I would like to offer my apologies to LoveWritingxoxo. I didn't realize it, but our stories had basically the same title! Their story came before mine, so I decided to change the name of mine. I borrowed the new title from an episode from OTH's Season 8. That episode almost did me in, by the way. But here you go; new chapter for the same story, now with a new and improved name.

THREE

"Oh my God. This is it. Mama, look!"

Sawyer stepped out of the dressing room in a beautiful pearl pink gown. Peyton covered her mouth with her hand and Quinn gasped. Brooke laid a hand over her heart, tears in her eyes. She spoke quietly.

"Oh, honey."
"This is it."

Sawyer smiled as she stepped onto the little platform, with the three mirrors set up around it. The gown was the perfect color to set off Sawyer's skin tone, which was the golden, easily tanned skin of her father, instead of the milky white of her mother. Peyton stepped up behind Sawyer, picking the curls up off of her neck. Sawyer nodded, her smile growing.

"Mama…"
"I know, I know. You look gorgeous, and if you're happy—"
"I am."
"Then that's all that matters."
"Aunt Brooke, I'm taking this one!"

Brooke laughed, walking over to the other dressing room. She gently knocked on the door.

"Lyd? Honey, are you ready?"
"Uh, almost."
"Do you need some help?"
"No. No, I've got it. Just give me a second."
"Okay. Take your time."

Brooke stepped back over to Sawyer and Peyton and Lydia let out a shaky breath. She closed her eyes, wiping away the hot tears that she couldn't hold in any longer. She stood on shaking legs, glancing at herself in the mirror. She'd gotten so good lately at hiding things. So good at hiding when she cried that right then, you couldn't even tell she'd been crying. She let out another breath and stood up, smoothing out the turquoise dress Brooke had picked out for her. She opened the door, meeting the open mouths of her aunts and Sawyer. Lydia blinked.

"Somebody say something."

Sawyer swallowed.

"Holy cow, Lyd. You're gorgeous."

Lydia rolled her eyes, and Sawyer led her over to the platform and the mirrors. Lydia stepped up, turning to see herself in the mirrors. Peyton stepped up, shaking her head.

"You look … Wow. Just wow."

Brooke came forward, tears in her eyes again.

"Baby Lydia's all grown up, and she's absolutely breathtaking."

Quinn stepped up, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Lyd, is this it? Because you are a knockout, babe."

Lydia turned to look at them, and all three of them couldn't take their eyes from her. The blue in the dress was complemented by her hair, while making her eyes stand out more than they usually did. Not to mention the fact that Lydia was already breathtakingly beautiful on her own. The dress just enhanced it. Lydia glanced behind her, finally looking at her face.

"I like this one."

Brooke threw up her fists, making Peyton and Quinn laugh. Brooke had picked out the dresses for the girls, and they both loved them. Sawyer went to change out of her dress while Peyton, Quinn, and Brooke began talking shoes and other accessories. Lydia stayed on the platform, looking herself up and down. She closed her eyes and stepped down, glad to make her way back to the dressing room, glad to get the dress off.

Because she couldn't see what they saw. The girl she saw was not beautiful, not even a little bit. She was damaged and sad, and she didn't deserve all the love she received.

When Lydia had the dress off, she slipped it back on the hanger, then sat on the floor, curling her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her knees, letting out quiet, shaky breaths as she did. She thought about standing up and getting dressed, but that was just too much to bear at the moment. She realized that tears were rolling down her cheeks again, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. God, she'd be glad to get back home and back to bed.

"Lydia? Sweetie, you okay?"

Lydia clenched her eyes shut.

"Yeah, Aunt Quinn. I just had a problem with the zipper. I'm almost done."
"Okay, well Brooke's insisting we go to the café for lunch. Sound good?"

Lydia groaned inwardly.

"Yep, sounds great."

She listened to Quinn's heels as she walked away, then let out a sigh. She stood to her feet, ignoring the mirror behind her and slid her shirt back on. She reached for her jeans, and something in the mirror caught her eye. A thin, red line that ran from just under her butt all the way to the crease of her knee. She let her fingers go back there, tracing the line.

Lydia smiled. It had been a while since she'd given herself that cut, and it was looking like this one might stick around. She didn't want to do it, really, but feeling the razor prick her skin, seeing the drops of blood pop up, made her feel like she was still alive. She was going through the motions, feeling like she was suffocating, and that little flash of pain, no matter how fleeting, reminded her that she was alive. She slid her pants back on, slid her feet in her shoes and left the dressing room, taking the dress with her, watching at how happy it made Brooke to wrap it up for her. Lydia was starting to forget how "happy" felt.

They walked across the street to Karen's Café, something that Brooke and Lydia's mother had started long ago. Well, they didn't technically start it so much as reboot it. Karen, Sawyer's grandmother, ran the café while raising her son, who just happened to be Sawyer's dad and Lydia's uncle. And now Brooke was running it, with help from Quinn and Peyton. They had stepped in after Haley's death, and the café had flourished for so many years.

Lydia was the last to step into the café, closing her eyes, a small smile crossing her face as the smells hit her. Coffee, something baking, leftover breakfast smells. She opened her eyes, catching the crooked smile of the tall, lanky guy at the other end of the counter. Her smile grew as she walked over, setting her purse on the counter as Jude wrapped her in a hug.

"Hey, pretty girl."
"Hey, Jude."

He smiled, hanging his head as she stepped out of his arms. Lydia addressed him the same way, ever since the first time they heard the old Beatles song, Hey Jude. He thought it was charming, she thought it was hilarious. Jude lifted a hand, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"How are you feeling?"

Lydia looked up, meeting warm brown eyes. She glanced down at the counter, where Jude's fingers were barely brushing her own. She shrugged her shoulders, and Jude sighed.

"Lyd, have you told anyone yet? You might need to get on some medicine or something."
"Jude, we've talked about this. I'm fine."
"Obviously not."
"Today's just a bad day. Everyone has bad days."
"Lydia—"
"Drop it, Jude. Please."

He sighed, running a hand through his almost-shaggy brown hair. Jude's hair had hints of red in it in the sunlight, while Davis had his grandfather's bright blue eyes. Otherwise, the boys looked exactly alike. Both stood six-foot-three, about the same height as their dad, a foot taller than their mom. Megan, however, seemed to be taking after Brooke in the height area. Davis was a sports junkie, while Jude preferred less social activities, like reading and watching movies.

That was something Lydia loved about him. They could sit together for hours, and not say a word. She could bask in the quiet and the stillness, and Jude could pretend to read while he watched her. Jude Baker had been in love with Lydia Scott as far back as he could remember. He had kissed her on the playground when they were four, held her hand all through kindergarten and first grade. He'd even punched a kid who had tried to hold her hand one day. His mother had not been happy about that. His dad had just laughed and given him a high five when Brooke wasn't around. Jude was Lydia's boyfriend up until fifth grade, when they were split up into different classes. Then came the horror of middle school. While most everyone hit that ugly duckling stage, Lydia seemed to sail right past it. She had gone from being a cute little girl to a beautiful young woman seemingly overnight. Jude had really fallen for her, hard, and he knew that she knew it.

Even then, with his fingers barely brushing over hers, she didn't move. He settled his fingers down on hers and she flipped her hand over, like he knew she would, and gripped his hand, just for a second. She always did that, a quick, near-death grip on him, as though she was trying to gain a bit of strength from him. He wanted to help her, but he just couldn't figure out how. He sat and listened when she needed to talk, held her when she needed to cry. But he just couldn't figure out how to make her let herself be loved by him.

"I better go sit down before they come after me."

Her voice was like music to his ears. He smiled, letting go of her hand.

"Hey, Lyd?"

She turned back to him.

"If you need me, you know where I am."

She nodded, giving him a smile before going to take her seat at the table buzzing with prom talk. Jude sighed, then walked back to check on a table. Sawyer was smiling as she turned to Lydia.

"So I'm going with Davis, of course. What about you, Lyd? Got a hot date?"

Lydia let out a laugh at Sawyer's question, looking around at the smiling faces of her aunts. She shook her head.

"No, no date here."
"Oh, come on. There's no one you might want to ask you?"

Lydia glanced up, seeing Jude walk out of the kitchen with a tray full of plates of food. Quinn followed her gaze, biting her lip as she pinched Brooke's leg under the table. Brooke looked over, her face lighting up when she noticed her son. She looked back to Lydia, who looked down at the table before looking up at them.

"Nope. No one on my radar."

Sawyer sighed.

"You're going to end up going with Jude, aren't you?"

Lydia shrugged her shoulders and pushed out a smile.

"That wouldn't be the worst thing."
"Going to prom with your best friend?"
"Hey, I did it."

Sawyer glanced over at Brooke, who smiled.

"I went with Mouth."
"Wasn't that the year that Mom wrote "WHORE" across your dress? Where it could only be seen under the blacklight?"

Peyton, Lydia, and Quinn laughed, while Brooke's face turned red. She smiled, leaning over to pinch Sawyer's arm.

"Yes, Blondie. That skinny bitch almost ruined my dress, but I fixed it where it only said "HO"."

That sent the table into another round of laughter, and Jude relaxed a bit when he saw Lydia laughing. She hadn't laughed, really and truly laughed, in a while, so hearing it put him at ease. He walked back into the kitchen, and the girls at the table regained their composure. Quinn shook her head.

"I can't believe you did that."
"I did. And Brooke came to my rescue that night."
"You would have done the same for me, whether we hated each other or not."

Brooke reached across the table, taking Peyton's hand. Peyton smiled, squeezing it, then leaned to kiss Sawyer's forehead. Lydia ignored the pain that shot through her heart, looking up into the kitchen and meeting Jude's eyes. He watched her seem to falter, her shoulders falling as she gripped the table, and he walked over, easily sliding into the seat beside Lydia, taking her hand under the table without anyone else seeing. She gripped his hand with all her strength and he flashed a smile.

"Hey, Mom. Aunt Peyton, Aunt Quinn, Saw-yah."

They smiled, answering with a unanimous "Hey Jude." He expected one of them to break out in song, but they refrained. This time. Lydia was still holding tight to his hand, so he laid his notepad on the table and grabbed the pen from behind his ear.

"Can I get you lovely ladies something?"

They all reached for menus, murmuring to themselves, and each other, about what to eat. Jude leaned over to Lydia's ear, and her eyes drifted shut.

"It's okay, Lyd. I'm right here."

She nodded, and he brushed a kiss to her cheek, without anyone noticing. She relaxed a bit at that. By the time everyone had told him their order, Lydia was comfortable enough to let go of his hand. They ate, and just before they left, Lydia snuck into the kitchen, where Jude was waiting.

"You good?"

She let out a shaky breath as he walked over, and she laid her hands on his forearms. She nodded.

"I think so. We're going home now, so…"

Jude nodded.

"Lyd, please. Talk to Quinn about this."

She shook her head, and he sighed.

"Come on, babe. You are not okay."
"You don't think I know that?"
"Lyd, I'm worried about you."
"Well, don't be. I'm—"
"Damn it, don't you dare say fine, because you're not."

Lydia let her head fall, and Jude moved his hands to her face, lifting it where he could look in her eyes.

"Hey. If you won't talk to Quinn, will you talk to me?"

Lydia looked up at him, saw the worry in his dark eyes. She closed her eyes, and he sighed again.

"Davis comes in at 2:00. I can swing by your house after that."

She sighed, then nodded. Jude bent down, pressing his lips to hers. Lydia squeezed his arms, and he let his hands fall. She looked up to him, then turned and left the kitchen. Jude ran his hands through his hair, cursing under his breath.