A/N: I understand that this whole storyline (and show) are long over, but I'm enjoying rereading and typing it far too much to stop. I hope some of you are still on the OTH/Breyton wagon. Thanks in advance and I hope you enjoy.

"Get away from me, Lucas! God, can't you take a hint?!" Peyton yelled, wrenching away from him as he tried to stop her from rushing down the hall past him.

"Peyton, what the hell?!" he yelled back, watching her as she walked away. "We were fine this morning!"

Haley approached, wondering what she had just witnessed, though she had a pretty good idea. She always managed to be close enough to catch up on whatever new gossip there was without having to pry- much. It helped that her two closest female friends and their antics were generally at the root of the drama.

"Lucas, are you okay?" she asked softly, seeing the anger in her best friend's eyes and knowing to tread lightly.

"Yeah, Haley! I'm freakin' great!" he spat, slamming his locker hard.

"What happened?"

"Peyton's schizophrenic or something, I swear to god," he rolled his eyes. "One minute she's all over me, the next she 'needs her space'. She just expects me to know which one it is all the time and I can't keep up," he shook his head, beyond frustration.

"She wants space?" Haley inquired curiously.

"Yeah. Apparently she can't really be around me right now. Just wants to be alone. She didn't have that problem ALL day, but now…"

Haley thought about trying to comfort Lucas with the fact that Peyton's change in demeanor was most likely just about Brooke. But when she really thought about it, as Lucas certainly would, that fact wasn't very comforting at all. It would probably tear him apart. The idea that the only person that could evoke such emotion, such passion, from Peyton was not only NOT Lucas, but was Brooke, would be a blow to his ego. He had always had trouble with how close the two were, whether it was Peyton or Brooke that he happened to be dating at the time.

The tumult of Brooke and Peyton's connection could not be understood by any of their friends. The push and pull, back and forth. Such intense emotion did not usually come from people in a simple friendship. Haley understood what Lucas meant perfectly well; she couldn't keep up either.

"I'm sorry, Lucas. I'm sure she'll come around."

Haley knew that she was lying but she said it anyway.

"Yeah, right."

XXX

Lucas knocked Skills to the ground with a hard thud, snagging the ball and shooting only to have it bounce off the rim and away.

"Shit!" he yelled, stomping like a child.

He was playing hard today; too hard. His anger had only grown and gotten the best of him by the end of the day. Basketball practice had somehow turned into war and everyone noticed.

"Lucas, what the hell?!" Nathan asked as they changed in the locker room.

"What?!" he growled, not wanting to be criticized right now.

"It's basketball, not the NFL," Nathan reasoned, seeing that gleam in his brother's eye.

"You're one to fuckin' talk," Lucas threw down his gym bag.

"Look, you can take shots at me if you have to, but obviously you're pissed. Girl trouble?" Nathan tried to lighten the mood even though he had a good feeling that it wouldn't lighten anything.

"No."

"You're an awful liar. You might as well take it out on me instead of Skills and the court," Nathan shrugged, sitting down on the bench in waiting.

"Peyton 'needs space'," Lucas said with finger-quotes, caving.

"All of a sudden?"

"Right?!" Lucas threw his hands up, knowing that Nathan would understand, even if he would never admit that out loud.

"Don't worry about it, bro. You know how Brooke makes her crazy," Nathan said, attempting to be comforting and help this blow over.

"Brooke?" Lucas asked, confused. "What does Brooke have to do with anything?" He felt his anger rebuild before he even had an answer.

"Oh, nothing. Nevermind," Nathan stammered, only now realizing that Lucas didn't know the whole story- a story that would only piss him off more.

"Nathan… what the hell happened?" Lucas said quietly, the edge in his voice actually making his brother nervous for a second.

"Haley just said they kind of talked. Something about Peyton drawing a picture of Brooke. Girlie shit. No big deal," Nathan vagued up too obviously.

"Nathan, what are you leaving out?" Lucas demanded through gritted teeth.

"I don't know, Luke. I guess Brooke saw it, kissed Peyton on the cheek or something and she got pissed," he said with no enthusiasm. "She's just pissed at Brooke, bro. Not at you," he tried like hell to flip it in a positive direction.

"Does that mean they're friends again?! Who kissed who?" Lucas said with rage as he stood and gathered his things, determined to get to the bottom of this.

"I don't know the whole story, man. I really don't think it's a big deal," Nathan said quietly, wishing to be as far away from the whole thing as possible even though it was far too late.

"No big deal?" Lucas scoffed. "Don't worry, I'm gonna find out the whole story. Now."

XXX

"Haley!" Lucas grabbed his best friend's arm as she walked down the hall, before she could even notice he was near.

"Hey, Luke," she smiled, pretending to assume that her friend was just happy to see her; she knew better.

"What happened with Brooke?"

No time for pleasantries.

"What do you mean?"

She tried to play dumb, but she had never been good at it.

"Haley!" Lucas yelled, drawing the attention of others in the hall, though he was in no state to realise that. "With Peyton! What happened with Brooke and Peyton?!" he stopped, drawing in a long breath and seeming to calm himself. "And you better tell me the whole story," he said, and it sounded like a threat.

"It wasn't even anything, Luke," she said, and she meant it, unsure why he seemed so intense.

"If it made Peyton pull away from me, it was something," he shot back.

"Lucas, it was nothing!"

"What happened, Haley?!" he yelled, drawing the crowd of eavesdroppers again.

"Peyton was drawing a picture of Brooke. Brooke saw it, said it was amazing," Haley said casually, hoping like hell to play it off.

"Who kissed who?!" he demanded, finally assuring Haley that he was making it much more than it was (probably?).

Haley's brow furrowed. How much had Nathan divulged?

"Brooke kissed Peyton, and it was just on the head, Luke. Like friends do. Just to say she liked the drawing."

"Why was she even drawing Brooke?! They're not supposed to be speaking at all!" Lucas yelled, smacking his body hard into the lockers, overwhelmed by his emotions.

"Okay, Lucas?" Haley took a deep breath and met his rage-filled eyes. "This is starting to get weird and you're starting to make me mad. Nothing happened. They're not friends again and even if they are, that's up to Peyton, not you. If you have a problem with Peyton, talk to Peyton, not to me."

Haley shook her head in frustration and irritation with her normally intelligent best friend. Lucas could be as angry as he wanted; it wasn't like it would change anything. Well, it COULD change something, but certainly not for the better.