A/N: In the words of Lauren Eliza, 'Le gasp!' 41 reviews! (big cheesy grin on my face) You guys are too much! :)
Love love love to all my reviewers. You have far exceeded my expectations, but you have also raised the bar, so be prepared the next time I have two chapters ready at the same time to respond the same. :)
Lauren Eliza- I used their nicknames in Chapter 5 because I didnt want you guys to catch on too quickly, and I think that kids named Anna and Keith would have been dead giveaways. Plus, I think it is also cool because Peyton is still who she was underneath of it all, and it was her remembrance of Brooke's influence breaking through the amnesia (Brooke nicknames everybody). Plus, I'm a nicknamer, so I love giving characters nicknames and coming up with back stories of why they have that name.
RJ- I hope this chapter clears things up for you a little bit. :)
randi-jane- lol, no offense taken. If I were a reader, I'd be mad at me too! But as an author, I just can't resist cliffy's! They come about because you need a way to break the chapters. In a book its fine because you just turn the page, but in fanfic it sucks because you dont know when the next chapter is coming. So be mad all you want, but keep reading and reviewing! The suspense will be over soon, I think :)
tooky close pin- Im glad you decided to give it a chance! :0
Lucas4EverPeyton- hmmm, maybe I can incorporate a real Lindsay slap in the fic. If I did, who do you want to slap her? (it has to be a woman, I dont condone men hitting women, under any circumstances)
HilaireisLovely- Peyton had a parachute on, she was just blown off course before she could pull it open. So she did parachute down, just in a different area, because if she had fallen, she really would be dead. It will all be explained eventually.
Cayt326- nope, no clues Peyton was pregnant before the crash. It will be explained eventually
Annie- you have got to PM me your clue, cause you've got me in suspense! Oh how the tables have turned. If its good, and I havent already thought of it, I may be able to incorporate it into the fic (giving you credit of course).
LPLover- I can respect your feelings on Lindsay. She is not a big part of any chapter, so I encourage you to go back -once Leyton is fluffy again and you can handle it- and read the chapters you missed, unless you hate Lucas angst. Then I would say just start at chapter 5 and keep it goin.
BrucasLeyton4ever- I almost missed your question. They are Lucas' kids. They are 3 and she disappeared four years ago. It will be explained eventually.
On to the chapter you guys earned!
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Chapter 7 Bonnie and Clyde Scoyer
'Peyton is alive...Peyton is alive.' The words stayed on repeat over and over in his head as he wandered the streets of Honey Grove.
'Peyton is alive...Peyton is alive.' He seemed stuck on the phrase, not able to pull his mind past that life changing realization.
'Peyton is alive.'
He didn't understand how he could feel such overwhelming happiness and crushing pain at the same time over such a small statement, but it was there. He wanted to shout his joy from the rooftops and sink to his knees and give into the despair. There were so many emotions coursing through him at once, all he could do was walk it out, to ease the tight feeling he had in his body from the need to express what was inexpressible.
'Peyton is alive.' He stopped at the bank of a stream, not even realizing he had wandered onto a forest trail path in his dazed musings. Putting his hand in his back pocket, he pulled out the picture of the two of them, the picture that was both his saving grace and his downfall. It was no wonder no one could find Peyton Sawyer, because she had assumed what she thought was her identity, that of one Bonnie Scoyer, other half of Clyde Scoyer. She spent 4 years searching for a man that didn't exist, believing she was a woman that was a figment of imagination for two teenagers who needed to escape the reality of the world of dead uncles and psycho stalkers.
Flashback- Honey Grove Prom, 4 years ago
He and Peyton were the last in line to take their picture, following behind Nathan and Haley as they posed, Nathan's hand resting on Haley's belly, Haley's hand covering his as they stood slightly to the side and smiled brightly at the camera. The photographer, an awkward young man, short and skinny and dressed in a blue ruffled tux as if it were his prom, asked for their names so they could be placed on the pictures for the archives.
"Nathan and Haley Scott." Nathan said.
"And what's your last name?" The man said, pushing his glasses back on his nose as he peered up at Nathan.
"Scott?" Nathan said, his voice raising in a question as if he were saying, 'duh!'
At the poor guys look of confusion, he slowly explained, "We're married?"
"Oh. Yeah. Ok. Sorry." The guy stuttered.
Peyton stifled a laugh into Lucas' suitcoat. He joined her, leaning his head down to whisper, "It doesn't get old, does it?" People were always confused by two happily married teenagers, everywhere they went.
She shook her head, still smiling widely as it was their turn, the guy telling them to pose for the camera. She stood in a pose she had taken often in everyday life, one arm around Lucas' waist and the other bent at the elbow, resting on his chest as she toyed with a button on his coat. The only difference was, instead of having her body pressed against his, it was turned slightly outward, and instead of looking into his eyes, they were both looking at the camera, smiling widely, eyes still twinkling from the mirth that remained from laughing at Nathan and Haley, and from the joy and contentment they felt being with each other, finally able to act and express the emotions they had hidden for so long.
Still feeling comical, when the man asked for their names, Lucas cut off Peyton to tell the man, "Bonnie and Clyde Scoyer."
The man didn't blink, just wrote down exactly what was said, having been embarrassed the time before by Nathan. From now on he was going to mind his own business. If people had different last names, they would give them to him. Otherwise, he was done making assumptions.
As they walked away, Peyton pulled him aside. "Good call on the names Mr. Scott." she said laughing as he shushed her, looking around as if he were afraid someone would hear her.
Eventually he chuckled and gave up the game. "Well, Whitey did coin us first. And we are dressed for the part, and breaking into a prom in the middle of Texas. I thought it was appropriate."
"Where'd you get the last name from?" Peyton asked, confused, as he pulled her in close to dance to the slow jam that was currently playing.
"Scott and Sawyer of course." He grinned down at her.
"Scoyer." Peyton mused. "Genius!" she looked up at him, her eyes softening. "Though I wouldn't have minded sharing your last name."
Lucas lowered his head, hovering above her lips as he whispered. "Don't worry, you'll get your chance someday."
And their lips gently met in a kiss of promise, for a future they both were sure would come. Someday.
End flashback
He couldn't escape the guilt he felt- of giving up on her, of believing she was dead, of not saving her, of moving on. After all this time she had never given up on 'him,' holding fast to a man she didn't even have memories of, because of a picture that showed them united, happy and in love. He traced their faces as they beamed at the camera- it practically jumped out of the picture, the emotions they felt for each other.
And while she waited patiently for the opportunity to reunite with her lost love, he had found comfort in the arms of Lindsay, and denied any feeling that was left in his heart for one Peyton Sawyer. But he knew it was a lie. A lie he had told so often it was commonplace, because he didn't have her there to remind him.
"Its always gonna there isn't it? You and me?
He gripped his head in his hands and let the tears fall, tears of joy, of pain, of relief, of guilt, of anger, of sadness. He was sad he had lost so much time with her, angry that she was here the entire time and he had never thought to look in Texas, which was right next to New Mexico- though Honey Grove was several hundred miles in. Guilty because he had given up the search. Relief that she was alive, and he had finally found her. He could go on processing all the different emotions he felt, but what he needed to do was pull himself together and find her.
Fate had given him back everything it had taken away, everything he had ever dreamed of and didn't think to hope for anymore, and what did he do? He had run from it. But no more. He had lost his love once in death, thinking they had all the time in the world to be together.
He had learned his lesson. Tomorrow was never guaranteed, so he couldn't be afraid to go after what he wanted. He had Peyton back. Whatever uncertainty lay ahead, he wasn't willing to lose her another time. Never again in this lifetime, no matter what he had to do, no matter what it cost him.
Never again.
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Bonnie was devastated. She couldn't believe that after years of searching for answers, it was over. Lucas Scott, her only hope of finding the answers she sought, was silent on what he knew about her past, if he even knew anything. She was left no better off meeting him than where she was before- scratch that. She was worse off, having lost her picture,the only link she had to her past (which he had kept when he walked away), and her hope, because it was still possible that he knew something, but if he did, he wasn't sharing. At this point, she would have preferred him telling her that he didn't know anything about Clyde, because that would be better than the feeling that she had been stonewalled from information that she had a feeling was out there.
She wanted to run after him, to demand some answers- to demand her picture back- but it was too late. She had made her way out of the children's section, following him after she had detached her twins from the legs they were holding onto and made sure they were safe with the store attendant. But it wasted precious time, and when she made it to the main part of the bookstore, he was nowhere to be found.
She saw Lindsay talking to the proprietor of the store, but she was wary of the woman who threatened to call the police on her- she couldn't ask her where the man she wasn't supposed to talk to had gone, and from the looks of it, even she had not noticed that he had left.
Dejected, she gathered up the twins and headed home. Faking a smile, she did her best to hold in her emotions as she listened to their chatter all the way home, about the bookstore, about the ice cream, about the man named Lucas Scott who was so much fun; the man who played with them. It wasn't often they interacted with a man.
She forced out a "That's wonderful," as they gushed about the man who had stolen her last lead on who she suspected was her children's father, on what may have been the love of her life. He was out there somewhere, worried about where she was, maybe even thinking she was dead, and this Scott man had the power to change all that, but he had turned his back. Maybe Clyde didn't know she was pregnant the day she went missing- maybe he knew and now was not only missing her, but the child he thought she was going to have.
She acknowledged in some ways that she was the lucky one. She had no memories of Clyde beyond the picture, and knew intellectually that they must have been happy, but it was all mental, not emotional. She couldn't miss what she never had, and her memories started in a hospital room on the borders of Texas four years ago. Her children filled her memories and were her joy, so she could imagine what Clyde was going through because she knew how she would feel if they went missing, but that was the extent of it.
Her husband was out there somewhere, missing his wife, possibly missing his child, and living with that everyday. She felt for him, and wished she could ease his pain, though after 4 years she wondered if she was even the same girl he knew.
Regardless, she had to find him, to give him that surcease, to give her children back their father, to fill in the gaps of the first 18 years of her life, and to ease the suffering of the man that was out there waiting. It was possible he had given up on finding her and had moved on, but he deserved to know about his children. And that thought forced Bonnie to realize that she could not give up until all hope was gone and all avenues were exhausted.
And as they entered the house- she consoled herself with one small glimmer that remained to her. There was still tomorrow.
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It was almost 7 when Lucas made his way back into town. He thought briefly of Lindsay, knowing she was probably out of her mind with worry, since he hadn't told her he was leaving. But at this moment, he couldn't muster up the energy to care. All of his efforts were focused now on finding Peyton.
'Peyton is alive.' He couldn't help the grin that continued to snake across his face every time the thought flitted through his brain, as that knowledge sunk into his heart, soothed the ache in his chest, and filled the missing pieces of his soul.
The bell tinkled as he entered the diner, the place were it all began, even if he hadn't known it at the time. And to think, if he had run after Bonnie that afternoon- he shook his head ruefully. To be honest, he probably would still be here, about to ask the owner where he could find her, because he would have run away then too.
He walked up to the counter, searching the name tags for the one that read 'owner,' when he was tapped firmly on the shoulder. He turned to face the snapping brown eyes of a beautiful woman, her dreadlocks in curly waves down her back, her mocha complexion smooth even in the harsh light of the diner.
"Who do you think you are, mister?" the woman said, forcefully, "Taking something that doesn't belong to you?"
"I'm sorry," Lucas said apologetically. "But I don't know you. I think you have the wrong man."
"Are you or are you not Lucas Scott?" she said, as she began to tick off on her fingers.
"Did you or did you not have a book signing today at the bookstore?"
"I did." He said, bemused. He definitely would have remembered this woman, but she wasn't there, so he had no idea where she was going with this.
"Did you or did you not take a picture that Bonnie Scoyer had given you of her and her husband from 4 years ago?" she said, finishing her points and placing her hands on her hips.
"Her husband?" Lucas said, confused. They weren't married. But the light went on- of course! Same last names.
As he worked it out in his head, the woman before him began to tap her foot impatiently.
"Its not rocket science you know. Either you took the picture or you didn't. And Bonnie said you took the picture, and she's not a liar, so you either give me the picture now, or my next stop is the police station."
Lucas blinked, her words pulling him out of his thoughts. "That's not necessary. I was actually about to ask someone here where I could find her so I could give her her picture back. I didn't mean to take it earlier in the store, and I wanted to return it and apologize."
"Oh, well, good." She said, anger deflating mid-tirade, allowing her hands to relax at her sides. She held out a hand. "You can give it to me- I live with her, so I can pass it on for you."
"Actually," Lucas said hesitantly, unsure of her reaction. "I was wondering if you could take me to her? I wanted to answer the questions she had for me."
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It was feeding time at the zoo. Well, dinner time at the Scoyer/Mosely household. Feeling a bit drained from the rollercoaster of a day, Bonnie had relaxed the rules and the kids were taking full advantage of it. Anna wanted to feed baby Tony, who wanted to feed himself, so he would close his mouth stubbornly when Anna tried to give him the food, shaking his head or batting the spoon out of the way, spilling mashed carrots and potatoes all over the place.
Keith was helping in his own way, alternating between coaxing Tony to open his mouth, "Tony, open youwa mouth, here comes the twain!", and getting into the sound effects, stompig around the room, pretending he was the train, and shouting "All Aboawd!"
At this Tony would giggle and clap his hands, relaxing his mouth enough for Anna to get a scoop in and crow triumphantly, which gave way to a happy dance, in which she would lay the spoon down and wiggle, throwing her hands in the air and shouting, "I did it, I did it!"
Tony would take this opportunity to pick up the spoon and dig into the plate, sliding more mashed potatoes off the plate than on the spoon, and only getting half of the spoonful of food into his mouth, the other half making its way down the front of his shirt, or in his hair, or on some other part of his body.
Bonnie sat in a chair, watching the kids and their antics, cracking a smile at the goofiness they displayed. She needed this. She needed the reminder that she had not lost everything, she had just lost a picture. She could see Clyde's face every time she looked into Keith's face, so she didn't need a picture for that. And she had done all she could to find Clyde, both for him and for her kids- she had to be content in the attempt, since it was out of her hands.
Her kids made her smile, they filled her life with laughter and happiness, and that was more than most people had. Messes could be cleaned up, and to be honest, a messy kitchen was a small price to pay for a moment like this.
She heard the key turn in the lock and called out, "We're in the kitchen!" to Tonya, who had said earlier she was going out for a minute. They both knew where she was going- to find a certain Lucas Scott, since Bonnie had told her the whole story of what happened in the bookstore. Bonnie knew it was an exercise in futility, but she allowed Tonya to go, because that was something Tonya needed to realize for herself. The man wouldn't talk if he didn't want to, and a faded picture wasn't worth the confrontation, when she could go into the school archives and get another copy made. A hassle, but not impossible.
Bonnie smiled as Tonya entered the kitchen. "Any luck?" Bonnie said, her expression turning to one of shock as she took note of who followed Tonya into the kitchen.
"Mister Scott!" Anna crowed, dropping the spoon and running toward him.
"Mistew Scott?" Keith said, dropping his arms and stopping his train sounds to follow his sister over to the blond man that stood in the doorway. "Lucas!" he shouted as he ran, not having received the admonition from Lindsay to call adults by their last names.
Lucas looked down as his legs were ambushed by the twins, one on each leg as if they had done this before and had their synchronization down pat. He closed his eyes at the feel of their tiny arms encircling his legs in a hug, as he laid his hand on each other their heads in greeting, scared to do more in fear of frightening them with the intensity of the emotions that poured through him.
'His.' his heart whispered, as it broke at the time he had lost with them and rejoiced at the unexpected miracles they were to his life.
He opened his eyes and caught those of Bonnie's from across the room, unable to read the emotions that flitted across them. Anger? Relief? Apprehension?
He made his way to her, a twin on each leg, reached into his pocket, and pulled out her picture. "I think I have the answers you're looking for."
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I know I know. But each chapter should be 5 pages, and this one is already 7, so I had to stop it somewhere. Next chapter will be Leyton conversation.
Ok, since a new chapter cant be an incentive this time (I cant guarantee when it will be up), I have some questions that'll help you review and predict what will happen next.
How does Bonnie react to Lucas' revelation?
Who does Lucas tell first that Peyton is alive?
Did Lindsay know she was turning away Peyton?
What will Lucas do about Lindsay?
Will Peyton go to Tree Hill or will Lucas move to Honey Grove?
That's it for now. REVIEW