Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. I really love reading them. Anyways, like I said, the first ten chapters or so are already written. I just need to re-save them to upload them onto fanfiction. I'll post about a chapter or two a day.

x3 Emily

Peyton quickly made her way home from Lucas', halfway expecting and wanting him to come after her, just to prove he gave a shit. But, the other half of her, just wanted to be left alone. Everyone else was gone for the summer, well, almost. Nathan would be leaving in a few days which meant that Lucas was right, it was just him and her this summer. This morning was the start of her summer alone with Lucas, and she knew it was just going to get worse as the weeks went by. The least thing she needed, or wanted, was more drama. Jake was gone, Brooke was gone, Haley was gone, Nathan was leaving, and Lucas, he hasn't been the same since he came back. Maybe it was just her, the only one who didn't seem to change.

The rain now mixed in with her tears, but just by looking at her, you could tell she was crying. Her eyes red, her lips slightly parted. Her once bouncy curls now tightened around her face, clinging to the wet skin on her face. It was going to be a mess to deal with tomorrow, but then again, her whole summer was going to be an emotional mess anyway. Might as well toss in a physical mess. Since obviously, Lucas hadn't screwed up her day enough.

She walked into her house, up to her room, and noticed her door was already open. Leaving her front door open was one thing, but never her bedroom door. She saw the tall, brunette sitting on her bed with his head facing the ground, his hands intertwined as his elbows rested on his knees. He looked up abruptly when he heard her door creak open further and saw the drenched, crying, now straight-haired blonde standing in the doorway. All his problems, and the reason why he was there in the first place, disappeared as he walked over to her, quickly engulfing her body into a hug. It didn't matter how soaked she was, it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that she was hurt and just needed a friend.

Her head comfortably rested on his shoulder, nestling it into his neck. As he felt warm tears soak into his shirt, he gently turned his head and kissed her forehead. His lips lingered on her forehead as his eyes closed and her body trembled under his grip. "Shh…it's okay, Peyton," he soothed, not even bothering to ask her what was wrong or what had happened. Once again, it didn't matter. He held onto her tightly, whispering comforting words into her dampened hair. The front side of his body was soaked now as well, but it didn't bother him. She didn't need a therapist, asking her about all of her problems; she just needed a friend, someone to care, someone to just be there.

He gently pulled away from her and smiled slightly, wiping tears from under her eyes as he placed a few pieces of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, Peyton, for whatever happened," he soothed, staring into her eyes. However, he got a completely different reaction than expected; she started laughing. "Did…I say something funny?" he asked confusingly, letting go of her slowly but hesitantly. His hands ended up resting on her waist.

"How can you be sorry if you don't know what's wrong?" she asked with a smile, her eyes lighting up a bit with the change of mood.

"I…I just uh, didn't want to pressure you into telling me. I figured you'd tell me when you wanted to," he stumbled for words, trying to choose them carefully. He hated seeing her feeling helpless, but he didn't want to come on too strong. He was relieved when he saw her smile at his response.

"Thanks, Nathan, that means a lot…" she smiled. "You know, Haley really did change you," she said, but quickly regretted it as she saw his face drop. "I'm sorry, Nathan…I, I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay…she's the reason why I'm here.."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Well you obviously have enough crap you're dealing with anyway," he said with a smile. "I'll just save it, but next time, I'll come to you upset. Deal?" she smiled at him with a laugh before resting her head on his shoulder.

"How about next time, no one's upset?" she added on, smiling into his shirt.

"Even better deal," he said. "especially since I decided not to go to High Flyers…"

"What! Why!" she asked, shocked but in a way, relieved that she wouldn't be alone this summer. She didn't want to have to deal with everything alone. So much for spending it with Lucas. That was ruined earlier anyway.

"I don't want to end up like my dad, and I don't want to prove him right…plus, I'd still play, just not at such a serious level." he said seriously. She should've never brought up basketball. It was always seriously taken.

"I'm proud of you Nate…standing up against him, giving that up just to show him down."

"Yeah, me too…" he smiled over at her. "So, any plans today?"

"Nop-," she began before she was cut off by him tickling her. She immediately fell back onto her bed, barely able to breathe from laughing so hard. "Nat-Nathan sto-stop," she laughed when she could get a word in. However, he just laughed back as she arched her back up. Out of instinct, she accidentally kicked his bad knee, hearing him groan in pain as she shrieked.

"Nathan! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" she freaked out, watching him hunch over in pain. She saw the grin on his face, showing her that he was faking, and tried to run.

"Oh no, no, no…" he laughed, pulling her by the waist back onto her bed. She shrieked again, throwing her head back as he commenced tickling her.

"Nathan! Mercy!"

"Not going to work Sawyer…"

They didn't notice as the blonde walked toward her doorway, about to knock until he saw the two on her bed. His arm stopped in mid-air, jealousy filling his body. Never once had he realized how much she had slipped out of his life until now. It was supposed to be him comforting her, him seeing down into her soul, not his half-brother. Confused, jealous, and hurt, he walked back toward the stairs, their laughs seeming to fill the house. He had come to apologize for what he had done, how badly he had screwed up, but now he wasn't sure if he wanted to or if it was worth it. She was out of his life, and he never saw it coming. It took his half-brother to show how badly he had screwed everything up.

It wasn't supposed to be the two of them, Peyton and Nathan. It was supposed to be him and Peyton…or so he thought now.