Summary: He was never really hers, she never really belonged to him. Yet, they never really didn't belong to each other either. Coming home again after years, they both need to face what's maybe been there all along. LP

AN: Hey everyone! This is my first -well, actually second, but this is the first one posted- attempt at fanfiction and I can't say I'm not nervous about it. I'm still quite unsure, but I really hope you all get to like this and of course, feel free to comment. Any comments, suggestions or questions are more than welcome!

Onto the story, all is true up to some season -actually, the 20th episode of it- and maybe it'd be better to "understand" this chapter if I just told you already which season, but I am kinda curious to know if anyone can figure out which one. It becomes clear in the next chapter anyway, it's not like I'll keep you in the dark for that long!

Anyway, hope you enjoy this and please, let me know what you think!

Last but not least, BIG shout-out to Steffx621! You helped me so much with my writing, it really means a lot! Thank you! &Oh, also thanks to Tarantallegra27. Love you for finally getting your account, by the way (:

Now, I guess I should stop my rant *if anyone is reading this at all* and just let you read the story. Enjoy (:

Chapter 1. Just a Moment of Change

"Peyton Sawyer." The woman behind the counter all but sighed when Peyton walked into the oh-so familiar place.

"Karen Roe." She said back, a small smile dancing around her lips. Before she knew it Karen had made her way around the counter and hugged Peyton tightly.

It somehow surprised her how even after all those years and the very little time they actually had spent together that woman still felt so much like home to her.

"You're here." Karen stated the obviously when she let go of Peyton and sent her a warm, welcoming smile. "How long have you been in town?"

"Few hours." She answered, shrugging one shoulder. "I've been wandering a little through the streets, but I could really use one of those typical, very good coffees from Karen's Café right now, you know." Peyton said, smiling as well and nodded slightly at the coffee machine.

Nursing her cup of coffee, she couldn't shake off that warm feeling of finally being home again. She didn't really want to either. She was home. It took her a while to realize there would never feel a place that much as home as Tree Hill and it took her even longer to really do something about it. Now, she was finally doing so and she couldn't say it had been a bad choice this far. Of course, she had only been there for a few hours.

It had been two years since she had been there the last time and even then it hadn't been for longer than two days. It had been the only time in those long six years since she had left her hometown.

"Are you staying for long?" Karen asked, breaking Peyton from her thoughts.

"Actually, I think I'm just staying. You know, really staying." She said, once again shrugging a shoulder. "It's been way too long since I have been here."

"It certainly has. Welcome home, Peyton." She answered with a smile while filling Peyton's cup again.

"Thank you." Peyton said softly and let her eyes travel down to her cup of coffee.

It had always been of the things Peyton loved most about Karen. She was always there to listen to you, whenever you'd feel like talking, but she would never, ever push you into saying more than you really wanted to. There was no doubt Karen knew there was more to the story than just the fact it had been a long time since Peyton had moved away from Tree Hill, but she also knew that if she wanted to tell her more, she would.

Karen had heard about it from Brooke and Haley and it somehow surprised her it even took Peyton that long to move back, but she was here now and that was kind of all that mattered anyway. If Peyton wanted to say more, she'd be there and she knew Peyton knew so as well.

"P. Sawyer finally returned." A rather happy and cheerful voice called out from in the doorway, catching both women's attention. She waved briefly at Karen before shifting her attention back to the curly blonde sitting at the counter.

"Well, well, isn't that my B. Davis." Peyton replied, getting up from her stool and rushing towards Brooke to hug her best friend she hadn't seen in quite a while now. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. How are you?" Brooke asked when they let go of each other and put her hands on both Peyton's arms. It wasn't just a simple question about how Peyton was doing and she certainly knew so. Last time they had spoken each other it hadn't been the most pleasant conversation.

"Fine, I guess." She answered and shrugged her shoulder. She actually had been doing that quite a lot since she had arrived at the café just a while ago. "How are you? Married life treating you well?"

"Peyton." Brooke sighed softly and shook her head just a tiny bit, not that it went unnoticed by Peyton. "Married life is going great." She said and smiled anyway thinking of that married life of hers now. "That wasn't what I meant though, you know it."

"Well, yeah." Peyton replied while letting a small and silly yet somehow even a sad smile dance around her lips. "It's not like there is much married life to treat me well, right? I'm okay, Brooke. Let's just have this big talk some time after I got a good, hot shower, okay? It was kind of a long drive." Brooke couldn't help but somehow chuckle at the desperate tone in her best friend's voice. Anyhow, she wasn't off the hook yet and she would let Peyton know so exactly.

"Fine. Let's get you settled into my sort of improvised guest room then. After that, we'll talk though." She said, giving her a pointed look but smiling anyway.

It didn't take much for Peyton to match that smile, simply just being happy she was in fact finally in the town where she belonged, with the people she knew she should have never left in the first place. "You sure Julian won't mind? I mean, I am taking in all his work space after all."

"No, it's good. I think he kinda loves you anyway, you know." Brooke said matter-of-factly, knowing all too well there wasn't anything more than brotherly love from her husband for her best friend. They hadn't met all that often, but from in the beginning Julian and Peyton had been pretty good friends and she actually couldn't help but love how her husband of two years now always tried his best to look after the blonde girl his wife cared so much about.

"Oh, really? Love triangles are so high school though." She replied, making them both let out a good bunch of chuckles. It had been a little sore spot for a while after high school, but in the end they both realized it was in the past and they simply should let it there. They'd come to the point now where they could just joke about it without making the other uncomfortable. It didn't mean it was brought up all that much either though. The love triangle may not have been a sore spot anymore, mentioning Lucas to the blonde sure was, even though she would always say herself it actually wasn't so. "Thank you, Brooke. I really appreciate this." Peyton smiled again and got back to the counter to pick up her things.

"Well, you are my best friend after all, aren't you? Even though you left me here alone for like six years." She answered, smiling as well and knowing Peyton wouldn't take her 'accusation' very seriously. "You're welcome, Peyton. You know there'll always be a place for you here."

"I know. I kind of love you, Brooke Davis Baker, you know that?" She said and pulled Brooke into a side hug.

"I know. I kind of love you too, Peyton Sawyer … No, just Sawyer."

"Funny. Really, you outdid yourself here." Peyton said sarcastically, giving her a playful annoyed look.

"Thought so as well." Brooke nodded with a wave of her hand to brush away the comment. "Anyway, let's go. You kind of really need that good, hot shower you were talking about."

"Hey!"

"What? It's true." Brooke said laughingly and soon Peyton gave in to laughter herself.

They made their way out of the café, leaving a smiling Karen behind. She had witnessed herself how in those six years since Peyton had left town, people had been missing the curly blonde and there's wasn't one single piece of her that didn't think of Peyton coming home as a really, really good thing. She also couldn't deny that quiet little voice in the back of her head, telling her that things sure were going to get interesting in their little town.

"So, good shower?" Brooke asked with a smile as Peyton plopped down next to her onto the couch.

"Yeah, you have one nice bathroom." Peyton said laughingly, receiving a playful glare from Brooke.

"Don't mock my bathroom! It isn't that bad."

"No, you're right. I mean, besides all those loose tiles and the not-so-standing-upright washbasin you have in there, it really is one nice bathroom." She replied quite seriously but simply couldn't hold in her laughter at Brooke's face.

"It'll be over soon. Julian told me the 'renovations' are planned to be done next week." Brooke said defending her bathroom and Julian's renovation plans. She let out a little sigh as well at the thought of her still unfinished bathroom.

"And why exactly did he want to do it himself? Aren't there like, I don't know, people who do this kind of thing for a living?"

"I have no idea. You'd think he was the one being pregnant with how he's acting. It's like he simply has to have every little piece of our house in perfect state for the baby. You know he did our kitchen as well? And I don't want to know what he has planned for the nursery." She said and shook her head just a bit, making Peyton let out a soft chuckle.

Brooke had been pregnant for a little over four months now and had that glow over her both Julian and Peyton found adorable. Her best friend was going to be a mom. She somehow still had trouble trying to wrap her head around it sometimes.

She was also proud though.

And happy. Extremely happy for her best friend.

Brooke was married and pregnant and so happy you simply couldn't help but feel happy for her too. It was exactly everything Brooke had wanted all along. It was also exactly everything she had deserved all along.

That didn't mean Brooke was now too blissed out to be there for Peyton though, and it might have been one of the things she loved most about her.

"So, P. Sawyer… Are we going to talk about your sudden move?" Brooke asked after some good moments of silence.

"Subtle, Brooke." Peyton said with a laugh, choosing not to answer the question just yet. She knew they'd talk about it some time, she just didn't know if she really wanted to do so right now. However, she also knew she kind of owed it to Brooke to explain things a little. After all, she had just called the other day –and it didn't take much for Brooke to tell she had been crying– telling her she was coming home the next day without much further explanation. "I just needed to get away. Something I probably should have done a year ago." She finally said and shrugged her shoulders.

"What happened?"

"Nothing really. We sort of had a fight and…"

"I didn't know you still saw each other." Brooke interrupted with a slight frown.

"We didn't. We don't. We just ran into each other on the street, he told me there were still some of my things at his place." Peyton explained, toying with the rings on her fingers.

"After a year?" Brooke interrupted once again, holding her hand up as if to show her disbelief.

"Brooke." Peyton said and laughed just a tiny bit. "Yes, apparently even after a year there were still some things. Anyway, we talked a bit and then that turned into a fight, sort of, and I just couldn't stay anymore, you know? We've been doing a pretty good job at avoiding each other most of the time, but it's just a little too hard. Besides, I really missed it here."

Brooke simply nodded and stayed quiet for a while. However, curiosity got the best of her and she soon found herself breaking the silence again. "What'd you fight about?"

She simply got a pointed look from Peyton, letting her know exactly what they had been fighting about. She only nodded again. Of course, they would've fought about that again. She knew they had never been the 'fighting couple' but most of their few fights were always about the same thing –well, person actually.

"Anyway, I'm here now, it's all behind me, right? It's just a break-up." Peyton smiled softly, locking eyes with Brooke.

"It's not just a break-up, Peyton. It's a divorce." She answered quietly, not wanting to rub it in but simply feeling the need to point it out.

Peyton knew she was right. Of course it wasn't just a break-up. It was the end of what she thought, promised even, would be forever. It was the end of the only thing she had been sure of ever since high school. She simply knew they'd always be by each other's side until one day, they just weren't. Although, if she was really honest with herself, she had maybe known it all along.

"I know." She nodded and closed her eyes for just a second. "I broke his heart, Brooke. I broke him." She said then, admitting for the first time what she had known for months now, maybe even years. "And for what? For something I'll never have anyway." Peyton answered her own question before looking up to meet Brooke's eyes. "Besides, I don't even want that, you know? I let my marriage fail for nothing."

"You didn't let you marriage fail." Brooke answered and shook her head a little, knowing Peyton had done her very best to save it. "It just didn't work anymore."

"Because I let it become like that. It's my fault. We were good, everything was good, until…" She let her sentence trail, knowing Brooke would get what she meant.

Brooke took Peyton's hand in hers, making her look up at her. "You really think you could have made it work if it wasn't for that? I mean, was that really the only problem?"

"I loved him, Brooke." She answered and made it sound as if that was all that really mattered. However, she had witnessed herself how that simple fact just wasn't enough for the both of them. She didn't doubt he had loved her as well, a part of her even thought he maybe still did a little. But it wasn't enough.

"I know you did, honey, but that's life, you know? Things change and people change. Sometimes you simply can't ignore what's in front of you."

"That's just it, you know. It isn't in front of me. It's miles away and it somehow still controls my every move." Peyton said, finally confirming what Brooke had been thinking ever since Peyton had told her about what had happened two years ago now. She frowned slightly at Peyton's words and she knew she had to tell her best friend what she was told this morning.

"What?" Peyton asked upon seeing Brooke's look.

"I know you probably don't really need this right now, but it might not be that far away actually… Haley, she got a call from him this morning."

"Yeah, and?"

"He's coming home, too."

AN: Thanks so much for reading! Please, let me know what you think! (: