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Lauren glanced at Derek, in the dimness of the interior lights of the car. Darkness had set many hours ago, and it seemed that Derek had been asleep for the majority of them. This was fine with Lauren; she preferred the tranquility of driving at night, when there was no other traffic. These precious few hours that she'd had to herself were spent in thought. Her life was not where she had thought that it would be, at this point. Here she was, almost seventeen years old, and she didn't even know who she was, let alone who she wanted to be. She had always assumed that she would be a cheerleader, pretty and popular, with all the trappings that came with the social position. Namely, a hot boyfriend, cool friends and a great reputation. She laughed aloud, as she thought of how naïve she had once been. At some point, in the last two years, her view of herself had shifted from what she was, to who she was. If she had learned nothing the past two years, she had at least learned that life was far more complicated than she had previously given it credit for. The dreams and goals that she had once had for herself now sounded petty, juvenile and shallow. She struggled to remember the person that she had been, much as she struggled to define the person that she wanted to become. She had wanted to be well liked; now the only opinions that mattered to her were hers, and those of her close friends and family. She had wanted a hot boyfriend, now she knew that looks came in a distant second to the person inside of the body. She sighed loudly, wishing she could turn her thoughts off for a little while.

"Where are we?" Derek mumbled, stretching his neck out as he sat up.

"We're about halfway there. I didn't wake you did I?" She asked, hoping that she hadn't.

"No, you're fine. Is there somewhere we can stop for awhile?" He asked, scanning the signs that flew by.

"Yeah, I think there is rest stop at this exit coming up." She replied as she quickly changed lanes.

"Cool. So, I'm sorry I've been such sucky company." Derek apologized, with a smile and shrug.

"Its fine, I actually was glad for the time to think. Everything has been so…intense lately." She said, trying to find a word that would convey her feelings accurately. Derek nodded, and to Lauren's surprise he picked her hand up and squeezed it. Her stomach immediately filled with butterflies. She could feel the goose bumps rising on her arms, as he slowly pulled his hand back. Not knowing what to say, nor even if she wanted to admit her feelings to herself, she concentrated on expertly exiting the interstate and navigating the vehicle into the parking lot of the rest stop.

After they had freshened up and grabbed some snacks, they sat together in the open room inside the rest stop. Lauren amused herself by looking at all the maps that hung on the walls. She repeatedly fought the urge to glance at Derek. Even though she wouldn't allow herself to look at him, she could recall, in wondrous detail the exact shade of his brown eyes and the way his hair curled up at a funny angle in the back from the way he had been sleeping.

"So why did you decide to come home with me?" He asked, breaking the silence. Lauren chewed her lip. She didn't know what to tell him, she wasn't even sure that she knew exactly why she had come.

"I don't know. I guess I just needed to get away. It's just seemed that lately my identity is either tied to Charity or Tyler. Like I'm either Charity's sister or I'm Tyler's girlfriend. I just wanted to be Lauren for a little while." She shrugged, as she tried to read the expression on his face. She was sure that he probably thought she was a little crazy by now.

"I've noticed that." Derek nodded, smiling at her sympathetically.

"Why is it that we've never hung out before? I mean, when you went to Tree Hill, weren't you and Tyler really good friends?" Lauren asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, we were, we still are. And you just proved a point of mine, by the way. I've always said that if you have girlfriend, no one notices you." Derek replied, amusedly.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess you're right. We didn't really pay much attention to the guys that were taken." Lauren admitted. She wasn't sure if the blush she felt rising in her cheeks, was due to her embarrassment over the way she had once acted, or if it had more to do with the way that Derek was looking at her.