Lucas woke up the next morning and walked past Peyton's closed door on his way to the bathroom. He'd decided, while laying awake the night before, that he'd give her space. He wouldn't push her or try to make her feel better. He'd just let her go through the emotions she needed to go through, and let her come to him if she needed to. It was going to be hard, he knew. Since he'd known her, she'd been his weakness. He'd wanted to help her through everything she'd faced from the time they were 17. She'd usually let him.

He finished his shower, got dressed, and made and eaten breakfast, and she still hadn't come out of her room. He looked at the clock and noticed it was 9:30. He sighed deeply, then grabbed his basketball and made his way towards the River Court. He needed to be alone with his thoughts, and away from her. If he was in the same house as her, he knew his plan to let her be would go out the window. So he stayed and leisurely shot around for about an hour and a half before deciding to make his way back home.

She was still in her room with the door closed.

He knew what he needed to do. She needed her best friend. He grabbed his keys and started driving towards Brooke's house, knowing she'd be home. He didn't know if Brooke would be able to get through to Peyton, but he knew she'd try.

She swung the door open after he'd knocked and was a little surprised to see him standing there.

"Luke. Hi," she said, moving aside to let him walk into the house.

"Hey Brooke."

"What's up?" she asked.

"I need your help," he said quietly, noticing the slumbering baby in the playpen in the corner of the room.

"With Peyton," she stated, smirking.

"How'd you know?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"Please. It's written all over your face," she said, kinking an eyebrow.

"What is?"

"Your 'I'm worried about Peyton' look," she pointed out with a chuckle. "I've seen that look a lot in 10 years, Luke." He shook his head. "What's going on?"

"She's completely shut down. She's in her room and hasn't come out since last night and when I saw her last, she was wearing her wedding ring," he explained.

"Dammit," Brooke said, grabbing her purse and keys off the table next to the door. "You stay with Emma. I'll be back later."

"Brooke!" he called out as she opened the door.

"I'll take care of it," she said, turning to meet his worried eyes with her own before closing the door behind her.

He sighed again as he stood in the middle of his friend's living room, hoping that Brooke would be able to get through to Peyton, and that the blonde wouldn't be upset with him for telling her best friend she needed help.

----

Brooke stalked into Lucas' house and marched straight to the door she knew Peyton was behind. She didn't knock. She didn't walk in gently with any soft words or concerned greetings. She pushed the door open hard and her heels clacked on the hardwood as she made her way to the window, pulling back the curtains harshly. Peyton watched with confused eyes as Brooke yanked back the sheets and crossed her arms on her chest, waiting for any sort of reaction or movement from her friend. There was nothing.

"Get up!" she shouted. Nothing. "Peyton Sawyer. Get your scrawny ass out of this bed right now!"

"Why?" Peyton said in a small voice, her intensity clearly not matching that of her friend's.

"Because you and I haven't spent any time together alone since you got back," Brooke said, kinking her eyebrow in that trademark Brooke Davis way.

"So what are we going to do?" Peyton asked, feigning interest. She loved her best friend dearly, but she also loved being left alone to wallow in the dark room. At least Lucas had known enough to leave her be. Then it clicked. He hadn't. "Lucas sent you, didn't he?"

"Lucas just gave me a baby sitter so I could get away for a few hours and spend some time with my best friend," Brooke said, her voice finally turning sweet instead of angry. She sat on the edge of the bed. "And you are going to shower, then we're going to the beach." She grabbed Peyton's left and and looked pointedly at the ring it held. "Then you are going to let go."

"Brooke..."

"No arguments. Get up and shower. I am not going anywhere with you looking like this, and before you give me any P. Sawyer sarcasm, no, that doesn't mean that you can stay here. Move it."

Peyton groaned and rolled onto her side to get out of the bed for the first time in over 12 hours. She walked to the bathroom and had a short shower. Brooke made the bed and chose a pair of denim shorts and a tank top for Peyton to change into when she returned.

25 minutes later, they were driving towards the ocean, salty summer breeze blowing through the open windows of Brooke's SUV. They pulled into the secluded parking lot where they always used to park as teenagers, and walked towards the beach, stopping for fresh lemonade before they slipped off their sandals and let their toes sink into the sand.

"So you want to tell me why you're wearing the ring?" Brooke finally asked.

"I just wanted to," Peyton said vaguely.

"Don't do that," Brooke insisted. "Don't be all mysterious. Tell me the real reason, Peyton."

Peyton knew she had to be honest with her friend. And herself. She took a deep breath of fresh ocean air.

"I just miss it, Brooke. Being married," she admitted. "I didn't think I'd be this attached to it, but it was so good to have that stability, you know? Knowing that someone was going to be there for you every day, and being able to take care of someone like that."

Brooke offered a sympathetic smile. "Peyton, you still have that." The blonde turned to her friend with a confused look on her face. "You have us. All of us. And I know that's not the same, but it's something. You aren't alone in this."

"I know. But it's really hard, Brooke," Peyton said, her voice breaking. "It's hard to be without him and not know where he is or how he's doing."

"Do you think he wonders that about you?" Brooke asked tentatively. Peyton was shocked at the question and took a moment to think about it.

"I don't know," she admitted quietly. "I want to say yes, but I doubt it. If he cared that much, he'd still be my husband, right?"

"Peyton, I don't want this to come out the wrong way, but I want to give you some perspective, OK?" Peyton nodded for Brooke to continue. They stopped walking and turned to face each other as Brooke spoke. "You were in love with someone for almost 5 years. He loved you back, and you had great times and great memories, and that's...great. But it's over. That's life, Peyton. And it sucks sometimes, and it's hard, and it hurts. But that doesn't mean that you have to live with that hurt forever. You can fall in love again and let yourself be happy. But you have to let go of the idea that Joshua and that marriage were the be all and end all. You are young, and you're gorgeous and successful. You've gotta pick yourself up and dust yourself off, and stop looking back on what you used to have."

Peyton wanted to cry. There was a lump in her throat, but the tears wouldn't come. Instead she smiled and pulled Brooke into her arms. She'd just heard exactly what she didn't know she'd needed to hear.

"Thank you," she said softly and smiled at her friend. Brooke flashed her dimples and was happy that she'd said the right words.

"Now, take off the ring," Brooke demanded.

"What?" Peyton asked, furrowing her brow and watching as Brooke skipped off towards the surf.

"Take off the ring!" she shouted.

Peyton followed her friend and the two stood with the tide nipping at their toes. She slid the ring off her finger and held it between her right thumb and index finger. Brooke put her arm around her friend and rubbed her arm comfortingly as the blonde took one last look at the gold band. It was supposed to be a symbol of Joshua's commitment to her, and their relationship. A promise to be with her forever and take care of her. Now it was a symbol of her own strength. She needed to let go of the ring and who she'd been when she'd worn it.

She took a deep breath and looked at Brooke and offered a slight nod. She closed her eyes and turned back to the ocean, raised her arm, and threw the ring as hard as she could into the water.

----

Brooke and Peyton drove back to Brooke's house, and Peyton felt lighter somehow. She felt like she'd said her goodbye and finally felt like she was moving on. Joshua was a part of her past that she could not erase, but she could learn from the experience. Brooke's words still echoed in her mind, but she took from them a lot more than the way Brooke had meant them. The words reassured her that she wasn't alone in this. She had her friends - they were her family - and they understood, even when she didn't think they did.

They entered Brooke's house to find Lucas sitting on the couch reading an issue of Cosmo, and Emma sleeping soundly in her playpen. He didn't even try to hide the magazine.

"What are you doing?" Brooke asked with a smirk.

"Learning 142 new ways to drive a man crazy," he said in mock interest. "It's funny what women think men like."

"You realize you're talking to two of your ex-girlfriends, right?" Brooke asked with a kinked brow.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, dropping the magazine on the coffee table and standing from the couch. "You ready to go?" he asked Peyton.

"Sure." It was the first word she'd spoken since they'd arrived. She turned to Brooke. "Thank you," she said softly. The two women hugged and Brooke threw Lucas a wink over Peyton's shoulder.

They said their goodbyes and the two blondes walked out of the house towards his Mustang. He opened the door for her and tried not to stare at her legs as she tucked them into the car. Neither of them had said a word yet. She was embarrassed about how she'd acted and wanted to apologize, but felt that apologizing would only embarrass her more.

"You want to go to the beach?" he asked after turning out of Brooke's driveway. The silence was killing him.

She started laughing, and he had no clue why.

"What?" he asked, a smile breaking on his lips at the sight and sound of the woman laughing next to him.

"Brooke and I went to the beach," she said, trying to calm herself.

"Why's that funny?" he inquired.

"I kind of...um...tossed my wedding ring into the Atlantic," she said, trying to hold back a smile.

"Wow." He could only manage one syllable. He was happy that she'd done it. He was even happier that she was happy that she'd done it.

"Luke, I'm sorry about how I acted last night and this morning. You've been amazing to me and you didn't deserve that," she said, turning to face him. She was worried that he thought less of her. He'd told her repeatedly how strong she was being, and then she acted like a child and basically threw a tantrum.

"You don't have to apologize."

"I do, Luke. Maybe you don't need to hear it, but I need to say it, OK?" she smiled at him. He was too good to her.

He looked away from the road for a moment to give her a nod.

"Let's go to our place, get bathing suits, and go to the beach," she said.

"Our place?" he asked with a smirk.

Had she said 'our place'? Why did she say that? Why would she? Sure, she was staying there, but it was his house, not theirs. She felt her face go red as he looked over at her.

"Sorry," she said meekly.

He just laughed and they drove the rest of the way in silence. Lucas couldn't wipe the smile from his face as they drove.

When they got to the house, they each went to their rooms and changed into their suits. She emerged wearing the same shorts and red top, but he could see her black bikini top tied at the back of her neck. He was in board shorts and a black wife beater, standing in the kitchen putting a couple cans of beer into a backpack with their towels.

"What's that for?" she asked.

"You can't go to the beach without beer," he said, as though he thought it was a fact she'd already know.

"You sound like Nathan," she laughed.

He threw an arm around her shoulder and they walked back to his car.

---

When they got to the beach, she laid out her towel and pulled off her tank top and shorts. Lucas was glad he was standing behind her so she wouldn't notice his staring as she stripped down. She grabbed her iPod out of her bag before laying down. She tilted her head back and noticed him there, with his shirt off and his hands on his hips. He was staring down at her, and she could tell, even through his aviators.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing!" he said, perhaps too quickly. "I'm going in."

He dropped his sunglasses next to her on her towel and took off running towards the water. She propped herself up on her elbows and watched him. The sun bounced off his skin and the muscles of his back rippled as his torso moved. She watched until as he was knee-deep in water, and then he dove beneath a wave. For the first time since she was a teenager, she acknowledged that he was gorgeous. She had always known he was attractive, but this feeling was different. She was attracted. The realization terrified her.

Lucas hadn't necessarily wanted to swim, but he needed to get away from her. It was a horrible thing to think, but he couldn't just lay next to her on the sand knowing she looked as beautiful as she did. It would have been torture.

It was official. He had feelings for her. Again.

After about 10 minutes, Lucas walked back up the beach towards her, skin glistening.

"How's the water?" she asked, as he stood over her. She shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand.

"Not bad. Here," he said, then ran a hand over his hair and knelt down, spraying her with the water that had been dripping from his head.

"Lucas!" she squealed, trying to cover herself. "This is a 200 dollar bathing suit! It's not supposed to get wet!" she joked.

He halted his actions and looked down at her. "You spent 200 dollars on a bathing suit?"

"Yeah," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Why?" he asked, laughing at her. His eyes traveled over her body once again, making note of the minimal black fabric covering her.

"Because it gets me that reaction," she teased. His face went red and he shook his head, knowing he'd been caught.

He swooped down and picked her up before she could argue or fight back. He threw her over his shoulder and she started giggling and squealing again, drawing stares and laughs from the other people on the beach.

"Lucas! Put me down right now!" she yelled as he ran towards the water. "Don't you dare!"

He waded into the water until it hit his thighs, and then, without warning, brought her down into his arms, bridal style. Their eyes met and he offered a smile. She thought he was going to set her onto her feet, so she smiled back. Time seemed to stand still for him, with her in his arms and her gaze locked on his. Only he knew what was coming next...

He tossed her into the water and started laughing hysterically.

He stood with his hands on his hips as he watched her come up for air and push her hair back out of her eyes.

"I so hate you right now," she said as she waded back towards him. The angry look she was trying to give him was hindered the the smile he saw her trying to hold back.

"What?" he asked innocently, holding up his hands.

"You are going to pay for that," she threatened. She held her arms out and pushed him backwards as hard as she could, making him fall back into the water. At the last second, he grabbed her arm and pulled her with him, starting an all out water fight.

She couldn't remember the last time she had that much fun. Pure fun. There was no heavy issue hanging over her, or lingering sadness. She realized that the last time she felt anything even close to that kind of fun was when Lucas had visited her in Chicago for the weekend. But here, at the beach on a beautiful day, splashing around like a kid again, she felt completely content, and the smile on her face was finally genuine.

"OK! OK! I surrender!" Lucas shouted, holding up his hands in defeat.

She splashed him once more while a smug grin came to her face and she started walking back to their towels. He followed her and they both sat back down to let the sun dry them off.

"Where's that beer?" she asked, reaching for his bag.

She turned her back to him and his mind wandered to how easy it would be to tug on the string at the back of her top; how that was the only thing keeping her suit in place. What was it about Peyton that suddenly made him into a teenaged boy? She tossed a can to him and he opened it and watched her take a sip of hers. His forearms were resting on his knees and the sun was warm on his back.

"We should probably head over to Nathan and Haley's soon, right?" she asked, her eyes fixed on the ocean in front of them.

"Oh. Yeah," he said absently. He could have stayed with her on that beach for the rest of the evening.

She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, surprising him. He looked down at her as the water dripped from her hair down onto his arm and back.

"What's this?" he asked softly, not wanting to ruin the moment. Her skin felt nice against his and he knew he'd miss it if she moved.

She wasn't sure why she'd done it. She just wanted to. The tanned skin of his shoulder just looked inviting to her as they sat there next to each other. She had thought about her day and the roller coaster of emotions she'd gone through, and how he was to thank for all of them. If he hadn't recruited Brooke's help, knowing she needed it, she'd still be laying in bed, wallowing in self-pity and torturing herself with the past. She didn't know how to put that into words.

"Nothing," she said quietly. She felt him let out a breathy chuckle and he took another sip of his beer.

It had been a good day.