Peyton sat parked in the rental car just out of sight from the house's front door. Her knucles gripped the steering wheel for dear life. She felt like a fool, like she was doing something wrong, just lying in wait. Several times she had pulled away and drove around the block. Once she had even made it halfway to the other side of town but no matter how far away she got, something inexplicable made her turn right around and go back. So she found herself sitting again for what seemed like hours, wondering exactly just what the hell she was doing there. If only Brooke could see her…the brunette would have had a fit. In fact, she had warned Peyton over and over again but the words of advice had obviously gone unheeded.

There came moments in a life where one had to swallow their pride sometimes. There came a time when you had to do what you knew inside was the right thing even if it meant disapproval from others. Sometimes you had to take the high road, often the road less traveled, in the process leaving all the negativity in the past, becoming non judgmental, and reaching out and often forgiving those who didn't deserve it. It was Jake that had first opened her eyes to that notion but it was Peyton who had searched her soul for answers.

When she had decided to leave Lucas in New York, Peyton had decided to change her life. She wanted to be a new Peyton, a different Peyton, a better Peyton. And now in the most unexpected way, she had her chance. She had told no one of her plan as she was unsure how it would even pan out. A part of her was doing it for Lucas, trying to salvage any hint of future closeness or friendship left for them. But mostly she was doing it for her own peace of mind. Biting her lip and taking the "now or never" attitude, finally she willed herself to get out of the car.

Taking baby steps up the walkway felt almost like a walk to certain death. It was surely a walk to uncertainty. She had been to that house so many times. In a way for her it was like a home away from home. But with decisions and divorces, Peyton knew it was no longer her sanctuary. Now it belonged to another blonde, the woman he now proudly called his fiancée.

Peyton took a deep breath and knocked. The silence was deafening as she stood there for what felt like forever. Maybe no one was home or maybe she had come at a bad time. Still she gave the door one last more forceful pounding. Just when she had turned on her heels and was about to give up, she heard footsteps approaching the door from the other side. Soft tiny footsteps. After a few seconds, the front door finally opened and the two were face to face.

It wasn't the first time they had laid eyes on each other. Impromptu meetings had preceded at Haley's dinner party and at Tree Hill's annual Burning Boat Festival. Always it had been awkward. Steely glances had been quick. The drama and commotion surrounding their peculiar situation seemed to overshadow what was really going on. But now they were only separated by a partially opened screen door.

"Hi," Peyton managed to stammer.

From afar the girl had been an enigma, a sassy, sultry Lolita of sorts, fancily dressed and brilliantly made up like some trophy girl with the attitude to match. Close up it was a little different. She seemed younger and softer and more innocent, a totally approachable fresh faced girl next door. Peyton was taken off guard. It took a few seconds to return to reality.

"You're Peyton," the girl stated matter of factly, looking her up and down curiously.

There she was in the flesh. It was the infamous Peyton her fiancé had often talked gloriously about, the unwanted third wheel in their relationship.

"Um, yeah. I'm Peyton," she cleared her throat and extended her hand. "Peyton Sawyer…"

Her voice trailed off. Sometimes it was hard to introduce herself with two names instead of three. She had been Peyton Sawyer Scott for so long.

"Caylan Hughes," the younger blonde instantly rebounded, tossing her long locks back with renewed confidence.

She eyed the extended hand carefully before finally giving it a half hearted shake.

"Um, do you mind if I come in?" Peyton asked.

She was nervous all of a sudden and it showed as she shifted her body's weight from side to side. No matter how many times she had practiced the scenario in her head, nothing compared to the real deal.

"Luke isn't here," Caylan stood her ground, never budging to make room for an entrance. "Neither are Keith and Karen."

Peyton couldn't help but chuckle in spite of the circumstances. She could almost hear Brooke's voice berating her in her ear.

"That's cool but actually I didn't come to see them. I…I, um, I came to see you."

There it was. And Caylan seemed stunned for a minute.

"Why do you want to see me?"

Peyton took a breath. It was an excellent question.

"I just wanted to talk. I kind of feel like we need to bury the hatchet, I mean if there even is a hatchet. There shouldn't be one but I feel like it is. Um, do you have a few minutes?"

Caylan didn't look impressed.

"Yeah, I guess…"

"Look, I'll try to make this quick. Uh, Lucas and I were together for a really long time. We loved each other a lot. We had our reasons but things just didn't work out. No matter what happens, he'll always be a special person to me. I don't want to lose his friendship even if now things are pretty weird between us."

"What are you saying?"

"I guess I'm saying that Luke has moved on. I get that. I respect that. Yeah, I admit I had a problem with it at first because…"

"Why? You're the one that broke up with him."

Peyton was taken aback. While the statement was certainly true, it still stung a bit. And Caylan had balls the size of grapefruits. No one could ever dispute her forwardness. It hadn't been said in a rude tone but just a matter of fact one.

"Yeah, that's true," Peyton cleared her throat. "I chose to end our marriage and I knew when that happened, that eventually both of us would move on with other people. To be honest, I didn't expect it so soon. It took me off guard and it kind of hurt. But that's something I'm learning to deal with."

"We don't need your permission, you know?"

"Excuse me?" Peyton narrowed her eyes.

"We didn't do anything wrong. It's not like we had an affair or something behind your back. You dumped a good guy, I met him, we fell in love and now we're getting married. That's just the way it is and eventually everyone's just gonna have to accept that."

"Caylan…"

Peyton sensed the conversation heading to a confrontation. That was the last thing she had wanted. The younger girl appeared threatened and now she was starting to bite back.

"I get the fact you two were married but that's over now. Yeah, you might have been Luke's wife but pretty soon I'm going to be his new wife. Just because you guys were together for so long does not give you some sort of claim or jurisdiction over him for the rest of his life."

"I know that. That's not what I'm trying to say. It's not what I'm trying to do."

"Then exactly what are you trying to do? Because I feel like you're trying to come between my fiancé and me and I'm never gonna let that happen."

Peyton couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew she should have listened to Brooke all along.

"It's not like that, okay? I don't want to come between you and Luke. All I wanted to do was talk to you. I wanted to make the rest of the summer here in Tree Hill less weird for everybody."

"Peyton…"

"I hate the way I first found out about you. Because of that, because of the shock, I was really angry and probably a little jealous too. But you're right. You weren't the other woman sneaking behind my back. You met him after I left him and that was fair game. But the bottom line is, someway, somehow, Lucas and I will always be in each other's lives. We're connected through this town and through our friends. That's nothing for you to feel threatened by."

Caylan rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, I am anything but threatened. Lucas loves me."

"I'm sure he does and that's good for both of you but the reason I showed up this morning is because I don't want this."

"What?"

"This. Right now. It's almost like we're arguing. That's so stupid, Caylan. I don't want to fight with you. I just wanted to do what I thought was the appropriate thing. For Luke's sake, I wanted to make an effort. Maybe you and I will never be the best of friends but what ex wife and future wife are? I just want things to be cool and civil. I just want everyone to get along. No, you don't need my permission or my blessing but I thought it would be a little bit easier for everyone else around here to accept you if I did."

"Why would you do that?"

Peyton shrugged.

"Because I care about Lucas. Because it's the right thing to do or at least that's what I thought. I don't know. Maybe this was a huge mistake. Maybe I shouldn't have come…"

She turned around to leave but Caylan stopped her.

"Peyton, wait!"

"Look, I didn't come here to make trouble, I promise you. I came here to extend an olive branch, to make peace, to try to make the situation a little better than it was. That's it."

"So you don't want Lucas back?"

Peyton chuckled.

"No. No way. I promise you that's now what this is about. Lucas is a great guy…not my favorite guy at the moment but deep down still a great guy. And he has a great heart. I think you know that already. I do still care about him, I'll always be there for him but as a friend only."

Caylan looked around for a moment.

"Alright. I guess it's cool."

"Tree Hill is a small town. I know we'll be seeing each other around and stuff."

"Yeah…"

"Who knows? Maybe one day we could have lunch. Just you and me or Haley and Brooke could join us. It might even be fun. If…"

"Well, look I have to go. Tyra is about to come on."

Peyton raised an eyebrow. After all, who was she to stand in the way of Tyra? But her mission had been accomplished. Despite the rocky start, the ending had been amicable and she felt a little better about it.

"Okay. Well, I don't want to take up anymore of your time. Thanks for talking to me, Caylan, and I guess I'll be seeing you around.

"Yeah, I guess," she said not cracking a smile as she returned inside the house and closed the door. "Bye."

"Yeah," Peyton said to a closed door. "Bye."

She returned to her car, hearing her cell phone ringing as she fished it out of her bag. She glanced down at the Caller ID and smiled, answering it.

"Hey, P., it's B. I've got a couple hours between my next class. Want to do lunch downtown?"

The recently renewed friendship was going great. Peyton had forgotten how much she had missed Brooke's calls.

"Yeah, um, okay. Give me a few minutes. I'm headed that direction anyway."

"Where are you? What are you doing?"

Peyton couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Believe me, dude, you don't even want to know…"