Jake smiled at Peyton sweetly, holding the crutches in one hand. "Hey," he replied, staring deeply into her eyes.

She stared over at him, propping herself up on one arm. "You're here…" Peyton cooed both blissfully and shocked.

"Of course." Jake started into the room slowly, inching closer to her. "I heard about the shooting on the news, and hit the road. I can't believe you're the unnamed gunshot victim," he commented as he was close enough to get a view of her bum leg.

Noticing the way he was eyeing her leg, she smiled faintly. She looked up at him, and with a shrug, she asked, "Expecting me to be the fatality?"

The smile quickly disappeared from Jake's face as he replied, "No." He shook his head at Peyton, breaking their eye contact. "Don't say that…"

Peyton could tell that something she said had instantly changed Jake's mood. "Lighten up," she said with an uneasy voice. "I'm okay," she offered as some kind of trade.

With a clenched jaw, Jake stated softly, "I know…" He sat down on the side of Peyton's bed, close to her, but still keeping his distance. "But what if you weren't?" he questioned, looking up into her eyes. He then looked downwards and continued, "I don't know… If you… I don't even want to think about it."

Those words in her mind, Peyton understood where his sudden upset came from. She reached her hand out to his and took his soft hand into her own. "Jake…" she started.

"Just seeing you like this…" Jake swallowed hard and gripped her hand a tad tighter. "I feel horrible for not being there to protect you," he confessed.

That sweet sentiment touched Peyton. If there was one thing she knew about Jake, it was that his intentions were always good. "I'm okay." Peyton smiled up to Jake and added, "Lucas saved me."

Jake started to nod, but realized that he didn't know much about the shooing. "Luke? Is he alright?"

"Yeah," Peyton said with a nod. She'd be in more of a mess if anything had happened to Lucas, but then she thought about it a little more. "Well, not really… You probably already know about Jimmy…"

Nodding eagerly, Jake stared at Peyton with curious eyes. "Yeah. Jimmy Edwards, the shooter and one of the fatalities," he replied, stating the facts he knew.

Peyton looked at Jake glumly. She figured he must've heard his facts from the news, and thought about the fact that the rest of the world would always know Jimmy as just, "The Shooter". She tried to shake that thought from her mind and sighed. "The other person… The one that passed away…" Peyton hesitated to look in Jake's eyes, knowing that what she had to say was painful. "It was Keith."

Jake was hit hard by those words, not really knowing what to say. "Oh man…" he finally muttered. "Keith?" he questioned with a sullen tone.

"Yeah," Peyton replied remorsefully. "I-I was unconscious at that point, and then Lucas went to the hospital with me." Peyton shrugged slightly, trying to think of all she knew about the situation. She continued, "I guess they said he was trying to talk to Jimmy."

Shaking his head, Jake had a look of disgust on his face. All of it was so hard to understand, and ever harder to accept. "Jimmy shot Keith..?" Jake muttered softly.

Peyton stared down at her leg. She tried to avoid it, but she could still see when the gun being pointed at her. "They think Jimmy shot Keith and then himself…" she stated.

Jake couldn't stop shaking his head. The entire situation was just something he couldn't accept. He hated thinking that this is what really happens in schools, or that it could happen to people he cares so much about. "I never knew Jimmy that well, but I don't understand why anyone would ever pull out a gun and start shooting… Especially to shoot Keith. He's such a good guy."

With a shrug, Peyton looked up into Jake's eyes. "Maybe he was too good," she commented quietly.

Giving Peyton a strange look, Jake inquired, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Peyton replied bashfully. "I mean, this probably just sounds really stupid, but I've spent tons of time trying to think of good reasons why people leave." She hesitated to continue, but she could see a look of interest on Jake's face. "One of my theories that I thought of when my mom died—and hasn't been disproved—is that we all have a quota we need to meet. I'm not crazy or anything, but it's just something that used to make sense to me… It's like, a point system and you either get positive points or negative points for the things you do. Good people like my mom and Keith get taken so quick and early because of they go all their points."

Jake nodded, but still had a look of skepticism on his face. "You're a good person, and you're here," he stated.

Peyton smiled dimly at the fact that he could both compliment her and try to prove her wrong at once. "I've done my fair share of bad things too," she clarified. "Those would be negative points."

"And me?" Jake questioned. He smiled at her wondering what she could name. "Lots of negative points?"

Quickly shaking her head, Peyton replied, "No." She smiled at the smug look on his face. She knew he probably thought he outwitted her, but she wasn't finished. "You're not here. You've done all your good points in Tree Hill, and moved on."

Nodding, Jake couldn't deny how much he loved having these types of talks with Peyton. Even though she could disprove him time and time again, it was always refreshing to hear things from her point of view. He stared at her with gentle eyes and asked, "Is it too late to put in some negative points?"

Peyton was quick to shake her head. Even though she wanted so badly to agree, she knew it wasn't the right thing to do. "You've moved on, Jake. And you have Jenny to think about," she remarked with a bit of regret in her voice.

"I do," Jake stated in complete agreement. He shrugged and persistent, "But Nikki will follow wherever we go. If I decide to move back to Tree Hill, Jenny will still have her mom and dad."

Peyton continued shaking her head. She didn't want to fight it, but she didn't want anyone to make stupid decisions either. "Then you're still going backwards," she put in plain words. "Don't you want to move on? I mean, what is there for you here..?"

"You!" Jake exclaimed with the smiled disappearing from his face. "But you obviously don't agree…"

Swallowing hard, Peyton sighed. It was so hard to let go of him those other times, and she just didn't know if she could do it again. "No. I just don't want you to revolve you life around me."

Jake was glad she said that. "It's about being happy, Peyton." He leaned in a little closer and tenderly stroked her cheek. "When I thought that something might've happened to you, that I might not see you again… I thought I'd never have the chance to be happy again."

They both stared hard into each other's eyes. There was always something standing in their way of being with each other, but neither one could think of any reasons anymore.