"Why do you ignore me whenever you see me Anna?" Peyton asked standing in the doorway of Anna's bedroom. "Does it happen to do with the fact that your brother wrote DYKE on my locker?" "I can't be around you Peyton, and I'm sorry I had no clue it was Felix who wrote it." "But why can't you be around me Anna?" She asked her eyes brimming with tears. "I can't take it again, I've already run away from it once, and I promised myself that I wouldn't let it happen again," She whispered "I'm scared!"

Looking at her Peyton could sense there was something more that Anna wasn't telling her, so she walked forward and hugged Anna, "I know there's something you're not telling me, when you want to talk about it I'll listen and I, of all people can't judge you." "Thank you," replied Anna tears sliding down her face.

Two days later there was a knock on Peyton's bedroom door, "Its open." She shouted expecting it to be Brooke or Lucas, her face lit up in a smile when the door swung open to reveal Anna stood nervously in the doorway wringing her hands together. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately, Peyton, If It's okay I'd like to take up your offer of talking." Said the Latina girl quietly avoiding Peyton's gaze "Of course, I'm glad it's me your talking to," she said with a smile.

"This might take a while though," she said finally looking at Peyton," "hey we have all night just take your time, replied the other girl softly.

"The reason we moved to Tree Hill was because someone started rumours about me at my old school, rumours that I was a lesbian. I tried to tough it out but one weekend about 2 months after the rumours started Felix came to visit me, he found me in my room crying. He went and asked my friends why I was crying he didn't know that they had stopped talking to me. He asked them why and they gave him a straight forward answer. They didn't talk to Dykes. He came up to my room demanding to know if the rumours were true, I didn't know how to react, so I panicked and told him they weren't and he phoned my parents telling them to find me another school to go to. He's still not happy that we had to move." She said all the while pacing on Peyton's bedroom floor. "Do you know what the worst part was? I lied to him, I lied to everyone, hell I even lied to myself. The rumours were true, or at least partly true, I like guys, but I also like girls.

"Anna"

"Peyton wait there's something else, have you ever heard this? "First they put away the dealers, then they put away the prostitutes, then they shooed the bums, and beat and bashed the queers, turned away the asylum seekers, fed us suspicions, lies and fears, we didn't raise our voice we didn't make a fuss, it's funny there was no one left to notice, when they came for us." She said solemnly. "My ex-girlfriend told me that, she also told me that it's not about whom we are, it's about who they are, the people who hate and divide. They feed off people who don't fight back."

Tears were silently running down Peyton's cheeks as she whispered "Anna, I'm so sorry, I…" "I should have listened to her Peyton, instead I ran away like the scared little girl I am. Now it's happening again and this time I'm not going to let it happen to you, I'm going to tell Felix the truth, It's what I have to do." She interrupted. "Anna..." Peyton didn't get much further before she stepped forward and kissed Anna. The Kiss was soft but passionate at the same time. After a few seconds Anna realised what was happening and started to kiss Payton back, brushing the tears from Peyton's eyes. They broke apart when lack of air forced them to. "Peyton?" "What?"

"Anna whatever comes next we will face it together, I may not be gay but all I know is I like you a lot more than just a friend, and that I'll be there next to you when you tell him and everything else we'll face together, but first can I you ask one thing? Anna Taggaro, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Peyton are you sure you want to do this"

"Peyton smiled softly and replied "I've never felt anything like this about anyone before not even about Jake and Lucas, yes I want to do this"

"In that case I'd love to be your girlfriend,"

The girls stepped forward and embraced softly.