A Tide of The Affairs || LUCAS SCOTT [1]

15 // Everything Has Changed

2003 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

Aurora James sat in Lucas Scott's room as she waited for Karen to bring him home from the hospital. She told Karen her plan. She bought Lucas one of those giant teddy bears like he bought for her when she was in the hospital after she broke her arm, and she made a poster for him, so she was on his bed, waiting for him to come home.

When she heard the door open, she stood up. "Surprise!" She exclaimed as Lucas walked in. The first thing he noticed was the bear, and he started laughing.

"Just like the one I got you when you broke your arm." He said with a smile, and Aurora smiled as well; she was glad he liked it.

"That's not too cheesy, right?" Aurora asked, and Lucas shook his head.

"No, no. I love it. It's an awesome surprise, Ari." Lucas responded, which made her smile more. She walked over to him and Karen and gently wrapped her arms around her boyfriend to hug him, and then she hugged Karen too.

"Then my mission is accomplished. I just wanted to say, welcome home, best friend." Aurora said as she leaned up and gently pecked his lips. She didn't want to kiss him fully since Karen was in the room.

"Can we have a minute, mom?" Lucas asked Karen, who was smiling at them. She had always secretly rooted for Lucas and Aurora to get together, and she was so happy that they were, but she had no idea that Lucas was about to break Aurora's heart.

"Yeah, and Aurora, if you're going to stay long, make sure he gets in bed and he's resting," Karen said, and Aurora laughed while nodding her head.

"Of course, I will," Aurora said. Karen smiled and left the room, and then she turned to Lucas. "So, are you doing okay? I know you probably don't feel 100%, so whatever you need, I'm here for you, okay? Between work and school, of course." Aurora said, and Lucas nodded his head.

"And just so you know, I can't have sex for a while," Lucas said. Aurora was a little caught off guard that he would say that randomly, and she raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't even thinking about sex, but... okay," Aurora said. She shook her head to erase the awkwardness of that encounter. "Anyway, whenever I'm not at work, I can help you with whatever you need, okay?" She asked.

"I just need some time to figure some things out," Lucas said, and Aurora nodded her head.

"Okay, and I'll be here for you if you need me. That was my whole point." Aurora said, and Lucas sighed. He didn't know how to do this, and he didn't want to hurt her, even though he knew he was inevitably going to.

"Ari, see... that's the thing," Lucas said. Aurora could tell by the tone of his voice where this conversation was going.

"Wait, are you breaking up with me?" She asked, and Lucas sighed.

"Aurora, I just think it's the best thing right now," Lucas said, and she laughed a little as she walked towards the door.

"Yeah, maybe for you." She said. Lucas gently grabbed her arm and spun her around, but she quickly pulled her arm out of his grasp.

"Aurora, I'm sorry, but like you said, you're my best friend. Right now, I need my best friend more than a girlfriend." Lucas said, and Aurora nodded her head.

"Yeah, because it's just so easy to slip back into that role after getting your heart broken. Get some rest, Lucas." Aurora said as she walked out of the door and wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath to compose herself and then walked to her car.

She decided just to go back home.

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Haley James came to see Lucas after she got a distressing phone call from her sister that Lucas had broken up with her, and then, on top of that, when Haley went by the river court, she saw Lucas and Peyton making out.