A/N: Thanks to everyone who read last chapter, and especially those who took time to review. As always I appreciate the feedback, good or bad. You guys are great.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

"Dude, you're insane," Brent told Nathan as he picked up the picture of Nathan and Peyton at the beach to study it closer. Peyton was in a light blue bikini and Nathan stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist. Brent's eyes raked over her perfect body. Insanity was the only word he could use to describe stepping out on a girl like her.

Nathan handed Brent another beer and took the picture to admire it himself. "Yeah, probably," he admitted, before setting it back down on the mantle.

They were both on their sixth beer, and conversation flowed easily between the two, both enjoying the fact that they could really relate to each other. They'd already touched on a variety of topics, but it lingered mostly around their parents, their ex girlfriends and basketball.

"So, what's the story on this other Scott?" Brent ventured to ask. He wasn't going to but since they were getting along so well and the beer he'd drank clouded any sense of appropriate questioning, he went ahead and asked. "Is it true he's your brother?"

Nathan chuckled. "Long story," he replied, taking a large gulp from his bottle.

"I got time."

Nathan took another drink and then went on to explain the entire history about Lucas.

"Wow," Brent said. "That's messed up."

"Yeah," Nathan agreed.

"He's a good basketball player," Brent mentioned.

"He's a punk."

Brent smiled at his new friend. "But he's a good basketball player," he repeated.

"He's ok," Nathan replied begrudgingly. He really hated admitting any talent of Lucas'.

"Don't like him at all, huh?"

"Nope. I swear the bastard just wants my life. I got no use for him."

"Too bad," Brent responded regretfully. "I don't know what I'd do without my brother. Matt's the only one I can actually be real with at home. If you know what I mean."

Nathan nodded.

"Oh, and by the way," Brent continued. "My sister thinks you're hot."

A look of amusement crossed Nathan's features. "What is she? Ten?"

"Twelve," Brent replied with humor. "But trust me, she'd have a total bitch fit if she knew I told you."

"Then why did you?" Nathan wanted to know.

Brent shrugged. "It's a brother thing. Pissing my sisters off is part of the job description."

"Sounds like fun," Nathan said. "I wish I had a sister to bug."

"No, trust me, you don't. They're a pain in the ass. I can't even get in the bathroom half the time because my older sister's always locking herself in there doing her makeup, or her hair, or whatever else girls do in there," Brent complained. "And my younger sister's always touching my stuff. And when I get pissed off about it, I get in shit, because, you know, she's their perfect little angel."

Nathan just laughed. Maybe he didn't want a sister after all.

"We should call some hot girls over," Brent suggested. "I know! How about supermodel and, uh, that other hot one she's always with."

"Brooke?"

"I don't know her name."

"I thought you didn't like her."

"What? You really are insane. What's there not to like?"

"Last time you were here, she hit on you and you blew her off."

"Because I had a girlfriend. I'm not a jerk off," Brent explained, then thought about what he'd said. "No offense," he added apologetically when Nathan glared at him.

Nathan shrugged, ignoring the unintentional jab. "You should have told her you were taken. If she knew, she wouldn't have hit on you"

"Well, I'm single now," Brent replied. "So why don't you call her so I can make up for last time."

"Forget it. You're just looking for a piece of ass and Brooke's better than that."

"Hey, that's what she was offering before," Brent pointed out.

Nathan knew that. He was well aware that Brooke got around but it didn't mean he liked it or that he was going to help her. "That's because she doesn't realize how much more she deserves."

Brent knew from their earlier conversation that Nathan wanted Peyton back but he clearly cared about Brooke as well. "You got something with her?" he asked.

"Not in the way you mean it, no. She's one of my best friends."

Brent nodded. "Well so, we'll just talk then. I'm up for that. But you got to call supermodel."

"Her name's Peyton," Nathan informed him with a chuckle. "And I can't. She's still pissed at me," he added more somberly.

"So whenever you get her back, you gonna fuck around on her some more or did you learn your lesson?"

Nathan laughed. "I didn't know it was a test. No wonder I failed," he replied, dodging the question.

Their banter continued throughout the evening into the night, as they drank one beer after another. After a while they got into Dan's best scotch and shortly thereafter, the conversation they held turned into a senseless array of slurred words, jumbled thoughts, and mixed up sentences that most people would never understand. Together they decided that calling the girls was actually a good idea. Nathan called Peyton first, but it went to her voice mail, so he left her a drunken message asking her to come over. Then, at Brent's insistence, he called Brooke.

"Hello," Brooke answered the phone groggily.

"Hey Brooke," Nathan chirped energetically. "What are you doing?"

"Nathan? What's going on?" she asked, suddenly worried.

"Peyton won't answer her phone. She's still mad at me."

"Uh yeah, I know," Brooke replied. "Are you drunk?"

"No. I just want Peyton to come to the beach house ok, Brooke. I need you to call her and ask her to come."

"What? Nathan, it's 4:00 in the morning! How much have you drank?"

"Tell Brooke to come too," Brent said in the background just as Brooke spoke.

"What?" Nathan asked, clearly bewildered. "You can't both talk at the same time. What did you say?"

"Who's with you, Nathan?"

"Brent."

"What?" Brent asked upon hearing his name.

"Nothing," Nathan answered Brent. "Yes, you know him, Brooke. He plays basketball as good as me. Remember?"

"Is she coming?"

"I don't know. Shut up!" Nathan said impatiently, annoyed with Brent's constant interruption. "Brooke, Brent likes you. He wants you to come with Peyton. Ok Brooke?"

"Oh yeah, I'll just get out of my pj's and rush right over there."

His drunken mind failed to recognize the sarcasm in her voice. "Ok. And Brooke?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget to bring Peyton. Ok? Ok Brooke?"

Brooke rolled her eyes at his constant usage of her name and decided it would be easier to just play along. "Ok, Nate. We'll see you soon. And do me a favor. Don't drink any more until we get there. Got it?"

"I got it, Brooke. I won't drink anything else until you're both here."

"Ok, now hang up the phone, so I can go get ready."

He did as she told him to do, closing his phone without so much as a goodbye. "They're coming right away," he told Brent.

"Cool. See I told you it was a good idea. Now you and Peyton will get back together."

Nathan nodded, then as though he'd just remembered, he asked, "Hey, did you know that my friend Tim got his cat de-clawed?"

Brent shook his head. "No. But I knew a cat like that once."

"Yeah?" Nathan asked, highly interested. "Did you know about it? Cause Tim didn't even tell me."

"Why not?" Brent asked, leaning forward as though the answer was of great significance.

"I don't know. He's supposed to be my friend, and cover for me, but then he goes and gets his cat de-clawed behind my back and Peyton breaks up with me."

"My friend Josh brought his dog to the vet once," Brent stated. "And he didn't tell me about it either."

"Why?"

Brent lifted his shoulders to indicate he didn't know. "But then he liked my girlfriend. So I think Tim likes Peyton and that's why he didn't tell you about the cat," he said, satisfied with his logic.

"I never thought of that. I think you're right. He always daydreams about her."

"See, I told you."

"Yeah. He definitely likes Peyton."

"I like Peyton," Brent said. "But don't worry, I got no cat."

Nathan nodded in relief. "If you ever get one, don't ever say it scratched you, because your girlfriend won't believe you."

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"But when you do I mean."

"Ok. That's really good advice. Thanks," Brent said as though Nathan's words were words to live by. "So, when are the girls getting here?" he asked, spreading out on the couch and closing his eyes.

"They're coming right away," Nathan replied as he pushed back the lazy-boy chair, planning to just sit back and wait for Peyton and Brooke to arrive. He'd just close his eyes for a minute.

Meanwhile

Brooke flipped her phone closed and lay back down on her bed.

"He's wasted?" Peyton, who'd stayed over at Brooke's asked.

"He's totally trashed," Brooke responded.

"It figures. What did he want?"

"You. He's with that hot Brent guy from Bear Creek and they wanted us to go party with them. I told Nate we're on our way," Brooke said with a giggle.

Peyton couldn't resist a chuckle at that. "I wonder how long it'll take them to figure out we're not going."

"Hmm, if we don't get another call within a half hour, I'll wager they're passed out."

Brooke turned over to try to get back to sleep, while Peyton kept her eyes open, staring up at the ceiling. She wasn't surprised that Nathan was drinking. The boy did like his alcohol. Sometimes it was just to have fun and let loose, but Peyton knew he often used it as an escape as well.

She knew he'd been upset about his father earlier. And he hadn't seemed any better when he'd come out to the parking lot after the game. He hadn't noticed her, but she'd stayed parked, watching him and had seen him just sitting in his car for several minutes before finally driving away. Only then did she pull out herself.

Before she'd ended up at Brooke's, she'd just driven around, trying to clear her head. It was hard not to go to him when she knew he was upset. But she knew if she did, he would end up turning the conversation to their relationship, just as he'd done in the locker room. She didn't want that. She wasn't ready to let go of her anger. It was the only thing that kept her from running straight back into his arms. If she could make herself stop worrying about him, she'd do it in a second. Why should she care if his father laid into him? It shouldn't matter to her anymore. But it did. Because despite everything, she still loved him and she couldn't see that changing any time soon. Just her luck, she'd probably love him forever. Why did she have to fall so hard for him? Feel so deeply? Why was it, that when he was hurting, she felt like she'd taken a blow herself?

"Are you ok?" Brooke asked from beside her.

"I thought you were asleep."

Brooke turned to face her best friend. "How can I sleep with you thinking so loudly?" she teased, bringing forth a giggle from her friend. "He loves you, Peyton, even though he screws up a lot."

"Yeah. But why do I feel like I love him more than he loves me? Oh, I know, because he's out screwing every skank in town, while I can't even imagine dating someone else."

"Hon, not to make excuses for him or anything, but sex is different for guys. They don't get this emotional connection like girls do. At least not as much."

"I'm not a prude, Brooke. I realize 'sex' doesn't necessarily mean 'love', but it's not like he wasn't getting any. Even then it wouldn't be right, but at least I could understand it better."

"I don't know what to tell you, P. These are things you should be talking to Nathan about. Only he can tell you."

Peyton didn't respond. She was always grateful for Brooke's friendship and support, but she didn't know any more of Nathan's reasons than she did. It was true only Nathan could tell her. She could ask him, but she doubted he'd give her a straight answer. He never did. And did she even want him to?

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"Luke, get up! We're gonna be late for school."

Luke opened his eyes to find Haley standing over him, looking fresh and alert. He groaned. "I don't want to."

"Come on," she urged, tugging at his arm. "If you make me late, I'm never speaking to you again."

"Is that all I had to do all these years?"

"Very funny. You'd be lost without me."

"No, I'd still be asleep, dreaming of Angelina Jolie."

That's when Haley noticed the lift in his blanket by his hip area. "Oh gross, Luke!" she screamed while covering her eyes.

He sat up, laughing at her. "Why so squeamish? It happens."

"Umm, yeah, I know, but it doesn't mean I want to see it. Please go take a shower. A cold one. I'll go wait in the kitchen. With your MOM."

Luke's face reddened. "Wait, you're not gonna…tell her? Right?" He'd be mortified if his mother knew about this.

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't."

"Hales…" he began pleadingly.

"Please don't use that begging tone on me while you've got a…" she didn't finish the sentence. "Luke, your secret's safe. You think I ever want to talk about this again?"

One she'd left the room, Lucas stood up reluctantly, had his shower and ventured into the kitchen for some breakfast.

"Morning, kiddo," Karen said. "You up for some french toast?" she asked, causing Haley to choke on her orange juice.

"Haley, honey, are you alright?" Karen asked sweetly as Lucas gave her a thunderous look.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," Haley said as she stabbed at her chest. "Went down the wrong hole," she added, refusing to meet Luke's eyes.

"Well, be careful, sweetie. I don't want to have to rush you to the hospital."

"I'm good now," she reassured the older woman.

"Ok, I'm off. Luke, don't forget you have to take over at the café tonight."

"I won't forget, Mom. I'll be there right after school."

Karen nodded in satisfaction, grabbed her purse, kissed both Lucas and Haley on the cheek, and headed out the door.

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"Shit!" Brent exclaimed when he finally opened his eyes and glanced at the clock. Almost noon. He stood up abruptly, noticing Nathan was still out on the chair. "Shit shit shit!" he grumbled, quickly grabbing his phone, ignoring the steady pounding of his head. As it rang, he kicked Nathan awake.

"What?" Nathan asked, bolting up. "What happened?" He immediately sat back down as the room began to spin.

"I missed the damn bus!" Brent exclaimed as he waited for his father to answer his phone. "My dad's gonna kill me!"

"What?" Nathan asked, his mind still cloudy from sleep and the remnants of alcohol.

Before Brent could explain further, he started speaking to the person on the other end of the line. "Dad. Yeah, I know…I just woke up." His conversation didn't end there, but he took it into the other room. Twenty minutes later he returned.

"You missed your bus?" Nathan asked. It had finally penetrated his brain through the haze.

Brent nodded. "Yeah. We were all supposed to meet back at the school and be on the bus for 10:00."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Everything's cool now. Except my dad's pissed off because now we have to rent a car to go back since our ride left without us. Or maybe you could just steal us a bus," he joked. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Nathan shook his head and chuckled. "I just borrowed it," he replied lightly.

"Yeah ok," Brent said laughing. "Anyway, my mom apparently wants to do some shopping so we're not leaving until tomorrow. That means I get to go to this party tonight."

Nathan began with the explanation of why he hadn't intended to go to the party, since it was at Damien's, when his phone rang. It was Tim informing him that Damien's parents had cancelled their weekend getaway, so their party was being relocated to Tyler's house. Nathan closed his phone and shrugged. "Never mind. Party's on."

–––––––––––––––––––––––––

Loud music blared through the speakers as some people danced in the middle of the living room, others made out in the corner, and many just stood around, laughing and joking with their friends.

Nathan was currently doing body shots with a sexy redhead, while loud cheers from the group surrounding them, filled his ears. When he'd finally lapped up all the fiery liquid, he stood up and clapped victoriously.

The girl sat up, giggling that the lime had gone down her shirt.

Nathan smirked at her. "I'll get it later," he said smoothly, before looking up and catching Peyton's angry glare. But hell, she'd been ignoring him all night. She'd barely even spoken to him, even when he'd tried to talk to her. He watched her storm off, but didn't bother to go after her. Hell, she'd broken up with him so he was free to do what he wanted. And he wanted to party. He glanced over at Brent. He was flirting with a couple of girls and Nathan was glad that he wasn't shy to meet new people. He liked the guy but he didn't want him glued to his side all night. Apparently Brent felt the same way, which was good.

––––––––––

"Baby, you're really turning me on," the blonde Nathan was currently grinding with said. "Let's go upstairs," she suggested as her hand ran over the bulge in his jeans.

Nathan took in a sharp breath and nodded agreeably. He was definitely hot for this girl, whatever her name was. As she took his hand to lead him up the stairs, his eyes scanned the room. He hadn't seen Peyton in over an hour and figured she'd probably gone home mad. Not that it mattered since they weren't together. It's not like he was sneaking around.

Once they reached the second floor, he came face to face with her. She was just exiting the bedroom that Nathan and the girl were about to enter.

Peyton took in the scene before her and felt her entire body clench in fury. There he was with another one of his hoes, clearly with one purpose in mind.

"Peyton," he began to speak, and then caught a glimpse of movement inside the room. His eyes narrowed when he noticed what it was. Brent, slipping on a t-shirt. "Peyton, what the hell?" Nathan asked, suddenly angry.

Peyton glanced at Brent, and then turned back to Nathan. "Oh, don't worry," she said, leaning in close to whisper in his ear. "It was just sex."