Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to OTH.
The song used in this chapter is called Somewhere In Between by Lifehouse.

Chapter 6

"Peyton, it's me, Lucas. Just give me a call when you get this…I'm getting worried," Lucas ended the call headed for home. He had been driving around Tree Hill all night, looking for her. He wondered how she was after learning the news about her mother.

Lucas pulled up to his house and saw a lone figure sitting on his porch steps. Quickly, he parked the car and headed up the walkway. It was too dark to see who it was. But as Lucas approached, the figure stood up and stepped out of the shadows.

Lucas was puzzled, "Nathan?"

The younger Scott placed his hands into this varsity jacket and didn't look too happy, "Peyton's inside," Lucas let out a sigh of relief as Nathan continued, "She fell asleep but I didn't want to leave her alone,"

"Isn't Haley home?" Haley had been staying with Lucas ever since she returned to Tree Hill.

"Yeah, but you know how Haley is when she sleeps…nothing can wake her up,"

The brothers shared a laugh at the expensive of Haley's ability to sleep through anything.

Nathan was the first to stop laughing though. His grudge against Lucas was still strong.

Lucas stopped too. He felt the spiteful vibe, "How is she?"

"Not too good," Nathan said solemnly, "After I saw Haley at the café, I went by Peyton's to see how she was…I found her in her car. Her hands were on the wheel…holding on so tight her arms were shaking. It took me a good five minutes just to pry her hands off the wheel," his eyes began to water, "She could barely speak to me. I've never seen her like this before, Luke. It scared me,"

It took Nathan a few seconds to collect himself. He had never seen anyone so broken and it hurt him to see a friend like that, "It wasn't until I drove her away from her house when she started to talk. She told me that her mother, Anna, isn't really her mother,"

Softly Lucas spoke, "I know. She was her aunt,"

Nathan became confused, "How did you know? Peyton just found out and she's been with me all night," then he accused his brother, "Have you been snooping in her life too?"

"What? No," defended Lucas, "Her father called me after she left. He explained everything and asked me to look for her,"

"Oh," it was all Nathan could say. He felt bad for jumping to conclusions, but not enough to apologize. Instead, he decided that it was time to go, "Look, I got to get going. Just take care of her, ok?"

"Nate, wait. Why don't you just stay, it's late," Lucas tried to reach out to his brother.

Nathan shook his head, "This doesn't change anything between us, Luke. I'm only here because of Peyton. For some reason, she needs you. I know you've been there for her lately and maybe that's why, but if you screw up again and hurt her…"

"Hey, I never meant to hurt her," Lucas interjected, "If I could change the past for her, I would. I care about Peyton. I always have and always will,"

"I know," Nathan unwillingly admitted, "That's why I knew I could bring her here,"

Earlier that morning Peyton Sawyer woke up to find Lucas sitting beside the bed with a cup of coffee in his hand. Reluctantly she talked about her family's situation while he listened attentively. When she couldn't talk through her tears, which wasn't too long from when she started, he held her until she stopped.

Without a word, he reached over to his desk and handed Peyton a pad of paper and a pencil. Lucas had smiled before standing up. He crossed the room, picked up his novel and sat in his chair. While she drew, she watched him read from the corner of her eyes and would sometimes catch his supposedly reading eyes on her. The look in his eyes gave her comfort because she knew it meant that he cared and would always be a part of her life.

She had been awoken by the smell of freshly brewed coffee that morning but it was the faint sounds a strumming guitar that lured her out of Lucas's room.

Peyton sauntered out into the hallway and quietly made her way to the kitchen where the music was coming from. She found Haley sitting at the kitchen table, strumming a slow tune. Not wanting to interrupt, Peyton gently leaned against the doorframe and listened to her friend sing.

"This cannot be happening
This is over my head
But underneath my feet
Cause by tomorrow morning I'll have this thing beat
And everything will be back to the way that it was
I wish that it was just that easy"

Peyton intently listened to the lyrics. Oddly, she felt a connection to them.

"Cause I'm waiting for tonight
Been waiting for tomorrow…

I'm…I'm here…I'm…" the words had stopped flowing from Haley's mind. She continued to the play the tune while finding the right words. Suddenly, Haley heard,

"I'm somewhere in between what is real and just a dream," Peyton filled in.

At first Haley was startled, but then smiled when she tried the words with her song, "Not bad, Peyton. Thanks," she put down her guitar and quickly wrote down the lyrics on a pad of paper.

Peyton shrugged as she sat down at the table, "You won't be thanking me when I sue for royalties and copy right infringement," her voice sounded serious, but it wasn't a serious threat. Peyton reached over and picked up the box of cereal. It was empty causing her to cast an annoyed look at Haley.

Haley laughed, "Then I guess I won't feel bad for eating the last of the cereal,"

"So what's got you lost?" Peyton asked, referring to Haley's song.

"Nathan…you?"

Peyton summed it up and simply said, "Life,"

"You want to talk about it?" Haley offered.

Peyton shook her head, "What's going on with you and Nathan?"

"Last night, he came into the café to…"

Flashback

"…to tell you that I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm going to Highflyers,"

The news shocked Haley at first, but then she smiled, "Nathan…wow, that's great," She came from behind the counter and walked towards him. He was still standing by the door.

"Yeah. I wasn't going to go because of everything that was going on here…my mom's rehab, my dad…and us,"

"Us?" She was confused. A few nights ago when she returned, Nathan made it clear that there wasn't a chance that he'd take Haley back.

"Haley, I never understood why you left, but I do now. I realized that you left because you were following your dreams. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and you took it. I understand that now," Nathan looked a way for a moment, "Maybe I should have been a better husband and supported you. Maybe I shouldn't have been so jealous and so selfish. Maybe I should have trusted you,"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm not really sure. I mean I understand why you left, but at the same time you hurt me so bad and I don't know if I'm not ready to forgive, yet. I need time and I think that me being away from all this…will help,"

"So you're saying when you get back we can figure us out?" she nervously asked.

He hesitated before nodding his head, "Yeah,"

End Flashback

"So, that's good, isn't it?" Peyton asked

Haley shrugged and then smiled, "Yeah, of course. When Nathan comes home we'll be happy again,"

The blonde picked up on Haley's unconvincing act and called her on it, "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Haley, why did you come home?"

"I'm still not following,"

"Did you come home because you had enough with the tour? Because you realized singing isn't your dream?…Or was it because you felt like you had to?"

"Peyton, don't be silly," Haley got up from the table and opened the fridge door. She tried avoiding the question, but when she closed the fridge door, Peyton was standing right there

"Just answer the question, Haley," Peyton saw Haley struggle with the question. She sighed, "I know it's hard but what kind of friend would I be if I let you make the biggest mistake of your life?"

Tears slid down Haley's face. She knew her answer, but was afraid to admit it, "I don't know what to do, Peyton,"

Peyton pulled Haley into a hug, "You and Nathan are both of my friends and I don't want to see either of you hurt," Peyton began, "Just be honest with each other and yourselves. Secrets and lies just make it worse,"

A/N: It was a little rushed, but it got the main points across (I hope). I know I'm lacking in L/P scenes right now, but at the same time, I don't want too much of them right now..which means there will be a lot more L/P after the next couple of chapters.