As the night fell, the crisp air circled around the teenagers fumbling around on the Rivercourt. This was there home; where everyone felt like a family. No matter what happened in their day-to-day lives, they could always come together on this court and feel like they belong. Like they were a part of something real, and it was okay to be themselves. The guys always took over the court with their games; the girls never being allowed to join in. Not that they necessarily wanted to. It was always a game full of egos and trash talk, things the girls could never fully grasp. They were forced to sit on the sidelines, cheering on their friends.

"So where is Keller?" Taylor asked, looking at Nathan. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and her lips were attached to his. Rarely did they ever separate, only when their friends finally voiced that they had had enough. "I thought you said he was going to show tonight. For once." Nathan sighed, watching the rest of the guys getting their hopes up. "I guess not. Let's just start without him, guys."

Tires screeched as the car came to a hault, causing the clan's heads to shoot up. Chris got out of the car and walked toward the group. "Uhh, sorry I'm late. Did you give my spot away, Nate?"

Nathan released his hold on his girlfriend and walked over to Chris. "Dude what is she doing here? You know Taylor is gonna flip out on her, right?"

"Relax, Nathan. It'll be fine. Let's just shoot for teams, alright?" Chris walked out onto the court, high-fiving the guys along the way. "Ball," he demanded as he stood at the free-throw line. Skills threw him the ball and watched as the musician surprisingly sunk it in. "What? I've been practicing," Chris shrugged. The guys all started playing, Nathan and Chris as captains and the rest being distributed between the two teams.

"Can you believe she would actually show up here?" Haley asked her sister in a low whisper.

Long, creamy legs extended out of the car, heels sinking into the ground below. As she shut the door, she exposed her tight, black mini-skirt and leather jacket covering her white tank. Peyton didn't seem too bothered by the whispers and stares that were coming from the girls to her right.

"She's got to be using him to get at Rachel. I mean, what else could Peyton Sawyer want with Chris Keller?" Haley asked, trying to give Peyton a glare but just couldn't seem to get it right. "Relax, Haley. I'll take care of this," Taylor replied, standing up from the bleachers and walking toward the blonde, Haley and the rest of the girls following right behind. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

Peyton took her focus of the guys, turning her attention to Taylor. "Umm, I think I'm here to watch Chris play. Why, is that a problem?" she asked, taking a step toward her.

Taylor folded her arms across her chest, rolling her eyes. "What, having every square inch of school isn't enough...you have to try and come and take this too?" The fire grew in Taylor's eyes as Peyton took another step toward her. "Bitch, you have five seconds to back up out of my face." Haley stood there, practically shaking and not sure what to do.

Peyton laughed, Taylor's words bouncing off her like nothing. "You're threatening me? That's cute...umm I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name. Oh maybe that's because you don't matter?" Peyton rolled her hazel eyes and attempted to push past the tall blonde.

"Big mistake," Taylor snapped, clenching her fist and connecting it with Peyton's left eye.

Thudddd.

Peyton fell upon impact, holding her eye as she went down. Taylor went to dive on top of her, strong arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her back. "Let me go, Nathan. This bitch has had it coming for awhile now!" she screamed, arms and legs flying, trying to break free of his hold on her. "Chris! Get this bitch out of here, now!" Nathan demanded, looking at the musician with disgust.

Chris walked over and helped Peyton to her feet, her retracting her arm from his hand. "Let's get out of here, Chris. You don't belong with these nobodies anyway." Chris looked back at his friends. "Yeah, I guess I don't," he said, walking the blonde back to her car.

"Chris!" Haley yelled after him. "Let him go, Hales. He made his choice," Skills said, arm around her. Everyone walked back to the court, Nathan still watching as Peyton and Chris drove away into the darkness.