A/N: This is going to be pretty angsty for awhile guys. Sorry if it's not your cup of tea, but I promise it will end well. I am a big believer in happy endings.

"What happened last night?!"

Lucas sat up straight and squinted up at Haley who stood angrily over his bed with arms akimbo.

"Haley? What are you doing here?" Lucas croaked, falling back down into his mattress. He'd crawled into bed when Nathan dropped him home, avoiding his mother and the questions he knew she'd ask him. He hadn't moved since, only to go to the bathroom and empty what little stomach contents there were and then back. He'd felt sick to his stomach most of the day.

"What happened last night, Luke?" Haley pressed again. She looked at him a moment and then furrowed her brows. "Why are you still in bed? It's four thirty."

"I have a bug or a hangover or something, Haley. I feel awful and I don't know what happened last night because I don't remember."

"You-you don't remember? Luke how much did you have to drink last night?"

"God-I went over this with your husband, Haley. I don't know. All I know is I woke up this morning lying in a bedroom at Fergie's house with a pounding headache. I don't recollect anything that happened after you left me and Peyton outside alone," he cracked one eye open and glared at her through it adding, "Thanks for that by the way. It went really well."

Haley sat down on the edge on his bed. "Luke how can you not remember what happened last night?"

"I don't know Haley! I've been racking my brain trying to figure it out. I didn't think I drank that much last night, but apparently I got obliterated because I can't-there's nothing."

Lucas sat up a bit and stared at Haley, taking in her worried look, he began to feel again that dread, he'd awoken to that morning. "What happened last night, Hales? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm fine. It's-it's Peyton."

At the mention of Peyton Lucas became very much awake. He scanned her face worriedly and began shooting out question after question. "What happened. Is she okay? Is she hurt?"

He was already out of bed, looking for clothes to put on, not caring that Haley was sitting there. "Luke, Luke, she's fine…now…..kind of. It-" she sighed, looking up at the ceiling as he threw his pants on. "Last night Peyton flew out of the party and Nathan said she was really, really upset."

"Well what happened?! Did someone hurt her?" Lucas demanded, fists beginning to clench.

"No, she said no one physically hurt her last night-but," she paused as Lucas sighed in relief and ran a hand through his hair. "There's more Lucas. She apparently collapsed on the side of the road really far from the party and-Lucas wait!"

Lucas was halfway out the door when Haley grabbed his arm. "Someone found her and took her home….It was Jake."

At that, Lucas froze and turned to stare at Haley. That sinking feeling…"Jake," he murmured, as though testing out the sound it made on his tongue.

"He's back in town for graduation tomorrow. He found her and he's with her now."

Lucas digested this information. Every cell in his body wanted to run over to her house and make sure for himself that she was okay…and to rip Jake to pieces.

"Lucas…I also got the impression when I was over there this morning that whatever happened last night had to do with you."

Lucas turned incredulous eyes towards her.

"You think I hurt her?"

"No! No, Lucas….not on purpose anyway." She looked away at the look of hurt he was giving her. "Look, I know Lucas, more than anyone how much you love her and I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt her, but-"

"I do anyway," Lucas cut in, pain evident in his eyes. "That's all I do is hurt her, right? And Jake is there to pick up the pieces like a knight in shining fucking armor," he spat, his arm lashing out and sending a book flying off his night stand. Haley jumped, not used to seeing Lucas agitated to the point of violence.

"Luke, she won't talk about what happened last night and you can't remember," she said soothingly. She watched him sit down on his bed and put his head in his hands. He felt like his world was crashing in on him.

"Haley I don't remember what happened last night."

"Well, maybe it will come back to you. Do you remember what you and Peyton talked about outside?"

"Yeah," he whispered. "I told her I still loved her and she still loves me too, Haley. She said so, but she's in this dark place and I can't-I can't get to her," he finished sadly. Haley pressed a consoling hand on his shoulder.

"I couldn't have done this Haley. I couldn't-" he choked, before taking a few deep breaths. Haley rubbed his back comfortingly. He looked like he was going to fly to pieces.

"Lucas, calm down."

"I can't!" he exploded. "What if he-Jake is her Brooke, Haley! I feel like I'm loosing her. I felt so far from her before, but I feel-I can't even feel her anymore."

"Lucas, Peyton loves you. Maybe Jake is her Brooke, but, you are her Lucas. She always comes back to you."

"What if it was me, Hales?" He looked at his best friend sadly. "What if I did hurt her? Why can't I remember?"

Haley shook her head. She didn't know and his memory loss alone worried her. Adding Jake to the mix just made everything….bad.

"Luke, just do me a favor and let her be today. We're going to graduate tomorrow. That's huge," She tried to make it sound enthusiastic, but it fell flat and the bland look he gave her.

"With Jake?"

"Luke, he straight out told me he wasn't here to start any sort of trouble. He knows how Peyton feels about you. He's the one who sent her back up here to you in the first place."

"Oh, well I should send him a fruit basket for being kind enough to do that," Lucas spat sarcastically. Haley rolled her eyes at him.

"You know what I mean. She just needs a friend right now Luke and he's being that for her. I can't take care of you both. I'm about to pop!"

Lucas cracked a smile and pressed his hand to Haley's stomach. "I'm sorry Hales. I have been running you ragged, huh? How is my nephew?"

"He's fine, but he wants his uncle be okay."

Lucas mustered up a bland smile for her. This was not how he'd planned on ending his high school experience; with heart ache he couldn't fix and a hole in his memory that worried him more by the minute. He couldn't shake that nagging feeling he had and he knew there was more to it than just Jake being in town.

What was worse was he couldn't go to the one person he wanted to see the most. The one person who could fix this. Peyton had asked him to keep his distance.

"There's a lot going on and you said yourself Luke that she's in a dark place right now," Haley went on. "With the attack and graduation, maybe it all just caught up with her last night."

"Maybe," Lucas murmured, though he was unconvinced. If Peyton had passed out and he couldn't remember then something had happened that he knew would affect them both because nothing with them was ever easy.