I found out that from where I am I can also write, so I immediately started of course.

The Same Deep Water As You
Chapter 1

A/N This is my third story. It's a little bit different from my other two stories. The other ones were set in season 5, and this one is set in.. well high school. I would love to hear what you think about it, so please read and review.
I hope you enjoy it!

Peyton raced her car through the streets of Tree Hill. Because she just moved here, she didn't know the streets very well. That's why she was running late for school. Her new school, with the new kids. She wished she was back at her old school. She knew who she was there, and everyone knew her. Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer. Captain of the cheerleaders, popular, but not a stereotype cheerleader. Back there she knew who her friends were and who her enemy was. She got that place down. It was safe. But this, this new school, it was frightening. She knew that from now on, everything would be different.
Everything was different.
She drove up Tree Hills parking lot, grabbed her bag and ran into the school.
No one.
Great, I'm too late, she thought to herself. She looked at the little paper she was holding. It said where her locker was and where her classes were. She looked around and saw that she was standing next to her locker. At least she had luck with that.
She hastily opened it and tossed her stuff in it. She jumped with shock when she heard a voice behind her. 'Let me guess. You're late', the voice said. Peyton turned around and was faced with the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. 'Yeah, I guess', she stammered. The guy observed her and finally said: 'I don't think I've seen you around. Are you new?' She nodded and stuck out her hand. 'Peyton Sawyer.'
They boy smiled and shook her hand. 'Hi Peyton, I'm Lucas. Lucas Scott. Nice to meet you.' The two of them kept looking at each other until Peyton whispered: 'As much as I like doing this, I think it's time for us to go back to class. See, a boy just told me that I was late. So..' Lucas chuckled. 'Maybe that is a good idea. What's your first class?' he asked. Peyton looks at the paper. 'English', she answered. 'Good, mine too. I'll walk with you.' Peyton nodded hesitating and followed him.
Thank God, at least there are nice people on this school, she thought.

'So how do you like this school?' Lucas asked. She shrugged. 'Seeing that I've only been here for like what, fifteen minutes, I don't know.' Lucas laughed again. 'Sarcasme. I like that.' Then he stopped walking. 'Here it is.' He opened the door for her and followed her inside. She felt that everyone was looking at her, so she quickly moved to the lady in front of the class. They trade a few words, and then the teacher looked up. 'Okay, guys. This is Peyton Sawyer. She just moved here from Oak Land.' She looked at Peyton. 'You can sit there, in front of Lucas. In case you don't know him, that's him.' She pointed at the boy Peyton met earlier. She grabbed her bag and walked to her seat. 'Open your books at page 98.' Everyone did what they were told and opened their books. A boring, long class followed, but it was not hard for Peyton to keep up. Same goes for the next few classes. But still she was very happy that they had a short break. She got herself something to eat and found an empty table to sit on. She pulled out a book from her bag and started reading.

'All alone?' she suddenly heard. She looked up and sees Lucas, and smiled. 'May I?' he asked and looked at the seat next to hers. 'Yeah, sure', she replied. Now she couldn't focus on her book anymore, she kept staring at Lucas. 'Um.. you don't have to sit with me if you don't want to. You can sit with your friends over there. They're calling you.' 'Nah, they'll be fine without me. And besides you were all alone.' He stared at the book. 'What are you reading?' She looked at the book herself and then held it up so he could see it. 'The Great Gatsby.' 'The story about a man who wants to reconquer his old love, and that while she is married. Tragic.' Peyton nodded, surprised that he knew the book. He didn't strike her as a reader. All of the sudden a girl walked up to their table. 'Hey Luke', she said and winked. 'Brooke, what's up?' he asked smiling. It was obvious that the two were good friends. 'I actually wanted to ask her something', she told him and pointed at Peyton. 'I was observing you a little bit today, and I have an amazing offer for you!' 'Really?' Peyton responded, not too sure if she should be happy. 'How do you feel about becoming a.. cheerleader?! I'm sure you'll like it, and we really need one', she whined. Peyton didn't have to think twice about that and answered: 'I'd love, too!' 'Are you sure?' 'Absolutely, I've always been the captain of my own cheerleading squad.' 'Yay, that's great!' She clapped her hands together. 'Then I will see you after school in the gym, okay?' She didn't even wait for Peyton's answer, and walked away. 'Wow, you haven't even been here for a whole day, and you're already a cheerleader and friends with Brooke Davis. I'm honored that I may sit here, next to you', he mocked. Peyton started to laugh and playfully hits him on his shoulder. 'So what do you do around here? Are you part of a welcomingcomittee?' she joked. 'Actually, no. I play for the Tree Hill Ravens.' Peyton couldn't hold her laughter any longer. 'A jock and a cheerleader, that should be interesting!' They both laugh, but then the buzzer went off and they had to go to class. 'I'll meet you at your locker, if you want me to walk you to the gym?' Lucas suggested. 'I've gotta go now.' He smiled at her and walked away. Peyton slowly put her books in her bag and walked to her next class. Maybe this school isn't that bad after all. It could be a lot of fun.

Peyton just finished her last class and as promised she was waiting for Lucas at her locker. And as promised he showed up. 'Hey, how was your first day?' he asked curious. 'I'll let you know when it's over, okay?' Lucas smiled. 'Let's go, the gym is on the other side of the school.' She nodded and followed him. 'So..' Lucas suddenly started, 'you nervous?' 'No, not really. Like I said, I've always been a cheerleader.' She smiled. 'I know how to act around them.' 'Hmm.. and around Brooke?' 'I don't know yet. I mean, I only have a few classes with her and we haven't talked really.' 'Don't worry. Brooke is a good friend of mine and I'm sure you'll like her. Haley, too, by the way.' 'Who is Haley?' she asked confused. 'She's a cheerleader, too. And we've been best friends since we were nine, I think. And she is my half-brother's.. girlfriend. And that would be Nathan. He's a jock, too', he explained to her and walked further. Peyton noticed that there were a lot of pictures of a girl, not older then herself, hanging around the school. She looked more closely at one of the pictures. 'Danneel Harris.' It read. 'She's beautiful', she whispered. She turned to Lucas. 'Who is she?' she asked. 'She um - she was my girlfriend.' The happy look he had on his face five minutes ago, disappeared. 'She died four months ago.' Peyton looked away, shocked. 'I'm so sorry, Luke.' He shrugged it off. 'It doesn't matter. You couldn't know.' Lucas thought back to Danneel. 'We knew each other for five years, and we always had been great friends. But three-and-half years ago we realised that we wanted more than just friendship. She was the most precious thing in my life, and they just took her away from me.' 'What happened?' she asked while they continued to walk. 'Four months ago I got a call from her parents. She died in a car accident. The driver had one drink too many and he hit her with his car', he told her, and thinking back to that made him angry again.. 'I'm sorry, Lucas. It must be really hard for you.' Lucas nodded, and looked up. They arrived at the gym. Peyton opened the door and walks to the other girls. 'You came!' Brooke said cheerful. Peyton nodded, but her eyes followed Lucas everywhere. Brooke noticed it and asked her what is going on. 'Danneel..' 'Oh..' She sees how much it bugged Peyton. 'Hey, that can happen to anyone.' 'Yeah, I know. But still.' 'Don't worry about it. Come on, I'll introduce you to the others.' She took Peyton's arm and dragged her to the rest of the girls. 'Girls, may I introduce to you Peyton Sawyer! She has always been the captain of her own cheerleading squad back in Oak Land.' Peyton waved and smiled. 'Peyton, this is my squad.' She introduced them to her one after the other. 'Okay, now we finished that, we can finally start. Positions!' Brooke walked to her stereo and put on the music. Then she walked back to them and they start.

'Who is that girl? The one with the blond curls', Nathan asked his brother. 'That's Peyton Sawyer, she's new.' 'And already she's a cheerleader?' he asked surprised. Lucas nods. 'She's really nice, and she fits in perfectly.' 'Really nice, huh?' he joked. Lucas playfully hit him. 'Why don't you just worry about you and Haley, then I will take care of my own.' 'I will Luke.' They start to laugh, but Lucas kept staring at Peyton. She really was beautiful.

"John Steinbeck once wrote: 'Change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like the stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass.'"

Then Lucas' thoughts got cut off by their coach Whitey Durham. 'Get over here!' he yelled. The boys walked over to their coach and sat down. 'What's up, coach?' Nathan asked. 'You better know what's up, or else there is something really wrong with you!' he said grumpy. 'We have a big game coming up tomorrow, and I want you to play the best you can. Or I swear that you won't play another game.' Some of the guys started laughing. 'This is not a joke!' he yelped. 'We have an undefeated season so far, and I don't know about you, but I want to keep it that way!' 'Coach, we know that this is an important game. Why do you think that we are running our asses off?' Tim said. Whitey smiled. 'Then just keep running. Because if you lose, that will be exactly what you will be doing, because that will mean the end of our season. No play offs!' He sighed. 'Go take a shower, we did enough for today.'
The cheerleaders were also done, and walked back to the dressing rooms. But before they could go, Brooke held a little speech of her own. 'You heard it. This game is important for the team. And it's our job to encourage them. If we don't do that, they lose, and it will be your fault! Get it?' Everyone remained silent. 'Good. You can go now.'
They all grabbed their bags and walked away. 'Are you coming?' Haley asked and looked at Peyton. Surprised, Peyton got up and walksedaway with Brooke and Haley. 'How was your first day?' Haley asked. 'I hope it was not too bad.' 'No, not at all. It was nothing like I expected.' At that moment three guys walked out of the dressing-room. Peyton only knew Lucas. One of the guys walked up to Brooke and kissed her. He was a little shorter than Lucas, but didn't look special. The other guy walked up to Haley and pressed a kiss on her forehead. He was taller than Lucas and just like the other guy, his hair was dark.

'Oh, Peyton, this is my brother Nathan', Lucas explained and pointed at Nathan. He looked at her and smiled. 'Hi.' 'And this is my gorgeous boyfriend, Jake', Brooke told her and kissed him again. It was hard for Brooke and Jake to keep their hands off of each other, and the same applied for Nathan and Haley. 'Okay, this is getting a little bit uncomfortable', Lucas joked. 'I think I'm gonna go.' The two couples laughed. Lucas winked at them and then walked away. 'Hey wait up!' Peyton yelled. 'I'm coming with you!' She ran after him and jumped him from behind.
Haley looked from Lucas and Peyton to Brooke. 'Maybe she's the one that can make him forget about Danneel', she said. 'Yeah, maybe..'

Lucas arrived at his house, and saw his mother standing in front of the window. She looked worried. 'Hey ma, what's wrong?' he asked concerned. 'Nothing', Karen answered. 'Are you sure?' His mom smiled. 'I'm sure.' Together they walked back inside. 'How was school?' she asked. Lucas shrugged. 'There's a new girl. Peyton Sawyer.' She turned around. 'A new girl?' Lucas nodded. 'And?' she asked curious. 'And nothing. She's nice, okay.' 'Okay. If you say so.' She laughed and walked with her coffee to the table. But Lucas stood up and walks to his room. 'Where are you going?' 'My room!' he yelled back.

He opened the door, walked in and dropped himself on his bed. He closed his eyes and thought back to what happened today. No one had mentioned Danneel to him anymore. Not since two months ago. Of course everyone thought about her, but no one actually said anything. A stinging pain came up and a single tear rolled out of his eye. He got up and took a photo album out of his drawer. Then he walked back to his bed. He opened it and took a good look at the first picture. Him and Danneel, a week before the accident. They were so happy together. He never imagined that anything bad would happen to her. He loved her so much. They had always been good friends, until Lucas told her that he wanted more. The tears welled up in his eyes again. He didn't notice his mom coming in. 'Luke, are you okay?' she asked concerned and sat down next to him. Then she noticed the album he was staring at. 'Lucas..' She couldn't bring out a word, but the sorrow of her son's first loss cut like a razor-sharp knife through her heart. It was a long time ago she saw him this miserable.

'I wasn't ready yet', he suddenly said. 'For what, honey?' 'It was too soon.' He turned to his mother. 'It was too soon. I wasn't ready to lose her yet.' 'It was her time, Lucas.' 'No, it was not!' He jumped up and raised his voice. 'It was not her time, mom! She was only seventeen! How could it be her time?!' She stayed quiet. 'I miss her so much, mom. Every day I come at school and I have to look at those pictures, knowing that we will never be together again. Knowing that she will never walk into my room anymore. And it hurts. I lost her for good.' She stood up and takes him in her arms. 'You'll never lose her for good. She might not be here with you anymore, but..' She puts her hand on his heart. 'She will always be here. You will never forget her. You hear me?' Lucas nodded as the tears were flowing over his face. Karen walked back to the kitchen to get him a glass of water. 'What happened today at school, Lucas?' she asked when she comes back. 'Peyton Sawyer.' He sighed. 'We were walking through the halls and then she saw a picture of Danneel. She started to ask questions, and it all came back to me. It was horrible.' He takes a sip of his water. Karen kept looking at him, until she heard someone coming through the front door. It was her husband. 'Hi, Karen. Luke.' He gave her a kiss and took a look at Lucas. 'What is going on around here?' he asked, getting worried. They both didn't answer. 'I have to get out of here, mom. I have to go outside.' Karen nodded and Lucas stood up to go outside.
'What happened here?' he asked again. 'What happened? Where have you been the last four months?' she exclaimed. 'Our son's girlfriend died, and he is torn up about it, and you are wondering what happened?' 'I'm sorry, Karen. I should've known.' He sat down. 'It's just - I haven't heard him about her the past two months anymore, Keith', she said after she calmed down. 'But then there is this new girl at school and suddenly our son is crying on his bed.' Keith listened. 'He has to get over this some day, Keith. I know that it isn't easy. But it breaks my heart seeing him like this.' He took her hands and looked deep into her eyes. 'It will get better, Karen. I promise you.' 'How? Everywhere in his room there is stuff that reminds him of her. Pictures, video tapes, sound recordings. How can he ever forget about her?' Karen sounded desperate, and Keith tried to calm her down. 'I don't know, honey. We have to give him time.'

Peyton drove home with a strange feeling in her stomach. Something was bothering her. It was only her first day at school and already she managed it to say the wrong thing. And that with the first guy she got in contact with. Lucas might have said that he didn't care, but she knew that he was lying. When her mother died she told everyone that it didn't matter that they kept bringing her up. But the truth was that every time she had to hear how much everyone would miss Anna Sawyer, she felt a terrible pain deep inside. She hadn't slept for days, because every night she played it over and over in her mind. Her mother's death was her fault. If she had just called her five minutes earlier, she would still be here.
But she couldn't think like that anymore. It happened, and she couldn't change it. But still, she would never get over that pain. But she didn't want to either. But she was afraid that maybe in a few years, she won't remember Anna Sawyer anymore. She could hardly remember her already. She wondered how it would be in a few years.

Because she sunk deep in her thoughts, she didn't see that she already arrived at her own house. She quickly hit the breaks and got out.
'I'm home!' she yelled when she steps foot into the house. Her father came down the stairs. 'And?' he asked curious. 'How was it?' Peyton shrugged. 'The same. The same as back there.' They walk to the kitchen. Her father kept looking at her, his eyes filled with questions. 'You know, cheerleading, reading, learning..' 'Oh, so it wasn't horrible?' She shook her head. She didn't want to worry him. 'But I have to do some home work, so if you don't mind?' 'No, of course. Go to your room', Larry says. Peyton got up to walk to her room. 'Peyton?' She turned around. 'I'm glad you're happy.' She smiled weak and walked to her room.
"Happy", that was such an overloaded word. It's not like she didn't like it there. She already had amazing new friends, and she was back cheering. But she couldn't help feeling bad for Lucas. She got her drawing stuff and layed down on her bed. She always tried to draw when something was bothering her, and this time was no different. It wasn't quite obvious what she was drawing until she was done and looked at it. She drew Lucas and herself looking at a picture of Danneel. She didn't see the picture that long, but it was already engraved in her mind. Lucas had a sad look on his face and she was apologizing. The tag was; 'It does matter!' She kept staring at the picture for a couple of minutes, but then she ripped it out of her sketch-book and hung it on her wall, next to all her other sketches. Then she let her head rest on her pillow and closed her eyes.

This was the first chapter. As you can read, they are all the same person as in the show. They like the same things and they will have the same friendships later on. The only thing that is different is Jake and Brooke together. I thought it would be a nice mix up. Please let me know what you think of it. I really hope you liked it.

Next: Peyton and Lucas get an assignment, causing them to grow closer to each other.