"So, Peyton's not joining us at lunch?" Lucas asked to no one in particular.
"Don't think so." Nathan replied.
"What happened to you guys the other day?" Lucas asked.
"I don't know. I'm gonna go. I'll see you later." Nathan said and kissed Haley goodbye.
"So, Peyton's not talking to any of us?" Lucas asked again.
"She talks to me." Haley said.
"Don't really care." Brooke said.
Both Haley and Lucas looked at her disbelievingly.
"What?" Brooke said before biting into her sandwich.
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"You said, when you left you did chemo. So, does that mean you're done with all of that?" Nathan asked as soon as he saw Peyton.
"You could say that." Peyton said as she shut her locker and got her books.
"So, we should celebrate then?" Nathan said.
"I don't think so." Peyton replied.
"Why the hell not? If you don't want to tell them, I can deal with that. But, don't you think you should celebrate now that you're all better?" Nathan said not backing down.
"I just don't see the point in celebrating. If you want to throw a party, go ahead and do it. But not on my expense." Peyton said walking away from Nathan.
"Why do you have to make things so damn complicate, Peyton? We just want to see you happy like before." Nathan said as he followed Peyton.
"You think throwing a party will make me happy?" Peyton asked incredulously.
"I didn't mean it like that. Its just you've been here for more than 2 weeks and you haven't gone out to have fun." Nathan explained.
"I just don't feel like partying. It doesn't make me less normal." Peyton replied.
"A little fun is not going to kill you, Peyt!" Nathan said.
"Yeah, but Cancer will." Peyton said a little tired and sad.
"But, you said you're okay now." Nathan said.
"I am. I'm feeling much better now than when I did few months back." Peyton answered vaguely.
"Do you still have to go and do chemo?" Nathan asked serious evident in his voice. He wasn't as cheery as he was when he was asking her to party or celebrate.
"No, I'm done with that."
"Okay, that's good right?" Nathan asked.
"Yes, it is." Peyton replied.
"So, do you have to go and do some tests to ensure that it's all gone?" Nathan asked concerned.
Peyton took a deep breath then said, "It's still there."
"But, you said..."
"I said I'm done with chemo. I never said that the cancer was done with me." Peyton said cutting him off.
"So, you still have it? Why the hell did you stop the treatment then?!" Nathan asked raising his voice.
"Because I did not want to do it anymore, I'm much better off without it anyway."
"You're better off without it?! You're better off with cancer?!" Nathan asked infuriated and not believing what the blonde was saying at the moment.
"Could you say that any louder?" Peyton said leaving Nathan from the hallway.
"No, Peyton, you are not going to walk away from me again. You made me believe that you don't have cancer anymore and that you battled it while you were gone." Nathan said grabbing her arm.
"I never made you believe anything! I never told you I'm cancer free! All I told you was I was done with it!" Peyton said shrugging her arm away from Nathan's grasp.
"How could you be so selfish and just give up like that?!" Nathan asked enraged.
"Because it was too hard. Don't you think I would want to live longer? But, LIFE isn't FAIR!!! It never was. I tried! Okay?! I tried! But, you don't know how it was. It was too damn painful and hard! I felt much sicker than I already was." Peyton said now crying.
After a few minutes of sitting in silence near the trees, Nathan said something.
"Look, its going to be okay. You have us now. We'll help you get through it. Fight it. Just don't give up."
"I never came back to get treatment here, Nathan. If I wanted to do the chemo, I would have done it there. Not here." Peyton explained.
"Then, why'd you come back?" Nathan asked softly.
"To settle some scores. Give closure. And to be near my mom." Peyton said sighing.
"You're thinking of dying here? You're too young Peyt! And now, you're thinking of your death? You still have time. You can fight this. Come on, wouldn't you tell me the same thing if I was in your place?" Nathan asked not believing what he's hearing.
"Nathan, this isn't a discussion. I've thought about this for a while before I came back. It was either I die here or there. I prefer here, near my mom." Peyton explained.
"But, you can't just do that! Its not fair, for you or for us." Nathan whined.
"I told you, life isn't fair." Peyton said standing up.
"You're not being fair to us." Nathan said looking up at the blonde.
"Maybe. But, I still want some control over my life while I still can." Peyton said then left.
Nathan didn't know what to do or say anymore. He couldn't believe that Peyton would just give up on life like that. He felt the tears fall as the realization of the fact that there is nothing he can do about it sunk in.
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"Who died?" Lucas said to Nathan as he noticed his brother so sad, so heartbroken.
Nathan just glared at him not finding the joke funny.
"What is your problem?" Lucas said not understanding his brother.
"None of your business." Nathan said a little to harshly, then walked out of the table.
Lucas looked at Haley for explanation but Haley just shrugged not knowing exactly what is going on with Nathan.
"Is there something going on between the two of you?" Brooke chirped in.
"None that I know of." Haley sighed.
