Disclaimer: I own a beat up Pontiac Bonneville, an old school iPod, and 10 box sets of my favorite television shows. Sadly, these things are not One Tree Hill. If I owned that… I would be to busy with my husband James Lafferty to even consider writing fanfiction.

A/N: hm, I'm usually not very good at disclaimers… I like mine though. Almost as much as I like james lafferty. Yummy! Okay, so a new fic… if you read the 2 chapters of my last fic that I dropped… I apologize but promise this one is working out better for me.

Just to let you know what's going on in my mind:

Basically, Haley, Jake, and Lucas grew up in Tree Hill, North Carolina together while Brooke, Peyton, and Nathan grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. Both Scott brother knew about each other but had never met until they had both been offered full ride scholarships to Duke. Haley had also gotten an academic there and met Brooke, her new roommate.

Peyton and Jake were both going to The University of Alabama and met when they had agreed to help their friends move into their apartments on campus before having to move. They'd connected instantly and after a quickly developing friendship, they started dating.

Other than that… you'll just have to read and find out. Any questions? Ask 'em. I forget that I know what's going on and you do not. Read, review… mostly, enjoy!

[phew, that was a long one!

The line up to check luggage seemed to go on for miles. It was as if every student at Duke was trying to catch a plane to take them to anywhere but there. Haley James groaned loudly, praying that none of them would be going to the same resort in Mexico as she was, though that was highly unlikely considering it was well known for having the best and most wild spring break parties. The place didn't exactly scream 'Haley', but she figured it would have been rude to decline the plane ticket Brooke had bought for her for Christmas. If worst came to worst, she'd spend some time with Lucas in the mornings while Brooke would be sleeping off a hang over, and then spend the rest of the day catching up on some reading while working on her tan.

Checking her watch, she sighed as she realized that they line had hardly moved in the last twenty minutes. "This is ridiculous!" she fumed, folding her arms across her chest as she sat down on her suitcase. "We've been waiting in this line forever and now we're probably going to miss our flight because someone slept in and wasn't ready to go," she added, giving Brooke a nasty look.

"For the hundred and seventeenth time, I'm sorry!" Brooke snapped back, throwing her hands in the air. "Lucas, please talk to her. I'm going to the washroom."

Haley rolled her eyes as she watched her roommate walk away from the line. That was very like Brooke; to be the reason for something bad happening and then skipping out on the consequences that followed. Haley loved her roommate, she really did, but sometimes Brooke was just so… Brooke.

"You wouldn't love her if she was any other way," her best friend, Lucas reminded her as he put his arm around her shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. "Try to relax and enjoy the trip."

Haley sighed as she stood from her spot on her luggage and gave Lucas a tight hug. Leave it to him to make her feel bad for wanting to strangle her roommate. That was just Lucas. They had been best friends since her family moved to Tree Hill when she was five. He'd been able to read her, even back then.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Who knew my big brother had game."

Now it was Lucas' turn to groan and roll his eyes. Nathan Scott was many things; Duke's leading scorer, the most notorious player on campus, Lucas' half brother, and a complete ass. He and Lucas had grown up in different states and had been raised by parents with different views on how to parent. It had made a world of difference because besides blood, a mutual hatred, and the last name Scott, the two brothers were complete opposites.

"Well, well… if it isn't the ass-hole Scott," Haley spat at him with a sarcastic grin. She disliked the guy almost as much as Lucas. It wasn't just because he thought he was better than Lucas and treated him like crap. By principle, Haley just disliked anyone who was overly self-righteous and conceded. A lot of girls caved into his good looks and charming smile, but not Haley. She was really good at telling when someone was being fake and when they were being themselves. She'd always wondered what the real Nathan Scott was like, because she'd only ever known the fake one.

"Funny," he replied dryly before turning his attention back to Lucas. "You always let your girlfriend fight your battles? Or just when you know you can't win."

Lucas' fingers curled at his sides, forming fists that were more than ready to kick his younger brother's ass. He was usually a pretty levelheaded guy but when it came to Nathan, it was a different story. To Lucas, Nathan was a constant, nagging reminder of his father, Dan, and how he'd left Lucas' mother, who was, at the time, pregnant with him, for a scholarship at UNC and a skinny blonde named Deb. Finally, snapping back to reality, he unclenched his fist and shook his head, turned away from Nathan and filled the gap that had grown between him and the person ahead of them in the line up. Nathan Scott wasn't worth it.

"You defiantly are an ass," Haley hissed harshly at him as she pulled Brooke and her own suitcase away from Nathan and towards Lucas.

"Hannah, I know you want me…" Nathan called out as Haley walked away from him.

Guys like Nathan Scott not only pissed her off, but they totally grossed her out. Growing up with Lucas and the boys from the River Court, she'd gotten used to guys who weren't pigs and always talking about sex. She'd grown up to believe that guys were gentlemen. Then she went to Duke, met Nathan, and lost most of her faith in mankind.

Brooke returned from the washroom and groaned inwardly when she saw that Nathan and his group of idiot friends were in line behind them. Of the three of them, Brooke knew Nathan better than the rest. They had grown up in the same town, gone to high school together, and had even dated at one point. Brooke had said she should have been declared temporarily insane during those two and a half months, because although Brooke was friendly with all types of guys, pig-headed jerks had never been her type. Now, she was dating Lucas and was positive she'd found the better of the Scott brothers.

As she approached Luke and Haley, she could feel the tension increasing but she knew better than to mention anything. They waited in silence for a period of time that felt like forever, but finally they had checked their baggage, gone through security and were waiting patiently to board the plane.

The tension that had once lingered over the three friends had disappeared once they left the company of Nathan. They were joking around when Brooke suddenly let out a small, slightly shocked scream. "I almost forgot." She picked up the oversized purse she was taking on the plane with her and pulled out a regular sized gift box. "Its your Christmas present," she explained as she handed the box to Haley.

"Brooke, the plane ticket to Mexico was my Christmas present," Haley countered. While Brooke had never had to worry about money growing up, Haley had been told time after time that a new winter jacket every year, or the guitar she'd desperately wanted, or the chance to go out for supper on her birthday wasn't part of the budget. She had taken out loans and was working part time just to pay for rent so that she could be at Duke. So while money wasn't a thing for Brooke, Haley hated thinking that her friend had spent way more than necessary on her Christmas gift.

"Okay, well I have a confession to make," Brooke began as she turned and faced Haley head on. "You know the tournament the basketball team won at the beginning of December?" Haley nodded. She'd booked that Sunday afternoon off work to drive to New York to watch Lucas play. "Okay, and you know how I told you that the cheerleading squad won the competition that weekend also?" Haley nodded again. This story was going nowhere. "Okay, well don't be mad… but in addition to the gorgeous trophies and the cash donations to go to new uniforms, we kind of… all got two free tickets to Mexico for spring break. So I really didn't buy you the ticket but I figured you wouldn't come if you knew that I hadn't spent any money on it."

"I…" she mumbled but cut herself off. Brooke was right. She wouldn't have come if she knew it was a free ticket. It was almost creepy and scary how much her roommate had learnt about her in less than a year. She looked around the room where they were waiting to board and noticed that most of Lucas' team mates and the girls from Brooks squad were sitting around them. How did I not notice this before? she questioned herself. She usually wasn't one to let things like that pass by her.

"You can't be mad, I told you not to be," Brooke reminded her. "We just thought it would be fun. We can all be together and relax and party and have a really good time before classes start again."

"You knew about this and didn't tell me?" Haley asked Lucas, amazed.

"Well, yeah… I mean I had free tickets too. Haley you know we would never make you do something that could ruin what you've got going for you at Duke… You won't fall behind in school and you've already paid next months rent."

"We arranged to get an extra ticket, so Peyton and Jake are meeting us there. Its going to be so much fun Haley!" Brooke said with a smile. "Please say you'll still come."

Truthfully, she had been looking forward to the trip. Growing up, her parents didn't have the money to take them to places like Mexico. Family vacations had consisted of piling into the RV with her five older siblings and going to visit their grandparents in California. On top of that, she was really bogged down with her tuff classes this semester and trying to work at the same time. She had been excited to just get away for a while with her friends… even if it did mean going to parties with Brooke and pretending to have fun. The days would be relaxing and that was just what she needed; a nice relaxing week in Mexico with her very best friends.

"Fine," she replied. "I waited in those ridiculously long lines and my luggage is already on the plane… it would be stupid to turn around now, right?"

"That's the spirit!" Brooke cheered as she clapped her hands quietly. "Now, open your present." Haley did as she was told and started to open the gift box. She scoffed when she pulled the tiny, two-piece bathing suit from the box. "Bet you didn't pack one of those," Brooke said of the tiny red bikini in Haley's hands.

"This thing won't even cover my ass!" Haley exclaimed as she stretched the bottom of the bathing suit out. "Brooke I can't wear this!"

"You can and you will! You've got a totally rock hard body Tutor Girl and red is so your color, trust me." Haley was about to object when a boarding call for their flight came over the sound system in the building. "No time to argue now! Throw it in your bag and lets get going!"

Haley opened her carry on bag and threw the bathing suit in amongst her other things. Together, the three friends got in yet another line and waited to hand their tickets to the flight attendant and board the plane. Haley again looked at all the people around her… generally she liked all the girls on Brookes squad, with the exception of a bitchy red-head named Rachel, but she figured she could find many things to keep herself from bumping into her. As for the Lucas' teammates… the only guys she couldn't stand being around was Na--. "You guys if the whole team won tickets doesn't that mean that Nathan is going—"

"Hannah!" She cringed as she heard him shout from behind her. Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled into the crook of her neck. "Meet me in the bathroom ten minutes after take off and I'll give you orientation for the Mile High Club," he said, just loud enough for her, Lucas and Brooke to hear.

He walked away laughing, happy with the reaction he'd gotten out of the three of them. So much for a nice and relaxing weekend, Haley thought as she handed the flight attendant her ticket and boarded the plane.