A/N: Hi from Carolinas! I'm sorry it has taken me this long to update! It was a crazy week before I left with packing and sorting everything out and to be honest, I love it here so much that I spend most of my time outside and use the computer only for work. So my writing time is limited to early mornings or late nights. But that also means that I'm not going to stop writing completely even though I'm here. So Next chapter should be up in much less than a month.

Anyway, thanks for your reviews for the last chapter, here's a new one. I hope you enjoy it!

It was always great to have Haley James Scott in the Red Bedroom studio. Peyton loved her new artists, but nothing beat being in the studio with an old great friend like Haley.

Days like this, though, when they were just at the beginning of the studio routines and had not yet had a lot of alone time, there were also slight disadvantages to working with a friend. Peyton was setting up microphones and while waiting Haley was trying some new melodies on the piano, but they were both stalling a little just to have a bit more laid back one-on-one time together.

It was nice to talk freely without the distraction of little ears or husband/almost-brother -type's snarky comments. It wasn't exactly girl-talk just light conversation about Lydia's brand new interest in ballet. The girl had definitely come up with that one on her own. It was quite amusingly far from Peyton's rock music, Nathan's basketball, Jamie's baseball or Haley's books.

"Are you going to do something about this new interest?" Peyton asked and adjusted the piano microphone.

"Well I think last week she wanted to play in the NBA, so I think I'll first wait and see how long she sticks to this." Haley laughed.

Peyton joined in and was about to tell that they were set to start, when Brooke marched in and she was clearly extremely pissed.

"Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer!" She yelled already from the office and then stomped into the studio "How could you keep this from me? We are not best friends anymore."

Peyton and Haley looked at her mouths open, trying to figure out what she was on about. Haley was about to voice the question, but Brooke quieted her by just lifting her finger. "And Haley James Scott, you better not have known anything or I'll disown you, too."

"What have I done now, Brooke?" Peyton asked sounding mostly worried, but a little bit amused, too.

"Julian told me that you and hot Neil were together. Peyton, I was supposed to be your Best Friend. Why would you not tell me something that amazing?" Brooke no longer sounded angry, just hurt, disappointed and pleading.

"As in, you dated sometime or you're dating now?" Haley joined Brooke.

"I'm sorry. I know I maybe should have told something, but.." Peyton took a moment to gather her thoughts. It had been so long ago, she hadn't been expecting an interrogation like this. "Well, we basically spent two years on the road together. This life and that life were so far apart, that it didn't come up naturally."

Brooke chuckled, "Didn't come up naturally? Peyton, we still talked on the phone and emailed a lot. Would have taken less than ten words: ps. I'm going out this hot guy.." Peyton and Haley laughed a little, too, when Brooke counted the words with her fingers.

"I know," Peyton sighed. "It's just, we were friends and we had fun. Then the fun turned to a sort of a relationship. But it wasn't anything serious, more like an exclusive friends with benefits arrangement?"

Her friends stared at her trying to figure out what everything meant. She had been committed to Nathan when he was an ass. She would have married a teenage father at age of 17. She had sworn to love Lucas forever and even with Julian they had been building a life and a home together. Her description of the relationship with Neil did not sound like Peyton Sawyer.

"I don't like admitting it, but you're my best friends, so I'm just gonna say it. I was a mess when Lucas married Lindsey. Neil was a great friend. He was there for me and he got me to laugh. Then it got complicated, when I let the fun escalate. It was selfish and stupid, but I just needed that." Peyton's voice broke a little.

"How did it all end?" Haley asked carefully and squeezed her hand.

"It has ended, right?" Brooke blurted, relieving the heavy atmosphere a little bit.

Peyton rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yes, it ended, when Lydia was born. Neil suggested that we'd make our relationship more real and I'd move in with him in New York. But I never planned it to get that serious and so I said that I wanted to be there for Lydia and was going to go back to North Carolina. We stayed friends - well, colleagues - but we haven't been in touch more than for Mia's career over the years."

They were all quiet for a while, until Brooke directed the discussion to the inevitable next part. "And now?"

"And now we're friends and colleagues. And we have fun together, again. It hasn't escalated. But if I think about it and I'm honest about it, it is complicated again." Peyton sighed.

"Do you like him?" Haley asked.

Afraid of her own answer Peyton fixed her eyes to her shoes. She also knew that anything but the whole truth could turn out very harmful in the end.

"He's funny and smart and good looking - all in all an AMAZING guy. So yes, I like him. I always have. But I'm still not sure it is the same as falling in love with him."

Brooke smiled "You know what I've always said. You.."

"..can't help who you love." all three recited with smiles on their faces. Brooke had said the same many times over the years.

"But.. Your best friend certainly wouldn't mind if you tried loving Hot Neil." Brooke added dreamily and got her friends burst to laugh. Even after all these years Brooke was still just so... Brooke.

Peyton just looked at her for a moment. The smile on her face shone in her eyes and filled the whole face. It was real, loving and adoring.

"What?" Brooke couldn't understand it.

"So we're still best friends?"

"Of course, you're stuck with me ." Brooke pulled her into a quick hug. But as she released her best friend from it she raised her index finger warningly. "But don't you ever do it again!"

"Uncle Lucas, can we play Foo Fighters in your car?" Brandon leaned forward as much as he could being buckled up in the back seat of Lucas's car.

Julian had given Brooke some child-free time. But not long after she was gone, he had gotten a phone call and found out there was a production emergency that needed to be solved right away.

Since it was of Lucas's best interest, too, to send Julian to solve the problem, he was now driving with the Baker kids. It was the kids' nap time and Julian had told they usually slept best, when they were driving. Lucas was friends with Brooke and Julian, but they weren't very close and he had never been alone with their kids. It was a little weird situation. But then again, his life was full of weird right now, so he chose to just embrace all the weirdness and see if where it would take him.

Lucas laughed at the little boy's question. "You are so Peyton's godson.. I think I might, Brandon." He got Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace to his hands and put it to play.

"Hmm, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Good call!" the little boy on the backseat commented as the first notes hit the air. "Put Home. It's our favorite."

Lucas pinched himself in the arm just to make sure he was awake, because it felt so hard to believe that a kid so young could speak like that about music. He had liked music, too, but he could not remember knowing which songs belong to which albums at age of four.

However, on some of the late night phone calls in the beginning of Peyton's internship in LA they had talked about what their kids would be like and agreed that they'd certainly know music better than any other child. Lucas couldn't help but go back to those phone calls as he flipped through the songs to Home.

"Who's we? Who else's favorite song is this?" Lucas asked.

"Me and aunt P. But I think Ellen likes good music, too." Brandon answered.

Of course it had to do with Peyton. "So, do you listen to this song with Aunt Peyton, too?"

Lucas could see through the mirror how Brandon's face lit up to a huge smile. "Yeah, Aunt P plays this song when I'm sad or afraid, or just missing mama. Then she holds me really tight and sings to me. She said that whenever I listen to it I can remember that it's okay to be sad sometimes, but I don't have to be. Because mama and daddy and Aunt P always would want to just be home with me."

Lucas could see the moment in his mind. It sounded so Peyton. He still remembered her telling him how Anna had soothed her with music when she was little so it made sense she would do the same to the kids she loved.

"Did you know that Aunt P dated daddy?" the boy changed subject. He was fighting sleep. It was clearly one of those Home -moments, when he'd have liked to be cuddled up with his Aunt P listening to the song.

"I heard about it, Brandon, but you don't have to worry about it. Your daddy is with your mommy now and they always will be."

"I know. But who will be always with Aunt P?" Brandon asked worriedly.

This sounded like too important a conversation to have through a mirror and so Lucas pulled over and turned to look at Brandon. Lucas considered his answer carefully. Actually, he was with the boy in asking that question, but as an adult he had to provide an answer and he just hoped he could come up with an answer that would satisfy himself as well.

"You know, your Aunt Peyton is a very special woman?" Brandon nodded. "She's so special that most men aren't good enough to get to be with her always. Maybe someone good enough hasn't found her yet. But it's okay, because she has all of us who will always love her so she shouldn't settle for someone who isn't as good for her as your daddy is for your mommy."

"Yeah, it's okay. I'll always be with aunt P." Brandon nodded. He clearly got peace in the topic and let the tiredness kick in more. "But, when I have to go home to mommy and daddy, can you help me protect Aunt P?"

Lucas chuckled at the little boy that was growing on him more and more now that it was just the two of them. "Yeah, I'll help you with that."

Brandon's eyes were already closed when he mumbled "Good. Cause that Neil, who was driving with Aunt P wasn't very cool."

Lucas was thankful that the boy fell asleep right then and he did not have to answer that. In all honesty he did not like it at all that "that Neil" was driving with Aunt P or in anyway as close with her as he obviously was. There was a time when he was the one driving with Peyton and even if it was his fault he wasn't anymore, he still couldn't help but wish he was. But he had promised himself that he would not act on his jealousy and make Peyton's life worse because of it. And so he tried to force himself to hope Peyton happiness with even hot Neil. He meant it when he said Peyton deserved the very best and if it meant swallowing his own pride and letting hot Neil be the very best for her, then he just had to live with it.

Peyton was going through the CD collections of Neil's car. Neil was driving them back to Wilmington and had been sweet enough to let her pick the music.

"You really don't have any Foo Fighters' albums here?" Peyton asked her head almost fully in the glove compartment.

"No, I don't," Neil laughed. "And that boy was kinda harsh about it on Monday."

"That boy's name is Brandon, and he can't help it if he's special. He's the son of Brooke Davis and godson of Peyton Sawyer. It's a given." Peyton chose Mia's album and put it to the player. "I'm sorry, though."

Neil chuckled lightly. "Nah, no worries. As a manager of several bands, I can't really be mad at a kid for liking music. Might turn out bad for business."

They were quiet for a few songs until Neil decided to speak up and ask what he had been wondering for a few days now. "At the risk that this will be very humiliating and make things awkward, Peyton, I gotta ask you something."

"Yeah, sure, anything." she squeezed his hand lightly.

"You know how we broke up five years ago, when you chose living here by the kid over living with me in New York." Peyton had to nod. Of course she knew. "I know it's been five years, but where do we stand now?"

Peyton had had a feeling that this would be coming, but she was still having trouble collecting her thoughts to form an answer. So Neil continued "I'm here now, so it wouldn't have to be me or them. I've really enjoyed spending time with you this week. We've had a lot of fun."

Peyton smiled. "Yeah, we have. And you know I still care about you.. A lot. I'm just not sure if it's as a friend or a boyfriend." She noticed a little disappointed look on his face and hurried to continue. "Look, I'm just being honest, cause I don't want to lead you on."

Neil stopped in front of Peyton's house and turned to look at her. He really appreciated her honesty. "I get that. Thank you for it. But how 'bout we try and see where we stand?"

Peyton opened her mouth, but Neil raised his finger to show he wasn't done yet. "One week - three dates. We'll try going out with each other properly and if at the end of the week it seems we're better off as friends then that's all we'll be. What do you say? Will you be my girlfriend for a trial week?"

Peyton let out a giggle, but silenced it a little embarrassed as soon as she realized it. "Okay," she smiled at him "I would love to."

A/N: Here we are. What'd you think? As always your thoughts, comments and ideas are vital for the next chapter :)