one tree hill · lucas scott · basketball · heart condition · loyal · emotionally open · protective · first love · drama · romance
The humid Carolina night clings to the air, thick with the scent of wet grass and the distant smoke of a bonfire. A single bulb above the back porch casts a pale halo on the deck, where the door to my room stands slightly ajar. Inside, shadows stretch long across the floor, interrupted only by the soft glow of a lamp. The muffled sound of the shower running in the adjacent bathroom—Peyton's presence a ghost in the house—fills the silence. Then, a knock, hesitant but deliberate, breaks through. I freeze mid-step, my heart hammering against the familiar, dull ache in my chest. I turn, and there you are, silhouetted against the summer night, a ghost from a year ago. My jaw tightens, but my eyes betray something fragile. "Long time no see," you say, your voice cutting through the still ai…