Hey, eveyrone! Thank you so much for your lovely reviews, I'm glad you're liking the story.

So, here's the new chapter, and it's a bit longer, and hopefully you will like it. I know Peyton is a bit confusing, but that's because she's confused herself. And that shows more here, and we will be getting more glimpses of her inner thoughts and her past every chapter...

So, read and tell me what you think about it, and what you think will happen. I love reading your expectations.

And stay safe *virtual hug*

Chapter 4

They might not be the most well-disciplined boys ever, they might be boyish, irresponsible and they might be what people would definitely call players. Lucas and Nathan are a lot of things but in the end, the one thing that they absolutely take seriously is basketball. It's where the line draws, and therefore, as Whitey promised to include them in the next game under the condition of hard work and improvement, they just had to kill themselves in the gym taking his notes seriously and working on them, and while they are always competing against one another -especially in basketball- it has always been the healthy kind of competition, and they always help each other out in that area.

Sure, college basketball turned out to be a whole other level than what they were used to in high school, but, there they were, after a lot of hard work, on the day of the game, and as promised, they were granted big roles in the game.

The crowd's cheering was always a lovely sound to hear, and to look at people cheering them on and putting faith in them gave them a push forward and an extra reason to perform well.

But, that day was an exception, not only did both Scotts wanted to prove their coach right when he trusted them, but each also wanted to impress a certain girl that their eyes scanned the crowds for intensely until Nathan's eyes landed on her next to Brooke and the annoying geek.

He cracked a smile and sent a smirk Lucas' way when he saw that his eyes found her too, Lucas however didn't see his smirk, he only smiled for a split second before turning to the coach to hear his final instructions. That little act of his confused Nathan for a second, he expected him to return the confident smirk like they always do, but anyway, he wasn't going to stop at such a minor detail; important things were ahead of them.

And then, it was the zero hour. The game started and all focus was on the orange ball.

Peyton wasn't a big fan of basketball. She never really sat through a game, her ex-boyfriend was on the football team, so, she naturally knew about that game more than any other one, and to be acknowledged about one sport was enough for her.

That was why she wasn't too excited to join Haley and Brooke for this game, but of course, Brooke had to give her a lecture about being too dull and dark which had her caving in the end. She, however, can't deny that eventually, she wanted to see what the fuss was about, everybody was excited about this game being against a strong team, and rumor had it that Whitey was hiding the Scott cousins in the shadows to show them off in this game. And you can't blame her for being curios.

And surprisingly, she was having fun so far. It was exciting. And from her experience in team sports, a game is exciting when both teams are playing well, which they were.

Nathan, Jake and Lucas have told them that it would be a good game, and they invited them to watch saying that it would mean a lot. Of course, Brooke was going to be there anyway, and while Lucas and Jake are on good terms with Haley, Nathan surely wasn't, and seeing that he was the speaker of that sentence, it wasn't hard to assume that he meant Peyton.

After the first half, and while the players were heading to their lockers, Brooke cheered loudly for Jake and he turned towards her with a grin and a wave, but he wasn't the only one that Brooke's voice caught attention.

Both Lucas and Nathan looked their way, and when Nathan caught Peyton's eyes, he sent her a wink before going in, while Lucas was behind him, he looked at her smile then glared at his cousin's back disappearing after him.

And while Peyton missed the encounter Haley didn't. But she kept it to herself, at least for the meantime.

Soon the game was over, and their team won, and the last ball was a pure Scott duet where Lucas passed to Nathan who passed back to him and he scored the ball that added points to their win.

As soon as it was over, the crowds invaded the court and Brooke was of the first invaders followed by Peyton and Haley not really knowing what to do.

"That was amazing, you were great!" Brooke exclaimed as she approached Jake jumping up to hug him.

Nathan looked at them with a smile then looked at Peyton opening his arms for her with a smile. She rolled her eyes but smiled as she slapped his arm down, "That was good." She said with a teasing smile.

"Good?"

She shrugged and he raised an eyebrow at her. She chuckled, "Well, you were great." She said, "I didn't know you were such good players."

"Players? As in plural?"

"Don't be too full of yourself now, Scott." Peyton said as she punched his shoulder while he laughed.

"What? Do you know how hard I worked for this? And then you come and tell me I'm good but the team is great."

She laughed, "You're such an ass! But, you're a great player." She nodded with a truthful smile.

"Well, thanks for nothing." He rolled his eyes at her with a smirk and she shook her head at him.

"Hey, I'm glad you came." Lucas suddenly appeared besides her with a big smile. Peyton tried to spot Haley because she was sure that she was talking to Lucas just about now and she found her with Brooke and Jake coming their way, so she looked up at him again and gave him a warm smile,

"Thanks, you were great too. Congratulations."

To say his smile nothing but faded while Nathan's grew bigger is only expected with the way she hurriedly said it with her eyes wandering to her friends as if looking for an escape.

"Listen, the guys are throwing a celebrating party, you're all in, right?" Jake announced as he joined them with Brooke and Haley.

Brooke immediately looked at Peyton challengingly while Peyton was amused… the truth is, part of her wanted to avoid this party but the other part wanted to go, wanted to go for Haley and Brooke's sake, wanted to have some fun herself, and wanted to escape thinking about the last message she got. And those reasons were much stronger than whatever reasons she didn't want to go for.

"I'm in." she shrugged and laughed as she saw Brooke's surprised look followed by her face lighting up.

"Man, this is gonna be a good night." Nathan smirked mumbling to Lucas who gritted his teeth momentarily before looking back at him,

"It will be." He nodded and Nathan laughed heading forward to go get changed, and even though he said so, Lucas knew that his odds with the curly blonde aren't looking good… in fact, they never did.

XxXx

"Hey, blondie."

Peyton rolled her eyes as Nathan propped next to her on the counter while she was enjoying a drink and watching Brooke show Haley how to play beer bong with a round of cheers from her audience.

She decided that maybe if she didn't acknowledge his presence, he'd just disappear after all, but who's she kidding…

He looked at her and followed her gaze then smirked, "Are you gonna just stand a watch?"

She gave a frown and looked at him questioningly not getting what he's talking about.

His smirk grew bigger as he successfully caught her attention, "Aren't you gonna participate?"

"In what?"

He rolled his eyes, "The party. Having fun!"

"I am having fun." She argued.

"Sure." He shook his head, "Look, I don't take you as a boring girl, so, please don't prove me wrong."

She frowned standing up straight as she put her cup down and crossed her arms over her chest facing him, "I'm not sure I'm getting where you're getting with this, Scott."

He never dropped the smirk as he continued, "I think you do, Sawyer. C'mon, have fun, join the party."

"I'm fine where I am."

"Don't be so dull." He said already picking up on her defensiveness when it comes to being accused of being boring or anything alone that line. Even though she is trying to show otherwise, but, it's still her, it's still who she was and still is to be living her life, being spontaneous and having fun… despite the fact that now it gets really scary to do so, as much as she hates to admit all those things and as much as she's trying to just cool down and stay away from anything dangerous, this is still the truth and she still finds herself choosing dares over truths.

"I am not!" she challenged.

"Then, prove it."

She raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "Don't blame me, things aren't that fun around here."

"Oh, no, not when I'm involved." He said confidently and then took her hand in his dragging her along without letting her process it and before she knew it she was already engulfed in games that involved drinking and challenging and in fact… a part of her was telling her to have fun and not let an incident deprive her of everything in her life; after all, she just needs to be more careful, and to trust her instincts more… her instincts that once told her over and over that Ian isn't as trustworthy as she wanted to believe.

She chugged down a mouthful of beer and slammed the paper cup down with some cheers around her as she felt that familiar rush of adrenaline that she has missed washing over her. She wasn't drunk yet, but she had to keep reminding herself unconsciously that she needs to know when to stop.

"What's next?" she said challengingly feeling her old confidence of being a center of the attention coming back, and she has to say that the alcohol has got a share in that.

"Strip poker, baby." A guy in the crowd shouted and people cheered in agreement.

That did it. And somehow, Nathan automatically looked at her in a concerned way to see her reaction to this; he just knew that she is not going to be fine with this. And man, was he right.

That rush of adrenaline from just a moment earlier washed away and instead was replaced with chills, the boast of confidence shrunk and she felt her body shrink along, and suddenly being any sort of attention wasn't welcomed.

"Are you okay? You don't have to…" Nathan said looking at her.

She knew he must have noticed a change in her even though she didn't realize she showed any, however, she painted on her masked smile as she looked at him, "No, no, I'm fine, I just felt dizzy all of a sudden."

"Do you want to…"

She knew he was still speaking but she just couldn't process the rest of his sentence or what he was suggesting, all she knew was that the room was starting to get smaller around her and that she needed to get out of there soon.

"You know what, I'll be fine, I'll just go get some fresh air and I'll be back in five." She said although at the moment she wasn't planning on ever getting back in there or having any more fun… but drinking was the one thing she sadly still needed. She was already backing away as she spoke not leaving him any time to respond or follow her as she made a beeline out of the crowd and to the terrace balcony where she inhaled a large amount of air and leaned over the fence before taking a gulp of the beer bottle she picked up on her way out.

Was it too soon for her to join the party scene again? The first party she attended, she got herself into this fight with the guy harassing Haley, and even though that wasn't usually her normal behavior, as she would normally handle it much calmer, but she couldn't bear it, she couldn't help the aggressive reaction that came out of her even on the Scotts who didn't exactly do anything but try to help. But she read them, she read their hunter looks.

And, now, she's at her second party, and she's fleeing the scene because of the memories that she kept pushing to the back of her head, while she tried to fight them and throw herself at it especially after Nathan's little push but, all it took for her to break out of it was a direct clear reminder.

Of all the party games out there, the guy had to pick strip poker. She couldn't help the flashbacks that snapped before her eyes then, and it did make her feel dizzy – still does.

So, is she not ready for parties? Will she ever be? Is her previous decision of keeping out of that side of the fence all together is the right one? Should she only focus on her studies and only her studies?

All of those thoughts didn't help her attempt all day to forget about the message she got earlier in the morning, it was from Ian, and again, he was asking for her to call him back, and this time, he added the mere mention of him going crazy about the whole situation and wanting to make it right.

But this time around, she was thoroughly done. There was a time where she would take him back no matter what, but that was a long time ago where she was naïve and believed that people can change.

This was already too much thinking for her. She hates it when she can't stop those thoughts and memories, mostly because it eventually leaves her in angry tears and mixed feelings of confusion.

And this damn beer isn't helping.

"If I were you, I would want to get out of here."

She jumped snapping out of her thoughts as she looked at the voice and saw no one but the other blond Scott. "What?" she asked him in confusion.

He was a few steps away from her and he was looking ahead of him as he leaned over the fence dumbing his weight on one leg with his own bottle of beer in his hand resting on top of the fence, "That drunk idiot over there is looking at you, and since I'm not getting involved in any of your business again, and you look like you don't want to handle such a horny drunk idiot then I thought I'd just warn you that you might want to leave…" he suddenly felt like a jerk for the way he was speaking to her, but then again, how is he supposed to speak to the girl who is treating him less than normal while giving Nathan the royal treatment!

She looked over to the way he pointed and indeed a horny drunk idiot -as he put it- was lustfully checking her out and it left her with a look of disgust as she backed away towards Lucas and stood on his other side next to him.

"If it's okay with you, can I just stand here for a while until he either throws up or finds another target?"

He didn't see this one coming, he expected her to just give him that look she always gives him and go back inside, and he must have looked at her questioningly because she gave an uneasy look,

"I just… don't want to go inside now…" she explained and for a second, he thought he saw a kind of insecurity across her face and it had him nodding instantly.

"Sure."

"Thank you."

"Wow. A decent sentence and a thank you in less than a minute?" he raised his eyebrows impressively and took a sip from his beer.

"What?" she frowned.

"Come on, I know you don't like me." He didn't know what was coming over him, but he can safely say that he's been feeling jealous of Nathan all night long. They played a good game and they won, and hell he even sealed the win and yet, the girl was still barely acknowledging his presence. And there he was thinking that walking her over to her room and helping her the other night would give him some credit, but somehow, she only got more into Nathan! So, the way he was viewing it right now, is that he has got nothing to lose.

She pursed her lips together for a few seconds as she looked ahead, "I… I'm sorry if I gave you this impression… I just… I don't know you." She knew that this wasn't the real reason. She knew that she was hard on both of them from the beginning, but she was now fine with making friends, she hoped that making friends, having fun and going to parties would help her feel normal again… which was apparently not working, however, the only reason she was getting closer to Nathan more than Lucas is because she knows Haley likes him, and… Haley needed to feel confident about her feelings.

At least that's what she told herself.

"So? You don't know Nathan too…" he said a little more bitter than he intended, "…or Jake… or Brooke." He added with a shrug to fix the sentence.

She looked at him and slightly frowned at the look on his face, she couldn't quite name it, but she was taken aback to not see a smirk or a boyish grin or a cocky smile on his face, and she remembered the other night when they met and he helped her when she was sick, and how she thought then that he might not be all jerk and that he might have other sides to him. Still, though, she knows that him and Nathan are one and the same, and that they are the typical athletes who are nothing but players.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt your ego for not giving you a special treatment?" she said with an eye roll.

He gave her a look, "Yeah, you're right, I shouldn't expect any special treatment, you should just treat me the normal way, hey, next time you see me throw garbage at me!" he said sarcastically.

She looked at him with a glare and he gave her a pointed look. She held the intense glare and he kept his challenging look. At last, she broke into a soft chuckle when he added a childish glare, "Okay, okay, I guess you have a point."

"No way!"

"I said I'm sorry!" she said and he shook his head, "Okay, don't be a drama queen, I… don't… not like you." She shrugged and he slowly turned towards her forming a smirk,

"Does this mean you like me?"

There he was again! And to think that for a moment she thought he was being a real person! "No. I just don't not like you." She repeated and he chuckled.

"Fine by me." He smiled and then they were silent for a moment, "I'm Lucas."

She frowned as she looked at him.

He smiled, "You said you don't know me." He explained as she gave a sided smile, "I'm Lucas Scott, I study English lit. and I play basketball."

She chuckled softly shaking her head, "Peyton Sawyer." She extended her hand for a shake playing along. She didn't realize it but her mind was far away from the issues she was worrying about just a couple of minutes earlier.

"Nice name." He said smiling at her and actually feeling a bit overwhelmed that she isn't giving him her regular attitude towards him.

Peyton felt bad; it wasn't like her to treat people differently or to be judgmental. But then again, she's at one of the lowest points in her life, she feels lost. One minute she's all into getting over everything and not letting it affect her or her life, and the next she's scared to death to fall into the same hole again.

It wasn't fair neither to herself nor to people. She can say that the closest she is to at the moment are Haley and Brooke, yet, they still don't know her whole story, they just know what she's choosing to show… they are assuming there is a story, but she can't yet confide in anyone to let her guard down and tell the story.

However, there she was again, pushing herself to throw her worries at the back of her head and make new friends, maybe that way she'll go back to being able to trust… maybe.

"So, it was a good game. You did a good job." She said.

He instantly smiled looking ahead, "Yeah, I did." He said cockily and she rolled her eyes as he chuckled, "No, honestly, if you wanna hear a secret… I was horrified."

"I didn't wanna hear a secret." She noted teasingly and he gave a low laugh. "Why though?"

He shrugged, "I mean, it's not like it's my first game, but…it was kinda a game-changer. The coach asked us beforehand to improve and work extra hard to get ready for this game. And that means he wanted to test our potential, that there was something missing and he wanted to see if we have it in us… I just… I knew I had to give more than everything I have."

It wasn't his words that had her staring at him with big eyes while he spoke, well, not just his words, it was also the way he spoke and how his passionate he was. Once again, he managed to surprise her.

"It seems like you really love the game."

His smile widened, "Oh yeah. Our family is all about basketball." He said proudly but warmly, "But, nobody pushed me to play. I grew up playing with Nathan in our backyard or his. And it has become kind of my therapy, even if Nate wasn't available, I would go and play by myself and clear my mind. Sometimes our dads joined us too, and of course, they would use their height to their favors when we were younger, but now we beat their asses," he shook his head with a chuckle before realizing he was rambling as he looked at her apologetically with slightly red ears, "Sorry, I'm rambling."

"No, no, it's okay. It's a lovely story." She said with a smile. For a moment she forgot she was talking to the cocky Lucas Scott. He's showing a side she would have never thought in her wildest dreams she would see out of him.

He cleared his throat, "So, what's your deal? You're an art history major, right?"

She couldn't help but chuckle a bit at his awkward attempt to change the topic but she went along with it anyway as she nodded, "I am."

"That's cool… so, you're an artist." He knew she was; her sketchbook that he has seen more than once was a direct giveaway.

"Not really…" she shrugged now back at being uncomfortable but thankfully before she had to think of something to say or to escape Brooke came to her rescue.

"You guys! You have to see this. Haley and Nathan are hand wrestling." She said skipping their way as she barely reached them before she skipped away again with them on her tail in confusion.

"What? They are doing what?" Lucas inquired.

"Hand wrestling." She repeated.

"Why?" Peyton asked the obvious.

"Long story short, they were being at each other's throats and decided to determine who is stronger." She explained hurriedly as she pushed through the crowd around the table where Nathan and Haley were indeed seating across from each other, elbows on the plane table and hands against each other with intense glares.

It was quite the scene and Peyton couldn't help but laugh; she knew those too didn't like each other, but this was ridiculously interesting.

Of all the crazy positions Lucas had caught Nathan with girls before, this was probably the weirdest of them all.

Nathan was giving her an intense look with a smirk while holding his hand against her not even making an effort to resist her force, "Realized what a stupid situation you've put yourself in yet?"

If looks could burn Nathan would have turned into ashes a long time ago, "I'm not even gonna reply, you wuss!"

"What are you, eight?"

"That's funny coming from you."

"Look, I'm not even pushing forward, I'm only holding my hand up. I could win this in a heartbeat."

"If you have it show it, don't talk about it."

"I'm just enjoying embarrassing you."

This whole conversation was exchanged in a low voice despite the cheering crowd around them, even their friends were participating in the cheering, although they were all on Haley's team, even Lucas and Jake.

"Jeez, is this Haley?" Julian joined the crowd saying so to Lucas in amusement. "She's got stamina."

Julian was probably the closest classmate he has other than Haley lately, he knows other people but just by names, however, Julian acted as the common point between him and Haley since they worked at the same place and he already knew Lucas from classes, and even though he first got closer to Haley because she's Peyton's roommate, he's started to see she's really a good person.

The cheers erupted as Haley's hand finally overcame Nathan's. Nathan rolled his eyes at her scream of victory, even though he obviously let her win -and he doesn't know why he decided to do so with the girl that is a total pain in his ass. But, as they were exchanging glares, he saw her face expression while trying to concentrate and give more force into winning this ridiculous game, and for some reason, the good guy inside him decided to make a visit as he relaxed his hand and obliged to her force which he was already regretting.

Haley jumped up happily giving him a smirk while he rolled his eyes at her and shook his head leaving the scene.

"Good job! What was that all about though?" Peyton laughed.

"Teaching a lesson." She shrugged.

"This was epic." Brooke beamed excitedly.

"Well, well, look at you all cute." Rachel suddenly showed up draining the smile off of Brooke's face. "Congrats."

"Thank you."

"He did let you win though." The redhead laughed.

"No, he didn't." Haley frowned even though she knew deep down it's the case, but she just didn't like Rachel saying so.

She laughed, "That's cute."

"I won, you guys saw, right?" Haley said looking at her friends.

"Well…" Jake started looking between Lucas and Julian whom he barely knew.

"What?"

"He did let you win." Julian smiled.

"No, he didn't." Haley frowned crossing her arms over her chest childishly invoking chuckles from them.

"Yes, he did, he could scoop you up his shoulder with one hand. Although I'm surprised he did so, but he did let you win." Lucas stated.

"So what if he did?" Peyton said.

"Yeah, don't let these party-boobers bring you down, and let's go celebrate your win." Brooke said hooking her arms with Haley and Peyton completely ignoring Rachel as they walked away.

"So, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the scene, but what led you there?" Peyton asked as they were sipping of their drinks.

Haley rolled her eyes, "He ran into me and accused me of being clumsy and spilling his drink, and… honestly, I don't know how we got there from this, but all I know is this guy gets on my nerves." She said the last bit through gritted teeth as they laughed.

Brooke caught the sight of Rachel being still sticking around Lucas, Julian -and now Nathan, and most importantly Jake. And she couldn't hear what Peyton and Haley were talking about now, as she kept her intense glance there seeing how flirtatious Rachel is being, and she knows her moves, her voice, God, she has heard her numerous times in the short span of time they have been roommates flirting over the phone with God-knows-whom.

And she didn't like it one bit.

Especially when her loud laugh sounded at something that Jake said, so, she quickly excused herself and headed over; she knew it's nothing yet, but she wasn't going to wait until it becomes something, if at all.

Haley took the chance of being alone with Peyton to ask her about what she saw earlier before the whole Nathan fiasco took place. She knew Peyton is less likely to deny anything if she's not being put on the spot, she's noticed that when they're one-on-one she tends to let go of her invisible walls.

"So… I saw you earlier with Lucas."

Peyton was instantly alarmed; she felt that stinging feeling inside her, it was a welcomed reminder that Haley may be more into the guy than Peyton originally thought. "Yeah… I was out… he was out…" she shrugged.

"Hmm. Nice." Haley smirked, "So, what do you think of him?"

Peyton needed to be careful, she knew Haley would be guarded with her feelings when she has a crush, and she didn't want to give her any mixed signals. She shrugged, "Almost the same as you think of Nathan." She chuckled. It wasn't exactly true though; she did think the Scotts were some annoying players, but she knows she's becoming okay with them as friends. She even spent the larger portion of her night with either one of them individually.

"Really? That's too bad for him." Haley said and Peyton frowned.

"What?"

"He would be disappointed if he knew that."

"Why?" she asked in total confusion.

"I mean, come on, he has been following you the whole time."

Peyton panicked, "No, he hasn't."

"Well, his eyes definitely were."

That didn't help were her panic, she didn't want to lose Haley as a friend, at least not over this, and this exactly the kind of stuff that she has grown to know very well can make friends lose each other, "That's not true. I think you're confusing him with Nathan! And Nathan is just being a dumb jerk." She said with a nervous chuckle.

"Well, they both do." Haley said after a thoughtful moment, "And whilst I agree with you about Nathan, and I even thought so of Lucas at first, but… I actually think he's a nice guy."

Peyton decided it's her window, "I know you do. I'm sensing a new crush here."

Haley froze and turned her head towards her before bursting out laughing only causing Peyton to get even more confused.

"What?"

Haley's laughter died down as she shook her head and looked at Peyton again scrunching up her nose, "Why are you so keen to find me a crush?"

Peyton shrugged, "Because you desperately need one." She smirked as Haley rolled her eyes, "So, what? You mean you don't like him?"

"No! And stop thinking I like every guy that I say is nice!"

"I… it's just you have been talking about him a lot."

"To convince you he is a nice guy." She protested, "I may not be the relationship expert here, but I'm not blind to like someone who I know have eyes for my best friend."

There was oddly a lot of relief in that sentence, whether it was Haley referring to her as her best friend, or her actually proving she's smarter than she appears to be in the love department, or the fact that she actually doesn't like Lucas. Maybe she doesn't have to protect her from heartbreak anymore… at least yet.

"He… he doesn't like me." She shook her head.

"Oh please, open your eyes," she rolled her eyes snapping at her, "I'm even pretty sure he came friends with me in the first place to get closer to you."

"Who are we talking about?" Brooke asked as she showed up at Haley's sentence.

"Lucas Scott." Haley answered.

"Oh, he definitely did." She nodded.

"Thank you… I guess." Haley said as Brooke smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, it's you two ganging against me again so that's my cue." Peyton said standing up.

"You two gang up on me too, but I don't flee." Haley shouted after her but she was already set on leaving them anyway.

The stinging feeling was gone and instead, she was left with a tingling one. She didn't really think of what Haley said before, she knew she was a target for Nathan Scott and maybe Lucas too at first, but she has shot him down enough for him to forget it, and after their conversation tonight, she was pretty sure he did. Nathan however, is being childish, she knows how to handle him, and she knows what he's really about, and it's fun, and she can see big potential friendship in him already… even if it takes time.

However, she didn't believe neither of them could have any real feelings for her.

Then she remembered what Haley said about Lucas following her with her eyes, and she spontaneously turned around tilting her head only for her eyes to meet his looking at her just to look away after being caught.

Her eyes widened and she froze in her place thinking of how creepy this was. It wasn't the only time their eyes met afterwards that night causing many awkward smiles to be exchanged as well, and each time, she found an explanation for it happening, but it still did happen and she still thought it was creepy and she still had that weird sensation for the rest of the night.

XxXx

"Well, if Karen said so then it's a done deal."

"It pretty much is.

Both cousins were familiar with each of their family member's attitude, and whilst Dan and Keith have always been the ones to scold them and ask them in all possible ways to take responsibility, their mothers were left to pick after them, but Karen was always a bit firmer than Deb, she had to stop herself from falling into their emotional traps while trying to get her to cover for them or to talk to their dads about whatever punishment they were to get, unlike Deb, who always fell for it.

They soon learned their lesson though, and knew to always go to Deb first, while Karen was left for the really big situations.

This time, Karen was the one to tell Lucas that Dan and Keith are actually impressed by their attitude in the last period of time and that even though they weren't able to be there for their game the night before, they were happy with what they heard. And that they were definitely coming around.

"Awesome, I can't wait to have my own room again." Nathan smirked and Lucas looked at him knowing what's going on in his dirty mind.

"Well, yeah, me too… but, you ain't gonna share that room with who you're thinking about."

"What do you know about it?"

"I do know that we were really getting along last night."

Nathan snorted, "Like hell you were. Have you been blind? She was so into me from after the game and during the party."

He wasn't blind. He knew it all too well, and in fact, that was why he was in an off mood when he was standing outside before she suddenly showed up looking distant… but then when they started talking, everything suddenly started looking better.

"Apparently, you're the blind one, we talked last night, and we're more than good. But I can't blame you, you were too busy arm wrestling."

Nathan narrowed his eyes at him, "What could you have talked about to make things more than good?"

"Things you wouldn't understand." He smirked, "You know… real conversations."

"Real conversations my ass." He chuckled sarcastically, "That's exactly why I know I'll win this one."

"We'll see."

And apparently, they were to 'see' sooner than expected. They were walking back to the dorm after their private practice, and while they were nearing the building, they heard some noise coming from their left, and as they looked -just like everyone else whose ears caught the noise- it was Peyton giving some guy a piece of her mind. And the glare she had on was far scarier than anyone she has ever given either of them.

"What's going on?" Nathan mumbled as Lucas shook his head and they started moving towards her.

"I told you I don't wanna fucking talk." Peyton lost all her coolness that she was trying to keep as she screamed at Ian but it was either scream or cry, and she wouldn't do the latter in front of him over her dead body.

"Why don't you just listen and-"

"For God's sake! To even show your face here!" she glared dodging his hand that was reaching for hers as she turned around leaving him behind in big steps, but he caught up with her quickly and held her wrist pulling her back as she almost lost her balance but she turned around and glared at him even more if it was possible, "Let go." She said firmly after her failed attempt to free herself.

"No, not before we talk, come on, you're making a scene." He said trying to drag her away but she pulled back.

"Let go, I'm not going with you anywhere."

That was when Nathan and Lucas jogged the remaining distance towards them and they stood in front of the guy who frowned at them, "May I help you?"

"What's going on here?" Nathan frowned.

"It's nothing that concerns you." Ian replied trying to go around them.

Nathan stepped in front of him and Lucas held his arm holding Peyton's wrist firmly, "She said let go."

"And who are you exactly?"

"We're Peyton's friends."

Ian looked at Peyton who only glared at him again still trying to free herself and he looked back at them with a sarcastic smirk, "Well, Peyton's friends, I'm her boyfriend and this isn't any of your business."

"You're not my fucking anything!" She snapped, "Let the fuck go!"

Nathan inched a bit closer to him, "She says you're not anything to her. So, just let go of her and leave."

"Do I look like I'm gonna take orders from you? Fuck off."

Lucas saw it coming, so, he positioned himself closer to Peyton and took her other free hand so when Nathan punched him, he pulled Peyton away from the scene. It really wasn't their first fight, and they do it well together.

Peyton screamed in surprise as he pulled her closer to him wrapping his other arm around her while watching Ian get up after his stumble and then going to take his revenge on Nathan. And that's when he had to let go of her as he pulled the guy from behind and threw another punch at him.

And, it was really quite the scene. Three guys two of which are punching a guy that no one knows, while a scared girl is trying to get the three of them to stop throwing punches and hits while they keep pushing her away. The only thing that broke it was the arrival of two security guards.

They stood there panting as they looked at the security guards, "What's going on here?" One of them asked.

"This dude was harassing our friend." Lucas replied. The guard eyed Peyton who didn't look in a much better shape either having been trying to break the fight.

"Is this true?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"I wasn't." Ian said, "I simply wanted to talk and no one invited these two to-"

"So what are we supposed to stand by and watch our friend being harassed?" Nathan cut him off.

"Why would someone harass their girlfriend. Besides, no one asked for your opinion!"

"I'm not your-"

"Shut up, everyone!" The other guard stepped in, "Miss, were you or were you not at harm of this guy?"

"Yes! Well, not exactly but-"

"Did you ask for help?"

Peyton looked hesitant for a moment as she frowned looking over at Nathan and Lucas who were awaiting her response that is to determine lots of things, "No, but-"

The guard gave a sarcastic smile, "Why have you been harassing her?"

"This is all ridiculous, she's my girlfriend, and those two monkeys just-"

"I'm not your girlfriend!"

"Peyton-"

"No! We're fucking done! Have been for months!"

"Alright, alright, this is too much drama. IDs please." The two guards knew about Nathan and Lucas' history, and they were -just like everyone else- given direct orders to watch out for their attitude, after all, they have been getting caught in trouble a lot in a short span of time, plus there was the fact that their parents knew the dean personally, and therefore, there was extra cautions when dealing with these two, so, really they were trying to evaluate the situation to see if it needs further investigation by the dean himself.

They sighed getting out their IDs handing them over, all but Ian,

"Where is yours?"

"He doesn't even go here." Peyton said crossing her arms over her chest as he nodded.

He paused for a moment tapping the IDs against his palm, "Well, you're coming with me to the Dean's office."

"What? Why?" Nathan protested.

"Mr. Scott, this isn't your first fight, neither yours, Mr. Scott." He said dismissively turning to Lucas, "And this one is a scene that involves a girl and a guy that doesn't even go here. The dean won't be happy."

"What's that about?"

Lucas and Nathan froze. This was the moment they realized they were probably the most unfortunate duo in the history of planet earth; because as they turned around they came face to face with the all too familiar owner of that voice.

It was Dan. And he was with Keith. And they didn't fail to notice the car key's in Dan's hands belonged to Carla.

It was just the perfect timing.