Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or its characters

Nathan, Haley, and Brooke all sat in Haley and Nathan's kitchen. Haley told them about the conversations that she had with both Lucas and Peyton. It was clear to each of them that Lucas and Peyton belonged together, and now all they had to do was figure out how to get them back together. They'd been here for hours and they hadn't come up with anything yet. But then Brooke had a moment of clarity.

"Oh my god! I've got it!" Brooke yelled out so suddenly that it made the married couple jump. "A serial date!" said Brooke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Huh?" both Haley and Nathan said at once.

"Ok, think back to our junior year, after Dan's annual kiss-his-ass party, after I totally screwed you to over. If I haven't told you this like a million times already I'm really sorry about that. But, anyway remember how close you two got? Because I set it up so you would have to see the qualities you loved about each other. Lucas and Peyton just need a little push, I'll set it up, you two get them there and the rest is up to them."

"Oh my god Brooke this is such a great idea!" Haley exclaimed, "I'll talk to Peyton, and Nate you talk to Luke. We'll tell them each that we want to meet them at the river court at 7:00 tonight. It seems like a pretty good place for this thing to start. Whaddya think?"

"That sounds great Hales, now if you two will excuse me, I have some serious planning to do!" And with that Brooke was off, planning god knows what.

"OK babe, I'll go talk to Luke and you go talk to Peyton, I'll see you here in a little while. I love you." Nathan said as he walked out the door with his keys.

"Love you too." Haley grabbed her keys and went to Peyton's office

PEYTON'S OFFICE

"Hey Peyton, can I talk to you?"

"Sure Hales, come on in."

"Well you look busy, so I'll make this quick." This was only half true. Peyton did look busy, but that wasn't the only reason Haley wanted to get this over with. The whole serial date thing seemed like a good idea at the time, but as Haley drove over to the label she found some serious problems with it. Peyton had already gone through so much when it came to Lucas and the last thing she wanted to do was add to the heartache. She hated the fact that she was about to lie to her best friend.

"So I was thinking that maybe tonight you and I could meet somewhere and talk." Peyton looked up a little confused, she knew that Haley was concerned but she wasn't exactly sure why she was now being put on constant watch by her friends. "Ya know, we could meet at the river court around seven and then go out to eat or something." Haley was finding it hard to look Peyton in the eye, but somehow she managed.

"Umm sure, seven sounds great." Peyton said a little reluctantly, "But Haley, you know you guys don't have to constantly watch me, I'm fine, atleast I will be eventually."

"I know Peyton, I just thought it would be nice if we could hang out, you know just you and me."

"Yeah, that actually sounds really great. So I'll see you there at seven right?"

"Seven it is, I'll see you later Peyton." Haley said as she quickly walked out the door not even waiting for Peyton to respond. She couldn't stand looking at Peyton anymore, she just hated what they were doing. She quickly realized she had forgotten one of the most important parts of the plan and ran back into Peyton's office.

"Hales what is it?" Peyton asked clearly confused as her friend came running in.

"I forgot to give you something. Here." Haley said as she handed Peyton an envelope. When she went to open it, Haley quickly stopped her. "No, no you can't open it until tonight."

"Why not?"

"Because it's something special for you. And I want to be there to see your reaction when you open it. But, I don't have time right now, and this sort of thing takes time so please just wait."

"Yeah sure no problem." Peyton said as Haley walked back out the door. Peyton did find her friend's behavior a little weird, but she quickly looked past it when she remembered how much work she had to do if she was going to get out of here in time to meet Haley later.

MEANWHILE

"Lucas Scott, how are you bro" Nathan asked as he walked into the office Lucas had at Tree Hill High School.

"Not so good man. I never realized how much I needed to just see her and talk to her everyday until I lost her." In the back of his mind Nathan wondered who "she" was, could it be Lindsey, his almost wife, or was it Peyton? The girl who had stolen his heart with one look. He was quickly answered when Lucas made his next statement, "And to top it all off, Lindsey called and decided she wants to be friends. Can you believe that? I lose Peyton, and then get Lindsey back."

"I know this is rough on you, but she'll come around eventually. So anyway I--" Nathan was about to ask Lucas to meet him at the river court tonight, but something was plagueing his mind. What if this isn't what Lucas really wanted? He wasn't going to watch Peyton get her hopes up just so Lucas could smash them again. Sure, Haley said that she saw it in his eyes, but Nathan needed to know for sure. He decided that now would be the perfect time for him to find out for sure. "Luke, I need to ask you something, and I don't want you to take it the wrong way or anything; but do you still love Peyton?"

To say that Lucas was shocked by the question would be an understatement. He looked at his brother as if he had three heads. In his mind there was a war waging in his thoughts. Part of him wanted to tell Nathan that his heart completely and totally belonged to Lindesy Strauss. The other part of his brain, perhaps the more sane part at this point, knew that Peyton was it, she was his one and only.

Nathan noticed the hesitation in his brothers eyes, and he immediately knew what the answer was. But still, part of him needed to hear his brother say it, he needed to hear him say that he was never going to hurt Peyton again. So he waited.

"If I'm being completely and totally honest with myself, then I know it's Peyton, and it's always been." It felt completely wonderful to get that little confession off of his chest, but at the same time it was a little sickening. He was finally able to confess his love for the blonde girl, and he realized how much time he'd wasted. He almost married another girl for god's sake.

"I know that was hard for you man, but I'm really proud of you for finally getting that out." Lucas looked greatfully at his brother. Nathan knew that now was the time to ask Lucas about tonight. He had finally assured himself that he, his wife, and Brooke were doing the right thing. "So anyway, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to hang out tonight? Ya know you and me shooting some hoops down at the river court just like we used to?"

"Sure man, I'd like that."

"OK tonight at seven."

"OK see you then" Lucas said as Nathan walked out the door. As soon as he got outside, Nathan immediately called Haley to tell her that Lucas was coming tonight, and he was glad to hear that Peyton was as well.

NATHAN AND HALEY'S HOUSE

Brooke and Haley are in the kitchen baking chocolate chip cookies when Nathan walks through the door. When he tries to grab one, Brooke quickly slaps his hand and says, "Hey! These are for Lucas and Peyton!" When she saw Nathan's confused face, she elaborated, "During our senior year Peyton attempoted to make Lucas chocolate chip cookies. And well let's just say it turned into a cookie dough fight and some serious making out. When she first came home she told me it was one of her favorite memories from when they were together. Let's just hope that these cookies bring them back to old times. They're both coming tonight right?" When Nathan and Haley nodded at the same time, Brooke went back to baking the cookies.

LATER THAT NIGHT

Lucas gets out of his car and looks around. "No Nathan," he thought, "He must be late as usual." He started to shoot around waiting for his brother to show up. Little did he know he wouldn't be seeing him at all tonight. Instead he would be going on an adventure that could possibly change his and Peyton's life forever.

Peyton pulled up in her comet, completely suprised to see the love of her life playing basketball. "I could just stay here and wait for Haley; he'll never see me." She thought, but that plan quickly failed as Lucas's basketball bounced off the backboard and rolled right to her car. When Lucas turned around to get the ball he was utterly to see her there, he couldn't help but to feel a flutter in his heart.

"What are you doing here Peyt?" He asked. Peyton closed her eyes as he said her old nickname, even after everything he had done to her, he still had that effect on her.

"I'm meeting Haley, we're supposed to be going out to eat." She replied looking anywhere but in his eyes. She knew that if she did, she would either break down crying or jump into his arms and kiss him. Either way, the consequences wouldn't be good. They both sat there in an akward silence, after a while Lucas went back to playing ball and Peyton just sat there watching him.

As 7:45 rolled around Peyton was starting to get frustrated. It was freezing outside, and Haley was no where to be found. She went into her car and grabbed her jacket and she noticed the envelope Haley had given her fall out of her pocket. She could no longer resist the temptation and decided to open it. Haley would just have to deal with the fact that she wasn't here to see it, it was her own fault for standing Peyton up.

She opened the envelope and her mouth fell open with suprise. Written in Haley's neat handwriting was this:

Peyton,

Look into his eyes, and you'll see that you two belong together. I know you probably hate me right now for standing you up, but my intentions were good. You and Luke belong together and tonight was designed for you two to both realize it, together. Before you think it, Lucas had nothing to do with this, it was all Nathan, Brooke, and my's doing. We just want to see you two happy again, and we all know that won't happen until you two are together again.

I love you (we all do),

Hales

P.S. If you're wondering what will happen tonight, the adventure begins when you look under the bleachers. Good Luck!

She had been set up, they both had. She had two options at this time. She could walk over to Lucas show him the note and they could read the second note hidden under the bleachers, together or she could just get back into her car and leave. There were so many thoughts running through her mind at this point. What was she going to do?

What do you think she should do? Stay or go? Tell me what you think.

Up Next: Will the date happen? If so, will it work? Will Lucas ever tell Peyton how he feels? Will she?

Read and find out. Questions, comments, or suggestions are always welcome!

thanks for reafding!