2003 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

Haley and Aurora walked outside their school campus to get to class. Aurora had forgiven her sister for not telling her about Lucas and Peyton the minute she saw them. They had a sister night to try and cheer Aurora up, which made her realize that her sister's support was what she needed, and she could never stay mad at her for too long. As they were walking, Peyton was walking past, and she waved to the girls.

"Aurora, hey," Peyton said, but Aurora ignored her, rolled her eyes, and ensured Peyton saw her, and then she kept walking with her sister. Before Haley could say anything, the girls heard music blasting and saw a black car coming down the parking lot. The vehicle started honking, and Aurora noticed the license plate said 'Dan Scott Motors,' so she knew exactly who was driving.

Nathan.

He parked the car on the curb and greeted the girls. "What'd you do? Knock over your dad's dealership?" Aurora asked. Nathan gave her a sarcastic smile along with a playful eye roll.

"What is this?" Haley asked.

"Dad gave it to me. It's his way of showing me who's in control." Nathan said, and Aurora shook her head as her face scrunched up in disgust.

"Ew, take it back." She said, and Haley nodded her head in agreement.

"No, if I'm going to live like this. I'm going to take everything I can get." He said, and the girls nodded their heads. Aurora thought that was fair enough.

"Okay," Haley said, and Nathan smiled.

"What did you two do last night?" Nathan asked.

"Well, we had a sister night to cheer Aurora up. Ice cream, movies, and bidding on eBay for Sheryl Crow tickets." Haley said, which made Nathan laugh.

"Oh, right. The show is tomorrow." Nathan said, and the girls nodded.

"That's right," Aurora responded.

"Any luck?" He asked. Haley frowned, and Aurora shook her head. No luck at all, and Aurora knew that bidding on eBay probably wasn't the best course of action, but they still wanted to try because it was their only option.

"No, but there are three more auctions tonight," Aurora said.

"I got DSL. Do you guys wanna come over?" Nathan asked. Aurora had no idea what DSL was, but she welcomed any distraction to get her mind off Lucas and Peyton, and she always loved an excuse to hang out with her best friend and sister.

"Oh yeah, we'll be there."

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As Aurora walked through the halls, she saw Lucas the exact moment he saw her, but she rolled her eyes and continued walking past him. But she felt him grab her wrist and turn her around, and she immediately snatched her arm back from his hold. "What?" She snapped.

"Ari, I'm sorry," Lucas said, and she started laughing.

"You're not sorry about what you did, Lucas. You're sorry you got caught." Aurora said.

"We didn't mean to hurt you," Lucas said, and Aurora shook her head as she started laughing more.

"See! You're not even denying it. Save your apologies, Lucas, I don't need them, and you clearly don't mean it anyway." Aurora said, and Lucas sighed.

"We didn't plan any of this... it just happened," Lucas said, and Aurora couldn't help it; Lucas' responses were hysterically funny.

"Right, so again, you don't deny that you're only sorry you got caught. You keep using the terminology of 'we,' and you think saying, 'we didn't mean to hurt you,' 'we didn't plan this. It just happened,' are apologies? They're not. You and Peyton can both go to hell for all I care." Aurora snapped before walking away. Lucas sighed as he ran his hand over his face. He knew he messed up badly.

He didn't know if he would be able to fix this.

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"Aurora!" Peyton called after her once practice was over. Aurora showed up to practice, followed Brooke's directions, and left. She couldn't stand to see Peyton longer than she had to. "Sooner or later, you will have to talk to me," Peyton said. That made Aurora stop and turn around.

And she started laughing again.

"Funny how you think I have to talk to you. Actually, Peyton, I'll do you one better. I'll smile at you, you know, Peyton style. I'll pretend everything is okay and then lie directly to your face." Aurora said with a sweet smile on her face.

"If I could go back to the way things were, I would," She said.

"Oh, you mean back when my friend was sneaking around behind my back with my boyfriend, and I was left in the dark due to my stupidity?" Aurora asked, and Peyton sighed.

"You're not stupid!" Peyton exclaimed. Aurora's eyes narrowed as she glared at her.

"Did you sleep with him?" Aurora asked, and Peyton's eyes widened.

"No! No, I didn't, okay? We stopped before it got that far...-" Aurora cut her off.

"...-Oh, so you were going to sleep with him, but I guess something reminded you both at the last minute that he had a girlfriend, huh?" Aurora said, and she was spot on. Peyton and Lucas were going to have sex that night at the motel, but a necklace Aurora had made for Lucas got caught in Peyton's hair, and when Lucas said Aurora made it for him, they stopped. But if that hadn't happened, they would've gone all the way.

"Aurora, look. I'm sorry, okay? We were going to tell you, and then the accident happened, and you liked him so much." Peyton said, and Aurora started laughing more.

"You egotistical bitch! 'The accident happened, and you liked him so much.' Are you kidding me? May I remind you that Lucas was my friend first, so don't act like you didn't tell me you were a backstabbing bitch to spare my feelings. Not only did you ruin my dating relationship with him, but you also ruined our friendship of 9 years. If he would've broken up with me before he cheated, I'd be fine, but the fact that both of you think saying that you were going to tell me together that you were sneaking around behind my back somehow makes everything okay; you're both delusional." Aurora snapped. Peyton had tears in her eyes, but she knew she had it coming.

"Aurora!" Peyton pleaded.

"Are you in love with him?" Aurora asked. Peyton kept her gaze, but she didn't answer the question. "Hmmm, you know what, I don't even care. He's all yours now, and just like I told Lucas, you can both go to hell."

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Karen invited Haley and Aurora to the cafe to have dinner with her and Lucas. While Karen knew that Lucas and Aurora weren't together anymore, she didn't know it was because he was cheating and sneaking around with Peyton. Karen just thought Lucas needed space after the car accident.

Aurora didn't want to go for obvious reasons, but she felt like she couldn't say no to Karen, and since Haley would be there too, she decided to suck it up and just try to make it through the night. "I can't remember the last time the four of us did this," Karen said with a smile on her face.

"Yes, it's just like old times. Minus one spleen." Haley joked, but Lucas didn't look too happy, but that was for many reasons. "Oh, come on. It's a joke. Tragedy plus time... alright, too soon." She said. Lucas went to reach for something on the table, but he winced and pulled his arm back.

"Did you overdo it at physical therapy?" Karen asked.

"Physical therapy is a waste of time," Lucas complained, and Karen nodded her head, knowing that he didn't want to talk about it.

"Alright, let's try something else. How was school?" Karen asked. Lucas' eyes quickly flashed to Aurora before he turned back to his mom.

"Well, let's see. Aurora hates me, and Peyton won't talk to me." Lucas said, and Aurora rolled her eyes. Nobody said anything, but Haley was determined to break the silence.

"See, it's almost like old times," Haley said, and Lucas sighed.

"Oh, and the other great part. I saw Dan. He told me the only reason he pulled me out of the wreckage was just to watch me suffer." Lucas said. Aurora figured if Dan said that, he was probably trying to get inside Lucas' head.

"Lucas, I'm sure that's not true," Karen said, and Lucas scoffed as he didn't understand what she was trying to say.

"Mom, don't defend him." Lucas snapped at her.

"She's not defending him, you asshole. Yes, Dan Scott is a terrible person, newsflash, we all know that. But he did save your life, and we all have to be grateful to him for that... even me." Aurora snapped at him, speaking for the first time since she and Haley arrived.

"Whatever that's worth." Lucas snapped, and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"Lucas, snap out of it already; come on." Haley snapped at him.

"You know what? You're right. It's time. Time for a change." Lucas said, and Aurora rolled her eyes as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Karen asked.

"Out!" He yelled as he walked to the door.

"Lucas!" Haley called out after him.

"Don't wait up." He snapped before leaving and disappearing down the street. Karen looked between the sisters, and Aurora sighed as she stood up from the table.

"Karen, thank you so much for dinner, but I think I'm just going to go home now."

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When Aurora got home, she got into bed, put on a movie, and called Nathan. She was watching some random romance movie on TV and had Nathan on speaker. This was something they did a lot. They would stay on the phone with each other for hours. Sometimes, while Nathan played video games, Aurora watched TV, or if Nathan was watching TV and Aurora was reading. They were so close as friends; they could be on the phone with each other for hours, doing their own things and not talking, but still having the feeling that they were spending time with each other because the other person was still on the phone.

"This girl in this movie is crying; she needs to get it together. Her ex was trash anyway." Aurora said, which made Nathan laugh. He knew why Aurora would be torturing herself by watching a romance movie after she was just cheated on, for the irony of it all.

"Change the movie," Nathan said, and Aurora was already flipping through channels to find something else to watch.

"I'm way ahead of you, Nate." She said, which made him laugh again. She saw that reruns of 'Friends' were on TV, so she just let that play because it was one of her favorite shows. Then she heard a knock on the door, which she expected to be Haley, but when she looked up and saw Peyton, her face immediately turned stoic. "Nathan, I have to go. Your ex-girlfriend had the audacity to show up in my doorway." She said without taking her eyes off Peyton.

"Are you going to be okay?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow." Aurora said.

"I love you too, Aurora," Nathan said, ending the call. Aurora put the phone down on her nightstand, but she kept her eyes on Peyton.

"Hey," Peyton said, and Aurora continued staring at her.

"Really, hey? That's what you have to say to me? What do you want?" Aurora snapped at her.

"You're not answering your phone. But now I understand why since you were on the phone with Nathan." Peyton said, and Aurora laughed.

"Even if I weren't on the phone with Nathan, I still wouldn't have answered your calls. I don't know if you can pick up on these things called context clues, but I don't want to talk to you. I can't believe you had the audacity to come here." Aurora said, and Peyton sighed.

"Lucas' mom called me. She said you were all having dinner together. Lucas stormed out; you left shortly after. She doesn't know where he is." Peyton said.

"Yeah, I remember what happened. I was there. This is my problem because?" Aurora asked, and Peyton sighed.

"Look, Aurora, I know we hurt you, okay? But Lucas is your best friend, and I know you wouldn't be happy if anything bad happened to him. So if you have any idea where he might be, at least call Karen. She's worried." Peyton said as she turned to leave, and Aurora sighed.

"Peyton, wait," Aurora said, and Peyton turned back around. "I might have an idea."

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Aurora took Peyton to the dive bar that she and Lucas had one of their dates at. Aurora was introduced to this place by her older sister Taylor. They accept Taylor's fake for Aurora because the girls look enough alike, and they don't look too hard at the picture, only the birthday. When Aurora brought Lucas here, she had a fake made for him, and they drank a little bit and played pool; it was one of their more casual dates since Aurora did like to get adventurous.

"What are we doing here?" Peyton asked.

"I brought Lucas here for a date before," Aurora said as they approached the bar. Peyton looked around like she was uncomfortable, and Aurora rolled her eyes at her.

"So, what? You think he came here looking for you?" Peyton asked, and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"If I left Karen's cafe after Lucas stormed out, why would he come here looking for me? I know you're blonde, but don't be stupid, and get over yourself." Aurora snapped, which made Peyton sigh. She walked right into that one. "I think he came here because he knows they'll take the fake ID I got him." She said as the bartender approached them.

"What are you having, ladies?" He asked.

"Actually, we're trying to track somebody down. He's tall, blondish, kind of a loner." Peyton said, and Aurora sighed.

"He cheats on his girlfriend with skinny blonde bitches." Aurora snapped. The bartender looked between them, and that's when he noticed the tension, and he laughed.

"Nice." He said. Aurora looked at the bar seat and noticed Lucas' sling, so she picked it up. "He was wearing this on his shoulder." She said, and the bartender nodded because now he knew exactly who they were talking about.

"Right, you just missed him. But he wasn't a loner when he left if you know what I mean." The bartender said, and Aurora scoffed as she sat down. So he cheats on her, goes to Peyton, and now goes to some random person in a bar.

"Hmm, you know what, I'll take a shot, make it a double," Aurora said, and Peyton sat in the seat next to her.

"Make it two." She said, and the bartender nodded his head.

"You got it."

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Aurora had taken her shot, and now she was milking a margarita as she looked around the bar and sighed. "You know, it's funny. I look around at all these great-looking guys, and all I want to do is smash their pretty little faces." Aurora said, which caused Peyton to laugh, and that's when Aurora turned to her. "Don't even ask what I'm thinking when I look at you." She said, which quickly wiped away Peyton's smile.

"Aurora," Peyton said, but Aurora ignored her and continued talking.

"You know, with Lucas, I can understand what happened. Especially given what he's probably up to right now and that he's been in love with you since 8th grade. And he's a guy. Guys, screw you over. But you, Peyton... You surprised me. I thought our friendship actually meant something to you. I guess it was one-sided." Aurora said, and Peyton quickly shook her head.

"It does mean something to me, Aurora! You will never know how sorry I am for making you question that. There was never a point in any of this where you weren't my friend." Peyton said, and Aurora laughed.

"Oh, really? So I was your friend when you were sneaking around behind my back with my boyfriend? Wow, great friendship. Thanks for nothing." Aurora said, and Peyton sighed.

"Okay, you know what? As hard as it is to leave your glow of love. I have to go. I'm babysitting for Jake in the morning." Peyton said, and Aurora laughed as she tilted her head to the side.

"Playing house with Jake Jagielski? Just like Lucas, you don't waste any time, do you?" Aurora asked as she turned to her. She saw the hurt in Peyton's eyes, and she knew very deep down she regretted saying that, but she was way too hurt and prideful at the current moment to apologize.

"It's a favor, Aurora. Are we ever going to get past this?" Peyton asked, and Aurora shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, and right now, I really don't care," Aurora said. Peyton sighed and walked away, leaving the bar. When she left, another guy sat down in her seat, and Aurora looked over with one glance and scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "Absolutely not." She said. Disheartened.

The guy walked away.

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The next day Aurora was at work at the cafe with her sister. She knew she had been a little absent from the cafe, and Karen didn't hold it against her; she knew Aurora was in a rough spot. But Aurora used work as a distraction, so she didn't think about the Peyton-Lucas situation, and there's nothing wrong with getting extra cash.

"Life is so unfair." Haley sighed as she walked to the counter where Aurora and Karen were standing.

"Preaching to the choir, sister," Aurora said. Haley looked at her sister and laughed, and Karen looked between the girls and smiled.

"You girls didn't get the Sheryl Crow tickets?" Karen asked, and Aurora shook her head.

"Nope, we got sniped," Aurora said, and Haley rolled her eyes. Aurora figured she was thinking about what happened when Aurora got home last night after she told her about what happened with Peyton, and then they went back to bid for the tickets.

"I'm sorry," Karen said. Deb walked out of the back and joined the three at the counter, and she looked explicitly at the twins.

"Do either of you know where Nathan is?" She asked.

"Uh, the last time I talked to him, he was still at your house," Aurora responded. Deb turned to Karen, and Karen nodded her head.

"Okay, I'm gonna...-" Deb never finished her statement because she walked out of the cafe. Aurora figured it was to go home and speak to Nathan, but it was still weird how that went down. When she was gone, Haley turned to Karen.

"How's Lucas?" She asked.

"I think he's going to be fine," Karen said. Then she turned to Aurora and wrapped an arm around her. "But how are you, sweetie?" Aurora shrugged her shoulders as she gave Karen a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"One day at a time, right?"

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Haley and Aurora were still at the cafe. Karen left to handle some other business, but she trusted the girls and knew she could leave them alone in the cafe, and they'd be able to handle things. Haley was in the back, and Aurora heard the bell ding; when she looked up to see who walked in, she saw it was Nathan, and he looked in complete distress.

"Hey, Nate, take a seat. I have to clean the counter off. Can I get you anything?" Aurora asked as Nate approached the counter and sat on the stools. Haley heard Aurora say Nathan's name, so she walked out from the back and noticed his features' distress.

"Hey, is everything okay?" She asked.

"Do you guys have some time to talk?" Nathan asked. Aurora looked out at the customers and saw that they all seemed pretty happy with their food, and nobody needed any refills, so she looked at Nathan and nodded.

"Of course we do. What's up?" She asked. Nathan sighed before going into his story about his encounter with his mom. He told them how his mother had just told him the big secret Dan would use against her in court to gain custody. The summer that she was having an affair, she had planned to run off with that guy, but then she remembered Nathan and knew that she couldn't abandon him and leave him with Dan by himself, so she returned.

Aurora was heartbroken because she remembered that summer. Dan was a complete nightmare, and now she understood why. She and Nathan often hung out at the beach house because Nathan couldn't stand to be home with his dad and endure his verbal and emotional abuse. And Aurora remembered every night before her mom would drop Nathan off, she would always hug him and tell him that she loved him and that she would see him tomorrow so he wouldn't have to sit and relive whatever he endured the night before.

It was a horrible cycle because she saw how much of a toll it was taking on Nathan, and she felt helpless because she knew there was nothing she could do to save him, and she hated it. She hated Dan; she still hated Dan. She hates him for Nathan and Lucas. He completely abandoned one son while verbally, emotionally, and mentally abusing the other.

"I'm so sorry." The twins spoke at the same time. Aurora walked around the counter and gently squeezed Nathan in a side hug. She felt horrible, especially since she had lived through that time with him, but at the time, she had no idea why Dan was so horrific.

"I vividly remember that summer; now it makes sense why your dad was more of a nightmare than usual," Aurora said, and Nathan sighed as he nodded his head.

"I can't go back there, and I can't live with my dad either. I'm screwed." Nathan said, and Haley shook her head.

"Maybe not. There might be an answer."

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After their talk, Nathan went to tell his mother that he would legally emancipate himself from her and his father, so Aurora and Haley were still at the cafe. The bell dinged, and when Aurora looked up, her face went stoic as she saw it was Lucas who had walked inside. She had his arm sling inside of her apron, she was going to take it to him after work, but now he's here. Haley looked between the two of them, and then she turned to Aurora.

"I'll be in the back." She said, and Aurora went to protest, but Haley was already out of the door. Aurora sighed as she looked at Lucas, who gestured to a more private corner of the cafe where they could talk. Aurora reluctantly walked around the counter and followed behind Lucas. There weren't many people in here, and she had just checked on all her customers.

"I know you have no reason to listen to me." Lucas started with, and she nodded her head.

"You're right. I don't, and I'm still on the clock." Aurora said as she turned to walk away, but Lucas gently grabbed her arm and turned her back around, and then he let her go because he knew she would jerk away from him anyway.

"Aurora, I'm not here asking for forgiveness because I know your patterns when you're hurt, but I want you to know how sorry I am for what I did because I am," Lucas said, and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"How sorry you are? Did you know that the entire time we were dating, I finally got it. I finally understood what people meant when they said, "when you know, you know." I was sure about you, Lucas, but you settled for me because you couldn't have who you really wanted. I asked you upfront initially if you still had feelings for Peyton or if you were using me to get over her. I asked you, and you lied to my face when you had the chance to tell the truth and spare me of all of this!" Aurora said, and Lucas sighed as tears came to his eyes because she was right. She did ask him, and he didn't think he was lying at the time.

Lucas was more confused than he's ever been.

"You're right. I lied to you, and I cheated on you. There's no excuse for those things, and I won't try to make any." Lucas said, and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." She said as she reached into her apron and pulled out his sling. "Why don't you tell it to the girl you hooked up with last night." She said as she threw the sling at him. When Lucas looked down and realized what it was and how Aurora had it, he felt awful. "As far as excuses, you don't owe me any. I'm not your girlfriend, and honestly? I'm barely your best friend. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work." She said as she pointed to the door.

Lucas knew there was no point in trying to plead with her. She was too hurt to listen to him, and he knew he deserved it. Lucas sighed as he walked out of the door, and Aurora held it together until she got to the back where Haley was waiting. Haley immediately wrapped her arms around her sister and hugged her close, and that's when Aurora broke down. She clung to Haley as she sobbed, and Haley hated seeing her sister this upset. She knew Aurora wouldn't hold it against her for still hanging out with Lucas because she knew Aurora would never make her choose sides.

But Haley always puts Aurora first.

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Nathan came back to the cafe, and they swapped stories. Aurora told him Lucas came by, and they decompressed that situation. Then Nathan told the girls about his talk with his mom, and they also decompressed that. Haley and Aurora were now closing the cafe; there were no more customers. Only Nathan was sitting at the counter as the girls were cleaning. Aurora was cleaning out front while Haley was cleaning in the back. Aurora forgot to flip the sign to close, and they heard the bell ding indicating that someone had just walked in.

"Sorry, we're...-" Aurora cut off when she looked up and saw that Sheryl Crow had entered the cafe, and her eyes went wide.

"I was hoping to get a cup of coffee," Sheryl said with a smile.

"Open! We are so open." Aurora said, and then she turned around towards the back. "Haley!" She yelled for her sister. When Haley walked out of the kitchen and saw Sheryl Crow, she froze in her tracks. "Hales, coffee," Aurora said.

"Right, a cup of cup... uh, cup of coffee. Yeah, we can do that for you, Sheryl Crow. My sister and I are huge fans. You have no idea how much it killed us to miss your concert. We waited online, and everything and then the stupid eBay snipers...-" Nathan cut his girlfriend off.

"...-Haley, let it go." Nathan teased.

"Right," Haley said. Sheryl looked between the twins, and a warm smile came onto her face as Haley handed her a cup of coffee, and Aurora went to flip the sign to "closed" so that no one else came in.

"How much do I owe you guys for this?" Sheryl asked. The twins looked at each other as if they had the same idea. A payment that was much better than money.

"One song per cup," Haley said, and Aurora nodded her head in agreement. Sheryl looked at her guy, holding a guitar case, and she nodded, making the girls smile. They set themselves up and began to play as Aurora, Nathan and Haley settled in to listen. Aurora couldn't believe they were getting their own private concert.

"You know, I just realized the sad thing is that no one will believe us when we tell them," Aurora said. Nathan's face lit up with a smile as he took out his phone.

"I can solve that problem." He said. He used his phone to take a picture of the sisters, and you could see Sheryl and her guitar guy in the background. When Nathan showed them the picture, the girls smiled, and Aurora told him to send that to her. Although she hadn't been having the greatest couple of days, getting a private Sheryl Crow concert with her sister and her best friend?

It was the best day of her life.

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─── AUTHOR'S NOTE
the fact that peyton and lucas really tried to justify their behavior with the 'we were going to tell you together,' is crazy fr

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xoxo.