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Lauren slammed her phone shut angrily. She had hoped that her mom would have the perfect answer, but she had left Lauren right where she'd started, confused. She glanced around the quad, outside the cafeteria, but there was still no sign of Tyler or Charity. She automatically assumed the worst.

"When did everything get so messed up?" She muttered to herself as she sat down against the building.

"When we noticed the opposite sex." Derek quipped, sitting down beside her. She gave him a rueful smile. She and Derek had never really been close, even when he'd gone to Tree Hill. He'd been Tyler's friend, but other than seeing him at school, a game or the random party, they'd never talked.

"So, how are you?" She asked awkwardly. She knew that it was his cheating that had caused Charity to break up with him, but she'd seen the way he'd jealously eyed her and Logan.

"I have good days and bad. I just wish she'd talk to me, so I could explain." He shrugged, staring at the ground.

"What is there to explain? You cheated on her, she found out, she dumped you." Lauren replied, ticking off the list on her fingers. Derek shook his head and gave her a sad smile.

"Except that I didn't cheat on her. She pissed me off, assuming that I did, so I didn't correct her. I was mad and it was stupid, but I figured she already had her mind made up." Derek admitted softly.

"What? But Tyler said you went home with one of those slutty girls?" Lauren asked, her disbelief etched on her face.

"I did, but that was after Charity had already broken up with me. Nothing happened though, she tried, but I shut her down. She wasn't Charity." Derek replied bitterly. Lauren raised her eyebrows. She wondered if this news would change anything. She looked away from Derek and saw Zach wandering around a few yards away.

"Hey, I'll be right back." Lauren said as she hurried over to Zach. She wanted to talk to him without Chloe or Skylar present.

"Hey." She said as she approached him. He smiled as she walked closer. That was a start, right?

"Hey, I'm sorry about the drama in there. I don't know if you knew all that about Charity, I'm assuming you did since she's your sister. I didn't know she had a sister." Zach said, giving her a confused glance.

"She didn't either, we didn't find out about each other until she moved to Tree Hill." Lauren informed him.

"Oh, I see. Anyway, I guess you know that Skylar's my girlfriend then huh?" He asked darkly.

"Yeah, I know. She's kind of a bitch." Lauren admitted, her cheeks growing red from embarrassment. What was she thinking, insulting his girlfriend?

"Yeah, I know." He agreed. Lauren let out a nervous giggle.

"Then why do you date her?" She asked. She couldn't imagine dating someone that she didn't like.

"I guess I never had a good reason to break up with her, until now. It's just always been easier to stay with her, then to deal with all the fallout." He said, shrugging.

"Until now?" She asked, her stomach doing somersaults. She wanted to laugh at herself for being this into a guy she had just met.

"Yeah, I've met this amazing girl. I can't get her out of my head. It's crazy, because I just met her, but I really want to get to know her better. I hope she feels the same." He said, giving her a pointed look.

"I'm sure any girl would be happy to get to know you." She whispered, not trusting her voice.

"I don't care about any girl, just this girl." He said sweetly, reaching his hand out to hers. As he touched her hand, she felt the electricity zinging through her body.

"Well, I know that this girl definitely wants to get to know you better." She told him, fighting the goofy grin that was growing on her face.

"That's what I wanted to hear." He said, interlacing his fingers in hers. As they set off down the sidewalk, Lauren noticed Tyler coming towards them. They locked eyes for a moment, before he glanced down at her hand, that was still firmly holding Zach's. He stopped, and gave her a knowing look as they passed. Lauren glanced back, but Tyler had already disappeared around the corner. It was weird, but she knew they had just agreed to end their relationship. There was no need for drama, not even any need for words, that was just how it was with them.