The Simplicity of Eternity

A One Tree Hill Fanfiction

By: Daniel Nieves

Prologue: Fast to Get Furious

A/N: In case you don't know yet, this is the sequel to my one shot, the Bliss of Death, the Suffering of Life. Pairings will be Leyton, OCxBrooke and Naley. We'll see.

I

March 12, 2006

It had been two years, two months and six days since he left Tree Hill, North Carolina. Not one day since he'd left came by that he didn't regret it. He regretted leaving all of them behind, his family that was left, or that he left her. She had confessed her love to him as she thought she was dying, and kissed him, only for a month later for them to sleep with each other for the first time, and him leaving the morning after, squealing the tires of his 1967 Mustang as he hauled ass and left North Carolina.

He had almost returned once he stopped grieving, it was so tempting it had been palpable, to just go and head back to the place that had robbed him of his mother Karen Roe, and of his father, Keith Scott.

Sliding on his leather jacket, the blond contemplated his last night with Peyton, the lip bruising kisses, the slow, arduous lovemaking. He sat there on the hood of his car, ignoring the unusually briskly night in Jacksonville, Florida, smoking away at a Newport, wishing he could just forget it all. He hadn't liked smoking, ever, it was a disgusting habit. But his best friend Jose "Jaime" Gines had gotten him into it, claiming at times it made life easier.

Talking of his best friend, Lucas could hear him in the background, his 2005 Mustang roaring away through Old St. Augustine road to get to his house. The Flowmaster pipes on his Mustang were intimidating for sure, scaring away most rice burners that even looked his way.

Lucas could see his headlights and then there was a squeal of tires as his best friend slammed the brakes and squealed the tires into the turn's entry. The sleek black Mustang pulled up, white racing stripes only emphasizing its authenticity.

"You know the neighbors bitch about you?" Lucas asked morosely as Jaime hopped out of the driver's seat.

"Fuck those old bastards…meh." Jaime replied softly, grin lighting up his face. It was the day before his birthday, and they were going to go out to Teranova, an upscale club off of Phillip's Highway.

Lucas had gone for casual in a pair of light blue Wrangler jeans, black dress shoes, and a black H&M button up epaulette shirt. Jaime had dressed up for once, he considered Lucas clothes 'white boy' attire, and stuck what brand names he knew best. Rocawear, Red Monkey, and whatever he felt like.

Today he was wearing loose, light blue H&M jeans and an H&M black, short sleeved epaulette shirt. Rather than wearing dance shoes and conforming like a white boy he decided to wear black Air Force One low tops. "You about ready to go?" Lucas asked and when Jaime nodded he continued, "Which car?"

"Mines, we tryna pick up some hoes tonight bruh, we ain't tryna pick up some grease monkeys." Jaime replied with a laugh.

Lucas couldn't help but chuckle, though afterward he felt a pang in his chest. He and Keith had been grease monkeys long ago. Brushing away the pain with a forced grin, he flicked away his cigarette to the side and walked up to his best friend giving him a handshake and a man hug. "Come on boss, let's go."

"You need to be a good wingman tonight. I'm tryna be balls deep by twelve o'clock so no bullshitting." Jaime spoke, pushing away Lucas with a soft shove.

"You tryna be back home by twelve?" Lucas asked, surprised.

"Hell nah, I'll pipe one of these hoes in the car or something, I'm tryna get fucked up, it's the Kang's birthday after all." Jaime shot back, making Lucas chuckle once more.

Whenever Jaime was happy, he always referred to himself in third person as the 'Kang'. His demeanor changed, and he had more arrogance in his swag.

"Man, you're nuts Jaime." Lucas replied, opening the door to Jaime's Mustang and climbing in. Inside the pony car was all black leather seats and a Shaker 1000 system. Jaime cranked the ignition and throttled the gas, letting the 4.0L engine roar once again. "Take it easy jackass." Lucas warned, already imagining the old lady across the street bitching.

"I'm sorry, but the Kang always delivers hard, never easy." Jaime replied, shifting it into drive and roaring down the street. True to Lucas' word, the old lady next door was shaking her cane at them. If they saw her, they probably didn't care.

As they cruised 9-A, Lucas got nostalgic. He remembered the first time he met Jaime, he had thought he was just some thug wannabe until Jaime had saved his ass. Lucas had flirted with some beautiful Cuban that night and her boyfriend hadn't taken it too well. He'd been about to shoot Lucas until Jaime stepped up and cold cocked him with a Yagermeister bottle.

He had shoved Lucas out of the door and into his Mustang, a year and a half ago, and life had changed for the two of them. After hanging out he saw things you never could understand about Jaime from the first sight. He had wanted to be a basketball player, a musician, a writer, and had been working on his first novel, albeit high as fuck, but he and Lucas had so much in common that they had gotten along quick.

But they had their differences.

Jaime had joined the Navy and became a helicopter pilot after his ex-fiancee told him she was pregnant. A year down the road she admitted it wasn't his. He'd gotten out on a medical discharge, received fat checks from the Navy on a monthly basis, but he too had been grieving for a woman. For him, the wrong one. So the next year he spent it drinking his nights away, smoking weed and trying to pick up 'hoes'.

Some people grieved differently. Some cried, some fucked.

Who was he to judge?

Rather than bumping some down South rap, he listened to Avenged Sevenfold's City of Evil on the way to the club. Another surprising thing about him, he loved all kinds of music, except country. That and he used to be a good ol' church drummer.

Lucas and Jaime had spent the better part of the last year drinking, smoking, and street racing.

The fastest way to make money.

As they drove, they listened to Avenged's 'Seize the Day' and the blare of guitars made them both forget about their pasts and instead focus on the present.

The future could wait.

After pulling into Teranova, watching with smirks as women whistled as they drove as slowly as possible into their parking space, they were content with life, with the money they made and both figured nothing would change, not life and not their friendship.

They were wrong about the first part.

After rolling up the windows on the black pinstriped Mustang, they stepped out into the Jacksonville nightlife, ready to take the world as theirs. "Ready to race a real car, pretty boy?" Someone shouted from across the lot.

It was some Floridian redneck in a beat up 1994 Dodge Cummins. "Yeah, come holla at me when you fix that up." Jaime shot back, irritating the driver.

Lucas had to laugh at that.

Both of them pulled out their fake ID's, seeing as they were both twenty and headed to the bouncer. The bouncer was a big, stocky African American by the name of Jeremiah, who recognized them immediately. "What's up Jaime and Lucas, here again?" Jeremiah asked, clasping both their hands for a brief handshake.

"How's it going Jeremiah?" Lucas asked warmly.

"Same ol' bullshit mayne. Hey I'm telling you mayne, a whole scoop of dem rich bitches be in there, more of your type Luke." Jeremiah spoke, causing Jaime to chuckle.

"What's that 'pose to mean, bruh? That's fucked up." Jaime replied, clapping the bouncer on the back.

The two friends headed inside the club, pushing their way through a pair of emo posers, and trying to find their way to the bar. Lucas' occasional booty call worked their on the weekends, and while the chemistry was there, she could never fill the Peyton sized hole in his chest.

"Hey babe, what can I get for you?" Lisa "Pocahontas" Johnson asked. She was a sight to take in, half white, half Native American, 36 D's, long legs, long back length hair. All accentuated by ruby lips and caramel colored skin and raven hair.

"Hey Lisa. Can I get a Heineken?" Lucas asked and she brought one to him.

"On the house." She mouthed to him, giving him a wide smile.

She was beautiful, but she was older than he was. She was 36 to his 20, but he could look past that if it weren't for Peyton. She had clawed her way into his heart and seared his flesh, marking him as hers. She had burned herself into his mind like a ghostly imprint, ready to pop out in his dreams and remind him of what he left behind.

He turned to see what his best friend wanted only to find out that he was already gone, amidst all the other lonely people, dancing their desperation away in an attempt to prove their existence. Grabbing his cold beer of choice, he decided to sit on the bar and make idle chit chat with his repeated summer fling.

"Keep staring and I might take you to the back and fuck you Luke." Lisa shot at him as his gaze lingered on her thighs.

He'd always been a leg man.

Especially after Peyton.

"You should." Lucas replied, bringing the beer to his lips and taking a sip. Pulling out a pack of Newports out of his pocket, he brought it up to his lips and Lisa lit it for him. Taking a deep drag of the vicious cancer stick, he blew the smoke out of his nose as he remembered Jaime telling him to be a better wingman.

Which was kinda true.

Most nights he sat at the bar drinking the night away thinking about his parent's death, or thinking of her, of what they could have had. It was nights like those that inspired his newly release of 'The Unkindness of the Ravens', a four hundred pager of what he felt for her, and everything that led up to it.

It was a big hit, he'd already made six figures off of it. His editor Lindsay was begging him for a sequel. But what could he write about with no Peyton in it?

Thoughts like those made him want to hop into his '67 Mustang and tear up I-95 to see her. But what if she had moved on, he couldn't picture another man doing what he did to her, kissing her lips, it made his stomach revolt in ways he didn't like.

Standing up from the bar after finishing his cigarette, he headed over to the group of girls that Jaime found at the moment fascinating. Wrapping his arm around Jaime's neck, he asked, "Come on the Kang, care to introduce me?" Lucas asked.

Jaime turned his head to Lucas and gave him a knowing smile. "Yeah bruh, this is Ashley and this is Jessica." Jaime replied, giving Lucas the eye glare that told him he was going to fuck the leggy brunette called Jessica.

Lucas gave him the nod, telling him he understood him.

Nope, life never changed.

An hour later, Jaime surprised Lucas for the first time in months. "You know what mayne, let's call this an early night." Jaime spoke, guzzling the rest of the Corona he had.

"Huh, picture me confused." Lucas replied.

"Look, I know it's all about me cuz of the birthday bit and all that, but I can't tell you weren't really having fun with ol' girl over there. Not that I blame you, shawty was hot, but that bitch was dumber than a bag of hot rocks." Jaime said as they walked out of the club.

"Gone already." Jeremiah called out from behind.

"Yeah, not really feeling it." Jaime shot back, giving him the deuce.

"She wasn't that dumb." Lucas offered, climbing into the Mustang after Jaime unlocked the doors.

"She was. She prolly didn't even know she had a vagina until she had it popped." Jaime replied, lighting up a Newport after lowering the windows.

"Well, what do you want to do, it's your birthday in about two minutes?" Lucas asked.

"You don't wanna know." Jaime spoke after a moment's pause.

"Yeah, I do, I'm your best friend bro." Lucas replied, but then continued, "Except that, I don't have the necessary female parts for that one." Lucas said grinning, earning a laugh from Jaime.

"Look boss, we've been doing this clubbing bit for the last year. I've fucked all kinds of hoes and you've had a couple. What I'm saying is that this shit is boring, and I want something more. I say we leave Jacksonville behind, at least for a bit." Jaime responded after a second.

"And go where?" Lucas asked incredulously.

"Does it matter? Luke, your pockets are fat and we know dat, and you know my pockets is pretty fat too. Does it matter?" Jaime said begrudgingly.

"Kind of." Lucas said noncommittedly.

"I want to go to Tree Hill." Jaime said, flicking his cigarette into the dark abyss of the night.

"What!?" Lucas shouted out.

"Listen here, bruh. I want to know what it was like, I've read your book you know, the day it came out and a few times after that. I want to see it, I've dreamed about meeting the people you once knew. I want to see the chick that's had your balls for the last two years and you didn't even know it, and possibly get my balls inside that Brooke chick…" Jaime left the sentence hanging.

"You're nuts, there's a reason I left." Lucas growled out.

"If you're looking for reasons not to go back, there are plenty of them. But by going back, you might get plenty of reasons to stay. Who knows, I wanna find out, there's got to be more to life than this bruh." Jaime said.

Lucas thought about it, his stomach getting giddy at the thought of seeing everybody again.

"Fuck it, you're right. I knew there's a reason you're my best friend." Lucas said contemplatively. "But if shit goes downhill, we dip out of there." Lucas warned.

Life had changed, and they didn't even know it.

II

Peyton Sawyer looked at her daughter Sawyer Brooke Scott who laid there sleeping in her bed. She wasn't even a year and a half yet, but still the most beautiful thing she'd ever laid her green eyes on. Blond, curly ringlets with baby blue eyes.

His eyes.

She hated him, she knew he did.

He condemned her to a life of solitude after knocking her up and leaving her. No man wanted her during the pregnancy, and wanted none of them after. No one could compare in her eyes to him, to her image of him.

Lucas Scott was on a pedestal.

Even if she wanted nothing more than to knock it down in a fit of rage, he was up there alright.

How dare he touch her the way he had if he didn't love her? How dare he leave her after he did?

Two years did little to change the turmoil in her heart. She had been untouched by a man since he left his proverbial scars on her. She hadn't wanted anyone but him, even now. Then he had to go and make a book about it, and she got sucked up into that world, a world in which life was easy. A book in which he laid out exactly how much he loved her and how he couldn't move on without her, yet he still hadn't shown up.

Did he even love her anymore?

Not that it mattered, she was too busy in life to think about love.

With raising Sawyer, running her own music label, and fighting off the men of Tree Hill, she'd been too caught up in life to think of him much.

Until she read the fucking book like an idiot.

Life wouldn't change, she'd stay all alone like she had the last two years. Brooke had become a huge fashion designer and got rich. Haley got back into music and Nathan continued his basketball career, and their son Jaime got caught in the middle.

Especially after the divorce.

Haley was too into music, and Nathan was too much into basketball.

Haley had been signed to Warner Bros, and Nathan had been drafted in his junior year of college to the Chicago Bulls. To them he was the next Michael Jordan, and he sucked it all in, making millions in the process.

She hadn't known what Lucas had done over the last two years, just that he made the novel, but she did wonder at times.

She would hate him for a bit.

But she'd always love him.

The simplicity of eternity.

A/N: End of prologue, you see how I'm setting everything up in Tree Hill. Lucas and Jaime are coming up, and so much has happened, how will he deal? How will Peyton react when she sees him? What has Skills and Mouth been up to? What about Dan?

Next Time on TSOE:

"You think I've forgotten, Lucas?" Peyton screamed hysterically at him.

"You could of told me." Lucas shot back angrily.

"Just like you told me you were leaving, oh yeah you didn't." Peyton replied sarcastically, before turning around and walking away.

"Peyton, wait please."

"Fuck you Lucas Scott."