Here's my first shot at a One Tree Hill Fiction. Random story, random plot. I haven't yet decided whether or not this is going to be a Lucas/Brooke, or a Lucas/Peyton, or none altogether. What will happen, will happen. Just please comment, and let me know how I'm doing. The faster you read (and comment) the faster I update!

Chapter One

Aristotle once said, "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." It was difficult, however, for Lucas Scott, the bright, sandy-haired teenager, to decipher which of the two girls contained the second half of his soul. It was so difficult, only because he had grown to love the two girls dearly, each in their own way. Choosing between them was an obstacle on its own, and he would have much preferred to lag with his decision further, when one day Brooke approached him.

She looked up at him, with bright eyes that seemed to be tear-filled. Her silky hair was tucked back, behind her ear. She stood in front of him sternly, almost stiffly, trying to get her word in, "Lucas, just listen to me," she said quietly, pressing her lips together. She hadn't even realized she'd interrupted him. Frankly, she no longer cared. This was dragging on endlessly, and she needed to know where she stood- whether it was with him, or without. She waited for him to silence, before she spoke again. It was as though all the pain from seeing Peyton and him, was now sputtering out in her unfaltering voice, "Luke, this is hard, I know. But one day, you're going to have to choose between Peyton, and I. This is getting way too out of hand, and mine and Peyton's friendship is far, far more important than our relationships with you," she sniffled, pocketing her hands, in her designer jeans, "I'm losing both of you, Lucas. Both of you. Peyt' thinks I'm some sort of jealous bitch that couldn't care less for her happiness, and you think that I'm some God-knows-what. But really, all that I ask for, is that you make up your mind, once and for all,"

Lucas stared at her, not knowing what to say. She was so tremendously honest, it pained him. He couldn't decide something on the spot like this. It was more complicated than that. He looked down at her again, fearful that he might lose her. And then he remembered that deep, gorgeous blonde, that was probably oblivious to this rendezvous between him and Brooke. He ached for this distinct brunette. He cared for her- actually, he cared for the both of them undeniably. He just couldn't make out, which one he cared for that way. The way that you need to feel the touch of their palm, or the way that you can't live without the other person by your side.

Lucas was about to find out though, when that stabbing pain shriveled up his insides, "Lucas, I'm leaving town," Brooke finally said, realizing how long it was taking for him to speak, "You need to figure things out; but above all, I need to figure some things out," she said, taking his hand into hers, giving it a tight squeeze, before letting go again, "When I come back, I need you to be sure," she whispered, afraid that if she spoke any louder, the tears that threatened to crawl down her cheek, eventually would do just that. As difficult as it was, she managed to smile one last time, "Have a good summer, Luke," she said, as she turned around ready to leave. Before she knew it, Lucas had spun her back toward him, slowly closing in on her lips. She shook her head, moments before he'd actually reached them. Inches away from her face, Lucas had stopped, their eyes clasped, frissons of some immaculate feeling striking their bond. Brooke pulled away, with a scorning look in her eyes, "Make up your mind," she whispered finally, before she headed down the sidewalk, her heels clicking and clacking against the rough pavement.

Lucas kept his eyes safely against her, as he watched her strut down that sidewalk. His hopes had fallen, his heart sunk. He wanted to chase after her, and hold her in his tightest embrace- but he knew he couldn't. He had to settle the matters of his heart first. He owed her that much. Just before he was about to turn, and go his own way, Brooke had turned around, giving him one, painful glance- painful, because he could see her tears distinctly in her eyes. He never wanted to hurt her; he never intended to hurt her. Things just suddenly happened, and ruined his, as well as every one else's summer. Now, Brooke thought she had to completely seclude him, so that he could figure things out.

Soon, Brooke started to turn the corner, disappearing behind the wall of greenery. Lucas continued to watch into the empty horizon, hoping he'd see a speckle of the bold brunette, as she turned back and fell into his arms. But of course, Lucas was only hopelessly dreaming. He knew Brooke was too strong to do that. After all, she'd decided she wanted to leave town for the summer. Lucas couldn't help but feel empty inside, but he knew he had to do something about this, about all of this.

He had to figure out why he felt like a completely different person with Peyton Sawyer, Brooke's best friend, and why he felt like yet another person with Brooke herself. It was like these two women were splitting him into half, rationing the parts they liked most about him, and leaving out the rest.

Around Peyton, he felt like he had roots. This girl brought out reality, and truth, and honesty. This girl brought out all that was real, and he envied her ability to do that. She would pursue that which her heart desired with uncanny passion, and ambition. She was humble, and quiet- yet her soul was screaming loud and clear. Lucas felt as though he could hear that screaming- he could hear that voice inside of her. He understood her, and loved her for that understanding. He loved how he could lead a civilized conversation with her, and nonetheless, speak to her to his heart's content. She was gorgeous, gentle, and fragile, and yet strong, and persistent all the same. Every time he looked into her savagely gorgeous eyes, he felt as though he could see inside of her, and feel what she felt for that one instant. He wanted to protect her, and hold her.

And then Brooke Davis, with her unimaginable beauty, and fierce character. Lucas felt frivolous, and fun around that girl, because it's what she knew best. He was still himself, but in a different, more refined angle. Brooke was daring, and intrepid. Her mind was everywhere, but her heart was definitely in the right place. Although all she wanted to do was party, she still had that sensitive, delicate side to her. She still wanted to be loved, cuddled, and kissed. Lucas felt as though he could give her more than just infinite parties. The infamous Brooke Davis was definitely something more than a hot cheerleader.

The problem was, how could he ideally define what he felt for the two ladies? Both wanted an answer as to where they were in the plans of Lucas Scott, but neither understood exactly how he felt. He couldn't exactly sit them down, and explain all of this to them. He just couldn't. Not only would it confuse them, it would probably ignite some sort of internal catastrophe among the two. Lucas didn't want to disrupt the situation more. He needed to make up his mind. It was about time.

Someone was knocking on the door, and Lucas approached it, eager to find out who it was. He grinned when he saw Peyton on the other side. Soon, his grin faded, when he saw that she wasn't exactly thrilled to see him. She had this abominable frown on her lips, as she looked up at him, with her big, tear-filled eyes. Lucas embraced her, only to have her pull away. It didn't take long for her to speak her burdened mind.

"Lucas," she started, still standing at the door, her sweater looking cozy and warm in the evening breeze, "Listen to me," she said again. Lucas studied her face, remarking that she was just organizing her thoughts, "Brooke and I have been friends for far too long," she paused again. Her pauses were drilling these incessant holes in his heart, as he awaited her following words. He knew quite well what she was trying to convey, though, "And ever since you appeared, everything's kind of sucked. I know it's not your fault- I really do. If I had two hot girls on my back, I wouldn't want to choose between them either. But there's a line, Lucas. You can't be with her, and then kiss me! Do you understand where that puts me?" Peyton continued to eye Lucas, wondering if her words were actually reaching him, "Brooke is leaving town," she was probably awaiting some sort of dramatic reaction, and when she didn't receive one, she realized Lucas already knew. He nodded quietly, "Do you know why?" Peyton continued to say.

"Yes, I do, Peyt'. I don't need to be interrogated like this," Lucas said, trying to calm her down slightly.

"Oh, yes, you really do need to be interrogated like this. If you haven't understood any of this to this point, you definitely need to hear me out. The only thing worse than being alone, is being with someone that doesn't care about you enough, to make up his damned mind," she said, heaving this painful smile, "Brooke is really hurting, Lucas- so am I. It's about time you made up your mind, because Brooke and I are not going to wait for you any longer." She ran her fingers through her golden hair, looking up at him, "I don't want to talk to you, until you've made your choice. Quite frankly, I don't even want to see you. My best friend is gone for the summer, before our senior year, and I'm not going to lie, Lucas. It's because of you, and you know it. You need to sit down, and re-evaluate everything you think is right, and wrong, because you're twisted. You're toying with two girls, that are having trouble living without you, and you don't even seem to think anything is wrong with that," Up until this point, Lucas was listening to her grave voice, as she spoke. He tried to understand everything she was saying, as she blurted it out. But he could not just stand and listen, any longer.

"Peyton, I don't know if you are even slightly aware of how I feel right now," Lucas interrupted her quickly, "I care about you, more than you'll ever know, Peyt-"

"Don't give me that, Lucas- don't," she said, shaking her head, "If you really cared about me, you'd realize what you were doing long ago. And then you'd stop doing it, because you'd also realize how much it hurt. For so long now, it's been easier for you to be with two girls, than to tie yourself down to one, and God, I don't know if that's selfish, or irresponsible, or what. But it's definitely not right, Lucas. I need you to finally make up your mind. Please, it's all I ask," she said, and with a final nod, she said goodnight, and left.

And today, Brooke was the one turning his back on him (a little farther, this time), and the one demanding that he make a concise choice. The flashback of the night before, had slapped him in the face right now, as he continuously stood on that sidewalk, where Brooke had marched away from such a while ago. Lucas started to turn around, as he headed to his own home, where he could wallow in his thoughts, and start to think about the two girls' demands. They were both so different, yet both wanted the same thing. It was that one thing that was drilling into his mind unforgivably.

Before he knew it, he was walking to the courts so he could shoot his problems away. It was like his therapy, his calm in the storm. Once there, Lucas picked up a ball, as he started to shoot some hoops. Absent-mindedly, he found himself thinking, If I get this one in, I'll be with Brooke. He didn't get it in. If I get this one in, I'll be with Peyton. He didn't get it in. And he tried the cycle once more, getting both in this time. Of course, he then realized that this was no way to tamper with this situation. With a last hoop, he proceeded to sit on the bench, burying his head in his hands, desperate to think of a solution. Senior year was fast approaching, and what he really wanted, was for these two girls to have the times of their lives, regardless if it was with him, or without him.

Why was it, that when he was in such a difficult situation, Hayley James-Scott was no where to be seen? Coincidentally, now, Hayley and Nathan went to Alaska for a honey-moon, leaving Lucas all alone to deal with these afflictions. What was he going to do? How could he choose between these very-different girls?

"Yo, Luke, what's the matter?" Skills said, approaching the court, "I was hoping I'd find you here, bro." He said, sitting down beside Lucas, "You don't look too good, man," he said, slapping his companion on the back sincerely, "You wan'na talk about it, Luke?"

Lucas kept stubbornly quiet for a few minutes, "Nah," he breathed gently, "It's nothing new, anyway."

"You still got beef with the two ladies?" Skills said, grabbing the ball between his palms. Everyone knew the story, already.

"Yeah, pretty much." Lucas nodded.

"That's tough, man. But I got'ta say, they're right Lucas."

"I know, Skills. I know they're right. That's what's killing me- I've been hurting them both for so long, and now I'm stuck."

"I'll bet- it's got'ta be hard going from two lovely ladies to one, or even none over one summer," Skills chuckled, his dark, chocolaty eyes empathetic and warm, "Luke – you've played with 'em long enough. You're not one to do tha' sort of thing. You've got a good heart, Lucas, just open your eyes a little. You'll find your answer, you will. Maybe it's not even a question of which one but whether it's either of 'em. Think about it Luke. If it was meant to be, it wouldn't be so hard,"

"Skills, but if it's meant to be it's worth fighting for. I just wish I knew whether it's meant to be, or whether I'm wasting my time."

"Lucas, trust me on this, bro. You haven't wasted a second of your time- if anything, Brooke and Peyton have. The amount of trouble they're going through right now on your expense- I mean, they're struggling with this, Lucas."

"I know that, Skills!" Lucas said defensively, "I wish I could stop this, but if it were so easy I wouldn't be out here like this and Brooke wouldn't be out of town, and Peyton- she would be talking to me right now. If it were that easy for me to decide, I would have by now."

"Or maybe it's just hard for you to accept that neither of them are the one." Skills said as-a-matter-of-factly, receiving a bitter glare from his companion, "Hey, it's an option Luke- it's an option even you should consider."

"But it's not an option," Lucas paused, "I know one of them is the one- I just don't know which,"

"You love both of 'em for somethin', Lucas. Maybe you should go looking for a girl whose whole you love- not just Peyton's depth, and Brooke's fun. It's easy for everyone else to see, why can't you see it?"

"Because it's not that at all, Skills. I love Brooke for everything she is, and Peyton for everything she is-"

"And that's a lie, because if you did love them, you'd respect them enough to love one of them for all they are. You're a high school guy- it's fine that you're scared to be alone, and you're trying to find yourself and everything. It's just when these two great girls are being hurt continually, does it need to stop."

"Skills, you're not helping." Lucas muttered.

"So what?" he challenged, "So what if I'm opening your eyes a little? So what if I'm not telling you exactly what you want to hear?"

"What do I want to hear?" Lucas questioned quickly.

"You want to hear that they'll wait for you a little longer, and that you're normal for toying with 'em for so long. You want to hear that you can have 'em both in turn- well let me tell you this much, bro, you can't."

"I never said I could,"

"But you also never said you couldn't, Luke." Skills said quietly, "How about we play a little game or some'in. It'll help take your mind off of this for a while."

'Aren't you all for making me decide right now?" Lucas asked with a smirk.

"I'm all for playin' a game of ball, Lucas. So get yo' ass off that bench, and let's get down!" Skills said, as he got up from the bench, "Now don't tell me all this girl-talk took the ballin' away." Skills chuckled, as Lucas got up off the bench slowly.

"Oh no, I'm good Skills- don't worry about me," Lucas said, laughing lightly.

"Then, I hope you don't mind if I do a little of-" Skills maneuvered towards the net, shooting an easy lay-up from the side, "-this." He chuckled, chest-passing the ball towards Lucas who was smirking boredly.

"Nah, I don't mind." Lucas said, taking a shot from his position at half-court. Swoooosh.

"Ouuuuch," Skills squealed, "'Atta boy," he laughed, "So the ladies haven't brainwashed you yet."

"If you don't recall, they're both cheerleaders, Skills. If anything, they'd encourage me." Lucas said, watching Skills make another smooth shot.

"Oh yeah? That's what they all say. First, basketball is the highlight of the relationship- then it's, 'You never have enough time for me…'" He said in a very convincing, high-pitched voice.

"They're not like that- either of them," Lucas replied thoughtfully, "They're not like that at all."

"Well, well good. Because that's all my las' girlfriend would ev'r talk about- how I never do this because of basketball. Soon it was either her, or basketball,"

Lucas chuckled, "And the Skills chose basketball over the lady- how valiant."

"Well, the Skills don' need a lady to get a scholarship- he needs a basketball. And tha's what I told her. She chose to walk away, it's not like I did it for her. Any other girl would'a understood- not her, though. She had to have it all," he grinned, gripping the basketball between his palms.

"Have you talked to her since?" Lucas asked quietly, genuinely curious.

"Sure, sometimes. Sometimes it's just to tell her how much she screwed me up. But it was worth it, Luke, because I'm tellin' you, any other girl would have realized how much I need this. She couldn't, no matter how much we loved each other. She didn't understand why it was so important to me. Because of that, I understood that we weren't as perfect as I thought we were. Sometimes it's hard to realize there's nothing there, because it's all you know. And if it's all you've ever known, it's going to be harder to let go."

A quiet, somber moment lingered among them, "Why haven't I ever heard this story?" Lucas asked.

"Because it never came up," Skills tossed the ball over to Lucas again, "And because it was always too hard to talk about it."

"And it's not any more?"

"No- because believe it or not, you get over it, just like you'll get over Brooke, or Peyton, or both of them one day, Luke." He said convincingly, "But there's a difference between you and me- the difference is that I had a reason to put all of it behind me, and well, you haven't quite found it yet. And if two really hurt girls aren't reason enough, then keep lookin' man, keep lookin'."

"They aren't going to talk to me until I figure something out, Skills." Lucas said shamefully.

"Good for them." Skills said intently, "It's 'bout time they saw a world besides Lucas Scott, is it not?" Lucas shrugged, after which Skills continued, "Think about it this way, the more time you have apart, the more time you'll have to figure out which one you care about more, which one you miss more. In the mean time, go out an' party an' try finding a girl that you really can't live without. No worries, bro, the Skills is on your side."

"Didn't seem like it," Lucas muttered gently.

"Yeah, 'cause I just want you to figure this out, too, you know? But I'm always here, Luke. It's a tough thing you've got going here, and I know what you're goin' through. You'll figure this out- and if not, you'll find yourself an equally delectable young lady." Skills chuckled, satisfaction smothered over his face, "Now pass that damned ball, bro. If you won't make a shot, I will."