Author's Note: Thank you so much for all your reviews so far!! It's so cool to know you guys are liking it.

Okay, in this chapter, there's quite a few flashbacks: Flashbacks are going to be indicated by an 'FB' and then it'll be written in italics and bold. Sometimes they are just flashes of like a face or something- it'll become clearer (hopefully) as you read. haha.

Oh, and I know some people aren't liking Brucas at the moment, they think they are just sex- and lust and you know, there are no real deep feelings. Oh, and a lot of people are not liking how Lucas was first interested in Peyton. Trust me, that changes. I wanted it to start off that way: I actually want the readers to watch Brucas develop into real feelings; we see every single second of their relationship- so we have a lot of development to be done. Nay fear.

In this chapter, there is a little of all ships. We see a lot of the history of our characters. I kind of wanted this chapter to have parts of the present and the past- so we see how the characters have dealt with the situation so far, and kind of what has happened to them before the event that has made them into these people.

Okay, in this, there is some violence- I just thought I'd warn people, in case there are some people that are very sensitive. It's not OTT gore, but there IS violence: consider yourself warned.

So, here we are, on the floor of a dirty bathroom with an insane gunman out there, and God knows how many more elsewhere in the building.

Nathan was knelt down beside Haley, who trying to regain her composure after that anxiety attack. She looked up at him, expecting to see a face that was full of disgust and anger; but it wasn't, it was full of concern. She was unsure what that meant. He stood up, and she flinched.

FB: Haley is sat on the floor, her knees up; Jack (a tall, muscular, dark-haired, handsome boy- around the age of the rest of the OTH gang) is stood above her. He kicks her just below the ribs, and she coughs violently. "Please, Jack. Please. I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Jack kicks her again "You're right you won't do it again."

Nathan looked at her concernedly, Haley was chewing the skin on her lip.

Why did she flinch? Why is she so scared of me?

He knelt down beside her again, Haley shuffled slightly away.

"Are you scared of me?"

Haley just looked at him, and then looked down.

"Are you?"

Haley inhaled deeply, and with tear-stained eyes, she nodded.

Jake and Peyton were still in their corner, Peyton's hand was on the floor, and Jake's was resting on top of it. He was stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

She looked down at their two hands, and sniffed. Jake turned to her, her eyes were glassy.

I don't know what to do.

Lucas was holding Brooke's hands; she was still shaking from the gunshots.

"We need to do something." Brooke said, desperately.

Brooke held back tears as she thought about Peyton being in danger, and her being powerless to save her best friend.

Lucas thought about his brother and Peyton; he looked down at Brooke and saw how vulnerable she looked, and for the first time, he saw her as more than just a bit of fun. She was a person. And she needed someone to be there for her. He squeezed her hands a little tighter, and she looked up and gave a weak smile.

Haley and Nathan had been in the same position now for the longest time: Nathan was stunned, he didn't know what to say. She's scared of me? He sensed that she probably wasn't going to speak.

"Did I- Did I do something? Do I seem violent or something?"

Haley just stared into the empty space between them.

"Please. Please, I need an answer."

Haley still stared, she looked up at him, "No... No. You haven't done anything."

Nathan, confused "Then why- why are you scared of me? Please tell me why." Haley closed her eyes.

FB: Jack was kicking her repeatedly; Haley closed her eyes and tried to forget the pain, tried to forget that this person was meant to love her. Jack knelt down beside her, and held her face tightly "Baby, baby, tell me why. Why would you do this to me?" Haley looked up at him, through teary eyes, "Jack, please, I don't know what I've done." Jack still holding her face, pushed it back into the wall, he stood up "Oh. You know what you've done." Haley knew what was coming, she shut her eyes.

Haley opened her eyes, and looked at Nathan, "I'm sorry."

"I don't understand. Don't apologise. Just tell me what I did."

Haley looked down, and shook her head "I'm sorry." I'm so sorry.

"Now listen..." Everybody in the room looked up, he smiled a little bit- he was lapping up the power he had over these people "My name is Michael, hello." he spoke with authority, and ease. He knew what he wanted, and would stop at nothing to get it "I promise, no one will get hurt... If we get our demands." He smiled so sinisterly,

"So tell me..." He turned to an elderly man "How much faith do you have in the public services, right now?"

Michael laughed, "You see, I don't have that much. But I'm thinking once the death toll gets high enough, they'll start to take notice. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how high it has to get."

He cocked his gun.

Brooke was watching the whole thing from their dark corner.

"No... No. Please." She shut her eyes, and whispered. "Please." She flinched as the gun sounded.

Lucas put his hand on her shoulder, "Come sit down. This isn't helping anyone, especially not you."

She shrugged him off, and went to sit on top of a crate in the closet.

Her eyes were filled with tears- tears that she was not going to let fall. She inhaled, shakily.

"I don't know what to do."

"You are in the same position as every single person here... You're doing everything right." Lucas tried to reassure her, but he could see there wasn't much he could say that was going to make her, or him, feel any better. He went to sit on a crate next to her and fell through it. The both of them gasped, while they waited to see how much noise they had made, and whether Michael had noticed. They knew they were safe, and Brooke and Lucas let themselves laugh for a second, stifling it after.

"Thank you."

"For what? Falling on my arse?"

"Helping me to forget... Even if just for a second."

"Hey." He tried to get out of the box, but kept falling back into it, Brooke laughed a little again. "It's what I'm here for."

Jake broke the silence that Peyton and him had sat in for a while, "So where is Brooke?"

"You see that dark kind of closet-y thing over there?" Peyton slightly gestured with her head.

"Yeah."

"I think her and Lucas are in that..."

Jake raised his eyebrows a little, and smiled, "Go Brooke."

Peyton smiled at him, he was so determined to make her feel better.

"I'm not used to feeling like this."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Just so...Pathetic."

Jake turned to look at her, he was concerned That's a dangerous, dark place to go. She needs to stop thinking like that. "Peyton, you're not pathetic. There's nothing we can do."

"I know. I do know that. I just- I don't like feeling this powerless. I'm used to fixing things. I can't fix this." Peyton lent back and rested her hair on the wall, "I can't fix this." She whispered. She looked down, shaking her head.

Nathan and Haley were still in those same positions, neither of them had moved, neither of them knew what to do.

"I'm sorry."

"Please stop saying sorry." Nathan begged, "Just tell me what I've done."

Haley- with closed eyes- whispered, "You haven't done anything."

"Are you just scared of everyone... everything?"

Haley looked at him, and then looked down; her eyes were filled with tears that now trickled down her face.

"Are you?"

Haley wiped the tears away with the palm of her hand, "It's just been my experience that people can rarely be trusted."

FB: Jack's face, "Baby, don't you trust me?"

Nathan sighed, and sat down next to her, "I suppose our present situation isn't doing much to challenge that theory."

Haley laughed a little, "No. Not really."

"Yeah, I think I might switch to your way of thinking after today."

"It does eliminate the surprise factor of it."

Nathan laughed a little, "Yeah." Haley looked up at him- just for a brief second- and smiled.

Michael was on the phone, he started laughing, and then hung up. He turned to the crowds "Looks like not enough have died yet, because they're not taking us seriously." He grabbed a knife out of his jacket pocket."Well, well, well."

Michael slams the knife down onto the hand of David who is also behind the counter, David screams out in pain. Michael puts a finger to his lips, "Sh sh sh. I am going to talk and you're going to listen. Now, if-" He leans down and looks at his name tag, "David. Hm... Now, if David moves, I will shoot someone. If David makes a noise, I will shoot someone. If David does pretty much anything, someone is going to die. A lot rests on young David's shoulder. But I'm sure he can handle it." David winced, and Michael patted him on the head. "Good boy."

"Now, like I said, they are not taking us seriously..." He started to walk about, his gun firmly in his hand. "I think they think that I will eventually get tired, and bored, and give up. But let me tell you something" He bent down and got close to a woman's ear "As long as there are people to shoot and people to scream, I am good." He got back up. "Now I have nothing against you people... You all seem like law-abiding citizens, all wholesome, with your families and whatnot. But I am not any of those things. And I have no problem with shooting you all dead in a second-" A middle-aged man ran at him, yelling. Michael shot him. No hesitation. No second thoughts. The man is dead. "Rude."

Michael makes his way back to the desk, David is still there, silently crying. "Well done, David. Now I'm going to take out the knife. Please, don't move. You wouldn't want to startle me." He removed the knife, slowly. "Keep your hand still, David." Michael shot at David's hand, David screamed "Now you don't have a pain in your hand anymore!" Michael laughed hysterically. "But I told you not to make a noise." He cocked his gun, and shot at David. David fell to the ground. "I put him out of his misery... I'm practically a saint." Michael smiled at the shocked crowds. "Now... maybe you'll all listen..."

Peyton stared at the massacre that had just happened, trying to catch her breath. Jake had shut his eyes.

"He's insane..." Peyton whispered; Jake opened his eyes slowly, he looked at the blood-stained walls, and looked down.

"That's a shock to you?"

"Well, I mean, I knew he was evil. But he's actually insane..."

Jake squeezed her hand "It's going to be okay, Peyton."

"Not for Dave..."

Jake looked up at Peyton, slightly confused by that kind of blunt reaction, her face was completely serious. Peyton had numbed herself to death. The pain of it. The destruction.

Peyton lifted her hand out from underneath Jake's and put it on the floor; Jake looked at their hands. I don't understand. Why is she retreating from me? Turning away from me? Have I done something wrong?

Peyton looked out at the crowds- the screaming children, the families trying to comfort each other, the couples kissing, the people alone, just praying they make it home.

I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry.

Brooke was sitting on her crate, Lucas had made his way out of the box and had chosen to huddle up between Brooke's crate and the wall. Brooke was looking down into her lap.

"Let's take our minds off of this..."

Brooke looked at Lucas, one eyebrow raised.

Lucas smiled, "No. Not like that. I just think sitting and wallowing in this situation isn't going to make us feel better. It won't help."

Brooke looked down, He's right. She smiled at Lucas, "Sure. What were you thinking of?"

"I want to get to know you."

"There isn't much to know."

"Where did you grow up?"

"Tree Hill."

"Cool. And why are you in L.A.?"

"Er, Peyton- Peyton kind of had a tough time, and I wanted to take her mind off of- well, life, I suppose."

"I see. Did you need a break from life too?"

Brooke looked up, "Well, I guess school kind of took it out of me- but it was mainly for Peyton."

Lucas smiled, "Do you do a lot of things for Peyton?"

Brooke nodded, "Yeah, and she does a lot for me."

"Like?"

"I don't know. Stuff that can't be measured or seen: she doesn't judge me- and trust me, I do some things worth judging- she's always there for me, always sacrificing for me. I think, just knowing she's there is enough- she does enough only doing that."

Brooke smiled at him through glassy eyes

FB: Peyton was waiting outside a hospital room, Brooke walked out, her face stained by mascara trails. Peyton stood up and help Brooke close, Brooke started weeping onto Peyton's shoulder "It's okay, Brooke. It's okay." Peyton stroked Brooke's hair. Brooke looked up, "I don't know why I'm 

being so silly about this." Peyton looked down at the two chairs, "You wanna sit?" Brooke nodded and they both sat down.

Peyton held onto Brooke's hand while Brooke wiped her eyes with tissue, "I'm fine. Really, I'm fine." Peyton looked at her, "B. Davis, you do not have to be strong for me. Tell me what they said."

Brooke looked up, "It's okay. All the tests were negative, I didn't catch anything. And I'm not-" Peyton stroked the back of her hand, "I'm not pregnant, Peyt." Peyton reached across and wiped Brooke's tears. "See? This is so stupid. I don't know why I'm crying."

Peyton looked her in the eyes, "Because it was scary, Brooke. And that guy needs to pay." Brooke nodded, blowing her nose. "You're allowed to be vulnerable every now and again. And you can be whenever you want with me. It's okay." Brooke started crying again, she rest her head on Peyton's shoulder, Peyton stroked her hair "No one's going to hurt you again, my girl. I won't let them. I promise you that."

"So you two are pretty close?"

Brooke looked up at Lucas, "She's my family."

"I hope Lucas is okay... God, I haven't thought about him since we came in here."

Haley looked up, she sniffed. "Is that the blonde guy you're with?"

"Yeah, that's my brother."

Haley gave a slightly confused look, They don't look like each other. Like, at all.

Nathan picked up on her confusion "Long story."

"Oh."

"He's my half-brother, same dad. Same manipulative, controlling, backstabbing, shell-of-a-human-being dad."

Haley looked at him sympathetically, and for a second she saw Jack's face, she jerked her head away. Nathan looked at her- kind of confused, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Haley sniffed, "I just- I know a little about those kind of people."

"Oh. Oh, okay." Nathan decided not to pry, the girl had just started speaking, he didn't want her to shy away again. God, I don't even know her name.

"I know this is a little late into the conversation, but would you mind telling me your name?"

She smiled, "Haley."

"Haley. Well, Hales, I'm Nathan."

"Hales"?

He had no idea what that nickname meant to her, how big an impact such a small thing had on her. It made her feel a little bit more real. She hadn't felt like a person in so long. She had felt like a ghost, just drifting in and out of the world.

She looked up at him, "Hi, Nathan."

Nathan looked at her, his eyes smiled. "Hi." He groaned, "Okay, I have to ask, did I do something that made you think I was one of those people to be scared of?"

FB: Haley was with a group of friends, Jack was sat next to him, and they were all laughing and talking. Jack was finishing a story, "...Then Haley totally fell into the bushes!" Haley laughed, "Er, yeah, I distinctly remember you screaming like a little girl and pulling me into the bushes with you to hide!" The group laughed, Jack gave a fake laugh and leaned into Haley "Why do you do things like that? You know you're going to have to pay for that later." He whispered. Haley's face dropped, she looked back into the group for a face that told her someone, anyone, had just heard that. But nothing. She was alone. And she knew it.

"You didn't do anything. I just- I just didn't want to speak."

"Can I ask why?"

"I was afraid of what would happen if I said the wrong thing."

Jake looked at his now empty hand, and back up at Peyton; she was just staring into the crowds, at nothing in particular but at everything all at the same time.

Please talk to me, Peyton.

This isn't helping anyone. We need to stick together.

Please... Just talk to me.

Peyton sighed deeply, he turned to look at her but her eyes stayed fixed on the space in front of them.

FB: Peyton (as a child) at the funeral of her mother; her father looks down at her, and goes to hold her hand, but she brushes him off. He nods- he understands, it's okay, his daughter just needs to grieve and this is how she chooses to do it. Peyton decides to rest on his leg, hugging him. He knows that she just needed to find him in her own time. An older female crouches down to face Peyton "I guess it's just you now, Peyton. You're going to have to be a big girl now." Young Peyton nods, and looks down while her dad strokes her hair.

Peyton wanted to look at Jake, hold his hand again, but she just couldn't. She just couldn't depend on him. Not when he could leave.

Don't let him in.

Don't care about him.

Stop needing him.

You can't care about him.

You just met him.

You don't care about him.

You can't lose another person you care about.

Another person you lov- I mean, care about, can't die.

Stop wanting him to make it all better.

You can make it better. You're strong. You're strong enough to do this. You're strong enough to deal with this.

It's just you, Peyton.

It's just you.

Oh God, please don't let me lose another person. Let him be okay. I need him to be okay.

The silence between the two of them grew and grew, filling their hearts and minds with the emptiness that comes from not being able to help someone you love. And they did love each other, the hour or two they had known each other was enough, but Peyton didn't want to love him. She didn't want to miss someone again. She didn't want to feel that agonising ache that came from needing someone to be there, and knowing they never will be again.

Brooke and Lucas were silent, but this time instead of their need to fill it with inane conversation, they were completely comfortable. The silence was filled with their busy thoughts of friends and family, distant memories that seemed like nothing in comparison to the magnitude of this event.

I've lived a regular life. Never done anything wrong. Never hurt anyone. Kept to myself.

Lucas looked up at Brooke, who was just staring into the darkness. He wanted to comfort her, let her know she was okay, she was safe, he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. He raised his hand and put it on her thigh, she looked down at it and closed her eyes. This was different to earlier, Lucas wasn't trying to have sex with her, she knew this was a comfort thing. And it worked. She sniffed, and smiled at him.

"Thank you" She whispered.

Lucas smiled at her, happy to know he had helped, if only a little.

Brooke's phone lit up in her pocket, Oh my God. Oh no. Oh God.

Lucas stared at it- his eyes wide, Brooke looked at him, whispering "I'm sorry."

Her ringtone started to blare out, echoing into the silence of the airport terminal.

Michael jumped up off of the counter, and turned. Everyone knew where it was coming from. Michael smiled, he had noticed a place he hadn't before. Someone was hiding in there. And he knew it. He proceeded towards the closet.

Lucas pulled Brooke onto his lap, and pushed her behind him. Pulling a crate in front of her, he quickly climbed over it and held her close to him. Brooke gasped as Lucas reached into her jeans pocket and grabbed the phone; he turned it off and slid it across the floor, away from them. Her breathing was heavy, and so was his. They were hidden. But not very well. There were only so many places they could go. It wouldn't take to long to find them if he got some light.

Brooke whispered into Lucas's chest, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Shhh..." he stroked her hair, and pushed him closer into him.

Michael was walking towards the closet,

Peyton knew where he was going; her face was filled with terror.

"Please... Please, no." She whispered. "Please..."

Jake turned to her, watching her face slowly change- her eyes get more and more desperate, her lip quiver.

Peyton's eyes stayed fixed on Michael Please... Please... No. Brooke, get out of there. Please, Brooke. Please, don't die.

Lucas and Brooke watched Michael's silhouette in the door "Come out. Come out. Wherever you are." He laughed. He fumbled around for a light-switch, "No light. Hm. But I will find you..."

They stared at him, the room was so dark and there was no way he could see them; tears trickled down Brooke's face and onto Lucas's shirt, he held her tighter- Lucas's breathing became ragged.

"Not going to come out? Hmmm... That's sad. We could have played. Oh well."

Michael cocked his gun, and shot randomly into the room: crates and boxes smashed, and the shots echoed throughout the room. Not a corner was left, Michael made sure of that. Anything that anyone could be hiding behind was blown to pieces. He kept shooting, he was not about to let these people live. Serves them right for hiding. Everything was shattered. Smoke filled the air. The room was silent.

Peyton shut her eyes with the first shot, Jake looked at her, a tear fell down her cheek- leaving a mascara trail; her eyes stayed closed. She didn't want to look. she didn't want to face reality.

Oh God... Brooke... No... Please...