Author's Note: So life got insanely hectic and I didn't get a chance to type up the chapter. I'm really awful at sticking to a schedule, but I'm trying to learn. The first few chapters are just going to be getting everyone involved in the story, and having Lucas fall in with the group. I know it may be kind of boring at first, but it will get better, I promise. I own absolutely nothing related to One Tree Hill. Reviews are definitely appreciated and ideas are welcome!

Chapter One: Home

"Why now?" Lucas asked, not even attempting to mask the bitter tone in his voice. He was sitting in the backseat of Dan's SUV, driving with Dan and Deb to Tree Hill. "Why after 7 years do you finally want to take me in?" A quiet sigh fell from Deb's lips. She glanced over at Dan, waiting to hear what his response would be.

"Keith was my brother... he meant the world to me. When I heard that he had passed, I couldn't handle it. Taking you in would mean that he was really gone, and I wasn't ready to accept that." he said, making sure he sounded as sincere as possible. "But I never stopped thinking about it, Now I've fully accepted it all, and I want you to be with the family." Lucas adjusted in the seat, crossing his arms and focusing his gaze out the window. He wanted to believe his uncle, but a part of him had a feeling that it was all complete bullshit.

"You're with us now, that's all that matters." Deb said with a smile. Lucas just sighed as they passed by the Welcome To Tree Hill sign. For some reason he felt like his loner existence would be more prominent here. From what he remembered, this was a small town where everyone knew everyone. There was no way he would fit in with these people.

"Here we are...home sweet home." Dan said, pulling into the driveway. The house looked like one of those mansions Lucas had seen on tv. In fact, just about every house they had passed looked like that. This just proved to him that he wasn't like these people at all. He understood why his mom and dad had wanted to move away from here. He pushed the car door open, stepping out and stretching his tired limbs.

"Why don't you leave your things in the car?" Deb suggested. "We can get them once I've shown you a tour of the house." He just shrugged his shoulders and nodded in agreement. She placed her hand on his shoulder gently, walking with him into the house. Dan had already disappeared inside. "Nathan is probably practicing at the park. He should be home soon." she told him as they walked upstairs. "This will be your room. I know it's not much and it's pretty basic, but feel free to hang things up or paint." She really wanted him to feel at home here. After all, he was practically her nephew. Deb continued to show him around the entire house; she showed him every bathroom and bedroom as well as the kitchen, the study, the computer room, the living room, the dining room, and the backyard. "I think that's pretty much it..." she said once they were back in the kitchen. "Do you want some help with your things?"

"No thanks, I can handle it." he said, plastering on a smile. Lucas didn't want to be mean, especially since she was clearly trying very hard to make him feel welcome.

"Alright. Well I'll make you some lunch... you must be starving." Lucas smiled at her and nodded, turning to walk away. He stopped himself, turning back around and walking over to her.

"Thanks Aunt Deb...for taking me in." he said honestly, leaning down and hugging her. After a moment he pulled away, smiling at her before walking outside. She smiled softly to herself, but the smile quickly faded. They should have taken him in sooner, he obviously needed his family, and this fact made the guilt rise up in her...

Once Lucas was safely outside, he let the smile fall from his face. He leaned back against the car, running his hands over his face.

"Who're you?" The feminine voice gave him goose bumps, he hadn't been expecting it. He glanced up and found himself looking into two beautiful green eyes. She had blonde curly hair and a really slender figure. He was surprised by the Led Zeppelin t-shirt she was wearing; she didn't seem like the type of girl that would wear something like that.

"Whoever you want me to be." he said mysteriously, turning away from her and pulling open the trunk.

"Are you visiting?" she asked, attempting to sound nonchalant.

"Living." he replied quickly.

"Living with the Scotts?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why?" She couldn't deny that this boy definitely intrigued her.

"They're family."

"You don't talk very much do you?" she asked, a playful smirk on her lips. He turned so he was facing her, setting his suitcases down on the concrete.

"I was always told not to talk to strangers." he replied with a grin. She couldn't help but laugh softly, and he couldn't help but think about how adorable her laugh sounded.

"I'm Peyton, Peyton Sawyer." He nodded his head, turning away from her once more to close the trunk. "See, this is the part where you tell me what your name is." she teased.

"Lucas Scott."

"Another Scott boy in town, huh? Is Dan your dad or something?" There had been rumors flying around Tree Hill, claiming that Dan had some illegitimate love child.

"No." he snapped. He didn't mean to, but conversations about parents was a very touchy subject for him. "Sorry...Dan's my uncle."

"If that's your story." she said, looking off down the road.

"Looking for somebody?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound too interested.

"Just waiting for my jerk of a boyfriend." she said with a smile. He nodded his head, a little disappointed by the fact that she had a boyfriend. Not that he was surprised. Of course a gorgeous girl like her would have a boyfriend.

"Well I better get inside, Deb's making me lunch." he said, picking up both of his suitcases. "It was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too." she replied honestly. She slid her hands into her pockets and started walking away. Lucas watched her for a moment before turning and shuffling towards the house. Peyton turned around, watching him attempt to carry the huge suitcases by himself. It was pretty funny, but she managed to stifle her laughter. "I'll be seeing ya, Lucas Scott!" she called, grinning as he turned his head to look at her. She kept her eyes connected with his for a moment before finally going back to her house.

"She has a boyfriend Lucas..." he mumbled to himself before stumbling into the house. Surprisingly he managed to make it up the stairs in one try, without a single scratch. Lucas stumbled into his room, dropping the luggage onto the carpeted floor. He sat down on the bed, running a hand through his hair. The room was nice, it just needed some slight changes before he could really feel at home. He walked over to the window, wanting to see what his view was like. He could see directly into one of the bedrooms of the house next door. The room was painted a dark red, with what looked like drawings hung up on the walls. He couldn't help but wonder who lived in that room, but he knew he'd figure that out eventually. Lucas laid down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. So far things were alright. He just wasn't sure how him and Nathan would get along, and if he'd be able to fit in at school. These thoughts were pushed aside as the image of Peyton became the center focus in his mind. She was so beautiful, and seemed like she had this sarcastic edge to her. She was definitely different than the girls he had been with in the past. But she had a boyfriend...who she had called a jerk. Maybe he did have a shot with her... he figured he'd just have to wait and see.

Peyton was sitting in her porch swing, thoughts of Lucas running through her head. He was gorgeous, with that mysterious bad boy edge to him. She liked it...a lot. She glanced up as she heard a car horn going off. Peyton rolled her eyes as she walked over to the car. He had been hanging out with the guys for the past three hours, and he was supposed to pick her up an hour ago. She slid into the car, pulling away when he went in for a kiss.

"You were supposed to pick me up an hour ago Julian. Where the hell have you been?" she questioned, not even trying to hide her frustration. He did this all the time, and she was getting sick of it.

"I'm sorry babe, I was with the guys and we lost track of the time." he replied softly, leaning in close to her. "Let me make it up to you." A soft smile slid onto her features as she leaned into him, nestling her head in the crook of his neck. She took a deep breath and the smile vanished.

"Explain to me why you smell like perfume." she said, pulling away from him.

"What are you talking about? I don't smell like perfume." he replied lamely.

"So you just randomly smell like Chanel No. 5?" she questioned.

"Babe, are you trying to accuse me of cheating on you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not like you haven't before." she said, crossing her arms in frustration.

"Hey, listen to me...that was the past, I'm not cheating on you with anyone. You are the one I want to be with." The smile returned to her lips and she looked up into his eyes.

"Okay...I'm sorry." she whispered. He smirked and brought his lips down to hers. She pushed the armrest up so there was nothing separating the two of them. His hands were buried in her hair, keeping her close to him. She ran her hands down his sides, sliding into his pockets. Peyton grabbed his cellphone and quickly pulled away, climbing out of the car. She quickly scrolled to his texts, all from some girl named Tiffany. She opened one of the messages that was sent to him today.

"Peyt!" he called, hurrying out of the car when he realized what she was doing.

"I had an amazing time today, lunch was great, dessert was even better. See you tonight." she said, reading the message. "Tiffany, huh?" She threw his phone at him and stormed off.

"Peyt..."

"Don't call me Peyt!" she exclaimed, walking into her house and slamming the door. She knew that he was no good, but she kept going back to him. He would be so sweet and charming after an argument, and she took the bait every single time. She took her own phone out of her pocket, sending a quick text to Brooke letting her know that plans had changed. Peyton made her way upstairs and into her room, falling back on her bed. She pushed the play button on her iPod, and listened as an Offspring song filled the air. She pushed open the window, looking over at the Scott house. There was a room directly across from hers, it had been empty forever, but now she noticed that Lucas was lying down on the bed. That had to be some sort of sign, she just wasn't sure for what. After watching him for a moment she settled back on her bed with her sketchpad and a pencil. Before she knew it she had drawn a picture of her and Lucas, and the music she had put on was no longer filling her ears. She looked up confused and practically jumped out of her skin when she saw Brooke standing there. "Jesus christ Brooke! What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" she questioned, settling back on her bed. "How long have you been here?"

"Only a couple minutes. You were so into the drawing, I didn't want to interrupt." Brooke fell down next to Peyton, snatching the sketchbook from her hands. "Ooh, cute guy. Who's this supposed to be?"

"Lucas Scott. He just moved in next door."

"Another hot guy is living next door to you now? Ugh I envy you. I'm stuck living in between Tim and that sketchy 40 year old that checks me out whenever I go swimming." she said, shuddering at the thought. "Anyways, what did JuJu do this time?" she asked, using the nickname she had developed for Peyton's boyfriend. Brooke had sort of become close with Julian, not like she would ever tell Peyton that. She definitely knew way more about him than Peyton did, that was for sure.

"Tiffany." she replied, rolling her eyes. "I need to end it, for good. It's just not worth it to me anymore."

"It never should have been worth it to you. You and JuJu just don't mesh...you two are so different, but you're exactly the same in some weird way. I don't know...he's not for you P. Sawyer. We both know that." She sighed and nodded her head in agreement. Brooke was right, Peyton had just been too afraid to end things with him.

"You're right...I know you're right." she said with a nod of her head.

"B. Davis is always right." she replied with a laugh.

"I think always might be an exaggeration."

"Well I'm right about this. Now send him a breakup text so we can go have some single lady fun."

"If you insist." she said, flipping open her phone.

"Ma, I'm home!" Nathan called, hanging his jacket up in the front hallway. He walked into the kitchen and saw Deb talking to some guy, who he figured was Lucas. His parents had talked to him about it all, and he was fine with it. He just hoped that him and Lucas could manage to get along.

"Hi honey." she said with a smile. "Nathan, this is your cousin Lucas. Lucas, this is Nathan." Deb glanced between the two of them and stood up from her seat. "I'm going to go see what Dan is up to." And with that she vanished, leaving the boys alone.

"Hey." Nathan said simply.

"Hey." Lucas replied. This was the definition of awkward.

"You want to go play some video games? I just got this new basketball game the other day." Lucas nodded his head, putting his plate in the sink.

"Sure." Nathan and Lucas walked to the living room in silence. Nathan set up the game while Lucas sat on the couch. Nathan sat down next to him and they started to play.

"I'm sorry about the whole situation." Nathan said after a few moments.

"Thanks. I'm just glad to have a home now. I'm tired of being bounced around."

"Sorry about that too. My dad took Keith's death pretty hard." Lucas just nodded, not wanting to talk about it anymore. "So did mom give you the tour?"

"I thought it would never end." he said seriously, causing Nathan to laugh.

"I hear ya. She gives everyone who enters this house that tour, no matter what."

"So do you know the girl that lives next door?" he asked curiously.

"Peyton Sawyer? Of course. She's like a little sister to me."

"Do you know her boyfriend?"

"We hate Julian." he replied seriously. "He's a complete ass, plus he cheats on her every chance he gets."

"But she stays with him anyways?"

"Peyton is kind of a needy chick. Her mom died when she was little, her dad is always gone. She needs people, so she stays with him. She has me of course but I'm not sure if having me as a best friend is enough for her." Nathan said with a shrug. "She's a complicated one, that's for sure. You like her?" A grin appeared on Nathan's face as he asked this question, already knowing the answer.

"I don't really know her..."

"That's a yes. Hey, she might like you. You seem like her type." Lucas felt his heart beat a little faster, but he tried to remain calm.

"So what are the people like here?"

"Some of them are alright. A lot of them are pompous assholes. You'll fit right in with my friends, no problem." he assured him. "Do you play basketball?"

"I used to but I haven't played for a while."

"You should try out for the team. We could use some extra players. Basketball is pretty much life around here."

"Yeah, maybe..." he said, not really into the idea.

"Well, Peyton's a cheerleader you know...she'd be at all of the games, watching you play." Lucas glanced over at Nathan and smirked.

"When are try-outs? I'll mark it down on my calendar." Nathan laughed and nodded his head.

"After school tomorrow. You can meet Whitey and the guys on the team. I'm sure you'll fit right in."

"You know, your not as bad as I thought you'd be." Lucas said seriously.

"Same to you. I wasn't so sure about you living here at first, but you'll be a nice addition to the family." Lucas smiled and looked back to the television screen. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.