Hello everyone, first off, I really missed you all and I missed writing and reading your reviews. And I'm so sorry about the long wait. I just had a few things going on with my life including trying to determine if I can take writing as a career. Long story short, I had to take this break, but now that I'm able to focus on this again, I wanna continue this story and I hope you want to read it still :)

So, this chapter was a pre-determined long time ago, but, I kept not liking how it goes, so I wrote and deleted it several times. But, eventually, I like the final version, I'm telling you this because if you find it somehow over the place, I apologize for that, but, it had to go this way, and it's also a bit short, but it's important for the storyline.

And speaking off, I know I said this story was going to be a short one, and it still is, it's going to be 10-12 chapters. However, there will be a second-part sequel if you guys are willing to stick with me through that, because the plans that I have for this storyline don't feel right being just one story under that name...

Anyway, I really am looking forward for you to read this and I hope you still want to read it, so, if you are, please let me know what you think :)

Chapter 3

"It was definitely George Clooney."

"What would George Clooney do here?"

"In Brooke's head, he heard about what a wonder Brooke Davis is and came to meet her." Peyton said sarcastically putting a spoonful with a mix of pistachio and dark chocolate ice-cream in her mouth.

Haley laughed while Brooke gave her a look, "You can laugh now, but you'll see when he calls me to design his suit for the Oscar's… one day." She sighed dreamily.

"I'm not saying he won't." Peyton shrugged then smirked at her, "I'm just saying he isn't now." She said as Brooke elbowed her.

"All I said is that the guy looked like him!"

"Brooke, you say that about almost every white heard man." Haley told her laughingly.

"Oh, well…" Brooke said giving up munching on her blueberry and cookie dough ice-cream as they walked by the streets. "Are you coming to the party tomorrow?"

"I don't know…"

"Maybe…"

"Oh, come on! Haven't you learned yet that you are coming to every party with me?"

"What are you? The boss?" Peyton challenged.

"Boss of fun yeah… we already have boss of decency and boss of the underworld." She shot back referring to Haley and Peyton respectively.

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Peyton protested with a laugh."

"You know what it means, if it's up to you we'll all be wearing black sitting in the dark with this depressing music of yours."

"No, I'm not! I'm fun."

"Prove it." Brooke challenged with a shrug and a smirk.

"Oh, she's good." Peyton smiled, "Fine… I'm coming to the party."

"Good, one down and one to go."

"You don't need to convince me, I'm in from the beginning." Haley said as Brooke gave her an impressed look.

"Look who's excited for their second party." Brooke cooed, "Just don't get yourself into trouble…"

Peyton rolled her eyes as Haley laughed, "Even if, I think there are some people ready to step up and fix it."

"No, I think by now they know they'd burn alive with this one breathing fire on them."

"I don't have a problem with them." Peyton shrugged.

"Since when?"

"Since the very beginning." She shook her head, "I just don't like anyone giving help that was never asked for."

"Wow, well… good! I mean, they're really nice once you get to know them and-"

"I don't really wanna get to know anyone." Peyton shook her head interrupting Brooke's sentence who felt alarmed; it sounded more intense than usual, as if it's a decision rather than a thought.

"I thought you don't have a problem with them?"

"I don't. But, I don't want to befriend them like Nathan thinks."

"You talked to Nathan?"

"Yeah, he came and apologized –and he did it better than Lucas, I'd give him that one…" she said with a smile.

"Okay…" Brooke said giving her an analyzing look; she thought that there's more in Peyton's head than she's letting on… maybe even to herself, but, a five-year-old would see she's obviously having some kind of a conflict.

"What? Why are you looking at me like this?" Peyton asked looking between both smiling girls.

"Nothing, it's just… you sound like…"

"… you might have something for Nathan…" Haley finished for Brooke while taking the last spoon of her lemon ice-cream.

"What?" Peyton laughed at that; it really was a silly idea.

"Oh my God, is it true?" Haley gasped at her reaction.

"No, no it's-"

"Brook…"

Peyton didn't get to continue her sentence and their heads shot towards the caller to see a girl approaching them with a big smile plastered on her lips as if that's the way her face looks all the time… they didn't need to wonder for a long time who she was because her red hair and the way Brooke's face twitched at the sight of her were an instant give away.

"Rachel…" Brooke replied as she stopped right in front of them.

"Glad I ran into you. I wanted to tell you there's a party tomorrow at-"

"I know. I'm invited."

"Oh, you are? Good." She said then looked at the other two, "Hi, I'm Rachel."

"Hi, I'm Haley."

"Peyton."

"So, are you all coming?"

"Yes, we are." Haley answered her.

"Cool." She smiled, "By the way, I saw what happened the other day." She said looking at Peyton.

"Yeah. And…?" Peyton raised an eyebrow.

Rachel shrugged, "I love some action and spices. I think we can be good friends, right, Brooke?"

Brooke rolled her eyes at her, "Get a life, Rachel."

The red-haired laughed, "See you there." She winked as she hopped away just like she came.

"So, that's Rachel." Peyton noted stuffing her hands in her jeans' pockets.

"The very one."

"She's…" Haley frowned looking for the right word.

"You're not going to find it." Brooke shook her head, "You're too nice." She sighed.

"I feel ya." Peyton said tapping Brooke's shoulder sympathetically as Brooke groaned knowing she's being sarcastic as Peyton giggled mentally thanking Rachel for showing up the moment she did to take the spotlight off of her.

XxXx

It was the same very familiar vibes of just any other party they have been to, but there was no denying that it was different in a way… more exciting they would dare to say it is.

They have made bets before, but not as interesting as this one, never was the prize so heart-racing like this, and so, this party was going to be a game-changer because it is going to be their first encounter with Peyton and both Lucas and Nathan knew it was going to be brutal between them.

It was currently a silent competition neither of them speaking about it, but both knowing pretty well what is going on. So, when they were leaving the gym to go freshen up and get ready, their coach called the both of them.

Confused, both Lucas and Nathan approached the old bald over-weighted man with sharp looks.

"Do you know what day it is?"

Nathan frowned in confusion, "The 12th I guess…"

"You guess…" Whitey nodded, "You shouldn't be guessing, you should know for sure, you should be counting the days until your first game…"

"We have been to games before, coach."

"The first game you might actually participate with some quality time." He corrected with a sly smirk.

"You're letting us play?"

They have already gone through two games, but neither of them really got the chance to play, at least not as they would wish, Nathan got sixteen minutes in total and Lucas got twelve.

"Not if you're being wussies like you were today."

They shared a quick look before looking back at the man,

"No, it's…"

"We will give everything we have."

"You must have something in your minds…" he gave them a pointed look and then spoke again before they could give an answer, "Anyway, I'm not going to ask you to practice more today because I know you won't like it…"

"No, we can, we already stay sometimes after-"

"I know, I also know there's a party or whatever you call them these days, I was once a college student too, and I know your mind would be there if I made you skip it… so, go, but I expect you here early tomorrow practicing for next week's game."

"Yes, coach."

And so, when they left, both boys had big smiles on their faces already loving how the night is turning around.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Can you believe it?"

Nathan shrugged, "It took him long enough already."

Lucas chuckled, "Man, we've got to do this right."

"We always do. At least I always do." He smirked.

"Oh, I see what you're doing here. Don't you think it's a little too old?"

Nathan put on an innocent face. "What do you mean?"

Lucas shook his head with a smirk; it was the oldest trick in his own book, putting on a brave cocky face to lower the other's spirit, seriously he taught him this cold war.

"Man, you've got no chance." He smirked.

"Said every loser." Nathan replied breathily. And they spoke about it no more. Not to each other anyway, when they were finally in the party, they walked in just as cool as they would to any other one, and casually walked up to some friends to engage with them while each of them was secretly scanning their surroundings from time to time trying to spot her but with no luck.

Eventually, they were alone with Jake, so, just as casually as any other conversation, Nathan spoke, "Isn't Brooke coming? I didn't see her…"

Jake looked at him knowingly, "Yeah, Brooke is not here…" He said with a side smirk.

"So, she's not coming?"

"Why are you asking about Brooke exactly?" He narrowed his eyes knowingly.

Lucas scoffed, "Chill, man. Just asking."

"You're curious too then." He pouted his lower lip with a nod, "Anyway, Brooke is coming." He confirmed, "…with her friends." He continued smirking when he successfully caught both their attention.

"Cool…"

"Great!"

He chuckled and shook his head, "Just ask directly for God's sake." He rolled his eyes.

"We're just asking." Nathan shrugged.

"Right…"

It wasn't too much later when Brooke actually showed up with her forever shining smile to say hello to them, but, she was with just one girl; Haley.

"Hey, guys." Brooke said draping an arm around Jake's shoulders, "What's up?"

"You know you don't sound 'cool' when you go 'what's up', don't you?" Jake smirked at her.

"Are you calling me a loser?"

"Oh, no, I don't dare to." He smirked and she gave him a look with narrowed eyes as he chuckled and kissed her cheek.

She smiled and rolled her eyes facing Nathan and Lucas, "So… you guys remember Haley." She said referring to her friend who she knew must be a little nervous to introduce herself at this point, but as she looked at Haley she didn't see any nervousness, but instead, she was looking confidently at them as she gave Nathan a nod and smiled at Lucas.

Nathan on the other hand, in fact didn't remember her, well, he knew Peyton had a roommate who was also friends with Brooke at this point, but he didn't know her name and he didn't care to stop and examine her or how she looked, but now that he does, he sees a girl who looks genuinely nice but is wearing the kind of outfit that would have been old fashioned in the 90s. He was one hundred percent sure she is a virgin, and not just sex-wise, but on the cool-kids side of the table too.

He didn't like her; and not because of all of those notes, but, because of the fact that she seemed to not give a fuck about him. Like what the hell was this nod while she immediately smiled at Lucas and started engaging in a conversation with him? Where does he even know her from?

This was all not important to him right now anyway, there was a much more important note,

"So, is it just you guys? Didn't Peyton come?" Nathan asked and Brooke who was battering over God-knows-what with Jake looked at him along with Jake and Lucas and Haley who also stopped talking and looked at him when he spoke. And from the corner of his eyes he saw the sarcastic look Haley shot at him for a split second -which actually made him disklike her even more- and he also saw Lucas' sudden interest.

"No." Brooke said simply and rolled her eyes knowingly when both boys just kept looking at her waiting for her to continue, "She was coming, but she didn't feel very well on the last minute."

"Is she okay?" Lucas asked.

"It's the flu, she just needs to rest."

"Oh."

"Oh, yeah, tough luck, you can hit on her another day." Brooke said and Nathan rolled his eyes at her.

"Nobody is hitting on no one." Lucas mumbled and Brooke gave a sarcastic chuckle.

"Hold your horses, man, no one is hitting on no one tonight." Nathan mumbled to him with a smirk as he just gave him a dirty look for a reply.

"So, Haley, you were saying…?" he turned back to Haley.

"Oh, I was asking if you started yet on Professor Jackman's paper… I have been struggling to start that one."

That instantly made Nathan dislike her even more; who talks about papers at a party?! What a geek!

"No, I was going to start this tomorrow." Lucas replied, then paused thoughtfully, "Which I just realized I can't do anymore." He didn't really realize that being early in the gym tomorrow morning will just ruin his plans for the day until this moment, which means he has no time to work on this paper but…

"Fuck this I have to go." He announced.

"What?" Nathan frowned. "Why?" Apparently, his cousin is even geekier.

"I have work to do." He shrugged drinking the last of his drink putting it down.

"Oh, no, no, no." He gave a headshake and a smile, "Do you think I'm a fool?" he mumbled to him.

"What? You heard Haley right now, I have a paper, and in case you forgot, I just got new plans for tomorrow, so, if you don't mind…"

Nathan still looked skeptical, "So, if she was here, would you have still left?"

"But, is she?" he smirked and turned around knowing that Nathan would be wondering the whole time if he was telling the truth about leaving to study knowing that they are a couple of doors away from each other.

On a side note though, if she was there, it would have been to hell with the freaking paper!

"Brooke, do you wanna get drinks?" Haley asked Brooke when she was left standing awkwardly looking at any other object but Nathan Scott while he was doing the same after Lucas left while Brooke and Jake were talking about something.

Brooke instantly noted the situation and knew that Haley needed to get away from the awkwardness, so, she nodded with a quick sure but it didn't fail Haley to see the disappointment she's trying to hide.

"So, what's up with you and Jake?" Haley asked her slyly as they were sipping on their drinks and sure enough, Brooke chocked on her drink.

"What? What do you mean?"

Haley shrugged, "I didn't mean anything specifically, but, now I do actually."

"There… there's nothing going on between me and Jake don't be silly; we're best friends."

Haley nodded, "But… do you want there to be something?"

Brooke opened her mouth but nothing came out…

"Something more…" Haley suggested, "…more than friends."

Brooke grumbled, "Haley…" she then took a deep breath and looked at her, "Is it obvious?"

Haley thought it was cute how she just got the lowest voice she ever heard Brooke using, "No, I was just teasing you, I didn't really think there was something."

"Dammit, Haley!"

"And there she's back." She smiled, "But, seriously though? Are you sure about it? I mean…"

She groaned, "I know what it means. But… can you really blame me? One day we were just best friends the next I'm jealous he's talking about that stupid cheerleader back home." She rolled her eyes, "It's not like I made a decision you know…"

"I understand. I just don't want you to get hurt, I mean does he even…"

"Whoa whoa, wait there, don't just freak me out here." She said with wide panicked eyes.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to."

"I know it's just… look, can we just leave it at that tonight and have fun? It's a fucking party."

"You're right." Haley nodded putting her drink down, "We should have fun. Woo-hoo."

"Honey, don't do that." Brooke shook her head, "God, you have so much to learn." She mumbled teasingly gaining herself a stuttering protest from Haley.

XxXx

Lucas can't say he wasn't just thinking about playing it dirty; after all, he's heading to their room which is just a few steps away from Peyton's, so, he could just drop by taking advantage of everyone else -mainly Nathan- being at the party. But he wasn't gonna. And not because he's a fair player, hell, no, it's because he has no idea what to say if he did.

However, fate had other plans as it seemed like he wouldn't have to stop by after all, because right there in front of their building in that garden he saw familiar blonde curls with the faint lights escaping the tree branches falling on her pale face while she was wrapped in a blanket and wandering there in a slow pace.

He stopped in his tracks for a few moments making sure it's really Peyton there and then he found himself walking her way unaware of the forming smile on his lips and still having absolutely no idea what he's going to say to her.

She felt like the walls were closing in on her and she couldn't bear the silence anymore, it only made her own thoughts louder than ever. Between her precious ex's attempts of contacting her and her dad's last call telling her he's leaving the country for work; it was really a mess in her head.

Sure she doesn't live with her dad, and she rarely ever saw him, but, it still felt safe to know he's there and that he comes back for the very least holidays – most of them- to know he's within reach.

When the whole thing with Ian happened, she didn't tell her father, but she felt safe enough that if she needed to she can and he'll be there in no time… but now…

She didn't feel well, and the painkillers she took made her head a bit light and sleepy, but she still needed that noise, that fresh air to keep her sanity.

And so far it was helping her as she walked wrapped up in her blanket yet still feeling the coldness but she didn't mind; she wouldn't be out for long anyway, she just needed to clear her mind, and since her friends were at the party, she knew she'd be able to do just that without interruption.

However…

"Hey." She jumped even though it was a faint sound that came from behind her and when she turned around, she definitely didn't expect Lucas Scott to be the one there.

"Oh, hi." She didn't have any contact with him after that day in the restaurant but she did with Nathan and she kinda said she's fine with both of them although she still doesn't really like how Lucas acted the last time, and seeing that her head obviously isn't focused and not expecting to have him outside the radius range of the party, she really didn't know how to react.

He was able to get a better look now that they're close and sure enough, she did look tired and she had no ounce of make-up on, but somehow, she still looked pretty,

"Um… I was just passing and I saw you…" he started when he realized he has to speak, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine." She said absentmindedly holding the blanket tighter, "Why are you not at the party?" she had to ask because it was the only thing in her mind; there she was trying to have some serenity time and there he was interrupting it instead of being where he should be.

Normally, Lucas would have captured the opportunity to flirt, and maybe tell her it's because she wasn't there, but, strangely, he was tongue-tied, his mind was racing because from the last encounters he had with this girl, it seemed like she never liked whatever came out of his mouth, so at last, he decided the truth is best, "I found out I have to write a paper."

She didn't realize it but she gave him an obvious disbelieving look.

He gave an awkward chuckle, "No, seriously. I thought I would have time for it tomorrow but it turned out I have extra practice; apparently, the coach is willing to give us a real chance to play." He explained and this time she nodded surprised to not find the cockiness in his sentence, but she had to blame it on her current state of fatigue.

"So, you left a party to study…"

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not all asshole… if any."

She let out a sound between a scoff and a cough but it was obvious she strongly disagrees.

He didn't want to visit this topic again. "Brooke said you're not feeling well." He realized how stupid it sounds as soon as it came out of his mind, and she gave him a look that -to his relief- had a touch of amusement and he gave an awkward chuckle, "Right, looks like it's true."

She laughed.

That was a first, and it got out a genuine smile out of him, so, out of the fear of ruining it by making a fool out of himself again, he decided it's better to end it with this progress, "So, um… I probably should get going."

She has to admit that it also took her by surprise; why wasn't he being the jerk she knows? And why isn't he annoying the fuck out of her? Is he annoying but she's too tired to see it?

"Yeah, sure."

He stood there awkwardly for an extra second and then also awkwardly turned away giving her an awkward wave.

Just as he was leaving, she turned around too to walk away but apparently, it was too quick for her liking seeing how her head spun causing her to lose balance for a moment before balancing herself again, however, she doesn't know if she did it herself or it was the supporting hand that pulled her arm. She didn't need to look up to know it was Lucas,

"Whoa, are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just lost my balance for a moment."

"Let me walk you to your room." He offered.

"Um, thanks, I wanted to…"

"Look, it's a cold night, and you're not really looking your best now -no wait, that's not what I mean, I mean, you, you're already sick, you know? So, maybe it's a good idea to rest in bed?"

She opened her mouth but nothing came out actually; instead of thinking for a reply, she was wondering why the hell is Lucas Scott acting this way tonight?

"Come on, you're obviously shivering, Peyton." He said letting her notice that it was actually a fact and she hated it, "Let me walk you to your room, I'm going there anyway – well, not to your room obviously, but we live there, I mean next door."

She smiled rolling her eyes, "You're probably right."

He raised an impressed eyebrow, but decided against the witty comeback he wanted to shoot, "Let's go then."

They walked side by side, her wrapped up in her blanket and him with his hands stuffed in his pockets as he wondered if he should make small talk on the way, "Why did you go out while you're obviously not feeling fine anyway?" He instantly regretted the question as he inspected her face to see the discomfort there, "I'm sorry, this is none of my business."

"Well, it's not." She shrugged and paused for a few moments, "I just needed some fresh air." She said against her best judgment when she felt she was being rude.

He nodded and said nothing for the rest of the way, instead he was busy thinking if he ruined it all again.

"That's me." She announced when they were finally there and he obviously was too consumed in his thoughts to notice.

"Right, sorry I was…" he mumbled trailing off as he turned to head for his own door.

"Lucas." She called and as if hoping she would, he turned around too quickly for his own liking. "Thank you." She gave a faint smile.

He smiled genuinely and nodded, "Well, if you need anything… I'll be right behind this door."

"Thanks, but I think Haley should be back soon."

He scoffed, "She's with Brooke!"

"Yeah, good point." She chuckled. It was true, they were more likely to stay out late, and she really didn't like the idea of being left with her thoughts again, and she was really tired to leave the room again. She'll be damned if she didn't fall asleep soon. There's the option of asking Lucas to stay with him until Haley's back and she knows he most likely will be welcoming of the idea, but she's not that desperate.

"So, I guess I'll be seeing you." She said opening the door only to lose her balance once again and he jumped towards her once again.

"You don't look okay, should I get the doctor?"

"No, no, I'm fine, I just need to sleep."

"Yeah, please do, you need to rest." He said walking her inside falling her lead to her bed that he obviously didn't know which one it was.

"Yeah, I guess I will."

"I uh… I can stay with you until Haley comes back… if you want."

"No, that's alright. I'll just sleep. Go take care of your paper."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Go."

He couldn't help but smile at her eagerness to get him out of the room; he has to say he found it cute. "I just think you need someone next to you watching you sleep." He teased and she gave a horrified look making him laugh, "Alright, alright, I'm going." He said and she rolled her eyes at him, "Goodnight."

"Yeah, whatever."

And so, he finally left unaware of the wide smile on his face as he closed the door behind him with a sigh; a happy sigh. However, he knew that he's at the very least not behind Nathan anymore. This all had to count; he put her to sleep for God's sake.

Man, Nathan is gonna be furious!

XxXx

Sure enough, Nathan was furious. He knew he shouldn't have let Lucas go there alone, and it doesn't matter how he claims it was a coincidence, because first of he's no stranger to Lucas, and secondly what matters is it happened after all, and he's not a step ahead of him anymore…

However, it's not such a hard thing to be, with the way Lucas has been swamped the past few days between classes and practice… and extra practice, and the way Nathan was less occupied with studying, he just had to show up and let his charm do the rest.

And this was a perfect morning to do so.

He knew where she often sat with her little sketchbook and he knew he would find her there this morning, and he wasn't wrong, he just didn't think she'd be with that geeky roommate of hers.

He wasn't going to let her annoying existence stop him though.

"I have to say I'm disappointed I didn't find you with your sketchbook." He said as he joined them turning their heads towards him.

"Why? So you can babble ignorantly about my drawings?" she frowned at him and he gave a smirk.

"Well, you can't blame me, your drawings are…" he trailed off looking for a suitable word.

"For people with brains?" Haley suggested innocently and he turned towards her with a frown while Peyton suppressed a laugh.

"You mean nerds?" He shot with an undeniable attitude.

"Hey! Those are my sketches you're talking about." Peyton shot before Haley could answer.

"This is… I mean… no offense to your… I mean… she's just so-"

"And this is my friend you are talking about." She raised her eyebrows challengingly not hiding her amusement at how furious he was getting.

He shot Haley an angry look while she was smirking granting that his face got just a little redder; she unquestionably ruined his plan for the morning. As if it's not enough that he has to come across her almost every time he tries contacting Peyton. He seriously is wondering why Peyton is friends with her.

"Right. I have to go to class." He announced getting up before he gets himself in any trouble. He kind of knows that he is not really judging by the smirk on Peyton's face, but, he does feel quite irritated.

"See you later, Scott." Haley said in a fake nice tone.

"Hope not!" he mumbled walking away.

So much for taking the chance of Lucas being busy. It just turned out into a disastrous brief encounter. He has to find a solution about this Haley person if he really wants to win this bet.

"What's with you two?" Peyton turned to Haley with a playful smile.

Haley rolled her eyes, "Ugh, he's so full of himself."

"Yeah, so is Lucas, but you don't seem to have a problem with him." Peyton said inspecting her.

Haley frowned, "I thought you changed your mind about Lucas after the night he was oh-so-nice to you."

Peyton felt some uneasiness inside at Haley's tone, but she couldn't place it anywhere just yet. She shrugged, "I'm not saying I hate him."

"But, you're fond of Nathan more than him, aren't you?" she scrunched her nose up a bit.

Peyton shook her head with a smile, "He's just fun to mess with!" she shrugged.

"Ugh," she rolled her eyes again, "He's an ass. Lucas is… well, he might be a bit of a player, but he's actually got a nice side." She said with a warm smile.

Peyton looked at her and felt that uneasiness yet again, but this time, she was able to name at least the vibe she was getting; Haley likes Lucas. Why wouldn't she? She's a good girl, and if she's to fall for one of the Scott boys, it sure would be Lucas, because even if she's not saying it out loud, she knows Haley is partially right; Lucas does have a nice side, and she got to experiment it herself when he walked her to her room and even put her to bed the other day, he even checked up on her the next morning with a cup of coffee, and for some reason, she didn't mention this act of kindness to Haley or Brooke.

To her though, she knew that she wasn't hallucinating when she thought he's not all ass the previous night.

On the other hand, Nathan was looser than Lucas, and despite what she initially wanted to believe about the two cousins at first, she recently came to the realization that they are surely players, but they do have a good side – despite covering it up with jock-attitude and boyish goofiness- that good side of them she was able to detect because she desperately wanted to see it in Ian and lied to herself many times that it's there but it wasn't.

She knows for a fact that she was too judgmental of them when they first met and that she was giving them a hard time when she didn't even know them, but the thing is, she really didn't know them, besides, it's not like trusting people -especially the athletes- is a piece of cake after Ian.

"You know, I met him the other day at the library, and as if it wasn't enough of a surprise for him to be there, he also helped me a lot with my assignment, he pointed out the books that I needed… he's surely not how he sells his image…" Haley continued on about Lucas with the same warm smile, only for the uneasiness to grow in Peyton's belly while she just nodded at her words while her head was somewhere else.

What was that? Why is she suddenly feeling unwell? She's been after Haley to loosen up and find herself a man, then why doesn't she feel right about her words right now?

Maybe because after all she doesn't want Haley to get hurt, and she surely still doesn't trust them -or guys in general.

She eventually decided to keep an eye on things to save Haley if it came to it, no one deserves to go through any pain because of untrusted cocky boys. And Haley was too innocent to realize that, so, she has to be there for her aid.