Here is another chapter. Enjoy :)

"Lucas!" Rachel called.

Lucas was walking home and Rachel was coming up from behind him. He turned around and looked at her after hearing his name being called. "Hey, Rachel. What's up?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to make plans for our next date." Rachel smiled at him brightly.

"Oh. Well, I probably won't be free for a while. You know how busy school can make you," Lucas said casually. The truth was, he was totally free for a date. School had just started and things weren't that bad yet. He just didn't want to have another date with Rachel.

He was starting to have feelings for Peyton, and it was confusing him more than ever. He thought he was done with her, but she's changed into a whole different person; one he likes. Even if these feelings for Peyton weren't occurring, he still would not want to date Rachel. She's becoming the person Peyton used to be, if she wasn't already to begin with.

Rachel looked at him, disappointed. Suddenly, her disappointment turned into happiness. "How about I help you get your work done? I barely have any work to do, and it would give me a chance to see you. I could come over to your house and we could get the work done twice as fast. Maybe we can even get a little more than just work done." Rachel winked at Lucas.

"That's a really good idea, Rachel, but it won't work. When I do my work, I have to be alone or I get distracted. I really need to get this work done too." Lucas looked at Rachel, feeling a little sorry about turning down her idea. "But, we can still hang out at school."

"I know we can hang out at school, Lucas, but the point of being in a relationship is so that we can hang out outside of school."

"Well, then maybe a relationship isn't the best thing for us right now," Lucas said. He saw Rachel's eyes widen.

"No," Rachel said simply.

"No?"

"No. I won't end this over something that stupid. I'll find a way to make this work. Don't worry, Lucas." She walked away, not giving Lucas a chance to say anything else.

Lucas watched her walk away, annoyed that she wouldn't just let things end. It wasn't like they were anything serious. He took a deep breath and kept on walking home. He was passing by his mom's cafe, when he saw Peyton and Mouth through the window.

Peyton was laughing at something Mouth said and Lucas smiled. She looked so beautiful and Lucas couldn't help but stare. He walked inside and walked up to them.

"Hey, guys," Lucas greeted, only looking at Peyton.

"Hey, Lucas," Mouth responded.

"Hey, Luke," Peyton said, standing up and bringing him in for a hug.

Lucas was surprised, but happy by this action. He wrapped his arms around her, loving the feeling of her around him. He didn't realize how long they had stayed like that, comforted by the warm embrace, until Mouth gave an awkward cough. They pulled apart and Peyton sat down again. She smiled at Lucas and he smiled back.

"Have a seat, Luke," she offered.

Lucas sat down next to Peyton. He looked at her. "So, how was your day?"

"Pretty good. What about you?" Peyton asked.

"Well, seeing you here just made it a whole lot better." He saw Peyton smile at his words. They locked eyes. Mouth gave another awkward cough, and Peyton broke the eye contact.

"Hey, Peyton, I'm gonna go make a phone call. Just letting you know in case I'm missed," Mouth said. "Which I highly doubt I will be," he muttered.

Peyton gave him a look, hearing his last comment. "Ok, Mouth."

Mouth walked out of Karen's Cafe. He took out his phone and dialed Brooke's number. It rang once until she answered.

"Hey, Mouth," Brooke said.

"Hey, Brooke. Are you home right now?" he asked.

"No. I'm barely leaving school. I did not know you could get detention for asking a teacher if she shops at Goodwill."

Mouth laughed. "Well, now you know." He remembered why he called her to begin with and spoke again. "Is there any chance you can meet me somewhere?"

"There might be... Where exactly is it that you want to meet?" Brooke asked.

"Karen's Cafe. You know it?"

"Yeah. Peyton and I used to eat there all the time when we were kids," Brooke remembered. "Wait. Why do you want to meet there?"

"Well, me and Peyton were there talking, when in comes Lucas."

"Lucas, huh?" Brooke asked with a smile.

"Yep. Peyton invited him to sit with us and he seemed a little more than thrilled to do it. After watching them act like they were in love for a couple minutes, my presence becoming non-existent, I decided to call you. I think you should come and see this."

"OK, yeah. I'm almost there," Brooke replied.

"What? I barely told you where we were meeting," Mouth said in astonishment.

"Yeah, but I'm a quick walker. Anyways, is there anything else that I missed?"

"They did share an extremely long hug," Mouth responded. He turned his head and saw Brooke approaching. He hung up the phone. "Wow! That was fast!"

"Thanks," Brooke said. "Now where are the two love birds."

"Right over there," Mouth pointed out.

"Great." Brooke opened the door and walked towards them. Mouth followed her. "Hey, Peyton. Lucas."

"Hey, Brooke," Lucas said.

"Hey, Brooke. What are you doing here?" Peyton asked.

"Mouth just invited me over. We need to discuss some things," Brooke said with a smile.

"OK. Well, I'll let you get to it. I have to start heading home now. Bye, everyone," Peyton called. She stood up and started to walk away.

"Peyton, wait. Let me walk you home," Lucas offered.

"No. It's fine. I don't live to far from here," Peyton said.

"Look, I insist. Your house isn't too far from mine, and even if it was, I wouldn't let you walk home by yourself," Lucas insisted.

"Luke-" Peyton tried to argue.

"Enough, Peyton. I'm walking you home and that's all there is to it. You can try to argue, but it would be pointless," Lucas told her.

"Alright then," Peyton gave in once she realized Lucas was serious. "Let's go."

They left Karen's Cafe. Lucas linked his arm with Peyton once they were outside and they smiled at each other.

Brooke took a seat next to Mouth and smiled. "I am so glad you called me, Mouth. It is so obvious these two are heads over heels for each other. We just got to find a way to get them together."

"But as long as Rachel's involved, we can't," Mouth pointed out.

"Says who?" Brooke asked.

Mouth stared at her until he realized she was serious. "Brooke, I am so glad we became friends."

"Thank you, Mouth. Me too. Now let's try to think of ways that we can get them together..."

Mouth tried to think of something, but his mind came up blank. It didn't matter though, because within seconds, Brooke had an idea.

"I got it! How about I throw a party?" Brooke suggested.

"A party?" Mouth asked.

"Yes! It would be perfect. I have a hot tub and my parents are never home."

"That would work, but how would that help get Lucas and Peyton together?"

"Well, the party would have to be small; just us. It would give us a chance to get them together."

"That might just work. But who is us exactly?" Mouth asked.

"Probably Peyton, Lucas, Nathan, Haley, me, you, and Rachel," Brooke listed.

"Rachel?"

"Yeah. She's gotta be there when they get together."

"Alright. Well, you can invite everyone tomorrow, and I'll buy the snacks and drinks."

"Great! Party's tomorrow night," Brooke confirmed excitedly.

Peyton was walking up to the school by herself, reading a text from Brooke. It said:

Need to talk. Meet me at regular spot.

Peyton sighed and wondered what it could be this time. She knew her and Mouth were up to something. It was obvious last night. Peyton put her phone away, not watching where she was going. Before she knew it, she was falling, having tripped over a football thrown by Nathan. She was about to hit the ground, but two strong arms wrapped around her, stopping the fall. They pulled her close and Peyton took a second to catch her breath.

She pulled away and saw that it was Lucas. She smiled at him, still not leaving his arms.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Anytime." He smiled at her and her breath caught in her throat.

Any doubts she had before about him wanting to kiss her all went away. She was 100% positive he was going to do it right now. His face was separated from hers by the smallest of gaps. He was looking at her lips, and he brought one of his hands up to cup her face. He licked his lips and began to close the gap.

"Hey, Luke!" Nathan called.

Lucas jumped, the moment being interrupted once again, and looked at Nathan. "Yeah, Nate? What is it?"

"Can you throw me my ball?" Nathan asked. He motioned towards the ball that was at Lucas's feet.

"Yeah. Sure, Man." Lucas let go of Peyton, and picked up the football. He threw it at Nathan and Nathan caught it.

"Thanks, Man." Nathan began to walk away, but turned back around. "My sister's looking for you." He smiled and walked away.

Lucas watched him walk away, angry that he had interrupted their moment. He also hated the mention to Rachel. He wanted to end things as soon as possible with her.

"Great. You guys are together!" Brooke said, coming up from behind Lucas and Peyton. "Though I'm not surprised," she muttered.

"Hey, Brooke," Peyton said, giving her a hug. She had heard her, but chose to ignore it. "What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Actually, it involves both of you. I'm having a party tonight, and it's required that you guys be there. It's nothing big, but still," Brooke told them.

"OK. I can go," Peyton agreed with a shrug.

"Awesome. What about you, Lucas?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"Yay! Alright. Well, I'm off to invite the other guests. Have fun!" Brooke walked away, thrilled that the plan was working out so well.

Peyton looked at Lucas. "I've got to head to first period, but I'll see you tonight?" she asked.

"Yes. See you there." Lucas gave her an awkward wave and walked off in search of Rachel. He needed to end things now.

Lucas didn't see Rachel all day. She wasn't in his class with Peyton. The class didn't go so well for him anyway. Him and Peyton didn't really talk due to the awkwardness. He walked outside, glad that the school day was finally over. He saw Rachel and went to talk to her.

"Hey, Rachel. Missed you in last period," he said.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Nathan and I ditched. I was here the rest of the day though," Rachel explained.

"Why did you come back then?" Lucas asked.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Yeah. Me too," Lucas said. He waited for Rachel to say something, but she didn't. "Listen, Rachel. I think we should break up."

"What?!" Rachel screamed, completely caught off guard. "What are you talking about?!"

"I'm sorry. It's just not working out. I thought you were going to say the same thing. I thought that's what you wanted to talk to me about," Lucas said.

"No! I was going to ask if you were picking me up for Brooke's party tonight. She invited me this morning and she told me that you were going too." Rachel paused and looked at Lucas. "I can't believe you're breaking up with me! I thought we were doing so well!"

Lucas suddenly felt guilty. He didn't want to make Rachel feel bad. It just wasn't working out between them. He looked at her. "I'm so sorry, Rachel. I hope we can still be friends."

"Lucas, is there someone else?" Rachel asked.

"What?"

"Are you breaking up with me because there's someone else you want to be with?" Rachel repeated.

"No. Of course not. I'm doing this because I'm not happy in this relationship," Lucas replied honestly. He had realized that he didn't want to be with Rachel regardless of his feelings for Peyton a long time ago. He was telling the truth.

"Really?"

"Really," Lucas said.

"So this has nothing to do with Peyton?" Rachel asked.

"What? Why would you think that?"

"Well, Nathan and I ditched last period because he said he needed to talk to me about something he saw this morning. Someone that happened between you and Peyton." She looked at Lucas and saw that he realized what she was talking about. "I told him he must have seen it wrong, but now I need you to be honest with me. Did you almost kiss her?"

Lucas looked at Rachel. "Yes. But that's not why I'm breaking up with you."

"Stop lying to me, Lucas! Just admit that you're breaking up with me to be with Peyton!" Rachel yelled.

"Rachel, that's not why," Lucas denied, trying to calm her down. "I swear to you."

"I can't believe you aren't even man enough to tell me the truth!" Rachel said. "Bye, Lucas." Rachel walked away, not saying another word to Lucas.

Peyton was surprised to find out she was the last one to arrive to the party. Everyone was already in the hot tub when Brooke answered the door to her. Peyton changed into her bikini and walked outside to join the others. She blushed when she saw Lucas smiling at her, obviously approving of her choice of swimwear. She turned around and saw Rachel staring at her with hate in her eyes. It was then that she realized how thick the tension in there was. She stepped into the hut tub, sitting in between Lucas and Brooke.

Mouth was sitting next to Haley, Haley was sitting next to Nathan, Nathan was sitting next to Rachel, Rachel was sitting next to Brooke, and Peyton was sitting next to Lucas who was sitting by Mouth. Brooke looked around and smiled.

"OK, everybody. How about we start off tonight with a game?" Brooke asked.

"What game?" Rachel questioned.

"Truth or Dare. Or maybe just dare because nobody really tells the truth anymore," Brooke answered. "Everybody in?" They all nodded. "Great. I'll go first." Brooke took a moment to look around the group. Finally, her eyes landed on Haley. "Haley, I dare you to... kiss Nathan."

Haley looked at Brooke in surprise, along with Nathan. She turned her attention to Nathan and kissed his lips. The kiss was more than just a kiss and everyone saw that. When they pulled apart, they gave each other a look. Lucas saw that and gave Haley a questioning look. She gave him a weak smile and looked away. Nathan acted as if nothing had happened and that pissed Lucas off. If he was in a relationship with Haley, he should not be embarrassed about it.

"Nice job, Tutor Girl," Brooke complemented, clapping at Haley.

"Tutor Girl?" Haley questioned.

"Yeah. You work in the tutor center, right?" Brooke asked. Haley nodded. "Well, I've decided to name you Tutor Girl."

"Thanks, I guess," Haley said. "Alright. I guess it's my turn. Lucas, I dare you to call up Dan and call him an asshole."

Lucas widened his eyes at Haley. "Hales, that's not fair." He regretted telling Haley about that now.

"Wait. Who's Dan?" Peyton asked curiously.

"He's my father. He abandoned me as a child, leaving my mom to raise me alone with help from my uncle, Keith. To this day, he still won't admit I'm his son," Lucas said.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Peyton asked. "Call him up and call him what he is!"

Lucas laughed. "Alright. You guys are just lucky that I have his number." Lucas grabbed his phone and searched his contacts. He found Dan's number and hit 'call'. Dan answered on the fourth ring.

"This is Dan Scott," he said.

"Hey, Dan. This is your son, Lucas. I'm just calling to inform you on how big of an asshole you are. I hope you have a good night." Lucas hung up and they clapped.

"I'm liking how this game is going so far!" Brooke said. "Lucas, now it's your turn."

"Wait, Lucas. Does Dan happen to be the owner of Dan Scott Motors?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Lucas asked.

"Nothing. It's just a small world. The other night I walked in on my mom with a guy. When he left my mom told me that she went into Dan Scott Motors to buy a car and they ended up going back to our house. She told me he owned the place," Rachel explained.

"Wow. That's something I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing," Lucas said awkwardly.

"Just thought you would find that interesting," Rachel said. "Anyways, continue with your turn."

"Thanks, Rachel." Lucas looked around the group. He remembered how Nathan acted with Haley earlier. "Nathan, I dare you to kiss the girl you think is the hottest in this hot tub."

All attention turned to Nathan. He looked at Lucas. "Fine." He moved across the tub and got close to Peyton.

Lucas had hate in his eyes. He was angry not only because of the hurt look on Haley's face, but also the fact that Nathan was going to kiss the girl of his dreams. Peyton looked sickened to even be so close to Nathan.

Instead of kissing Peyton though, Nathan moved next to her ear. "Sorry, Peyton. I'm over you." He moved back and kissed Haley full on the lips. Everyone gasped in surprise.

"OK. What did we miss? When did this happen?" Brooke asked.

"Well, I didn't want to tell anybody, but I've been getting tutored. My parents told me that if I didn't get at least a B in all of my classes, then I wasn't aloud to play on the basketball team. Haley got chosen to be my tutor and we got really close. It sort of just happened. But, I don't regret any of it," Nathan answered. He gave Haley a quick kiss.

"Wow, that's really sweet, Nate," Brooke said.

"Yeah. Well, we weren't planning on telling anybody until we were sure it was serious, but thanks to Lucas, I guess that won't be necessary," Nathan said.

"I'm sorry, Man," Lucas apologized.

"Whatever," Nathan replied. "Now it's my turn. Rachel, I dare you to kiss Lucas."

Lucas looked at Rachel, praying that she wouldn't do it. She smiled at him and began to move towards him. As she was about to kiss his lips, he turned his head so that she ended up kissing his cheek. Everybody got quiet and Rachel moved back to her spot, clearly offended.

"Alright, my turn," Rachel said, recovering quickly. "Peyton, I dare you to kiss Lucas."

Lucas looked at Rachel, then at Peyton. Peyton hesitantly leaned in to Lucas. She searched his eyes, making sure it was OK. Lucas smiled at Peyton, letting her know that it was. She got close and gave him a quick peck. Just from that, she felt a jolt of electricity. She knew he felt it too by the look in his eyes.

Suddenly, he grabbed her hands, pulling her onto his lap. He placed his hands behind her ears and crashed his lips onto hers. Her hands moved to hold his face as she kissed him with passion. They stayed like that for a few more seconds, the people around them disappearing. Breathless, they pulled apart. They stared into each other's eyes, still buzzed from their kiss.

"Wow!" Brooke exclaimed. "I was not expecting that!"