I awoke to the feeling of hot air hitting my cheek. Groggily, I rubbed my eyes and pushed myself up. It took a few moments for the room to come into focus, and I looked down to find a bright eyed, blonde child staring at me. We stared at each other for a moment, before a smile appeared on her lips. "Emma," she said triumphantly. I grinned, Sawyer said she preferred Emma over Gemma, so last night at dinner she kept calling me Emma. "Good morning," I laughed, giving her a little wave. The memory of dinner was hazy, but I did recall how sweet both Peyton and Sawyer were. It was surprising, actually. You would think that the wife of my father would feel a bit uncomfortable around his Parisian love child, but she was refreshingly warm, and welcoming.

"Sawyer, you little sneak!" Peyton said, appearing in the doorway. "Sorry Gemma," she laughed, grabbing Sawyer's hand, "breakfast is ready, if you're up for it."

"That sounds nice," I smiled, "I think I'm just going to take a quick shower."

"Alright, well Lucas is at work right now, and you're meeting isn't until eleven, so I'll just take you to the school after dropping Sawyer off at school. Sound good?"

"Yeah," I said, getting out of bed, and pulling my silk robe around my shoulders. After Sawyer and Peyton left, I headed to the bathroom. Turning on the shower, I stepped in and sighed as I slid down the wall, letting the warm water splash my face. I couldn't deny that I was nervous. I was no stranger to new schools, but one thing I'm pretty sure no one got used to was being the new kid. The awkward first few weeks where you know absolutely no one, and you're only option is to either eat alone in the bathroom or force yourself to try and socialize.

When I finished up in the shower, I then went to take a look at my new closet. I had finished unpacking last night, so I was pretty happy I didn't have to scrounge through a suit case when I was in a hurry. Browsing for a few minutes, I finally decided on a long-sleeved striped shirt, a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, and some tan booties. Pulling my hair into a high ponytail, I brushed on some makeup before giving my outfit one last look.

I wished I could say I looked like my mom, but it was apparent that I shared more of Lucas's traits than hers. It made me almost wish I didn't, I wanted her light brown eyes, and petite build. I wanted something more of her than just my chocolate brown hair and olive complexion. I felt tears start to form in the corners of my eyes, and I quickly pushed the thoughts out of my mind. I met up with Peyton in the kitchen, she was throwing some dishes in the dishwasher. I studied her for a second, she seemed so nice and approachable, just like Lucas. I guess that made them a fitting match.

"Oh wow," Peyton said, looking up from the dishes, "I love that outfit."

"Thanks," I smiled, grabbing a piece of toast. "My mom gave the boots to me for my birthday. They were in the window of this little boutique right off Montmartre, and I would always rave about them." I laughed at the memory. "I was going to buy them for myself originally, but my mom beat me to it."

"That's really sweet," Peyton said, giving me a small smile, "so, you ready to go?"

"Yup," I said, adjusting my leather messenger bag, "ready as I'll ever be."

Tree Hill High was small and charming, just like the town. As I followed Lucas down the hallways, he went on about when he used to be a student. I knew it was rude, but I couldn't help but tune him out as I studied the lockers, and classrooms. I peered into a window of what looked like a science lab, all the students were faced away from me, towards the front of the lab. It took me a few moments to realize someone was starting. A tall boy with honey brown hair, and eyes to match, smiled at me. He gave me a quick wink before turning away, to what looked like a lively class discussion. I felt the corners of my mouth turn up in a smile, he was attractive, in an all-american kind of way.

"Gemma." Lucas called, I turned to find him holding open a door to what looked like the counselors office. I jogged to catch up with him. The office was painted a burnt orange, and smelled like a cinnamon bun. Behind the large desk was a small redheaded woman, with rosy cheeks and big framed glasses. She looked up at me warmly, "You must be Gemma," she said. She motioned for us to take a seat. I noticed that her name tag read Mrs. Merriweather. It seemed appropriate judging from her office and appearance, she looked like a very cheerful lady. I was beginning to think everyone in Tree Hill seemed cheerful, almost like they were under some type of spell.

"I have your schedule and everything right here," she handed me a large yellow envelope. I opened it up and surveyed my classes, as Lucas and the counselor carried on a conversation. Physics, Chemistry, English II, World History, French III, all the usual suspects. I thought to myself.

"Gemma, sweetheart, your father and I think it would be best if you went ahead and started your day today. Considering we're in the middle of the year, and you need to get up to speed on our curriculum." Mrs. Merriweather said.

I looked up a little worried. Start already? I can't I don't know anyone yet, and I'll be all alone. "You don't have to," Lucas said, putting a hand on my shoulder, "It's understandable if you don't want to."

"No," I sighed, "I should get started, you're right."

"Well alright then, you'll start your classes after lunch," Mrs. Merriweather said.

After the meeting Lucas and I grabbed lunch at Karen's café. Which, interestingly enough, I found out was previously owned by his mother, my grandmother. Now it was run by Lucas's friends Haley Scott, who was apparently my aunt, and Brooke Davis. I started to clear my table after I finished my sandwich, the lunch with Lucas had been terribly uncomfortable. We had nothing to talk about except for my schedule, the weather and…well that was it. The ride back was almost as awkward until we found a middle ground, sports.

"So do you play any sports?" He asked, glancing at me.

"Football, I've played since I was seven."

He gawked at me for a second. "Oh," I laughed, "not American football, I think over here you guys call it soccer!"

He laughed too, looking away a bit embarrassed. "Right, I knew that," he said giving me a wink. I couldn't help but smile. Our conversation was short lived, because we had finally pulled into the parking lot. "Hey Gem," he said, as I was getting out of the car. The nickname took me a little by surprise but I didn't mind it, it was nice to hear it again.

"Yeah?"

"Don't worry about making friends too much, you'll fit right in, I'm sure." And with that, he drove off to the gym parking lot. Leaving me there, a bit stunned, but feeling better about this move than I ever did before.