Disclaimer : I do not own One Tree Hill. Mark Schwan does.

Author's Note: Hey everyone. I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to update. It's been crazy busy here. But I've written the next couple of chapters and will try to write some more tomorrow. So updates should be coming more often. Read and Review.

California Christmas

Haley walked around crying about the fight and what Chris had said to her until she got to the river court. Nathan and Lucas were playing a game of one on one when she walked up, still crying. "Hey, is that Haley?" Lucas asked as he stopped.

Nathan turned and smiled. "Hey Haley." He exclaimed as he walked towards her. When he got close enough to really see her face he got worried. "Hales, what's wrong?" He asked as he pulled her into a hug.

Haley wrapped her arms around Nathan as she told him what had happened. By the time she was finished, the three of them were sitting on the picnic table. Lucas looked furious and Nathan just sat there.

"He's wrong. Haley, look at me." Nathan pulled her face up so that they were looking into each other's eyes. "You can do so much better than him. There are a ton of guys that would be with you in a heartbeat. And I can think of a few that would treat you like a queen. Your too good for him."

"Am I?" She asked shakily.

"Yes, you are." Lucas finally said.

"Haley, you are one of the brightest, most talented, most gorgeous woman I've ever met. And probably will ever meet. You don't need any guy to be great, especially not one like Chris Keller."

Haley smiled up at Nathan weakly. "Thanks"

Nathan pulled her into another hug and rubbed her back. "It's the truth. I would never lie to you, Haley. I promise you that."

Haley sat up and wiped her face. "I'm fine. So, we're all still going to California the 26th, right?" She asked trying to change the subject.

"Yeah. Our flight leaves early the morning after Christmas."

The six of them were planning on going to California the day after Christmas until after the new year because Brooke had to go home to spend some time with her parents, which she thought was stupid because they would probably be gone anyways.

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Christmas day was crazy for the six friends. They had all done a really good job of cheering Haley up. Christmas morning, everyone spent time with their families. Christmas evening, they all got together and hung out. The next morning Lucas walked into Nathan's room to find him still asleep. Lucas walked over and shook him a little. "Nathan, wake up. We have to leave in ten minutes to go and start picking everyone up."

Nathan opened his eyes with a yawn and looked over at the clock. "It's 4:00." He said then pulled his pillow over his head.

"Yeah, and our plane leaves at 6, so get your ass up." He said taking his pillow from him. "Don't make me call Haley." Lucas said trying not to laugh.

Nathan sighed. "I'm up." He sat up and ran his hands over his face. He watched as Lucas walked out laughing. Nathan got out of bed and quickly got ready.

The two guys took their suitcases downstairs and set them by the door. They walked into the kitchen and could help but smile at what they saw. Karen was sitting at the bar looking like a nervous wreck as Dan stood beside her trying to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. Karen turned and looked at her sons as she heard them walk in. She immediately stood up and pulled them both into a tight embrace. "You two better be careful. I want you to call me when you land, and every morning. Do you hear me?"

Nathan smiled at Lucas then looked at Karen. "Mom, we will, I promise. Don't worry…everything is gonna be just fine."

"We gotta go." Lucas said before walking over and hugging his dad.

"Be careful." Dan said as he handed Lucas some extra money.

Lucas smiled. "Thanks, Dad." He looked over and laughed when he saw that Nathan had hugged Karen, but she wasn't letting him go.

"My turn." He said with a thank you look from Nathan as he walked over to Dan to say goodbye. "I love you, mom. We promise to call you." He kissed Karen softly on the cheek before breaking free. "See you in a couple of weeks." He smiled as him and Nathan walked over and picked up their suitcases. The turned and smiled at their parents one last time before walking out.

"Man, we're only going to be gone for nearly two weeks. Can you imagine how she's gonna act when we go off to college." Nathan said as he put the suitcases into the SUV.

Lucas got in and started the car. "I know." He said once Nathan also got in. "Let's go get everyone."

They drove first to Peyton's House. As Brooke was walking out with a suitcase Lucas got out to help her while Nathan moved into the next back row of seats. "You realize that we are going to be gone for two weeks. And you expect me to only take one suitcase." Brooke was complaining as her and Lucas got in the car.

Lucas smiled as he leaned over and kissed her softly. "You do realize that we are going to your parents house. You do have clothes there…and you can always shop for me."

"Oh yeah." Brooke bounced as the two guys laughed and Lucas headed to Jake's.

Jake walked out holding two suitcases and smiled at the others. "Hey guys."

Brooke smiled as she leaned by the car waiting for Peyton to come out. "You got your parents to watch Jenny?" She asked excitedly.

"Yeah he did. Thank God. Because I really wanted him to go on this trip." Peyton said as she walked out to the car. "Just tell me we are getting coffee before going anywhere."

Lucas laughed. "Yeah, right after we pick up Haley." They all got back into the car and drove to Haley's house. Nathan got out and walked up to the door. When Lydia James answered she smiled.

"Good Morning Nathan. Haley's coming down now. You watch after her for me, will ya. I want my baby girl back…in one piece." She smiled and turned to watch Haley walking down the stairs trying to carry her suitcase.

"I will." Nathan said shortly before he walked over and took the bag from her. "I got it." He said with a laugh. "See you in a few weeks Mrs. James." He said to Haley's mom before he walked out to take Haley's suitcase to the car.

Haley hugged her mom. "I'll see you in a couple of weeks. I love you." She smiled then ran out the door to her mom telling her that she loved her too and to be careful.

They were now on their way to the airport. Lucas driving, Brooke sitting beside him in the passenger seat, Peyton and Jake in the middle, and Haley and Nathan in the back seat. They got to the airport in a short amount of time. Jake went and got a thing to push all their suitcases.

"We're gonna go get in line." Nathan had told Lucas before he drove off to park the car somewhere.

They boarded the plane at 6 and got comfortable in their seats, which had to be moved around a bit because no one was sitting be who they wanted to. Once they got everyone together, they sat down with a sigh. Lucas looked down at the others and smiled. "Hey guys, we are about to spend two weeks in California…with no parents…well except Brooke's." He said with a huge grin.

"I wouldn't bet on it. Watch, they'll be there one day…two tops. Then it will just be us." She said contently, yet Lucas heard the pain in her voice.

The trip to California was fairly quick. Haley had laid her head on Nathan's shoulder, curled up in her seat and fell back asleep. As did Nathan with his arm around Haley and his head resting on hers. Brooke too had fallen asleep on Lucas as Lucas listened to his Ipod with his eyes closed and his head tilted back. Jake and Peyton smiled at Brooke and Lucas before turning to Nathan and Haley. "They are so meant to be." Peyton said looking over at Jake.

"I know…I think it will happen. You just gotta give it time." He smiled before putting on his headphones to watch the movie. Peyton did the same.

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It wasn't too long before they were getting off the plane in California. They had all gotten their bags and was standing beside Brooke who was looking for her parents. "They said they would be here when we landed." She said as she continued to look.

A few minutes later, Lucas pointed to a sign that had Brooke's name written on it. Brooke turned with a smile that quickly faded. The six of them walked up to a tall, dark haired man who looked like a limo driver. "Whose that?" Haley asked as she walked beside Brooke.

Brooke sighed as she stopped in front of the man. "Hi Mark." She said with a smile that was obviously hiding her pain and sadness.

"Hi Princess." Mark said with a weak smile. "They had some business in Italy." He said, knowing that she already knew that they had went on yet another trip.

"Yeah." She sighed as Mark took her bag and walked out of the airport with the others following closely behind him.

Mark was putting all the bags in the back as the six friends got into a black hummer limo. Brooke crossed her arms as she sat down. "So who is this Mark guy?" Haley asked when they were all sitting.

"He is my parents driver. I met him this past summer. He's a pretty cool guy." Brooke responded as Mark got in and started driving away from LAX. "Well, I guess we won't have any parents after all." She said to Lucas.

"I'm sorry, Brooke." He said as he put his arm around her.

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, me too."

It took about 20 minutes to get from LAX to Brooke's parents house. Mark quickly got all of their bags out of the hummer and set them in the foyer of the huge beach side Davis house. He smiled at Brooke soothingly as he got ready to leave. "You guys have fun. The kitchen is stocked, pool cleaned, and all that. If you need anything, you know my number." He looked at Brooke who nodded.

"Thanks, Mark." Brooke said softly.

"Have a good time with your friends." Mark turned and started to leave, but looked back when he got to the door. "Oh, and your Christmas presents are in the den." He winked at Brooke. "Enjoy your little vacation, Princess." He finished before leaving.

Brooke nodded and watched Mark leave and shut the door behind him before turning to her friends. "Okay, so go you four go pick your rooms, Lucas and I will be in my room, but all the others, except the master, is up for grabs." She turned and grabbed her bags before leading Lucas up to her room. She set her bags down at the foot of her bed before sitting down.

"This place is nice, Brooke." Lucas said as he walked in and set his bag beside Brooke's. He sighed and walked over to Brooke, pulling her up and wrapping his arms around her. "Let's just focus on having fun, and spending time with our friends, okay."

Brooke quickly wiped the tears that had fallen and nodded. "Your right, this shouldn't surprise me."

Peyton and Jake took the room down the hall from Brooke's. Jake closed the door once they were both in and walked over and sat beside Peyton on the bed. "Is it always like this for Brooke?" He asked.

Peyton nodded. "Yeah, it is. The people that live here may be her parents, her relatives…but we are her real family." Peyton sighed and leaned into Jake.

"That's sad." He thought for a minute. "At least she has us."

Peyton nodded. "Yeah." She laid back on the bed. "Okay, so no more sadness. This trip is going to be fun." She smiled at Jake before pulling him on top of her and kissing him.

Nathan and Haley picked two rooms right next to each other. Haley set her bag on the bed then walked over and opened the door to the bathroom, only to find Nathan walking in from the other side. She laughed lightly and shook her head. "Just make sure you knock before coming in here."

Nathan laughed. "What, and missing you in the shower?" He joked with a smirk on his face.

Haley ran over to Nathan, who caught her and ran over, throwing her down on the bed then started to tickle her. "Nathan, stop!" She cried out.

Nathan stopped tickling Haley then laid down beside her. "Promise me something, Haley…"

Haley turned her head so that she was looking at Nathan. "Sure, anything."

Nathan sighed. "Promise me that once we leave for school next year, that we won't loose each other."

Haley looked at him seriously. "We won't. I promise." She held out her hand for Nathan to take.

Nathan smiled as he took her hand into his own.

Author's Note: Okay, so there it is. The fourth chapter. I will post the 5th one after I get some reviews. I hope you liked it.