Part 1
Peyton walked up the stairs to the person she feared most at the moment, Brooke. As she walked up the stairs, flashbacks of their childhood consumed her thoughts. Memories of the times that Brooke was there for her; The time that Peyton was devastated when her mom died and how Brooke was there for her and made her feel better. All the times when she was sad and depressed, Brooke was always there to make her smile.
'And now I'm backstabbing her and causing her pain,' Peyton thought to herself as she reached the top of the stairs and now began to walk down the hallway.
Peyton abruptly commenced to walk slower and took more small steps, but she couldn't stop from confronting Brooke. She knew she couldn't stall any longer and now all the steps were taken and she now stood in front of her door. She hesitated, but she knew that she had to face up to her. She reached for the door and turned the door handle. She saw Brooke laying on the bed with a magazine in hand, flipping through the pages. She didn't look up.
"Um…Brooke," Peyton said awkwardly while shifting from foot to foot as she did in many occasions when she was nervous.
Brooke ignored her and kept her head faced down pretending to read a page in the magazine.
"Brooke," Peyton called out again, less uneasy.
Brooke kept her face down as she read an article in the magazine.
"Brooke!" Peyton cried out again, frustrated and mad now.
"WHAT?" Brooke answered madly as she lifted her head up and looked at her.
"I'm sorry," Peyton simply said as she looked at her with an ashamed look.
"Sorry you got caught," Brooke answered as she looked at Peyton dead on.
"I didn't mean to hurt you…it just happened," Peyton answered, as she stood motionless.
"Just happened huh?" Brooke repeated rather than asked.
She dropped her head back down to her magazine and ignored Peyton.
"You're going to have to talk to me sooner or later," Peyton told her.
"You mean to go back to the way things where? When I used to be the peppy one and you were the troubled artist who liked the same guy?" Brooke asked her as she looked up at her and got off her bead. She now was level to Peyton.
"I'm sorry!…GOD I'M SOOO SORRY," Peyton told her.
"Save me the heart ache. You know I thought it mattered that we were best friends. You know guys come and go, but friends last forever," she told her. "At least that was what I thought," she added.
"Brooke…you don't even know how much I regret going behind your back and doing what I did," Peyton told her frustrated. "I know that I shouldn't have done that…but I can't control how I feel."
"And how do you feel?" Brooke asked interested, but mad at the same time.
"I dunno…all I know is that I can't deny the chemistry that exists between us. He just…I don't know how to explain it…but all I really know that is that I really like him and he makes me happy and I can't betray myself like I've already betrayed you."
"Well that makes me so ecstatic to know," Brooke answered annoyed.
"Brooke," Peyton answered mad. "All my life I have given you everything you ever wanted. If you wanted to go to a party, I went. If you wanted to borrow some of my clothes, I lent them to you. Even if you wanted a guy, I would give him to you. But now it's my turn to get something that I want. All my life, you were the one that got everything you wanted and now, I believe, that it's my turn to be happy by getting what I want."
"What you want?" Brooke asked.
"Brooke did you even know that since I broke up with Nathan, things have been so bad? Why didn't you pay attention when I wouldn't go out with you? Because I was depressed. I've been sad and frustrated that I believed that I could never been happy. With Nathan it was just lust; we just used each other for our own sexual pleasures. And now look at him," I yelled, "he's happy and he seems like he is a different person. And all it took was a couple of days! If you were really my friend then you would understand. I'm not asking for your forgiveness because I know that I hurt you really bad, but I'm asking you to understand that I also need to be happy and if you don't understand that, then I really don't think we were really even best friends to begin with," she finished as she turned around and began to open the door.
Brooke stood stunned at all the things that Peyton said. She never really paid any attention to how she was feeling lately; all she cared about was getting Lucas.
'And look how that ended up?'
Now she began to understand why she had appeared to say no when she requested that they go out. She now knew that Peyton was depressed because she never really had someone to be there for her and not judge her. She just needed someone to support her.
'God I've been so clueless,' Brooke told herself as she smacked her head.
She saw that Peyton was now exiting the room.
"Wait…Peyton!" Brooke yelled as she grabbed her arm.
Peyton stopped and turned around to face her.
"Yes?"
"I do want to continue being friends," she began to tell her as she noticed her face begin to lift up, "but it's going to take time for me to begin to trust you and to accept that you and Lucas are together now."
"That's all I ask…for a chance," she answered as she got closer to her, not knowing if she should give her a hug or not.
However to her surprise, Brooke gave her a hug.
"Just a couple of rules…1, you don't kiss in front of me 'cause that would be too weird and 2, never talk to me about your hot and steamy make out sessions," she stated as she got a disgusted look on her face.
"That's a deal," Peyton answered as she hugged her best friend.
Part 2
Nathan woke up four hours later noticing that it became dark outside. He looked over at Haley by his side and observed her peaceful form. He leaned in, close to her, and kissed her neck. She began to move a little, but Nathan continued to kiss her and he began to trail kisses from her neck to her lips. When he finally reached her lips, he pulled away.
"Oh, don't stop," she mumbled as she opened her eyes and looked up at Nathan.
"Sorry Hales, time for you to wake up," he told her. "So how are you feeling?"
"Like I just got hit by a car," she stated, "but you kisses did make me feel better," she replied as she began to get up.
"I am glad that my kisses helped you out," Nathan responded as a smile appeared on his face.
"So am I going to wake up next to you every day now?" she asked him, remembering the past three nights.
"Looks like," he replied, "I'm irresistible James. You've learned that," he said as he kissed her lightly on the lips.
She sat motionless for a while, thinking.
"What's up Haley?" he asked her confused of her sudden quietness.
"Where do we stand from here? What are we? Friends? Together?" she asked him, rapidly. "When we get back at Tree Hill, are you going to ignore me once I step out of the car and act like nothing ever happened?"
"What?" Nathan asked amazed at Haley's thoughts. "Haley… I don't know how to be a boyfriend. Just ask Peyton. I screw up a lot and I know that I'm not good at it," he said as he saw Haley's head fall in disappointment, "but I'm willing to learn. I don't want to be that guy anymore," he added as he saw Haley's face go up with a smile spread on her face. "Like I told you yesterday, I'm falling for you Haley…I'm falling for you hard. I REALLY like you and I'm ready to learn how to be better for you. I want to be good enough to be seen with you."
"What about your friends?" Haley asked, "Do you care what they think?" she asked a little uneasy.
"I don't care about them. A relationship is between two people and two people only. My friends don't decide who I get to be in a relationship or who I CAN'T be in a relationship with," he said as he got closer to Haley and grabbed her hand.
Haley looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes.
"Are you sure?" Haley asked him as she looked intently at him.
Suddenly, Nathan's lips crashed on tops of hers and she replied by kissing him back.
"Does that answer your question?" he asked as he pulled away from their passionate kiss.
"I don't know, I'm still a little unclear," she responded with a smirk.
"Well let me clear that you with you," he replied as he leaned in again and met in an electrifying kiss.
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AN: Hey you guys…two chapters to go and it's the end…tear… Well thanks for reading and PLZ review!