The next few weeks flew by in a blur, and soon, it started to feel as though Nathan had never left Tree Hill for the summer. With his senior year just around the corner, Nathan took advantage of those last waning warm days to train and play pick-up games with some of his teammates that were around town. Deb was ecstatic to have her only child home again and was doing surprisingly well after her own time away from the scrutiny of the people in their lives. Nathan had only seen his father a handful of times, but it had actually gone better than he had expected. Dan was proud of the work his son had done at High Flyers and was fairly content to let him control his own life for once. The two of them had come to an unspoken understanding and were able to tolerate each other when necessary.

One of the first things Nathan had done after spending time with his mother was seek out Lucas to apologize for the hateful things he had said before leaving for Florida. Whether he liked it or not sometimes, the lanky blonde was his only sibling. Nathan was proud that Luke was his brother. After a long talk that made both of them fairly uncomfortable, they had started to hang out again, watching basketball games and wasting what hours they had that weren't spent practicing or with the girls in their lives. While basketball had been everything to Nathan before going to Florida, he knew that he needed more in his life than the sport. It was kind of like his old partying habit. When he did stop by a few of the beach bonfires, he usually chose to abstain. He just didn't need alcohol as a clutch as much as he once had.

He had run into Haley about three days after he had come home when he was on his way to meet Peyton at the record store. They had spoken only briefly, a conversation that Nathan ended by saying that he just didn't want to be around her right now. He knew that Haley had cried later, and as much as he didn't want to, he still cared that she was in pain. It made him feel weak and oblivious in some ways but strong and determined in others. She had left him long before he had left her, and it was time that he rebuild his life without the guilt of Haley hanging over his head.

Someone that he had been happy to see was a suntanned Brooke, fresh off her extended summer in California visiting her parents. Peyton, Nathan, Brooke and Lucas had spent more than a few nights together at Karen's café, sometimes including Haley when Nathan was feeling especially kind. He looked forward to spending time with his friends, including Mouth, Rachel, Skills and Bevin, to hear all the crazy stories of their antics over the summer. His favorite were the tales that Brooke told about her various hook-ups in California because it reminded him of old times. It wasn't the tawdry details that got his attention; rather, he lived for the feeling he got when he listened to her talk in a way that reminded him of how things had been before there was a Haley, before a Luke – when it was just Peyton, Nathan, Brooke and Tim ruling the school. Sometimes he couldn't help but miss those times, even if he had been an ass. He'd had everything, and now, it often felt like he had nothing.

Needless to say, though, I hadn't been alone with Peyton since that morning. She stayed away from my house unless she knew there was going to be a crowd there, hanging out with Brooke or holing herself up at home. She always came up with some excuse as to why she couldn't see him whenever he would call, and when Nathan knew that she was going to be somewhere he could spend time alone with her, he actually had come to respect what she obvious wanted. At first he had pretended that it would just be awkward, but really, it would just be too hard to be that close to her and not have her. For something that had only been reignited for twenty-four hours, he was still feeling its impact days later. But that was all about to change as his loaded truck headed toward Tric.

Luke sat beside Nathan in the passenger seat, his eyes scanning the blurring streetlights outside while Brooke hummed happily to herself behind Nathan. Peyton sat silently next to her best friend, refusing to meet Nathan's probing blue eyes as he sought her gaze out in the rearview mirror. "I can't wait to see this band tonight," Lucas announced with his signature sly smile. "I've heard they're amazing."

"I know, I haven't even eaten anything all day," Brooke complained. "When P. Sawyer told me that she was going to pay for all my drinks and appetizers, I knew I had to save room for all those empty calories I am going to consume tonight!"

"Peyton's paying?" Luke joked. "Score!"

"It's my welcome present to Brooke," Peyton retorted softly without looking up.

"And Nathan, too," Lucas pointed out. He had noticed the strain between the curly blonde and his brother many times before tonight, but it was especially palpable tonight. Peyton was doing everything she could to avoid looking at or talking to Nathan, and the dark brunette didn't seem to mind at all that she was ignoring him.

"Oh, yeah, sure."

Ouch, Nathan thought to himself. It was clear that the last thing Peyton wanted to do was welcome him home again, especially after the first go around. "Thanks, Peyt," he mumbled. She didn't say anything but finally allowed her eyes to meet his in the mirror. Nathan watched her cross her arms protectively over her body and turn to stare out the window.

By the time Nathan had turned the truck into the parking, the tension in the car was too much for him to take. However, Lucas was staying silent and Brooke didn't seem to notice. Peyton leapt out of the vehicle as soon as the truck was parked, walking quickly ahead to catch up to where Mouth was waiting with the rest of Rachel, Skills, Bevin and Haley. Nathan noticed when Peyton threw a dirty look at his former wife, but she remained uncharacteristically quiet as everyone around them hummed with conversation.

"Come on, guys," Mouth announced as the group crowded into the bustling nightclub. He led them toward the back of the club and into a dimly lit private pair of booths. It was a nice place, and Nathan was reminded how proud he was of his mother and Karen for all their hard work. He was also proud of Peyton for all the acts she had managed to score.

Skills and Bevin were the first to slide into a booth with Rachel and Mouth taking up the rest of the room in their booth. Brooke quickly piled into a booth, pulling Lucas in after her. Haley looked uncomfortably at Nathan before sliding in next to her best friend. Peyton looked up at Nathan nervously as she crawled in to sit next to Brooke, leaving him to sit down next to her.

"I still cannot get over how great this place is doing, P. Sawyer," Brooke complimented her. "You've really brought the scene to Tree Hill. Luke and Karen told me all about the acts you got over the summer. I'm very proud, Best Friend."

"Thanks, B. Davis," Peyton smiled at her friend distractedly, trying to ignore the goose bumps working their way up her entire left side from the mere proximity of sitting next to Nathan. "Karen and Deb have something really special here. It's not just me."

"Well, thanks for inviting us all out tonight," Haley replied.

Peyton's eyes darted across the table to the tutor. "Oh, I'm not paying for you."

"Well, thanks for being a bitch then," Haley muttered under her breath. Lucas looked at her pointedly before nudging her leg under the table.

Nathan looked at Haley with anger in his eyes. "Haley, don't," he warned her automatically.

"Why are you sticking up for her?" Haley asked without thinking. If she had taken time to think about it, she would have seen what was staring her right in the face. "She's your ex-girlfriend. I'm you're ex-wife. Doesn't that entitle me to some loyalty or something? You're supposed to be over her. Are you over me too already?"

"I just want tonight to be nice," Nathan lied. The last thing he wanted to do was cause a scene and put his friends and Peyton in the middle of it. They had been through enough of it when it came to Nathan and Haley's marriage.

Peyton was tense next to him, staring at her glass and pretending to be interested in its intricate pattern. Brooke looked over at Nathan and then at her best friend. "Come on, P. Sawyer," she declared. "I need to go to the bathroom."

The blonde smiled gratefully at her friend as they disappeared toward the bathroom. Lucas turned to Haley. "Come on, lay off her," he implored his best friend. "This isn't easy on any of us. You know how she feels about all of this. Give her a break."

"When are you going to stick up for me, Luke?" she asked with a perfectly arched eyebrow. "I'm supposed to be your best friend. Can't you be on my side in this?"

"There are no sides, Hales," Lucas frowned. "You started this, not the other way around."

"I thought you were my best friend."

"I am," he pledged, grabbing her hand for emphasis, "but Nathan's my brother. We're his friends too. You can't keep putting us in the middle."

By the time Peyton and Brooke had returned, Haley had agreed to try to be civil at least for tonight. Lucas had promised to pay for her for the evening if she could just manage to leave Peyton alone. Tonight was already hard enough, and Lucas knew that his brother couldn't handle the blatant hostility flying from both ends of the table. For the most part, Haley managed to pull it off, and the night actually turned out to be okay. Then, Mouth had come over to ask Peyton to dance, leading her off to the lit floor. She maintained her space from him but seemed to be enjoying herself. Lucas and Brooke followed suit with Skills and Bevin in toe. Rachel had wandered off to hit on some much older guy at the bar, leaving Haley and Nathan alone at the table to watch their friends.

"You've got something on your mind," Haley mused as Nathan watched Peyton's hips swivel along to the hip hop beat. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he answered with a curt nod. Things had been over between them for awhile, and Nathan decided in that moment that he couldn't hold onto the anger anymore. Just then, Luke came over and pulled his best friend off to dance, while a breathless Brooke collapsed into the booth next to him.

"You okay?"

"I really am," he smiled as he looked at the pretty brunette. "Things with Haley are over. I don't know if we'll ever be friend after everything, but I wish her good things. We had something really good once, and I hope she finds it again. She deserves to be happy."

"Yeah, Peyton does, too," she replied, her eyes darting as she jumped to her feet. Nathan followed her gaze to where she was staring. Peyton was on the floor, hunched over and clutching her stomach.

Haley was standing behind Lucas with Mouth between them. "Give her some space," he ordered the mass of people starting to huddle around her.

Brooke stalked over and looked at Haley. "What did you do?"

"I just bumped into her," she answered shakily. "It was an accident."

"Brooke, I need to get to the hospital," Peyton managed through the tears streaming down her pale face. Her arms were wrapped around her body. "Please."

"I barely touched her," Haley whimpered. "She can't be hurt."

Peyton's eyes lit up with raging fire. "You might have hurt the baby!" she screamed. All color drained from her face a moment later. She hunched over again, her blonde curls falling over her frightened green eyes.

Nathan rushed over to where she was, knowing instantly why she had kept her distance all these weeks. Kneeling beside her, he gathered Peyton in his arms and carried her toward the door. "Luke, come on, I need you to drive!"

"We'll follow you," Haley said as she started to follow them out of the club.

"Stay away from her!" Nathan yelled over his shoulder. "I don't want you anywhere near Peyton or my baby."

"Your baby?" the group shouted in unison, the last thing Nathan heard before he laid Peyton on the backseat of his truck, clutching her hand as the adrenaline carried them both through the motions. It hadn't sunk in yet, and until he knew that they were both going to be fine, Nathan wouldn't let it.