Chapter 17 Feels like Falling in Love

He took her line dancing. Someone must have told him that she loved country music, maybe even that she loved to dance. Even better than that, he took what they said to heart and brought her to a place that she would enjoy. And she began to wonder if memories that weren't remembered could still be felt, because all of a sudden, she was madly, and deeply, in love with Lucas Scott. Because he knew her.

Maybe Haley was right when she said that favorite colors didn't matter when it came to love. Maybe Brooke was right when she said the heart wants what it wants, and that people who were meant to be together will always make it in the end.

Maybe. But Peyton needed her heart and her head to be in the same place. And though the heart jumped for joy at being near Lucas Scott, her head reminded her that she didn't really know him, and that it wouldn't hurt to take things one step at a time. If it was real, the feelings that she felt, like the ghost of a memory she couldn't quite put her fingers on, then it would still be there after she learned his favorite color, and spent time with him doing what he liked to do on a Saturday afternoon. Things she as of yet had no knowledge of.

But she was willing to learn.

They sat and talked and listened to Keith Urban and Brad Paisley croon about golden roads and writing letters, and learned a little more about each other. He learned that mornings were now her favorite time of day, because the twins would wake up too early and crawl into bed with her for '5 mo' minutes', that turned into thirty. She learned that he really loved having a relationship with his brother, and he was glad that Keith had Anna, because he really hated being an only child growing up.

He learned that she had always wanted to go to the beach, but couldn't really afford to go; since Honey Grove was so far inland, the trip was expensive. She learned that he too loved the water, especially at night, and for a moment she thought that he was going to share a 'Peyton' memory because of the look in his eye, but instead he suggested that one day soon they go and take the kids.

He didn't know it, but he gained some serious points with his restraint.

A couple of beers later and he pulled her onto the dance floor so she could 'show him some moves,' and they proceeded to laugh hysterically, because when it came to fast line dances, Lucas truly had two left feet. But his heart was all 'right', and he proved it to her when Brad got together with Carrie and began to sing about Love. He pulled her close, and their bodies fit like a jigsaw puzzle, his moves perfectly in sync to Brad as he sang about love being as sure as the ocean tide.

"I remember the first time I saw you." Lucas breathed in her hair. Peyton's heart skipped a beat, despairing that he would once again slip into his 'Peyton' reminiscing.

She snuggled a little closer after he continued. "A kid attached to each leg, a smile so full of love as you looked down at them. And then you looked up at me, and I saw that smile, and those beautiful green eyes…" He shook his head. "You took my breath away, and for the first time in 4 years, my world made sense again."

He lifted her head to stare into her eyes. "I don't care if you change your style of music every day, your favorite color every week, the way you wear your hair every month. None of that matters to me, because it doesn't change you."

He pressed their joined hands to her chest. "Where it matters."

He patted her chest, then brought their hands to his. "Because these will always recognize each other, no matter how much the outside changes. 'Cause that's what true love is."

She had no words for him, but her eyes must have said enough as she looked up at him, because he gave her the most brilliant smile before leaning in and pressing his forehead to hers. "Ohhhh love." He sang along softly to the song as it began to wind down, while their eyes caught and held, and once again, a memory that refused to be remembered manifested itself as a certainty in her mind.

She knew this man. She knew his heart, she knew his soul, she knew that at this moment in time the most perfect thing to do was not to pull him into a kiss, but to rub her nose gently against his. And when he pulled her tighter against him in response, proving her intuition to be right, she couldn't help but think that maybe, that was all that mattered.

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A/N: Keith Urban's song is Gold Road. Brad Paisley's song is Letter to Me. Brad and Carrie= Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood duet Oh Love.

I know some of you don't like this happy, country lovin Peyton, cause you want the old Peyton back. Good, because you have an idea of what Lucas is feeling, and are having to ask yourself the same question- do you still love her in spite of these changes in personality? Because just as the first 18 years of her life made the old Peyton, last last 4 have made the new Peyton. And who's to say she wouldn't have changed in a similar way with life? 4 years ago I would have laughed at anyone who said I would love country music (I didn't like it at all) and write fanfiction during every moment of my free time. And it is that thought which has inspired the question that will never be answered- would Peyton have changed if she had stayed the same?

I'm going to give you some teasers- comin up soon: some Leyton with kids, and Nickelback- far away ;) hehehehehe