A/N: Thank you again to everybody who is reading this and special thanks to all of you who take time to leave a review. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, good or bad. Love you guys.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

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

Nathan scrambled off the bed at the sight of Larry Sawyer's angry, penetrating glare. If looks could kill, he'd be dead on the spot. Talk about an instant mood killer. Shit, the man already hated him as it was. Her father didn't say a word to him, but his warning look stated get out loud and clear. Nathan glanced quickly at his shirt, on the other side of Peyton, contemplating whether to grab it or just leave it. Peyton made the decision for him, taking it and handing it over to him, yet quickly averting her eyes, her cheeks a bright red at this highly awkward situation.

Nathan took it from her hand, glancing once more at her father, who was currently staring daggers at him, an unspoken threat in the hard set of his jaw. Nathan figured he had maybe five seconds before her old man snapped, so he cleared out of the room, slipping on his shirt on his way. The sticky residue of whipped cream made it cling to his skin, but he couldn't exactly shower and change as he'd planned to do. Not here anyway. But he definitely needed to go home before practice. Not his original plan, but Papa Bear's untimely arrival left him no choice.

The minute he stepped outside, he was surrounded by a swarm of bees. Who knew bees liked whipped cream? Nathan thought as he swatted them away, albeit unsuccessfully. He muttered a silent oath as one stung him in the arm. What a great day this had been so far. It had barely even started and already he'd sliced his finger cutting fruit, been caught in a definitely kinky moment, by her father of all people, and now a damn bee had stung him! He might be better off to sleep the rest of this day away, he thought as he drove off.

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Peyton sat quietly at the foot of her bed, as her father paced her room in silence. Every now and then he'd stop in front of her, open his mouth to speak, but no words would come from his mouth and he'd go back to pacing once more.

"I have no idea what I'm supposed to say to you right now," he finally spoke. "Your mother – now she would have known what to say."

"Hey, here's an idea," Peyton commented hopefully. "How about we skip this whole conversation and get to my birthday present?" It wasn't so much that she was in a rush for her present – she knew it would be art supplies, what he always got her – but she really didn't want to have this conversation with him. She just wanted to forget that he'd walked in on her and Nathan. And clearly her father was as uncomfortable with the situation as she was.

He was, but that wasn't going to stop him. "Nice try," Larry said. "But I feel we should be talking about this."

Peyton sighed. Talking about it was the second worst thing next to experiencing it. So not what she wanted to do on her birthday. Or any other day for that matter.

"Your boyfriend was here pretty early in the morning," her father continued. "Would it be safe to assume he spent the night?"

Peyton felt her shoulders slump. Clearly he had no intention of dropping this. "Yes," she stated honestly. Considering what he'd just witnessed, there was no point lying anymore.

"How long has this been going on?"

"I don't know exactly. A while."

"How long is a while?"

"Four, five months."

"You know, Peyton," he began uneasily, "Sex is not something that should be taken lightly. It's supposed to be an expression of love between two people who have been together a long time, are completely devoted to each other, and plan to spend the rest of their lives together. Get married, have children…"

Peyton rolled her eyes. She definitely didn't take sex lightly. "We've been dating for ten months," she reasoned. "A little longer than that actually. That's almost a year."

"Not steadily. I don't think your relationship is solid enough to be…taking things to that level."

"Listen, I know you don't like him…"

"No, I don't," her dad interrupted. "I think he's an arrogant, wise ass punk, who, judging by how many tears I've seen you shed over him, doesn't treat you half as well as you deserve, however, that's not why I'm saying this. I'm saying it because the two of you are split up as much as you are together. That's not what I consider a solid enough relationship to be bringing, umm…sex…into the equation. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yes, I get it, but you need to understand too, that I'm 100% completely in love with him," Peyton said in defense.

"Peyton, you've just today turned seventeen…"

"Meaning what? That I'm too young to know what's in my heart?"

"No, meaning at your age, sometimes it's easy to forget that it's fine to follow your heart, but in doing so, you also need to use your head. Now, I know in this day and age sex has become a lot more casual, but I want more for you, so I hope you haven't fallen into the trap of 'everybody's doing it' or feel forced into it because society deems it ok or because he's pressured you into it…"

Peyton's head shot up at her father's last comment. "Nathan didn't force me into anything." Ok, so maybe he'd pressured her a bit, a lot, about sex before she'd been ready, but, by no means, had he forced her to do anything she didn't want to do.

"I'm not saying he did," her father stated. "Not at all. I'm just naming off some possible scenarios where a young girl might feel almost obligated to do certain things."

Peyton shook her head. "That's not me," she denied. "I slept with Nathan because I love him and I wanted to. Not because he wanted me to or anyone else thought I should." She couldn't believe she was saying these things to her father.

"Ok, and he treats you with respect? And dignity?"

"Yeah," she answered with a nod. "Most of the time."

Larry sighed deeply. "Most of the time is not good enough. And I don't care that he's the star of the basketball team or that he's the most popular kid in school…"

"Neither do I," Peyton replied flatly.

"He should respect you all the time, sweetheart. And if he doesn't, then he doesn't deserve you."

Peyton fell silent, her father's words affecting her more than she'd like them to. She knew he was right, but then, he didn't know Nathan like she did. He wasn't perfect, but she loved him. And he loved her. She believed that with all her heart. Sometimes.

"Alright, well, you're almost grown now, so I'm not going to stand here and tell you how to live your life. I can't say I'm crazy about the idea of my little girl…doing such grown up acts, but I'm aware that telling you not to do it won't stop you. Will it?" he asked, just in case.

She chuckled at his last question. "No, I'm sorry," she admitted. "I'll always be your little girl though," she added to make him feel better.

Larry nodded. "And you're ok, uh, protection wise?" he asked.

"Oh! Yeah," she said, feeling embarrassed all over again. "Yeah, no worries there."

"That's what you think. I'll always worry," he said, wishing he could have found the right words to convince her of his will. "Ok, so do you want your present before or after school?"

"Well, actually, I've been sick the past few days so I haven't been going."

"Well, from what I saw, you looked far from sick. You're going to school, young lady."

"Fine," she grumbled. "I'll take my present first." She was glad she at least felt better than she had the last few days.

When she opened her gift, she smiled brightly. Art supplies. Just as she'd predicted. Not that she was complaining. She loved her art, and the more supplies, the better. But then he handed her something else and her smile grew wider. A gift card for the music store.

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"Happy Birthday, bestest friend!" Brooke exclaimed cheerfully when she saw Peyton at her locker. "You're wearing it, yay!" she said about the top she'd bought her.

"Of course I am," Peyton said. "I love it. Thank you."

"I totally would have brought a cake in if I knew you'd be at school today."

"Oh hey, that's fine," Peyton replied dismissively. "Nathan and I decided to celebrate on the weekend since my dad's home for a few days."

"Oh yeah, I heard that. What time does he get here?"

"He's already here."

"Peyton, that's great! Are you excited?"

"Yeah," Peyton said with a nod. She truly was happy that he was home for a while.

"As excited as you are about the concert tickets?"

"Concert tickets?" Peyton asked blankly.

"Umm, I'm late for English. Sorry, gotta go," she said in a rush, realizing Nathan hadn't given them to her yet.

"Oh no," Peyton said, grabbing her arm. Brooke Davis never hurried to class. "Spill it," she said grinning. "Did someone get me concert tickets?"

Brooke gave her a pouty look. "Maybe."

Peyton smiled. "The benefit concert?" she asked, getting excited at the prospect. "Brooke? For real? Tell me you're not kidding."

"I didn't say it was in the first place."

"It's Nathan, right? He bought them, didn't he? Come on, tell me. I won't tell him you told me. I'm your best friend."

"P. Sawyer," Brooke whined. "Don't do that."

Peyton gave her the most innocent of looks. "Do what?"

"Play the best friend card."

"Why not? What good is it if I can't use it?"

"I'm not saying a word," Brooke insisted.

But a few minutes later, following a lot more prodding on Peyton's part, Brooke changed her tune and told her of the tickets they'd purchased.

Peyton could barely contain her excitement. "How did you guys get them? They were completely sold out when I checked."

"We have our ways," Brooke said, looking at her fingernails. "But I'm not spilling that secret."

Peyton glanced at her best friend and guessed right away. "You don't know, do you?"

"Why do you have to know me so well?" Brooke complained. "Ok, ok, I had nothing to do with it. It was all Nathan," she admitted. "But I helped him with the fruit tray. Just thought you should know."

Peyton couldn't help but laugh at her friend. "Speaking of, have I got a funny story to tell you."

By the time she finished telling her about the incident with her father, Brooke was nearly doubled over in laughter. "Wow, nice timing Daddy Sawyer. That must have been…"

"Surprising? Awkward? Embarassing?" Peyton nodded. "Yep, all of the above."

"What did Nathan do?" Brooke asked, still laughing.

"Beat it out of there as fast as he could," Peyton answered with a giggle.

"Coward," Brooke joked.

"Hey, I don't blame him. I wish I could have got out of it that easy."

She went on to tell her of the lecture that followed, making Brooke laugh even harder as she pictured how embarrassed Peyton must have felt.

"Hi Peyton," they heard. They both looked over to see who it was.

"Oh hey, Lucas," Peyton said.

"How are you?"

"Good. You?"

"Good too, thanks," he responded with a smile as he continued his way down the hall.

"Umm, what just happened here?" Brooke asked in confusion.

"What? We were just saying hi."

"But since when do you two know each other?"

"We don't really. We just talked the one time. And he drove me home, but that's it. He seems like a really good guy. It's too bad Nathan doesn't give him a chance."

"Ok, whoa, back up. He drove you home? When?"

"Friday, after I left the party. I ended up at his mom's café. He was working and we got talking. I enjoyed it."

"Does Nathan know about this?"

"Well, no. We haven't talked about it."

"Good, keep it that way."

"Brooke…"

"Peyton, think about it. You know how Nathan can get. You know he hates Lucas. And we all know Lucas is crushing on you big time. It's so obvious."

"Brooke, I have no intention of telling Nathan. Believe me, I know better than anyone how he gets."

"Good. And you shouldn't talk to Lucas anymore either. That will only cause problems for you and Nathan."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Peyton agreed.

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At lunchtime, Peyton pulled Nathan into the janitor's closet and immediately attacked his lips with her own.

"What's this for?" Nathan asked, wondering what had gotten into her.

"For the delicious birthday breakfast. I thought we could pick up where we left off this morning," she said seductively, her arms wrapping around his neck.

Nathan smirked at her. "You just can't get enough of me, can you?"

Peyton shook her head and proceeded to kiss his neck.

"I guess I can give you your present now, since I didn't get to this morning," he told her.

"Hmm, yes, baby, give me my present," she teased, grabbing his crotch.

"You can have that one in a minute," he said. "But first…" He took out the tickets and handed them to her.

She did her best to sound surprised but he saw right through her. He looked at her suspiciously. "Brooke told you, didn't she?"

"What? No."

"Yes she did. I can tell you're not really surprised," he said dejectedly.

Peyton smiled guiltily. "Am I that see through?"

She expected some smart-ass comeback, but instead he stood there, looking upset.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Nothing. I just…I wanted you to be surprised." He never should have told Brooke. He knew she couldn't keep a secret from Peyton.

"I was," Peyton assured him. She leaned closer to him. "I never expected this. I didn't think you were even listening. I love you."

"I love you too."

"And this is the best gift of all," she told him. "Well, besides this one," she added, grabbing him again and caressing him tenderly.

With a sharp intake of breath, he pulled her as close to him as he could, his hands eagerly traveling over her body.

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There was loud cheering in the gym as the Ravens claimed an amazing 56-point victory over the Eagles. Nathan himself had scored 39 points, Lucas 28, and Damien 21. They'd definitely been on fire tonight and the team was in high spirits, as were the cheerleaders and spectators. It was a game none of them would have wanted to miss.

Peyton made her way onto the court, jumping into Nathan's arms, not caring how sweaty he was. "You did awesome," she said proudly.

They kissed for several seconds, until he spotted her father in the stands. "I'd better go shower before your dad kills me," he said, pulling away. "Happy Birthday though. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Kay," she said, turning toward her father. Lucas smiled at her as she passed him, but she turned her head away and walked right by.

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She saw Lucas again later that night in the music store. She'd been anxious to spend her certificate, or rather, to get new music.

"Hey," she said in acknowledgement.

He glanced at her and turned back to the album he'd been looking at.

"Good game tonight," she told him.

He nodded, but made no comment.

"Hey, listen, about earlier, in the gym…"

"Don't worry about it. I get it," he said coolly. "Nathan doesn't want you talking to me."

She started fishing through the albums, looking for one of interest.

"You always let him control you?" Lucas asked after a while. "Do exactly what he says?"

Peyton frowned. "Look, you don't know me, ok. And you don't know Nathan either. He doesn't control me."

"If you say so," Lucas said in disbelief.

"He doesn't. He doesn't even know I've been talking to you."

"Hmm, why's that? Scared to tell him? Afraid of what he'll do?"

"Yeah," Peyton admitted. "To you. It's for your sake that I don't talk to you when he's around. He's got a hell of a temper."

"Oh, it's for my sake. Well then, I guess I should bow down in appreciation for your protection."

"Maybe you should," Peyton replied in annoyance. "Look," she said, after a few moments. "I'm not trying to be a bitch…"

"Oh, it just comes naturally?"

Peyton's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Wow, you two really are brothers."

Lucas looked at her in wonder. What did she mean by that? "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"Yes you did," Peyton contradicted, with a smile.

"No, really, I didn't," he stressed. "I just don't get the whole point of snubbing someone just because someone else is around. Either talk to me or don't talk to me. Regardless of who's there."

She went back to searching through the albums. "You going to that benefit concert next weekend?" she asked, lightning the mood.

"Nah, I wish. I couldn't get tickets. You?"

"Yeah, Nathan just gave me the tickets today," she informed him. "I can't wait."

Lucas nodded. "Well, I hope you both have fun."

"Thanks. I'm sure we will."

He left shortly after that, while Peyton stayed until she'd found the perfect album.

When she got home, Brooke was there with her dad. They'd decorated the house and had a small birthday cake for her.

"This is just until the weekend when the real celebration comes," Brooke told her later that night.