A/N: I was watching some video on youtube, and this story idea just...came to me. Hope it's as good as I think it is. It should be 2 or 3 chapters long.
Disclaimer : I don't own One Tree Hill.
Never Too Late
"You're always saving me."
"Somebody has to."
"You're always saving me, please let me find a way to save you."
xxx
He ran his fingers through his long messy blonde hair as he glanced at the window sill. It was a rainy day in Tree Hill, and it seemed appropriate considering the way he was feeling. Picking up the rusty old nail that sat on his night stand, he scratched another small line into the wood.
"One hundred and twenty six days." He muttered, wondering when this nightmare would finally come to an end.
xxx
She awoke to the sun shining brightly on her pale face, but on the inside she felt nothing but darkness. She sat up and flipped open the laptop that lay at her feet.
"One hundred and twenty six days." She mumbled to herself, as she checked the date. And who knew how many more days she would have to spend here in hell.
xxx
He groaned as he heard the doorbell ring.
"Go away." He growled, not moving from his spot on the couch.
"Lucas Eugene Scott! Let me in." A voice yelled.
Lucas sighed, getting up off the couch and opening the door. He didn't even have time to think before the petite blonde he called his best friend, pushed her way through.
xxx
The sounds of her cell phone ringing filled her apartment.
"Hello?"
"Good morning sunshine!" A cheery voice replied.
"Ugh..." She moaned.
"Don't sound so excited to talk to me, P. Sawyer."
"Can do," Peyton smiled sarcastically.
xxx
"What are you doing here?"
"Well my hope was to get you out of here." Haley said, as she looked around. His apartment was full of half eaten pizzas, crumpled up Kleenexes & the smell of death, "Lucas, how can you live like this?"
Lucas simply shrugged, "I just do."
"Not anymore you don't." Haley said firmly as she began to pick up the garbage.
"Haley." Lucas protested, but when she ignored him, he yelled louder, "HALEY. HALEY, STOP."
She was taken aback by his loud voice, and she looked up at him in shock as he wrenched the pizza box away from her, tossing it aside.
"You can't fix this." He whispered, "It's too late."
xxx
"Look Peyton, you're killing yourself. Living here isn't working for you. Go home. Get out of L.A. and go back to Tree Hill. It's where you belong. With Lucas." Brooke told her friend.
Peyton shook her head, even though Brooke couldn't see her, "No Brooke. He doesn't want me there. He would have called."
Brooke sighed, "Peyton. Stop being so damn stubborn. You love Lucas, and he loves you. Where's the problem?"
"You don't get it. That's what the problem is." Peyton said frustratedly.
"I think I 'get it' all too well. You came to L.A., looking for something new even if that meant leaving the old behind for a while. But a while turned into a long time, and you're mad at yourself for forgetting about him and you don't want to face that. Go back to Luke, Peyton."
Peyton was silent for a moment, knowing what she wanted to say but afraid to say it.
"He deserves better than me." She finally admitted
"Well that's too bad, 'cause you're the only one he wants."
xxx
"Whatever Peyton and I had, is apparently over. I'm not good enough for her anymore probably." Lucas told Haley, as he sat back down on the couch.
"Now there, my friend, is where you're mistaken."
"And how the hell would you know?" Lucas asked angrily.
"You don't think I've talked to her in all these years?" Haley shakes her head, "I was her friend, Luke. I call her. She calls me."
"Great, so she calls you, but she won't call me?"
"Have you tried calling her, Luke?" Haley asked quietly, looking into Lucas' icy blue eyes, and she watched him crumble right in front of her.
xxx
Peyton sat alone in silence. She had ended the conversation with Brooke, saying she needed to get ready for work. But that was all lies. She didn't have to be at work until later this afternoon, and chances of her going at all were slim to none. She was so close to being fired, but she didn't care in the least.
She was done with her stupid dumb job. If you could even call it a job. Getting coffee and delivering papers from one big name to another was hardly considered a "good" job. She wanted to go home, but she didn't want to face what she had left behind, and all the mistakes she had made. She didn't want to face Lucas again, it would just hurt too much, and in the state she was in, she just couldn't handle it.
But she couldn't keep hiding from the world. Because she had friends and family back home that probably missed her. And she had neglected them all this time. She wanted to go home, and that was that.
xxx
"Hales, I'm a failure." Luke breathed, burying his head in her shoulder.
"Lucas, you listen to me. You're not a failure. You can still fix things. It's never too late." Haley reassured him, "You go get on a plane, and go see her. Get her back."
Lucas looked up at her, knowing she was right, but not sure he had the strength to do that, "It hurts, Haley."
Haley simply nodded, "I know it does, Luke. Love hurts sometimes. But most of the time, the pain's worth it."
Good? Bad? Review. :)
