It was nine o' clock on the dot. People were already starting to gather even though Tric didn't officially open its doors for another hour. But Lucas Scott nodded at the bouncer prepared to work the door as he let himself in. He wasn't interested in having a drink or a night of dancing. He had other things on his mind, something far more important.

"Derek?"

Derek froze where he stood. His head was turned but he didn't need eyes to see who was calling his name. It was the voice of his nemesis and he would know that voice anywhere.

"Hey, man", Derek answered casually as he brought in a couple of cases of Jack Daniels.

"Look, I've been trying to get a hold of you. I left a few messages on your voicemail and stuff…"

"Yeah, I've been busy. Sorry."

Lucas nodded.

"I really needed to talk to you, still do. Got a minute, dude?"

Derek looked around nervously.

"Actually, I don't. Sorry. You know how crazy it gets around here. I've got to set up."

Lucas shrugged as he walked around the bar.

"I can help you."

"I, I don't know…"

"It's cool", he said, already rolling up his sleeves and helping.

Derek bit his lip, his nervous curiosity getting the best of him.

"So…um, what, what's this all about? What's going on, Luke? Why do you need to talk to me so bad?"

"It's about Peyton."

Derek dropped the glass he was holding in his hands, causing it to crash to the floor and shatter.

"Peyton?"

"Yeah…man, let me help you clean that up."

"I've got it", Derek scrambled around to sweep up the mess, cutting his thumb in the process. "Now what's all this talk about Peyton? I mean, what's going on? Is everything okay?"

"Have you heard from her?"

"What?"

"Lately, I mean, have you talked to her?"

Derek was thrown off guard.

"Yeah", he managed to stammer.

Lucas' eyes widened. He swallowed hard and grabbed the counter for support. Was it the break he had been waiting for? Was everything okay? Had someone finally been able to make contact with Peyton?

"Really? When? How many times? What did she say?" the questions spilled out of his over excited mouth.

Derek began to shuffle.

"What do you mean?"

"Peyton. When did you talk to her? How is she?"

"Um, she's okay, I guess. I mean, why is that so important? Is that all you had to talk to me about?"

"Yeah. I mean, Derek, dude, you have no idea how happy I am that you said that, that you've even talked to her."

"Why? What's the big deal?"

"Because that means she's okay."

"Why wouldn't she be?"

"Peyt came to see me the night before she was supposed to go to L.A. She left my house in really good spirits but she never made it."

"What?" Derek's eyes grew larger.

"She never made it to California, never even got on the airplane as far as we can tell. Her bags are still packed in her house. Nobody else saw or talked to her after me but she left her bedroom window open and she left her car parked on the street instead of the driveway and the keys were still in it. I had to jimmy the lock so I could move it."

Derek's blood ran cold.

"You, you moved her car?"

"Yeah. Larry asked me too and I was looking in on the house while he was gone."

"Oh…"

"So where is she?"

"Huh?"

Lucas impatiently rolled his eyes.

"Peyton! You said you talked to her. How is she? Where is she? What happened with the whole Epic Records thing?"

"Oh…um, I misunderstood you, man."

"What?"

"I, I thought you meant before she left. I talked to Peyton that Sunday night but no, uh, I haven't heard from her or anything since then. I tried to call her phone and stuff but…"

"It goes straight to voicemail", Lucas sighed as his heart sunk.

"Yeah…straight to voicemail."

"Damn!" he punched his fist into the table.

"What's your deal?"

"Don't you get it? None of this adds up. Peyton is missing!"

Derek raised an eyebrow.

"Missing?"

"Yeah."

"Don't you think that's a little, I don't know, much, maybe? I mean, missing? Dude, that sounds kind of dramatic."

"What would you call it? She has the opportunity of a lifetime that she was very excited about it and she just doesn't show up? I mean, don't you find that odd at all?"

"Yeah but…"

"Her luggage at her house, the open window, the car on the curb with the keys left inside…"

Derek shrugged.

"Okay, weird circumstances but what does that all mean? What does it prove?"

"I don't know", Lucas shook his head sadly. "But it means something."

"You think something bad happened to her?"

Lucas closed his eyes. He didn't want to think that. He couldn't. Never mind that all signs pointed in that direction. That was the reality. It was just too much. But he had remained positive. Whatever it was, they would find her and she would be okay. Only late at night alone in bed did that awful, dreadful thought of the worst possible scenario, creep into his mind. But when he was up, he was constantly on the go, keeping positive and keeping busy as he planned their next move, hopefully the one that would lead to Peyton.

"I, I don't know. I mean, I hope not. But as each day passes with no sign of her, what are we supposed to think?"

"We?"

"Larry and me. He came home early, poor guy. I mean, that's his daughter and he's worried sick."

"Well, maybe there's a reasonable explanation for this. What if you two are just paranoid? I don't think it's that bad. Don't get mad but you're probably overreacting, jumping the gun."

"Yeah, that's what the police thought", Lucas muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.

Something flashed through Derek's eyes. It was a combination of fear, surprise and overall rage.

"Police?" he asked a little too coolly, even though his knees were beginning to tremble. "You, you two called the police?"

"I went down there."

"When?"

"A few days ago."

"Why?"

"I needed some help, man. I'm desperate. I didn't know what else to do. Obviously something is wrong. If something happened to Peyton, then we need to find her, help her."

"I'm sure she's fine, Lucas."

"Well, I'm not so sure."

"You know how she gets. Maybe it was too much. Maybe she needed time away."

"That's what the detective said but I don't buy it. It doesn't add up, doesn't make any sense at all. I saw her that night, I know how she was. She was so happy and excited. It was like a new beginning. No way would she give all that up on her own."

"I talked to her a few times. She was really nervous. That with Ellie and the shooting and everything…who knows? I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if she just got spooked. Who would blame her?"

Lucas bit his lip. It was a theory he had heard of so many times but no matter how much he wrestled with it in his brain, it was still a conjecture he was not willing to accept.

"I can't, Derek. I'm sorry. I just can't believe that. She would have called."

"Maybe she's embarrassed."

"Maybe…I don't know but I have to find out. And I won't stop until I get some answers."

"Are you, um…are, are you gonna go back to the cops, you and Larry?"

"Nah, not unless we have to. It'll be a last resort, considering how they acted last time. If they don't believe us, then they're not gonna put forth a real effort. As far as I'm concerned, they're just gonna be in the way."

"So what's next?"

"Larry and I put our heads together and we see what we come up with. We're trying to retrace every step Peyton made that night and the few days leading up to that. We're talking to anyone she may have come in contact with. No lead is too small. In the meantime, we're doing what we can. We're making some fliers to put around town. And Larry is gonna talk to the local media, you know, get people's attention by getting her face and story out there. We'll just take it from there."

Derek frowned.

"Don't you think that's a lot?"

"No, I don't. I don't think it's enough. But anything to help find her."

"Whatever."

"Whatever? You know, you seem curiously light hearted for someone whose friend is missing."

"Don't get me wrong, I do care. Peyton is a great girl, the best, and I care about her a lot. She's been through so much…"

"Exactly. So I'm trying to make sure she doesn't go through anymore."

Derek nodded and sighed.

"You're right. Look, I'm sorry, okay? This is coming kind of out of left field and I wasn't expecting it. You threw me for a loop, man. I am concerned, don't think for a second, I'm not. If you and especially her dad think something is up, then okay. Whatever I can do to help, count me in."

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it. Anything helps."

"Okay…"

"I mean, the last time you saw her or talked to her, she was okay, right?"

"She was fine."

Lucas hung his head and took a deep breath.

"Alright, dude. I'll be in touch, alright? We're gonna be organizing some benefits and things pretty soon if you want to help."

"Cool. Just give me a call. I'd be happy to help you and Larry. I could kind of be like the third amigo", he joked with a smile.

Lucas shifted uncomfortably.

"That's not very funny but okay. Whatever helps float your boat."

"I was just kidding, man. Sorry if it was inappropriate or whatever. I really do want to help."

"Okay. If you see or hear from her in anyway…"

"I'll let you know."

"Good. Oh and if you remember anything, I mean, anything at all, anything that sticks out from those last conversations, just…please. Let us know. Anything would be appreciated."

Derek gave him a nervous smile.

"Sure thing", he said finally as he watched Lucas leave the premises.

From the inside, he watched until the other blonde man had disappeared from sight around the corner. Only then, could he let his true feelings show. His jaw clenched and his face reddened. He squeezed so hard around the beer bottle in his hand that it the glass shattered, slicing his flesh. He watched as the blood poured but he felt no pain. Outside, a few blocks away, someone else was feeling pain but a different kind. Lucas Scott felt like a failure. His days and nights had been devoted to finding his friend but he felt he was no closer to doing so than the first day he had begun. He cursed to himself as his phone rang.

"Yeah…"

"Hey, Luke, it's me. Did you do it yet? Did you talk to him?"

Lucas sighed.

"Yeah, Larry."

"And?"

"I'm sorry. Nothing."

"Okay. Well, it was worth a shot, right? We just keep on trying."

"Yeah…"

"You okay, son?"

"I…yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? You don't sound fine. What's going on? Did something happen when you talked to Derek?"

"He was just, I don't know…weird."

"You mean weirder than usual? He's a nice enough kid and Peyton really likes him but I always thought the boy was sort of, well, on the strange side."

"Yeah, I guess that is a good way to describe him. I don't know. At first he seemed kind of confused, then it was like he wasn't taking any of it seriously, like it was a joke or something."

"Has he heard from her?"

"No."

"You think he knows anything?"

Lucas looked around.

"No. Um, no, I don't think so", he answered finally. "But he agreed to help us out with whatever we're working on to find her. We can use all the bodies we can get so…"

"Absolutely."

"Well, I'm gonna take off, Larry…"

"Yeah. Go do that. You've done enough for the day and I can't thank you enough. Why don't you go out and have some fun with your friends?"

"I can't. I'm not in the mood. Just doesn't seem right not knowing what's going on with Peyton."

Larry sighed.

"I know the feeling. It's like I see her face everywhere", his voice trailed off. "I guess you can go get some rest."

Lucas looked away.

"I don't know about that. That's when I see her face the most…in my dreams."

Larry understood completely as the two men spoke a few minutes longer before exchanging good byes. He hung up and walked to his home away from home, the one place where he felt the most safe. Lucas walked to the River Court. Taking a seat on one of the benches that overlooked the small city, he let out a sigh. As always, his mind was on Peyton. Where was she? How was she? Was she afraid? The thoughts were almost too much to bear. And Derek? That was another story. Larry was right…ever since the kid had come into their lives earlier that year, he had been a strange one from day one but for the most part, he had seemed harmless. But Lucas had a feeling, not a bad one but more of a weird one. Something wasn't right about the way Derek had acted and it had unnerved him to say the least. But there was no time to dwell on that. At least Derek was willing to help and for that, Lucas was grateful. They needed all the help they could get. But he couldn't quite shake that feeling. Weird. Strange.