A/N: I do not own One Tree Hill...I know, another story...This idea popped into my head. One shot or longer depending on you, the readers! So let me know.

Smoke filled the air of the small bar on the edge of Tree Hill. It wasn't a popular hangout, but it had a few regulars. It was mostly middle-aged men avoiding their wives or the desperate forty year old woman looking to be loved. She didn't know what brought her to this place exactly. She couldn't be sure whether it was Lucas taking back his proposal, or if it was Nathan professing that he still loved her. Last week they had been mourning the loss of a Raven, and this week she was finding a way to deal with both the Scott men.

Exactly 24 hours ago, everything changed.

"Peyton, are you here?" She could here her dark-haired friend enter the house she had taken residence in since Las Vegas.

"Yeah, I'm in the kitchen." He walked in to find the woman baking cookies, peanut butter.

"Mmm, how come you never made me cookies? Especially peanut butter, you know they are my favorite." He flashed her a grin that had been famous during his days as the top Raven.

"Don't cry, you can have one, but you have to promise not to make fun of them if they are bad." She looked into his eyes to see if he agreed; however, she didn't expect what she saw. He approached her with a look on his face that she hadn't seen in years. It was one that both scared her and excited her. His lips were in distance and their eyes were locked in a trance. He took hers in his at the same moment Lucas walked through the front doors to hear commotion in the kitchen.


Nathan was stopped as her hands pushed on his chest, caused their touch to break. "Nathan, what the hell was that?"

He had a fire in his eyes. "Peyton, Iloveyou." He blurted out in one swift breath.

"Nate, I love you too. But we are just friends, I mean, you are married to Haley." She stated nervously as she began pacing around the kitchen. "and you have Jamie. And you are going through so much right now. I know you are sad about Q. That's it. You just aren't thinking straight."

He caught her shoulders with his hands to steady her. He was losing his nerve the more she paced. "That's just it, I am thinking straight, for the first time in a while. I love Jamie, and even Haley, but she isn't you. Q's death made me realize that we don't always have to tomorrow, life is short. And I can't imagine my life without you. I don't know how I have for so long."

"Nathan, you can't mean that. Just go back to Haley and your son. Lucas will be home soon. We'll pretend this never happened." She took his hand and practically shoved him out of the kitchen door, resting her back on it as it closed. She hated herself, but she would always feel the connection with Nathan, and she hated denying him. If only he could have done that before Haley.

Lucas chose that moment to walk into the kitchen, the moment when her tears starting flowing. "What the hell was that Peyton?" He said it shaking from emotions, fear that his brother held his fiancé's heart.

"Nothing." She said walking over to the oven to remove the cookies. "Damn it." She fanned the smoke and placed the burnt treats on the counter.

"Peyton, just tell me what that was about, that it didn't mean anything. And we can go back to our blissful engagement." He stared at her shivering body, knowing she couldn't answer him the way she wanted to.

The silence proved him right. "It is not what you think, Nate is just a mess. He didn't mean it." She avoided eye contact with the man she pined for so long.

"I knew it, you still love him don't you, after all of these years? I'm sorry, I know you wouldn't do anything, but if you still love him, I can't be with you. I need to go see Brooke anyway." She knew it was truth when he said it, but she still wanted to pretend it wasn't true. She was glad he was going to Brooke; it was better this way. She and Brooke had had several heart to hearts over the last week, and she hadn't offered any information about what really happened. Peyton only hoped that Brooke and Lucas could comfort each other, and she could get out of the lives of the people she ended up hurting.

She had downed nearly eight shots already, the alcohol burning with each and every flip of the wrist. She had only been there for half an hour, but she wanted to forget and the alcohol was the only solutions she could muster.

He too walked into the bar looking to forget. His first real relationship went down the drain, his career trashed, and he was in a town that brought back only bad memories. He wouldn't have been in Tree Hill had it not been for the fact that his family occupied the town. His sister and his nephew's family had made a home here, why couldn't he?

His life as a bachelor was getting old. So was he, as much as he hated to admit it. If he wanted children, he needed to fall in love soon, or at least find someone who wanted to love him. He was thrown off when he saw the woman in the corner table, a cigarette in her hand and a drink in the other. She was oddly familiar. As he got his drink he approached the table to quickly realize she was the same girl his nephew used to treat like shit.

"Mind if I join you?" His blue eyes sparkling with the dim lighting in the room. It was these eyes that reminded her of Nathan's. She had always thought the blue eyes were from the Scott family, but after truly looking at Cooper's eyes she could see that Nathan and Lucas eyes had never been the same, she had merely assumed they were. Was she really that oblivious to the one's she claimed to love. "Peyton?"

Returning from her thoughts, she replied. "If you tell the bartender to keep the shots coming." She readjusted her eyes to cigarette in her hand.

"So when did you take up smoking?"

"Tonight" her answer was short, and even though he didn't know her that well, the pain shone through her tone of voice.

"It has been quite a day; I could use a smoke myself." He said casually seating himself in the booth beside her. He reached for her hand, and she didn't protest as he grabbed the white stick and placed it in his lips.

The waitress brought them both a round of whiskey, and they proceeded to drown their emotions. Something about the woman across from him intrigued him. He could only believe it was the way her face never flinched at the brown liquid. "Professional drinker, eh?"

"I had a lot of practice in LA." She didn't want to look back at him. His eyes had caught her off guard earlier, and she refused to get lost in them again.

Three rounds later, silence still cluttered the air, but the two had found a comfortable silence. As they leaned against each for support, they laughed as Peyton's body jolted. Too far gone "I guess I shouldn't have had that last one." She said with her finger directly in front of his eyes. He knew she had had enough, and motioned for the bill. He helped her up, and she rested her forehead on his. "You have Nathan's eyes."