12 Memories

Chapter 7 - The Beautiful Occupation

Author's Note - Not sure if anyone reads these, but thanks for the reviews! This may be a bit shorter for the sake of updating - but I hope you like it anyway. Enjoy!

The walk to Haley's house was a lot shorter than he thought. It didn't take much thought to know that Peyton would be there, she always was when something went wrong - and something had definitely gone wrong. Up the stairs he went but still, what would he say to her when he saw her?

– 'Don't just stand there watching it happening, I can't stand it, don't feel it' –

Haley answered the door slowly, not surprised when a broody blonde haired boy was located in front of her house. She looked back to the blonde on her couch, trying to signal that all of her problems had repositioned themselves to sit on her steps. Peyton heaved a sigh, and stood to go to the door.

"Can we do this later?" she questioned, silently begging he'd see her confusion and agree.

"It's better if we do it now, you can't always run from everything," he snapped. Over the years of being friends with her he'd gotten sick and tired of her always running. She was never able to just stand up and face her demons, it was always close the door and run - something he'd grown to hate.

"I'm not running, Lucas. I'm just putting it off...I can't do this right now, I can't handle this right now," she insisted and he rolled his eyes.

"What can you do?" he asked bitterly, the tension between them finally becoming apparent.

"Don't let this ruin us, please?" his eyes softened slightly at her pleas. It was the last thing he wanted. He didn't want their friendship to be screwed up because he let his hormones get in the way, but it almost seemed inevitable to him now.

"I don't want it to..." he trailed off as she averted her eyes from his ever-present stare.

"Then don't let it. Just think about it, give me some time to sort through it," he stared at a few stray stones on Haley's walkway. It would take more than some time to sort through his feelings.

"I want to give you time, but if I do I won't be able to say what I need to. We have to do this now," his persistence was beginning to annoy her.

"Well, I'm not gonna, I'm sorry. I can't and won't do this right now, Lucas," she made direct eye contact before walking down the stairs and taking off, away from the world she was living in. Away from the confusion - to think that only hours before her world had been perfect.

– 'Something telling me don't wanna go out this way, but have a nice day then. Read it in the headlines, watch in on the TV, put it in the background, stick it in the back, stick it in the back, for the beautiful occupation' –

The brunette stood in the silence as Lucas sighed and walked back toward the direction Peyton had run. She knew she had to do something, she couldn't let him go. It was the last thing the blonde needed.

"Luke." He turned to face her, raising his eyebrows as if asking 'what?'

"Let me do it."

"Yeah."

Haley knew she could run, Peyton was more in shape than most people thought. Lucas walked back toward his own house as Haley flew down the steps after her friend. She ran as fast as she could, unsure of where the blonde could be by that time. As her fit hit the dry pavement, it hit her.

She cut through a neighbor's yard to get to the park across town, the opposite corner of town from the River Court. It was the only way to escape Lucas. She came to a house, a long driveway peaked out from the left side where Haley jogged up the asphalt and past the swings. It took only a few minutes before she came to a wall of bushes, she pushed through to find a small dirt trail that went up a little hill. She could vaguely remember Peyton describing the small sanctuary as a place she went that not even Lucas knew about.

– 'You don't need an invitation, to drop in upon a nation. I'm too cynical, I'm just sitting here, I'm just wasting my time. Half a million civilians gonna die today, but look the wrong way then' –

"Peyton," she called quietly, the night air still surrounding them. Two AM was obviously closing in around them as Haley pulled her cell phone from her pocket, the glow lighting the area around her.

She headed up the trail, her eyes searching frantically for her friend. 'Where the hell is she?' It was a steep hill but she continued, her cell phone still lighting her way.

"Peyton," she tried again and this time she got a response.

"Keep walking," the blonde replied in a whisper. Haley walked upward and came to a clearing that looked out over the beach.

"Wow," she was speechless.

"Yea," Peyton smirked, almost a little disappointed that the little spot was no longer only hers.

"How did you find it?"

"When I was little, right after my mom died Lucas was with me every second of the day. Making sure I was okay, checking if I needed anything. It was like I was suffocating under his presence. Don't get me wrong, he was a great friend, and he really wasn't doing anything wrong, but I needed to get out some days. So I knew the farthest place from him was this park and so I came here. After a while I got anxious so I started walking around, looking for anything to take my mind off of what was going on around me. I poked my head around in the dirt near the bushes looking for bugs - I was such a tomboy," she giggled at her own childhood.

– 'Read it in the headlines, watch it on the TV, put it in the background, stick it in the back, stick it in the back for the beautiful occupation' –

"So, I was digging and the bushes weren't as thick when I was nine so I saw a trail, went through the bushes and got here. No one else knows about it...well you do, but other than that."

"It's really cool up here."

"Yea, I know. But, listen I'll let you use it if you want, just one condition. Don't tell anyone, not Brooke, Jake, Nathan or Lucas, especially not Lucas."

"You have my word...do you want me to leave now?" she was mad at herself now for interrupting Peyton in her space, she waited for the reply.

"Nah, have a seat," she patted the dry grass next to her.

Haley positioned herself comfortably next to the blonde, both of their eyes focusing on how small they really were as the oceantides washed the sand away.

"So, guys suck," Peyton said with a laugh, breaking the night silence.

"Yea, they really do," Haley replied, equally humored with Peyton's attempt at a joke. "You tired?"

"Not in the least...you?" the blonde looked over to Haley, her eyes filled slightly with her own salty tears over Nathan's inability to want her, her lack of relationships. And the one she wanted to work for, the jackass boy didn't even want to try.

"More worried than tired," she admitted.

"Hales," she wasn't sure what else to say, so instead she grabbed the small girl, wrapping her in a hug that wasn't just for her - it was comforting her own heart too.

Short and not that exciting, but it's needed for the plot. You'll see. The song was "The Beautiful Occupation" by Travis, and I hope you all enjoyed it. I'll try to update this as soon as I get the chance if you want me to - review and let me know :-)