Disc: If you looked at my bank account, you would see that I don't own GG or OTH.

AN: Thank you guys sooo much for all the wonderful reviews! I appreciate them. I replied to the reviews in my blog. That's where my long AN will go for each chapter! Without any further ado… enjoy!

Chapter 2

Lucas stretched out on the bed. One week. Seven days. 168 hours. Then Rory would be here. He missed his best friend immensely. She was the one person he could tell everything to. They had been best friends for most their lives. The one bright spot of the summers until they turned 18 was that they had each other.

Neither of them got along with their fathers, but the custody arrangements for both of them were that their dad's got summers. Their dads lived next door to each other in Boston. It would have been unbearable had they not learned to turn to each other.

Hearing his cell phone ring, he rolled over and grabbed it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lucas. I need a favor." Came the voice on the other end of the line.

Lucas sat strait up at this. "Sure, what is it?"

"I need to get out of here. I don't exactly have the funds to go anywhere really this summer, but I can't stay here with dad. You think I can come crash with you and Ror?"

This caught Lucas's interest. Nathan had only came to Tree Hill a handful of times. Once for Winter break when Dan and Deb went on a cruise, once when they were 14 for Spring break, and a few odd weekends here and there over the years.

"Sure Nathan. But what's going on?"

"I'll tell you all about it this summer. I just need to get out of here." There was a tint of desperation beginning to creep into his voice.

"Well, just come down here whenever. Ror gets in next week. We're just staying here this summer. Neither of us are really rolling in cash at the moment, either."

"Ok, well, I need to get some things done, I'll be there in the next few days."

The line went dead, and Lucas closed his phone. That was strange. Something was going on, and it couldn't be good.

-OTH-GG-

Two days later Lucas was at the airport, waiting for the plane to arrive. He got a call earlier in the morning from Nathan, telling him he would need a ride. Lucas was glad Nathan was getting in earlier than Rory. He hoped that whatever was going on with Nathan could be sorted out before Rory got there, he didn't want anything to take away from her visit. Then, they would all be able to hang out together, not worrying about much of anything. They tried to visit a few times a year, but that didn't always happen.

"Hey bro!"

Lucas turned around. "Hey!" They greeted each other with a quick pounding of their fists, and made their way out of the airport. Once they were in the car, Lucas decided it was time to start getting things figured out.

"So what's going on?"

Nathan let out a breath. He knew that the inquisition would start as soon as he got here. He figured it would be easier to tell Lucas what was going on now, rather than later.

"My mom left."

Lucas's jaw dropped. "Wow… that's… wow. Sorry man."

"Yeah. He's been drinking more than usual. Shit's really hitting the fan right now. Mom is staying with a friend of hers in Boston. I just needed out of there. I am not spending the summer there until school starts back up."

"I understand. I'm glad you came here. We'll have fun this summer. Between Ror and me, we'll get your mind off it."

"Good. That's what I need. That, and a drink."

Lucas laughed. "Coming up man, coming up."

-OTH-GG-

Late that night, Lucas hit the number 3 on his phone, holding it until it speed dialed a number that, thankfully, didn't take up minutes since he had free mobil-to-mobil. Otherwise, he would be constantly broke.

"'Lo?" Came a strange, groggy, male voice.

Lucas frowned. "Is Rory there?"

"She's asleep. Can she call you back later?"

'Aha, so this must be the boyfriend.'

"Yeah, that's fine. Is this Logan?"

"Yeah, who's this?" The voice sounded less groggy, and somewhat annoyed.

"Lucas, a friend of Ror's. Just tell her to call me back whenever. Later."

With that, he hung up. That had been awkward. He knew Rory had a boyfriend, and was sleeping with him, but knowing it and talking to the guy while he was probably in bed with her were totally different scenarios. He just didn't know why it bothered him.

-OTH-GG-

Several more hours later, he was still tossing and turning. Sleep was not coming to him tonight. Running his hands over his face, he got up. He quickly threw on some sweats and tennis shoes, and grabbed a basket ball.

"Can't sleep either?" Nathan asked, sitting on the couch in the dark.

"Nah, too much on my mind. Come on." Lucas responded, gesturing to the basketball in his hands and moving to the door. Nathan got up to follow him out into the night.

"So what's going on?" Nathan asked once they got to the court.

Lucas paused and glanced over at him. "I'm not sure. I'm just not sure."

Nathan raised an eyebrow at him as they began to play.

"You must have some idea. What's the general problem?"

Lucas shot the ball at the basket. It went smoothly in, not touching the rim. "There's no problem."

Nathan grabbed the ball and shook his head. "So if there's no problem then why are you out here with me at 2 a.m.?" 'Getting info from him is like pulling teeth…'

"I can't sleep."

"That's pretty obvious. Now why couldn't you sleep?" Nathan rolled his eyes at this, getting exasperated. 'Make that performing a root canal. After all, pulling teeth is much simpler.'

Lucas shrugged in response.

"Is it a girl?"

With that, Lucas made another shot, not looking at Nathan. 'Bingo!' He thought.

"Do I know her?"

Still, no answer.

'So that's a yes.'

"Come on, just tell me."

Lucas gritted his teeth. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing. Now are you going to play, or talk to yourself all night? Because this discussion is over."

"Fine. Discussion is over. For now." Nathan agreed. 'After all, I have all summer find out. Maybe Rory can help me. She knows him better than anyone. If anyone can figure out who the girl is, it's Rory.' With those final thoughts on the subject, he grabbed the basketball and returned his mind to the game.