Hey guys, once again thanks for reading and reviewing you guys are awesome, and I have gotten some great reviews. But, here's the thing, I'm so close to 100 reviews and I would love to break that with this chapter. So, if you've got a second, please let me know what you think.

Oh, and this chapter is for Sam, because without her who knows where this story would be. And right now I have to give her a shameless plug. Sam (xo going nowhere) is a great author and has a lot of wonderful stories, but her newest one has got to be my favorite. It is called Hard to Find, and it is a Neyton. Just read it, I promise you'll love it even if you aren't the biggest Neyton fan.

Anyway, I'll shut up now. I don't own any of it…..

Chapter 13- Something That I Never Had

Do you see me
Do you feel me like I feel you
Call your number
I can not get through
You don't hear me and I don't understand
When I reach out I don't find your hand

Five of Tree Hill's elite teens all faced Monday morning with trepidation. None of them wanted to step foot into that high school, each afraid to face something or someone that had once meant so much to them.

Peyton Sawyer was just plain sick and tired of the drama. Currently she was the only member of their group that was actually speaking to the rest, and it was not a job that she enjoyed. Nathan was still avoiding Haley like the plague. Lucas and Broke had some big blowout that resulted in the brunette wallowing all weekend, and as of the previous night, Haley and Brooke were at odds as well. God only knows what their tiff had been about. If she didn't love them all so much, she would be tempted to lock them all in a room together and just see who came out alive. But she wouldn't resort to that just yet. Right now, she just wanted her two best friends speaking to each other again, and since their tiff was the easiest to fix, her mission for the day was operation Brooke and Haley. She didn't even want to face the drama that they had created with the Scott boys, even she wasn't crazy enough to take on that challenge. Sighing as she saw Brooke walking into school, she walked over and prepared herself for a very long day. She just should have worn a black and white striped shirt and painted "Referee" on it. That might get their attention.

Brooke Davis saw her best friend approaching, and silently wished that she had just ditched school for the day. Seeing Lucas would be bad enough, she didn't want to explain the whole thing to Peyton as well. And then there was the case of Tutorgirl. Turns out this whole mess was her doing. Trust Haley and her big mouth to ruin everything. But Brooke knew she couldn't entirely blame her friend for this one. She had run away, and now she had to face the consequences. She just had to figure out a way to make Lucas understand that she was serious this time- that she was going to fight for him. She had never been put in this position before; she had never been the one that had to risk it all for love. But there was a first for everything, and she finally realized that Lucas Scott was worth the risk. Now she had to convince him of the same thing, and she knew it wasn't going to be easy. She had seen the look on his face, and it mirrored her own from long ago when she had found out about his betrayal. Nothing hurt her more than knowing she had hurt him, but she was going to find a way to prove that she was worth the risk as well. In the meantime though, she just hoped that she would be able to see him and not breakdown. If only fate would be that kind to her. But as she saw him walk into her English class, she knew that it would not be the case. Feeling Peyton's arm link around hers she just sighed, and held onto her friend for strength.

Nathan Scott just wasn't in the mood to deal with anything, let alone his wife. He didn't even have to turn around to know that she had walked into the room, and he silently cursed knowing that even though he couldn't stand her right now, she was still a part of him. He had been avoiding her for more than a week now, and he wasn't quite sure how much longer he could go on. She wasn't trying to talk to him anymore, and he couldn't figure out if he was happy or disturbed by that fact. Part of him wished that she would have just stayed away. He was finally getting back on track, finally able to breathe without her, and then she returned and left him gasping for air once again. At least he and Lucas were back on good terms and he had someone in his corner. He had been so caught up in his own marital problems that he had forgotten how good it felt to have Luke around. He was really thankful that Whitey had taken his suggestion and asked Lucas to be the team manager. As he watched his wife try and bug Lucas, he couldn't help but dread the rest of the day. If Haley wasn't torturing him enough just being there, she was certainly throwing his libido into overdrive at practice. Damn Brooke and Peyton for making her be a cheerleader. That was just one more distraction that his poor heart didn't need.

Haley could feel the eyes on her back, and seriously wished that the earth would swallow her whole right now. First her husband hated her and now one of her best friends did as well, could Mondays get any worse. After Brooke and Lucas's fight, she had also had an encounter with Miss Davis. To make a bad situation worse, she realized that it was her words that had ignited the fire between Brooke and Lucas. Pride had gotten in the way, and now her strongest ally was no longer speaking to her. And, looking at her best friend, his broody behavior at the max, she was sure he wasn't that eager to talk to her either. She just wondered when it had gotten so complicated. A little over a year ago, it had been just her and Lucas, laughing at all the drama that seemed to follow the popular crowd. Now she was right in the thick of the drama, part of the elite, wondering what made everything change. But a sideways glance, answered all of her questions. Nathan Scott, he had made her change, he had made her his wife. And what did she give him in return? Some bad memories and a broken heart- a heart she desperately wished that she could fix, but had no idea how. He was in all of her thoughts, in her dreams and a part of everything she did. She just had to find a way to make him once again realize that. As she heard Brooke sigh from a few rows back, she quickly discarded her thoughts of Nathan and instead turned to try and talk to Brooke again, hoping that maybe she could undo some of the damage she had caused.

Lucas hated the looks of pity that everyone was shooting him. He knew Tree Hill was small, but he did not realize that everyone would know the reason for his prolonged absence. He hated that everyone knew that he had a heart condition, and he hated being the center of the gossip. He hated knowing that nothing would ever be the same. He just hated feeling weak, and that was exactly what he was feeling right now, weakness. He saw Brooke enter the classroom, and couldn't contain the dull ache in his chest, one that wasn't from the heart defect. This was another type of heart problem, one that no medicine would fix. He didn't think seeing her would be this hard, he didn't think she would be this hard to resist. After their confrontation, he had closed himself off to the world, only letting Nathan know what had happened. Now, facing her, he would have to put up the wall that he had carefully constructed. He wasn't going to let her back in this easy. He was going to make sure that she was going to stay this time. His heart just couldn't take it if she walked away again. So he was going to make her work for it and make her prove that she was the girl for him. And if she wasn't, then he would have to get used to a life without Brooke Davis in it.

Was it wasted words and did they mean a thing
And all our precious time but I still feel so in between

Peyton sighed as she walked into the cafeteria and sat down at the table containing her two best friends, feeling the tension between the two before she even sat down.

"Would one of you care to explain why you two are not talking?" Peyton asked. From what she gathered, their fight had something to do with Brooke and Lucas, but she wasn't quite sure what.

"Well, Tutorgirl here is the one with the big mouth, so maybe she would like to tell you. Seems she has no problem telling secrets," Brooke sarcastically remarked.

"Well maybe Brooke shouldn't have tried to lie in the first place, and then I wouldn't have accidentally told Lucas something she didn't want him to know." Haley bit back as she stole a French fry off of Brooke's plate and received a look of death in return.

"Ugh, you should have just kept your big mouth shut."

"And you shouldn't have kept that from him."

"Well, I'm not the only one that's ever made a mistake now am I, Ha-ley?" Brooke smirked, emphasizing Haley's name and getting a hurt look from her friend.

"No, but at least I admit I was in the wrong, you just think that everything should instantly work out because you want it to."

Brooke opened her mouth to reply, but instead found it covered by Peyton, who did not look so happy at the situation.

"Enough! That's it both of you. Now, fix this right this instant, because I am sick and tired of all the drama. Neither of you even think about talking to me until you have made up. Now, I am going to sit at a table that is not full of drama queens." And with that Peyton grabbed her things and walked away leaving her friends speechless.

"Sorry I told Lucas you ran away."

"Sorry I acted like a bitch."

The two called a truce and hugged, knowing that fighting with each other was the least of their problems.

Both girls looked over to the table that Peyton had just joined and watched as she jokingly hit both Scott boys on the back of their heads, and watched as the trio began to laugh.

Neither girl could hide the look of jealousy that crossed over their features as they watched Peyton cozy up to two of her ex-boyfriends without a care in the world. And neither girl could hide the hurt that came with knowing that they alone were responsible for the huge rift between the group, and that they were the reasons that the boys they wanted didn't want them back.

"Peyton, what the hell was that for?" Both boys laughed simultaneously after she hit them across the back of their heads and sat down like she didn't have a care in the world.

"Because I am sick of dealing with all the drama, and I don't like when my two best friends are all mopey."

"Well maybe they should have just stayed where they were, and not have come back." Luke replied, still wounded from the whole Brooke situation.

"Come on, you don't really mean that. Besides, I came over here to get away from the drama, not start more, so just continue on whatever you were doing before I got here."

"Sorry, Peyt. We were just about to go see Whitey, he said he wanted to see us before practice." Luke replied.

"Wait, you're still on the team? I thought you couldn't play?"

Peyton immediately regretted saying that when she saw the look of hurt flash on Luke's face, but was thankful when he just seemed to ignore her insensitive remark.

"No, I'm the manager now, and I'm still the co-captain, and we gotta go meet with him. So I guess we'll see you at practice."

"Bye guys." Wow practice was sure going to be lots of fun, Peyton sighed as she flipped open her art book and started sketching, content that maybe her sketches would help clear her mind. Because right now, the idea of locking them all in a closet together was getting more tempting by the moment.

Some day I just keep pretending
That you'll say dreaming of a different ending

"Well at least I don't have to see Lucas at practice," Brooke whined as she and Haley walked into the gym.

"Brooke, I wouldn't be so sure of that," Haley pointed out as she pointed to Lucas who seemed more than a little distracted by a certain red-headed cheerleader that everyone despised.

"Could we just slit my wrists now, I mean her, why does he have to be by her," Brooke choked out, about the break out into tears at the sight of Rachel and Lucas laughing like they were old pals.

Haley just put her arm around the brunette and sighed, "Well look on the bright side, at least its not your husband that can't stand the sight of you." And at that moment her eyes caught Nathan's but he simply just turned to talk to Whitey.

Her attempt at humor did nothing to cheer up the brunette, but she wrapped a sympathetic arm around Haley in return.

"Its gonna get better, right?"

Haley just shrugged in return, and both girls went and changed for the practice that they were both dreading.

Lucas had to fight to keep his concentration on the game, and away from the cheerleaders that were stretching nearby. He discretely looked over and noticed that Brooke wasn't quite so Cheery today, and he tried to ignore the pang of guilt he felt for knowing that he was the reason for her heartache. He kept having to remind himself that she was the reason for his heartache as well, so payback was only fair.

Besides, one look at his brother and Lucas could tell that he wasn't the only one being driven crazy by a woman.

Basketball practice had ended after the cheerleaders and Lucas silently thanked the Gods that he didn't have to see any of them right now. He just wanted to go home and forget that this day existed. But, he wasn't quite so lucky, because he heard his name from behind, and he would know that voice from anywhere.

"Lucas, please wait."

He was half tempted to just keep walking, pretending that he didn't hear her or wasn't paying attention, but then she used his nickname, and his heartstrings pulled him back.

"Broody, please"

"What do you want Brooke," he said, careful not to use the nickname that rested at the tip of his tongue. He had to keep her at arms length or else he would never be able to get on without her.

"I don't want things to be like this"

"Well, I'm not the one who did this am I?" He asked, careful to mask the hurt with anger.

"No, I am'" she whispered. "Lucas I blame myself for this ok, it was my mistake, one I wish I could take back, but I can't and now I'm just trying to fix it."

"Well I don't know if we are something that can be fixed."

"Well, I'm still going to try. Come on, we can't go on like this all year, you mean too much to me."

"Oh, so now, I mean something to you?" He taunted.

"You always meant something to me Luke, even when I tried to deny it."

He was going to try and say another smart remark, something to hurt her, but one look into her eyes, and the mean thoughts left. He could see that she was really trying, but he just wasn't ready to let her back in.

"Look, I know that things are weird between us, but I meant what I said about to proving that I'm the girl for you. And I just want us to be friends, not like we were before, but just not fighting like this. Please."

He wanted to say no, he wanted to tell her just to go to hell or California or somewhere equally far, but he just couldn't make the words come out. Here she was asking for the same thing that he had asked of her so long ago, and he didn't have the heart to deny her request.

Brooke nervously waited for his reply. If she could at least get him to be friends with her then all hope was not lost, and if he refused… well, she just hoped that he would at least let her back into his life a little bit.

"Ok"

One little word had never sounded so good to her, and on impulse she launched into his arms.

He tried to stiffen as she wrapped her arms around him and he tried not to be affected by her vanilla-strawberry scent, but having her in his arms felt so good even if it was just for a second, and his body betrayed his mind.

She pulled back quickly, almost awkwardly, still not quite used to being around him without actually being near him. He still seemed distant, and rightfully so, but she couldn't help that think that she had made some progress. At least now, he wouldn't give her the silent treatment and stalk away. At least this way, she had some chance, and that was all the hope she needed.

"Thanks, Luke. I gotta go, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah tomorrow." She replied as she turned and walked away. He couldn't help but smile a little as he thought about it. This was going to work. He could be her friend and not want to be her boyfriend again, right. He wasn't so sure, but he was going to try. After all she had been the one to break his heart, and now he just had to work to keep the wall up around the rebuilt pieces.

"Bye, friend" he heard her call in the distance, and a little piece of that wall began to crumble.

I keep telling myself things can turn around with time
And if I wait it out you could always change your mind
Like a fairy tale where it works out in the end
Can I close my eyes have you lying here again

The song lyrics were from Lindsay Lohan, Something That I Never Had. Don't forget to tell me what you think.