Chapter Two-Breakfast

Peyton ate a few bites of the cereal Deb left out for her. She had woken up on the couch a few hours earlier with Nathan sleeping by her side. She hadn't expected to fall asleep. She wasn't even sure how it was possible, but she was happy she had fallen asleep.

It was uncomfortable being in Nathan's house again, especially under the circumstances. She just finished her cereal when Nathan sat down next to her. "Hey." He smiled watching her dump the bowl of milk down the sink.

"Hey." She smiled back. "Listen, thanks for sitting with me last night."

"It's not a problem." He agreed. He noticed how skinny she was becoming. She had been skinny in the first place. Now she was bony. "Do you want to talk about anything?"

"Not really." She told him. "Do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Haley." She said even though she knew he already knew.

Nathan shook his head no.

"Okay then. This is .. awkward. I'm just gonna go."

"Wait," Nathan stopped her. "Don't go."

"Why?"

"Obviously you came to my mom because you wanted her help. Why would you leave now?"

"I don't want to get in her way Nathan. I don't want to get in yours either."

"You're not in our way. Peyton, we're friends right? That's what friends are for."

"Are we friends Nathan? We haven't spoken all summer."

"I know." He sighed regretfully. "I'm sorry. I've just been so caught up with Haley, and my dad." He paused.

"It's okay. I don't expect it. You're a great guy Nathan. You deserve better than Haley. Even if she is my friend. Or was my friend."

Nathan nodded. "I know." Peyton started to gather her things to leave again. "Wait." He stopped her again. "Let's do something. Lets go.. to a movie, to eat, to get coffee, something?"

"I don't know." Peyton shrugged. "I should go home."

"And do Coke?"

"Nathan!" she cried. She stopped herself. She shouldn't get angry. The truth was, that's probably what she would do if she went home. "Okay. What do you want to do?"

Peyton grabbed a bucket of popcorn and sat in the isle. "This is not a date." She joked with him.

"Does that mean I won't get laid after word?" he asked joking back with her. She shot him a look. "Guess not."

The two of them became entranced in the movie. The had decided on seeing "The Day After Tomorrow."

"That was really good." Peyton said walking to Nathan's car.

"Yeah it was. It was fun wasn't it?" he asked. She nodded. "Do you want me to take you home now?"

Peyton thought about it for a few seconds and shook her head. "You're right. I probably should look into something to help me with this." She suggested. "Do you want to come with me?"

Nathan agreed. They drove to the library to research what they could about drug problems. Peyton hated to admit that she had a drug problem. "They always say the first step is admitting it right?" she shrugged.

Nathan nodded. "It's going to be okay." He pulled her into a hug.

"Nathan what happened to you?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"You've changed so much. I mean, obviously Haley was the best thing that ever happened to you. So why the change?"

Nathan shrugged. "I guess I wanted to be a better person when I was with her. When it ended, I liked the person I was." He told her. "I wish I would have been that way with you."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"No you don't Nathan. I did the same thing Haley did to you to Brooke."

"No you didn't." he corrected her. "You weren't committed. Lucas was."

"I guess you're right."

"I'm always right." Peyton slapped him in the arm with a book. "Hey!"

Peyton smiled and went back to reading the book. Maybe hanging out with Nathan wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. He really was a great guy.

Deb came home from the café and found Nathan and Peyton sitting on the floor in the living room playing cards. "Hey." She smiled at the sight. "Nate"

They looked up at her and waved. "Want to play?" Peyton asked.

Deb shook her head no. She couldn't believe Nathan had been out of his room for two days. "Did you eat?" she asked them. "I brought home food."

Peyton jumped up. "I'm starving." Deb's smile faded. "But you probably didn't bring any for me, because you figured I wouldn't be here?"

Deb laughed. "Of course I brought you some Peyton. I knew you would be here. You said you wanted help."

Peyton high fived her. "Thank you."

Peyton took the bags into the kitchen and left Deb standing in the living room with Nate. "What's going on?" she asked with a smirk. She liked seeing Peyton and Nathan together.

"Nothing." Nate laughed. "Don't even try it." He pushed passed her. "It's nothing." He tried to convince himself the same thing. The truth was, it wasn't nothing. He wished he would have seen it before Haley, but Peyton was amazing.