Just something random that came to me after watching The Show Must Go On (Season Three finale)
Begins during Things I Forgot at Birth. Cooper doesn't leave town, instead he visits a local bar to drown his sorrows, here he finds a familiar face, also trying to forget the events of the past few days.
Cooper found himself at a bar drinking himself into an unconscious state after learning that Rachel had lied about the pregnancy. He was hurt, but mostly he was relieved, the shock of almost becoming a father, with a seventeen year old as the mother was overwhelming.
He sank pint after pint, then scotch after scotch, and then sambuca after sambuca, all he wanted to do was forget. He knew that he should have left town, and left all of the memories behind him but it was so raw that he couldn't face the drive back to his empty apartment that night. Instead he'd wound up at a sleazy bar, he'd purposely chosen a dingy hole as no one he knew would be there.
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Peyton wasn't a big drinker, back in the earlier days of high school she'd attended all of the wildest parties and played the game, but rarely got drunk. She didn't like the feeling of losing all of her self-control and exposing herself to people. She was a closed book and the thought of drunkenly spilling all of her secrets to a stranger made her shudder.
Tonight was different though, all of a sudden alcohol seemed like the temporary answer to all of her problems. Music for once had failed to soothe her, and she wasn't in the mood to draw. She went for a drive to clear her head, desperately wanting to stop Brooke's angry words swirling around her mind.
She hadn't planned on visiting a bar but as she rode past the small almost hidden building, she had the sudden urge to enter. What better way to mourn a friendship and lose her regrets than throwing back a few drinks. By the look of the place, she was sure that she'd get served and so took her seat at the counter and sank some shots.
A couple of hours later, Peyton was high on drink and dancing her cares away. A cute guy of around thirty had been showing an interest for a while, and Peyton had happily been returning the flirtatious looks. On the dance floor the pair shared a kiss, initiated by the intoxicated guy. It was sloppy and completely absent of any affectionate feeling, but neither cared. Peyton danced with her arms in the air, as the guy grinded against her. She stumbled slightly, falling into the arms of the sleazy guy. He held her for longer than seemed appropriate, his hands groping wildly.
'Hey, gettoff me.' Peyton spluttered in a drunken mumble.
'Come on, girl, you're gagging for it!' He leered.
She shook her head but this only made her feel dizzy, 'Please, let me go.'
'Aw, don't be like that, gorgeous, we're having fun!' He smirked.
'Leave me alone.' She said firmly, sobering slightly.
The guy paid no attention, slipping his hand under her shirt.
'Get away from me!' She ordered, pulling away from him.
Still he didn't listen, and began to search for the clasp on her bra.
'Did you not hear what she said?' A new voice asked, 'Or do you want me to repeat it for you?'
Peyton sighed in relief and threw a thankful glance at her rescuer, her rescuer who was one Cooper Lee.
The sleazy guy held his hands up, 'Hey, man, I didn't know she was your girl!'
'You better back off, before I beat your ass into next week.' Cooper growled, menacingly.
The guy shook his head, 'You're welcome to her, she's just a slut anyway!'
Peyton gasped, deeply offended, much to the pleasure of the guy.
Cooper smiled. 'I think you're going to regret that.'
He then smashed his fist into the face of the guy, who fell to the floor, clutching his left eye.
'Cooper!' Peyton whispered.
'Let's get out of here.' Cooper proposed, taking Peyton's hand and leading her out of the exit.
The pair found themselves along the riverbank, taking in the fresh air.
'Are you alright?' Cooper asked lightly.
'I'm fine, thanks to you.' She said shyly, 'You were great back there.'
'I'm a sucker for a damsel in distress.' He brushed it off.
They walked along the bank, and then down a sloping dirt path that led under the bridge. Peyton tripped on an upturned tree root and Cooper instantly reached out to stable her. He wrapped his strong arms around her, holding her steady, and didn't let go even when they reached the level path below the bridge.
'What happened anyway, to make you come to a bar alone and drink your weight in alcohol?' Cooper questioned, 'That's not the girl I remember.'
Peyton shook her head, her curls bouncing as she did, 'You were never the guy who let a girl affect him, you were never a big drinker.'
Cooper flashed a smile, 'Touché. This is sad, two cool people like us, going out alone.'
She laughed, 'Well, when you put it like that.'
'I don't think drinking was the answer to my problems.' Cooper deduced.
'Mine neither, my head is spinning.' Peyton groaned, 'I thought the fresh air would help but I still feel queasy.'
'You do look a little green.' Cooper remarked, sounding genuinely concerned.
'Yeah, I,' Peyton paused, and put a hand to her mouth.
Cooper gently rubbed her back, 'It's better to let it out, trust me.'
She nodded, and crouched down at the river verge. Cooper continued to rub wide circles on her back and held her hair back. She took a few deep breaths before releasing the liquid contents of her stomach. She coughed and blushed, embarrassed to have thrown up in front of him. He gently pulled her to her feet and steadied her.
'I'm sorry you had to see that.' She said, her cheeks reddening further.
He brushed the issue aside, 'I've seen much worse, trust me, and I've been in your shoes plenty of times.'
'Thank you.' She said sincerely.
Once again he wrapped an arm around her waist, both so that she remained upright and to keep her warm.
'You're freezing!' He remarked as he felt her shaking in his embrace. He shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
She gave an appreciative smile.
'Let's get you home.' He proposed.
They walked together in a comfortable silence to Peyton's house which was only a ten minute walk.
'Cooper,' She began as they reached her front door, 'Thank you, for everything you did tonight, I'm so glad you were there.'
'It's nothing,' he ensured, 'glad I could help.'
She put her key into the lock and after a short time, managed to master the motion of twisting the key whilst pulling up the handle to open the door.
'Well, goodnight.' She offered, as she crossed the threshold.
'Are you going to be alright on your own?' He asked.
She nodded, 'I'll be fine, thanks again, Cooper.'
'Don't mention it.' He smiled before turning and heading for home.
Peyton closed the door, and wondered whether the funny feeling in the bottom of her stomach was normal if you were as drunk as she was.
Little did she know that Cooper was trying to shake the same feeling from his abdomen.
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Peyton awoke the next morning with an extremely sore head. She groaned and rolled over to find that she'd slept in her clothes the night before. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of her morning breath and reluctantly rose from her bed to visit the bathroom.
After brushing her teeth twice and having a long shower, Peyton began to feel a little more like herself. She put her music on at a soft level and tried to piece together her memories of the night before.
Three hours later, against her own personal judgement, Peyton found herself on the doorstep of the Scott household.
'Peyton!' Cooper said sounding surprised as he opened the door.
'Hey,' she said sheepishly, 'I, er, brought you your jacket back.'
'Oh! Course, thanks for bringing it round.' He smiled, taking it from her grasp.
'It's really the least I could do.' She shrugged, 'I was my way to the bar anyway.'
Cooper frowned, 'It's one o'clock in the afternoon.'
'I'm going to pick up my car.' She explained, grinning, 'Plus, I don't think I'll be ready to face a drink for a few days.'
He chuckled, 'Yeah, you certainly knocked them back last night.'
'Don't remind me.' She pleaded.
'I'm sorry.' He responded quickly, 'Let me give you a ride to your car.'
'You don't have to do that.' Peyton assured him.
'I'd like to, if I'm honest, Deb's gone to the café and I'm bored out of my skull.' He admitted.
'Okay,' she shrugged, 'I won't say no to the company.'
'They say misery loves company, right?' he asked, 'I'm going to test the theory, I'm sick of moping about.'
Peyton smiled slightly and followed Cooper to his car.
She had butterflies in her stomach that wouldn't disappear, and a smile kept creeping onto her face. The voice inside her head was screaming at her for being so stupid. He was Nathan's Uncle, Nathan's Uncle Cooper. He wasn't off limits, he was way, way off limits. And yet she went weak at the knees whenever he looked her in the eye with his concerned glance; she felt a fuzzy feeling whenever he laughed; and she just wanted him to hold her one more time so that she could take in his masculine scent.
She shook her head and concentrated on the rhythm of the music flowing from the speakers, taping her feet in time to the beat.
Cooper was also quiet on the journey, as he too was wrestling with his conscience. He wasn't sure quite why he'd offered to drive her to the near by bar, it certainly wasn't following the rules he'd set himself to stay away from his nephew's ex-girlfriend.
He just felt a responsibility to look after her. She seemed so broken and alone, the night before she'd been so lost, he just wanted to help her. It wasn't really in his nature to reach out to people but she was different, she was enthralling.
He remembered her as a fifteen year old sophomore, naïve and baby faced. He could barely believe that it was just two years ago that she'd been that giggly, bashful girl, in the prime of adolescence. She'd grown up so much since then; she was a young woman now and seemed older than her years.
Cooper tried to shake the thoughts from his head, it didn't matter how old she seemed, the reality was she was a seventeen year old girl; just as Rachel had been. He almost laughed realising the irony, he'd been so desperate to get over Rachel, and he'd achieved his goal. He hadn't thought of the deceptive redhead all morning, instead, his mind was fixated on the leggy blonde currently occupying the passenger seat of his car.
For once though, it wasn't about how pretty she was, although he couldn't deny the fact that she was beautiful. This was different; she was the first girl who'd seen past his looks in years.
At the wedding they'd kidded around and spoke passionately about Nathan and Haley as a couple. He loved hearing her speak so avidly about the couple and the love they had, her eyes had sparkled and her smile had lit up the room. She was intelligent and edgy; beautiful and funny; and totally forbidden.
'So are you staying in Tree Hill for a while?' Peyton asked, jolting Cooper from his thoughts.
He shrugged, 'I might stick around for a bit, I haven't got anything to go back to and I think that Deb could do with some family about.'
'Nathan would like it if you stuck around.' Peyton added.
'I'm not sure he'd even realise if I stayed, that boy has got it bad.' Cooper argued.
'She's his world.' Peyton remarked, 'They're like two halves of a whole, before Haley, Nathan was a different person.'
'I remember, he had you as a trophy, you were just there to prove his status.' Cooper sighed at his nephew's poor treatment of her.
'Wow, thanks for that boost in my self-esteem.' Peyton said sarcastically.
'What I mean is that he treated you badly, and you didn't deserve that.' Cooper corrected himself rapidly. 'It's just, I know how it is to be used.'
'I'm sorry that you were treated like that.' Peyton said earnestly, 'Nathan and I were just a high school couple, we weren't in love or anything and we're friends now, I don't have any bad feeling towards him. We just weren't right for each other. I'm happy for him and Haley.'
'That's good.' Cooper said, 'What about you, no marriage on the table?'
Peyton laughed causing butterflies to flutter in Cooper's stomach, 'I'd need a boyfriend first. Marriage seems like a nice idea for like, ten years time.'
'I know what you mean, and after that Rachel debacle, I'm feeling a little…delicate. However, seeing that my nephew has already had two weddings, I feel like I'm lagging behind.' Copper admitted.
'Well, you know Nathan; he always had to do everything before everyone else!' Peyton pointed out.
Cooper agreed, remembering Nathan begging him for driving lessons when he was fourteen.
'Well, this is my stop.' Peyton declared, 'Thanks for this, everything, you know.'
'It's no problem, I promise you.' He assured her once again.
She nodded and strolled to her car, feeling his eyes on her the whole time.
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