2003 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

A few nights ago, Lucas Scott did something he wasn't proud of. 

He went with Peyton to identify a body because they didn't know if it was her dad or not. And when they returned to their motel room, they ended up kissing... more like making out, but they didn't have sex. They stopped themselves when Peyton's hair got caught in a pooka shell necklace Aurora gave Luke years ago after a family vacation. She brought it back for him, and he's worn it ever since. 

Lucas didn't tell Aurora what happened, and neither did Peyton because they had agreed to bury it. The next day at school. Lucas had walked up to Peyton's locker. "So, how's everything with your dad?" He asked. 

"It's fine, thanks," Peyton responded. 

"Yeah... and how about with us?" Lucas asked.

"It was a moment of weakness, right? I've been feeling guilty about it all weekend." Peyton said.

"Me too..." Lucas agreed. 

"Listen, let's just bury it and pretend it didn't happen, okay. Aurora is your best friend, and she's my best friend too. I know we slightly fell off in middle school, but we've been friends since third grade, and that means something to me." Peyton said, and Lucas nodded his head. 

"Sure." He said.

But he wasn't sure if he could forget it. He knew he had strong feelings for Aurora, and he always has. But he didn't know if maybe the fact that he finally kissed his middle school crush made him think he had feelings for Peyton that may not be there. 

Either way, he was confused.

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Later that day, Aurora was with Nathan, and the two of them went to the Rivercourt to hang out and talk. Aurora had noticed that Lucas was being slightly distant, but she was trying not to be one of those paranoid girlfriends, so she decided she would give Lucas his space, and he would talk when he was ready. But when they got to the river court, they saw something interesting.

Haley was trying to make a free throw.

"Was that your jump shot? Because if that's your jump shot, I can't date you anymore." Nathan said, which made Haley laugh. "Came by the cafe to see you and Aurora, found Aurora, and my mom said you'd be here. Something about a grade?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah... you cannot be here right now," Haley said as she shook her head.

"Why not?" Nathan asked.

"Because I look stupid," Haley said.

"Hales... you realize we've both seen you in your crocheted poncho... nothing is more embarrassing than that," Aurora said, which made Nathan laugh, and Haley rolled her eyes as Nathan gave her the basketball back.

"Come on, this is more embarrassing, and I don't want..." Haley turned to Nathan. "...you to think that I'm embarrassing." She said.

"You don't embarrass me, Haley," Nathan said, making Aurora smile.

"Oh, yeah? Okay..." Haley said. She attempted to reshoot the ball, but it missed the hoop entirely and went to Nathan. He easily caught it and shook his head. 

"Okay, I take that back." He said, and Aurora laughed.

"I can't do it," Haley said.

"Hales... yes, you can," Aurora said.

"She's right. Alright, square your shoulders to the basket. And you've got to bring the ball up, right past your nose like this..." Nathan said as he positioned the ball correctly in her hands. "Okay... now bend your knees a little. Relax your hips, and just shoot." Nathan said. Haley took his advice, and her shot hit the rim that time.

"See, Hales! That was so much better." Aurora cheered her on, and Haley smiled at her sister.

"Okay, that wasn't perfect, but it wasn't embarrassing. It was actually kind of sexy." Nathan said, and Aurora pretended to gag.

"Please save the romance for when I am nowhere near the vicinity." 

―

Later that day, Lucas called Aurora and said that redoing Peyton's room with her and Brooke fell through, and he asked her if she wanted to meet up and get some hot chocolate, so they did, and they were now walking side-by-side. Aurora could feel a slight tension, so she decided to lighten the mood. 

"Have I told lately how much I actually like you?" Aurora teased.

"Why?" Lucas asked. He wasn't trying to come across as rude, but he truly felt he didn't deserve her. 

"Why do I tell you?" Aurora asked.

"Why do you like me?" Lucas asked.

"Hmm... pity mostly." Aurora teased, and they both laughed. "How come you're so quiet tonight? You didn't have to ask me to do this if you wanted to be by yourself." She said.

"No, no... it's not you. I'm just anxious about my mom coming back tomorrow." Lucas said.

"Oh, don't be. You missed her. I know for a fact she missed you. It's gonna be okay." Aurora said.

"I know... that's not the aspect that I'm worried about," Lucas said, and Aurora nodded her head.

"You're worried about her and Keith?" Aurora asked, and Lucas nodded his head. Before Karen left, she kissed Keith, and now she's been gone for the last six weeks, and no one knew what the dynamic would be when she got back. 

"Yeah..." Lucas said.

"They'll be alright, Luke. The people who are meant to be together always find their way in the end." 

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Haley James was at the cafe, and she was sitting at the counter and writing something down on a piece of paper. But then she crumpled up the paper and attempted to shoot it in the trash can, but she missed. And then Peyton Sawyer walked up to her. 

"Hey," Peyton said.

"Hey," Haley responded as she looked up.

"I was hoping you would be here," Peyton said.

"What's up?" Haley asked because she could tell that something was wrong. 

"Um, I actually need some advice, and I didn't have anybody to talk to," Peyton said.

"Brooke or Aurora isn't around? I'm sorry. Where's the rest of your minions?" Haley asked.

"What minions?" Peyton asked.

"You're like the queen of the hive," Haley commented. 

"I guess I have a lot of friends, but I don't really have any that I can talk to," Peyton said, which was true. The two friends she could talk to about anything are the two people she can't speak to about this.

"Okay, um... let's just go over..." Haley gestured to the couches, and she looked at her when the two girls got situated. "So, what's on your mind?" Haley asked.

"Um, you know when you first realized that you liked Nathan, and you knew that Lucas would flip out? How'd you deal with that?" Peyton asked.

"Why? What's going on?" Haley asked.

"It's just friend-of-a-friend stuff..." Peyton said.

"Okay, um... I sort of asked myself, repeatedly, if this thing with Nathan is really worth losing my best friend over." Haley said. Peyton nodded her head as she started to think. Was a fling with Lucas worth losing Aurora again? 

"Yeah..." Peyton said.

"Look, if Lucas is really my best friend, then he should just be happy for me. It's not like he was dating Nathan. Are you sure you're okay?" Haley asked, and Peyton nodded her head. 

"I'm good. Thanks, Haley." Peyton said, and Haley nodded her head. 

"Sure..."

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Later that night, Haley went to Lucas' house. Earlier, she and Nathan were in the library, and they were putting something together for Whitey; it was Nathan's idea, and when Haley left to get herself something to drink from the vending machine, she saw Lucas and Peyton kissing, and then she put the pieces together of Peyton's friend-of-a-friend scenario. Now she was also pissed because she told Lucas that if even a fraction of him still had feelings for Peyton, not to date her sister.

"Hey, we're just about to pick up my mom," Lucas said when Haley walked into his room. 

"What's going on with you and Peyton?" Haley asked. She wasn't there to sugarcoat anything. She wanted to get straight to the point.

"Nothing..." Lucas said as he was caught off guard. 

"So, you guys weren't together recently?" Haley asked.

"No. Why? Did you talk to Peyton?" Lucas asked.

"Why? Are you trying to figure out what lie to tell me next?" Haley snapped, and that's when Lucas's face paled. 

"I wanted to tell you, Hales..." Lucas said.

"Tell me what?" Haley asked.

"That we've been...-" Haley cut him off.

"Yeah, I know you've been cause I saw you kissing her, which is a real jackass move considering you have a girlfriend named Aurora, and she just so happens to be my twin sister." Haley snapped.

"Don't lecture me, Haley... I know that." Lucas said.

"So stop it," Haley said.

"I can't. It's complicated." Lucas said, and Haley scoffed.

"It's not complicated. It's simple. It's really simple. What you're doing is wrong. I told you at the beginning, Lucas, if you even had a fraction of your old feelings for Peyton, not to start a relationship with my sister because this is exactly what I was afraid of. If you can't see that, then I don't like the person you're becoming." Haley snapped.

"Okay, the person I'm becoming? What about the person you're becoming?" Lucas asked. [A/N: I did not like how Lucas tried to gaslight Haley here. Like dude, YOU got caught cheating, and you're trying to bring up Haley and Nathan's relationship; that has nothing to do with YOU cheating to make her seem like the bad guy? Haley should've smacked him].

"What does that mean?" Haley asked.

"You know what it means, Haley. Nathan says a few nice things to you to get back at me, and you fall for it." Lucas snapped, and Haley laughed.

"I'm sorry; what does my relationship with Nathan have to do with the fact that you cheated on my sister? Because the two situations do not correlate at all. How dare you try to make me seem like a bad person to absolve yourself from your guilt. You know what, Lucas? The next time you see me. Don't talk to me." Haley snapped as she walked to the door.

"Fine!" Lucas exclaimed. 

Haley had already slammed the door shut behind her.

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Aurora was now at Peyton's house, Brooke was busy, so Aurora offered to help Peyton paint her room. The two girls were looking around her room where they had just finished painting, and Aurora thought it came out great. The room was painted black, with a wall-to-wall poster of a black and white movie audience.

"It's like they're all judging you. You can't hide in here anymore." Aurora said, and then she checked the time. "Lucas should be back home soon. I know they went to the airport a little while ago," Aurora said. Peyton was now feeling overwhelmed by her guilt.

"Aurora, you're one of my best friends," Peyton said.

"Well, considering the only other one you have is Brooke, I know this, so..." Aurora teased.

"No, I mean it... like our relationship is different from mine and Brooke's, we can actually talk. I can talk to you about things I can't talk to Brooke about. So I hope you know that you are my best friend." Peyton said.

"Of course, I know that. Is everything, Peyton?" Aurora asked.

"I need to tell you something..." Peyton trailed off, and Aurora noticed the look on her face.

"Hey... you know you can tell me anything, right? What is it?" She asked.

"It's just... There's something you should know." Peyton said. Before she could get another word out, Aurora's phone started to ring, and she saw it was Haley.

"Hold that thought for one second," Aurora said before answering her phone. "Hey, Hales... what's wrong?" Aurora asked. Haley was calling to tell her that Lucas got in a car accident; Keith had just called her from the hospital. Peyton noticed Aurora's eyes widen. "Oh my god, okay... thanks." Aurora hung up the phone and turned back to Peyton.

"What's wrong?" Peyton asked.

"It's Lucas... he's been in an accident. I'm so sorry, Peyton, I have to go."

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After Aurora drove to the hospital, Peyton went to Aurora's house to see Haley. She figured that Haley knew what she and Lucas did, and she didn't know if Haley would turn her away since Aurora was her sister. "Hey..." Peyton said when she walked in.

"Hey," Haley said.

"I thought you'd be at the hospital with Aurora..." Peyton said. 

"Why aren't you?" Haley asked.

"It's just kind of weird; she's still with Lucas," Peyton said.

"I take it she doesn't know about you guys yet?" Haley asked, and Peyton shook her head. 

"We were going to tell her tonight. Assuming you didn't tell her first... Lucas told me you caught us. Don't you want to see him?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, I do... But I can't." Haley said.

"Why not?" Peyton asked.

"You know, if you don't mind, I'd really like to be alone right now," Haley said.

"Yeah... Yeah, okay. But I'm sure his mom would really like to see you... and Aurora probably needs you." Peyton said. Haley was trying not to snap. She was still mad that Lucas cheated on her sister, and Nathan had just admitted to her that at first, he only started talking to her just to piss Lucas off, and then she told Lucas not to speak to her again, and then he got in an accident.

She felt guilty.

"Peyton, I'll go when I'm ready." She slightly snapped. Peyton could tell by her tone that she wasn't in the mood, and she nodded. 

"Sure..."

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─── AUTHOR'S NOTE
sigh. car accident. 

don't forget to vote/comment. 

xoxo.