Chapter 4

They hung out until Brooke, Peyton, and Anna got there around 3:30 and the transformation began. Brooke had called and asked if it was okay if she brought Peyton and Anna. As Brooke had said it wasn't too hard to get ready. Brooke made her take a shower so that she could do her hair, but Jamie wasn't complaining. She needed those ten minutes to calm down and just think about what she was doing. When she got out of the shower Brooke helped her pick out what she was going to wear. Brooke picked out a little white silk shirt which looked like a short dress and black pants with black high heels. Jamie wasn't too thrilled with the heels, but at least she didn't have to wear a dress. Haley helped by doing Jamie's hair while Brooke put some make-up on her; Peyton and Anna were downstairs watching TV. They wanted to watch, but Brooke didn't want too many people in the room. When they were done Brooke and Haley went downstairs, they still had 15 minutes until Lucas was going to be there.

"Introducing, the beautiful and brilliant Jamie Bausch" Brooke said as soon as she was down the stairs. "C-mon down Jamie, Peyton and Anna want to see the final outcome." Brooke had tried her best to cover up the black eye, but every time she touched it she felt Jamie flinch. It looked a lot better than it had that morning, but you could still tell that something had happened. She hadn't asked what happened, but she knew that Haley knew so she figured she would ask her. She was taken out of her own little world when she heard Jamie walk down the stairs. She thought that she looked beautiful. The shirt and pants did wonders for her figure.

"Wow, you look amazing Jamie. Lucas is going to love it." Peyton said with a smile. Jamie figured out why Lucas had liked Brooke and Peyton, but she didn't know what had exactly happened between them. She figured that he would tell her eventually.

"You do look great Jamie." Anna added. All of a sudden the phone rang. Jamie ran to pick it up. She motioned for the girls to keep the noise to a minimum.

"Hello, this is Jamie." She said hoping not to sound too excited about the date she was getting ready for.

"Hello Jamie. I'm just making sure that you are home right now. You aren't going to be leaving the house tonight are you?" He didn't sound angry, but she knew that he was not too happy about not being home.

"No, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if I have some friends over tonight. I met some people at school and we have been hanging out and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if they stayed over tonight. I don't really feel comfortable staying here by myself."

"Yea, I guess. I will be busy tonight so I won't be calling back. I will see you tomorrow night when I come home. I think I want to meet these friends of yours."

"Don't worry, you will meet them. I will see you tomorrow. Bye." She hung the phone up and turned towards the girls. They were just sitting there talking. "So, did you guys have any plans tonight? I mean, if you do, that's cool, but I was wondering if maybe you wanted to stay here tonight…"

"You don't want to stay here by yourself? No parents here and…"

"Brooke…don't get any ideas for a party. We don't want to be a burden. I didn't have any plans and it would be nice to hear about your date tonight. What time do you want me to come back?"

"Well, you wouldn't have to leave. You can stay here; my dad won't be back tonight. There is plenty of food in the fridge. You can help yourself. It would just make me feel a lot safer if there was someone here."

"Of course we will stay over tonight. We do have to go get all the supplies for a sleepover. This is going to be a great night when you come back from your date. And don't worry there will be no guys over here. We don't want you to get in trouble." Brooke said. She was excited about the upcoming sleepover. All of a sudden there was a knock on the door.

"Wow, he is here already. How do I look?" Jamie asked starting to get nervous all over again.

"You look awesome Jamie. Believe me Lucas is going to love it." Haley said matter-of-factly. The other girls nodded in agreement. All the girls went into the living room waiting for Jamie to walk in with Lucas. They wanted to see his face, but decided that it might be a little weird if they stood around the door.

At the door

Jamie opened the door and found Lucas standing there holding a bouquet of white lilies. He looked really nice in the khakis and polo shirt that he was wearing. She still couldn't believe that this was the same boy that she used to tease when they were younger.

"Hey Lucas you look really good." Jamie said.

"Hi Jamers, I was about to say the same thing about you. You look absolutely gorgeous." He couldn't help but stare at her. He could still see the bruise on her face, which wasn't as bad as it was that morning, but she still looked gorgeous. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Maybe I should put those in some water before we go." She said pointing at the lilies in his hand. Lucas just shook his head. "Come on in." She let him walk in and then headed for the kitchen. He stopped in the living room to see Brooke, Peyton, Anna, and Haley just sitting there talking.

"Well, I see that I should be thanking you Brooke. Jamie looks amazing! I know you didn't have too much to do, but thanks." Brooke just smiled at him.

"Okay guys, here is the key to the house. I have one so if you want to lock the doors I will have a key. Help yourself to whatever we have in the house, but if I were you I would stay away from the alcohol. My dad will know if any is missing. I'll be back later."

"Have fun!" came the response from all the girls. They were excited for both Lucas and Jamie. Peyton and Brooke were happy that Lucas was turning into his old self.

"I think that Jamie is going to be good for Lucas. I think that she will help him be the guy he was before we got a hold of him." Brooke said looking at Peyton.

"Well, let's go get the fixings for a sleepover. Did anyone check the freezer for ice cream?" Haley said getting excited about the sleepover. All the girls went to check for ice cream and found an entire freezer full of ice cream. If they named it, it was in the freezer. So they went to get everything that Jamie didn't have.

Outside

Jamie and Lucas walked over to his car. It wasn't as nice a car as he would have liked, but it worked. At least he had a mode of transportation. He walked over to the passenger side door and opened it, letting Jamie in. He closed the door and walked over to his side. She reached across and opened the door for him. He smiled when he saw her reach over, but didn't argue with her.

"I think that it is right when someone opens the door for you." She said with a smile.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight because you look amazing!" Jamie still didn't know what to say so she just smiled. "I was so nervous about tonight. I had never felt this nervous when I was going out with Brooke and Peyton. It is kind of bizarre."

"You were nervous. I almost had a meltdown earlier. I couldn't concentrate on anything during school today, especially after Brooke said she would help me out. And yes…you did tell me you thought I looked beautiful." Jamie said blushing a little. "So, where are we going on this date?"

"Well, first I thought that I would take you down to the pier to this quaint little restaurant. I have never actually been there, but Brooke and Felix recommend it. They said it wasn't too pricy. And then maybe just go for a little walk down by the beach. And then end the night at my mom's café with a little hot chocolate and dessert."

"That sounds great. I am now very excited and getting less and less nervous." They drove to the restaurant. They walked inside, sat down, ordered, and talked about everything except the forbidden past. When they were finished eating they paid and headed to the beach. As they walked down the shore Jamie kept wondering what had happened between Lucas, Peyton, and Brooke. So she figured she would ask.

"Hey Luke, I know this isn't really any of my business, but I have a question for you."

"Okay, um, if I don't like the question can I pass?"

"Sure, don't feel like you have to answer it. Okay, so I know you said you went out with Brooke and Peyton, but what happened between you guys?"

"Oh, it all started when I was asked to join the basketball team. Peyton and Nathan were going out at the time and I liked Peyton. After I joined the basketball team, Brooke started talking to me and then we sort of started going out. I still really liked Peyton, but Brooke also showed me how to have a good time. Well, one day Peyton and I had to go identify this body because we thought it was her fathers. When we found out it wasn't we almost went a little too far. We stopped, but I had still cheated. We tried to forget about it, but I couldn't bury my feelings. We were going to tell Brooke, but then I got in an accident and she found out a couple of days after I got out of the hospital. And then I kind of went to a bar and made out with Jake's ex-girlfriend slash mother of his daughter Jenny. Oh, Jake is a friend from the basketball team. Well, Peyton and Brooke got pretty pissed about that too. It took me a long time to gain their trust back, but now we are friends. I have to change, I don't like the person I became. Well, I liked parts of that person, but for the most part it wasn't very good."

"Oh, I see. From what I can tell Luke you are doing a pretty good job becoming a good person again. Brooke and Peyton seem to have forgiven you for everything."

"I'm guessing now you think that I am a male slut. I would understand if you didn't' want to go out with me again."

"Okay, enough with the pity party. Luke that was a really shitty thing that you pulled with Brooke and Peyton, but I really like you and I believe that you have changed. I don't think that you are that same person. I am giving you a chance if you want me too or not. Everyone deserves another chance." They had finally arrived back at the car, so they got in and drove to the café. Jamie hoped that Karen didn't recognize her. Her dad always told her how much she reminded him of her mother. When they reached the cafe, Karen walked over and gave her son a hug.

"Mom, I would like you to meet Jamie. Jamie, this is my mom."

"It is nice to meet you Mrs…"

"Karen, please call me Karen. It is nice to meet you Jamie."

"This place is so amazing. And I don't just mean the city. Your café is gorgeous Karen."

"You haven't even seen the best part of this place. Haley and I built it like five years ago. Come on, it is on the roof." They walked up to the roof. When they got there Lucas turned on the lights. Jamie had never seen anything like it.

"Wow, this is awesome. Why did you guys build it?"

"We built it to have a place where we could just go and talk. A place that we could hang out in and not have to worry about anything. It was actually an idea from a friend of ours, but she never got to help us build it."

"Luke, you always bring something or someone up from your past. What is it? Who is this friend of yours that you always seem so sad when you bring up him/her?" Jamie knew who he was talking about, but she wanted to hear him say it. Plus she didn't want him to get too suspicious.

"One of my mom's friends from high school had a daughter the same age as us. Her mom had gotten married right out of high school and while her and her husband went to technical school, my mom babysat their daughter. So, we grew up together. It was about two years later that our moms decided they needed to find someone else to baby-sit us while they worked. So they found Haley's mother, who had raised five kids. So that is how our parents became friends with Haley's parents and how Abby and I became friends with Haley. Abby, Haley, and I always played together, even after we stopped going over to the James' house to be babysat. I loved being around those two. We did so many things together. Well, Abby's mother died when we were in fourth grade and her dad made her move because he couldn't handle it or something. She told us the day before she left that she was moving. I was so pissed, not at her, even though I took it out on her, but because I never got to tell her how I felt. I know it sounds crazy, but I loved her."

"I don't understand. How could you feel something like that when you were in fourth grade?"

"I don't know. It is weird, but I haven't been able to keep her off of my mind since then. Well, until you came anyway. You have helped me so much. Well, um, enough of that." She couldn't help but shiver after he told her everything. "Are you cold? I have an extra sweatshirt right inside there, I'll be right back." Lucas ran inside and came back carrying a gray sweatshirt. "Here, it might be a little big, but it is all I have here." He gave her the sweatshirt and sat down next to her on the bench.

"Thank you Lucas. I was getting a little cold, but what about you? Aren't you going to get cold?"

"No, I'll be fine. Well, I should probably get you back to your houseguests. They are going to be wanting to hear every detail of this evening." He said with a smile. He put his hand out and to his surprise she actually took it. They walked down the stairs holding hands and just soaking in each others presence. They had just met the day before and already they felt comfortable just walking in complete silence. Jamie knew the reason, but for Lucas this was somewhat of a surprise. When they got to Jamie's house, Lucas told her to wait in the car. He got out, opened the door, took her hand and walked her to the door.

"Jamie, this has been the best night ever. I will never forget my first date with you. It will be a night to remember."

"Thank you Lucas. I have had an amazing night as well. You sure know how to make a girl feel special. Don't ever lose that ability." As she turned to open the door she remembered that she had his sweatshirt on still. "Here is your sweatshirt." She said as she started taking it off.

"No, don't worry about it. I will come get it at a later time. It will give me a chance to talk to you again. And it looks way better on you anyway."

"Thanks Lucas." She turned around again, but this time she couldn't open the door because Lucas grabbed her arm and turned her back around. She saw a look in his eyes that she had never seen before. "Lucas, what is it?"

"I was just wondering if maybe I could possibly kiss you. I mean I know that we just met and everything, but…"

"I thought that you would never ask." And with that Lucas leaned in and gave her a small kiss. It was nothing big or flashy, just a light kiss on the lips. She knew at that moment that she would always remember her first kiss as being an amazing end to a fabulous night.

"I'll see you later. I'll call you tomorrow Jamie."

"Bye Lucas." And with that he left and she walked into the house. As soon as she opened the door she was bombarded with questions. She answered every single question that they threw at her, except the part about the conversation on the roof. After the girls had all the juicy gossip and they had done the makeovers and had all the ice cream that they could handle they settled down and fell asleep.