Chapter Three

Live Your Life so Guarded

From "Tomorrow" by SR-71

AN: Happy New Years, guys. Thanks for sticking with me!

Karen's Café at twelve. Well, Peyton was present and accounted for. Now, where was Melissa? Maybe something had come up. She pushed the thought from her mind for the fifth time since she had arrived. Haley and Lucas had made their brief, respective appearances. They had both needed to ask Karen something or other, had offered Peyton their company, and then went on their way when she declined.

She swirled the contents of her mug with a spoon, her apparently blank gaze on the smooth, round tabletop. Maybe Melissa was just being a –

"Bubbles – hey, sorry I'm late."

Ah, there was that annoying nickname.

"Alright, let's get started." Peyton set her spoon on a napkin with a slight, rather dull clatter.

"Don't I get any hot chocolate?" Melissa's face was the picture of mock-innocence. Now, if only she could effectively hold that expression, maybe it would have been convincing. Not to Peyton, but maybe someone else. Maybe. But, the other girl seemed incapable of doing so, a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"No." Peyton said simply, rolling her eyes as she stopped by the front door. She received a grin and laugh at her response, not too terrible.

"Alright, have it your way." Melissa sighed playfully as she followed suit, pushing herself away from the table. "So, where to first, almighty knower-of-all-things?"

"Obviously, we've just left Karen's Café." Peyton pointed out in her best 'tour guide' voice.

"Peyton!" came a light voice from one of the other shops. The blonde turned her head in the direction of the voice. It was coming from the pet store.

"This is Gabby." Peyton said offhandedly to her before smiling and leading Melissa to the shop. It wasn't big by any means, but it was buzzing with sounds. Gabby was one of those rare popular kids who somehow managed to be herself. She was way into her job, though she often said that it was only to get extra money.

"We just got some painted Mantella frogs. Take a look." Of course, the brunette gave them no time to argue, her brown eyes glimmering excitedly. Peyton's gaze soon fell on to a terrarium filled with multi-colored frogs. "They're poisonous. If you get their toxin in your system, you feel really…high and then get extremely sick."

"Gabrielle!"

The girl rolled her eyes at Peyton as she gave a slight wave before departing into back. It was an obvious indication that she wouldn't be returning and that she had to work. Melissa observed the frogs as they sat there on the bottom.

"Those are some kick ass amphibians." She commented blandly, her eyes flickering up to Peyton's face. "You come look at frog's very often?"

"Nah. Gabby just calls me in when she finds something that she thinks is really interesting." Peyton took in the little creatures, trying to find some kind of artistic touch to them. But, she was never one to draw nature for the hell of it.

"The colors are unique." Melissa's breath in her ear sent an involuntary shiver down her spine. Peyton had been so busy contemplating over the damn frogs that she hadn't kept track of Melissa's movements. Peyton hurriedly pulled away, turning to see Melissa's mischievously sparkling eyes. Those freckles she had noticed on her first day were faint, but noticeable. Her eyes, normally a light hazel, seemed to be a shade of green-blue with gold specks. Peyton had noticed that her eyes seemed to change with the light.

"W-we should go…now." Peyton had a little trouble figuring out how to pull herself together after that little shock. The blonde quickly led Melissa from the store, speeding up her pace a bit.

Melissa tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, watching her tour guide as she calmed down. She hadn't meant to freak Peyton out, though the reaction wasn't entirely negative. The fact that she hadn't whirled around and yelled at her told Melissa something about Peyton. She was either bi…or gay. Either way, she hadn't completely shot down Melissa's slight come on.

Peyton, on the other hand, was royally panicking. She would have felt guilty, but then she reminded herself that she had nothing to feel sorry about in the first place. It wasn't like Peyton and Brooke were dating. Now, if her best friend gave her a hint that she was interested, then maybe –

"Peyton. Records. Music." Single words. Melissa was thinking rapidly and thoroughly about how much she could possibly accomplish in this one day. How much could she learn about Peyton Sawyer?

---

"NOFX."

"Tough choice, Bubbles. I guess...I'd go with The Malachi Crunch."

"Interesting choice." Melissa and Peyton had finally gotten around to getting what she had offered. Ice cream. They had been gotten sidetracked as they talked and now their ice cream was melting in the bowls. "Choosing a song about death, torture and getting arrested."

"What can I say, I have a unique taste." Melissa shrugged, lightly swirling her spoon around the slushy ice cream. "SR-71. You have to have listened to SR-71." Her hazel orbs focused on Peyton's lighter eyes.

"Maybe…a couple of times." Peyton said admittedly.

"And—"

"Goodbye."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, 'oh really'." The artist rolled her eyes at her companion, who was grinning wolfishly. They had been talking at this table for a couple of hours by that time. Their topic was music, something that they both profoundly enjoyed and something that they both felt a need for. As though living life without lyrical angst of the artists would be time wasted. So many words strung together to form a complete mental picture. "My turn again. The Descendants."

"Good choice. I'm going with Cool To Be You." Melissa voiced her personal favorite song after hearing the name of the artist. This was their game. Sometimes they would continue on, other times they would stop and talk about the song or the artist in question.

"'Counting scars in the land of smiling knives.'" Peyton quoted the lyrics, unable to tear her gaze from Melissa.

"Good memory, Bubbles. Mine again. How about Shinedown?" She crossed her arms over the table in front of her, awaiting an answer of some sort.

"'Shows no emotion to a willing sacrifice.'" Peyton used the lyrics instead of the title, waiting to see just how good Melissa was.

"Heroes. 'You can put a man on trial, but you can't make the guilty pay.'" She leaned in, smirking slightly.

"So, I was wrong about you." Peyton confessed, albeit a little grudgingly. Otherwise, it was all in good nature. "Never thought you'd be a music person." They both fell silent, somehow just enjoying the company of the other. "Athlete?"

"Forest Fire. 'I'll be standing on the corner waiting for the sky to open up.'" Melissa smiled. It was genuine as well. Usually she had just been being playful. She knew that Peyton was one of a kind. She was – for lack of a les corny way to put it – special. "Tegan & Sara?"

"Oh….god." Peyton swirled her melted ice cream as she thought about it. "There are so many… Proud, Don't Confess, Dancing in the Dark."

"To name a few, right?" Melissa grinned, laughing at Peyton's indecision. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I'm trying. There are just too many. Tegan & Sara cannot be judged on just a single song. Each one has its own meaning. You just can't exclude any of them." Music was Peyton's passion along with art. She felt strongly about some artists, and Tegan & Sara happened to be one of the artists.

"You have no argument from me, Bubbles." Melissa waved her hand, making it clear that it was Peyton's turn to ask again. The cheerleader thought it over for a couple of moments, trying to decide which artist to bring up next.

"Nelly Furtado, James Blunt…and Fall Out Boy."

"Afraid, You're Beautiful, and...you can't honestly be asking me to choose just one Fall Out Boy song. Not possible. Azure Ray and…dare I say it, Frou Frou." Melissa almost laughed at the latter artist. Such deception within the name.

"Never heard it. Frou Frou?" Peyton couldn't repress a laugh. Melissa waved her spoon at her, trying to look serious and threatening.

"Hey, don't be fooled by the name. They've got this one song that I like. Azure Ray has one too. You need to listen to this music. You have been deprived, Bubbles." She spoke with all sternness. Yeah, like that would work. "I'm going to make you a CD and you will listen to this music, understand?"

"Aye aye, captain." It took her a moment to realize that the sunlight was slipping away, sinking in the distance. "Oh, Brooke's gonna be waiting for me at home."

Melissa's smile gave way to a confused expression. "You live with her?" Huh, maybe she didn't have a chance with Peyton after all. Had Brooke already 'laid claim' to her? If she did – well, she was one lucky girl.

"Oh, yeah, we're roommates." Peyton revealed as she stood up. Melissa followed her example without saying much. At least Peyton hadn't said anything to the effect of 'we're lovers'. That would have made it absolutely clear that Peyton was unavailable. But, fortunately for her, it didn't seem to be the case.

"I'm really sorry, I've got to go. I didn't realize the time." The broody blonde said apologetically as she walked backwards to the door.

"Wait –" Peyton paused, her hand on the door.

"Thank you, Peyton, really. I know I bugged you, but you gave me this tour anyway. I appreciate it." It was the first time that Melissa had actually addressed her by her actual name and not with Bubbles."I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh, no problem. I'll see you." With that said, Peyton scooted out the door, leaving Melissa alone with the melted ice cream. She sighed, brushing her dark hair back with one hand. What was she doing? It was supposed to be nothing more than a fling. Peyton was obviously available, so Melissa could make her move. It couldn't be anything else. She convinced herself that it was just lust that boiled the blood in her veins and caused the tightening off her chest.

Nothing more.

---

I have a cast list of sorts, so, here it is:

Peyton Sawyer Hilarie Burton

Rachel Gatina Danneel Harris

Brooke Davis Sophia Bush

Melissa Lander Kristin Kreuk

Haley James Scott Bethany Joie Galeotti

Lucas Scott CMM

Nathan Scott James Lafferty

Supporting

Gabrielle Amber Tamblyn

Bevin Maskey Bevin Prince

Skills Antwon Tanner