I am so sorry for not updating, but Christmas is my favourite time of year and I have to enjoy it… also my laptops been broken so I havent been able to do anything…

Hope you enjoy and that it doesn't disappoint.

Oh and I'm sorry, but I haven't a clue about the school system in the US, and so later on there is a mention of the start of Junior High. In my story, that is when the kiddies are 11. I havent a clue whether this is right, but for this story, please just accept it lol.

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Chapter 9 - Tonight I Wanna Cry II

It's gonna hurt bad

Before it gets better

I'll never get over you

By hiding this way.

Let go of my pain

To hell with my pride

Let it fall like rain from my eyes

Tonight I wanna cry.

Peyton and Jake sat stiffly together at the now empty table. Lucas, the last hope of a successful evening, had just left to go and find Brooke. This meant the two of them were sat, alone, not knowing what to do. Though neither of them were saying anything, the hurt was radiating from the both of them, the scars which had been covered threatening to open.

Jake looked at the girl opposite him. She really was beautiful. That night, she had left her hair natural and the curls framed her face, leaving her looking like an angel. It reminded him of the first memory he had of them, the first time he remembered the blonde beauty in his life. It was also his first memory ever, reminding him painfully of the huge part she had taken in his life so far. Jake shut his eyes and turned his head away from her. He couldn't remember that. It brought too many memories to the surface which he knew he wouldn't be able to keep at bay. And when these thoughts threatened to spill out, Jake became defensive and angry, and he knew that he was going to explode at any minute.

"So, I'm shocked you're managing to survive without your two little best friends." He said harshly, and for the first time that evening they both looked into each others eyes. They both saw the raw hurt they had seen the year before when everything had turned sour between the two of them. It hadn't changed. Peyton raised her voice so that Jake could hear her clearly.

"You know what Jake, I do not depend on them for everything; it's just that I like to have friends who don't get jealous over the stupidest things." The two of them noticed that people were starting to look at them: they hadn't talked in so long, so this was something which could be a talking point the next day. Jake grabbed onto Peyton's arm and pulled her away from the staring faces and out into the cold night. At first she resisted but eventually she let him guide her. As the two walked, the memories came fresh to the front of their minds and neither of them could push them away.

-

The start of Junior High and everybody knew that there were two new students starting at Tree Hill. What nobody knew was that these two children had both come from the same town, and were the best of friends.

When school started, it was quickly made clear that the two new students would be influential in the cliques of the school. Both of them had been adopted into the two rival groups. There was talk around the school; how could two new kids be so popular so quickly when they had been trying for years? Students stared at the two with jealousy and curiosity, wondering what they had which they themselves didn't have.

Peyton Sawyer had blonde curly hair and had been accepted straight into the Davis clique. Before her, it had been Brooke Davis and Nathan Scott together through everything, but the new girl had changed all that. Suddenly it was a three. Nobody knew how she'd come to be accepted, but she had, and that was all that mattered. Peyton Sawyer had become one of the three most popular girls in school overnight.

Jake Jagelski, the brown curly haired boy with eyes which could break a girl's heart in an instance, even at the age of 11. He was the new member of the Roe clique. Haley James and Lucas Roe had been tight since the day they were born, so why did they want anything to do with the new boy? Nobody knew but Jake's fame soon rose and quickly he became one of the most popular people in the school.

Many people noticed the quick glances the two shared, but put this down to them both being new. Nobody noticed the real reason.

Nobody knew that they were in fact old best friends, and that they met up every summer to keep their friendship going. It may have seemed stupid to some people that they were hiding it, but they knew that they were stepping on thin ice. As soon as they had made their friendship groups, they found that to talk to one out of the other group would be wrong. They weren't sure why, but for this reason, they kept it a secret. Every summer, their families returned to Charlotte to visit grandparents, and during the holidays, Peyton and Jake renewed the friendship they had had for so long. They could be kids again, and not worry about popularity or anything that could get in the way.

This continued for three years, and the two of them craved for the summer to come so they could be together. But this all changed the summer when they were fifteen.

Jake was asleep when his phone rang. He expected it to be either Haley or Lucas ringing to say goodbye. He was leaving for Charlotte that day and he couldn't wait. He was looking forward to ten long weeks of him and Peyton together with no interruptions.

But when he looked to the Caller ID, it was neither of the two names he had expected to see. It was Peyton.

"Peyton?" He asked, wondering why she was calling him. They'd be seeing each other later that day, why was she calling now?

"Uh yeah, listen Jake, I've got something to tell you."

"Oh right okay good. But I was just thinking, later today, you want to go down to the river? I'll get my mom to make some food for us and we can spend the day down there, swimming or whatever. And then I thought tomorrow, I'd be nice to you and we could go to the mall, as long as we go back to mine after to watch some ESPN." Jake heard only silence on the other end. He wondered whether it was because he had chosen the wrong places to visit. He knew Peyton wasn't a real girly-girl, but he thought that after all the years being best friends with Brooke Davis, she must have come to like being at the mall; they were always there in any case. "Or, you know, we don't have to do that. We can do what you want-"

"No Jake, stop. I'm not gong to be doing any of that stuff with you this summer." Jake was about to start reeling off other things they could do but then her words sunk in.

"Wait - what?" Peyton sighed slowly, realising that Jake was going to be anything but understanding in all this; however she hoped he wouldn't make too much of a fuss.

"I'm not going back to Charlotte this Summer. I'm going to California with Brooke." Jake stayed silent and Peyton didn't know what was going through his mind. "Jake? Please, I'm sorry, but she asked me to go with her and I-"

"Value her more as a friend than me?" Peyton started to protest but Jake carried on. "Peyton, we have been friends since forever. The first memory of my life is with you. I thought we were best friends and now you're blowing me off for her?"

"Don't talk about Brooke like that just because you're too scared to come and talk to me when we're not in Charlotte."

"Now wait a minute. Don't you dare Peyton. It's a two way thing. You've never made any effort to come and talk to me either. I thought that the summers we share meant something to you; it's where we can just be us again without anybody else interfering. Now I see that Brooke trying to buy your friendship is more important to you. Well fine, you've managed to wreck our friendship, don't think there are going to be any more summers in Charlotte. I know how you feel now, and that's fine."

The dial tone echoed harshly in Peyton's ear. She couldn't believe how hurtfully he had spoken to her. He'd never even raised his voice at her before, and she never thought she would. Their summer could have been perfect and now she'd gone and wrecked it. It was all she had been looking forward to all year, and now she'd backed out.

Peyton looked up to see Brooke entering her bedroom door. She hadn't realised she was crying until Brooke came and wrapped her arms around her, telling her everything would be okay. The tears shook her tiny body and she cried more than she ever had before; tears for a friendship lost.

"You know, I never went with Brooke to California." Jake looked across at her with curiosity. Neither of them had spoken for the whole journey, one which ended with them turning up on the Rivercourt. They sat by the side of the river, reminiscing silently until Peyton had spoken, just seconds before.

"Why?" She hadn't expected him to answer. She hadn't realised she'd said the words aloud, they had meant to be to herself.

"Brooke wouldn't let me go. She said that I should hurry up and get my ass to Charlotte, after all, she didn't want me crying, stopping all her chances with the surfer boys in California." Peyton smiled, remembering how Brooke had found her. She had somehow made Peyton explain all about her secret friendship with Jake, and the phone call which had just taken place. Brooke had dried her tears and told her that she needed to go to Charlotte. Brooke could see how torn up she was, and didn't want Peyton to be miserable in her holidays.

"But you never came." Jake's tone was heavy and sad. He didn't understand why she didn't go if she hadn't left with Brooke.

"I couldn't. I didn't know what you would say to me. So I sat in my bedroom all summer, drawing pictures and crying." She chuckled sadly and Jake joined in.

"Well if that was your embarrassing confession, I'll tell you mine. Though mine is a lot more freaky, and I suppose a lot more disgusting if you think about it."

"Go on. Tell me." At this point Jake's cheeks flushed and he looked embarrassed. All the hostility had disappeared between them and now it was just the two of them, just like when they were young.

"Uh okay. Well. When I didn't speak to you anymore, I went through a bad phase, drunken nights and one night stands all over the place. But the weird thing was, I only ever slept with blondes." Peyton feigned a look of shock.

"You mean you never slept with Theresa?" He smiled lopsidedly.

"Okay, the only girls I slept with were blondes apart from Theresa." The jokiness subsided which left the two of them sitting, wondering if they hadn't been so stupid everything would still be the way it was. Jake knew that Peyton understood what he had meant by that statement; he had only ever slept with blondes because he needed to keep her with him. But she didn't feel disgusted about it, she just felt sad and disappointed for everything that they had lost.

"It's always going to be them, and us, isn't it?" Peyton looked up at him, questioningly. "I mean, it's always going to be Haley and Luke, Brooke and Nathan, and then us. We were the new kids. They adopted us, but we'll never fit together like they do."

"That may be true for you, but it's not for me. I'm dating Nathan for god's sake, of course I'm part of the group." Peyton said defensively.

"And I'm dating Haley. But Haley and Lucas will always go to each other when they have a problem. You can't tell me it isn't the same for you." Peyton stayed silent. They both knew it was. "Well anyway, no need to get all depressed about it. Want me to walk you home?" She looked up at him and nodded thankfully and they strolled back to her house, talking about memories long gone by.

He walked her to her door like a true gentleman, and they both hugged. They both knew how much it meant to the other to have them back in their lives.

-

Lucas was starting to get worried about Brooke. She hadn't turned up at Tric and so he had decided he'd better go look for her. She wouldn't have backed out on their friends, she knew how important it was for them to get to know each other.

So where was she?

Lucas quickly strode to her house and pushed his way through the red door. It was funny to think that only a couple of weeks before he would stand in the doorway waiting for sex or whatever she would give him that night. If she wasn't there he wouldn't be worried, just very pissed off. But now his stomach was twisting into knots as he debated in his mind what he might find when he entered her bedroom. Would she be there? And if she was, would she be hurt? If anything had happened to her, Lucas would never forgive himself.

The stairs seemed to last an eternity as he scrambled up them, almost falling backwards twice as he tried to reach the top. His mind was whirling and he didn't have a clue what he might find in her bedroom.

He pushed his way into her bedroom and was relieved to see that the figure on the bed was still breathing. But she didn't look happy. Her small frame was rocking forwards and backwards, though her face was dry with no sign of tears.

Lucas rushed over to her, his heart beating fast, awaiting the explanation that he was sure was going to send him into a panic. It wasn't just nothing that got Brooke Davis scared, and for that reason, he was afraid. He enclosed her in his arms and felt her fall to pieces. But he needed to know what was wrong.

"Brooke baby, please, tell me what's happened." There were still no tears falling from her face and as she spoke, she buried her face into his lap, not daring to look at him.

"I… I think it's him. Outside… the guy who…" Her voice trailed off but Lucas didn't need to hear anymore. He gently but quickly placed her down onto the bed and rushed over to the window.

Lucas knew who the guy was. He didn't need to hear her say anymore. The fear in her voice was enough to tell him what he needed to know. He hadn't a clue to what extent the pain Brooke would be feeling would be at this moment, but he knew that if it was him, then he would be terrified.

He couldn't let Brooke be terrified. She was the girl he loved and because f that, he needed to protect her. Lucas knew that even though she never talked about it, she was badly damaged by the attack. He could see it in her eyes every time she turned a corner, trying desperately to keep it together when everyone else was happy. Her eyes didn't shine anymore. He thought that he had maybe got her back after their discussion about Tric, she had seemed excited, but then she hadn't turned up and now his worst fears had become a reality.

Lucas was shaken from his thoughts by a movement on the other side of the road, and saw a young man walking away. He looked about the same age as the two inside the house, but from the back Lucas couldn't tell who he was. There was no time to think about it however as he backed out of the room and raced down the stairs.

He could feel his pulse racing as he exited into the cool air, although it wasn't all to do with the fact that he had just chased down a huge staircase. No, he was worried. He had simply acted on instinct and now wasn't sure what he was going to do. But he knew he had to do it for Brooke. Lucas raced up to the guy, and grabbed his shoulder to turn him round. But when he did so, Lucas stopped in his tracks. The person standing in front of him was not who he was expecting at all.

"Uh hey Marcus. What's up?" Marcus smirked at him.

"What was the grabbing onto my shoulder thing all about Luke?" Lucas sighed and decided he ay as well tell the truth. Well, a part of the truth.

"Sorry, I just thought you were somebody else. Don't worry about it." Lucas turned and walked away back into the house. Marcus had just been passing by, he was just being neurotic, thought Luke.

However Luke didn't see the look Marcus gave both him and the bedroom window with the frightened girl peering out, and didn't stop to think about the reason Marcus might be walking down an empty lane far from his own house well after midnight.
-

"Hey pretty girl. Sorry, I don't see him anywhere. But don't worry, I'm here now." Lucas smiled and Brooke's heart broke at the sight of it. He was putting the whole of himself out there for her and she simply wasn't.

Lucas was glad to see that she had looked him in the eyes, she had been avoiding looking straight at him when he had entered before. He strolled over to her, admiring how beautiful she looked even when she had no make-up or cover-up on.

"I'm sorry Luke." They were now close enough so that he could feel her warm breath on his face. He didn't understand what she could be sorry for - there was no way that any of the events in the past few weeks were her fault.

"None of it's your fault Brooke." He whispered soothingly, "Now go to sleep, forget about everything that's happened and dream about shoes, or clothes, or Justin Timberland…" Brooke sighed at the mistake, "… or whatever you dream about." She smiled and looked up at him.

"You." Lucas shook his head, confused.

"No, you're the one going to sleep, I'm okay here, I'll watch tv or something."

"Broody, that's not what I mean. You said dream about whatever you usually dream about, so I said you. You're the one I dream about."

Confident that Lucas had finally understood her meaning, Brooke snuggled into his shoulder, happy that she was being comforted, if only for one night. Above her, Lucas smiled down at her, amazed that he had managed to get a girl like her.

-

Half an hour later, Brooke's breathing had started to even out, and so Lucas tried to pull himself out from underneath her. Doing this however, he felt her stir and she grabbed onto his shirt like a small child would do.

"Don't go Broody, stay with me. Please." The adorable look on Brooke's face, with her eyes still closed, made it impossible for him to say no to her and he settled back down again, happy to please her in whatever way possible. His parents would have to wait; Brooke was what mattered to him now.

The scene was perfect, the young couple entwined together throughout the night. However only one of them slept well; the thoughts whirring round in the other's mind keeping them up all night.

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Okay, so I actually hate that chapter, but the drama is coming up very soon, and to make it up to you all I am going to start the next chapter now. So I hope that makes you feel better lol.

Please review and tell me what you think!

Hannah xxxxx