Summary: A group of friends all attend Tree Hill Academy. Nathan, Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, Tim, Jake, Rachel, Skills and Mouth. All belong to the same social group but are a seriously messed up, with everyone having problems of their own or with each other. And there's secrets all round. Enter Haley James – the new girl. What will her presence among the gang start? A lot of drama that's for sure…

Couples: Naley, Brucas, Jeyton, a little Rathan, a little HaleyOC, Skevin, MouthShelley

Friendships: Major Baley, some BHP and Breyton, otherwise there's a lot of other friendships that pop up here and there, and major group scenes

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters. They belong to Mark Schwahn and the CW.

A/N: Some things will run as they did on the show, and others I'm taking some creative liberties with. These include the following -

1) The whole drama with Nathan and Lucas (in the first season) happened; just Haley wasn't there to witness it. Now they are pretty tight.

2) The whole Peyton-Lucas-Brooke triangle from season 1 did happen. At the moment neither is dating Lucas and Breyton are giving their friendship another go (just like end of season1/beginning of season 2). They're both also friends with Lucas – but there's a lot of unresolved issues

3) Nathan and Peyton were never together (and Nathan and Brooke never had sex!)

4) Everyone has their season 4 style looks, except Nathan – his hair is set from his season 3 look

(Revised and edited 20th July 2014).

Prologue

"True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island…to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing," –Baltasar Gracian

Antwon "Skills" Taylor found himself caught amongst a rush of students during the long-awaited lunch hour. Pushing his way through the crowd, he worked his way towards the cafeteria of Tree Hill Academy. It was a home to all students that attended, including Skills and his group of friends. Unlike other schools, the academy was a boarding school that required students that either had the brains to get a full scholarship, or rich parents to buy their way in. Few students had both.

As Skills rounded the corner and walked into the cafeteria he caught a lot of people noticing him. He would say he was used to it, but it still surprised him at times. Being a basketball player, on the Tree Hill Ravens was pretty much their own brand of famous here. It automatically made it mandatory to be popular, wanted, and noticed everywhere you go. They kept watching as his feet automatically made it towards his normal table. Their normal table. The table that was always left for the 'elite' group of THA - in short, him and his friends. It was odd to have such propaganda in a high school, but when the rest of the student body had decided to unofficially form their own government and placed his friends and himself as head council, really - what could they do?

Finally, on reaching his destination he was surprised to find a full house. A year ago it wouldn't have been an uncommon circumstance. But it went without saying that lately having each and every member of their friendship group seated around their table amicably was no longer a usual occurrence. Sure, some would say that they had other commitments of differing schedules, but they all knew that it was really down to recent-if-not-current events that stemmed the root of their problems. Still, he wasn't going to stir the pot. He liked it like this. If only, things would get back to normal sooner...

"Hey Skills,"

"What up dawg." He bumped fists with Lucas as he took the seat next to him.

Lucas Scott. The older, blonde haired, blue eyed half of the infamous Scott duo. Co-captain of the basketball team with his own brother sharing the title (unwillingly at first). He was one of the most sought out and popular guys at THA. Not that he cared. Lucas was never interested in that kind of thing. He would go out and have a good time with his friends, hang at parties, socialise where necessary; but most of the time he would shy away from all the attention. He was a humble guy with honour in his countenance and modesty in droves. He also had a passion for literature that not many people knew about but his friends. Being one of the brightest students in the academy, there wasn't many things that Lucas wasn't good at.

Except when it came to matters of the heart.

Skills looked over to the two girls sitting opposite him as they both smiled and greeted him. The first one was a beautiful curly blonde haired girl. Peyton Sawyer. The broody artist who liked to sit there and draw while listening to her 'tragic rock music' as Brooke put it. She was the odd one in the group, the rebel without a cause – she was a walking contradiction and that made her unique. And the girl was strong; having lost her mother at a young age, cheerleading was one connection she has with her and the main reason she pursues it.

Sitting next to her was Brooke Davis, also beautiful but in a completely different way. A straight-haired bubbly brunette that was always perky, showing off her cute dimples. She made a perfect cheerleading captain. Always ready with a retort, she could get pretty mad when provoked (hence the reason they call her 'Hurricane Davis'). But what was most admirable about her was her undeniable loyalty to those she loved. Having ignorant parents she found a family in her friends.

These girls had been best friends for 10 years and known each other longer than anyone in the group. They'd found a family in one another and believed nothing could destroy it. That was, until Lucas Scott came in the picture. Lucas had always had a crush on Peyton, Skills knew about it well enough. When he put himself out there with her, his timing couldn't have been more off. Peyton, rife with her own self-inflicted issues didn't believe she could have a relationship and so destroyed any hopes of them being together.

Enter Brooke Davis her best friend who'd had a thing for the older Scott for a while, but did nothing, thinking him and Peyton were going to be together. But once Peyton denied them ever being a couple and claimed him free game, Brooke took it upon herself to chase him and one night, having saved Peyton from being drugged and raped at some frat party; they'd bonded and Lucas saw a glimpse of the real Brooke Davis. They began to go out and Brooke found herself falling hard for him. She was previously referred to as a slut, generally playing the field and hooking up with random hot guys. But Lucas Scott was the first guy she felt something for and she knew for the first time, she was falling in love. The problem remained however, that Lucas had unresolved feelings for Peyton. And as it turns out - she for him. The whole scenario was a recipe for disaster. As it happened, Lucas and Peyton ended up cheating while he was with Brooke and...she found out.

It had been almost a year since and now that they were all 16 and starting their junior year, they had all decided to put the past behind them and bury it. Skills knew his friend felt extremely guilty over what he had done to the girls' friendship. They were still friends, but everyone could tell they were not how they used to be. Brooke had been betrayed by her best friend, her family, and the hurt was still present. Their friendship was unlikely to ever be the same and everyone knew this. Skills also knew that Lucas still had feelings there, everyone did. He was still hopelessly in love with her – except no one knew which her it was, not even Peyton and Brooke.

"I cannot believe you!"

"Me?! You're the one that's always going around throwing yourself at the entire basketball team!"

Skills saw as Lucas sighed, Peyton rolled her eyes and Brooke muttered some curses under her breath. Looking further down the table he found the source of irritation, as always coming from Tree Hill Academy's worst couple ever.

"Oh please, don't act like you're all innocent Nathan! I saw you flirting up a storm with that fat Claire girl from Bear Creek at the last away game!" Rachel fumed staring at her so-called boyfriend.

"That was two months ago!" Nathan almost shouted, pissed that she still hadn't gotten over that.

Nathan Scott, the second half of the Scott legend. He was younger than Lucas by 3 months (a factor Lucas never let him forget). Tall, with a built frame, raven coloured hair and the same blue eyes as his brother, he was sought out just as much, if not more. Unlike Lucas, being the Big Man On Campus was a life Nathan easily took on. What wasn't there to like? Parties, booze, chicks and sex. That was the life as far as Nathan was concerned. Although Skills was pretty sure that recently Nathan was getting fed up with his lifestyle. The guy didn't say anything, but he didn't really have to. Being the all-star basketball king did come with several cons. The pressure his father puts on him was a main factor. Skills was also pretty sure that Nathan was sick of his love life too. Using the term 'love' loosely, considering Nathan was the king of hook-ups. His relationship with Rachel was mostly for show – she was a cheerleader and he was co-captain of the basketball team – and according to Nathan, the sex was good too.

"So? Are you denying it?" Rachel spat back.

Rachel Gatina was one of those girls. She spread herself around…you name him, she's probably done him. Everyone called her a whore but she didn't care what they thought, particularly the entire female population. As long as the guys aren't complaining she isn't bothered. Once she realised that Nathan and Lucas were the all-star basketball champions, she headed straight for them. It was a little known fact that it was actually Lucas that she had gone for first, but considering the the guy was already torn between two women, he really wasn't interested in expanding the list. Seeing her efforts were for naught, she changed her attentions towards Nathan. He was hardly a last resort, and soon enough she managed to land him both in her bed and with the unfortunate title as her boyfriend.

When they started off the flirting was good, and (apparently) so was the sex. But after being together for almost three months, Nathan and Rachel were reaching their boiling points. Neither was good in a relationship – especially with each other. They both cheated on one another, neither cared about the other's feelings, and nothing solid ever remained between the couple…not that it ever have done. The rest of the group were convinced they were gonna break up some time soon, and they were all for it. None of them had ever liked Rachel, especially Brooke. And they couldn't wait for Nathan to come to his senses and end it already.

As Skills shook his head and turned away, he looked down the other end of the table. He slapped hands with the rest of his mates. Three guys – Marvin "Mouth" McFadden, Jake Jagielski and Tim Smith.

Mouth, his name originating from his prominent lips and love for commentating, was a nice guy. He was good friends with Lucas and Skills and so got accepted into the group once the two brothers stopped fighting and formed an alliance. He was also a note-worthy commentator, going to all the games and giving a live account of every detail taking place. He was sweet, thoughtful, and caring. Yet despite this he couldn't seem to land a girlfriend. Well, when he was with the Scott brothers and other guys from the team, he was usually overlooked in favour of the 'basketball hotties'. He'd always been the 'friend' never the 'boyfriend'. Skills saw as he looked over at the smiling brunette talking to her friend. Yup, Mouth had a crush the size of Africa on Brooke Davis. Problem though, she only saw him as a good friend and once even referred to him as a 'little brother'. That was pretty upsetting, but Mouth also knew that Brooke was still in love with Lucas and had no desire to get in the way should she ever choose to open herself to him again.

Skills looked to the guy sitting next to him – Jake. Probably the most genuine guy you'd ever meet. He played basketball too, which served to be just one of his many talents. Playing the guitar was another, writing music was a hobby, not to mention the fact that he could also sing. But it wouldn't be in front of a loud audience or even in the school band. He only ever sung for Jenny. Jenny, his beautiful daughter and the most important girl in his world. Still a little baby, the only people who knew of her existence were his parents, the teachers, Whitey, Lucas, himself, Nathan and Jake's ex – Nikki the absentee mother. Skills had often wondered why Jake didn't tell the rest of the gang. Tim was understandable; the guy couldn't keep a secret to save his life. But the girls (excluding Rachel) would be more than understanding. He guessed Jake just wasn't ready yet, and so they continued to cover for his sudden disappearances, secret phone calls and 'family emergencies'. Skills also happened to know that Jake had a little thing for miss curly blonde locks. Especially with the way he's looking at her now. But Jake was a gentleman, one of those guys who really was understanding. He was not going to go for a girl that was emotionally unavailable; Peyton did after all still had feelings for Lucas.

"Yo, dawg – pass me the mayo." Tim yelled at Skills, who did as he complied while Brooke said, "For the last time Tim, you're white!"

She then made a gross face along with Peyton as they watched Tim spread mayo over the ketchup that his chips were already drenched in, with a look of pure glee on his face.

Yep, Tim Smith was still a child in many ways. Not to mention he came out with stupid phrases like 'It's Tim Time!', 'Whadup dawg' and 'High five chica'. It was no wonder that Brooke nicknamed him 'Dim'…but then Brooke nicknamed everyone. What no one noticed though was the look that Tim got sometimes on his face when no one was watching. When they made another joke at his expense, or made gross faces at something he'd done. He was a good sport, he didn't mind being the butt of the joke every now and then, but when it was done on an hourly basis, at one point it did hurt.

Not that Tim would ever admit it.

Man, Skills thought. This has got to be the most disturbed and odd group of friends ever. The elite group of THA having been friends for two years now consisted of: a cocky basketball star, his broody heart-breaking brother, an emo cheerleader, a spirit-broken cheerleading captain, a crushed insecure commentator, a village idiot, an abandoned sixteen year old father of 1, a self-proclaimed whore, and himself. The inconspicuous observer.

Little did he know, one more person was yet to make themselves felt among the group…and that her presence would change all their lives.

"Alright Haley-Bop, are you going to be okay from here?" Lydia James looked at her youngest child. Her baby, who'd finally grown up and was now moving away.

"I'll be fine Mum. Besides you and Dad should get going or you wont get to Quinn on time." Haley's parents, now that they'd got their last child in a boarding school had brought an RV to go visit their six older children in their homes. And then to generally travel around the world after that. They'd still kept the house though, knowing that during some holidays it would be nice to have a family reunion there, say for Christmas.

"Okay, I guess this is where we leave you then." Lydia came and pulled her daughter into a hug as Jimmy pulled the last of Haley's luggage to the entrance. The school's janitor, she was guessing, had started piling it into a cart to take to her room.

"Come here baby James," Jimmy said fondly pulling his daughter in a monster hug once her mother let her go. "You take care of yourself darling."

"Always do daddy," Haley smiled at them.

"And don't forget that if you need anything we're one call away," her mother reminded her before getting into the RV with her father at the wheel.

"See you guys." Haley waved at her parents, and just before they drove off, her mum popped her head out of the window.

"Oh and Haley-Bop, don't forget – always use a condom! I don't need any more grandbabies just yet!" with that parting comment they drove off leaving their daughter smiling, shaking her head (her face naturally a bright red now), and glad no one else was around to witness that. Her parents were definitely anything but conventional. But she loved them even their unadulterated crazy.

Pulling her bag over her shoulder she looked at the building she was about to enter. Normally she would have asked her parents to come in with her, but this change signified the cementing of her independence and she knew she'd have to do this by herself. Giving herself the once over, wearing a fitted purple tank top, a white Abercrombie skirt and a pair of white ballet flats, she figured it was good. Thankfully despite it being the fall, the weather was still pretty warm.

Okay, clothes all right? Check. Hair down. Check. Teeth clear? Check. Nerves in check? Er...check... right – let's do this.

Haley James straightened herself out and walked through the front doors for her first day at Tree Hill Academy.