"George Seaton once said; faith is believing in things even when common sense tells you not too. It is this faith that we all must have in order to overcome the shortcomings in our lives. No matter the obstacles we face, no matter the circumstances we see in front of us. In spite of the fact that we have been told over and over again that we can't do something. Never give up the hope, the faith in yourself that you can conquer anything. And if it all becomes too hard for you to face on your own…find a shoulder to lean on for support. Because sometimes all we need… is a little help."
An Unkindness of Ravens - Lucas Scott
One: Work
"Same old boy…same sweet girl. Five years down the road…"
There really is nothing quite like watching the sunset over the ocean waters. The varying colors and rays glinting off the waves crashing below. Every night you could come out and see something beautiful. Sure most people probably take it for granted, having something so gorgeous outside their window. However, Peyton Sawyer knew better then that. She cherished each night she sat on her bedroom windowsill and watched the sun make its way behind the horizon. If she could capture the peace it gives her each night in a bottle, she would have a room full of serenity.
Peyton's situation may not be what she had expected it to be five years ago when she left her first home. It hadn't fallen into place as she had once thought it would. The money she made wasn't great; the job wasn't anything near what she wanted to do. She didn't live on her own, she could barely afford to put gas in her car. But watching that sunset from her bedroom was always enough to make her smile.
"Knock, knock." The voice called softly from her bedroom door as it opened slowly.
Looking over, Peyton saw the other thing in this city that made her smile. Her roommate and best friend, Brooke Davis.
"Hey. I didn't hear you come in." Peyton said, sliding her knees up to her chest as her fingers twiddled with her mother's old cancer bracelet.
"Yeah." Brooke said as she moved to the chair by Peyton's bed and sat down heavily in exhaustion. "I had to put in a few extra hours to get that damn article finished. I swear, it shouldn't be that hard to write about designer shoes." Peyton laughed softly, looking down at her hands while nodding a little. "How bout you, how was your day?"
"Same as yesterday. Nothing like serving eggs and steak to hungry tourists all day." Peyton said with a forced laugh.
Brooke nodded. She knew that Peyton's job wasn't what she wanted to be doing. But she also knew that Peyton needed money and this was the only job she could land. It was supposed to be temporary, but that was three years ago.
"Sorry." She whispered whole-heartedly. "One day I'll remember to stop asking you that question." Brooke said with a smile.
"It's all good."
"So…I'm webcam chatting with Nate and Haley tonight, you wanna join me…or us. This webcam thing is so cool. I should have used yours a lot more back in the day."
Peyton quirked her eyebrows and grinned.
"Back in the day? You make us sound so old, Brooke."
"Well you know, 23 is two years past 21…and they say that once you're 21 it's all downhill from there. You have nothing left to look forward too." Brooke quirked while tilting her head.
"Well that's cynical."
"Eww." Brooke thought for a second. "Yeah it was, that's usually your department."
Peyton opened her mouth, trying to seem as though she was offended. However, the smile tugging at the sides of her mouth gave it away.
"I am not cynical. Just…realistic." She knew the comment would cause Brooke to roll her eyes and that's exactly what it did.
"Whatever, so are you in or out for Naley tonight?"
"Umm." Peyton thought. "Count me out tonight. My feet hurt and I'm tired. I think I'll just shower and head to bed. Gotta be up at seven again tomorrow. Yay…" She cheered sarcastically
Brooke nodded and stood back up. As she was walking to the door, she stopped with her hand on the knob and turned back slightly.
"Hey, Peyton." She called. The blonde then looked over at her with curious eyes. Brooke was focused on some of the things in Peyton's room. The old hand-me-down bed, the broken nightstand and the dresser that Peyton used for just about everything from dinner table to make up tray. All she wanted to do was help her friend, but she knew that offering money or anything of that nature would only upset her. So she decided against her original thought. "Nevermind. G'night."
"Night, Brooke."
After taking a shower, brushing her teeth and slipping into her nightgown. Peyton made her way back into the bedroom an hour or so later and suddenly, sleep didn't seem all that appealing. With a sigh, she turned around and left her room and headed for the living room. There she saw Brooke sitting on the couch, still in her work clothes, watching what appeared to be Grey's Anatomy.
As she came closer, she noticed the small tray in front of Brooke. "I can't believe you eat those things." Peyton said with her nose up.
"What?" Brooke said in defense. "They're easy, and they taste pretty good once you get used to them. Don't diss Lean Cuisine til you try it."
Brooke then patted on the spot of the couch beside her and Peyton took a seat.
Leaning back, she stared at the TV for a few seconds. "What are we watching?"
"Grey's."
"New episode?"
Brooke shook her head. "No, repeat."
"So that means it's okay for me to change it?"
Shaking her head with a smile, Brooke nodded. "I suppose, you should really give shows like this a chance, P.Sawyer."
"No thank you." She then switched it to the Discovery Channel where they were showing a documentary on whales. "See, my shows are educational."
Brooke alternated her eyes between the TV and Peyton a couple times before speaking. "Peyton, this show is called Hail to the Whale?. You can't be serious."
"Well it's better then…Grey's." Peyton said mockingly, trying to match the tone that Brooke used to describe her show. After thinking for a second, Peyton reached over and handed Brooke the remote. "Here…watch your show." She said with her best smile.
Brooke hesitantly took the remote. "What?"
"It's your TV Brooke. You pick what we watch." Peyton's voice had a reassuring tone. She then stood up and let out a small yawn. "I need to go to bed anyways, big day tomorrow." She said dryly. "Tell Nathan and Haley I said hi and…I'll probably be gone before you wake up so I'll see you in the evening." Peyton noted before turning around and heading to her room.
Brooke smiled a bit but it quickly faded. She knew that Peyton needed something to pick her up. The only problem was that she didn't know what that was. Just then, her computer let out a ding, letting her know that Nathan and Haley were online.
------------------------------------------
"Hi. I'm Peyton and I'll be your waitress for this evening. Our special today is the surf and turf and it also comes with your choice of soup or salad. Can I get you anything to drink to start you guys off?" The words she'd said at least thirty times already today Peyton muttered once again.
The small family that was seated at the table were all doing something other then paying attention to what she was saying. The little boy was playing with the ice in his water. The younger girl was busy texting away to what appeared to be a boy by the hidden grin on her face. The mother flipping through her map book trying to figure out where they needed to go next. Meanwhile, the father's eyes were focused on Peyton, just…not on her face, he was a bit more south then that.
Quickly rolling her eyes, she waited until finally, the mother spoke. "I'll have an iced tea."
They all gave her their drink orders and Peyton made her way to the back. The smile quickly changed into an agitated glare as the door behind her closed.
"I need an iced tea, a coffee and two cokes, one diet and one regular!" She called out before grabbing a tray from the stack and holding it as another worker put the drinks on it. Peyton then turned and headed back for the door. Just then, another waitress said something to her from a distance in the kitchen.
"All smiles, Blondie!"
Peyton sighed and then showed her teeth before backing out the door and heading for the table with the tray balanced on her palm. She set the drinks in the proper spots before grabbing her notepad from her apron and pulling the pen out of her ear.
"Alright, what can I get ya?" After taking down each order and getting their meals out to them. Peyton waited until they left before she finally was able to take her much needed lunch break.
The chef in the back made her a club sandwich and Peyton took it to a table out back that was reserved for employees. She untied her apron and set it down beside her before scooping up her sandwich and taking a bite.
"Do you ever get anything besides that club?" A young girls voice asked from behind.
Peyton smiled, not even needing to turn around to know who it was. "I don't like change." Peyton called back as the girl took a seat beside her.
Heather McCain was a waitress here as well. Dark brown hair, pretty green eyes and a tall, slender frame. She started here a few months before Peyton showed up so they learned the ropes of waitressing together. Now however, they were the two longest running employees that didn't work in the kitchen.
"Change isn't always bad, Blondie. I mean, when they changed our uniforms last year, that was a good thing right? Or did you like the pink and white stripes?"
Peyton laughed and had no choice but to agree. "No you're right, that was a rare case of a good change."
"So what're you doing tonight?" Heather asked while pouring Tabasco sauce on her eggs which made Peyton's nose cringe a little.
"Oh big glamour night. I have shopping with Brooke and then I think I'm going to curl my hair. Then bedtime! It's a party every night at my house."
Heather laughed a bit as she cut her chicken fried steak up and started eating it. "Well that's better then what I have planned." She then reached into her purse and pulled out a couple rolls of quarters. "Laundry night."
"Ah, I had one of those a few nights ago. Totally rocked."
Putting her quarters up, Heather let out a groan. "Ugh, I wish something exciting would happen you know? I'm so sick of this bullshit, nonsense ass job. People should be waiting on me, not the other way around."
"Yeah tell me about it." Peyton said quietly as she continued eating. "I'm thinking about getting out of here."
"Really? Where too?"
"Don't know. Anywhere that has trees and not all this smog and…decent people maybe. Well besides present company of course."
Heather laughed. "Yeah the city folk here sure are bitchy. But I've been here for seven years so I'm used to it. You're still adjusting."
The blonde shook her head. "I don't want to adjust. I always thought I'd fit into the bit city world but…it's just not comfortable to me. I guess I'm more of a security blanket girl then I thought I was."
A silence fell over the conversation. Until Heather looked over at Peyton with a question in mind. "Where's your security blanket?"
Peyton's hazel eyes looked up to the sky as she thought. "Not really sure. Tree Hill I guess…that's where I grew up. I just have some…baggage there."
Heather raised an eyebrow. "Baggage?"
"I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count."
"Ahh, a boy?"
Peyton nodded. "Bingo."
"He break your heart?"
She shook her head. "Yeah…but it was my fault. Truth is he didn't do anything wrong. I did."
"How come it's been three years here together and you've never told me about this boy?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Peyton looked down at her plate. "Talking about him isn't exactly…good for me."
"Is he the one that turns you into the cranky girl that mopes around this place once every two weeks or so?"
Again Peyton nodded. "That's the one."
"I see. You ever talk about it? I mean….can I ask what happened or do you shoot people if they ask?"
Peyton broke into a laugh as she finished off half the sandwich. "No. It's okay. I don't tell just anyone but…you're my second closest friend so I think you pass." She wiped the crumbs off her hands and checked her watch to see how long she had to tell the story before her break ended. Turning on the bench a bit she let out a sigh and started. "I was supposed to come here to LA for a three month internship at Syre records. But that fell through in a hurry and I had every intention of going back. Then Lucas, the boy, called me and said he was going to Florida with his mom for the summer so there wasn't anything back there for me until fall. So I stayed out here with Brooke and then her parents split up and had a pretty ugly falling out. I stayed here with her and supported her through that. When it was time to go I just knew that Brooke wasn't ready to be alone. So I stuck it out a little longer and somewhere along the way I forgot to go back."
Heather took a second to soak it all in. "So wait. You left the boy to take care of Brooke? Peyton it's been five years, I'm sure she's better by now."
Peyton nodded. "She is, it's just…I don't know. She's tried to get me to go home tons of times I just never could. Once that first year passed with us apart I figured it was probably too late. I'm sure he's moved on and is happy wherever he is or whatever he's doing."
"Or he could be hurt and pining for you to finally return after all these years."
"Doubtful." Peyton said in a dry tone.
"But possible." Heather countered back in a brighter tone. "Don't ever give up the hope, Blondie. When you do that you give up everything."
Peyton couldn't help but smile. "You know, you remind me a lot of him."
"What?" Heather whined while covering her face. "Are you saying I look like a dude?"
"No! I meant in what you say and how to say it. That was a very Lucas thing that you just said."
"I see. Well we better get back in there. We don't need Carlos yelling at us again." The girls stood up and picked up their plates.
"Yeah right, we have that man tied around our fingers." Peyton smirked.
Heather let out a laugh. "So true."
------------------------------------------
"Is it true that if you squeeze a tomato you can tell how good it is?" Confused, Brooke asked as she used her fingers to press on the vegetable.
Quickly, Peyton took it out of her hands. "No, it just bruises them and then nobody can eat them."
"Oh…well I guess I should put these back." Brooke said before reaching into her bag and setting three more tomatoes on the shelf.
Peyton smiled before checking the list in her hand again. "Okay, we need…yogurt. Two isles down." Brooke grabbed the cart as the two girls made their way to the next stop. "When's Chase get back into town?" Peyton asked as they turned up the isle.
"Not for two weeks." Brooke said despondently. "I hate these stupid business trips. I wish he would have been into fashion. I so could have gotten him a job at the magazine."
"Trust me, Brooke. It's probably a good thing that Chase isn't into fashion." They shared a laugh. "How bout the happy Scotts. How were they doing? They say anything interesting last night?" Peyton asked as she put a few packages of yogurt into the cart.
"They're good." Brooke said as they made their way down another isle. "James is about to start Kindergarten soon. Haley wanted me to tell you that she is taking care of TRIC. She and Deb booked some band called…Chemical Love or…My Romantic Chemist or…something like that."
"My Chemical Romance?!" Peyton squealed with shock and excitement in her voice.
"Yeah, those guys."
"Damn, good for them. I'd love to see MCR live. Lucas and I were always going too but we never got around too it."
There was a hint of silence, one that always came at the mention of that name. "They mentioned him too." Brooke said quietly.
Peyton nodded slowly. "Yeah, how is he?"
"He's fine but…they say they're worried about him. He's been checking in less and less with them. They're planning on heading to Tree Hill to check up on him but they're not sure when they can both get time off. Apparently he has a lot on his plate right now but you know Lucas…trying to carry it all on his own."
They continued picking up the items from their list but the conversation died quickly. Peyton found herself immersed in thought. She could have easily gone back there. The reasons why she didn't were still somewhat blurry to her. All she really knows is that the internship fell through, she called to tell him, he didn't answer and she never picked up the phone again.
"Hey." Brooke's voice broke her train of thought. "Do you need cigarettes?"
Trying to remember everything that didn't involve Lucas Scott or her old life, Peyton finally nodded. "Yeah, just get me two packs. That should hold me for the week. I'll get the milk and we'll meet at checkout."
With the groceries packed and both girls in the car, they made their way back home. Taking her eyes off the road for a second, Brooke looked over at Peyton who appeared deep in thought.
"What'cha thinking about, P?"
"Hmm." Peyton broke from her thoughts. "Oh…I was thinking about you actually."
Brooke cocked her eyebrow and smirked. "P.Sawyer, you don't I don't swing that way without a lot to drink." She teased.
Peyton laughed. "Yes Brooke, I know. That's why we never drink tequila anymore." She said before sticking her tongue out. "But what I meant was I'm thinking about you and your job. Brooke you drive an hour and a half everyday to work. How come you don't move closer to your office?"
The look on Brooke's face dropped a bit. "Actually, I—I kinda have been thinking about it."
"Oh…" Peyton fought her feelings of disappointment. "That's good. Have you been looking at anything?"
Brooke shook her head. "No, it's just talk right now. I can't move or look at anything without you and Chase there."
"That's just it Brooke. You and Chase, it's your house and your future…your money. I'm tired of being the third wheel for you guys."
Shaking her head, Brooke quickly spoke. "Peyton, you're not…" She was interrupted.
"I am though. I hardly make enough money to help out with anything but my small part of the rent. Its just time for me to stop leeching off of you guys."
Brooke knew that Peyton had her mind set on this and once that happened, you couldn't change it.
"Well what would you do?"
"Well…" She thought for a second but her mind drew a blank. "I have…no idea." A small laugh escaping at the end of her words.
Brooke smiled and nodded. "Well you can stay with me until you figure it out. Besides, it's going to be a while before we can do anything. You're always welcome in my home P.Sawyer." They then pulled up to the driveway and Brooke stopped the car. "Now start loading groceries inside." She ordered teasingly.
Peyton gave her a fake salute before stepping out of the car to do as ordered.
--------------------------------
Stroking the brush gently across the white canvas, Peyton tried her best to match the beauty of the sunset outside her window. The colors were so unique that she always had a hard time finding the right hue. Dabbing her thumb on her tongue, Peyton used it to wipe off a straying streak of orange paint.
"So this is what you do in your spare time?" The voice startled Peyton who turned quickly to the door.
"Heather…" She sighed. "You scared the hell out of me."
The dark haired girl laughed. "Sorry, Brooke let me in. Is she always that chipper?"
Peyton laughed at the question and nodded while putting her paint supplies down. "Yeah, it can get annoying sometimes but for the most part she helps keeps my head up."
Heather took a seat on the bed and laid back. "Oh your bed is comfy." She said with a groan as she sunk into the mattress.
"Thanks. So what brings you by?"
"Eh, the usual. Boredom, lack of a better thing to do…that kind a thing."
Peyton rolled her eyes. "What? You didn't come because I'm awesome or because whenever you want to have fun you come to me?"
The dark haired girl let out a chuckle. "Sorry sweetie, just boredom today." Peyton was about to say something, but before she could, Heather spoke again. "Actually there is one other thing. I have two tickets to a Ray LaMontagne concert downtown this Saturday. And since you're my only friend who can pronounce his last name, I figured you'd be the best person to invite."
"I would love to go! I've been dying to see him live!" Peyton paused for a second and realized just how she must have come off. Her excitement showing a bit more then she wanted it too. "I mean…sure…sounds like it might be fun." She cleared her throat coyly as Heather stared at her with a smirk.
"Crazy-ass fan girl." Heather muttered as Peyton rolled her eyes before taking a seat on her windowsill. Checking her watch, Heather spoke again. "Well I'd better go; I'll give you the ticket at work tomorrow. See you then Blondie!"
Peyton chuckled a bit. "See ya."
As Heather left, Peyton rested her head against the wall behind her. Reaching into her purse on the floor, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and opened it. Slipping a stick between her lips, she lit it and took a heavy drag.. She wasn't sure why she stayed here. What exactly she was waiting for in this town. However, when the chance to leave would ever show itself, Peyton always found an excuse to stay. Brooke made her feel safe, Heather did as well. In the moments she spent with them it was okay being here. But when she was alone…Peyton never felt more lost.
Reviews are greatly appreciated, so I know whether or not to continue.