Chapter 2: Come As You Are

Written by: Jewel

Words: 1, 386

The next day.

"Wow, who knew dad owned a beach house in the country side," Nathan mused, dropping his duffel bag on the floor, before running upstairs in such a fast pace that left Lucas, Dan and the two maids who stood beside him raise their brows.

"Well, you've no idea about how much money I earn, Nathan," Dan smirked proudly, silently motioning for the maids to leave the room. "Leave." He instructed after realizing that they didn't understand what he was saying. The two maids nodded and flashed Lucas a smile before grabbing their bags off the floor and heading upstairs; leaving Lucas and Dan to nurse themselves.

"How long will you be staying here with us?" Lucas asked, looking at Dan curiously. He opened his mouth to say something else but had decided against it. He'd wait for his father to broach the subject instead.

"About a day or two after I've settled you two in, and get your motorbikes shipped here," Dan answered, satisfied with his own decisions. He needed to leave Tree Hill as soon as possible, and he didn't need any old friends of his seeing him back in town. They would just laugh at how he has finally turned into a 'man.'

"I thought we'd be banned from that too, but thankfully, we aren't," Lucas smiled widely. Most teenagers would be driving around in their newest sports car, or their sleekest range rovers, but after the accident that happened six months before, Dan had banned them from driving cars and had given them motorbikes (not before being instructed and earning their license, of course) to drive around the city.

At first, the two brothers had been opposed to it, seeing as how it can be less of a danger when it was known as one of the most dangerous vehicles ever invented, but after a while, they had grown accustomed to it, and had loved cruising around the city in their motorbikes. Plus, they've heard girls loved guys who can ride motorbikes.

"You're lucky, but I can't afford paying for another car accident, and you know it," Dan scoffed, not wanting to remember the past events that had his head spinning around all day in circles. "Uh, do you want the address now?"

Lucas' smirk disappeared from his face, being replaced by a nervous smile, "Karen's?"

Dan nodded, handing Lucas a folded piece of ruled paper. It consisted nothing but the address to Karen's café, as what she'd given him yesterday, after he had called her to inform her of Lucas' arrival, and her house address. He watched Lucas shakily tuck away the paper in his back pocket, before clearing his throat and looking back at him.

"Thanks," Lucas muttered, before walking away from his father.

"I don't understand why you're so worried about this guy, Peyt," Jake shook his head, watching his best friend pace back and forth in his bedroom. He's been watching her do that for about an hour now, and he can't deny the fact that it's getting on his nerves. "You haven't even met him, and Karen's happy that he's coming home. Just be happy for her…for them."

"No, Jake, you see, this guy had 15 years to have the chance to meet Karen, and what does he do?" She pauses, glancing at Jake before continuing. "He waits 15 years later to meet up with his mom, and what does he fucking expect? I'm not going to give him the welcoming greeting he wants. Ya'll can go kiss his ass and befriend him, but not me."

"Peyton, the guy didn't do anything to you!" Jake laughed, shaking his head adamantly. He didn't understand why Peyton hated him so much. They've never even met 'Lucas!' "Karen's letting all that go, because he's finally back, and you, the person who doesn't know him, is holding a grudge. How twisted is that?"

"You're supposed to be on my side, Jake," Peyton shook her head angrily. "I won't be surprised when I find out you and Lucas are already best friends!"

"Peyton, you're overreacting!"

"You don't know anything, Jake, so don't tell me that I'm 'overreacting,'" Peyton said through gritted teeth, glaring at Jake icily. "I'm leaving."

"Peyton," Jake sighed, but stopped dead in his tracks when she turned around and gave him the most threatening look he'd ever gotten.

"Don't follow me."

"Red makes me look sexier," Brooke informed Haley, throwing the petite girl an exasperated glare. They've been stuck in this shop for about an hour now, and Brooke still hasn't decided which colored dress she should buy for Tim's birthday party. "Black makes me look really hot."

"Brooke, I think you'd look good in any color," Haley groaned, banging her head dramatically against the rack of dresses Brooke had all tried. "Just buy the red one."

"You think so? But the black one has a much detailed fab—"

"Just buy the red one!"

-x-

"I knew I should've bought the black one! It's your fault if I don't get laid tomorrow night," Brooke scoffed, sipping her ice-free soda, glaring at Haley angrily.

"Oh my God, Brooke," Haley huffed pushing her plate full of fries towards Jake, who sat next to Brooke. After the two girls had left the shop, they had decided to eat since Brooke couldn't take any more of Haley's loud complaints, and along the way to the food court, they bump into Jake and had decided to tag him along. The guy, after seeing Haley, had no choice but to follow his crush around. Hell, he'd be okay going shopping for a whole day if Haley were to be there. Oh, young love. "You're gonna look great in whatever dress you wear, Brooke, and truthfully, a girl shouldn't be having one too many one night stands. Have you no shame?"

"Don't talk to me about shame, tutor girl. I don't do 'shame'," Brooke said matter-of-factly. "You should take me as your role model, actually. I'm like, the most wanted teenager in Tree Hill, Hales. You and I both know that."

Jake choked on his fries, evoking laughter from Haley and an irritated glare from Brooke. He'd come to terms with Brooke Davis' inflated ego, but at times, it annoys the hell out of him, and it's hard no to say something to the brunette who always thought of herself as the queen of everything. "Brooke, just shut up."

"Why are you even at the mall? Weren't you with Peyton?"

"She just suddenly left, and I was gonna get food, but then saw you two, and the rest is history," Jake shrugged, not wanting to talk about his blonde best friend right now. She's probably somewhere brooding, and truth be told, he didn't really have the intention of looking for her when he's with Haley. It's not like he didn't try calling her, anyway.

"Oh my God," Brooke's eyes widened, mouth agape. Jake and Haley both turned to her, wondering what 'caused the brunette's aggravated mood to dissipate in seconds. "Hottie alert, Hales. Hottie alert."

"What are we even doing here, Luke? We've got a huge beach house with a hell lot of stuff we can use to beat boredom, yet you pull me here to what?" Nathan asked, running a hand through his disheveled raven hair. They've been walking around the mall for two hours straight already, and as much as he loved the searing stares girls gave them, he'd rather sit at home and play his ps3.

"Nothing, really," Lucas shrugged, flashing the infamous Scott smirk to one of the bystanders and resisted the urge to laugh at how she'd reacted. It was true what their grandfather had told them when they were four. The Scott smirk is indeed irresistible. Or so, said. "I'm famished; let's go to the food court."

"Finally!" Nathan grinned, nudging his brother on the side. "Looks like that girl loves our killer smirk, eh?"

"Who doesn't? Lucas raised a brow, earning him a brotherly pat on the shoulders from Nathan. "Subway sounds good?"

"Fucking awesome."

Oblivious to the female teenagers gawking at the two brothers, they walked to where they were headed, and not even seconds later, they had disappeared into the massive crowd occupying the food court; vanished out of the line of sight of three certain people.

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