A/N: Sorry this is later than I expected. I kept writing and rewriting it, trying to get it perfect. Mostly, I just really wanna skip ahead two chapters, but I know that would be bad and make absolutely no sense. Umm next chapter will be out in about a week. It's gonna be a long one. It's also important that I warn you all that this chapter will deal with drug use (don't worry Peyton's clean). If that offends you, feel free to skip it.

And that's all I have to say about that. Hope y'all have a Happy Easter. And that you all enjoyed that episode of OTH. For anyone who's read enough of my writing, you know I was squeeing like crazy when they referred to LP as epic love. I must use that term in every LPstory I write. It's even used in this story'ssummary. lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill.

Chapter Ten: Courtship

Courtship is something quite unique in the human race when compared to the practices of the ones they share the earth with. For animals, the search for a mate is based primarily on primal instincts, sexual attraction. There is nothing more to it.

For humans, choosing a partner is a complex process which has come to be known as dating. There are levels on which we must connect on. Each level features a different part of the human's psyche. A level missed can and most likely will spell the end of a relationship.

Why is it that animals are perfectly contempt with choosing a mate solely on the physical? Partners live blissful lives, ones which they keep separate from the time they spend with their mate. There are no complications, no animal kingdom divorces.

If anything, maybe they're the civilized ones when it comes to courtship.

Dating.

Peyton had been avoiding the "d-word" like it was the plague. It wasn't that she didn't want to move on, because she did. She was tired of living in the past and feeling the crushing thud from Lucas's rejection always weighing down upon her. It was just too hard to forget about Lucas. It was too hard to move on.

And Peyton didn't just date for the sake of dating. She couldn't pull a Brooke and just pick up some random guy on the street for coffee and maybe sex. She had a vivid imagination, one that always made her thought stray to where that relationship was going and it always ended with the moment the man realized she wasn't over Lucas.

The funny thing about her whole dilemma was that there was only one plausible way around it in her mind, and that was to date someone with whom you saw no future with. There was one guy who Peyton knew who was the perfect candidate for that.

His name was Drew. He had short sandy blonde hair which stuck to his forehead and the tips of his ears. His lips were pale pink and full and his eyes were the most brilliant shade of turquoise Peyton had ever seen. His frame was thin, but not wiry. There were muscles filling him out.

Attractive as he was, the most appealing characteristic he had was his sense of humor and the contagious grin that came with it. He was witty and utterly sarcastic. And he was a musician with the voice of an angel and the vocabulary of a sailor, the ultimate combination of binary opposites.

He would be the perfect catch if it wasn't for the track marks covering the insides of his elbows.

Drew was a heroin addict. A heroin addict with a brilliant personality and beautiful face, but who saw no real reason to stop doing what he was doing. And he had been hitting on Peyton, his boss, for the past four months.

It was hard for her to admit that his visits to her office and quirky emails were the highlight of what had become otherwise monotonous days since she returned to Tree Hill. As her business grew, there was less and less need for her to be the one out on the road recruiting bands, and more and more free time for her to do paperwork.

Brooke was already on the fast track to recovery, and with the help of herself and Owen, she had already perked up enough to hire someone to take Victoria's place. Keeping with the nepotism, she hired her father, which served as a way to stick it to her mother. Brooke's father just happened to be the sweetest man alive, and while he often was caught up in business trips and long nights at the office, he tried his best to show Brooke his love. Now recently retired and living a relaxing retirement in a beach house not far down from the one Brooke and Peyton shared, he was more than open to the idea of spending more time with his daughter. And when Brooke heard those words as the first out of his mouth, she knew that this would not be Victoria Round Two.

With Brooke relatively cured, Peyton found herself in a state of pointlessness, stuck in a rut almost. It seemed like another year was going to tick off her life, while she sat and watched everyone living the American dream. Brooke was slowly falling in love with Owen, the pace of their relationship like one she had never seen Brooke set with anyone else Lucas included. Nathan and Haley had seemingly worked out all the kinks of their marriage and now had settled on trying for another kid. Jake and Nikki were already pregnant and had moved their family to Tree Hill. And Peyton had no one.

Far be it for her to brood on the subject. She, too, could have had this happiness at one time, but she had missed her chance. Musing on such things made her realize there were other things she had missed out on. Humor, being the most poignant. She couldn't remember the last time she just let go and stopped worrying long enough to let herself laugh at the world. During those short times when Drew popped into her office, she allowed herself to let go. When she let her imagination wander to where a relationship with him could lead, she couldn't even imagine the first date.

Maybe that was a good sign. Worrying had already taken her first chance at happiness, she'd be damned if it was going to do it again.

"Stupid copier," Peyton muttered as she kicked the wretched machine for the fifth time in twenty minutes.

"You know I'm pretty sure they have people who could handle the copying for you."

Peyton turned around and came face to face with Drew, his eyes sparkling in amusement.

"Yeah well, I like to do my own copying. It helps me stay grounded."

"Or you like the fact it keeps your blood pressure high."

"Yeah that's it," Peyton deadpanned.

"I knew you were a masochistic bastard," Drew grinned. Peyton turned back to her work.

"Right, I'm the masochist. You don't see me jamming needles into my arms."

"Pfft," Drew said, "It stops hurting once you're used to it."

"Hey, would you mind if I asked you a question?"

"It depends. Do you expect me to give you a serious answer? Because that's probably unlikely…"

"Why do you do drugs?" Peyton's question caused the grin to slide from Drew's face, replaced by an almost bitter smile instead.

"I thought you and I agreed that you would take a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy towards that."

"I'm not asking as your boss. I'm asking as a curious person."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Well thank God I'm not a cat."

"That's right. You're a bitch instead."

"Ouch," Peyton smirked, "Clearly I hit a sore spot."

Drew raised an eyebrow at that. "Fine. Why don't you do drugs?"

"Don't turn this around on me," Peyton said, placing her hands on her hips, "I asked you first."

"I'm trying to answer your question. I just need you to answer mine first to make that possible."

"Fine," Peyton pouted, "I don't want to die."

"Ah but dying is easy, it's living that's the real challenge, Peyton."

"How philosophical," Peyton said, rolling her eyes.

"It's true though. Most people out there are like you, afraid of dying, afraid of missing out on something. The truth is though that by being afraid of taking chances, you're really only afraid of living."

"And drugs, of course, are the only way to enjoy life, right?" Peyton said, the sarcasm dripping off her tongue.

"No, I'm not naïve. I know that there are probably a hundred healthier ways to embrace living, but I like mine best. It keeps me from being friends with the hypocrites."

"Will I ever get a concrete answer out of you?" Peyton asked.

"You'll never get an answer that satisfies you. If druggies all over the world could come up with one, then everyone would be sharing needles and lighting up on every corner," Drew let out a long sigh, "It's the burden we have to carry. The only ones who will ever understand us will be each other."

"For the record, I find it seriously disturbing that you endorse needle sharing…"

"Was that the best you could do?" Drew grinned, and seeing her lack of response, he continued, "I'm safe, I promise. No sharing needles. No unsafe sex. If I die, I don't want anyone else going because of my decisions."

"How noble."

Her response only seemed to goad him more, and he propped himself up on the table next to the copier, legs swinging carelessly enough to nudge the back of her leg, annoyingly.

"Seriously, your sarcasm is blinding me. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you liked me."

"Well I do," Peyton admitted, temporarily abandoning her copying to face him, "I think you're smart and funny and really attractive, and if you weren't a drug addict, I might even consider dating you…That is if you, drug addicts, even date."

"No we only sleep with people in exchange for drugs more drugs. Otherwise, we're pretty asexual. We don't buy into that whole love and happiness thing," Drew deadpanned, "Don't stereotype us, Peyton. Otherwise, I'm going to put you in the group with loser rock executives who don't know the music."

"I am not like that!"

"Right. Well you keep fighting your label, and I'll keep fighting mine."

"Truce, then," Peyton sighed, extending her hand. Drew eyed it curiously, grin on his face, before accepting it.

"I'll pick you up at seven."

"What?"

"Well a truce would imply you're dropping the stereotypes, so that means we can date."

"What kind of logic is that, honestly?"

"My logic. Is seven okay for you or would you like it to be later?"

Peyton just stared at him blankly.

"Oh cheer up! You're going to love what I have in store for this one."

"So let me get this straight. You're going on a date with a guy who openly admits to doing heroin and has no real intention of quitting."

"Yes."

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be going out with a drug addict."

"Peyton," Brooke said, the concern quickly edging into her otherwise angry tone.

"It's okay, Brooke," Peyton smiled, "It's not like I'm marrying the guy or anything. I'm taking your advice and just dating for the sake of dating."

"If I had known my advice translated to, go out and snag yourself a drug addict, I would have never said anything."

"No, I don't think you would have," Peyton agreed as she finished smoothing down the wrinkles in her blouse. "Now how do I look?"

"Gorgeous. Way too good for him."

"Good. I'm going to wait outside. I don't think I want you meeting him just yet, and Lord knows if you have the opportunity there will be fireworks."

"Why are you doing this, Peyton?" Brooke asked, grabbing Peyton's arm before she could leave the room.

"Because he's really good looking and funny and believe it or not he reminds me a lot of Lucas," Peyton said honestly, "Only he's not married, emotionally detached and living in New York, okay?"

"You forgot to mention he's also a drug addict."

"I thought by now that had been firmly established."

"I thought you weren't looking for long term. So why are you comparing him to Lucas."

"Every guy I'll ever meet automatically gets compared to him. He's like the standard deviant."

"Be careful, P. Sawyer."

"I'm always careful."

Drew showed up in an old tattered lettermen jacket with his short hair slicked back and a bouquet of carnations for her. She didn't know whether she was supposed to laugh or not, but with a polite giggle she accepted the flowers, and tossed them inside, calling to Brooke for her to put them in a vase before shutting the door behind her. He stared at her appearance; lavender blouse and skinny jeans.

"You look nice."

For a minute, she had a strong sense of déjà vu, but shrugged it off, unsure of where it came from.

"Thank you. So do you."

He offered her his arm in a highly chivalric manner. She obliged, increasingly put at ease by his quirky manner.

"Wait until you see where I'm taking you," he said as he opened the door of his truck for her.

"Let me guess. A rave. I'm going to watch you get stoned in some backroom while you play Pink Floyd albums backwards."

Peyton had come to deal with Drew's problem by joking about it, just like Drew did. They pretended the track marks on his arms were just wittily shaped tattoos and the bags under his eyes were from the alcohol of course. They both knew it should be no laughing matter. It was highly fucked up, but so was the president of a well to do record company dating a drug addict who fronted a middle of the road band. It didn't matter though. Drew, like Peyton, was all for avoidance.

"Nice guess, but no. No raves tonight," Drew said, flashing her a crooked smile, "In fact, I'm gonna try and stay sober just for you."

"I feel honored."

"I'd wait until I actually accomplish it before you feel honored."

He drove her to a place on the edge of town, one she'd been to before with Nathan when they were sixteen. The drive-in movie theater. Suddenly, his whole costume made sense.

"So do you always dress up for dates?" Peyton said, quirking her eyebrow as he spread a blanket out on top of his car.

"No. I just figured you'd be a little freaked out by the whole first date thing. You seem like you haven't dated since high school."

"Aww, you're Drew, the crack addict who cares…"

"Dude, that was harsh."

"You were harsh!" Peyton retorted, sounding very much like a child. Their eyes met and the absurdity of the situation became apparent, causing a spout of giggles to erupt from both of them.

After they had finally settled down, Drew had already laid out the blanket and hopped on top of the car. He patted the space next to him and Peyton soon joined him.

The movie playing was a romantic comedy with badly timed humor and patchy back story, but it made it all the more better. Peyton and Drew's sarcasm more than made up for it. They held hands much through the second half of the movie, and Drew's low rumble of a voice when he whispered set goose bumps up Peyton's arm. Afterwards, Drew took her home, and they parted with a chase kiss on the cheek. Peyton slipped inside and proceeded to spill all about her time, ignoring Brooke's reluctant enthusiasm. When it was finally time for Brooke to get to bed, Peyton laid back on her bed, replaying the night.

It was in all honesty, the perfect date.

The dates only got better after that. It was as if Drew's imagination never ceased. He was always taking her someplace new, one that was romantic and yet practical. The dates were so good, that she had even learned to live with Drew's frequent trips to the bathroom and the occasional glazed over eyes that returned from the restroom. Strange as it was to say, it didn't matter. Even when he was high, he was still Drew. It was like the drugs didn't even affect him. As much as it scared Peyton deep down, she couldn't help but accept it. She was by nature good at avoiding confrontation, better at hiding her fears than facing them. She feared for Drew's health, but she didn't want the relationship to end over some pointless intervention. She knew that someone like Drew would only ever quit doing drugs if he wanted to. No one else would change that.

"Can I be honest with you?" Peyton asked, sipping her slurpee. They were on their fifth date, this one consisting of dinner on the boardwalk.

"I thought we were being honest with each other already?"

"Humor me, Drew," Peyton said in a low voice.

"Go for it, Ms. Sawyer."

"Well it's just…I've had a really amazing time these past few weeks…"

"And…"

"Well I'm just surprised you don't have a girlfriend already."

"Drug use usually turns a girl off. Apparently they have this thing called common sense…"

"Hey! You can be extremely persistent when you want to be."

"I guess that's the key," Drew shrugged, "I don't feel like being persistent a lot."

"Oh," Peyton blushed, "Well I'm flattered then."

"For the record," Drew said, dusting some of the dirt off his shoes with the back of his sleeve, "I've had a lot of fun lately too."

"As much fun as we've had lately, I still feel like we don't know a whole lot about each other."

"I'm a Pisces. Two brothers, one sister. Lived in New York City until I was sixteen, then we moved here. Mom's a book store owner. Dad's an ex marine turned prison guard."

"I already knew all that. I meant something…deeper."

"Well you go first," Drew said.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Seeing as I'm the more open one, I think you should start. Tell me something you've been keeping from me."

"My true love married someone else, and I'm still not over it."

"Whoa," Drew said, "When you said deep I thought you meant 'when I was a kid, I wanted to be a bird so I could fly.'"

"Oh," Peyton said, covering her face with her hands, "Well then let's just pretend I never said that."

"Highly unlikely," Drew said, pulling her hands away from her face, "Tell me about it."

"What?"

"Tell me about him…or her."

"Him," Peyton said firmly, "His name is Lucas Scott…"

And Peyton told him everything. From the first moment they locked eyes to the moment they shared in the hospital not long ago. It was a seven and a half year, still incomplete love story.

"Wow."

"Sometimes I feel like that's…it. What's the point of hoping for more?"

At this, Drew let out a laugh.

"What?" Peyton asked, clearly not amused.

"I'm sorry but it's just…you can't honestly think that, right?"

"Why not?"

"Because just because you lose your true love, it doesn't mean life is over. There is so much more to life than love. And there's more to dating than that fluffy shit you call true love."

"Sure there is," Peyton said dryly, rolling her eyes.

"Seriously Peyton, if you just open your eyes, you might find something worthwhile. Don't give up yet."

"I haven't," Peyton smiled, nudging his shoulder purposefully. "Your turn to share something."

Drew spared her a glance, seemingly contemplating on what to say.

"I've only been doing heroin for a few months," Drew admitted.

"Really?"

"Yep. It started after we finished the last album. I did it on a dare."

"A dare?"

"I never claimed to be mature," Drew grinned, before scratching the back of his head.

"Do you ever regret it?"

"Sometimes it sucks to think about it. You spend your whole life talking about how you want to fight the power and writing music about being independent and rising against society's shackles and then you find yourself dependent on this shit."

"Kind of funny," Peyton admitted.

"The irony's never been lost on me. But to answer your question, I never regret anything I do."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I'm a big fan of the whole fate thing. There's a predetermined course and we're all just pawns in the Higher Power's chess game. I can't regret something I had no chance of changing."

"Sounds like a copout for someone who's too afraid to man up to his decisions in life."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Drew laughed.

"You ever think about quitting?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Uh huh," Peyton nodded.

"I promised my mother I'd be clean by her birthday."

"Your mother knows you do heroin?"

"No point in lying to her. Last thing I want is for her to find out from someone else when they find me dead, covered in vomit in some sleazy motel room."

"So then you're gonna quit?"

"Maybe," Drew shrugged.

"Good."

"I kind of miss the days when getting stoned off alcohol and pot was enough."

"That's the wrong reason for quitting, but I'll take it."

"You gonna stick around through all the shit to come?" Drew asked seriously, "Because I won't blame you if you bail now."

"I got nowhere to go," Peyton shrugged, "I've spent my whole life depending on other people to get me through things. It's about time I return the favor."

"Squaring your karma?"

"Something like that."

Things you need to know after finishing this chapter:

1) In general, I do not endorse drug use especially the hardcore stuff like heroin which will more likely than not kill you within 5 years of you starting it.

2) My goal is not to glorify drug use, and the next chapter will indeed prove that. If you thought this was going to be all happy times and easy recovery CLEARLY you haven't realized my love of angst (and realistic writing).

3) I don't know how I feel about this chapter. Drew is a necessary character and I felt that I just couldn't get him right. –sigh— I'm guessing that's what you get when you decide to bring in a drug addict…lol.