Summary: Takes place after episode 10, "Don't Take Me for Granted.
Notes: There's about a million ways that things can pick up after this episode and this is just my story of how I would like to see it all play out.
Rating: PG at least for now.
From the Damage
Chapter 1
Lucas left Peyton's feeling defeated. He knew he hadn't been a friend to her like he had promised. He'd tried, but between Anna and other things and people that had been on his mind lately, he hadn't made the time. Now, he realized just how much he should have. He never thought she was hurting so deeply. When he saw her she never seemed unhappy. She just seemed like Peyton and he used to believe that he could read her and understand her. However, today he realized that wasn't the case. And it never really had been. He hadn't been able to read her the night at Dan's house when he told her he wanted everything, he hadn't been able to read her the days before she showed up at his house when Brooke was already there, and he hadn't been able to read her at all since he'd gotten back. Maybe, just maybe, what he thought was there, wasn't. Maybe he couldn't save her anymore than Nathan could. He knew she needed help though and if nothing else his visit today had showed him he it was Peyton needed now.
As he got in his truck, he dialed a familiar number and was relieved to hear the other voice after only two rings.
"Hey."
"Hey, man. How're things going? You good?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. But someone else isn't. I think its time you reconsider that whole she's better off without me mentality."
"Oh."
"I know you thought you were doing the right thing and truthfully, so did I. But things are bad, Jake."
"Did you talk to her?"
"I tried, but she won't. She threw me out and I can't really blame her. I haven't exactly been too much of a friend."
"Try harder. Luke, you can't just give up because it's easy. You know how she is."
"See, that's the thing Jake. I don't think I do. Not anymore. And something happened at school. I just think it's too much and she really misses you."
"Did she say that?"
"Does she have to? You said she e-mails and writes all the time. And she's got drawings of you and Jenny in her room."
"So you think I should call her?"
"No. I think you should come back."
"Come back? Luke, I can't come back to Tree Hill. Me and Jenny are settled."
"I'm not saying you have to stay, but maybe visit. She needs you someone and after seeing her, I just don't think there's anyone here. You're her only hope."
"I'll think about it."
"Just come, Jake. Fast."
"I will." "Thanks."
"You are a good guy, Luke and a good friend to her. You called me and that counts for something."
"I hope so. I'll be seeing you."
----
Haley sat on the bench in front of the café for what seemed like hours. She'd had every intention of going home after the incident with Chris, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. His words played over and over in her head, "It was always there between us Haley, whether you admit it or not". She couldn't shake them and if she went home, Nathan would know something was wrong and she didn't want that. She didn't want him to worry about her any longer. So she decided to do the only thing she could. She had to talk to Chris.
He looked up just as she rounded the corner and she saw a smile fall across his previously dreary face. It seemed to stretch to his eyes.
"I knew you'd come."
"I was on my way to Nathan, and I just ended up here."
He smiled. His eyes twinkled again.
"You can feel it too."
"I feel it, Chris. But…"
"Then what are we waiting for? I have your ticket. Haley, your future is out there. There's a whole world waiting for you. All you have to do is take this ticket and my hand and then we're gone. You can live all your dreams, Haley."
"Chris, please. Just let me talk." She pleaded. He nodded in silence. "I do feel something when I look at you, but it's not what you think. I like working with you. You get that part of me that no one else does, but it's just a part Chris. It's not everything. And when I look at Nathan, I see everything."
"Not everything, Haley. You just said…"
"I said you get my music, but you don't get me. Not the way he does. When I look at you now, do you know what I feel?"
"The same as I feel when I look at you."
"And what is that?"
"Hope. Promise. Beauty."
"Those are great, but it's not the same. Because when I look at you, I feel ashamed. I feel small and I feel like just lost everything."
"You don't mean that. Haley, you wouldn't have been in that studio with me for hours, upon hours if that's how you felt."
"I didn't always feel that way. I enjoyed working with you, but not at the expense of my marriage. The thought of hurting Nathan and jeopardizing everything that we have together kills me. He's my life, Chris. I can live without the music, but I can't live without Nathan."
"Haley, I know you think that now, but you won't always. Music, it's in you."
"It is. And I won't have to live without it, because Nathan does to and he supports that part of my life and everything I do. But if I had to, I could. You can't be a part of my music, or my life anymore. It's just not worth it to me."
"Are you sure?"
"I am and thank you for all your help, but I can't be or do what it is that you want me to. I made vows to love him and to honor him and I'm not going to break them, nor do I want to. Good-bye, Chris. And good luck with everything."
She turned and left immediately.
"Good-bye, Haley" he whispered as he handed the lady his ticket and boarded the next bus out of Tree Hill, North Carolina.
----
Lucas took a deep breath as he started the walk across the yard. Just a few more minutes and he would be correcting the mistake he had made those few months ago. He was going to fix the relationship he had broken. He had to. Because the last few days had brought him clarity. When he had seen her sitting on that beach, the wind blowing her hair in the night sky, it was as if he could finally see what he wanted. He had been living in a fog, but seeing her made it all clear.
The earlier months had taught him a lot about visiting her late at night.
She was always alone. He hadn't once met or even seen a sign of a parental figure in her life. There was no need to worry about getting caught.
She left the door ajar at night before she went to bed. When he had asked her about it, she had explained that she like the feel of the fresh air. It somehow made the world seem lighter. She couldn't explain it with words, even though she tried. However, the look on her face while as she spoke about it was relaxed and peaceful.
She stayed up late. No matter what she had to do the next day or when she had to be up, she never went to bed before one. The night, she said, was when all was right in the world. Lovers were with the ones they cared about. Children were tucked safely in their bed. Artists were alone pouring out the emotions their muse had created during the hours of the day. It was peaceful.
Lucas knew now what she wanted. He had known it then, but not at the capacity he knew it now. Not after watching her from afar. He hadn't known her as well as he should have, but he wanted to know everything now. And it had to be now, because she was slipping away. Talking to Mouth had made him realize that other boys were going to fall for her. That other people were going to care about her and that one day, she was going to care for them as well. If he didn't tell her now how he felt, then one day it would be too late. He couldn't let it be too late for them, not when their hearts were the same.
As he approached her door, he heard voices. At first, he thought it was the television, but then he recognized the voices. It was Brooke and it was Felix.
Felix. Now, that was a guy he didn't like. Friends with Benefits? What was that? It wasn't Brooke, not the Brooke he knew. And that was supposed to be over. That's what she had told him.
"Okay." He barely heard it, but then he saw it. She was kissing him and he was kissing her. It was everything he had been trying to beat. She had opened her heart again. He was too late. His heart felt it. He stood there, watching when he knew he shouldn't and when he saw her smile up at him, he turned and walked away.
----
"You got some cash for me?" He asked. Peyton had expected it. She knew it wasn't going to be free. This was not the way she had intended on spending her money. She was supposed to be saving it for art school. Peyton reached into her pocket, but stopped when she heard the footsteps. When she looked up, the figure was foreign, probably just a kid out for a walk or something. But then the street light hit his face and she felt her heart skip a beat.
Jake. She smiled. He was here. Or was he? She blinked. He was still there. She smiled again.
"Jake." It was barely a whisper.
"Do you know this kid?" Rick questioned. She just nodded, unable to take her eyes off of him, afraid that if she did, he would be gone again. Rick took a closer look and realized he knew this kid as well. "Jake Jegelski."
"Rick." His tone was icy.
"So how's your girl, Nikki. I haven't seen her around."
"I wouldn't know."
"You…You know Rick?" Peyton asked softly. Jake nodded and Peyton looked away, ashamed.
"I think you're done here," He told Rick.
"I guess we are. For now at least. Take care, Jake. Blondie." He smiled and walked back to his car. Peyton and Jake stood in silence minutes after he had driven away.
She couldn't take it anymore. It didn't matter that he knew Rick or what he did. It didn't matter that she had just about given into the pressure. All that mattered was that he was here and he was real. She threw her arms around him and it didn't matter that he didn't hug her back right away. Because when he did, for at least those few moments, all was right in the world.
----
Nathan looked at the clock again. It had been an hour. He had spent the last hour sitting alone in the candle light, listening to romantic music he didn't especially care for fill the room, and checking the oven every five minutes to make sure he didn't burn their dinner. He hadn't been worried at first. Haley had called and said she was just about to leave the café. It didn't take an hour to get home and if she was going to be late she would have called.
He knew he hadn't been understanding or supportive when it came to Chris, but he couldn't shake the feeling the guy gave him. He wasn't safe and he had promised Haley he would protect her. It wasn't his fault if she couldn't see everything she needed protection from. It wasn't his ego that had caused him to demand she stop seeing him, it was the rumbling pit in his stomach that had. The same rumbling he had felt right before he'd popped those pills before the Cove City game. He was keeping her safe.
But was she? Why isn't she home? And why isn't she answering her cell? He'd called seven times and seven times he'd gotten her voice mail. Maybe she at the café and lost track of time. Nathan was in the kitchen, trying to find the phonebook when he heard the door open and his wife walk in.
"Hey. I was just about to call you."
Haley took in the scene in front of her. The candles, the music, the smell of her favorite dinner in the air. She thought she was going to be sick.
"We have to talk, Nathan."