Disclaimer: No, I don't own OTH or any of the characters or plotlines that I choose to use, and sadly, I don't own Hilarie Burton's talent or James Lafferty, either…

Summary: When everything else failed, Haley, Peyton, and brothers Nathan and Lucas were always there for each other. They were four best friends, as different as light and day, the sun and the moon, but they were so strong that nothing could rip them apart… until history repeated itself and a tangle of secrets and deceit gave them a brutal awakening.

A/N: I'm trying to keep a balance between Leyton/Naley romance (since it is the main part of this story), Paley/Lathan friendship (since it gives more important character development) and Laley/Pathan friendship (since they're both so much gosh darn fun, and after all, they are ALL best friends). Most times, you'll get a lot of interaction between one particular couple in a chapter and a POV of one character in the other couple in a chapter. I try to spread out the time that they all spend together equally, too. Also, I'll be having every character do a voiceover-type thing at the end of every chapter.

Chapter One: Memory in the Making

The sight wasn't unusual, but that fact didn't ease Karen's frown any. The single mother sighed in exasperation, striding toward the group of four.

"Guys, I've told you time and again that you can't arm wrestle in the middle of the café. Especially," she stopped to motion, "when you start spilling drinks." Lucas and Nathan, immediately feeling guilty, looked down and shuffled their feet like two-year-olds, while Peyton's eyes widened with suppressed amusement and Haley smirked visibly.

"While I'd love to wave a magic wand over it, I'd really rather you guys just clean up the café and close it tonight. It'll teach you a lesson or two," she finished, winking at them with sparkling eyes. Lucas looked down, and Nathan groaned loudly.

"Man, your mom is rough. This is the third time this week."

"Well, Nathan, this is also the third time this week that you guys have been reckless enough to break dishes," Haley pointed out, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, excuse me Miss James. You see, I've been under the impression that breaking dishes is breaking dishes, even when you're clumsy enough to do it by accident." Peyton and Lucas laughed, walking towards the kitchen.

"When are those two crazy kids going to wake up and realize that they're in love?" he asked her absentmindedly, turning on the water full force.

"If they're lucky, they'll realize it before some random cheerleader brings it to their attention."

"Come on, Nathan with a cheerleader? Yeah, the guy's ego is the size of Texas, and yeah, he's the star basketball player, but he'd never go for one of those fakes." He handed her the first pan, which she dried and put away quickly as they settled into their old, familiar pattern.

"Lucas, I love Nate to death, but let's be frank; the guy couldn't care less about whether or not a girl is genuine, just whether or not she's loose enough to put it out."

"Peyt, don't do that…" he drifted off, handing her a plate. She turned to him, a tired look on her face.

"What exactly is it that I'm doing again?"

"You're being cynical. Yes, I know, there's good reason to be; but don't you ever miss out on looking for the best in people?"

"No, not really. I mean, if they really did have enough "best" in them for it to be worth it, I wouldn't have to look for it so hard," she replied, staring at him with a stony expression.

"Peyton Sawyer, not everyone is blessed with a laugh that carries across a room and a smile that makes men swoon." Raising his eyebrows, he sent her one of their silent, wordless communications. Instead of allowing the moment to grow serious, Peyton tossed her head, her golden curls flying.

"Luke, I'm insulted that you forgot to mention all the lesbians in the world. I still think that you're just jealous that Anna liked me more than you."

"Okay, Peyton, that was freshman year, I was naïve enough to not see the signs, and you guys just sat by and let it play out," he groused, passing her a handful of silverware.

"Actually, if my memory serves me, which it always does, Haley said she was a lesbian right off the bat."

"Yeah, well, Hales is crazy…"

"I heard that Lucas Scott!" Lucas jumped back, the pan that he'd been working on crashing to the floor. Nathan smirked as Lucas was served a punch on the shoulder from Haley.

"Nice! Not only can Peyton attract women more quickly than you, Haley can pummel you at a second's notice and you cower like a scared puppy."

"Well, Nate, as long as we're talking about dogs… didn't someone mention your name?" Haley took Peyton by the arm and the two of them went out to the front and started wiping off counters, leaving Nathan and Lucas to their insults.

"Can you believe that Nathan and I didn't even get the counter finished?"

"What, were you two getting busy?" Peyton questioned suggestively, lifting her eyebrows up and curling the corners of her mouth.

"Now I know that I didn't just hear the former Tree Hill Raven's cheer captain slash ex-girlfriend of Nathan Scott accuse me of stooping that low, did I?"

"Hey, that was in middle school! I was young then. I didn't realize what an ass Natey boy could be, and before I knew it he had me doing freaking somersaults at all of his games. Besides, if you ever did want to date a guy… Nathan's not the worst that you could do, ya know?" Peyton paused to look at Haley, her gaze too piercing for comfort.

"Yeah… I know." She looked down for a moment, seemingly fascinated with her fingernails. Suddenly, she brightened and looked up. "Of course, the day that Nathan and I go out is the day that you and Lucas finally admit that you're carrying torches for each other."

"Hmm, Lucas is carrying a torch for me? Dear, I do believe that you're privy to secret information. It's a shame that you were the only person that was let in on the secret… our dear boy has no idea."

"What, it make sense, doesn't it? He writes, you draw, he's sarcastic, you're witty… the list goes on." Peyton looked down, unable to meet Haley's open gaze, so completely honest and direct.

"Yeah, well, like you said: the day that you go out with Nathan, right?" Peyton gave her a half-smile, and Haley nodded, the two of them getting back to work.

Meanwhile, Nathan and Lucas put away all of the dishes in the kitchen, cleaning off counter spaces while they went.

"So, you kind of want to get into Sawyer's pants, huh?" Shooting Nathan a disgusted look, Lucas turned around.

"Well, apparently Nathan Scott has found a low farther down that anyone would've thought possible! Let's go call CNN so that they can get coverage."

"Oh, come on. It's obvious in the way that you look at her, the way that you two talk. You just have that rhythm that you ease into whenever you're together, where you're like an old married couple or something. Of course, we're only sixteen, she looks nothing like an old lady, and your head isn't the only part of you doing your thinking, huh?"

"You know, Nathan, you're one to talk. How about we chat about you and Haley for awhile, hmm? If we're on the topic of looks, how about we mention those times when you two just stare at each other after a good long argument like you're about to jump on each other? Or maybe we should mention those times when you guys just hold each others' gazes for hours on end, talking like no tomorrow."

"Lucas, you really should be a writer after all. It appears that in all of your delusions, you've somehow written a romance that has no basis on reality. Good for you!" Nathan smirked, turning around and shelving a couple boxes.

"Eventually you're going to have to face up to it. Do you really think that she's just going to be here forever? It's not like she's waiting for you, so you had better go for it while you have the chance." Lucas tried to make eye contact, tried to search Nathan for something, but his brother's cold, hard exterior made it impossible to find anything. After a moment of tense silence, Nathan tilted his head to the side, examining Lucas with a sardonic smile.

"Well, big brother, monkey see, monkey do, right?"

"Okay, you two slackers, Peyton and I are done, so we're going to head out and crash at her house. You guys can join us when you're done… if you're not too tired by then," Haley yelled from the front, breaking the moment.

"Just wait, Haley James. You'll regret the day that you called the Scott brothers Slackers!" Nathan shouted back, smiling slightly.

"Sure, Nathan; whatever you say," Haley called back, and before he had the chance to reply, the bell at the top of the door jingled, signaling that they were already gone.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Within twenty minutes, the guys had gotten to Peyton's house, and the four of them sat down; Nathan and Peyton on the couch, Lucas in the arm chair, and Haley on the floor in front of the coffee table.

"So what are we going to do this summer, guys?" Haley asked, and everyone started laughing.

"Hales, it's only late fall. You know, most of us aren't even worrying about midterms yet," Nathan commented, earning him a whack from Haley.

"Maybe so, but this is the first year that all of us are going to be able to drive, which means that we have more options sleep away camp or staying here and rotting all summer."

"Hey, I rather enjoyed rotting last summer," Peyton whined, pretending to pout.

"Yeah, that's 'cause you're a freak, Peyton," Nathan reasoned, and he barely dodged her slap.

"Man, you're just getting it tonight, aren't you bro?" Lucas asked, a superior look on his face.

"Don't think that you're above a little tough love, Lucas," Haley interjected, sending him a threatening look.

"Don't you just love it when she gets that hawkish gleam in her eye?" Within a moment, the entire bowl of popcorn had been dumped over Nathan's head.

"Ouch, Haley, you're playing the part of the jealous ex over there," Lucas laughed, and within a moment, he was covered in salsa. "I… I… I can't believe you did that, Peyt."

"Well, everyone else was throwing food, so I thought that I'd join in," she explained with a grin, and within moments they were throwing as much food as Nathan and Haley. When all of their options were finally exhausted, the laid stretched out on the floor, side by side, trying to catch their breath.

"Guys, aren't we about three years too old for this?" Lucas asked, looking up at the ceiling.

Peyton turned toward him and shook her head. "We've got to try to fight the pull of time, Luke; if we don't we'll all have sagging skin and dull conversational skills by the time we're in our forties."

"Sagging skin, huh? Well, I think that I can make your skin sag a little," he challenged, stretching out the skin on her elbow.

"Luke, that's disgusting. Just stop it already!" The two of them talked for awhile longer, not noticing Haley and Nathan's voices fading out. Giggling softly, Peyton flipped to the opposite side and stopped suddenly, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Luke, c'mere."

Sitting up, he turned and saw Nathan and Haley, both asleep, her head resting on his chest. "Oh wow."

"Yeah. Should we leave them like that?"

"Well, Haley will probably kill Nathan in the morning…"

"… and he'll smirk to beat the band and make some comment about how he always knew she would come around…" Making eye contact, they smiled and stood up and made their way towards the kitchen.

"So how has your art been lately, Peyton?"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Breathing in softly, he let out a sigh of relief as soon as Lucas and Peyton were gone. It was an awkward situation, one that he would've thought that he would find amusing if he'd been asked. It was always fun to set Haley off on a rant… not that she really needed much help.

As he dared to glance down at her now, though, he fought off the urge to touch her hair, to rest his head against hers. Trying to shake off the feeling, he let his thoughts drift back to the first time that he'd seen Haley, really seen her.

Lucas and Nathan had always been close; Dan had died when they were five and Deb had moved back to Tree Hill. Their moms actually ran the Café together, and they'd grown up viewing each other not just as brothers but as friends. At school, though, they had both had their own crowd; well, Nathan had had a crowd, and Lucas had Haley. Every once in awhile Haley and Nathan would run into each other when one was leaving Lucas's house and the other was entering, but they'd never really make eye contact, never talk to each other in more than one-syllable greetings and goodbyes.

One day in the middle of eighth grade during, Nathan had come over to talk to Lucas about something; he couldn't quite remember what it was looking back. Lucas had been at the library, finishing up a report, but Haley had been there, and without really meaning to, they'd started a conversation. He only noticed small details: how her hair, a shade of brown that he couldn't quite name, had small blond streaks in it; how here eyes were such a warm, dark brown; how for a moment, he could've sworn that he'd seen her smile. Of course, he'd been indifferent, and she'd had a mouth on her even then, so after a couple minutes, he'd sauntered away with a smirk at her irritated face. He would never have admitted that he felt like he'd been hit by a truck.

By that time, he and Peyton had broken up, but occasionally he'd see her talking to Haley, and since he and Peyton had ended on fairly good terms (can you really end on much else when dating is all about popularity? he wondered), he asked about her sometimes. After awhile, Haley stopped leaving when he came over to Lucas's, and he got to know her. She was different than anyone else that he'd ever known… and he liked it. They settled into a routine banter, and by their second conversation's ending, the momentary infatuation that he'd had with her had passed away. Until now, that was.

He pondered in his mind what the best thing to do about it was. It was obvious that she'd never even thought of him that way, and Nathan Scott wasn't one who took rejection very well. Lucas and Peyton would never let him hear the end of it if he asked her out, and he wasn't in any hurry to estrange himself from the three people who had become the most important part of his life over the last four years. It was obvious of course; the only sensible course of action was to pretend like nothing had ever happened, that it really was just an amusing circumstance that she'd fallen asleep and he'd been there to catch her head. Sighing, he closed his eyes and tried to get to sleep, although he already knew that he wouldn't find any rest there tonight.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Here we are: two plain cheese microwaveable pizzas and toppings galore," Peyton said, bringing all the food to the counter.

"Ah… it's been awhile since I've had a Sawyer pizza."

"A "Sawyer pizza"?" she asked, quirking her brow.

"Yeah, you know: one of those bizarre creations that you pass off as a pizza. I know that you and your dad always used to make them…" seeing her expression, he drifted off. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you of anything."

"No, Luke, it wasn't that; it's just, um, I didn't realize that you'd remembered that."

"Hey, how could I forget anything that you say? It's too awesome to hear you when you stop putting up a front to let what you say just slip away."

"Luke, don't do that…" They shared another glance, charged with things that they couldn't find the words for, and she broke it, looking down.

"I'll try not to," he said, and she nodded her thanks.

"Well, what do you want on your pizza? We've got strawberries, we've got shrimp, and we've even got some ancient KFC if you're feeling brave," she offered, lining up the choices.

"Only a twisted mind could suggest something like that with the intention of eating it," he shuddered, and she gave him a wink, picking up the shrimp.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Oh! I think she's waking up," Peyton whispered, leaning into Lucas.

"No, that's just her snoring pattern. I've known the girl since she was twelve, and that's just snoring." They waited a few more minutes, and all of a sudden, Lucas gave a hoarse, excited whisper. "She's up! She's up! She's up!" Haley's head rose, and she yawned silently, letting her head sink down, down, down… BAM!

"OWWWW! What the heck, Hales? That HURT!" Nathan yelled, springing up as quickly as she had, holding his kicked hip.

"I suppose that you find it soooo funny that I just fell asleep on you like some sort of whore! Well, I'll tell you ONE thing Nathan Scott: this isn't FUNNY!" With her voice climbing a decibel with each word she went onwards, losing all traces of sense after awhile, simply screeching at him. Lucas and Haley laughed at the pained look on Nathan's face.

"Here it comes," Peyton said under her breath as Nathan's face transformed almost instantly.

"You know, Hales, most girls would be counting their blessings to wake up to me. Then again, I always have liked feisty ones." He'd made his voice suggestive, his expression falsely seductive.

"Nathan Scott, you have to be the biggest ja… JERK that I have EVER MET!" Not able to hold it in anymore, Lucas and Peyton busted out laughing, holding their sides.

"Well, isn't that nice, the two blond angels from all of the Precious Moments cards both find this funny. They're such a sweet pair," Nathan sneered, the superior countenance again plastered on his face.

"Well, it's good to know that you can be a brat to someone besides Haley. I have to say, I was worried there for a second that the two of you might've been flirting," Lucas commented with a smirk.

"What was that, big brother?"

"Okay, break it up, break it up. I'm hungry and in vast need of nourishment, so if I could borrow Lucas and his pancake-making skills for twenty minutes..." Haley pushed Lucas into the kitchen.

"It was so very nice of you to just let me lay there sprawled across Nathan Scott all night. I mean, next to pinning up posters of me at two o'clock in the morning all over school, I can't imagine anything that could've been more generous."

"Well, you know, Haley, I'm always looking out for your best interest."

"Lucas Scott, one of these days I am going to smack you for one of your half-sentimental, half smug comments."

"Haley, you love me too much for that. Besides, who else will make the best pancakes in the world specifically for you?"

"Well…"

"Exactly. Whether you'll admit it or not, you're stuck with me."

"Yeah, I seem to be stuck with you an awful lot… just kidding!" she added when she saw his playful, threatening look. "So… what's the deal with you and blondie?"

"There's a deal? I thought that we were allowed to be friends; you know, kind of like you and Nathan."

"Yeah, except Nathan and I don't sit up all night talking about every topic under the sun."

"Well, maybe you and Nathan need to start talking more. If you spent some time getting to really know him instead of just bantering around, maybe you'd find more than meets the eye."

"Okay, Lucas, your little Cupid act is amusing, but really… Nathan and I? In what lifetime?"

"Maybe in all of your past lives you two have both been too afraid of seeing what might happen to do anything about it, and this is your chance."

"That would be so helpful if either of us believed in reincarnation."

"Yeah, well, if neither of us believe in reincarnation, you'd better get moving… you've only got one lifetime to find the one you wanna be with and share it with."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So, how was it waking up to the woman of your dreams, Nathan?" Peyton leaned back on the couch, propping her head up with her hand and looking down at him.

"Considering the fact that I woke up to a shooting pain and a screaming shrew, my morning wake-up call wasn't exactly pleasant."

"It really is your own fault. You might've fooled Lucas into thinking that you were asleep, but after we came back into the room, I saw those eyelids twitching. You were trying to look at us without us realizing that you were awake."

"That was only for the first half hour of the conversation. When I realized that it wasn't going to go any further than books and songs and emotional baggage, I nodded off pretty quickly."

"Oh, so you mean subjects with any amount of depth bore you?"

"Depth and depression are two different things, Peyton. You always have confused them, though; why should today be any different?"

"If you would stop running your mouth just for a reaction, maybe we could talk about a deep subject. Namely, you and Haley?"

"Hmm… that subject doesn't qualify as deep. I'm a shallow, restless whore and I'll gladly admit it." He grinned as Peyton threw a throw pillow at him. "Now, you and Lucas on the other hand… I could see it working out."

"Oh come on; don't be silly," she said, giving a fake laugh. "How in the world would the two of us end up together?"

"I'm serious. I mean, ten years from now, you'll be drawing for some magazine and he'll be something boring and useless like a book reviewer or a writer, and the two of you will live in some cute house in a nice neighborhood and raise all of your blond little kids, and you might even have a shot at being remotely happy if you stop insisting on brooding."

"Nathan, your imagination surprises me. You should be the writer, you know."

"Breakfast is served," Lucas said, carrying in a platter of pancakes and setting them on the coffee table, next to the stack of plates and pile of silverware that Haley had just laid down.

"Oh, good job, Haley! You didn't even drop a fork this time!" Nathan said with mock enthusiasm, clapping loudly.

"It's a good thing, too; I need something to gouge your eyeballs out with."

"The only thing I'm interested in forking right now are these pancakes. I have to say, guys, this looks like one of your better batches," Peyton said, eyeing the food hungrily before spearing three pancakes.

"So basically, they're so stupendously delectable that words cannot describe them?" Lucas said, cocking an eyebrow.

"No, what she actually meant was, thanks for only burning everyone else's portions," Nathan corrected, and Peyton and Haley laughed.

As the four of them sat there, Nathan occasionally glanced at Haley, and Lucas and Peyton's eyes found each other once or twice, but for the most part, they laughed, joked, and goofed off, shaking off the moments.

Peyton: Most of the moments in your life will pass uneventfully, and by the end of the day you will have forgotten that they even occurred. Sometimes, you stumble across a moment that is so significant, so perfect, that you cling to it for as long as you can, and you mull over it, trying to relive it in its absoluteness and seeking another moment of the same kind, until the memory is so dried-up and overused that it fades away, a recollection that you'll only occasionally pull out and smile over. Then, there are the moments when everything is perfect in all of its normalcy, in all of its innocence, and in all of its longing for something else; these are the moments that will haunt you later on in the middle of the darkest nights of fear, when you wish with everything you have that you could just get back to wishing for something else, not realizing how bad something else could be.