Author's Note: Sorry I know it's been a while, but I was stuck with this story. So I decided to try and change it a bit. Tell me what you think and review.

((I own nothing when it comes to One Tree Hill))

"I'm home!" Nathan said yelling to no one in particular. He knew that Lucas and Haley were off somewhere having their "talk" and since no one else lived there he wasn't really expecting an answer.

"Hello son." Dan said with a smile.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nathan asked.

"It's a nice place you got here. I mean nice place that you and Lucas have here. I can't forget him now can I?" Dan said with a smirk.

"You did a fine job at forgetting him for the first 16 years of his life, so I don't see how it would be hard for you now. Nathan said with a matching smirk. He was getting sick of getting upset every time Dan visited so he decided that two people could play this game.

Dan's smirk disappeared at Nathan's words. This wasn't going to be as fun as he had thought.

"Listen son. You need to come home. Give up the game. You won ok. Are you happy? You beat you're dear old dad at something. So just come home, I know your mom wants you home too."

"It was never about beating you dad! God, you're the one that always had to be better than me at basketball and at everything. Well guess what? I'm am doing more that fine on my own so you can just turn around and walk out the door."

"You're right. You're doing so great on your own that your wife cheated on you with your brother." Dan said with a smirk, knowing that he had hit a nerve.

"At least she didn't marry me just because she was knocked up. She married me because she loved me and that's more than I can say for you and mom."

"Love isn't enough son." Dan said in a humbled voice. Nathan had won this battle, but it wasn't over yet.

"Yeah well it seems that having a kid isn't enough either." Nathan countered, opening the door. "I think you know your way out."

"This isn't over Nathan." Dan whispered as he passed his son.

Nathan's only response was to slam the door in Dan's face. He was so sick of his family. He had gotten emancipated to get away from his family and all the drama, yet now it seemed like they got to him even more than before. He knew that he didn't feel like staying home, so he ran through the list of people he could call to hang out with.

'Haley, no way in hell' he thought with a bitter laugh. Lucas normally would have been a yes, but what Dan said had hit a nerve and he didn't want to risk saying something he might regret later. Tim was also a no because he really didn't have the patience to hang out with him. Brooke was a maybe. She was always fun to hang out with, but Nathan knew her idea of fun was something loud and crazy and he wasn't in the mood for that. Then it hit him. 'Peyton.' She was perfect. She knew all about his family and she tended to know how to cheer him up after this sort of thing without being excessive.

"Hey Peyton? It's Nathan."

"So um, I like the way you're styling your hair." Lucas said trying hard to make conversation.

Haley's only response was to raise an eyebrow. It killed her that it was this awkward between the two of them, but it made her feel worse that she was the cause.

"Okay look Haley about the whole thing that happened. I love you Haley."

"But only as a friend, yeah I get it Lucas." Haley said trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"No as more than a friend. But" Lucas said quickly seeing Haley's smile "nothing can happen between us, at least not for a very long while. It wouldn't be fair to Nathan."

"You're so right about that Luke." Haley said with a small smile on her lips. "So you like me huh? I always knew that you had a thing for me." She said with a grin.

"Oh please! You're the one that threw yourself at me!" Lucas said laughing.

"I did not!" Haley said laughing as well. So what if nothing could happen between them for a while. They could still be best friends.

Peyton wanted to say that she had been surprised when Nathan had called, but that would have been the understatement of the year. It seemed like so many things had changed in the past year. Yet her she was making a drive that gave her extreme déjà vu of the beginning of that same year. 'God it's freezing out here' she thought as she pulled into Nathan's driveway.

Upon entering Nathan's apartment Peyton wasn't surprised that no one seemed to be here. He was more than likely in bed with the covers pulled all the way up cursing the whole world. When she entered the bedroom she knew she was right.

"Nathan Scott, off your ass right now!" She said screaming as loud as she could.

"Jesus Peyton!" Nathan said jumping a foot high.

"Gotcha!" Peyton said still laughing. "Now move over." She instructed. Nathan obliged and she snuggled under the covers. Once she was comfortable she turned and faced him. "So what's up?"

Nathan shook his head. Peyton looked way too normal laying there. It was like all those mornings when they would wake up together after he "rocked her world" as he used to say. God he was such a loser back then. "Nothing." He said as he too, wiggled his way under the blanket.

"Ok." Peyton said with a disbelieving look on her face. She decided to let it go though. "Geez Scott don't you know what heating is." she said trying to get further under the covers and find some warmth.

"Well we could always use body warmth." Nathan said raising his eyebrows and wiggled them for effect.

"Eww Nate!" Peyton said cracking up.

"What?" he asked innocently. But he couldn't hold his serious face for long. He loved Peyton's laugh and it always seemed to make him laugh, so he did just that. He laughed with her. And for a while Nathan forgot all about his family and all the drama that surrounded his life.