The silence was suffocating Peyton. She continued driving, trying to ignore the fact that he was even in her car. "Look..." She trailed off, finally daring to speak. "We have to work together for the next couple of days. Maybe you should stop being such an asshole." She told him, without taking her eyes off of the road.
Peyton heard Chris scoff, and she rolled her own eyes. "Right, what was I thinking?" She asked, not expecting an answer. "Chris Kellar doesn't play nice, right"
She asked, mocking him. Peyton didn't care if she was getting under his skin, or if he was angry with her. All she knew was that she certainly didn't like him.
Not ONE bit.
"You don't know me." Chris spit out, angrily. "As a matter of fact, you don't know SHIT." He added, tired of people judging him. "You know what your poor Nathan tells you. Well let me tell you something, Goldilocks. He doesn't know me, either." Chris said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm tired of everyone treating me like I'm some disease. What the hell did I do? Huh? I helped a friend out with her dream. Is that such a fucking crime?" He challenged Peyton, finally looking at her.
Peyton was silent for a moment, before hastily pulling over the car. "It's not about helping a FRIEND, Chris. It's about having complete, and total disregard for her marriage." She explained, finally looking over at the boy sitting next to her. "If you came here with the INTENTIONS of helping Haley, that would have been fine. But there's been a hidden agenda this entire time." She called him out on his bluff, narrowing her eyes at him.
Chris rolled his eyes. "There was no... "hidden agenda"." He said, using his fingers to make air quotes. "I helped Haley sing. Who knew a guy like Nathan would have insecurities?" He asked, as a rhetorical question.
Peyton didn't stand for it, though. She turned further around in her seat, so that she could fully face him. "So you didn't kiss Haley." She stated, already knowing the answer. When Chris looked away, Peyton nodded her head. "That's what I thought." She said, starting the car again.
They continued driving, the only sound was the tires on the road. Peyton pulled into a parking spot at some local burger joint, stepping out of the car. "Let's go." She mumbled, not in the mood for some lame small talk. Chris silently followed behind her, rolling his eyes.
"You keep doing that, and your eyes are gonna stay like that." Peyton told him, not bothering to look in back of her. She could sense that he had rolled his eyes. She didn't even have to look. Just like she knew that he was doing it right now, after the comment she just made. "It's not a myth, okay?" She said, opening the door, and stepping inside of the diner.
"Two.." Peyton trailed off, dreading actually having to eat a meal alone with Chris Kellar. The woman nodded her head, and seated them at a table close to the entrance.
"Good.." Peyton said, sarcastically. "Easier for me to run." She joked, pointing towards the door. To her surprise, Chris actually let out a short laugh. Peyton simply smiled, before looking down at the menu. Maybe, just maybe, things wouldn't be so bad after all.
Once they ordered, Peyton began business. "Okay, we have to get serious, Chris." She told him, folding her hands together. "Everyone in Tree Hill, including Nathan and Haley, are gonna be going to this concert." She explained, sighing. "They're really trying to get their life back. Don't just..." Peyton trailed off, carefully trying to choose her words. She didn't want to come off as some heartless bitch.
"I know..." Chris told her, understanding what Peyton was saying. "I promise you that I won't try to get Haley to run off on tour with me again." He joked, earning a small smile from Peyton.
"Well...good." She said, knowing that she sounded completely lame. What was up with her lately? Normally, Peyton Sawyer could battle someone in a game of wits, and win. Now, suddenly, she's giving up so easily. Oh well, Maybe, she's met her watch. "I trust that you won't do anything." She added, shrugging her shoulders.
"So, uhm, how long are you in town?" Peyton asked, tired of talking about Haley and Nathan. She had gotten Chris's word that he wouldn't do anything irrational to them, and that's the best that he could say for right now.
Chris looked up at her, shocked that she was actually sparking up a conversation. "Uhm, a couple days. Maybe a week." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "Why?
You wanna set up a date?" He joked, wiggling his eyebrows.
With a smirk firmly in place, Peyton threw a french fry at him. "In your dreams." She mumbled, playfully rolling her eyes. Chris picked up the french fry that she had thrown at him, and ate it. "Mmm.. That's good." He said, smiling.
Peyton let out a short chuckle, dipping another one of the fries in ketchup. "Yeah, it is." She said, taking a bite of her burger. This was weird. Well, not weird, but Peyton assumed that's what made it weird. Shouldn't hanging out with Chris Kellar be weird? Why wasn't it? THAT was definately the weird part.
They paid for the meal, and got back into Peyton's car. "Okay, so I'll drop you off at Tric, so you can hang out with your super cool manager guy." Peyton joked,
rolling her eyes. "But tomorrow, you need to be back at Tric by 10:30. I wanna do sound checks, make sure you have everything you need, you know the drill."
She explained, tapping her hands on the steering wheel.
The rest of the drive was in silence. It wasn't like before, though. This wasn't akward at all. Both people in the car had content smiles on their faces. "Okay,
we're here." Peyton said, already stepping out of her car. Chris followed, and playfully pushed her as they walked side by side. Entering Tric, Peyton pushed
him back. They both laughed, but it was short lived.
Inside was Lucas, and he didn't look happy. Actually, he looked like he was going to throw up. "Peyton..." He trailed off, greeting her. "Chris.." He spit out venemously. Uh-Oh. This did NOT look good.
"Lucas..." Peyton said, with a small smile. "What's up?" She asked, but her question was answered when she saw the bag of food Lucas had gotten her. "Oh God"
She trailed off. "I completely forgot. Chris and I just ate." Peyton explained, sighing. She didn't notice the evil smirk on Chris's lips, which was directed
towards Lucas, or Lucas's evil snarl, and narrowed eyes, as he stared at Chris.