CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
when i'm gone

IT'S BEEN A FULL WEEK SINCE THE EVENTS OF THE SHOOTING AND LOLA STILL ISN'T TALKING TO LUCAS. He surprisingly hasn't taken time out of his day to apologize, like she originally thought, which meant their friendship is still over. She timed whenever he took off for school in the mornings and once the boy left, she'd be not too far, not wanting to risk a run-in. Nathan thought it was completely insane how stubborn the two were, but he'd always be on his girlfriend's side. After all, she's in the right.

Brooke had the same thoughts on the matter. At first, she understood Lola wanting to not be around Lucas, but now it's taking a toll on their friend group. And usually when that happens, the school president likes to take things into her own hands, so she makes a plan. Force them into a room together, thus making them forgive one another. It's that easy. Or, so she thought.

The brunette stared at her friend and boyfriend, nerves bubbling into the pit of her stomach as she noticed their facial expressions. "Guys, c'mon. You can't keep giving each other the silent treatment, it's weighing your friends down. You're the parents and we're the children, stuck in the middle. It's exhausting."

Brooke had planned a trip to some random cabin with their friends, along with Andre, so they could have some fun together. Once Lola and Lucas saw one another, they immediately both put their guards up and made sure to always be in separate rooms. And Brooke finally got tired of it and shoved the two into a bedroom, where the three currently stood.

"You already know where I stand on this, B. He needs to apologize first." Lola stated, not looking away from the blonde boy's eyes that sat across from her.

"And you know where I stand, too. I'm not going to apologize until she breaks up with my brother, so he can be with Haley again. His wife."

Lola blinked, "What? Are you fucking stupid, Luke? I'm not going to break up with Nathan just because you're upset over him and his ex. They're divorced, it's over. Period."

Lucas stood up from the bed in a fast motion, "I'm stupid? You are! If you never would've come to this town, Haley and Nathan would be back together by now. We all know it's true."

At his words, the room turned silent. Brooke watched, slightly having a feeling about what the girl was going to do next. She braced herself as everything seemed to go in slow motion, a loud crack suddenly filling the air.

The blonde boy fell upon the bed behind him, Lola hissing in pain and clutching her knuckles. "Shit." She mumbled. "I'm sorry, but you deserved that, Luke."

He moved his jaw, eyes squeezing shut at the pain. "You're right." He whispered, Lola barely hearing him. "I was wrong. About everything."

Lola took a seat just as he finally raised into a sitting position, hand on his cheek. She just listened as he spoke his next words, the two not even realizing Brooke had slipped away. "I just couldn't believe it, you know. Haley's my best friend and seeing her hurt and not having the chance to try with Nathan again was hard, but I forgot you're my best friend, too."

"I'm so sorry, Lols." His head rested against her's, eyes starting to water as he suddenly realized just how big of a dick he'd been towards the black haired girl.

They cherished the love floating in the air, hearts blooming. After a good few minutes, Lola decided to speak up, "Well, I'm not. Like I said, you deserved it." She laughed, Lucas following afterwards.

"You're not wrong," The boy pulled away. "I'm secretly glad Brooke pulled this trip together, I really missed you."

"Me too." Lola got up, offering her hand him. "Let's go see what everyone's up to."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.

Lola woke up the next morning with a smile on her face, glad to have come on this trip. After the talk went well last night, she and her friends had stayed up late to play board games, sharing laughter and stories. It still felt odd being around Haley, but they just ignored each other, deciding they could become friends on their own terms.

Andre apparently had a blast as well, falling asleep drunk before the others, getting a mustache drawn upon his face. It really was refreshing to have everyone in good spirits after the events of last week. She hoped it'd stay like this forever.

Lola and Nathan had been the last ones up and when they entered the kitchen, their friends immediately started shoving plates into their hands filled with delicious breakfast. She wondered who had cooked it, not thinking anyone could. But as her eyes glanced around, she realized it'd been Lucas.

"You didn't poison this, did you?"

"Ha, ha, very funny. Why don't you eat it and find out?" Lucas' eyes narrowed, playing along.

Nathan laughed as he took a seat at the large table, everyone following suit. "It's good the two of you made up, I was tired of going back and forth like a child."

"That's what I said!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I agree with Nathan! It was annoying." Peyton chimed in, taking a bite of her mini sausage.

Skills talked with his mouth full, "Wack, dog."

Mouth snorted, "Yep."

Andre sipped his orange juice before putting his two cents in, "You didn't have it as bad as me. I had to watch her wait ten minutes after he left for school before she did. She looked ridiculous."

"Alright, guys. We get it, we acted like fools instead of talking it out like grown ups." Lola rolled her eyes.

Nathan smiled softly, hand going to grab her's underneath the table. "Just don't do it again or I'll put you both in time out." At the sudden snickers filling the room, he glanced at everyone, wondering why they laughed. "What?"

They didn't answer him, the table filling with laughter, even Haley cracked a smile as they finished their meals together. As a small dysfunctional family.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.

Nathan and Lola currently travelled down the long road together, singing their hearts out to the black haired girl's mixtape. When I'm Gone by Eminem suddenly came on and their moods dropped, the lyrics sinking into their brains as they lightly sang.

"What do you wanna do when we get back? We still have a day before school's back." Lola asked, arm wrapped around his waist, head laying against his side.

He shrugged, "Not sure." He took a moment to think, biting down on his lip. "We could go to the beach or swim at Mom's house, she wouldn't mind."

Lola hummed, "That's actually not a bad idea. I have a new swimsuit I think you'd like anyways."

"Oh?" He smirked, looking down at her with longing.

They still haven't done anything with other besides making out, but he could wait. He'd wait forever if he had to.

"Yeah I—" Before she could finish, a honk interrupted their gaze, Nathan quickly looking up and just in time to doge the car heading straight for them.

The car started spinning out of control due to the jerk from the wheel. Lola saw her life flash before her eyes, slow motion becoming a main factor again as the car hit a bridge, plummeting straight into cold water.

And once it hit the surface, Lola's head smacked against something hard, eyes falling shut with Eminem's lyrics echoing in the back.

And I didn't feel a thing so baby, don't feel no pain, just smile back.

THE END.

just kidding.... or am i?

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nathan and lola can never be happy! i feel bad for them :( also, i skipped like four episodes bc i'm ready for season four! i hope you enjoyed this chapter! it was fun to make especially since lola literally knocked some sense into lucas' dumbass self lmao.