Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews...I want to answer a question that constantly keep popping up. I am a complete Naley fan! They are my favorite. I wanted to show Lucas and Haley's friendship in the first few chapters...I'm not sure how long until Nathan makes an apperance...but I suppose it'll be in the next few chapters.

Please keep up the great reviews!!!

"So you're telling me that as awesome as you are at basketball, you are not trying out for varsity?" Haley stopped him as they walked along the boardwalk.

"Nope." He responded not elaborating on his decision.

"Why?"

"It's complicated."

"So is my story, and I'm dying to tell someone." She said waving her hands around.

"Tell me," He replied, "We're here."

She looked around, he brought her to a basketball court, she raised a questioning eyebrow, "You know I suck at this game right?"

"Yea, but this place is really soothing, it's where I come to think things out," He told her sitting on the bench.

She nodded and sat with him, "I'm not telling you my life story without hearing yours." She laughed, "Mine is completely screwed up."

He joined in with her laughter, "Probably not as screwed up as mine."

"I bet it is."

"Ok, try this…my biological father got my mom pregnant in high school and then left her for a basketball scholarship and got his college girlfriend pregnant. Now he owns a car dealership and his son is pretty much the biggest ass hole around, but I can't try out for basketball because he pretty much runs the team."

She looked at him and smiled, "Wow that does kinda suck."

"Plus my dad wants nothing to do with me, and not that I care but most the people at school think of me as a bastard and continue to say that my uncle is really my dad and that my mom is a lying whore."

"Oh my god." Her mouth fell open, what would they think of her?

"Try to top that."

She took a deep breath, "I'm not sure I can but…here it goes. My mom raised me in Charleston and told me that everyone in my family had died, including my dad's side of the family. I never knew him, not even his name. My mom dies and gives guardianship to my now much alive father, who upon meeting me informs me that he chose to not be in my life because he was married when he got my mom pregnant."

"Ouch."

"And now I'm forced to spend the rest of my awkward high school years with him and my 'sister'." She put finger quotations around sister, "Who happens to be a huge bitch and told me right off the bat that she doesn't do charity cases and I was not to follow her around like a puppy." She stopped and smiled, "But truthfully I don't know the whole story, and I really couldn't care less, because it's not going to make me suddenly like them. Ya know? I really just want out."

"Maybe…"

"He gave me three months." She said cutting him off, "Three months to survive in hell and then I could decide if I want to be on my own or with my so called family."

"Sounds like you and I are kindred spirits, but your life probably is much worse, at least I'm not forced into his house and forced to live side by side with my brother."

She laughed, "True."

"So tell me do I know this sister of yours?"

"Peyton Sawyer…I'm not sure if I pronounced it correctly."

He grinned and stood up, "You sure did."

"You know her?"

"Yup."

"Friends?"

"Hardly."

"Good, so you don't like her either."

"I wouldn't go that far…"

"You have a crush on her?" She asked laughing and standing up next to him. He laughed and made a sign with his hand putting his thumb and finger together.

"Look at this," Haley said laughing and pulling a ten dollar bill from the table and holding it up in front of Lucas and narrowed his eyes and scowled at her, and laughed at his expression and continued to rub it in. The two made a bet earlier that day to see who could make the most that day with tips and she was winning.

"What are you doing to get such high tips?" He asked suggestively, "It has to be legal to win the bet."

"Eww, Lucas Stop it." She said laughing with him; she threw the towel on the counter, "Don't be mad cause I've got the goods and you don't."

"Right." He rolled his eyes waiting to pounce on the next table that walked in the door. The two had spent the last few days inseparable, she was glad to finally have a good friend and they felt more like siblings than either of them did with their own sibling. She was also excited for her job because now she could be far away from her father and her sister, and thankfully she hadn't seen Peyton since the day she moved in. She skipped out on dinner every night claiming that she had to work and didn't want to be irresponsible. And of course her father could bare to see that from his daughter, that along with the famous puppy dog face it was very easy to escape.

"Look, here comes another table…go get um sport," She said laughing at him. The older couple came in and headed straight for the counter, proving that they were not gonna be big spenders.

"Welcome to Karen's Café," Lucas said, "What can I get for you?"

"We're looking for…" The older man began, but was cut off by his wife.

"It's her," she said staring right at Haley.

Haley knitted her eyebrows and scrunched up her nose, "She's the image of her mother…that face hasn't changed since the pictures."

"Can I help you?" Haley finally asked.

"Haley?"

"Um…yes." She said slowly.

"We're…we're your grandparents," The older lady said beginning to cry.

Haley looked at the two and then at Lucas, "I'm sorry, you must be mistaken, my grandparents passed away several years ago."

"No, we're Larry's parents. We haven't seen you since you were five." The man said.

"I'm not sure I can take much more family popping up in my life."

"I know this all must be a shock, but your mother never knew that we were visiting with you. We would come over and see you during the summers you were here."

"That's nice…um I don't really mean to be rude, but I've gotta get back to work."

"Please just a few minutes." The lady begged.

Haley pointed towards the door, "Really, that's my table…"

"I got this one…" Lucas said then backed off seeing the look Haley was sending him, "Don't worry that tables not gonna catch me up to you," he laughed and walked away.