"I know you don't really think you can beat me, Sawyer."

She scoffed, going to make a shot. Lucas blocked her, winding his arms around her waist so she'd miss. She abandoned the ball, pushing heavily against his chest as she laughed. His grip on her only tightened.

"Give." He muttered. "There's no way you can beat me, so you may as well give up."

Peyton stuck her tongue out at him, making him chuckle. She rolled her eyes, leaning in to kiss his cheeks.

Lucas blushed, releasing her hold on her immediately to register what had just happened. The distraction was all she needed to grab the ball and thrust her arms upward, the ball sailed through the basket.

"Nothing but net!"

"You cheat!" He accused, reaching out to grab her again.

She squealed, taking off in the direction of the bridge, but the older Scott brother was too fast to escape. His arms wound around her, and suddenly she was being held upside down, the blood sure to rush to her head.

Lucas smirked, trying to ignore how right it had always felt to hold her in his arms. "Say you're sorry, and maybe I'll let you go!"

"I'm not sorry!" Peyton replied with a giggle. "That was awesome, Luke!"

He laughed, flipping her back over so her feet were steady on the ground. The second she went to move away, he grabbed her again.

They were close now, close enough to kiss. He wasn't sure who made the first move, if he'd moved closer, or if she had, but suddenly their lips were only inches apart.

Peyton blushed.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Lucas reached out hesitantly to brush his fingertips across her cheek. This was it, the moment he'd been dreaming about since the fourth grade, when their group of friends had become obsessed with the idea that if they were to receive their first kiss first, they would always hold the title of 'Most Popular.'

Brooke had won, and he was about to kiss Peyton Sawyer.

"There you guys are! I've been two-waying both of you for the last hour!"

The pair pulled away abruptly, Peyton's cheeks still burning.

Damn it, Brooke.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder. "B... Have you been crying?"

Brooke nodded slowly, tears forming in her eyes again. He sighed and pulled her into a tight hug, his annoyance towards her for ruining his moment with Peyton quickly vanishing.

She needed him.

"B. Davis." Peyton muttered, gripping her hand. "What happened?"

"My mother is officially the Wicked Bitch Of The West." She replied bitterly, crossing her arms.

Lucas and Peyton shared a look. This was just now occurring to her? It wasn't like Victoria Davis would ever win 'Mother of the Year award' any time soon.

"What did she do this time?"

"She told me I couldn't go to Paris this summer!" Brooke snapped. "She wouldn't even tell me why!"

Lucas pulled her into another hug. She'd been looking forward to the trip, a chance to get away from everything. It wouldn't be summer without Brooke Davis to spend it with.

"Well." Peyton said, nodding slowly at him. "If you're not going, then neither are we. I'm sure Nathan and Haley will stick around too, and we'll just spend a good, old fashioned, boring summer in Tree Hill."

She reached up to brush the tears away with the back of her hand. "Really?"

"Really."

With a smile, Brooke wrapped her arms around both of them, pulling them into a tight embrace. Sometimes, she felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have such amazing friends. Nathan, Lucas, Peyton, and Haley were the type of people you stayed close with, even into adulthood. She was so lucky to have them.

"I love you guys." She whispered, her grip tightening slightly. "I really love you guys."

Lucas smiled, rubbing her back. He loved her, he really did, he just wished that she had come to find them about five minutes later.

Because, then he would have still had the courage to kiss Peyton