Hey guys! Another story from me, this one centers around Lucas. Some of the events that I wrote here don't really go with what's gone on in the actual show. I've strayed a bit, rewrote some things to better fit the flow I wanted. I'm weird, I know but hopefully you guys are liking what I'm writing!

-Lissa
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Chapter One: "There's no one left but me." -Ghost Of You
"Explain to me again why we're here?" Raine Carter looked at her brother expectantly as the pair unpacked their small, new apartment.

"Mom and Dad wanted us here." Ryan repeated as he arranged some framed snapshots on the shelf above their black brass futon couch.

"I hate that Mom grew up here." She frowned and shook her short mane of deep red hair.

Ryan just chuckled and shook hsi head. "Only cause you had to leave Loverboy behind and you hate small towns."

"Please," Raine rolled her eyes and tossed an empty box toward the front door. "Dean deserved to be left behind."

"Yeah, well, I only agree cause of that lovely parting gift he gave you."

She frowned and gingerly touched her left eye. The couple had gotten into a massive fight the night before she left her hometown of New York City. But that was the only time he had a reason to lay a hand on her. Dean Thomas had issues with his temper and jealousy. Add alcohol to that and he wasn't a nice person to be around. So whenever he was upset/jealous/drunk, Raine became his very own punching bag. "Dont' go there Ry, it's over."

"You get another guy like that and I'll break more than his jaw."

She frowned in rememberance and walked into the room that would be hers. "He had it coming, blah, blah, blah. You're just a badass." Her voice went dry at the last part of her statement. With a quick roll of her sea-green eyes, she grabbed her nearby hoodie and threw it on over her black tank top and pyramid belted jeans.

Waving wordlessly, she didn't even look at her brother as she grabbed her black messenger bag.

"Where are you going, sis?"

"To spend my inheritance."

"On what?"

"You'll see it when I get back." She threw over her shoulder as she went out into the sunlight of Tree Hill.

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Nathan Scott was jsut finishing up his shift when the petite red-head walked into the dealership his father owned. "Hey...can I help you?"

"Yeah," Raine nodded and walked further inside the show room. "I just moved here and I need a car. I heard this was the best place to go to."

"I can show you where my uncle is. He's the acting owner."

"Acting owner?" She raised an eyebrow as she slowly followed him over to a glass-enclosed office with DAN SCOTT printed on the door.

"Yeah. My dad, the owner, had a heartattack so he can't really run this place right now."

"Owner's son, huh? No wonder you work here."

Nathan frowned and stopped short. "Actually, my uncle got me this job. I'm emancipated."

"And I'm orphaned. Sob story really, we have something in common now." A deep frown remained on her paled features as she eyed a nearby black, hardtop Mustang.

"You always this pleasant?" When she frowned up at him, he finally saw her face in full light, namely the bruise surrounding her left eye. "And ouch comes to mind."

She swore under her breath and looked away. "It's not as bad as it looks."

"Hopefully whoever gave that to you is suffering too."

"It's a simple, standard black eye." She shrugged and shoved her hands into the pocket of her ROLEMODEL hoodie as a man in a suit approached. "Hi, are we having any problems here?"

"No," Raine replied before the guy in front of her could. "I wanna walk outta here with a new Ford Mustang. How do I go about doing that?"

"Well, uh," Keith Scott was in no way a salesman. He didn't even like being in a suit. "Can I ask how old you are?"

"Seventeen, but both of my parents are dead so I guess I'm legal by default."

The acting owner swallowed hard then nodded before going about helping her out.

Nathan just shook his head as he watched the mysterious new stranger. He couldn't help but feel like she came with a lot of trouble. Trouble he wasn't really sure he could or wanted to handle.