Alternate Universe (starting in season 3). Brooke and Lucas never dated in season 1; Peyton and Lucas were together instead (from episode 1.09) until she connects with Jake. The kiss between Brooke and Lucas in 2.23 never occurred. However, that doesn't mean Lucas never developed feelings for her. Because this is an alternate universe, I will not be including the fire at the dealership or Ellie (for now, anyway). Another note: during the summer, Haley stayed with Lucas. I'm not really sure where she stayed in the show, so I made it up. Ships: Nathan/Haley; Brooke/Lucas; Peyton/Jake (if I can get him to stay put in Tree Hill for longer than a week)

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of its characters; I also don't own the title of this story. I stole that from Switchfoot. Bonus points for anyone who can name the artist(s) who have recorded the song that the chapter title is taken from.

Chapter 1: Don't You Know Who I Think I Am?

Brooke Davis hummed happily as she walked through the New Brunswick airport, her purse swinging beside her.

"Brooke!"

She grinned as her best friend materialized next to her. Peyton Sawyer, thankfully, was still the same girl she'd been in June, except—

"Nice hair cut," Brooke said, throwing her arms around the blonde-haired girl. After a few seconds, she stepped back to survey Peyton with a critical eye. "How's Tree Hill been without me?"
"Brooke, I called you every other day," she answered as the two girls started to walk to the exit. "Nothing happened without me telling you about it."

"Something might have happened in the 6 hours I was on the plane,"
Brooke retorted, slipping on her sunglasses and surveying the line of cars that stretched out in front of the airport. "Oh, that's us."

"Well, don't worry, it's been boring as hell without you. Lucas is the only one that's kept me company. Nathan hasn't gotten back yet from High Flyers, although it's not like he'd be that entertaining."

"I notice you didn't mention a certain former musical artist we both know and love," Brooke remarked after a minute of silence.

"That's because I really couldn't care less about her!"

"We all make mistakes, you know," she replied in a softer voice. "Haley deserves a second chance."

Peyton refused to answer, and the rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

Ten minutes later, the car pulled up to Brooke's old room at Lucas's.

"Listen, I'm going to go try and find Nathan. He's coming home today. But we'll stop by later, okay?"

"I'll see you later," Brooke said, rifling through her purse for her keys. "Do you know if Lucas is home?"

"I think he's at the River Court."

"Oh, okay," she replied, fighting down an unexpected wave of disappointment. Pulling her bags along behind her, she fit the key into the lock and pushed the door open.

Home sweet home.

"Luke!"

Lucas Scott turned to find Peyton Sawyer standing at the edge of the River Court, looking unusually excited.

"Hey, Peyton," he replied, dribbling the basketball over to her. "What's up?"

"What's up? Brooke's home!"

He took a second to make sure none of the excitement that had suddenly invaded his system made itself obvious. "That's great."

"Luke, don't be an idiot this time, okay?" Peyton said, putting her hands on her hips.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you care about her. I know you have feelings for her! Why are you avoiding her like the plague? She's here, Lucas. In Tree Hill. So what the hell are you doing hiding out here?"

"Peyton…"

"No," she said stubbornly, yanking on his arm. "You're going to go see her, right now."

"Hey!" he exclaimed, tugging his arm away from her. "God, Peyton. You can't just—just go up to somebody and tell her you love her."

"Well, you'd better figure something out, and soon," she replied. "Why don't you just go over and say hi? Welcome home? Anything at all. Seriously."

He tucked the basketball under his arm and looked at her. "All right. Fine."

Brooke smiled as she sorted through the pictures from her summer in California. David…Bryan…Scott…

She reached the end of the stack and sighed. The guys she'd met had been great, but none of them were right for her. She felt like she'd been looking for something the three months she'd been away, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Which had made the end of summer all the more frustrating, because she'd wasted three months away from Tree Hill and hadn't gotten any closer to finding out what she wanted.

A tentative knock sounded on the door to her room, and she quickly shoved the pictures in a drawer.

"Come in!"

Lucas Scott walked in, and for some reason, she'd never been happier to see him.

"Luke!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "It's so great to see you."

"Welcome back," he murmured into her hair before pulling away. "How was California?"
"Great," she lied, sitting down on her bed. "How's Tree Hill been?"
"Not the same without you," he replied, smiling at her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked away from him.

"So…Haley's back, huh?"

"Yeah. It'd be great if she weren't heartbroken."

"Luke…I know you want to fix everything," she said, turning to face him. "And, trust me, we all want Nathan and Haley back together. But…you've got to let them work it out by themselves. If you try to push it, they'll fall apart."

"Brooke, if I don't talk to Nathan, he'll never try again with Haley. You know him."

"Yeah, I do. He's just as stubborn as you are. Just—promise me you won't interfere."

He didn't answer.

"Luke," she said softly, laying her hand on his shoulder. "Please."

"Fine," he muttered, standing up. "Great to have you back, Brooke."

She winced as the door slammed shut.

"Did you talk to Brooke?"

"Yeah, Peyton," Lucas answered, dribbling the ball before lining up for a shot. "I talked to her."

"Well?" she asked, grabbing the basketball as it swished through the hoop. "What happened?"

"She told me to keep my big, fat nose out of Nathan and Haley's business," he snapped.

"Well, you do have a—"

"Trust me, I heard it all from her."

"Just because she's looking out for her friend doesn't mean she doesn't care about you, Luke."

"She's looking out for both of them, Peyton," he said sharply, looking her in the eye.

"Look, I just don't want you to think that she doesn't care about you because she asked you not to interfere."

"Why can't you just come to terms with it?" Lucas asked. "She doesn't have feelings for me, Peyton. She never has. And, judging from the conversation we just had, she never will."

"Luke…will you just listen to me? For a second?" Peyton said plaintively, crossing the court to stand in front of him. He shoved his arms in his pockets, but didn't walk away.

"Jake was…is the most important person in my life. I regret a lot of things—waiting so long to tell him how I felt, not being able to protect him from Nikki, having to say goodbye—but I never regretted being honest with him. I don't want you to look back and wish that you'd come clean with Brooke, you know? I lost Jake, but you don't have to lose Brooke. I don't want that for you."

"I know what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it. I do. But let's face it. She doesn't see me that way."

"And she won't. Not unless you show her the guy you want her to see."

Peyton gave Lucas one last look before walking away, hoping that she'd gotten through to him.