Nathan! Get up!" The twenty-one year old yelled at her best friend while entering his dorm room.

"There's some Advil and a glass of water right next to you on your dresser. I hope your hangover isn't too bad because you have a game in exactly 47 minutes," Haley screeched from the doorway, glancing at his illuminated digital clock.

"Hales, why do you let me drink so much?" Nathan whined groggily. He covered his head with a pillow to shield his eyes from the incoming sunlight.

Meanwhile Haley went around the room opening windows and picking the random mess up off his floor and furniture. She never could leave an article of clothing on the floor. Damn her and her chipper attitude in the mornings.

"Well, if by 'letting you drink too much' you mean thanks for dragging your sorry ass out of that party last night, then I'd say you're welcome," Haley retorted sarcastically, while walking into the adjoining bathroom, waiting for Nathan to change his clothes.

Last night Haley had had to search for Nathan at all the dorm parties in their building because she knew he always liked to get drunk the night before a game. He always got so stressed about the coming game that he felt he had to drink to release all the pressure, especially when he knew his dad would be present the next day.

Nathan was a partier; he'd admit that. He'd had his share of drunken fights and Haley knew he didn't need another one right before one of the biggest college basketball games he'd play this year.

Today's game was against UNC, and they were a huge challenge for the Duke team. Not only because the two teams were the biggest rivals in the division, but also because Nathan's half-brother Lucas was on UNC's team. The fact that Dan would be coming was just an added stress that Nathan definitely did not need.

Nathan and Lucas had never gotten along. Ever since Lucas had discovered that he had a half-brother, he had despised Nathan. And Nathan had loathed Lucas right back. There was a mutual hatred between the brothers, one that Haley just couldn't seem to break.

Back when they all lived in the small town of Tree Hill, North Carolina, Lucas had been a jock and the star of Tree Hill High's basketball team with the perfect, rich family. Lucas and Nathan's father, Dan (or "the sperm donor" as Nathan liked to refer to him), had left Nathan's pregnant mother, Karen, before college.

Then Dan had found Deb three months later and got her pregnant also, but this time, Dan stayed with the impregnated woman. Dan and Deb had gotten married right out of college, and Deb, Dan, and Lucas had been the "perfect" family ever since, so everyone thought. They masked their problems behind their wealth and power. Let's face it; the family had some major issues.

Dan and Deb were never really happy with each other and they fought constantly. Dan was malicious and sometimes even turned violent. Deb battled with depression and alcoholism for the majority of her married life. Lucas was mean and spiteful as a result of his dysfunctional family. But no one knew of his problems. Lucas had always kept everything to himself, except for with one person many years ago.

Nathan, on the other hand, grew up with a single mother who owned a small café in the heart of Tree Hill. The café received plenty of business, but it was still barely enough to keep them afloat. They were often tight on money, well actually all the time. But Karen had still managed to raise a young man whose manners and chivalry outdid even the best of them.

In some sense, I guess you could say that this was a benefit of growing up with a single mother. She had taught Nathan using all the lessons that Dan had ever taught her about men as a sort of a "What Not to Do to a Girl" handbook. After Dan had left their lives, Karen and Nathan had gotten along great. Sure it was hard, but they had each other and their family, and that was all they needed.

When Nathan was nine, a petite young girl and her mother had come into the café. The girl, Haley, and Nathan had immediately hit it off and remained best friends throughout their high school, and now college, years.

Karen had always said that they would someday end up married, but they always told her that they were just friends, nothing else, but Karen still insisted on the idea. "You know you two are gonna end up married. I don't see why you won't just admit it now and get it over with!" she always said with a knowing smile.

In her eyes, Haley was the daughter she never had. Karen had never really gotten close to anyone since Nathan's father. She said she was too busy for a "significant other", but everyone knew she was just holding out for the right man to come along. Of course everyone already knew who that man was but wouldn't say anything.

Nathan's godfather, Keith, had been in love with Karen since high school but had been too afraid to tell her. Keith had been there for Karen and Nathan when they needed him the most, but Karen still couldn't see Keith in a romantic light. Practically everyone in the town knew of Keith's love for Karen, but Karen always denied it with a blush whenever someone mentioned anything about the two together.

Now, almost twenty-two years after Nathan and Lucas's births, the brothers and Haley were in their senior year of college. Not much had changed since high school. Nathan and Lucas still hated each other, each for a different reason. Nathan hated Lucas because Lucas had gotten the chance to grow up with a father and Lucas hated Nathan because Nathan hadn't.

Haley was still right by Nathan's side, and Lucas was still all alone. Lucas had always been a little bit jealous of Nathan and Haley's relationship because he had always been alone. Lucas had always been and probably always would be jealous of the bond that Nathan and Haley shared, even if they said it was just a friendship. Sometimes he even thought that it should have been him with Haley, that he should have been the one without the father. Sometimes he thinks that it would have been better that way.

After high school, the brothers went their separate ways, Nathan to Duke University and Lucas to the University of North Carolina, each to play college basketball. At the time, they hadn't even thought about the fact that they would undoubtedly have to play each other in the division championship, considering Duke and UNC had the best college basketball programs in their division. All they had thought about was that they were finally getting away from each other. Little did they know that the split would just bring the two brothers even closer than they had been before.