CHAPTER 16

Lucas smirked against Peyton's lips as she gave a giggle. Peyton Sawyer giggle? He hadn't heard it before, but it made him somehow feel elated, it was the sweetest sound and it made him smile as he pressed his lips to hers once.

A knock at the bedroom door interrupted them and Peyton groaned.

'Can't anyone leave us alone for more than five minutes?' Lucas growled.

The door opened a smidgen and two heads popped through, Brooke and Haley. They were both wearing identical grins on there faces.

'They look like the floating heads on Friends.' Peyton said laughing.

Lucas smirked and looked at her affectionately, a hand moving to her cheek. 'You're such a dork.'

'Oh please, like you don't watch Friends.'

Lucas shook his head, his smirk growing.

'Luke, don't lie. He knows The One with the Stripper practically off by heart!' Haley joined in laughing as the two stepped into the room, closing the door behind them.

'I do not!' Lucas said defensively. Peyton looked at him with her eyes raised; he couldn't lie to those eyes. He frowned. 'All right, maybe. But I have you know, fat Monica is hilarious!' He finished with a note of defiance in his voice.

Peyton, Brooke and Haley cracked up laughing leaving a very un-amused Lucas to look at them contemptuously. Peyton looked sideways at him in the middle of her laughter and sobered up a bit,

'I'm sorry. But Luke, you're such a girl.' She said bursting into laughter once more.

'I think I'm going to leave before Haley admits anything else. You have officially lost your status of best friend.' He glared at Haley, his lips twitching slightly as if he was actually going to smile.

'Sorry. You can say something embarrassing you know about me.' Haley said, a grin still attached firmly to her lips.

Lucas smirked. 'Interesting, all right then… did you know that Haley gets freaked out every time she sees that advert for Cadburys Crème Eggs.'

Peyton raised her eyebrows and turned to Haley. 'Seriously?'

'It's chilling okay! One minute the egg's there, the next…it's gone. Plus it's all dark and… oh shut up!' She finished as Lucas, Peyton and Brooke cracked up once more.

'I'm so glad none of you have any dirt on me, else this could turn nasty.' Peyton laughed.

'Give it time.' Brooke winked.

'Anyway, I'm sensing you might want me out of the way so I'm gonna go.' Lucas said sitting up on the bed and pushing himself upright into a standing position. He leaned down and cupped Peyton's cheek before pressing his lips to hers, not caring that Brooke and Haley were both in the room.

'See you later, I guess.' He smiled giving her another short kiss before moving towards the door opening it and then winking at her before he disappeared shutting the door behind him.

Peyton let herself fall back onto the bed, her cheeks tinted pink and a wide grin on her face.

'Dude, pass me a bucket.' Brooke said smirking.

'I know. It's quite sickening. Really.' Haley smiled.

'Was there a reason you two came up here, or is it just to make fun?' Peyton asked.

'Actually we wanted to hear all about you and Lucas.' She smirked.

'What do you want to know?' Peyton asked sighing slightly; she knew this was going to happen eventually.

'Well, how long has this been going? How did it happen? Why haven't you told us before now? Why did you just let us find out last night? Are you, like, a proper couple or just a 'fling' so to speak? What's going to happen after the summer? Where's it going?'

'Woah!' Peyton said holding up her hand to stop Brooke's questions mid-flow. 'I can only answer one at a time.'

Peyton took a deep breath as Haley and Brooke sat down on the bed next to her.

'Ok it's been going on for a week and a bit now…'

'Over a week!' Haley exclaimed.

'If I have to answer all of these questions it would be better if I could-'

'Right, yeah sorry.' Haley said grinning.

'Ok so yeah… it happened one night. Lucas had been coming into my bed for a few nights-'

'He'd been what?!' Brooke exclaimed.

'What did I say about interrupting?! Anyway it wasn't like that. He'd been coming in and we'd been talking, it started off where we both just couldn't sleep but then we made it a regular thing. Anyway one night i… we'd… been…talking and then suddenly we kissed and he was telling me how he had feelings for me and I was shocked, and at first I didn't know what to do…but then we kissed again and it all felt really…right.'

'Awww.' Haley said a smile on her lips.

'Let me guess… then you had amazing sex and-'

'Hate to break your bubble but…no.' Peyton said smirking.

'Oh.'

'Anyway, so that was how it happened and then…to be honest I don't know why we didn't tell you guys. It was all so new…and exciting… and we were getting to know each other more…'

'I bet you were.' Brooke said cocking an eyebrow and smirking.

'Brooke, get your mind out of the gutter.' Haley scolded and Peyton smirked.

'And no we didn't plan last night, are you crazy! Did you for one second think I wanted you to find us there…'

'Making out in practically no clothes?' Brooke helped.

'Uhuh.' Peyton said closing her eyes.

'Ok, lets not relive it…' Haley said patting Peyton's knee.

'Thanks Hales.' Peyton said opening the eyes again.

'Although I have to say, it looked pretty hot from where I was standing, definitely more than a make out…' She smirked.

'Definitely.' Brooke added and Peyton groaned.

'Anyway we can get to that later…'

'Please, lets not.' Peyton replied wryly.

'Answer the other questions.' Haley said.

'I've forgotten them already. You two keep distracting me.'

'Or maybe it's the vision of Lucas in his boxers distracting you.' Brooke smirked and even Peyton laughed.

'He is seriously hot.' She smirked.

'Okay, please…he's my best friend.'

'Oh now who's uncomfortable?' Peyton laughed. 'So seriously, what were the other questions?'

'Are you, like, a proper couple… or a fling…or? What's going to happen after the summer? Where's it going?' Brooke reeled off straight away.

Peyton sighed again. 'Well I guess we're a couple. I don't think we're a fling and about going back to LA… I have no idea. I'm just going to take it a day at a time, as to where it's going… we've been together just over a week, we're not about to get married Brooke.' Peyton laughed.

'That's true. Not everyone's Naley.' She laughed and as Peyton caught on she laughed too.

'Now I have a question. How the hell did you know we were in the kitchen?' Peyton asked.

'We heard you moaning…' Brooke laughed before Peyton picked up her pillow and whacked her with it.

'Shut up, I was not!'

'No you weren't…but…well that's quite easy to answer really. I guess it all started with Chase. He told me about seeing you two kissing on the stairs…'

'I knew he saw that!' Peyton exclaimed, frowning.

'Kissing on the stairs? When was this?' Haley asked interested.

'You'll see. Well he told me… and I sort of took matters into my own hands…'

Everyone had gone to bed an hour ago. The moonlight shone through a bedroom window and illuminated Brooke in her pyjamas peering intently through a key hole. She'd dragged Rachel into the room with her, and had woken up Nathan and Haley abruptly, who'd been fast asleep. She'd nearly got hit on the head with a baseball bat for sneaking up on them, Nathan had picked it up without a seconds thought and Brooke had to yell out that it was her before he'd lowered the thing, rubbing his eyes.

'Brooke seriously, what the hell is this?' Haley asked and Nathan who was lying in bed trying to get back to sleep groaned.

'I'm waiting and watching.'

'For what, Sherlock?' Rachel said as she leant against the door.

'And why does it have to be in my room.' Nathan grumbled.

'You are opposite Lucas and Peyton's rooms.' Brooke muttered in a tone of explaining one plus one equals two.

'So?' Haley asked bewildered.

'You'll see.' Brooke smirked turning back to the keyhole. Minutes later she said excitedly, 'Peyton's just come out of her room.'

'Okay, if I realised I was bringing a slightly psycho stalker into my house I wouldn't have offered you come Brooke.' Rachel said looking slightly alarmed.

A few minutes later Brooke grinned nearly squealing with delight and said, 'Bingo.'

'Brooke, will you get out? I'm trying to sleep.' Nathan groaned in frustration.

'Right, Lucas has just left his bedroom too and gone down stairs.'

'And this means…?' Rachel asked giving Brooke a look that clearly thought she was going mad.

'Obviously it means that he's gone for a drink of water.' Haley answered rolling her eyes.

'Follow me.' Brooke said opening Nathan and Haley's door and tip- toeing silently down the hall towards the stairs.

'Are you going?' Rachel asked.

Haley got up and followed Brooke.

'I want to see what's got my friend going all Sherlock Holmes on us.' She answered rolling her eyes, Rachel followed smirking. They reached the stairs and went down slowly, Brooke looked into the living room and didn't see anything but she heard a clatter from down by the kitchen and beckoned the other two to follow her. Rachel and Haley looked at each other in the dim light and raised their eyebrows at Brooke's peculiar behaviour. They reached the kitchen door and stood cluttered behind it silently. There were two figures in the kitchen, and when they heard them speak they knew who they were. Lucas and Peyton, in the kitchen in the dead of night.

'So that is how we knew.' Brooke finished.

'Right. Did you have to come and spy, couldn't you have just asked?' Peyton asked incredulously.

'Where's the fun in that?' Brooke asked, sneering.

Peyton rolled her eyes and Haley laughed. 'Didn't we tell you this was going to happen?!'

'Erm… no.' Peyton smirked.

'Yes we did…' Haley said thinking back before snapping back to the present. 'Anyway even if we didn't tell you, we all knew it would.'

'Yeah, the sexual tension could only have gone on for so long.' Brooke smirked.

'Sexual tension…there wasn't any… you know what there is actually no point in arguing about this.'

'That's smart Sawyer.' Haley smiled. 'So you're happy?'

Peyton smiled despite herself and said, 'It's weird to say it seeing as I've been here for only a month, but… I really am.'

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Lucas stepped out of the room and shook his head as he heard some giggling. Girls. He smiled, thinking about what he could possibly do now, he slowly made his way downstairs and into the living room, Nathan was sitting on the couch alone, apparently thinking. Lucas sat himself down next to him and Nathan turned, Lucas had to stifle a laugh at the obvious bruising under his eye.

'Hey Nate, where's the guys?'

'They've gone to rescue the canoes from the lake.' Nathan chuckled a little.

Lucas laughed. 'I can't believe my girlfriend gave you a black eye.'

Nathan smirked. 'So, how come you didn't tell your own brother about the two of you?'

Lucas rolled his eyes, a smirk on his face. 'I… well I guess there's no excuse really.'

'Damn right there isn't!'

'All I have to say is that I wanted her all to myself for a bit before we told all of you, can you blame me really?' Lucas smiled.

'I suppose I can forgive you for that.' Nathan smiled bumping fists with his brother.

'So where is little miss kick ass?' Nathan smirked.

Lucas sighed, 'Nate, she really feels bad about it.'

'Dude, in a fight she would totally kick ass, it's not a bad thing!'

'I know.' Lucas smiled. 'But she feels terrible.

'All right, I won't mention it again… so where is she?'

Lucas folded his arms with a slight frown. 'Haley and Brooke barged into the bedroom and made me leave.'

Nathan laughed, shaking his head. 'Girls, anyway you've had almost two weeks of time spent together so what's half an hour gonna matter really.'

'Ok, firstly do you even know your own wife? And secondly Brooke Davis, the Queen of Gossip. They will keep Peyton talking for hours, literally. I know it sounds weird but I guess I just want to spend time with her…' Lucas shrugged, a little uncomfortable.

'You're still in the blissed out stage right?' Nathan asked helpfully.

'Yeah.' Lucas nodded.

'You are so whipped.' Nathan smirked patting Lucas on the shoulder.

Lucas just smiled until Nathan finished with,

'So early on as well… Peyton Sawyer has a gift!'

'Dude, shut up or I'll give you another black eye.' Lucas smirked as Nathan laughed but moved a little further along the couch as if he knew that'd Lucas would do it. Lucas smirked shaking his head and wondering for maybe the fiftieth time how long the girls would take, he fleetingly thought of LA and felt his smile droop slightly... then he pushed it quickly to the back of his mind. It was best not to dwell on that, he thought uneasily.

I know it's been ages, and i'm sorry. I've sort of lost a bit of motivation for this and i think it's because i have bits formed out in my head and some written down, it's just getting from A to B so to speak... plus the shed load of work college gives me doesn't let me spend much time on the story at the moment. But i'm trying to write with the spare moments i do have, saying that however i feel as if my writing lately isn't as good as i hope it to be. I don't know why, but this is why i'm hesitant to upload a new chapter, because i don't think it's good enough. I've uploaded this though because it's nearly two weeks and that's way too long. I think the storyline is going to move more rapidly from now on as i feel i'm kind of stuck in one place. Also internet troubles haven't permitted me to upload a chapter either!! But now it's here. Phew. Hoped you like it, it's not my best. But i did try.

609- I did not expect Peyton/Julian's relationship!! That was a shock, i thought they'd just had a fling or something. But i'm kind of glad they have a little substance although at the end when Peyton was like 'we were in love!' I was equally shocked, like what!! It was a surprise but i enjoyed the flashbacks and if there were no LP then Peyton and Julian would probably be a cute couple. But as there is LP there's not a chance really :P What did you all think?

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed, sorry again for the long wait and please review because they make me smile :)!