Summary: After graduating her senior year, Peyton left Tree Hill as she had become an outcast to the people she loved. Now living in Savannah, she goes back to her hometown to visit a long-waited meeting with her father… but there are a few other familiar faces that she's bound to run into.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that belong to OTH and the WB. The Title of this fic and the song in this fic is by Matt Nathanson's 'Weight of it all'.
Vocab - rhythm lick: a sequence of chords and notes that are used to build the rhythm section of music.
Chapter One
The gentle strumming of the acoustic guitar varied in chords as the young woman played a rough version of a song she had listened to so many times in the last few years. As minutes passed, her fingerings slowly became coordinated to fit the melody perfectly. Finishing the last chorus, she stopped.
"You're getting better," encouraged Jake. He stood from his seat on the couch and sat down on the floor across her. "Let me tune that a bit?" he questioned, a hand held out.
She passed him the instrument. Leaning back on elbows, she hung her head back, her long curly blonde hair grazing the plush carpet of her living room. "My dad called last night," she mumbled.
"Yeah?" Jake tightened a few strings.
"Yeah, he wants to see me before he goes out on another job."
The dark haired man nodded, tuning the last string. He set aside the guitar and looked at the figure in front of him. "Are you going to?"
A shrug was all he got.
"Peyton," he voiced.
The blonde sat up straight and met the eyes of her ex-lover and now, close friend. "What?"
Jake ran a hand against his neck, sighing. He swallowed some moisture in his mouth, "You need to see him. It's been almost three years since you've seen him, face to face, in Tree Hill."
"Why's it have to be in Tree Hill?" she grabbed her acoustic, setting it on her lap. "There are way too many people that I'm trying to avoid who're living there."
"One of them being your dad. He's innocent in all this and you're making him suffer by not letting him see you as often as he would like to."
A heavy breath flew through her parted lips, "I know."
"You need to see him… and maybe someone else?"
Peyton glared, knowing where he was going. "I'll go visit my dad, but that's it. No Lucas, Haley, or whoever else."
Jake rolled his eyes and glanced at his watch. He got to his feet, "I have to go pick up Jenny from school. When are you leaving for Tree Hill?"
"The day after tomorrow, I guess." The blonde began to play the lick of the song. "Tell Jenny that I said, 'hi'."
"Will do."
She watched him walk out the door and chuckled at the good nature of her friend. Messing up the rhythm, Peyton started over. This time, she began to sing.
I'm weak when you miss me
when you roll me on your tongue…
when you whisper me your best moves
I almost believe you
but you don't know me at all
A few faces flickered through her mind. The ones she had thought that could teach her how to really love.
I'm covered by lovers,
who recite their lines
convinced that their bodies are gonna save mine
but you don't know me at all…
They always thought that they were the one. The one to change her life, to be her life.
She played the chorus, the beat faster and louder.
Show me where the sun comes through the sky
I'll show you where the rain gets in
and I'll show you hurricanes
and the way that summer fades...
underneath the weight of it all
Her fingers began to linger on the notes as she went back to finish the lick.
I spent days stupid nailed to your floor
and I spent nights pushed against you
trying to keep warm
but you don't know me at all…
Positioning into a wrong fret, she screwed up. Peyton bit her lip and harshly got up, throwing the guitar onto the couch, the last chorus unsung.
Show me where the sun comes through the sky
I'll show you where the rain gets in
and I'll show you hurricanes
and the way that summer fades
underneath the weight of it all.
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This is just the intro and the major players of the story will come up in a few chaps. Should I continue?