AN: Hey guys, I just want to say that I love receiving reviews for this fic! All of them are so helpful and super nice! Thank you to: jeyton4ever, xXxOutsideOfYurWidowWithMyRadioxXx, sugary sweet, rockerchick224, and jacqueline22393. You guys are wonderful!

Chapter 12

When was the last time that Peyton had actually slept well one night? She asked herself as she woke up the next morning with bags under her eyes and a pile of tissues next to her reminding her of how much she had cried the night before. Another long day at school. How could she tell Brooke and Haley this? There was no way the words would come out of her mouth without her bursting into tears again. Peyton used to barely ever cry but ever since Jake had come into her life she had been crying ten times as much. And she didn't like it one bit. How could one second Jake make her feel so wonderful and the next feel so awful!

She got up and got ready and was out the door soon enough. Thankfully, she didn't look down at the ground where the letter lay as she walked down her front steps and into her convertible.

Jake woke up at ten o'clock the next morning, the morning that he was supposed to be back at school. Oh, crap! He said to himself. He had expected to wake up early from Jenny's cries, but for some reason he hadn't this morning. However, Jenny's crib was empty. Suddenly a sense of panic came over him and he rushed into the kitchen. There he found his mom cradling Jenny in her arms. Jake sighed as he heart beat got back to a normal pace.

"Mom, why didn't you wake me up?" Jake asked.

"Well, Jenny was crying so hard and you still didn't wake up. So I took care of her and figured that you probably didn't sleep so well last night, considering you normally hear her, so I let you sleep in. It's OK, Jake, you've missed a month of school I don't think one morning will make that much difference."

"Yeah, I guess. Well I should probably get going. Thanks mom, for taking care of Jenny." He grabbed his bag and walked out. It was true, he hadn't had a good night's sleep last night. He was scared... nervous about what was going to happen today at school. Would Peyton talk to him? Even look at him? He didn't think he could take it if she didn't.

On top of getting full custody of Jenny, Jake had also gotten a restraining order against Nikki, so she was forced to leave the town of Tree Hill. She did as she was told and Jake felt a heavy weight off of his back.

"OK, Broody, I worked real hard last night on our plan." Brooke said to Lucas during History class. She was whispering making sure Peyton couldn't hear them.

"You mean your plan." Lucas corrected.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Anyways, I came up with the perfect thing!" Lucas nodded for her to continue. "Well, it took a lot of thinking, since Peyton and Jake aren't exactly... like us, couple-wise I mean. They are more... how can I say this... low-key. And man, it is a good thing Jake is good with words because I think what these two need is to just be locked in a room and not to come out until they have made up!"

"That's your plan? To lock them in a room?"

"No, silly. I won't lock them in. I'll just, I don't know, encourage them to talk to each other. Look, yesterday it seemed like Peyton was actually considering forgiving Jake, but it's not like she's just going to go up and talk to him. And Jake is all shy, just sending notes to her, he's not about to just walk up to her because he thinks she hates him. So, they just need a push towards each other. Once they are face-to-face... alone... magic will happen!" Brooke said, envisioning the whole thing in her mind.

"OK, I kind of see where you're getting at." Lucas said, understanding where his girlfriend was coming from. He knew that both Jake and Peyton were shy and just needed a little push to get them back on track. "So, what do you want me to do to help?"

"All you have to do is make sure Jake comes to the party. It's going to be at my house on Friday. And make sure he's open for a Peyton confrontation. We can't get them talking just for him to not know what to say and start stuttering. This might be his only chance, he has to be ready."

"Ok, I can do that."

"Great. I'll take care of Peyton. Oh, and make sure Jake doesn't get drunk this time, I want them to make-up sober." Lucas laughed and nodded.

Just then the door to the class room opened and there stood none other than Jake.

"Sorry," He said to the teacher and he took his seat... next to Peyton. He tried to make eye contact with her but she avoided him, keeping her eyes fixed on the board or on her sketch she was drawing. He didn't think that now, in the middle of class, was the best time to talk to her, so he waited, trying to rehears what he was going to say in his head until the bell rang.

Peyton was up and out the door onto her next class, which Jake was not in, before Jake could even realize that the bell had rung. He silently cursed himself for not being quicker and went to his next class.

Before they knew it, it was lunch.

"Ok guys, I have an announcement to make," Brooke said to the gang. Jake was not there yet. It was Brooke, Lucas, Nathan, Haley and Peyton sitting at the table.

"Lucas, you didn't knock her up did you?" Nathan teased his brother and Haley hit his shoulder.

"Haha." Lucas said sarcastically. Nathan chuckled.

"Ok, anyways... I'm having a party at my house on Friday!" Brooke squealed. Everyone else was not so enthusiastic, however.

"Uh... Brooke, remember what happened at the last party?" Haley said, trying to not make Peyton feel uncomfortable.

"Yes, tutorgirl, I remember. But this party is just for fun! Come on, when was the last time you guys had fun. I mean really had fun?"

"She does have a point." Nathan said, receiving another hit on the shoulder from Haley. "Hey?" He said. Haley rolled her eyes. Of course, they were just play-fighting; they were taking a break from all the drama. "No, I didn't mean I don't have fun with you. I love being with you, Hales." He said sweetly, kissing her on the cheek, and she blushed. I love being with you, he had said, Haley thought. In her mind she just crossed out the "being with" part.

Everyone else agreed that a party would be fun. Then they saw Jake walk towards their table and everyone suddenly got a little uneasy.

Jake took a deep breath. "Peyton, can we, um talk?" The rest of the gang started to mumble excuses to leave but Peyton stopped them.

"No guys it's OK. Jake and I have nothing to talk about." She turned to Jake, "It's like you said, we're better off out of each other's lives. So just, stay away from me." She said as she got up and stormed off. Haley and Brooke followed after her and Jake was about to but he was stopped by Lucas and Jake.

"Look man, I don't know what happened between you two, but how could you say that? Do you really want her out of your life?" Nathan asked.

"No!" Jake said, he was so confused, "I never said that, I swear."

"Well, it sounds like she somehow got the wrong message. You need to find a way to clear it up for her, man." Lucas said, leaving the table to go find his girlfriend, followed closely by Nathan. Leaving a very confused Jake standing... alone.

AN: OK, that's it! It's definitely not the best chapter, but the next few are better, I promise. Only three more chapters left! Please tell me what you thought! REVIEW!