Rain.
The sounds Lucas' shoes make as they hit the blacktop.
The way the rain gets heavier the harder he runs.
It all makes him go faster.
Lucas doesn't any of this. He doesn't notice how mud starts to spray his legs or that all the cars passing by. All he can focus on is the way Brooke's eyes light up when she smiles or how Lindsey wrinkles her nose when she's annoyed or the way Peyton never gets angry at him when he fucks up or the way he misses Haley.
All this makes him run harder, passing buildings, cars, people, and making it all into a blur like his life has become lately. He feels like if he runs harder maybe he can fix the mess he made of his life so he does.
He starts noticing the world around him and slowly drifts out of his own. It doesn't stop him from running.
The rain goes in a melody, almost into counts of four. He laughs at the irony of it. The rain melody that consists of counts of four beats becomes clearer. In his head it almost too much handle. He starts thinking to the melody.
One: Brooke. Two: Lindsey. Three: Peyton. Four: Haley. One: Peyton. Two: Haley. Three: Brooke. Four: Lindsey. One: Haley. Two: Brooke. Three: Lindsey. Four: Peyton. One: Lindsey. Two: Peyton. Three: Haley. Four: Brooke.
It goes on in his head for a while until soon he wonders if it can't stop. He asks himself if he's going insane.
He screams.
People look at him seeming to wonder if other people think he's going insane too.
He can picture the headlines tomorrow: Revisionary Writer Goes Crazy. The press would just eat it up. But what would Lindsey, Peyton, and Brooke say. Or Nathan, the half brother he had just met. He wonders what Haley would say if she was still here.
His legs started to ache, but not near as much as his head.
He questions himself. He wishes he could be someone else than his 28 year old, Tree Hill raised, chain smoking self.
He finally just sits down on the curb and gives up on running for now.
He knows it's over now and it comforts him.