"Peyton."

She slammed her locker door shut, turning to grin at him. "Hey. What are you doing here so late?"

Julian hesitated. He'd joined the Mathlete team his second day at Tree Hill High, but he'd never been so forthcoming with that information. Nathan and his group of followers would have ragged on him every chance they got, but Peyton was on Brooke's side. He needed to remember that.

"Mathlete's meeting." He admitted, grinning awkwardly. "You?"

Peyton held up her pompoms with a dejected sigh. She'd joined cheerleading freshman year after an endless summer of Brooke's nagging. She didn't hate it, exactly, sometimes, she just wondered if she really, truly belonged in the world of popularity.

"I don't know if I've said this already." Julian began. "But thank you... You saved my ass the other night, and you might have just saved my relationship with Brooke... She asked me out today."

He had thanked her, about a million times during their drive to Brooke's house.

She couldn't have been prouder of her best friend. Brooke was finally taking charge of her own life, she was finally doing something for herself. She deserved that happiness.

"Julian!" Peyton reached out to squeeze his arm. "Congrats! That's great! Where are you gonna take her?"

He hesitated. Suddenly, he realized that he knew nothing, absolutely nothing personal about Brooke Davis.

Her best friend did, though.

She laughed, guessing his thoughts. No one knew Brooke Penelope Davis better than Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer.

"Brooke loves the beach." Peyton said. "Especially at night. She loves picnics, and dancing, and ice skating, long walks... Just be yourself, Julian. She'll have fun, no matter what you do."

Julian grinned down at her. "Thanks, Peyton."

"Thought you were walking home, Peyt."

He'd forgotten his chemistry book. Leaving Haley to catch a ride with Lucas, he'd run back in to retrieve it from his locker. Was she trying to piss him off? Or was it just a total coincidence that he'd caught Peyton hanging around the one person he was so against?

"Luke really needs to fix your car." Nathan said, hooking his hand around her upper arm. "C'mon, Sawyer."

Peyton shot Julian an apologetic look, trying to pull her arm back. "Nathan! Just-Let go!"

Julian's sudden movement surprised all three of them. His hand shot out, shoving the Raven's star point guard away from the blonde cheerleader with a force he didn't know he had.

Nathan blinked, his expression unreadable.

"Julian!" She suddenly felt like laughing, despite the situation. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"She said to let her go." He hissed. "So why don't you get lost, ass hole. We were kind of in the middle of an important conversation."

Nathan scoffed, breaking the distance between them in two long strides. He grabbed the front of Julian's shirt, dragging him forward.

"In case you've forgotten." He muttered, his voice too low for Peyton to hear. "This is still my school, and she's my friend. You've already brainwashed Brooke, I'm not about to let you do the same thing to Peyton. You're in my world now, Baker Boy, don't forget that."

"Nathan! Let him go."

Nathan sighed, debating on whether to listen to her or not. Finally, he let Julian slump to the ground before grabbing her arm again, pulling her along behind him without breaking his stride.

"Why did you do that?"

He ignored her, making a sharp right towards the parking lot. He only released his grip on her as he neared his car.

"Get in."

"Nathan-"

"Get in the car, Peyton."

"Nathan... Just... Talk to me, please!"

Nathan held a hand up to cut her off. "Peyton. Please. Just for once, don't argue with me. Just get in the car."

Peyton blinked, before wrapping her hand around the door handle and swinging it open.

Something was changing between them, between all of them, and she had no idea how to stop it.

Hey guys! Hope you're liking the story so far :) If you want more Brulian/Naley/Leyton, then you should check out my new story: The Girl In The Mirror :)

Thanks!