Prologue

I was walking on the beach alone while thinking about what had happened earlier today. How could I have done something as stupid as this? How could I have told Brooke that I loved her like that as she was leaving? That was one of your stupidest moves ever, Lucas Scott. Even worse, after that you go saving Dan from this fire. That's not your brightest day, Luke.

Suddenly, while walking I saw a face that I would have recognized between thousands, Peyton Sawyer. She was sitting there alone, as always, on the sand just a few yards away from the water. She seemed sad and distressed. I couldn't stop myself; I had to go see her. I just approached her and sat right there beside her arms and said: "It looks like it's just you and me this summer."

Then, she hugged me and I felt like she needed saving, somebody has to do it, and I knew that I would be that person. She seemed so sad so I had to ask her what was going on. "Peyton, what's wrong?" I asked feeling a little troubled to see her like this. She frowned. So I added "Come on, let's get you home." She nodded no. "I can't be there alone", she said. I was really worried now. "Will you stay with me?" she then asked.

We then went to her house in complete silence. She wouldn't say anything for the moment. It really worried me. When we arrived there, we went to her room and said "Peyton, you gotta talk to me. What's going on with you?" I couldn't keep the anxiousness away from my voice now.

She answered slowly. "I've been getting these creepy e-mails lately. And then, tonight, this woman shows up. And she knew things about me…" Okay, that was weird. "What kind of things?" I asked her. "She said she's my mother. My mom's dead Luke. I was there in the hospital… I watched her die." Okay, that was even worse than what I thought. Suddenly, I heard a siren in the street. That was the firemen going to the dealership where Dan was. I frowned and Peyton saw that. "What?" she asked, seeing me being afraid this time. "I did something tonight, Peyton." I answered that without looking at her. I was still in shock. "And I can't take it back". I then looked at her and she looked as confused as I did a few moments before.

I couldn't keep it to myself. That story was too much to keep for one person and if there was someone who I could trust with it, it was Peyton. So, I told her everything. I told her that I saw the building on fire, that I went inside and I saw Dan there, in fire himself and that I stopped the fire on him and brought him outside to safety.

She told me that it was a stupid move but that she understood why I had done it…even though I wasn't even sure myself.

And we just stayed there without talking because it was always that way between us. We didn't need to talk to understand each other. We just had to be together. So we stayed there, just hanging out in her room with Peyton's music in the background.