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

A/N: Hey! Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. You know what I'm gonna say by now…lol. Thanks to all readers and especially reviewers. You all rock!

….

Haley felt the tears trickling down her cheeks as Lucas hugged her tightly against himself in victory.

"Don't cry, Hales," he whispered. "You did it."

She nodded against him before her parents each took turns to embrace her. She wanted to tell them that she wasn't crying out of sadness, but rather relief. However, she found herself too choked up to speak. She couldn't believe justice would be served—that Nathan would actually be made to pay for his actions. Ever since this whole thing started, she'd never fully believed that it would happen. That he'd be punished. She'd hoped, sure, but believed? Not so much. He was Nathan Scott, after all, King of Tree Hill High, while she was just little ole' Haley James, an unknown to all but a select few. But, in her favor, it seemed that in the court room, that didn't matter so much. The jury didn't care about his social status, nor her lack of one. They'd relied on the facts to make their decision, and his popularity hadn't benefitted him here. In fact, it seemed it may have even hurt him a bit.

She took a deep breath, a sense of reprieve washing over her. Now she could maybe truly move on and get past this horrible ordeal.

…..

Feeling the exact opposite of the relief Haley felt, Nathan found himself struggling just to take his next breath. It came out shallow as he felt his whole world crashing down around him. Vaguely he heard the murmur of the crowd and his lawyer saying something about an appeal, but it was all distorted as though he were hearing it through some kind of barrier.

His legs shook and his eyes stung with the unshed tears he was fighting to keep hidden. Guilty. That one word had cost him everything; basketball and any potential future he had with it, his freedom, and his love. Life as he knew it was gone in that instant. They'd taken everything. Or almost everything. He still had his pride and they sure as hell weren't gonna take that from him too. Too bad he didn't know how to be strong right now because it would make it a lot easier.

It was especially difficult when Peyton's cracked, devastated voice burst through the room.

"No!" she cried, standing and facing the jury. "He's innocent!" she declared. "Weren't you people paying attention? Don't you know a set up when you hear one?"

Putting aside his own anguish for a moment, Nathan turned toward Peyton, wishing he could make everything okay for her, yet knowing he couldn't. It was the worst feeling in the world to be so helpless. And he knew now that it was as hard for her as it was for him.

But she still had her freedom and he couldn't let her jeopardize that. "Peyton," he called her, but her eyes remained fixed on the jurors as she screamed out all the points Nathan's lawyer had made throughout the trial that she felt they'd ignored in the decision-making process. "How much more proof do you need to figure out that they set it all up?"

"Peyt," Nathan called again. This time she looked at him through bleary, tear-filled eyes. That was almost his undoing. "It's gonna be ok," he said weakly.

"No!" she denied. "How can you say that? They voted guilty! You're going to a state prison because these morons," she said, pointing toward the jury box, "can't tell truth from lies!"

He took a shaky breath before speaking again, ignoring the fact that the judge was calling for order in the court. "Just remember your promise, ok?" he said. He knew it wouldn't help right now, but it was the only thing he could say that might at least ease his mind some.

She knew the promise he referred to and shook her head vigorously. "Forget it," she told him sternly. "I am not moving on without you. I'll wait for you as long as I have to."

"Peyton, you can't," he argued. "It's too long and you should live your life." She was still shaking her head so he reminded her that she had promised.

"Because I thought the jury was smarter than this," she said. "They were supposed to say not guilty. You can't hold me to that promise," she cried, stepping toward him and reaching her hands out to his.

He reached out as well, but before their hands could meet, a court officer had her in a strong hold, pulling her toward the exit as the judge ordered to have her removed from the courtroom.

Naturally she fought against the constraint and continued to shout out. Nathan wasn't sure how much more torment he could stand to see her endure. And he thought he might lose it when he saw her wince in pain.

"Hey, let go of her!" he said to the officer who continued to lead her to the doors. "You're hurting her!" he added, taking a step toward them.

"Easy now," a different court officer said, blocking Nathan's path to Peyton. "She's doing it herself, kid."

Nathan knew the guy was right. If she wasn't fighting it, it would go a lot smoother for her. Normally he loved how feisty she could be and how hard she would fight for him, but right now it was more than he could bear, and if she kept it up, they would surely arrest her rather than simply escort her out of the building. "Just go, Peyton," he croaked. "Please," he added desperately.

That's when she stopped struggling against the officer. Nathan's voice was just so full of despair that she couldn't bring herself to add to his pain. "I'll wait for you," she repeated softly in defeat.

He shook his head and answered just as dejectedly. "Don't."

She was urged through the door before she could reply any further.

Nathan's eyes went to Brooke, silently pleading with her to go see to Peyton.

The brunette shook her head, torn. How much comfort could she offer Peyton when she herself was ready to fall apart? Her best friend had just been convicted of rape. She was no good to the other best friend right now. She noticed gratefully that Ellie, already standing, followed Peyton out. Her girl was gonna have to lean on someone else for a while. Right now she felt she needed to stay with Nathan.

Damien stood up too. Brooke wasn't sure why until he whispered to her that he'd go check on Peyton. Somehow that didn't ease her mind as much as Ellie going out. But she put that to the back of her mind. It didn't matter anyway. In Peyton's current mood, she wasn't about to let anyone comfort her.

Haley and Lucas exchanged glances, neither having expected such a dramatic reaction from Peyton, yet not really surprised by it either. Maybe it wasn't as over as she hoped, Haley thought. She'd still have the blonde's venom to deal with. But she was sure, considering everything, that she could handle that.

The judge once again banged his gavel down in front of him and demanded order in the court. When the room fell silent, he began his speech.

"First of all," he said, addressing everyone in general. "I apologize for the disturbance. These trials tend to take an emotional toll on those involved, whether it be directly or indirectly."

He sounded almost sympathetic, but for Nathan, everything he said beyond that point was a blur. His mind was too wrapped up to really grasp what the judge had to say next.

"At this point," the judge continued. "I'd like to thank the jury for their services," he said, glancing toward them and giving them a nod before addressing the others again. "And normally now I'd set a date for sentencing. However…" he continued as his eyes met Dan's.

…..

Meanwhile, Peyton made her way, on foot, down the streets of Tree Hill, ignoring the shouts of Ellie and Damien behind her. They'd already followed her six blocks and all she wanted was to escape them. But no matter how fast her legs took her, they were right behind her.

"Peyton," Ellie hollered, "I can't run much further." She definitely wasn't a teenager anymore. "Would you just stop? I want to help you."

Damien threw Ellie a look, disliking the fact that she spoke singularly. "So do I," he called out to Peyton.

Peyton whirled on them. "I don't need your help, ok? And unless you tell me you know a way to get Nathan out of this, I don't want it. Just leave me alone, both of you. I want to be by myself!"

"And that's fine," Ellie stated agreeably. "As long as you can promise me that you won't do anything crazy, I'll leave you be." She was starting to understand her daughter's mannerisms more and more so she wasn't surprised by the rejection, but given the girl's current state of mind, Ellie couldn't leave her unless she knew she'd be all right.

Peyton turned and kept running without replying.

Ellie and Damien continued to follow, despite Ellie already being out of breath. They followed until they were nearly at Peyton's house. When they saw her walk inside, Ellie placed a hand in front of Damien to halt his steps. "I got it from here," she said, gasping for breath. She knew Damien was a friend of Peyton's and probably only wanted to help, but there was something about him—something she couldn't quite put her finger on—that made Ellie a little distrustful of him. It might have had something to do with the fact that he was supposedly Nathan's friend as well, but was clearly pursuing Peyton.

Damien pulled a face. Who did this woman think she was, excluding him like that? When Peyton was his, he would make sure her 'mother' played no part in her life. Same with anyone else who tried to keep him away from her. But for now he would bow out gracefully and not let it ruin his elated mood.

He'd nearly cheered when the jury had said 'guilty'. And the look of pure devastation on Nathan's face—priceless. He wished he had a camera so he could take a picture and have that constant reminder of the day of Nathan Scott's fall. But he didn't need one. He knew it would be forever burned in his memory.

Today was the first day of a bright new future for Damien and Peyton. So she was a little out of sorts right now. Soon she would see that Nathan wasn't worth any of it and she would forget all about him. With that in mind, nothing, not even Peyton's negative response to him, or her mother's high-handedness, was going to ruin today for Damien. Everything was falling neatly into place.

So he conceded to Ellie's words and turned away, feeling that life had finally dealt him a good hand. Nathan was out of the picture for good, and because of that, Damien would regain his "best player" status on the team, the admiration and envy of everyone around him, and to top it all off, he'd have Peyton. He'd have everything that Nathan had taken from him, plus he'd have what Nathan had that he'd always wanted.

Finally things were going his way.

…

By the time Ellie got inside, Peyton was already upstairs in her room, causing some kind of ruckus by the sounds of it. Ellie made her way up, half expecting the room to be in disarray and was surprised to find it in perfect order.

Until she stepped into the closet and noticed about ten or so broken records scattered on the floor.

"Peyton, what on earth are you doing?" she gasped as Peyton broke another and threw it down on the pile she had going.

"Spring cleaning," Peyton fumed in the midst of grabbing another album. "Getting rid of all the junk."

"Hey, whoa," Ellie said, trying to grab her daughter's arms.

Peyton shook her off violently and continued with her task, growling in vexation when she ran out of room on the closet floor, thus whipping it outside of it.

"Peyton, enough," Ellie tried again. "I understand you're upset, but…"

"You don't understand a damn thing!" Peyton countered in outrage. "You're probably glad he's going to prison, just like my dad will be when he finds out."

"Neither of us wants to see you hurting, Peyton."

Peyton simply huffed at the comment.

"Breaking your records isn't going to make you feel any better," Ellie said reasonably.

"Really? Funny, I'm already starting to feel better," Peyton contradicted.

"Nice try, but I know that's not true."

"Ok," Peyton said, getting more irritated. "Why are you even here? Didn't I say I wanted to be left alone? And didn't my dad kick you out? Don't you have your own apartment? What right do you have to just walk in here?"

"That's a lot of questions," Ellie pointed out. "Which shall I answer first?"

"How 'bout none and you just go home instead."

"I'm not leaving you like this."

"Fine," Peyton conceded. "Then make yourself useful," she added, handing Ellie an album to break.

Ellie shook her head so Peyton shrugged and went about doing so herself, tossing it outside the closet like the one before it.

It missed Brooke's head by mere inches as the brunette suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Is that what you call a hit record?" she said as she dodged the next flying object. "I've been trying to call you," she began before seeing what her friend was up to. "P. Sawyer!" she gasped objectively. "You are so not doing what I clearly see you doing!"

"Wanna help?" Peyton answered blithely. "You know you do."

"I'll pass," Brooke replied. "Peyton, why? Why would you do this?"

"Why not?"

"Why not?" Brooke repeated. "Uh, maybe because you've been building this collection your whole life?"

"And now I'm done," Peyton shot, whipping another across the room.

"No Peyton, not that one!" Brooke exclaimed when she noticed the one Peyton grabbed next. Elvis Costello, 'My Aim Is True'. "That's the first album you ever bought," she said knowingly. It didn't mean a thing to her but she knew it meant the world to Peyton. It was one of her 'could never live without' albums.

But Peyton didn't even blink as she smashed it across her knee and threw it away. "It marks the beginning of my insanity," Peyton said dully. "When I first started thinking music could solve anything. It's useless to me now. I mean, how naïve was I, right? To think that a song could change things? That everything would turn out because I heard some street lady singing some pretty words?" she scoffed.

"Peyton…"

"I was so sure," Peyton cried out, tears streaming down her face. "And I even made Nathan start believing there was hope, but they went ahead and voted guilty! If music is just gonna be another let down in my life, then who needs it?" she asked. "You and Nathan have been right all along," she told Brooke. "It's nothing but random words to a beat. Nothing special about it."

Remembering her purpose for stopping by, Brooke reached for Peyton's hand. "Ok, come with me," she said.

Peyton pulled away. "I'm a little busy right now," she argued. "Maybe later."

Her refusal didn't stop Brooke from trying but neither was she getting any closer to persuading her when her cell vibrated in her pocket several minutes later.

She checked the caller ID and stepped out of the closet when she saw that it was exactly who she expected. "Hey," she said in a muffled tone. "Yeah, I'm trying, but…well you know how stubborn she is." There was a pause as she listened to the voice on the other end. "Yes, yes, I know, but like I said, I'm trying. She's going crazy here. Can't I just tell her?" Another pause as she listened. "Fine, but you realize that's only making it more difficult. I might have to tell her. Or, why don't you just come here? It's only Ellie. Her dad's at work." Pause. "Oh fine, you big scaredy cat. You're lucky I love you. Yeah, bye."

She closed her phone, noticing the pile of records on the floor had grown significantly in the few minutes she'd been preoccupied. She went back inside the closet to find Ellie trying ineffectively to calm her daughter.

"Don't bother, Ellie," Brooke said, attempting to get to Peyton the only way she could think of right now. Guilt. "All she cares about is her own problems, not about how it affects anybody else."

Peyton threw her a scornful look but continued her actions.

So Brooke continued too. "Nathan's my best friend. I've known him my whole life, but do you think she thinks about that? Does my other best friend give a rat's ass about I'm dealing with all this? Has she even once asked me how I'm handling it? No. And you know why? I'll tell ya. Because it doesn't matter to her that I need her right now. She's too busy breaking things and wallowing in her own self-pity!"

That struck a nerve with Peyton, mostly because it rang true. She'd been too wrapped up with her own worries to help Brooke deal with hers. She looked over at her best friend, shame washing over her. She knew this was all hard on Brooke too, but she hadn't bothered to see if she was okay. God, she was so selfish. Why did Brooke even keep her around?

Brooke took in the guilty expression on the blonde's face and knew that when she asked this time, Peyton would agree. "Come on," she asked anyway, extending her hand once again.

Peyton nodded silently and took the outstretched hand, allowing Brooke to lead her down the stairs and out the door to Brooke's car. They entered the vehicle and drove off.

Peyton wasn't surprised when Brooke came to a stop at the bridge. Without a word, they both stepped out and, arm in arm, walked down through the brush that took them to their spot below.

She thought she heard the shuffle of feet behind them, but when Brooke didn't react at all, she thought she must be imagining it. Which was a good thing because she did not want to be bothered with passer-byers right now. Right now she needed her Brooke time. And, she amended to herself, Brooke needed her Peyton time.

She sighed when the footsteps grew louder and nearly jumped out of her skin when two arms came around her waist from behind.

"It's about damn time you showed up," she heard. "There's a promise I need you to un-make."

She whirled around at the voice she would recognize in her sleep, her jaw dropping, her face revealing the exhilarating shock that coursed through her body.

"Nathan?"