Hello there, I know it's been a week, and I'm sorry to keep you waiting, the thing is, I'm always too cautious towards the end of a story, and even though I had it all planned out from the start, I always have problems wrapping it up, so, I didn't want to update this one until I'm sure where and how it's going to wrap, and that's what I've been doing the past week, so hopefully the next couple of chapters are already in progress, I'm excited to share the rest with you all.

As always, you have been amazing with reading and leaving comments, so thank you so much. Keep them coming please.

Who wants to kill Lindsey? I'm with you!

Let's not waste any more time and let's get to the chapter...

This thing is by Years & Years.

22. If you're over me

Peyton's thoughts were about to explode out of her brain and fill his house over. Long after Jake's dropped the news on her and apologized as much, she was still not able to wrap her head around something realistic. Well, yes, she knows Lucas and Lindsey broke up, she doesn't know why, but they did, she also knows that Lucas was fucked up after it, and he was also pretty messed up when he suspected Lindsey told their plans to Fancy… keyword here being 'suspected'.

And, she also knows they kissed and they slept together, and they agreed to talk but never actually got around to do it just yet. And she was almost sure they were just going to confess their feelings, she thought that the way she's feeling is mutual, but maybe that was just her after all, maybe he only wanted to say that he was having fun, that whatever they shared wasn't enough to be something more than it already is.

That's because she also knows that when Lucas left the company that day, he wasn't home and he wasn't at the river-court, and she never knew where he went, but Lindsey's story fills that blank and it fits, didn't he use to go over to her after work anyway? Didn't he think so highly of her?

For God's sake, she saw his love-struck grin and head-over-heels look herself that he used to flash when Lindsey was around.

She couldn't believe that she was so naïve to not work it out before; he's surely still hung-up on Lindsey, after all, how can she expect him to have moved on so quickly, just because she did so with Jake, doesn't mean he would too. She and Jake were definitely different than him and Lindsey.

She called him a couple of times, and he didn't answer, and then in the middle of hearing the dialing tone, she realized he must be with her! She never knew where he was going today, and he isn't answering, much like what was happening previously whenever she needed him while he was with her.

Stupid! She should have seen it coming.

It was almost funny that she was worried sick about him dealing with things alone that day when he was probably in bed engulfed in a make-up-sex with her. It was almost funny only if it didn't hurt so much.

On the other hand, Lucas wasn't doing much better, he drove to the river-court, he left his car and he's been sitting there ever since thinking of what he just witnessed, he knew he probably shouldn't be jumping to conclusions, and he only wanted to calm down and think, but, he's to admit his mind is playing tricks on him.

Peyton has always been the one to postpone or run away from talking, and he wondered if this was her way of ensuring that they still have fun without ruining it by putting a name to it, hasn't she always been the one to hate labels? But, he never thought it's those kinds of labels.

Maybe she's not interested in him the same way he is in her, maybe that was all only in his mind, they never declared any kinds of emotions after all, but… she told him that she and Jake were a hopeless case, she came to him and willingly told him that she and Jake were over way before it ended.

Maybe she missed him when she found herself in time of need? Maybe she realized she was wrong? Maybe she was contemplating whether she was the whole time? And that would be why she's never let the talk happen.

So, what? That was just them being friends? He literally just thought that they were only going to do the talking out of formality; he thought it was all clear, no, he still thinks so. But, he also can't shake that nauseous feeling in his stomach away telling him that he was just one big fool. Again. For the second time in a row.

He was on the verge of losing his mind when he jumped up and got in his car driving back home; whether she wanted to or not, he was going to talk, yeah, that's what's happening… right after he tosses that stupid flower bouquet in the trash.

So, he walked in the house with nothing in his hands but some papers.

This was it; the moment of truth.

Her hurried footsteps sounded as she appeared in front of him with a puzzling look he couldn't read as he proceeded to the living room, which he then realized was the worst place he could go to at the moment, because he still has a vivid live picture in his memory of her kissing Jake right there, which didn't help at all.

And surely, he felt his blood boil all over again.

"Where were you?" she asked following him.

"Out." He replied whilst trying to control his tone at the very least.

"Out?" she repeated and he turned around looking at her questioningly and for the first time in a while, she wasn't able to read his face, with that realization bringing a frown to her face, she spoke again, "I… I called you."

"I must have not seen it." He said, well the truth is when he was at the river-court, he left his phone in the car, "Was there something you wanted?"

"Well, I was worried; I didn't know where you were."

"Oh, worried, huh? About what? Me being here or not being here?"

She frowned deeper, "Well, it's rather about your whereabouts, but, what's going on here?"

"I don't know, you tell me." He replied dryly.

She felt her heart picking a faster heartbeat rate; was this what she thinks it is? Why else would he be treating her that way? "What the hell is wrong with you, Lucas?"

"Why do you think something is wrong?"

"Don't you hear yourself? Why are you being like this?"

"How am I being? I'm perfectly fine. Why… should I not be?"

"Alright, why are you trying to pick up a fight right now?"

"That's funny, I thought this is how it was always between us, I thought you knew so too."

She raised shocked eyebrows at that before gulping down and giving a nod, "Oh, I see…" she nodded, "This is how it is now, right? We don't have to pretend anymore, do we now?"

"We sure don't. Thank you for clarifying that this was all 'a pretend'." He said with sarcasm dropping the papers in his hand on the table.

"Oh, no, don't throw this on me, Lucas. I'm phrasing what you're implying."

"I never implied anything, and don't act like an innocent victim here because you're not."

"Excuse me? What the fuck is-"

"What was Jake doing here?"

That definitely struck her, this just took the conversation into a totally different direction than she originally thought, "What?"

"You heard me!"

"He was here because he heard about what happened, Lucas, and if this is what this is about then-"

"Oh, so, he was just offering his condoles? Right, that explains the kiss! We do go around kissing people who support us, and here I was taking it the wrong way…!"

Again, she didn't see this one coming, but now at least it was starting to make a little sense, "What?"

"Yeah, I saw you kissing him, Peyton, the same Jake you said you are over a long time ago and-"

"Then you probably saw that he kissed me, and that I backed away, Lucas."

"From where I was standing you definitely took your time and you weren't even that mad."

"From where you were standing? Seriously, Lucas? So instead of confronting me you stood by watching a totally out-of-context moment and formed a goddamn opinion and then came back in here acting on your great assumptions."

"What is there to get wrong about a kiss?"

"God, you're such an idiot, Lucas, I was fucking surprised, and then I-" she started but then cut her sentence unfinished because then, right at this moment, her eyes lied on something much more interesting, lying there on the table, she caught the title of the papers he came in with.

She looked back at him with a frown and his expression suddenly looked alarmed, while she reached for the papers as if taking a closer look will change what they actually are, "Luke…?" she whispered out before looking at him, "What's that?"

He was mad, he was still mad, but, he still couldn't prevent his stomach flipping as she looked at him the way she was while holding the papers; it was as if he stabbed her, "I… let me explain…"

"All ears."

"Dad just handed them to me earlier, which is alright, seeing that it's the original plan and how it was supposed to go…"

"Oh, I'm not questioning why your father gave you these, because he doesn't know any better, I'm more curious about why you brought them in here, Lucas, while treating me the way you are."

"What do you expect me to do? I just saw you kissing someone else!"

"I don't know… talk maybe?"

"Come on, that's not fair, I wanted to talk a month ago, at Thanksgiving, no, I wanted to talk in New York, Peyton, but you kept dodging that!"

"I am being unfair? You had a freaking girlfriend then, Lucas! And… and now, we said we would talk and instead… you come with these and you're being a jackass!"

"You. Kissed. Jake!"

"For God's sake, Lucas, you see something you don't like and feel free to interpret it the way you want, and then moreover your reaction is to bring annulment papers?"

"This marriage has always been a fake one, I don't seriously see you being upset about ending it!" He said with an annoyed sarcastic tone, however, he felt as if he unintentionally crossed a line; that wasn't what he meant, but he knew how it sounded, he was angry though, really furious at the moment to even stop and think where his words would settle with her.

And that was it for her; she was obviously the biggest fool ever known once again, it was clear he came in here with his mind already set, "You're damn right! I'm not. But, you and I both know very damn well that it's not about ending a fake marriage! And it's not about you seeing me kiss Jake either!"

"Oh, then what amazing genius theory do you have now?"

"The one of you being an asshole!" She glared, "And for what it matters, Jake kissed me under the influence that he and I could be like you and Lindsey."

This just didn't add up, "What?"

"That's right, I know!"

"Know what?"

"What I should have known from the first time around!"

"Okay, now you're not even making sense."

"I should have seen it coming, I should have known that you're just in for a good time when you chose her the first time and didn't even think you should enlighten me, I should have seen what I really mean to you back then, but, instead, I forgot all about it when you then decided you could talk to me again… to fucking get over her."

"Alright, Peyton, you don't even know what you're talking about right now, this is-"

"This is the truth, Lucas Scott, I let you lead me on, and I trusted you when I shouldn't have, that's why I turned out to be the biggest idiot ever, but you know what," she paused putting the papers on the table, "No more!" she finished as she grabbed a pen off the table and signed her name where she should.

He didn't know this would hurt as much as it did, "What are you doing?"

"There." She said shoving the papers at him, "When you want something, Lucas, at least have the courage to directly say what you want, don't just come in and attempt to throw it on me."

"Do you think this is what-"

"Will you just shut up! You got what you wanted, now leave it alone." she glared, "You're free, Scott, you can go do whatever the hell you want with whoever and wherever!"

"Hey…" They both turned to look at the shy alarmed voice with their ready intense glares to see Brooke standing there.

"Hey," Peyton nodded taking a step back from Lucas.

"Is everything okay? Should I come another time?" She asked looking between the two of them.

"No," Peyton said giving Lucas a look, "we're done here."

He looked like he's about to protest, but he was still angry too, this whole thing has ran out of his hands, he wasn't planning on it going the way it did, and at the same time, he was confused as hell and hurt as fuck; he didn't know what to think anymore.

"What are you doing here?" Peyton asked Brooke.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you. Both of you, but… it could wait."

"No, what is it?"

"It's nothing. Not important."

"Come on, Brooke, for God's sake, just say what is going on." Lucas shook his head in an annoyed tone as Brooke shot him a look while Peyton glared and he closed his eyes sighing, "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. It's just… there's no need to wait. What is going on?"

She cleared her throat, "Well, Whitey called me and… he said that he talked to Dan, Keith and Larry, and… he wants to buy the company and…" she looked between them taking a deep breath, "…he said if I wanted to start my own line he is interested in becoming partners." She finished biting her lower lip, "And he said that instead of letting everyone go, we could work on starting over even if smaller than before. And I don't know what to do yet, but before I even start considering it, I wanted to see if it's okay with you, after all, this is your company we're talking about, I just came from Nathan and Haley's and-"

"Brooke." Peyton stopped her rambling, "Are you crazy? This is awesome. You should do it." She said deciding to push her own problems to the back of her mind at the moment and be there for her best friend.

"Really? You're okay with this?"

"Of course I am, No one deserves this more than you do." She said wrapping her arms around her as Brooke breathed a sigh of relief.

She then looked at Lucas questioningly while he gave her a tired smile, "I can't believe you're even asking, Brooke Davis." He shook his head and gave her a hug, "This is amazing I'm happy for you."

"You really are fine with this?" she asked just to make sure.

"Of course I am."

"Yes, Brooke, you're going to do a lot better." Lucas said with a nod.

"Thank you." She smiled gratefully her previous worry vanishing for a split second before returning quickly but for different reasons as she eyed the two of them, "Are you two okay though?"

"Yeah, fine."

"Awesome." Lucas said with an eye roll waving the folded papers in his hand, "Excuse me, I have to go now though. I'll talk to you later, Brooke." He said giving her a pat on the shoulder as he quickly made an exit without looking behind.

"Okay, what in the hell is going on? Where did he just need to go?" Brooke said in confusion looking at Peyton.

She shrugged looking in the general direction where Lucas left, "Probably off to Lindsey's."

"What?" she frowned, "Didn't they break up?"

"Oh, well…" she sighed, for the first time allowing her eyes to tear up as she looked at Brooke, "I might need your help, best friend."

XxXx

Lucas drove around with no destination, for a preceding incident, he had absolutely no place he could go to and clear his mind, not even the river-court sounded enough, and not talking with anyone, and not that place under the bridge that no one knows he visits from time to time, nowhere looked like it could take his overflow of emotional thoughts right now, and that had him even more unsettled.

He had no idea what to do, or what he even thinks, on one end, he hated what he witnessed of Jake and Peyton kissing, but on the other, she said Jake kissed her and that she supposedly didn't want it, and on another completely different end, she signed the damn annulment papers while accusing him of wanting to let go, and using the kiss as an excuse to do so.

He didn't know how to start making sense of things.

But, he sure as hell didn't walk in with the intention of getting her to sign the annulment papers, or was he? After all, he did walk in with them.

Alright, he has to admit that was his angry mind getting him to consider this as an option, but, he was led by the haunting scene he has just witnessed. Of course, he wasn't thinking straight.

And when she actually saw them, the look she gave him broke his own heart all over again, he hated what happened from this point on; it was as if he betrayed her, abandoned her, and he knows that, because that's exactly how it felt watching her sign her name there.

He parked the car on the side road of a random street when he felt he can't keep going around in circles anymore, his mind was too clouded and his thoughts were all over the place; he needed to collect himself and think straight.

For God's sake he saw them kiss, how was he supposed to react? Now, she may have a different story to this, but it wasn't how he saw it –it isn't how he sees it.

Well, okay, that might be wrong, after all, he did leave soon enough not to know how it was handled, but, the thing is, he still saw it and it still got to his mind leaving him questioning everything that took place between them, and that had to count!

She needed to understand that.

But, instead, she signed the damn papers.

So, here's the facts:1) He saw a kiss take place between her and Jake, and she said it was 'out-of-context' and that Jake was the one to make a move that she didn't want or like.

2) She tended to bring up the time he chose to be with his ex-girlfriend and not her, and she was thinking that he wants out again and is again being a coward about it.

3) He also felt insecure and tended to jump to conclusions because this relationship they are trying to have goes against everything they both have believed their whole lives.

4) This was probably all happening because of the lack of conversation between them and only relying on feelings.

5) He still wants her, he wants to solve whatever big fight they just had, he has been willing to go far a lot of times for this and this time is no different.

He already went far before like when he started spending more time with her sabotaging his then on-going relationship just to explore what his guts were telling him was worth it, or when he made the first move and kissed her taking a blind-shot with her and stabbing a knife at his said relationship, and then when he did it again, and again when he jumped the cliff at Thanksgiving laying everything out there… and all of those times he wanted to talk when she thought otherwise.

So, there it is, he's going to trust his guts one more time, and one more time, he's going to extend an olive-branch and attempt to talk, and the way he sees it, this was going to be it.

So, with that thought, he started his car again and cut the dark streets driving all the way back home,

He didn't care how angry he was right now or how unset his head was, all he knew is that he had to scream it out with her until things made sense.

The house was dark when he entered, he called for her and as he expected he didn't get an answer, of course, she's mad, she never made it easy on him when they had regular fights, and she surely wasn't going to make it easy on him with this. So, he raced upstairs towards her room, he knocked just out of courtesy he knew she wouldn't be answering the door anyway, hell, he wouldn't be surprised if she locked the door even, but, as he pushed it open, he didn't find it locked, in fact, he didn't find anything at all… not her and not her stuff.

She left. Just like that.

And for the second time that night, he was left damaged at the fact that it hurt a lot more than he thought it should.

He went through the closet just to make sure, and all that was there were empty hangers and a few things that must have not fit while she was hastily packing. Out of panic, he went through every other room, the empty room she sat up as her painting studio was exactly the same as she left it, the bathroom cabinet looked empty with her things removed except for bath salts that she seemed to forget, the stuff that she left around his house every now and then wasn't there or at least not as much, and there was an untouched dinner ready in the kitchen.

Suddenly, his house was emptier, colder, and dimmer than he remembers.

The thing is, he felt that he can't let this go without a fight, and apparently, she thought otherwise once again.

XxXx

Christmas holiday is usually the highlight of the year, people wait for it from one year to the next, from the warm cozy drinks fighting the coldness around, to the family and friends reconnecting to exchanging gifts, to just being able to lay back and look over your past year while welcoming another. The Scotts weren't indifferent to that. Dan has always held a family gathering at his house on Christmas and a New Year's Eve party for the rest of his regular guests.

Everyone expected this year's party to be canceled but, he proved them wrong when he still sent out invitations, which made people curious about how on earth he is in the mood for partying when he just lost everything. But, why wouldn't he? After all, Whitey still came to the rescue.

Not only did the man stand by Brooke saying that he believes in her talent and started the procedures of starting another partnership with just her where she's the brand and he's the sponsor until she fixes her feet in the market, but he also decided not to leave Dan, Keith and Larry high and dry, he said that he was intending to make a more of a permanent move to Tree Hill now that he's in touch with them again, according to which he was contemplating opening a new branch of his car dealership and garage there which –on a side note- made them seriously question how much money he actually has, however, since he was too old to run things, he offered the three of them to take care of this business, and they had no reason to refuse, as young men, Dan and Keith already worked with him there at one point.

Whitey also called one of the basketball coaches he knows to see if he can help Nathan gain his game back.

So, yeah, the man came to their rescue like a guardian angel.

And even though the company was their life, they had to admit that they saw it coming, it was a miracle that they made it last as it has.

So, why wouldn't Dan be celebrating new starts?

That's why his house was decorated with all Christmas decorations, and Jamie and Lily were delighted to be playing around all the cozy exciting lights and the rest of the family was sitting around drinking Karen's hot chocolate and talking about two of the missing three members. Not Whitey, but about Lucas and Peyton.

Everyone noticed how they were again avoiding each other, even on making plans to go to this family gathering, they were both too hesitant and coming up with all possible silly excuses not to show up, also, it didn't escape Brooke or Haley's notice that they had gifts for everyone but each other, or that Lucas preferred to 'miss' the gift-exchange gathering and then gave them their gifts later, however, what no one knew, was that Peyton's gift was laying on his bed and Lucas' was tucked in a box in her suitcase.

And moreover, what Lucas swore to never let anyone know, was that he has ordered Christmas decorations as she wished, and heck, he was even excited about hanging a mistletoe, but, he soon learned that this was his stupidest ideas ever.

"They're not coming, are they?" Haley said with a sad tone.

Brooke shook her head, "I don't think so." She sighed, "Peyton has been pretty persistent that she doesn't want to encounter him again." She recalled what she told her with an eye-roll.

"But, she's spending all her day at the studio, and she comes down pretty often to get coffee I'm telling you." Karen said. So it's only been a couple of days, Peyton has been staying at Brooke's, and after a conversation with Karen which she wasn't very talkative throughout, but Karen offered her an empty room above the café to use as her studio for the meantime, and Peyton jumped at the opportunity and started preparing the place right away.

"I just don't get it. What the hell happened?" Nathan said receiving shrugs from the rest. Apart from what Brooke told them she witnessed when she got there that day, which was pretty much nothing in the first place, and apart from both Lucas and Peyton's angry expressions at the mention of the other, they know nothing.

"Relax, people, don't they always fight? What's the big deal? They're just being stubborn and they will eventually show up and start teasing each other like they always do." Dan shook his head.

"Yeah, I know my daughter; she's just being stubborn."

Everyone else slowly looked over at Dan and Larry with slightly wide eyes and a mix of pity and disbelief.

"You two are as clueless as a kid regarding Santa's existence." Deb had to be the one to put it accurately.

"What?" Dan asked with a frown.

"Oh, for God's sake, you claim to be all about family, and you have been going around saying how close you're getting with your daughter now, and yet, you're the only ones who didn't notice they fell in love." She rolled her eyes.

"Who fell in love now?" Larry shifted in his seat.

"Lucas and Peyton." Keith answered with a smirk.

"What?" Dan chuckled, "Like with each other?" He laughed sarcastically but everyone just looked at him waiting for it to sink in as the smile vanished from his face and instead his eyes widened, "What, are you serious?"

"Indeed."

"When did that happen?"

"We always said it's going to, so, I would probably say when they were in kindergarten." Karen said earning a few low chuckles and headshakes.

"Oh my God, this can't be true…" Larry shook his head with a look of a shocked fascination.

"It is, Larry."

"Then what happened?"

"We don't know, that's what we've been saying, they were just fine till the day after the deal and then suddenly they can't stand each other again." Keith explained to both men.

"Till the day after the deal you say?" Dan asked squinting his eyes.

"Yes. Even during Whitey's meeting with us, they were being all-" Brooke said and then stopped with a frown seeing Dan's face as he shut his eyes close and pursed his lips together.

"Oh, dad, what did you do?" Nathan asked with an alarmed tone.

"I might have caused this."

"What happened, Dan?"

"Oh, shit, you gave him the papers…" Larry figured it out as Dan nodded.

"What papers?"

"Annulment."

"Oh, dad…" Nathan said shaking his head.

"Wait, wait, I don't see that as a problem," Karen said, "Why would it be unless one of them wants it and the other doesn't?"

"Oh, Karen, don't you know your son? And Peyton for what it matters? They probably found a way to fight over it." Deb said.

"You're right…" Haley agreed thoughtfully.

"You know they're really stubborn for their own good, which is a shame because I ship it." Deb sighed.

Dan scoffed, "You ship it?"

"I do." She frowned.

"Please, you ship every couple you see including those Mexican soap-opera you watch."

"What year do you live in? I watch Korean now."

"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to."

Nathan narrowed his eyes, "You have weird times to start acting like married couples."

"Whatever," Dan dismissed, "I still think it's not our place to be discussing this, if they want to be together they will."

"Now you stop meddling in people's lives, huh?"

"Isn't this what you all wanted me to do all along?"

"Well, you can now meddle all you want, it doesn't seem to be working anyway." Haley said.

"What are you talking about? You always play the matchmaker." Keith said.

"I am, believe me, I tried," she shook her head, "Ask Nathan and Brooke, I have been trying to get them together since before New York,"

"Wait, hold on, how long has this been going on exactly?" Larry asked.

"Since before New York." She shrugged.

"Wait, that's why they were jumping to each other's defenses against me on Thanksgiving." Dan realized.

"Aw, so, don't feel so bad, honey, you got them to bond over shutting you up." Deb smirked.

"You know what, I ship that." Keith shook his head with a smirk pointing at Dan and Deb.

"Alright, I'm officially freaked out." Nathan said; he was, the way he saw it, Lucas and Peyton may have bonded over this whole thing, but also, whether it was his parents' relationship, or Dan and Keith's, or even Larry and Peyton's it seemed to have admittedly improved as well over it. And he couldn't help but think that Whitey is where it all ends up being connected to.

"So, Haley," Deb looked at her, "What happened with your meddling?"

"Every time I tried to get them in the same room, they seemed to be doing so on their own, every time I tried to get them to acknowledge their feelings, they were also doing it on their own, and now that I am trying to do the same thing, they only blow fire at me."

"Is that the best you got?"

"You should see them, they're not even letting us on, on anything, up to this point Lucas didn't even say it out loud he has feelings, and he didn't come to me about it, well, unless this one time and it wasn't even directly related." She said with a thoughtful frown.

"Well, if he hasn't said anything? How do you know he has something for my daughter?" Larry asked with a frown letting out his fatherly protective side take over.

"Well, actually he did." Nathan said as Haley's eyes widened looking at him cutting her train of thoughts short.

"What? He talked to you? How come you didn't tell me?"

"Because he didn't want me to." He shrugged, "And besides you already know from Peyton anyway."

"What happened?" Brooke asked him.

"He told me everything." He shrugged and they had their eyes glued to him waiting for elaboration and with an eye roll, he carried on, "He said he has feelings for her, and that they actually-" he cut his sentence seeing Larry's glare daring him to continue with saying whatever they actually did, he cleared his throat, "um… flirted and stuff, and at this point, he had a complication with Lindsey… remember when they briefly fell out? Yeah, that was when… and then it was on again when he actually broke up with Lindsey."

"Nathan, you could have told me that to make up better plans!" Haley complained.

"There was nothing you didn't know!"

"Yes, there is! I didn't know where they actually were, I thought they needed a push, well, they didn't, they needed to be locked up in a room and not be allowed out until they talk…"

"Well… you can't get them to do that." He tried to reason.

"Oh, sure I can, have you met me?" she huffed. "Now it makes sense! I was making foolish attempts trying to get them to acknowledge it or act on it."

"You do know they acted on it."

"I don't think we want to know what that means." Keith muttered.

"It was only assumptions, Nathan." She sighed, "It doesn't matter anyway, because obviously what they needed was to communicate. Verbally." Haley shook her head.

"Okay, so obviously they fought over the annulment papers." Karen concluded the summary, "And now they are being stubborn, I think we can get them to talk. Peyton comes to the studio and Lucas comes to the café, I think I can prepare an overlap."

"It's not going to be that easy." Haley told her, "I mean, just yesterday, I was only trying to provoke them, so, I asked Peyton to take Jamie to see Santa with me, and Lucas was taking Lily, and as soon as they saw each other, Peyton instantly disappeared and he left Lily with me and went the other way."

"Who are you people?" Dan shook his head.

"A punch of amateurs, that's who you all are."

Eight heads shot towards the voice immediately activating the alarm in their heads at the sight of Whitey walking over until he sat down holding his cane as he looked at their faces with amusement.

"Why are you looking like you saw a ghost?"

"No, coach, we uh, we just didn't think you will come after all."

"Oh, and miss seeing your failed attempts at getting two people to get together? Not for the world?"

"Uh… what did you say?" Deb asked alarmed.

He smirked, "I said that the eight of you here have obviously been conspiring to play cupid to get the missing two to confess their feelings, and by the looks of it, you're failing."

His smirk only grew into a beam at all of their shocked faces, and surely, every single one of them was having racing thoughts while feeling like a kid who was just caught with his hands inside the cookie jar.

"There you go again with the seeing a ghost faces." He broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, did you just say confess their feelings?" Brooke asked.

"Quit stalling, pretty girl. No one has to come up with a shitty lie anymore, I'm sick of pretending to believe them."

"What…?"

"What does that mean?"

"You… you knew…?" Keith asked.

"I may be old, but I'm not a fool, Scott." He smirked actually enjoying watching them squirming in front of him.

"But…" Dan said not being able to find a real sentence. "But… how? When?"

"Since day one, of course, Danny." He chuckled, "You all underestimated me, and I thought well, let's have fun and play this game."

"You son of a-" Dan cut his insult with a warning amused look from Whitey,

"Careful, Danny, your grandson is still around somewhere."

"So, you have been playing us? All this time?" Nathan asked fazed.

"Of course I have, why else do you think I agreed to stay and help you?"

"To punish us?"

"Well, I'm an old man who tends to be bored quite often; watching people dance around me is kind of amusing."

"That's kind of sadistic…" Deb said.

"And what do you call a whole family who goes as far as marrying two people who don't even stand each other just to fool their old wealthy relative for his money?"

"A despicable one." She admitted and he smiled.

"Smart woman." He nodded, "Anyway, it wasn't just a punishment. I was actually doing you all a favor as well."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm not blind like you two to not see what is going right under my nose," he addressed Larry and Dan before carrying on making them wonder if he was actually there for a while longer than they are aware of, "And I'm not as oblivious as the rest of you to misread situations… or people… I'm an old man who has seen enough to take a long look and know where things are and what needs to be done to fix them."

"I don't get it… you mean you knew all along the company is going down? Was this some kind of a lesson?" Dan asked.

"He's not talking about the company, dad." Nathan said looking at Whitey who has just confirmed what was just floating his mind a while earlier, "He let us all bond over it while trying to keep this secret and save an already dead company."

"You've got a smart wife and a smart son; you need to start working on those brains of yours for your own good, Danny boy."

"So, the only ones who were getting pure punishment were Lucas and Peyton… because they were the ones doing all the action?" Larry asked.

"I gotta tell you I admired how dedicated they were when I caught them in that goddamn room when they came up with a story and tried to sell it to me on the spot, I mean, I could have gone well with the truth that it was all an accident after all, but once again, I just decided to go along."

"So, it was a punishment for them!"

"No, Danny, in fact, it was them with the most benefit of my favor."

"They were?"

"Because you also saw they have potential chemistry." Karen said.

He nodded and then looked at Dan and Larry, "Seriously, everyone is outsmarting you two, no wonder you drove that company down the drains." He teased, "But, no, I didn't just see potential chemistry, I saw two young stubborn people who are too busy arguing to see how they really feel."

"No way," Keith shook his head, "There's no way you could have seen that just from one night that they barely showed up in front of you until that moment when you caught them."

"Haven't you known that, Keith?"

"Yes, I did. But, I actually was there watching them their whole lives."

"Well, I saw it too. And just in one night. After all, they chose to share those drinks together, and they put themselves in that position they were caught in, and they jumped to pretend they are together when there was really no need to, like I said, I would have settled for the truth." He smirked.

"Oh, God!" Nathan chuckled, "We are such idiots!"

"You are." Whitey nodded.

"So, all this time… all those months, every lie we made, everything, you just sat there and let us believe that we were actually good actors?" Dan said.

"Like I said, I enjoy people dancing. And you made one hell of a routine." He chuckled.

"So, your plan was to use their own lie to get them together?" Haley asked him.

"Not like your shitty plans, is it?" He laughed.

"Oh, God, you did everything fully aware of what exactly it's going to cause…" Larry said still wrapping it around his mind.

Whitey looked bored, "Of course I did, why do you think I sent them on this honeymoon? Or stayed here? Or got rid of your fake pastor –no, well, this one was more of a punishment to complicate things for you- but yeah… sending specifically them to New York, getting them to stay at the same house, showing up uninvited… everything I did I knew would have them collect themselves and put on a mask…" he told them and they all looked at him recalling all of the events each of them had to witness throughout the four months, "And, you know what," He continued, "As time passed, I noticed it was coming more naturally than putting an act."

"This is crazy."

"Coach… I'm really sorry," Dan said his face changing for the first time since Whitey came in dropping a bomb on all of them to an actually apologetic one, "What we did was disrespectful and it wasn't right…"

"It was Danny, but, you would have only needed to apologize if it actually fooled me, but, it didn't, and I think you all got your lesson."

"God, this is so embarrassing." Keith shook his head looking away.

"It should be." Whitey smirked, "But, get over it. I believe we still have planning to do…"

"Oh, you're conspiring with us now?" Deb asked him with a smile.

"No, I'm saving you from your childish pathetic attempts." He smirked.

"Well, they're back at not standing each other." Larry told him.

"No, they're not back. They're mad at each other, and I don't think it's only about a fight over some annulment papers –yes, I heard."

They were already learning not to get shocked at things he knows at this point, besides, no one was at any position to argue with him on eavesdropping, not now and probably not ever,

"Okay, so, we thought we need to get them to talk." Karen revisited their earlier conclusion.

"And that's why I called you amateurs." He shook his head, "They do need to talk… but, they had time to do that and they didn't, did they?"

"Okay…" Haley frowned, "But, that's because they're stubborn."

"You get two stubborn people and tell them they have to talk and you expect them to?" He smiled at her, "I mean, I'm sure you tried telling them they should be civil with each other over the years, am I wrong?"

No, he wasn't, he was absolutely correct.

"So, what then?"

"We do the exact opposite…" Keith concluded.

"Because they would do the opposite…" Brooke continued.

"Look at you all learning a thing or two. This is how you play in the professional league." Whitey smiled, "You have been pushing them to open up," he addressed Haley, Brooke, and Nathan, "And they haven't, alright, don't even address the subject, they don't wanna talk respect that, they say it's nothing, then it's nothing, I don't want you visiting this subject with them."

"Done." Brooke nodded already into the idea visualizing the effect it's going to leave.

"That goes for all of you… however, as for you Keith you could talk to Lucas and you Deb can talk to Peyton… but not to ask about their relationship, no, ask about them in general and how they're doing."

"Why Keith and Deb?" Dan questioned somehow already knowing the answer at heart.

"Because Lucas is close with Keith and he wouldn't talk to your oblivious self, and sure as hell not to Larry seeing it's his daughter in question. Same goes for Peyton who wouldn't also fully open to Karen for the same reason."

"Alright, but what makes you think they will open up for them and not us?" Nathan asked.

"I don't." he shook his head, "That's what I want to figure out. Depending on whether they address the real issue or not and how, I will know whether they are really ready to be together or if it's just all a kids' fling."

"My daughter doesn't play around." Larry frowned.

"Easy there, papa Sawyer." Whitey said, "Nobody said she is playing around or being played with for what it matters. But, you've been young once, you sure know how feeling something and actually committing to it are two different things."

Larry gave an uneasy noise, "You're right, it's just…"

"Do you think I will put your daughter at a position that will hurt her?" Whitey went for straightforwardness, "Because, funnily enough, you're her father, and you let her fake-marry that man you're suddenly cautious about now… and if you didn't know at heart that he won't hurt her you wouldn't have let that happen."

"Don't mind him, coach," Keith said giving Larry a teasing smile, "He knows Lucas has had a thing for Peyton ever since they were kids."

"Hey!" Nathan jumped at the sentence with a frown, "Who said anything about him liking her first?"

Keith rolled his eyes, "You know it's the truth!"

"Well, to be fair," Haley put in, "Peyton realized her feelings first."

"Oh, bullshit, you're just siding with your husband." Keith argued.

"She's not, it's the truth." Nathan shook his head with a smirk.

"I'm sorry, but, it doesn't work like that, besides, I'm sure he made the first move."

"It's not about who made the first move, Keith."

"It's relevant, and you saw how he looks around her, if you're telling me he didn't make the first move, you're a big fat liar."

"Alright, Keith, no one wants to know if any moves were made." Dan said with a cringe on his face that was nowhere near Larry's horrified face.

"I want to know." Deb said.

"Do you want to call them right now and settle it?" Nathan ignored his parents challenging Keith.

"Go for it." He took him up on it, "But you better have five bucks on you right now."

Whitey then knocked his cane to the floor loudly drawing attention towards his glaring frowning face, "It's not been five seconds and you're already ruining my plan like a couple of jumping baboons!" He said looking between Nathan and Keith as the others couldn't help but laugh while they both gave embarrassed smiles.

"No one talks to them." He repeated, "And as far as they are concerned, I don't know anything, and Dan and Larry, are still oblivious, and therefore, none of you know about the annulment papers. Got it?" He listed firmly as they nodded, "Good."

There was a moment of silence before Whitey couldn't keep it in any longer, "And you Keith, you should be ashamed of yourselves, betting that Lucas would fall first for only five bucks?"

Keith laughed along with everyone else while Nathan protested, "She did realize it first." He shouted letting it start all over again.