Hey everyone! So sorry for the lack of updating, inspiration hasn't been coming to me like it used to. But I've been sick meaning I've had a lot of time to just sit and write. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter and expect another update soon!


By the time Lucas made it to his mother's vacant house, it had already started to rain. The weather man had been warning everyone about the storm that would be coming but naturally, everyone in Tree Hill brushed it off. They'd been in an unusually hot November and now that it was almost December it was doubtful they'd get a rainstorm just two days after having 68 degree weather. But the temperature had slowly dropped the entire day and the rain was coming down in sheets. Haley was parked in front of the house and through the water slicked window Lucas could tell she was still crying.

He pulled up behind her and cut the engine before getting out of his car. He jogged to her car and jumped in the passenger seat. The rain sounded even louder as it hit the metal roof of the car making the silence between them even more deafening. Haley's head rested on the wheel, her hands in her lap. It was then that Lucas noticed her ring on the dashboard. "What'd he do?" She shrugged. She knew Lucas was looking for something incredibly bad but it wasn't there. Everything had just piled up and she had enough of everything

"He's not Nathan." She looked up helplessly at her best friend and allowed him to wrap his arms around her shaking body. His jacket was wet against her dry sweater and it felt good against her hot face. She closed her eyes to try and get her tears to stop but opened them again when she realized it was pointless. Her eyes stared directly at the plastic bag from Rite Aid she had picked up two months ago but never had the strength to open.


"What are you doing up," she asked as she slipped on to Lucas' lap, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

Haley let out a small sigh before rubbing her protruding belly. "She keeps moving."

"At least she's better than Jamie who would only kick when you were trying to sleep," Lucas replied, an amused look on his face.

Before Haley can say anymore, James comes running into the room, bypassing everyone and running straight to the biggest present underneath the tree.


"Do you like to draw?" James and Jenny had now moved to the couch that had previously been occupied by Brooke and Peyton. They'd been talking random nonsense for a while now, much to the amusement of the two older women. James shook his head swiftly.

"Do you like basketball?" Like James, Jenny shook her head to the question. James blinked a few times before scooting down to the other side of the couch. "I don't think we can be friends anymore."

"Jamie, that's not very nice," Brooke scolded from the kitchen where she and her best friend had started preparing dinner. After Brooke's internal revelation she needed to do something to distract herself so she and Peyton had begun to start dinner despite the fact it was only three thirty. They worked together side by side making everything slowly.

"Is it why you came back to Tree Hill," Peyton asked as she stirred the beans on the stove as Brooke shredded chicken by the sink. She paused and turned offering Peyton a questioning look even though she knew exactly what she meant. "The family thing. Is that why you came back?"

Brooke shrugged and returned to the chicken. "Well, maybe... I don't know. I mean I missed you guys so much. And New York was just, god, crazy. But Tree Hill has always been home ya know? I wanted to be near you guys but I guess there was just something I couldn't find in New York." There was a knock on the door before Brooke could continue and she quickly dropped the piece of chicken in her hand. "I'll get it," she said while picking up a towel and wiping her hands. She opened the door and found a much older version of the boyish guy she once knew. "Hey Jake."

He nodded, only a miniscule smile on his face. "How have you been Brooke?"

She stepped aside to let him in, shrugging a little as she did so. "Wish I knew... Anyway, Jenny's in the living room with Jamie and Peyton is cooking dinner in the kitchen." He nodded again and then they both stood in the entryway almost awkwardly. "You're different now."

He looked up at her. "Why does everyone keep saying that?" She raised her eyebrow in question and he continued. "Peyton."

She shrugged, her hands open towards the ceiling. "She'd know wouldn't she?" She left him then and walked into the kitchen to return to her chicken. He stood there puzzled. He hadn't changed that much had he? Sure he'd become a little more stern but he was still the guy he was in high school. Right?

Slowly, he followed Brooke's path into the kitchen and observed the two laughing as they prepared the food in front of them. This was familiar to him. This is how they were in high school. Granted Brooke probably wouldn't' have been making food, it still seemed natural. "Aunt Brooke." At the sound of the little boy's strained voice, Brooke immediately dropped the taco she was making and ran past Jake into the living room.

"Are you staying for dinner," Peyton asked as she opened the partition a little wider to see what was going on with James and to make sure Jenny was alright.

"It's okay. Jenny and I can eat at home."

She turned to look at him before motioning to the food around them. "We've got plenty of food. I'd really like you to stay."

He shook his head. "Really, it's fine."

Letting out an aggravate sigh, she closed the partition completely. "What happened to you?" She sounded angry, almost sad, and it phased him a bit.

"Nothing happened to me. I'm still the same guy you knew in high school." He was starting to get tired of everyone saying he was different.

"No you aren't! You stand there all stiff and you're so strict now! What happened to the guy who used to sit on his porch with his daughter and play his guitar? Or the boy who took me on a road trip and ate a bag full of licorice in ten minutes? What happened to the boy I fell in love with Jake? Because this you is not him," Peyton said in a raised voice, motioning to him in a disgusted manner.

"How can you say that Peyton? I've been back almost three weeks and we've hung out two times. How could you possibly know me?" He was yelling even though he knew he shouldn't. Jenny was in the next room along with Brooke and James. Last thing he wanted was to scare his baby.

She ducked her head down, looking a little embarrassed or ashamed. Her messy curls fell in front of her face and he could hear the deep breaths she was taking. "How do I know," she laughed sadly before looking back up at him with those big blue eyes that always seemed consumed with grief. "You have never yelled at me before. Even when I kept badgering your lawyers or when you heard me talk in my sleep about Lucas. Never once have you yelled or looked at me like you're looking at me now." She looked so broken in front of him that his tense posture softened and he took a tentative step forward only for Peyton to step back.

"Daddy!" They both look to see Jenny in the doorway, Brooke sliding behind her with a look expressing her apologizes for letting the little girl run in. "Peyton? What's wrong?"

Peyton wiped her cheeks in order to remove any tears she hadn't felt fall before shaking her head and putting on a fake smile. "Nothing honey. I'm fine."


Later that night, Lucas walked into the apartment he lived in with his girlfriend. His shoulders were hunched and his short hair wet from the rain outside. He rubbed his temples before taking off his jacket and throwing it on the dinning room table. "It's about time you came home." He looked up to see Peyton curled up on the couch, the tv casting a soft glow on her face in the otherwise dark room. Her face was blank and she lifted the remote to flip channels.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for not calling." He slipped off his shoes and kicked them next to the door before turning to go towards his room. Sitting up with Haley all day was tiring to say the least, plus restraining from hitting Nathan took a lot out of him.

"Where were you?" A simple question, one she didn't really care whether or not he answered. She sat for three hours, alone after Brooke and James left, worried about him for all the wrong reasons. She wasn't worried about where he was or if he was alright because she knew that he was fine where ever he had been. Truth was she was worried if she'd have enough time to track down Jake and talk to him since he practically stormed out after their 'fight'. But she hadn't left because she knew that with Lucas was where she had to be.

Lucas shook his head, walking into his room. "It's been a long day. I'll tell you tomorrow." She heard the door shut quietly and she ran her hand through her curly hair. She put on her slippers before grabbing her purse and keys and shutting the front door behind her.


"What are you doing here," he exhaled when he answered the door, leaning into the doorway and squinting due to the porch light.

"I don't want things to stay how they are between us."

"And you decided at, what, eleven o'clock at night to come over and try to fix things?"

She covered her eyes with her hands in frustration before looking straight into his eyes. "Look," she started pointing a finger at him," can you stop being a douche for two seconds and just tell me what the hell it is that I'm doing to get treated like this?"

"Like what?" He stood up straight and stepped out on to the porch, wrapping his arms across his chest in an effort to keep them warm in the cold night air.

"Like you don't even know me! Or like I ruined your life! All I have done since you came back was be nice and try to be friends with you again and you just blow me off!" He looked up at her tired expression, almost angry that she was yelling at him.

"We can't be friends Peyton! Because I love you too damn much to just be friends with you!" She doesn't look shocked, instead almost relieved to hear him say that. She took a swift step forward and brought her hand up to his neck, touching him for the first time in four years. His own hand found it's way to her hip, in the back of his head knowing this was wrong. He should have the power to stop but he wasn't sure he could do that again. Their heads come close and she licked her lips nervously, noticing just then that her hand was shaking. She rubbed the back of his neck softly before closing her eyeliner smudged eyes and resting her forehead against his.

"You shouldn't have told me that," she murmured just before she pulled away from him completely and walking back to her car.