Title: You Never Forget Your First Love.

Pairing: Peyton/Nathan (Mentions Lucas/Peyton and Nathan/Haley).

xxxx

A beautiful bride, dressed in a Brooke Davis original, glanced outside the window at the small setup below her. Everything was perfect. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. The wedding was small-just the way she wanted it to be. Finally the day that everyone had been anticipating for a long time now had come. Their closest friends and family had gathered for the wedding of Lucas Scott and Peyton Sawyer. She had no doubt in her mind that Lucas Scott was the one for her and she couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life with him. After all they had been through so much together. But in the end, they always found their way back to each other. Brooke was right. People that are meant to be together always find their way in the end. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she was in High School, vying for Lucas Scott's love as he fell in love with her best friend. She knew that they were all right where they were destined to be. Nathan and Haley had a son and despite the fact that their marriage was crumbling, she was confident that they would be okay. After all they were Nathan and Haley-the epitome of true love-and the sole reason that she believed in love herself. And Brooke was happy too. After a multitude of heart-break and invincible walls that surrounded her fragile heart, she had finally learned to love again. Peyton's very own ex-boyfriend Julian Baker had fallen in love with Brooke Davis and although they were on the rocks like Nathan and Haley, she knew that they'd be okay too.

"Peyton you're gonna be just fine. Everyone knows that Lucas is your other half. We have all been waiting for you two to get your shit together and get married," Haley smiled comfortingly as she wrapped her arm around Peyton's shoulder.

"I know. I'm not nervous. I just can't believe it's finally happening. It all feels like a dream…" Peyton trailed off as she stared out the window. "It's almost too good to be true."

"Ladies…"

The two friends looked up to see Nathan Scott standing in the doorway, a handsome smile on his face.

"Hey Nate…" Peyton greeted with a warm smile, only to receive a glare from Haley.

"What?" Peyton asked turning towards Haley in disbelief. "I can't talk to my soon to be husband's best man/brother?"

"Sorry to interrupt but Brooke needs you Haley. She's been running around bitching about Julian bringing that Missy chick as his date. She's pissed beyond belief and Lucas is trying to calm her down but she needs you…"

"Fine," Haley spoke flatly, giving Peyton a small pat on the shoulder and her husband a glare, before pushing past Nathan and out the door.

"I can't believe that Julian would do that to Brooke after all they've been through!"

"Well she did kind of say no…" Peyton shrugged as she stood up and examined herself in the mirror. "Do I look okay?

Nathan gave her an approving nod. "You look beautiful Sawyer."

"Thank you."

"Who would have thought our lives would have turned out like this?" Nathan mused as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I mean before we met Lucas and Haley and it was just you, Brooke and I, would you have believed that you'd be marrying my illegitimate brother and I'd be married to Haley, the dorky tutor?"

"Hell no," Peyton smiled as her mind let her wander back to those days; back to the days when it was her, Nathan and Brooke against the world. She loved her life now but a part of her still missed those days and made her long for her youth.

"Do you ever wonder what our lives would be like if they hadn't collided with Lucas and Haley's?" Nathan asked as he played with his hands absentmindedly. "Where would you and I be? Would we still be together? And what about Brooke? Would she be the amazing woman that she is today?"

"Yeah," Peyton nodded her head slowly. "I mean I'm content with my life right now but I still wonder what could have been. I have no clue what would have happened between us. And I have no clue whether Brooke would have been the woman that she is today. I want to believe that she would be but I don't think that without Lucas and Haley in her life she would have been. I don't think we would have had a good ending either…"

"Why do you say that?" His blue orbs swirled with confusion. He had been certain that he and Peyton could have had a good future together.

"I don't know. I just think that we weren't meant to be. We fought at the drop of a hat and you were kind of an ass. Without Haley in your life, I'm not sure you would have been able to see the potential in yourself and become the wonderful man that you are today," she answered with a shrug, unable to decipher why they were rehashing the past. That was almost seven years ago. And it felt like a lifetime ago.

"We could have been great together," Nathan smiled as he looked at the floor. "I mean, yeah, okay, I was kind of an ass."

"Kind of?" Peyton questioned with the raise of an eyebrow.

"Fine." A small smile spread across his face. "I was a major ass… but I still loved you Peyton. You were my first love and they say you never forget your first love…"

"I didn't forget," she promised as she took a step towards him. "I always think back on those days. But we were highly dysfunctional and clearly better off as friends."

"I actually came here because I wanted to talk to you," he mumbled as he ran a finger through his hair. "If that's okay with you, I mean." He was nervous. She could tell.

"Sure," Peyton smiled as she sat down. "What did you want to talk about Nate?"

"Well you are getting married today…"

"Thank you for reminding me," she rolled her eyes in typical Peyton Sawyer fashion.

"Your sarcasm is not needed Sawyer."

"Anyways…" she motioned for him to continue. "You were saying…"

"I just wanted to apologize…"

"For what?"

"For the way that I treated you in High School. I was an asshole as you so kindly pointed out earlier. And I'm sorry. Listen, Peyton, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life okay? But my biggest regret is treating you the way that I did. Thinking back on it, I'm not proud of who I was. And if I could go back and do it all over again knowing what I know now, I would definitely do things differently. I would have treated you like you deserved to be treated-not like my father treated my mother."

"It's okay Nate," she smiled as she placed a hand on top of his. "It's all in the past. I mean, no, it doesn't make it right. But I forgave you a long time ago."

"God, I can't believe you're getting married," Nathan smiled as he took her in. She was a stunning bride. "And I can't believe you are going to be my sister in law. I mean how weird is that?"

"Pretty weird," she agreed. "I mean seven years ago I never would have guessed that we'd be related through marriage."

"He makes you happy right?"

Peyton turned to Nathan with a look of confusion. "Of course he makes me happy. He makes me so happy… I've never felt this way before. Haven't you ever had that moment of clarity where everything just falls into place? In that very moment, you realize that you are right where you want to be and that you made the right choice."

"Yeah. When I married Haley," he nodded as he looked down at his hands. "But, look how well that turned out."

She didn't miss the bitter chuckle that followed his statement. "You and Haley will work it out. Wanna know how I know that?"

"How?"

"You guys are the epitome of true love. When I look at you two, you guys give me hope; hope that there is someone out there for everyone. I mean you guys were pretty much forbidden from being together but that didn't stop you. And now you have a beautiful family and a great life together. Because of you and Haley, the rest of us believe in love."

"You and Luke are a good fit too," Nathan smiled. "I've seen you date a handful of guys… Jake, Julian… and others but I've never seen you fall for one like you did for Lucas. I don't agree with the way that you broke him and Brooke apart but I can understand why you did it. I mean the heart wants what the heart wants right?"

"Yeah," she smiled as she pictured Lucas standing at the end of the aisle. She loved him. But still, Nathan was her first love. And he made her experience some pretty incredible feelings. "But I never would discount our relationship. It is still a big part of who I am today."

They had been through it all; the good and the bad. And every moment was still imprinted in the back of her mind. She hadn't forgotten. Just like she was sure that Lucas hadn't forgotten his first love, Brooke, either.

She remembers the argument they had after his sex tape with Brooke was released.

"Nathan how could you do this to me?" Tears fell from her eyes impetuously as mascara ran down her cheek. She quickly reached up and brushed them away.

"It was a mistake!" he yelled as he ran a hand over his temple tiredly. "It was a long time ago and I was drunk and we were on a break… and she was just there and somehow it just happened."

"But why Brooke?" she demanded as she slammed her fist against his chest. "Why Brooke of all people?"

"Because… she was just there and you know what Brooke was like back then."

"I just… I can't understand why you guys would do that to me!"

"Oh really Peyton?" he questioned with a harsh glare. "That's kind of the pot calling the kettle black because if I remember correctly, you were with Lucas while he and Brooke were still dating."

"I didn't sleep with Lucas!" she protested as she flung her hands up in the air. "And I had real feelings for him. It wasn't just a drunken mistake."

"But that doesn't make it right, does it?" Nathan asked with a slight smirk, knowing that he had won this argument. "It doesn't matter how you did it. It all hurts the same right? So quit trying to free up your guilt by making me seem like I'm ten times worse than you are. At least Brooke and Lucas had real feelings for each other!"

"You know what Nate?" she asked as she let out a heavy sigh. "I don't want to fight with you okay? I just came here to tell you that I'm disappointed that I've been lied to for the past 2 years. I just… I wish you would have told me."

Nathan let out a small chuckle. "I'm sorry Peyt but how do you casually bring that up in a conversation? Oh and by the way Peyton, I nailed your best friend while I was shitfaced and we were on a break. Oh and I think we made a sextape out of it," he finished off with the snap of his fingers. "Somehow, I don't think that would have gone over well.

"Well at least I had the decency to tell Brooke about Lucas and I. You just kept it buried and thought that if you tried to forget about it, it would just disappear. But guess what Nathan? You always carry the burden of your sins with you. Trust me, I would know!" she yelled, giving him a glare before grabbing the door and preparing to leave.

"Peyton! Wait!" he called as he grabbed her wrist and made her face him. "I'm sorry okay? I know that it doesn't matter how many times I apologize but I want you to know that I am sorry. I was a different person then and we can sit here and argue about who is worse but in reality we both made mistakes. Neither of us are perfect, so can we just let the past be the past?"

"I forgave you a long time ago Nate," Peyton smiled. "I just wanted to make you squirm a little. It was kinda funny." He gave her a look and she made a run for it.

"Peyton Sawyer, I am going to kill you!" Nathan yelled as he chased after her. He finally caught her and pinned her on the couch, tickling her like crazy.

"Let go Nathan!" she squealed as she tried to free herself from his grasp.

"Not until you say that Nathan is the greatest person ever!"

"Not gonna happen…"

"Well then I guess I will just have to tickle you for eternity," he joked as he poked her sides and she erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Okay… okay," she finally surrendered. "Nathan is the greatest person ever."

He finally let go and smiled at her.

"So who was better… you know in bed? Me or Brooke?" she asked him innocently.

"Eww…. I am so not going to answer that. I do have a wife, you know."

It was amazing that in such a short time they could forget about everything. It was how their relationship had always been. It was always about forgiving and forgetting.

She smiled as she remembered that day. Her and Nathan have had some pretty intense arguments but that was one that would only strengthen their friendship.

She also remembers when Nathan told her about the time he carved her initials into the bench press while they were dating. That was one of the better moments that she remembers.

"So I guess I was right about the partial nudity thing," Peyton laughed as her and Nathan entered the boy's locker room. "Boy's locker room?"

"Just following the assignment," he chuckled as he threw his arms up in mock surrender.

"Okay…"

"See this bench press?" he questioned as he led her over to the bench press. "The summer that I decided to dedicate myself to basketball, my dad told me that I was way too skinny to ever be a good player. He said that I wasn't tough enough, wasn't strong enough. So I proved him wrong and I spent every single day in this weight room. It was like a thousand degrees in here but I wasn't gonna let him be right."

"Anger is motivation."

"Anger and inspiration," Nathan replied with a small smile. "Every time that I benched another ten pounds, I scratched letters into the plate."

"What is it?" she asked curiously as she sat down on the bench press and studied the apparatus. "PS?"

"It was the same summer we started dating," he smiled. "We were pretty good together weren't we?"

A small silence consumed them, both unsure of what to say next.

"Give me your hand," Peyton finally instructed as she reached for his hand and pressed it against her knuckles. "I want you to feel this."

"Geez, what happened?" Nathan asked as a look of concern shot across his face.

"I broke that knuckle punching something after we'd broken up for like the twentieth time," she grinned as she held her hand up in the air. "We were horrible together."

"Yeah, I know," he chuckled. "I was kinda hoping you'd forget."

Peyton shook her head and let out a laugh. "I don't think I could ever forget."

That was a good conversation. It had addressed some things that had needed to be said.

She also remembers very vividly the day that they broke up. It was also the day that she realized Nathan Scott was not and would never be the one for her.

"Your car will be ready by Friday," Nathan said as he walked into Peyton's room.

"Whatever," she mumbled without even batting an eyelash, her eyes still focused on her drawing. "The bag of stuff by the door is yours."

"What?" he asked as he bent down and picked the bag up. "What is all of this?"

"It's all the crap you've left here," she responded as if it were obvious. "Take it."

"This is the necklace I gave you…"

"You mean the leash?" she looked at him with anger burning in her green eyes as he held the bag out towards her. "No thanks."

"Peyton, look," he sighed as he made his way over towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. My mom is going to cool down and everything will be back to normal."

"Okay, look, the last thing I want is normal," she announced as she got up from her chair. "In case you haven't noticed, normal sucks with us Nathan!"

"Peyton is this about your car? Because, I'm taking care of that."

"It's not about the car!" she shouted heatedly. "It's about you. I finally saw you clearly for the first time last night. The way you treated me, the way you treated Tim, the way you treated your brother!"

"Don't call him that!"

"And the way you're playing that girl!"

"What?" Nathan looked at her with confusion swirling in the depths of his blue orbs. "Are you talking about Haley? Is that what this is about? Peyton, she means nothing!"

"Okay, if that's the case then you're an ass!" she answered flatly. "And even if she does mean something, you're still an ass. And what is really sad, Nathan, is that you're too stupid to get that!"

"So thank you for being such an amazing son of a bitch last night. You really made this a no-brainer," she sighed as she looked at him with angry eyes.

"I'll call you when you're not so PMS…"

"Don't bother," Peyton growled. She was done with this and she was done with him. "I mean it. We're done."

And then there were the insults. The subtle little insults he made that drove her nuts. He would then quickly cover it up by saying something nice. It seemed that he was always doing that.

"You've got some ugly toes girl," Nathan chuckled as he looked up from the pedicure that he was giving Peyton.

"No I don't," she insisted as she continued reading her magazine.

"Yeah, you do, they're like practically fingers…"

"Well then just focus on the middle one."

"Aw come on, I was just joking," he shrugged. "I love your toes."

"Well, it's time," Nathan smiled as he stood up and put his arm around her. "Welcome to the family Sawyer."

"It feels good to be a Scott…"

"You know," Nathan smiled as he released her from his grip. "I'm really glad that you're gonna be my sister."

"The feeling is mutual Nate," she grinned as she stepped towards the door.

"Let's go get you married Sawyer."

"Hey Nate…"

"Yeah," he asked as he turned around.

"Don't ever discount our relationship. We both have great lives now but our relationship means more to me than you'll ever know."

Nathan just smiled and nodded his head before slipping out the door just as Larry was coming in.

She smiled as she watched Nathan leave. She knew that everything was gonna be okay. She hated that people kind of just shoved their relationship under the rug. It was like they had never even existed. They were just a dusty memory, held high up on the shelf. But they were her memory. For she would never forget what it felt like to feel something for someone for the very first time.

AN: So this is my first oneshot in this little story. It is a Peyton/Nathan story as promised. I love Pathan and I think their relationship is awesome! I was watching season one episodes the other day and I realized what an ass Nathan was to Peyton while they were dating and this story kind of stemmed from that. It was my way of giving them some closure. I will try to update as soon as I can but I just got my computer fixed after like a month of it not working and I am going to Italy for two weeks as of next Tuesday so I'm not sure when the next update will be. If you have any requests for pairs that are not on the list please let me know and at some point I will try to work them in. Please review and let me know what you all thought of this first chapter. And please let me know which of the pairings on the list, you would like to see next.