Chapter 1

"I can't believe this is our last day as juniors, guys." Haley James said to her friends at lunch.

"Yeah, I thought this day would never come!" Nathan Scott high-fived his best friend, Tim.

Just think…I'll be off to art school in two weeks!" Peyton Sawyer gushed.

"Jenny and I are going to see my parents in Ohio in a few weeks. I can't wait to get out of here, no offense." Jake laughed.

"I can't wait for summer, dude. Summer with Bevin will be the best." Tim said as he gazed over at his girlfriend from across the courtyard.

"But you know what would be even better? Winning the state championship today, allowing us to go to the preliminaries in Hawaii! How awesome would that be? It would be paradise for 1 long, relaxing week. And the best part is, the cheerleaders get to tag along too." Nathan smirked at his cheerleader girlfriend, Haley.

"What about you, Luke?" Peyton questioned. "Now that things have finally settled between Brooke, you, and me… can't you enjoy the summer?"

Lucas sighed.

"You guys don't understand it, though. Brooke is moving to California with her parents in 3 weeks. That's hardly enough time for me to convince her to stay. I love her. She's the one…she just doesn't know it yet…" Lucas trailed off.

"Oh, poor Lucas," Rachel Walker walked over to their table.

"No one wants you here, Rachel." Nathan put his arm around Haley.

Rachel had been known for getting what she wanted. She moved to Tree Hill at the end of the school year. Rachel wanted Lucas, but he brushed her off. Rachel was a mean, snobby girl. The only friends she had were guys who treated her like a princess.

"I'm sure Lucas wants me here." Rachel smirked as she slid into a seat next to Lucas.

Meanwhile…at the cheerleader's lunch table…

"Oh my gosh!" Brooke Davis, the captain of the cheerleading squad, bursted with anger. "What does Rachel Walker think she is doing with Lucas. She'll be sorry." Brooke gritted her teeth.

"Um, excuse me, Brooke." Bevin said meekly.

"What is it, Bevin?" Brooke said impatiently.

"You know, Lucas isn't exactly yours…so, technically…it's okay for Rachel to be with him…"

"What! Are you kidding me? Wait a sec, you're right, Bevin, Lucas isn't mine. And plus, I'm leaving soon, so what do I care if Lucas is with that…that-"

"Fellow cheerleader of yours whom you like very much!" Theresa assured Brooke.

"By the way Brooke, you're going out with Felix…aka the team mascot for Tree Hill." Bevin said.

"Go ahead…rub it in, girls. While all of you get to date jocks, I date the unskillful, mascot." Brooke covered her face with her hands.

"At least you could consider him a part of the team!" Theresa laughed.

Brooke peeked out from underneath her hands and burst out in giggles.

Soon, the whole table was doubled over in laughter.

Haley, who had been watching Brooke's scene from across the courtyard said, "Sorry guys, but Peyton and I have to go see what our fellow cheerleaders are talking about. It looks rather interesting."

"Yeah, I had a great time here, boys." Peyton said sarcastically.

"See you later, Dumbo." Haley winked at Nathan as she pulled at her ears.

Peyton and Haley laughed at the fact that Nathan had finally received an embarrassing nickname. It had only took them one glance at him to figure it out. Truth be told, Nathan Scott had the most perfect ears in the world. Haley just liked to make fun of them because they were flawless.

"I'll get you later, Miss Tutorgirl! You'll regret that!" Nathan yelled to Haley.

Haley turned around and waved her hands in the air, sarcastically.

"Ooh, I'm so scared!" Haley smirked.

"Come on, Tutorgirl, or should we rename you, Flirtaciousgirl?" Peyton rolled her eyes and guided Haley to Brooke's table.

"Hey girls!" Haley smiled.

"What's going on?" Peyton sat down with her eyebrows raised.

"We…were…just…laughing…at…how…Brooke…is…going…to…not…miss…Lucas…when…she…leaves…soon." Bevin said in between laughs.

"Hold it!" Brooke held up her hand and everyone became quiet.

"I never said I wouldn't miss Lucas, I just said that I didn't care for him the way I used to, okay?" Brooke looked at the ground.

"Uh oh, here comes trouble." Peyton said referring to Rachel walking to their table.

"Isn't it time for us to warm up our routines for the basketball game, 6th period?" Rachel acted as if she was the leader.

"Excuse me, Walker, the last time I checked…I was captain. Got it? Good." Brooke stood up and motioned for the girls to follow.

"Someone's having a bad day." Rachel murmured as she followed the other girls.

"Bye Lucas!" Rachel waved to Lucas, who gave Rachel a quick nod.

As soon as the cheerleaders were out of sight, Lucas pounded his head against the table.

"Whoa, man, don't give yourself a concussion before the big game." Tim grabbed Lucas' head a held it upright.

"Yeah, quit Lucas. Everything will be just fine. Will you please just get your head ready for the game and then you can continue being glum." Nathan got up and threw away his lunch.

"Let's go, guys." Jake lead his friends towards the gym.

"Hey, wait. You know what would really get us pumped for the game?" Nathan gave a sly grin.

"Oh, no, Nathan. No way! I am not flying to Brazil again before a basketball game. Remember last time? We didn't make it back in time and Whitey gave us detention for 2 months, plus extra conditioning." Tim explained.

"Whoa, Tim! You guys went to Brazil?" Lucas' eyes almost bulged out of his head.

"Yeah, dude, of course." Tim turned to Lucas with a grin.

"We're skipping 5th period and going to Lucas' favorite place to get him ready for the game." Nathan nodded.

"We're going to his house?" Tim cocked his head.

"No, stupid." Nathan slapped Tim. "We're going to the River Court.

"Guys…" Lucas held up his hands as he backed away slowly.

"Grab him." Nathan murmured to Tim and Jake.

Lucas bolted for the gym, but wasn't fast enough.

Gotcha." Tim and Jake said.

"Fine, fellas." Lucas shook off his capturers arms. "Let's do this."

"Ready, girls? In 5, 6, 7, 8!" Brooke counted the steps to their halftime routine.

"Wait, Bevin, it's like this…" Brooke demonstrated the move Bevin didn't know.

"Do it with me, everyone. It's boom, slap, clap, hit, and to the left." Brooke instructed.

All of a sudden, the gym door burst open.

As soon as the girls saw it was Felix, they groaned.

"Okay, from the top, ladies. Peyton, count the beats. I'll be back in a few." Brooke said staring at her boyfriend.

"Hey, baby!" Felix welcomed her.

"Hello, Felix!" Brooke jumped into his arms.

Felix put her down. "I saw that move you demonstrated for the retard…classic."

He leaned in to kiss her, but she stopped him.

"Number one, that's my friend you're calling retard, and number two, I know I'm good." Brooke spun around, showing herself off in her miniskirt and Ravens cheerleading uniform.

"Good at what, Brooke?" Felix smirked.

"Everything." Brooke kissed him.

"Brooke! We need you over here! You can see lover boy, later!" Bevin called.

"Okay! I have to go! I'll see you for the big game, huh?" Brooke batted her eyelashes.

"Of course." Felix gave her a quick kiss and left the building.

Brooke sighed. "It felt good to have a boyfriend." She thought.

"Okay, what's the problem?" Brooke came back over to her squad.

As the practice progressed, Brooke couldn't focus on cheerleading. All of her thoughts were about the guy she loved.

"Ahh…home sweet home!" Lucas smiled at "HIS" River Court.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…let's do this, Luke! Come on, now. All thoughts about girls are thrown away, got it?" Nathan pounded fists with Lucas.

"Yeah, Nate. How about a game to 15? I pick Jake."

"Look's like it's you and me, Tim." Nathan said. "But, lets make things a bit more interesting…the losers have to tell his crush that he loves her."

"Hey! No fair, Nathan!" Jake protested. "The girl you love already knows it…and plus, she loves you back! No way!"

"Yeah, Nathan. You've got to agree with Jake. It's not fair for everyone." Tim sighed.

"Life isn't always fair, guys." Nathan took the ball from Lucas and shot it in the basket.

"1-0, you've got nothing to worry about Tim." Nathan laughed.

"You've really done it this time, Scott." Lucas joked to Nathan.

"Talking to yourself again, Lucas?" Nathan stopped and turned to Nathan, but Lucas stole the ball from Nathan and made a 3-pointer.

"I believe that's 3-0, us." Lucas laughed.

Throughout the whole game, Lucas and Jake would be ahead, but then Nathan and Tim would pull to the front. Eventually, it was 14-14 and Nathan's team had the ball.

"Say hello to Brooke for me, Lucas." Nathan smirked as he shot the ball from the 3-point arch.

SWISH!

"No!" Jake cried.

"Yes!" Nathan and Tim slapped hands.

Lucas was in a shocked state of mind.

"So, Luke," Nathan smirked. "How's the losing vibe feeling?"

When Nathan didn't receive a response from Lucas, let alone a change in expression, he was worried.

"Look, Lucas, it's just a game. Sometime this summer you have to tell Brooke, it doesn't have to be now, okay?" Nathan patted Lucas' back.

"Yeah, but I will do it. A bet is a bet." Lucas gave a weak smile.

"Are you ready for the game, man?" Tim asked Lucas.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Lucas pounded fists with his friends.

"Give me a V, dot the I, curl the C, T-O-R-Y. Victory! Victory!" The squad cheered before the Ravens were announced onto the court.

"Alright, guys, lets do this. It's my last year and I want the championship. We've gone too far to lose this. You know the line up. Who wants to go to Hawaii? I can't hear you!" Whitey, the Raven's coach, yelled in the locker room.

"YEAH!" The team hollered.

"Nathan, circle them up." Whitey instructed.

"Alright, guys, Ravens on 3." Nathan put his hand in the middle as did everyone else.

"1-2-3! Ravens!"

"And here they are now…your Tree Hill Ravens!" Mouth, their announcer, shouted.

The florescent lights flashed, the cheerleaders cheered, the crowd yelled for more as the Ravens hit the court.

Game time.