"And once you lose yourself, you have two choices: find the person you used to be... or lose that person completely."

- Brooke Davis

A/N: Hello everyone, I just wanted to let y'all know that the story will take place in the past just to give some context on Haley and Clay's relationship, as well as the start of Peyton and Jake and Brooke and Lucas. I hope these chapters will clear up any confusion you may have. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews last chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

May 5, 2006

This dress is so uncomfortable. What about these heels? Do these heels go with this dress? Are they too small? Do they make me look too tall? Clay hates it when I wear heels…

Is this red lipstick too provocative? We're just going to dinner. And it's blood red. Does it even go with this dress? I know it's black and silver, gold, and bronze tie-dye…but sometimes it looks like too much. Is it not good enough for a formal dinner? I want to look like I belong on Clay's arm when he gets that prestigious award or whatever it was that he won. Maybe if I was more like…

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Don't do it, Haley, …this is what he talked about. Just take deep breaths.

She willed herself to open her eyes and look at her own reflection. She hoped she looked pretty enough. She began to put the diamond studs into her ears, wincing as she slid the metal through her pierced ears. The last time she had worn earrings was probably two years ago, at her high school graduation.

Another figure stepped into the mirror's reflection. Before she could even react, Clay put his arms around her. "Are you almost ready, Hales?" he asked.

Haley nodded, smiling. "Yes. I'm so happy for you," she said to Clay. She turned to face him. Tenderly, she put her arms around his shoulders. "I love you so much," Haley purred.

Clay smiled and met her with a kiss on the lips. He looked as though he was contemplating something. Haley obviously caught onto this.

"What is it, Clay?" she asked nervously.

"I wanted to wait until tonight to ask you this, but what the hell?"

In a single moment, before Haley could even register what was going on, Clay was on one knee, with a red velvet box in his hand. "Will you marry me?"

Haley was absolutely speechless. She just nodded, not able to form the words she wanted to say.

Haley couldn't help but stare at the huge rock on her finger. It must have cost a fortune. It was at the very least 4 carats, and with the white gold setting, Haley estimated it must have cost at least $17K. He must have been saving for it for a long time. Then again, Clay would probably hardly bat an eye over that much money; it was change that he found in the couch cushions. His father had retired and Clay was the CEO of a global communications company.

"Does it not fit?" Clay asked nervously.

Haley snapped out of her trance. "What?" She realized his question and shook her head urgently. "No. No, not at all. It's perfect. You remembered I'm a size 5." She looked down at it dreamily again. "It's perfect," she muttered.

Clay smiled. "Come on. I need to show off my fiancée."

Haley smiled as they walked through the door, arm in arm. Haley suddenly felt underdressed. All around her were women, all dressed to the nines in pearls and diamonds, their hair pulled back tightly in updos. They had on floor-length silk and satin dresses; some even had matching gloves and diamond tennis bracelets.

"You didn't tell me it would be this fancy," she said to Clay through gritted teeth.

"Maybe I was hoping that you would decide not to wear heels if I told you it wasn't so fancy," Clay responded.

Haley used every fibre of her being to not roll her eyes at this. He was so bitter about her being nearly his height in high heels. She found it a little sad and made a mental note to strut around in heels whenever she was mad at him.

Haley peered down at her engagement ring and smiled. In the end, Clay was one of the best guys that she had ever been with. He was good to her, and he was sure of who he was. They were alike, and Haley needed someone who was like her.

Clay led Haley over to the table which they were assigned to. She saw a handful of other people sitting at the table with them. Haley was unsure of what this dinner was actually about but hoped that it wasn't completely boring.

"Why are we here again?" she asked.

"It's a dinner for the benefactors of the museum," Clay explained.

Haley rolled her eyes. "How much did you invest to make sure that you won out?" she asked nervously.

"Half a million."

Haley's jaw nearly dropped, but she then recalled that this still probably wasn't a lot of money for him.

She looked around the table. There was an empty spot next to her. Alongside that spot was a brunette with tan skin and a beautiful sapphire blue dress. Haley thought she was stunning. Next to her were two couples.

Haley smiled at the girl, who gave an apprehensive smile back. Then, a man came over. He looked no shorter than six feet tall. Haley thought his features were striking. He's so…no! Haley! Clay. Look at Clay. She turned her head. But she couldn't help but look back at the man who sat down next to her.

He truly was beautiful. He had thick, light brown hair and light blue eyes. He just had this sweet, gentle face which made Haley intrigued to know him.

He sat down next to the girl in the sapphire dress. He said, "Sorry, Rachel. I have no way to get out early."

She laughed. "Really, Nathan, it's fine. I have no problem being your date," she whispered to Nathan.

Haley! Snap out of it! You just got engaged to your boyfriend of three years!

But he's just so cute…

No! Isn't that his girlfriend right there? Probably! And don't you dare ask! That would be awfully nosy, Haley!

She shook her inner thoughts out of her head.

The servers came out with the salad. Rachel took a bite.

"Can you please pass the oil?" she asked Haley. Haley gave it to her and stared at her in confusion. The odd feeling as if she knew this girl was lingering in her mind.

"Thank you," she replied.

The four people sat in silence. Clay's phone rang. Haley rolled her eyes as he proceeded to get up and answer it.

Haley sighed, no longer sure of what to do with herself. "I'm sure it's something with work," she commented.

Rachel smiled uncomfortably. Nathan's smile was much more sincere.

"I know what that's like. I'm Nathan," he greeted her.

Haley smiled. "I'm Haley. Haley James."

"I'm Rachel," Rachel added in uncomfortably. Haley couldn't determine whether or not this was out of shyness or bitchiness, but she was kind of hoping it was the latter; she wanted something to bitch about.

"Excuse me," Haley said hastily, exiting the room with her bag.

Nathan looked over at Rachel as soon as Haley left.

"What's wrong with you? Could you have been any ruder?" he questioned.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I thought I was your girlfriend for the night. As your girlfriend, I would be overprotective. I'm sorry that I'm a method actress."

Nathan got up and followed where Haley was going. She was on the balcony of the building which the event was being held at. He found her standing there and all he could see was the glowing amber tip of the object in her hand. From the light, including the light in the city below them, she could barely make out her face. Still, he was able to see the contours, and he could still see her glowing brown eyes.

On a whim, he knocked the cigarette out of her hand. It dropped on the ground was immediately put out.

"What the hell?" she asked.

"I just saved you from lung cancer," Nathan insisted.

Haley rolled her eyes. "I think you're over-exaggerating."

Nathan scoffed. "Really? Did you know that it can take up to twenty years for the effects of smoking to go away?"

She was impressed that he knew his facts. He continued.

"Besides, a friend wouldn't let another friend do something stupid."

Haley raised her perfectly shaped eyebrow in curiosity. "I wasn't aware that we were friends," she commented.

"Didn't you ever hear the saying, 'Strangers are friends we haven't met yet'?" he asked.

Haley smiled. "I think the quote is actually 'There are no strangers here; only friends you haven't yet met'. William Butler Yeats. Irish poet and 20th-century literary figure," she added.

"I stand corrected," he smiled.

She laughed. She looked off the balcony. She looked at the bright lights below her. She let out a single laugh. "It's funny. I've never met anyone who is as much of a nerd as me," she commented.

"I'm not really a nerd, but I have read the entire collection of American classics," Nathan said, looking down at his feet. He looked back up at Haley. "My favourite is Catcher in the Rye."

Haley nodded. "For some reason, you strike me as the type to look up to Holden Caulfield. I'm sure that your room is plastered in Metallica and Radiohead posters," she joked.

"It's The Rolling Stones and Radiohead. I'm a sucker for the Stones, and Creep is one of my favourite songs," he informed her.

"Ooh, now I stand corrected," she joked. She looked him over once in the dim light. "Maybe we could hang out sometime. You know, when I'm not wearing these ridiculous heels or this obnoxious dress," she said.

"I think your dress and your heels are very nice," he insisted.

She smiled. Maybe this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

"Go on about this boy. Hales, I want all the dirty details!" Brooke squealed.

Haley looked at the shirt which she was holding over her torso before responding. "Nothing happened, Brooke! I am an engaged woman now," she insisted.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Engaged, my ass. You probably want to have hot, dirty sex with Nathan as we speak. And don't even try to deny it, because you have that blush on your face!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Brooke!"

Brooke sighed. "Fine, don't tell me. But I bet this Nathan is really hot. I mean, Clay is easy on the eyes, too, so Nathan must be sizzling," she gushed.

"I wouldn't know. But he's sweet. And he's clever. And he's studious like me."

"I just got bored."

Haley sighed. "Fine. He's got these amazing blue eyes—"

"Really?" Brooke interrupted.

"Yes, And he has light brown hair and he is no shorter than six feet tall," she said dreamily.

"Haley Bob James! You just went to your happy place. And I will bet anything that in your happy place, you get to make sweet, hot love to Nathan. All. Day. Long," Brooke taunted.

Haley swatted at Brooke. "Stop it! Like I said, I am making a commitment to Clay because I love him. So I do not need you in your red Chloe heels to be like the devil on my shoulder."

Brooke laughed.

Haley rolled her eyes and continued. "Besides, I think he has a girlfriend," she informed Brooke.

Brooke's face fell. "Aww…no cute Naley babies."

"You've never even seen him."

"But come on? Haley and Nathan? I ship that." Brooke looked at her pink nails and turned back to Haley. "So tell me about this girlfriend so I can rip on her."

Haley shrugged. "Well, the girl he was with yesterday was really exotic looking. She had really dark hair, really tan skin, and dark brown eyes. And she is really pretty. And she was wearing this dress you would love. It was literally the same colour as your necklace. Gorgeous," she said, pointing towards Brooke's genuine sapphire necklace.

Brooke put her hand on her neck to touch the necklace. Then, she put one hand on Haley's shoulder. "I bet she looks like a horse kicked her in the face, Hales."

Haley laughed at Brooke's loyalty. Brooke looked at her charm bracelet watch. She frowned at the time.

"Gotta run, Hales. I'm meeting my friend for coffee," she informed her. Brooke gave Haley a hug and amicable kiss on the cheek before walking to the door to leave.

"Wait! Can I come with you? I've been so exhausted. I've been planning my own wedding to save money, and I—"

Brooke held up her hand, interrupting. "You're planning to save money? You're marrying one of the richest men in the United States." Brooke's expression turned sad. "Wait—you're abandoning my idea of having a wedding at a venue with an indoor lake, where you can get swans and light floating tea candles?" she asked sadly.

Haley groaned.

"You can come if you let me pick out my own bridesmaids dress," Brooke said.

"Wow. Am I really about to trade something which will stay in my life forever for a cup of coffee?" Haley asked herself.

"Yes."

Haley groaned but allowed Brooke to drag her out of the apartment.

"Haley. You look hot tonight. And Clay's not coming. Why do you look so hot tonight?" Peyton asked as Brooke and Haley arrived at her apartment.

Brooke laughed as Haley squirmed. "She's got a wittle crush on Nathan," Brooke taunted as she sing-songed Nathan's name.

Haley rolled her eyes, but couldn't contain her blush.

The Pixie picked up on Haley's suddenly flushed cheeks. "Haley James! Don't tell me you have a crush," Peyton said.

Haley winced at Peyton's use of the word "crush"; it implied such a juvenile infatuation. It also made Haley feel like a cheater.

But…isn't that kind of what I'm doing? I like Nathan, and not in a friendly way. In a romantic way. Ugh, Haley, you're such a terrible person! Less than a week after getting engaged, you're already mentally-cheating on your fiancé! Get it together! Haley mentally scolded herself.

"Where are we going?" asked Peyton, breaking Haley out of her thoughts.

Brooke thought for a moment. "Tric? I think that's what it's called. Rachel said it's really nice. And she said that Nathan invited two of his friends to come with us. I forget what their names are," Brooke answered.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Peyton nodded. Haley could only hear the soft hum of her refrigerator, and it was starting to bother her.

"Where is it?"

"Whoa, Tutorgirl. I know you need to be fashionably early to like everything, but you need to chill. It's like fifteen minutes away from here," Brooke insisted.

Haley rolled her eyes and sighed. "That's not why I'm flipping out," she blurted out.

"We know. It's because you can't wait to see your paramour. But please contain your excitement. We will get there soon enough," Brooke teased.

Haley picked up a box of tissues and threw them at Brooke, who swatted the box away.

"P. Sawyer, we better go. Someone is really anxious to see her lover."

Peyton laughed as Haley glared at them both.

"Come on," she grumbled.

"You're not going to tell us more about this girl that you met?" a shaggy brown haired man asked Nathan.

Nathan shrugged. "There's nothing to tell. She's engaged. But she's nice."

The person behind him scoffed. "Come on, Nathan. Jake is right. You're infatuated with this girl, and the only thing that's keeping you from pursuing her is the fact that she's engaged and you're too nice."

"Isn't that two reasons, Luke?" Nathan asked.

"You know what I mean," Lucas said, glaring. "You're into this girl."

Nathan parked the car. "We're here," he announced, ignoring Lucas's statement.

They all walked into the club, seeking out Haley, Brooke, and Peyton. Rachel finally spotted them at the bar. Rachel gave Haley and Brooke a hug, and then greeted Peyton. The guys all introduced themselves. Brooke immediately locked eyes with Lucas.

"Can I call you Broody?" she inquired.

Lucas gave her a skeptical look. "Broody?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, you just give off that Broody vibe," she commented. Rachel kicked her in the leg. "Ow! Rachel!" she exclaimed.

But Lucas only laughed. "Sure. Broody can be your nickname for me," he said.

Brooke smiled. "Okay, so Broody is my nickname; no one else can call him that!" she announced loudly. She turned to the bartender. "Can you get us all a round of tequila as per my new friendship here?" she asked, grinning at Lucas. "My new friendships here?" she corrected when Jake looked insulted.

The shots of tequila were soon delivered and distributed. Brooke raised her glass. "A toast to new friendships," Brooke proposed.

The shots of tequila were downed, and soon, Brooke and Peyton dragged Jake and Lucas onto the dance floor. Rachel, Haley, and Nathan hung back near the bar. Haley and Rachel had Cosmos while Nathan had water.

"Who orders water at a bar? Nate, you need to learn to live a little," Rachel insisted.

Nathan shrugged. "I thought I was going to be the designated driver. And seeing as how no one else is going the sober route, it looks like I'll have to make two trips to get you all home."

Haley liked how he was being responsible. "Maybe I should stop drinking. We'll probably be here for like another two or three hours…that's enough to sober up from one shot of tequila," Haley thought aloud. "And I'd feel guilty making you drive everybody home," she said to Nathan.

"It's fine, Haley. I'm used to being the designated driver," Nathan insisted.

Haley had already abandoned her Cosmo and gotten a glass of water. She smiled at Nathan. "It's good for me, anyway," she claimed.

On the dance floor, Brooke was forcing Lucas to dance. "Oh, come on, Broody! Your friend Sandy over there is dancing!" she exclaimed.

Sure enough, Peyton had gotten Jake to dance with her.

Lucas turned back to Brooke. "You're really good with coming up with nicknames, aren't you?" he asked.

Brooke nodded eagerly. "It's like a God-given talent. Right after picking out clothes and calling who goes home on the Bachelorette."

He groaned.

"Oh, come on, Broody." It was clear Lucas was not budging. "Can I at least buy you a drink? We can talk," she offered.

He looked at her. Then he looked at the club atmosphere around him. "Don't you think it's kind of loud for talking?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not here, Broody. There's this place next door…" she looked at him for a moment. "Oh, let's just go."

Dragging him by the wrist, she led him out of the crowd and out the door.

"Yogurt? Really?" Lucas asked as he looked at the place in front of him, with the topping bar and self-serve machines.

"Chocolate frozen yogurt is my weakness, and I need something to wet my throat besides tequila," she admitted.

Lucas laughed and followed her. She got chocolate with a bunch of healthy looking things. And cookies. And marshmallows. Lots and lots of marshmallows. Lucas got vanilla with sprinkles. Brooke looked at his unadorned sundae. "You can't be serious. You have all of these flavours and you choose vanilla? With only sprinkles?" she asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "I'm a simple guy."

She frowned. "I'm not a simple girl…" she gave him a flirtatious smile. "But I do like a challenge."

As Brooke walked away, Lucas's eyes wandered down to the floor. He hadn't previously noticed how long her legs looked, and…

Stop it, Lucas! Just look away…

But she's so hot…and she seems really nice…

Lucas shook his head and followed Brooke to the table, where she teasingly crossed her legs and uncrossed them. Lucas discreetly gulped. Brooke smiled in victory. She turned to her frozen yogurt. She licked the spoon provocatively, making Lucas gulp again. She finally decided to stop. But for some reason…she couldn't.

"I am so drunk right now," Brooke finally admitted.

Lucas sighed in relief. She probably wouldn't remember any of this in the morning.

"But I'm not too drunk," she informed him.

Crap.

"Do you want to try it? See what you're missing?" she asked. He nodded. Lucas leaned in close to him with a spoonful of her yogurt. About two or three inches away from his lips, she put it in her own mouth. "Too bad. You had that golden opportunity to do whatever the hell you wanted, but you chose vanilla with sprinkles," she said with disgust.

Lucas hung his head in shame, not realizing the alcohol was about to speak for him. "I just wanted to taste your lips."

She froze, not knowing what to say. Lucas didn't even realize what he just said.

She sighed. "Why didn't you just say so, Broody?" she asked.

Lucas looked at her in confusion before she pulled him in for a kiss. He kissed her back.

"Peyton! How many times have I told you not to drink the worm?" Haley inquired as she held back Peyton's hair as she threw up.

"I'm sorry, Hales. But after a few shots, I forget about the worm," Peyton said before retching again. Haley groaned.

"I take this as a clear sign that it's time to go," Haley muttered to herself.

The door opened to the bathroom.

"Haley? Peyton? Are you in here?" Rachel's voice called out.

"Yeah, we're in here, Rachel," Haley said as Peyton vomited again.

Rachel walked over to the stall they were in and winced. "What happened?"

"The worm," Haley and Peyton explained in unison.

Rachel groaned. "Oh, Sweetie…" she watched as Peyton gagged again.

When Peyton was done vomiting for what seemed like forever, Haley said, "We should probably go now."

Rachel nodded in agreement. Peyton shakily stood up, barely balancing on her heels. Rachel and Haley led her out of the bathroom. They looked around and spotted Jake and Nathan at the bar. They walked over.

"Where's Brooke and Lucas?" Haley asked, looking around, but not spotting the svelte, little blonde's head.

Nathan shrugged, as did Jake. Peyton piped up. "I saw them like an hour ago. They were dancing and then they just disappeared," she explained.

"Where could they have gone?" Haley asked.

"I'll call Brooke. Let's see if she answers," Rachel said as she took out her phone.

Brooke and Lucas had relocated themselves to a remote corner of the alley between the club and the yogurt place. Brooke pressed her lips forcibly on his lips, while he returned her deep kisses. Brooke finally heard her phone ringing and pulled away.

"Sorry," she apologized. She looked at the phone and saw it was Rachel. She answered the call. "Hello?"

"Brooke! Where are you?" Rachel inquired immediately.

"Relax, Rach. Lucas and I are just outside the club in that alley," she informed her. Within a matter of minutes, the rest of the gang was there.

Those of them sober enough to assess the situation (i.e, not Peyton) was taken aback in shock. Lucas turned pink. Brooke acted as though nothing was wrong.

"We should probably go. The tiny one is already wasted," Haley commented. Peyton groaned in response.

Brooke nodded. By now, she was probably sober enough to drive, but knowing Brooke's road rage, there was no way Haley was taking a risk like that. "Are you okay, Peyt?" she asked. Peyton glared at her and pressed her palm to her throbbing head.

"We should go," Haley urged.

Jake, Rachel, Nathan, Haley, and an inebriated Peyton all headed off. Brooke dragged Lucas back. "One more kiss? Please?" she asked sweetly.

He pecked her on the lips and Brooke smiled, dragging him back up to speed with the group.

"Okay, honey, I'm going to lift you up. Once I put you down, you have to let go. I know you like to cling, but make sure you let go, okay?" Haley said slowly to Peyton. Peyton has cradled in Haley's arms. Her eyes were closed and she looked like a tiny, sleeping angel.

"Promise me something, Hales?" she asked as Haley placed her in the back seat.

"What is it?" Haley inquired.

"Can I be a bridesmaid at your wedding? I want to wear the ugliest, puffiest dress ever and throw petals right before you go and kiss him…" Peyton informed Haley.

Haley laughed. "Of course you can. But Peyton?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you let go of my hair?"

"But it's so soft and pretty and shiny…."

"Peyton."

Obediently, Peyton let go of Haley's hair. As Haley climbed in the front seat right next to Brooke—who was already texting Lucas—Peyton stirred.

"Haley and Nathan will have the cutest little babies ever…one of them are going to be named James Lucas Scott. And the other one is going to be named…Lydia." Peyton giggled as if she was hearing the silliness of what she was saying.

Brooke snickered next to Haley. "Are you going to tell the daddy about James and Lydia?" she teased.

Haley rolled her eyes. Secretly, though, she thought it was funny.

Haley tried to sneak into the house as quietly as she could. Yet again, she failed. The lights came on in the house. Damn! Does he have bats' ears or something?

She slowly looked up at him. She was drenched. Somehow, on her way home, she managed to get caught in a monsoon. She looked like a drowned, harassed rat. And clearly, she was being greeted now not by a cheery, loving fiancé, but by a nervous, jealous, and overbearing one. Yes, Honey, Clay was mighty jealous. This would mean no end in sight for Haley, and she wasn't even fully aware of what she had done wrong.

Well, she was. She had missed their date, and for no good reason, either. She'd be mad at herself, too.

Haley looked sadly at Clay. "I'm sorry, Clay. I just lost track of time, and I—"

Clay shook his head. "It's fine, Hales," he insisted.

She stared at him for a moment. She shook her head. "No, it's not fine. I missed our date. I'll make it up to you, somehow," she promised.

And boy, did she feel she had a lot to make up for. She felt though she was emotionally cheating on Clay with a person she had known for about a month.

"I'll be ready in about half an hour if you still want to go out," Haley called.

The door clicked closed eerily to their bedroom. Haley dreaded this. She already feared that this was how it would be; this much distance would be omnipresent in their household. It was. Was a piece of paper really going to change all of that?

Haley plopped down on her bed with a sigh. She looked at her desk and saw a to-go coffee cup and brown paper napkins. She sighed, picking them both up. She tossed the cup. She stared at the napkins. As silly and cliché as it was, she thought of Nathan. For some reason, she just placed them back down and continued to shuffle through the closet.

Haley waited in slight fear for Clay to stop pacing the floor. She looked down at her diamond engagement ring. It's just so pretty…

"This is exactly why I wanted to have dinner with you tonight, Hales. You've just been so distant lately," Clay said finally.

Haley shrugged. "I know, but it doesn't help when you're always out at another meeting. And when you're here…you're not here," she said softly.

"I'm trying my best!" he exclaimed. Haley jumped. He sighed and sat down next to her. "What are we going to do?" he asked.

Haley turned to him and took his hand. "I love you, Clay. Just because I'm getting new friends…it doesn't mean that I love you any less than I did before. I'm still marrying you." She looked at him, expecting something. "We are still getting married right?"

Her heart stopped for a tiny moment. "Of course we are," he said.

She kissed him once, but she didn't feel much. "So are you still up for dinner?" she asked hopefully.

Clay sighed. "I think maybe we both just need time to ourselves. Maybe you can invite Brooke over. I'm going out with my friends."

Clay left the house. The sharp tone in his voice still rang in Haley's ears even after she left. She wasn't sure whether it was her vulnerable state, or just because she was in no mood for hearing Brooke criticize her choice in men, she called someone new.

"Hey, Rachel. This is Haley. I know we really haven't gotten a chance to really talk, but I'd really like to know you," Haley said, already feeling as though she sounded stupid. "Maybe if you're not doing anything, we could meet up tonight."

Haley hung up the phone and tossed it aside, falling back onto the large couch. She looked up at the ceiling. Is this how it's going to be for the rest of our lives?

Peyton woke up to the aroma of coffee filling the unfamiliar room. She could barely remember what happened the previous night. She was lying in an unfamiliar bed, but the white satin sheets felt lovely on her bare skin.

Where the hell am I? And why am I naked under these sheets? Oh, god, Peyton! Did you do what I think you did?

Peyton looked around the room for obvious signs that the solicited sex for money, or the other way around. Nope, nothing. Thank goodness.

Peyton touched the sheets, which felt seductive in themselves, when a figure stood at the doorway. She looked up at the person. The face was familiar, but for some reason, she couldn't peg a name on him.

"Morning, Sunshine," he said to her.

She looked around again, and then to his hauntingly beautiful, shirtless torso. "What happened last night?" she inquired.

"You don't remember?" he questioned. Peyton shook her head. "You spent the night…and we…" he trailed off, implying what Peyton thought had happened.

Peyton shook her head. "You'd think I'd remember that…"

"I saw you struggling to open your apartment door last night, so I invited you into my apartment. I wasn't as drunk as you, but we were both pretty wasted. Then again, I didn't drink a worm," he teased.

Peyton shook her head. "I always do that. Man, Haley is always right." Peyton sighed to herself. She looked at him again. "Who are you?"

"You really don't remember anything. I have never met anyone who has gotten that drunk."

Peyton rolled her eyes. "I binge drink from time to time. You're only young once, Grandpa," she teased.

"I'm pretty sure that you said the 'you're only young once' part about seven times last night. The 'Grandpa' bit? I didn't hear any complaints last night," he informed her.

"You still didn't answer my question. Who are you?"

"Jake. I'm Nathan's friend," Jake said, trying to jog her memory.

"Oh!" Peyton shouted. "I remember now. You're the guy with Ryan Gosling's hair and a model's face!" Peyton exclaimed.

Jake squinted his eyes at her. "I don't know if that's a compliment or not."

Peyton gasped. "Have you never seen The Notebook? That's like the best compliment a guy can ever get from a girl," she informed him.

Jake flashed his pearly whites in a smile. "Then, thank you."

"But really. What did we actually do last night?" Peyto asked bluntly.

Jake thought for a moment. "I'm pretty sure we were both too drunk to realize what we're doing because I don't remember any of it. All I know is that I woke up, naked, cuddling with you, who, in case you haven't noticed, is also naked," Jake said.

Peyton looked down at herself. "I promise I don't have any STDs, but…oh, god…" she trailed off. Jake looked kind of worried.

Jake took a seat next to Peyton. "What happened?"

"I'm ovulating…and if we didn't use a condom, then…"

Holy crap.

Peyton smiled at a bright new thought. "Wait a second. Just because we had sex while I was ovulating doesn't mean that I'm pregnant, right?" she asked optimistically.

"No?" Jake asked, not knowing a thing about the female reproductive system.

Peyton scowled. "Which means I have to wait until I'm supposed to get my period. Crap."

Jake was just as confused as Peyton was upon waking up. "In the meantime, do you want coffee?"

Peyton smiled at the thought. "Sure thing." She began to get up, only then remembering that she was naked. "But let me put some clothes on, first. Don't look!" she scolded.

"Come on, Peyton. It's not like it's anything that I haven't seen before," Jake reminded her.

"We were both too drunk to understand that we were naked. So either leave or turn around!"

Jake sighed and rolled his eyes, turning around. When he glanced over his shoulder, he was met with an aggressive "No peeking!" from Peyton.

Jake sighed and turned around.

"I so don't get this. We are not the ones who were supposed to go home together. It was supposed to be Haley and Nathan. Screw Haley's abusive, annoying, conniving bastard of a fiancé. She belongs to Nathan. Or at the very least, she belongs with me…" Peyton pouted.

Jake turned around, completely abandoning Peyton's "no peeking" rule, which, to his dissatisfaction, didn't matter since she was already dressed. "What do you mean, 'abusive'?" he inquired with piqued interest.

Peyton kicked herself in the face. "Okay, if I tell you, you can't tell anyone, Jake," she warned. He was waiting for an explanation, and she finally succumbed to him. "The other week, I met with Haley for coffee. I didn't question it, but she had a support on her hand, like the kind you would wear after hurting your wrist playing basketball or something. And she had this weird purplish bruise right here," she explained, touching the area around her ear, on the side of her face. "And the week before, she had marks on her arm. She's being abused," she insisted.

Jake bit his lip, unsure of how to respond. "You haven't confronted her about it?" he asked.

Peyton shook her head in shame. "I don't know how to. If I say anything, she's going to get really touchy and cagey about it; I know Haley. What do I do?"

Wasn't that the golden question.

Thank you all for the reviews the last chapter. I liked to read what you guys enjoyed and didn't enjoy. I hope you guys liked this chapter and enjoyed the insight of Clay and Haley's relationship. Let me know what you thought of this chapter. Any sort of feedback is welcome!

dianehermans: Aww, Thank you so much! I hope you liked this chapter.

KaylaRamirez16: Thank you! I will try my best to update as soon as possible, and I hope this chapter shed some light on Clay and Haley's relationship, as well as Nathan and Rachel. I tried my best not to make her a total bitch in this story and chapter so that she is more bearable but we'll see. I am glad you're enjoying the story though!

sandygirl: Thank you :) Don't worry Owen was just used in that one chapter for insight and context. He was simply there to make Lucas jealous, nothing more. In regard to Haley and Nathan's relationship, she will eventually give him a chance I promise, it is just going to take a while as I want to shed some light on their past, and Haley's relationship with Clay as it would be more realistic. Nevertheless, Nathan and Haley will be together again. It just might take a while this time!

thibbs65: Thank you! Don't worry, as I explained to sandygirl, Owen was just used in that one chapter to make Lucas jealous essentially, he's not going to be a part of this story at all in a recurring capacity, just there to provide context that's all, as for Naley there relationship will be a slow gradual one into romance. This chapter and future ones will hopefully do a good job at providing insight into their friendship before their relationship re-builds again, as I don't want them to just jump into a relationship as it is not idealistic. Hopefully, you understand, but I promise when Naley's relationship starts up again it will be worth the wait!

Guest: Thank you so much! That is very sweet honestly. I am at a loss of words truly. I like that this story does not have many favs/follows because it's more of a hidden gem in the OTH Fanfiction world, and can be our little secret. I appreciate the kind words though, you really made my day, so thank you once again! As for my favourite ships they are Naley, Brucas, Leyton, Jeyton and Bruilan, all merely serving a specific purpose for myriad reasons. As for my favourite episodes they are 1x06, 1x08, 1x17, 1x18, 2x05, 2x08, 3x06 or 7, 3x09, 3x13, 3x14, 3x16, 3x18, 3x21, 3x22, 4x09, 4x13, 4x17, 4x21 etc... those are just some of my favourites.

ConfusedMoonie: I appreciate the feedback, and understand the confusion. If it helps I have gone back and added timestamps in the chapters to make it easier to follow. I understand jumping from one storyline to the next can be confusing especially given the context (i.e Brooke & Lucas's very complicated relationship). I will try my hardest to make their relationship and the story easier to follow and less distracting. I initially did not add timestamps because I felt it would be more confusing to the reviewers/readers but I guess it helps so I will continue to do so. Nevertheless, I hope you stick around and continue to watch this wild rollercoaster unfold! I hope that cleared up any confusion! Once again I do apologize.

treehilllover: Thank you! She will don't you worry. As much as I enjoy their friendship, it might a while before the two make up and be friends again. Brooke will always have a hard time trusting Lucas and Peyton, especially since she's back in Tree Hill. I am studying to become a nurse (i know cliché) and I am going to be turning twenty-two this year so that is eventful lol! That is very sweet but for right now I'll take what I can get.

My least favourite seasons of OTH have to be season 2, 5, 7 and 8 with the exception of a few episodes here and there. I just found those seasons to be very lacklustre and didn't really serve any specific purpose, most episodes seemed like fillers to me (season 8 especially) and the magic and spark of OTH seemed to be missing from those seasons idk why. Plus depressing Nathan for me personally is difficult to watch. As for my favourites its definitely season 1, 3, 4, 6 and 9. Those seasons were wholesome and sweet and season 9 gave me season 4 chills when it came to psycho Derek. I got to hand it to Bethany though, her acting in that season (9) was stellar. It was like you can feel the vulnerability and rawness in her emotions it felt so surreal. As the seasons progressed so did the characters' we saw a lot of growth from many of the characters and that was great to see. As much as I am not a fan of Dan Scott I gotta give it to him, he redeemed himself and grow into the man we all knew he could be. His character growth was phenomenal. I just wish we saw more of this side of him, but nevertheless, I loved his villainess on the show. He was superb. Those five seasons were stellar solid gold. I got into OTH when I was 16, my cousins used to watch and in a way introduced me to the show, so I binge-watched and fell in love with the show and here we are!

Guest: Thank you! Lucas and Brooke will be fine. I promise that they will have a serious talk in about six or seven chapters and decide on whether to proceed with their wedding or not, but for right now we can enjoy past Brucas and their blossoming relationship. Yes, Peyton and Jake will make more appearances in this story, not as frequently though, as this is more of a Naley and Brucas centric story but they will definitely be there, as for their wedding I am not sure. Is that something you guys want to see? There will be tons of juicy drama to go down there, after all, it is a Tree Hill wedding. Naley won't be a couple for a while not until chapter thirteen or fourteen. Until then like I said with Brucas we can enjoy the blossoming friendship/romantic banter between Naley for the meantime.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Thank you all for the love and support and the kind words you guys send me. They never go unappreciated. Writing is one of my passions and favourite hobbies and to do it with such awesome reviewers had made me fall more in love with writing and continuing this journey with you all. Not to be so mushy ugh, but y'all are awesome.

Side note, I may not update for a little while (about three weeks or so) as my boyfriend and I will be going away for the next couple of months, and I would like to spend more time with him and be present as I don't see him as often as I like. On top of that, I have work to attend so the postings may be sporadic and up later than anticipated, but please be patient as the chapters will be worth it.

Since I just answered a bunch of questions. The time has come for you guys to do the same. I want you to tell me the following: 1) your least favourite and favourite seasons and episodes and why? 2) least favourite and favourite ships and why? 3) underrated friendships & other friendships that are your favourites? 4) favourite and least favourite character and why? and 5) whether or not you have a favourite soundtrack from the show that you enjoy or resonate with?. I am intrigued to know your guys' answers and see if we match on certain ones.

Also before I go, I wanted to know if you guys would be interested in me re-vamping my other story "Opposites Attract" from my old account as well (Sidney4522) and its more of a Brooke/Nathan story and my take on season 2 episode 20's plotline, or if I should just finish BA and SAY first. Let me know! With that being said, I don't know when I'll update it next, but hopefully, it is soon.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time! Bye! -Sidney