first time you met?"

Larry laughed heartily at the suggestion.

"I'm afraid to burst your bubble honey, she thought I was an idiot. I rode a motorcycle and skipped school while she was class president."

Peyton smiled, it reminded her of Nathan and Haley.

"But that's how we felt about you," he added. " When we went to see you in the nursery at the hospital, there must have been twelve babies in that room. No-one needed to tell us which one you were, we knew straight away you were ours."

Peyton hugged him once more before standing up and heading towards the house.

"I'm going to call him."

"Good girl."

Sorry it's been a while, PC problems. Please review!