Name: Chris

Title: Tapestry

Fandom: One Tree Hill

Genre: Angst

Rating: T

Summary: "It's not real, Luke. You got it skewed up somewhere." Lucas and Haley centric Set about a year after 'After the Blues.'

Based on the 15 Pairings prompt 'what lies within.' I'm not sure how long this is gonna end up being…right now I'm aiming for about 4-5 chapters.

For Kat, as I've been promising her a Laley fic forever.

…0…

Save me a place, down in your heart,

But don't let the road take you too far from me

…0…

…she walked in with a sashay to her step; a blended air or mystery and contempt rolling off her in waves…

Grunting in frustration, Lucas slammed the top of his laptop shut and rubbed his eyes in distraction.

"Aren't you supposed to be writing?"

He looked up into the soft brown eyes of his best friend and smirked. "Aren't you supposed to be teaching?"

With a grin, she flopped onto the small couch along the back wall of his office. "It's called planning period."

He nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "Whatever you say, Hales."

Feigning being indignant, Haley settled further onto the couch and opened one of the folders she'd brought in with her.

Not even two seconds went by before Lucas pulled it easily from her grasp. She looked up at him, a pout on her face, and cocked an eyebrow. "That was rude."

"Who's in the teacher's lounge?" he asked, a smirk threatening to break out over his face. Haley had gotten better over the last few months; she still had the tendency to get intimidated by her old teachers being her colleagues. "Is it Mr. Perkins again?"

"Maybe," she replied, now thoroughly engrossed in her nails without her files to look at.

Lucas laughed, earning a scathing look from his best friend. She shoved at his shoulder and jerked her folder away, flipping it open and extracting a pen from her pocket. "You need to write and I need to grade. Go."

"Yes, ma'am," he quipped with a salute.

Haley chuckled softly, the sound of her pen marking the pages making quite scratching noises. He settled back down at his desk, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck as he examined the words he'd already written. Looking up discreetly, he studied his best friend as she worked in silence, not even stopping when a stray wisp of hair fell into her eyes-she merely pushed it back and kept going. This was his third book and, though he'd never tell her, Lucas had realized that his main character had a lot of Haley in her. He wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but it was proving to be a challenge. Writing someone he knew so well should've come much easier to him.

Even though the coffee sitting beside his laptop had long gone cold, Lucas took a sip. He sat it back down, not really paying attention, and it tipped, spilling the contents all over his desk and down the leg of his jeans.

"Damn it," he muttered and bent down to wipe the liquid from the floor so he wouldn't slip on it later.

"Need some help?" Haley offered.

He shook his head, bending even further under his desk, then realized she couldn't see him. "No," he said, "I'll get it."

The coffee continued to seep outward, further than Lucas had realized and when he moved his hand to reach the far corner near the outlet where his computer was plugged in, his hand slipped and he lost his balance, following forward and pulling the plugs out when he attempted to catch himself against the wall. His hand hit the outlet just as the cord came loose, sending a strong shock through his body via his wet hand.

Lucas jumped back at the shock, his head colliding with the bottom of his desk, and fell sprawled on the floor of his office. A string of curses sprang forth from his lips and Haley fell to her knees beside him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just think I fried my hand off," he shook it, wiggling his fingers to ascertain any damage. "That hurt like hell."

"I'll bet." She ran her hand over the top of his head, apologizing when he winced away from her hand. "Sorry." Settling back on her hands, she gave him a sympathetic look. "You're gonna have a nasty bump tomorrow."

He gave her a lopsided grin, shrugging easily. "I'll live." Haley laughed and made to get up off the floor when she noticed a pained expression come over his face. "Luke?"

Hand on his chest, Lucas's breathing became heavier and more labored while the color drained from his face. "Hales," he gasped, "call someone." A ringing in his ears grew louder, his vision blacking out around the face of his best friend until it engulfed him.

…0…

Lyrics from 'Please Don't Let it Be' by The Alternate Routes.