The next morning seemed to come quickly for the pair, as they stayed up late into the night with Lucas sharing stories from his childhood, explaining the scratches and dents that she had been admiring before.

When the sun peeked in the living room she groaned, "Please tell me that we don't really have to get up..."

"I'm afraid we do." he says, squeezing her to his chest.

With a little more convincing, Peyton decided to quietly make her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day as the others slept on.

Of course, knowing that her best friend was back in town, Haley couldn't resist the thought of coming over to see him... well, with the mask of seeing him, but really wanting to meet the new woman in his life. So, she came in the back door, quietly making her way through the kitchen and walking past the bedrooms without a sound.

When she got to the living room, she saw Lucas sprawled out on the pull out alone, "Aww man, you chickened out?!"

Jumping a bit at the intrusion, but quickly bouncing back into a smile and laugh at his best friend, he stood up and grabbed her in for a hug.

"Hey Luke... I missed you..."

"I missed you too, Hales." he says, putting a kiss on her forehead and not wanting to let her go yet.

When they did separate, they sat down on the edge of the bed and Haley was looking at him with a questioning glance, "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Why did you chicken out?" she asks, throwing her hands up in the air.

"What do you mean why did I chicken out?"

"You were supposed to bring this new girlfriend of yours with you this weekend so I could grill her for details and make sure that she's good enough for you!"

He laughs, shaking his head at the obvious care that Haley had for him and his well being, so much like a sister with a little mom mixed in for good measure. "Haley..."

"Well, the least you could do is tell me more about her! Is she pretty? I bet she's pretty. She likes music right? With that label that she started she has to like music, so at least we'll have that in common. Where did she grow up? What is she like? Have you guys... ?"

"I hope he thinks I'm pretty, I love music, I grew up in Wilmington, you'll have to find out, and... well I'm not going to answer the last one... cover everything?" Peyton says, coming in from the bathroom and hearing Haley's rant.

Haley turns around, eyes widening at the sight of the blond that she hadn't thought was there, "I'm sorry, I didn't think that you were here! I thought that Lucas chickened out!"

Peyton just laughs a little at the other woman's obvious attempt at back pedaling. "It's okay... my best friend did the same thing to me after I met Lucas too... endless questioning... no worries."

"I think I'd get along with your best friend."

"She gets along with just about everyone and then some, so I'm sure that you're right."

Peyton makes a move to shake Haley's hand, walking towards where they were sitting, "I'm Peyton, by the way..."

"Oh, I know... and you are way too beautiful to be going out with this dufus." she says, shaking Peyton's hand and turning back to Lucas.

"Well, thank you."

The moment however was interrupted when the sound of five year old feet was heard running down the hallway, "Peyton!"

"Woah!" she says, picking the young girl up and situating her on her hip, "What is up girlfriend?"

"You're here!"

"Did I tell you that I would be?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, there you go!"

"Will you eat coco puffs with me this morning?" she asks innocently.

"Lead on munchkin!" she says, gesturing grandly towards the kitchen and placing the young girl back on the floor.

Haley watches the retreating pair with a smirk, "Good morning silly Lily!"

Lily glances back towards them, with a casual wave, "Oh, Hi Aunt Haley..."

Haley turns back to Lucas with a look of disbelief on her face, "I have totally been replaced."

"You've been replaced... I'm her brother and she ditched me... how do you think I feel!"

"I like her Luke."

"Thanks, Hales."

"So, what time does this dinner shindig go down?"

"Probably around six?"

"And until then..."

"I haven't decided yet." he says, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, Nathan mentioned trying to pry you away from your mom and your new girl for a game by the rivercourt with him and Jamie. Are you up for that?"

"Ummm... I would be up for that, but I don't want to leave Peyton here all by herself."

"That's okay, Peyton and I can take Lily to the park or something while you guys spend some boy time together. Or maybe we could go shopping. I've been meaning to buy Lily a dress for our picnic in the summer. I promised her a fun summer dress waiting for her when they get back from wherever they are headed next."

"I'll ask Peyton, and if it is cool with her, then tell Nathan that I'm game... and tell him to not go soft on me... bring all that NBA spirit!"

Though nervous about spending the day with a person who had been in Lucas' life for such a long time, who obviously cared a lot about him, she agreed. Haley mentioned that she needed to go run a few errands first, but vowed to come grab Peyton around noon so they could pick up some lunch and head out for some shopping.

After spending the morning making small talk with Karen and Andy, Lucas left for the rivercourt, and noon came all too quickly with Haley knocking on the front door of the house and walking into the living room.

"Hey, Peyton, are you ready?" she asks, smiling genuinely, excited to get to know her.

"Yeah, I'm ready." she says, standing up and grabbing her purse.

"Lily! Aunt Haley's here to take you to the mall with Peyton!" Karen shouts down the hall, and the little girl comes bouncing out.

"Okay, I'm ready!"

Pulling the little girl towards her, she kisses her on the forehead, "Now you be good for Peyton and Haley, okay? I don't want to hear a bad report, or Jamie will not come over tonight for dinner. Got it?"

"Got it!" she says, smiling at her mother, then turning to take Peyton's hand and drag her towards the door.

The adults laugh and Peyton offers a nervous smile and a wave as she is pulled out of the house and to Haley's SUV.

"I need help." she says, once she gets the door open and can't climb up and into her seat.

Peyton lifts her up and into the seat gently, watching as she secures her seatbelt, and then looks up at her with a smile, "Thank you Peyton!"

"No problem, munchkin." Peyton replies, playfully touching a finger to her nose.

After getting settled in her own seat in the front, Haley turns a DVD on for Lily and they pull out of the driveway on the way to the mall.

"You're really good with her..." Haley says after a minute, "Do you have brothers and sisters?"

"Ummm, I have a half-brother, but he and I didn't know each other until I was in my last year of high school. I love kids though."

"So, I take it that you want some then?" Haley asks back with a twinkle in her eye that Peyton recognized as a best friend trying to get information out of her.

"I would definitely like to have a family someday."

"Good to know..." she says, turning back to the road with a smile on her face.

"So, when are you reporting back to Lucas?"

Haley laughs, knowing that she wasn't fooling the girl, "I'm not reporting back to him... this is all just for me... "

Peyton just nods in her direction.

"Lucas has been like a brother to me, and he's had a lot of rough patches in his life, which I know he has shared with you.... The thing is... and don't tell him that I told you this, but the boy is head over heels right now for you, and I haven't seen that from Luke before. Every phone call these past few months has started and ended with Peyton, so I've got to make sure that you're in it for the right reasons and that you are really as amazing as he thinks you are." she says in a rant that she is pretty sure came out in one breath.

After this, Peyton just stares ahead for a moment, not responding to what Haley just said, letting it sink in.

However, after a while, having a moment to formulate her thoughts, she takes a deep breath, "It wasn't love at first sight, but by the end of our first conversation the man had already proven that he thought like me, which says a lot. It was so easy for us to fall into a relationship, that we have taken it pretty slow. He just..." she pauses, searching for the words, "he knows me, and while that scares the crap out of me, I don't think that I'm going to find it elsewhere. So, in short... I'm head over heels for him too, and in all honesty, I'm trying to figure out myself if I'm really as amazing as he thinks I am."

The powers that be happened to be watching, because it seemed that right as they pulled into their spot at the mall, Peyton had finished her own rant, giving Haley the opportunity to look over at the blond, searching her eyes for a moment.

When all she found was a sincerity that she was hoping for, she smiled, and Peyton let out a nervous laugh, "So, as far as the best friend goes... How am I doing?"

"Good... you're doing good."

Peyton and Haley seemed to get into a quick rhythm with each other after that, talking about Lucas and what was going on in New York, about Peyton's record label and Haley's long gone music career. It was a comfortable, quick friendship, and when Lucas finally called Peyton wondering where the girls were, they realized that the entire day had passed and made it back to the cars with a very tired Lily by their side.

Walking in the door of the Lucas' childhood home was another story, Peyton carrying in a crazy amount of bags, most of which were for Lily.

"Peyton, please tell me you aren't serious!" Karen says, laughing with wide eyes at the bags.

"We got a little carried away, I know, but..." Peyton starts when Lucas walks in and notices the bags at his girlfriend's feet.

"B. Girl?" Lucas says, with a hint of amusement in his tone.

Peyton just smiles back at Luke, with Karen looking between the two of them confused.

"Brooke called when we were at the mall to see how the trip down was and well, right after that she called the store... you know Brooke... you're powerless against her when she gets something in her head." Peyton explains to Lucas with a nervous look on her face.

They turn towards the door to see Haley walk in with a bright smile on her face, coming up to Peyton to give her a big hug, "Luke... you did good with this one. I know Lily did it, but I'm contemplating replacing you too."

Of course, noticing his wife walk in for the first time, Nathan lets his presence be known, "Hey, it is about time you guys got back... wait... is that a new dress?"

Looking between his whole family and his girlfriend, all he can do is laugh when Peyton bites her lip. "So, does Brooke say hi?" he asked, pulling Peyton in for a chaste kiss on the lips.

"That she does..."

"Okay, who is Brooke? Why are you laughing?... and exactly How much money did the two of you spend at the mall today!" Karen says, completely confused by what just transpired.

"We didn't spend a dime, Karen... my best friend is a designer, who happens to own a kids line and a women's line with stores in the mall. When she found out we were shopping, she insisted that we stop by one of the stores. Then, when she found out that Lily was with us, she called the store and basically told them to outfit her in the entire spring line."

"Can I keep the clothes, mom? They're really cute!" Lily says, with her hands clasped together in a begging fashion.

"Lily..."

"Mom, knowing Brooke... if you returned them, she would just end up sending them back to you anyway, so you might as well say yes." Luke says, knowing that is exactly what Brooke would do.

Peyton nods with a smirk on her face.

"Well, in that case, I guess I have no choice... but you, young lady are responsible for putting all those new clothes away!" she says, as Lily grabs some of the bags and starts heading towards her room, "and you will write Brooke a thank you letter for Lucas and Peyton to take back to New York... and you left some bags in here."

"No I didn't!" she shouts from her bedroom.

"Actually..." Peyton says, picking up the bags and handing them over to the woman, "Brooke says these are for you..."

Karen just shakes her head and laughs at the situation, taking the opportunity to hug Peyton before telling everyone that dinner has been ready and that they should sit down and eat.

"I'm Nathan." Nate says, putting his hand out Peyton before sitting down at the table.

"And this..." Haley says, with her hands on the shoulders of a blond haired boy.

"Is James Lucas Scott!" Jamie cuts her off, sticking a hand out to her as well.

"Well, hello James Lucas Scott... your Uncle Luke has told me a lot about you."

"He has?" Jamie says, looking between his Uncle and this person he just met.

"Yup."

"And you're Peyton."

"Well, aren't you the smart one?" she says, messing his hair a bit.

"Actually, Uncle Lucas talks about you all the time... at least that's what momma says."

"Jamie!" Haley says, turning the boy and pushing him towards his seat.

As the rest of the family sits down, Lucas and Peyton take in the view for a minute, with her leaning into him and whispering in his ear, "I hear you've been talking about me a lot actually... from a few different sources."

"Liars" he says, squinting at her with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Hmmm... well... then I guess that you aren't head over heels for me... too bad... because I was going to say that I'm falling for you too, Lucas Scott" she replies, kissing his chin, leaving him standing at the head of the table as she sits down next to Lily.

–

Okay, so this was entirely fluffy, but I wanted her to get to spend some time with Haley, cause... well... that's for me to know, and you to eventually find out. Anyways, I wanted to keep it light, but I have some lengthy plans for this one, so get prepared folks.

I hope that you are enjoying everything so far... let me know in a review! I don't do goals for those, but I want to see if I could ever break 200 reviews for a fic. Lofty idea, I know... but yeah... I'm also thinking I want to see how many chapters I could get something to be too... interesting...

Review!!