A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I loved reading everyone's reactions to especially Brooke. I was a bit worried about that one, she was bitchy! lol Anyway, I hope you like this one. Enjoy!


CHAPTER 7

People say the bumps in the road make life, love, interesting but the only thing they've ever done for Lucas is making him lose Peyton; she flew out of his metaphorical car somewhere down the road. He couldn't help but wonder if she had opened the car window and jumped out on purpose. Maybe she never had wanted to be together in the first place and if she had… then why was she always running away from him? Off course he could tell her he loves her and that he needs to be with her but putting his heart on the line, again, only to have it shattered wasn't a very pleasant vision.

"But the baby…" he spoke instead.

"It's still over four months Luke. We can work something out," she paused a moment "You won't be like your father."

Somewhere, he had hoped that she would've prevented him from seeing their child; at least then he could've demanded her to stay. Quite frankly, a big part of him was a bit tired of always begging or, ironically enough, taking baby steps with her. Things shouldn't be this difficult when two people were drawn together like a magnet and a box of nails from the moment they locked eyes.

"NO!" he firmly said.

"Please don't make it harder than it already is."

"You're finding this hard? You're doing a good job of hiding it, then! This is priceless …" he rolled his eyes "tomorrow ultrasound, the day after Wisconsin. You know, Peyton, that drawing" he pointed to her red wall "needs urgent renewal. It should be 'I always leave'."

The thing that bothered him was that she must know his objections weren't just about the baby…She must know he loves her; she was just choosing to live with eye patches.

"You have to stay!" he insisted.

"Why?"

"Because…" I love you, I need you "Because you have to…"

"I'm sorry, Lucas."

With the knowledge that if she'd look at him one second longer, she'd cry, the blonde turned her back at him and put another shirt in her suitcase. In a whim, Lucas took a step forward but got stuck in the middle, turned around and left.


"Oh my God," Nathan mumbled. It looks like a small but powerful bomb exploded here.

As he walked through the clutter, an empty tissue box- God knows how many of those she has sobbed through- caught his eye. Not far from the box, he saw a hardcover decorated with a girl who was coloured in the shades of the French banner, lying on the floor.

"What's this?" he asked. "Like…" he stared at the book non-understanding "I don't know how to pronounce this…Move," he ordered upon reaching her bed.

"It's Les Misérables," she answered while shuffling to the left to give him some space "Lucas gave it to me when kind of…well, snuck around. You translate it 'the miserable ones'."

Nathan grabbed a pillow and put it behind his back.

"He gave you a book called 'the miserable ones'? That's romantic."

When he put the story down between them, Peyton put her ice cream bowl on the nightstand and picked the book back up. Softly, she turned the pages and stared at what had made her cry in the first place: it wasn't the loneliness and confusion of the protagonist Jean Valjean or Victor Hugo's phenomenal writing. It was the little notes Lucas had made in the margin whenever he liked a part, or just a certain sentence, which he would be sure to quote from if the appropriate situation occurred. This book was drained with his inner thoughts, his emotions and his touch.

"No…" she cracked a faint smile yet the gesture didn't express happiness "That's Luke." Her voice broke a little upon the mention of his name.

Nathan looked at her with hints of pity yet disapproval "Peyton..." he began "What are you doing?"

"He really can't keep a secret, can he?"

It had only been an hour since he left and obviously, Nathan already knew.

"He thinks that you're leaving because you don't love him," the brunette boy ignored her question. "He said: 'what's the point'. Honestly," Nathan shrugged "I can't blame him. There's only so much a person can take."

For a moment, a hurt look appeared in her eyes but she sternly replied: "It's for the best."

"No, it isn't." Damn this girl was persistent. "You have to tell him you do love him."

"Yes…because that always works out so well." She swung her head his way "Nate…just look at where love brought me: pregnant in bed with 'boy formerly known as Howard Hughes II'."

"Who's Howard Hughes?"

"The guy that produced Scarface. At the end of his life, he was this crazy hermit."

"Oh…" When her words reached his brain, he pouted insulted.

"But that's not the point," she continued "What is, is that before Haley and Lucas, we were perfectly fine. No pain, no babies, no week-long isolation from the outside world."

"Really boosting my self esteem here, Sawyer."

"But you know I'm right."

"If it weren't for them, we would've never known love."

A surprised frown crept in Peyton's brows. The change Nathan had gone through the past year was certainly positive but this was an extremely cheesy, could-be-said-in-Bold & the Beautiful- remark.

"You're outfit isn't working," she softly shook her curls "You miss a diaper and a crossbow."

"What?"

"To properly play Cup -"

"Stop" he raised his voice " This isn't a joke! I don't understand why are you being this stubborn!! You need to let him how you feel or else it'll be too late! You'll NEVER forgive yourself!"

Uh-oh, Peyton thought. Outburst. With all her problems, she had forgotten Nathan had his share too.

"So…" the blonde carefully spoke to Nathan's bowed head "how are you and Haley?"

A sigh escaped from his lips. "I don't know…" he shrugged and faced her "We have a date on Saturday b-"

"That's great, Nate…"

"Yeah…but…It's just…like I feel we can never go back to the way we were, you know? It doesn't feel the same… And that's what I've always admired with you and Luke."

"What?" she frowned.

"Do you remember when I was so jealous of him, when we were still together?"

"Yeah…"

"And how Brooke was always so insecure when she was with Lucas? Because of you?"

"Nathan…What does that have to do wi-?"

"It's because everyone can see you guys have something really… unique. Something that always finds you even though especially you," he shot her a disapproving glance "always hide from it and that's what so special. It's constantly there and I just think that if you and Luke can't go back, with what you have, who can?" he finished. His eyes were piercing the blonde, who had bowed her head.

"It's weird, isn't it?" her hazels looked up in his.

"What?"

"I think the same thing about you and Haley."

They both turned their gaze at their feet; life in Tree Hill was complicated.

"You know Rachel's been hitting on me?" Nathan suddenly said. He had briefly hesitated bringing this up but they were all open and talkative here so…what the hell?

"Seriously?"

The redhead was one of the persons who had surprised Peyton the most: there were no harsh words, no insults; she had been very kind. However, what the blonde didn't know was that Rachel felt a bit guilty because of her 'conversation' with Lucas and tried to redeem herself by being an angel towards Peyton.

"Yeah…and she's actually kind of cool once you get to know her," Nathan continued. "She's light-hearted and you know, with her crazy remarks she makes me forget…the bad."

Her hazel eyes widened a bit; it was the first time he actually spoke about Rachel without scoffing. Who knows… maybe soon there'll be a Haley-Nathan-Rachel love triangle? Quickly, Peyton suppressed that unsettling thought. Love triangles are the devil.

"Alright…I got to go now," Nathan stood up. "It's Wednesday, mum wants me to spend some quality time with her."

"OK…" The blonde watched him walk the door "Have fun!" she shouted lightly mocking when he left her room. Peyton knew he didn't really enjoy the Wednesday dinners with Deb; he constantly worried about the amount of alcohol his mother poured down her throat and when she would go to the kitchen to, for example, get a glass of water, Nathan quickly lifted her plate to see if there weren't any pills.

His head briefly peered back around the door. "Good luck." Obvious Nathan expected the blonde to talk to his brother. Although her suitcase was already quite full, he was pretty sure she wouldn't leave; Peyton had just always been very impulsive, also during their relationship. The times she broke with him only to get back together the next day were countless.

When he had disappeared, Peyton took the book in her hands for the third time this evening, thinking about what Nathan had said. His words, together with Lucas' written ones made it inevitable: hot tears began to run down her pale skin once again.

"Peyton, I kind of messed up in the kitchen," sounded from the hall "so I'm getting Chinese, what do you w-"

Reaching her room, Larry saw his daughter cry and joined her on the bed.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I don't know what to do!" the blonde sobbed.

"Well, sweetheart…Things do tend to become a bit complicated when you get pregnant at seventeen," he finely pointed out.

Her glazy eyes looked up startled at her father. Why didn't he pity her?

"There's no use crying over irreversible things," he lightly shrugged "If you're in situation you aren't happy with, you should try to make it better and take matters into your own hands."

"B-"

"That's just the way life works, Peyton. For some it goes smoothly, others have to battle through. And we: me, Karen… Lucas…" he spoke out that last one with slight difficulties "we can all be there for you but in the end, you're the only one who can help yourself. Truthfully, up until know, you've done a poor job with that and you know what I think about Aunt Rose…" He stared pedantically in her eyes "In my opinion, you've ignored your problems long enough; it's time to step up and face the consequences of your actions. Yes," he admitted "that may turn out difficult and painful but if you keep running away every time something doesn't go the way you want, eventually…you'll have no one or nothing left to run to."

Thoroughly, Larry studied the change in his daughter's hazels; he could literally see his words seeping through and gave an extra push.

"We're Sawyers," he softly bumped against her arm "we don't break down with every little" or growing, he thought inside "stumbling block. We get stronger."

With a pout, Peyton laid her head on his chest. He was right…she knew he was. For the past year, her life had been controlled by Brooke or anxiety. Even though that no matter what, she will always love the brunette, her father's words made her realize she couldn't keep sacrificing her happiness or live in fear for what might happen. It had cost her too much already.

"Dad?" her eyes looked up at him after a second or thirty "I think I've rushed in to things…"

"I think so too…You'll stay here with me," he decided with a smile and stroked his daughter's curly head "…but you know I'll lock you in your room until everything is spick and span again."

"I know…" the blonde wrapped her arms around Larry, who felt slightly proud of having got through to her.

In less than five minutes, Peyton's priority had shifted from hiding her problems to learning how to respect and love her own person again, for herself and for her baby.


His mother's voice brought him out of his sleep bit by bit. Softly, Lucas' eyelids fluttered open. When he threw a cursory look on his alarm clock, eight o'clock, he got slightly annoyed: hadn't he told her he had a free period? There were at least twenty minutes left to sleep. Besides, he didn't want to wake up and face reality right now. It was too harsh.

"It isn't time yet!" he grumbled while turning away from the sound source.

"There's someone here to see you."

"Hi," an all too familiar girl greeted.

His blue eyes widened at once. Where had he left his shirt yesterday? Quickly, his hand shot to the floor, feeling beneath the bed but he couldn't find the red piece of clothing so he just pulled his sheet more over his body. Why did he only sleep in boxers?

As the blondes locked eyes, Karen announced she'd let them talk and left.

"You know I've seen you with fewer clothes on than that," Peyton pointed out.

"A lot has changed since then," her responded quite coldly.

"Yeah…"

"Why are you here?" he asked bitterly as he stood up from his bed "An early goodbye?"

With his back turned at her, he started to go through his wardrobe without really looking. The curly blonde couldn't help but fix her eyes on his body even though there were really far more important things going on now than his chest or the curve of his back. Primal instinct and hormones, right?

"I'm ummmm…" She turned her red-like-a-beet head away from him to concentrate on what she came for "I'm not leaving after all…"

Immediately, he looked over his shoulder before completely turning around. "What?"

"Lucas…" her eyes were still looking away "you're right, a lot has changed since then, could you please put on a shirt and ummm…pants?"

A faint smirk rushed over his face but he quickly did what she asked him to. "But you're staying?" He tried to somewhat hide his enthusiasm but his voice sounded adorably pleased.

"Yes…you know me, I'm difficult," she faced a fully dressed Lucas and shrugged "I'd probably give that old lady a heart attack."

"We wouldn't want that to happen," he spoke and closed their distance.

Softly, Peyton shook her curls. "No".

Bashfully, she looked into his blues; this had actually been harder then telling she was leaving. However, the fact that he was playing along made her feel more at ease. Off course Lucas knew her Aunt's heart wasn't the reason, but he decided not to scare her away again by digging further. Still, he couldn't help but ask:

"Where does this leave us?"

His hand rose to her cheek and softly cupped it.

"I don't now but…I could use a friend right now; I kind of have little left."

It was true: together with Brooke, the whole cheer squad had dropped her like a stone brick except for Haley and Rachel then.

"Friends?" he asked sceptical. In her voice, Lucas heard the same doubts he had with them being friends: eventually, just friendship wouldn't suffice; it never had. "OK," he then nonetheless answered. "For n-"

Before the boy realized what was happening, Peyton wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. Slowly, Lucas followed her example and slipped his arm around her waist. The fact that their hug took up more of his arm then it used to, touched him. While closing his eyes, he softly rested his hand in her neck.

As Peyton stood there, in his touch, she couldn't help but think back about Nathan's words. How he had basically said that he and Haley weren't the same because they hadn't told each other what they felt; because they had let things drag on.

"And I do love you" she whispered, before it was too late.

Although she couldn't see it, Lucas smiled. Sure, her sudden change of heart had surprised him but he wouldn't doubt: she was staying, that's all that mattered. And she loved him...


I know, a lot of Nathan/Peyton but I really love those two together, it's the easiest friendship to write. So, tell me what you think!