Hey Everyone. I am SO sorry that it took me a while to update. My computer got taken in to be fixed, and the guy took forever! I never meant to leave you all for that long, believe me! Hopefully you all can forgive me! In case it helps, here are 4 chapters for your reading pleasure. I know some of you were "mad" at me for leaving you like that, so I promise that I will update again soon that way you aren't left wondering. : )

2/4

TREE HILL

"Well well well. What do we have here?" Dan said as he walked in on Sydney, Taylor, and Peyton sitting around the living room of his beach house

"Mr. Scott!" Sydney yelped and turned around to face Dan

"Hi girls." Dan smiled

"Mr. Scott, we're sorry. We didn't know you would be here this weekend." Taylor said

"No, it's fine. I just came by to pick up some papers that I needed. Please, stay as long as you like." Dan said as he walked into one of the rooms

Peyton, Taylor, and Sydney all looked at each other.

"I'm sorry, but it's just creepy seeing Dan all nice and shit." Peyton said

The girls began laughing and Dan walked back out into the living room.

"Bye girls. Don't have too much fun." Dan walked to the door and opened it. "By the way, please don't drink all the alcohol in the house. I don't want to come here to relax sometime and not be able to drink a nice glass of scotch." He walked out the door

"Shit. He's gonna fire me." Taylor mumbled

"That's just weird." Peyton nodded, thinking about her earlier comment

Sydney looked at the extra lines of cocaine lying on the coffee table, and bent over and quickly snorted them. She straightened back up to find Peyton and Taylor looking at her horrified. "What are you staring at?" Sydney asked as she wiped her nose

"Syd!" Peyton and Taylor said at the same time

"What? Karen just gave one of her random drug tests again the other day. Everyone came up clean, so I don't see her doing it again anytime soon. Besides, it's like putting a computer in front of a nerd. Eventually they are going to partake in the geekiness that is cyberspace." Sydney shrugged

"You do realize that is like the worst analogy that I've ever heard, right?" Peyton laughed

Sydney smiled. "Where's the liquor in this place. I'm tired of beer."

Peyton and Taylor laughed as the three began searching the house.

NEW YORK

"So I realized something." Faith mumbled against Brooke's lips

"What's that?" Brooke said as she tugged on Faith's lower lip

"I added myself to Tree Hill's love tree." Faith smiled

Brooke pulled away and sat up. Still straddling Faith's lap, Brooke started to play with the edge of Faith's shirt. Faith propped herself up on her elbows to look at Brooke.

"What?" Faith asked and raised her eyebrows

"Nothing."

"Liar."

Brooke got off Faith's lap and laid next to the other girl. "It just bugs me, that's all."

"What does?"

"The fact that every time I try to kiss you, you want to talk." Brooke cracked a smile

Faith rolled her eyes. "Well did you ever think that I just wanted to talk?"

"No." Brooke stuck out her tongue playfully

"That's it missy." Faith rolled over so that she was on top of Brooke. She pinned Brooke's arms above her head on the bed, and smiled devilishly as she leaned in close and whispered. "Now I got ya."

"Mmm…kinky." Brooke licked her lips seductively

Faith closed the few centimeters between their lips, and kissed Brooke. Brooke got her arms free, and reached up to take Faith's shirt off.

"Uh uh. Not this morning B." Faith said as she hopped off the bed

Brooke sat up. "Why." She pouted

"I have to run an errand." Faith said, putting on her shoes

"Can I come?" Brooke asked hopefully

"No." Faith kissed Brooke. "I'll see you later B."

"Ok?" Brooke said, confused, after Faith had left. What the hell errand does she have to run at 9:00 in the morning? And on a Sunday. "Huh." Brooke shrugged

TREE HILL

That night, Lucas, Haley, and Nathan were all at Nathan and Haley's apartment sitting around the kitchen table, drinking coffee and talking. The doorbell rang in the middle of their conversation, and Lucas jumped up to get it.

"Hey! You made it!" Lucas greeted with a smile

"Damn that's a long drive!" Faith laughed and gave Lucas a hug

"Hi Faith. How was your trip?" Haley greeted with a smile

"Boring. How are you all doing?" Faith said, taking off her coat

"Tired." All 3 answered

They all laughed and Haley stood. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Water is fine. But I can get it." Faith offered

"Sit down and relax. I'm already up." Haley smiled

"I'm surprised you came." Nathan said

"Well I figured that I've been through some shit that might make Peyton realize some things. I know it's been hard on Brooke, and I can't even begin to imagine what Peyton is feeling. She's much more emotional than Brooke." Faith said. "So when Lucas called me, I was happy to come down and talk to her."

"Speaking of Brooke, how is she?" Haley asked as she joined the table again and handed Faith a glass of water

"She's ok. It's been hard on her." Faith sighed

"Is she really ok? She tends to sometimes go off the deep end when bad things happen." Haley said

"I'm not sure that she would want me telling." Faith said. "Not that there is anything." She added quickly

"Obviously something big happened." Lucas chuckled

"She slept with Brett." Faith revealed. "It was the night Brooke and Peyton broke up, and she went and got drunk. He pretty much took advantage of her."

"Holy shit." Nathan whistled

"And she's been sleeping with me." Faith said sheepishly

Haley had just taken a large sip of her water, but spewed it everywhere at Faith's confession. Nathan, Haley, and Lucas all sat open-mouthed, staring at Faith.

"You guys realize that drooling is unattractive right?" Faith joked, trying to lighten the mood

"I, uh…I, umm…oh wow." Haley said, trying to speak

"But I'm not here to talk about B, or my sex life. How's Peyton?" Faith said

"I honestly don't know." Haley sighed. "She's been over once, but she wasn't really all that talkative. I know that she's hanging out with Taylor and Sydney again."

"Syd said that they were hanging out at the beach house this weekend. Some sort of girl's bonding weekend or something." Lucas said

"I'm not sure it's good that they are all hanging out again." Nathan said

"Why?" Faith asked

"Taylor and Sydney have been clean for a while, but Peyton's habit has gotten worse. I'm not sure the 3 of them being together will end up a good thing." Lucas said

"Gotcha. Do you think they'll all start using again together?" Faith asked

The 3 Tree Hill residents looked at each other and answered in unison.

"Yes."

At the beach house, Taylor, Sydney, and Peyton were all still in the living room, beer bottles and liquor bottles littered the entire room. After a day full of drinking and doing the rest of the cocaine Rick had sent, the girls were just starting to come down. Peyton and Sydney were dancing to the music that they had playing, and Taylor was on the couch painting her nails.

"Do you guys think that this color is ok?" Taylor asked holding her nails towards the other two

"Uh huh." Peyton said without looking at Taylor

Taylor rolled her eyes. "You suck."

Peyton laughed, and Sydney kissed her as they continued to dance. Peyton began kissing back, deepening the kiss not long after.

"Damn. Why didn't anyone invite me to the party?" Faith said as she came into the room and leaned against the wall

"Faith!" Peyton said, jumping back from Sydney. "What are you doing here?"

"Obviously interrupting something." Faith chuckled

"Hey!" Taylor greeted Faith with a goofy smile

"Hey." Faith laughed as she walked into the room and sat down next to Taylor on the couch

"I, umm…didn't know you were coming." Peyton said nervously. "Is Brooke here?"

"She doesn't even know I'm here." Faith admitted

"Why are you here?" Sydney asked. Faith turned to Sydney and gave her a weird look. "Oops. That sounded rude." Sydney apologized

"It's all good. I came to talk to Peyton. How about I help you guys clean up around here, and then drive you all home. Someone can bring you back here to get your cars tomorrow when you're all sober enough to drive."

Peyton, Taylor, and Sydney all nodded their heads in agreement, and the four girls started to clean the mess that they had made.

"I can't believe it." Haley said, shaking her head

"Believe what? Brooke and Faith?" Nathan asked

"No, that I believe." Haley sighed. "Think about it guys; do you really think that Brooke and Peyton will be able to work this out? It's going to be a hell of a lot more complicated now."

"I get what you mean." Lucas agreed. "I don't think that either of them will be the same. They've been there for each other for so many years, pretty much their entire lives. And if they really stay broken up, they've pretty much lost a part of themselves." Lucas finished

"Neither of them deserves this. They both deserve to be happy." Nathan said. "The only way they've ever been happy is being with each other. It was like that even when they were just friends. They were both so bitchy and moody when they were apart, or in one of their stupid little fights. I can't even imagine what's going to happen now."

"I think that only God knows at this point. And I'm sure that even his head is spinning." Haley said sadly

"So…how was the drive down?" Peyton asked Faith after they had dropped Sydney and Taylor off

"Boring as hell." Faith said as she took a drag from her cigarette

"Brooke doesn't know you are here?"

"Nope." Faith said as she blew the smoke out the cracked window

Peyton cleared her throat. "How is she?"

"How do you think Peyton?"

"That good, huh?"

"I'm not here to talk about Brooke. I came to talk to you about everything that you are doing."

"Moving on." Peyton said sadly

"To Sydney? Doesn't she have a boyfriend? Goes by the name Lucas?"

"That was…that was nothing."

"Right." Faith nodded and got rid of her cigarette. "Do you want to grab some food, or just go back to your place?"

"All I really want right now is a shower." Peyton said with a small smile

"That's probably a good idea. You stink." Faith joked and gave Peyton a smile

Taylor and Sydney stumbled up the stairs to get to their apartment after Faith and Peyton had dropped them off. Sydney was trying to get the door unlocked, but they were both giggling too hard to accomplish the small task. At some point, their giggling turned into kissing. Finally getting the door open, they made their way into the apartment. Still kissing, they started to take each other's jackets off.

"Guess that answers how the weekend went." Lucas said sadly

"Luke!" Sydney turned around to face the man sitting in the living room

"Hi." Lucas said standing up and walking up to the two girls

"I'm just going to leave you two alone." Taylor said as she picked her jacket up off the floor and went into her bedroom

Sydney sighed and didn't meet Lucas' eyes. "I can explain."

"I think the alcohol on your breath explains pretty damn well. Sydney, what the hell happened this weekend? Did you do any drugs while you were over there?"

"Yes." Sydney admitted. "But that doesn't change the fact that I am staying clean. We were all hanging out, and it just happened."

"Just like the kiss?"

"Yes Lucas. I'm with you. Shit happens, ok?"

"Did you guys fuck around while you were out there?" Lucas asked

"No." Sydney denied quickly. "A little." She said slowly

Lucas sighed. "We're done Sydney."

"Luke, no. I'm sorry baby. It's not going to happen again." Sydney pleaded

Lucas laughed bitterly. "Do you guys not see it? You're ruining your lives! And your relationships! Peyton lost her job, and Brooke. Taylor lost her relationship with Haley, and if Dan finds out about this, she'll lose her job too. If my mom were to find out about this and you doing drugs, you would lose your job just like Peyton did. I'm breaking up with you Syd…will any of this be enough for you guys? When will the three of you figure out that this is a horrible way to live?"

Sydney stood quietly, thinking about what Lucas said. "I honestly don't know Lucas." She finally said. She looked Lucas in the eye. "I'm sorry about all this. I get that you want to break up, and I respect that."

Lucas kissed Sydney's forehead. "I'm sorry too Sydney."

Lucas left, and Sydney was left standing alone. He's right. When will enough be enough? What's it going to take for us to get past this?

"I see you found the kitchen." Peyton joked as she rejoined Faith in the living room

"Chillax. I made a sandwich for you too." Faith handed Peyton a plate. "How are you feeling? Sober yet?"

"Pretty much." Peyton smiled. "I cannot believe that you drove here."

"It's for a good reason, so I didn't mind."

"What reason is that?" Peyton took a bite of her sandwich. "Dude. This is a good sandwich."

Faith smiled. "Stop trying to avoid serious conversation."

Peyton chuckled. "Dammit." She snapped her fingers jokingly

"Peyton, you need to stop all of this. The drinking, the drugs, and whatever else you do that falls under the destructive category."

"Why do people keep telling me what I need?" Peyton said with a frustrated sigh

"I'm not other people. I do know what you need, because I know where you don't want to end up. So you can choose to listen or not."

"Whatever."

"I know exactly how you feel Peyton, and I know how drugs help ease the pain."

"How the hell would you know?" Peyton said rudely

"I know a shitload more than you do, so don't even try to act like you are the only one who has gone through this. You just better hope your story doesn't end like mine." Faith exploded, throwing her sandwich down on the coffee table

Peyton looked at the other girl, surprised at the outburst. "I'm sorry."

Faith looked at Peyton and sighed. "Me too. I was still hungry." She looked longingly at her sandwich splattered all over the coffee table

The girls shared a laugh.

Taking a deep breath, Faith looked back up at Peyton. "When I moved to California, I didn't know anyone. I'd been a loner my entire life, so I didn't have the best social skills. One day, out of the blue, this guy started talking to me. Not long after, I started to hang out with him and his friends all the time. We dated for 4 months, and I was 'in love'. Little did I know he was fucking every other girl behind my back. When I found out, I was heartbroken."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm over that. After me and him broke up, I started dating one of his friends. This guy got me trying weed and got me drinking. One night when we were all partying, he got me to try heroin. I was hooked after the first hit. You have no idea how much my life changed after that."

"I had no idea." Peyton said quietly, taking in Faith's story

"My friends and I started to do everything and anything for drug money. I even slept with my dealer a few times."

"Something we have in common." Peyton muttered

"That's where our similarities end." Faith sighed. "I got to the point where not only was I fucking my dealer, but I was fucking anyone who would give me some money. At one point, I beat a man unconscious just for his wallet. I wasn't in the right mood to fuck him for it, and he was getting to the point where he was really starting to freak me out. I never knew if he woke up.

"Then I found out I was pregnant. My boyfriend at the time bailed when I told him, and I was left all alone. So I did what any 16-year-old junkie would do. I aborted the baby."

"Faith, I am so sorry."

"I'll never get over that, but I've learned to live with the decision I made. There's no point in looking back, because you can't change the past."

"No. You can't." Peyton agreed quietly

"You want to know the worst part of that though? I didn't even know if it was my boyfriend's." Faith shook her head. "After that, I started using even more. It just never seemed to be enough for me. Then my world stopped.

"I went over to my best friend's house to pick her up for this party that we were supposed to be going to, and when she didn't answer the door, I just went in. I found her lying on her bedroom floor after just taking a hit. She was having trouble breathing, and I knew that she had overdosed. I called 911, and held her as we waited for the ambulance to get there. She died in my arms right before they got to her house. The needle was still in her fucking arm Peyton. I remember every detail of that night as if it were just yesterday. After the paramedics and the cops finally got there, it was hell. It was literally hell. I cant even describe to you how I felt that night, but one clear thought kept running through my head- 'that could have been me'. I lost the one person in my life who meant the most to me. No words can describe that feeling.

"After all of that happened, I decided to clean my life up. I still miss my friend every day. Death is a huge thing to deal with Peyton." Faith concluded as she wiped away a tear

Peyton sat quietly for a long time. "I don't even know what to say."

"No one wants to lose you Pey. Brooke especially. You have no idea how hurt she is, but the thing that is hardest for her to get past is how worried she is about you. She feels completely helpless when it comes to the situation between you two. She doesn't want to get a phone call one day saying that you are gone."

"I know." Peyton began to cry. "God, Faith. I really fucked up. How am I supposed to get past all of this?"

"It's a lot of work, and it takes everything you have in you to get past it. I'm not going to lie to you; if you really want to get your life back on track, it's going to be a long, hard process. But it's worth it, believe me."

Peyton nodded. "I'm scared."

Faith hugged Peyton. "I know."

They embraced for a while as Peyton cried on Faiths shoulder, and then finally broke apart.

"I should head out. I have a long drive ahead of me." Faith said softly

"Don't leave. You can crash here tonight." Peyton invited

"Ok." Faith offered the blonde a smile

"Thank you Faith. This really meant a lot."

"I hope that it helped."