Hello Lovely Reader, it's been a while!

This story is a branch of one of my other stories; Trinity but reading that is not essential. All you need to know is that the gang live in New York with their kids.

(LP- Piper & Holden, NH - Ben, Isabel and Matthew, BJu - Sam and Theo.)

...

"New York sucks!" Piper exclaimed as she strode into the kitchen, her face full of fury.

Peyton glanced up from the lasagna she was trying to salvage, picking away burnt cheese from the top, "Piper don't swear in the house."

Lucas grinned towards his wife and her adoration of the city before setting down his book, "What's New York done to offend you?"

"No one has a garage!" Piper said, by way of an explanation, to which her parents both blinked to one another in bemusement and then back at Piper.

Laughing a little Lucas nudged his daughter, "We have a garage, you know that."

She rolled her eyes largely, "Yeah, at a storage unit with the Comet in it. It's not as though a band could set up in there and practice. There is nowhere like that in the city where a band can practise for free. In the movies all the kids have big houses and empty garages perfect for rehearsing in!"

Inclining his head, Lucas frowned through his usual squint, "Since when are you in a band?"

"I'm not." Piper sighed in exasperation; they didn't understand, "I just want to watch and like, soak it all in. I want to be there, you know, when band is just forming; just finding their sound. I want to be the start of something, something good, something bad, something groundbreaking. I want to follow them from their dirty beginnings in someone's parent's garage where their Mom and Dad complain about the noise so the band just turn the amps up to annoy them. I want to sit on an upturned milk crate or an old bit of lawn furniture and listen to the rawness of a new sound. I want to hear them slip chords and miss notes but every so often, find magic too. I want to be a part of furious discussions about set lists for gigs they haven't even booked yet. I want to hear crazy plans about how to get their instruments across town using only their bikes for transport, and go to a venue where like, there are three people actually listening to the music but it'll be theirs; their graduation from the garage. And I'll be one of the three people and I'll have been there from the start, from the parents' garage right to the Arena tours, you know? I'll remember when they used to jam and it was all white noise because none of them were playing the same song. I'll have been there when it all finally clicked; when they could read each other's thoughts and know that one nod meant 'again from the top'. I'll remember the original line-up, the break ups, the fights, the new members becoming like family. The fights, the passion, the determination. I want to be there for every step of some band's journey. Beginning to end. That's it."

Lucas' eyes widened, "That's it, huh?"

Peyton smiled, "That's the most convincing argument I've ever heard to move out of the city."

Swiping some garlic bread, also burnt, Lucas shook his head, "Why can't your band practise at Mom's studio?"

"I don't have a band, Dad!" Piper groaned, "That's the point. If people had garages I'd find these bands. I'd just walk down the street and happen upon them; garage door open and their music spilling into the road."

Lucas shrugged, "I offered your Mom to move to Tree Hill years ago."

"Were there garage bands there?" Piper enquired, her eyes wide.

"Not that I remember." He admitted, smirking, as Piper slouched out of the room with a piece of charred garlic bread.

…

"You're insane." Ben folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. "This will never work."

"This could totally work!" Theo argued with the blinding optimism that sometimes overtook him, "It's awesome, Pipe."

A ghost of a smile swam over her features, "I know."

She glided her hand over the shining black hood of the Comet before swinging into the driving seat without bothering to open up the door. She caressed the steering wheel with her fingertips and smirked to the boys, "Just imagine it! The lot blanketed in darkness, cigarette smoke in the air, rock music thrashing into the night-,"

"Yeah, yeah," Ben waved his hand to silence her. "You told us all this on the way over here. It's just that this is a private lot, right? Aunt Peyton pays to keep her car here. There'll be security people all over the place at night. Oh, and there's a car in this garage anyway, how can you fit a band in as well?"

Piper only shook her head, "All under control, Benny. One of the security guards here has a band,"

"Typical." Ben muttered. Piper seemed to attract these people, he decided.

"He's going to cover for us. And the Comet's no problem, I'll just park it in a street nearby and get the bands to cover the meter fee." Piper slipped a grin around her lips. "It's perfect! So, are you guys in or what?"

Theo didn't hesitate to answer, "I'm in."

Ben rolled his eyes and shrugged, "If you get caught, I know nothing."

"Coward." Piper shrugged, but Ben knew she was only joking. If nothing else, he knew his cousin wasn't a grass. "Okay, we've got a lot to do. I've got lights to string up, a rug to put down and some chairs to bring down here."

"So that's why you brought me?" Ben asked, his brow lifted. "Heavy lifting and monkey work?"

Piper set her hand on her hip, "Are you helping or whining?"

"Both." Ben answered quickly. "Definitely both."

…

Holden knocked on his sister's bedroom door and let himself in, which was always a dangerous act. At his intrusion Piper glanced up and arched her eyebrow.

"Hey," Holden began, smirking just a little at the corners of his mouth.

Piper frowned, "What do you want, Holden?"

He held out a poster to her in response. A hand drawn poster advertising a garage for bands to practise in.

"I don't have a band." Piper said in a clipped way, biting at the inside of her cheeks. It was like talking to her Dad again, except that Holden was clearly onto something.

Holden laughed, "Yeah, I know that. You're the one advertising. You want to find a group to fill the gaping hole in your heart to be in a dirty teenage rock band. Or the gaping hole in Mom's garage."

"That's not my poster." Piper offered as her only argument.

"Right." Holden wasn't convinced. "Even if it wasn't your advert - which it is - it's definitely your poster. I'd recognise your artwork anywhere."

Piper exhaled largely, "Fine, Jessica Fletcher, I drew it. So, what?"

"Why lie?" Holden shot back at lightning speed, his eyes narrowed.

Piper gritted her teeth, Holden was enjoying this interrogation far too much. There was a little too much of their Dad in him sometimes. "Did you really come in here to tell me I drew a poster?"

"No, I came to tell you that you owe me." Holden smirked back at her, "I won't tell Mom and Dad what you're up to if you let me in on a cut."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Piper maintained.

"Pipe, this is your artwork; this whole idea has you written all over it; and, most obvious of all, the address is the exact spot where Mom stores the Comet."

Piper pouted, "You're as annoying as Jessica Fletcher, you know that?"

Holden scoffed, "You are the only person who roots for the criminals in detective shows, you're such a weirdo."

"Somebody's got to." Piper shrugs.

"You side with the criminals because you practically are one," Holden argued, "You are going to get in so much trouble for this."

"Not if I don't get found out." Piper said before sighing, "Okay, what's your price?"

"50%" Holden shot back quickly.

"Go Fish."

"45%"

"How about I don't kick your ass right now for being such a pain in the neck, and I'll let you sit in on a session or two." Piper proposed.

Holden shook his head and sighed, "Deal."

"This conversation could have been so much shorter if you'd just come in here and told me straight off how awesome you think I am." Piper pointed out.

"Well sure," Holden shrugged, "But where's the fun in that?"

…

Holden sighed over at his sister who was practically pacing a hole in the disgusting rug she had placed in the centre of the garage. They were waiting for the first band to arrive and clearly Piper was finally beginning to feel some nerves over the situation.

"Would you sit down?" Holden moaned over at her.

Piper flicked her glance across to him and stopped pacing, "Sorry."

"Pipe, this is going to work." Theo offered in support from where he was leaning against the back wall. "It's too good an idea not to work."

A proud smile crept to her lips, "You really think so?"

"Don't make me shower you with too many compliments but yeah, I think it's really cool." Theo confirmed, an easy grin over his lips.

"It's like something out of a movie." Holden offered, before frowning "Except that it's at a storage facility."

Piper rolled her eyes at the crooked compliment but she was smiling.

Ben, who was sat in the corner on an upturned milk crate looked up, "Well apart from these dumb seats, yeah, it's really great Piper."

"It's part of the atmosphere." Piper clucked. "I'm hardly gonna put leather seats in here, your highness."

Holden toed a nearby amp with his converse, "Where did you get all this stuff anyhow? Mum's studio?"

"No." Piper said, "I've done it all myself, I begged and blagged and hauled it all here myself. This is my thing. I didn't get here from riding on Mom's coattails."

There was a rare glimmer in Holden's eyes that Piper read as respect. She guessed that they'd all assumed that she'd borrowed the equipment from her Mom, like she'd 'borrowed' the garage. She still felt bad about that, but her impatience had won over in the end and she'd vowed to herself once this little venture was bringing in enough money, she'd get her own lot at the facility.

"I hear something." Theo said, stepping out from the back of the room, "Voices."

"They're here." Piper swallowed but moved forward to greet her first band. They were from her school, a group of guys who she actually thought were pretty good when they stopped trying to be too rock star. They were practising currently under the provisional name of A Trip Down Memory Pain, which Piper privately thought was terrible.

"Hey, Scott," The lead singer, Drew, approached with an insuppressible smile across his lips, "Pretty neat set up you have here. And a fan club too? You spoil us."

Behind her, Piper's brother, cousin and best friend all shared a look. Although they rarely said as much, the three boys were all quietly protective of Piper.

"Come in," Piper greeted the band, "Make yourselves at home. Ignore the guys, they're just here with me."

The band nodded and began to set up as Drew fell into an old lawn chair. Piper took a seat beside him and asked him questions about his set list, her eyes clouding at the thought of the magic she may have created.

Holden pulled himself up onto a shelf that he assumed would take his weight and side-glanced Theo who was smiling strangely, "What's up?"

"Nothing," Theo shook his head, grinning, "It's just, look how happy she is."

Pulling a face, Holden glanced again to his sister then back at his friend, "Oh jeez, you like her? That's…that's really weird."

"Shut up." Theo offered as an argument and slugged Holden on the arm.

"You freaking like her!" Holden shot back, almost in disbelief, "Ew, nasty. Stop it, it's freaking me out. Besides if Piper realises she'll never let you live it down."

Theo laughed weakly, "Yeah, right, we're practically related."

"Vom." Holden concluded eloquently.

…

Piper sat with her eyes closed, her head back against the wall, feeling the vibrations of the music sing through her. She loved the feeling, it was exactly as she'd imagined it, maybe even better. It was something raw, something not quite beautiful and something she had created.

Her euphoria was broken by a nudge to her shoulder, courtesy of her cousin. She frowned, about to bark abuse at him when he indicated to his watch.

"That parking meter's about to run out." Ben told her.

"You're kidding." Piper gasped, feeling as though the night was only just beginning. "Okay, you're right, I'll get these guys to finish up. Can you bring the Comet round?"

Instantly Ben took a step backwards, his hands held high, "Hell, no. I am not driving Aunt Peyton's hollowed Comet."

"Fine, get Kook to do it." Piper threw him the keys and rolled her eyes. "And remind him to be careful!"

"Duh." Ben tutted.

Piper padded away from her band of brothers and towards Drew and the guys who were strumming through what she believed was their best song, "Hey, timeout, you guys!"

Drew stopped singing mid-note and turned towards Piper, his expression somewhere between grinning and scowling, "Something wrong? I thought this sounded epic."

"It does!" Piper gushed, "I love this song, I do. It's just that we're out of time. The parking meter is due to run out."

"That sucks." Drew said but was still grinning from ear to ear as he spoke. "It's been fun though, Scott."

"Hasn't it?" She scrunched her nose. "We should do it again, you know, if you wanted,"

He nodded easily, "Sure, that'd be great."

"Awesome." Piper grinned a pearled smile, "I really think you've got a good sound here."

Drew boldly reached out to stroke a curl of blonde hair out of her eyes, "That's kind of down to you, we've never sounded so good before."

Piper giggled, "No,"

"You did it, Piper." He grinned his famous grin again and leaned in towards her, "I swear, there's something about you,"

Piper gasped a little, not having any time to react any further before he leaned in to kiss her on the lips. She kissed him back, not sure of what else to do, opening her mouth a little and allowing him to further the kiss.

From around the corner, the Comet growled, the headlights blinding the couple mid-kiss.

They jumped apart at the intrusion, Piper blushing profusely. Drew as ever was still grinning.

"I'll call you, Piper." He called as he and the band vacated the garage to make way for the car.

Turning to her brother and friends, Piper grinned, "They loved it."

Theo cut the engine and threw her the keys, "Yeah, it looked that way."

Narrowing her eyes, Piper glanced to him but couldn't read her best friend's expression, "Thanks for bringing the car back, T Baker."

"Sure thing." Theo nodded tightly, "Anytime, P Scott."

…

"What is with you guys?" Peyton demanded, hand on her hip at breakfast a few weeks later.

Piper and Holden gave her identical looks, their expressions full of sleep.

"They're teenagers, Peyt," Lucas offered from behind his morning paper, "Don't you remember what it's like?"

Peyton threw her husband a scowl that he was immune to thanks to his lifted paper. "Yes, I'm not so ancient that I don't remember being a teenager. I used to sleep in, sure, but I've been throwing scraps of toast at the back of their heads and they haven't even noticed."

"Mom!" Piper suddenly came alive, thrashing her hands through her hair feverishly.

Lucas lowered his newspaper and arched his brow over at his wife.

"My Dad used to do it when his band was stoned, which was practically all the time. He used popcorn though, it sticks better." Peyton explained, "One time his drummer did a whole set with his back covered in kernels. They started falling over the drumset, looked kind of awesome. True story."

Piper gave her Mom a disgusted look, "Great story, Mom, but some of us have to go to school, I can't have food stuck to me!"

Holden scoffed beside her, "Oh no, scared your boyfriend will-,"

"Holden!" Piper shrieked with alarm.

"Boyfriend?" Lucas echoed, his interest suddenly piqued, "You didn't tell me you have a boyfriend, Piper."

"I don't, Holden's being an idiot." She said, her eyes glaring over at her brother as she spoke.

Lucas arched his brow as Peyton rolled her eyes and clicked her way out of the room.

"There's no one, Dad." Piper re-iterated harshly. "Holden, 20% if we go now."

Holden grinned widely and grabbed his schoolbooks, glad to finally have a cut of Piper's business venture.

As his kids rushed out of the room, Lucas gritted his teeth, not liking the idea of his little girl having a boyfriend one little bit. He grabbed his cell phone and hit his brother's number.

"Nate?" He spoke into the receiver when the younger Scott brother answered the phone, "It's time we opened that bottle of scotch, it's started; there's a boy trying his luck."

…

As the weeks passed, the boys lost a little of their interest in Piper's venture and more often than not only one of them would accompany her to the band nights. Holden tended to go along when his favoured band were playing and Theo went every night that he could around his own commitments. On the rare occasions that neither Holden nor Theo were available, a more reluctant Ben would attend.

On this particular Thursday it was just Theo and Piper sitting in with A Trip Down Memory Pain. The band as usual were late and the pair were lounging in the empty space together, Piper drumming a song with her fingertips and Theo watching her.

"How's it going with you and Andrew?" Theo asked, his voice sheened with disdain.

"Drew." Piper corrected, despite knowing that Theo had deliberately got his name wrong.

Theo eyed her expectantly, "Drew, whatever. How's it going?"

Piper clucked her tongue petulantly, "You don't like him, do you?"

"Doesn't matter what I think." Theo replied swiftly. "I just want to know if everything's okay."

"Of course it is." Piper returned through a soft frown.

Leaning his head back, Theo nodded slowly, "Great, that's great."

Piper lifted from her seat at the sound of footsteps and moved towards the front of the garage, "Yeah, it is great, Kook."

Theo let a small smile slip though at the drop of his nickname but it soon fell at the sight of Piper wrapping her arms around Drew and her pressing a kiss to his lips.

He couldn't say quite when he'd realised that he was in love with Piper, but Theo was sure that he'd always loved her. Like his usual bad timing, the realisation had come at the worst possible moment. Just when he felt like he could ask her out on a date or tell her how he felt, she'd started seeing Drew.

Naturally Theo hated the guy and the worst side of him tended to appear whenever he was in Drew's company. That in turn only intensified his anger towards him. Somehow though, he couldn't stop himself from coming along to the sessions when he could, like he was supervising their meetings or something dumb like that. Of course it was absolute torture.

Whenever she laughed, he wished he was the reason. When she laced her fingers though Drew's, he wished her hand was encased in his. And when they kissed, he didn't even dare to think about it.

…

Piper rocked back and forth on her heels, waiting expectantly for the arrival for A Trip Down Memory Pain. It was their first real gig and she was shaking with excitement. It was in a disgusting basement bar that reeked of stale beer and cigarettes but she couldn't care less. This was her dream, her vision in reality. She'd been with the band from the start and now they were performing to an audience bigger than herself and Kook.

She'd come along with Sam to the bar, simply because Sam was actually old enough to be in a bar unlike the rest of them. She hadn't told the older girl everything, just that a band from school were playing and she really wanted to go see them. Sam had looked back at her knowingly; both that Piper was serious over music and that there was probably a boy involved. With that in mind, she'd happily agreed to accompany her.

"Dude, stop jittering, totally uncool." Sam advised in her usual indifferent sounding tone.

Piper sighed, "Sorry."

Sam shrugged, "Just trying to help a girl out."

"Can I have a beer?" Piper asked, trying to change the subject.

Snorting, Sam shook her head, "Hell no. I am super scared of your parents when they're angry. Not gonna be responsible for you puking on their carpet."

"Oh my god, they're here!" Piper heard herself squeal as she spied the guys setting up on stage.

With all the subtlety of a neon sign, Sam swivelled in her seat and looked up from under her dark bangs to check out the band. She ran her stare over each of them in turn and then pointed straight at Drew. "It's him, right?"

"How did you guess that?" Piper asked, slightly outraged that it was somehow so obvious.

"He's like a baby guitar hero, duh." Sam rolled her eyes but she was grinning too.

Piper shuffled in her seat, "He's more than that."

"Right." Sam smiled around the straw of her drink, "Theo says flips his hair like this too."

She made an exaggerated swish of her head, causing her veil of dark hair to whip the coats hanging on a hook behind her.

Piper made a face, "Theo doesn't even know him. He just decided he didn't like him from the first moment he met him. Drew is so creative, and he wrote me the sweetest song, he makes me feel amazing, so yeah."

Feeling that it would be wise to quit teasing Piper, Sam held up her hands in surrender, "I'm sorry. Kook's just protective of you, I guess."

"Kook?" Piper laughed. Theo was her goofy best friend, she didn't see him as the bodyguard type.

Sam looked back at her with a sincere look, "Yes, Kook. You guys have been friends forever, right? Of course he's protective."

"I guess." Piper agreed, the more she thought about it, the more she realised that she was the same way about him.

"Oh! He did the hair flick!" Sam cried out suddenly, looking towards the stage. Perhaps due to the alcohol she'd been drinking, she found it absolutely hilarious.

Piper felt her cheeks flame, Drew was more that, he was.

"Sorry," Sam wiped her eyes, "It's just that Theo's impression was perfect!"

"Shhh! They're starting!" Piper hushed her, glad of a reason to stop going on about Drew's stupid hair.

"This one's for a special girl," Drew said from the stage and Piper almost felt herself melt into a puddle.

…

Piper stood at the edge of the bar waiting for Drew. The performance had been good, not their best but she'd put that down to nerves. The guys had just gone off stage and were most likely freshening up before coming out into the bar. Sam was playing pool with a group she'd met up with after growing bored of Piper's musical swooning. That was fine by Piper though, she didn't need any sarcastic comments from Sam when Drew was around.

Piper probably had been a little insufferable if she was honest. She was so damn excited though. This was her band, her baby, they were finding their feet, growing, changing, becoming something. And she couldn't be prouder. She saw her influence in their gig too; the harmony she'd suggested that Dan the drummer take and the change in ordering for their set list as she'd advised. She was a part of it and it felt incredible.

When Dan, Jesse and Mitch appeared from a side door she practically leapt on them offering her congratulations. They laughed happily with her and returned her crushing hugs. When she asked after Drew they all rolled their eyes and said he was still backstage being a diva.

Unable to help herself, Piper took the side door from the bar in search of Drew. She wanted to congratulate him so badly, and also she wanted to be a part of behind the scenes too. She wanted the whole experience.

Following the short corridor she found Drew easily, he was in a tiny dressing room that she guessed he'd shared with the other three guys too. They were gone now but Drew wasn't alone. There was a girl. A curvy brunette girl with perfect smoky eyes and cleavage up to her chin. A girl with her lips pressed against Drew's. A girl breaking Piper's heart.

She turned and ran, slamming the door back to the bar and barging past drinkers. She found Sam lining up a shot, most likely a good one, knowing her, but Piper didn't care. She had to get out of there.

"Hey!" Sam cried out as Piper grabbed her by the elbow and jolted her shot.

"Can we go? I want to go." Piper asked, feeling the spring of tears in her eyes.

Sam looked shocked, "Sure, I mean, what's happened? Is everything okay?"

"He was kissing some girl." Piper gave as her explanation, "Can we go now? Please, Sammy."

"Sure thing." Sam said, dropping everything and taking her by the hand.

They didn't speak again until they were on the subway, having dashed away from the bar at warp speed in fear of Drew following them. Piper didn't want to see him again, not least tonight.

"I'm sorry, hon." Sam said, squeezing Piper's knee.

"Whatever." Piper said, closing down. "He did do that stupid thing with his hair."

Sam shook her head, "You're worth so much more than that."

"Don't tell Theo." Piper said suddenly, "Please, I want to tell him myself."

Sam gave her a soft smile, "Of course, I promise."

…

Holden sat in the back of the Comet waiting for Piper to pull the car away from the kerb to take it back to the storage lot. He was reading his Chem textbook lazily, feeling his eyelids fighting against the action and doing little to resist the invitation of sleep. As he felt himself beginning to slip into slumber, he was jolted awake by a noise, or more the absence of a noise. Someone had cut the radio.

Leaning forward, Holden turned to Theo, who was sat in the front passenger seat, wondering if he had a death wish. Cutting off Piper's music was an invitation to unleash the full fury of the curly blonde. Theo though, somehow, seemed calm and collected.

Angling a glance towards Piper in the driver's seat, the darker haired boy reached his hand out and squeezed her arm, "Are you okay, Piper? You haven't been yourself all night."

She nodded furiously and shifted the car into drive before pulling out of the spot far too quickly.

"Piper!" Holden groaned from behind her as his books fell into the footwell.

"What's happened?" Theo continued, "Something's not right."

"I'm fine." She assured in a voice that totally wasn't fine. She then turned the radio back on and blared the volume.

"Piper!" This time it was Theo yelling her name in shock. Holden was far more used to that kind of thing.

Piper swung the Comet down a side street violently, her head turned ever so slightly away from Theo in annoyance.

The curly haired boy set his jaw in frustration but he wasn't about to quit, he'd known Piper for forever and he knew she just took a little more work than most.

"Don't do that." He said softly but just loud enough that it could be heard over the music. "Don't shut me out. We're friends, right? Best friends. I want you to be able to tell me anything. I'm your T Baker, I'm always gonna be on your side, okay?"

Piper seemed to shed some of her anger, "And I'm your P Scott."

Theo nodded and ventured on, "What is it then? Your folks, school…Drew?"

At the last word Piper took the left turn onto the block of the storage facility. She hit the gas pedal a little hard and swung the wheel with a bit too much thrust. As the front of the car turned, the back span out. Even as she braked and tried to reverse the action, she knew that there was no way of stopping the inevitable.

The back of the car careered too far right, mounting the kerb and smashing into a mailbox.

The whole car went still. Theo took a deep breath and then looked towards Piper. She was still in her seat, her eyes wide and her complexion pale. Her hands were gripped tightly on the wheel and it looked as though she was holding her breath.

"Piper?" Theo reached out and touched her shoulder to which she flinched and gasped.

"Oh my god." She gasped.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay." Theo told her. "You're okay, right?"

She nodded slowly, "Yeah, yeah I think so. Oh my god. I am so dead."

"No you're not." Theo said calmly, "We can fix this."

"Um, guys?" A small voice from the back reminded them both that Holden was with them.

They turned wildly in their seats, their eyes falling over the younger Scott. There was glass showered all over him from the broken window and a cut to his head that looked particularly nasty.

Piper held her hand to her mouth, "Holden!"

Theo watched the tears spring from her eyes and her face crumple. He swallowed thickly, "Okay, Pipe, calm down. Holden, are you okay, mate?"

"Yeah. Yeah." Holden said but looked woozy as he took in the blood on his hand.

"I'll have to tell Mom and Dad." Piper realised quietly. She was so afraid of disappointing them.

"No," Holden called from the back seat, "Pipe, it was an accident. If you tell them everything you'll never be allowed to leave the house again."

"Right, here's what we're gonna do. We'll take the car back to the lot, I'll drive. Then we're going to go to the Emergency Room and get Holden checked out." Theo told them. "Scoot over, P. Holden, yell if you feel faint."

…

Piper leaned her head on Theo's shoulder as they sat waiting for Holden to be treated. She'd wanted to sit in the room with her little brother but he'd told her to go somewhere and calm down instead, unable to cope with her fretting and hovering around him. So resignedly she'd joined Theo in the uncomfortable waiting room, leaning on him for both comfort and the support she could always rely on him for.

"What the hell are we going to tell Mom and Dad?" Piper asked, "He looks like he's been in a car accident…he has been in a car accident!"

Theo made a shhhing sound, "We'll work that out with Holden."

"And the car! What about the car? It looks horrendous." Piper said, dissolving into tears once more.

"All that matters is that we're all okay, alright? Cars can be fixed, easy." Theo brushed the issue away.

"I broke up with Drew." Piper revealed out of nowhere. "He kissed some other girl at the gig the other night. He only cares about himself. God, I should have known, he's such a rock star! My Mom always says she's sure my Grandpa Mick cheated when he was away on tour. That's what they do. And I just had to stand there and watch the whole thing. I'm never dating a musician again."

"I'm sorry, Piper, I really am." Theo said sincerely, "I know how much you liked him."

"You hated him." Piper reminded him.

Theo shrugged, "But you were happy. If something makes you happy I'll always want it to work out for you. You know I'm on your side."

"I know." Piper confirmed. "You're too good to me. Why did you come to all those sessions when Drew was there? You must have wanted to punch him."

Laughing, Theo shook his head, "Sometimes. But punching someone always looks like it might hurt."

Piper laughed and Theo was glad to hear the sound. She smiled up at him with her eyes, "Mom broke her hand once punching someone."

He shook his head, unsurprised. Piper had inherited her feisty streak from Peyton. "I knew it looked painful."

"She punched Aunt Rach." Piper revealed, "Apparently at one time Rachel wanted to steal Nathan from Haley, how crazy is that? Rach and Nathan together would be…"

"A car crash." Theo finished for her. And then suddenly all the laughter was gone and they remembered where they were.

Piper paled again, "I can't believe how I took that corner, Kook. I was thinking about Drew and it just swung out of control and now Holden's hurt. I'm supposed to look after him, you know? He's my baby brother."

"It was an accident, Piper, you know that." Theo assured her. "And no wonder you were distracted, with Drew doing that to you. Come here,"

He opened his arm to her and she fell into the familiar space. Theo felt like home to her, safe and comfortable. She could remember when her Dad had a heart attack, she could only have been about 10 or 11 and the only person who'd made her feel any better then was Theo. He knew her better than anyone else. Better than her parents and even better than Holden or Izzy. He was her best friend.

"Thanks, T Baker." She said into his shirt.

"For what?" He asked as though he'd done nothing at all. Without him she'd probably still be sat in the Comet in a state of shock and Holden would be passed out in the back seat or something.

She pulled back and looked into his dark eyes, "For everything."

Theo's frown softened and he broke into a wide natural smile. It felt as though something else was going to happen in that moment, something big and important, something that terrified and excited Piper all at the same moment.

"Guys, I'm done." Holden appeared before them, a bandage wrapped tightly around his head and his hair sticking up wildly, still matted in places with blood.

"Oh god," Piper sprung away from Theo and stood to get a better look at her brother, "It looks awful! Does it hurt? I'm so sorry, Holly."

"It's not so bad." He was quick to tell her, "And don't call me that."

"Let's go home, huh?" Theo suggested, glad that he hadn't leaned over and kissed Piper in the waiting room, even though he'd wanted to.

…

On the cab ride home - which Theo had kindly paid for - the trio had decided on their story. They were going to say that Holden had run into a window during a particularly aggressive tackle playing football. It wasn't the best story in the world, in fact it was pretty weak, but it was all they had.

As they rode the elevator up to their apartment, Piper felt her stomach flipping over and over. Holden was being especially quiet and she was terrified he was going to collapse on her at any second. Her parents were just a few floors away now and they were unlikely to accept their story without a thousand questions and wanting to call someone about fixing the window or something. As the elevator pinged to announce their arrival, Piper felt the lies piling up on her shoulders and a sickly feeling rising in her throat.

"C'mon." Holden said horsely and walked forward sluggishly.

Piper followed his instruction and winced her way into their home. She was surprised when their parents didn't leap out on them and accuse her of lying, thieving and dangerous driving. Instead they found them curled together on the couch criticising a singing show, happily.

"Hey," Holden offered, edging into the room cautiously.

Their Mom turned, smiling, to greet them and all at once her face fell. She jumped up from the couch and held Holden at arms' length, "What happened? Are you okay?"

Her voice broke a little on the last word as she peered round Holden to make sure Piper was alright. Lucas was soon at her side frowning in the sight of his son's heavily bandaged head.

"It was an accident." Piper ventured.

"You've been to the emergency room?" Peyton asked, pulling Holden down into a seat beside her on the couch, "Why didn't you call us?"

Holden shrugged his shoulders, "It just happened so quick. It looks worse than it is, trust me."

"What happened?" Lucas repeated an earlier question.

"I was playing football with some friends, Ollie tackled me and we smashed into a wall, my head kind of smashed a window." Holden said in a thick voice. "It was dumb."

Piper wrapped her arms around her baby boy, embracing his head gently, "They wear helmets and padding when they play that stupid game."

"And they don't play near people's homes." Lucas offered, his voice noticeably sterner than Peyton's.

"He's got a concussion, he may get dizzy and feel sick." Piper offered, trying to defer their Dad's lecture.

"I'm okay." Holden offered, knowing that no one would listen.

Peyton hugged him tighter, "We'll have rootbeer floats and watch a movie, how about it?"

Piper let out a sigh of relief, "I'll make the drinks."

She slipped out of the room and let out a cool breath. Their parents seemed to be buying the ridiculous story, which, when Piper thought about, wasn't that ridiculous at all. Holden had been coming home with sports injuries from the moment he could walk. He was one of those kids who forgot he was breakable. This was different though. This was her fault. Maybe the worst part about it was that they'd lied about that.

"You okay, sweet pea?" Lucas stepped out of the lounge and ran his hand over his daughter's hair.

"What? Yeah." Piper rushed to say. She felt her cheeks flame at her Dad's use of her nickname. If only he knew the truth, then she wouldn't be his sweet pea anymore.

He looked at her with his concerned stare as though trying to read her mind. "You look a bit shaken up."

"It was a bit scary, I guess," Piper tried to shrug it off. She couldn't accept his pity, she didn't deserve it. "But I'm fine. You should go make sure Mom doesn't squeeze Holden to death."

"You still look pale." He said in his fatherly way, "Thank you for taking him to the Emergency Room but next time call us. You must have been scared and that's not your job, okay?"

She forced a smile, "Okay."

"Come on, Mom'll get grouchy if we don't make those drinks." Lucas winked.

…

Theo leaned up against the building where Piper and Holden lived waiting for them to come down so that they could walk to school. It wasn't unusual that he had to wait, they were terrible time-keepers. He was impatient today though; he had something to tell them.

Four minutes after he'd arrived, Piper exited the building and smiled over at him.

"Hey," She greeted, thinking privately that he looked like a commercial. His chocolate brown curls were growing out longer than she'd seen them before, but only on the top of his head, the sides were neat and groomed. His smile was dimpled, as ever, and he was dressed better than any other guy she knew. That may have been her Aunt Brooke's influence but the style was all Theo.

He was wearing his trademark ankle grazing jeans with turn ups, lace up brown shoes and just a little sock on show. He was wearing a pale blue button up shirt with his signature trench coat and upturned collar. He just looked cool. Always and without exception, at least that was what Piper thought.

"Hey, where's Holden?" Theo asked, breaking her thoughts as he pressed a paper bag from the bakery down the street into her hand.

"Mom's keeping him off. She's scared he'll play basketball and knock his head again or something." Piper explained as they began to walk towards school, "Hol's livid as you can imagine, missing out on all that learning. He's such a freak."

Theo laughed but he was pretty studious himself and hated getting behind in class. He could see why his Aunt Peyton had held Holden back though, the kid adored sports, there would be no keeping him from the court if he wanted to play.

"How is he, anyway?" Theo asked. He'd shared texts with both Holden and Piper over the weekend but wasn't really sure of the details of how the younger Scott was.

"A bit spaced on Friday night but he's perked right up now." Piper informed him through a mouthful of croissant. "I still feel guilty as but he's totally cool about it."

Theo nodded, that was to be expected, he thought. "I have some news."

"Oh?" Piper glanced to him, eyebrows arched.

"I've found a place that can fix the Comet." He said, grinning widely, "Sam's friend is a mechanic, he won't say a thing to her either so we're good."

Relief covered Piper's face, "Awesome, thanks! Give me the address and I'll run it round."

"No, it's okay, I'll do it." Theo pushed.

"No, I couldn't do that, this is my mess." Piper shook her head. "I need to fix it."

They paused at a crossing, "P, you've got so much going on. Let me do this one thing, okay?"

Unusually she didn't take a lot of persuading, "Fine, you amazing weirdo, you can sort out the Comet."

"You're too kind to me." He said happily as they stepped out at the WALK sign.

"I know." Piper cackled easily.

…

Peyton rounded the couch and set two glasses of wine down, one for each of her friends, and plopped down into a seat beside Haley.

"This is nice." Haley smiled, running her finger around the lip of the glass. "Usually I'd be arguing with Matthew about bedtime or telling Isabel to get her homework done."

Brooke shook her head back at her friend, "Honey, treasure it! Sam's busy with college and Theo seems like he's never home these days."

"Right?" Peyton laughed, "Piper's got a better social life than I do and Holden's so absorbed in his sports. They show up for food though, that's one guarantee."

"They eat so much!" Haley gasped, "Benny eats more than Nathan now, I swear, and he's always hungry, never satisfied!"

Peyton reached for a handful of chips, "I had to hide these in the dryer to make sure the kids didn't find them and eat them before tonight."

"The dryer?" Haley wrinkled her nose.

"It's the only safe place in the apartment. You think my kids are going to accidentally find them when they do the laundry? They think a magical fairy washes their clothes." Peyton rolled her eyes.

Brooke narrowed her eyes, "Doesn't your cleaner lady do your laundry?"

"Not the point." Peyton argued with a pointed finger, "The point is; you have chips to enjoy tonight, thanks to the fact that my kids are lazy."

Haley threw back her head and laughed, "Thank goodness you brought them up to never know laundry."

"Hear, hear!" Brooke chimed in, holding her glass aloft.

Peyton clinked glasses with them and sipped her wine, "You're both very welcome."

At almost the same time as she spoke, the phone began to trill. Haley and Brooke looked to her expectantly but she waved her hand, "Lucas is writing, he'll pick it up."

"Lucas is here?" Haley questioned as the ringing was cut off, most likely by Lucas answering the phone.

"Yeah, he's mid-flow. The muse has taken over." Peyton smiled, "Otherwise he would have come to say Hi."

A smile warmed it's way to Haley's lips, "Another book?"

Peyton shrugged, "He doesn't usually tell me until he's decided it's 'good enough', not that he ever writes anything bad."

"Men." Brooke snorted, "They're a nightmare. Julian never lets me give my opinion on his work."

"I'm sure Nathan's the opposite, you know, he always asks me things." Haley mused, dipping in for some chips.

With glittering eyes, Peyton looked towards Brooke, "Maybe that says more about our opinions than our husbands."

Brooke gasped with fake offence as Lucas stepped into the room. Peyton frowned over at him, it was unusual for him to disturb them.

"Phone for you, Peyt. Sounds important, they wouldn't talk to me," He winced, holding out the phone.

She took it with a roll of her eyes and mouthed 'work' to her friends. She pulled herself up from the couch and checked her watch, knowing that the music industry worked on a completely different time frame from the rest of the world.

Lucas laughed towards Brooke and Haley, "I'd start the movie if I were you, you know how she can be,"

"Says the guy who wouldn't even come say hello to us because he was so absorbed his work." Haley shot back, her eyes were smiling at her friend though.

"Touché." Lucas grinned as a cry of outrage came from the other side of the room where Peyton was standing.

The trio at the couches turned, each of them wearing frowns at the blonde's outcry.

Peyton covered the phone speaker with her hand, "My car's been impounded!"

"What?" Lucas asked but she shushed him with a hand motion and wandered into the next room. He turned back to Brooke and Haley, "That makes no sense, the Comet's in a secure unit, how can it be impounded?"

"Maybe there's been a mistake." Haley offered, "It's been known."

Lucas made a hmpffing noise under his breath and went to follow after his wife, a narrowed scowl painted across his face.

Brooke arched her brow after him, "That boy. Is he too good for hellos and goodbyes now?"

"Are you kidding? Sometimes I think he has tunnel vision for Peyton." Haley shook her head and reached for some chips.

Brooke nodded in agreement, "He has always had it bad, the cutie."

Suddenly Peyton burst back into the room having gone from confused to dangerously irate. Brooke and Haley shared a look before turning back to the blonde.

"I can't collect my car until tomorrow but apparently the back passenger window is smashed in and the side panel is pretty banged up. So basically someone has been joyriding in my car." Peyton shook her head.

Haley's eyes widened, "And it's definitely your car?"

Peyton nods back in response as Lucas reappears in the room, shrugging on a jacket, "Are you ready, Peyton? I thought we could go to the unit?"

"Oh, don't mind us, Luke!" Haley called after him as she threw her arms up.

Brooke though smiled through her pout, "He's a lost cause, let him go and fight for Peyton's honour."

Peyton looked between her two friends and her husband, torn.

"You go too, Girly," Haley said, granting her permission, "That car is your pride and joy."

"If you're sure?" Peyton asks, despite knowing that her two best friends will be fine. "Eat chips, watch the movie, I won't be long."

…

"It's brilliant." Peyton gasped, shaking her head back and forth.

"That's not what I'd call it." Lucas said stoically. He frowned over his wife, his eyes squinting, "Our kids - Piper mainly, I expect - have been inviting complete strangers down to a deserted storage unit to play rock music."

Peyton grinned back at him, "Can you believe they pulled this off? This is so-,"

"Dangerous!" Lucas implored, throwing his arms out, "Anything could have happened to them."

The security guard watched the pair of them, wincing at every word. He only worked part time at the facility but he knew damn well about the spirited curly haired girl and her garage raves. The girl who clearly didn't have the permission of her parents to use the space. He had a daughter a similar age and looking back he knows he should have said something. Instead he hung his head and went back to his duties, leaving the couple to battle it out.

"This equipment isn't even from the label." Peyton murmured. Her eyes were glazed and Lucas knew she wasn't looking at this in the same way that she was.

Lucas ran his hand over his face, exasperated, "Peyton, they have been moving your car to do this. They probably parked it up some place and it ended up being stolen by some kids! They have been completely irresponsible."

Peyton glanced up from where she was crouched by a speaker. Her green eyes meet her husband's and she sighed, "No, you're right, Luke, of course you are. I'm sorry, I'm just a little bit in awe, you know? And I'm like freakishly jealous that they have been entertaining an underground rock scene and I haven't been here!" She made a gesture with her hands that she always did when she was talking about the indescribable magic of music. "And, god, I wish I'd thought of this!"

"Hey, Piper's Mom? Holden's Mom? Are you still in there?" Lucas waved his hand in front of her face.

Finally Peyton broke her attention from the set-up and held her hands up, "I'm sorry, I'm back. I'm Mom again. I just got carried away for a minute. They are totally grounded."

Lucas didn't look convinced that she was done admiring the kids' work but he knew it might be the best he would get. "Come on, you Groupie."

…

The next morning Lucas and Peyton were sat at the breakfast bar, nursing coffees and the crossword when Piper and Holden stumbled in, five minutes apart, both bleary eyed.

"Hey," Peyton smiled to her boy as he sat down beside her. She ruffled his hair softly, her eyes lingering over the bandage still over his eye. She hated to come down on them when she still saw him as poorly, despite being back to himself.

"Morning, Mom." He replied sweetly as he dipped his spoon into his cereal.

She looked desperately to Lucas but he just clenched his jaw. He waited for Piper to slip into the other vacant seat, coffee in hand.

"So," He began in a slow, crisp tone that told both his kids he was about to say something serious.

Holden lowered his spoon and Piper froze, her mug halfway to her lips.

"Your Mom got a call last night," Lucas said and looked between both his kids, "Anyone like to guess what that was about?"

Peyton watched as Holden frowned, adorably, looking the image of Lucas, and Piper's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Someone has been joyriding in the Comet," Lucas continued, "And someone crashed the Comet and left it parked on a street. And now it's been impounded. Would anyone know anything about that?"

Instantly Piper's expression crumbled and her eyes filled up, "I'm so sorry."

"I do not want crocodile tears, Piper, this is serious." Lucas warned.

"I never meant to hurt him, I'm so sorry. I have felt so guilty since it happened. I just wasn't paying attention and it happened so quickly. I wish it was me and not Holden," Piper sobbed into her hands.

Peyton frowned towards Lucas and then turned to Holden, feeling tears swimming in her own eyes, "You were in a car wreck?"

Piper hated hearing the tears and the hurt in her Mom's voice.

Holden looked uncomfortable at the display of tears, "Nah, Mom, it wasn't even like that. Don't cry. I'm fine. Please don't cry."

Already she was on her feet, wrapping her arms around his head and cradling him against her.

Lucas turned to Piper, "You had better tell us exactly what has been going on. You get into a car accident and you don't even tell us? Do you know how stupid that is?"

"Yes! Yes, of course I do!" Piper cried back at him, "And I'm so, so sorry, for everything."

"Okay," Peyton spoke in a soft voice, "We're all going to calm down." She looked pointedly to Lucas, "Take a seat on the couch and talk about this."

Resignedly Lucas paced into the lounge and sat down on the armchair as Peyton took a seat between the two kids on the wide couch.

"Now," Peyton turned and cupped her daughter's chin, "Were you hurt in this accident? Did you get checked out at the hospital?"

"I was fine." Piper nodded, embarrassed by her Mom's concern.

"I am serious." Peyton said more firmly, "Right now I don't care what you've done, I just need to know that you're both okay because without that me and your Dad wouldn't have anything."

Piper bit down on her lower lip and nodded, trying to stop the tears. It made her feel even worse knowing that her Mom's first concern was for her. "I promise, Mom, I'm fine."

"Alright," Peyton nodded, satisfied, "Lucas, go easy on them."

Lucas sighed, "I am not doing this to 'ruin your life' or be an asshole Dad. I am doing this because you two are the most important two people on this whole planet to us and what you've been doing is dangerous and stupid. You've been moving your Mom's car and hosting band sessions in the space, right?"

Solemnly the two younger Scotts nodded.

"So you've been driving that car without permission and inviting strangers to hang out with you, whilst lying to me and you Mom about where you are. Did you even begin to think of what could have happened to you?" Lucas paused to stare them both out, "Did you think about the fact that one of those nights you might not have come home and we wouldn't have had the first idea what had happened to you?"

"I'm so sorry, Dad." Piper sobbed, "I got so carried away with the idea of it, I didn't think about how stupid it was."

"I can imagine." Lucas assured, with a pointed look towards Peyton. No one had to wonder where Piper had inherited that enthusiasm from.

Piper hung her head, "I just wanted to do it without a hand out from Mom. I wanted it to be mine. And it was all my idea, by the way. Holden was just there because he didn't want me to go on my own. It was 100% all my fault."

Peyton looked towards Lucas, seemingly already accepting of her daughter's apology. She could see how truly sorry Piper was.

"You have got to pay for the damages to Mom's car." Lucas began, "And you're grounded with immediate effect. I want to know where you are at all times when you are let out of the apartment. You will help me and your Mom out with every chore that we ask you to do, without protest. And you will never, never hide anything so damn serious from either one of us again otherwise I will not let your Mom talk me into going easy on you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Dad," Piper agreed readily.

"I told her not to say anything about the accident." Holden volunteered, "That wasn't her fault."

"Then you're grounded too." Lucas said firmly, "Like your Mom said earlier, the most important thing to us is that you too are okay, always. I don't care if you've done something illegal, if one of you is hurt, you never hide it from us."

Peyton gave her kids a final squeeze and then inclined her head towards their Dad, telling them both to give him a hug.

Piper moved first, standing and holding her arms out to her Dad who rose quickly out of his seat. He engulfed her and then opened an arm to Holden who fitted into the gap.

"God, I love you guys." He said quietly to them both.

…

"Hey," Theo nudged Piper's shoulder with the can of soda he'd brought her.

She was, as part of her punishment, freshening up the walls at the sports centre for Nathan. It was a job that she honestly didn't mind doing as she could listen to music whilst she worked.

She turned, and then smiled, "Hey! What are you doing here?"

Theo shrugged as she set down her paint brush and plopped herself down into a seated position on the floor, her legs outstretched. She was in dungarees and high tops, with an Oasis tee underneath. And she had wisps of paint all over her. Theo personally thought she looked incredible, but he may have been biased.

"I thought you could use a break," Theo told her, taking a seat beside her, "And I felt bad, I was as much to blame for this whole thing as you were."

Piper swallowed down her sip of soda and shook her head defiantly, "There is no way any of you would have been involved in band practises if it wasn't for me. You guys were just looking out for me. I know none of you actually enjoyed it, aside from maybe Holden, but look where that got him; a head injury. It was my crime. And now I'm doing the time."

"I enjoyed it." Theo argued and his deep brown stare was so earnest that Piper knew that he was telling the truth. "I enjoyed every second."

"It was fun while it lasted." Piper agreed, a little sadly.

Theo looked at her quizzically, "You're not giving up?"

Piper laughed back a little, "My Dad is not going to let me out of the house unsupervised for like, ten years!"

"Come on, Piper, you have him round your little finger, he'll come around. What you had was good, it was genius. And you actually made some of those dorks sound good. I don't know how, but you did that."

Piper's eyes hooded at his compliments, "Thank you."

"For what?" Theo frowned.

She shrugged back, "For like, believing in me, I guess."

"Piper, you could do anything you set your mind to. You don't need me to tell you that." Theo argued.

She looked back at him, into his deep brown eyes. They were eyes that always looked at her as though she was the best part of his day, and she knew that couldn't be true, but she loved the way it made her felt. He was the boy she'd known her entire life; the boy who had always been there supporting her. "Yeah, I do. I couldn't do any of this stuff without you, you know? You give me the confidence and you make me feel safe when stuff scares the hell out of me. I don't have anyone else in my life like you."

"Me either." Theo grinned his familiar lop-sided grin that always turned Piper to mush. "Come here,"

"What?" Piper frowned but leaned towards him.

…

Peyton's eyes widened and Lucas' hand went slack in her own. They'd followed the smell of paint in search of Piper to bring her some lunch and instead had walked in on what was clearly a moment between their daughter and godson. The pair of them were sat on the corridor floor, leant in for a kiss, eyes closed.

Peyton glanced towards her husband who looked a little like he'd just swallowed a wasp; an expression between shock and rage.

Peyton couldn't help from laugh back at him, "And you said banning her from the lot would stop her from meeting boys."

"Mom!" Piper thrashed her way up from the floor, her cheeks glowing pink. Theo was slower to rise, apparently less than impressed to have had his moment broken.

"This is supposed to be a punishment." Lucas reminded his daughter, although it seemed as though he was having a little trouble speaking.

"We'll go." Peyton assured, beginning to pull Lucas away. "I need to call Brooke anyway, she is going to be so excited!"

Beside her Lucas huffed, "Peyton,"

"Oh no!" She grabbed him by the arm, "You are not dragging them apart, leave them be."

"She is supposed to be thinking about what she's done!" Lucas protested but Peyton already had him halfway down the hall.

"Shhh!" She hushed and hauled him into the office where Nathan had been reading the paper.

Lucas held his hands to his head, "You're seriously just going to let this go."

"Yes." Peyton nodded with a roll of her eyes, pulling out her cell, "And so are you."

Lucas threw his hands out in protest but she was already dialling Brooke.

"What is going on?" Nathan asked, "Not that I mind you ruining my peace and quiet or anything."

Falling into a seat, Lucas huffed, looking almost too shocked to form a sentence.

"Brooke!" Peyton squealed down the phone to her best friend, "Piper and Theo kissed!"

"Oh man," Nathan laughed as his sister-in-law stepped into the adjoining room. He glanced to his brother, "You know what, we really should have seen that coming."

Lucas shot him a glare, "Why? Why would I want to see that coming? She's my little girl, Nate. She's too young."

Nathan snorted, "Hey, do you even remember being a teenager? Our kids are saints compared to us. And it's Kook, you know? He's like the best kid there is."

"I will remind you of this the day some boy is kissing Izzy." Lucas said, pointing threateningly in his brother's direction.

"Not gonna happen." Nathan shook his head, "Izzy's gonna be a nun."

…

Piper glanced up at the knock to her bedroom door and smiled towards her Mom.

"Hey, Kiddo." Peyton greeted, "I hear you're not grounded anymore."

Piper laughed, "Didn't you decide that?"

"No, I leave that to you Dad." Peyton admitted, "I didn't have many boundaries growing up, I'm never really sure on how long these groundings are supposed to last."

Piper wondered, not for the first time, how it must have been for her Mom growing up without rules. At one time it had sounded like the coolest thing in the world, but now she could see she probably lucked out with her parents and her Dad enforcing a few rules here and there.

"I won't lie." Peyton said to her daughter, "I loved what you did with the garage space. Obviously there were some security issues, but the actual idea of it, the authenticity, the grittiness, that was so pure and exciting."

Piper could tell that her Mom meant it and beamed back at her. "Thanks, Mom."

"And I don't want you to give it up." Peyton continued and produced a key.

"What is this for?" Piper asked, her eyes wide.

"This is for you to continue your dream." Peyton grinned at her daughter. "See my Dad, he loved this city. He loved the noise and the adventure and the fact that he was at home here, despite always feeling out of place everywhere he went. He bought real estate here which he never did anywhere else. And he used the studios to record and our damn bathroom to practise in but it wasn't the same, it was missing that magic that you found at the garage lock up. So he found his own."

Piper's eyes bugged, "And you never told me? He was so cool!"

"There is a very good reason for that." Peyton said, "It isn't a garage space. It's a basement apartment, with a sound-proofed bedroom. He kitted it out for whenever he felt the need."

Piper marvelled at the story of her Grandpa, "I still don't get why you never told me."

Rolling her eyes, Peyton sighed, "Um, because I guess it was his home away from home. It was where he brought women who weren't my Mom. It's a place that I guess I don't like to think of too much."

Instantly Piper's expression changed, "Oh. No, Mom, I don't want it."

"Honey, that was a really long time ago." Peyton waved her hand, "I've never sold up because I guess I'm stupidly sentimental like that, but it should be used. And, hey, what's more rock and roll than a rock star's pad?"

"Mom, I don't have to." Piper said in a small voice.

Peyton smiled at that, "I want you to. And more so I think that Mick would love for you to use it. Me or your Dad or one of your Uncles will always be there with you, in the next room but it's yours."

"Mom, this is like, the coolest gift ever." Piper shook back her tears.

"I believe in you." Peyton nodded and pressed the key into her daughter's hand. "Decorate the room however you like, and make it happen, okay?"

"Yeah." Piper said breathily, "I will. Thanks, Mom."

…

"This place looks incredible." Theo congratulated Piper, grinning from ear to ear as he took in the new band space.

From where he was sat on a recliner across the room, Ben grinned, "You have to say that; you're her boyfriend."

"Still weird." Holden quipped under his breath.

"I think I like it better anyway." Piper decided, putting her hands onto her hips and surveying her hard work. All of the furniture had made the move, and the dancing fairy lights. In this room though, Piper had painted the ceiling, it was now a dark inky black, spotted with white stars, and if anyone looked long enough they would notice a comet too.

"Piper!" Lucas' voice called from down the hall.

"They're here!" Piper cried out, her nerves suddenly appearing over her face.

"You'll be great." Theo promised and gave her a quick kiss, to which Holden pulled a face.

Piper looked up at him expectantly, "You really think so?"

"Of course I do." Theo laughed.

Holden rolled his eyes, "Go already, Pipe, they're waiting."

"What band are we listening to tonight?" Ben asked as he produced some ear plugs from his pocket.

Theo chuckled and indicated to himself and Holden, "You mean what band are we listening to tonight?"

"Yeah, that." Ben shrugged, "I'm only here to keep Piper in my good books. I mean, she didn't tell anyone that I knew anything about her set up before, it was pretty cool of her."

"She is cool." Theo said almost defensively.

Holden rolled his eyes, "God, you have it bad. And I don't know about the band, someone new apparently."

"Replacing that dirtbag Drew then?" Ben arched his brow.

Both Theo and Holden's expressions darkened and Ben knew he had his answer.

Their thoughts were broken however when Piper burst back into the room, "Boys, we have a new artist!"

Ben's eyes popped at the sight of a very familiar face walking through the door, guitar in hand, "Bel? What are you doing here?"

"Rehearsing." His little sister retorted, and then turned to Piper, "Do they have to be here listening in?"

Piper smiled at her younger cousin, "Honestly, an audience will do you good, Iz. If you can't perform in front of these donuts, you'll have no chance. Just show them what you've got, you know you're brilliant."

Isabel licked her lips and nodded, knowing Piper was right.

Satisfied that her newest artist was happy, Piper helped herself to a seat next to Theo and laid her head back on his shoulder. Izzy played around a bit with her strings and then took a long cool breath.

"Iz-zy. Iz-zy." Holden began chanting and kicking his foot against the crate he was sat on in rhythm as a form of encouragement. And soon everyone in the room has joined in.

"Alright, alright, you goofs." Izzy laughed. "This one's called Home."

...

Piper stood impatiently in the aisle of the plane, waiting for the queue ahead of her to lead the way to Arrivals. In her hand she held her ticket to her mouth, patting it against her lips to an old, old song of Izzy's. If she remembered rightly, and she knew she did, it was the first song Izzy sang at the apartment, it was called 'Home'.

Since then so much had happened. Piper saw so many bands go through those walls; thrashing through songs and muddling lyrics. She saw arguments and euphoria, excitement and madness, and sometimes even magic. Mostly the bands melted away, some faded like their enthusiasm, some broke apart spectacularly, and some simply moved on and moved away. Eventually Piper did that too. She earned a place at Berklee College of Music in Boston and left her beloved New York to study music production.

Today though, for the first time she was cutting class. For someone who was never the most academic at school, she really had knuckled down. She attended every class, every lecture and even study groups, and she really, really loved it. Today though she had somewhere more important to be.

Once she escaped the plane she sailed through every desk at the airport and then flagged a cab. "I'm in kind of a hurry," She admitted to the driver, biting down on her lower lip.

She was so nervous and she had been ever since her Mom had called her with the news. Instantly she'd known that she had to fly out. It didn't matter that it was in the middle of important revision classes, nor that she could barely afford to eat let alone buy a plane ticket. This was exactly where she needed to be.

When the car eventually rolled to a stop, Piper blinked in awe, barely believing she was really there. She paid the driver and skipped her way around the towards the magnificent building, butterflies swarming in her stomach.

She was late, as usual, but it didn't matter. She passed through security slowly as ever, eavesdropping on the conversations and the excitement around her. Once through, most people seemed to be littering the bars and socialising casually. Piper had no interest in a drink though, she was headed straight to proceedings.

As she moved forward, Piper span, marvelling at the enormity of the place. It was an arena. An actual arena. Piper of course had been in arenas before; her Mom had taken her to all sorts of gigs since she was a baby. This was different though; this felt like it was hers.

Being on her own she was able to elbow her way to the front. It was a skill she had developed over time, she was apologetic and soft in her movements, and people tended to not mind one skinny girl squeezing past. She settled herself at the front and took in the smell of the place; sweat, alcohol and anticipation. She let the atmosphere soak into her skin and absorb her. She loved that feeling.

Every time the curtain fluttered, or the backing music broke, a ripple rushed through the room. Piper could live from that adrenaline.

After a long wait that Piper could barely contain herself through, the curtain finally, finally rose.

And there she was; Sawyer's first major national success.

Isabel Scott, on stage, at an arena.

Izzy had certainly graduated the bedroom sessions of their high school days.

It was everything that Piper had imagined and more. Isabel opened with Home. Piper cried. She watched her little cousin on stage, glittering and glorious, becoming a star. But she also remembered those long sessions before the song was perfect. When Izzy first sang to her, with Theo, Ben and Holden listening in, the young girl had trembled and messed up her words, yelled at her brother and dropped her guitar in protest. Through the years she'd sulked and argued with Piper over creativity. But she had persisted and she had grown as an artist.

Her first gig had been at a football game singing the national anthem, and Piper didn't think she'd ever been so proud of anyone. But since then she'd played the circuits, appeared at bars and events; growing and changing. Eventually of course she'd been signed by Red Bedroom Records, just as Peyton had predicted she would back when Izzy was just a little girl.

And now she was here; playing to an arena, and one sobbing mess of a cousin.

She knew that her family were backstage, in the wings, supporting their girl. And she could have joined them. No doubt her Mom would have got her a backstage pass and her Dad would have paid for her plane ticket but she hadn't wanted that.

She'd started the sessions - dubbed 'Comet Productions' - out of nothing. She had worked it up from the ground; dragging equipment across the city and advertising for bands to join her. She'd struggled and second-guessed herself but she'd made it work. There had been hiccups along the way, and mistakes, but in the end she had become a legend in the neighbourhood. She had discovered what she'd created really had a market for bands who were trying to make it, or bands just wanting to play. This was the final chapter in that ride. Her favourite act had graduated to the main stage. And it felt better than a seventeen year old Piper had ever, ever dreamt it.

Following Izzy's set Piper fought her way against the crowds to backstage. There she saw a sight that caused her to grin even wider; her cousin was being smothered with hugs by the fan club of their family. Her Mom was there as label president, as well as Brooke and of course Nathan, Haley, Ben and Matthew.

It was Isabel who saw her first, her face gasping in shock, "You're here?"

"Of course I'm here!" Piper cried back, throwing her arms out and rushing to collect her protégé into a hug.

Both girls were sweaty, their hair slick to their foreheads and their make up smudged. They had lived it and they had breathed it all in; the real experience of it.

"I thought you were coming to Boston?!" Peyton asked her daughter.

"I couldn't miss this." Piper shook her head, "I was at Iz's first session and I wasn't about to miss her first arena. My first arena."

"Comet Productions." Izzy smiled, "I won't ever forget how you got me here, Pipe."

...

Peyton clicked her way into the wide, impressive office Theo had rented for Piper. Her eyes glistened over the lettering on the wall, "Comet Productions,"

"Since day one." Piper smiled back at her Mom from behind her desk. "In honour of the car that almost met its end to accommodate my plan."

Peyton laughed lightly and Piper was grateful that her Mom had been able to find the funny side of that now.

"I'm proud of you, Kiddo, I hope you know that." Peyton smiled widely at her ambitious daughter who now, after recently graduating, was paving her own way in music production. She had opened her own grass roots label, and she'd done it almost completely on her own - just with a little help from a certain garage lock-up. "I'm proud that you did it on your own when you could have had help every step of the way."

Quietly Piper accepted the praise, smirking to herself; her Mom's acclamation meant the world to her.

"And I brought you a gift," Peyton continued before dipping into a purse. She produced an envelope and held it out to Piper.

Piper eyed it curiously causing Peyton to impatiently thrash the envelope in front of her daughter's nose, "Open it!"

"Okay, okay!" Piper grabbed the envelope and tore it open. Inside she found a release document and her eyes widened with shock. "What? Izzy left Red Bedroom? Why?"

Peyton inclined her head and laughed lightly, "Because there's only one place she belongs as an artist; that's here."

"Mom, no," Piper shook her head, "Red Bedroom can get her in the door of any venue. No one knows me-,"

"Doesn't matter." Peyton assured. "They know her and they want her. You made her the artist she is. She trusts you to look after her. She chose Comet Pro. She's been holding out on me actually; won't commit to anything big under Red Bedroom."

Piper searched her Mom's face, "But, I mean this is lovely and all, but I can't afford her."

"You soon will." Peyton winked. "Good luck, my Girl."

She kissed her daughter on the nose and stood to leave. She paced to the door and then stopped to glance back, "Just one question, Kiddo, why this office? It's not close to your apartment or anything,"

At that Piper grinned, "It comes with it's own garage."

...

Thanks to anyone and everyone who read this baby :)