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

A/N: Hi everyone. As always, I thank everyone who's been reading and huge thanks to those of you who take the time to review. You're all awesome!

I hope everyone who celebrates had a great Easter.

For those whose fics I'm late reading and reviewing, I apologize. The holidays are hectic around here, but by Tuesday, it'll be back to normal so I'll be able to start catching up.

When Monday rolled around, Nathan found himself unusually anxious to get to school. Normally he hated Mondays, but he hadn't seen Peyton all weekend. Saturday morning his father had let him sleep in, due to the late night at the hospital, and Peyton hadn't been home Sunday morning when he'd dropped by – he figured she'd probably stayed at Brooke's the whole weekend, and even though he and Brooke had technically made up, they hadn't really talked, so he wasn't sure what kind of reception he'd get if he went to her house while Peyton was there. And his pride had refused to find out. One time being locked out had been enough. So he hadn't seen Peyton since Friday and he really wanted to. Though he'd considered his father's advice of stepping back and giving her time to miss him, her response to his kiss Friday night had changed his mind. It proved that she wasn't as indifferent to him as she let on so he wasn't about to give her time to get over him. Lucas would be all too happy to swoop in if he did that.

There was also another reason he looked forward to the school day, even though his second reason he would never admit to most people. Mrs. Peters, the English teacher, had told him she'd be grading his paper over the weekend and would have it back to him by Monday. It felt weird to him to be all keyed up over anything school related, but he'd worked hard on that assignment, put so much time into it, and now he wanted the payoff.

He chuckled to himself as he entered the school doors. Basketball star turned book nerd. Oh, what his friends would say if they knew. He wasn't about to tell them.

He spotted Peyton right away, standing by her locker, talking to Damien. He made his way over.

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Damien spoke casually, trying to get a feel on where Peyton stood regarding Nathan. It was over two weeks since the couple had split and he knew that Nathan was still pining for her. But maybe Peyton, after nearly a year of the guy's crap, was finally ready to move on to a real man. Nathan expected that Peyton would always take him back and Damien was dying to be the one to pull the rug out from under his feet – to take the girl from right under his nose. The sweet taste of revenge had him smiling as he bantered on about trivial matters, until Peyton, quite obviously, zoned out on him when Nathan appeared down the hall.

"I'm sorry," Peyton said, glancing at him for a second. "What were you saying?"

Before he could reply, her gaze had gone back to her ex. Damien's blood boiled as her eyes remained transfixed on Nathan. She watched him come toward her and smiled slightly when he brushed off a girl who'd attempted to flirt with him on his way. Damien rolled his eyes, knowing she wouldn't notice. It was beyond ridiculous how little it took for Nathan to impress people, including Peyton. So he'd snubbed some chick? Big deal. Did she forget how many times he'd done otherwise? Did everything he'd put her through completely escape her memory with one simple gesture? Didn't she realize by now that, had she not been standing there, Nathan would have pulled the skank into the nearest closet? Then again, word among their friends was that Nathan was so torn up over losing Peyton that he hadn't hooked up with anyone since. Which meant Nathan actually cared about her, as opposed to just wanting her and expecting to have her. That knowledge alone was going to make taking her from him all the more satisfying. If she'd ever stop going back to him, that is, Damien thought sourly.

"Hey, buddy," he said in a friendly tone once Nathan was upon them.

"Damien," Nathan returned the greeting, raising his hand to bump fists with his friend.

"What's up?" Damien asked.

"Nothing. Just wanted to talk to Peyt for a sec," he added, turning to Peyton. "If that's ok?" he questioned.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Peyton answered all too quickly, aware that her response stemmed equally from the rush she always felt when Nathan pursued her, and an unexplainable urgency to get away from Damien. Ever since he'd tried to kiss her that day, she'd harbored this uneasy feeling toward him. She wasn't really sure why. He hadn't done anything so over the top that it should make her nervous. He wasn't the first guy to ever try to kiss her, but that look he sometimes got really creeped her out. But he was a part of their social circle so she'd learned to act natural around him. However, it was easy to do while everybody hung out, but now he was starting to search her out to talk to her alone. It was bad enough she had to sit next to him in Science without him meeting her at her locker before the school day even began. "You can walk me to class," she told Nathan.

Nathan nodded, glad she was at least speaking to him now. Of course, he wanted more, but last week he hadn't even gotten that.

They walked away together, leaving Damien nearly foaming at the mouth.

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Not too far from him, Lucas also watched the pair stride off, the familiar, yet unwanted, pangs of jealousy burning within him. He'd been foolish to think Peyton was over Nathan already and even more foolish to assume she wouldn't take him back this time. It was Nathan after all. He got everything. Peyton. Basketball. His father. Everything Lucas had longed for, Nathan had. And now, even the friendship he and Peyton had developed, which he'd truly begun to cherish, despite wanting more, would be taken from him. Nathan would never allow the friendship to continue. And that's what hurt the most.

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"So?" Peyton asked after a minute or so of silence. "You wanted to talk to me?" she stressed when he didn't respond.

"Yeah…I…" he began.

"Ok, don't tell me that was just a ploy to get me away from Damien," she huffed.

Nathan's gaze narrowed in wonder. "Why would I…?"

"Because he's male," she cut him off to answer.

A slow smile tugged at his lips, remembering how she always called him possessive, but he shook his head. He was only that way with guys who were obviously hitting on her or working their way to it. But he wasn't worried about Damien, even though he knew he'd been interested in Peyton a while back. Back then, they'd both asked her out countless times, but when Peyton had finally gotten with Nathan, Damien had done what any good friend would do and backed off. Eventually his interest had turned to others and it now lay with Lucas's girlfriend, or whatever she was, Haley James. Damien's crush on Peyton had ended long ago. At least that's what he'd led Nathan to believe. But even if it hadn't, Nathan would still trust him not to move in on his girl. Unlike a few of his other friends, who'd already had nerve to ask him if he were ok with them asking her out, Damien understood that there were lines friends didn't cross, and that Peyton, despite the breakup, was off limits. "It's not that," Nathan said. "It's just…I miss you, Peyton."

"Nathan…" she began in a rebuking tone.

"How's Brooke?" he asked so he wouldn't have to hear her tell him they were really over for good. It was a pointless question, really, since he knew someone would have called him if Brooke had taken a turn for the worst.

"Slightly offended that you didn't check in all weekend, but other than that, she's fine," Peyton replied.

"I couldn't," Nathan defended himself with a scowl. "My dad's still got me on lock down. He only let it ride for the hospital because it sounded serious."

"Well, you might want to tell Brooke that," Peyton informed him. "She thinks you're still mad at her."

He nodded and assured Peyton that he'd talk to Brooke later. By then, they'd reached Peyton's classroom and were standing by the entryway. "So I'm uh, probably gonna get an A on this English assignment I handed in last week," he said. It couldn't hurt to tell Peyton. In fact, it could only help him. The proud smile she gave him only confirmed that.

"That's great, Nathan," she beamed, as though this were the first she'd heard of it, when meanwhile Mouth gave her regular updates on Nathan's progress. At first she'd had to ask, but after a while he offered the information, knowing she was going to ask anyway.

"Yeah, Mouth said it was really good, so we'll see, right?"

Peyton nodded, a smile on her face. She was glad he was getting along with Mouth and not giving him a hard time like he tended to do. "English is your last class?" she asked, though she knew the answer. "So you have to wait all day," she teased lightly.

He shrugged as though it was no big deal, but she could see that it was. And it was nice to see him finally start caring about his studies. She found herself wishing they had more time to talk, so she could tell him about her mom, but when the final bell rang, she had to leave him to get inside the class.

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"Hey," Peyton said, joining Lucas at his table during study hall.

Lucas looked up from the book he'd been reading and mumbled a greeting in return.

"Listen, I wanted to apologize for Friday night. I know I kinda left ya hanging, and then I fell asleep and by the time I woke up…"

"It's fine," Lucas said curtly.

"Are you sure?" she asked doubtfully.

"Yeah. But are you sure you should be seen with me right now? I mean, Nathan wouldn't like it."

"So?" she asked in confusion. "Why should that matter?"

"Well, you're back with him, aren't you?"

"No," she replied. "Are you…mad at me?" she asked suspiciously.

He wanted to shout yes, he was pissed off at how fast she'd left his side and ran to his jackass brother at the hospital, because in reality, he truly was. Nathan had treated her horribly and yet it was his arms she'd seeked comfort in, his embrace she'd broken down in. But he couldn't say any of that. Peyton had no idea how he felt about her. In her eyes, they were just friends. And knowing she wasn't back with Nathan did lesson the blow somewhat. "Nah," he replied. "I'm sorry. There's just some family stuff going on." It wasn't a lie. He still hadn't spoken to his mother since she'd told him the truth about Dan. He knew it hurt her, but he was still too angry with her at this point and knew that any words spoken would inevitably lead to an argument. And he hated arguing with her.

"Anything I can help with?" Peyton asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Not unless you can rewind the last seventeen years."

Her eyebrow shot up in wonder. Her concern was so genuine that he went ahead and told her his recent discovery about Dan asking for joint custody years ago. "All this time," he continued. "She said he didn't want me. My whole reason for hating him is just…vanished." He frowned as the rage bubbled inside him. "My whole life I hated him. For nothing."

Peyton gave him a sympathetic smile. "Well, maybe she did it to protect you. He's kind of an ass."

"She still could have told me the truth."

Peyton was silent, unsure of what to tell him.

"Why do you always say it like that?" Lucas asked her.

"What?"

"Whenever Dan comes up in conversation, you always say he's kind of an ass. Why is that?"

She thought about it a moment, having never realized she did that until he pointed it out. "I don't know," she said. "I guess because he isn't always. He can be a decent guy sometimes," she added earnestly, which only gave Lucas that much more to think about.

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"How you doing, Brooke?" Nathan whispered from the desk directly behind hers.

"Do you really care?" she hissed over her shoulder.

"You know I do."

"Yeah, I could tell by how often you checked on me all weekend since the hospital," she replied flatly. "How many times did you stop by again? Oh, that's right, none."

"You know the schedule my dad has me on," he said defensively. "The only time I could have gone over was yesterday morning."

"Then why didn't you?" she pressed him. She knew he often snuck to Peyton's when he was supposed to be out running, so there was no reason he couldn't have dropped by her house if he were worried about her at all.

"Because I knew Peyton was there."

"So? Since when do you avoid Peyton?"

He scowled. "You forget what happened last time?"

"So, you are still mad about that," she said. "I knew it."

"It's not that I'm still mad, Brooke," he told her. "I just…I didn't know if I was welcome."

She whipped right around in her seat to look at him. The hurt she saw in his eyes killed her. He'd never questioned whether or not he was welcome at her house. He'd never had reason to. The fact that he did now, she knew was her fault. "Nathan," she said with genuine regret. "The day I locked you out of my house was one of the worst mistakes I've ever made. And I am so sorry. I was trying to cover my tracks with Peyton because I had invited you over after promising her not to interfere. But instead of being honest with her and telling her what I'd done, I tried to fix it by making you leave. So I ended up betraying both of you. I was wrong to do that, but I swear, Nate, I never meant to make you feel unwanted, and I promise you it will never happen again. You're one of my best friends and you're always welcome at my house, any time, for any reason. Ok?"

He nodded and opened his mouth to reply when the teacher cut him off.

"Mr. Scott and Miss Davis, is there something you'd like to share with the class?"

Nathan sat back while Brooke turned around, both claiming they had nothing to share.

The teacher resumed the lesson, but when he turned his back to write on the board, Nathan leaned forward once more. "Any reason, huh?"

She didn't need to see the smirk on his face to know it was there. She leaned back as subtly as she could. "Almost any reason, you perv."

"Who's the perv? I didn't even say anything remotely sex related, but your dirty mind interpreted it that way."

"Oh yeah, you're just Mr. Innocent, huh? You…"

"If the two of you insist on interrupting my class, you can head down to Principal Turner's office right now," the teacher said sternly, successfully putting an end to the teenagers' private, completely biology unrelated, chatter.

But Nathan and Brooke didn't care, both knowing their friendship was now back on track. At one point during the lesson, she managed to slip him a small scribbled note. On it said, 'You could have at least called.'

He wrote back. 'Sorry.' And she knew he meant it.

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It was the end of class before Nathan finally got his paper back. Mrs. Peters laid it on his desk with a loud smack. He stared at the grade for several seconds and then glanced up at his teacher. She smiled at him – the kind of smile that revealed nothing of what she was thinking or feeling.

"I expected as much from you," she said before turning her back on him and heading toward the front of the classroom.

Nathan stood, grabbed his bag and his essay and went off in search of his tutor.

As he wandered throughout the school, he was joined, not unusually, by several of his peers. Many asked who he was looking for, but he didn't respond to any of them, just kept his feet moving at a steady, purposeful pace. When he finally spotted Mouth, walking alongside his friend, he headed straight toward them, his eyes fixed on the skinny tutor.

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"Uh, Mouth," Jimmy said nervously when he noticed Nathan and his friends coming toward them. "Brace yourself."

"Jimmy, relax," Mouth replied. "I told you Nathan's not that bad. We're practically like this," he said crossing his middle and index fingers to show how tight they were. At one time, not so long ago, he'd have expected to be stuffed in a locker at any moment, but things had changed in the weeks he'd been tutoring him. They were almost friends now. That had become clear more so when Nathan had tried to include him in the groups' ball game the other day and had even kind of stuck up for him when Damien had insulted his interest in commenting for games. He smiled when Nathan was but a few feet away from him. "Hey, Nate. You get your essay back?" He knew he was supposed to get it today, and as the tutor, he was just as anxious for the result. Perhaps even more so.

He was nothing short of shocked when Nathan responded with a non-humorous laugh and pushed him against a nearby locker, one palm on his chest, pinning him in place. "What the…?"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kick your ass right here and now," Nathan muttered in threat.

Mouth swallowed his fear and his eyes clouded with confusion. Had things not changed as much as he'd thought? But when he took in Nathan's demeanor, there was one noticeable difference in this moment compared to a few weeks ago. In the past when Nathan had picked on him, it had been all in fun on the jock's part, and right now he looked far from amused. "Nate…I…"

"Game's over, pal," Nathan said viciously. "You really had me fooled for a while there, thinking you were actually trying to help me. I guess you and Lucas got a good laugh out of that, huh? But now…" He pressed his hand harder into the smaller guy's chest. "Well, you had to know there's a price to pay when you mess with me, right?"

"Leave him alone!" Jimmy hollered, taking a step toward Nathan and Mouth, but was immediately held back by Tim and Tyler, who'd each grabbed an arm. The others in the group instinctively circled around them. They didn't know what was going on, but they would stand by Nathan regardless.

"What are you gonna do, tubby?" Tim mocked Jimmy. "Sit on him?"

"Look," Mouth sputtered apprehensively. "If this is about your paper, I warned you some teachers don't give out A's no matter how good the work is. But a B is still a major improvement…"

Nathan cut him off with another bitter laugh and shoved the graded paper, which he'd been holding in his free hand, in Mouth's face. "This look like a B to you?" he asked crossly.

Curiosity momentarily overriding his fear, Mouth took the paper, holding it further away so he could actually see it. "F?" he mumbled, knitting his brows in confusion. "No, this doesn't make any sense."

"Sure it does," Nathan countered. "You're friends with Lucas so you figured out a way to screw me over."

"No," Mouth denied, shaking his head vehemently.

"Teach the dumb jock everything wrong. He's too stupid to know the difference, right?"

"No," Mouth tried denying again.

"Well you got me," Nathan spat contemptuously. "And good too. I probably should have seen it coming, but I didn't. I even thought you were all right for a guy who hangs out with the rat pack. How's that for dense?"

Mouth was still shaking his head. "I don't even know what to tell you."

"Didn't think that far ahead? Maybe you and Lucas should have consulted more."

"Look," Mouth said shakily. "There was no grand scheme to take you down. I don't understand this any more than you do."

"Ok, now you're just annoying me," Nathan replied snidely. "You're not gonna get me twice."

"Wait!" Jimmy called out when it seemed Nathan was about to hit his friend. He'd seen the damage Nathan could do and he had to at least try to protect Mouth, however he could. "If he really wanted to mess with you, it wouldn't be through your grades."

"Jimmy, don't," Mouth warned.

But when Nathan took a second to glance over at him curiously, he blurted out the fact that the beating he'd given Lucas at the Rivercourt had been all caught on tape, and was currently in Mouth's possession.

Nathan didn't buy it at first. Even when Jimmy pointed out details of that morning, such as the exact time, the clothing he'd worn, and what not, he remained unfazed. He could have gotten those particulars from Lucas, after all. But when he went on to describe little moments that had occurred after Lucas had been face down in the dirt, he knew he was telling the truth.

His mind reeling, he released his hold on Mouth and gestured for his friends to let Jimmy go as well. Both boys disappeared down the hall as quickly as they could.

Nathan wasn't sure how to process this new piece of information. There was a tape? Shit. He didn't know what to think, feel or do, so he simply walked off, barking at his friends not to follow him this time. Most of them watched him go with concern, but Damien hid a smile as the wheels began turning in his head.

"Nate, what's wrong?" Peyton asked when he stormed right by her without a word.

"Nothing," he replied as he continued on his way.

"Don't feed me that line," she said, grabbing his arm to halt his steps. Facing him, she asked, "What happened?"

He looked everywhere but at her. He didn't want to tell her about the tape, or rather, he didn't want to remind her of the beating. She was just starting to warm up to him again and he didn't want to screw that up. Yet he couldn't exactly pretend there was nothing wrong when something clearly was. He shrugged his shoulders. "I flunked the essay," he told her.

"What?" she asked in surprise. "How come?"

"I don't know. I guess it sucked."

"But I thought Mouth said…"

"Yeah, he was wrong," Nathan replied, not really sure now if the tutor had steered him wrong purposely or had just made an honest mistake. Realistically, if the guy wanted to mess with him, he'd use the tape. It just didn't make any sense.

Peyton shook her head in disbelief. "Ok, I get being off a bit, but that much? How does that happen?" She couldn't make sense of it either.

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"Well, did you ask him about it?"

He sighed, not wanting to answer that question.

"Nathan?" His unwillingness to respond made her extremely suspicious. "Wait, you didn't…beat him up or anything, did you?" When he still didn't reply, she put her hands on her hips. "Nathan! You're gonna get yourself expelled!"

"Look, I didn't, ok?" he finally said. "I just kinda threatened to."

"Kinda?"

"Just enough to let him know he can't mess with me. I didn't hit him, not even once."

"I hope that's true, Nate," she said, walking away from him.

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"You know what? You're right," Haley said after she looked up from the paper. "This makes no sense at all."

After Nathan had released him and he'd taken off, Mouth realized he still had the English essay in his hand. He'd decided to take it to Haley, whom he knew would be in the tutor center, to get her opinion. In his mind, the paper was worthy of an A, but it didn't hurt to get another take on it, especially from the best tutor in school. "It's good, isn't it?" he asked.

"It's incredible," Haley agreed. "I'd give it an A. No way it's an F, that's for sure." She turned it over to look at the back to see if the teacher had written any explanatory side notes. Nothing. "I don't really know what to say, Mouth."

He nodded, thankful that Haley confirmed his own belief. He didn't want to think his judgment could be that far off base. Before he could tell her that though, Peyton came in the room and stood before them.

"Ok, what the hell's going on?" she demanded to know. She looked directly at Mouth and waited expectantly for his reply.

"You talked to Nathan," he said knowingly.

"Yeah," she replied coolly. "You know, I really hope you have a good explanation for this because if you're screwing with him, you're gonna regret it."

"Yeah, I got that message loud and clear when he shoved me up against the locker and threatened me."

"He what?" Haley exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm not talking about what Nathan will do to you," Peyton said hotly. "Cuz if you're tampering with his education, that's really low, and there won't be anything left of you for him to damage once I get through with you."

"Peyton!" Haley shrieked, stunned by her friend's warning.

"I'm not kidding," Peyton replied, crossing her arms over her chest, her eyes hard and devoid of any warmth.

"I believe you," Mouth said. "But I never tried to mess with him. He deserved a good grade on that paper."

"I agree," Haley said, holding up the essay to indicate she'd just read it.

"Then why didn't he get one?" Peyton wanted to know.

"That's what I'm about to find out," Mouth responded firmly, taking the sheet from Haley's hand and heading out the doorway with a newfound determination.

"I'm coming with you," Peyton said, following him out the door.