One Tree Hill 1. Chapter 1

Lucas slams the trunk of his mom's old red Toyota Corolla shut, rubbing his palms along the top of his faded blue jeans. He takes a deep breath while taking one last look at his surroundings. Leaning against the trunk, he turns to face his house causing memories of his childhood to flood his mind. He is quickly shaken from these thoughts when he hears his mom yell, "Come on Lucas, we better get going if we want to beat the traffic." Lucas slowly walks to the front of Karen's car, opening the door and plopping himself into the seat.

Karen looks over at him and frowns inwardly at the expression on her son's face, an expression that has troubled his face every day for the past 3 months. It was an expression of grief, helplessness, and she swore she even saw a hint of guilt line his features. She wanted so badly to talk to him, to make him feel like everything was going to be alright. She knew better though. Whenever she attempted to talk to Lucas about his feelings it always ended in a fight.

Karen started her car and pulled out of the driveway of the small yellow house that has grown to mean so much to her. It was the house that she raised Lucas in, and although they were some of the hardest years of her life, it was completely worth it. Karen loved Lucas more than anything in the entire world. She knew that moving was the right choice for her son. What Karen wanted most right now was for the old Lucas she knew and loved to come back to her, and maybe getting out of Sun Valley was exactly what he needed. She wanted his sky blue eyes to once again display the hope and happiness they once obtained.

She began to focus on the road as she and Lucas reached the highway, the scenery now passing by at a faster pace. Lucas sighed before turning to look at his mom noticing her seemingly deep in thought. He could tell by the way her brow always furrowed. "I'm sorry Mom," he said softly as her face turned towards him with her always warm smile. "You have nothing to be sorry for Lucas. Sun Valley just wasn't the place for us anymore honey. I think you will like Tree Hill, and it's really great that you have so many people that care about you and want to be wherever you are. Nathan is a good friend," Karen says before reaching over and patting Lucas's knee lightly.

Lucas nods his head, knowing his mom is right. But he still can't help but feel guilty; guilty for being such a problem. If it wasn't for him his mom wouldn't feel the need to put her life on hold so he would have a chance at being happy again. God, and it wasn't only his mom, but his half-brother Nathan too. As soon as Lucas gave him the news that he was leaving town, Nathan told Lucas he was coming with. Hell, no one, not even Nathan, wanted to be stuck with Dan and Deb and they were his own parents. Ever since high school Lucas and Nathan had each other's backs and Nathan told him that wasn't going to change now.

Lucas ran his hand through his shaggy, sandy blond hair as he felt his eyes begin to close. He hoped he would be able to get some sleep although lately sleeping wasn't the easiest task for him. All Lucas wanted was to be happy again, and he desired with all his heart that Tree Hill might be the town to make that happen. Tired of thinking he let his mind slowly drift off.

* * *

Nathan rolled his eyes as he carried the last of his boxes to the moving truck. He had pretty much packed up the whole house by himself. Deb was already wasted and it was only noon, big surprise. Dan on the other hand refused to help completely, saying that since Nathan was the only one that wanted to move he could pack the house up himself, which is exactly what he did. He walked into the house and yelled to his parents, "Come on you guys I'm not trying to be on the road all damn day!"

Dan smirked as he walked into the room. "Why don't you cut the attitude, son. You're lucky your mom and I care enough about you to move 3 hours away to some hick town, just because your screwed up brother can't handle himself. Life is tough and maybe one day he will realize that," he said spitefully. Nathan chuckled and said, "Nobody invited you and alchy to come along for the ride. I said I was moving. Karen and Keith were more than ready to let me live with them."

"Yeah, just what you need. Living in a house with Keith the ultimate boozer, Karen the woman I abandoned, and my depressed son. I don't need you getting distracted from basketball Nathan. You're going to be a senior and this is your last chance to impress the scouts. Hopefully my other son won't ruin the Scott name," Dan spits out in his usual shameless way. Nathan balls his fist trying his best not to lose his famous Scott temper.

"Dad, just shut up already. You and I both know that Lucas is an amazing basketball player. Maybe you're just pissed that both your sons are going to be more successful than you ever were," Nathan states while glaring at his father. Dan chuckles sarcastically before saying, "Think whatever you want Nathan. You're just lucky Tree Hill plays some good teams this year. Let's get going, you need to hit the gym tonight before your first day of tryouts tomorrow. We can't have any of those Tree Hill boys showing you up." Nathan rolls his eyes, slowly saying "Yeah, whatever."

* * *

Lucas woke up the next morning to the sound of his annoying alarm buzzing in his ear. He turned to his clock with his eyes barely open to see that it read 7am. "Ugh…" Lucas groaned into his pillow, not excited for his first day at a new school. Hitting the snooze button he pulls the covers up over his head hoping his mom will forget about him, but no such luck. "Lucas Eugene Scott, you are not missing your first day of your senior year. Get your butt out of bed. The next time I have to come in here I'm pulling covers."

Lucas moves his head towards his mom and says, "I'm up, I surrender. Don't do anything drastic," with a small smile lighting his features. However, as soon as the smile is there it's gone, almost as if it didn't happen at all. "Good, now get in the shower and I'm going to get some breakfast going. You'll need a lot of energy if you and Nathan are going to go show these Tree Hill boys how to play basketball." Karen walks out and starts on breakfast as Lucas slowly hops into the shower. "This is going to be a long day," Lucas thinks to himself before letting the hot water hit his tanned skin.

* * *

As soon as Nathan steps out of the shower that morning, he gets dressed in a pair of Nike basketball shorts and puts on one of his many basketball t-shirts before jogging downstairs. He looks at his phone and notices that it reads 7:30am. "Shit," he curses, fixing himself a quick bagel not wanting to be late for school, considering he still needed to pick up Lucas. Nathan had offered to give him a ride to school since he was on the way and they hadn't seen each other for a couple days.

Nathan gets his basketball stuff together and shoves it into a duffle bag that reads "Scott: 23" across the side in green lettering, the color representing his old school. "Dad I'm leaving!" he yells up the stairs hoping to dodge a morning encounter with Dan. However, just like Lucas, Nathan had no such luck. "Hold up, son," Dan told Nathan before walking down the stairs to talk to him. "How far did you run this morning?" Dan asked with a stern look on his face.

"I ran 3 miles Dad, I woke up late," Nathan told him. Dan shook his head and said, "3 miles won't get you a state championship, son. Hell, it won't even get you to the playoffs. Tomorrow morning I want no less than 6 miles. I'll run with you to make sure you're not slacking off. We will see if you can still keep up with your old man." "Yeah, okay Dad. I'll be home after tryouts, and DO NOT show up. I'll do just fine without you there breathing down my neck," Nathan says before walking out the front door with a slam, not wanting to have to deal with Dan's shit that early in the morning. Nathan steps into his black convertible, courtesy of Dan Scott motors, and drives off towards Lucas's house.

* * *

Luke and Nathan pull into Tree Hill High School's parking lot minutes before class is supposed to start. As they are walking towards the school Lucas turns to Nathan and says, "Thanks man, for having my back." Nathan simply nods his head and tells Lucas, "It's cool. I couldn't let you get away from Dan that easily," laughing as he hits him in the arm. Lucas lets a smile grace his face before walking in the front doors of the school. "This is so weird," Lucas says looking around at his new surroundings.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Nathan says completely agreeing with Lucas. The last high school he and Lucas attended was huge, and Tree Hill definitely was not. "What class you got first man?" Nathan asks as he pulls out his schedule, Lucas doing the same. "Um, I have English. What about you?" Lucas questions as he looks around the empty hallway for his classroom, obviously being late for class already. "Calculus, great just what I need for my first class of the day," Nathan says sarcastically.

Lucas smiles. "I'm happy I have English first, maybe it will keep my mind off everything for once," he confesses. Nathan nods his head and says, "Yeah, you better keep that small brain focused today if we're going to prove to these Tree Hill kids that basketball shouldn't have to be painful to watch. I'll see you later man." Nathan and Luke bump fists before heading their separate ways.

Luke finds his classroom and takes a deep breath before reaching for the door knob and slowly opening up the door. He notices immediately that everybody's head quickly turns towards him and he thinks to himself jokingly, "Wow this isn't uncomfortable." The teacher gives Luke a quick nod and says, "Ah, Lucas Scott I presume?" Lucas simply says, "Yeah, sorry I'm late," before finding a spot empty in the middle of the room.

Luke notices that his teacher is talking about the one of the books the class was apparently supposed to read over the summer, and lucky for him it was one of his favorite books, The Great Gatsby. He looks around at everybody spacing out as usual in an AP English class. However, not Lucas. He loves English. There is something so soothing and calming about being able to read a book and feel as though you are in a completely different place for awhile. Novels allow you to escape your own reality for a little while, and this is an aspect that Luke has greatly appreciated over the past 3 months.

Being caught up in his own thoughts, Lucas doesn't notice that the bell has rung and that students all around him are filing out of the classroom. He is broken from his trance when he feels a gentle hand tapping his shoulder. He looks up and sees a cute girl with honey brown hair and brown eyes looking down at him with a small smile on her face. "I've never seen anyone want to stay in English longer than needed," she tells him. Lucas smiles and immediately notices how caring her tone of voice is.

"Oh, yeah sorry. I guess I was in another world," Luke says smiling up at her. He grabs his books and tosses them into his bookbag, standing up and slinging it over his shoulder. She sends him another one of those heart-warming smiles and says, "I was just in that world a couple minutes ago. I may be a tutor but that doesn't mean I enjoy an hour lecture on the symbolism in The Great Gatsby. I'm Haley, by the way," the small girl says as she extends her hand towards Lucas.

He smiles when she says she doesn't enjoy their English class lectures because that is exactly what Luke would consider fun. He decides to keep that information to himself before taking her small hand in his saying, "I'm Lucas, but you can call me Luke." She laughs and says, "I'm so honored," before walking out of the class at Lucas's side.

* * *

Lucas had a couple more classes with Haley that morning and he was starting to think that they could become pretty good friends. She seemed really sweet and was really funny too. She had managed to make him laugh more than a couple times which had been a hard feat for most the past months. However, no matter how much he laughed, he couldn't get his mind off of a certain thing, a thing that seemed to have a permanent place in his head. Not wanting to get upset he shook these thoughts.

He sat down at an empty lunch table and took out his brown paper bag. He pulled out a sandwich and began to eat, only to look up when he heard an unfamiliar voice speaking. "And I thought I was the only loner at this school," she said in a confident tone. The voice belonged to a girl with curly blond hair that fell right past her shoulders. She was very tall for a girl, and pretty skinny too, but not in a bad way. Anybody could tell that the girl standing in front of him had broken a couple hearts in her day.

"What, cat got your tongue?" she asked staring into his blue eyes. Lucas realized how stupid he probably looked just staring at this girl and he finally managed to get his voice to work. "Oh, no sorry," he said shortly. The girl rolled her eyes and sat down across from him at the metal lunch table. "Is that really all you're going to say? You're more of a loner than I thought. I'm Peyton," she told him with a smile on her face. For some reason he had a feeling that this girl wasn't as confident as she made herself seem, but he wasn't about to say that to her.

"I'm Lucas Scott," he said giving her a small smile. She chuckled lightly when he told her this and said, "Ah, I'm assuming you're Nathan's brother?" Lucas looked at her questioningly, not knowing how his brother could have already made a name around this school and it wasn't even noon yet. Noticing his confused look, Peyton added "He was in a couple of my classes this morning. He was… interesting." Luke couldn't help but laugh at the description Peyton offered about his brother.

"I guess you could say that," Lucas said giving her a small smile before returning to his sandwich. He could tell Peyton was about to say something but before she could, he heard a familiar voice say, "Peyton, get away from my new best friend. You're being traded in." He smiled when he saw Haley walk up to the table and sit next to Peyton, Peyton's reply being, "Yeah right, you could never replace me and you know it." Haley simply shrugged and looked to Lucas and with a wink said, "That's what she thinks."

Luke looked at Haley and then to Peyton, not seeing how these two could be such good friends considering they seemed so different. Then again, he and Nate were as different as night and day but they were best friends. Lucas looked up in time to see Nathan walking over to the table with a stupid grin on his face.

"What are you smiling about?" Lucas asks him, and Nathan says, "Dude, I just met the hottest girl. Her name is Theresa, and she is fine." Luke rolls his eyes but can't help but smile. He knew Nathan found a new girl every day, but he decided to go along with him and say, "Whatever you say Nate." He sat down next to Luke and looked across the table to see Peyton there, whom he already had a couple classes with, and a cute girl he hadn't seen yet.

Nathan reaches his hand out to the girl he hadn't met yet and says, "Sorry Luke is so rude, I'm Nathan." Haley just rolls her eyes, already taking a liking to Luke way more than his brother. He seemed the same as the rest of the guys at Tree Hill. However, Haley didn't want to seem rude, so she extended her hand to him as well, taking his in hers and simply saying, "Haley," before returning to her food. Nathan turns his head to Peyton and goes, "You couldn't keep away from me, huh?" as he moves his eyebrows up and down in his cocky manner.

Peyton gives him a "Ha!" before returning to her food, rolling her eyes as well at the dark-haired Scott brother. She turns to look at the blond Scott as he quietly eats his sandwich, seemingly lost in his own world. She has a feeling that there is more to this boy than meets the eye, and she kind of wants to figure out more. Peyton notices him not paying attention and take it as an opportunity to get a better look at him. He was wearing a light blue t-shirt that brought out his eyes and a pair of dark blue jeans. She'd be lying if she said he wasn't hot.

Haley nudges Peyton with her arm saying, "Earth to Peyton," causing her to pull her eyes away from Lucas, looking down embarrassed and hoping he didn't catch her staring at him. "For the third time, do you know where Brooke is?" Haley asked laughing. Peyton looks around and says, "No idea, I know she's here she was in my Calc class earlier." Hearing this, Nathan looks to Peyton and says "Is that the hot brown-haired girl you were sitting next to in Calc? I think she was even hotter than Theresa," Nate says excitedly.

Peyton shakes her head and says, "Yeah that's her. Try to keep it in your pants cocky." Lucas smiles when Peyton says that and Haley simply ignores him, not wanting to listen to his stupid immature comments. "I think we should introduce him to Tim," Haley mumbles under her breath to Peyton, to which she retorts, "They'd be the perfect bromance." The foursome continues to talk until the bell rings signaling the end of lunch. Nate and Luke stand up and start walking towards the school with the girls. "Alright man, I'll see you at tryouts," Nathan says to Luke before pounding fists with him and walking off towards the school.

Haley and Peyton give each other a look before looking to Lucas. "By tryouts, you wouldn't mean basketball tryouts would you?" Peyton asks Luke. Luke nods his head and says, "Yeah, why?" Peyton smiles and says, "Oh, no reason," conveniently leaving out the fact that she is a cheerleader. "Haley, look what time it is, we better get going. See you later Lucas!" Peyton says quickly before walking away, pulling Haley with her. Lucas shakes his head and smiles, not knowing what is with these Tree Hill girls. He heads towards his next class, wanting the school day to be over so he can play basketball and get his mind off things.

* * *

The rest of the day went by pretty fast, and now it was time for basketball tryouts. While Lucas and Nathan were in the locker room getting ready, the cheerleaders were busy in the gym stretching for cheer tryouts. "P. Sawyer who knew you were so bendy!" Peyton hears the voice of her best friend yell. She rolls her eyes and says, "Whatever B. Davis, don't act like you're not jealous." Brooke then turns her head to Haley and says, "Hey tutor girl, glad to see you came to cheer us cheerleaders on. One of these days I'm going to get you on my squad."

"Yeah yeah," she says, knowing Brooke has been trying to get her to cheerlead for the past two years. "Where were you at lunch today Tigger?" Haley asks watching as Brooke begins to stretch as well. She rolls her eyes and says, "I got in trouble in English today. Stupid teacher made me stay after and do an assignment on The Great Gatsby, which I didn't read. Now I have to turn in the stupid assignment by the end of the week. Why is the world out to get me Haley?" Brooke asks as she pouts, being completely over-dramatic.

Haley steps off the bleachers and walks over to Brooke. She takes Brooke's face in her hands and says, "Brooke, nobody is out to get you, I promise." Brooke continues to pout and says, "What do you know?" Looking over Brooke's shoulder Haley sees the basketball boys start to walk out of the locker room and she smiles when she sees Lucas. "Oh look, there's my new best friend," Haley says smiling, causing Brooke to turn around. Brooke sees Nathan and says, "Tutor girl, I know you can't be talking about that cocky boy," as she notices the smirk that is constantly plastered on his face.

Smiling, Haley says "Please Brooke, like I would associate with THAT Scott. I'm pretty certain he's from hell, never mind that, he's actually Satan himself." Brooke laughs and says, "Then who are you talking about?" but before she gets an answer, Haley has already walked off towards Nathan. Nathan smiles and says, "Haley, I didn't know you cared that much about me already, give me a hug!" as he reaches his arms out towards her.

"Ew, gross! I was actually coming to say hi to your better half, thank you very much," she exclaims before pushing past Nathan to see Luke. "Haley, I'm hurt," he says smiling before spotting Theresa across the gym, quickly walking off to talk to her. Haley walks up to Lucas and says, "Hey buddy, how are you doing? Are you nervous?" Luke shakes his head and says, "Nah, not really. Basketball has always kind of calmed me down. Are you really a cheerleader?" he asks completely shocked. Haley smiles and responds with a "Yeah, right. That's not really my kind of thing. Peyton is though," she adds on. Lucas thinks for a second and says with a shrug, "I don't see it," before Haley agrees.

Across the gym Brooke watches as Haley walks up to a tall, blond-haired boy, with what she can already tell are amazing blue eyes. She grabs Peyton's arm and says, "Peyton, who the heck is that fine boy our Haley is talking to?" not being able to keep her eyes off him. Peyton smiles, staring at the cute boy herself. "That would be Lucas, Nathan's brother," she informs Brooke. Brooke kinks her eyebrow and says, "Well I think it's time that Lucas is introduced to me," before walking across the gym towards Haley, Peyton walking closely behind her.

Walking up next to Haley, Brooke nudges her shoulder and says, "Haley, introduce me to your new friend." She watches as he turns his head to her, giving her a small smile that immediately makes her melt. She looks into his blue eyes and for some reason feels her heart speed up. She hears Haley laugh and say, "Oh, of course. Brooke, this is Lucas, Lucas, this is Brooke." Brooke reaches out her hand to Lucas, to which he quickly places it in his own giving it a small shake.

Lucas smiles at the brown-haired girl in front of him, taking her small soft hand in his bigger hand. He can't help but notice the small spark that runs through his body when he does this, but he quickly pulls his hand away, pretending it didn't happen. "Nice to meet you, Brooke. You can call me Luke, by the way," he tells her smiling, not wanting to look away. "Luke it is," she replies in her soft raspy voice. Haley notices this exchange between the two but decides not to say anything to Brooke about it, for now.

"Anyways!" Haley says in a loud tone, trying to break the two out of their little trance. Both Luke and Brooke turn to her with a questioning look and she says, "Luke you better go warm up or something. I don't want you to suck," she says bluntly which causes Luke to chuckle in return. "Alright, thanks Haley," he says to her. "Bye guys," he says looking from Haley, to Peyton, and lastly to Brooke, before picking up a basketball and dribbling onto the court. The girls watch as he dribbles towards the three-point arc and effortlessly sinks a three pointer.

Haley turns to Brooke with a smirk on her face, arms folded across her chest. "What!" she exclaims with a huge smile on her face. "You know what, Tigger. I've seen that look on your face before, the look you get when you've just seen your next victim." Brooke pretends to act surprised and says, "Haley, I'm shocked you would say something like that about me, your best friend!" Peyton just rolls her eyes and says, "Brooke, I have a feeling Lucas isn't that type of guy. I wouldn't try if I was you," she warns Brooke.

"Listen P. Sawyer, I am not trying anything. I haven't said two words to him!" Brooke says trying to defend herself. "Whatever you say," Peyton mumbles under her breath, to which Haley laughs. "Time to go sit through a painful cheer tryout," Peyton says sarcastically before grabbing Brooke's arm and dragging her over to the other side of the gym. "Just what I need, kill me now tutor girl," Brooke pouts as she tries to prepare herself for another first day of cheerleading. "There's no way I'm missing this, why do you think I'm here?" she says smiling before sitting herself down on the bleachers.

* * *

Two hours later, Lucas and Nathan were done with their first tryout and they played really well, as usual. Coach Durham had put them on the same team during the scrimmage, causing their team to kill the other by more than 20 points. "Nice shooting today Nate," Luke said as practice ended, walking up next to him and pounding fists. "You too, man. I told you we'd be running this team in no time," Nathan said confidently, Lucas's response being to simply roll his eyes and smile.

"So, I saw you talking to three hot girls earlier, what was that about?" he asked, knowing girls were a sore subject for him over the past couple months. Luke sighs and says, "They are just friends Nate, you know it's not like that," wanting to leave it at that. Nathan nods his head knowing not to push it any farther. "Speak of the devils," he says as he spots the three girls talking outside of the gym. Lucas and Nathan walk outside and up to the girls. "How was practice?" Luke asks as he looks at Peyton then to Brooke with a sweet and genuine look on his face, opposite of the one his brother is wearing before he says, "See ya, guys!" running across the sidewalk to talk to Theresa who was calling him over. Luke just smiles not surprised at all by his actions, after all it was Nathan.

"Ugh, do not get me started on how uncoordinated all of the freshmen were. I didn't think it was physically possible to be so bad at cheerleading, but once again I was proved wrong," Brooke rambles on with a frustrated look on her face, accompanied with arm movements that Luke thought were almost unnatural. Peyton laughs at Brooke, knowing how dramatic she is. Brooke returns her a glare saying, "Thanks for finding my suffering so humorous, skank."

"Retract the claws Brooke, I don't want that to be the reason I call you Tigger," Haley adds on smiling at the two. "And to top it all off, I have to do some stupid assignment on The Great Gatsby, a book I never read! Please told me you read it, tutor girl," Brooke pleads with her best friend. Haley smiles to herself and lies to Brooke saying, "Actually, I didn't, surprising I know. But you know, I think Luke has read it before haven't you?" she asks looking towards him.

Luke laughs and says, "I might have read it once or twice," watching as a huge smile graces Brooke's face. "Oh my gosh Luke, please help me with me with it! I'll do anything you want," she says smiling at him, making Luke stuff his hands in his pockets, a nervous habit of his. "Um, yeah I will help you. Maybe during lunch tomorrow or something?" he asks her curiously. She nods her head quickly and says, "Ah perfect! Thanks Lucas you're a life saver," she says to him, her hazel eyes meeting his baby blues once more.

"Yeah, no problem," he says smiling at her before looking down at his phone. He notices the time and says, "I better get going, I don't want my mom to get worried or anything. I'll see you guys tomorrow," he says giving them all a smile before walking off towards Nathan's car, dragging him away from Theresa on the way. Meanwhile, all three girls turn to watch the two brothers going towards their car. "Did you hear that? He has a parent that worries about him! That's how you know he isn't from Tree Hill," Peyton states with a laugh.

"Isn't that the truth," Haley says smiling. Brooke however doesn't hear a word her two friends say, because she is too wrapped up in the boy himself. She has a feeling there is something different about Lucas and she can't wait to find out what. "I said BYE BROOKE," Haley yells to Brooke, snapping her out of whatever world she was in. "Geez Haley, I'm not deaf," she says glaring at her. "Yeah, yeah. I gotta get going, I'll see you guys tomorrow," Haley says, and with that, the girls part their separate ways for the night.

* * *

Nathan dropped Lucas off at home, and after a long shower and dinner with his mom, Lucas headed into his room to relax. He turns on his T.V. only to find his mind drifting towards a certain raven-haired, hazel eyed girl. He turns his television up, hoping to drown out his thoughts of Brooke. Sighing, he leans over to his bedside dresser and opens the front drawer. Piled under a huge stack of random papers, he pulls out what he was looking for. He holds the picture in his hands and closes his eyes, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. Knowing that staring at this worn-out picture wouldn't do him any good, he gives it one last look before putting it back into his drawer, back under his papers.

He knew he needed to stop thinking about what happened, that it wouldn't help him get over it any faster, but sometimes he couldn't help it. He thought about it every day no matter how much he tried to block it from his mind. Luke knew his family was worried about him but he couldn't help it. He was trying, and that was the best that he could do for now. He finally let his eyes close, hoping that tomorrow would go as well as today had.

****Review Please! Let me know what you think and if I should continue or not! Thanks!****


	2. Chapter 2

Just as Lucas had hoped the night before, his second day at Tree Hill was going smoothly so far. He spent most of his English class talking to Haley making the time fly by. Luke sighed in relief when he heard the bell ring signaling lunch time. He slowly walked down the hallway towards his locker to retrieve his lunch when he was met by Peyton who, coincidentally, had a locker two away from his.

"Hey Peyton," he said giving her a smile before opening up his locker, switching a couple of books around and grabbing his lunch bag. Peyton couldn't help but smile back, believing he had almost an undeniable charm about him. "Hey there, Luke. You heading to lunch?" she asked before shutting her locker as well. He nodded and responded, "Yeah I'm starving," sending her another smile that sent chills through her body.

On the other side of the school, Brooke and Haley had just gotten dismissed from their History class. Haley walked side-by-side with Brooke and after looking her over said, "Someone's dressed especially cute today. I wonder why?" Brooke smiled and said, "Haley, I look cute every day. Who are you kidding?" "Oh, okay. My bad," Haley said sarcastically to Brooke, knowing how much pride she took in her fashion.

Seeing that Brooke wasn't taking her bait, Haley continued on, "So, you dressing even cuter than usual wouldn't have to do with a certain study lunch session with a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy?" Brooke smirked and shrugged her shoulders while looking over at Haley. "I have no idea what you're talking about. If Luke happens to notice my amazingly cute red tank top and short jean shorts then so be it." Haley smiled, wrapping her arm around Brooke's shoulder. "Oh, Tigger. Have mercy on that poor boy."

Brooke and Haley walked outside to the courtyard, over to their designated lunch table. As Brooke approached the table she saw Lucas sitting across from Peyton, obviously laughing at something she said. Brooke could have sworn he had the smile of an angel. "Hey , hey Luke," Brooke said as she stood in front of him, sending him a flirtatious smile. "Hi Brooke," he responded with a small chuckle, not knowing why he found her so fun to be around. Then again, maybe he was just in a good mood, which was a miracle in and of itself.

Haley sat down next to Lucas, watching the scene in front of her unfold with a knowing smile on her face. Brooke continued on saying, "Luke, do you think you could help me with that English assignment we talked about last night? I would really appreciate it" Lucas looked up at her as she gave him her best pathetic look and he was instant putty. "Um, yeah sure. Let me get my stuff together," he said, putting the rest of his lunch back in the brown bag and slinging his bookbag over his shoulder.

"Alright, I'm ready," he told Brooke before turning back to the table, now seeing Nathan walking up and taking the seat he just vacated. He couldn't contain his laughter when he saw a look of pure agony consume Haley's face at having to sit next to Nathan. "Bye Peyton, bye Haley," he said before walking away with Brooke at his side, nervously putting his hands in his front pockets. If Haley hadn't been so focused on trying to ignore Nathan's pick-up lines she might have noticed the look Peyton was giving Lucas, a look that she probably shouldn't be giving him.

* * *

Brooke smiled to herself as she walked next to Lucas, happy that she had the opportunity to spend some time alone with him and maybe get to know him a little better. He turned to her and said, "So, where do you think we should go? The library?" with a questioning look on his face. Brooke turned her head towards his and when their eyes met, she instantly froze up. For some reason this boy was making her nervous, and she didn't know whether she liked that or not.

She finally got her voice back and sent him a reassuring smile, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear before saying, "Sure, that's fine." The two walked into the library and found an empty table towards the back to sit down at. Brooke reached into her bag and pulled out the piece of paper with her assignment on it. "I don't suppose you just want to do it for me, do you?" she asked him smiling, hoping he would agree. Lucas simply laughed and said, "No, I can't say that I do. Do you have the book with you?"

"Yeah, well, the thing is, I never really got around to buying the book. I was on my way to the library, which by the way, looks the creepiest place ever. But right outside the library there was this cute little stand set up with purses and jewelry, and I guess I kind of forgot about the whole book thing," Brooke said with a sheepish grin on her face. Lucas smiled as she rambled on not knowing how somebody could say all that in one breath.

He shaked his head at her story and stood up, moving across the library to the section he knew the classic would be in. He returned a couple seconds later and slid the worn-out book across the table to her saying, "There, now you don't have any more excuses not to do the assignment." Brooke sent him a pout responding with, "I don't think I like the way you think Lucas Scott."

He smiled and said, "I mean, I guess I can go and leave you to do the assignment by yourself then," as he grabbed his stuff and pretended to get up from the table. Before he could get very far, though, Brooke reached out her arm and let her hand wrap around his arm gently saying, "No! You can't leave me I don't know what the heck this book is about!" Luke looked down at her hand on his arm and once again felt that same spark run through his body.

He nodded his head and said, "Fine, I won't leave you. But only because you look so pitiful." Brooke gave him a smile before telling him, "I can accept that!" The next half hour went really well for the two and they actually finished up Brooke's assignment. In the time she had spent with Lucas, she had already learned how patient and smart he was. He knew all this stuff about literature and English, stuff that she didn't know the first thing about. But she liked that. She thought it was kind of intriguing.

Lucas couldn't deny the fact that Brooke was gorgeous. Over the past half-hour he managed to sneak a couple peaks at her when she wasn't looking, and it was obvious why every guy at Tree Hill wished Brooke Davis would give him the time of day. Her hair was down in loose curls that fell below her shoulders, and her eyes were a captivating shade of hazel that only proved to make him even more nervous when he talked to her. These feelings not only scared him, but made him feel a pang of guilt. He was trying his hardest not to feel anything for Brooke, but he obviously needed to try harder.

Both were preoccupied with their own thoughts when the bell rang, breaking them out of their individual trances. Brooke smiled at Lucas and said, "Thanks for helping me Luke, I know this was probably the last thing you wanted to do during your lunch. Maybe you can let me make it up to you sometime." Lucas smiled and said, "Don't worry about it, I was happy to help. And yeah, maybe you can. I guess we will just have to wait and see."

The duo walked out of the library together, stopping at the end of the hallway when they each needed to part their separate ways. "Well, I guess I'll see you later during practice," Brooke said in a soft and caring tone that she reserved only for those who deserved it. She wasn't sure why she thought Lucas deserved it; she just had a feeling. Lucas slowly nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I'll see you in a couple hours. Bye Brooke." He sent her a shy smile as he met her eyes, one that made her insides feel like they were doing back-hand springs. She watched him walk away until he disappeared around the corner, wondering what it was about this boy that had her so captivated.

* * *

The rest of Lucas's day went surprisingly fast. He was making friends with guys from the basketball team which provided at least a little entertainment during his afternoon classes. Two-thirty rolled around and he smiled when he heard the final bell of the day ring. Luke got up out of his seat and walked out of the classroom, knowing he didn't have much time to get ready before tryouts started at 3. He approached his locker, only to be met by Peyton once more.

He saw Peyton turn and smile as he walked up to his locker as she said, "You know Lucas, people may start to think you're following me if we're seen together this much," causing Luke to release a small chuckle before replying, "I think I could live with that, if you can." She shut her locker and responded, "It's not like it hasn't happened before. I'll be sure to add you onto my list of creeps at this school." Lucas laughed at this, finding Peyton pretty funny herself. He could start to see why she and Brooke were best friends.

"So, are you going to the gym? I'll walk with you, if you don't mind," she tells him hesitantly, not wanting to seem too over-eager to talk to him. However, he nods to her with a smile on his face before saying, "Yeah, sure, I'd like the company," causing a huge smile to spread across Peyton's face. The two continue to talk until they reach the gym, stopping outside the old wooden doors that looked like they had endured a lot of abuse in their time.

"We should hang out some time, if you want to I mean," Peyton suggests, wanting to get to know this interesting boy better, just like her best friend. "I'd like that," Luke answers with a small smile, thinking him and Peyton could become good friends. She seemed really sweet and he couldn't deny how cute she was either. "I'll see you in a couple minutes," he said smiling before jogging across the gym towards the locker room, not wanting to be late.

From the opposite side of the hallway, Haley had been watching and managed to hear the exchange between Luke and Peyton. She quickly got a bad feeling in her stomach when she noticed the look on Peyton's face as he walked away, her eyes staying glued to him. It seemed like Brooke and Peyton were both showing interest in the blond-haired Scott, which was a recipe that could only spell disaster.

* * *

_**TWO WEEKS LATER**_

After a grueling first two weeks of tryouts, Lucas and Nathan had both made the basketball team, and somehow even managed to seal the position as co-captains. Lucas, and surprisingly Nathan as well, had also managed to become closer with the gang over the past weeks. Karen and Deb were given the opportunity to take-over a café that was about to go out of business, dubbing it "Karen's Café." Haley in need of a job and Karen in need of waitress's turned out to be a perfect situation for the both of them with Haley as their new part-time employee.

With Haley around so much, Lucas and she had grown especially close, now even considering her one of his best friends. Luke found her very easy to talk to and they managed to have fun doing the stupidest of activities. Earlier that week the two built a golf course on top of the café and relished in the art of throwing water balloons off the top.

Lucas let out a breath as Whitey blew the whistle screaming at the team, "Alright sissies, practice is over for the night. Try not to get anyone knocked up tonight guys, that means you Nathan." Nathan smirked at Whitey and walked over to the bench, sitting down as he started putting stuff in his duffle. Luke followed closely behind him, looking across the gym seeing the cheerleaders wrapping up their practice as well.

"So Luke, you know Dan and Deb are out of town tonight," Nathan said smiling as he looked up at Lucas. Luke looked down at him with a groan, knowing exactly what was going through his brother's head. "Nate, do you think that's a good idea? Do you remember how badly Dan lashed out last time you threw a party? Let me remind you; 10 miles every morning, weight-lifting three times a day. It was brutal," Luke said trying to knock some sense into his little brother.

Nathan shrugged his shoulders and stood up, meeting his brother's eyes. "So he won't find out. Anyways, we deserve it man. Whitey's been on our ass the past two weeks and it's only going to get worse when games start in the next couple of weeks. What's the worst that could happen?" Lucas listened to Nathan and he knew fighting with him wasn't worth it, because either way Nathan was going to do what he wanted.

"Alright man, I'll be there. But if Dan busts you, it's all on you. I'm not trying to deal with any of his shit more than I'm already going to have to," Luke says giving in. "I knew you'd see it my way," Nathan says smirking before patting Luke on the back. After cheer practice Brooke and Peyton walk over to the boys with smiles on their faces. "Ahh, just the person I wanted to see," Nathan says as Brooke walks over to him wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

Brooke rolls her eyes already used to Nathan's cocky demeanor. "That's what they all say. What can I help you with, Nate?" she asks him, expecting something completely ridiculous to come out of his mouth. "Well, I'm throwing a party at my house tonight, and I need you to invite everyone that you think should be invited," he says smiling down at her with his dark blue eyes.

She smiles when he hears this, knowing this kind of stuff is right up her alley. She pats his stomach with her hand and says jokingly, "Finally, somebody who understands the real me. I can definitely do that. Just give me your address and I'll take care of the rest." Nate gives her the information and she smiles, putting the piece of paper in her cheer bag.

Meanwhile, Peyton and Luke are talking, Lucas mainly telling Peyton that he's positive the party tonight is going to get out of control. She laughs, and decides to be bold for once. "Do you think you could give me a ride to his house tonight? I've never been there before and I don't have much gas in my car," she says telling him a white lie, just wanting to be able to hang out with him alone for awhile, even if it is only for a couple minutes.

Luke nods his head and says, "I'd be honored," giving her one of his side smiles that she finds endearing. Brooke and Nathan turn to the two blondes and Brooke grabs her best friend's arm saying, "Come on, . There's a lot I have to do tonight to get ready." Peyton nods her head and turns to the bleachers to grab her bags, giving Brooke the opportunity to talk to Luke for a second.

She steps a bit closer to him looking up into his eyes and says in her raspy voice, "And I'm assuming that you're going to be there tonight?" Lucas simply nods and feels his heart start to race because of her close proximity. Brooke smiles as a pleased look crosses her face. "Good, because I was kind of hoping we could get to know each other a little better," she says pulling the bottom of his shirt for only a second before releasing it and stepping back, Peyton now back at her side.

"So, I guess I'll see you later Nate, Lucas," she says to the boys, now acting as if nothing had happened between her and Lucas. "I'll see you later, Luke," Peyton says before the two girls walk away, leaving Lucas to run his hand over the front of his face to wonder what just happened. Nate and Lucas leave a couple minutes later, Nate heading towards the alcohol store and Luke towards his mom's café.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Luke pulled up to his mom's café. He walked out of his car and into the front door, hearing the bell above the door ring in his ear. His eyes searched around the room and landed on his mom pouring a cup of coffee behind the counter. He sits down at one of the bar stools and says, "Hey there pretty lady," in a fake country accent.

Karen looks up surprised and smiles when she sees Lucas sitting in front of her. "And to think your old mother here thought she was being hit on. Who was I kidding, right?" she says smiling at him, wiping down the counter in front of where he sat. "You want something to eat?" Karen questions. He nods and says, "Yeah, could I just have a hamburger and some fries, please?" "Sure honey," she responds before disappearing into the kitchen.

Haley then walks out of the kitchen herself, carrying a tray of hot food as she tries to balance herself and keep from falling. He smiles as he watches her clumsy feet try not to trip over themselves. Haley returns a couple seconds later and plops onto the bar stool next to his with a sigh, leaning her head on his shoulder saying, "Lucas, you never told me your mom was a slave driver." He simply laughs and rolls his eyes knowing his mom was anything but.

"I need you to do me a favor," he says, laughing again when he hears her whine. "What do you want from me?" she asks, expecting the worse. "I need you to come to Nathan's party tonight. Dan and Deb are out of town tonight, and of course Nate isn't going to pass up an opportunity to throw a party. But, I don't know, I don't want to be stuck with all those crazies by myself, which is where you come in," he says throwing her his most pitiful look.

She looks at him and says, "What makes you think I want to go! I hate those kinds of things, you know that. Can't we just play mini-golf on the roof or something?" she tries to plead with him. "That sounds fun, but the thing is I already gave Nate, Peyton, and Brooke my word that I was going to be there," he says trailing off slowly. "Please, I'll owe you big time!" he continues while nudging her shoulder over and over again.

Haley releases a sigh of defeat and says, "Fine! I'll come to the stupid party, but I can't say what time I'll be there yet. I don't get off here till around 9, so I'll see what I can do." Lucas rewards her with a smile and a hug saying, "I knew I liked you for a reason. Now get back to work, I want my food waitress or your tip is going to suffer," in a joking manner. She glares at him and says, "Don't push your luck Scott," going into the kitchen to get his food.

* * *

Brooke had spent the whole evening texting and calling people, wanting to make sure that Nathan's party was as big as they come. During this time she managed to go to the mall, wanting to get something new to wear to the party tonight. After searching for about an hour, which is a short amount of time for Brooke, she found a cute red dress that she fell in love with. It was a deep red color and clung to her body in all the right places ending a couple inches above her knees.

She didn't know why she wanted to look so good tonight, more so than other nights, but she had a feeling it had to do with Luke. They hadn't become as close as she had hoped over the past couple of weeks, but both of them had been busy with basketball and cheer. She wanted tonight to be her chance to finally talk to him on her own, and maybe even persuade him to do a little more. At around 9:30 Brooke finished her make-up's final touches and headed out the door, hoping for a successful night.

* * *

Peyton, similar to Brooke, had spent most of her evening trying to decide what to wear. After hours of debating and trying on innumerous outfits, she landed on a pair of jean shorts that left little to imagine and showed off her long legs. The top she picked was a white one that was tight to her small frame, showing off her fit body. Peyton liked Lucas, she was sure of that, but she was also sure that her best friend showed interest in him as well. However, Peyton was pretty sure that all Brooke wanted from him was a good lay, just like she had always wanted before.

It was for that reason that Peyton decided not to back off Luke, because she knew that she could offer more of herself to him than Brooke could; that they would be a better match. She heard her phone vibrate and looked down at her phone, seeing that she had a text from Luke that read, "Leaving now, be there in 5." Peyton smiled and got a couple of last-minute things together, hoping that tonight would bring all the promise she hoped it would.

* * *

As he said, Luke pulled up to Peyton's house five minutes later. He was dressed in a pair of white shorts and a dark blue shirt that showed off his toned body. He was nervous for some reason, but he wasn't sure what about. He had spent most of the evening thinking; thinking about Sun Valley; thinking about the people in it, rather the people that used to be in it.

The past two weeks had been tough, but more the most part he liked it in Tree Hill. He has been smiling more, something Karen noticed and wasn't afraid to point out to him. He wasn't sure whether that sat comfortably with him or not. Was it okay for him to be feeling happy? Luke didn't know, but he was going to try and push these negative feelings to the back of his mind, at least for the night. He wanted to forget for a little while and that was exactly what he intended on doing.

He turned his head to the side when he saw Peyton approaching the passenger door from the corner of his eye. Luke's eyes followed her as she sat down, putting on a big smile for him. Being a guy, his eyes instinctively roamed her body quickly. He had to admit, she looked cute, hell, even hot. "Hey Peyton," he said giving her a genuine smile, a smile that has been getting quite a workout lately. "Hey Luke," she said softly, her eyes doing their own quick scan of him.

Luke started his car and began driving towards Nathan's house, it now being around 10. He was sure that the party was probably almost in full swing by now knowing how the students at his school were. Peyton was ecstatic that she got be with Lucas alone, even if it was for this short ride. She turned to him and said, "Thanks again for picking me up. It's always better to walk into a party with somebody else than by yourself anyways, right?"

He turned and his blue eyes met her green ones, noticing for the first time what an amazing shade of green they were. "Uh, yeah definitely," he said smiling to her, happy himself that the two were hanging out. "So when does your dad come home next? When was the last time you saw him?" he asked wanting to genuinely get to know her better. "Geez, I haven't seen him in almost 6 months. He is supposed to come home next month. I can't wait to see him, I miss him a lot," she tells Luke, finding it easy to talk to him.

"That's gotta be rough, I'm sorry Peyt. I know he misses you too," Lucas says putting forth his best effort to comfort her. He knows how much it sucked when his mom left for Italy and how much he missed her, but when she came back he was elated. "Thanks Luke," she says, his words meaning a lot to her since sometimes it felt like nobody really cared. Lucas and Peyton spent the rest of the ride talking like they had known each other their whole lives, not realizing before tonight that they could have so much to talk about.

As they expected the house was packed when they pulled up to the entrance of the long driveway. They found a spot relatively close and got out, walking up the driveway and to the front door. Luke puts his hand on the doorknob and turns to Peyton saying, "Every man for himself," before opening the door, the smell of alcohol immediately being thrown in his face. "Holy crap," Peyton yells to him, wanting to be heard over the music. "Tell me about it, I'll go get us some drinks. Try not to get hurt," he tells her half-serious before disappearing towards the kitchen.

Peyton watches him disappear in the crowd and she decides to walk around a bit, looking for Brooke or one of her other cheer teammates. However, Brooke was on the other side of the house, just having successfully completing her third game of beer pong that night. It was an understatement that she was tipsy. Stumbling towards the kitchen Brooke lifts her head and sees Luke at the keg, causing her eyes to light up without her even realizing.

Brooke slowly walks up behind Luke and wraps her arms around his waist from behind, feeling his body stiffen when she does. "Hey there, cutie," she whispers into his ear with her raspy voice, noticing his muscles relaxing in her arms when he recognizes her voice. He turns in her arms holding two red solo cups, one for him and one for Peyton. He could tell by looking in her eyes how much she had drank, her beautiful hazel eyes now having a glassy-look to them.

"Hey Brooke, having fun?" he asks, trying to ignore the fact that he felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest. "I am now," she responds in a teasing manner before finally un-wrapping her arms from his waist. "I'm assuming one of these cups is for me?" she questions, but before she can hear the answer she takes the cup from his hand and begins to drink from it. Luke laughs at her actions, never having seen her drunk before, and he had to admit it was a humorous sight.

"And I'm assuming you have been drinking," he says smiling down at her. He watches her step back and he finally happens to get a look at what she's wearing. Luke's breath catches in his throat when he sees the beautiful dress she is wearing. It showed off her blatantly amazing body, something that Lucas tried to ignore until then. She was absolutely stunning, that was for sure. He is broken from his stupor when he notices Brooke staring at him like he's an idiot.

He smiles, trying to play it off as if he wasn't just admiring her. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you its kind of loud," he fibs, not wanting to seem stupid. Brooke nods, her lips forming into a gorgeous, dimpled smile. "Do you want to go somewhere more, quiet?" she asks as she kinks her eyebrow, something she clearly does when she is trying to be cute. But who was he kidding, it worked every time.

"Can I take you up on that a little bit later? I want to find Nate and I think Haley is planning on coming by," he suggests, wanting to spend some time with them too, although it was really tempting to get out of here with her right then. Brooke pouts in response and says, "Fine Lucas Scott, have it your way and play hard to get. But trust me, it won't last for long." Brooke leans up and places a soft kiss on Lucas's cheek, looking into his eyes once more before walking away back into the crowd.

Luke sighs and leans back against the counter, chugging his beer quickly. He throws the empty cup aside and runs his hand through his shaggy hair knowing he was in trouble. He had been trying as hard as he could to forget and shrug off her flirting and advances, but it was getting harder by the day. Feeling that ever-present sense of guilt beginning to surface, he once again represses it, reminding himself that he wasn't going to feel like that tonight; he was going to have fun.

He walked through the house and smiled, finally seeing Nate with a couple of the guys out back, playing what seemed to be a game of drunken pick-up basketball. "Ball," Luke said to Nate, who recognized the command and swiftly passed it to Lucas, Luke in turn successfully draining a three pointer. "Damn man, you need to drink more if you can still make shots like that," Nathan told him laughing, walking up to him and doing one of their little guy handshakes.

Luke nodded his head agreeing with him completely, planning on drinking as soon as Haley got here so he could make sure she didn't need a ride or anything. "Yeah I'm on top of it," he tells him laughing, saying hey to all the guys from the team as well. "This is a pretty awesome party I'll give you that," Luke praises Nathan, both of them looking around at what is probably half of the school. "I have Brooke to thank for that, which reminds me have you seen her around?" Nathan questions Luke.

Lucas shifts uncomfortably on his heels and says, "Why would I have seen her? I'm not her best friend on anything," frowning inwardly at how sketchy that sounded when it left his mouth. "Alright, maybe you have had something to drink. Here comes bi-polar Luke everybody, watch out," Nathan jokingly warns, as if somebody else was listening. Lucas smiles and says, "Sorry, and yeah I actually just saw her a little while ago inside. She is pretty trashed, too. The thank-you might have to wait until she actually remembers it."

"Yeah, noted," Nathan says to Luke. "I hope you're having fun man. Don't feel bad for having fun, it's not right. Whatever you're worrying about is probably something you shouldn't be, so just relax and have a drink," he advises Luke, knowing the guy always had something on his mind. Luke felt himself relax just as Nathan told him to, appreciating his brother's words. "Thanks Nate, I'll talk to you later," Luke says before Nathan walks off, probably towards his next conquest.

* * *

About an hour later, Luke was busy talking to Peyton who he had found about twenty minutes earlier. He had explained to her that while he was trying to get her a drink, Brooke had come along and drank it, something that didn't surprise her at all. Peyton told him that her behavior tonight was nothing out of the ordinary for her, and that she would most likely end up going home with some random guy on the football team.

Luke tried not to let what Peyton say effect him too much, thinking it wasn't fair to judge someone before he even got to know them. Luke actually really enjoyed talking to Peyton though, and he found that they had a lot more in common than he originally thought. They liked the same music and had even read some of the same books. Luke felt his phone vibrate and saw that Haley texted him saying, "I'm out front, come bring me in so I don't die!" He laughed at this and told Peyton to hang tight; that he was bringing Haley in the house.

Lucas stepped onto the front porch and saw Haley walking towards him, wearing a pair of dark jeans and a yellow tank top. He had never seen her dressed up before, but he thought it suited her well. "Who knew my best friend cleaned up so nicely," Luke told her smiling before bringing her in for a hug. "I could say the same for you," she responded. The two stepped into the house and Haley whistled. "Wow, so Nathan really does know how to throw a party."

"You could say that," Luke answers with a smile, leading her through the crowd to where he and Peyton were talking. They entered the room and Haley sat down next to her, whispering in her ear "What have you and Luke been doing" in a suggestive tone, noticing the shy smile that crosses Peyton's face. However, Peyton doesn't have time to respond because Luke walks over, sitting down in a chair facing the two best friends.

"What are you two whispering about?" he asks curiously. "Nothing," they said simultaneously, causing Lucas to eye them both suspiciously. "Uh-huh, I bet," he retorts with a smirk, knowing that if they didn't want to tell him he doubted he would be able to get it out of them. Instead, he decided to give up. "I'll leave you two to talk. I wanted to go get a drink anyways. I'll be back," he says before walking off, leaving the girls to get back to what they were saying.

Haley waited for him to clear out of the room before turning to Peyton with a smile on her face. "Have you guys been hanging out the whole night?" Haley asks, immediately turning into a school-girl gossiper. Peyton smiles and with a slight nod says, "Yeah, pretty much. He brought me tonight and we have been talking for the past half-hour. I think I'm really starting to like him Haley." Haley smiles and says, "I'm happy for you Peyt, Luke is a great guy." "Yeah, he is," she answers, her mind slowly drifting off to thoughts of him, secretly hoping he comes back shortly.

* * *

On his way to the kitchen, Lucas looks around the room for Nathan but instead sees Brooke. Brooke wasn't alone though, and as Peyton predicted, she was huddled up close in a corner with a guy on the football team. Luke could have sworn that at that moment, he felt a wave of disappointment wash over him. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt this, but it was there, and it was hard to ignore. Luke went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge.

As he walked out he couldn't stop himself from taking another glance at Brooke and her boy-toy, only this time he took a closer look. His brow furrowed when he noticed the unpleasant look on Brooke's face; a face of someone that wasn't welcoming this guy's advances. Luke sat his beer down on the table and walked over to a guy that was easily 200 lbs, and it was clearly all muscle. "Hey man, what the hell are you doing?" he asks glaring at him, pushing his shoulder with his hand.

The boy turned to look at Luke and laughed after sizing him up, not seeing any threat there. "Don't worry about it man, I've got it from here," he says to Luke, turning his back to him. He looks at Brooke and notices the frightened look in her eyes, which maybe is what sent him over the edge. "Get the hell away from her!" Luke says a little more loudly this time, causing attention to be drawn towards him. He pushes the boy again, this time with both his hands and harder than before.

This time, the boy turns to Lucas with an angry look plastered on his face. "I thought I told you, I got this. Now how about you get your pretty little face away from me before I mess it up," the boy threatens as he takes a step closer to Luke, not backing down either. "Hey, at least I have a nice face to start with. Now I know why your nickname is Shrek," Luke pushes the guy's chest, causing him to stumble backwards.

At this point almost the whole party had packed into the room, watching the display in front of them with curious eyes. As soon as he stumbles backwards the boy jerks forward, his right fist coming right towards Lucas's face. Anticipating this, he quickly ducks, dodging the boy's fist before punching him in the nose, feeling it break beneath his hand. "What the fuck you little bitch, you broke my nose," he screams enraged, catching Luke off-guard by lunging forward and tackling him to the ground.

With Luke caught underneath, the boy manages to get a couple good punches in on Luke. Luke finally breaks free, delivering a right hook to the guy's face before feeling a pair of arms wrapping around his chest and pulling him away. He turns his head to see that the arms belonged to Nathan. "Come on, man. Let me go," Lucas pleads, wanting to punch this douche a couple more times.

Luke notices the other guy being dragged out of the room by a couple of his teammates, causing Nathan to finally let him go. Luke turns to him with an annoyed look on his face. "Why'd you pull me off, Nate. I could have taken him," he said confidently. "I know man, but I don't want the house to be a wreck. Just get out of here for the night I'll talk to you in the morning," Nate says trying to reason with Luke, knowing that was pretty impossible right now.

"Whatever," Luke answers before storming out the front door, passing a shocked Peyton and Haley along the way. Both of the girls quickly walk over to Brooke who stood still in the corner, having watched the whole scene unfold before her. "Tigger are you okay?" Haley asked worried that the jerk may have hurt her. Brooke nodded, the effects of the alcohol starting to wear off a bit. "Do you need anything?" Peyton asks, rubbing Brooke's arm up and down.

She shakes her head no, running her hand through her tussled hair. "I'm going to go see Luke," Brooke says before quickly chasing after him. She walks out the front door and starts walking faster, seeing Lucas a little while ahead of her walking down the driveway. "Luke!" she screams, but he doesn't hear. She sighs and picks up her pace, waiting until she got closer to once again scream out his name a little louder.

This time he heard; she could tell by the way his shoulders stiffened. He sighed in exhaust and turned around at the bottom of the driveway, seeing her small frame walking towards him in an anxious manner. As soon as she appeared before him he said, "Brooke, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get into a fight with him but I wasn't going to let that ass treat you like that," figuring she was beyond angry with him for causing a scene like that.

He was about to speak again in an effort to defend himself but before he got the chance he felt her small arms wrapping around his waist, her head resting on his hard chest as she hugged him. "Thank you," he heard her muffled raspy voice say against his shirt and he exhaled slowly, relieved she wasn't upset with him. "You're welcome," he answered, letting his strong arms encircle her shoulders holding her against him tightly.

Brooke took comfort in Lucas's strong arms. They made her feel safe, as if nobody and no one could ever harm her. It also didn't hurt that she could feel his fit body through the material of his shirt when she was this close to him. She wanted to stay in his arms longer, but she figured she probably shouldn't. Brooke un-wrapped her arms from around his waist and looked up at him with a small smile on her face. "It looks like I owe you for two things now," she said with a teasing smile already back on her face.

Luke smiled and said, "I guess you're right," as he shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to make a big deal out of what happened even though Brooke seemed to think highly of it. Lucas could tell by the look in her eye and her demeanor that the incident was starting to sober her up. "Why don't you go on back to the party? I'm sure Peyton and Haley are worried about you," he explained, knowing how Haley and Peyton were. She turned to him with a confused look on her face, tilting her head to the side in a way he found adorable.

"You aren't going to come back in?" she asked, a little upset with herself that she had ruined the night for him. He shook his head in denial telling her, "Nah, I'll pass. I think I'm just gonna go home. Maybe but some ice on my face before it swells up." She frowned, now feeling even worse when she noticed the bruises beginning to form on his flawless face. "In that case, would you mind if I came with you? After all, it is my fault this whole thing happened anyways," she suggested, thinking that maybe now they could finally have a chance to talk.

Lucas smiled and replied, "Brooke, you don't have to feel guilty. I was the one who started it not him, and trust me it's not your fault. That guy had it coming he can't treat girls like that. It's pathetic." Brooke could tell that just talking about it was making him get worked up again, and she had to admit, the angry look was a good one for Lucas Scott. "Please? I don't feel guilty. I'd like to stay and talk to you, if you don't mind," she adds on with a shy smile on her face, not knowing what the power was that this boy seemed to hold over her.

"I don't mind," he said as he glanced into her beyond amazing eyes, sending her a smile that made Brooke question how long she could keep up this façade before she finally started to show him her true self. But she was afraid; afraid he wouldn't like the real her. After all, her parents knew the real her and they never came around. That had to say something about her, right? "My mom is going to kill me when she sees me walk in like this," he says to Brooke, images of an angry Karen already flashing through his mind.

The two walk side-by-side to his car, Luke looking over at her saying, "Don't worry, I didn't drink or anything I promise. I had one beer like 2 hours ago, is that okay?" He didn't want her to feel the least bit uncomfortable riding with him. She grinned at how thoughtful he was. "It's okay Luke, I trust you," she says without thinking twice. Brooke didn't know what compelled her to say those words with such ease, but by the smile on his face she knew her instincts about him were correct.

As they get into his car, Brooke turns her head to face Lucas. "Um, if you want we can go back to my house instead. My parents aren't there so you don't have to worry about your mom freaking out or anything," she suggests, not wanting to sound too forward. He felt his heart skip a beat when she informed him of this. Usually an empty house, a guy and a girl spelled one thing, something Luke wasn't ready for.

Brooke must have noticed the look on his face because not even a few moments later she said, "Lucas, just to talk. Get your mind out of the gutter." He turned to her and let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Um, yeah, I knew that," he said, giving her a look that obviously gave away that he had been confused at first. They laughed as Luke took off towards her house, both wondering what the night had in store for the pair.

****Hey everybody! Review Please! I'd like to know your thoughts on what I have wrote so far. Thanks!****


	3. Chapter 3

The ride home to Brooke's house had been filled with mostly silence; not an uncomfortable silence though. It's almost as if they already had an unspoken bond. Lucas pulled up to Brooke's house with a surprised look on his face, never having seen it before. Saying that her house was big was an understatement. Hell, he'd bet that his whole house could probably fit inside her living room. "So, seems like your family does pretty well for themselves," Lucas says with a soft chuckle.

Brooke shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, not being able to care less about the size of her house. It's not like there was a real family that occupied it anyways; only her. "I guess you could say that," she says not meeting his eye, not wanting to get into her family issues right now. It would take days to explain all the problems her family had. Brooke and Lucas both stepped out of his car, Luke following behind her to her big red door.

"Nice door," Luke told her laughing, never having known somebody to have a fire-engine-red front door. He couldn't deny she was one of a kind that was for sure. Brooke opened her door and glanced at him over her shoulder returning his smile. "What can I say, I like the attention," she said as another small laugh escaped her lips. Luke was positive that he could listen to her laugh forever. It was soft yet charming at the same time.

Brooke walked into the kitchen and told Luke, "You can go ahead and have a seat on the barstool. I'm going to go find some peroxide I can put on your face for that cut." Doing as she wished he slowly walked over to the stool and took a seat, taking the chance to look around her living room. Something seemed missing from her house. It didn't feel like his, not at all. There was no sense of family here, no sense of comfort.

His house was covered with pictures of him, his mom, Keith, and every other friend or family member you could imagine. There were blankets scattered around, left behind from late movie nights. Lucas couldn't find an inkling of that in her house. He was pulled out of his state when he saw Brooke move into his view. She was still wearing her gorgeous red dress, the one that had drove him crazy earlier that night. Her hair was now more tussled, but somehow she still managed to pull it off. She could probably be dressed in a garbage bag and pull it off.

Brooke stood in front of him with a bottle of peroxide, a band-aid, and a bag of ice. "I know you have probably heard this a million times, but this is going to sting a little," she told him with a gentle smile sitting upon her face. She slowly stepped in between his legs in order to get a better view of his cut. Luke gulped on instinct, not used to having any girl, especially Brooke, this close to him. He kept his eyes focused on her face as he watched her concentrating on the task at hand.

She poured a dab of peroxide on a towel and patted it across the cut occupying his cheekbone. Luke flinched just a little, smiling when Brooke chuckled at his reaction. "And I thought you were tough," she said in a soft and raspy teasing voice. It was only then that Brooke realized how close she actually was to him. If anybody were to walk in right now they would most likely mistake the position they were in as something much more intimate.

Her lips were only inches from his and she could feel his breath faintly on her neck. It took all she had not to lean in and kiss him in that moment, but she resisted; for now at least. She let a small laugh slip past her pink lips, regaining composure of herself as she continued. She grabbed the band-aid and gently laid it on his skin, covering up the cut. Luke sighed in relief when she stepped out of between his legs, knowing that having her there was extremely dangerous for him.

Being around her made him lose all sense of reality, like the only people that existed were the two of them. He smiled at her and said, "Thanks. You're a life saver." Brooke smirked and handed him the bag of ice and replied, "Actually, I think that title goes to you. But thanks for trying to butter me up." He simply shrugged as a small smile played across his lips. "So Lucas Scott, do you like hot chocolate? Because I could really go for a cup right now and I'm pretty amazing at making it," she asks him curiously.

Luke smiles and nods his head, spinning around on the barstool to face her as she moves around the kitchen. "Yeah, I love hot chocolate," he answers with a smile. "But I better warn you," he adds, "My mom makes a mean cup, so you better be as good as you think you are Brooke Davis." She grabs the packets from her cabinet before turning to him saying, "Trust me, I'm better," giving him a small wink before turning back around.

* * *

Meanwhile, Peyton and Haley were still at the party, both of them now wondering where Brooke was and if she ever caught up with Lucas. Peyton turned to Haley and said, "I think I'll text her and make sure she's alright," to which Haley nodded her head in approval; also wanting to make sure her best friend was okay. Peyton grabbed her phone and flipped it open, typing in and watching her number come up on screen.

"_Hey , just want to make sure you're ok. Where did you go off to?_" Peyton texted to her best friend, putting her phone on vibrate to make sure she knew when she got a text back. She looked towards Haley and said, "What about Luke, do you think he's okay? He was pretty angry when he left. Maybe I should text him." Haley shook her head as she looked down at her phone and told Peyton, "I'm already on it, don't worry about it." Peyton responded with a nod, kind of disappointed she wasn't the one to get to text him. Haley sent a text to Luke that read, "_You ok buddy? Don't be mad. You're my hero haha."_

The two girls grabbed a drink from the kitchen and on their way back ran into Nathan, literally; Haley ran straight into his chest, causing half of the contents of her beer to spill onto his shirt. Haley mumbled a "Shit" under her breath when she realized she couldn't have run into a worse person. He seemed mad until he looked down and saw that it Haley was that ran into him, causing him to smile. "Haley James, what a surprise. It seems like the more you try to resist, the more you end up being closer to me. One of these days you're going to give into my charm, just wait," he said smiling down at her.

It was the first time tonight he actually had a chance to get a good look at Haley and he couldn't deny it; the girl was hot. She had light brown hair with soft streaks of blond running through them and not to mention a killer pair of dark brown eyes, contrasting his own dark blue eyes. He was a little jealous of the relationship she shared with his older brother, but that was a secret he intended to keep to himself.

He could see by the unbelieving look on her eyes that getting her to see the real him would be a difficult task, but he was up for the challenge. From what Lucas had told him she was a 'sweetheart.' Nathan had never dated a girl that would ever be considered that, but maybe it was time for a change. Who knows. "Good luck making that happen," she retorted with a sarcastic tone of voice. "You'll see Haley," he smiled as he looked down into her eyes, disappearing moments later into the crowd leaving Haley and Peyton to wonder what had just happened.

* * *

Brooke and Lucas had long ago moved into her living room clad with expensive pieces of furniture and a huge TV mounted on the wall. There two empty mugs of hot chocolate sat forgotten on the coffee table, having been untouched for the past hour. Instead, the duo had been talking. Yes, that's right, talking, an idea Brooke usually had a tough time wrapping her mind around when she was alone with a guy. That's why she couldn't help but be surprised at how fun it was to just talk with Lucas.

She sat on one end of her long tan couch, Luke sitting comfortably on the other side. She found herself letting out a huge gasp when she registered what he just told her. "Wait, let me get this straight! You have NEVER seen 'The Notebook'? That has to be a crime or something," she said in complete shock. He rolls his eyes playfully. "Brooke, no guy wants to watch 'The Notebook.' It's a movie that guys get suckered into watching if they're wrapped around their girlfriend's finger. Everybody knows that," he told her like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh really?" she asked him, kinking her eyebrow. "Really," he said shortly as he looked in her eyes, obviously believing every word that was coming out of his mouth. "I bet I could get you to watch it," she said casually, a playful look shining in her eyes. Lucas shook his head in disbelief. "There is no way Brooke. I've managed to escape the wrath of that movie for the past 5 years. What makes you think you could change my mind?" he asked curiously, a playful look on his face as well.

Brooke turned towards him and said, "Let's just say I have my ways. I can be very… persuasive," as she trailed off slowly, looking in his eyes with a smirk before diverting them away. "Whatever you say, Brooke Davis," he told her, still not believing she could get him to watch it. Brooke smiled at him and let it go for now. She then looked around and saw her phone lying in the kitchen. Getting off the couch for a moment she went to retrieve her phone, letting out a small "Woops" when she came back in and sat down on the couch.

"What's up?" he asked her. "Oh, it's nothing. Peyton texted me almost two hours ago asking if I was okay and where I went. My bad," she said, not thinking twice about it. Luke pulled out his phone, flipping it open and letting out a laugh. "What are you laughing about over there?" she asked, thinking to herself that his laugh was one of the cutest things she has ever heard. "Haley texted me too, about 2 hours ago. My text is better. She told my I'm her hero," he told Brooke with a look on his face similar to one a 5-year old might hold after he got praised for just cleaning his room.

Brooke's lips turned up into a smile at the look on his face. "Don't let it go to your head, broody boy," she told him, just having let the nickname slip out of her mouth. She didn't know where it came from, but she thought it had a nice ring to it. "Oh is that what you're calling me now? Broody? I don't brood," he told her with a teasing glare. "If that's how it's going to be, then I guess you'll have to be Cheery. Deal?" he asked her. "Deal," she said smiling back his way.

"I'll text Peyton back. I don't want her to get all Emo on me and think I'm dead," Brooke told him as she started typing on her phone. Her text read, "_Hey girlie. Don't worry about me I'm ok. Came back to my house for the night. About to go to sleep. Talk to you tomo!" _Luke nodded his head at Brooke and said, "Yeah, I'm going to text Haley back too." Luke pressed the reply button and sent a text to Haley reading, "_I'm not mad anymore, but I'm happy I'm your hero. Thanks for checkin up._" Both Lucas and Brooke conveniently left out the fact that they were with each other, kind of enjoying their night alone together. Tossing their phones aside the two picked up where they left off, not wanting the night to end just yet.

* * *

Haley and Peyton's night got better over the past hour, both getting involved in a game of beer pong as well as a couple games of Never Have I Ever. The girls walked over to the kitchen to refill their cups when Peyton felt her phone vibrate. She pulled it out and rolled her eyes saying, "Brooke finally just texted me back. She could have been dead or something," reacting just as Brooke predicted. "You gotta love her," Haley answered with a smile.

Not two seconds later Haley felt her phone vibrate. She laughed and looked to Peyton said, "That's weird, Luke just texted me back too." Peyton shrugged her shoulders, not thinking anything of it. On the other hand, Haley had a feeling that the reason Brooke and Lucas had taken so long to respond was because they were together. They were even nutty enough to text back at the same time. Peyton might not be able to piece the parts together, but Haley was almost positive that they had to be together. Deciding to leave them alone, if in fact they were together, she slid her phone back in her pocket as Peyton and she engaged in another game of beer pong.

* * *

Another hour had passed until Brooke looked at her phone again, seeing that it was almost 3am. She and Luke had been talking for almost 4 hours, and she wasn't complaining. Actually, this was one of the best nights she had in a long time. She saw him yawn and smiled at the tired look on his face. He must have been thinking along the same lines as she because he looked at his phone, a shocked look consuming his face. "Have we really been talking for this long? It flew by," he told her as he ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair.

"I know. So, I had a really good time with you tonight Luke. It's nice being able to hang out with a guy and just… talk," she told him with a heartfelt look on her face, wanting him to know she meant every word coming out of her mouth. Lucas agreed completely, loving her company. He had gotten used to the feeling he felt when he was around her; he was starting to like it. She made him happy; happier than he had felt in a long time.

His cheeks hurt from smiling so much. But, he blamed that fully on her. How could anybody not smile when they were with her? Her smile alone had made him smile countless times that night. The way her dimples appeared when her lips turned upward. The way she bit her lip when she was teasing him. It was all addicting. "I had fun too, thanks for cheering me up," he told her finally after getting caught up in his thoughts. Hearing his words she looked away shyly, never remembering a time when she had been shy with a guy before.

"Maybe we can do it again soon?" she asks hesitantly, not wanting to scare him away. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't starting to like Luke. What was there not to like? He was sweet, funny, and from what she could tell so far, he had an amazing heart. However, relief washed over her when he replied, "Yeah, I'd really like that." He then added on, "I mean, if I can fit you into my schedule and everything. I'm a pretty busy guy, you know."

She rolled her eyes and pushed his shoulder gently with a, "Whatever Broody." Luke stands up and leans side to side, stretching his long torso. "I better get going, I think I can sneak in by now," he tells her as he picks up scattered items of his across the coffee table. Brooke nods her head and says, "Um, you can stay here if you want. I have a pretty big bed, you wouldn't have to touch me or anything," as she tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, getting off the couch and now standing in front of him.

Lucas looks down at her and sticks his hand in his front pockets, knowing that he probably shouldn't. He had an amazing time talking to her, and even managed to repress the guilt he knew was deep inside him, but if he stayed he was positive the guilt would resurface. "I should probably head home, just so my mom doesn't worry when she wakes up or anything," he told her smiling; he knew his mom really would worry.

Brooke nodded her head and said jokingly, "Yeah, you're right. I guess it will take a little more persuasiveness to get you to go for that one, huh?" Luke smiled happy she understood. "I guess so," he replied. She led him to the front door and opened it up, watching as he began to walk out. He turned back around and said, "I'll see you on Monday." She rolled her eyes and said, "Come here," and she reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck pulling him into a hug.

Luke was a little taken back, but in a good way. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, hearing her whisper into his ear, "Thanks again for saving my life. By the way you're my hero, not Haley's." He released a soft chuckle and said, "I'll remember that." She reluctantly un-wrapped her arms from around his neck, Luke doing the same as well. "Bye Brooke," he said looking into her sparkling eyes one last time before walking down the sidewalk to his car.

"Bye Luke," she whispered quietly to herself before closing the door. She leans her body back against the door and can't help but feel like a little schoolgirl at how she was feeling. She always thought all those people who said they felt butterflies were exaggerating, but not anymore, because she was pretty sure there were foot-long ones in her stomach right now. She didn't know what she was feeling, but it was new and kind of exciting; she didn't want to fight it. She locked her front door and retreated to her room, laying down in her big bed with red sheets fastened tightly to her mattress. After a little while she finally closed her eyes, the image of a blonde-haired boy present in her head.

* * *

The rest of the weekend went by quickly for everybody. Luke and Nathan decided to take a road trip on Saturday to Charlotte to see their favorite NBA team, the Bobcats, scrimmage another team. Haley ended up working at the café pretty much all weekend, figuring she should be trying to make as much money as possible. After all, her parents always forgot to send her home money from their road trips. Brooke and Peyton spent the weekend hanging out.

Peyton questioned Brooke about how the rest of her night was after she left the party on Friday, but all Brooke told her was that she went to her house and watched TV until she fell asleep, conveniently leaving out the part about Lucas being at her house till 3am. She hadn't talked to him all weekend, and for some reason she kind of missed him. She had a really good time talking to him on Friday but she didn't want him to think she was pushy, which is why she didn't text him. She would just have to wait until tomorrow morning at school.

Luke hadn't been able to get Brooke out of his head all weekend. Even at the basketball game, it seemed that every time his mind had the opportunity to daydream, Brooke was the first thing it led to. He hadn't seen or talked to her since that night, but he wanted to. He actually typed up a text in his phone and saved it in his drafts in case he decided to man-up and text her, but he never did. He couldn't lie; he was a little freaked out by his feelings.

He wasn't used to getting nervous because of a girl, especially one he had only met 2 weeks ago. He could have sworn that he was starting to have feelings for her, and that is what scared him the most. He shouldn't be feeling like this. It wasn't fair. It was hard though; hard to ignore the things he was beginning to feel.

* * *

Brooke smiled as the bell rang in her History class the next morning, students standing up and slowly filing out of the classroom. Haley walked up next to Brooke who, as Haley noticed, had a permanent smile plastered on her face. "Hey Tigger," Haley said smiling as she looped her arm through Brooke's, the couple now on their way to lunch. "Hey Tutor Girl," Brooke answered as she smiled back at Haley. "What's got you so happy? Or should I say who?" Haley asked Brooke with a knowing look on her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Brooke said trying to play it off but doing a terrible job. "Uh-huh, I see. Are you sure it doesn't have to do with you and Lucas hanging out on Friday, alone," Haley inquired, putting emphasis on the alone part. Brooke looked over at Haley with squinted eyes and said in a whisper, "How did you know about that? Did Lucas tell you?"

Haley let out a small laugh and said, "No he didn't. Anybody with half a brain could have figured out what you two were doing, except Peyton I guess. Disappearing at the same time…Not texting anybody back for hours, but when you guys finally do it's at the same time… telling us not to come over because you were 'tired'. Oh yeah, I bet you guys were tired after what you had been doing."

Brooke cracked a small smile, not realizing how obvious they were after all. It's not like they were trying to hide the fact that they were hanging out, it was just kind of nice to not be interrupted by all their friends. "Well if you're trying to imply that we did something…physical, we didn't. We just talked," Brooke told her as they continued to walk towards the courtyard. Haley let out a hearty laugh when she heard that, that being one of Brooke's most famous excuses.

"Is that what they call it these days? I wouldn't know," she told her, a smile still apparent on her face. She stopped walking and turned to Haley, looking into her best friend's brown eyes. "I promise, Haley. All we did was talk. And I had a really good time. I'm starting to really like him," Brooke conveyed to her friend with the most genuine tone she could muster. Seeing the truth in her best friend's eyes she smiled, now believing her whole-heartedly. "How can I resist that face," Haley says jokingly as she pats Brooke's cheek gently.

However, as happy as Haley may have seemed on the outside, she was conflicted on the inside. She felt like she was having déjà vu. Peyton had spoken almost those exact words to her on Friday night, and of course that had to be about the same Scott brother. She couldn't do anything about it right now; she was caught in the middle, so she continued smiling. "I'm happy for you Brooke, I really am," she told Brooke who in return smiled back. "Thanks Tutor-Girl," she said happily.

Brooke and Haley finally reached their lunch table, Brooke practically beaming when she saw Luke was already there, sitting across from none of then Peyton. "Oh Brother," Haley mumbled under her breath before taking a seat next to Luke, Brooke sitting across from Haley. "Hey Luke," Brooke said sending him one of her adorable dimpled-smiles, a smile Luke had been thinking about all weekend. "Hi Brooke," he said smiling right back at her, almost caught up in the intensity of her hazel eyes.

Haley noticed the exchange and coughed loudly, putting a pause on their eye flirting. "Hey to you too, Luke. And to think I thought we were best friends. You can't even say hello anymore? Unbelievable!" Haley said to him trying desperately to change the topic. He looked at her with an amused look on his face before saying, "Haley I saw you this morning. Three times actually." She shrugged and said jokingly, "Who cares! All a girl wants is a little acknowledgement now and then, is that too much to ask?"

It was at this point that Nathan walked over to the table, sitting down next to Brooke and across from Haley saying, "I'll give you all the acknowledgement you could ever need." This caused Haley to let out a sarcastic "Ha!" before going back to her lunch, looking at him with a tiny glare. Nathan shook his head with a smile, not knowing why this girl didn't fall for his charm like all the other girls did. It was like she could see right through all his crap. He was intrigued, he couldn't deny it.

The others laughed at their banter, not thinking anything of it. There every-day conversations always went along those lines. Peyton turned her head towards Lucas and said, "So what did you end up doing Friday night?" Lucas smiled nervously, scratching being his ear knowing what was about to come out of his mouth was complete crap. "Oh you know, just went back to my house and hung out. Nate kicked me out so I didn't have anything else to do." Haley started laughing as soon as she heard his dumb excuse, but having water in her mouth made it sound like more of a cough than anything else.

Brooke turned her head to Haley and sent her a quick glare, one which Haley gladly returned. Brooke smiled at Luke and said, "Sounds like a boring night to me." He shrugged his shoulders and said, "It was more fun than you'd think," a teasing tone apparent in his voice. Haley rolled her eyes, not knowing how Peyton and Nathan could be oblivious to what was going on with those two. Well, Nathan she could understand, he was a dimwit. She gave Peyton more credit than that, however Peyton seemed to be getting slower as time went on too. Haley smiled to herself at her amusing thoughts.

Peyton continued on saying, "Well I'm really happy you're okay. I was worried about you," in the sweetest tone she could possibly speak in. It was when she said this that Brooke turned her head to Peyton with a questioning look on her face. However Peyton didn't notice, she was too focused on talking to Luke. And Luke, being the dense guy that he is, didn't think twice. "Thanks Peyt, but I'm okay," sending her a small smile.

Haley noticed the exchange with an "Oh god" look on her face, thinking that the three couldn't go on much longer without noticing what was happening. It was obvious to any onlooker that Brooke and Lucas seemed to have some kind of weird vibe thing going on. But at the same time, Peyton seemed to care an awful lot about him as well. And who knew what the hell was going through Luke's head. "So, how about those Panthers?" Haley said, referring to North Carolina's NFL team.

This statement caused everybody at the table to turn to her with a curious look. "What?" she said shrugging her shoulders as she chewed on her sandwich. "Anyways!" Brooke said loudly as she turned to Peyton, talking to her about some cheerleading problem. Luke and Nate took this opportunity to begin talking about basketball, their first game being in a couple weeks. "Way to go Haley, nice job," Haley thought to herself as she mentally patted herself on the back for ending that awkward moment. However she knew she couldn't keep it up forever; she needed to find out how her friends felt, and more importantly, how Luke felt.

* * *

The bell rang a half-hour later, the gang getting up from the table throwing their trash away. Brooke smiled when she saw Lucas walking towards the school and began walking towards him, but before she could she saw Peyton walk up beside him, her arm resting lightly on his arm in order to get his attention. Brooke felt something weird go through her in that moment. Could it be? No, there was no way she was jealous.

She rolled her eyes silently to herself, a little voice in her head saying "denial, denial." Haley walked up next to her, wrapping her arm around Brooke's shoulder. "Watcha looking at Tigger?" Brooke smiled and said, "Oh, nothing really," as she continued to look in the two blonde's direction, watching as Peyton pushed his arm playfully a smile spreading across his face at something she must have said. Despite what she said, Haley had a pretty good idea what she was looking at. Confirming her suspicions, Brooke then said, "Does Peyton like him?"

Haley sighed, not wanting to say yes, because she wasn't positive. Peyton told her she thought she was starting to like him, but knowing Peyton and her emotions she could very well hate him by now. She could see that wasn't the case, but she didn't want to speak for Peyton either. "I don't know, maybe you should talk to her about it?" Haley suggested. Brooke sighed and nodded her head, thinking that it would be just her luck that the one time she was truly starting to like a guy, her best friend liked the same one.

Haley noticed the bummed look that seemed to cross her best friend's face and stepped in front of her vision so she couldn't watch anymore. "Everything is going to turn out fine. I don't call you Tigger so you can be all pessimistic on me, do I?" Haley asked her smiling, wanting to believe her own words. Brooke took a deep breath and said, "Of course not, you're right I'm being crazy. He's just a boy anyways, so what if my best friend likes him right? There are plenty others like him." Brooke spoke the words with ease, now all she had to do was believe in them; that would be the hard part.

* * *

It was now time for cheer practice and Brooke was already on the court stretching. For the rest of the day she had been thinking about what she would say to Peyton. She needed to know if Peyton liked Lucas before she got in any deeper with him. Who was she kidding; all they did was talk for a night. It's not like they were anywhere close to being something. For all she knew Luke liked Peyton and she was imagining the feelings she thought he might have for her.

Brooke lifted her head and saw Luke walk into the gym, Nathan by his side. She saw him smile at something Nate said, making a smile appear on her own face. She saw him turn his head and he met her eyes, giving her a small smile and a wave before passing by into the locker room. She had to be crazy if she got this worked up over a boy she hardly knew. She didn't even know his middle name, his birthday, his favorite color; anything.

Hearing the double-doors open again she lifted her head, this time seeing Peyton enter into the gym. Brooke forced a smile onto her face as Peyton came over, knowing the upcoming conversation could potentially be awkward. "Hey ," Brooke said before Peyton answered with a, "Hey there." She watched Peyton get her shoes on before coming over and stretching next to her. Brooke ran a hand through her chocolate locks nervously before saying, "Can I talk to you about something?"

Peyton focused her eyes onto Brooke and said, "Of course. What's up?" Brooke took a deep breath before looking into Peyton's bright green eyes. "Um, it's kind of silly. But, I was wondering if you liked Lucas or something? If you do, it's okay I totally understand. The thing is I kind of like him, but you say the word and I'll back off," Brooke said to her as she rambled on, being embarrassed by her little speech.

Peyton stood in front of Brooke, trying to process all of what she said. She could see that Brooke was sincere in her feelings for Lucas, and she wanted her best friend to be happy. It was true, she did like Lucas, but maybe she could get over them. She had to be able to, right? She just met him. It wasn't like she had known him and liked him for months. Peyton tried her hardest to put a smile on her face and said, "Oh, no I don't like him. We're definitely just friends," she told Brooke, knowing that at the moment it was a bit of a lie.

She would try though, for her best friend, to get Lucas out of her head. She saw the look of relief on Brooke's face when she heard Peyton's words. "Ah, thank you God! I'm really happy to hear you say that. I would have been pretty bummed out, but I would have understood," Brooke informed her. "Well you don't have anything to worry about," Peyton said diverting her eyes from Brooke's not being able to say that while looking her in the eye.

Brooke smiled at Peyton, believing every word she was saying. She had no reason not to, they were best friends. She was just happy she didn't have to try and forget about Luke. Brooke only knew him for two weeks, but she had a feeling he was a boy she wouldn't be able to forget as easily as the others. Speaking of, she lifted turned her head just in time to see him exit the locker room, dressed in his dark blue penny and white basketball shorts. Brooke let her eyes drift to his muscles that were clearly visible thanks to his shirt, before pulling them up to his eyes.

He found her eyes as well, letting him watch as she blatantly checked her out with her eyes. She bit her lip and sent him a flirty smile before turning back towards her team. "Alright girls! Get ready!" Brooke yelled to her teammates as practice was starting. Nathan noticed the looks between Brooke and his brother and said, "Focus, man. She will still be there after practice." Luke rolled his eyes and punched him in the shoulder before he stood on the end-line, starting to sprint at Whitey blew his whistle.

* * *

About two hours later the boys practice ended. At the same time Brooke ended their cheer practice, not wanting to miss the chance to talk to Luke. Brooke walked up to Lucas, sweat still leaving a shine on his forehead. She thought he looked really hot. "Hey Broody," Brooke said in her raspy voice, walking up in front of him with a smile. "Hey Cheery," he responded as he quickly let his eyes run over her body. She was one of the most gorgeous girls he ever laid his eyes on, that much he knew.

It was then that he realized she had said something to him, but he was too wrapped up in checking her out to register it. "Um, what?" he asked her curiously hoping she didn't notice. However, she did notice. He wasn't good at hiding it. "Maybe you would have heard me if you hadn't been checking me out," she teased him as she took a step closer, smelling a mix of his deodorant and his axe body spray. It was enough to drive her crazy. Lucas smiled and felt his face heat up knowing that she had caught him.

"Yeah, sorry," he said, kicking himself mentally at how stupid he sounded. "Hm, well if it makes you feel better I was checking you out earlier," she told him as she bit down gently on her lip. Lucas smiled and let out a laugh saying, "Yeah that actually does make me feel better." "Good! So I was thinking, maybe we could hang out tomorrow after school or something?" she asked him hopefully. "I'd love to, but I promised Peyton we would hang out tomorrow," he told her, Brooke trying to keep the disappointed look off her face.

She nodded her head and forced a smile saying, "Oh, yeah of course," but Luke noticed something different in her voice. "You okay?" he asked curiously. Brooke looked up into his crystal eyes and said, "I'm fine, Lucas. We can another time." However, Luke had a hard time believing the words she was saying. "How does Wednesday sound?" he asked her smiling, not wanting her to be upset in any kind of way. Brooke felt a smile return onto her face and said, "Wednesday it is. And I know exactly what we can do."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" he asked curiously, seeing a mischievous look in her eye. "You'll just have to wait and see. Bye Broody," she told him with a wink before turning and walking away from him.

Haley looked across the gym and noticed Brooke and Lucas talking, smiling herself at how happy she seemed. Her eyes scanned the gym once more, only this time she saw Peyton, who was watching Brooke and Luke with a troubled look on her face. Brooke texted Haley during practice, letting Haley know that she talked to Peyton and Peyton told her she didn't like Lucas. However, from the look on Peyton's face, she had a feeling it wasn't that simple.

That was only half the problem though. Even if both Brooke and Peyton did like Luke, nobody was sure of how Luke felt. She wanted to talk to him, but she didn't know if he would we truthful considering Haley was best friends with both Peyton and Brooke. Haley looked across the gym and sighed when her eyes fell on Nathan, knowing what she had to do. She walked up to him, tapping his shoulder while he was talking to some guy on the team. He turned to her and smiled, making her roll her eyes right away.

"Ah, look who it is. I'll talk to you later man," Nathan said to his friend before giving his full attention to Haley. "What can I do for you?" he asked her with a smug look on his face. "Alright, listen. I need your help with something. So can you try not to be a jackass for like 5 minutes and listen?" Haley asked, obviously having a hard time asking him to do a favor for her. "Well you're off to a pretty crappy start, but go ahead I'm listening," Nathan told her, finding it cute how feisty she was.

"Okay, well here is the thing. Brooke likes Lucas. Peyton likes Lucas. But I have no idea who Lucas likes. What I need you to do is talk to your brother and find out how he's feeling about them. I just don't want to see my friends get any more hurt than they have to. Do you understand?" Haley asks him as she looks up into his dark blue eyes, never noticing how gorgeous they were until now. Nathan sighs and runs his hand through his dark hair, looking over at his brother who was currently talking to Brooke.

He turns back to Haley and says, "To be honest, I don't know if Luke likes either of them. He's in a pretty weird place right now; been going through some stuff." He noticed the confused look on Haley's face and added, "I can't talk about it, it's his business not mine. I can try and talk to him, but I'm not promising anything. He doesn't really like to talk about his feelings. It runs in the family," Nathan tells her, putting on a small smile at the end.

Hearing Nathan's words she became increasingly interested and curious about what Nathan was referring to when she said he has been going through hard stuff. She took the hint though and decided not to ask anymore about it for now. "Thanks, Nate. That would be a big help," Haley says, her conversation with him going better than she ever expected. "However, I'll only do it on one condition," he tells her with a smirk.

She exhaled deeply and sent him a tiny glare saying, "Of course there is a condition. What do you want from me?" Nathan shrugged his shoulders and said, "Nothing big, just a date." Haley's eyes widened when he told her this, releasing a sarcastic laugh. "You can't be serious," she said looking up at him, knowing that unfortunately he was. He smirked and said, "Okay don't. Good luck finding somebody else to talk to Lucas," before turning to walk away.

Haley let out a grunt and grabbed his arm. "Fine! I'll go on a date with you. But only if you find out who he likes. If you can't find out, then no date," she said reasoning with him. "Deal," Nathan told her smiling. "God, I am such a good friend," Haley said mumbling to herself under her breath before walking away, more than annoyed with the dark-haired Scott brother.

* * *

Later that night Luke found himself at a basketball court he had come to know as a second home. Everybody called it the River court, and it was the best place to go if all he wanted was some alone time or time to think. However, that was soon interrupted when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him, followed by the sound of a basketball being dribbled on the pavement. He turned around and laughed when he saw Nathan there behind him.

"I thought I'd find you here," he said to Luke, dribbling for a couple steps before releasing a jump-shot, the ball moving straight through the hoop. "Wow, you must me psychic," Luke retorted sarcastically, shooting him a smile before taking a shot of his own, using his patented fade-away. "The fade-away is weak," Nathan told him as they continued to shoot around. He took a deep breath, not really wanting to talk to Lucas about his feelings, but knowing it's what he had to do if he wanted a date which Haley.

"So, I've seen you hanging around a lot with Peyton and Brooke lately, they're pretty cool," Nathan said casually, not wanting him to suspect anything. Luke nodded his head, dribbling the ball between his legs. "Yeah, they are. I'm supposed to be hanging out with Peyton tomorrow," he informed Nathan. Nate sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be easy. "Oh, that's cool. Do you think you'd be interested in her? Like more than a friend?" he prodded, knowing this conversation was most likely going to take a bad turn at some point.

Luke turned to him and said, "Come on, man," a warning tone to his voice. However, Nathan continued. "Oh, then you like Brooke? I've seen you guys talking a lot. I mean you got into a fight over her and everything." Lucas stopped dribbling, holding the ball between his big hands. "What's with the third degree Nate? You don't see me asking you about all the girls you talk to," he says, clearly getting annoyed.

Nathan shrugged his shoulders, knowing he had a point. "I was just thinking, you know. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you did like Peyton or Brooke. It's been almost 6 months Luke, you can't be sad forever," he said in a more caring tone knowing it was a sore subject for him. Lucas turned to Nathan, knowing his little brother was just trying to help him out. "Then why does it take everything in me to not feel guilty when I talk to them, huh? Answer that," Luke said.

Nate held his ball as well, knowing his brother had really struggled for the past couple of months. "You're a good guy Luke, there's no doubt in my mind. I know how much the past months have sucked for you, and hey they haven't been the easiest for me either. But you deserve to be happy, whether you believe that or not. You need to live in the moment, man. You can't let a good thing slip away," Nathan told Luke.

Luke was really appreciative of his brother's words. He hated talking about this, but he also knew it wasn't good to keep it bottled up inside of him. "Thanks Nate. I'll think about it," Luke told him smiling. "That's all I ask," he responded, running up to the hoop full speed and dunking the ball effortlessly. He turns around and smiles at Luke saying, "So, let's say that hypothetically you take my advice. Brooke or Peyton?"

Luke chuckled and shook his head at his brother, looking at the ball for a moment. He turned to the hoop and bent his knees in preparation for his shot. "Brooke," he said simply, letting the ball release from his fingertips, watching it arc perfectly falling into the hoop. Hearing this Nate smiled to himself, knowing he got the answer he wanted. He was happy he helped his brother out, and even happier that he just sealed himself a date with Haley James.

****Review Please! I'm up for constructive criticism and any suggestions! Thank you!****


	4. Chapter 4

Lucas couldn't believe how fast the following day went for him. He had spent most of the night before thinking about what Nathan had told him. Maybe he did deserve to be happy again. It would soon be almost 6 months since everything happened, and they were the toughest months of his life. He decided he would give it a shot; take Nathan's advice and try to keep the past in the past. He would start living in the moment and hopefully tonight was just the beginning of it all.

"Bring it in guys," Whitey said to his players at the end of practice, the team huddling together. "Now we only got a week and a half till out first game. So practices are going to get a little bit tougher, and a little bit longer to make sure you girls are ready for next Friday. You better enjoy your night tonight because tomorrow you guys are mine." Whitey walked out of the gym and the guys sighed, already expecting how much the next week would suck.

Nate walked over to Luke and said, "Hey man do you want to head over to the River Court? We have to be as sharp as possible come next Friday if we wanna impress the scouts." Lucas replied sarcastically, "Am I talking to Dan right now? Just play your game Nate and you'll be fine. Plus, I have plans with Peyton tonight, remember? " Nathan shrugged his shoulders and said, "Oh, yeah, how could I forget about your guys date?"

Lucas smiled and said, "It's not like that." Nathan held his hands in the air and said, "Sure it's not. All I know is that Peyton's about to walk over here wearing a pretty hot little outfit. What are you guys going to do anyways?" Luke simply answered, "No idea," before seeing Peyton walk up next to him. "Hey Luke, Hey Nate," she said to the brothers smiling, both of them responding with a "Hey." Nathan sighed and said, "Well, I'm going to head over to the court. One of us has to play good next Friday. Have fun on your date, guys," smirking at Luke before walking out of the gym.

Luke put his head down, shaking it a bit and putting his hand on his face before turning to Peyton. "Sorry about that," he said laughing. Peyton couldn't deny the good feeling she had when Nathan called it a date, but she quickly tried to shake it, knowing she had to make her feelings for Lucas disappear; for Brooke's sake. "I wouldn't expect anything else from him," Peyton said returning his smile before the two walked out of the gym side-by-side. Unconsciously Luke's eyes surveyed the gym as he looked for Brooke but she was nowhere to be found. He figured she must have already left from practice and decided to try and get her out of his mind for the night.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Luke asked Peyton curiously. "There is a pretty good band playing downtown if you want to go," Peyton suggested to him. He smiled and said, "Sure, who is playing?" "NOFX," she replied. "It's me inside your head," he sung to her in his terribly off-pitch voice, causing Peyton to begin laughing hysterically. "Please never sing around me again. I'd rather be deaf," she said, still laughing. "I don't know what you're talking about I'm a great singer," he told her teasing, knowing very well that he was tone deaf.

"Okay Luke, whatever you say," she mumbled under her breath smiling. "I'll drive," she told him as they walked over to her Comet. "Nice car," he complimented as saw it, running his hands along the black paint. "My Uncle just bought out a car body shop down the street so if you ever have any troubles with it just let me know and I'll bring it in. I'm going to start working there next week so I can start making some money," he offered to her.

Peyton smiled and said, "Oh, a guy that's good with his hands. Just what every girl likes," teasing him. Luke shrugged his shoulders and said, "Yeah I get that a lot, it's not a big deal," the signature Scott smirk plastered on his face. "Are you sure I'm not with Nathan right now? Because I swear I just heard one of his annoying cocky comments," Peyton asked him. Luke smiled and turned to her saying, "Come on, he's not that bad." Peyton simply rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, right. The next thing you're going to tell me is Satan isn't evil, right?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Brooke was sitting in Karen's café talking to Haley as she finished cleaning up for the night. Karen was in the back cleaning the dishes and Haley was taking care of her last customers. "Hale-eyyy," Brooke whined to her with a pout, causing her to roll her eyes. Haley stood behind the counter and faced Brooke saying, "Yes Brooke?" "Do you think Lucas likes Peyton?" she asked, a pout still evident on her fair-skinned face.

Haley laughed at Brooke's behavior, never having seen her like this before. She had come here right after cheer practice and sat down on a stool, not moving for almost two hours now. "Brooke, I have no idea who he likes," she said truthfully, considering she never got the chance to see Nathan today. She usually saw him at lunch which is where she was going to question him about what he found out last night, but instead Haley had to tutor a student.

"It's not fair! Peyton told me she doesn't like him, but what if tonight they have the best date in the world and she falls in love with him and he falls in love with her and I never get to have my date with him?" she says speaking as fast as humanly possible. Haley smiles and reaches her hand out, covering Brooke's hand with her own. "Brooke, that isn't going to happen, I promise. Plus it's not even a date. If you're that worried about him forgetting you why don't you just text him?" Haley suggests.

Brooke moves her fingertip around the rim of her glass, thinking about doing just that. "I don't want to seem like a bother, or for him to think I'm jealous," she said to Haley. Haley began wiping down the counter and said, "He's not going to think that. He will want to talk to you." Brooke nodded her head and smiled saying, "I guess a couple of texts won't hurt," before pulling her phone out of her purse and typing in Luke's name.

"_Hey Broody. I didn't talk to you much today, just wanted to make sure you didn't forget that you're all mine tomorrow night_," she texted to him, smiling to herself as she did. Brooke sat anxiously, tapping her fingers on the counter before hearing her phone vibrate, looking down and seeing that he texted her back. His text read, "_I know I was looking for you today after practice. How could I forget? Are you going to give me a hint on what we are doing?"_

She was beyond happy when he told her he had been looking for her today after practice. She texted back replying, "_Nope, it's going to be a surprise. Don't worry, I wouldn't let anything happen to my hero." _Moments later he answered her with, "I'm _not usually a fan of surprises, but I'll let it slide this time_." Brooke had a smile permanently glued to her face. It seemed like he was flirting with her but for all she knew that could just be his personality.

"_You_ _better. I'll let you go though and tell Peyton I said hi. See you tomorrow Broody_," she said sending him one last text, smiling as he sent back, "_I can't wait. Bye Cheery._" Haley finished waiting her tables and locked the door as they left. She returned behind the counter and now noticed a completely different look upon Brooke's face. "I'm guessing the texting went well?" She asked laughing at her best friend's goofy smile. "You could say that. I'm going to head home Tutor-Girl, thanks for the company. I'll see you tomorrow," Brooke said before leaving the café, on her way home for the night.

* * *

Luke and Peyton ended up having a great time watching NOFX play. They even managed to get the barback to get them a couple beers, making for a pretty funny story. "Good thing you were dressed like that tonight Peyt or we may not have gotten those free drinks," Luke said smiling as they headed back towards town. Peyton laughed and said, "And how exactly am I dressed, huh? What are you implying?" He shrugged his shoulders and said, "You know, like that! All those tight clothes and stuff," he said shifting in his seat nervously.

She smiled at how cute he was when he was uncomfortable. If she thought tonight would be a good start of her and Luke's friendship, she was wrong. She was having trouble in her quest to rid her feelings of him so far, but she would just have to try harder. But he made it pretty difficult, especially when he looked at her the way he did. She didn't know if it was intentional, but when she spoke to him it was like all of his attention was on her, unlike so many of the other guys she dated.

Most guys would pay attention only when they expected to get laid, but he was different. It was like he was genuinely interested in everything she had to say. It made her feel good. "Relax Luke, don't get all shy on me. I thought I have been doing a good job lately breaking you out of your shell. I mean the first time you talked to me, you barely talked at all. If I remember correctly you seemed to find your sandwich way more interesting than me," she reminded him smiling.

"I remember that sandwich; it was a good sandwich," he said thinking back. "I'd still pick the sandwich over you," he said casually as he teased her. She rolled her eyes and said, "Gee thanks, Luke. You know how to make a girl feel loved." "I try," he replied with a smirk. He had to admit, he had a really fun time hanging out with Peyton tonight. The best part of the night though, for some odd reason, were the 10 minutes that Brooke was texting him.

He was surprised to feel his phone vibrate and see her name lighting up his phone, but he definitely was not disappointed. He was happy to know that she was thinking of him, thinking of him enough to want to go out of her way and text him. Not only that, but she texted him to make sure that he didn't forget about their plans for tomorrow. There was no way he could forget, though. He was looking forward to hanging out with her more than anything. Was it a date? He didn't know, and he wasn't going to ask. He was just going to try to take Nathan's advice and live in the moment.

Peyton pulled up to Luke's house and stopped her car, unlocking the doors for him to get out. "Thanks for tonight Peyt, it was a lot of fun. We should hang out more often," he told her smiling. She nodded her head, agreeing with the blond-haired boy. "Yeah, definitely. I'll see you tomorrow," she told him with a huge smile on her face. He leaned over and gave her a brief hug before saying, "Bye Peyton," and exiting the car.

She waited until he went inside and rested her head against the headrest, not knowing what she was going to do. His hug was unexpected, but at the same time it was not unwelcomed. She liked the feeling of his arms around her, even if it was only for a couple short moments. She gave one more glance at his house before driving off, not knowing where to go from here.

* * *

Lucas woke up the next morning in a really good mood. He found himself falling asleep easier the past couple days after his talk with Nathan and he was starting to think that moving to Tree Hill was one of the best decisions he ever made. Who knows what he would be like if he had continued living in Sun Valley. He got ready for school and packed an extra pair of clothes with him so he would have something to wear when he went out with Brooke tonight. After all, he didn't want to make a bad first impression.

Luke texted Nathan and told him he didn't have to pick him up this morning, he was going to drive himself instead. He walked into his kitchen and saw him mom there making breakfast. "Hey mom," he said walking to her side and giving her a small kiss on her cheek. "Someone's in a good mood," she said smiling. Karen was overjoyed about Lucas's behavior lately. She hadn't seen him like this in awhile; he was starting to get back to his old self again. She just hoped he stayed like this, for she couldn't take seeing him so miserable again.

He smiled at sat down at the small round table in their kitchen. "Maybe I'm just trying to be happy again, you know, live in the moment," he told her. "Do you think that's wrong of me to do?" he asked her honestly only a few moments later. Karen sent her son a caring smile loving the man he was becoming. "I think it's great Lucas. You deserve all the happiness in the world, honey," she told him patting his head before setting a plate of food down before him. He smiled in relief and said, "Thanks mom, that means a lot." He quickly ate his breakfast and put his plate in the sink.

"Mom I might be back a little later tonight. Whitey is running practices longer until our first game, and me and Nate might go shoot at the River Court after," he said, purposefully leaving out the part about him and Brooke. She shot him a warning look and said, "12 o'clock Lucas, no later." He nodded his head and said, "I know, I know. Bye mom," before leaving his house and heading to school.

* * *

Luke pulled up to school and walked inside, going up to his locker and pulling out the books he would need for his first half of classes. He looked up when he saw Peyton leaning against the locker next to his. "Now people are going to think you're stalking me," he told her jokingly as he continued switching books around. "I can live with that," she said mocking what he told her weeks ago. Lucas was about to respond when he felt somebody come stand next to him.

"Hey , hey Luke," she said to the blondes in an energetic tone that shouldn't be used that early in the morning. "I swear you're on speed or something," Peyton said mumbling, still not being used to Brooke's morning personality and they had been friends forever. "Nope, not since last week," Brooke said grinning back at her. "Ha, Ha," Peyton replied sarcastically. "I'll see you two later," she said again before walking away leaving them to talk.

Brooke moved from Lucas's side so she was now standing in front of him, taking Peyton's spot. "So, I have a question. Do you have a fake ID?" she questioned as she looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with the same trace of playfulness he always saw in them. He lifted an eyebrow to her and said, "No… why?" wondering what was going on in that pretty head of hers. She continued smiling, her dimples now showing completely. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you at lunch," she said running her eyes up and down his body before walking off down the hallway, leaving him to stare after her.

* * *

Haley smiled as the bell rang for lunch, knowing that now she could finally have a chance to talk to Nathan. She usually walked from History to lunch with Brooke, but she was nowhere to be found. She laughed to herself at her behavior, it only being the second week of school and she was already skipping classes. Haley walked up to the lunch table and saw Lucas, Peyton, Nathan, and a couple other kids from the basketball team already sitting there.

She walked up to his side and said, "Hey Nathan, can I talk to you for a minute?" causing a couple of the guys from the basketball team to start cheering, hollering, and any other annoying action you can think of. Even Luke and Peyton gave them a weird look, but continued to stay silent. "Yeah, sure," he said smiling up to her as they walked to the other side of the courtyard where it was a bit quieter. "So…" Haley said looking up at him, knowing very well that he knew what she wanted him to say.

"So, what?" he asked playing dumb. She rolled her eyes and said, "You know what! What did he tell you, could you get it out of him?" He shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's possible," toying with her a little more. "Nathan!" she said getting aggravated with him. He laughed and decided to stop messing with her. "Yeah I talked to him. He wouldn't straight out say whether he liked Peyton or Brooke, which is pretty much what I expected. But, I asked him if he hypothetically had to choose one who would he pick, and he said Brooke," he told her, proud of himself and his detective skills.

Haley smiled and nodded her head, happy that Nathan was at least capable of doing a simple task. "Okay, thanks," she told him with a genuine smile on her face. She saw him not say anything else and she was hopeful that he forgot about their deal. "Well, I'm going to go back to lunch now," she told him hesitantly before walking back towards the lunch table, smiling victoriously to herself since it seemed he forgot. Nathan smirked to himself, knowing he didn't forget. He figured he would bring it up when she least expected.

Haley walked back over to her lunch table to hear Lucas saying to Brooke, "Come on, this is ridiculous!" only to see smirking and rolling her eyes in response. "What's up with you two?" Nathan asks curiously, Nathan and Haley sitting down across from each other at the table. "Brooke's planning on getting me arrested tonight, that's what," he tells them. She laughs sarcastically and says, "That's not true! He's just mad that I won't tell him what we're doing tonight. He's throwing a little temper tantrum."

"You can say that again," Peyton says smiling at him, causing him to throw her a glare. "Yeah, whatever. If I don't make it to practice tomorrow Nate, call the cops," he tells his brother. "Your ass better be at practice," Nathan says completely serious. "Geez, bipolar much?" Haley says to him with a look on her face telling him that she wasn't surprised by the rude comment. Nathan sighed when she said this and started eating his lunch, not knowing why he cared what Haley thought so much lately.

* * *

Whitey kept his word when he said practice was going to be a lot harder the next day. It had already run a half-hour over what it normally does, and the whole team was exhausted. The cheerleaders were long gone, including Brooke. Lucas figured that there plans might be cancelled since she probably went home already, but he didn't know for sure. Whitey finally blew the final whistle, the players all going over to the bench to sit down and catch their breath. After all, they had been doing suicides for the past 20 minutes.

Whitey dismissed them and Luke quickly went over and checked his phone, seeing that he had a text from Brooke. Her text read, "_Sorry your practice ran over! Text me when you're done and I'll come pick you up." _ Luke was really happy she still wanted to hang out even though it would be later than expected. He texted her back and said, "_You can leave whenever you're ready_," to which she responded, "_Ok, be there soon_."

Nathan came up to Luke and gave him a pat on the back saying, "Have fun tonight, man. I'll see you tomorrow," before leaving the gym. Lucas walked into the locker room and stepped into one of the showers not wanting to smell bad if he was going to be going out with Brooke. He quickly cleaned himself and washed his hair before stepping out, knowing Brooke would be there any minute. He quickly slipped on a pair of dark faded jeans followed by a plain light red t-shirt.

Not seconds later Luke heard his phone vibrate, receiving a text from Brooke letting him know she was outside. He shoved all his stuff into his duffle, slinging it over his shoulder and walking out the double doors of the gym. Looking up at the night sky he smiled, hoping tonight would be as fun as he wished. He walked past her car and over to his, putting his bag in the trunk before walking to her passenger side door, stepping inside and sitting down.

Lucas smiled at her, immediately being captivated by how gorgeous she looked. Her dark hair was in light curls that fell just above her chest; she was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a black halter top shirt that showed off her toned figure, but somehow she managed to take his breath away. "Um, hi," he said nervously then kicked himself mentally at how stupid he sounded. Brooke had too noticed how hot Luke looked. She could tell he had just gotten out of the shower by the way his shaggy blond hair still had a darker tint to it and stuck to his forehead. Not only that, but his shirt still clung to him in several places, his chest haven't completely dried. "Hey, cat got your tongue?" she asked teasing him and his nervousness.

"Something like that," he said smiling at her. He looked around her car and said, "Uh, remind me again why I didn't drive. I can't be caught in a Beetle. I have a reputation to uphold, you know." Brooke let out a laugh when he said this, causing him to say, "What! I'm serious. Why do you never believe anything I say?" She turns her head and smiles at him, wondering how she got so lucky to be hanging out with a guy this adorable. "I guess I just can't take you seriously," she said winking at him.

The two sit in comfortable silence for a couple minutes before Brooke pulls over to the side of the road, arriving at a part of town he wasn't familiar with. He looked around and said, "Where are we going?" She smiled and stepped out the car, grabbing something out of her purse and locking the doors. "Still no fake ID right?" she asked him curiously, to which he shook his head no. She smiled and handed him a car, tilting his head back and letting out a chuckle when he saw that she got him one.

"Brooke, where the heck did you get this?" he asked her before examining it closer, noticing that his name was now Henry apparently, and he was 23. She smiled and said, "You worry too much, just take it and be happy." Luke nodded his head, having heard those words a lot the past couple of days. "Let's go," she said grabbing his hand in hers and pulling him into an alley way and over to a side door where she flashed her ID. "Thanks Greg," she said to the bouncer, waiting as Luke showed his as well.

The bouncer gave him the ID back as well, the couple walking through the door into a very much different atmosphere. He felt Brooke release his hand and all of a sudden his hand felt colder, wishing it was back in hers. "How did you find this place?" he asked her curiously, looking around and seeing that the bar's name was The Blue Post. She smiled and walked over to the bar, taking a seat on a bar stool. Lucas sat down next to her and listened as she said, "I just need somewhere to go to get away from it all sometimes. Nobody I know comes here so it's the perfect place," she tells him, feeling like she could tell him anything without having him judge her.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," he says softly, running his finger in circles on the surface of the bar. She looks over and can tell by his furrowed brow that he's thinking about something. "What's on your mind?" she asks him curiously. He lifts his head and smiles at her saying, "Oh, nothing. Forget it," he tells her, not wanting his mind to drift there tonight; especially not tonight. "You sure? I don't call you Broody for nothing, you know," she says teasing him as she nudges his shoulder gently.

He cracks another smile and says, "I don't call you Cheery for nothing, either. I can't have you brooding like me, that's just too confusing." "Hm, you make a very good point Lucas Scott," she says letting it go, another gorgeous smile already back on her face. "So, are you going to buy me a drink or not?" she asks him playfully, causing him to chuckle and nod his head. "Of course, what do you like?" he questions as he looks behind the bar at the hundreds of bottles of alcohol.

"Well what I really like is sex on the beach," she says in her soft raspy voice as she smiles and looks into his beautiful blue eyes. "However, since this is a first date, I'll take it easy on you. A cranberry and vodka is good for me," she says kinking her eyebrow at him. She doesn't realize she referred to their hanging out a date until the words leave her mouth but from the look on his face he either didn't hear her, or didn't mind. She hopes it was the latter. "Cranberry and vodka it is," he says nodding his head to her, a permanent smile on his face. He calls the bartender over ordering her drink, along with a Bud Light for him. "This night is going to be interesting," he thinks to himself as he watches her sip on her drink.

* * *

"You're never going to beat my record, Nathan! Just face the facts. You can't be as good as me, not even in your dreams," Dan screamed at his dark-haired son just before he stormed out the front door of his house. "Fucking Dan," Nathan said to himself angrily as he dribbled his ball to the River Court. He knew Luke took solace in this place when he wasn't in a good mood, so maybe he could too. He got there and was happy none of the other River Court guys were there.

He thought they were pretty cool guys, even though he had only met them earlier that week, but a couple of them had pretty good game; especially that Skills kid. Nate shot around for about an hour, getting angrier by the moment when he kept thinking about how much having Dan as a father sucked. All he cared about was basketball and that was never going to change. He picked up the ball and threw it as hard as he could at the old and rusty backboard, jumping when he heard someone behind him go, "Take it easy, Hulk."

Nathan spun his head around and saw the last person he ever expected to see, Haley. "What are you doing here?" asked, attitude still apparent in his voice. She raised her eyebrows at him and said, "I was closing up at the café and saw you over here. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, but obviously that was a wrong move." She turned around and began walking away from him back towards her car. "Wait, I'm sorry. I'm just not in the greatest mood," he said to her, now feeling bad for how he acted.

She turned to him and nodded her head, accepting his apology. "Did you want to talk about it? I mean, I know you told me the Scott brothers don't like to talk about their feelings, but if you want to I'm here," she said to him with a small smile on her face. He wasn't used to this, not at all. If anybody else would have said what she did to him, he probably would have blown them off. But there was something about Haley that seemed so kind; so honest.

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "There isn't much to say. My dad Dan is an asshole," he tells her simply. She makes an "Oh" face with her lips and says, "At least your parents are around, my parents travel all year on an RV." He shakes his head and says, "Trust me, I'd much rather have absent parents than a dick of a father and a drunken mother." She cracks a small smile at how mad he was, finding it cute for some odd reason.

"How is this funny?" he asks her curiously. Haley continues to smile and says, "Yeah, I have no idea, sorry." Haley then looks up to the sky, seeing dark clouds starting to move across the already dark sky, not to mention the wind was starting to pick up. "It looks like it's going to rain. Do you want a ride back to your house?" she asks looking up into his eyes. "Um, yeah sure. Thanks," he says sending her a grateful smile before walking over to her car with her.

The two make small conversation until she pulls up to his house. "And I thought Brooke's house was big," she says smiling over at him. "Trust me Haley, you have the better end of the stick," he tells her confidently. "I'll see you tomorrow," he adds on, sending her a small smile as well. Something was different about this smile though. It was different than the one she normally saw on his face; it was much less… cocky? It seemed real, and something about that excited her. "Bye Nathan," she said softly, watching him walk up to his front door before pulling away, thinking that maybe there was more to this boy than he let on.

* * *

"I can't believe a girl is beating me at pool," Lucas said leaning down on the end of his pool cue. Him and Brooke had been at the bar for almost 2 hours now, and she was about to kick his ass for the third time that night. "You better believe it Broody," she said sliding past him on her way to the other side of the table, taking advantage of their close proximity by brushing the front of their bodies together briefly before moving on.

Brooke bit her lip as she concentrated on what she hoped to be her winning shot. She leaned down, focusing her eyes on the black ball. Luke thought she didn't notice his eyes running across her body for the past hour, but she felt his eyes on her body like a heat-ray. She felt like he could see right through her exterior, the one she put on for everybody else. She looked up into his eyes smiling before successfully hitting the number 8 ball into the far pocket. "And that's how you play pool," she said laying her stick across the table, walking in front of him so that their bodies were only inches apart.

"So what's my prize?" she asked in a soft voice as she looked up into his eyes, seeing that they were filled with an intensity she had never witnessed before in another's eyes. "That depends, what do you want?" he asked curiously, feeling like his stomach was about to fall out of his body from nervousness. "I can think of one thing in particular," she said resting her hand on his chest and playing with the material on his shirt before saying, "Come on," and grabbing his hand.

Luke wasn't sure what she was doing but he wasn't complaining. Having her hand in his was good enough for him, but he had a feeling Brooke had a lot more in mind than hand-holding. He laughed when he saw that Brooke dragged him into an alley next to the bar, saying "What are we doing here?" Before he could realize what was happening she had grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling his chest up against hers as she rested against the brick wall.

"What's you take on tattoos?" she asks him as she looks up into his eyes. He can tell by the look in her eye that she was up to no good, but that intrigued him in a way. "I don't like needles," he told her simply, enjoying how it felt to be this close to her. "Well, what do you think of my tattoo?" she asks in the sexiest voice he has ever heard. He watches as she unzips hers jeans, slightly lowering one side and showing off the tattoo that branded her upper thigh. Lucas swallows slowly when she looks up at him with questioning eyes.

He takes his eyes off her tattoo when she zips her pants up, lifting them to her eyes. "I think that tattoo is very, sexy," he says to her in a small whisper, watching as another dimpled smile lights up her features. "Hm, right answer. You know if you want, I could tell you more about that sex on the beach I mentioned earlier," she told him in a voice that was hard to resist. However, Luke didn't want it to be like this with her. He didn't want it to be some stupid thing, although he was positive that anything with Brooke wouldn't be classified as stupid.

"As tempting as that sounds, I have another thing in mind," he tells her, leaning down close to her lips, so close that she could feel his breath on her mouth. She smiled and began to close her eyes, expecting to feel his lips against hers. Instead, she felt his hand in hers once more, now pulling her down the alley and onto the street. She pouted when he didn't kiss her, but continued to let him lead her down the street. Brooke smiled when he slowed down his pace and began walking next to her, still not removing his hand from hers as they were now laced together.

"Do you think you're okay to drive?" he asked looking over at her, obviously wanting to go somewhere else. She nodded her head and sent him a smile saying, "Yeah I'm fine," noticing the doubting look on his face, she squeezing his hand lightly in hers and said, "I promise Luke." He smiled back at her and said, "Okay, then can you drive us somewhere?" to which she responded, "Sure broody." The couple got in her car and followed his directions until they pulled up to the River Court.

The pair got out and Brooke looked over to him saying, "Lucas I'm probably not the best person to play basketball with," as she looked down at her cute outfit then back up at him. He laughed at the look on her face pretty much expecting that reaction from her. He went to a bush alongside the court and pulled out a ball, keeping it there for any time he wanted to come shoot around. "I thought you might say that," he told her smiling as he walked over to her with the ball.

He handed her the ball, noticing she looked at it as if it were a creature from outer space. "Now, shoot," he told her as he nudged her arm gently, pushing her towards the hoop. "Why do you insist I embarrass myself like this?" she asked him pouting. "Because, we got to do what you wanted to do, and now we're doing what I want. And what I want is for you to shoot the ball, so get to shooting," he says resting his hands on her waist and moving her over to the free throw line.

Brooke was secretly enjoying the feel of Lucas's hands on her small waist, wishing he would just keep them there instead of making her shoot this stupid round ball. Her wish wasn't granted though because seconds later he removes his hands and stepped to the side, sticking his hands in his pockets just waiting for her to shoot with a slight smirk on his face. "I guess both Scott brothers can be a pain in the ass," she mumbled under her breath although she knew Lucas could hear her.

She took a deep breath and lifted her arms up, throwing the stupid ball as hard as she could towards the hoop, failing miserably as it fell short not even hitting the basket. Luke was trying to be nice but he couldn't hold it in; he busted out laughing at the sight of her sad shot, causing her to glare at him. She went and retrieved her ball, throwing it at him in the stomach with a smile on her face. "Ow, come on Brooke! Don't hit me just because you suck," he said smiling at her, ducking as she threw the ball again, only aiming for his head this time.

"You're a jerk, Lucas Scott," she said pouting at him, watching as he jogged down the court to get the ball. "My name is Henry, actually," he tells her with a wink, referring to the name on his fake ID. "Ha, ha," she retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him. Luke pulled his phone out of his pocket, seeing that his clock read 12:30am, mumbling a "shit" under his breath knowing his curfew was 12. "You okay?" she asked, noticing a change of look on his face.

He looked up at her worried expression and couldn't help but smile at her. She seemed to have such a caring heart, maybe one that could fix his. "I'm fine," he told her. He looked up at the sky and felt the wind rolling in, noticing the sky had gone dark about over an hour ago. "It smells like rain," Luke said looking over at her, Brooke nodding her head in agreement. "Yeah, it does. I should probably get you back to your car so we don't get stuck in it," she said running her hand through her hair.

Luke agrees before putting his basketball back under his bush. "You better not give away my secret hiding spot," he warned her playfully. "I wouldn't dream of it Broody," she told him smiling as she walked to his side. She reached down and entwined their fingers once more as they walked back to her car in silence, thinking that his hand fit perfectly in hers. They parted their separate ways when they stepped into her car, Brooke heading back to school so Luke could get his car.

"Thanks for tonight, Brooke. I had a really good time," he told her with a grin on his face. "Even without the sex on the beach?" she teased as she looked over at him. He released a chuckle and said, "You don't have to act that way with me Brooke. I think you're beautiful, not to mention you've got this amazing personality. I want to get to know the real you." Brooke can't help but feel small flutters in her stomach when he gives her his little speech. He makes her feel important and loved which is more than she can say about any other guy she has hooked up with.

"I know, but you're the first one to ever say it," she tells him before pulling up alongside his car, kind of sad to see the night come to an end. "I better get going, my curfew was about an hour ago," he tells her with an "oh well" look on his face. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Luke. Why didn't you tell me," she rambled on, now feeling completely terrible that he might get in trouble. "Brooke, it's fine, really. I think tonight was worth the possibility of a grounding," he says to her with a cute smile upon his flawless face.

She feels a small blush arise onto her face, not being used to emotions she was beginning to feel for this boy. "That's good to know," she says lifting her eyes to his, biting her lip gently. "I should get going. I'll see you tomorrow Brooke," Luke tells her, reaching for the handle on his door. He sees her nod her head, turning back to the steering wheel. "Oh, I almost forgot," he said, causing her to turn her head towards him curiously.

Luke didn't know where his nerves came from to do this, but as soon as his eyes met hers he knew he wouldn't regret it. Luke slowly leaned across her car's center console, leaning his face in towards hers. His lips were centimeters away from hers before he closed his blue eyes, finally closing the space between them and sealing their lips together for the first time. Lucas sucked gently on Brooke's bottom lip, feeling her smile against his lips as he did so.

It was like an electric spark was running between the two; one that was strong enough to make both of their hearts beat faster than ever before. After a couple more moments Lucas finally pulled away, already missing the comfort of her lips on his. He opened his eyes to see Brooke's flushed face in front of his, an adorable smile on her beautiful face. She opened her eyes to meet his as he said, "I couldn't let you leave without your prize," a goofy smile present on his lips.

"I'm glad you didn't," she said softly, realizing that she probably seemed crazy because of all her smiling. "Okay, this time I really do have to go. Bye beautiful," Luke said smiling at her, sending her a short wink before stepping out of her car. He reached for his keys and felt rain begin to fall onto his skin from the sky in the form of a drizzle. He quickly got into his car, wanting to get out of here before it started pouring. He looked over at Brooke who sent him one last smile before pulling out of the parking lot, having the same idea as him about beating the rain.

If Brooke thought the butterflies in her stomach were big the last time she was with Lucas, these one's make the last ones look like ants. The way his lips felt on hers was so… different. It was a good different though; an amazing different. It was like one kiss could make her forget about the world around her. If he could do this with just a kiss, she wondered what else he could do. It was now safe to say that she was crazy about a boy. She had been crazy for a boy before, but never about one. She was crazy about Lucas Scott. God help her.

* * *

Luke had been sitting in his car for a couple minutes now, simply trying to grasp his mind around the fact that he had just been on a beyond amazing date with Brooke Davis. This wasn't the shocking part though; the shocking part was that he was able to go on a date at all and have a good time. There was something about the doe-eyed beauty that made him believe that everything was going to be alright, and he couldn't remember the last time he felt that way.

He started his car and pulled out of the parking lot as he started on his journey home. Minutes into his drive he saw a bright flash of lighting, followed by a loud crack of thunder. Lucas pressed his foot harder into the gas pedal, wanting with all his heart to beat the rain. Mother nature had a plan of her own though, because seconds after that thought crossed his mind the sound of rain hitting the top of his roof filled his ears.

His grip tightened on the leather steering wheel creating white knuckles on his big hands. He couldn't stand driving in the rain, ever since that fateful night almost 6 months ago. He was a nervous wreck; heart beating fast and drips of sweat beginning to form on his brow. He had done so good lately with not thinking about what happened, but the circumstances he was finding himself in now made it hard to ignore. He tried shaking the thoughts but it was useless.

_**FLASHBACK**_

"_I told you we should have left an hour ago with everybody else!" the blond-hair girl said to the boy sitting next to her in the passenger seat. She grabbed a towel from the back-sea, attempting to dry the rain that had fallen onto her body before seeing cover in her car. "If we left with them we wouldn't have had a chance to be alone," the boy responded as he moved his eye brows up and down. The girl smiled at him, knowing she couldn't resist him even if she tried. "I guess you make a pretty good point," she said as she leaned over the center console, giving the boy a soft kiss on his lips._

"_Thanks for seeing it my way," he said smiling. He looked outside and noticed the familiar scene. The trees were swaying back and forth in the wind while low rumbles of thunder could be heard. "We better get out of here, it looks like a storm," the boy told her as he kept his eyes on the unfolding scene outside. "Thanks Luke, for being captain obvious," she teased before starting her car and pulling away from the beach-side road her car previously occupied._

_He smiled and laced his hand in hers, giving the back of her hand a quick peck. "You're just full of sarcasm aren't you?" he asked as he continued smiling. "What can I say, you bring it out in me," the beautiful young girl retorted. She took her hand from his and began to concentrate on the road in front of her, the rain changing from moderate to heavy in a matter of seconds. Lucas watched as she concentrated, believing that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He couldn't believe they had been together for almost two years now. They were the best two years of his life._

_She was perfect in his eyes. Unbelievably smart, funny, athletic, and surprisingly shy. He loved that about her though. "I love you Maddie," Lucas told the girl next to him, knowing that he would never tire of telling her those three words. She smiled as she glanced over at him for a brief moment. "I love you too, Luke," she said, her light brown eyes meeting his blues. He smiled and looked out his passenger side window, not wanting to distract her any more. Maddie turned her eyes back on the road, driving slowly as to make sure she was being safe. _

_However, neither blond was prepared for what happened next. Before either could properly react, Lucas saw a bright light out of the corner of his eye, closing in on them at a fast rate. He turned towards Maddie's side of the car and saw headlights heading towards their car with no intention of slowing down. "Maddie watch out!" Lucas screamed terrified, but before she had a chance to move a muscle, the car rammed into the driver's side door sending the car skidding across the road._

_It was over in seconds. The skidding car came to a halt, Lucas immediately coming back into consciousness. He quickly turned his head to his girlfriend, frightened when he noticed a complete lack of movement on her part. "Maddie!" he screamed in an effort to wake her up, but she didn't move, not even a centimeter. "No, no, no," he mumbled to himself. Luke kicked open his door and ran out into the rain feeling liquid dripping down his face. He was way too worried about Maddie at that point to realize it was blood._

"_God, please don't do this to me," he said out loud, hoping that God could just answer this one plead. A man who had seen the whole accident ran over to Lucas saying, "Hey! Are you alright?" Lucas turned to him in a panicked state and said, "No, call 911!" Luke never saw that man again, but it was his witness report that helped him understand what happened that day. He ripped open the driver side door as if in this highly emotional state he gained superhuman powers._

_It was then that Lucas saw his girlfriend leaning forward with her head on the steering wheel, her chest staying still, a lack of oxygen evident. He quickly pulled her out of the car, cradling her into his chest as he sat on the cold wet pavement, the storm now subsiding. He faintly heard the sound of sirens closing in on him, but mostly all he heard were his own cries. Cries to God for help. Cries to his unconscious girlfriend in hopes that she could hear him. _

_Everything that occurred after that moment was a blur for Lucas. The ambulance came and rushed his girlfriend to the hospital, Luke having to ride in one of his own to get a proper diagnosis. The Paramedics told him he would need stitches in his head, ones that would leave a small scar above his left eyebrow. He waited patiently in the packed waiting room, holding her mother's hand in his own as both desperately tried to keep it together._

_He remembers the doctor in blue solemnly walking out from behind the bland double-doors, his heart sinking in his chest. He told them he did everything he could but he couldn't save her, dying on the table during surgery. There was no keeping it together anymore as Luke felt his legs give out beneath him. Salty tears clouded his passionate eyes as the sound of cries filled the waiting room. Some were his; most belonged to the other dozen people surrounding him. He couldn't believe it. The girl he loved was gone forever, and he was lost._

_**END FLASHBACK**  
_

Luke finally reached his house and didn't realize he was crying until he felt hot drips of water sliding down his cheeks. He had been doing so well lately and one stupid storm ruined all of that. He turned his car off and leaned his head forward against his steering wheel taking deep breaths until he calmed down. It was there though, as much as Luke tried to ignore it; guilt. Who did he think he was tried to go out with Brooke?

Everybody told him to be happy, to live life in the moment. He tried, he really did, and he could honestly say that he had feelings for Brooke. She made him feel things he wasn't used to. However, as much as a part of him wanted to act on these feelings, he had to take this as a sign. A sign that he wasn't doing the right thing in pursuing some sort of relationship with Brooke. It was going to be tough to deny his growing attraction towards the brunette, but it was what he had to do.

Luke finally stepped out of his car and got ready for bed, happy for the fact that his mom wasn't up to yell at him for breaking curfew. He finally laid down in bed after turning out his lights, now finding himself staring up at his blank ceiling. Sleep wasn't going to come easy for Lucas tonight.

**Read and Review! Thanks guys! **

**P.S. I'm going on vacation this weekend for a week, so bare with me when waiting for the next update! **


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