Disclaimer: Same as others…don't own it, bla bla bla

She usually wasn't one for squints; it was more of Lucas's 'thing'. But, when one wakes up to find the intense sunlight hittingher face, there is just one thing she has to do, and that is to squint. Turning away from the direction of the sun, her eyes returned to normal…wide-eyed and hazel. With, as usual, a clearly visible tinge of apprehension shining out. Her palm throbbed, her head swirled, as if she had consumed alcohol, even though she hasn't. At first, confusion had stuck her…what the fuck was she doing on the beach? Then the events from the past night had flooded back, and groaning, she rose to her feet, stumbling and mumbling incoherent thoughts. It took some time to adjust to walking again, and after making a mental note to herself to never sleep on the beach again, she made her way towards her car. Only to find it not there.

"Shit, I walked here." Luckily, both TRIC and her house weren't far away, and she could reach her comfortable bed in a matter on minutes. Well, she could, if she wasn't so worn down with fatigue at that moment. How she made it to her house, she did not know. All she did know was that by the time she got there, she could hardly feel her legs anymore. And, then, as if that weren't enough, an unpleasant surprise awaited her.

Lucas. On her front steps. Fortunately, he had dozed off, and even though he was quite strong normally, his strength while he was fast asleep was to no avail.Peyton clambered her steps, ready to dive into the soft cushiony goodness that awaited her upstairs, not caring at that moment for Lucas or Felix or anything else that had gone terribly wrong the previous day. Then, a realization struck. It wouldn't be long after Lucas would wake up, scream her name, wake her up from her Lucas-free dreams (or at least she hoped) and apologize, which would frustrate Peyton even more. So, where to go?

"Haley," Peyton thought, fumbling through her pockets for her keys. Haley would probably be home, awake at this hour, busy working on some sort of errand. Peyton knew her best friend would understand and allow her to crash there without any explanation. And, that's what she needed and longed for.

"Aha!" She had finally found her keys, and walking over to her car that stood right before her, she opened the door, which somehow seemed a lot heavier than usual. She knew she shouldn't be driving right now, or walking even – she was way too exhausted for anything. But, then again, everyone knew she was the worst driver….ever. Hopefully, they would stay out of her way and prevent any sort of injury to themselves.

"Peyton?"

Oh shit. Not this. Not now. She twirled around, frowning. Felix. He had come to see her, 'check up on her' and apologize. And, the last thing she needed was someone to talk to her right now.

"What?" Peyton barked, her response seeming a little harsher than she wished it to be. She winced, catching the pain evident in Felix's eyes, but did not apologize. Speaking would just make her feel even more lightheaded.

"I just came to say sorry," Felix responded, hiding his hurt well, even though Peyton could see right through his façade. "But I understand this isn't a good time." His eyes flickered to her front steps, where Lucas lay, his chest rising slowly with each breath he took.

"He looks kind of like an angel," Peyton thought, glancing back at Lucas as well. Then, after mentally slapping herself for even letting such a thought cross her mind, she turned back to Felix. "No, it's okay. What did you want to talk about?"

"Us." Well, yea, she figured. The conversation was dragging, and Peyton daydreamed for a second for the bed she was supposed to be lying in right now.

"Look, Felix," Peyton replied, trying to keep the conversation short, "it's fine. We're fine. Last night, I was a bit…off." Then, she realized, herbleedinghand was in full view of Felix. Luckily, he was too busy apologizing, or attempting to,to notice her blood red palm. She hid it from his view quickly, hoping he wouldn't notice afterwards. "I'm fine now." Noticing Felix's unconvinced look, she assured, "Seriously. I'm fine Felix."

"Well, I didn't help the situation much," Felix muttering. Peyton quickly managed to stop him from going any further.

"Felix, it is okay. I'm serious." She flashed him a fake smile, kissed him quickly, and got inside her car. "I have to go see Haley…see you tomorrow?"

Felix, who was still sustaining the not-so-convinced look, quickly suggested, "How about tonight? I would love to take you out."

"But I want to sleep tonight," Peyton whined to herself, but aloud, she replied, "Sure. I'll see you." And drove off, leaving both Felix and Lucas behind her.

"Now bring me that bed," she thought."Yo ho yo ho...holy shit, I sound like Jack from Pirates of the Caribbean. Something is seriously wrong here."

The title of this chapter comes form "Be Yourself" by Audioslave