AN: A big, huge thanks to everyone that reviewed! Seriously guys, since this is my first story your comments mean the world to me! Can't tell you how much I appreciate it…so I just tried to put up the second chapter as soon as I could. It's a bit longer, I hope you enjoy:D

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Chapter 2

Laying Out the Plans

"God, I thought we would never get here, that flight seemed so long!" Brooke whined while the two girls got into Peyton's car.

"Yeah… the waiting was not easier for me as well. Nathan practically kicked me out of their house because I was driving him crazy"

"Oh… you couldn't wait to see your best friend! How sweet!"

"Yeah, yeah, you know me... the sweetest person ever"

"Hardly, P. Sawyer, it's just that you have a soft spot for me. And how can I blame you? I am adorable" Brooke giggled.

"You're so full of yourself, Davis"

"Anyway… Nathan? I thought your boyfriend's name was Luke or something? Don't tell me you have two?!" Brooke screamed. "Pey, even I wouldn't do that! I think I wouldn't at least! I know I haven't yet…"

"My one and only boyfriend is Lucas, Brooke!" Peyton sighed exasperated. "Nathan is his brother. I told you about him"

"Oh, yes, the other Scott, ups- I forgot! How is that Nathan anyway?"

"He is a really nice guy, I'm sure you'll like him"

"Peyton, Peyton… when I ask how a guy is, I actually mean how hot he is?" Brooke replied with a serious tone that caused Peyton to erupt into laughter.

"You'll never change, Brooke. Didn't you leave any boyfriends back there in LA crying over your departure?"

Brooke frowned slightly.

"I left a lot of boys crying Pey… but boyfriend…nope… I'm so not the girlfriend type"

"Ha… we'll have to see about that, and for your information Nathan is totally hot!"

"Now you're talking, girlie! Now I know I will like him!" Brooke giggled causing Peyton to laugh once again.

The rest of the drive went on with Brooke gashing about how much Tree Hill had changed. She hasn't visited for over a year and everything seemed to have changed. All new kind of stores were open and Brooke kept asking Peyton about all the places she had to visit now that she was back home, namely new clothes and shoes stores and the in-clubs and bars. They arrived at Brooke's old house shortly after.

"Wow…I've really missed this place"

"Brooke, you've missed your house even when you lived here, you were never around!"

"Not true… I...visited?" Brooke chuckled.

"Whatever, anyway, your father is not coming?"

"You're kidding, Blondie? My dad sent the furniture, the clothes, hired the cook and the maid, and as far as he is concerned he has made sure I would be fine…"

"I'm so sorry, Brooke"

"Why? It's not like this is something new. Come on, Pey. I'm used to it. It wasn't any different in California anyway. At least here I have you"

"True!" Peyton exclaimed and enveloped Brooke into another tight hug. "I'm so happy you're back, nothing has been the same without you!"

"Me too, Pey, I'm really happy to be back too"

They made their way into the house and were greeted by the maid who was expecting them to make sure Brooke got settled. Brooke told her she would unpack on her own and let her leave, since most of her clothes were already arranged in the closet; her father had sent them the day before and she only had her carry-on with her.

"Come on, Pey" Brooke called Peyton as she made herself comfortable on the living room couch.

"I thought you were going to unpack?"

"What now? No way! We have so much to talk about, Goldilocks! And we have some plans to make about Monday…" Brooke trailed off taking on a thoughtful expression.

"Oh boy…why every time you speak of plans I now we are going to end up in deep trouble?"

"Shush! Monday is the first day of school and today is already Thursday; we have no time at all and tons of things to do!"

"Like what Brooke?"

"Well, first of all, we've got to go shopping! I so need a killer outfit for my first day at Tree Hill High"

"Oh God…now that is something I didn't miss about you!"

Brooke just pouted.

"Ok…ok, we'll go shopping! Jeez I better tell Lucas I won't see him tomorrow either"

Brooke jumped from the couch.

"How could I forget? Of course! Meeting Lucas Scott! That is definitely in the top of my to-do list before Monday. And for your info and his… I totally own you for the entire weekend Sawyer, and now that I am here, he has to learn to share you! And maybe I can even share his brother, I mean if he's as hot as you say…and if he isn't involved, is he really? Does he have a girlfriend? "

"Whoa..whoa.. slow down! You will meet Lucas he wants to meet you as well. "

"Hm…I hope you told him only nice things about me"

"Of course" Peyton immediately assured. "Oh, and Nathan has no girlfriend and is as hot as I say, just wait and see"

"Yay!"

Lucas Scott walked into his step-mother's café and immediately spotted his brother and their friends sitting at a corner table.

"Hey guys" He greeted them with a smile.

"Hey bro" Nathan answered and scooted over so he could sit beside him.

"Hey man" Jake said from across the table with his arm placed around his girlfriend.

"Luke, about time you got here! We are hungry!" Haley James exclaimed.

"Nice to see you too, Hales"

"Yeah, yeah, what kept you? And where is Peyton?"

"I stopped by Keith's; he needed some help with a car stereo he was fixing. And Peyton I would guess is with her friend"

"Oh, that's right! Her friend is coming today, how could I forget?" Haley made a duh face.

"Well, I couldn't forget even if I tried! She's been talking about her all the time this past week" Lucas sighed.

"That bad, huh?" Jake chuckled.

"Please! She's been driving me crazy and I only spent half the time Luke is spending with her!" Nathan supplied.

Both Haley and Jake laughed.

"Well, maybe we'll meet her even today, from what Peyton told me she's anxious to meet us as well"

"Actually, I already kind of know her" Jake said.

"You do?" Lucas asked intrigued.

"Yeah... well at least I remember her from junior high, but we never hang out. She and Peyton… well, I was not part of their crowd"

"Is she as perfect as Peyton says she is?" Nathan asked mockingly.

"I wouldn't know, as I said I don't think we ever really talked. But she sure was really pretty."

"Jake!" Haley said swatting his arm.

"You're prettier?" Jake said with an innocent smile.

"Huh!" Haley huffed.

"Well, Peyton told us she is really friendly and nice, and really kind and .." Lucas started saying but was interrupted by Nathan.

"and bluh bluh… absolutely perfect"

"Peyton really cares for her, huh?" Haley asked smiling.

"Yeah, she was there for her in her most difficult times. They were practically raised together"

"Why is she moving back here?" Jake asked.

"Her parents got divorced"

"Tough" Nathan said with a solemn expression.

"Yeah, Peyton didn't really give me any other details. Anyway, since she is friends with Pey I'm sure she is really nice"

"Yeah, if she's anything like her, she will fit with us perfectly" Haley said happily.

"Uh-huh" Jake mumbled lowering his head.

"So, you've got to fill me in on all the new gossip, in Tree Hill ASAP!" Brooke said between stuffing her mouth with spoonfuls of ice-cream. She and Peyton had relocated to the kitchen and were now sitting across the kitchen isle devouring some ice-cream from a huge bowl.

"Well, I really don't know that much, I mean everything is the same as usual. And since I've been away most of the summer…"

"Uh… what happened to you, Pey? Lucas keeping you so busy you don't have time for some good gossiping? We will have to change that! Maybe I should call Bevin, she will be more helpful!"

"Jee, Thanks! And yeah I guess she would be"

"How is Bevin, and Theresa, anyway?"

"Oh, the same they haven't changed a bit. Bevin always asks about you, you know"

"Still in the cheerleading squad?"

"Sure…"

"Who else is there? You know my first job is to get in that squad…I'm sure that's gonna be easy, what do you think? And then of course I will take the captaincy. Who is your captain anyway? Is she any good? You think I'll have trouble kicking her butt?"

"Brooke, you think you can ask one question at the time?"

Brooke just stuck her tongue out as a reply.

"Anyway, it's me, Bev and Theresa and then Kelly, Jessica, Kathy, Lisa, Heather, Anna and…"

"Anna?"

"Oh, yeah she moved here last year with her brother Felix, you don't know her. She's... hm… interesting"

"Okay, that's nine and who is the tenth and the captain?"

"Rachel" Peyton mumbled.

Brooke almost spit her ice-cream out of her mouth.

"Rachel? As Rachel Gatina?! The queen bitch? No way!"

"Yeap, that would be her"

"Damn it! How could she? Oh… I knew Tree Hill couldn't survive without me, I mean making that skunk head cheerleader, please!"

"Come on Brooke, you have to admit she's a good cheerleader"

"Oh no, you didn't just say that! I'm so taking the squad from that whore's hands"

Peyton just sighed. Brooke and Rachel had been arch enemies… since… well since ever! They were in a constant fight about who was the most beautiful, who had the most boys interested in her, who was the most popular, had the most friends, wore better clothes and so on and so on. And they were still in junior high. Everybody was very interested in seeing who was going to be the winner when the stakes moved higher when they reached senior high, but with Brooke moving away Rachel became the queen bee of the school without any competition whatsoever. Truth was that if Brooke had stayed, Rachel didn't really stand a chance and she knew it. Now things were different of course and Peyton had really no idea how Brooke was going to accomplish her goals, and she was even somewhat scared of the confrontation that was about to happen. Things in Tree Hill High were about to get very interesting. She found herself often wondering about Rachel Gatina. If you didn't know the two girls well, you would say that Brooke and Rachel were just too much alike and maybe that was the reason for their never ending rivalry. Since Peyton really didn't know Rachel she couldn't help but think that maybe she wasn't the bitch everyone thought she was. Maybe she was just as misunderstood as Brooke was. I mean anyone who didn't know Brooke would think she was just like Rachel… queen bitch as well.

"Uh…Rachel would definitely not take me in her team! God, why does life have to be so hard?" Brooke sighed dramatically.

Peyton chuckled and patted Brooke's hand.

"Well, cheerleading tryouts are on Tuesday, and Bevin and I are on the committee…but of course Rachel will have the last call"

"Hm… maybe it's not that bad, I mean Bev certainly would like me there, and you of course…so it's two against one."

"True… but still Rachel is the captain"

"Don't remind me!" Brooke huffed angrily.

"Maybe I can talk to Whitey" Peyton said scratching her head.

"Whitey?" Brooke asked with confusion written all over her face.

"Yeah, Coach Durham, we call him Whitey. We are really close. Maybe he could also put some pressure in her. And if most of the squad wants you…"

"Thank you, P. Sawyer! You're the best! Of course the girls want me!" Brooke screeched. "I mean, they didn't forget about me, did they?" She asked worriedly.

"You've been away for 3 years Brooke, but nah… I think you had made an impression that lasted"

Brooke smiled satisfied and started counting with her fingers.

"Well, we have you Bev and Theresa for sure. Kelly used to like me… I guess I can subtly remind her of that on Monday, Kathy will do whatever Kelly does so she's in. Heather hates my guts after the whole Roger incident… are they still together? "

Peyton laughed. Yeah she remembered all too well the whole Roger incident not one of Brooke's brightest moments.

"No they aren't. Roger kind of disappeared when a couple of years ago. Heather moved up to some basketball players, plenty of them if I may say so!"

Brooke just laughed.

"Yeah, so Heather is out and Jessica I guess, she still thinks it was my fault Josh dumped her?"

Peyton laughed again remembering another one of Brooke's interesting moments in junior high.

"I wouldn't know, we don't really talk that much" she replied.

"Yeah, I guess I can't count on her. Now, Lisa…I don't know, what do you think?"

"Lisa could sway your way she is currently pissed at Rachel since she told her she gained at least 6 pounds in summer"

"Great! What about that Anna girl?"

"Uh… no she's pretty much against me at the moment"

"You? How come?"

"She had kind of a crush on Lucas and…"

"Oh boy! P. Sawyer well done! You snatched him away from her"

"No, no, no! They never dated or anything! I mean ok, Lucas thought she was nice but nothing happened!"

"How come you didn't tell me? You know I live for that kind of drama!"

"It wasn't much of a drama, Brooke. She liked him, he didn't, not that way anyway. Then he met me…"

'and fell completely in love with you! Awww!" Brooke clapped her hands.

Peyton groaned.

"Brooke, we're dating, we're good but that doesn't mean he's in love with me."

"Of course he is. How can any boy resist you P. Sawyer? You're hot!"

"Uh – Just don't say anything like that in front of him, okay Brooke?"

"Of course not! What do you think I'm stupid? And don't you dare answer that!"

Brooke quickly added as she noticed her friend's expression.

"Anyway, that makes 6 out of ten, I guess that's good. And if you could work your magic on the coach…I'm so definitely in!" She concluded excitedly.

"I think it could actually work" Peyton agreed.

"Of course it will! And now that we have this settled, let's move along!"

"Aren't you tired from your flight or something?"

"Nah-uh! As I said I need to be filled in on the goings on before I enter that school. So, who do you hang out with regularly? When you're not with otherwise occupied with that hot boyfriend of yours I mean!"

"Har-har, funny! Anyway, I already told you about his brother, Nathan. And there is also Haley and Jake. You may remember Jake, Jake Jaglieski?"

"It doesn't ring any bells. Should I remember him?"

"Well, he is in the basketball team with Luke and Nathan. And we did go to junior high together"

"We did, huh? Sorry, still can't remember."

"Yeah, we didn't hang together. He was kind of… ehm.." Peyton made a weird face "Anyway now he is much hotter!"

"P. Saywer, I finally rubbed off on you!" Brooke giggled.

"Yeah, but he's off limits, he is dating Haley."

"And who is she you said?"

"She's Lucas best friend. They have been best friends for ever just like us"

"Haley didn't live here either?"

"Nah, she did. Lucas did also. At first that is. Lucas moved to Charlotte when he was little. Apparently he and Haley still kept in touch"

"And how come we don't know Haley at all? Didn't she go to junior high here?"

"Nop, she went to Charlotte. She lived with her aunt or something since her parents left for some sort of long trip and her eldest brother was in Charlotte for college."

"So Haley and Lucas moved back here after finishing junior high?"

"Exactly"

"And they are both in their senior year like us?"

"Yeap, we're all seniors"

"What about Nathan, is he older or younger than Lucas?"

"He is 3 months younger"

Brooke almost chocked.

"I always told you all that bleach on your head was going to damage your brain cells. You mean 3 years younger? Blondie, he is still a baby! Why were you talking about him like he was screw material? "

Peyton just laughed and slapped Brooke's arm.

"I meant 3 months younger, Brooke."

"What are they twins?!" Brooke asked surprised.

"No, they are actually half-brothers. They have the same father, but different mothers"

Brooke's jaw almost dropped to the floor.

"You mean to tell me, their father left two women pregnant within 3 months from each other?"

"Yeah….Dan Scott is a real piece of work"

"Wow! And he's wife? Is she Lucas's mom or Nathan's? Or maybe even neither?"

Peyton chuckled.

"She's Nathan's mom. Dan met her at college. He already had left his pregnant high-school sweetheart behind, Lucas's mom."

"Wow, again! What about Lucas's mom? How come he is not living with her?"

"Uh…big ugly and confusing story. In short, Lucas was living with his mother and his uncle Keith here in Tree Hill until he was 8 or 9, I think. Then one day, without anyone knowing why, his mother disappears, leaving a note that tells she wishes for Dan to raise Lucas. Dan was living in Charlotte at the time; he had a big car dealership going. So, Lucas gets shipped to Charlotte and since then he lives with Dan, his wife Deb and Nathan. Just after junior high, a year after you moved away, Dan decides to move back here too, leaving some employees to ran the business there and opening another one here in Tree Hill. Now they are all living here and we haven't heard anything about Lucas's mom since she left, end of story."

"And I thought my family was screwed up!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Yeah… the Scotts have a very...erm…interesting family"

"No kidding. Boy that must have sucked for Lucas, having his mom leave him like that"

"Yeah… it was hard"

"At least his father was there for him"

"Well… Lucas and his dad never really got along"

"Yeah, I imagine. I mean he did leave him and his mother for another woman and his brother! Whoa…poor guy!"

"He had it difficult. But Lucas is a very strong person. And thankfully, Deb, Nathan's mom an Nathan always treated him very well. They helped him through everything. Oh, and Haley of course, she's as much a part of his family as Nate"

"Uh-huh. So how is that Haley girl anyway? How come she's not a cheerleader? Maybe we can have her join with me this year?"

Peyton just burst out laughing in the idea. Haley was definitely not cheerleader material.

"Uh, what's so funny, Goldilocks?" Asked a confused looking Brooke.

"Well, Haley… oh boy if you've only met Haley you would see!" She said still laughing.

"Is she fat or something?" Brooke asked kind of surprised.

"No, no, she's really pretty. She's just… uh Brooke, Haley is not interested in that sort of things." Peyton carefully phrased so as not to reveal exactly how little both Haley and Lucas thought of most of the cheerleaders. She was an exception, and both Lucas and Haley had often asked her why on earth she decided to join the team, and Peyton could provide only one answer. Brooke. Ever since they were five and her mother talked about her cheerleading days both girls decided they would join the squad together. Well, as usual Brooke was the one making the decisions and Peyton tagged along. Of course the together part was ruined when Brooke moved, but Peyton still felt like she had to do it.

"Not interested, huh?" Brooke said raising her eyebrow skeptically. "What are you not telling me, Blondie?"

"Brooke, I have no idea what you are talking about"

"Peyt, spill!"

"Ok… you may consider Haley a bit nerdish…"

"She's a geek?!" Brooke exclaimed jumping up from her stool.

"No, no… she's just really smart and a tutor and…"

"Oh my God, she's a geek!"

"Brooke, please! She's Lucas's best friend! You have to be nice!"

"Sure, sure, does than mean I actually have to hang out with her?"

"Brooke!"

"Fine… oh you so owe me for this one, Blondie. I mean how am I supposed to kick Rachel of her high horse if I am hanging out with geeks?"

"First of all, she is not a geek! She's really nice. You'll get along fine if you just give her a chance. Seco…"

"Yay!" Brooke faked excitement.

"Secondly" Peyton continued sternly "Nathan hangs out with her and he is the king of the school"

"He is?" Brooke asked genuinely intrigued now completely forgetting that they were talking about Haley.

"Yeah, he certainly is"

"P. Sawyer, I think you are withholding important information here. If the other Scott is everything you say he is he certainly is worth mentioning and you have mentioned him hardly enough!"

"What is there to say? Nathan is… well actually I think he is the male version of you!"

"Is that so?" Brooke was beginning to think she could really work with that boy.

"Yeap, after joining the team and after breaking up with Rachel, Nathan…"

"Breaking up with who?!"

"Oh yeah, he and Rachel had a thing, nothing much but…"

"Oh!!! This boy seems more interesting by the minute! How could you not tell me he dumped that whore?"

"Well, it's not like they had anything special, they kinda of used each other and then it was just over."

"Oh, I could so definitely use him myself! I mean tell me how pissed is that going to make Rachel? And then I will dump him and not the other way around! Ha!"

"You do realize you are talking about my boyfriend's brother and one of my best friends, right?"

"Ups! Sorry, I just got a bit carried away" Brooke giggled.

"He's a nice guy, Brooke. He may come off as an ass, but he's really nice and I wouldn't appreciate you using him"

"Well, if he's the male version of me as you said, he wouldn't really mind!"

"Brooke…" Peyton sighed desperately.

"Ok, ok I'll back off. Don't worry your little pretty head I wouldn't do that to you. Even if it would royally piss off Rachel!" Brooke condescended disappointingly.

"Thank you! And who knows maybe you will actually like him. Maybe you two could really work out and not just to piss off Rachel"

"Don't you be getting any funny ideas in that head of yours, Blondie. You may have found your prince charming but I'm definitely not looking for one."

"I'm just saying… give him a chance… I mean, Brooke between the two of us, aren't you tired of…" Peyton hesitated.

"Screwing a new guy every week? Definitely. Does that mean I want to get screwed over by someone who I may think is special only to find out that he is just like any other guy around? No way! I'll stick to my old ways, thank you very much!"

"All guys are not scum, Brooke"

"Peyt… just… just drop it, ok? "

"Fine! But I'm sure that as soon as you'll meet Nathan you'll change your mind"

"God, I am the one that gets to play the matchmaker not you, Peyt!"

Peyton just laughed.

"I just want to see you happy, Brooke, as happy as I am" She said seriously.

"Well, I am, and I don't need any boy for that. Hm… though if Nathan is that hot, maybe I could give him a chance… who knows?"

"Good!"

"Well, the way you talk, I would think you had a crush on him as well! Is Lucas not that hot?"

"Oh no, believe me! Lucas is definitely hot. But Nathan is much more your type."

"Ok, so we have two super-hot brothers and their hot friend from the basketball team, and instead of being with them, we're here talking about them, why exactly?"

Peyton had to laugh with her friend.

"I just thought you needed to rest after your flight and then you started talking about all the things you had to do before school on Monday so I thought…"

"But Peyt, meeting the hottest boys in our school is definitely a priority in that list of things I told you. They are the hottest ones, right?"

"Definitely!"

"So, get your butt off that stool and call them so we can go meet them"

"Actually, I already thought that you might like that and they're hanging out at Lucas step-mom's café, if you like we can join them?"

"Absolutely! But I need a shower and of course I do need to change! What should I wear? Hm…just give me 20 minutes…"

"Ok"

"Or maybe about 40 minutes?"

"Fine…"

"Oh, who am I kidding, I need at least an hour!"

"Sure, Brooke that's fine." Peyton said rolling her eyes. "I'll just call them to make sure that they'll still be there, maybe we can have dinner there"

"Sounds perfect" came Brooke's reply as she already made her way up the stairs.