No, you're not seeing things. I'm actually writing a story that does not have Naley as the main couple. This is Leyton which is my second favourite couple. Leave some words and enjoy. :D Katy

Summary: She always wore a suit of armour to protect herself from pain and vulnerability. He managed to break through her walls, opening her up to the possibility of love and at the last second, she changed her mind and he found someone else. Now she wants him back but is she willing to make the same mistake twice?

Hollow

Chapter One

Torn No Longer

She stood there, in that hallway, paralyzed with fear as she watched the young couple kissing heatedly against the lockers a little ways away from her. She felt a pang in her heart as the girl ran her fingers through the guy's hair.

You can't do it, a little voice told her. The voice sounded wise and ridiculing at the same time. It was as if it was warning her not to do what she had convinced herself to do not three hours ago and mocking her, hacking her confidence into smithereens.

And why not? Another voice asked. You have as much right to be happy as the next person. This voice sounded arrogant and sure of itself; a feeling she was desperate for.

Because it's not fair to him, the wise one replied.

Fairness is irrelevant in matters of the heart, the other voice reminded the wise voice.

What about her? The wise one asked. She looked down at the floor to hide the look of guilt that was surely all over her face. She ignored the warring voices inside her head as she approached the couple and her locker. She began turning the combination of her lock and it popped open.

"Hey!" Lucas exclaimed. She turned to look at him. His face was radiant as he beamed excitedly at her.

"Hey," she returned with a shy smile which couldn't be weirder for her. She was a lot of things; sarcastic, dark, moody, even a little angry sometimes but she was never shy. It was a foreign feeling to her and for some reason he was the only one that could make her feel that way.

"We're going to surprise Nathan and Haley and meet them at their apartment with a 'Welcome Back' party when they get back from London. You interested?" Lucas said. Her instincts were screaming at her to say yes. Any amount of time she could spend with Lucas was time well spent in her books and as she opened her mouth, she caught Brooke glaring at her. She was actually seething.

"Uh, no," Peyton replied. Lucas' face fell.

"Why not?" he asked.

"They're coming back from their honeymoon which means they're going to be all mushy," she said. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"And you want to avoid that after what happened in Savannah, right?" Brooke asked, slightly widening her eyes for emphasis. Peyton pursed her lips. Lucas' face went white and he looked at her apologetically.

"I completely forgot. I'm so sorry, Pey," he said.

"Its fine," Peyton said and smiled at him reassuringly.

"That's too bad," Brooke said sarcastically as she pulled away from Lucas and began fidgeting with her Lucas. "But we really need to get to class."

"I'll miss you," he said as he turned around and started to walk away. Brooke came closer to Peyton and glared at her.

"Let's get one thing straight, Peyton. You near Lucas is absolutely forbidden. If he talks to you, ignore him, or smile in that surly way that you do to let him know that you're not interested in hearing what he has to say… I really don't care how you do it. Just stay away from him," Brooke said. Peyton smiled that "surly" smile of hers before she turned and walked down the opposite hallway to her art class.

What about her? The confident voice asked and her smile widened.