A/N: Thank you for the three people who reviewed. I know this story is different and that a lot of people don't exactly know what to think of it but let me tell you I'll explain everything in the story. Please let me know what you guys think of this chapter :)


Chapter 2. Killing Loneliness

When school was finally over Dylan jogged to his car, ignoring his friends that were calling after him. He was tired and sure as hell not in the mood to talk; he just wanted to be alone and listen to his music for a while.

As he sped off in the old Mustang that he been given for his sixteen birthday, his thoughts were on a certain gorgeous girl. She was being a bitch to him, always saying harsh things but still he admired her. The girl had so much power over the school; she was popular and everyone knew her and her reputation. She could care less about the school rules or the teachers; she was always running late and had to go to detention almost daily.

She wasn't a cheerleader, she wasn't that smart but she sure as hell wasn't shallow or dumb, she was just… He had no idea how to describe her in one word. He had no idea how to act around her, now he acted like his 'normal' cocky self but that was not the real him. He wished he could be different around her; he wished she could see the real Dylan.

Of course, that wasn't an option. She would laugh at him and tell the whole school that he wasn't the confident jock everyone knew, but a complete loser who listened to alternative music and read books written by dead guys.

The worst part was that he liked her, and that she hated him. At least it seemed like she hated him.

When he finally arrived at his house he sighed and took a deep breath before getting out of the car. He approached the door and took out his key before entering his house.

The Roe family wasn't living in a bad neighborhood but it wasn't like they could afford a house next to the Scott's. The place was cramped and crowded with two bedrooms; one for his parents and one for himself, a living room and a small kitchen. The furniture looked used but his mother always made sure it looked clean.

"Hey son, how was school?" Lucas Roe said as he greeted his son with a light slap on his shoulder.

Dylan and his father were pretty close. It wasn't the fact that he was almost the exact replica of Lucas; their personalities were also pretty much identical. He definitely had, however, his mother's bluntness and love for studying. He knew it sounded weird but it was true, he loved to learn something new everyday.

"It was fine." He replied as he grabbed an apple from the fridge.

"You say that every time I ask."

"What? It's true!" Dylan laughed at his father's attempt to be concerned.

"I used to say that to my mother and there was always something on my mind that bothered me." Lucas thought about the times when he was in high school and all the drama he, thankfully, survived.

"Where's mom anyway?"

Lucas shrugged his shoulders clearly not bothered by the fact that he had no idea where his wife was. "I haven't seen her for a few hours."

Dylan frowned at his fathers words. It was becoming stranger by the minute that his father couldn't care less about his mother. Haley always loved to be around him but it wasn't the other way around. In fact, if he was not mistaken, Lucas seemed like he would rather be alone, than around his own wife.

"Aren't you worried?"

"Why should I be worried? I'm sure she's around somewhere. I think you can find her in a shopping mall as always." The pissed off tone was clearly noticeable in his voice.

Dylan nodded his head, a little disappointed in his father's behavior. He knew he was pretty blessed with the family he had but lately he'd been wondering if that was true. It wasn't like his parents were fighting but they just didn't spend so much time together as they did in the past.

"I'm going to play some ball. Do you want to join me?" Lucas asked, already walking to the front door as he picked up a basketball that lay in the hallway.

"Sure."


As Haley watched her husband and son from her car playing basketball in their backyard she couldn't help but feel a little jealous of their relationship. Besides the fact that Lucas understood his son better than she did, she also wanted to be more than a mother to him. A friend, someone he could talk to without even hesitating to see if he could trust her.

Sighing, she stepped out of the car and walked towards the duo. "Hey, my two favorite guys in the whole world." She said cheerily, an action that made her think about a certain high school friend.

Dylan could see trough his mother's fakeness, but his father didn't seem to notice. Haley kissed Dylan on the cheek and placed a quick kiss on Lucas' lips.

"Hey Mom, where have you been?" He said wiping off the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

She waved it away as if it wasn't important. "Oh, just at the mall."

Lucas gave Dylan a look that said 'I told you so.'

"Did you buy me something?" Dylan said quickly as he ignored his father, hoping that his mother hadn't seen the look.

She grinned as she started grabbing in her bag. Dylan's face lit up as he saw what his mother had bought for him: the newest PlayStation game he had begged for, for almost three weeks.

"Thanks mom!" He said enthusiastically as he gave his mother a quick hug before running inside with the game.

"You are spoiling him way too much." Lucas grunted as he picked up the basketball and took a shot and missed.

"I just wanted to give him something for once. He's doing great at school, he's not in trouble and he has good manners. He's a good guy Luke, he deserved to get this." Haley snapped as she shot her husband a dirty look.

Lucas threw his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm not saying you shouldn't give him anything. I'm just saying you shouldn't spoil him."

"You are aware that you are making no sense right?"

"Whatever."

Haley rolled her hazel eyes as she shook her head. "I'm going inside; we're eating dinner at seven."

He ignored his wife, though he had heard her and took another shot. It went right in without touching the rim.

After a few minutes of playing ball by himself, he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He grabbed the phone and looked at the caller ID.

"Hey Jake, what's up man?"

"I'm good, good." Jake said a little absent. "Hey, can you do me a favor?"

Lucas laughed. "I knew you weren't calling for just asking me how I am doing." When Jake didn't respond he said quickly, "Yeah sure, what is it?"

"Can I drop Jenny off at your place in about an hour? The institution called and there's something wrong with Peyton and they said to hurry."

Lucas answered with no hesitating. "Of course, but why can't Jenny stay at your place? She's seventeen, I'm sure she can stay at home by herself, she's not a kid anymore you know."

"I know, but I'm worried she'll jump into her car and follow me. She's also wants to know what's wrong with Peyt but I don't want her to worry. And besides, if it's… bad, I don't want her to see it."

"I understand completely, bring her over whenever you want."

"Thanks Luke, I owe you."

"No problem."


Haley, Lucas and Dylan were eating quietly as they heard the sound of the doorbell. Haley stood up to open up the door, but Lucas placed his hand on her arm, telling her that he would open it.

They both listened to hear who was at the door, and when Dylan recognized Jenny's voice, he smiled widely.

"Hey Jen! I didn't know you were coming over!"

"Neither did I." Replied an annoyed Haley as she shot Lucas a look. "If I knew you were coming over I would have made more food."

Jenny shook her dark curls. "No that's ok, I've already eaten. I'll just wait in the living room till you guys finish dinner."

Three voices spoke up at the same time telling her to sit down. "Nonsense. Come on Jen, join us." Lucas said as he pushed Jenny softly back into her seat.

Taking a seat at the table Jenny studied the family eating dinner. Getting lost in thought she wondered if she would have the same someday. Peyton had been in a mental institution for the past six months and Jenny missed her so much. She missed the jokes during dinner or the quick words they shared during breakfast because they were all too tired to speak.

"How are you holding up Jenny? I know it must be hard for you these days." Haley asked, with a motherly voice.

As much as she appreciated it that Haley was concerned about her, she really didn't want to talk about it. It was still a sore subject and she hoped that Dylan had noticed her pleading look.

Lucky for her, he had.

"I'm finished Mom. Can I show Jenny my new PlayStation game?"

Turning around Haley looked at her husband. When he nodded in approval, she sighed. "Of course, you two have fun."

They left in a hurry leaving husband and wife all alone in the room.

"You shouldn't have asked that." Lucas said quietly as he continued to eat.

"I didn't know she would react that way. I just wanted to know how she was doing; nobody tells me anything these days." Haley huffed as she looked down to avoid eye contact.

"Well you should have known that it's something she doesn't like to talk about."

"She didn't talk to us when they told her Peyton had to go to the institution and she still doesn't talk about it now, I just want her to feel like she can trust us." Haley explained to her husband as she stood up and picked up the plates.

Lucas followed his wife as he also picked up a few plates. "She trusts Dylan, that's for sure."

"Do you think she tells him the truth about how she feels about all of this?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Pretty much all the honest truth telling in the world is done by children, Haley. Dylan is a good friend of hers, I'm pretty positive she tells him the truth."

"But Jenny isn't a child anymore Luke, she's a teenager and although Peyton isn't her biological mother she is still a copy of her. And you know as good as I do how Peyton was when she was younger."

That was the truth and they both knew it. When Peyton was a teenager she was already a little depressed about her mothers death and then later finding out it wasn't her biological mother was something that made her use drugs. She loved to draw, something that Jenny loves too, or Peyton would lock herself up in her bedroom when she didn't want to talk, a thing that Jenny did all the time lately.

Jenny had to deal with a few familiar things, like the whole mother issue. The last time Jenny saw her mother was when she was just an infant. Peyton always had been the mother figure to her, until six months ago, when something just snapped. It was something that turned Jenny's, Peyton's and other Tree Hill residents' worlds upside down.

"Let's just pray that she doesn't turn out like Peyton." Lucas said after a short silence.

They didn't agree with lots of things but this was one of the things where they both thought that they couldn't agree more with one another.


To Be Continued...