3rd Floor Common Room: Sunday Night [11-2-08]

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

Peyton was sitting on the floor in front of one of the couches, her art supplies and paper spread out all over the table as she sketched away. She thought she'd probably had a lucky escape last night. Something told her she wouldn't have been really happy with herself if she'd ended up sleeping with Chuck Bass last night. She guessed she owed a lot to Angela modded by permission for coaxing her home from the bar earlier than she'd planned.


[ooc: Open as common rooms are.]

Comments

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Feeling a little peckish despite the late hour, Chad went over to the common room to see what there was to eat.

"Hey, Peyton," he said, glad to see someone else out and about. "Working on something?"

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"Just sketching," she said with a smile. "Nothing special. How are you doing, Chad?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"Pretty good," Chad said. "A little hungry," he added, patting his stomach. "How 'bout you?"

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"Not so much with the hungry," she teased. "But I'm.. okay."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Almost as if in response to the little teasing, Chad's stomach made a little noise and, goaded, Chad continued the trek to the fridge. "Okay's at least better than bad?" he guessed, opening the door to take a look inside.

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"Definitely better than bad," she agreed.

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"Then that's good," Chad said, reaching in and pulling out some left over Chinese. A quick check revealed that it was, in fact, his from earlier last week, but he figured it was still good. "Anything interesting going on?"

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

She shook her head. "Just trying to make it through, you know? Not the best time of year."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"It's not?" Chad asked, looking genuinely confused as he tried to think of what might be such a harbinger of bad things in November.

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"For me, I mean," she added quickly.

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"Oh." Chad blinked. "Why? Or is that...you know..." He gestured with a hand slightly; the intended purpose of it was to suggest topics that weren't so easily discussed with managers and fellow cheerleaders.

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"No, it's okay," she said. "It's... my mom died. When I as little. And the anniversaries... well, I don't handle them so well. Which is stupid after all this time, but... well, there it is."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Chad said, "my parents are dead, too. In fact, today albeit handwavily I spent some time making a shrine to remember them and my grandfather for Dia De Los Muertos."

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"A shrine?" Peyton said curiously. "For... does that mean the day of the dead?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad nodded. "Yup. It's a Mexican holiday. I've always kind of liked it, because it's really easy to work Dad's Shinto beliefs into it, too."

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

Peyton thought about that. "I usually just go sit by her grave. Or, well, end up doing stupid things."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"Stupid thi--?"

"Oh." Chad nodded. "You mean like going out and getting drunk or picking fights or jumping the border?"

Yeah. He totally went through that phase.

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

She blushed. "Or running all the red lights in town and considering one night stands? Yeah."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad nodded. "Visiting the grave's a much, much healthier choice, I think."

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"Probably." She looked down at her drawings for a while. "I don't know if I'm ready to go back to Tree Hill just yet though."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

Chad moved over to the couch, having a seat with his leftover Chinese. "Take it that's where you're from?"

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

She nodded. "Yeah. It's a good place, but I just... had to get away for a while."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"It was like that for me in Mexico when my abuello died," Chad said with another understanding nod and a bit of lo mein. "I like going back now, though. To visit. To pay respects. But it was a while ago for me. Has it been long since your mother passed away?"

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"I was eight," Peyton said making a face. "But I just found out this summer that I was adopted. That she wasn't my real mom. It's like losing her all over again."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

There was a long, thoughtful pause at that.

"But family," he said, "isn't always about biology. What should it matter if you were adopted or not?"

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"It's just... all the things they said I got from my mom. It wasn't my real mom. It was my bio mom and... I don't know who that makes me any more," she said quietly. "I mean, she gave me up because she wanted drugs more than she wanted me, is that how I'm going to be?"

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"...Only if that's what you let yourself become, Peyton," Chad said, his voice a quiet, considerate rumble. "We have an incredible power to shape our own destinies."

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"I tried cocaine. And... I wanted to try it again, but I didn't," she admitted. "I just don't want to be like her at all, but everything I learn about her - my love for music, my drawing... everything that makes me most me... it's just like her."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"But you're not her; you're Peyton. Different person, different path, different stories. Take the good, leave the bad..."

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"I'm trying. I really am. It just.. right now it all seems too much." She sighed and put down her pencil. "I'm trying to find myself in this whole mess."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"Just...make sure you take a deep breath every once in a while," Chad advised. "Think about it. And, if you need to talk, I don't mind..."

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"Thanks," she said gratefully. "I might just take you up on it. And breathing, yeah, definitely doing that."

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

"Breathing's good," Chad said, with an approving little thumbs up. "Helps with that whole living thing."

[darkangelsawyer.livejournal.com]

"And not so bad for helping to calm down," she agreed.