Hello, again, here's a new chapter, I hope I'm not being too late with the updates, I do as soon as I can I promise.

So, I like this chapter, enjoyed writing it and sure as hell hope you enjoy reading it just as much.

I hope you don't find it moving too fast, things will explain themselves more as we proceed in the story. This chapter doesn't feature Brooke and Haley much, but there will be more of them in the next chapters I promise :)

Oh, and Carla is this family vintage care Nathan and Lucas are promised to get if they do turn their lives around for the best. Sorry about being ambiguous, it's probably because it's been a while since I started updating again.

So, anyway, here it is, read and tell me what you think...

Chapter 5

Neither Lucas nor Nathan were exactly thrilled to confront Dan and Keith. Well, of course, they weren't; their dads showed up at the worst moment they could ever show up at. They were a tad bit relieved when the guards had to take them away to the dean's office as soon as they showed up and they hurriedly told them they will explain… pretty much like every time they get in trouble, they do explain in fact, but being believed is another story! However, being relieved was short-lived because it was the dean's turn to grill them slowly on both sides.

And although she was nervous and edgy, but Peyton actually sided with them in front of him and said that they were helping her and that Ian was being physically harmful -even though she hesitated a bit when she was asked who threw the first punch, but she then said she doesn't remember and that it was probably Ian wrongfully siding against him; she said it's not unlike him anyway.

They were for a change thanks to her; however, they still didn't go without a final warning that next time they will be suspended or even worse.

Ian was kicked out much to her relief before they were allowed to go, so, she didn't encounter him anymore, and she really, really didn't want to.

Dan and Keith left a message saying they will be waiting for them in a certain coffeeshop house, and it wasn't a very friendly message of course.

Peyton's edginess only seemed to double as soon as they left the dean's office and she took big angry steps marching ahead of them that they had to jog a bit to follow her, "Hey!" Lucas called as they both caught up with her, however, she didn't bother and was still walking with the same pace and the same angry look on her face, and then, he made the grand mistake of touching her arm.

She then turned towards him with a glare, "Don't… touch me." She said threateningly.

"Sorry." He said holding his hands up in defense actually taken aback. "Are you okay?" he asked carefully.

"Am I okay?" she repeated with a frown, "Let's see, I was just dragged to the dean's office for the first time ever where I got really embarrassed unnecessarily, and what else? Yeah, thanks to your little scene I'm going to be everybody's favorite topic now, the girl that had the two basketball stars throwing punches for… again!"

"Well, to be fair you were making a scene on your own before we showed up." Nathan pointed out as a mumble and she glared at him so he rolled his eyes, "What's so bad about that? They'll talk for a while and then they will forget!"

"What's so bad? Well, it might be your thing to like being at the center of the spotlight, but it's definitely not me." She snapped. To be fair, she didn't really care about the spotlights almost a year ago, and up to a few months back, before the end of high school, she still didn't… but, she was now keener of a quiet college life where nobody knew her, even though she knew it wasn't really possible while associating herself with basketball players, and she's now realizing this mistake.

"Oh, sorry for not letting the guy drag you to wherever he wanted!" Lucas frowned snapping back.

"You know I never asked for help." She hissed bitterly.

He raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "Oh," now he was really worked up, "You know, in these kinds of situations a little thank you as what you should be saying."

"Well, thanks for nothing."

"You're unbelievable!" he shook his head, "Your precious reputation is gonna be fine, it's us who were just given the last warning… and you're not the only one with a reputation to maintain."

"Uh, I don't know maybe you should stop getting yourself in things that aren't any of your business!"

"Oh? Then maybe we should stay the hell out of your way!"

"Even better." She exclaimed with a surprised glare.

"Whoa, guys, just-" Nathan couldn't help but notice that Lucas was speaking in the plural form, and he didn't like that, however, both were too angry to even hear he's speaking.

"Right, since the last two scenes were actually related to you, now that I think about it, I don't know who's the troublemaker here!"

"You… I…" she was too angry to come up with a proper reply to this, "Just… stay away from me." She spat before turning around.

"That's what I just said." He called after her.

"Fine!"

"Fine!" he screamed back and she just kept walking away.

"So, I'll see you later then." Nathan finished off after her gaining himself a look of disbelief from Lucas, "What? Speak for yourself, man." He shrugged.

Lucas didn't reply and only shook his head as they took their way silently out of the campus and towards the coffeeshop to meet their parents.

This was really tiring.

Carla was parked right outside as a bitter reminder of what could have been; because they know for sure there's no way to get it now.

They shared a look before taking a deep breath and going in, and sure enough, there were the two older Scotts sipping coffee and exchanging a chilled conversation,

"Oh, there they are, the prodigal sons!" Keith greeted with a smirk as they approached them and then took a seat.

"So…?" Dan looked at them both when neither of them made a gesture to speak, "Are you even gonna try to explain this one?"

Lucas groaned, "Look… you didn't exactly show up at the perfect moment."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Keith nodded, "How dare we catch you in the act?"

"What act? Well, I mean…" Lucas tripped on his words in frustration; he was still mad from the whole situation and his little argument with Peyton.

"It's not what it looks like…" Nathan started.

"There it goes." Dan nodded at the sentence he's heard from his son so many times to count.

"No, really, it's not." He insisted.

"All ears, son." Keith gave a fake smile.

Lucas was fed up, "Listen, I know you're probably not going to believe us, and that you're eagerly waiting to hear explanations and are waiting for us to try and find a way around it, but you know what… I'm not even gonna try to get out of this one, because I believe we didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh? So, the dean must have just given you medals, then!"

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Make fun all you want, dad!" he looked at him with confidence for the first time in such a situation; usually, when they are caught with any kind of trouble, they try to avoid the conversation altogether, or if not possible, then they find a lame story to justify their actions… but this was entirely new.

And what was even more surprising was that it wasn't just Lucas, Nathan had the same look, "Luke is right." He agreed and Lucas felt relieved that he wasn't letting him do the talking alone, because usually also Lucas is the one who's good with words, "I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry." That was probably one of his most clever sentences so far in front of the parents.

Keith and Dan shared a doubtful look against this new behavior of their sons before looking back at them awaiting a further explanation.

"Me too." Lucas nodded, "The guy was harassing Peyton, and she couldn't get away from him, we weren't just gonna stand there and watch him hurt her."

"And Peyton is that curly blond, huh?" Dan noted looking between them.

"Yes, she's our friend." Lucas said uneasily; because this sentence wasn't accurate on various levels.

"Although this might be true, you still got yourself in trouble." Dan started, "You do know that you always get yourself dragged in fights, or have girls trashing you for dumping them, or caught by the police…"

"That was one time." Nathan mumbled.

"Really? Does it need to be more than once for you to realize it's a problem?" Dan frowned.

"We know." Lucas put in, "And we know all of that, and as I said, you probably won't believe this, but we have been behaving."

"It definitely didn't look like it…"

He rolled his eyes, "I… mom just told me that you were speaking about this and that you two knew we are actually staying out of trouble."

"Son…" Keith started, "You're not young boys anymore. You shouldn't be needing disciplinary measures to behave. You should be doing it on your own, that's first. And second, yes, we did say so, but the second we decided to show up, we were proven otherwise… and, it… it's not how we want to see the two of you."

Lucas groaned, "I know it looks bad, but, dad… I told you what happened."

"You didn't see it." Nathan shook his head, "You only saw the result, but that guy was really hurting her, he didn't listen to reason, and… believe it or not, violent isn't our first option… at least this time around."

Although they didn't really talk wisely with Ian, but talking was never an option before anyway, so, to use the tongue before the fist was a positive attitude they adopted there.

"What exactly happened?" Dan asked.

"We were just walking when we heard her voice, I… we don't know the guy he doesn't even go here it turns out…" Lucas stared a bit calmer at the idea of them actually wanting to hear the story, "He held her while she was trying to get away from him, and he was attempting to drag her away against her will." He intentionally added words to emphasize how inhumane the situation was, "So, we tried to break him away from her first, and he didn't budge, and… you know it just got heated… a bit."

Dan shook his head after a while, "And there wasn't just anyone around to help but you…"

"No, people were there… you saw them… but they were just watching. But Peyton is a friend, we weren't just not gonna do anything." Nathan replied in a heated tone, "Look, you can ask Peyton if you don't believe us." He added and Lucas fought the urge to scoff at that.

"Of course she'll agree to your story, she's a friend, isn't she?"

"Oh, trust me, she's the last person who would agree with anything we say." Lucas couldn't help but shake his head at that.

Keith smirked, "Oh? Someone is giving you hard time? That's a first."

Lucas looked at him pointedly when he sensed the playfulness in his voice, "And a last."

"I don't think so." He shook his head, "You're losing your charm obviously." He looked between the two of them.

"Ha, never!" Nathan protested, "Maybe your son, but not me."

"It's like talking to Dan twenty years ago!"

Dan chuckled and shook his head, "Anyway, to wrap this up, I hope you realize that what you did is unacceptable regardless of the cause and reason behind it."

"Which is a Nobel one." Nathan added before gaining a stern look from his father.

"And…" he continued pointedly, "This is really your last chance with us, boys, I don't want to hear about you getting in trouble and jeopardizing your whole futures like that again… and before you get all witty, not wanting to hear it means I don't want you to do it in the first place. Do you agree, Keith?"

"I do."

"We know this is our last chance anyway." Lucas mumbled.

"Good, then please act upon it."

"We are."

"Fine!"

"So…" Nathan decided to steer the wheel, "Why are you here anyway?"

"We -ironically- came to celebrate your win yesterday since we couldn't make it to the actual game."

"Oh."

"Yeah, lucky you." Keith smirked, "So, tell me about it."

And that was what made the turn of their night, talking about basketball and that particular game was an absolute mood shifter, and the fact that they were sharing it with the only two people they might say love the game even more than them doubled the fun.

It was always the one common ground between them and their fathers, the one thing that whether they agreed or fought about it, they did it with passion and it was fun anyway.

XxXx

Peyton wasn't feeling good. She was nervous and almost everything was falling apart down to the smallest tasks such as holding her bag and carrying her books, her bag would fall off her shoulder and her books always found a way to fly out of her hands in the air and then land a few steps away to the floor.

She didn't know that seeing Ian again would have that big of an effect on her, but it did. It reminded her of what happened, all of the horrible things he had done to her, the things that she was stupid enough to let him do to her. Him and her so-called best friends back then.

She was doing so bad at work, she wasn't concentrating, and she was taking wrong orders and mixing up tables, so, she was let go earlier than usual. And even though she would usually insist she's doing fine just to keep herself busy with something, she knew that if she stayed, she is most likely to get fired, and she doesn't want that. To be left alone with her thoughts for just a day is always better than every day.

She decided she needed to re-organize her life, she can't be that weak! Ian can't have a hold of her life, she's just proving that he was right after everything.

So, she was going back to her room where she knew she would be having time alone until Haley comes back from her own work, and that was enough time to preview her life. She didn't count on pumping into the boys on the way though.

She was opening her door when theirs opened and the three boys came out obviously ready for practice, and suddenly, she realized that she was actually embarrassed by the way she left things between them the last time, she was obviously upset about Ian and she let it out on them… particularly Lucas; the guy who already thought she especially hated him and she was trying to right that idea just the day before the incident.

She looked over and while Jake greeted her casually as she never really had a problem with him, she anticipated the Scotts reaction. Nathan looked her way when he noticed her standing there and looking over before smiling, "Hey, Sawyer." He shot at her and she gave a very awkward smile back.

She was about to find her voice when Lucas closed the door behind him being the last one out of the room, and he automatically spotted her, but he only looked at her for a split second before completely ignoring her and walking away taking all her voice with him, and she knew she deserved that.

"Don't mind him, he's always been the rude one in the family." Nathan said.

"You guys coming or what?" Lucas shouted from around the corner where she couldn't see him.

"See you later, Peyton." Jake told her apologetically and she shrugged opening her door to disappear inside.

She needed to make up her mind; does she or does she not want new people in her life? Well, she does want to be able to be normal again… but, she's left with trust issues after all her friends turned out to be fake ones, and while she's trying to really put some faith in herself and her judgment of people as she already feels pretty good about Haley and Brooke, she's having a lot of trouble trusting boys… especially boys like these three. And even Haley and Brooke, she might trust them to be good people, but she still can't get herself around to tell them her deepest secrets. She can't afford to be that vulnerable again in front of someone.

However, there is no denying that there's this part inside her that still really thinks that Lucas and Nathan are good people deep inside, she can touch a difference, she can't really say they are the same type as Ian, and of course Jake is with them, she never saw anything bad from the guy anyway.

Back to the two Scotts, she has got this feeling that behind all that recklessness, the playfulness, the obvious jerkiness, there is fun caring guys if established a friendship instead of flirtation and stuff, she can see they care about each other, about Jake, and she can't help but notice they respect his friendship with Brooke and just put her in the no-flirt/sister zone… which means there are some kinds of principles there.

So, does she want to be their friend?

That's not really the right question, the matter isn't about them… it's about her and whether she's ready to mark the Ian story as a life lesson and move on with her life, whether she's willing to start trusting herself and trusting people again or not… whether she's going to take control of her life or let Ian affect her decisions again…

And she decided taking control it is; what's the worst thing that could happen? Getting hurt again? Well, it's not like she's going to be dating anytime soon anyway, and she highly doubts that anything is going to top what her ex-friends and boyfriend did anyway.

And as her first decision of taking control, she decided to fix her relationship with the Scotts. At least recognize she was at fault that day, and that she didn't really mean to take it out on Lucas.

So, the very next day, she found herself walking up to their room with a takeout bag from the restaurant she works at, a bag that contains double cheeseburger but without onion and with extra cheese and pickles, a vanilla milkshake, and fries; the order that Lucas made the one time he was there… and she only remembers it because it irritated her because she knew he was only making so many specifics… well, to irritate her!

She stopped there, taking a deep breath and knocking on the door.

It was seconds later that the door swung opened and Nathan stood there with a smirk on his face, "Oh, hey… Sawyer. I knew it was only a matter of time until you come knocking on my door."

Peyton didn't really hear what he was saying, she was rather freaking out and feeling too guilty about her fight with Lucas that she didn't really think if she should get Nathan a peace-offering as well. But, then, she started thinking properly and realized that the smirk on his face doesn't suggest anger. Or the previous greeting he gave her as well...

"Hi… Nathan."

He smirked in amusement, "Hey, Peyton." He nodded crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door frame.

He didn't know how to sneak towards the subject, so she just went there straight ahead, "Are you mad at me?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Why would I be?"

She shrugged, "You know… because of what happened the other day; I was a tad bit mean."

He shrugged with a smile, "Nah! It's not the first time, and it's kinda growing on me."

She gave a relieved breathy smile and looked at him gratefully while he gave her a smile. "I'm still sorry though." She told him sincerely, "And thank you."

He raised his eyebrows in astonishment, "Wow, are you high?"

She hit his shoulder and he chuckled, "I should have known you just don't have serious conversations." She rolled her eyes.

"I do so."

"Right." She shook her head, "So… is Lucas here?"

Suddenly, the comfortable smile on his lips was gone. "No. Why?"

"Um… I want to apologize to him too. He's mad, isn't he?"

He shrugged, "Well, you know, it's just Lucas. He'll be fine." He shrugged it off.

"No. I know I was mean, especially to him, and I really need to make it right." She said almost absentmindedly missing the way his face contacted at her words. "Do you know where I can find him?"

"Uh… I don't know. Out. Probably taking a walk." He said acting cool, although he knew exactly where she could find him but he wasn't going to send her off to him.

"A walk…" she nodded uncomfortably, "Is he… I mean is he by himself? Like can I catch him?"

"I… I don't really know. It's Lucas you never know…" he gave an awkward chuckle. "You know you don't have to do it now. He's still going to be there in the morning." He rolled his eyes.

She gave him a look and shook his head, "You're not of any help!" she accused and he rolled his eyes again. "Go back to your room." She said playfully as she stepped backward.

"Where are you going?"

"That's none of your business, Scott."

"Fine! If he bites you don't say I didn't warn ya!" he yelled after her desperately only to gain a laugh in return.

So, he just had a nice encounter with her, but he still didn't win a point! She's still off looking for Lucas and he knows that it's out of her need to apologize and stop her guilt, but he's more worried about the way his cousin is going to take advantage of the situation. Well, at least he didn't tell her where to find him, so maybe she won't talk to him after all.

Peyton walked around for a while aimlessly; she knew there was no way to predict where exactly he would be taking a walk, it was a large campus, and she doesn't even know if he's taking his walk inside. But, at the same time, she needs to find him, the burger is probably already cold and the milkshake must be losing its coolness, sure, she doesn't know if her peace-offering would be accepted or if he would want to talk to her if she found him, but at least she's making an effort here.

That was when a sentence he said the other day at the party flashed in her memory. He did say that basketball is his therapy. And it's late, but for all she knows, the gym doesn't really close. She decided it won't hurt to check.

She wasn't that far away, and so, she took her way to the gym, and when she heard the bouncing of a basketball when she was just outside, she smiled to herself, and to her surprise, he really was there, and she was a bit fazed that she found him by just following her gut; maybe she doesn't make that bad of judgments after all.

He was sweaty, and his back was towards her and he was too engulfed in his moves -and probably his thoughts; because he didn't hear her coming.

She walked up towards him and stood in the middle of the court, "Hey!" she spoke softly but it still rang in the empty big place.

To say he was surprised would be the least to describe his reaction; he thought he's alone, and he didn't expect any company, let alone hers, yet, there she was standing there looking at him, where there was no one else there, and the last update of his information was that she has no business there!

What was she doing?

"That… those are some good moves you've got." She gave a small nod referring to what she just witnessed of his alone practice, although it was indeed bullshit, she didn't really focus on his moves; she was more concerned about gathering her words.

He nodded as a quick thank you, as he was also concerned about other issues; mainly, the reason why she's standing there and talking to him, "What are you doing here?"

"Um, well, actually, I was hoping I'd find you here…"

He raised his eyebrows at her, "Me? Are you sure?"

"Aha. I wanted to talk to you… if… if you want."

"You want to talk to me…" he repeated as if making sure, "Peyton Sawyer and Lucas Scott…"

She gave him a look, "Yes! Don't make this harder than it should."

"Oh, I'm sorry, excuse me for wanting to make sure that you are speaking to me after making it crystal clear you don't like my existence."

"Fine, I deserve that." She looked down and then up at him again. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry." She said it louder although she knows he heard her the first time. "Look, can we talk? I… I would like to clear things out." She bit her lip.

He looked at her for a moment, and he could see she was nervous, and although he was mad at her, although he was just thinking that he doesn't even care about the stupid bet and that she's obviously have got her own little world that she's not going to allow people in, aside from the fact that she clearly has strong disliking feelings towards him… but, there she was, finding him and asking him to talk, most importantly in a sincere way.

He nodded, "Sure." He said before clearing his throat when he thought he said it too softly for his liking, "Do you mind waiting here for a while until I get changed?" he said in a tougher more serious tone and she smiled obviously only glad that he agreed to talk.

"Not at all." She said and skipped towards the side deck in the court taking a seat. And again, he was completely taken off guard by her attitude and sudden chirpiness as he gave a surprised smile before forcing himself to go get changed as he said instead of standing there and wonder what the hell is going on.

No longer than five minutes later, he came back to join her a bit cooler as he got himself prepared for whatever this is. "So, do you wanna take a walk while we talk?"

"Sounds good." She said and he motioned for her to lead the way as they walked out of the gym together with his bad hanging on his shoulder and his hands in his pockets while she was holding the takeout bag in one hand and the other was going up and down her other forearm.

"So…" he started askingly.

She nodded and took a deep breath as she stepped in front of him walking backward as she looked at him, "Okay, here's the deal, I know I was a bitch last time."

"Last time?"

She glared before he gave her a knowing look and she rolled her eyes, "Fine. I have always been a bitch to you. But, I… I really am sorry. I told you at the party, I didn't mean to be… and… and last time, well, I was really stressed, and upset, and… angry. And it wasn't right of me to take it out on you."

"Wow." He gave an amused nod, "That-"

"Wait," she cut him off and they stopped walking still facing one another, "I also want to thank you."

He opened his mouth but nothing came out,

"For helping me the other day." She took a deep breath and looked down, "I know I didn't ask for it, but… I admit that it was nice to get some help." He could tell it was hard for her to say so; and it really was, a part of her constant refusal of their help -apart from it being none of their business as she continues to point out- is that she doesn't want to depend on somebody saving her anymore, she wanted to take care of herself, the last time she counted on someone saving her she almost lost a lot if it wasn't for her own suddenly given strength to fight and save herself.

"I wouldn't describe your behavior as being a bitch." He said as she looked up at him in confusion,

"You wouldn't? Really?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Well… maybe if it was someone else."

She raised both her eyebrows, "Really? And what makes me of any difference?"

"You have got a story." He shrugged.

She looked at him opening her mouth and trying to come up with a proper answer; this was a real test, and she wanted to run, there was at the risk of getting vulnerable again, and she was just on the edge of freaking out when he spoke again,

"I bet you never expected any real words from me." He smirked and she was glad he's changing the topic. "Like Nathan. You probably think we're one and the same…"

"Well…" she started and he laughed.

"Everybody does." He told her, "But, we're not. He's kind of the stray one in the family."

"Oh? Like you're not!"

"I am not. You don't know me."

"Fine, if you say so. He says you're the rude one in the family though." She recalled Nathan's remark the day before.

"And you just want to agree."

Her smirk dropped, "Lucas… despite what you believe, I don't hate you! Fine, you got on my nerves… a lot. But, at the end of the day, I don't think I ever hated you… I… I just have been having a bad time, and I'm not proud of it, but you got a glimpse of it when you met Ian… and I'm also not proud of not being able to separate the situation… it was just bad timing." She paused, "You may be the one who hates me now, and that's fine, I just wanted to clarify why I have been this way." She shrugged looking down already making up her mind that this was a failed attempt of an apology and getting ready to turn around and leave.

However, he put his hand on her shoulders stopping her, "Hey, I don't hate you! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way." She looked up at him and he softened when he met her eyes, "I owe you an apology too… I was rude. And, I never meant to irritate you or get on your nerves… well, in fact maybe this one time…" he admitted as she chuckled and he smiled.

"Yeah, at the restaurant."

"Yes." He smiled wider, "I, uh… I don't know what's going on with you… and I'm not going to ask you about it, but… I do know that no matter what, everything gets fine at the end."

"Thank you." She nodded sincerely as she looked at his eyes looking down at her for a moment, "Oh, almost forgot," she said holding up the bag.

"What's that?" he asked her suspiciously.

"A peace-offering?" she said hesitantly. "It's a double cheeseburger without onion and with extra cheese and pickles, a vanilla milkshake, and fries."

He hung his jaw open in surprise before laughing out loud letting her be relieved. He took the bag from her and opened it looking inside and sure the items she mentioned were tucked in there safely.

"I can't believe you remembered that!"

She blushed a bit, "Well, I'm a good waitress." She said and then cleared her throat, "So, I take it that you are accepting peace?"

"Under one condition."

"What?"

"We share this."

"What?" she laughed.

"Come on, you obviously think it was only me being mean with the order, but trust me, it's one of my favorite ways to have my burger, and I didn't even tell you all the instructions to a perfect burger."

She laughed, "Now, you're being a dork!"

He shrugged, "Whatever, we're still sharing this."

"Fine!" she shrugged.

"Good." He nodded, "Come on," he said and absentmindedly took her hand leading her to a bench where he sat down and she followed awkwardly not missing his little act of closeness when they are just building a baby friendship.

She shrugged it off however when he dove into the bag and split the burger in half already making a mess with the uneven pieces handing her one that she struggled to hold without anything falling off of the sandwich.

"How am I supposed to eat this?"

"Oh, come on, burgers aren't meant to be eaten decently."

"True that! If you can imagine the things, I see every day." She shook her head with a laugh.

"I can." He agreed. "Now, try this combo, and I grant you will be craving it more often." He said munching on his sandwich hungrily as she smiled looking at him thinking that it was obviously the right call… the guy obviously likes his food.

She followed his lead, and soon, as he was gulping down his last bite, he looked at her in anticipation, "So?"

She looked back at him and shrugged apologetically, "It's okay."

"Okay?" he looked at her like she's got two heads. "Your taste buds must be broken."

"It could be yours." She shrugged with a frown.

"Uh-uh. No." he shook his head. "You're the first girl to ever say so."

"The first girl?" she raised an eyebrow, "Well, sorry, I'm not like the kind of girls you're used to swoon over you and your athletic charm." She rolled her eyes.

"So, I have an athletic charm." He said boyishly.

"Shut up."

He laughed; well, he didn't want to push his luck further; so far, the night has taken a great turn of events, and this is about the third time he thought a night with her might be landing in his favor only for something to ruin it afterward, but… to be honest, this night felt different, it felt more real, and more genuine.

And actually, it was probably the first time he spends some time with her without having the thought of the bet in the back of his mind controlling his actions.

"Lucas?"

"Huh?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Well… many things." She shrugged, "Giving me a second chance to be friends for example." She wanted to properly thank him for taking care of her the night she was sick, and for helping her out with Ian, and lastly, for just the reason she told him.

"Friends, huh?"

"Yes…" she said hesitantly.

"Friends it is." He smiled at her and his smile only widened when he saw hers.

Yup, the bet was definitely the last thing on his mind at the moment.

XxXx

It was a warm morning, birds were chirping, Brooke's excited voice was humming along with a song playing in her ears next to Peyton who was subconsciously slipping into a comfortable state around the people she's currently surrounded with as she lost herself in sketching away in her sketchbook.

The background noises weren't unfamiliar anymore, between the birds, Brooke's off-tone humming, and the whispers of Haley, Julian, and occasionally Lucas who were exchanging notes for their next class together, and she didn't really think about it, but, a week ago, she would have called this exactly the kind of situations that would stress her, being around people and having to act like nothing is wrong.

But truth be told, Ian did actually make her a favor, all this time she was scared of facing him, of falling back for his tricks and false charm. But on actually facing him, she didn't fall for it for a second, she knew she isn't the same person anymore, that she's stronger than she gave herself credit, and therefore, she started getting a bit calmer, hence taking the decision of actually befriending the boys she tended to push away, and let herself relax more and worry less… and the fact that Ian has stopped calling her helped to give her some peace as well.

She was sketching with a red pen, and this was the first time in a while she didn't use black pen or charcoal for her sketches… let alone actually paint something now that one didn't happen for a long time.

She looked up for no reason but the direction her eyes took let her realize it was one of those times you look when someone is looking at you, and sure enough, it was the blue eyes of the blond Scott she was slowly growing familiar with. He was sitting beside Haley who was talking to him and Julian and although his body was directed towards them indicating he's on board with the same conversation, but his mind was somewhere else.

She couldn't help the small smile that crept to her lips seeing his own smile. She shook her head questioningly and he nodded towards her sketchbook silently asking what she's drawing and she shrugged as an answer…

He was about to silently demand something else when Haley threw a direct question at him, "… right, Lucas?"

"Huh? Oh… yeah… right… has to be Shakespeare."

Haley looked at him dumbfounded and he knew she must have been asking about something else; why did he have to put in a name, he could have just agreed! "Shakespeare is the special guest prof. Landon is bringing along? Himself?" she clarified as Julian laughed while Peyton smirked at Lucas' face.

"Haven't you heard of hologram?" he said just to save face and she shook her head while Peyton continued pretending that nothing happened as she kept her head down facing her sketchbook.

The only one who has seen the entire encounter but kept to herself was Brooke.

There wasn't enough time for further words though when they were joined by Nathan, Jack, and for some reason Rachel.

"Don't you three do anything besides studying?" Nathan teased Lucas, Julian, and Haley.

"Don't you do anything but be an ass?" Haley retorted back.

"Jeez. Childish much?"

She mimicked him mockingly as he rolled his eyes.

Brooke noticed Rachel's looks and for the first time she didn't see that annoying smirk on her face, she was looking at Nathan with a smile one second then the smile turned into a frown the next when Haley spoke. And that was worthy of Brooke's attention; she knows Rachel best around this group of people, sure they are not really friends, but she's her roommate and Rachel has been finding one reason or the other to hang around them lately, and so, this definitely meant something in Brooke's mind, and she didn't want to name it for sure just yet… but she was sure going to keep her eyes on the untrustworthy redhead.

It seemed like Rachel soon regained her composure as she turned around returning the smirk back to her lips and began talking to Jack, and that's when Brooke knew she has to take an action.

All of a sudden Brooke was up, and jumping across the table against Jack who caught her midair in spite of being surprised just as much as everyone else.

"Whoa, what's that about?"

"I have a lecture. Walk me?" She said innocently with a smile on her face.

Jack looked at her for a couple of seconds as if she's crazy, but then again, this was the Brooke he grew up with, and this was totally normal of her, he chuckled with a nod, "Sure. Come on." He said swinging his arm around her shoulder casually.

Rachel wasn't oblivious to what Brooke was doing; it wasn't a coincidence that she always jumps out of the blue whenever she's talking to Jack. And even though Rachel thought she doesn't have to do so since Jack wasn't at the top of her list of guys to score, but it is always a good thing to know where Brooke's interests lie.

And she was almost positive that she wasn't the only one noticing this, for one she knows that the nerdy girl knows for sure, however, she doesn't reckon that Peyton does, while her look says that she's picking up on it. She could even tell that the guys are thinking about it too, so basically everyone is noticing Brooke's little crush. Everyone but Jack himself, sadly for Brooke.

"I have to go too. Thankfully." Haley announced getting up and gathering her stuff.

"Yeah, we better get going." Julian agreed mimicking her actions with Lucas following shortly.

"Hey, Peyton," Lucas looked at her before going as she looked up from her sketchbook questioningly, "Do you have a shift tonight?"

"Yeah," she shrugged, "Why?"

"Nothing," he shrugged with a smirk, "I was just missing my usual."

"Oh, now it's your usual?"

"Uh-huh. Expect me… anytime." He said and she could swear she saw him wink at her while turning around to catch up with Haley and Julian.

"So, it's just us then." Rachel said taking her place next to Nathan who sat in front of Peyton.

"What's so special about that restaurant of yours?" Nathan frowned looking at Peyton; it seemed like Lucas was successful in leaving him with Peyton there with a disturbed mood.

"Nothing." She chuckled, "Although some would say the mushroom burger is one of the best."

"Is that what he gets?" Nathan raised an eyebrow pointing at the general direction Lucas went, "He hates mushrooms in burgers."

"No, it's not." She shook her head, "It's not a big deal anyway, he's just being... well, a Scott?" She said unsure with a hint of a smirk as he smiled.

"Well, it's a good thing to be a Scott. And right now, I want to insult him."

"Ugh, whatever, go sort your family problems away from me." She said and even though she said it's not a big deal, Nathan really didn't like it, it was like they were having an inside joke, and he certainly didn't like this.

"So, you have finally accepted them around." Rachel gave a small laugh as Peyton looked at her with a frown; she was really starting to get Brooke's point of view about this girl.

"She's always been a fan." Nathan said with a smirk rescuing her from having to come up with a mean comeback without sounding too offended… which she was along with a bit embarrassed. She knows it's not okay to have someone shake her inside like that, but her defense is that she's working on it.

"You wish." She rolled her eyes at him despite her inner thoughts.

Rachel may have not been around for too long herself, and she knows that they don't really trust her, well at least the girls based on Brooke's opinion of her, she is aware of this of course, but she's liking that combination too far to give up being a part of it, she knew from day one that Brooke is going to form an interesting group of friends, and she did. Brooke was a fun girl and she was best friends with a hot basketball player, so it was only about time… and it was.

Hearing about Peyton's fight at the party absolutely caught her attention, especially knowing that she was there with Brooke in the first place, and again, she wasn't wrong.

Brooke knew that, and she told Peyton and Haley that she's only sticking around because she thinks things are interesting and she wants to be a part of it, and even though Peyton knew it was true, she just didn't want it, she didn't want things to be interesting in the first place, because it seemed like whenever they were, she was in the middle of it, and she just wanted peace.

However, it has been quiet for the past week, and apart from Rachel -who they were capable of handling after all- life has been going smoothly. Even the annoying occasional flirting from either Nathan or Lucas, she was handling it…

That same afternoon, she was busily waiting three tables when Lindsey approached her with a big cheerful smile stopping her midway before she went into the hall,

"He's here again. And he's brought some treats." She said excitedly.

"What?"

"The cute guy from the other day…" she reminded her but Peyton still looked at her blankly, half-wondering what the hell she's talking about and half-annoyed that she is wasting her time on something that she probably won't give a shit about.

Lindsey rolled her eyes, "The blonde guy who left that very generous tip."

Lucas!

Realization hit her as she opened her mouth in an O-shape. And then she smiled at the fact that he actually came.

"The table is mine this time though." She gave a smirk, "And he's got some hot guys along, apparently birds that look together flock together or however it's said…" she laughed before grabbing her note and heading out in the direction of their table while Peyton followed in the other direction with the tray she was holding and once delivered to the right table she went back trying to catch sight of the said table in the other side of the restaurant.

And sure enough, from where she was standing, she saw Lindsey standing by a table that had Lucas, Nathan, Julian, and Jack around it. And she saw Lindsey's flirtatious look that she saw her give customers before. She found herself wondering which one Lindsey was aiming the look for today, but then, her question was quickly answered when Lindsey giggled out loud at something Lucas said and it left Peyton with a frown. It obviously surprised him and the other guys too who looked amused.

Peyton turned around when she heard an 'excuse me' and was thankful to see that one of the tables is done and that left her with only two for now, and maybe she can now go say hi to her friends.

Once done with cleaning up, she looked back there again and Lindsey now was giving them what they ordered, and as she was heading there, she stopped in her tracks when things escalated over there, she saw Lindsey 'accidentally' spill the drink she was placing on the table, and surely enough, it was spilled over Lucas.

She saw Lindsey apologizing while getting dangerously close to Lucas who was now on his feet. Peyton couldn't hear what they were saying but she knew the way Lindsey is talking all too well; she was flirting. She was frowning as she kept watching the scene unravel; who does that? Well, she'd absolutely be furious if someone ruined her shirt like that for being clumsy -or faking being clumsy, because she knew as hell that was the case, but there he was acting all nice, and touching her arms to calm her down while she was going frenzy about the fact that she's 'messed up'.

That, that right there was exactly what annoyed Peyton about the other blonde girl.

She saw him stepping aside from Lindsey as she pointed in her general direction; and she knew he must be asking for the bathroom, which he would have to pass through her to get to, so, she quickly cleared the area taking the hallway leading towards the backdoor, as she opened it without hesitation to find herself in the now semi-dark empty back alley.

Then, she stopped wide-eyed thoughtfully; why did she just do this? Why did she run away? Why was she spying on the whole scene without showing herself in the first place? No, why was she annoyed right now?

Well, Lindsey was never her favorite person in the world, and sure, she's just started being friends with these guys, but, still, somehow, she found Lindsey's actions… well, she can't find a word for it, all she knew was that it irritated the hell out of her.

And, what made it all the more annoying is that it didn't annoy them as much. It didn't annoy Lucas as much, if at all. He was so fine with it; oh, well, why wouldn't he? After all, Lindsey is nice. Way too nice. She knows it, she intends it, and it's her game with guys.

"Peyton,"

She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth for a second before turning around to meet the cheerful voice and the glistening eyes of no one other than Ms. Perfect herself.

"What are you doing here? We have been looking for you."

"We?" she frowned her stomach doing an unreasonable flip.

"Yeah, me and Steve. Your table was leaving, he took care of it though."

She couldn't help rolling her eyes, "Yeah, just taking a break!" she said, "I'll be there in a minute."

Lindsey nodded quickly not really caring about this and instead jumped to what she was there to say, "You didn't tell me you were friends with such hotshots." She squealed punching her shoulder playfully.

"Not really." She shook her head, not at all interested in having such a conversation and was mentally looking for a polite way to tell Lindsey to just leave her the hell alone for now…

"Oh, quit being modest."

"They're not from the royal family!" she rolled her eyes.

"But just as handsome." Lindsey said sweetly with a slow shoulder shrug. "Anyway, I just messed up spilling drinks all over the hot blond one, what's his name?"

"Lucas." She replied through gritted teeth.

"I know, silly, I mean full name."

"Scott. It's Lucas Scott. Basketball player, and his cousin is too. Nathan."

Lindsey gasped, "Ooooh, now I might have to start following sports. Well, anyway, I gotta go check on 'em and see if there's a way I can make it up for Mr. Scott." She giggled and jogged back inside leaving Peyton glaring fire at the back of her head.

She growled loudly and rested her head against the wall with closed eyes, the girl has always been so flirty, so nice, so perfect and so very annoying.

But what freaked out Peyton the most was that as annoying as she has always been, she never felt like biting her head off like she is feeling now.