A/N: Here it is, for real. Reviews rock.

Accelerando: the term that directs an increasing speed in the performance of the piece of music it is applied to

Neither of them was sure of how much time passed as they stood there, searching each other's eyes. She was nervous and heartsick; she could feel her heart palpitating wildly in her chest. But even though she was gasping for breath, Peyton would have stayed there, like that, until the end of the world.

Because in that moment, Lucas Scott was hers again. His eyes, his mind, his heart…she could physically feel her grasp on all of those things. As they stood there on the river court, he was just the boy who'd looked at her with triumph, intrigue, and undisguised yearning on that same tarmac surface all those years ago. Just the boy she'd literally fallen in love with, falling from her place in the social hierarchy as a bitchy cheerleader, out from behind the countless walls she'd built up around herself, and into the arms of someone who finally understood enough about her to truly save her. Just for those seconds, however long their intense eye contact lasted, Lucas Scott belonged to no one but her.

But it ended, of course it did. The world found them again in the form of Jenny, who broke the peace by piping up, "Um…do you two need some space? Because you look like you're going to start throwing punches or making out, and both of those would be awkward for me."

Peyton blushed, feeling extra heat in her body from the sheer force of his proximity. She had enough hurt and longing built up inside of her that she wouldn't have minding slapping him a couple times, but she would rather have pulled him to her by the lapels of his jacket and kissed him until the world faded away, into some place where it could no longer touch them and ruin them as it always did.

Despite her embarrassment, Peyton caught Lucas' small confused grin at Jenny's words and relaxed the slightest bit. At least he didn't appear at all confrontational. Still, she would have killed to have known what was going on in the moody mind of his. The thumping in her chest didn't relent at all.

"Sorry, babe," she said automatically to Jenny, placing her hand lightly on her daughter's arm. "Um…" This was entirely awkward, especially considering what had transpired between the two adults the last time they'd met, and the incorrect conclusions Peyton knew Luke had drawn. Lucas didn't recognize Jenny – with good reason, he hadn't seen her in thirteen years – but he'd undoubtedly know her by name. And Jenny just might recall his name as well, from when it was brought up at the dinner they'd had at Nathan and Haley's.

"Jenny," she said softly, looking away from him. She didn't want to see the surprise in Luke's eyes when he realized who the girl who she'd raised was. She didn't want to see the realization that he'd made a mistake. He had made a mistake…but one of a much different nature than he thought. "Jenny," she repeated, her voice gaining a little bit of strength. The introduction had to be made, so she was going to make it short and sweet. Rip off the bandaid, she told herself, but she'd never really believed that. Taking the bandaid off slowly always seemed to hurt less.

"Jenny," she said, one last time before she finally got it out. "I'd like you to meet Lucas Scott. Luke, this is Jenny."

Lucas' eyes flashed as they bore into hers, frantically grasping for answers, but she didn't read into his emotions. It was an act of self-preservation. If she looked too deep into his blue orbs and saw all that looked there, she'd probably cry.

He cleared his throat, and Peyton could tell that the cheer in his voice was forced. "Jenny Jagielski," he remarked, to tell Peyton that he knew exactly who she was and what her presence meant.

But you don't! She screamed at him internally. He didn't understand, and she couldn't just blurt it out. She missed the man who could read her like an open book. But years had taken that ability away, and if she was going to tell him, it would have to be with words. She wasn't ready for that. The timing was so messed up.

"Nice to meet you," Lucas continued bravely, and Peyton's heart went out to him as it broke for them both.

"You, too," Jenny replied evenly. "I'm guessing that you also knew me when I was a baby," she added, trying to make simple conversation.

Lucas nodded. Everything about his answer was matter-of-fact. "I did."

"Are you related to Nathan and Haley?" she inquired innocently.

Peyton knew that she was trying to ease that awkwardness of the atmosphere, and loved her for it, though it wasn't helping at all. "Yeah," she answered for Lucas, plastering on a smile. "And he's Brooke's husband. Good looking family, huh?" she joked desperately.

His eyes were panicked, full of quick calculations. He stuck his free hand, the one not holding his basketball, into his pocket, a classic Lucas Scott pose. "How long have you been here?" he demanded, his voice packed with intensity.

"A few days," she answered softly. And then it dawned on her. "Oh," she gasped, several things clicking into place in her mind. "Y-you…you didn't know."

"No, I didn't. Nathan…and Haley and Brooke…they've all known? The whole time?"

"Don't be mad at them, Luke," she whispered, knowing that her voice would carry the through the still quiet that surrounded them. She'd caused enough grief for Nathan and Haley, and while she wanted to be pissed off at Brooke for keeping her presence a secret from Brooke, she really couldn't be. What information Brooke withheld within her own relationship with her husband was her business and hers alone, even if she did owe him the knowledge.

"How…what…" he spluttered, unable to form a full sentence.

"Jen's here for music camp…Chris' camp. Haley's her mentor. She's living with them, Nathan and Haley and their boys. And I…" I came to protect my daughter from my history. Including you. Mostly you. "I just thought it was time to come home," she lied.

"And you're talked to Brooke? You've seen Brooke?"

She nodded reluctantly, knowing that it would only fuel his rage. Jenny, on her right, looked immensely confused.

"Dammit. It's you. You're it."

"I'm what?" she asked softly.

"You're what she's been hiding from me, what she's been all secret about, who she's been sneaking off to see, who she's been with while she said she was at work. And she had the nerve to make stupid jokes about having affairs and excuses about Haley needing girl talk…" He ran a hand through his hair. "How is it possible that she's still that fucking insecure about our relationship?"

Peyton swallowed thickly before she answered the question she knew he'd meant to be rhetorical. "It's her right as your wife, Luke. We both know that…it's not like…there actually is anything for her to worry about so just…let it go."

He looked at her so deeply, so intimately, his eyes seeking out her soul. "Oh, Peyton…" he said huskily, a quiet lament for everything they could have had, and she was thrown so forcefully into the past that she couldn't catch her breath.

She slid her hand down Jenny's arm until she was grasping her daughter's wrist. "We should go. We have to go." She started back toward Tric, pulling Jenny after her.

"Peyton!"

She paused, turned, and shot him a bittersweet smile. "I'm here all summer long," she said simply. She didn't want him to think that this was another painful goodbye. She would probably avoid him, because he scared her, how powerfully she could feel about him…it scared her. But she would be there. For the next seven weeks. In that town. He needed to know that. "So, I…" She wanted to tell him that she'd be seeing him, but she couldn't belittle those words, words that had meant absolutely everything when they'd first been spoken. Words that had started the story of Lucas and Peyton, a story that had lots of partings but never a firm ending.

But she didn't need to say anything. Lucas had not lost all of his ability to understand her thoughts before she even had to but them into words. He frowned, but his lips twitched up into a smile for just a second. "Okay," he said with a nod. "Okay."


Brooke was lying in bed, flipping through the latest issue of InStyle as her eyes began to close. She was very comfy, nestled into her fluffy pillows, and just about ready to give in to sleep when she heard the unmistakable noise of someone jiggling the sticky back doorknob. She sat up a bit, suddenly wide awake and on alert. Miranda had been particularly clingy since Lucas' departure, and was currently snuggled under the duvet next to Brooke, sleeping peacefully. While she normally would have groaned about Miranda's tendency to flop around in her sleep, she was thankful to have her baby girl in the room, where she knew she was safe.

She heard the noise again and shivered, her mind racing. Was she being paranoid? Should she call 911? Should she go and investigate? More than anything, she wanted her husband.

The downstairs door opened and she jumped. She darted out of bed, tiptoeing across the floor to close and lock her bedroom door. She rushed back toward the bed, fumbling for the phone. She needed to call the police. She could hear footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Shit," she breathed, horrified, hitting the wrong buttons with her trembling fingers.

"Mommy?" Miranda murmured, bleary-eyed and bedheaded as she sat up.

"Hey, honey," she whispered, struggling to stay calm. "You stay quiet for me, okay? Not a sound. I'll buy you toys tomorrow."

She returned her attention to the phone, dialling nine, one…

There was a knock on her door that made her jump a foot in the air. "Brooke?" her husband's voice asked.

She dropped the phone and sighed in relief, hurrying over to the door and flinging it open. "Luke! You scared the hell out of me! I was calling the police. She sighed again and smiled slightly. "You're back early. How were your meetings?"

There was something off about him; he seemed closed off to her, as though he was keeping her out. "We need to talk," he said solemnly.

She frowned. "Lucas…"

He looked over her shoulder to where Mira laid on the bed. "Hey, princess, you're sleeping with Mommy tonight, huh?"

Miranda nodded, smiling sleepily.

"Well, you go back to sleep, baby girl. Mommy and I are going to go talk for a little bit. I love you. I'll see you in the morning."

Miranda just nodded, and both of her parents stayed frozen in place, momentarily distracted from their issues by their daughter's uncharacteristic silence.

"Mira, tell your daddy you love him, too," Brooke coaxed her.

"You said not to talk."

Brooke smiled despite the anger she could feel radiating from her husband. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. You're allowed to talk now."

Miranda walked across the bed, unsteady due to her sleepiness, and threw herself into Lucas arms. "I love you, too, Daddy."

He felt her tight, kissing the top of her head, before he laid her back down on the mattress and tucked her in again. "Sweet dreams, sweet girl," he whispered to her, before standing upright again and ushering Brooke out of the room.

She followed him downstairs and into the living room, where he sat on the couch and waited for her to join him. When she did, he cleared his throat and said, "This is your last chance to tell me what's been going on. I want the truth."

Brooke hesitated. She hadn't thought he was coming back for days. She wanted more time to clear the air with Peyton first. She wasn't ready to tell him yet. "Lucas, what is this? Did you just come back to yell at me?"

"You're stalling," he said quietly, staring at her intensely.

Brooke gasped. It didn't matter whether or not she was ready to tell Lucas that Peyton and Jenny were back. Years being Lucas Scott's wife had taught her how to read him, at least a bit, and she knew…she knew that he knew.

She lifted her chin. "Why're you asking me if you already know?"

"Because you should have told me days ago!"

Brooke shook her head, standing up and walking away so that he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. He was upset. He was upset that Peyton was back and that she hadn't told him. That meant something. "You're just bitter because you two have history," she said hoarsely. "What would you have done if I had told you, Luke? Run back to her like you always do?"

"I cannot believe you. How can you possibly –"

"How can I? How can you?" she cried, whirling around to face him. "I cannot believe you're making a big deal of this. That means something, do you understand that? As your wife, that means something to me, that you're making a big deal of this."

"Brooke…"

"It means that there's still something there," she choked out.

"Brooke, no. I love you. I married you. I picked you. Nobody here is seventeen anymore, and Peyton and I certainly don't have the same feelings for each other that we did then. Do you know why it's a big deal? Because you made it one. By not telling me, you made it something big, because you made it clear that you were afraid for me to find out."

"Do you hear yourself?" Brooke whispered. Peyton and I certainly don't have the same feelings for each other that we did then.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"So you and Peyton don't have the same feelings for each other that you did back then. What kind of feelings do you have then, Lucas, huh?" she demanded harshly.

"How can you even ask me that? She's my friend. I'd like to believe that she's still my friend, just like I'm sure you hope she's still yours."

"She is still my friend. We've talked. We had coffee…well, it was champagne, but that's beside the point. So much has happened, Luke, and I want to trust her again. I want to trust you. But history has shown that there is no such thing as friendship between you two."

"Exes can be friends, Brooke. Peyton and I didn't even date for all that long. It wasn't even dating. Nathan and Peyton were in a relationship for nearly two years, and they became friends easily."

"Such a different story," Brooke informed him, shaking her head. "To become friends, all Nathan and Peyton had to do was cut out the bitching and sex. It wasn't exactly the world's most difficult task. You and Peyton…you two had all this emotional bonding happening, I mean…God, Lucas, you lusted after her all through junior high and on! You have this build up of years you spent in love with Peyton!"

"As a kid. From afar. That's over; like you said, it's history. And now I have years built up of marriage to you."

"You know…senior year? When she disappeared?"

He nodded, frowning in confusion.

Brooke sighed. She had never told a single soul about her confrontation with Peyton before Peyton split to go be with Jake, but she guessed that now that her old friend was back, it had to be put out there. And she needed to tell Lucas to make her point, to make him understand that she did have lingering reason to be afraid of that cosmic pull between her two favourite broody people in the world. "She came back from her weekend in Savannah a mess. Her head was all over the place, but she never told me what happened. I was worried, but I didn't have time to figure it out. Haley hated her wedding dress and I had to make a new one, I was trying to organize the entire party, people were getting sick…and I was excited about seeing you. I figured that I would deal with Peyton afterward. I thought we'd have more time."

"I don't understand where you're going with this…" Lucas said.

"You did that scene with her, do you remember that? The Naley I-love-you scene, the one in bed. She cried, do you remember that? When you told her you loved her, she cried. I thought she was acting well, or maybe in the back of my mind I worried that she was still upset about Jake, but it didn't mean anything until I found her afterward, and she was still crying. Everything was over, Haley was happy, I had you back…I thought it was time to talk. And then out of the blue…do you know what she says to me?" Brooke swallowed hard. "Brooke, I think I still have feelings for Lucas. I don't remember what I said after that…probably something about your friendship and she said More than that."


Lucas' head was spinning. He remembered that night, he did; it was an important event in the lives of his brother and best friend. He remembered seeing the unadulterated sadness in Peyton's eyes, how lost and in need of a hug she had looked when she whispered that she loved him, too. Brooke had hurried him off to some other activity afterward, but he'd made a mental note to check in with Peyton. Something was off, that much he knew, and he was worried about her. Like Brooke, he thought they'd have more time…but he never got the chance to say another word to her.

Brooke stared at him, taking in his stunned expression. "Yeah," she said bitterly. "Exactly. I slept in my car that night, and in the morning we got into a really bad fight. She said she was sorry for loving you, and that she'd bury it, but I couldn't accept that. She wouldn't bury it. We'd been through that cycle before. I…" She bit her lip, looking ashamed. "I flipped. I slapped her and called her a bitch and took off. At the wedding, she asked me if I loved you, and I couldn't believe that she would ask me something like that, she had no right to. Then the accident happened and everything went to hell and…when I went back to her house, to get the rest of my stuff…most of her things were gone. She was gone."

Lucas couldn't believe it. He wondered, fleetingly, what would have happened in his life had Peyton stayed, had she ever told him how she felt. He loved her, cared about her…but at that time in his life he'd been sure that he was honestly, fully, one hundred percent madly in love with Brooke. He looked back up at his wife's face, which was full of expectation as she waited for his reply. "That was so long ago," he said quietly. "Peyton…went to Jake."

Brooke's face crumpled, a couple tears escaping her eyes. "And if she hadn't…if she hadn't, Luke, what then?"

He felt horrible for making her cry, and stood, reaching out to her. She tried to back away, resisting his touch, but quickly gave in and curled up vulnerably within his comforting embrace. He kissed her forehead, "Then I still would have married you, because I loved you then and I love you now."

He did love Brooke, very much, but he had just told one of the worst lies of his life. There had been a point, nearly eight years ago, when everything could have changed. And it was for that reason that he couldn't honestly say that, had Peyton stayed, he would have been with Brooke forever.


Haley couldn't sleep. She felt restless. A sense of newness, or difference, was in the air, and it disrupted her peace.

She tiptoed into Nick and Noah's bedroom to watch her six-year-olds sleep. She loved watching her own children slumber; it gave her a sense of protection, and they were just so angelic with their eyes closed and their chests rising and falling steadily, contented expressions on their perfect faces.

When Sebastian woke up, she held him and comforted him, making him giggle to calm his tears before she settled him back into his crib and sang him to sleep. Over the years, she'd discovered that her part of the duet she'd once done with Chris Keller, When the Stars Go Blue, was the best lullaby for her children. It was a crazy little quirk that Nathan playfully pretended to find annoying. He'd once teased her, asking if the kids were really his after all, and she'd shot back with the quick reply of, "Nope, Lucas'," pointing to Jamie, who was basically his uncle's clone.

After her youngest child was sound asleep again, she walked back into the master bedroom. She watched Nathan sleep for a few minutes, feeling like an infatuated teenager as she studied him. It was then that her insomnia started to frustrate her, and she shook his shoulder to wake him. "Nathan. Nathan. Wake up."

"Hales?" he murmured, rubbing his eyes and sitting up a bit. "What is it?" he asked immediately. "Are you okay? Are the kids okay?"

"We're all fine," she said impatiently.

"Nathan, do you feel that?"

He squinted at her in confusion. "Is this some sort of dirty talk I'm just not catching?"

She hit his arm. "No, you idiot. In…the atmosphere. The…universe. Am I crazy? Please tell me you feel that."

"Sorry, babe, you are crazy," he said, flopping back down and closing his eyes again. "What exactly do you think you feel?"

Haley shook her head, annoyed that he couldn't sense it as well. "Things…aren't going to be the same," she said cryptically, staring out the window at the starless sky and the shiny crescent moon, feeling remarkably insignificant and yet strangely whole.

She looked back at her husband for a response, but he was fast asleep.


Jenny watched as her mother flopped down onto the couch, pulling a throw pillow into her arms and burying her face in it. She sat down next to Peyton so that they were shoulder-to-shoulder. "So, um…recent experience has kind of told me that you're not about to explain that whole thing."

Peyton peeked out from behind the pillow, looking younger than she generally did. "What whole thing?" she asked weakly.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Mom."

Her mother sighed, dropping the pillow. "Oh, Jen, I'm sorry," she said sadly, resting a hand on Jenny's bare knee and giving it a squeeze. "It really was so long ago that none of it matters. Lucas and I have a bit of a past."

Jenny lifted her eyebrows, giving Peyton a sceptical look. She suspected that that was a bit of an understatement. "Please. The sexual tension between you two was pretty intense."

Peyton sighed heavily, wincing. "I'm going start counting how many times you say 'sex' everyday." She knocked on Jenny's head lightly. "I cannot believe my fourteen-year-old has such a one-track mind."

She giggled. "Come on, I don't. And seriously, Mom…I have trouble believing that none of it matters now. It looked like it mattered. A lot."

"Jennifer Lynn…" Peyton threatened, but there was amusement in her voice.

She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "He could not take his eyes off your legs." She said it like a piece of gossip, but it was a fact.

Peyton looked at her incredulously. "Okay, young lady, this conversation is over." She wrapped an arm around Jenny to pull her into a hug and dropped a kiss on top of her head. "Sweet dreams, baby," she added, standing up and walking toward her room.

Jenny shook her head at her mother's evasive behaviour. "I'm still gonna be here when you come out in the morning, you know that, right?"

Her mother poked her head back out of her room and gave her a serious look before dropping one eyelid in a wink. "Counting on it."

"Hey, Mom?" Jenny called again just before Peyton's door closed.

"What's up, sweetie?"

"You look happy," she observed pointedly.

Peyton rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "That's all you, Jen. How many times have I told you that you're the one and only love of my life?"

Jenny rolled her eyes right back. "Look, Mom, I just want to say…I'm sorry if being back here is hard on you."

"Aw, babe, thank you…but that's not necessary. The longer I'm here…the more I realize that I had to come back eventually, and now's not really the worst time."

"Because of the guy?"

Peyton leaned against the doorframe, blinking innocently. "What guy?"

"The guy who looked ready to get I heart Peyton tattooed over every inch of his body."

Her mother's tone was soft and serious when she replied: "The same guy who is married to my old best friend." She smiled again, blowing Jenny a kiss. "Sleep tight, you nosy brat. I love you."

"You, too."

After Peyton's door closed, Jenny stretched out on the couch, still in her activewear and a little bit sweaty. She stared up at the ceiling, lazily trying to analyze everything in her head. She wondered if she'd be able to get Haley or Nathan to reveal some of her mother's history with Lucas.

She was drifting off to sleep, too lazy to get up and change. She'd just be sure not to look in the mirror before she dove into the shower the next morning.

Her mind went back to the subject of Lucas. The thought of her mother's heart belonging to anyone but her father was an uncomfortable and somewhat scary idea, but Jenny knew that she couldn't change the past. She did know one thing, and it was the last thought that entered her mind before she fell into dreamland.

It was certainly possible to change the future, and change had undoubtedly entered their world that night, in the form of a guy who had clearly at some point been smitten with her mother…and who was pretty damn hot.

A/N: And so it begins...