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Haley contemplated Peyton's words as she drove back to Lucas's house. It wouldn't be as simple as Peyton made it out to be, but maybe Haley could make it work anyway. Besides, she convinced herself, it wasn't like she had to see Nathan again, right?
She saw Lucas sitting on the porch, before she even pulled up. His presence brought a smile to her face. Just as with Nathan, all the feelings she had for Lucas bubbled up to the surface. Resolve set in; she would be with Lucas.
"How did it go?" he called, as she got out of his car.
"He shattered a window and that was BEFORE he found out about us," Haley said lightly. Lucas's eyes widened. Haley wondered, not for the first time, if Lucas really understood what he'd gotten himself into, all that he was giving up on her behalf.
"I saw Peyton though," Haley added, changing the subject.
"Did Brooke…" Lucas trailed off. Haley nodded.
"Yeah, she knew. It doesn't really matter who Brooke tells now," Haley said, unable to keep a note of sadness from her voice. Lucas shot her a probing glance. Haley managed a meager smile. It seemed to be enough for Lucas. He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.
"C'mon, let's get something to eat," Lucas said, leading her into the house. The vibrating cell phone in her pocket gave her pause. She quickly fished it out and sighed as she read Landry's name on the caller ID.
"I gotta take this," she murmured, motioning for Lucas to go on without her.
"What?" Haley answered irately. Landry knew that she was off for the next three days and that she was going out of state. When Haley left she had all but promised Landry that she would not come back early come hell or high water.
"Haley, check the attitude. I've got you booked on a red eye tonight. I'm loading all the info to your palm pilot, as we speak," Landry said, talking a mile a minute, as usual.
"Landry, I already told you, I'm not coming back early," Haley said, clearly enunciating each word.
"Haley, I wouldn't ask you to if it wasn't important. This is the opportunity of a lifetime! I've managed to," Landry began.
"No," Haley replied, cutting off her manager.
"Check you palm pilot. I just uploaded a revised schedule for tomorrow. That should change your mind," Landry said confidently. Haley sighed and dug through her purse for her PDA. She quickly flipped it on and went to her calendar. She nearly dropped the phone as she read over the log.
"What? How?" Haley gasped. She read over the entry again, sure she was imagining things.
"She's only going to be in town tomorrow. It took a lot of effort to convince her people that you were worth collaborating with. Don't let me down," Landry said, ending the call. Haley nodded, as if Landry could see her. She could only imagine the wheeling and dealing that Landry must have done. Haley couldn't believe that in less than 24 hours she would be recording with her idol, Sheryl Crow. All that was left was for her to try and find a way to explain this to Lucas.