CHAPTER ONE
Lily heard the car horn as she was putting the finishing touches on her make-up.
"Mom, I'm leaving!" she called. She picked up her tote bag that doubled as a book bag and flew out the door. James Scott, who had been her best friend since she was a baby as well as her cousin, waved from the driver's seat.
"Hurry up, you don't want to be late for the first day of school do you?" he yelled.
"Cool your jets, Jamie, I'm going as fast as I can," he retorted, sliding into the passenger seat.
"Maybe tomorrow you could wear lower heels, like, say, three inches?"
"Shut up. Let's go."
The rest of the ride was mostly silence, not because they were angry with one another, but because they had been together all their lives and hardly needed to ask what the other was thinking most days.
Jamie broke the silence as the car neared the school parking lot. "We still on for lunch?"
"Unless I get a better offer," Lily joked.
"Sure, but what's better than a free ride and a free lunch with your best friend?"
"I could think of a few things, but I won't mention them right now." She teased as he pulled in to his designated parking space.
"Fair enough, but whatever you do in your spare time is none of my business."
"Now you realize that?" Lily rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the ride, buddy. See you at lunch." She scanned the crowd standing in front of the school, trying to find her friends. As much as she loved Jamie and hanging out with him outside of school, he didn't exactly fit in with her group of friends.
"Hey, Lil!" her friend Elizabeth called to her. She ran toward her and turned to wave goodbye to Jamie, but he was already gone. Lily, Elizabeth and a few other girls exchanged hugs, compared tans, and re-acquainted themselves. Lily knew this was where she belonged. She waved as her friend, Jenny, who was a senior, passed by. Usually different classes didn't exactly socialize, but sometimes Lily hung out with Jenny and her friends. It definitely gave her major cool points with her junior friends.
The bell rang, signaling the start of the school day. Lily rushed to her first period, which was science: her worst subject. When she got into the classroom she noticed that the seating was in alphabetical order. She hated that. With all the kids she'd been friends with since pre-school going to the same high school as her, it sucked always having to be by the same people. She also noticed her ex-boyfriend, known to most of Tree Hill as "the" Ben Samson, the star of the football team.
"Hey, Lilypad, you miss me?" he asked charmingly. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Dream on, Benny-boy." She said dryly.
"Oh, you don't think I'm still into you, do you?" he smirked. "Nah." He put his arm around Morgan Price, who had been Lily's sworn enemy since seventh grade when she spilled chocolate milk on her brand new Coach purse.
"You two were certainly meant for each other." She said sweetly. When she turned around, she rolled her eyes. None of her friends were in this class. It was only first period and the end of the day could not come quick enough.
"Boys suck." Lily crossed her arm and flopped into the passenger seat.
"Well, hello to you too. And, thanks?" Jamie replied.
"Oh, not you. You know, Ben. Idiot guys."
"Morgan, right?"
"You knew?!"
"Well, kind of. I mean it was a rumor."
"Since when do you hear rumors and not tell me? Scratch that. Since when do you hear rumors? I'm supposed to be your information source."
"I don't know. Sorry. Anyway, it's the first day, you can't expect to have a new boyfriend already."
"Are you kidding? I didn't expect that. . ." Lily trailed off. She was staring at a tanned, muscular guy across the lot. "Who is that?" she breathed.
"Justin Moore. He's new this year."
"You don't say. Well, being the kind, sociable people we are, it's only right for us to introduce ourselves, don't you agree?"
"Lily," Jamie warned, but he couldn't stop her when she is determined. "Fine. Justin!" He waved to him and drove up.
"You know him?" Lily said through her teeth.
"Yeah, he's in my second period," he said under his breath. "Hey, this is Lily Scott Lily, Justin Moore."
"Your sister?" Justin asked.
"Cousin." Jamie clarified. Justin nodded.
"Cool, well it's nice to meet you."
"You too." Lily flirted.
"Well, I've got to go register for a parking space, but I'll see you around." He flashed a winning smile and Lily just nodded, dumbstruck.
"Okay, I changed my mind. Boys totally rock!" Lily exclaimed as soon as he was out of earshot. Jamie just smiled and shook his head at his boy crazy friend and drove toward Karen's Cafe.
"Hey, sweetheart, I'm so glad you're here. Lucas had to run in to work for a little while so Savannah's here. Can you take her home and watch her until Lindsey picks her up?" Karen requested.
"Mom! I was going to meet Liz at the mall!" Lily pouted.
"Sorry, hon. You're doing them a favor."
"This sucks." She sulked. "She's almost eleven, can't she take care of herself?" Karen lowered her eyes at Lily.
"Don't be stubborn, she's your niece, you need to be nice."
"So now it's my fault that Lucas made an idiot decision with his girlfriend then broke up with her nine months later?"
"Lily. . ." she warned. "Do not start with me."
"Fine." Lily gave in. "Come on, Anna, let's go! Daylight's burning!"
Her tiny blonde niece ran out from the back. "I'm ready. Thanks, Grandma." Karen cringed at the name and looked at Jamie.
"Do I look old enough to be a grandmother?" she asked rhetorically. Lily stomped out, and she just shook her head and smiled.
Haley walked into the café and sat at the bar.
"Hey, Haley. Need some coffee?" she asked.
"I need some alcohol, but I guess coffee would work." Karen laughed.
"So, how was your first day? Lily misbehaving already?"
"If only that were the least of my problems." Karen looked concerned.
"What's going on, Hales?"
"Jamie told Nathan that he was going to try out for basketball and all he wants is his dad's support, but he's too afraid of being the next Dan to give him too much."
"Just talk to him, Haley. He'll figure it out. He's a great dad."
"Yeah, I know. I just don't want Jamie to get his heart broken if he doesn't make it."
"With his genes? There's not a chance."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks, Karen, I've got to go. Meetings." Karen nodded, understanding.
"It'll get better, Haley. Keep your head up." Haley smiled graciously and rushed out of the café.
"Aunt Lily, can you help me with my homework?"
"Savannah, don't call me Aunt Lily. It's just Lily, okay? And yeah, whatcha working on?"
"Science. It doesn't make any sense."
"Yeah, I don't like science much either. But you better hope it makes sense." She joked. Savannah smiled tightly. "What's up, Anna?"
"Nothing, I'm just tired of switching houses all the time. I wish I just had to keep track of one of everything."
"Oh, yeah. That. It'll be okay. I mean, it's nice that you get to see both of your parents, right?" Savannah nodded. It was kind of awkward talking about how hard it was to grow up with her parents apart when Lily had never even met her dad. "Anyway, let's see about this science, huh?"
It was already 8:45 and Jenny was still waiting. Where is he? she thought. The doorbell rang-- finally. She ran to the door and opened it.
"Hey, babe, I'm so sorry I'm late. I got caught up at work and lost track of time. You still want to hang out?" Her boyfriend Tyler was at the door.
"Here, you can make it up with a kiss." Tyler leaned down and kissed her.
"Ah-hem. I thought you guys would wait until you were gone to start this." Jenny's dad Jake walked into the foyer. Jenny smiled.
"Sorry, Dad. I'll be back by eleven, okay?"
"Not a minute later." He directed. Tyler grabbed Jenny's hand and they ran outside to his car. Jake smiled. He was glad that Jenny was happy but couldn't help but hope that Tyler was nothing like he was in high school. Or at the very least that Jenny was more responsible.
"So, where are we going?" Jenny asked.
"I don't know, I was thinking maybe we could go down to the beach. Perfect weather." Jenny nodded.
"Sounds fun." It was only a ten-minute drive, in which they talked about the things they always talk about: school, family, life, and basketball. Well, it was mostly Tyler who talked about basketball, but Jenny was more than happy to listen to him speaking so passionately about it. When they got there, Tyler pulled some blankets out from the backseat for them to lay on. They lay by the ocean staring up at the stars and cuddling. Every once in a while, Tyler would say something corny about the stars in her eyes and she'd roll her eyes and giggle. It was a typical date for them, but since it was September, there was a bit of a breeze. He held her tight in his arms and kissed her.
Jenny lay back and let Tyler roll her over so he was on top of her, kissing her. His hands were on her waist and began to move under her shirt, rubbing her flat stomach with his thumbs and supporting her back. She murmured softly and he moved his hands up. They slid around to her back, where he found the hook to her bra.
"Ty, what are you doing?" Jenny whispered. He didn't reply, but he struggled to unhook it. "Tyler! Stop it." She said, louder this time.
"Jenny, it's okay." He reassured her.
"No, it's not, Tyler. Sorry, but not here and not now, okay?"
"Jenny, we've been dating for almost three months and we haven't even gotten to second base hardly."
"Is that a problem?" she asked coldly.
"No, but it'd be nice to know that you're into me."
"I am. Obviously I'm into you. Would I be here if I wasn't?"
"I don't know. You tell me." There were tears in Jenny's eyes. She kissed him again, allowing him to go back to what he was doing. She had never given in to him before, and wasn't so sure she liked what she had done.