ficlet: the second time around (brooke/peyton)

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Title: the second time around
Fandom: One Tree Hill
Pairing/Characters: Brooke/Peyton
Rating: G
Word Count: 998
Spoilers/Warnings: set during the 4 year jump/none
Summary: Peyton says no to Lucas's proposal, but she finds where she was meant to be all along.
A/N: for my femslashficlets table, prompt: be careful what you wish for

Up until the moment she said “no”, Peyton had always imagined she’d say yes.

She was in love, he was the guy she had always wanted, but when he got on one knee, she didn’t even look at the ring before giving her answer.

Peyton wasn’t sure which one of them was more surprised. Because hadn’t this been what she wanted? The two of them were supposed to live happily ever after, weren’t they? They had gotten their act together, and were in love, even with the long distance, no obstacles in the way … why shouldn't it work?

Why shouldn’t she say “yes”?

Yet she couldn’t do it. She wanted to date him, but marriage? Marriage was off the table, at least for now.

And he didn’t want to wait. Her love alone wasn’t enough. Then again, it seemed it never had been, and wasn’t that what she had been afraid of all along?

That she wasn’t enough.

That everyone would leave.

If Lucas couldn’t stay, who would?

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