Accuracy (One Tree Hill)

[Fourever Charmed]

Fandom: One Tree Hill

Summary: These are the missing scenes that happened directly after the season four finale, “All Of The Sudden I Miss Everyone,” and the flashbacks from 6x21’s “A Kiss To Build A Dream On.” They make sense of the discrepancies seen in the flashbacks.

Rating: PG-13

A/N: So this is really the first OTH fic I’ve ever written and it’s just gonna be a short one. (More like a bunch of really mini scenes, so don’t except any real chapters.) It’s mainly the missing scenes in between the season four finale “All Of The Sudden I Miss Everyone” and the Leyton flashbacks from 6x21’s “A Kiss To Build A Dream On.” And by the way, “Accuracy” is the name of a Cure song, so I thought it would be dually appropriate for a fic about making sense of events leading up to The Cure flashbacks.

Accuracy

Scene One

“Well, well, well…Lucas Scott.” Brooke Davis placed her hands on her hips and slanted in the doorway, smirking as she examined her ex-boyfriend who stood with his hands stuffed inside his pockets, swaying lightly from side to side as he stood on her front porch. “Tired of P. Sawyer already?” She pursed her lips together, grinning and raising her dark eyebrows playfully.

“Ha ha.” Lucas rolled his eyes as Brooke stepped back and he proceeded to stroll inside. “So did you get a chance to change the flight?”

Brooke pushed the door closed and sauntered over to a small table with a lit lamp. She picked up an envelope and waved it saucily. “Did you think I wouldn’t?” She plucked two tickets from the envelope and held them out to Luke. “We’re set to fly out on the sixteenth, but to amp up the surprise factor, I’m going to tell her we’re leaving in the evening on the fifteenth.”

Lucas quirked a brow. “And just what plans do you have, Ms. Davis?”

Brooke placed her hand to her chest in mock offence. “What makes you think I have plans?”

“I can see the ulterior motive on your face.”

Brooke huffed as she stuffed the plane tickets back into their envelope. “I might have plans...” She lazily dropped the envelope back onto the table and leaned against it.

“With Chase?”

“Jealous?”

“No.” Luke reached towards his back pocket and began to pull out his wallet. “Happy for you, actually.” He looked down at the wallet as he flipped it open. “How much did they charge you in late fees?”

“Late fees?”

“For the last minute cancellation.”

“Oh, that.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it.”

“No, really, I want to pay you back. It was my fault for springing this on you at the last minute-”

“Luke!” She moved across the room and placed her hand over his, stopping him from pulling out his worn green bills. “I didn’t get charged any late fees.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re lying.”

Brooke pulled her hand back and promptly struck a pose, sticking out her leg suggestively. “I am?” She fluttered her eyelashes dramatically.

Luke paused before finally closing his wallet. “Did you steal that from a thirties’ film?”

“Why?” She wiggled her shoulders playfully. “Do you like?”

Luke shook his head. “Brooke Davis.” The name flew off his lips airily and he smiled in amusement. “Thank you. I really appreciate this.”

Brooke grinned and trotted after Luke as he began to head for the door. “Don’t mention it.”

[Fourever Charmed]

Scene Two

Peyton Sawyer examined her reflection in the mirror as a hairdresser fastened the strings of the plastic sheet that had been draped over behind her neck. She pinched her lips together thoughtfully.

“So what can I do ya for?” The woman strolled around to Peyton’s left and crossed her arms. Her eyes gave her away: she was already combing and coloring and trimming Peyton’s blonde curls in her mind.

“I was thinking of something new and different!” She cocked her head to one side, examining her reflection in the mirror, and then promptly tilted it to the other. “A dye job, I guess. I just want something fresh. I’m thinking of going lighter, brighter blonde.”

The woman pressed her thumb and index finger to her chin and nodded her head, reminding Peyton of The Thinker statue. “How much lighter?”

“Mmm…” She bobbed her head back and forth. “A lot.”

The woman pulled open a drawer under the mirror and flipped through a small pamphlet and folded back the pages before handing it to Peyton. “Check that page out. Anything you like?” She ran her doll-like hand over her spiky, purple tipped tomboy cut as her customer examined the book.

“That one.”

The hairdresser peered over Peyton’s shoulder. A slight frown graced her thin lips. “You sure?”

“Well I was.” Peyton tilted her head back, eyeing the woman from an angle. “You think it’ll look bad?”

“Mmm.” She pressed her hands to the side of Peyton’s head and ran her fingers over Peyton’s golden curls until she reached the end. “Not exactly. It’s just, in my experience, light colors like that often look better with longer hair. Usually people with hair like yours go away pretty upset if they go through with this.”

“Oh.” The glowing grin she’d worn into the shop that morning promptly faded in the same way that the sun’s light does as the fog moves in.

“Well,” the woman tugged gently at Peyton’s curls, “there is something else we could do, if you’re willing. And we could still use that color.”

Her eyes flickered excitedly. “What’s that?”

“Have you ever had extensions?”

Peyton frowned again, but not gloomily as before. “No…”

“Would you consider trying them?”

Peyton stared at her reflection again. She chewed her lower lip lightly. “You really think that would look good?”

“It would definitely look much better with that color.”

“Hmm.” Peyton squared her shoulders. “What the hell, why not? Sure! I’ll give it a go!”

“Positive?”

“Yes!” She grinned. “A new style for a new start, that’s what I came in here for anyway, isn’t it? So why not go all out?”

The woman laughed as she grabbed her comb. “Just graduated?”

“How’d you know?”

“I tend to get a lot like you, wanting something a little more interesting before they set sail for somewhere far away from Tree Hill. Where ya goin’?”

“L.A.” Peyton eased back into the chair as the woman raked the comb through her Goldilocks head of hair. “It’s just an internship over the summer though, but…still, it’s a whole new world. I don’t want to be the same old Tree Hill Peyton Sawyer, I really want to stick out. You never know, maybe I’ll get lucky?”

The woman merely nodded, glancing up only slightly to watch Peyton’s reflection as she happily chattered away about her ambitions. She’d heard similar stories many times before, year after year. She wondered if this time would be any different: if this girl, Peyton Sawyer, would be one of the few who realized her dreams and was happy, or whether she’d come to discover that she didn’t like the end result and want back what she’d lost. She smiled briefly as she moved to Peyton’s left and rummaged through the drawer for the dye Peyton had requested. “Only time will tell.”

[Fourever Charmed]

Scene Three

Luke pinched his chin as he examined his slightly distorted reflection in the side of the toaster. A thin layer of blonde stubble had cropped up along his cheeks and jaw line, only a day old.

“Is that toast done yet?”

“No-” The toaster sputtered and spat out two pieces of nicely browned bread. “Yes.” Luke plucked the toast up and dropped them onto a yellow plate as his brother, Nathan Scott, entered the kitchen with a small blue bundle tucked in his arms. Lucas blew across his fingers. “That thing has bite.”

“Haley uses napkin to take the toast out.” He moved to the refrigerator and handled his new son, James Scott, in one arm and used the other to retrieve a jar of strawberry preserves. As he turned to set the jar on the table, he noticed his brother staring at the side of the toaster. “What are you doing?”

Lucas looked up, still stroking his chin. “What do you think I’d look like with a beard?”

“A bum?”

“I’m serious!” He glanced at his reflection again. “I’m thinking of growing out some stubble…maybe a little like Keith.” He shrugged softly. “What do you think?”

Nathan shrugged as he began to butter the toast halves one handedly. “It doesn’t really matter what I think. Have you asked Peyton?”

“I haven’t seen her since the party last night. She still thinks she’s leaving for L.A. tonight.”

“Well you should ask her.” He shifted Jamie to his other arm and briefly maneuvered his hand to freedom so he could crack open the lid on the preserves jar. “Women get really weirded out by things like that, you know. When I got bogged down with midterms and let my face go for a few days, Haley complained constantly about how it scratched her when we kissed.”

Luke chuckled. “Hales never has been one for facial hair.” He stroked the side of his face and finally abandoned the toaster. “Keith had a full on beard once when we were really little. She called it ‘The Cat.’ Needless to say, he didn’t have it for long.” He chuckled. “Mom and I started in on him about it too.”

“So why do you want a beard then?”

“Not a beard per se, just…a little something.” He ran his thumb over his chin. “I think it makes me look a little older, don’t you think?”

“Like a man-child maybe.”

“Hey,” he narrowed his eyes, “watch it Little Brother.” He snickered and extracted Jamie from Nathan’s arms. “Hey there, little guy.” His eyes lingered on his nephew’s tiny face. “What do you think? Should your favorite Uncle Lucas get some stubble?”

Jamie gurgled and blinked his eyes.

From the corner of his eye, Luke saw Nathan turn to fill a glass of milk. He snagged a piece of toast and took a bite from it before replacing it on the plate. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

As Nathan picked up the plate, he noticed the marred toast. “Hey!”

“What?”

Nathan glared. “I’d punch you if you weren’t holding my son.”

“What’d I do?” Luke grinned.

Nathan lightly shoved the side of the plate into Luke’s arm.

“Oh.” Luke stared down at his nephew. “Jamie, I told you not to eat the toast. It’s for your mom!”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “You have some jelly on the corner of your mouth, by the way.”

Jamie gurgled again.

Luke frowned and licked the side of his mouth. “I have no idea how that got there.”

“I’ll be right back.” Nathan disappeared from the kitchen with the glass of milk and plate of toast.

Luke smirked. “You wouldn’t know it now, but once upon a time, your daddy wasn’t so domestic. You and your mom really did wonders for him.” He kissed his nephew on the forehead and began to nod quite confidently. “I think I’m gonna give it a try. Just…without a cat.”

[Fourever Charmed]

Scene Four

“I’m coming! I’m coming! Hold your horses!” Peyton was hurrying down the stairs wrapped in a white bathrobe with a matching towel wrapped around her head. She grabbed the railing and jumped three steps and sped down the remaining three. A thudding, like a baseball bat continuously hitting a ball, was coming from the other side of her door. She threw it open to find Brooke standing in front of her.

“It’s about time, Mrs. Conehead!”

“Sorry, I was in the shower.” She touched the cone-shaped towel on her head as she stepped aside to allow her friend in. “Everything’s packed and ready for tonight.”

“Yeah, about that…”

Peyton leaned against the door, her face pinching into suspicion. “I don’t like that sound. What’s going on?”

“Our plans have changed.”

“What?” She began to shake her head. “Do not tell me you’re not coming!”

“What? No! Of course I am! Our flight’s just been delayed…until the fifteenth.”

“The fifteenth? Why?”

Brooke shrugged. “I’m not really sure.” She shrugged lazily. “But the good news is that they gave us upgrades, so I don’t really care either. Besides, it gives us more time to say goodbye, right?”

“I guess…I just hope-”

“Oh, don’t do that. You’ll give your skinny ass wrinkles.”

Peyton grunted. “You always know just what to say.” She bit her lip and pressed her hands to the towel on her head.

“What is with that thing anyway?” Brooke inquired, just having been reminded of the odd towel.

“Well, since you’re so honest…” She whipped off the towel, revealing her new head of long, sun bleached hay blonde hair. “What do you think?”

Brooke’s mouth fell open in surprise. “When did that happen?”

“You hate it!”

“No…I’m just curious. It’s so…different.”

“This morning,” Peyton moved to the mirror by the door and examined her wet head. The color was darker than the color she’d picked out, but that was only due to it being wet. “I wanted a change. Do you think L.A. will approve?”

“Who cares if they approve or not? If you like it, that’s what matters.”

“Thanks.” She turned around. “Really, though, what do you think?”

“I think…it looks very Peyton-ish. You’re always changing your style and I say go with it.”

“Do you think Lucas will like it?”

“Did you seriously just ask that?” Brooke snorted. “You could be bald and Lucas would like it. You’re Peyton Sawyer,” she rolled her eyes, “that’s all that matters to him.”

“Well I certainly hope so, because I’m a broke intern now and this do already cost me fifty-five bucks and pocket change.”

“For that skanky look?” Brooke waved her arm. “I think that at least gives us an excuse to get your money’s worth.” She clapped her hands together excitedly. “Let’s go show it off!” Before Peyton realized what was going on, Brooke playfully swatted her on the butt, pushing her towards the stairs. “Go find something hot, we’re going to make this last week in Tree Hill one to remember!”

A blazing grin broke onto Peyton’s face as ran up the stairs with her newly extended curls breezing out behind her.

[Fourever Charmed]

Scene Five

“Mom, have I ever told you you’re amazing?”

Karen Roe looked over her shoulder to find Lucas standing in the doorway of her café, cradling his little sister in his arms. She smiled tenderly. “Many times, but I never stop enjoying it.” She motioned her hand grandly across the table she was standing by: it was draped in a lacy white table cover and set for two with Karen’s hand painted China, crystal champagne glasses, and a single silver candleholder in the center with an unlit red candle.

“This looks phenomenal!” Lucas easily managed his way over to the table; all the other tables and chairs normally in the café had been cleared out for the night. He sniffed the air.

“Dinner’s almost done,” she promised.

“Do I smell spaghetti?”

“Maybe,” Karen grinned. She gave a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. “Perhaps I got a chance to put a few of the recipes I learned during my six week stay in Italy to good use.”

“You’re treating us to authentic Italian?” He shook his head. “I didn’t mean for you to go all out like this. You should still be taking it easy,” he warned, glancing down at Lily.

“Nonsense! I feel fine. In fact, I’m better than fine. I felt better cooking today than I’ve felt in weeks! Besides,” she placed her hand onto her son’s, “I wanted to help out. You and Peyton have been through so much…it’ll do you good to have a nice romantic dinner all to yourselves before she leaves for the summer.”

“Thanks.” Lucas leaned forward and kissed Karen on the cheek. “You’re the best.”

Karen grinned as she took Lily from Lucas. “I just do what I can, but I appreciate the sentiment.” She kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Hey there, Sweet Girl.” She nuzzled her nose to Lily’s. “Did you have fun with Big Brother Lucas?” She gave a playful look to Lucas from the corner of her eye.

“We went to the Rivercourt and hung out with the guys for a few games. I think she really liked it.” He winked. “You kept staring at the ball, didn’t you?”

Karen raised a suspicious eyebrow. “My daughter, a basketball player?”

“Hey, it runs in the family. Me, Nathan, Jamie...”

“Jamie?”

“Haley said he won’t go to sleep unless a game’s on.”

Karen smirked. “I don’t know,” she rocked Lily in her arms, “I think she’s more of a girly girl.” She winked at her daughter. “Pink dresses and flowers…”

Lucas shrugged. “I dunno…I guess only time will tell.”

“I guess you’re right,” Karen whispered as she tickled Lily under her chin. As what appeared to be a smile made its way onto Lily’s toothless mouth, the timer from the kitchen began to buzz. “Oh! That’s my cue.” She handed her daughter back to Lucas and grabbed her apron from the counter as she hurried behind it. “You should get going.”

“Why?”

“Because I plan to surprise you with my amazing final result, but I need you to disappear for a few more hours so I can work my magic.”

Lucas glanced down at Lily and shrugged. “What d’ya say?”

Lily’s mouth formed an open o-shape and she blew a small bubble.

Luke smirked and wiped up the bubble of spit with the edge of his sleeve. “I was gonna change my clothes for Peyton tonight anyway.” He kissed her nose. “We’ll see you in a while, Mom!” The chimes of above the door sang a sweet harmony as he walked out of the café.

[Fourever Charmed]

Scene Six

“Brooke!” Peyton groaned. “This is ridiculous!”

“Oh stop complaining. You’re going to love tonight, I promise!”

“And just how do you know that?”

“Because you’re going to look killer.”

“How do I know that if I don’t even know what I’m putting on?”

“It’s a dress.”

“Brooke!”

“Do you really not trust me?” Brooke asked in a singsong voice. “Come on, Peyton. I design fashion, I know what I’m doing.” She shrugged. “And I’m going to be a millionaire someday soon because of it…I think you could give me a little credit here.”

Peyton sighed. “Fine.”

Brooke patted her friend on the back. “Good girl.” She clapped her hands excitedly. “Now arms up!”

Peyton lifted her arms. “I don’t understand why I can’t take off my own shirt.”

“Because you might try to cheat and pull off your blindfold too.” She grabbed the edge of Peyton’s baby doll top and carefully slid it up and off of her friend without accidentally catching the bandana that had been securely tied across Peyton’s eyes. She promptly stuffed the shirt into a plastic bag that already had a pair of folded jeans in them. “Okay, here we go!” She opened another plastic bag that was seated next to a pair of strappy black heels and pulled out a folded black dress. “Oh P. Sawyer, you’re gonna love what I have planned!”

Brooke stepped back and neatly unfolded the dress, then stood behind Peyton and began to pull it down over her arms, head, and finally her torso. She smoothed the wrinkles against Peyton’s body and then zipped up the back. “Now, you just need the right shoes.”

“Okay…”

“You can put your arms down now.”

“Thanks,” Peyton grunted.

“Here.” Brooke took the blonde’s hand and lead her over to the toilet seat. “Sit down.”

Peyton groaned. “We’re in a bathroom, aren’t we?”

“Possibly.” She knelt down and grabbed the strappy heels and one onto each of Peyton’s feet. Brooke glanced at the adjustment holes on the straps and noticed that the third hole on each shoe was worn, so she fine-tuned the straps to the third adjustments.

“Where are we going exactly?”

“Here you are, a high school graduate, and you don’t even know the meaning of surprise.” She huffed. “You’re birthday’s in what? Slightly over a month? I’m getting you a dictionary!” She slid her hand into Peyton’s and yanked her up from the toilet. “Just a few more touches.” Brooke dug into her makeup bag which was sitting on the edge of the sink and pulled out a gold tube of lipstick and applied it to Peyton’s lips, then she produced a bottle of champagne colored perfume and spritzed it on her friend’s neck.

Peyton’s nose wriggled. “That smells familiar.”

“It should, you used to wear it all the time.”

“I did?” Peyton’s jaw dropped. “Wait a minute-”

“Yeah,” Brooke grinned. “I’m amazing, aren’t I?”

“Brooke, where’d you find it?” Her hand opened for the bottle.

“E-bay.”

“Are you serious?”

“Mhmm.” She slid the bottle into Peyton’s awaiting hand.

Peyton maneuvered the bottle to her nose and sniffed it. “Oh my god,” she breathed, “I loved this perfume so much. I looked everywhere for another bottle of this after my mom died-”

“I know.” Brooke rubbed Peyton’s back encouragingly. “Consider it my late graduation gift, okay?”

“Thanks, Brooke.”

“No problem.”

“So is that it? Can I look now?”

“No, I still have to do the rest of your makeup.” She pulled down a terry cloth bathrobe that was hanging on the door. “Hold out your arms.”

“You sure are going through a lot of trouble to hide everything from me,” Peyton observed. “What’s in it for you?”

“Good karma, maybe? You can take the blindfold off now.”

Peyton eagerly peeled away the blindfold and looked around. “Well, we’re not at your house or at mine…” Her eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute, this does look familiar though.”

Brooke snapped her fingers. “Eyes on me!” She grabbed Peyton by the chin and jerked her face forward so she could apply a light amount of shimmering rouge.

Peyton attempted to shift her eyes and steal a peek down her robe, but she couldn’t move them far enough and her eyes started to hurt. “Ugh…you’re too sneaky for your own good, Brooke Davis.”

“We all have our talents.” She picked up a case of eye shadow. “Close your eyes,” she commanded.

Peyton submissively shut her eyes. After an incident involving her eye and a mascara wand in middle school, Brooke was one of the few people she completely trusted to not hurt her when applying makeup: the only others were herself and her mother, Anna. She breathed out easily as she felt Brooke switch from the eye shadow to the eye liner pencil. “I hope you don’t have some wild new clubbing adventure you plan to drag me into,” she pouted. “I somehow doubt Luke would be pleased. Or Chase, for that matter.”

“It could get wild, but that all depends on you.”

“And it’s not a double date?”

“There won’t be boys.”

“So it’s a girls’ night out then? Are we getting Haley and Bevin to come too?”

“Not so much.” Brooke dropped her eye liner into the bag and retrieved her extra thick mascara. “Open your eyes again.”

Peyton’s eyelids slid open and she blinked twice. “I’m completely out of ideas.”

“Good.” The mascara wand brushed gently along the lashes of Peyton’s left eye, then moved to her right. Suddenly she began to squint.

“Hey! No squinting, you’ll mess it up!”

“I just figured it out!”

“What?” Brooke inquired smugly.

“Karen’s Café!” Peyton cried. “We’re in the bathroom at Karen’s Café!” Her lips pursed in satisfaction. “This involves Karen, doesn’t it? Are we having a girls’ night in with her? Giving her time to relax after the baby?”

“It might involve Karen,” Brooke replied slyly. “Done!”

“Thank goodness!” She turned towards the door, but Brooke grabbed her arm. “Eyes closed!”

“Ugh!”

“Arms out!”

“Wait,” Peyton said as she held out her arms like a scarecrow. “If it’s a surprise for Karen, why do I have to close my eyes?”

Without a word, Brooke slid the bathrobe off of Peyton’s arms. She opened the bathroom door and a wave of Italian scents permeated the bathroom. As Peyton sniffed the new smells, Brooke led her over the threshold of the bathroom.

“Whatever this is-”

“Open your eyes.”

[Fourever Charmed]

Scene Seven

“Lucas?”

Peyton’s eyes slid open and took a moment to adjust the darkness of the café. It was nearly cleared of all tables and chairs, except for one in the center of the room with only two seats. The walls were draped in a line of decorative dainty lights and the only other source of light in the room was the burning candle on the table.

A sly grin spread across Lucas’s lips. “I remember that dress.”

“What?” Peyton automatically glanced down at herself and realized the dress she was wearing was the same double spaghetti strap black dress she’d worn the night of Dan’s party; the night they’d shared their first kiss.

“You look gorgeous.”

Peyton felt her cheeks grow hot. She knew she was blushing, though she didn’t entirely know why. Lucas had told her she was beautiful on so many occasions, so she didn’t know why now was any different.

“Told you there would be no boys,” Brooke coyly whispered into Peyton’s ear. “Just one boy.” She flicked the light in the bathroom and shut the door. “I guess I should be leaving you guys now.” She winked to Peyton and jetted out the door before curly blonde could formulate a response.

Lucas sauntered over to Peyton and held out his hand. He was dressed in a crisp white dress shirt and slacks.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Peyton announced as she placed her hand into his. It fit, like the right piece of a puzzle finally coming into place with its mate. “And it looks like you’re growing a little beard too.”

“Do you like it?”

Peyton ran her hand over Luke’s face. “I think I do. It makes you look kinda sexy.”

“I wasn’t before?”

“It’s a different kind of sexy. Before you were boyishly sexy, now it’s a…a manly sexy.”

“I see.” He led her over to the table and stopped to pull out her chair.

“Thank you.”

“Always.” Luke moved behind the counter. “I like your hair,” he noted, before ducking down out of sight.

“You do?”

“It suits you. Blonde curls, it’s classic Peyton Sawyer.” He popped back up, holding a woven basket. “I like the length too.”

Peyton absently ran her fingers over the end of her new extensions. “I guess it’s okay.”

Luke skirted over to the table and set down the basket, unraveling the checkered cloth in the middle to reveal freshly baked garlic bread. He slid a piece onto each of their plates.

“That doesn’t come with spaghetti by any chance, does it?”

“I guess the smell probably gives it away.”

Peyton grinned. “Yeah…and I guess that explains why Brooke plugged my nose in addition to blindfolding me on the way in.”

Luke moved back behind the counter and retrieved an extravagant looking silver dome shaped dish and carried it to the table.

“Did Karen make all this?”

“How’d you guess?”

“You’re an okay cook, but you can’t do this. Besides, Karen was the one who went to cooking school in Italy, remember?”

“Good memory.”

“We may not have really been dating around that time, but I guess I kind of had this Lucas file in my head where I stored all pertinent information about you.” She shrugged. “I know, it sounds kind of stalkerish but, ehh, whatever. We’re together now, so…”

Lucas chuckled as he pulled off the dome cover. A mushroom cloud of steam arose from the plate, clearing to reveal a masterpiece of piled spaghetti, homemade Italian meat sauce, and thick meatballs to boot. Luke picked up a serving spoon and dropped two lumps onto their plates.

Peyton placed her hand to her stomach as she eyed the food.

“Something wrong?”

“No.” She followed his gaze, noticing her hand and realizing his concern. “Oh,” she laughed, “I’m just afraid my stomach is going to start growling before we actually get a chance to eat anything. It be a little embarrassing to say the least.”

“Well let’s not put it off any longer then.” Luke took his seat and picked up his champagne glass. “To you.”

“Me?”

“To the most artistic, complicated, and amazing girl in the world.”

Peyton pressed her lips together as she picked up her glass. “And to you: the most caring, selfless boy I’ve ever met.” They clinked their glasses and Peyton tilted hers to her lips and took a swig. She coughed in surprise. “Sparkling apple cider?”

Luke smiled apologetically. “My mom made dinner, remember? And we’re not twenty-one yet…”

“Right.” Peyton rolled her eyes. “Well I like apple cider,” she amended, “I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“So dinner’s not ruined?”

“Not by a long shot.”

“Oh good, because if it was, I’d have to pull out my last graduation gift-”

“What graduation gift?”

Lucas wagged his finger disapprovingly. “Ah-ah, ‘not by a long shot,’ remember? My last graduation gift will just have to wait.”

Peyton stuck out her lip. “Please?”

“Nope.” Luke tilted his head back, ignoring her pleading look.

“What about a hint?”

“Hmm.” He stroked his stubble in consideration. “It’s Curing.”

“Curing?” Her forehead knitted in puzzlement. “What kind of clue is that?”

“The only one you’re getting.” He winked.

Peyton snorted. “You’re no fun!” She picked up her fork and began to twirl her spaghetti, but to her dismay it slid off her fork. She huffed. “I’ve never been able to do it like they do in the movies.”

“Like this?” Luke asked, lifting his brow. He spun his fork and lifted it, revealing a perfect roll of spaghetti.

“How did you…”

“Keith showed me how to do it when I was a kid.” He slipped behind Peyton’s chair and took her hand, positioning it precisely around the fork. “Tilt it this way and turn like…” he directed her hand in small circles, “…that.”

Peyton lifted her fork in amazement to find a reel of spaghetti. “That’s…so much easier than I thought.” She moved the fork to her mouth and took the bite. Her face melted at the taste. “Mmm!”

“You’ve got a little something…” he used his index finger to wipe away a spot of spaghetti at the corner of her mouth. “It’s gone.”

Peyton chewed and swallowed. “Thanks.” She bit her lip. “It feels a little like Lady and the Tramp.”

“Oh, so I’m a tramp now?”

“No,” she grinned, “you’re The Tramp.”

“Oh.” Lucas moved to Peyton’s side. “I guess I should be doing this then?” He picked up a single long strand of spaghetti and dangled it in front of Peyton.

Peyton pinched the other end of the noodle and rose to her feet, nodding in agreement. She slid the end of her spaghetti into her mouth and bit off the end, all the while staring coyly at her boyfriend. Leisurely, she began to nip off bit after bit of the noodle, taking a little bit bigger bite each time until she reached just a few inches before the end of the noodle. “What, not the sharing type Mr. Scott?”

Lucas slid his end of the noodle between his lips and ate it until he came to Peyton’s end, where their lips met. He slid his arms around her waist and closed his eyes, savoring the taste of her lips, tainted with sweet and salty spaghetti sauce.

Peyton leaned forward on her toes and pressed her hungry hands to the side of Lucas’s face in the same way she’d done when she’d first kissed him, but this time it was completely of her own accord. She moaned softly as he leaned into her.

“Peyton,” Luke murmured between breaths.

“Don’t stop,” she begged.

“Mmm…” Lucas attempted to pull himself away, but Peyton pulled him right back in. He groaned against her lips. “What is it with you and this dress?” he asked. “You can’t get enough of me when you wear it.”

Peyton rolled her eyes. “And you’re complaining?”

“No, it’s just that my mom made us this entire dinner-” He raised his hand to motion to the table, but Peyton grabbed it and pressed it to her waist.

“Dinner can wait.” Her lips crashed against his again.

“Oh yeah?” Lucas asked, slipping his hand under her hair to cup the back of her neck. “And where should we go in the meantime?” His eyes scoured the café. “I don’t think my mom would appreciate us defiling her café.”

A devilish beam broke out across Peyton’s lips; a beacon of passion. “I’ve got an idea,” she whispered, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door.

“What?”

“Come on!” She pulled him out of the café and waiting outside was the Comet with its top down. Her eyes twinkled like twin shooting stars as she led him towards the red leather backseat.

Luke couldn’t help but laugh as they toppled into the backseat, with Peyton underneath him. He kissed her again, unable to fight the temptation as she secured her arms around his neck.

Above them, a shooting star moved across the night sky almost in slow motion: it began first as a spot of light, then grew into a beam and developed a yellow tail which darkened to orange, and then it finally burst as it came down upon Earth and shattered in a sparkle into the atmosphere in time with the gentle moans coming from the backseat of the Comet.