Author's Note: Hey all, sorry it's been so long. I'm glad that you still
like my story. I hope that you like this chapter too. Whenever I start a
chapter I never really know what I'm gonna do in it, just an overall idea,
but it always seems to work out okay. On that note, I hope that this
chapter comes out good too. Thanks to all that reviewed last chapter,
that's the most I've gotten for a signal chapter, for this story anyway.
Please review again, it gives me more motivation. Okay, so here we go.
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Peyton's POV
This whole experience has really been eye opening, you know. So many things have changed in just one night. Granted, the most major one was obviously bad, but some of them have been good. At least Brooke and I are friends again. We both made up over that damn blowout we had over the whole Lucas thing. I can't believe that we were so petty to have that fight go on for so long. But like the current situation that we're in now, not everything from that experience was bad either. It helped to bring Hales and me closer and it caused Brooke and Haley to become friends. I have to admit that that new development surprised me some. Personally, I always thought that they would make great friends, they had more in common than they both thought, including a mutual annoyance of each other. They always tolerated each other, but I think that was just for Luke's sake and mine. It all started when I asked Haley if she could go check on Brooke, I was worried about her since she was all alone. Turns out, they hit it off and I had to share my new best friend with my old one. But now Brooke and I are cool and we can all be best friends. Isn't it ironic, and I so didn't mean to sound like Alanis Morrisette there, that one Scott brother broke up apart and another one brought us back together? It's just a shame that I can't thank either of them because they're both jackasses.
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"I'm truly sorry about what happened to your friend," Steve tells me. Oh, really? Cause I figured you'd be jumping up and down doing freaking somersaults up the hallway when a girl gets raped. I figure it probably wouldn't be the best thing to scream that in a cops face in the middle of a hospital.
"Me, too," is what I say instead. I look up to find that Steve has followed Jim out of the hospital. I should probably go tell Brooke that she gets to have a one on one confrontation with Nathan. Boy, would I pay good money to see that one. I stand up to make my way over to the elevator when I feel a hand on my shoulder.
"Hello, Peyton." I freeze at the sound of his voice. I have got to be hearing things. There is no way that he is seriously here. It's just not a possibility. I can still feel his hand on my shoulder so I slowly turn around. He kind of smirks at the shocked look on my face. "Hi."
"Dan?" I asked in shock. I shake my head at my mistake. "I mean, Mr. Scott."
"Dan is perfectly fine," he tells me with a nervous smile. I finally take in his full appearance. He's dressed in a black suit, I'm assuming he's supposed to be at work, and he's holding a bunch of flowers. Flower? How very un-Dan like. I didn't think he knew were a flower shop was.
"What are you doing here?" Okay, I know that sounded rude, but I didn't mean for it to come out that way. You just have to understand what a shock this is. I've witnessed first hand what a jackass Dan Scott can be and this is totally out of character.
"I came to see Haley," he answers. Yep, that's what I thought. Well, what else could it be? I really don't think Royal's in her anywhere. Even if he was, I doubt that he'd come to see him. He must see the strange look on my face as he holds up the flowers. "I come baring gifts."
"I'm sorry," I tell him. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just really surprised to see you is all. "
"I don't blame you," he says with a smile. "I think everyone in Tree Hill would be surprised to see me here." And the understatement of the century award goes to Daniel Scott. I guess he really has changed since the accident.
"It's not just that," I admit. I look down at the ground. Even thought Nathan and I went out for like two years, I can't remember ever having a conversation alone with him before. "It's just that with Nathan and everything..."
"Don't mention him, please," Dan says softly. Okay, note to self; Dan is definitely scary when he's upset. His face softens as he see the look on my face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap it's just that I'm trying to forget the fact that he's my son, you know?" I nod.
"Well, I'm trying to forget the fact that he exist," I tell him. "So, it's a deal. We won't mention him again." He nods his head in thanks. I look around, uncomfortable. So, I'll have to remember never to do this again. "So, did you want me to show you to Haley's room?"
"That would be great," he sighs. Wow, looks like he was just as uncomfortable there as I was. I didn't think that he got that way with anyone. He's always had this superior sense about him, like he was better than everyone. I guess not.
"I was just going up there anyway," I tell him as we began to walk over to the elevator that will take us up to Haley's room. I can't wait to see the look on Haley and Brooke's face when they see him walk in the room with flowers. I tell you, it'll be priceless. We step into the elevator and wait in silence. I press the button and it starts to take us up. So, this is even more uncomfortable.
"So, how is she doing?" I look over at him, happy to have something to talk about. He looks genuinely concerned about her. Wow, I've never noticed this before, but Dan kinda looks like a big teddy bear sometimes. This time being one of them.
"All things considered," I begin. "She's doing okay, I guess." He nods his head somberly. "I mean, she hasn't been scratching at her own skin until it bleeds or anything. You can take that for what it's worth." He smiles at my attitude.
"So she's going to be okay?"
"I think it's too soon to tell," I tell him honestly. His face falls a bit, but he won't let me see him upset. I'm not sure if it's because he wants to keep me thinking that Haley will be okay or if it's because he doesn't want me to see him sad. "But if she keeps going the way she is now, I think she'll be better than ever in no time." I hope he knows that I'm trying to be optimistic here.
"I hope so."
"Look," I began. I can't take it anymore. We are both thinking it, so I better just say it. "I know we agreed not to mention him, but I just wanted to tell you that your son is a real ass. The other ones not that great either." He looks hurt by the words. Um, okay, what's going on?
"You think I don't know that?" he snaps. Maybe saying something wasn't the best idea after all. "You think I don't know that this is all my fault? That if I had been a better father than that poor girl wouldn't be lying in there right now? Huh?" I shake my head and pat his shoulder.
"Join the club, Danny boy."
"What club?"
"The 'This is all my fault' club," I tell him. "Trust me, we are all thinking it. What if Brooke didn't make Haley go to the party? What if I had picked up my phone? What if Haley had told someone sooner? What if you had been a better father? What if, what if, what if?" I shake my head. "It doesn't matter. We don't get wishes, so you might as well just accept reality."
"And what is that exactly?"
"That it's nobody's fault but his," I tell him. There's a beep indicating that we are on Haley's floor and the doors open. I step out before Dan has a chance to answer and I began to walk down the hall. It isn't long before I hear him running after me though.
"Wait up," he calls and I slow down. I don't want to give the poor guy a heart attack. The good guy in him finally made a reappearance, we wouldn't want him to dead on us now.
"Hurry up," I tell him. "I thought you used to play basketball. Shouldn't you be more in shape?" He rolls his eyes and doesn't answer me. He reaches me and we walk the rest of the way together. He pauses as we reach Haley's door. "You okay?"
"Yeah," he says, unconvincingly. "I just need a minute."
"She's not broken," I tell him. "I was scared to go in at first too, but it's not as bad as you think it is, trust me. Haley's the bravest person I know, she would never let something like this ruin her life."
"Okay," he states. "I'm ready." I nod and knock softly on the door.
"Come in," I hear Haley say from behind the door. I peek my head in and see Brooke lying on the bed beside Haley. They both look like they've just stopped crying. She smile when she sees me. "Hey, Pey."
"Guess who I ran into downstairs?" I say. They both give me confused looks. I simply smile and make my way into the room, opening the door fully. Dan steps through with a nervous smile on his face. I look over at the two of them and almost burst out laughing. It was so much better than I thought. They both look like Brad Pitt is standing there, five feet in front of them. In fact, if Brad Pitt were to walk in right now, I don' think they would even notice. And that's some major hotness right there!
"Hi."
"Mr. Scott?" Haley finally says. Brooke slowly moves herself out of Haley's arms to stand beside the bed. Her eyes never leaving him. He shakes his head.
"Please, call me Dan," he says as he walks over to the bedside. "I brought you these flowers. Karen said they were you're favorite." He sets them on the table beside the bed. He bends down and kisses her on the cheek, which surprises us all. Haley doesn't know what to think.
"Thanks?" she says. She looks over at me to see if it's true and I nod to tell her that he's for real. By this time he'd sitting in the chair and Brooke is standing by my side.
"We'll leave you two alone," I tell her and Haley gives me a panicked look. I smile reassuringly at her and begin to pull Brooke out of the room.
"But I promised her I'd stay," Brooke protested. I continue to pull her out into the hall. She finally gets out of my grip. "What is he doing here?"
"He came to make amends," I tell her. She looks at me uneasy. "Just trust me, he's cool." She nods reluctantly and frowns. "Besides, you have somewhere else to be."
"Where?" she asks. "I don't want to leave her." Aw, that's sweet. But in I know she'll like this a whole lot more. Brooke kicking Nathan's ass is a whole lot sweeter.
"What have you been wanting to do since you walked in on those two?"
"Kick Nathan's ass," she answers, not missing a beat. She sees the smile on my face and her eyes widen. "What are you saying?"
"I talked to Jim and he said that you could talk to him if you want," I tell her. At first she looks excited, but then a look of fear comes to her face. Wow, I never really thought about the down side to this. How is she supposed to face the guy that raped her best friend?
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All done for now. I hope you like this chapter. I would really appreciate some reviews. Thanks for reading. Peace.
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Peyton's POV
This whole experience has really been eye opening, you know. So many things have changed in just one night. Granted, the most major one was obviously bad, but some of them have been good. At least Brooke and I are friends again. We both made up over that damn blowout we had over the whole Lucas thing. I can't believe that we were so petty to have that fight go on for so long. But like the current situation that we're in now, not everything from that experience was bad either. It helped to bring Hales and me closer and it caused Brooke and Haley to become friends. I have to admit that that new development surprised me some. Personally, I always thought that they would make great friends, they had more in common than they both thought, including a mutual annoyance of each other. They always tolerated each other, but I think that was just for Luke's sake and mine. It all started when I asked Haley if she could go check on Brooke, I was worried about her since she was all alone. Turns out, they hit it off and I had to share my new best friend with my old one. But now Brooke and I are cool and we can all be best friends. Isn't it ironic, and I so didn't mean to sound like Alanis Morrisette there, that one Scott brother broke up apart and another one brought us back together? It's just a shame that I can't thank either of them because they're both jackasses.
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"I'm truly sorry about what happened to your friend," Steve tells me. Oh, really? Cause I figured you'd be jumping up and down doing freaking somersaults up the hallway when a girl gets raped. I figure it probably wouldn't be the best thing to scream that in a cops face in the middle of a hospital.
"Me, too," is what I say instead. I look up to find that Steve has followed Jim out of the hospital. I should probably go tell Brooke that she gets to have a one on one confrontation with Nathan. Boy, would I pay good money to see that one. I stand up to make my way over to the elevator when I feel a hand on my shoulder.
"Hello, Peyton." I freeze at the sound of his voice. I have got to be hearing things. There is no way that he is seriously here. It's just not a possibility. I can still feel his hand on my shoulder so I slowly turn around. He kind of smirks at the shocked look on my face. "Hi."
"Dan?" I asked in shock. I shake my head at my mistake. "I mean, Mr. Scott."
"Dan is perfectly fine," he tells me with a nervous smile. I finally take in his full appearance. He's dressed in a black suit, I'm assuming he's supposed to be at work, and he's holding a bunch of flowers. Flower? How very un-Dan like. I didn't think he knew were a flower shop was.
"What are you doing here?" Okay, I know that sounded rude, but I didn't mean for it to come out that way. You just have to understand what a shock this is. I've witnessed first hand what a jackass Dan Scott can be and this is totally out of character.
"I came to see Haley," he answers. Yep, that's what I thought. Well, what else could it be? I really don't think Royal's in her anywhere. Even if he was, I doubt that he'd come to see him. He must see the strange look on my face as he holds up the flowers. "I come baring gifts."
"I'm sorry," I tell him. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just really surprised to see you is all. "
"I don't blame you," he says with a smile. "I think everyone in Tree Hill would be surprised to see me here." And the understatement of the century award goes to Daniel Scott. I guess he really has changed since the accident.
"It's not just that," I admit. I look down at the ground. Even thought Nathan and I went out for like two years, I can't remember ever having a conversation alone with him before. "It's just that with Nathan and everything..."
"Don't mention him, please," Dan says softly. Okay, note to self; Dan is definitely scary when he's upset. His face softens as he see the look on my face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap it's just that I'm trying to forget the fact that he's my son, you know?" I nod.
"Well, I'm trying to forget the fact that he exist," I tell him. "So, it's a deal. We won't mention him again." He nods his head in thanks. I look around, uncomfortable. So, I'll have to remember never to do this again. "So, did you want me to show you to Haley's room?"
"That would be great," he sighs. Wow, looks like he was just as uncomfortable there as I was. I didn't think that he got that way with anyone. He's always had this superior sense about him, like he was better than everyone. I guess not.
"I was just going up there anyway," I tell him as we began to walk over to the elevator that will take us up to Haley's room. I can't wait to see the look on Haley and Brooke's face when they see him walk in the room with flowers. I tell you, it'll be priceless. We step into the elevator and wait in silence. I press the button and it starts to take us up. So, this is even more uncomfortable.
"So, how is she doing?" I look over at him, happy to have something to talk about. He looks genuinely concerned about her. Wow, I've never noticed this before, but Dan kinda looks like a big teddy bear sometimes. This time being one of them.
"All things considered," I begin. "She's doing okay, I guess." He nods his head somberly. "I mean, she hasn't been scratching at her own skin until it bleeds or anything. You can take that for what it's worth." He smiles at my attitude.
"So she's going to be okay?"
"I think it's too soon to tell," I tell him honestly. His face falls a bit, but he won't let me see him upset. I'm not sure if it's because he wants to keep me thinking that Haley will be okay or if it's because he doesn't want me to see him sad. "But if she keeps going the way she is now, I think she'll be better than ever in no time." I hope he knows that I'm trying to be optimistic here.
"I hope so."
"Look," I began. I can't take it anymore. We are both thinking it, so I better just say it. "I know we agreed not to mention him, but I just wanted to tell you that your son is a real ass. The other ones not that great either." He looks hurt by the words. Um, okay, what's going on?
"You think I don't know that?" he snaps. Maybe saying something wasn't the best idea after all. "You think I don't know that this is all my fault? That if I had been a better father than that poor girl wouldn't be lying in there right now? Huh?" I shake my head and pat his shoulder.
"Join the club, Danny boy."
"What club?"
"The 'This is all my fault' club," I tell him. "Trust me, we are all thinking it. What if Brooke didn't make Haley go to the party? What if I had picked up my phone? What if Haley had told someone sooner? What if you had been a better father? What if, what if, what if?" I shake my head. "It doesn't matter. We don't get wishes, so you might as well just accept reality."
"And what is that exactly?"
"That it's nobody's fault but his," I tell him. There's a beep indicating that we are on Haley's floor and the doors open. I step out before Dan has a chance to answer and I began to walk down the hall. It isn't long before I hear him running after me though.
"Wait up," he calls and I slow down. I don't want to give the poor guy a heart attack. The good guy in him finally made a reappearance, we wouldn't want him to dead on us now.
"Hurry up," I tell him. "I thought you used to play basketball. Shouldn't you be more in shape?" He rolls his eyes and doesn't answer me. He reaches me and we walk the rest of the way together. He pauses as we reach Haley's door. "You okay?"
"Yeah," he says, unconvincingly. "I just need a minute."
"She's not broken," I tell him. "I was scared to go in at first too, but it's not as bad as you think it is, trust me. Haley's the bravest person I know, she would never let something like this ruin her life."
"Okay," he states. "I'm ready." I nod and knock softly on the door.
"Come in," I hear Haley say from behind the door. I peek my head in and see Brooke lying on the bed beside Haley. They both look like they've just stopped crying. She smile when she sees me. "Hey, Pey."
"Guess who I ran into downstairs?" I say. They both give me confused looks. I simply smile and make my way into the room, opening the door fully. Dan steps through with a nervous smile on his face. I look over at the two of them and almost burst out laughing. It was so much better than I thought. They both look like Brad Pitt is standing there, five feet in front of them. In fact, if Brad Pitt were to walk in right now, I don' think they would even notice. And that's some major hotness right there!
"Hi."
"Mr. Scott?" Haley finally says. Brooke slowly moves herself out of Haley's arms to stand beside the bed. Her eyes never leaving him. He shakes his head.
"Please, call me Dan," he says as he walks over to the bedside. "I brought you these flowers. Karen said they were you're favorite." He sets them on the table beside the bed. He bends down and kisses her on the cheek, which surprises us all. Haley doesn't know what to think.
"Thanks?" she says. She looks over at me to see if it's true and I nod to tell her that he's for real. By this time he'd sitting in the chair and Brooke is standing by my side.
"We'll leave you two alone," I tell her and Haley gives me a panicked look. I smile reassuringly at her and begin to pull Brooke out of the room.
"But I promised her I'd stay," Brooke protested. I continue to pull her out into the hall. She finally gets out of my grip. "What is he doing here?"
"He came to make amends," I tell her. She looks at me uneasy. "Just trust me, he's cool." She nods reluctantly and frowns. "Besides, you have somewhere else to be."
"Where?" she asks. "I don't want to leave her." Aw, that's sweet. But in I know she'll like this a whole lot more. Brooke kicking Nathan's ass is a whole lot sweeter.
"What have you been wanting to do since you walked in on those two?"
"Kick Nathan's ass," she answers, not missing a beat. She sees the smile on my face and her eyes widen. "What are you saying?"
"I talked to Jim and he said that you could talk to him if you want," I tell her. At first she looks excited, but then a look of fear comes to her face. Wow, I never really thought about the down side to this. How is she supposed to face the guy that raped her best friend?
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All done for now. I hope you like this chapter. I would really appreciate some reviews. Thanks for reading. Peace.