A/N- I can't thank everyone enough for all the awesome review responses I got for this story! It's all of your support that makes me feel inspired to get this story out faster. Thanks again for all of your support!
-Just to let everyone know, I hope this does not disappoint anyone, but Lucas and Brooke are going to be friends for the majority of my story. However, their feelings will be explored gradually throughout my story, and as you will see when you will read this chapter, there are still definitely feelings that need to be resolved by the end of the story.
-A reviewer asked me if this was going to be a short story because it takes place during one day. This is not a short story. It will be between 15-20 chapters, maybe more, because I love to write long stories.
Next Update: I don't know exactly when the next chapter will be up, but I promise it will be up very soon. I don't like going longer than a week with my updates, but I can't make any promises since I have an active Harry Potter Epic fan fiction, which I like to update weekly as well. So yes, it will prove to be somewhat of a challenge to update these to stories weekly, and I may have to go longer than a week between updating, but well just see how it goes. I am up for the challenge. :)
Disclamier: I don't own One Tree Hill. That belongs to Mr. Schwahn and The WB

Chapter. 2- Time is ticking out

A bolt of thunder.

Lucas Scott's eyes opened abruptly. The rain had kept him up for most of the couple hours he had tried to sleep, even though it felt like he just closed his eyes. He suddenly felt the cool strong draft coming from his bedroom window. He had cracked it hours ago because he was hot, but now even through the small opening, he could feel the force of the wind. Lucas rose off of the floor, and walked over and shut the window quickly. He just hoped he hadn't woke Brooke. He looked over at her, and she was sleeping peacefully on top of his bed with a blanket over her. Loud snores came from her mouth. A smirk came to his face as he couldn't fathom how she could possibly sleep through the storm. He just hoped the hurricane wasn't headed this way. Last time he checked, Tree Hill was safe. It wasn't headed in their direction. That's all this town would need, a hurricane to rip through Tree Hill. There was enough destruction already between the people in his life, and it was all caused by one person; a person he didn't think he could have so much hate for. He looked at the clock by his bed. 5:58 a.m. At least he managed to get some sleep. It didn't matter. Sleep could come later. He had work to do. He had something he was determined to find, and he wouldn't rest until he uncovered it. Lucas sat back down on the ground, and then glanced up at Brooke on the bed. He didn't know how Brooke had gotten involved in all this; helping bring down Dan. It just sort of emerged. After Brooke's parents had moved to California, they had started spending more time together, and one night he told her about his plan to bring down Dan. Over the last few weeks, he and Brooke had become very close, as friends. Still, his feelings for Brooke were somewhat of a mystery, even to him. Feelings that he would have to sort out later, when the time was right. Now the only thing that stood in the way to everyone's happiness was bringing down the one man that was the cause for the all destruction, and all the pain that was happening between the people he cared about. And he and Brooke were going to find the evidence, hard evidence, that would prove what an evil bastard Dan was once and for all. This was going to end, Lucas thought. It was going to end today.
Lucas thought they may have gotten a lucky break the night before when they found something in Dan's study, but it had proved to be nothing. And Lucas was frustrated as hell. He reached into his jeans pocket, and pulled a fragile, tiny piece of paper out, and held it in his hands. His eyes lingered on this piece of paper. It could have been nothing, but it could have been everything, when they had found this. His memory immediately flashed back to the night before.

Deb had been asleep, and they made sure Dan wasn't home. Lucas and Brooke snuck into's Dan's study. They didn't know what they were looking for, and especially since the other ten times they looked through it and came out with nothing, it was a little discouraging.

Lucas was searching through Dan's drawers, sifting through every piece of paper he could find, even looking behind the drawers. He had thrown down the papers in his hands, because he remembered at that point realizing how pointless this all was. Why would Dan hide anything in his study? It was becoming more and more clear to Lucas that if Dan was involved, and he was sure he was, that they would never find any evidence. Dan would make sure that everything that had done had been erased; like it never happened. But then the next moment, Brooke had walked over to him with a garbage can in her hands, which must have belonged in the study.

"Brooke, what are you doing?" Lucas lightly chuckled.

"What do you mean? Don't like all the great detectives or whatever, like go through people's garbage? You know I can't believe we never thought of this before. I bet you can find a bunch of dirt about people by going through their garbage" She blurted excitedly. Lucas smirked at her, and raised his eyebrow. "And you would know because-"

"Ew, gross. Like I would actually touch anybody's garbage," Brooke uttered outright.Brooke placed the black, and tiny garbage can on top of Dan's desk.

Lucas looked inside the garbage can. It was about half full. There wasn't much in there, just crumbled papers, alcohol bottles, and mainly stuff like that. Before he stuck his hand inside, he looked up at Brooke, who was cringing.

"What you don't expect me to stick my hand in there do you?" Brooke moaned.

Lucas glared at her, and Brooke smiled. "Just kidding. You know I want help fry your dad just as much as you do."

A few minutes had passed and they had dumped the whole garbage can and they hadn't found anything. But why would they? What kind of evidence were they possibly going to find in a garbage can? Obviously nothing. They had better stop wasting their time so they could move onto something else. Besides, Dan could be home any min-

"Lucas. Look at this!", Brooke held a very small piece of paper in her hands.

"What is it?"

"I don't' know. But there are some numbers on it. 555-2- That's it," she frowned.

Brooke gave it to Lucas.

Lucas glanced at it. "It must have been ripped up. I bet you this is a phone number."

"Well, that's good!" Brooke grinned

"It's no good without the other half."

"Oh right. Got a little ahead of myself there," Brooke mumbled.

"We need to find it."

"I don't see it," Brooke said, while sorting through the papers.

Damn, Lucas thought. This was the only thing they had found since they've been looking, that could possibly be any use to them.

"Wait, I think I found it!", Brooke shouted quietly, her hand stuck inside the garbage can, with a disgusted look on her face. She took her hand out, and she held in it another very tiny piece of paper.

"Gross. It was stuck to the bottom," She said as she handed it to Lucas.

"123", He recited the number aloud. "This is it," He glanced at Brooke with a half-smile, looking right in her eyes. This was a phone number, and obviously Dan felt the need to rip up. It was obviously something Dan wanted to hide. But then again it could be nothing. People rip things all the time when they throw out something. Could this really be the something they were looking for? Could the hard evidence they were looking for really be in this little piece of paper? Lucas was doubtful. It was way too easy. Dan was smarter than this. But still, something in his gut told him it could be something more.

"Yay! I found out! You so owe me!" Brooke smiled widely touching Lucas in the shoulder.

Lucas blushed ever so slightly, as quickly got a piece a tape out of Dan's drawer and taped the two pieces of paper together. Then he just stood there, staring at the number that was presented to him right before his eyes. 555-2123. A part of him was very scared of who he mind find on the other end of the phone. It could be nothing, but it could be everything.

"What are you waiting for?" Brooke asked. She then grabbed the cell phone out of Lucas's jeans's pocket. "Tell me the number," She demanded.

"Uh, it's 555-2123", Lucas said anxiously.

Brooke dialed the numbers, and Lucas could feel the anticipation weigh down heavily through his entire body.

"It's ringing," Brooke whispered. Lucas got close to Brooke so he could hear it.

Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring.

It was a never-ending sound of rings. They must have let it ring nearly 20 times before they hung up the phone.

"Well, give it another minute and then we'll try it again," Lucas said trying to hide his disappointment. "Let's put the garbage back together and get out of here before Dan comes back," Lucas added while he put the phone number on the desk. He and Brooke quickly put the garbage back in the garbage can and Brooke went to put it back in the corner of the study. Lucas quickly put the papers back in Dan's drawers, and quickly stood up.

"Brooke- are you-"Lucas started to say.

"There you are," Said a deep voice from the doorway.

Lucas froze in place. He felt his mouth go dry. He felt unable to speak. He looked over at Brooke for a second, who stopped in her tracks too.

"I was looking for you," Said Dan Scott, his hands in his pocket."I just got back from the Dealership. Deb's sleeping. There's nothing in the house to eat. I was wondering if you wanted to go out-"

"Hi, Mr. Scott," Brooke said boldly as she walked over by Lucas.

"Brooke," Dan smirked. "Nice to see you again. Anyway, I just asking Lucas If he'd like to go to dinner. Your welcome to join us if you'd like."

Brooke glanced at Lucas then at Dan. "Sure. Thanks, Mr. Scott," She mumbled.

"Great," Dan said, his smirk growing larger. His eyes focused on Lucas who still hadn't answered him yet. "Son?"

"Sure, Dad," Lucas mustered a smile.

"Good. Let's go then," Dan said.

Lucas quickly remembered the phone number laying on the table right before him. He swiftly placed the number in his hand, and pocketed it without Dan noticing.

Brooke and Lucas glanced at each other as they headed out the door.

Lucas flashed back to the present. He still continued to stare at the phone number that he held in his hands. After they had gotten back from dinner the night before, Lucas told Dan he and Brooke would be studying for finals, and they went up to his room. Which then they continued to call the number all night. But nobody answered. It just rang and rang. Brooke had fallen asleep on his bed, and Lucas laid on the floor and thought about the phone number. Next thing he knows, he had fallen asleep.

It was a dead end, Lucas reminded himself. He might as well throw it in the garbage. He shouldn't be wasting time thinking about a silly phone number. It they were to going to catch Dan, they were going to have to look harder. He didn't know how they were going to find something, but he would never give up. Still, looking at this phone number, he still had the same gut feeling he had last night. Something told him they should call it one more time. He looked over at the window. There was no sun, but it seemed as if the rain was finally starting to die down, and the thunder seemed to have stopped. Maybe the storm was over. He stood up and walked over the window. He glanced at the phone number one more time and grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket. He knew what to do next, but for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to dial.

"You know the phone isn't going to dial by itself," Lucas heard Brooke's voice.

He turned around. "Hey, you're up. I hope I didn't wake you," He whispered as he pulled his desk chair up next to his bed.

Brooke sat up. "It's okay. Besides, we have a lot of work to do today," she said softly with a simper.

Lucas looked at Brooke for a moment. "You know if I hadn't said this before, thanks Brooke, for helping me. I mean you don't have to be doing this. You can go home if you want."

"Lucas, I am your friend, okay? I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to see Dan finally get his. Your dear old dad is going down. And were going to do it together," She said with such a determination to her voice.

Lucas didn't know what to say. His eyes just headed toward the window.

"Hey, it looks the storm is finally dying down," Brooke blurted.

"Yeah, hopefully," He said under his breath. Then he turned to Brooke. "Listen about this number. I think it's a dead end. We gotta start looking somewhere else and forget about it."

"Lucas, you can't fool me. I know you want to call it again. What's one more time? Maybe someone will finally answer. You never know," Brooke told him.

"I just don't want to waste anymore time," He said.

"Give me the number," Brooke blurted frankly as she grabbed Lucas's cell phone from his hands.

As she started dialing, Lucas rose from the chair and starting pacing in the room.

"It's ringing," She muttered.

Lucas kept his back turned to her. They were wasting time, Lucas couldn't help but think.

Lucas started to walk closer to Brooke, and Brooke suddenly gasped. "I think someone's going to pick up!"

In what seemed like a microsecond, Lucas flopped down on the bed next to Brooke so he could hear. With the phone between their ears, The last ring ended, a message recording rang into their ears.

"Hey, this is Chris. Obviously, I'm not here, or you wouldn't be wasting you time listening to this. You know what to do."

Lucas and Brooke looked up in utter shock at the same time as Brooke quickly clicked off the call.

They heard the front door slam nearly a minute later, and at the same time Lucas and Brooke jumped off the bed, as they rushed over to the window. Outside, Dan was walking to his car in the driveway, talking on his cell phone. He got into his car, and backed down the driveway.

Lucas and Brooke stared at each other, and either one of them didn't breathe a word. They had a found a connection. Dan was somehow involved with Chris, and that meant one thing: Everything that had happened between Nathan and Haley was Dan's doing. Lucas wasn't surprised. He was awakened. He could see it as clearly as ever. He couldn't believe he never realized it before; Dan's place in all this. For the first time there was hope. Hope they he would finally be able to put the nail in Dan's coffin, and stop the train of destruction he has been spreading. Now that they had find a connection, all they had to find was proof. Then they would all be free.

Time was ticking out.

6:21 a.m.