Chapter Twenty Three

Being the Go-Between

Peyton

I stare after Haley as she rushes around the corner. She had tears in her eyes, and even though I'm slightly pissed at her for the whole Nathan thing, she's still my best friend.

I know what you're thinking. Why should I be bothered about the whole Nathan thing? I mean, Me and Nathan have been over for so long, it's practically prehistoric. But see, the thing is, Nathan was my first love. I know it sounds all weird, especially when our relationship was mostly about drama, but in a weird way, I did love him.

I'm just not sure he ever really loved me.

And then of course, there's Lucas. I know a lot of girls would kill to be Haley James and have Lucas Scott as a boyfriend, and you know, I used to be one of them. I remember when they first started dating, back when they were Freshmen, and I was so jealous I couldn't talk to her for like a week. Then I realised that Lucas was a friend. You know the type, the kind who's always there for you but you can't ever imagine them in any kind of romantic context? Well that was Lucas. Is Lucas. He's my friend, and to see Haley playing him like this when he's been the perfect boyfriend, it just bugs me. I don't know how she can kiss someone like Nathan when she has someone like Lucas.

But then, maybe she sees him more as a friend too.

I swallow my frustration and follow Haley anyway. Just as I suspected, she's ran into the girls room. I can hear her sobbing through a locked cubicle.

"Haley?" I ask, even though I know it's her. It always annoyed me when people did that, but I guess it's just a way to break the ice. Better than launching straight into a conversation.

The sobbing stops, and then it becomes more muffled. I knock on the door. "Open up," I whisper. Obediently, she opens the cubicle and I see her sitting on the toilet with a red blotchy nose. It kind of hurts to see her like this, and I start to regret ignoring all her calls over the weekend. I offer her my hand and thankfully she takes it, I pull her out of the cubicle.

Although I'm sure the graffiti was really humouring her.

"What's up?" I ask, pulling a wad of hand towels out of the dispenser and handing them to her. She takes them and wipes her eyes.

"I'm a mess," she says simply. I can't help but agree.

What? If you saw her you'd think so too!

"Did Lucas find out about Nathan?" I ask. I know, I have absolutely zero tact. I think that when they were handing out tact, I was asking for extra curls.

Thankfully, Haley doesn't start bawling on me. Instead she takes three deep sniffs and then breathes steadily. She's calmed down.

"Are you talking to me?" she asks.

"What do you call this?" I reply. She sniffs again but offers me a smile.

"I broke up with Lucas."

Whoa! What was that? I need to sit down. Haley and Lucas are the most stable couple I know. If they've broke up, then the rest of us may as well give up on true love altogether. "Is that why you're crying?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"No, I was crying because I thought that me and you had broke up too."

Her saying that, in that really sad voice makes me feel even more like a jerk for ignoring her calls. "Haley James, I don't know what kind of impressions I've been giving you, but we were never dating."

She laughs. "So we're friends?"

"Always."

"Good, then…" she starts, but then seems to change her mind and clamp her mouth shut again.

"What is it?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"Nothing, not important. Um… Shouldn't you be in homeroom?"

"Whoa, nice subject change! Shouldn't you?"

Her face falls and she sniffs again. "I've got my mark, have you got yours?"

She has a point. "Are you okay if I go?" I ask. She nods and offers me another smile. I can't help but think that there's something brave about it.

So I leave her alone in that room. And I feel like a terrible friend while I'm doing it, but I can read the hints. She wanted me gone.

She wanted to be alone.


Lucas is waiting in line with Jake at the cafeteria. I ignore the groans of the people behind as I sneak in with them.

"Hey," Jake greets. I give him my nicest smile because, lets face it, Jake Jagielski is a hottie.

"Hey back at ya'," I say in my best impression of Brooke. He raises an eyebrow and I laugh. "I was trying something new," I tell him. He grins at me.

"Don't need to change anything at all," he says. Zing!

As much as I would love to flirt with Jake – and trust me, I would love it – I really need to talk to Lucas. He's my friend after all, and while Haley is my best friend and I should be showing some kind of sisterly solidarity, she's nowhere to be seen.

"I heard about the break-up," I tell him. Again with the no tact. He flinches a little and I feel terrible. "Sorry."

"Why? It's not like you broke us up," he answers, and as he says it he's staring over my shoulder. I turn around and see Nathan sat at a table with some of his jock friends. They're all throwing food at each other and he looks completely out of it. I notice that Rob still isn't there, which is weird because he lives for being the High School Jock. Or at least he did in the days when I was a cheerleader.

"Nathan?" I ask, realising that I never asked Haley why she and Lucas actually broke up. She said that he didn't find out about the kiss though, so it must be something else.

Lucas shakes his head. "Everything. I guess we just weren't really meant to be."

Me and Jake stay silent. I think we're kind of absorbing this monumental occasion. The day that we found out true love doesn't exist.

But then, a part of me can't help thinking that yes, Lucas and Haley were the perfect couple, but since when has love ever been perfect? It's full of ups and downs and passion.

Maybe we just got it wrong all this time. Maybe the only thing perfect about Lucas and Haley was their friendship.

"Um… have you spoke to Haley?" Lucas asks. I look up at him.

"Yeah, this morning. Why? Are you trying to dig for some gossip or something?" I half-joke. I know it's a serious situation but I've never been good at cheering people up or saying the right things.

"Uh, no. Did she tell you about Rob?"

I narrow my eyes. What the hell is this about? "Should she?"

"We found out that he was the one who drugged you," Lucas continues. My jaw actually drops open. I always thought Rob was one of the good guys. Guess not.

"Is that why he's not here?" I ask. "Because you taught him a lesson?"

"No. He's done a runner. He's not at home and he hasn't shown up at school. I think Nathan went to the admin desk this morning to find out if he'd given an excuse."

"Nathan?" I ask. Why do conversations always seem to come back to him?

"Yeah, it was me and him who found out."

"You and Nathan?" I ask, incredulous because, come on – it's Nathan and Lucas. The least brotherly of brothers known to man. Lucas gives a smile and nods.

"Who would'a thunk it," Jake offers, making me turn to face him and giving him another one of my flirty smiles.

Well, what passes for a flirty smile in the world of Peyton Sawyer anyway.

So Rob Klein huh? I've got to admit, I thought no one was even making a big deal out of the fact that me and Haley got drugged, turns out Lucas and Nathan actually joined up on some kind of crusade for it.

I feel so special!

Or, I would if I thought any of it had anything to do with me. I'm not stupid, Lucas was dating Haley, Nathan had just kissed her. It's enough to make a girl hate her best friend. Two dishy Scott brothers for the price of one!

Why does Haley have to have all the luck?