Chapter 1

The bulbs of the street lamps, leading him to his destination, shone the white bright light, cascading the dark shade of the night sky. It was an autumn night so he decided to dress up warmly, wearing his traditional 'Keith Scott Body Shop' sweatshirt. Lucas Scott, the sixteen year old boy wearing this sweatshirt, looked around the solitary streets of Tree Hill, mentally kicking himself in the head for not taking his red four by four pickup truck to go home in, as his home was a solid two hours away from where he was now, a bad decision if ever Lucas Scott had made one, and he made plenty.

The decision to scrap the truck and walk to the River Court instead came after the events that unravelled throughout the whole of today. First, he had to wake up early, five thirty am to be precise, after he forgot that he had to go to school early to finish his project due in for the same day. Second, his mom wouldn't stop nagging him about him needing to work more at the café for more support, not that he minded however she just needn't had gone on for so long. Third, his day at school was terrible, with the on-going ridiculing from students calling you the bastard son of the Scott litter. Also the added fact that his best friend Haley James wasn't in school today really did put a downer on the whole day. And last, but by certainly no means least, number four, he had a quick but memorable encounter with his son of a bitch father, Dan Scott, where again the self-righteous man took enjoyment out of displaying the fact that it wasn't Lucas or his mother that he had picked in the end. It was in fact his half-brother Nathan and his mother Deb Scott.

So, gathering all that the conclusion for our boy here, Lucas Scott, was to, in simpleton words, 'fuck this shit and play some hoops on the River Court.' Now, the River Court, was Lucas' main and in some cases, only place of solitude. It was his place to forget about everything going on around him; his school, his family, the torture of being a 'bastard son', instead he replaces all these components in his head with the enjoyment of basketball.

Walking further down the streets of Tree Hill, Lucas looked at his watched which read the time of 11:45 in the evening, fantastic. The huge issue of being past his curfew would mean a most definitely aggravated Karen Roe, sitting on one of the chairs on the dining room table, waiting for him to come home then switch on the lights and announce her presence, also the added fact of him getting insanely shouted at. Another factor now added on how rubbish today has been for Lucas Scott.

He decided to speed walk, knowing that even if he was late, not being extremely late would put him in better stead when he does reach home. Plugging in his ear buds and switching on his I-Pod, the sound of Maroon 5 radiated in his ears. Now with the beat of the music through his ears, Lucas walked quicker, still clutching his basketball under his right arm, and holding his I-Pod in his left hand. Again, he took the enjoyment of mentally kicking himself in the head for not thinking of this sooner, that way he would've gotten home sooner.

Still walking, Lucas glanced at his watch again, revealing that five minutes had been added to the previous time, meaning that it was only ten minutes till midnight, one word; shit. He was still another hour away, he needed to get home quicker. Looking around aimlessly he thought the buses would be a good idea, only then to be reminded of the fact that they don't run past ten by the lovely board of information on the bus stop.

Reaching his cell phone out of his pocket, Lucas tried dialling Keith, the only person who would probably pick him up and take him home at the hour. Listening on the other end whilst it rung, Lucas' heart sank again when the call reached voicemail. Probably the man was sleeping. So, after all that it was his only choice to walk by foot and get screamed at later; great just great.

Walking for a further twenty minutes Lucas found himself situated by a busy road, realisation hitting him when the idea of hitchhiking entered his brain. So he waited, I-Pod now safely tucked away in his sweatshirt, his left arm was extended out, with his thumb in the air. He wasn't waiting too long until a sleek black vehicle drove past and pulled up, the window wound down. After asking where the driver, who looked dangerously suspicious, was heading, it was revealed that the man wasn't taking the same route as Lucas, so drove away. It was a relief if you ask me.

Lucas' arm was still extended, it had been for about ten, fifteen minutes now; time which could have been spent walking home, but it was too late to turn back now. Just as Lucas was about the give up his decision and continue walking a soft, baby blue BMW beetle pulled up and the window wound down swiftly. Lucas waited anxiously to see the driver, his shock when Brooke Davis was revealed.

Her right arm was leant aimlessly over the now non-existent window, the other still placed on the steering wheel. A soft smile played on her lips, yet it was still mysterious at the same time, a quality that Lucas admired. Her eyes contrasted the dark eye makeup that she had put on today, so her hazel was deep and warm, and the tiny flecks of green shone brightly. Lucas thought that the way her eyes shone from the headlights of the other cars, reminded him of a cat-like feature, but one he did like very much.

Brooke was staring at him with her right eyebrow kinked, a common facial expression displayed. She clicked the car in place so that she could place both of her arms over the wound down window so that she could bend to talk to Lucas more. She hadn't really talked to Lucas properly before however, he was her best guy friend's half-brother, who he openly called a bastard, and her being seen socialising with Lucas Scott, would mean that she would be cut out of her friend's lives for sure.

Deciding that she couldn't leave him waiting for anyone else to come by she started the conversation by saying, "Hey stranger, where are you heading?" Brooke's soft raspy tone filling the silence made Lucas focus back onto the situation. Tapping her right index finger on the edge of the car, she waited patiently for Lucas to give her and answer, to which she really didn't have to wait long.

"I meant to be at home. If you could, can you drop me off at the place called Karen's Café? If it's too much trouble then I can wait." Lucas looked at Brooke intently, watching her question herself as to whether or not she should take him up on his offer and drop him off home. He understood, the fact that him talking to her could jeopardise her reputation, but she didn't seem to care that much when she started the ball rolling on the conversation.

Thinking the idea through enough, Brooke looked up and locked eyes with Lucas, something she had always done with people; look them in the eye when you are speaking to them. "Sure, you can take a ride with me, but I need to pick up something first, so say we meet at that little bench over there-"she said and pointed to the middle of the wide pavement where an old wooden bench was placed, a streetlamp was shining above it. "Sound good?" Brooke finished, looking questionably at Lucas.

Conflict was taking over Lucas' mind, should he wait for her to pick up 'some stuff' and then for her to drop him off, or should he just take another car ride. He was about to answer his questions with the answer, when his cell phone rang; it was Keith. "Give me one second please," he said to Brooke, motioning to his phone. She nodded her head with a raised eyebrow, letting him take the phone call.

"Hey Keith what's up?" Lucas asked his uncle, for some reason he didn't want to sound like a dork when Brooke Davis was very near to him.

"Hey Luke, is that you standing next to the blue beetle, I'm happy to give you a ride home if you want. Do you know the girl anyway?" Keith questioning him made Lucas smile a little, it was nice to have a man in your life that could take the father role.

"Yes that is me, and yes I do know her. About the offer-" Lucas looked at Brooke and thought about her offer to take him home too, sure he'd be waiting for a little, and she might not even turn up if he did wait, but he'd be in a car with Brooke Davis. Or, he could take up Keith's offer and go in his car, safe, warm, reliable, and get home. Which one does he pick? You decide.

-x-

Please review and put in the letter A if you want Lucas to catch a ride with Brooke

OR

Please review and put in the letter B if you want Lucas to catch a ride with Keith

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