"Lucas Scott for the win!" His nephew's voice permeates throughout the river court as he lofts up a jump shot. As it rattled off around the rim it eventually fell to the concrete never connecting with the net. That seemed to be a pattern today. He was unusually cold with his jump shot.

"Well, at least we know that two out of the three Scott's here got game. Huh, Jamie?" Nathan high five's his son as Jamie retrieves the ball.

"I could have made that Uncle Luke!" The little boy rubs salt on his wounds as he can't help but to smile as Jamie giggles.

"Glad to know you two have faith in my shot…" He replies sarcastically mocking a shot with his hands towards the rim.

"I haven't seen a performance like this since I whooped your ass after I got back from High Flyers."

"You said ass, dad." Jamie replies nonchalantly. "Mom's gonna make you put a quarter in the swear jar when we get home."

Nathan rolls his eyes.

"What mommy doesn't know won't kill her, buddy."

"So, you want me to lie? I don't know if mama would like…"

"Absolutely, not. That was a test and you passed." He said as he quickly cut off his son.

Jamie smiled pleased with himself as he continued to shoot. He followed his brother as he walked toward the picnic table. As they both took a seat, Nathan took a sip of his water bottle before turning to his brother.

"Don't ever get married and don't have kids because you will never, ever be right again." Nathan extended his hands in front of him emphasizing his point as Lucas couldn't help but laugh. "So, now you know my problem of the day. My wife is the pope and my son is an up and coming patron saint, and I'll be out $500 dollars for the freaking swear jar by Friday. So, care to explain me to your dilemma? God knows that jump shot of yours is practically begging me to ask what the problem is."

"I just didn't sleep that well last night."

"Ah, and why might that have been?"

"When I figure it out myself, you'll be the first to know."

Nathan seemed to mull this over shifting his water bottle from one hand to the other.

"I'll hold you to that. You writers, man. So cryptic."

Laughter escaped from his mouth shaking his head at Nathan.

"So listen, Haley was talking about maybe having a barbeque or something on Saturday. A few drinks, maybe throw on a fire, what do you say?"

"Perfect. Brooke was just talking about trying to do something with everyone."

"You and Brooke have been spending a lot of time together." Nathan mused as he replied looking at him through curious eyes.

"Yeah, well, she's one of my best friends." Friend… there was the word again.

"Hm, I see." He stood up collecting his belongings. "Jamie, we got to go get ready for dinner!"

"Okay, dad!"

"What do you 'hm, I see'?" He mimicked his brother as he stood up following him.

"I'm not quite sure, yet. I'll tell you what when I figure it out myself, you'll be the first to know."

His brother turned as flashed a grin at him before turning around to walk away.

"Just saying, I've seen that look before." He threw his hands up in defense as he opened his car door and then turning to put Jamie into the back seat.

"Nate..."

"When you figure it out, you know where to find me."

He nodded in understanding forming a tight lipped smile as he waved his nephew and brother good bye.

"I'll give ya a call about Saturday. I'll see ya later, Luke."

He heard Jamie shout 'bye Uncle Lucas' from the back seat distracting him from the underlying seriousness the conversation had inadvertently taken.

And as one car pulled away another pulled into its place removing him from his thoughts. He hadn't recognized the car nor the man who occupied the driver's seat. He gripped the basketball against his hands tighter as he analyzed this stranger. The man stood up out of his black Mercedes sedan removing his Ray Ban Warfarer's with a large grin plastered on his face.

"So, tell me this is the famous river court?"

"Uhm, yeah. And you are?"

"Julian Baker. I'm a huge fan of yours."

The bell above the door sounded as he walked into the shop to find her adjusting the outfit on a mannequin.

"Welcome to clothes over bros!" She said loudly over her shoulder as she began to finish her task to speak to what she thought was a random customer.

"Jeez, the service these days…" He mocked laughing before crossing his arms doing his best to make a look of disdain failing miserably as soon as he was met by her dimples.

"You're an ass." She laughed as she stepped off the podium that housed the mannequin. "Can I help you with something? We don't really tolerate loiterers."

He laughed heartily at her response and she joined him.

"I actually came over to tell you something. I got some news today."

"Good news or the overly dramatic Tree Hill kind of news? Either way I am a fan of the gossip. Spill, broody boy."

She took a seat on the couch before tapping the spot next to her encouraging him to follow.

"Well," He sat down next to her before continuing, "I was at the river court today and this guy came. Long story short, he was from a movie production company. He wants to turn my book into a movie."

Her eyes lit up as she tapped him playfully on the arm.

"Oh my God, Luke! That's amazing! How are you not more excited than this?"

"I am. I am. I guess I saw how things can get lost in translation when I wrote the book. I'm not sure that's something I want to compromise again just to get some success."

He wasn't sure if she had any clue what he was alluding to. Once upon a time, he had editors come to him with the promise of writing a best-selling book. He was quick to jump on the opportunity. It wasn't until half way through the editing process that he realized it had come with a price.

"So, I just wanted to have you come in and talk today so we could discuss some alterations to make the story more concrete for our audience."

"Okay…" He said reluctantly swiveling on the wheels of his chair opposite Lindsay on her desk.

"Luke, your work is beautiful. And these scenes…" She passes over a stack of papers to him. ",are nothing short of raw romanticism. It's a shame they couldn't be their own book."

As he flipped through the pages, he began to realize that most of the scenes pertained solely to him and Brooke. Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he looked back up to Lindsay.

"What are you suggesting?"

"The executive board thinks it would be best to omit these scenes."

"Why?" He couldn't hide the anger in his voice at this question.

"We don't want the main focus to get bogged down by additional side stories."

"Side stories? It's my life. Those aren't just side stories to me. They mean something."

She sits back in her chair exhaling before looking at him sympathetically.

"I understand that this is difficult for you to see your story molded into something different from your original vision. I just want this story to be as successful as it deserves to be. This is a hit, Luke. We just need to make a few changes in order to do that. There is a lot of pivotal plot to be told in this story and the audience needs some stability. Study marks show that a definitive romantic interest bolsters the performance of a book. The story ends with Lucas and Peyton so that is the couple we are going to proceed with. I'm sorry."

He couldn't just cut out Brooke. What would she think? He couldn't minimize their story.

"Besides, you and Peyton are together now, right? The story of your past relationships really shouldn't be too big of a sacrifice in the editing process."

It shouldn't be. She was right. But for some reason unbeknownst to him, it was.

"Luke, you don't pass up on an opportunity like this. You worked so hard on this novel. This movie would only be a testament to that. You deserve this! You need to celebrate and not brood!" She stands up excitedly. "I think I have some champagne in the back. This totally calls for a toast."

She prances to the back of the store to retrieve glasses and the champagne as a smile grows on his face. As she saunters back into the room, he realizes that she was right. He had poured his heart and soul into that book. Now, it was time to reap in the benefits of all his hard work. Still, there was a lagging pull in his heart that this was wrong. The story had transpired into a Lucas and Peyton love story and he wasn't sure he wanted that story to be retold. To him, that had been a closed chapter.

Popping open the champagne, she poured it into the cups with a large smile on her face.

"Cheers," she handed him off his cup, "to a future Nicholas Sparks in the making. You're book is going to be a freaking movie! This is unreal so cheers to you!"

They clanked their glasses against each other's before taking a sip of its contents. He watched her smile seemingly grow larger and larger by the second. He didn't want to be the reason that smile went away by telling her he simply couldn't go through with it. So, he said something that caught himself off guard.

"My books gonna be a freaking movie!" He laughed as she threw her arms up in celebration before embracing him in a hug. And as she did, he couldn't help but to think back to that phone call all those years ago. Brooke Davis should never have been minimized to a minor character. She should have been ending to his love story.

"I'm going to head in you coming?"

Pulling his eyes away from the roaring flame of the fire, he looked to his brother.

"Uh, yeah. I'm just going to finish my beer I'll meet you inside."

"Alright." He watched as his brother walked inside to join their friends. The night air had turned cool and the friends had promulgated inside carrying their stories and drinks with them. One particular person caught his eye through the glass doors separating them. She threw her head back in laughter as she wrapped her arm around Haley playfully nuzzling against her friend. His tunnel vision had diverted him away from the sights of the girl who had approached him.

"Is this seat taken?"

He turned to see Peyton somewhat to his dismay. The dismay wasn't because he held any ill feelings toward her in the least. In fact, he was quite certain he would always love the girl standing next to him. And that had always been the problem he misconstrued that love for something more. He loved Peyton Sawyer. He just wasn't in love with her. He just didn't know how else to say that. The dismay stemmed from his mental exhaustion pertaining to this topic. He was tired of the Peyton conversation.

"No."

"Congratulations on the movie." She smiles timidly as she took a seat next to him. "It's going to do great. I should know. It changed my world." Smiling sardonically, she averted her gaze from him momentarily.

"Peyt…"

"I'm confused." She smiled nervously. "Luke, I make this huge declaration on the river court and then hear nothing from you. We've hardly spoken these last two months. Call me crazy, but maybe that's exactly what I am. My mind has been reeling. I have all these questions and no answers."

There had been a reason for that he wanted to say. She had known that the river court was his escape from it all. She had invaded on that and instead left her own stamp all over it. Instead of going to escape, he was constantly reminded of his and Peyton's revolving "romance." In some ways, he resented her for that. The resentment had been short lived however, but he just wasn't sure what to say to her. He knew the answers she wanted and he knew he couldn't give them to her.

He stays silent for a moment refocusing his sights on the fire. The burn against his eyes almost felt good.

"I know this probably isn't the place to do this. I just didn't know when else I would get a chance to talk to you."

"Peyt, I meant what I said that night at Tric. It's hard. It's all hard. But, what you said…" He trailed off hesitantly. "Rewinding back to that hotel room is your dream. I know that this isn't what you want to hear, and I'm sorry for that, but it wouldn't be fair to you or me to sit here and say what I'm supposed to say and not what I'm feeling. I think that that night happened for a reason. What you described was your dream. I'm just not sure that it's mine."

She stared back at him wide eyed as tears pooled in her eyes.

"Lucas, we really need to talk about all of this. A lot has happened and we …"

"Look, my producer is here. I invited him and maybe now isn't the best time to talk." He stands up waving Julian over in the distant darkness.

"I really think we should finish this conver…" She stopped mid-sentence as she stares at Julian who has appeared before them.

"Hey Julian."

"Luke, good to see ya." He extends his hand as they embrace one another. "Hi Peyton. It is really good to see you."

His eyes dance between the two as Peyton remains quiet staring open mouthed at Julian.

"Uhm, I'm sorry. Do you two know each other?"

"You could say that." A large grin formed on Julian's face leaving him completely perplexed.

"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."

It was a quote her father had come across when he traveled through Europe as a college student. He had the quote taped to the inside of his wallet and as a child he would recite its words often. Her father wasn't much of the intellectual type, but he always told her that the quote resonated with him and he never wanted to her to be blind to life around here; or to her heart for that matter.

She supposed she never really grasped the quote within her own life until now. As she twirled her drink with its straw lazily, she watched a very familiar man from across the bar. They had all gone out Tric to celebrate the official signing of Lucas' movie deal. The man of the hour, however, seemed less than celebratory. Lucas stood on the opposite side of the bar with tunnel vision for a particular twosome. As she followed his gaze, she landed on Brooke and Julian. Her eyes retreated back to her ex-boyfriend as his eyes were clouded with jealousy and his broody squint seemed to be magnified more than usual.

In the three weeks since the truth of her and Julian's past had surfaced, she had expected Lucas to be filled with hostility toward Julian. She had expected him to be jealous and yell and maybe even hit him. She had expected all of these things; however, it had been quite the opposite. He was calm and even keeled. He shook Julian's hand as they engaged in business meeting's regarding the production of his movie. They even engaged in lighthearted banter from time to time.

As soon as Julian recently began to seek out Brooke, Lucas' attitude towards Julian had shifted. He seemed to offer Julian the silent treatment. His eyes shot daggers at Julian's seemingly every move. He displayed the very behavior that she would have expected. The jealousy was not centered around her past with Julian, however. It was focused on Julian's present with Brooke.

She blinked past the sight before her as she exhaled in a near revelation. Brooke threw her head back in laughter as Julian flashed a cheeky smile to which Lucas appeared crestfallen with his eyes glued in their direction.

"Hey." She turned to see Nathan leaning up against the bar next to her. "Haley was just running to the bathroom. We just made our round of good byes. I think we might head out; the sweet life of being a parent." He laughs and she does her best to muster up any form of a smile. Judging from the look on his face, she hadn't done so well.

"You okay?"

"Nate, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah. Anything."

"Has Lucas mentioned anything about Brooke to you lately? I know that might sound weird, but… has he?"

He looks back at her not nearly as stunned by her question as she had hoped he would be; that in and of itself paved its way to the answer that she had dreaded.

"Nothing explicitly…" He said searching for words. "Have you talked to him much lately?"

"We've spoken, but we haven't really talked. I don't know, Nate. I've put myself out there completely. He knows where I stand. And after all that, nothing. He hasn't given me any indication that he feels in any way the same. If anything, his silence is more of an answer to me than anything. And I'm sitting here watching him trying to fool myself into thinking that my gut is wrong and I can't do it. He was totally unfazed by my past with my Julian, and look at him now." She scoffs sadly. "He can't take his eyes off them."

"Do you think that maybe you have all the answers you're looking for already?" He looked at her sympathetically putting his hand on her shoulder. Haley pops up in between them oblivious to what they had just been talking about.

"Hey!" She replies perkily. "You ready, babe?"

"Yeah." He says to his wife before turning his attention back to Peyton. "You want a ride home, Peyt?"

She looks over to the brooding boy by the bar again.

"Sure."

As they weave through the crowds of the bar, she looks back once more. One concrete thought evaded her mind as she pulled her eyes off of him focusing on the exit.

He loved Brooke.

"…who looks inside, awakes."

"Can I get you anything?" The bartender pulls him out of his trance.

"Two more." He responded almost robotically.

"Two? Rough night?"

The bartended quipped as he poured two shot glasses with fireball.

"Something like that." He says picking up the first shot glass and eyeing it up.

"Hope that turns around for you, buddy." As the bartended disappears to another customer, he bites his lip cursing himself for being such a pathetic loser.

"Aw, how did you know I would want a shot?" He turned seeing the last person he had expected.

"Brooke, I thought you left."

"Nah, I got to keep the boys guessing. Besides, I owed Mr. Hollywood one more drink, but it looks like you beat me to it."

In his near drunken haze, he wanted to ask her what was going on with Julian. Was tonight harmless flirting or was she planning on seeing him? All these thoughts swirled through his mind a mile a minute, but all he could focus on right now was the dimpled smile she gave him as she picked up the remaining shot glass holding it in the air.

"Cheers?"

"Cheers."

Downing the contents, they both shook off the shot before turning to look at each other.

"So, I have a DVR full of housewives and I need someone else who maybe possibly wants to split a pizza with me?" She makes a silly face eliciting a laugh from him. "I mean I am pretty tired it's already…. 11:32? God, we're 23 how are we this old and boring!"

His previous thoughts were completely out of mind as he becomes completely enamored by the charm of Brooke Davis. He can't stifle his laughter anymore as he laughs heartily at her.

"So, what do you say? Want to get out of here?"

"Yeah."

Tossing a tip on the bar, he turned to find her hand extended toward him. He swallowed nervously at this. What was a friendly and platonic gesture to her meant so much more to him. Placing his hand in hers, she turned leading him out of the bar. He was really digging himself in deep…