Lucas Fucking Scott. Fucking bastard. Fucking, fucking bastard. I should of known. Fucking typical, trust him to go all bloody sentimental on me. Christ I'd really wanted that fucking money. I was out of crack and was in desperate need of a hit. I kicked the brick wall agitatedly. I had no money for a taxi and it was over an hours walk to my shitty flat. I glanced back up at the building regretfully- why did I always have to be so god forsakenly stubborn. Why didn't I just take the money. I dragged my feet along the path, sighing as I lit myself a cigarette, I needed something to soothe my restless nerves.

I couldn't stand it when he'd started talking about Haley and Brooke. I was sure my heart rate had sped up just thinking about it now. Oh and the photos. I couldn't pretend I hadn't seen them. Scattering the far wall of his apartment, images from throughout his life- right from when he was small to now. There were children I didn't recognise, children who I could only assume were Haley's and there was no mistaking who his sister was, identical blue eyes to her big brother, shining brightly. He'd even had a photo of me among them all. I couldn't believe how different I looked back then- so innocent, I never knew how good I had it. I guess you don't until you loose it all.

'Peyton?' Oh great- he'd followed me.

'Just stay the fuck away from me Lucas.' I walked faster.

'I'm really sorry Peyton, I didn't mean to offend you' He jogged beside me. God- why'd he always have to be so nice, it made it really hard to hate him. I rolled my eyes and carried on walking, determined to get as far away from him as I could. 'Look Peyton stop, at least let me take you home. It's late, you can't walk by yourself. I'll get us a taxi' I stopped.

'Fine' Well I wasn't going to turn down a free ride. He smiled at me thankfully and gingerly put his arm on the small of my back, protectively leading me to the side of the road.

'You really don't need to walk me up' I insisted for the umpteenth time but still he didn't take any notice. Ever since we'd gotten out of the taxi he'd been looking around anxiously. His grip on me tightened as we past a crowd of yobs.

'You live around here?'

'For the fifth time yes' I murmured shortly, leading him toward my block. He eyed the building disgustedly before shooting me a small smile. God- we couldn't all afford his lavish lifestyle. I led him up the narrow three flights of stairs to my floor. 'Well this is it' I gestured to the door, waiting for him to say his goodbyes but they didn't come. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to invite him. Great. I exhaled heavily. 'I'm tired Luke'

'I just paid for your ride home- aren't you gonna invite me in for a cup of coffee?' He asked cheekily.

'Ur' I huffed frustratedly, opening the door and grudgingly letting him in. I rubbed my back as I bent over and unzipped my boots, stumbling out of them as I flicked on the dim light, groaning as I took in the mess I'd left behind earlier this morning. I traipsed through the cluttered floor, picking up discarded clothes and throwing them onto the bed in an attempt to make the place look a little better. He probably didn't have this problem, I bet he had a fucking maid to clear up for him. I lent against the wall, reluctantly looking at him.

'Why don't you, you know you could, if you wanted you could come and stay with me- I've got the room' He finally got out. Typical Lucas Scott. If it was one thing I'd learnt during our short winded relationship, was that he was always the hero- the saviour. It made me wonder if that was what always attracted him to me. Always the damsel in distress in need of his help. He liked to be the protector. I shook my head no, I'd grown up now. I didn't want to be taken care of anymore, I would not be dependent on anyone, I couldn't afford to get my heart broken. 'This isn't really a safe place to be living Peyton'

'I can handle myself.' I stated dismissively. I'd been here for three years now and I'd survived.

'But-'

'I'm a big girl, I don't need your fucking supervision' I snapped, looking at him agitatedly.

'What's you're problem? I'm just trying to help you, We used to be friends, why can't we now?'

'We were never fucking friends and I don't need your fucking help. What I do fucking need is for you to get the hell out'. I growled loudly before I wearily dropped my head into my hands, god I needed a line, I needed everything to disappear, I needed him to leave.

'Peyton?... Peyton are you ok?' He was suddenly at my side, crouched down in front of me.

'I'm fine'

'I'll get you a glass of water'

'Luke I'm fine' He made his way through my crap to get to the sink across the room- good thing about having a small flat is that everything's more or less crammed together and at your fingertips. I watched him rinse a used glass before filling it and returning to me. 'Here' He held it to my lips.

'I'm not a fucking invalid Luke' I snatched the glass from his hands and took a sip to please him. He ran a hand through his messy hair, looking at me concernedly. 'What?'

'N..Nothing' he shrugged. 'Are you sure you're alright?'

'I'm fine' God, how many times did I have to say it. He raised his eyebrows sceptically. 'I-am-fine' I repeated.

'Ok' He stuffed his hands in his pockets. 'Well I better be going then'

I smiled and nodded patronizingly- at last. 'Well I'd say it was nice seeing you again but it hasn't so' I shrugged.

He looked at me sadly 'You know I feel really sorry for you Peyton.' My eyes involuntarily began to fill with unwanted tears. Bastard. He's making me a complete mess. 'I don't know what's happened to you' He carried on.

'Why do you even care?'

'Because Peyton. Contradictory to what you think- I'm an alright person- I might not of seen you in ages but that doesn't mean I don't still care about you'. I took a shaky breath in an attempt to conceal the sob that was threatening to escape my quivering lip but it didn't seem to work. I lent my head against the wall, this was humiliating enough without having his eyes burning into me while I blubbered like a child. His strong arms pulled me away from the wall and enveloped me in a hug. I tried to pull away but I didn't have much fight in me and he's twice my weight.

'Get off'' I shrieked. But he only held me tighter causing me to cry even more hysterically. I didn't know how long it had been since someone had just held me, comforted me. He rubbed my back, whispering into my ear as he tried to soothe me, tried to fix me like he use to- although this time I'm not so sure that that's possible, I don't think I'm repairable.