Jake nervously paced the side of the field, hands crammed in the pockets of his khaki shorts. The intensity was unreal as one would have thought he was about to participate in a game for his life. But life wasn't at stake, just the bragging rights of ten year old girls. With 22 of them on the field, he leaned over keeping a special eye on the goalie dressed in red and white. The action made its way down the field to her. There was a swift and powerful kick and she went for it. It appeared to be the ultimate stop but an official quickly ruled against it. The call was bullshit. They ruled she had made the save outside of the penalty area. It was no good.

"Oh come on, man! Are you blind? My grandmother could have made a better call and she's 80 years old with cataracts!"

"Dad…" he heard an embarrassed Jenny mouth.

He couldn't help it, he was a soccer dad at heart. He hated being that loud mouth tool parent on the sidelines but he didn't like his daughter being cheated either.

"Okay, I have to side with Jenny on that one. Dude, you are officially the crazy dad that eventually gets banned from the games. So not cool."

He looked up and smiled.

"You made it."

She walked towards him and they hugged.

"Jen called me last night and asked me to come and I sort of promised."

Before she could say anything else, the young girl had noticed her from the field.

"Peyton!" she happily yelled with a wave.

Peyton grinned and waved back.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. Have a seat. I've got roast beef sandwiches with Swiss cheese and Hi C juice boxes."

"Snacks for the gods, huh?" she laughed as she sat down and dug in. "Not bad."

"So…" he began, as they ate, still trying to keep a watchful eye on the action in the soccer field.

"So…"

"Sorry," he chuckled. "I kind of don't know what to say. It's just that I haven't seen you in so long."

"Yeah? Whose fault is that?"

"Oh really?" his eyes twinkled.

She shrugged.

"You haven't called in a while and Jenny was the one who told me about the game so…"

"Honestly? I didn't think you'd come. Besides, I was giving you your space. You seemed pretty upset after The Burning Boat festival and I had called you a couple of times after that. When you didn't answer or call me back, I figured you were off doing your own thing. I respect that, Peyton. I figured when you were ready, you'd come back around. Looks like I was right."

"You know me too well."

"I've known you for a long time."

"You're right though. I've had a lot to deal with, a lot to think about."

"A part of me was afraid you'd gone back to New York."

"I thought about it, actually…more than a few times."

"What stopped you?"

She sighed.

"I don't want to be that girl anymore. Running away doesn't solve everything. It doesn't fix anything. I mean, you can run from a situation but you can't run from yourself. The feelings inside will still be here whether I'm in Tree Hill or New York. So I've decided to face it head on."

"Good for you."

"First of all, the plan was to stick around this summer and that's what I intend to do. I also have a lot of other stuff to figure out with my dad and also with work so I'm gonna quit procrastinating and focus on that. Also, it is Nathan and Haley's wedding. They've waited forever for this and I'm not gonna ruin it for them. They're our friends and they deserve more than that. While I'm here, it's no use staying holed up in the condo moping around and hating the world. Basically in a nutshell, I put on my big girl panties, pulled my head out of my ass and tried to be reasonable about everything. Peyton Sawyer Scott is growing up after all, who would have thought?"

"That's good, Peyton. I mean, I know how hard all this has been for you. If you need anything."

"I know. You're a great friend, Jake. All of my friends are great. I don't know what I would do without any of you."

"You ever miss it?" he asked.

"What?"

"The way we all used to be."

Peyton closed her eyes.

"Of course I do," she answered softly.

"It'll never be the same, I guess."

No. Sadly, it wouldn't. So much had happened and time had changed everything.

"It was a different time back then. But it was great and it was real, you know what I'm saying? I do miss it. I miss the person I was back then, I miss the relationships we all had. I know it won't be the same but who knows? Maybe one day we can get some of it back."

"Maybe. I mean, you and Brooke, well, that's a big start, right?"

She nodded.

"It is progress. I don't know if we'll ever be close again but it would be nice. I didn't realize how much I had missed her until I saw her that day when I went to pick Jenny up from dance class. Even though she was a total bitch to me, it was still Brooke. We used to have some good times."

"Maybe this wedding will bring everybody back together."

"Wishful thinking," she laughed.

"What?" Jake defended. "It could happen. Hell, stranger things have happened."

"I don't know…" she shook her head skeptically.

"What about you and Lucas?" he asked quietly. "Do you think you can ever forgive him? You think you two will ever be friends again?"

"I don't know. It's funny, Jake. I look back on all the drama from high school and everything it took for Luke and me to finally get together. Once it happened, it was great. It was really great. When it all fell apart, I was so thankful that if my marriage didn't work out, at least it was on good terms, you know?"

"And now?"

"Now I don't know anymore. What Lucas did, especially the way he did it, really hurt me. I guess I thought we were better than that, closer than that. So now I'm trying to figure out exactly what bothers me the most…and hopefully how to get past it. I don't know, maybe if he had just been honest in the first place, just told me about Caylan, then it wouldn't be such a slap in the face."

"Have you told him that? I know it's rough but you have to talk to him sometime, Peyt…"

"We have. He, um, he showed up at the condo the other day."

"What was that like?" Jake asked, leaning back on his elbows.

"Interesting. I told him some of how I felt but that made him really defensive so unfortunately a lot of it was arguing. I told him some things but truthfully, it could have gone better. I just got so mad. It was the first time I had seen him since everything happened and…"

"At least you guys talked. That's something. It's a pretty emotional deal, of course, you're gonna be angry. Maybe that can set the pace for the next step."

"I hope so," she looked down. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life being angry, especially at him."

"When is the divorce going to be final?"

"Soon. Our lawyers are just working out the details. Settling the property was a major hold up but now that's been solved so it could be as soon as a few weeks but definitely by the end of the summer. Maybe that'll give Caylan enough time to be a September bride," she attempted to joke sarcastically.

"You ever gonna give her a chance?"

"Now that's just pushing it."

"I know but maybe it's not a bad idea."

"Jake…"

"Don't get mad. I know this is kind of unfair because I'm not in your shoes but that could be a big part of acceptance and moving on. I'm not saying be best friends with the girl but there's no reason to have animosity between the two of you."

"Are you kidding me right now?"

"Technically what did she do wrong? She's not really the other woman because you guys weren't together at the time."

"But we're still legally married."

"True but what if the shoe was on the other foot? What if you met a guy after you and Lucas split up. He's a great guy…smart, handsome, funny, nice, the whole nine yards. You guys have this amazing connection and you fall for him. Would you be able to deny that? You're getting divorced anyway. What would you do? Would you walk away?"

"I, I don't know. Look, it's more than that, okay? Look, I don't know her and despite your idiotic advice, I have no future plans to get to know her but just from what I saw, she doesn't seem like a nice person. You saw her at the condo and at the Burning Boat. You see how flighty and stuck up she acts. And she just loves to flaunt her engagement ring and remind everyone that she is Caylan Hughes, fiancée of Lucas Scott. So what they didn't cheat? That's just tacky of her to try to throw that in my face."

"You're right but you have to take one thing into consideration."

"What's that?"

"Her age…"

"Jake!"

"She's young, Peyton. She may be legal and there may be aspects of her that are really mature but when it comes down to it, she's still just a kid. I mean, at 26, you can't say you're the same person you were six years ago."

Peyton bit her lip. A part of Jake was right but she still didn't like it. She definitely didn't want to hear it.

"It doesn't matter. Look, this is my business and my problem and I'm the one that has to figure out how to get through it. I appreciate you trying to help but at the same time, you are my friend and I don't feel like hearing you defend Caylan or what she and Luke did."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"I know. I don't want to fight about this. I came here to have a good stress and drama free day. I came here to spend time with you and Jenny. I came here to forget about all my problems for the day and just have fun. That's what I still want so can we please drop the issue for now and not talk about it anymore?"

He nodded in agreement.

"You bet."

They exchanged an awkward smile before the game earned their attention once more. The game had come to an end in a tie with a last minute controversial call. The opposing team had been awarded a penalty kick that could give them the win. The coach had picked their strongest girl and it would be up to Jenny to stop it. Jake and Peyton stood, hearts in their stomachs, as they grabbed each other's hand for support. The seconds felt like eternity as they watched in virtual slow motion the other little girl go for the win. The kick was perfect and the ball sailed through the air aimed right at the goal. Out of nowhere, reflexes like a cat, Jenny positioned her tiny body in perfect location to make the stop of young life. The field erupted with cheers as Jenny's team ran and hugged her. The celebration continued on the sidelines as an exuberant Jake picked a cheering Peyton up in his arms and swing her around.

"Go Jen!" they screamed in unison.

"That your girl?" one of the other parents passing by, asked.

"Heck yeah!" Jake announced proudly. "Did you see that? That's my baby, the goalie!"

"She played wonderful. She's such a good soccer player. You and your wife here must be so proud of your beautiful little girl. You look like such a happy little family," the woman commented before leaving.

Jake and Peyton exchanged red faced, open mouthed stares.

"Um, she's not…" Peyton awkwardly started before Jenny excitedly ran over to them.

"Daddy! Peyton! We won! Did you see it? It was so awesome? Did you see me stop that?"

He scooped her up, twirling her around while she squealed with delight.

"Of course we saw it! That was a great save, baby girl! We are so proud of you."

He put her down and she ran over to Peyton.

"Peyton, did you see me?"

"High five, dude! You kicked butt!"

"The whole team is gonna go for ice cream now? Can we go, Dad?"

"You got it, kiddo. Ice cream sounds great."

"What about you, Peyton? It'll be so much fun! Dad, can Peyton come too?"

Jake eyed Peyton, grinning, waiting for her response, crossing his fingers it would be a "yes".

"Ice cream? Uh, okay. Sure. Sounds great!"

"Yay!" Jenny yelled, running off to join her teammates.

"Did you see her?" Jake asked, still smiling. "Did you see my daughter?"

"She's great."

"Um, I appreciate you saying yes and all about the ice cream but if you're busy…"

"No. It's fine. Actually, I'd really like to go. It sounds fun."

Fun wasn't the word.

"Good. You can ride with me, if you like. We can come back and get your car later."

"Okay. Sounds like a plan," she said as she helped him pack everything up.

The sun was shining both literally and figuratively for Jake Jagielski. He was feeling good and it was nice to be able to share that with the people that meant the most to him.

"Thanks for coming out today, Peyton," he grinned shyly. "It means a lot to Jenny…and it means a lot to me, too."