So this is my longest chapter so far. School starts tomorrow though, so it may be a little time before I update next.

For those of you who thought Marissa was gone for good, think again.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Hey, this place is bigger than I expected," Summer commented, standing outside Tree Hill High, with Ryan and Seth on either side of her. She had been really down since Marissa had left the previous night, but that morning she'd been slightly more cheerful.

Ryan nodded in agreement. Seth took a deep breath. The three of them walked in.

"Summer! Ryan!"

"Seth!"

Brooke and Nathan fought their way through the crowd to get to their friends.

"Hi," Summer said, sounding uncharacteristically melancholy.

"Hey, Nate," Seth greeted him. Nathan smiled at Ryan and Summer before taking Seth and steering him down the hall.

"Show me your time table," he said, holding his hand out.

Digging deep into his pocket, Seth produced.

"Awesome!" Nathan said, happily. "We have four classes together today! English, World Civ., Chemistry and Biology. Actually, we have that right now. Great, I'll have a partner."

They walked to the biology lab and seated themselves at two desks near the back. They were one of the first to come in, but the classroom slowly filled up. Lucas and Summer were also in their class.

The teacher walked in. "Goodmorning, class." He took off his glasses, cleaned them and slipped them back onto the bridge of his nose. "Alright, I'm Mr. Gordon and I will be your biology teacher this year."

Nathan made a face. Mr. Gordon had been a teacher at Tree Hill High for years and had a reputation of being a serious killjoy.

"Well, first things first," Mr. Gordon said, rubbing his hands together as he looked at the class. "For this year, I will be picking your partners. Now don't look so shocked," he continued. "It'll be a good way to branch out, you know, meet some new people."

Nathan rolled his eyes and turned apologetically to Seth. The odds were that they wouldn't be together and Seth would be stuck with some random weirdo. Atleast Nathan knew everyone in the class, it'd be okay for him.

"Okay," Mr. Gordon picked up the register and read out a few names and alongside, their partners' names. "Seth Cohen," Mr. Gordon said. Seth raised his hand. "Lucas Scott."

Lucas smiled from across the classroom. Seth sighed in relief.

"Mouth McFadden," Mr. Gordon called. "Let's see…oh, Summer Roberts."

Summer couldn't believe her luck – or lack thereof. She'd been in a room which definitely had an abundance of hot guys, and yet she'd gotten this geek. She could've got Lucas, but no, Cohen had to go get Lucas.

Mr. Gordon read a few more names out. "Nathan Scott…and Antwon Taylor."

Nathan picked up his things and walked over to Skills's desk. "Hey, man."

"Yo, what you been upto, dawg?" Skills said, high-fiving him. "I feel like I haven't seen you all summer."

"That's because you haven't," Nathan laughed. "I've been busy brushing up my basketball skills on the river court. Why haven't you guys been showing up?"

"I was visiting my grandparents in Oklahoma," Skills said. "And Mouth was screwing that new girl, Rachel."

Nathan looked shocked. "Really?"

Skills laughed. "Nah. Mouth was lying at home, dreaming of screwing that new girl, Rachel."

Nathan grinned. That sounded more like Mouth.

Speaking of Mouth, across the room, Mouth was trying desperately to start a conversation with the feisty little brunette he had gotten partnered with.

"So, um, how long have you been in Tree Hill?" Mouth asked, trying not to sound too eager.

Summer gave him a disgusted look. "Why are you speaking to me?" she snapped, trying to make eye contact with Lucas. He didn't seem to be looking her way.

"Death Cab? Are you serious?" Lucas asked Seth. They'd been discussing music, and found they had a lot more in common than they thought.

"Why, do you like them?"

"Like 'em? I love them," Lucas replied. "But I'm not a huge fan of their new album."

"Yes, that's exactly what I – "

Mr. Gordon passed by and smacked Seth rather hard on the back of the head. "Less chitter chatter," he hissed.

Seth glared at his back and rubbed his head. "Ow. Is he even allowed to do that? Hit new kids? Well, actually, to be fair, he may not even have known. He didn't ask Summer or I to introduce ourselves."

"Oh, he knows," Lucas said airily. "He doesn't believe in giving preferential treatment to the new kids."

"Preferential treatment?" Seth asked. "By asking us to tell the class who we are?"

And then suddenly Mr. Gordon was at their side, glaring down at them. "I said, no talking." With a final glare at the two of them, he walked away.

"Hi, Nathan," Brooke grabbed Nathan, as he was coming out of his Biology class.

"Hi, Brooke," Nathan said. "What's up?"

"I just had English," Brooke said. "With Ryan…he is so cute!"

"Brooke, you have a boyfriend," Nathan reminded her. "Hello – Lucas?"

"Whatever. I'm allowed to look at other guys. He owes me for the whole Peyton thing. Hey, wasn't Seth in your Bio. class? Why isn't he with you?"

"Because he's with Lucas." Nathan wasn't quite sure why that bothered him so much. Seth was entitled to make friends with whoever he wanted, but it was obvious to Nathan that Lucas and Seth had way more in common than Nathan and Seth did. They had spent the entire class talking and laughing, and Nathan had felt maybe a tad left out. Lucas was the obvious choice for a friend, but he didn't have to like it.

"You don't sound happy," Brooke observed, as they walked down the hall.

"I am," Nathan said. "Really. It's just…well, you know, if it weren't for me, the group wouldn't even have met Seth."

"That's not entirely true," Brooke said. "I knew Summer. Peyton met Marissa. Lucas befriended Ryan. Eventually, we would have met Seth. Look, Nathan," she said, stopping him and turning to face him. "All I'm saying is – you can't expect Seth to just follow you around everywhere. He's going to make new friends. Maybe you should just back off a little. You know, give him some space."

Nathan sighed. "Fine."

"Okay, I'm glad we had this little talk." Brooke patted his arm reassuringly, and walked into her next class.

"Hey, Nate," Seth said, at lunch time, sliding his tray down next to Nathan's and sitting down. "Where'd you disappear to after Biology?"

"Did I?" Nathan asked casually. "Sorry for that."

"So I thought maybe we could hang out after school," Seth suggested. "If you wanted to."

"Sorry, can't," Nathan replied breezily. "I'm taking basketball tryouts."

Seth's face fell and Nathan felt bad. "How about tonight?"

Seth shook his head. "Actually, I'm going over to Lucas's tonight to look at some Cds. He has some really good stuff."

"Oh," said Nathan. "When did you decide that?"

"In class," Seth said. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Nathan said. He turned away from Seth and engaged someone else in conversation, leaving Seth wondering what he'd done wrong.

"Hey, Summer," Brooke said, bouncing up to her. Noting her friend's annoyed expression, she stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Okay, first I get paired up with this total geek in my Biology class," said Summer angrily. "Then I totally screw up my surprise Calculus test. Why are they even allowed to give surprise tests on our first day? And then I tripped in the hallway and totally made a fool of myself in front of…" Summer stopped herself before she could say 'Lucas'. "Uh…that hot bald guy. You know, the one who plays basketball."

"I take it you mean Skills?" Brooke said, laughing. "And yes, they are allowed to give surprise tests on the first day. Also, who's this total geek?"

Summer waved her hand dismissively. "His name was, like, Nose or something."

"I think you mean Mouth," Brooke said, frowning. "And he's not. He's actually really nice."

"Whatever," Summer said. "Hey, isn't it your birthday tomorrow? Karen said it was on Saturday."

"It is," said Brooke. "But I don't really wanna have a big party. Maybe we'll all just go out to dinner or to a club or something."

"Sounds great," said Summer. "I just wish Coop was here to enjoy it with us."

"Marissa, honey?" Julie knocked on her daughter's door. "Are you alright?"

Marissa, who had been lying facedown on her bed, looked up. "I'm fine, mom," she called.

Julie pushed open the door.

"I said I'm fine, mom!" Marissa said impatiently.

"Marissa, it's pretty clear you're not fine. Kirsten told me what happened. I'm so sorry, sweetie."

"It's not a big deal," Marissa lied. "And I'm really tired. So do you mind if I just went back to sleep?"

Julie, understanding that Marissa needed some time on her own, left the room, concern in her eyes for her daughter.

"Hey, Peyton." Summer said, walking upto her before class. "I was thinking of throwing a surprise party for Brooke."

"Another party?" Peyton asked. "We just had one. And besides, Brooke wants her birthday to be kinda low-key this year."

"So?" Summer asked.

"So it's her birthday and I think we should respect her wishes."

"Oh, c'mon, Peyton," said Summer. "I've always wanted to throw someone a surprise party. We'll only invite her dearest friends. And we won't tell them to bring anyone."

Peyton looked dubious.

"Please," Summer begged. "I think Brooke'll really enjoy it."

Peyton took a deep breath and then finally said, "Alright, Summer. But only a few people, okay? Not like last time."

Summer squealed and clapped her hands together, delighted. Taking Peyton by the arm, she begun to walk them down the hall. "Now let's work on the details."

"Where is it?" Lucas asked the enthusiastic Summer.

"Brooke's house," Summer said.

"But it's for Brooke, right?"

"Yes," said Summer, patiently. "It's your job to get her out of the house and all that. We'll get the house ready and when it's all over, we'll clean it up. Brooke won't have to do a thing."

"But why can't you just have it at someone else's house?" Lucas asked.

"Duh – Peyton's house is too creepy and shadowy, yours is too small and Peyton says we can't ask Nathan again. So no, we can't. So what do you say?"

Lucas shrugged. "I guess it could be fun."

"What time is this party?" Nathan asked Peyton as she walked him down to the gym for tryouts.

"Tomorrow at, like, eight-ish," Peyton said. "Be there before eight-thirty. That's when Brooke'll arrive. "

"Okay," Nathan said, agreeably. "Should I tell Seth?"

"Actually, Summer's going to tell Lucas to tell Seth. She heard Seth say that they're hanging out tonight. Sorry," she said. "But can you tell Ryan?"

Nathan nodded, his voice flat as he said, "Sure, I'll tell him."

Julie knocked on the door of Sandy's office. He looked up briefly and called, "Come in!"

Julie came in, looking distressed.

"Well, hello, Julie," Sandy greeted her, motioning toward the chair in front of his desk. "What can I do for you?"

Julie sat down. "Marissa's not happy."

Sandy smiled understandingly. "Well, obviously she wouldn't be," he said. "Her best friends off in a different state all together."

"Yes, I know," Julie said. "And I don't know what to do. Besides, I'm not even sure if I have the money to support her."

Sandy looked at her thoughtfully, and after a moment of thinking, he said, "I think there's something I can do for you."

Julie looked at him expectantly. "What is it?"

"After Caleb's death, a position opened up here," Sandy said. "And I've been looking at possible candidates, but if you really want this – "

"Sandy, I couldn't," said Julie at once.

"Please," Sandy said. "I care about Marissa's happiness as well – and if you took it, you would need to come down to North Carolina with me – to Tree Hill."

Julie hesitated.

"The pay is great," Sandy continued. "So that's not an issue."

"I would love to, Sandy," Julie said. "But are you sure?"

"Positive," Sandy said, smiling at her. "So what are you going to do?"

Julie took a deep breath. "I think I'm going to take it. Thank you so much, Sandy."

She smiled gratefully at him, before standing up and walking out. She couldn't wait to tell Marissa.

Nathan looked around the gym at the crowd of students gathered around him. Taking tryouts was the first captain-related task he'd had to do all year.

"Okay," he said, clapping his hands together. "Thank you all for coming. Let's start with some warm-ups."

As the group started warming up, Nathan walked around. Surprised, he stopped when he saw someone he hadn't expected to be there.

"Ryan," he said, smiling. "I didn't know you played basketball."

Ryan stopped, as Nathan motioned for the group to start jogging. "I don't play a lot," Ryan said, a little breathlessly, as he begun to jog around the court. "I played some in Chino. I guess I was okay." Nathan fell in line with him, and once the rounds were over, he made the boys line up at the half line. Stepping to the side, he turned to face them. "Now let's see your layups."

Skills went first. He was still as good as ever, and only a little rusty, having not played since the previous term. Nathan nodded his approval, as his shot went in.

Jake went next. Nathan had not been expecting Jake to be back in school, what with Jenny and all, but there he was. And apparently, he would be around for awhile. He also played true to his form and Nathan was glad.

A few more players went next, some decent, some awful. And than it was Ryan's turn. And that's when Nathan was really surprised, because although Ryan was definitely one of the shorter ones, his layup was one of the best Nathan had ever seen. Even Lucas's was no match for him.

"Great," he called after everyone had had their turns. "Now let's play a real match."

Randomly dividing the players into teams, they started off playing a match. Skills was good, Jake was decent, a few of the new players were to be kept an eye out for, but Ryan dominated. Strong and fast, Ryan managed to make his team win 35-2. And the second basket was only because Ryan had been tripped and fouled by an opposing team member. Nathan gave them the point purely out of pity.

As the winning team high-fived each other, Nathan announced for them all to stand in line.

"Alright, so you were all good," said Nathan. "But unfortunately, I can't pick all of you. So those of you whose names I do not call will be benched. Understood?"

The players nodded.

"Okay, first off," Nathan looked down at his list. "Skills. Jake. Tim." He read off some some more names. "And finally…Ryan."

The rejected boys loped off, disappointed, and Ryan went over to Nathan.

"Hey, thanks, man," he said, following Nathan, as he begun walking out. Nathan turned around.

"For what?"

"For putting me on the team. I really appreciate it."

"Ryan, I would've been retarded not to." Nathan smiled at him. Ryan grinned back.

Suddenly remembering, Nathan said, "Hey, Summer's throwing a surprise party for Brooke at her house on Saturday, and she wanted me to invite you. And by the way, the pressure's on, because you didn't show up to the last one."

Ryan considered for a minute. "Okay," he said. "I'll be there."

Julie opened the door to Marissa's room. Marissa sat up, annoyed.

"Thanks, mom. Ever heard of knocking?"

"Marissa, I just went over to talk to Sandy."

"So?" Marissa frowned.

"So he offered me a job," Julie said excitedly. "Not only are we going to have money again, but we're also moving to Tree Hill!"

Marissa's eyes widened. "You're kidding."

"I'm totally serious, sweetie. So I've booked you on a flight tomorrow afternoon, but I can cancel it because I know you just got back. Then you can fly down there with me next month and – "

Marissa threw her arms around her mother's neck. "Thank you so much, mom! And no, tomorrow's fine. I can't wait!"

Julie smiled at her daughter. Seeing the expression on her daughter's face made all of it completely worth it.

Sorry for the basketball tryouts. I'm not really sure how a real one is supposed to go, so I just used my OTH knowledge. And yes, Tim is still here in my story, because I needed some more players. Anyway, hope you liked it. Please review. :)