I still don't own One Tree Hill. The title of the story is from the song "You and Me and One Spotlight" by Yellowcard. The name of this chapter is "Light Up the Sky" also by Yellowcard.

This picks up right after the Leyton fight (amazing scene) in 5x06. there's a longer authors note at the end.

And it's still so hard to be who you are

So you play this part, and the show goes on

That you come this far with a broken heart

Yeah, you come this far and you're broken...

Peyton stormed into the house, slamming the door shut behind her. She brushed past the living room and turned the corner into her bedroom. She slammed that door too and threw herself onto the bed. She could feel the anger running through her veins and honestly couldn't remember the last time she had felt like this. A giggle from the living room broke her from her thoughts. She left the room and walked to the living room.

Peyton stood in the doorway with her arms folded over her chest. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight.

"Brooke?" she croaked out. The brunette's head snapped to face the blonde.

"Hey P. Sawyer", she said as she tried to wipe her eyes. Peyton slowly walked over to the couch.

"What are you watching?" she sat next to Brooke and Brooke draped the blanket over the two of them. Before she could answer two small girls filled the screen.

They squealed in delight and ran around Peyton's yard. Soon enough an older woman was seen chasing them. She picked Peyton up and spun her around; Brooke looked on with a pout. Anna returned her pout and scooped the small brunette up into her arms.

"Home movies", Brooke said with a sad smile.

"God, what are five there?"

"Yeah, things were simple then you know? I could always come there for anything", she referred to Peyton's house.

"What happened?" Peyton asked with concern. Brooke laughed bitterly.

"Oh the usual, I told Victoria I loved her, she said whatever."

"I'm seriously going to kick her ass", Peyton said seriously.

"You'll have to wait in line", she muttered, "I just wish I had that support and motherly figure", Brooke shook her head and Peyton brought her in for a hug.

"You do have that B. My mom's watching and she is so proud of you", Brooke sniffled and pulled back to look at Peyton.

"Thanks . . . she's proud of you too you know."

"There's not a whole lot to be proud of."

"What had you storming into the house before?" Brooke asked as she and Peyton calmed their selves.

"Oh the usual, Luc-ass", both girls giggled at the immature nickname, "showed up and started talking about how I wasn't the same Peyton he used to know."

"He really likes to push it doesn't he?" Brooke asked with a scowl.

"And then before I knew it we were yelling and I was throwing things and then I told—"

"You threw things?" Brooke asked with a smirk. Peyton put her head down and let out a sigh before meeting Brooke's eyes.

"It was his book", she muttered, "well books", she clarified.

"Peyton, what the hell?"

"He came into the office like an hour ago – to make a long story short, we talked about the proposal and everything blew up", the brunette stared at her friend with sympathetic eyes.

"Peyton . . ."

"I know, and then he said I never cared about him and it was just craziness. Before I knew it I told him I was going to pay rent. I have no money! It's impossible for me to do that", Brooke laughed, "I don't find this humorous."

"I'll give you whatever you need", Brooke said with a wave of her hand. Peyton shook her head.

"No, as much as I hate your mother, she's right. I need to do something on my own", Brooke knew how determined Peyton was so she simply nodded.

"Well, if you need anything I'm always here."

"How about some ice cream and home movies?" Peyton said with a grin.

-x-

Lucas flew into his room and slammed the door shut behind him. He threw himself onto the bed and let out a throaty sigh.

None of that was supposed to happen. He just wanted to talk to her; try to establish a friendship. He didn't know what it was, but he always felt the need to look over her. God, the look in her eyes when she was yelling at him was something he will never forget. It broke his heart and turned him on all at the same time.

"Something wrong?" Lindsey asked from her spot in the doorway. Lucas cleared his throat and calmed his actions.

"No, it's nothing", he muttered. She nodded and slowly walked to the bed.

"On my way over here I passed TRIC", Lucas shut his eyes tightly; "wanna tell me why your car was in the lot too?"

"Linds, I just wanted to make sure she was okay . . . she's got a lot going on right now."

"Luke, I understand that, I just wish you would tell me or you would at least ask me."

"You want me to ask you if I can see her?" he asked incredulously.

"No", she said quickly. Lindsey took a breath and thought over her words. "Lucas, she doesn't like me and I don't really like her; I just wish you would understand that I feel threatened", she said softly.

Lucas furrowed his brows. It felt like he was in high school all over again; he almost wanted to call her Brooke. Then again, Brooke had every reason to be concerned; he was very much so pining away for the curly blonde. He swallowed his pride, or maybe it was guilt and spoke.

"I only went over there because she's my friend", he said rationally.

"Most guys aren't friends with their ex's", she pointed out.

"Peyton's different", he argued, "we've always been friends; that'll always be there", he told her with finality.

His girlfriend let out a noise that was a cross between a groan and a dejected sigh. "I feel like everything we do involves her in some way. I mean look at us! We never fought like this and now your ex-girlfriend comes into town and all we've done is fight."

Lucas wished he could deny what she was saying, but it was useless. Lindsey was right; everything she was saying was completely true. They weren't a couple that fought, with them it had never been about intense arguments and heated words. It was never anything like what he and Peyton had encountered just an hour ago. He cursed himself . . . there she was again. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, he was pretty sure the next sentence was going to bite him in the ass.

"Well then, we'll just have to do our best to avoid her," Lindsey sent him a confused stare and shook her head.

"Lucas, I don't want you to avoid her because of what I just said."

"Lindsey, you're my girlfriend and you're not asking me to do anything. I decided this on my own. You're right; you and Peyton don't get along and whatever else is going on is affecting our relationship and that's the last thing I want", he tucked her hair behind her ear. "From here on out it's me and you", he assured her.

The brunette grinned and pulled Lucas closer to her. "Thank you, Luke. This means a lot to me", she whispered before kissing him. She stood and headed into the bathroom to change for the night.

He laid his head on his pillow and let out a sigh. He would probably be able to avoid Peyton in person, but if he learned one thing in the past three years it was that his dreams were a different story.

-x-

He walked into the building he had seen a few times before. That was years ago though, they were still in high school the last time he was here. He was a different person now. He was a better person.

He walked past the bar and noted the large dark haired man glaring at him.

"Peyton Sawyer here?" he asked coolly. The other man raised a brow and nodded to the back room. He tipped his head in thanks and headed for the room with the soft light on. He stopped in the doorway and stared as she diligently typed away on her computer. She was still as driven as she was in high school, he couldn't deny that.

"This the home of Peyton Sawyer Records?" the deep voice asked.

Peyton kept her eyes on her work and let out a sigh. She didn't want visitors; she needed to find a way to make money and fast. Yesterday she told Lucas she would pay rent and she would be damned if she went back on that.

"Yes, and this is Peyton Sawyer, what can I help you with?"

The man smirked and walked into the space. "I was hoping you could help me make a record."

Her head snapped up and she stared in disbelief.

Light up the sky

Let me light up the sky

Alright, so this is going to be strictly season 5 and will be an LP, but there will be the usual bumps. I know I have the other story out there and I haven't forgotten about it, actually I have two chapters for that done, but I wanted to throw this out there and see how you all responded. Who do you think the mystery man is? Let me know what you think.