Omg, I love you guys! Lol. You have NO idea how awesome it is to read your reviews. Thank you so, so much! I've already written the next three chapters so remember, keep the reviews coming and the updates will be faster. And to the people requesting Leyton, I'm so sorry . . . I love them as much as the next person but I can't make it a Leyton now. Maybe in my next story . . .

To B.P. Davis: It's coming up! You know what I mean . . . wink, wink

-------Sera

Disclaimer: Nothing about One Tree Hill except this plot is mine.

Strangely, life for Haley went on pretty normally after that extremely uncomfortable meeting with Nathan. She never told anyone what happened, and thankfully, he didn't, either. It was like nothing even happened.

Tutoring him seemed to be easier now, as they could talk and joke around. In fact, it was pretty fun, aside from the times that he couldn't quite get half of what she was talking about. But other than that, it was actually like they were friends – real friends who teased and annoyed each other.

Haley didn't know if it was better than being married. She loved him, and she still did but in the later months of their marriage, it was like a huge concrete wall was standing in the way of something really good so she wasn't quite certain which was better. Sure, things with Nathan were more than improving now, but she missed what they had.

And sometimes, she prayed that he did, too.

"Haley, you're standing in the middle of the road. Do you want to die early?" Brooke asked from out of nowhere.

On the other hand, Brooke was in a world of her own. Things with that Eric guy seemed to be doing great, as she wouldn't shut up about it. She didn't come home as often as before, but Brooke made it a point to walk to school with Haley so they could talk (mostly about Eric again) and catch up on things.

Haley had never met Eric, but she never bothered asking Brooke if she could. God, she heard enough about him to paint his picture and give a full biography about his life. She was happy for her best friend but she often wondered how Lucas was taking it. After all, he did say that he was falling in love with Brooke.

"What the hell, Haley? If you wanted to kill yourself, there was a knife in the kitchen! You don't have to show everybody." Brooke grabbed Haley by the arm and dragged her into the Tree Hill campus.

"Sorry, I sort of zoned out with all that Eric talk." Haley teased as they walked into the main building.

"Oh sure, be that way but don't expect me to help you pick out an I-Need-to-Get-Laid outfit when you have a hot date." Brooke said, tossing her hair,

"There's no way I'm having a hot date anymore. Guys are off-limits from now on. I learned my lesson." Haley said.

Her best friend frowned at her. "Wow, I was gone for a long time. Did I just hear my roommate say that guys are off-limits? Honey, no girl who has ever lived with me says that."

She laughed, linking her arm with Brooke's. "When you're like me who's been married twice, things change."

"Who ever said I have plans on getting married? I pity all the guys who haven't met me yet."

Just then, they saw Peyton walking across the hallway. Brooke practically screamed into Haley's ear as she ran to Peyton.

"See, now this is what I call an I-Need-to-Get-Laid outfit. Peyton, I think my genius is finally rubbing off you." Brooke said proudly, as she spun her around.

"Wow Peyton, you look hot." Haley said admiringly.

She blushed. "Thanks. I'm going on my date with Jake today."

"With that outfit, Jake won't be able to take his eyes off you." Haley gushed.

"Or his hands," Brooke added. The three of them burst out laughing.

"Come on, let's get to class."

"You ready to go?"

Jake spun around. "About time you showed up, I was planning to file a missing person's case –" His jaw dropped.

"Do I look okay?" Peyton asked nervously.

"Did you tell every guy who saw you that you're going on a date with me?" He asked.

"Only those who asked. Why?"

"Because then every guy would know that I scored." Jake answered, grinning.

Peyton grinned back as he helped her get into the car. "So what exactly are we doing tonight?"

"I was thinking we could have dinner and take a drive after. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course,"

They drove in silence for a good fifteen minutes until he asked, "Is the air-conditioning too cold?"

"No."

"I really like your outfit."

"Thanks."

"It's a nice evening."

"Uh huh."

"Are you always such a good conversationalist?" Jake asked teasingly.

Peyton laughed. "I'm sorry."

"See, we're making progress. That's two words." He said, laughing with her.

"Where are we going? We're way past all the good restaurants." Peyton observed.

"No, there's a pretty good one here." Jake swerved left and they arrived in a small, cozy-looking restaurant with a few cars parked in the driveway.

He opened the car door for her and helped her get out of the car.

"What is this place? I've never seen it before." Peyton said, looking around and admiring the landscaping.

"Not many people have, but it's been here a long time now." He offered her his arm and they walked inside. It was furnished simply but beautifully, giving it the feel of a country home. The air smelled of lavender and coffee.

They sat on two plush chairs beside the window. A waitress immediately took their orders and left them alone to talk.

"How did you come to know about it?" Peyton asked.

"I realized that it existed when I had one of those long drives around Tree Hill. Sometimes, you just want to leave a crying baby and hear nothing but silence." Jake explained.

"How is Jenny, by the way?"

"She's doing great. I got my old neighbor to take care of her while I'm in school. I reckon she misses you taking care of her." He said.

Peyton smiled. "I miss her a lot. She was always a handful but she was so adorable."

Jake's dark brown eyes met Peyton's green ones. "I miss you, too."

They spent the next two hours in the restaurant talking about practically anything. Peyton was having so much fun with him that she didn't even care what time it was already.

Even the drive in the car was fun.

"Where are we off to next?"

"You'll see."

He parked in the middle of what seemed to be a hill overlooking the city.

Jake noticed that she suddenly froze. "Are you okay?"

"You do know where we are, don't you?" Peyton asked, looking highly uncertain.

"Yeah Miss Observant, we're in my car on a hill outside of town." He frowned when she didn't laugh at his joke.

"Jake, this place is notorious for being a make-out area at night." Peyton explained.

He scrutinized her. "Oh, so you think I was being charming and funny all night so that I could lure you into making out with me in my car?"

Peyton didn't know if he was angry or just honest. "No – well, sort of – maybe . . ."

Jake laughed. "I didn't even know this was a make-out spot. I just thought you wanted to see the view."

She blushed slightly, embarrassed. "Sorry – I just assumed –"

He waved his hand airily. "No big deal," they both sat in silence for a few moments. "Well, I always thought making out is way better than a stupid view."

Peyton laughed as she leaned closer to Jake. "Care to test that theory?"

I don't know about you guys, but I've always loved Jake . . . hahaha