Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me so long to get Chapter 3 up. I suck, I know. I've been really busy, so it's hard to get to the computer to type it up. Chapter 4 is already written, and Chapter 5 is on it's way to finished, so I'm still trucking along. I hope nobody gave up on me. :) Enjoy!
Our Recognition
Chapter 3
WATCHMEWATCHU: Did you have fun last night, Peyton? I bet Lucas did. It's always nice to have the rebound girl around.
PEYTON: Leave me the hell alone.
WATCHMEWATCHU: Why? Can't face the ugly truth? Screwing over your best friend makes you feel guilty, huh? Guilty enough to hang out with her ex just a few days after they broke up. How sweet of you.
PEYTON: He needed a friend. And why am I defending myself to you? Don't talk to me again.
WATCHMEWATCHU: That's convincing. Really.
PEYTON: Fine. I'll make sure you don't talk to me again.
(WATCHMEWATCHU has been blocked)
The last few days at school had been awkward for nearly every person in the group of five. Brooke and Lucas passed each other in the hallways with small smiles and quiet, civil greetings, but nothing more. Occasionally, Lucas still watched her during class. He did miss her, but she seemed to be doing fine without him so far. He wasn't sure whether to be happy for her or not.
Brooke and Peyton were avoiding each other at all costs. Or rather, Brooke was. Because their lockers were so close to one another, Brooke had found a cycle she could use to dodge Peyton fairly easily throughout the day. Deep down, though, Brooke wished she didn't have to.
Peyton still hadn't said much to Haley, and Brooke and Rachel didn't hang out much at school, so friends seemed to be limited. The hallways felt more like battlegrounds. With no one else to turn to, Lucas and Peyton gravitated toward each other the most.
They ate lunch together on most days, and today was no exception. Peyton picked at her sandwich while they talked, still trying to rid her mind of the words she'd read that morning.
"So, question for you," Lucas said, his eyes averted as Brooke walked by with a group of friends. She completely ignored them both. "And I need an honest answer this time."
Peyton had the unnerving feeling that she knew what this question would be, and was quickly trying to come up with an answer. "What's that?" she answered reluctantly.
"What really happened between you and Brooke? You obviously weren't fighting about what happened in the library, but she told me not to talk to you at the wedding. And…now she's living with Rachel. What was so serious?" He'd wanted to know the answer to this for weeks now, but Brooke wouldn't tell him the reason, and nobody else knew the full story.
Peyton was panicking. What could she tell him? He already suspected that the fight was over him, so what could she say? Desperate, she tried the same approach she did with Haley. "You probably don't want to hear the story from me," she said. "I'm not exactly unbiased or anything."
The reaction from Lucas to her avoidant statement was far from deterred. She should've known better than to try that tactic with Lucas. "Come on, Peyton," he urged.
A plausible explanation came to mind, and she knew she could probably get away with it, as long as she left out a few details. "She just freaked out about the scene we did for the Naley play. You know, she thought we weren't just acting." She did her best to sound convincing, trying to keep the lie from sounding nonchalant. Although, it was partly the truth.
Lucas was skeptical. "She flipped out over that? But she said you told her some things about the two of us."
Peyton stumbled. She hadn't realized anything like that had been said. "Really?" she said, struggling to keep her voice even. "Well…I don't remember saying anything like that. But she could've taken it that way. Was that…one of the reasons you two broke up? Because she thought there was still something between us?"
Lucas suddenly turned serious, his eyes falling on hers with such certainty and grace that it took her breath away. He took one of her hands in his own and said quietly, "Isn't there?"
Peyton was speechless. The feeling of his hand on hers froze her where she was, and she couldn't fathom the words she was hearing. Staring down at his hand, she wanted to say yes. She wanted to tell him there was no one else; to kiss him until neither of them could see straight. Instead, she merely sat where she was, trying to keep from gaping.
"Peyton?" he said, still waiting for her response. "Peyton, did you hear me?"
Snapping back to attention, she met his eyes and found them staring at her strangely. Looking back down at her hand, she found Lucas's no longer there. Instead, it was resting on her knee in concern. She'd let her mind run away with her.
Finally able to find her voice, she mustered up a weak smile and said, "Sorry, I spaced out. What'd you say?"
Sitting back again, Lucas still appeared confused. How could she just zone out when they were talking about something so important? Slowly, he repeated, "I said she never mentioned that. I'm assumed that's why she moved into Rachel's house, though?"
Peyton nodded. "I guess she doesn't trust either one of us. I don't know if she ever will."
Lucas watched students go by, and spotted Brooke laughing with a few friends. "I tried so hard," he said absently. "I could never convince her enough."
"You shouldn't have to try that hard." The words slipped out before Peyton could stop them. Realizing what she'd just said, her eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, Luke," she apologized. "It's none of my business, I…"
He put a hand up to stop her from apologizing further. "It's okay, Peyton. I think you're right."
Peyton was surprised. "You do?"
"Yeah." Lucas was still staring at Brooke. Peyton couldn't decide if it was pain or simple sadness in his voice when he said, "I think she's better off without me."
Walking to her car after school, Peyton was still kicking herself for what had happened at lunch. She needed to stop thinking about him.
And as soon as someone could tell her how to do that, she would.
"I see you've had no problem coming to my ex-boyfriend's rescue, have you? Hoping he'll 'wake up and see the light'?" a spiteful voice said behind her.
Stopping in the middle of the parking lot with a firm grip on her backpack, Peyton turned around. "I don't feel like arguing again, Brooke. I'm just trying to be a good friend to him. That's all, okay? Nothing more." The words from the instant messages this morning resounded in her mind, and she couldn't help but wonder if Brooke really was the one sending her the messages.
"Right, just friends. Because you haven't lied about that before."
Peyton stepped forward, sufficiently annoyed now. "Alright, look. I'm not going to stop being friends with Lucas just to make you feel better. You broke up with him, so move on and leave it alone." She started to walk away again, shaking her head in disgust. She'd expected to take grief from Brooke for spending time with Lucas, but it still made her angry.
"Mostly because of you, I'll remind you."
"Which you obviously didn't tell him, from what I've heard," Peyton quipped, her back still turned. "So don't try blaming it all on me."
Reaching her car, she opened the door and stood behind it for a moment. Brooke was temporarily unable to think of a retort. "You know how I feel about him, Brooke," Peyton said. "And I won't run from that again. Because this time I don't have to."
With that, she climbed in the driver's seat, slammed the door, and drove away.
Brooke was sketching a new design for her fashion line when Rachel came home that day. She'd gone shopping after school to get rid of the bad mood she was in, but it hadn't worked as well as she'd hoped.
Since everyone had heard about the accident and her relationship with Cooper, her popularity had taken a severe hit. Nathan constantly shot her dirty looks, and the rumors about her miscarriage didn't do much to help salvage her already bad reputation. She now hated going to school.
The only light she'd been able to find in the situation was that Mouth was still kind to her. She couldn't figure out why, honestly, after all she'd put him through. But she was working on patching up their friendship. So far, it was taking longer than she would've liked.
Setting the bags down in the living room, she sat down on the couch and fell back into the cushions with a frown and a glare up at the ceiling.
Brooke raised an eyebrow in Rachel's direction, stopping her pencil in mid-stroke. "We're quite a pair, aren't we? What's wrong with you?"
"Life in general," Rachel replied with a sigh. "I hate school."
Brooke nodded in understanding. "It's hard, isn't it? It's like starting all over, almost. I have exactly two real friends I can talk to at that place. You and Haley."
Rachel sat up a bit to look at Brooke. "Yeah, I saw your little catfight with Peyton today. I thought you were never talking to her again?"
"Yeah, well, she's decided to take it upon herself to take care of Lucas while he's on the rebound."
Rachel was waiting for more. "So?" she said. "What's wrong with that?"
"So?" Brooke repeated, as if Rachel should've automatically known. "She's just waiting for him to get over me enough to make her move."
Rachel couldn't hold her tongue. Especially not on a day like the one she'd had, when she was annoyed with anything and everything else. "Okay, but didn't they like each other first anyway?" she commented.
Brooke's eyes narrowed. "Why do you keep defending her?" she demanded.
Rachel shook her head. "I just think it's stupid that you're blaming her for ruining your relationship with Lucas when you two obviously couldn't make it work anyway." She was on a roll now, letting out all the thought she'd been holding in. "From what you've told me, all you guys ever fought about was her. He couldn't convince you he wanted to be with you. And now that you know the truth, why don't you just leave them alone? If they're meant to be together, don't stand in their way. It shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks!"
Her voice level had risen far above what she'd intended by the time she realized she'd gone too far. Some of her own personal conflict had slipped into her argument, but she meant every word of what she'd said. However, by the expression on Brooke's face, she knew the reaction wouldn't be pretty.
To her surprise though, Brooke got up, left her sketchbook where it was, and headed for the door. As she left, she said, "Make that exactly one real friend."