Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed my story. This is the last chapter, but the drama will continue in the sequal titled Rivers and Roads: OTH The Next Generation.

Chapter Twenty One – We Owned the Night

The excitement could be felt in the air as the entire basketball team and cheer squad stood outside the school, waiting for the bus that would take them to state. Lydia stood next to Jude, the two had made up for their fight. They both apologized and were back to being a happy little couple. Lydia could sense how nervous Jude was, she practically feel his shaking next to her.

"Jude, would you please relax, you're going to do fine. You're going to do better than fine, you're going to win the state championship and be the hero that everyone knows you are."

"You have to say that, you're my girlfriend."

"And as your girlfriend I have to be honest, and I'm telling the truth when I say that you are going to do amazing."

"But what if I'm not amazing, what if I have the ball and I pass it to the other team, or I trip and fall or miss the final basket…" Jude didn't get to finish his sentence because he was suddenly cut off when Lydia brought her mouth to his.

She placed her hands on either side of his head and stood on her toes in order to reach his mouth. It took Jude a minute to react, but when he did, he deepened the kiss. Lydia slung her arms over his shoulders and he pulled her closer so that their bodies were now right against each other. They were the perfect picture of two kids in love.

"Jude!" They both heard his name being called, yet neither of them parted from each other. "JUDE!" This time they slowly released each other and looked over to see Davis waving Jude over to the bus and pointing at Whitey.

"I guess I should probably head over to the team." Lydia nodded.

"That's probably the best idea." Jude leaned in and gave her one last kiss before jogging over to meet the rest of the team. Lydia watched him join the other Ravens as Whitey showed them some new plays. Lydia couldn't help but notice that a certain member was missing. Johnny wasn't anywhere to be seen. Lydia shuffled through her cheer bag and pulled out her phone. She dialed Johnny's number and waited for him to answer.

"Lydia?" he answered after the third ring.

"Hey, I was just wondering where you are? The whole team and the squad are at the school already."

"I'm not taking the bus to the game."

""Why not?"

"I didn't exactly feel like sitting on a bus for three hours with the whole team and Whitey's shitty classical music."

"And Whitey is just letting you drive yourself?"

"I told him I had drop my grandmother off before the game and I could only get there on time if I drove myself."

"You are so bad. Aren't you supposed to do all that team bonding stuff?"

"I will, it will just be when I get there rather than on the bus." Lydia laughed and shook her head.

"You're something else Johnny Evans."

"Want to ride with me?" he asked. Lydia actually pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, Whitey doesn't care how the cheerleaders get to the game, and it's not like he's going to let anyone have any fun. He's going to make everyone sit there and be perfectly silent and perfectly still. Does that sound like fun to you?"

"No, not really."

"Cool. I'll pick you up at the back doors of the school in ten." Lydia hung up her phone and made her way over to Jenny to let her know that she wouldn't be riding with them. However, she wasn't exactly going to tell her who she would be riding with.

Casey stood with the rest of the squad on the side of the court, nervously waiting for the game to begin. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lydia running across the court and joining the rest of the girls. Casey wondered why she hadn't been on the bus, but decided it was any of her concern. Right now her eyes were fixed on Davis. He looked as calm as ever as he stood on the court practicing his free throws. He dark hair had gotten longer and was now wisping out in all different directions. It made him look younger, but still unbelievably handsome. While everyone else looked nervous Davis was as solid as a rock. He was making every basket that he shot. Casey dropped her pompoms on the ground and took several long strides until she was right behind him.

"Davis?" He turned to her.

"Good luck." She hopped up on her toes and placed a small and quick kiss on his lips before quickly retreating back to the sidelines. She then watched him as he went back to making baskets, as if nothing had ever happened. She briefly thought that maybe she should have waited, she didn't want to throw off his game, but at this point she didn't think anything could.

Davis lifted the ball above him and released it from his hands. Time seemed to stand still as he held his breath, waiting to see if this could be it. This could be the moment that he had worked so hard for. If this was going to be the moment that all his dreams came true and he was crowned the golden boy of the town.

The ball soared through the air, hit the rim of the net and slowly spun around and around. The entire stadium was silent, the ball began to slow and finally it tipped over and went right through the net. The cheers from the crowd were deafening, confetti of all different colours fell from the sky and every person began rushing on to the court. Davis could feel people clapping him on the back and several people were giving him hugs, but he was frozen in place. He had done it; he had just won the Tree Hill Ravens the State Championship.

The after party was held at Karen's Café. Everyone was there and having a great time. Jenny stood behind the counter and was helping Lydia and some of the other girls hand out cupcakes and cookies. She glanced over at Alex who was talking to a bunch of the guys from the team. She watched him as he laughed along with all the others and she felt her chest tighten. He was amazing and she was incredibly lucky to have him. She should tell him that, but she still felt as though she shouldn't rush in to things. She wanted to take her time and not invest all of herself in one person. But as she looked at Alex, his hair spiked in all different directions, still wearing his shirt and tie, she knew she was in trouble.

"Congratulations, baller."

"Thanks, but I can't take all the credit."

"Oh no?" She asked.

"I happened to have a good luck kiss bestowed upon me before the game." Davis told her.

"Really," she feigned surprised "and who was the girl that gave you this lucky kiss?"

"I think you know." Davis stepped forward and placed his lips against hers. She kissed him back and soon they were engaged in a full on make out session, while standing outside the café. After several minutes Casey pulled away.

"I thought we were friends. Are we just going back to what we were before, or is this something else?" Davis looked into her big round eyes which were searching for answers.

"Maybe we could try, like a real relationship."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean I can't guarantee that I'll be any good at it. I've never been in an actual relationship before. You know me; I'm the king of hook ups."

"Hey, don't forget that you're talking to the queen over here." They both smiled. "This isn't going to be easy. In fact this might be the hardest thing I've ever done, but there's no question in my mind about whether I really want to do it."

"I really want to do it too." Davis said. Casey laughed and punched him lightly in the arm. "I'm kidding, if we're going to do this, than we are going to do it the right way. Holding hands, making out at the movies and stressing about what to get you for our one month anniversary."

"You really think we're going to last a month?"

"We're going to try."

"Jude, would you knock it off. There are already enough horny teenagers in this place; we don't need to add to the hormones." Lydia was in the kitchen, attempting to wash dishes but Jude came up behind her and began kissing her neck.

"Come on, I just won the championship, celebrate with me." He moved her long hair off her neck and kissed right below her ear. He then moved his hand to the bottom of her cheer skirt and began making his way up.

"Jude! I think we should save the celebrating until were not in the middle of the café."

"Oh, how rude of me. Did you want to move this into the bathroom?" He asked smirking. Lydia just shook her head.

"You are unbelievable."

"No I'm not. I'm just unbelievably charming."

"And cocky."

"You love it." Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Shut up and kiss me." Jude didn't have to be told twice. He quickly met Lydia's lips with his own and the two were soon getting heated. Mouths were on fire and hands were everywhere. They stumbled through the kitchen, never parting their lips and eventually made their way into the bathroom.

Johnny sat alone at the counter, looking at all the happy faces. And while he too was happy that they had just won state he couldn't help but feel alone as he watched all the happy couples celebrate. He wanted to celebrate, but he didn't have anyone to do it with. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out. The caller ID made him freeze.

Her picture flashed on is screen, her smiling face and long blonde hair. The name SAWYER showed beneath the picture and Johnny didn't know what to do. He had tried to call her a couple times after she left, but she never answered. He wanted to talk to her so badly, but he was just starting to feel better and the thought of hearing her voice only made his chest feel heavy. He looked up from his phone and saw Lydia, he caught her eye and she smiled and waved him over. Johnny looked back down at his phone, it was still vibrating and her picture was still staring at him. He looked to Lydia who was sitting alone at a table, playing with the salt and pepper shakers, but she still had her eye on him. He looked down at his phone one last time before pushing the red DECLINE button and placing it back in his pocket. He then stood up and made his way over to the table and slid in the booth across from Lydia.

Sawyer stood watching all the happy people filed in and out of Karen's Café. She was standing just up the block, afraid to go inside and see all the faces that she missed so dearly. It was at this point that she realized leaving had only made things worse. She had pissed off almost everyone and now she was just going to have to start all over again.

She pulled out her phone and dialed the number of the one and only person she wanted to talk to. As the phone rang she slowly made her way towards the café. The phone continued to ring and she wondered if he was having too much fun to notice. She stopped when she was across the street, from where she was standing, she could see directly into the café. Her heart stopped when she saw him standing in front of the counter. She noticed that he was looking down at his phone, which was still ringing. Why wasn't he answering? He kept looking up and then looking back down. Finally he hit a button and she heard his voice mail. She hung up the phone and watched as he took a seat across from a brunette with bright blue ribbons in her hair.

The End

Again, thank you so much for reading. And please let me know what you want to happen in the next story, which will be titled

RIVERS AND ROADS: OTH THE NEXT GENERATION.