Thank you everyone for your reviews. I've always been interested in Nathan and Peyton's relationship prior to what we were shown.

Chapter 2

After Nathan's phone call, Peyton went back to work on her drawings. She was thankful everyday that she had some sort of way to vent her feelings. She wasn't much of a bare-your-soul kind of girl and drawing helped her make sense of life or at least parts of it.

"What's up Blondie?" A cheerful voice filled the room and Peyton smiled as she looked up and greeted her best friend.

"What are you up to Brooke? I figured you'd be hitting the party circuit by now."

"Oh, I will be. I was just seeing what my bestest friend was up to tonight. I missed you after school today."

"Yeah, I was in the art room."

"Of course," Brooke said rolling her eyes. "I don't know what you get out of that dark and dreary artwork of yours. It just brings me down. So you and Nate got plans tonight?"

"He's having dinner with his dad and his grandpa."

"Now if that doesn't sound like a recipe for disaster, I don't know what does. Why would he want to sit through all that when he could spend the evening with the second hottest girl in Tree Hill?"

"I don't think he had much of a choice in the matter."

"Guess not. So what are your plans?" Peyton held up her sketchbook. "I see. You want to come with? There's plenty of fun to be had without Nathan Scott."

"Thanks, but I'm kind of tired."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm just not in a party mood."

"We could go to a movie or something, if you want instead?" Brooke offered.

"What is this? Brooke Davis offering to give up her Friday night of boys and booze for a movie?"

"Not just a movie. A movie with you. I was thinking today in study hall that we haven't really hung out lately."

"We hang out all the time."

"No. Me, you, Nathan, Tim, and half the basketball team hang out. We haven't had any girl time."

"And you're sure this is how you want to spend your Friday night?"

"Why is that so hard to believe? I'm more than just sex and booze. So what do you say, Peyt?"

"What do you want to see?" Peyton asked setting down her sketchbook. Brooke smiled triumphantly.
"Something with hot boys in it."

"I thought there was more to you than boys and booze." Peyton teased.

"There is, but what else do you want to look out for two hours?"

"True."

"Well, let's go friend."

"Thank, Brooke."

"For what?"

"For being my friend."

"Always, P. Sawyer, always."

Both girls smiled and left for the theater.

It was half past twelve when Peyton got back to her house. Brooke was going to a party, but Peyton had opted out. She really was tired and as much as she enjoyed spending time with Brooke tonight, she missed Nathan. She never thought she'd be the kind of girl to get hung up on a guy, but Nathan brought out something in her. He made her feel alive and passionate.

When she walked into her room, she was surprised to see him stretched out across her bed asleep. She smiled and set her bag down before crawling on the bed next to him. She watched him as he slept, it was only then that she realized how young he was, how young she was. It seemed that they both were fighting against the world, but watching him sleep, he looked like an innocent sixteen year old boy with nothing to worry about. She leaned down and placed a light kiss on his lips. It was enough to wake him.

"Hey," he said opening his eyes. She smiled and he kissed her. "Where you been?"

"At the movies with Brooke."

"Davis?" Brooke wasn't the Friday night movie kind of girl. She was known for her wild streak. "How'd you talk her into that?"

"I didn't. She came by and asked."

"That's interesting."

"I thought so too."

"So what did you see?"

"The new Brad Pitt movie."

"Any good?"

"I wouldn't know. Brooke couldn't stop talking about his rock solid abs and how no one around here looked nearly that good."

"She would know."

"So how was dinner?" Nathan rolled his eyes. "That bad?"

"It's like everything is a competition with them. Who scored the most in game six of their freshman season, who's business is making more money, who's wife is a better cook. They can't let anything just be."

"I'm sorry," she said rubbing his back gently. He smiled, thankful that someone understood where he was coming from. "So have you been here long?"

"Not really."

"I'm glad you came by."

"Well, I didn't have much of a choice. All through dinner and the two hour conversation that followed, I couldn't think about anything other than you and shower. That little offer you gave earlier had definite staying power."

"It did, did it?" He nodded and pulled her on top of him. His hands sliding slowly up the very familiar legs of his girlfriend and his mind thanking the stars that she loved mini-skirts just as much as he did. Eventually, he brought his hands to her face, rubbing her cheek gently with his thumb as he kissed her hard. The sex they had together was full of passion and desire. It was rough and it was sometimes painful, but there were little things, like rubbing her cheek, that he did to remind her that he remembered. He remembered why they were together, what it was like the first time they had clumsily stumbled down the road of sex, and most importantly he wanted her to remember that he wasn't going to leave. He knew that's what she was afraid of and he didn't want her to be afraid anymore, at least not with him. So while she was nipping lightly on his neck and digging her nails into his back, he was doing the little things that he knew made her feel safe. Because as much as he didn't want to admit it to anyone, he liked her, even in all her punk and disorderly glory. He liked her.