A/N: Sorry it's been a while, I have had an interesting week to say the least. Adds on this might get a bit slow in the next couple of weeks, but I'm hoping the new episodes will provide me with some inspiration.

Chapter Three - Deal

The sense of anticipation in the gym was mind boggling. Chris was commentating for and even he seemed speechless. I gave him a small wave as I took my seat next to Sam. Her and Brooke were running late, so we were going to grab a coffee after the game. Brooke was on the other side of Sam, Jamie sitting between her and Haley.

Lucas was pacing the base line, he was here in the capacity of both coach and film producer. The seat next to me was not empty for long. I was so busy taking in everything that was happening, that I didn't notice that the person that had taken the seat next to me was Peyton Sawyer. "Hey, are you Phoenix?" she asked, offering her hand for me to shake.

I shook her hand and nodded, "Yeah, that's me."

"You seemed to rile Dixon earlier," she laughed, "Nice job."

Peyton sat with one hand protectively covering her stomach. On her finger was the engagement ring that Keith had given to Karen. For Peyton and Lucas, love always remained, but it was not a simple path. Their time together before the engagement and announcement of their pregnancy was almost as turbulent as it was in their teenage years. Lindsay Strauss became the Brooke Davis of the love triangle, but she never had a chance.

It was halftime and the Ravens were down by nineteen. To get this back would be quite a comeback. At least they had a man in the locker room that knew a thing or two about comebacks. Nathan Scott.

Sitting in the bleachers, wasn't the ideal time for writing, but the current state of the game seemed to inspire me. "Do you ever put your notebook down?" I looked up, Haley and Jamie were smiling down at me, "I don't think I write in my sleep," I laughed, "You excited to have your dad back?" I asked Jamie.

He nodded madly. "Go sit down sweetie, I want to talk to Nix for a second." She sat down next to me, "They want to meet with you when Lucas is done here, I think the attention of the cheerleaders have calmed Dixon, but don't pay attention to his BS. It's Lucas and Julian you have to win over really."

Chris waved me down from the bleachers to sit with him for the second half commentary, "And joining me now is Phoenix. What did you think of the first half?"

I held the microphone of the headset at my mouth, "Hi Chris. I think there needs to be a shake-up on D and shoot some threes. But there is no reason it can't be done."

I let Chris get on with his thing during the third quarter, we were now only down by three with seven minutes left on the clock. The Ravens had taken a time-out. Haley approached the table, waving someone down from the bleachers. "Hey Chris, do you mind if I swap you Phoenix with an old timer?" We both turned around,

"Mouth McFadden is standing next to me," Chris spoke to the microphone. I handed him my headset,

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another historic night…" he grinned at Chris.

I walked around the empty gym with Sam as she read my other few notes, "Boys still get in the way of friendships," she read aloud, "Albeit, there have been fewer dramas than were had between Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer. Those two really had some drama, huh?"

"Yeah. I think that's why most of my friends are guys." I admitted, "But it reads okay?"Sam nodded, "So why New York?"

I picked up a stray basketball and stood at the free-throw line, "I spent a lot of time with family out there, and I just loved the buzz of the city. The rush, the excitement, the unpredictability of it all…" I trailed off, "I love Tree Hill, and it'll always be home. But it's so different. And I want to prove I can be somebody to them."

I aimed for the back-board, but the ball hit off the rim and fell to the floor. "I don't think I could do any better," she laughed, handing me the paper and picking up the ball. "Maybe we should leave the pro's to it?" she suggested, nodding her head to the left.

I turned and saw Nathan walk in with Jamie on his shoulders, Lucas and Julian with the girls walking behind them. What a shame, no Dixon(!).

"I called the production company…" Julian started, before we'd even had a chance to greet each other, "They're happy for you to submit your work to the place in New York with our stamp of approval."

"I'll even help you edit it," Lucas offered.

Sam walked over to Brooke, "That's my job Luke."

"Can we go home?" Peyton asked, walking closer to Lucas who placed his arm protectively around her.

He kissed her on the forehead and nodded, placing a hand on the small of her back and leading her out of the gym. They were closely followed by the three Scott's. "No big after game party tonight then?" Brooke asked, bouncing the ball.

"Probably somewhere, but it's not really my scene."

"The broody artist type?" her grin widened, "I should call you P Lewis. We're going for dinner if you want to join us, and you can tell me about some more of the wonderful things that you're going to write about me," she laughed.

"Really?" I asked,

"Please," Sam asked, "Don't leave me with them alone," she hissed.

"I'd love to."

A/N: I think in the next couple of chapters I'm going to put together what Phoenix has started rambling off together, and bring in some old OTH moments. Thanks for reading, please review! The more reviews, the faster the next chapter!

K_x