Chapter 3: Don't Tell...

Ethan and Brooke decided to stop by a nearby Starbucks for coffee before they proceeded to school. Once Ethan has parked his car, Brooke jumped out and hurriedly made her way to main building. "Babe, catch 'ya later. I'm late for class!" she said as she kept walking towards the building.

Ethan ran after her, "Brooke!"

Brooke suddenly turned around and faced her boyfriend who was holding up a pink bag in his hand. Brooke realized she forgot her handbag in the car and ran over to Ethan. As she reached him, she grabbed the bag and gave him a quick kiss, "Thanks babe."

Ethan just smiled as he nodded, "Are you sure you don't want me there?"

Brooke smiled and looked over her shoulder, "No, I want you to go to your soccer practice and think about me." With that, she hurriedly rushed to class.

Ms Wringley had started to give the students an overview of her class. "Aside from lectures in this classroom, we would also be doing some laboratory work every Wednesdays," she explained to her students who were clearly not enjoying her class.

Lucas just looked down at his desk. He couldn't take Peyton's image out of his head. He kept wishing for his biology class to end. He planned to walk around the hallway and look for the girl who passed by his classroom earlier. He needed to know if it was really her. What is isn't sure, though, is how he would react upon seeing her. He really didn't know what to say. He also realized that perhaps Peyton didn't want to see him. "I wish there was another way of figuring out if that was really her, "he sadly thought as he drummed his fingers on his desk in boredom.

Brooke peeked from the glass window on the classroom door. She caught sight of the middle-age woman addressing the class. "Damn, I 'gotta get in without being noticed," she thought as she looked for an opportunity to sneak in. As soon as the teacher turned to scribble something on the blackboard, Brooke realized this was her chance. She immediately but carefully opened the door and rushed to the first empty seat she saw. It was beside a guy with a dirty blond hair. "His hair looks just like..." she thought as she sat down and smiled politely at the teacher who faced the class again. The guy beside him didn't seem to notice her sneaking in. Brooke wanted to take a glance at him, but realized it wouldn't be the right time since their professor was looking at their direction.

Something inside her told her to talk to him. Brooke kept her eyes to the front of the class as she spoke to the guy beside her, "So, how long has she been up there?"

Without looking up, Lucas replied, "A couple of minutes, I think. I could care less really, I've been dying to get 'outta here for awhile now."

Brooke just laughed. "Yeah, she's making me wish I never stepped in. By the way I'm..." She turned toward the guy's direction and was about to introduce herself when she suddenly realized who she's been sitting next to all along. "Oh my God...Lucas!" she exclaimed. She didn't realize she spoke out pretty loud, catching the attention of Ms Wringley.

"Is there a problem there?" the biology professor asked in annoyance.

Brooke gave her a sweet smile as she shook her head, "Umm, nothing...we were just..."

Lucas suddenly finished her sentence, "Getting acquainted." He turned to her who smiled gratefully at him. "I guess that really was Peyton," he thought.

Nathan was surprised to find himself not having as much difficulty in geometry as he did in high school. "I guess I owe this to Haley, "he thought as he tried to listen to the class lecture. At the same time, however, he couldn't help but let his mind drift off back in time. He remembered wanting so bad for his class period to end, then he would run out into the hallway to meet up with Haley. She would be by her lockers at that time. He would come up to her and she would have a wide grin on her face upon seeing him She would then wrap her arms around his neck and give him a long, passionate kiss. Nathan remembered feeling like the luckiest man alive every time she does that.

At that moment, Nathan found himself longing for someone. "I really wish that was her...."he silently hoped. He planned to make things right between them. Suddenly, he realized she just might not take him back. After all, he caused her so much pain. "I've been a real jerk...just like my dad," he sadly thought as he let out a sigh.

Finally, his class was over. His thoughts were still running deep as he gathered his stuff and stepped out of the classroom. As much as he was hoping to see Haley around the campus, he couldn't help but worry about how she was going to react upon seeing him. "She's probably 'gonna glare at me and tell me to forget that we've ever meant anything to each other," he thought sadly as he continued to walk down the hallway. He was actually taking his next class with his brother. He hurriedly made his way to class as his mind continued to drift elsewhere.

The thought of running into Haley made him quite anxious. He kept his head down as he walked along the crowded hallway. He didn't think he could face her. He wants to see her, but he doesn't want her to see him. "If ever she's here, I guess I'll just be the lover from afar," he sadly told himself as he continued to make his way with his big duffel bag swinging from his arms as he walked.

Suddenly, he bumped into someone. It was a girl with curly blond hair and she was looking pretty mad at him. He could feel the girl was about to turn around and he planned to just mutter out a sorry and not even bother to turn towards her. Then, he heard the girl calling out to him, "Hey, watch...Nathan?"

The voice sounded very familiar and Nathan completely stopped on his tracks. He turned around and saw the girl he bumped into was another ex-girlfriend of his. "Peyton, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking," he immediately apologized.

Peyton just laughed, "Some things never change, you can still be so insensitve."

Nathan found himself laughing too, "Well, I guess you can say that. I guess you go here too?"

Peyton smiled and nodded, "Yeah and so does...." Peyton suddenly felt unsure about whether to continue the sentence or not. In the end, she decided to blurt out the name anyway, "Haley, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring her up."

Nathan understood and smiled, "That's alright. Just do me a favor Peyt, don't tell her I'm here. I still don't know how to face her, you know?"

Peyton nodded understandingly at him, "Well, I'm pretty sure Lucas is here since...you're here. So, I would have to ask you to do the same for me."

Nathan hated the thought of hiding Peyton's presence from his brother, but he knew better than to interfere with Lucas and Peyton's problems. After all, he's got problems with Haley himself. Nathan just nodded, "I won't tell him. I guess I'll see you around."

Peyton smiled gratefully and started to walk her way, "Yeah, it's good to see you Nathan."

Nathan smiled warmly at her, "Yeah, you too Peyt." With that, the two headed their own ways. Nathan immediately felt a mix of emotions going through him. "She's here...what am I 'gonna do now?" he kept asking himself as he made his way to class.

Meanwhile, a smile creeped onto Peyton's face as she walked to her next class. "He's here!" she happily thought. Ever since she graduated from Tree Hill High, she promised herself that she would never allow Lucas to see her. It's not that she doesn't want him in her life. It's just that, everytime he looks into her eyes, Lucas makes her feel so vulnerable and she's not sure she can handle that....

A/N: Thank you so much for the continued reviews that I've been getting. I'm still developing this story in my head...and I just hope you'll like what I'll come up with for the succeeding chapters. Again, thank you so much! =)