A/N Hey guys thanx for the reviews! Anyways here's the next chapter. This one was a little easier to write because…well because some of scenes are recycled from the show, anyways…Hope you guys like it.

"Nathan challenged you?" Peyton looked up at Lucas from her spot on his bed, "Are you gonna do it?"

Lucas shrugged as he pulled his shirt over his head and walked over to his closet, "It's not like I have anything to prove to him."

Peyton sat up, "Yeah….but it would be so kick-ass if you showed him he's not the only one around here with talent."

He pulled out a fresh white T shirt and pulled it on, he grinned over at her, "Did Peyton Sawyer just say kick-ass?"

She picked up a pillow and threw it at him laughing, "Shut up!"

He picked it up and went to sit next to her, "I think I will do it though. Not for me." he looked at her, "But for my mom."

She nodded, understanding the reason behind that statement. "Does she know yet?"

"Know what?" they both looked up startled at Karen who was standing by the doorway, peering at them curiously.

"Oh!" Peyton glanced over at Lucas, "Um…I was just asking Lucas if you knew that I…uh…that I tried out for the cheer squad." She said quickly.

Lucas looked over at her surprised, "What?"

Peyton gave him a look and Karen smiled, "Honey, that's great. I didn't know you were into cheerleading."

"Neither did I." Lucas muttered.

She let out a nervous laugh, "Yeah well…It's a new year, expanding my horizons and all that, so I figured why not?" she fumbled for her bag and looked between them, "I'm uh going to head out. I've got a lot of homework…" she trailed off as she leaned over and pecked Lucas on the cheek, "Tell her!" she hissed in his ear. She straightened out and gave Karen a quick hug, "Bye, I'll see you tomorrow Karen." She gave Lucas a quick look behind Karen's back before heading out.

Karen chuckled, "So you guys were talking about the Ravens?"

He looked over at her startled, "What-what makes you say that?"

She smiled, "Well first of all…Peyton's a terrible liar."

He chuckled and she sat next to him on the bed, "And second of all…I kinda caught that last bit between the two of you."

He sighed and avoided her gaze, "Look ma…Please don't mad. I know you said I couldn't do it. And trust me I refused when Whitey asked me to join. But it's just that Nathan went over to the court today and he said some things and I-"

Karen cut him off and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Honey I'm not mad." She sighed, "At least not at you."

He gave her a questioning glance and she took his hand in hers, "I want to apologize to you Lucas. For being so quick to disregard the issue. I was thinking of my own issues at the time and it's not fair to you. You and I both know that joining the team will force you-me…to deal with things we haven't before."

He squeezed her hand, "I know, and it's okay. Really. I'm ready for that."

She shook her head, "But it's not about him. It doesn't have to be. I know that now." She smiled, "Your uncle Keith was kind enough to shed some light on it." She took a deep breath, "But what I want to say to you is…if you want to join the team. Go for it. If you want to play Nathan, do it. But do it for yourself Lucas. Not for me, not for Keith and certainly not for him. You're a good kid Lucas and I don't want you to sit out your life on account of me. My past does not have to be your future okay?"

He smiled over at her and pulled her in for a hug, "Thanks mom. I love you."

She kissed him on the forehead, "I love you too Lucas." She pulled away from him and made her way to the door, "Now why don't you get some rest? You're going to need it to uh….what's the term you kids use? Ah…to kick Nathan's ass tomorrow."

He laughed, "Mom! I cannot believe you just said that!" he shook his head and she laughed, "Good night Lucas."

He smiled back at her, "Good night Mom." She shut the door behind her and he leaned back down on his bed, feeling as if a small weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He closed his eyes as he thought about what tomorrow would bring. Tomorrow would definitely be the day. He was going to call Nathan on his challenge.

"Nathan…" Brooke giggled, "We're supposed to be studying!"

"We are." He murmured against her neck, "I'm studying you." he pulled back to smile at her.

She pulled his head back down for a kiss, "This is why we should never study together." She murmured, running her fingers through his short hair, the books next to them long forgotten.

He kissed her back, "No wonder we're always so far behind." he agreed. He reluctantly got up and straightened out his shirt, "You know this is all your fault." He smirked.

She leaned over and brushed the shell of his ear with her lips, "Well you weren't complaining a minute ago baby." she whispered.

He groaned and pushed her back down gently onto the bed. His lips came crashing down on hers in a searing kiss, "You're killing me here Davis." He murmured, running his hand under her shirt.

She shivered, "Nathan…" she placed her palms on his chest and looked up into his baby blues, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but we really should stop. Our GPA can't suffer if we both want to stay on our respective teams."

He sighed, pulling her up with him, "You're right. Talking about that, how'd the tryouts go anyway?" he asked curiously.

She exhaled "Well you know that weird emo chick Lucas always hangs around with?"

He bristled at the mention of Lucas, "Yeah?"

She rolled her eyes, "Well apparently she has a secret hidden ability none of us knew about. She's the squad's newest member."

His eyebrows rose in surprise and he chuckled, "Seriously?" he shook his head, "Huh. Wouldn't have pegged her for a cheerleader."

"I know right?!" she ran her hand through her shiny locks, "But…well all the other girls were absolutely terrible…and she's good." She admitted, "But her image is totally wrong for the squad."

"I don't know," he grinned slyly, "I think she'll add a sorta interesting flair."

She looked over at him quickly, "You're kidding right? The girl's a mess! Have you seen the way she dresses?" she shuddered, "God…tell me how I allowed for that to happen? It's going to be weird right? I mean she's his girlfriend…or whatever, and with him on the team-"

"He's not going to be on the team." he cut her off angrily, "Not if I have anything to do with it." He muttered.

She looked at him, surprised at his outburst, although she knew she really shouldn't be, "What did you do?"

He looked back at her angrily, "Why would you assume I did anything?"

"Well…it's just the other day when Whitey-"

"Whitey has yet to realize that the team stopped being his a long time ago." he snapped, "And why do you even care if I do something to the bastard or not?"

She took in a shaky breath, "I don't okay?" she leaned over and placed a hesitant kiss on his cheek, "Let's just forget about it." she said softly.

He shrugged her off and stood up, "Whatever. I need to refresh." He mumbled heading towards the shower. He turned to look back at her, "You coming or what?"

She sighed and reluctantly got up tugging her shirt over her head and dropping it on the bed. She tried to ignore the gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach that was telling her it was starting all over again. The summers were always just illusions between them. It was never the same once they started school again. He was never the same. The only thing she could wonder was, how long would she put up with it this time?

"What's up with Whitey man?" Nathan asked the next day at lunchtime sliding in next to his friends at their usual table.

"He's losing it." Tyler shook his head, "That's the only way to explain it."

"Yeah," Tim agreed, "I can't believe this whole West thing has him wigging out like this. I mean the guy wasn't that good. Why cancel practice because of it?"

Nathan shrugged, "That's the second time this week man. My dad's going to kill me." he bit into his sandwich, "If he doesn't get to Whitey first."

"How do you figure?"

Nathan smirked, "You obviously don't know my Dad." He shook his head, "He thinks I can carry the team with or without West and obviously Whitey doesn't see that."

"And how is that your fault?"

"Because if Whitey doesn't see it, then obviously I'm not working hard enough to prove it to him."

Tyler shook his head, "That's screwed up logic man."

"Yeah, well he's a screwed up man," he muttered.

"What's a bunch of cuties like yourselves doing eating all alone?" Brooke grinned as she strolled up to them, the rest of the cheerleaders following suit.

"Waiting for a girl like you obviously." Tyler grinned back and scooted over to make space for them.

"Hey watch it." Nathan glared at him playfully. He leaned over and kissed the brunette as she settled herself in next to him. "I'm sorry about yesterday." He whispered in her ear.

She threaded her fingers through his, "It's okay." She whispered back, For now, she couldn't help but think. She turned back to the other guys, "So! What were you guys talking about?"

Tyler shrugged, "Whitey cancelled another practice."

Haley raised an eyebrow, "Are you serious? Wow I didn't think he'd take Jacob's departure this hard."

"I don't know how long he's going to keep this up. I mean what's he going to do? Cancel the whole season cuz he has yet to find his little boy wonder?" Nathan scoffed.

Bevin looked up confused, "Wait." She turned to Brooke, "Didn't you say Whitey recruited that Lucas guy for the team?"

Brooke felt Nathan next to her stiffen. She glared at the blonde, "Bevin!" she hissed, "That's not what I said."

"Yes you did, yesterday at practice you said that Whitey-"

Haley cleared her throat and gave Bevin a pointed look, "Anyways, you guys excited for the first game? It's less than a week away."

Bevin looked over at Nathan who was scowling down at his lunch. Her eyes lit up in acknowledgement and she concentrated on her lunch, deciding it was best if she didn't say anymore.

Brooke smiled over at Haley silently thanking her, "Yeah, you guys pumped up or what?"

Tim scoffed, "Whitey keeps on cancelling on us, we'll get pummeled for sure."

"Like you guys really need the practice." Brooke scoffed, "You guys were undefeated last season and you've got the best offense and the best team." she pointed out. She grinned "Not to mention, the best cheerleaders in town. Wait till you guys see the cheers we're putting together for you guys. It's going to blow you away." she said excitedly, "Just like you guys will blow the other team away. Seriously, you guys have nothing to worry about."

Nathan rolled his eyes, "Right, like your silly little cheers are going to help us win the game."

She glared at him, "Well your attitude isn't going to help you win either." She snapped.

"Nothing's going to help you win." a voice interjected from behind them. Lucas smirked at them, his gaze directed at Nathan, "At least not without the help of your future point guard."

Nathan glared at him, "What you?" he laughed. He looked at his friends, "Did you hear that guys? The little punk actually thinks he stands a chance."

Lucas leaned across the table to stare directly at him, ""In time we hate that which we often fear." he quoted.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked angrily.

Lucas smirked, "In time you'll understand." He glanced back at the furious expression in his blue eyes, "In fact something tells me you already have." He pushed away from the table. "Tonight. The River Court. You and me." he started backing away from them, "We'll see who's the last one standing then Scott." He spat out that last part. "Oh! And if I win….I'm going to want something else." He locked eyes with the petite blonde who was staring at him in surprise awe. He let out a chuckle and walked off, leaving the rest of them staring after him in slight shock.

It was after school and Brooke and Haley and the rest of the girls were strewn around the gym stretching. Despite Whitey's latest antics, some of the guys from the team including Nathan and Tim were in the gym tossing a ball around and practicing their shots.

Brooke stretched her arms above her head and stood up, "All right girls, let's get to it."

They all stood up and Brooke looked around them quickly, "Anyone know where the hell Rachel is?"

Theresa shrugged, "I don't know. She wasn't in class either."

Brooke threw her hands up, "Unbelievable! I cannot believe her sometimes."

Bevin frowned, "Brooke…It's only one practice and you know she might actually be sick or something."

"Whatever, you know I'm going to have a talk with that girl about the importance of always being at practice, and that goes for all of you. Need I remind you guys of the importance of the first game of the year? Which by the way is in less than a week?"

"Calm down Cheer Nazi. We've got plenty of time." Haley teased stretching her arms in front of her, which earned her a glare from the pretty captain.

"I'm just saying…if none of you guys are willing to take this seriously-" she was cut off as a few whistles echoed behind her. She turned around and frowned as she noticed the attention of all the guys riveted to the curly blonde who had just stepped inside the gym. She was wearing a pair of blue shorts that showed off her long tanned legs and a white wife beater tied at the waist. Her curls were pulled back into a neat ponytail and she was looking around them uncertainly. Brooke couldn't help but notice just how much different she looked from the girl she was used to seeing. She also didn't fail to notice how Nathan's gaze slowly raked over the curly blonde, his lips curling into an appreciative smile.

"You're late." She snapped her voice ringing out through the hush that had fallen over the gym.

Peyton walked over to them tentaviley, hating how vulnerable she felt under the scrutinizing gaze of the brunette, "Sorry." She mumbled, taking her place next to Haley who smiled at her reassuringly.

She smirked, "Had a hard time finding the gym Goldilocks?"

"Brooke.." Haley said in a warning tone.

Brooke let out a breath and smiled tightly at Peyton, "Well now that you know where we practice at. It better not happen again, got it?"

Peyton bit her lip, refusing to give in to the brunette's biting tone. She let out a small breath and nodded.

"Okay then." Brooke clapped her hands together, "Like I was saying…we've got an important game coming up and we have to be in absolute top form…now remember…"

Peyton tuned her out as stretched her legs out in front of her letting her eyes wander over to the other side of the gym. Her gaze landed on Nathan Scott who met her gaze evenly. He looked her up and down and smirked, sending her a wink.

She rolled her eyes, turning away annoyed. She thought back to her conversation with Lucas the night before and smiled to herself. Tonight would definitely be the night that Lucas would show Nathan Scott that he wasn't the best Scott, on or off the court. She was certain that her best friend would definitely win tonight's and she was looking forward to it. She let out a breath willing herself to concentrate on the task at hand and not on the boy across the gym who although she didn't need to turn around to know, was still looking at her.

Hours later, Peyton pushed open the door of Karen's café and looked around, glad that the place was void of customers for once. She struggled over to one of the tables and let her backpack slide into the floor as she plopped down on a chair and lay her head on the table completely exhausted.

"Rough practice?"

She looked up at Lucas who was smirking at her.

She groaned, "Remind me again why I did this?"

He laughed as he sat down next to her and placed a cup of coffee in front of her, "That bad huh?"

She shook her head and winced, "Worse. I swear that Brooke Davis has it in for me or something."

He smiled, "I'm sure that's not the case."

She raised an eyebrow, "Trust me. She has it in for me. For both of us actually. You should've heard some of the nasty things she said to me the day I tried out." she took a gulp of the warm drink and shook her head at him playfully, "I swear…the things I put up with for you Lucas."

"Me? I seem to recall the deal was I joined the basketball team, you join the cheer squad. Now correct me if I'm wrong but I'm not exactly on the team so this is all you Sawyer, what's up?"

She shrugged, "Maybe I knew you'd change your mind and I wanted to be one step ahead." She gave him a pointed look, "I, unlike some people, actually like to follow through."

He gave her a look and she laughed, "Okay, okay. I wanted to do it. But if you ever share that information with anyone I'll kill you."

"Not that I'm complaining but why?"

She shrugged and looked away, "My mom was a cheerleader." She said softly.

He placed his hand over hers, "Peyton…"

She looked back at him and smiled, letting him know it was okay, "So…anyways…what's this I hear about you going up to Nathan Scott at lunchtime? Everyone was talking about it."

He chuckled, "I don't think he was expecting that."

"Tonight's going to be your night Lucas. I'm sure of it." she said confidently, "The question is…are you ready for that type of change?"

"What? Being on the team?" she nodded, "Yeah. I am…the thing is…I don't think he is though."

She looked at him confused, "But I thought if you win…he's out."

Lucas shook his head, "And give him the satisfaction? No. If I win. He stays. We both do."

"Why?"

He shrugged, "Because…honestly it's the last thing he wants." He said simply.

Her mouth formed an 'o' and she nodded, "I guess now you understand what I meant about the two of you having to eventually deal with your uh..situation."

"That's not why I want him to stay on the team." He denied.

She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Yeah it is." She says softly.

He looked away and sighed, "Anyways…you ready to put your moves on display tonight?" he smirked, "My own personal cheerleader. You did say that right?"

She laughed, "Actually those were your words not mine." She shook her head, "But hey…if not for you then for who right? It's not like I'll be cheering him on."

He laughed with her, "Yeah…never going to happen. I mean how weird would that be?"

Nathan looked into the mirror and wiped down the smudges. He smirked at his reflection, "You are so ready for this." He murmured to himself, picking up his towel and throwing it around his neck.

As he opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out, he ran straight into his Dad.

"Oh. Hey Dad, what's up?"

Dan looked over at his son and smirked as he noticed something new. He pointed to his nipple ring, "You know if I wanted a daughter I'd just adopt one."

"What so you could abandon her too?" he quipped.

Dan gave him a look and Nathan shrugged, "Sorry. It's just a joke."

Dan crossed his arms, "And this bet I heard about? Is that a joke too? Or are you really that stupid to risk your spot on the team? Because the way I see it is you have everything to lose here and absolutely nothing to gain son."

"Well sometimes what you call everything I call nothing." He retorted.

"Well that's where you're wrong, because this should be everything. You don't have to do this Nathan. I will not allow it."

Nathan shook his head, "You just don't understand do you? Look Dad I do a lot of stuff for you. Almost everything actually. But this? I'm doing this for me." he turned and headed to his room, giving him the final word.

Dan shook his head and was about to leave when a movement caught his eye. His son's girlfriend had just stepped out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel.

"Hey ." she grinned, walking in the direction his son had taken. Dan let out an appreciative laugh as he turned in the direction of his own room.

"So, if you're not doing this for your dad, then why are you doing it?"

Nathan shook his head as he opened up the front door and stepped outside, "You wouldn't understand."

"Really? I mean are you really that threatened by him?"

"I'm not threatened." He scoffed, glaring at her.

She raised an eyebrow, "Well then why are you doing it? To prove that you're the best?" she stopped him and leaned up to him coyly, "Baby you don't need to prove that to anyone." She placed a soft kiss on his lips seductively."You just proved that to me upstairs…" she trailed off tugging at his shirt.

Nathan pulled away from her, "God is everything about sex with you?!"

She pulled back stung, but it took her but a second to recover. "Whatever." she pushed him roughly, her tone cold. "I hope you find what you're looking for tonight."

He sighed, feeling bad. "Brooke…" he called out for her, but she ignored him, heading straight for his car, and pulling out her cell.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to a historic night of basketball. I'm Mouth McFadden, along with my game partner, Jimmy Edwards, and, Jimmy, we're in for a treat tonight." He spoke into the tiny microphone and turned to look at his counterpart.

"We sure are Mouth." He boomed,

"It's just moments before the stroke of 12:00, and still no Nathan Scott. Could that be a sign?"

Jimmy shook his head as he looked around the excited crowd at the normally deserted court, "I'll tell what Mouth. The natives are getting restless."

Mouth turned as a brand new black convertible came into view across the court, "And he has arrived ladies and gentlemen."

Nathan stepped out of the car, courtesy of Scott Motors of course. He smirked and slammed the door shut, walking towards his crowd, high-fiving his team mates.

Haley stepped out of the back seat and leaned over to whisper to Brooke as she took in the huge crowd, "This is stupid. Why are we even here?"

"Because. We're cheerleaders." She looked over at her boyfriend and sighed "Because I'm his cheerleader." She says unhappily. She squeezed her hand, "Thanks for coming, Haley."

"Sure." She said softly. "You okay?"

She took a deep breath and looked back towards Nathan who was looking at her expectantly. "I don't even know why I try sometimes." She says quietly, more to herself than to anyone.

Haley frowned as she watched her walk over to her boyfriend, slipping her arm in his. She's smiling but even from far away, she can see the smile doesn't reach her eyes. I'll talk to her later, she promised herself.

Walking furhter into the crowd, she looked around and spotted a familiar face in the middle of it all, looking at her. Hesitating slightly, she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and flashed Lucas a small smile. 'Good Luck' she mouthed, not really sure why. His face broke out into a huge grin and he nods, silently thanking her. Wrapping her arms around herself, she heads towards where Nathan and Brooke are standing with the rest of their crowd. Taking a deep breath, she glanced back at the blonde boy in the middle of the court practicing his shots. She doesn't understand where the sudden butterflies are coming from.

"Sure you still want to go through with this?"

Lucas looked over at Peyton and nodded determinedly. "Now more than ever."

"Good, just make sure you keep your eyes on the ball." She smiled nodding towards Haley knowingly.

He laughed quietly and tossed the ball into the air, watching as it sinked gracefully into the net.

"Now that's what I'm talking about, baby." Skills came up to him and clapped his hand on his shoulder, "You got this Luke."

"Thanks Skills."

He nodded, "You just make sure you kick some Daddy's boy ass tonight."

On the other side of the court Tim walks over to Nathan, "Nate! My boy…Hope you don't mind but I kinda told a few people."

Nathan smirked, "What better way to enjoy a public humiliation than with public, y'know what I mean?"

He saw as Lucas made his way to the center of the court and his eyes narrowed, "All right. Let's get this started." He turns back to Brooke, "But first. My good luck charm." He said huskily, leaning down and kissing her swiftly on the lips.

She smiles and takes his letterman jacket off him, "Good luck Baby." She blew him a kiss as she slipped his jacket on.

He smirked as he made his way to the center of the court, "Luck has nothing to do with it."

"All right Nathan! Let's go Baby!"

"Kick some ass Nate!"

"You've got this Luke!"

"It's all yours Lucas! C'mon!"

Mouth looked towards the center of the court as the two boys met, facing each other, "All right folks, this is it…15 by ones. Make it, take it, win by one." He looked around, "And boy you can feel the intensity in the air! So thick, even a chainsaw wouldn't be able to cut through it."

Nathan smirked as he looked at the blonde, "You ready for this punk? Feel free to back out at any time."

Lucas scoffed. "Not on your life."

Nathan shrugged, "Okay, don't say I didn't try to save you from a public humiliation. But wait, I'm sure you're used to it right?"

Lucas's eyes darkened, he swiped the ball from him and jumped up in the air sending the ball into perfect net, "You were saying?"

"Whoa! A 25-footer rips the silk like Jimmy Edwards in a size 3 dress. Let's go Luke!"

Nathan gritted his teeth, and he shoved the ball back into his chest, "Let's go, man. I'll give you that all night."

Lucas smiled as he gripped the ball in his hands, he faked to the left and side-stepped Nathan dribbling at full-pace, slamming the ball in the net once again, "Sure you can hang all night?"

Nathan shook his head as he tossed the ball back to him, " Is that all you got, punk? If that's all you got, then this is way before it really starts."

"Let's go Lucas!"

"Get him Nate!"

Lucas bounced the ball in front of him and side-stepped him once again, going up under the net in a dunk.

Everyone on his side erupted into cheers. Nathan looked back at his friends angrily. He exhaled and Lucas smirked as he tossed the ball over to him, "Why don't you show me what you got Daddy's boy?" he taunted.

The game goes on for a little bit longer, with a lot of back and forth between the two. As Nathan takes the ball and goes up to net, Lucas blocks him on all sides and he lets out a frustrated noise. He tries to side-step him but to no avail. A second later he purposely slams his elbow into his face.

Lucas stumbles back from the blow. He looks at him angrily and turns around and spits blood into the ground, his nose and mouth burning from the blow.

"That was a damn foul!" he hears Skills protest across the court. Lucas looks at Nathan angrily and swipes the ball from him, "He's right. No fouls. Basket counts. Besides..." he shook his head confidently. "You won't score again."

"And that was a foul from Nathan Scott!" Mouth booms into his microphone, "The basket counts, and he goes in and Score! It's 14-12 folks, now it's game point for Nathan. He could win it all right here. Nathan for the win! He goes up under and he shoots and Holy crap! An unbelievable block from Lucas Scott! Did you see that?! Someday men will write stories about that block. Children will be named after it. Argentinean women will weep for it. Luke gets a basket, and he's down one. This could be it!"

Nathan guards him, "You're down by one, punk. Don't choke now."

"Another dagger, and Score! One more for Lucas Scott. It's all tied up! Talk about adrenaline, talk about nerves, what a game! I think I'm gonna puke."

"Come on, Nate! Come on, shut him down, Nathan!"

"You've got it Lucas, it's all you right now!"

"This is it, folks. There's no going back now. The next basket wins it all."

"He's never mentioned you, man…not once in all these years." Nathan put his arms out in front of him guarding his shot.

Lucas took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes, "This is for my mom." He jumps into the air and with a flick of his wrist sends the ball straight into the net.

"And he did it! Oh my god he did it! Lucas for the win! It's good, it's so good! Lucas Scott takes it 15-14!"

Lucas grinned as he turned to look back at his friends. They all ran to join him in the middle of the court forming a circle of joy around him.

"Lucas! You did it! I knew it!" Peyton laughed as she went flying into his arms.

"That's right dawg! You got this man, you owned his ass!" Skills punched him in the arm proudly.

Nathan glared at them. What the hell? That punk beat him. Him?! He shook his head angrily and strode past his shocked friends.

"Nathan…" Brooke started, but he ignored her and stormed past her angrily towards his car. She sighed and ran to catch up to him, the rest of their friends following in stunned silence.

Lucas laughed as his friends jumped around him in excitement chorusing his name over and over again. It felt good. Hell, it felt more than good. It was awesome. He couldn't explain the rush and adrenaline and pride he felt at that moment. He looked over to the other side of the court where Nathan's crowd had been minutes ago and noticed them start to disperse. Only one held back though and she was looking over at him smiling uncertainly.

He pushed his way through the small crowd that had formed around him and walked tentaviley over to her as she met him halfway.

"Hey." She smiled shyly.

"Hey." He replied, a little breathless.

She took a step towards him and touched his nose in an innocent gesture, "That was a nasty blow. Does it hurt?"

He smiled, feeling a little dizzy at her touch, "Eh. I'll manage."

She nodded and crossed her arms in front of her, "You will. Um..you did. Really well actually. Playing I mean." She took a deep breath, "So it looks like Whitey's found his much needed replacement huh?"

He shrugged, "I guess he has."

"Haley!" she turned around and glances at Brooke who's outside Nathan's car looking at her questioningly.

He nods towards Brooke, "I guess you better get going huh? Your friend doesn't look to happy."

She smiled, "Yeah…Um…" she rubbed her arms nervously, "I just..uh I wanted to say..congratulations… you played a good game. A fair game…and…"she smiles, "Well, see you around Lucas Scott."

He smiled back at heart, his heart doing a little somersault, "See you Haley James." She lifted her hand up in a small wave and turned around walking back towards Brooke.

Lucas sighed as he watched her slide into the backseat of Nathan's car. He turned around and came face to face with his two best friends.

"Hmm....our boy looks a little lovesick doesn't he Peyton?" Skills crossed his arms in front of him, "It's not contagious is it?"

Peyton laughed, "God let's hope not! Otherwise me and you are basically screwed." She grinned at Lucas, "So Hotshot…how does it feel to be the new number 1?"

Lucas laughed and put an arm around both of them, "Like you wouldn't believe."

Peyton snuggled into him, "I'm glad. You deserve it. Now what do you say we get out of here and me and Skills here will treat you to the biggest ice cream sundae you have ever seen."

He smiled, "Sure. I know just the place."

Nathan strode into the house angrily. He looked up in his surprise at his Dad who was standing by the foyer.

Dan raised an eyebrow at him, "How'd it go son?"

He sighed, "Don't worry, dad. Your dreams are still safe. ..." he strode past him and thundered up the stairs into his room leaving Dan to wonder just what had happened.