A/N: Hey peeps! Not much to say today, but I hope you like this chapter! It sets the wheels in motion for Leyton…;)

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill.

Chapter Thirteen: Manic Monday

February 2nd 2006

It's just another manic Monday. I wish it was Sunday.-The Bangles

It's strange to wake up happy after you spent all yesterday crying. After I left the cemetery yesterday, I went out drinking, (surprise, surprise…) with Rachel and the girls. We didn't stay late. Only a couple hours. However, in that time, I drank as much as I would in an entire night. I did it to numb myself, but my tears still fell anyways. I shouldn't have woken up happy.

But, that's what happened to me today. I woke up smiling. I felt this bubble of anticipation in my chest. I want to be sad. I really do, because all this shit keeps on piling up, but I think my mom is not letting that happen. Because every time I feel like frowning, I look outside and see something amazing. Like the sun hitting our elm tree at just the right angle to make it glow or woman and her little girl taking a stroll. It's just a beautiful day today.

I'm already on my way to school. Listening to music. Well, not listening, more like playing it while I drive. I haven't gotten that passion for it back yet. Now, I just play it for noise. Or maybe because I'm just accustomed to turning on the radio when I get in the car. Either way, I'm not taking any of it in.

I arrive just on time for homeroom, which happens on every Monday. Last week, I ditched. It's not really important and our teacher hardly ever takes attendance. Today I'm actually going to go for the sake of being here early. I stroll into school shoving my books quickly into my locker and walking into the room directly on my left. Yeah, did I mention homeroom is in the classroom right next to mine? Talk about convenient. But I still ditch most of the time. Just because.

"Ms. Sawyer, how nice of you to grace us with your presence?" Ms. Bryson smirks. I give her a big smile.

"Hi, Ms. Bryson. How are you?"

"Just peachy. I trust you remember where your seat is?" she asks. I nod. Of course, I do. Right in between Lucas and Nathan. Ok, so maybe that was the other reason I ditched homeroom.

"Sawyer, you showed," Nathan says as I slide into my seat next to him.

"Yep," I say simply, "What's up?"

"Nothing really." I nod and turn to Lucas who's just sort of staring at the chalkboard in front of us. He's in a different world right now. That's for sure. He's probably missing Brooke. My heart sinks a little before I shake the feeling off.

"Luke," I say softly waving my hand in front of his face. He blinks a few times before focusing on me.

"Peyton? When did you get here?"

"Dude Lucas, what drugs are you on?" Nathan asks, smirking. I glare at him before turning my attention back to Lucas.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"I don't know," he shrugs, "I just feel out of it." I don't know what to say to that so I just pat his hand and turn back to my desk, grabbing a notebook out of my backpack. I'm not good with words, but I am good with drawing. So, I draw a big walking smiley face with extended arms. Above it is a little word bubble that says, "Don't worry. Be happy!" I put my name in the bottom corner. I fold the paper in half and write LUCAS in all capitals.

"Here you go," I say handing him the paper. He looks at me skeptically before opening it up. A smile tugs at the corner of his lips.

"You're in a cheery mood," he says folding the paper back up.

"Yeah, I am," I say, "It's just one of those good days." The bell rings just then and I give him a smile as I start to pack up. I watch as he leaves. He tucks the piece of paper I gave him in his back pocket and walks out with a smile on his face. And that just makes me smile more.

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Today was great! I actually listened in class. I did my work. I paid attention to what Bevin and Rachel said at lunch. Can I just say something? I want to know when Bevin got so smart. That may sound like a terrible thing to say about someone who's been there for me these last few weeks, but seriously, she's lost that naivety that plagued her through most of high school so far. She's much more grounded and realistic. It's kind of cool and yet…I'm sad about it too. It's a loss of innocence. But life makes you grow up and loosing someone you love helps that. She and Skillz still haven't talked and it's not looking good.

As for Rachel, she's acting weirder and weirder as the days go by. She's moody and emotional. The Rachel Gattina I knew wouldn't cry at Hallmark commercials and get all shy at the mention of her relationships. She also just breaks down and cries at the drop of a pin. And none of us besides Mouth can get her to tell us why? Then again, the Rachel I knew wasn't dating Mouth, so maybe he's been a positive influence. Or maybe loosing someone she loved in Cooper has finally caught up with her. Once again, loosing love makes you change. We all changed.

So, Rachel goes soft, Bevin gets smart and I…get bitter? Maybe that's it. But I'm not bitter right now. I have tomorrow to be bitter. Good days are so rare for me that I'm just soaking this all in. Enjoying it.

It looks like I'm the last one out of school today. I had to get tutored because I've been blowing off my history homework. Haley, who has a full schedule, found a great tutor for me. His name is Josh. We had our first meeting today and I can tell I'm going to be back on track in no time. This guy knows how to explain things to someone like me.

I walk outside, having finally grabbed all my books from my locker. I brush a loose strand of hair out of my face. The parking lot is empty except for a few spread out cars including mine which is to my left. However, something right in front of me stops me from going any further. Of all the people I had to run into in a deserted parking lot, it had to be her. And it seems she has no intent of letting me ignore her.

"Brooke," I say curtly, nodding my head.

"Whore," she says in the same tone I used.

"That was a little uncalled for, don't you think?" I ask, rolling my eyes. I'm not going to let her ruin one of the few good days I get.

"Uncalled for? Uncalled for is cheating with your best friend's boyfriend! Calling the person who did that a whore is hardly unjustifiable!"

"You're right," I say simply, "You can call me whatever you want, but what happened between Lucas and I is the past. You should be worrying about patching up your relationship not sitting here insulting me."

"Lucas and I are over for good."

"Good for you," I say, entirely uninterested…ok, that's a lie. I'm somewhat elated to know that. But my voice does a good job of hiding my joy. I make a move to turn and leave when she speaks again.

"I saw you with Chris Friday. It looks like you've moved on already."

"Right," I say rolling my eyes again.

"You always did like my leftovers."

"Chris and I just danced and I gave him a small peck on the cheek. That's all."

"You were probably drunk again. How the hell do you know? You probably don't even remember what or who you did last night." She's hit a nerve and I can't help but strike back this time.

"Unlike you Brooke, I don't need to use drinking to excuse the fact that I make morally questionable decisions," I say venomously.

"What is that supposed to mean, St. Peyton?" Brooke hisses.

"Hell, I get drunk and sleep in the same damn bed as the man I love, your boyfriend and don't even make a move on him. You get drunk with someone you can't stand and wind up in bed with him."

"Those are two entirely different situations! You can't blame me for what I did when I was drunk. Some of us can't control ourselves when we're intoxicated." I laugh bitterly at her.

"As far as I'm concerned Brooke, your actions in general have proven you're no better than me. You're a terrible friend, a terrible girlfriend and above all, a terrible human being and you'll never change. Because as long as there's someone to blame, you'll never take responsibilities for your actions. Chris seduced you! I caused all the problems between you and Lucas!"

"You did!" she yells, "You never wanted us together!"

"Yeah, I had some issues with it. You want to know why, Brooke?"

"Go ahead," she hisses.

"He deserves better than you and he always has."

"I guess you think he should be with you, right?" she says rolling her eyes.

"I just want him to be happy, and I know all you did was break his heart over and over again because of your insecurities."

"Kind of like you did?" she says. I narrow my eyes at her.

"Whatever," I mutter. I turn around to stomp off and find Lucas watching the entire scene. I could care less though as I trudge past him to my car. At this point, I'm just really pissed off. It isn't until I'm halfway home that I realize what he heard. I said he was the man I loved. I bitched out the girl he's in love with. Basically, I acted like a fool. I can only hope that he didn't pick up on it. But I know better…So much for having a good day.