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

A/N: Hey guys. Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it. And you know the drill: thanks to all my readers and big time thanks to the reviewers. You're all awesome! And I'll stop there since it's been long enough for this update…lol.

….

"Hey listen, I really appreciate you doing this for me," Gracie, Haley's newest pupil, said as she sat across Haley in the tutor center. "I owe you big time."

Haley shook her head. "Nah, it's not a big deal. I know how stressful midterms can be."

"Yeah, but I feel bad taking up your lunch hour."

Haley smiled at the girl across her. She'd been spending a lot of time with her lately—both tutoring and talking—and she really liked her. She was very pleasant and easy-going, and Haley found herself enjoying her company. She still didn't know what exactly had happened to made her quit the cheerleading squad last year, but Haley was under the impression that it was something similar to what had happened to her. Maybe that's why she found it so easy to connect with her. They'd both shared the same experience, though Haley couldn't be 100% sure about that.

Or maybe it was just because Haley missed having female friends to hang around with. True she'd always hung out with the Rivercourt gang, and they were great, but she sometimes enjoyed having another girl to talk to—a girl who wasn't a part of her family. She hadn't really known how much until Peyton had come into her life and they'd hit it off almost instantly.

Peyton. They'd become such great friends and now that was gone. The blonde had taken Nathan's word over hers and that was that. Their friendship was gone in an instant. And though Haley didn't like to think about it too much, she had to admit that she missed her.

But that didn't matter now. Now there was Gracie, who was turning into someone Haley would consider a friend, even if they didn't discuss their personal experiences. There seemed to be a silent understanding between the two girls—one that didn't need to be addressed or fully understood.

Haley shrugged. "I wasn't hungry anyway. Besides, it's nice to get away from Luke for a while. I love him to pieces but he's been like, my constant shadow ever since…"

"The rape?"

"Yeah."

"He cares about you. Wants to protect you."

"I know. It just gets to be too much sometimes."

"Yeah, it must be so annoying to have such a nice, sweet hottie be so protective over you," Gracie said sarcastically. "Myself, I think you're pretty lucky."

Haley nodded in confirmation. She was lucky to have Lucas. She knew that. "I'm not complaining," she began. "Ok, I am, but I'm not trying to. I guess I'm just not used to all the doting. Now let's get you ready for this test."

Gracie smiled back gratefully, glad that she'd taken the step to get tutoring. Haley broke things down and made them so much easier to understand. She should have come to her a long time ago.

But her tutoring skills weren't the only thing Gracie admired about the girl before her. What had drawn her to her initially was the courage and strength she possessed to name her attacker and use the law to go after him. Something she'd been too scared to do against her own rapist. Unfortunately, Haley's case hadn't gone the right way, but still she hadn't cowered into a corner, afraid of him or to take a stand, or of what others would say, or that no one would believe her. That alone was reason enough for Gracie to admire her—envy her even- but she was discovering so many more. "Sounds good," she replied happily.

…..

Meanwhile, Nathan did little to hide his boredom as Mr. Jones, his math professor, held him back after class to discuss the upcoming midterm.

"Am I keeping you from something?" the teacher asked, picking up on his student's distracted demeanor. It wasn't hard to miss the way Nathan's eyes kept darting to the exit.

Nathan turned back to his teacher. Hell yeah he was keeping him from something. Or rather, someone. His sexy as hell fiancé. He hadn't been able to get the image of her in that skirt out of his head all morning, and his body was aching to have another go at her. And he still had other things to do before he had to meet her at…Shit, where was he supposed to meet her? She'd said she'd let him know but she hadn't. Was he supposed to guess? After only those minimal hints she'd given him? It took him a minute to clue in that she had probably texted him. He hadn't even thought to tell her he'd given away his phone that morning. Great, so his girl would be waiting for him and only the nerd he'd given his phone to would know where.

"This is for your benefit, Mr. Scott," his teacher said, interrupting his thoughts. "Since you've been…shall we say, away?"

"Sure."

"You've missed most of the material so it would serve you well to pay attention."

Nathan sighed. He had nothing against this particular teacher. Mr. Jones was actually usually pretty good to him, marking his grades up and stuff, and Nathan realized he was being generous now by offering a one on one run through of the work covered. But still, he didn't have time for this right now. "I know, I'm sorry," he said. "But it's lunch time, you know, and I'm uh…hungry."

"I understand that but this will only take a few moments and can make the difference between a passing or a failing grade. Let me quickly go over the review."

"Actually, my tutor was gonna do that on the weekend," Nathan responded. As much as he didn't mind this guy, listening to his explanations on math concepts was like watching a movie in a foreign language. You could see the end result but had no idea how it got there. At least that's how it was for Nathan. Mouth tended to break things down more to make them less confusing and easier to understand.

"Oh, you have a tutor," Mr. Jones exclaimed. "May I ask who?"

"Mouth, uh, Marvin….Marvin McFadden."

"Ahh, good, good. Brilliant student that Marvin."

"Yeah," Nathan replied as the teacher ripped a sheet out of his note book.

Mr. Jones handed the sheet over to Nathan. "Make sure he goes over everything on this sheet with you and you should do just fine. You're in good hands."

"Ok, thanks."

"Don't mention it. Just study hard and we'll be even."

The words Mouth had told him last semester at exam time popped into his head. 'You can't really study math. Once you know the concepts, you can figure out the problem.' "We're allowed a cheat sheet, right?" he asked.

The teacher smiled and nodded his head. "One page as always. But you don't want to rely too much on that. You don't get a cheat sheet in the real world."

"Won't need one in the NBA," Nathan responded smugly.

"A backup plan never hurts."

"You sound like Whitey."

"Good. I'm glad to hear a sports' coach is pushing education and providing some sort of incentive for the athletes to keep their grades up."

"Actually, the school does that by making us keep a "C" average just to be eligible to play. It's stupid."

"I disagree. I think it's probably one of the school's best policies to date. It ensures no kid wastes their intelligence."

"I guess."

"You're a prime example," the teacher said. "If you didn't have to maintain a certain percentage, you probably wouldn't even try, would you? I mean, even less than you already don't."

"Probably not."

"No. And that would be a shame, and do you know why? Because you have so much potential if you'd just put your mind to it. You could do so much better than just scrape by."

Nathan chuckled at the comment. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, but sounds like you're trying to trick me into studying harder for your test."

"Perhaps so," Mr. Jones replied, chuckling himself. "But only someone with great potential could have picked up on that."

"Yeah, ok."

"Anyway, go be with your friends. And stay out of trouble; the Ravens need you back pronto."

…..

"Ok, remind me again why Nathan and Peyton can't deal with this bitch themselves?" Rachel asked as she and Brooke made their way to the hospital entrance.

Brooke sighed impatiently at having to repeat herself for the third time. "Because they're our friends and they need our help," she replied simply.

"Uh huh, and need I remind you how our last attempt to help with Katie backfired and landed us all in jail, not to mention got you assigned as the school's permanent janitor?"

"It's not permanent, Rach," Brooke argued. "It's only for the rest of this year and second semester is already almost half over. And it's not gonna be like last time. I just want to talk to her."

"Uh, good luck with that. You know, there's gonna have to come a time when Nathan and Peyton handle the hard things all on their own. You can't run yourself ragged smoothing out every wrinkle they trip over. You have your own life to live."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're smothering them with your constant need to make things right either between them or for them."

"I am not smothering them."

"Ok, bad choice of words. You're crippling them."

"Oh my God, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. You're just mad that I dragged you away from Craig Bennett."

"So maybe I am," Rachel admitted. "He was just about to sweep me away to show me his secret piercing."

"Please," Brooke scoffed. "It's not a secret and it's so small you practically need a magnifying glass to see it and I'm not even talking about the piercing. Trust me I did you a favor."

Rachel wasn't replying so Brooke turned toward her to find a bemused expression on the redhead's face before she cracked up laughing. It made her break out into giggles as well.

They were still giggling girlishly as they headed down the corridor, after stopping at the information desk, to room 246, where they'd been told Katie was in. They didn't expect to bump into Damien, who was going the opposite way, toward the exit.

"Damien, hey," the girls greeted.

He seemed just as surprised to see them as they were him and for a second he was stuck for words. "Oh hey Brooke, Rachel," he finally said. "What are you two doing here?"

"Brooke here wants to bitch out Katie for calling Nate and decided to drag me along," Rachel answered.

Calling Nathan? Damn it, what the hell was she up to? Was she still intent on confessing her sins or was she just that stupid that she still thought Nathan might possibly want her even after what she'd done? If only he'd had the chance to get in her room and find out what she had planned, but the damn police officer posted at her door effectively quashed that idea. Man, he should have killed her while he had the chance. He didn't care anymore if she wanted to confess her part- Nathan had been released anyway, despite all their efforts—but if she implicated him….well that was a problem. Especially if she added her beating to her testimony. It was bad enough Nathan was free and as arrogant as ever than to have to worry about Katie opening her mouth. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to figure out his next move. He needed to think, but right now Brooke and Rachel stared at him, waiting for a reply so he had to pull himself together. "Oh yeah?" he finally said as smoothly as he could. "Playing hero?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't bother if it was just once, but she's calling and texting over and over. She even called Peyton's house last night. Hasn't she caused enough problems already?"

"No doubt," Damien answered. She even called Peyton? This wasn't good. Not good at all.

"So, what about you?" Rachel asked. "What are you doing here?"

What was he doing here? Think, Damien, think. "Ahh, same thing, actually," he replied. "Yeah, she was uh, texting Nate all through class this morning so uh, I figured I'd come down here and, you know, tell her to back off." 'Good thinking on your feet', he thought. He was really getting good at that.

"Really?" Brooke said, her eyes narrowing the slightest bit.

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure she got the picture so…"

"So our presence is no longer needed," Rachel piped up. "Let's go," she added. She wasn't above antagonizing the girl—it would be fun to watch her squirm- but she definitely didn't want to risk going to jail again for a bit of entertainment. "Brooke?" she called when the brunette didn't respond.

"Yeah, what?"

"Damien already took care of business so we can go now."

"Umm yeah, ok," Brooke replied. "I just, umm, I gotta hit the little girls' room first. Come with me," she said, yanking at Rachel's arm. "Excuse us," she told Damien.

"Ok, ok, don't rip my arm off," Rachel complained. "See ya back at school?" she asked Damien.

"Yep, I'll be there" he answered, looking at Brooke suspiciously. Why did he get the feeling she'd just figured something out? He shook the thought away. How could she have? He was just being paranoid now. Hell, even if Katie did talk, who would believe her?

The girls disappeared into the ladies' room and he made his way toward the exit, his confidence a little shaky.

He drove the few blocks back to Tree Hill High and pulled into the parking lot. After cutting the engine, he immediately opened the glove compartment to reach inside for the 6 inch revolver he'd taken a great liking to. A glazed expression took over his features as he caressed the shiny metal. He'd purchased it from some guy on the street the day he'd discovered the judge overturned the jury's guilty verdict and let Nathan go. It gave him a new sense of power—so much more than that old pocket knife—and he carried it around with him everywhere. Well, almost everywhere. Some places, like the hospital, had metal detectors, so he had to leave it behind. Luckily Tree Hill High had no such thing. They stupidly assumed there was no need for it, so as long as he kept it concealed—very easily done with the small size of the weapon- no one was the wiser.

He'd been biding his time, imagining himself putting a bullet to Nathan's head, splattering what little brain he possessed to pieces. Since the gun was unregistered, no one would even be able to trace it back to him. And if he played his cards right and waited until Katie was out of the hospital, she may even be the prime suspect. He smiled widely at the very idea. Nathan dead, Katie no longer a threat to him, and Peyton, sad and alone, turning to him for comfort.

It was extreme, sure, but he'd tried just about everything else. And somehow Nathan always seemed to foil his plans and come out ahead. It didn't seem to matter what this guy did, everyone—well, everyone that mattered—still idolized him. It was beyond ridiculous. The way Nathan knew it and boasted about it was even more infuriating. It had taken every ounce of willpower Damien possessed not to pull out the gun and shoot him right there in the hallway earlier. Like the only reason Peyton would ever lean on him is because she was upset about Nathan's fate? There was no way she'd ever be done with him and fall for someone else? Fall for Damien? Please. The guy was so full of himself, it wasn't even funny. When the time came to use it—and Damien couldn't help thinking that time was coming very soon—he would make sure Nathan suffered greatly before he finished him off. It would help make up for some of the things Damien had had to deal with in the past few years.

He would get what he wanted once and for all. It would be the greatest day of his existence. And until then, it was going to be fun picturing all the different ways he could torture him.

…..

Meanwhile, Rachel sighed as Brooke peeked her head out the bathroom door. "What are you doing?"

"Checking to see if he's gone."

"Damien?"

"Yes Damien. Who else would I be talking about? Ok, coast is clear, let's go."

"I thought you had to pee," Rachel pointed out.

Brooke turned to face Rachel. "That was to stall for time so Damien could leave and we could go talk to Katie without him knowing."

"Ok," Rachel asked, her brows furrowing in confusion over how odd Brooke was behaving. "Why? He said he already talked to her."

"I know that but something's off."

"Yeah, I think it's you," Rachel scoffed. "Why you acting so weird?"

"Nate gave his phone to some geeky freshman in the parking lot this morning."

"So?"

"Before first bell," Brooke stressed.

"So he couldn't have been getting texts all morning," Rachel clued in.

"Exactly! So then, what was Damien really doing here?"

"I'm thinking we're gonna find out."

"You read my mind."

"Well, you make it pretty easy sometimes."

"You with me?"

Rachel shrugged. "I'm here," she said blithely. "Although you never know, he could have been visiting some sick relative or something."

"Then why lie about it?"

"Maybe he doesn't want people to know."

"More like he doesn't want us talking to Katie," Brooke concluded. "Question is, why."

"Or it would be the question if that were actually the case," Rachel replied dully. "Personally, I think you're imagining things. It's likely something personal that he just doesn't want to share. There's nothing wrong with that."

"You're probably right," Brooke conceded. "But I still want to talk to Katie."

"Of course you do," Rachel said dryly. "Come on then," she added agreeably. They were there anyway.

They left the bathroom and Rachel had to roll her eyes when Brooke glanced in all directions to ensure the coast really was clear before heading down to Katie's room. Talk about an overactive imagination. But what exactly was she suspicious of? Rachel didn't ask, not sure she really wanted to know. She simply went along with Brooke until they reached the right room.

Neither girl expected to find a guard at the door, stopping them from entering.

"I'm sorry, ladies," he said, "but, for security purposes, only immediate family is allowed in there without the patient's prior consent."

"Excuse me," Brooke huffed.

"For security purposes…" he began to repeat, until Brooke cut him off.

"Ok look, officer, I'm sure you're just doing your job and all, but we're classmates of hers and really just want to talk to her for one second, ok? Ok."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that without clearance, maam."

"Ok, and how long will that take? We kind of have to get back to school."

"My orders are standing until I'm told otherwise by my superior."

"Are you kidding me?"

"I don't kid," the young officer said straight- faced. "At least not when it comes to safety."

Before she could reply to that, the door swung open and Katie stood before them.

Once again Brooke felt her heart constrict as she took in her battered appearance. It had gotten to her when she'd seen her on the television screen, but here in person was so much worse. Rachel too seemed affected by all the bruises.

Brooke took a deep breath to strengthen her resolve. She was here for Nathan and Peyton. It wasn't the time to feel sorry for this girl.

Katie appeared to be very surprised to see them, though, for some reason, she also seemed relieved.

Katie took a deep breath to calm her frayed nerves. She'd been just about to ask permission to take a walk down to the vending machines, tired of the stifling and constrictive space of her hospital room and to ask the guard if Nathan had come by at all. She hadn't expected to see Brooke and Rachel, but she was glad for at least that. "Thank God you're here," Katie gasped. "It's ok, Cole," she told the officer. "They're friends from school," she lied. They were far from friends but she needed to talk to them.

It took a lot of convincing on her part, but she finally managed to convince him to allow the girls into her room, although she was to leave the door open so he could keep watch. Because of that they had to talk quietly. What she was about to tell them, she didn't want the authorities hearing. Damien had already tried to kill her once, and she had more faith in Nathan dealing with him than the system.

"I've been trying to get in touch with Nathan," she whispered.

"Yeah, we know," Rachel replied. "Why do you think we're here?"

"I need you to get a message to him. Tell him that I need to talk to him as soon as possible."

"Ok, and why would we do that?" Brooke scoffed.

"It's very important," Katie answered.

"Right well, that's not why we're here," Brooke replied dryly. "We're here to tell you to get it through your thick head that he's back with Peyton and he's happy so leave him the hell alone."

"Look, I know, ok. He's back with the bitch, he's madly in love and wants to marry her, blah, blah, blah. I'm not trying to get with him and I know you both don't like me but I just need to talk to him so if you can let him know to come down here or call or text…anything!"

"Ok, let's say we did what you asked and by some…miracle, Nate did decide to come see you? How's he supposed to get past your body guard out there?"

"That wouldn't be a problem. I already gave the approval for Nathan."

"Of course you did," Brooke deadpanned. "But you know as well as I do that he won't be coming, or calling, or anything else that has to do with you. I mean, hello, you lied about him in court."

"Please," Katie begged, her tone becoming progressively more desperate. "He has to hear this."

"You're not pregnant, I hope?" Rachel piped up.

"Pregnant? No."

"Good. But then, I can't imagine he'd want to talk to you about anything else."

"Look, I know he hates me," Katie began, regret and sadness in her voice. "But he could be in danger. No make that, he is in danger," she said, hoping that would get the girls to listen.

But they scoffed at her and accused her of hoping for a little rendezvous right there at the hospital.

"Kinky," Rachel said. "But he'd probably go for it if it were a few months ago."

"Or even now if it was Peyton," Brooke added.

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, I could see it."

"Oh my God, you two!" Katie snapped. "Look at me! Do I look like I'm in any shape to seduce someone?"

"What is it then?" Brooke asked. "You want him to see you like this so he'll take pity on you? Play with his heartstrings a bit?"

"Decent plan," Rachel mocked. "It could work, I guess. Unfortunately for you, hell would have to freeze over first."

Katie sighed in frustration. "No, no," she huffed. "Believe me, as naïve and hopeful as I once was, I do realize that with anyone other than his precious Peyton, he doesn't have heartstrings to pull. He's made it loud and clear that he never cared about me."

"Glad to hear you finally get it," Brooke said.

"But I still need to talk to him."

"And that's still not going to happen."

"Can you at least tell him?"

"Again, why would we do that?"

"If you care about him at all, you will."

"Right, cuz he's in danger," Brooke scoffed.

"Yes," Katie replied. "And maybe even Peyton too. Or do you think what happened to me was just some random act of violence?"

"I don't know. Was it?"

"Not by a long shot."

"I'll tell you what," Rachel said. "Why don't you tell us your sob story and we'll decide whether it's worth a mention to Nate?"

"I'd rather tell him directly," Katie replied.

"Well then, I guess you're out of luck," the redhead responded. "Unless Damien felt sorry for you and says something to him, but somehow I doubt he bought this any more than we do."

"Damien? He came here?" Katie asked, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

"Yeah, you were talking to him," Rachel replied pointedly, letting Katie know they were aware of that.

Katie shook her head vehemently. "No, I didn't see him. He wouldn't have gotten past the guard. What did he want?" she asked panic stricken.

"Same thing as us," Brooke replied. "But you already knew that."

"Is he still here?" Katie asked, her body beginning to tremble noticeably. He'd come after her. For what? To finish what he'd begun? Oh God, this couldn't be happening.

Brooke and Rachel exchanged puzzled glances, both curious about what had brought on this sudden violent reaction. The girl before them was practically hyperventilating. No way she was faking it.

They wouldn't get the chance to question it as the guard called out to a nearby nurse before the two of them came rushing in and Brooke and Rachel were told they had to leave.

"What the hell was that about?" Rachel asked aloud once they'd exited.

"No idea," Brooke said. "But something's going on and whatever it is has to do with Damien. Agreed?"

"Agreed. You hear her? She said she didn't even see him."

"I know."

They were both silent for a bit, lost in their own thoughts, until Rachel spoke again. "I've never seen anyone have a panic attack like that."

"Me neither. We need to find out what's happening around here ASAP."

….

Back at school, Nathan sighed impatiently as he stood beside a table of clean teens and waited for Shelly to answer his question of whether or not he could talk to her. He'd just finished talking to Chase—or rather trying to talk to him—and he'd gotten nowhere. The guy had pretty much stated that it was none of Nathan's business, which was true and he wasn't usually one to pry, but he wanted to fix things for Brooke just this once, especially since he'd been the one to let the bet slip.

Chase wouldn't listen though and because of that Nathan had grown impatient and did what Brooke feared he would do if he were to talk to him. He'd offended him, stating that wearing a 'virgin for life' shirt was practically a dare and that he should have expected to have it challenged. He went on to tell him that he wasn't even a true believer in the concept since he'd given it up to Brooke within a few weeks. Needless to say, Chase was not impressed.

Brooke was gonna kill him.

Now Shelly stared at him coolly and gestured to an empty spot at the end of the bench.

He glanced at the others before returning his gaze to her and clearing his throat. "Alone?" he requested.

"I'm a little busy."

He couldn't say he blamed her for being angry, but damn was it hard to do the right thing when nobody wanted to hear you out. "It'll only take a second," he said.

Shelly sat up straighter, trying her best to keep her composure in front of the guy who'd broken her heart. They may have only lasted two months, but that was plenty enough time for her to fall for him. And she had. She'd fallen hard. She could sense her friends' eyes trained on her, waiting to see how she'd respond. They knew how she felt about him. But that didn't mean he had to. "Whatever you've got to say can be said from there," she responded, hoping she came off as aloof. She did have one advantage—she was still pissed as hell at him. That helped.

"Alright," Nathan replied with a deep sigh. He'd much prefer to do this without an audience but whatever, it was her call. "I just wanted to say thanks for going to court and vouching for me…"

"I just told the truth," she cut him off.

He nodded. "Yeah well, it's probably what got me released so I just wanted you to know that I appreciate what you did."

"That's great," she replied evenly. "I'm glad they let you go," she added. "But, like I said, I just told the truth," she repeated. "Is that it?" she asked when he didn't reply.

"Yeah," he replied and then instantly changed his mind. "No. Look, I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't," she lied. Why should he have the satisfaction of knowing he'd broken her heart? He may not have meant to hurt her, but he hadn't cared if he did either.

"Ok, good," he replied uneasily, not quite sure how to respond to that. If she was telling the truth then he was glad for it. She was a nice girl who hadn't deserved to be played by him. "Guess I'll see ya around then."

"Yeah, see ya. Hope you and Peyton will be very happy together."

He debated thanking her but then realized she was being sarcastic. She really was a lot like Peyton in some ways. If he hadn't been crazy in love with Peyton, he probably could have been content with Shelly. As it was he did regret using her the way he had, but he could never regret working things out with his gorgeous fiancé. He walked away without another word, knowing there was really nothing left to say.

…..

Peyton stood before the bathroom mirror and put the finishing touches of makeup on. Or rather, she was reapplying it. A satisfied smile spread across her face and she quickly stuffed all her cosmetics back in her purse before rushing out the door. She had to move her ass if her and Nathan were to have any time left. It was already twenty minutes into lunch and she hadn't even texted him about the location yet. He was probably going crazy waiting on it.

She rounded the corner at top speed and nearly rammed right into someone. She opened her mouth to offer a quick apology but then noticed who it was and snapped it shut. Lucas, along with a few of his buddies.

Like Peyton, Luke too had been about to apologize but held it back when he saw her.

"Watch where you're going, will ya," she said tightly.

"Take your own advice," he retaliated. "What's the rush anyway? Off to meet your ass of a boyfriend?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, she squared her shoulders and jutted her chin up. "Fiancé, actually," she corrected haughtily. "And yes, I am meeting him. As for him being an ass, that's strictly a matter of opinion."

"Sure it is," he scoffed. "Funny how so many people share the same opinion."

"Like how they all think of you as the bastard?" she countered spitefully.

His jaw clenched at the word he'd come to hate more than any other. "Where's Nathan now?" he asked. "Hunting new prey? Maybe someone who won't turn him in this time?"

Scowling Peyton returned haughtily, "You know, I still can't figure out if you and Haley plotted that whole story together or if you're just completely and utterly blinded by the innocent act she puts on."

"If anyone's blind, it's you," he retorted irately. "I can't believe you stood by him through it all, and still are. And marrying him? You and Haley were friends."

"Yeah, until she decided to screw my boyfriend and cry rape."

"First of all, he wasn't your boyfriend at that time, I was. Second, he raped her, Peyton. That doesn't count as sleeping with him."

"Oh how easy it is to say that after the fact. Any girl could do that."

"You really do have that blindfold on tight, don't you?" Lucas replied. "The jury voted him guilty, Peyton. That's twelve people, all in agreement of his guilt. Doesn't that tell you something?"

"Yeah," Peyton answered. "That there are probably a lot of innocent people sitting in prison."

"He's not innocent."

"According to me and a slew of other people, he is."

"Only because you're blind and a lot of other people are too scared to go against him."

"And the judge?" Peyton challenged. "Was he scared too?"

"Bribed most likely," Luke replied. "I don't doubt Dan paid him off." Anything for the chosen one. "And his wife's no better. She tried to bribe Haley with money."

"Well, I guess we'll never know, will we? And as much as I'd love to stand here and debate it some more, I've got better things to do."

"Peyton," he called out as she was leaving, causing her to turn around. "Whenever you decide to pull off the blinders, Haley and I are still here."

"I'm sorry," Peyton scoffed. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

He sighed deeply. "Probably not, but just saying."

She didn't reply, but simply turned on her heels and sped off.

She ran into Damien next, who reminded her that she said they'd talk later.

"Umm, yeah," Peyton returned quickly. She did want to talk to him about what he'd said to her dad, but she had to meet Nathan. If they didn't meet soon, their afternoon delight wasn't going to happen. "But I'm kind of in a rush right now so we'll talk later," she said as she made her way past him.

"That's what you said this morning," he called out.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry. We'll talk though."

She hurried away so that he couldn't delay her any longer. What seemed like hours later, though it was actually only minutes, she reached her destination. Finally, she thought. Nathan was never going to guess this place. Her eyes sparkling mischievously, she slipped inside, pulled out her cell, and sent her boyfriend a brief, but informative, text.

'Boiler room, 5 mins.'

She laughed out loud when she heard the door squeak open behind her just seconds later. "I knew you were eager, but this is borderline pathetic," she said, still chuckling.

She turned toward him, a teasing smile on her face, but the smile faltered as she noticed that it wasn't Nathan, but Damien, who stood there.

"How 'bout we talk now," he said, clearly put off at having been dismissed so easily.

…

Growing more impatient by the second, Nathan searched the hallways looking for either anyone who might know where Peyton was or the kid he'd given his phone to. It seemed he'd checked the entire school and nothing. How hard could it be to find one nerd? They were everywhere, except the one he was looking for. He was coming to the conclusion that the guy had probably gone home for lunch. Fuck, he should have taken Brooke's advice to hold off giving his cell away until he'd purchased another.

He spotted Bevin by her locker with her boyfriend—that Skills guy Lucas hung out with—and made his way over to them. Skills was clearly not thrilled by his presence, but whatever. It's not like he was there to talk to him. He could easily be ignored.

"Hey, Nate," Bevin greeted in her usual pleasant manner.

"Hey," Nathan greeted back. "Have you seen Peyton anywhere?"

"Yep, uh huh," Bevin replied.

"Where?" Nathan pressed when she didn't divulge the information.

"This morning at her locker, and then in class and then again in the bathroom…"

"Where is she now?" Nathan cut her off. He didn't need nor want to know every single spot she'd seen her, but he should have known that with Bevin he had to be more specific.

"Oh, I don't know that," she answered. "Wait, aren't you with her?"

Nathan quirked an eyebrow. Sometimes dealing with Bevin was extremely annoying. "Does it look like I'm with her?"

"No silly," Bevin responded, looking at him as though he'd just asked the dumbest question she'd ever heard. "You're with us right now."

"No kidding."

"But you're supposed to be Peyton," she said, indicating that she at least knew that the couple had plans together. "She'll be mad if you stand her up."

"Yeah, I know, but I don't know where she is."

"Oh, well, you should have found that out ahead of time."

"Yeah. Thanks for the advice," Nathan returned dryly. "Can I borrow your phone for a sec?"

"Why? Where's yours?"

"I lost it," he said simply, not wanting to explain things to her.

"I did that once but now I always keep it in…"

"Can I just use it?" he cut her off again. He couldn't care less where she kept it.

She reached into her purse for it and handed it to him. He tried calling Peyton's cell and then texted when it went straight to voicemail.

"Oh, Mouth was looking for you earlier," Bevin informed him as they waited for a text back. "He said he'd be at your house by 4:00 today so don't make plans after school."

Skills gritted his teeth beside her. He hated that she was still friendly with this guy. Only Bevin could befriend both Nathan and Haley without it coming off as some kind of betrayal. But Skills sure as hell didn't want her associating with Nathan. It wasn't so bad when he'd thought the guy was only a jerk—not great but he could deal with it—but now that he knew what he really was, he worried about his often times naïve girlfriend. The way Nathan seemed to treat her like she was just an annoying dumb blonde, instead of the sweet girl she was, didn't make Skills like him any better.

And then the mention of Mouth—a reminder of his betrayal—made him frown even deeper. Mouth had turned his back on his old friends for this son of a bitch. It wasn't right.

Nathan shook his head. "Too late," he said since he and Peyton already had plans to meet Cooper and Jess for dinner before they returned to Charlotte.

"He said to let him know if that's not good for you."

Nathan nodded. "Did he say where he'd be?"

"Nope, sorry."

"It's fine. I'll find him," Nathan said distractedly as he checked the phone. Nothing. Why wasn't she replying? He shook his head again. It was already 12:35—only 25 minutes left of the lunch hour. "She's probably pissed at me," he concluded as he sent her yet another text.

It was when he closed the phone and looked up that he finally noticed Skills was glaring at him like he was the most loathsome creature on earth. "Hey pal, you got a problem?" he bluntly asked.

"Yeah, I'm looking at him," Skills responded. It was one thing to keep cool as long as Nathan didn't address him, but another thing altogether when he did. Bevin would probably be mad for it but he wasn't going to pretend to like this guy. "And I ain't your pal," he added evenly.

Nathan smirked at him and shrugged his shoulders. "Hey now, is that any way to be?" he taunted. "If there's a problem, why don't you just come out with it? Don't be shy."

"Skills, don't," Bevin said. She may be clueless in many areas but she could sense a fight coming. And she certainly recognized by now when Nathan was trying to instigate one. "Nate," she said in a warning tone.

"What?" Nathan asked innocently. "Just asking your boyfriend here what the problem is."

"I have a problem with any rapist being let back on the streets," Skills answered dryly. "No matter how rich their Daddy is."

"Yeah?" Nathan replied with gritted teeth. It shouldn't matter what this loser thought of him. He was friends with Lucas and Haley so naturally he'd be on their side. But still, it irritated the hell out of him. Damn it, he wasn't a rapist, and he was tired of people thinking he was. "Well I have a problem with that too," he said. "But you know what I really hate? Willing girls who cry rape."

"You don't belong here," Skills said, ignoring Bevin's continuing protests. "You belong in jail."

Nathan's fists clenched tightly and he gave Skills a small but rough shove. "Maybe we should take this up outside, huh?" he seethed.

"Nathan, stop it," Bevin warned.

Skills pushed him back. "Maybe we should take it up right here."

"Skills!"

"Fine by me."

"You guys, stop it," Bevin said, jumping between them. "Nobody is fighting here today. Got it?"

The two boys glared at each other for several seconds before Nathan let out a growl of frustration. "Let me know if Peyton texts back," he said before stalking off.

…..

Haley chuckled as Gracie's stomach growled loudly. "I heard that one," she said in amusement.

"Yeah, I'm starving," Gracie admitted.

"Apparently. You didn't bring anything?"

"No, I usually grab something in the cafeteria...hey, do you mind if I run up and get a muffin real quick?"

"Umm, no, go ahead," Haley replied a little uneasily.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, you need food."

"You'll be ok here by yourself?" she asked, knowing the girl hadn't been truly left alone since the rape incident.

Haley nodded, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. "I'll be fine."

"Ok, I'll be real quick, I promise."

"Sure."

"Can I grab you something while I'm there?"

"Umm, no I'm fine."

"Kay, I'll be right back."

"I'll be here," Haley said as the other girl disappeared out the door.

The second she left is when Haley felt herself begin to panic. She was still having those nightmares of Nathan coming after her here in the tutor center and being alone in that very place was utterly terrifying. She took a deep breath. 'Get a hold of yourself, Hales. This isn't your dream. Nothing's going to happen. Nathan is off somewhere with Peyton, I'm sure of it."

But even with her silent coaching, she couldn't help wish that Lucas would pull a Lucas and show up. 'Stop it, Haley. You're being paranoid. You were just saying how annoying Luke's constant shadowing has been so why wish for it now? Just concentrate on correcting Gracie's paper and you'll be fine. She'll be back in just a few minutes so pull yourself together.'

She forced her head down to check Gracie's work, continuously telling herself that all would be well. If she could get through these few minutes of solidarity, she would be one step closer to recovery.

…

Nathan walked around for several minutes, trying to calm himself down. He couldn't believe he'd let one of Lucas's friends get to him so easily. He'd started off wanting to mock him and piss the guy off but he'd ended up angry as well. Damn it, he was going to land himself back in prison if he didn't learn how to control his temper. Good thing he'd be getting back into anger management classes starting tomorrow night. He sure as hell hoped they worked.

He finally managed to calm down enough to at least think straight. Lunch was over in fifteen minutes. Trying to find Peyton had turned into a wild goose chase and he knew he'd have some explaining to do when he saw her. But he figured once she knew she'd understand. But hell, for obvious reasons, he'd looked forward to their encounter. Maybe after their dinner with Coop and Jess they could make up for it.

He decided he may as well try to find Mouth instead. He'd probably be in the tutor center. He often spent his lunch time in there. Nathan headed down, hoping he'd at least catch him.

But Mouth wasn't in the tutor center. Instead he found Haley—the source of most of his troubles lately—sitting by herself at one of the tables. The room was empty save for her.

He smiled to himself.

A little intimidation always made him feel better, and with the day he'd had so far, he needed to feel better. And who better to harass than the girl who'd made his life a living hell for the past few months? How convenient that she happened to be right there and on her own.

He opened the door and let himself in, enjoying the terror that instantly crossed her face when she looked up and saw him.

This was going to be fun.