Haley walked in to Peyton's room solemnly, fifteen minutes after Nathan left.
"Peyton? The door was open! And, I so brought brown-Oh my god, Peyt! What happened?" Hailey asked concerned.
Peyton looked up, her curls sticking to her wet face as her mascara ran, "Hailey? What're you doing here?"
Haley smiled softly, "I came here to talk. But, if it's a bad time."
Peyton smiled softly, "Talking sounds good right now."
"Good," Haley said happily as she opened a container and passed Peyton a brownie.
She walked over to Peyton's stereo and pressed play, "Fall Out Boy, Peyton? Isn't that a bit too cliché for you?"
Peyton shrugged as she wiped her tears, "Whatever. So, what's up?"
Haley sighed, "Well, did you ever love Nathan?"
"What?" Peyton asked, suddenly alarmed.
Haley softly, "Did you ever love him, Peyton?"
Peyton sighed, "At one time. I did. I loved him for awhile."
Haley nodded, "How long?"
Peyton sighed, "One year. Maybe, one year and a half. I was confused for a couple months. And, the other half a year, I just-I needed someone. No mom. No dad most of the time. Brooke was at her partying peak. And, Nathan was there. Even if it was just for sex. Nathan was there. Sorry, like..A year and a half."
Nathan smiled as he scored the winning basket of the game. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, and Tim had immediately jumped on to him. He smiled and couldn't help but laugh as he saw a couple little kids jumping up and down in the bleachers. Tim finally pulled away from him, and Nathan watched as the cheerleaders ran towards the center of the court. Brooke waved her pompoms and giggled as Bevin and Bradley already began to makeout. Even Tim and Theresa were hugging, and there he was. Alone. Peyton stood on the sidelines, packing her pompoms in to her cheerleading bag and jumped slightly as she felt a warm arm around her waist.
"Hey!" Nathan said happily as he leaned in to kiss her, but she quickly moved her head, causing his lips to land on her smooth cheek.
Nathan rubbed his lips together, "So, should I meet you outside to ride over to Brooke's?"
Peyton looked up at him as she slung her bag over her shoulder, "I'm getting a ride with Rob."
"You're going with Rob McCallahan?" Nathan questioned loudly.
Peyton nodded, "Yeah. He offered."
Nathan
indifferently, " Okay."
Peyton looked away as she watched Nathan walk towards the locker room.
"P. Sawyer! Ready to party it up, bitch?" Brooke asked happily, as she kissed a hot, tall, brunette with a shag.
"Yeah. Um, Rob is it okay if I get a ride, right?" Peyton asked looking towards the boy Brooke just kissed.
"Oh yeah. It's cool. Nathan's not driving tonight?" Rob asked as he pulled Brooke closer to his body as they walked out of the gym.
"No. He's driving. He's just not driving me," Peyton said softly as they approached Rob's car.
"Ooooh! Robbie, you didn't tell me you got a BMW convertible! You just said a new car!" Brooke said as she opened the passenger's seat.
"I wanted to surprise you, baby. I just feel like..unworthy. Dad said it's for playing well this season. But, he obviously hasn't come to a single game. Did you see Nathan's last shot tonight?" Rob said as he turned on to Main Street.
Brooke looked in the back of the car, towards Peyton who was looking out the window, " So. Peyt. If you come up, I'll get you some clothes to change in to."
Peyton nodded as she stepped out of the car and towards Brooke's humongous house.
Peyton opened the door as Rob was standing next to her, she walked through the house and towards the family room, where everyone was hanging out.
Rob softly, "Are you okay?"
Peyton looked at him smiling, " Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. Just Nathan. No big deal. You should go find Brooke."
Rob gave her an incredibly sexy smile before kissing her cheek and walking towards the kitchen.
Meanwhile, the rest of the basketball team was sitting on a sofa on the far side of the room.
"Dude. McCallahan definitely just kissed Peyton!" Tim exclaimed.
Nathan rolled his eyes, "Do you honestly think I care?"
"I would if I had a girlfriend who was that hot," Tim said playfully, yet instead received a death glare from Nathan.
"Kidding," Tim murmured.
Peyton walked towards the kitchen to see Brooke grabbing a couple beers out of the refrigerator.
"Peyt! Hey, let's go change! You want a beer?" Brooke asked as she grabbed her best friend's arm before kissing her boyfriend sweetly on the lips.
"No drinking tonight. Let's go have a free for all with your closet, Brooke," Peyton said quietly.
Brooke smiled happily before she heard someone call her name.
"Brooke?" Nathan asked as Tim was standing right behind him.
Peyton turned around to see Nathan leaning on the kitchen counter, they both made eye contact briefly before Peyton began to walk out of the kitchen.
"I was actually just leaving," Brooke said snidely before following Peyton upstairs.
Nathan rolled his eyes as he grabbed a beer and stared at Rob.
"McCallahan. You might want to stay away from my girlfriend," Nathan warned as he walked closer to Rob.
Rob snarled, "You sure she's still your girlfriend?"
Rob immediately regretted his choice of words as he felt a fist come in contact with his left eye.
"Hey! Hey, Nate, calm down!" Jake Jagielski yelled as he pulled Rob away from the kitchen.
……
"Damn, Peyton! Who knew you would look so good in black?" Brooke asked as she watched Peyton examining herself in front of the mirror, wearing a black halter babydoll ontop of a barely, there "vintage," denim, mini skirt. .
"Brooke, this is so damn short!" Peyton exclaimed.
"Did you see what I wore to Bevin's party last night?" Brooke asked with a laugh.
Peyton shook her
head, "Whatever. Let's go down."
"That's the spirit, Peyton!" Brooke laughed as she grabbed her drink from her dresser.
Peyton sighed as she walked down the stairs and towards the family room, walking towards the kitchen.
"I thought you weren't drinking, P?" Brooke asked with a smile.
"I'm not," Peyton said laughing.
"I'm gonna' go find Rob. Later hoe," Brooke yelled over her shoulder.
"You need to talk to your boyfriend about the way he deals with certain situations," Rob said, and Peyton turned around. Noticing his black eye and a bag of ice on top of it.
"Oh my god! Rob! What the hell happened?" Peyton asked concerned.
"Nathan happened," Rob said before walking towards the family room.
Peyton looked around the room, spotting Nathan leaning on the same wall he was on half an hour ago.
Peyton walked towards him grabbing her hand in his before pulling him away from the group.
Nathan smiled softly, "You look mad hot, Pey."
Peyton shook her
head as she let Nathan's hand go and it dropped to his side, "
What the hell is wrong with you?"
"What are you talking about?" Nathan said, his expression now angry.
"What the hell did you do to Rob?" Peyton questioned, her voice as loud as his, and people began to watch the two.
Nathan smirked as he
shook his head, "Well, maybe if you weren't trying so hard to be
a slut, we wouldn't have to have this conversation."
Peyton rubbed her temples as she looked at him, her hazel eyes tired and sad, "How many times are you going to try and hurt me in one week, Nate? Because you're doing a pretty damn good job."
Peyton blinked back tears as she walked towards Bevin who sat on the sofa.
Theresa watched as Nathan rubbed his neck with one hand, and held his beer in the other. She quietly got up from the sofa as Bevin and Peyton began doing shots.
"Hey, Nate. Are you okay? You look upset?" Theresa asked as she rested her hand on Nathan's chest. Nathan looked up at her, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Theresa smiled deviously, "Because...I can make you feel better."
Nathan swallowed slowly as he saw Peyton throwing her head back laughing at something Brooke had said, he saw Rob staring at Theresa, and Nathan smirked slightly.
"Let's go dance," Nathan murmured as he dropped his empty cup on the table next to him.
Theresa smiled as she led him towards the dance floor, and placed his hands on her hips as they began to grind to the music. Nathan watched the sofas in which Peyton, Bevin, Bradley, Rob, and Brooke sat on.
Rob whispered something in to Brooke's ear and nodded towards Nathan's direction. Nathan grinned as Brooke glared at the two people dancing together, and turned to Peyton.
"Pey?" Brooke said sweetly.
Peyton laughed, "What now, Brooke?"
"Nathan's dancing with Theresa. I'm sorry, baby," Brooke said as she rubbed Peyton's bare shoulder.
"What?" Peyton said softly, as she looked towards the dance floor, and spotted the two, dancing incredibly close together; Peyton felt a strong pain her chest.
"I-I'm gonna' go," Peyton said softly.
"You can't drive! No way! Just go up to my room, I'll come up soon," Brooke ordered as she helped Peyton stand up.
"What time is it?" Peyton question as she straightened out her outfit.
"One," Brooke said before pointing towards the stairs.
Peyton nodded before biting her lip, controlling the tears from falling from her eyes. She sighed, realizing she had to cut through the dance floor to reach the staircase.
Peyton wiped her tears, and watched Nathan smiling as he danced with Theresa. Peyton cringed as she saw Theresa's hands roam Nathan's body.
Nathan and Peyton's eyes met as she walked by him, her body brushing against his, causing him to smile slightly. He looked down at her, and Theresa hadn't noticed their interaction as she continued to dance.
Peyton looked in to his eyes, and spoke softly, " Happy one year anniversary, Nathan."
Nathan's smile fell immediately as he looked at his watch and realized it was one in the morning. He disengaged himself from Theresa and began frantically looking for Peyton, yet she was already upstairs in Brooke's room, and he couldn't see the beautiful girl, with the golden curls that he had fallen in love with. And, the sad thing was that she had no clue that he loved her at all. And, she would never find out.
"So, why did you want to know?" Peyton asked as she reached for another brownie.
Haley shook her head and shrugged, "No. Big deal. I just-He said he loved you."
"What?" Peyton asked, startled and shocked.
Haley laughed, "No worries, Peyton. Not now. Before. In the past. Ew. How weird would that be if he still had feelings for you?"
Peyton looked away, "Yeah. That would be kinda' weird."
