So glad you all are as excited as I am about this story. Let me know what you think of this installment.

Chapter One

First Days

Lucas opened the door to Haley's grandiose home, greeted with silence. "Hello? Hales?"

"In the kitchen, Luke!"

Lucas walked into the kitchen to see his nephew, James Lucas Scott, hunched over the counter with an orange crayon in his hand, and Haley slicing an apple for her son as an afternoon snack. "Uncle Lucas!"

"J Luke!" he held out his hand and Jamie slapped it. "Whatcha got there?"

Jamie covered the drawing with his hands. "You can't see it yet! It's not done."

Lucas' mind flashed to the sad state of his current writing situation. "I know how that feels," he muttered. He walked around the counter and kissed his best friend on the cheek. "Hello."

"Hi. I take it the writing's not going very well," she said.

"The writing is not going at all. How about you? Did you get a nanny yet?"

"Nope. Not yet."

"Well, you can't babysit him forever, Hales...and by him I mean Nathan, not Jamie."

"Well, it's only been four months, so." Haley continued slicing the apple to avoid pursuing the subject, and Lucas knew this.

"So, were you gonna tell me that Peyton's back in town, or..."

Haley's cheeks filled in color. "Oh. That."

"Yes. That. You didn't think to tell me?!" he hissed so that Jamie wouldn't hear, his eyes filling with anger. "Why?"

"You were in New York, supposedly focusing on your writing. I didn't want to disturb you. It was nothing that couldn't wait until you got back."

"That's not true," Lucas argued. "I deserved to know."

Setting down her knife, Haley kinked her eyebrows and surveyed her best friend. "Why? Why 'deserved?'"

He exhaled and rolled his shoulders forward. "What does 'supposedly' mean?!"

"Don't answer my question with a question," she shot back.

"Well you know I've been struggling with my writing, and I have been working really hard with Lindsey, so I don't appreciate your condescension."

Haley held up her hands in surrender. "OK. Sorry...but yes, Peyton's back in Tree Hill–and it looks like she's back indefinitely."

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Brooke had moved rather fast in procuring a space for her new C/B boutique…the same space that used to be Karen's Cafe. She was working fast with a construction crew and a contractor in time to reveal the store at a flashy launch party. Such an endeavor was a complicated one, and an attention to detail was completely necessary. With her mother Victoria breathing down her neck, to say Brooke was a nervous wreck was a total understatement.

Peyton tried hard to focus on anything other than the fact that Lucas was in the store, working on the other side of the space, listening to something Brooke was telling him. She happily welcomed the distraction that was Sophia, who held a coffee in her hand and a book in the other. "You rang?" she announced, and Lucas turned.

"Thank GOD!" Brooke exclaimed. "You're here!"

"You called Sophia?" Peyton asked, under the impression that her cousin was going to be out exploring all day like she announced she was going to do.

"Of course I did," Brooke replied. "I need all the hands I can get."

"It's no big deal," Sophia said. "What can I do?"

"Go help Luke," Brooke said. "Your beverage is not allowed near the merchandise!"

Sophia laughed, placed her coffee on the ground, and took off her light hoodie. Meanwhile, Lucas was staring at her, in shock. "Hey Luke," she said, and kept remarkably cool. "What's going on?"

Lucas laughed. "Oh my God, Sophia!" He moved to embrace her, and she let him. "Wow, I can't believe it's you!"

The pair hadn't seen each other since Lucas and Peyton were in high school, and a couple. When Peyton moved out to Los Angeles, she saw Sophia considerably less than she did before the move, which meant Sophia saw Lucas even less so. Sophia and Lucas got along remarkably well, but then Lucas and Peyton broke up, and that was, seemingly, the end of that.

Peyton was forced to watch the interaction from across the store, and she felt a sense of unhappiness in her chest. She found herself irrationally thinking, How dare he talk to her? and along with that, nursing a sense of...jealousy. She didn't want Lucas and her cousin talking, interacting, and certainly not reminiscing.

"It's good to see you, too," Sophia said.

"Are you visiting for some of your summer vacation?"

"Yeah, kind of," Sophia answered, not breaking face. Lucas looked puzzled for a split second, but their conversation was gracefully put to a halt with the arrival of Millicent carrying several pizza boxes.

"Alright guys, come and get it!" Brooke announced. "Now, words cannot express how much I appreciate you all being here on a Friday, doing manual labor...so I'm just gonna say this: DO NOT get food on the clothes; Millicent will be distributing handi-wipes; use them! Break's over in 20 minutes, and I love you all."

Sophia grabbed two slices of pizza, moving to sit with her cousin, in which she passed her a slice. She nudged Peyton's shoulder with her own. "You good?"

"I'm fine," Peyton said, and took a bite of her food. "Are you good?"

"I am indeed," Sophia said. "You just seem a little…. tense. Is it because of Lucas?"

Peyton had to laugh, but it was an uncomfortable sound.

"It's OK," Sophia said, taking her hand. "Really."

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After lunch, Peyton approached Victoria Davis rather timidly. Though Brooke's mom hadn't been around much when they were teenagers, she was still, well...pretty fucking scary. "Hi Mrs. Davis." Victoria turned from adjusting the clothes on a mannequin. Peyton wrung her hands together. "I just want to tell you, I think it's really great that you're supporting Brooke's decision to stay. I know it means so much to her."

"...Of course I support my daughter...but let's be clear. The only reason Brooke returned to this backwater town is because her loser friend couldn't cut it in Los Angeles. That's why I'm here, to make sure my daughter isn't completely exploited by her parasitic so-called 'friends'; so you get your little act together before you ruin her life, too." Victoria pursed her lips and stepped aside, leaving Peyton momentarily gutted.

Sophia had heard the entire exchange, and she had half a mind to introduce herself to this Victoria person. She walked, talked, and acted like a complete witch. "Well," Sophia said, edging close to Peyton's side. "She's...pleasant."

"Isn't she?" Peyton laughed. "Hasn't changed."

Sophia's phone began vibrating in her back pocket. She took one look at the screen and said, "Be right back," headed outside to take the call. The sun shone brightly in her eyes, so she quickly scurried under the shade of a tree. "Hello?"

"Soph! It's me!"

Sophia chuckled. "I know it's you, DC; I have caller ID. What's up? Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine! How's Peyton? How's Tree Hill?!"

"...Not gonna lie, it's pretty sweet. The weather is great. We're fixing up Brooke's new boutique. The launch party is in a few days. Other than that, just been reacquainting myself with this place and exploring. How about you, how's Vermont?"

"...Eh. I love Suzie and Phil, Nora and Max and all, but to be honest, it's getting kinda boring. There's no TV here."

Sophia laughed. DC, at 11, had a pretty significant obsession with video games. "Yeah, but you get unlimited access to that tree house Phil built."

"I guess."

"What's wrong?"

"I miss you. This sucks. You're so far away."

"I know, buddy..." she lamented, and sighed. Her eyes brimmed with tears. "But you know why I had to come here, right?"

"Yeah," he said."Because our dad sucks; that's why."

"DC..."

"I want to come to Tree Hill. It's not fair that you're all the way over there with Peyton and I'm not."

"Are you unhappy with Suzie and Phil?"

"No; it's not that. Suzie and Phil are great...but they're not you."

Sophia shut her eyes and let out a long exhale.

"Ask Peyton if I can come to stay in Tree Hill, too. Please, Soph?"

"I don't know if–"

"Oh come on. I know she'll say yes. We're brother and sister!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Sophia saw Peyton leaving the store and walking in her direction. "D...I gotta go; I'll call you later, OK? Bye."

"Everything OK?" Peyton asked.

"Yep," Sophia answered, right as she hung up the call. "Everything's fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive. We'd better hurry and get back in there before Brooke notices we're gone."

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Lucas found himself shooting hoops at the River Court, hoping basketball would give him inspiration to write. So far, he had no luck. Actually he was missing every single basket that he attempted.

"Wow," came a familiar voice. "I didn't realize you sucked this bad."

Lucas turned after catching the ball in his grasp, wearing a wry smile. "Lindsey," he said. "What're you doing here?" He spun around in his spot once. "...Am I actually in New York?"

"Ha ha." Lindsey rolled her eyes. She set her purse on the bleachers. "I kind of had a crazy idea. Hear me out?"

"Always." Lucas took a seat on the bleachers next to her. "What's up?"

"Your recent visit to New York made it very clear to me that you're totally struggling with your writing. Because I believe in you so much, I'm willing to work out of Tree Hill for a little while and save you the back and forth. I think you constantly having to leave this environment is messing you up a bit."

Lucas scratched the back of his neck. "...Wow, Lindsey that's...that's really nice of you. You don't have to do this, though. What about your other writers?"

"I can work remotely, and if I need to schedule some face to face, they can always come to Tree Hill." Lindsey rested a hand on Lucas' shoulder. "Call this an experiment. I stay in Tree Hill for a couple weeks, and if it doesn't work out, I go home...but you still need to get me some freakin' pages."

Lucas let out a breathy laugh. "Are you sure?"

"Luke, I already made up my mind. I'm staying! What do you say?"

Lucas swung an arm around her shoulder. "I think you'll grow to love Tree Hill."

She rolled her eyes, grabbed the basketball, stood up, and threw it towards the basket, where it sunk in.

"...That's just not fair!"

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Tonight was the grand opening of Brooke's boutique. She'd been running around with her assistant Millicent to get everything ready, so much so that Sophia and Peyton hardly saw her. Sophia spent her afternoon reading out on the balcony, enjoying the light breeze and the view of the marina.

"Whatcha reading?"

Sophia turned at the sound of her cousin's voice. She handed her a nice tall glass of iced tea and took a seat next to her. "Calvino." She shut her book and turned in the lounge chair. "Thanks for the drink."

"No problem," Peyton sent a smile her way. "So tonight's Brooke's boutique opening; are you excited?"

"I am," Sophia replied. "...This is supposed to be like, a fancy event, right? It's just...I left New York in such a haste I didn't really...I didn't really pack any going out clothes."

"OK," Peyton said easily. If she was in any way affected by what her cousin just said, she didn't let it show on her face. "So let's go shopping!"

The pair found themselves in the Mercury Comet with the top down, listening to some classic jams as they drove to the mall. At a red light, Peyton turned and said, "So, Soph...I've been wanting to talk to you about something."

"OK," Sophia said, and her stomach began to churn. "What about?"

"If you'd like to stay in Tree Hill with me for the rest of the summer, you can do that."

"...Seriously?"

With half her glance on the light up ahead, Peyton nodded. "Mhm."

"I..." Sophia blew out a breath. "That's amazing, thank you so much….but–"

As the light turned green, Peyton accelerated. The mall was just up ahead and soon they found themselves in its parking lot, with the car engine coming to a stop. "But what?"

Sophia looked her cousin in the eye, looking especially sullen and incredibly serious. "I can't leave my brother for that long."

As Peyton was about to reply, her phone began to go off, and she saw it was her dad calling. "Sorry, honey," she said. "I should take this."

"Sure. I'll meet you at the entrance over there." She got out and closed the car door behind her, beginning her walk towards the west entrance to the mall.

"Hi Dad," Peyton said. "Any updates?"

"I talked to the couple taking care of DC, Phil and Suzie Cooper."

"And?"

"They're in complete agreement that DC should be in Tree Hill with you. I've spoken with him, they've spoken to him–"

"You spoke to him? How did he sound?"

"Excited. Peyton, he's already on a bus on his way to you."

"What, right now?!"

"Yes. You said it yourself, we shouldn't keep siblings apart. Especially not those two."

"What's his travel information? Itinerary?"

"I'll text it to you; I have it all right here."

"OK. Thank you, Dad."

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After visiting three stores at the mall, Sophia had been laying on her bed reading, when she thought she heard her name radiate from downstairs. She placed her book to the side, pulled the bedroom door open. "Did someone call me?" she hollered.

"Yes!" It was Peyton. "Can you come down here for a second?"

Sophia galloped down the stairs and turned to see her little brother, standing next to a large navy blue duffle bag and matching backpack. He was dressed simply in sweats, his light brown hair covering his forehead, gangly legs sprouting from underneath him. "Soph!"

"...Oh my God," she breathed, tears filling her eyes. "Oh my God!" She opened her arms and DC ran into them, then she held him tight, jostled him a bit. "What the heck are you doing here?! Are you OK?!"

DC laughed, his laugh a sweet, innocent sound. "Yes, sis, I'm OK. Why do you always think something bad happened?"

Sophia had to laugh in spite of herself, and motioned to Peyton, who was visibly moved. "Did you guys…"

"Brooke's assistant Millicent came to get me. It's sort of because of Uncle Larry," DC filled in, nudging his glasses to sit properly on his nose. "…But really this was all my idea."

With a teary laugh, she brought her little brother back to her side, where he was always meant to be. With a deep sense of gratitude, Sophia looked over at Peyton and mouthed, thank you.

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Sophia spent the next hour helping DC unpack the clothes he brought, while he marveled at the size of his new room. "OK, D, tell me you packed going out clothes?"

"'Going out clothes?' What're those?"

Sophia rolled her eyes, as she placed DC's jeans in his new dresser. "You know, like nice shirts? Slacks? Dressy stuff. So that you look nice."

"Oh." He rummaged in his duffle bag and pulled out a purple cotton button down shirt and khaki slacks. "Like these?"

"Yes, perfect." Sophia pursed her lips at the obvious wrinkles on the fabric. "D, the least you could do is fold your clothes when you pack them."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is now you have to iron the shirt and those pants. The ironing board is down the hall in the linen closet."

"Seriously? Where are we even going?"

"The grand opening of Brooke's boutique is like in an hour and she's having a fancy party. I told you that. Hurry up, or we're going to be late."

DC hung his head back in defeat, taking the clothes. "Fine. This party better be fun!"

"It's Brooke. Of course it'll be fun. Move your feet!"

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The C/B boutique on Front Street was buzzing with activity by the time Sophia, DC, and Peyton arrived. Peyton had found a gorgeous strapless emerald green dress that brought out her eyes, Sophia wearing a maroon red. Brooke stood in the center of at all, looking radiant as always.

"You guys made it! Hey, DC!" Before hugging him, she asked, "You remember me, right?"

"Of course," DC chuckled, and they embraced.

"Brooke, this is amazing!" Peyton said. "We're all so proud of you!" Over Brooke's shoulder, Peyton spotted Lucas dressed in a crisp blue button down, chatting and laughing with a beautiful, tall brunette. Her stomach clenched, but when she pulled back from her hug with her best friend, she hid it with a smile.

"Look around and enjoy, guys!" Brooke held up one finger, too busy with her grand opening to notice the turmoil going on in Peyton's mind. "One piece on the house from me."

"Seriously?" Sophia gaped. "That's so sweet. Thanks, Brooke!"

"Don't thank me! We're family!" As she said this, Brooke squeezed Peyton's left wrist.

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Sophia and DC left Peyton and Brooke to wander around the store, laugh and catch up after so long apart. If Sophia weren't there, DC would've probably been bored out of his mind. They ended up posing and taking photos together, with and without the mannequins.

"Haley!" Sophia called out, and Haley turned.

"Sophia? Holy crap!" The pair embraced. "I can't believe you're here!"

Sophia laughed, "It's been a while, huh?"

"A while?! You look like a woman already." Haley's eyes met those of DC, and her eyes filled with joy. "DC! Oh my goodness!"

"Hi Haley," DC grinned. "It's great to see you!"

"How are you?" Sophia asked. "How's everyone, how's Nathan?"

Haley's expression changed, but only for a second. "Oh Nathan's good, he's just not feeling well tonight. He would've loved to be here, though...and my son James is doing really well, he's four now!"

"Four, wow...time flies."

"Tell me about it. I still can't believe you both are here!"

As Sophia, DC, and Haley continued chatting, Brooke and Peyton stood by the check out counter. "So I have a little something for you." Brooke handed her a plum colored strapless dress. "It's a present to say thanks for helping me with everything."

"...Wow, I love it, but you did not have to do this. You've already done so much for me."

Brooke disregarded her friend's concern with a flick of her wrist. "Eh." She inhaled a breath. "So how're things with Lucas?"

Peyton didn't break face. "What do you mean?"

Brooke gave her a knowing look. "Peyton, you asked me to be honest with you about why I'm staying, and I need you to do the same with me, OK?"

"OK."

"...It's just not high school anymore," she said, hoping Peyton could read in between the lines.

"This is not about Lucas, Brooke."

Brooke put her hands up in surrender. "OK. Good. Because the cute bartender's been eying you all night."

Peyton turned to see a tall, handsome, dark haired man behind the counter, whose lips curled into a smirk upon making eye contact with her. "Oh."

"Oh."

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"Huh." Sophia had been eating an hors d'oeuvres when she caught the sight of her cousin talking it up with a cute bartender.

"What?" DC asked, looking up from the display of slacks.

Sophia motioned to Peyton with her chin. "Check it out. What's that about?"

"Hah. Peyton with a dude. Would it be corny if I yelled get it in across the room?"

Sophia swatted DC's arm and hid her smile. "Yes. And inappropriate. Where did you learn that?!"

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As DC eventually got pulled into an entertaining conversation with Mouth and Skills, Sophia spotted the brunette that Lucas had been with the whole night, eyeing a nice blouse. She knew she probably shouldn't have, but she went up to her, ever so curious.

"That top would look really cute on you," Sophia said, and the woman turned to her.

"Aw, thanks," she said, with a smile.

"You should definitely get it." Sophia watched her subtly. She had beautiful light brown hair, gorgeous eyes, and curves that could kill.

"Maybe I will! So how do you know Brooke?"

"Oh. Close friend." Sophia decided that version was much simpler than the long one. "I'm Sophia." She stuck out her hand for a shake, and the woman gladly took it.

"Lindsey!"

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He smelled really good. His eyes were a deep brown. His name was Evan. When they leaned in to hear each other over the noise of the party, Peyton took note of the way his chest rippled through his black button down. Still though, her attraction felt..incomplete.

Two fingers brushed against her arm, and Peyton turned to see Lucas standing there. Almost instantaneously, her heart began to pound in her chest, her breath catching in her throat. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," she returned. They looked at each other for a good five seconds.

Lucas swallowed, and boldly leaned forward to whisper in Peyton's ear. She wore a new perfume that he couldn't name, but that intoxicated him, made him dizzy and yearn for her in ways he hadn't in a long time. His hand pressed against her lower back, and he said, "He's not good enough for you."

When he pulled away, he noticed her shoulders tense up, and she looked as though the wind got knocked out of her. Whether what came next was a surge of adrenaline or anger, she wasn't sure, but it led her right outside the store in Lucas' footsteps moments later. "Hey!" she shouted, her voice carrying through the night air. "Don't do that."

Lucas turned to her with that sexy, brooding stare. "Do what?"

"'He's not good enough for you?' I don't want you saying things like that to me, Lucas! That's not fair to me! And it's not fair to...to her!"

Lucas just looked at her. "Her?"

"Yes!" Peyton shouted, clearly exasperated. "The lovely woman you brought with you tonight. Your date."

Lucas tried not to laugh at her insinuation. "My date? Lindsey's not my date. She's not even my girlfriend."

Her heart began to pound again. "...What?"

"Lindsey is not my girlfriend. She's my editor, and she's my friend."

"...Oh."

They continued staring at each other, Peyton standing by the entrance to the boutique, and Lucas a few feet away on the sidewalk. Though physically close, an ocean sat between them.

The sounds of the door opening led both adults attention away from each other. Sophia and DC stood there, picking up on the tension. "Are we...leaving?"

"Yes," Peyton answered, pretending to ignore the disappointment in Lucas' eyes. "C'mon guys. You have everything?"

The kids answered yes, and Peyton didn't meet Lucas' glance again as they left the store and headed home.

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With Brooke still at the boutique, Peyton and the kids had the house to themselves. They both went straight to their rooms to change into their pajamas, and DC went to sleep, exhausted from the trip over. After a bit, Sophia came downstairs to see Peyton in front of the fireplace, watching the flames flicker. "Hey."

"Hey," Peyton returned, shifting to sit atop her legs. "So did you have a nice evening?"

"I did," Sophia replied. So are we not gonna talk about whatever went down with you and Lucas?! Was on the tip of her tongue, but she held it in. "DC and I ran into Haley and talked to her for a bit. Weird that Nathan wasn't there, though."

Peyton took in a sharp breath. Sophia was still seemingly unaware of Nathan's tragic spine injury that left him wheelchair bound, as he had been for the past four or so months. "Yeah...about that."

"...What?"

Peyton swallowed and told Sophia the whole story as she'd heard from Brooke: Nathan, Lucas, and Haley had been out on the town celebrating Nathan's new shoe contract. When Haley left to relieve the sitter, Lucas and Nathan had a run in with a complete jerk...one thing led to another, a fight broke out, and Nathan was thrown through a plate glass window.

"...What?" Her voice was above a whisper, her eyes deep and wounded and sad. "My God. That's so horrible."

"I know. It is."

"So he's in a wheelchair now? For good?"

"Well, Brooke and I went to see him the other day. Good news is, the doctors say he'll be able to walk again, he just needs a little incentive. The bad news is he seems very unmotivated and deeply depressed. Truly."

"Wow," Sophia breathed. She couldn't even imagine a Nathan that was depressed….and yet for somebody that had been so active….she couldn't imagine being in his position, either. "I don't really know what to say."

"It's a lot, I know." Peyton reached over and patted Sophia's knee. "...I bet he'd really love a visit from you and DC."

"I was just thinking that," Sophia admitted, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you think it'd be alright?"

"Of course," Peyton said back, her voice soft. "Of course. You'd get to meet little Jamie, too!"

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