House Calls

[peytsawyer]

Peyton stretched out luxuriously in her bed savoring the fact that this was the first Saturday morning in over a month that Brooke hadn't called an early morning cheerleading practice. She loved her best friend, but Saturdays were not meant for practicing new cheer moves. Slipping out from between her sheets and padding across the carpet, she

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[jake__jagielski]

Jake turned on his stereo and made his way across the room and over to the kitchen. As the sounds of Guster came through the speakers, he hummed along and began to clean up after their late breakfast. With his parents spending the day with Jenny and Chris spending time in the studio, Jake finally had some time for himself... after he finished the dishes, of course. He hadn't actually thought about what he would do with his free time today.

As he began to brainstorm through thoughts of catching up with some books that he had been meaning to read and shooting some hoops down at the rivercourt, he heard a knock at the door. He walked towards the door and sighed.

"Chris, if you forgot your keys again--" Jake began to mumble as he pulled the door open, but only to reveal a familiar blonde figure.

"Peyton, um, what are you doing here?"

[peytsawyer]

Peyton had shoved her hands inside her pockets and was staring intently at a chip in the door's paint job when Jake's face appeared in the doorway. He had been mumbling something about Chris and keys at first, but trailed off when he saw her.

"Peyton, um, what are you doing here?"

"Just here for a little afternoon delight." She joked with a small grin.
She titled her head to the side as his brown eyes watched her. She removed her hand from her pocket long enough to brush a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes before she said, "We haven't really had a chance to talk since..." Since what? she asked herself. Since I was shot and told you that I loved you while thinking you were someone else? "We haven't had a chance to talk." She finally finished up with a bit more composure. "I thought maybe we should."

[jake__jagielski]

"We haven't had a chance to talk. I thought maybe we would."

Jake's forced himself to break his gaze and began to nod in agreement. He moved to one side of the doorway, allowing Peyton to come in. After closing the door, he turned around to find her standing in the middle of the room, surveying her surroudings. Running his hands through his hair, he found himself staring at her. Breaking his gaze, he pointed at the couch.

"Have a seat," he finally managed to say, smiling.

[peytsawyer]

Peyton hated herself for that moment. There was a time in her life not so long ago, when Jake Jagielski had been the only thing keeping her afloat. And now they could hardly be in the same room without large horrifying silences filling up the space between them.

Jake moved aside, and nodded for her to come inside. She obliged and took a moment to survey the apartment. A tiny smile crept back onto her face. The place looked good, and that meant that Jake and Jenny were doing good.

After smirking at a framed picture of Jenny covered in cake, Peyton turned to see Jake motion toward the couch. "Have a seat." He was smiling at her, but he still looked as if he didn't quite know what to do with himself

[jake__jagielski]

Jake followed Peyton over to the couch and sat down beside her. His eyes focused on her fidgeting as she rushed through her words, as she usually did when she felt uncomfortable.

"I know it's too late to say I'm sorry, but I am. And, I guess, I just wanted you to know."

He sucked in his breath during the last few words and looked up at her, realizing that she still had her eyes trained on her hands. He reached out and rested his hand on top of hers, forcing her to look up at him.

"Look, you really don't need to apologize to me," he began to say, not really knowing where to start. "When I left, I told you to move on... and you did. You're an amazing person, Peyton. How could I possibly think that someone else wouldn't come along? I'm the one who should be apologizing right now for making all of this -- I don't know -- complicated," he explained as he drew his hand from hers.

[peytsawyer]

Peyton fell silent for a moment, starting to realize how very fast she had spoken and wondering if Jake had been able to catch everything she said. There was a moment of silence, then Jake's hand was on top of her twisting ones. It felt warm, strong, and wonderfully reassuring. It always did. Peyton was finally able to look up. She began to smile at his words.

His hand was still resting on top of hers, and she untangled her fingers and held it in her own. "It's ok that it's complicated." She laughed softly at her own awkward words. "I mean, I don't care that it's complicated. Because I know it will get better, and there isn't anything in this world that would keep me from wanting you and Jenny in my life. You're my family."

She felt an all too familiar lump in the back of her throat, and the edges of her vision blurred ever so slightly as she furiously blinked back a few stubborn tears. Squeezing his hand tightly, she smiled at him.

[jake__jagielski]

"You're my family."

Those last few words echoed through his mind as he watched the tears begin to well up in her soft eyes. He wrapped an arm around her, bringing her closer to him as he leaned back against the couch. Jake looked down at her smiling face and wiped away a small tear drop that was beginning to trickle down her cheek. "You'll always have a place in our family," he smiled.

Jake couldn't help but think of how much he had missed holding her in her arms, taking in the sweet smell of her golden locks of hair. It was something that he would never be able to shake off, even though he had accepted the fact that her heart now belonged to another man. "You know, that Lucas is one lucky guy," he sighed as he stared up at the rotating ceiling fan above.

[peytsawyer]

Peyton rested her head against his shoulder, as he put his arm around her and leaned back against the couch. It struck her how very right it still seemed to feel, despite everything that had happened to the two of them. She wiped away her last tears and gave a tiny sigh. She guessed she would never fully be able to let go of Jake, no matter how much she was in love with Lucas. Jake had been her first real love, he had saved her.

"You know, that Lucas is one lucky guy."Peyton smiled as she thought of Lucas. Then she smiled because of Jake. He was being so good about everything. She remembered back to sophomore year, when she had taken a step back and let Brooke be with Lucas. It was the hardest thing she had ever had to do, and her heart had ached all the time. She didn't want Jake to feel that way, but she didn't know what else to do. She sat up straight, and gave Jake a wry smile. "Sorry I turned all girlie there on you." She reached over and hugged him tightly. "You're an amazing guy Jake, and I'll always love you." She stood up

[jake__jagielski]

Jake nodded and smiled as he stood up next to Peyton. It felt good to hear those words, but he just didn't know how to respond to them anymore. He was just glad that everything seemed to be mended between them now, even if the task was done with only a few words. That was something that he loved about their friendship. Once the first few words were spoken, everything else just seemed to fall into place in such a simple fashion. There wasn't any need to beat around the bush. "So," he began as he moved towards the kitchen, "do you want anything to drink? Or eat? Oh wait--"

Jake opened the freezer and peeked inside, eyeing the full pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. "I do believe we have some of the finest ice cream here..." he said, smirking, "which actually belongs to your favorite Chris Keller."

[peytsawyer]

Peyton followed behind Jake as he made his way into the kitchen. She stood leaning in the doorway as he peeked inside the freezer. While his back was turned, she let her eyes drop closed for a minute. She was unbelievably happy and wanted to savor the moment. After nearly two years of waiting she had Lucas Scott, and she had managed to save both her friendship with Brooke and Jake in the process. She couldn't have hoped for anything better.

Her eyes opened again as he mentioned ice cream. He turned, smirking at her, holding the pint of Ben and Jerry's. Grinning at him she moved out of the doorway and into the kitchen. "Getting my favorite kind of ice cream, and the chance to piss off Chris Keller? Hmm. One of life's tough decisions." She said in mock seriousness. It didn't last long though. Her grin broke through after only seconds. "I could never resist Ben or Jerry. I'm in."

[jake__jagielski]

"I could never resist Ben or Jerry. I'm in."

Jake laughed and shook his head as he pulled two bowls and spoons out of the cupboards. Once he finished scooping the softening ice cream into their bowls, he picked up the bowls and had Peyton follow him to the sliding doors opposite the living room. "This is the best part of the apartment, in my opinion, at least," Jake commented as he slid the door open for her.

The balcony faced the garden area behind the apartments, an area that Jake didn't even know existed until he came to check out the apartments in person. The area was quiet, as if the apartment building and the wooded area behind it blocked out noise from the suburban life of Tree Hill. It was a place that allowed him to just settle in silence for a while. He pulled out a wooden chair for Peyton, and then sat down on another chair opposite hers.

"So how have you been, Peyton?" He asked as he handed a bowl of ice cream to her.

[peytsawyer]

Peyton grinned at his laughter and followed him from the kitchen to the balcony. "This is the best part of the apartment, in my opinion, at least." He slid the door open for her and Peyton stepped outside.

Peyton looked out over the small garden and the secluded woods that lay behind it. Jake was right, this was the best part of the apartment. She knew without a doubt that if this is where she were living, this would be the spot that she would come to draw, or listen to her music. Peyton smiled at him as he pulled out a chair for her. Chivilary wasn't dead after all. Even if they were just friends now. She sat down and took the offered bowl of ice cream from him. Spooning a bite into her mouth she said, "I've been alright..."

She looked out over the garden. That wasn't exactly true was it? "Actually, this year has been kind of rough. But.." she let out a soft laugh, "all my years seem to be that way lately. I...I found out I'm adopted."

[jake__jagielski]

Jake began to choke slightly on the ice cream he had begun to swallow as Peyton's last words came out. "What?" was all he managed to get out as he gained his composure. Adopted? Jake thought. But what about her dad? And her mom... who meant so much to Peyton?

[peytsawyer]

Peyton gave him a small smile as she swirled her ice cream around in the bowl. Yeah, at the end of last summer...right after you left, this woman, Ellie, showed up at my door and told me she was my mother. Pretty effed up, right?"

"I didn't believe her at first, but it's true. My mom and dad adopted me right after I was born. Ellie and I had a really great time together...we even put out a c.d., but" Peyton cleared her throat again. The last thing she needed to do was start crying again. "She had breast cancer, she passed away a few months ago." Peyton cast her eyes to the floor, while she tried not to get too emotional again.

[jake__jagielski]

"Peyton," he began, hoping that she would look up from the floor. When she didn't, he sighed and continued, "I am so sorry."

Jake paused and then looked down, trying to find the right words. "You amaze me, you know that, right?" He looked up to find that Peyton had finally removed her teary-eyed gaze from the floor. "I mean -- you're one of the strongest people I know, Peyton. I'm not even sure how I would be right now if I had to face all of the things you've dealt with in the last few years. There's no doubt that both of your moms are proud of you right now."

Jake reached across the table and held onto her hand. "And don't be afraid to cry. It's just me here. I promise that I won't call you 'girly'."

[peytsawyer]

Peyton smiled at him again, squeezing his hand and feeling the lump in her throat start to go away.
"No, it's ok. I'm done crying about it. Ellie was amazing, and I'm just glad that I got to spend the time with her that I did." She nodded her head slightly.

She took her hand back and took another bite of ice cream. "I feel like we've been talking about me since the second I stepped in the door. I'm not that egomaniacal, I swear. How've you been Jake? How are things going for you now that you're back?"