Chapter 1: Clocks

New York City – October 2014

Her eyes darted back across the room checking the clock sitting on the nightstand.

Shit. She thought after looking at the time. They were going to be late. Again.

Peyton Sawyer sighed letting her back fall down against the mattress as she continued to listen to Haley, one of her closest girlfriends and for the past two years her business partner, ramble off on the last few items that needed to be addressed before the conversation could come to a close.

This was taking way longer than she had anticipated. He was going to be pissed. But this was business and it was business that she needed to handle. He'd understand in the end.

Despite relocating to New York a year and a half ago, Peyton couldn't just abandon all her responsibilities and leave poor Haley to shoulder it all. Haley was a godsend, the only reason she was able to leave Tree Hill for New York in the first place. Haley knew the music business inside out. She was musically talented in her own right, and despite their differing taste and styles in music, Haley James Scott was just as passionate about changing the world through music as Peyton was. So when the time came it was a no-brainer to bring Haley on as a partner after years of strictly working for Peyton as a record producer and even lending her song writing abilities to the label from time to time.

That being said, while she was thankful for Haley, because god knows she'd be lost without her these days, Red Bedroom Records was her baby. She had started it on her own from the ground up, with a generous investment from her best friend Brooke Davis, and she had no intention of walking away from her baby. So she still managed her side of the business as best she could remotely from New York, while Haley and a couple of other employees managed the day-to-day affairs back in Tree Hill. Additionally, Peyton would fly down there twice a month to check up on things in person.

And though they pretty much emailed and texted non-stop every day, once a week Peyton and Haley got on the phone to hash out their work in further detail. Tonight they were doing just that.

This situation was all temporary of course. From the very beginning they had planned to move to New York agreeing that it was temporary. If all went well she'd be back in Tree Hill by next summer. It was time to come home for good. Though she'd be lying if she said she wouldn't miss the city. Peyton was amazed at how it seemed to become a part of her in such a short amount of time. She hadn't regretted leaving Tree Hill and her close friends behind to come live here. She needed this. Especially after the tumultuous year she'd gone through right before moving to New York. It had been an utter nightmare and New York had been a welcomed escape.

"Okay, sure." Peyton quickly pulled away from her thoughts and agreed with Haley's assessment regarding the label's newest signed artist.

"Well…are you sure?" Haley hesitated for a bit before beginning again. "Because I know you're busy with-"

Oh hell no.

Peyton quickly cut her off. "Haley it's fine. I got this." She reassured her. They had been on the phone for the past two hours. If she didn't put a stop to this now, they'd be on the phone until the wee hours of the morning. And it wouldn't be the first time. It was no secret that Haley was a worrywart and an overachiever on top of that. Most of the time it didn't really faze Peyton in the slightest, but tonight it was irritating the shit out of her. She needed to end this call soon.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, you freak." Peyton replied while laughing. "Have I ever let you down before?"

"Of course not!" Haley replied in a serious tone. "I just want to let you know that if it's too much that I can take over. I know how busy you get once classes start. I'm here for you."

Peyton scoffed. "You do enough already Hales. Besides I'm pretty sure I monopolize enough of your time as it is. Do you even remember that you have a family in that big old house of yours?"

"Hmmm….now that you mention it they do sound vaguely familiar." Haley teased. "And that house is far from old, especially with the small fortune Nathan and I spent on renovations."

Peyton laughed again. "You're doing a great job Haley. Trust me. The label would be falling apart if it wasn't for you." She could hear Haley taking a nervous breath over the line. "You're doing a great job." She reassured her one more time.

Haley chuckled. "I am pretty awesome aren't I?" She asked though the words came out of her lips much more like a statement rather than a question.

"The awesomest." Peyton replied teasingly, a smile taking over her lips. "That being said, get your ass out of the office and go home to your hot basketball player husband and those adorable two perfect kiddos of yours. I'll look over the contracts you faxed over tomorrow, I'll get in touch with Mia's tour manager to finalize the tour dates, and I'll send you my notes on those new tracks you sent me."

"Sounds good boss."

"Haley you've been co-owner of Red Bedroom Records for almost two years now. Newsflash I'm not your boss anymore. You run the show just as much as I do."

"Yeah I know." Haley smugly replied. "It's just nice to hear it from someone else every once in awhile."

Peyton smiled. "Being your own boss feels good doesn't it?"

"Hell yes."

"Well if that's all, I'm gonna let you go and try to convince my own husband not to divorce me. It's safe to say I've pretty much ruined our date night at this point."

"Ouch. I find that groveling helps." Haley quipped.

Peyton eyed the clock again. "Under normal circumstances I'd totally ignore that, but desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Well make sure to stretch out those boney knees of yours beforehand."

"Ha. Ha." The blonde rolled her bright greens eyes even if Haley couldn't actually see her at the moment. Peyton quickly sat back up on the bed inspecting her knees. They weren't that boney, were they? "Wish me luck." She spoke in a frown still checking out her knees.

"Good luck! You guys are still coming down next weekend for Jamie's birthday party right?" She asked with her usual dose of enthusiasm.

"We wouldn't miss it. I can't believe the kid is going to be nine. Dude, we're old."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Haley replied with a little less gusto this time.

"Send my love to Nathan, Jamie & Lydia." Peyton quickly added.

"Will do."

"And Haley…thanks for all your help."

"Always." Haley softly replied before promptly disconnecting the call.

Peyton exited the bedroom dragging her bare feet across their apartment towards the living room where she found her handsome husband on the couch twirling an empty beer bottle in his right hand. "We missed the movie didn't we?" She asked softly already knowing the answer. She took a seat next to him.

Lucas Scott moved his gaze away from the bottle twirling in his hand to look at his wife.

Peyton studied his expression carefully. He didn't look overly pissed, but he didn't look happy either.

"The last showing started over an hour ago Peyton, you knew that." Lucas snapped in irritation.

"I'm really sorry Luke." She inched her way closer towards him and placed her hands over his free hand. She was relieved when he didn't flinch at her touch. Peyton had half expected him to push her hands away. Things were usually perfect between them, sure they had their disagreements like any married couple would, but for the most part it had been smooth sailing between them. It had been smooth sailing alright or at least it had been up until two month ago. They'd been fighting constantly for weeks. The fights usually stemming from the fact that they hadn't been spending much time together lately. In addition to managing the label, Peyton had enrolled in a two year art program at the Pratt Institute not long after they had decided to move to New York. As for Lucas, he had been busy working on his latest novel for the past year. It wasn't anywhere near completion yet, but he was slowly getting there.

Their routine has been pretty simple, while Peyton was at school or locked up in her home office/studio immersed in work, Lucas would dive into his own work be it his novel or preparing pieces for a few publications he worked for sometimes as a guest columnist. And for the past year it had worked. They both worked hard, while still excelling in their marriage and even managed to form a tight circle of close friends to hang out with.

But now that Peyton was in her second and final year at Pratt, she'd been busier than ever. If the past two months since school started were any indication, Lucas was not looking forward to the rest of the school year. She had basically been a ghost these past few weeks barely spending anytime at home anymore. They usually caught sight of each other during the mornings as they both got ready for the day and at night somewhere between dinner and bedtime, when Peyton would come stumbling into the apartment completely exhausted and stressed the fuck out from her classes. The poor thing could barely hold on to a conversation before passing out in their bed from fatigue. In the beginning of course Lucas had sympathized. His girl was kicking ass at school, while still holding down a successful recording label. And though she was stressed, she was happy. He was proud of her. He was confident she would eventually be able to manage and juggle everything as smoothly as she had been able to last year. It was Peyton after all. His wife never did anything half assed and she always came out on top.

But it only got worse. Hell some nights Lucas was lucky if Peyton came home at all. A few times she had opted to passing out at her work studio at school in order to avoid the grueling late night subway commute from Brooklyn back to Manhattan where they lived. She'd be able to get more work done on her projects and save up on lost time spent commuting back and forth. Plus in her opinion the work spaces at Pratt were ten times better than the shoe box of a room she called her office back at the apartment.

The first night she stayed out Lucas was beyond livid. He had woken up in the middle of the night lazily reaching out to her side of the bed only to be met with cold empty sheets. After inspecting the rest of the apartment and finding no signal of her return he panicked. Naturally the worst possible scenarios went running wild through his mind as he tried to reach her over the phone, his calls going straight to voicemail. He even called a few of her classmates he'd become friendly with over the past year, but not a single one could tell Lucas where his wife was. When that proved to be fruitless he hurriedly dressed and was half way out the door when Peyton finally called. She groggily explained over the line how she'd just woken up from a power nap and her phone had died making her miss his calls. Lucas was seething the entire time she spoke. When she was done explaining he barked at Peyton to get her ass into a cab and come straight home, and that he didn't care how much it fucking cost. He hung up before she could object.

45 minutes later she stormed back into the apartment slamming the front door behind her in a fury. They probably woke up their neighbors on the entire floor that night. It was the biggest fight they'd ever had in the six years they had been together. Peyton couldn't believe how much he was overreacting and she definitely made sure he got the message as she yelled at him. She should have remembered to call yes, but he was acting crazy nonetheless. Lucas could only yell back at how ridiculous she was behaving. Peyton could have been dropped dead in a ditch somewhere for all he knew and yet here she was completely unfazed by the entire situation. She wasn't some 18 year old in college pulling all nighters anymore. She was in her late twenties and had a husband for fuck sakes. She couldn't just disappear like that. He expected her to be home every damn night, sleeping in their bed not on the floor of an art studio in Brooklyn. If she didn't want to take the subway then they'd lease a car so she could drive home. End of story. By the end of his rant Peyton was visibly shaking from how angry she was. She walked away without further word and retreated into her office locking it behind her and effectively shutting Lucas out. She left him with little choice but to head back to bed alone.

By the time he had peeled out of bed the next morning she was already gone for the day and three days later she still hadn't come home. She avoided his calls only choosing to communicate with him via text to let him know she was staying at school. By the fourth day Lucas couldn't take it anymore. This was the longest they'd ever gone without speaking and it was driving him crazy. He missed her. At 2am he hauled his ass over to Brooklyn frantically going through all of Pratt's student studios until he found her. The second he entered the room Peyton dropped whatever she had been working on and jumped straight into his arms as tears silently streamed down her face. She had missed him too. Peyton would later admit that she'd done it purely out of spite over their fight. She didn't really mean to hurt him.

One steamy kiss later and she practically yanked Lucas down to the floor where they both worked quickly at discarding the other's clothing. It was the first time they'd been intimate in weeks. They remained on the floor tangled up in each other murmuring apologizes and words of forgiveness throughout the rest of the night.

Last week Lucas had proposed scheduled date nights in order to help them get back their groove. Peyton agreed. Tonight was supposed to be the first of these scheduled dates. She had totally blown it. She knew she had.

"I honestly didn't think the call would run that long babe." She continued after Lucas remained silent. "But you know that Haley, total slave driver. She can be a real bitch sometimes." Her pathetic attempt at a joke fell flat. Peyton watched as her husband narrowed his blue eyes at her clearly unimpressed. "I really am sorry Lucas." She apologized again. She gave his left hand a tight squeeze.

Lucas released a heavy sigh. He placed the beer bottle that was still in his right hand down on the coffee table before placing that exact hand over hers. "We're supposed to be working on us Peyton."

"I know. I know." She quickly nodded in agreement. "I really was looking forward to tonight. It was never my intent to screw it up. Let me make it up to you." She pleaded with him. "I'm sure we could still salvage what's left of the night." She looked up at her husband of almost four years offering up her best pout. "Please Luke?"

"Just forget it Peyton." Lucas grumbled as he stood up from the couch. He wasn't in the mood for her trying to act all cute at the moment.

"No, no Luke, c'mon." The blonde grabbed Lucas' arm and pulled him back down on the couch before he could walk away. "How about we do dessert? I'll run downstairs and pick up your favorite ice cream…" She leaned over placing a light kiss on his left cheek and then continued to leave behind a trail of kisses until she reached his ear. "…then maybe we can have dessert in bed instead." She teased while nibbling his earlobe.

Peyton frowned at Lucas' unresponsiveness. She planted another kiss testing him. Again nothing.

Shit. She thought again as her face settled into an even deeper frown. Lucas never wasted an opportunity to kiss her. Ever.

Peyton pulled away sitting up again. "Please talk to me." She pleaded. "Don't be mad."

Lucas sighed. He moved his hand away from hers running it through his short blond locks in frustration. "I'm not mad." His tone was soft and sad. "I just wanted to spend time with my girl. I've just missed you that's all."

"Lucas—"

"It's fine Peyton. We'll try again another night." He placed a soft kiss on the tip of her forehead before standing up.

"Where are you going?" Peyton demanded.

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. "I might as well get some work in tonight. I've got those chapters I have to hand over to Lindsay by the end of the week." He replied. "She made a ton of edits last time that I still have to get through."

"Wait." She called out to him as he made his way over to his office down the hall. "Are you sure you don't want me to get us some dessert?" Peyton looked at him hopefully. She wanted him to say yes. She could tell how upset he was even though he had always been very good at masking his emotions.

Lucas shook his head. "It's fine babe."

Peyton leaned her head back in defeat once Lucas had disappeared. This was the worst. In all honestly she would have preferred for him to have yelled out his anger and frustration. Angry Lucas she could handle, but sad Lucas? Well, that broke her heart.

"Fuck it." She stated after spending a few more minutes on the couch. She stood up grabbing her purse and favorite leather jacket determined on purchasing Lucas' favorite ice cream and even more determined to lure him away from his desk and into bed with her. He'd be singing a different tune once she appeared before him wearing that one specific lingerie set she owned that had quickly become his favorite.

Peyton smiled to herself. It had been awhile since she dressed up for him.

Game on hubby.

"I'll be right back Luke!" She yelled out before exiting their apartment with a newly developed spring in her step. She walked out of the building and headed towards the convenience store a few blocks down.

Several minutes later she exited the store armed with a large bag of goodies. Peyton quickly rounded the corner wanting to get home fast. Despite it only being October the night air was unforgiving. Her fingers were starting to go numb, so she picked up the pace some more. Peyton mentally reminded herself that it was time to pull their winter things out of storage.

When she finally reached the front of her building the bag in hand had decided to completely tear itself open from the bottom. The collection of sweets she'd purchased came tumbling out in a mess on the concrete beneath her feet. "Fuck." She groaned out loud and reluctantly bent down to collect her items. She gathered everything in her arms before noticing she was missing the most important of them all. "Where the hell…" Peyton muttered surveying the area. She turned around catching the tub from the corner of her eye. "Damn." She spotted the tub of Lucas' mint chocolate chip ice cream slowly rolling away from her and nearing dangerously close to the street. In an instant she tossed what was in her arms back on the ground and ran over to save the ice cream catching it just in the time. She closed her eyes releasing a heavy sigh followed by a chuckle before straightening herself up.

Her eyes wildly flew open at the sounds of a speeding vehicle seemingly approaching out of nowhere. She hadn't been able to move in time. The loud crash of her fragile body coming into contact with the car was instantly followed by a deafening silence. Everything seem to happen in slow motion as Peyton felt her body go limp and essentially tossed back like a rag doll from the impact. Her body flew back several feet before crashing on to the ground. She could faintly hear the loud cracking sound that immediately followed once the back of her head banged violently against the cold hard concrete. She expected a rush of pain to follow, but it never came.

With what little strength she had left, Peyton lifted her eyes lids open. She was quickly met with a blinding light forcing her to shut them tightly once again. The light no doubt was emitting from the car that had just hit her. She was terrified to move even an inch, so she remained still silently pleading for someone to come to her aid. She thought of Lucas, he was inside their apartment only a few floors above from her broken body.

Peyton took in a deep breath, her nose catching the faint mix of the ice cream and blood that now covered her body. She could feel the warm stickiness of blood trickling down the side of her face. She couldn't stop the sob that escaped from her throat.

Her thoughts returned back to Lucas. She cried for him one last time before her world went black.

A/N: It's been years since I've written any stories, but after recently seeing the movie the Vow, I was inspired to work on a new story. I don't plan on borrowing much from the movie at all, just taking the basic concept and reworking it into the OTH universe.

Story named after Frank Sinatra's Strangers in the Night.

Chapter Song: Clocks by Coldplay