Disclaimer: I don't own anything on One Tree Hill

"Lucas, I'm going to TRIC, ok?"

Lucas quickly jumped off his bed, his eyes leaving the ceiling and landing on Karen, who was standing at the doorway.

"TRIC?" he asked, bewildered.

"Oh, it's an all-ages club Peyton and I opened."

Lucas's face stiffened. Great. Now, his mother and ex-girlfriend…well, he didn't know exactly what Peyton was to him right now…work together. Can things get any weirder? But, that didn't stop him from wanting to go. He wanted to see Peyton, talk to her…or maybe do more. It was going to awkward, maybe a little violent as well, but he wanted Peyton in his life again…now that he knew she was alive after all.

"Mom, can I come?"

Karen frowned, not responding.

You know you've made a mistake when your own mother doesn't want to take you to her own club, Lucas muttered to himself. He hated not being close to Karen like before; he hated not being able to have a conversation with her like before. Every time Lucas entered some room, the air became tense. Everyone was acting so distant, and Lucas grew more and more aggravated every time he met someone from his past.

"Mom…"

"Lucas," Karen interrupted, looking serious. "I know you want to see Peyton, but Lucas, she's happy. Ok? For the first time after you left, she's happy, and I would hate to see her become depressed again. It was hard for all of us to accept your departure, especially for Peyton. Yo-You didn't see her Lucas…it just broke my heart to see her like that." Lucas gulped, hanging his head in shame. He shouldn't have left, he knew that. "But then, Felix—"

"Who's Felix?" Lucas questioned anxiously.

"He's dating Peyton, Luke."

Lucas didn't say anything, just looked away. He didn't have to meet Felix to know that he hated him.

"He stole Peyton away from me," Lucas thought. But, then again…Felix didn't last a chance. Hell, Felix and Peyton…doesn't even sound right. Lucas was so much better for Peyton; he understood her, he connected with her…they just clicked. Felix? He was probably one of those guys who just wanted Peyton for sex…but, Karen did say Peyton was happy. Felix was making Peyton happy…someone other than Lucas was making Peyton happy…maybe this Felix wasn't just another average guy after all…wait, what was he thinking? Lucas was the only one who could make Peyton happy. ONLY HIM. There is no way Peyton is happy with Felix.

"Lucas, Peyton is happy with Felix," Karen mumbled, interrupting Luca's thoughts. "And, I don't want to see that get ruined. Lucas, I know how you fee—"

"No, mom, you don't know how I feel right now!" Lucas unexpectedly exclaimed. He hated when people tried to understand how he felt. They didn't know; no one knew except him. "Ever since I got back here, everyone's been trying to tell me how I feel, and what I should do. Well, guess what, I'm not a little kid anymore…I know what to fucking do and not do."

"Lucas, I'm just looking out for Peyton!"

"Yea, ok, look out for Peyton. Care about how she feels, but don't care about how I feel. Did you ever think that you and Peyton and all the other people weren't the only ones hurting? Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, I didn't feel like leaving? That it hurt me to leave?"

"Lucas, you're not making any sense right now! First, you tell me to stop trying to understand how you feel, and then you're yelling at me for not understanding how you might've felt!"

"Oh, so, now I'm the one who's not making any sense, right? Yea, I'm the wrong one here…everyone else is right!"

"Lucas, this is not about right and wrong!"

"No Mom, it is! Everyone's blaming me…"

"No one's blaming you Lucas! I'm just—"

"Looking out for Peyton? Yea, I know. And, why won't you look out for her? Bet she's like your daughter now, huh? The child that you've always wanted? Well, guess what, I hope you, Peyton and that Felix guy have a happy life together."

Lucas ran out of the house, leaving Karen perplexed and perturbed at the same time.

TRIC wasn't opening until half an hour later, but crowds of people have already gathered around the building. Felix, Peyton and Karen stood inside, getting ready for the night ahead, occasionally turning their heads to watch Jimmy Eat World set up on the stage. Karen and Peyton were chatting animatedly, as they did every TRIC night; however, this night was different. The atmosphere, usually crammed with enthusiasm, was strangely tense. All three of them noticed this, but none chose to comment on it.

"Hey, you guys!"

Peyton turned around to find Haley, Nathan, Brooke, Skills, Fergie, Mouth, Tim and Anna approaching them.

"What took you guys so long?" Peyton scolded. "We couldn't open the doors because of you." She didn't really care that they couldn't open the doors, but the uneasiness that had been surrounding her and Karen the entire evening had started to frustrate her. The more people that came, the less uncomfortable it would be.

"Relax Goldilocks!" Brooke answered in her normal cheery tone, bouncing up to Peyton. "We weren't even late…it's barely 6:30."

"That may be so," Karen interrupted. "But I think we should open the doors already. The crowd is getting pretty restless out there." Karen and Peyton glanced at one another for a second, each knowing what the other was thinking. It wasn't about the people or the money tonight; it was about ending the night.

Brooke hastily observed the people around her. Karen, Peyton, Nathan, Haley, Skills, Mouth, and Fergie looked unusually anxious, as if they knew a secret they've been forbidden to tell, while Felix and Anna seemed a little puzzled.

"What is up with everyone tonight?" Brooke muttered to herself, before joining the others at the entrance.

The title of the chapter comes from the song "So Far Away" by Crossfade