Dressed in a pair of jeans and an old Ramones tee shirt, she pulled her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head. Her sneakers had definitely seen better days and she didn't even bother grabbing a jacket, though the weather warranted one. She wanted coffee. No, she needed coffee but there had been no time to make her own at home. She'd meant to grab a cup at Karen's Café on the way to school but quickly balked at that idea when she saw there was no parking. Peyton needed another ticket like she needed a hole in the head. Then there was always Starbucks but that would put her several miles out of the way from campus and she was already late. So Peyton had to face the beginning of her day without caffeine and it wasn't going well. She detested the class and wondered why she hadn't skipped in the first place.
"What do we say we ditch this place and something fun?" Brooke grinned as she caught up with her best friend in the all.
"Fun? Let's see, what could be Brooke Davis' idea of a day of fun? Could it be…oh, I don't know…shopping?"
"Bingo, P. Sawyer. You know me too well. And not just shopping but a full day of glamour. I mean, the works. Manicures, pedicures and facials. What do you say?"
Peyton shrugged. Brooke's plan definitely sounded better than a lame schedule of classes. Besides, she hadn't hung out with just Brooke in a while. It would be fun to catch up and waste the day away getting pampered like they used to.
"Okay. You talked me into it. I'll drive. You don't touch the radio."
Brooke laughed as they dashed outside to the car. Peyton saw it first and stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn't believe it. Her car! Her beloved car! The windows were smashed and all four tires appeared to be slashed. The girls approached closer. Then they saw the red spray paint on the hood. DYKE it said in huge letters. Peyton was stunned! It was mid morning on a school day in the busiest lot on campus. Less than two hours before, she had parked and everything had been fine. Now this. A small crowd had formed. Most of the onlookers were just as shocked. They whispered and a few even had the nerve to snicker.
"What happened, Pey?"
Lucas had joined them.
"I don't know", she said. "I don't know."
"You guys okay?"
"Yeah", Brooke said softly. "We just walked out and saw this."
Peyton fought back tears of anger, frustration and humiliation. Brooke wrapped a protective and sympathetic arm around her. Her entire body trembled beneath her friend's embrace.
"Why would someone do this?" she whispered.
"Any idea who it could have been?" Lucas sighed
"No, I…"
"It's okay. It's cool", he said, pulling out his cell. "I'll call Keith and get an emergency tow."
Peyton nodded and sat on the curb, her head in her hands. People continued to walk by and gawk. It made her mad. Where were they when her vehicle was getting vandalized? Someone had to see something. Where the hell was campus security?
"Damn. You know, I knew I had been getting some weird looks lately but I tried not to pay attention to it. Now it all makes sense. The stares, the whispers….dude, this is bullshit!"
"It's not that bad…"
"Brooke!"
"What? Come on. The old P. Sawyer would have just rolled with this. Nobody takes this crap seriously anyway."
"Do you think this is a goddamned joked? Look at my fucking car, Brooke!"
"Sorry. I was just trying to make you feel better. Guess, I'm pretty lousy at it, huh? Look Pey, whatever you need, I'm here for you. Lucas and I both are."
Brooke gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Just then Keith pulled up in the two truck. He smiled at the girls but shook his head, confused and disgusted by the ignorance of the damage. He promised to take care of it and a grateful Peyton looked on as her beloved car was hitched to the back of a truck and towed away. There was still a small audience and in the midst of that, one face was pretty familiar. Anna.
Peyton smiled, instantly calmed by the other girl's presence but Anna did not smile back or even come over. She looked tense and simply walked away. What was she doing? Peyton needed a hug. She needed reassurance. She needed a friend. How could Anna just walk away? And why?
"Come on", Lucas offered. "I'll give you a ride home."
Peyton did not object. More than ever she just wanted to go disappear in her room. More than ever she wished her father would be home when she returned. Sometimes she just wanted to be a little girl again and sit on her daddy's lap. But when Lucas pulled into the driveway, it was familiarly empty.
"You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah", she quickly nodded.
"That's not right what happened. We'll find out who did it. I promise, Peyton."
"No. I don't even want to know. I just want it to all go away. Just…all of it."
He sensed she was talking about more than her car.
"I'm sorry. Look, Pey…"
"Lucas, I appreciate everything but I just want to be alone, okay? Really. You should go."
He sighed in defeat. There was no use in arguing when she got like that. There would be no changing her mind. Helplessly he watched as she got out of his car and ran into the house. Once inside Peyton kicked off her shoes, cranked up the stereo and collapsed on the bed. What was going on? Who and why would anyone write that on her car? Peyton wasn't gay, everyone knew that. She had loved boys all her life, Jake Jagielski, in particular. Granted she had been spending lots of time with Anna as of late but they were just friends. What was the big deal? And what made Anna different than Haley or Brooke?
Did people really think they were more than friends? That was preposterous! Not that there was anything wrong with being homosexual but it just wasn't Peyton. And she was pretty sure it wasn't Anna either. They just had a lot in common and they had fun together. Nothing more. Totally innocent. It didn't matter that Anna was the first thing on Peyton's mind when she woke up in the morning and the last thing she thought of before bed at night. It didn't matter when Anna had rejected and embarrassed her in front of everyone. Did it matter that she was strangely crushed when Anna went home with a guy?
"Don't be so gay, Peyton". The phrase kept repeating in her head. She couldn't forget about that night at the club. It had hurt her. And it bothered her. Was she being gay? Was she making Anna uncomfortable? God, a person could go insane just thinking about it all. Anna was etched on her brain and Peyton could not make the images go away. And just like magic, the phone rang.
"Hey. It's me. You okay?"
Peyton was disgusted. If Anna really cared, she would have come up to her in the parking lot. It was a little late for heartfelt concern.
"I don't feel like talking right now."
"Look, Peyton…"
Without further ado, Peyton hung up the phone and turned off the ringer for added measure. It had been a crazy, tense, emotional day and Peyton didn't know what was more unbelievable…the fact that some anonymous jerk had tried to destroy her car or the fact that her closest friend had turned her back.
