2/25

TREE HILL

"Haley? Is Taylor still coming over tonight still?" Nathan yelled to Haley from the bedroom

"Yeah. Peyton's coming too. You want to help me cook?" Haley yelled back from the kitchen

"I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm going to take a shower real quick."

"Ok. Hurry up."

"Yes ma'am." Nathan chuckled to himself

"I heard that!" Haley said

"Lucas! Hi." Taylor said when she opened the door to her apartment

"Hey Taylor. Is Sydney home?" Lucas smiled

""I'm here. You ready?" Sydney said as she walked up to the door

"Yep. Let's go." Lucas said as he held out his hand to Sydney

"Stop. Hold on." Taylor said. "What's going on?"

Sydney and Lucas shared a smile.

"Lucas and I are going to try our relationship again." Sydney said

"Ok? When did this get decided?" Taylor asked

"The other night after we played basketball. You going over Nathan and Haley's, Taylor?" Lucas asked

"Whoa. What's with the party?" Peyton joked as she walked up to the door

"Hey. You ready for dinner?" Taylor asked the blonde

"Definitely. I'm so hungry." Peyton declared

"Well I guess I'll see you two later tonight. Have fun." Sydney blew a kiss at the other two girls as she walked away, hand-in-hand with Lucas

Peyton turned to Taylor with a questioning look. "And that was?"

"A second chance." Taylor smiled

Peyton smiled also. "Good for them."

Taylor draped her arm around Peyton's shoulder as they walked to the car. "Looks like it's just you and me."

"Looks like it."

"So how did Mom and Dad respond to your being pregnant." Taylor asked when they had all gotten seated

"I haven't told them yet, actually." Haley said

"Hay! What are you waiting for." Taylor said, shocked

"They'll be home in a month for a little, and I didn't really want to interrupt their good time."

"They're going to be so pissed you didn't tell them." Taylor said matter-of-factly

"Tell me something I don't know." Haley shrugged. "So what have you two been up to?"

"Nothing. School." Peyton said as she took a bite of her food

"So how is it working with my dad?" Nathan asked Taylor

"Um, I'm not working anymore." Taylor said

"Taylor! What happened?" Haley asked

"Well, it's a long story." Taylor said

"Taylor stole a car off the lot, she was speeding, we got arrested, Karen bailed us out, Dan fired Taylor." Peyton said with a smug smile at the horrified look on Taylor's face

"Damn." Nathan said with a laugh. "I'll talk to my dad and see if he can forgive you. With all the shit he has pulled in this town, and with how much everyone had forgiven him, I'll see if I can work that to your advantage."

"You don't have to." Taylor said

"No big." Nathan said as he took a bite of his food

"So Sydney and Lucas are back together, huh?" Haley smiled

"I guess. We just found out before we left the apartment."

"Have you talked to Brooke at all, Pey?" Haley asked gently, not knowing if the subject was taboo or not

"Yeah, I did for a while on her birthday. We're trying to friendship thing before anything else."

"She needs to move back. I miss her." Taylor said

"I agree." Peyton smiled

"Is she still planning on coming back?" Nathan asked

"She's not sure yet." Peyton said sadly

NEW YORK

"So what's the plan for tonight B? It's a Saturday night, and I feel like going out." Faith declared as she walked into Brooke's room

"Didn't we just go out?" Brooke asked, not looking up from her book

"Dear God! Is Brooke Davis reading a book?" Faith asked in mock surprise as she held a hand to her chest

"Maybe I am. Why, doesn't that surprise you?" Brooke closed the book to look up at Faith

"A little." Faith admitted

"I'm not really in the mood to go out and do anything. What do you say that we just go get some coffee?"

"Coffee is good. Caffeine in coffee is even better." Faith smiled

TREE HILL

"What time do you think Sydney will get home?" Taylor asked

"No clue. Depends on how well their date goes I guess." Peyton said

Peyton and Taylor were back at the apartment watching TV as they tried to figure out what to do the rest of the night.

Taylor looked at her watch. "Well, it's 10 on a Saturday. What is there to do at this time?"

"Depends on what it is that you are wanting to do." Sydney said as she walked through the door

"Hey. How'd the date go?" Taylor asked her roommate

"It was good." Sydney said as she sat with Peyton and Taylor on the couch. "Until Rick showed up."

"What?" Peyton asked, turning off the TV

"He interrupted dinner. Lucas stood up from the table and said he couldn't deal with this again, and he left."

"I'm sorry Sydney."

"It's fine. I'll just give Lucas time to cool down and call him tomorrow." Sydney said

"So what did Rick want?" Peyton asked

"To know how you were." Sydney shuddered. "I really don't like that creep."

"Me either. At least you didn't sleep with him." Peyton shuddered

"He's going to be at some club 30 minutes away. Told me to tell you two that we should stop by if we want to have some real fun." Sydney said

"Oh." Taylor bit her lip thoughtfully

The 3 girls looked at each other and all stood at the same time.

"I'll drive." Taylor offered

"As long as it's not in another stolen car, we're good." Sydney joked

"Ladies! How nice to see all of you again. Wasn't sure if you would show up." Rick smiled as Peyton, Taylor, and Sydney made their way up his table

"Nothing better to do." Peyton said, not making eye contact

"I'll get us some drinks." Taylor said as she walked to the bar

"What is it that I can do for you ladies tonight?" Rick asked. "I tell you what; I'm in a good mood, so if all 3 of you decide to buy something, I'll cut you a good deal. Just because you drove here to see me." Rick smirked

Peyton spoke up. "You know what Rick, this is a mistake. Go sell your shit elsewhere, because it's not wanted here."

Rick looked shocked for a moment, but quickly recovered. "Blondie's beginning to stand up for herself. I'm impressed." Rick stood from the table. "You know where to find me when you change your mind."

"Well I wouldn't hold your breath, because that wont be happening." Peyton put a hand to her chin like she was thinking. "Better yet, holding your breath doesn't seem like that bad of an idea."

Rick shook his head with an amused smile on his face as he walked away.

"And that was?" Sydney asked as she looked at Peyton

"Sydney, think about it; what the hell are we doing! Drugs screwed up everything for us. I'm doing what I should have done from the beginning; I'm saying no."

Sydney smiled. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because I realize now that drugs are the cause of why everything is so fucked up. I can't believe that I didn't see it before. I mean, I've started to notice it lately, but damn! I really get it now. Syd, everything was taken away from me because of drugs. Now that I'm finally talking to Brooke, I don't want to risk losing that. Again. The thought of losing the woman I love again makes me realize that this is not the life I want to live." Peyton chuckled. "That made no sense."

"No, it does. A little ramble-like, but I get your point." Sydney laughed. "Lucas and I are dating again, and I don't want to blow my second chance." Sydney sighed. "God we let things get so fucked up. I'm proud of you Peyton, for saying no to it all."

"Better late than never right?"

"Right."

Taylor walked back up to the table and set three drinks down. She looked around confused, "Where is Rick?"

"Peyton told him off."

"Oh." Taylor took a sip of her beer. "Rock on."

"It's just aggravating. I just wanted to rip his head off when I saw him." Lucas said through gritted teeth

"Someone has been playing one to many violent video games." Haley joked

"Luke, dude, give Sydney a chance." Nathan said

"I want to, but is it worth it?" Lucas asked

"Something tells me that it is this time." Haley smiled

About an hour later, Peyton and Sydney stumbled out of the door to the club as Taylor laughed at them.

"Now where did we park?" Peyton asked

"There we are!" Sydney pointed and linked her arm through Peyton's as they made their way to the car

"I'll drive. I'm way more sober than you losers." Taylor shook her head and laughed

"What happened to that cutie you were grinding with, Tay?" Peyton asked from the passenger seat

"Not my type. Well, at least not the type I'd bring home at least." Taylor said with a little smile. "Let's get home so we can sober your asses up."

"Oh, like you're so sober yourself." Sydney pointed out

"Babe, I only had 2. Someone has to drive your asses home, and I figured it would be me." Taylor laughed

"Yahtzee!" Haley shouted happily

"You realize you are like a 60-year-old grandma, right?" Lucas joked

"Its ok baby. I still love you." Nathan said as he gave Haley a kiss

Lucas' phone rang. "Hello? Hey Mom…I'm over Nathan and Haley's… What? Oh God…Ok…Ok, bye." Lucas shut his phone

"Is everything ok?" Nathan asked

"We have to go." Lucas said as he stood up

"Lucas-"

"I'll explain on the way."

NEW YORK

"So how about we rent a movie next time. I think we have officially watched every movie you have. Some more than once." Faith said from her spot next to Brooke on the couch

"Come on! You can never get tired of 'Bring It On'!" Brooke said from her spot cuddled next to Faith

"If you're a cheerleader maybe. I'm sorry, I actually have a brain." Faith joked

Brooke sat up and shoved Faith. "Shut up!"

Brooke phone began ringing and she answered it with a laugh since Faith was making funny faces at her.

"Hello?"

"Brooke, it's me."

"Oh hey Luke. What's up?" Brooke smiled

A few minutes later, with tears filling her eyes, Brooke set her phone down.

"Brooke, what's wrong?" Faith asked as she put a comforting hand on Brooke's leg

"Peyton." Brooke said flatly.

"What about her?"

Brooke turned to look at Faith. "There's been an accident."

A/N- I know that the accident story line is WAY overplayed, but I hope that you guys can just go with it. Now you guys can sit back and wonder what's going to happen. Will Peyton and the other girls be ok? Will Brooke and Peyton make up, or are they really only meant to be friends? Will Brooke move back to Tree Hill, or will she stay in New York for good? And don't you wish you knew how many more chapters are to this story? I mean, it could be anywhere from only having one more chapter, to having another 50.How in the world will this story end? Guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out. : ) I'll probably update again on Sunday night, so until then, let me know what you guys think! Your reviews make my day!