"Nathan! You have exactly 15 minutes to get your ass down here!" Dan bellowed from the bottom of the stairs.

Nathan groaned at the abrupt interruption and rolled away from his girlfriend, landing on his back softly.

She giggled and lifted herself off slightly from the bed, "Trust us, to have a quickie moments before we have to leave for your game." she combed her fingers through her hair and adjusted her top, turning to look at him, "Daddy Scott's a little impatient tonight isn't he?"

"Ugh!" He shot her a look, "Do not refer to my father as Daddy Scott ever again. That's disgusting."

She ran her hand down his chest, "Oh? Is that a name you'd rather I reserve for you Baby?"

He grinned as he bent down to brush her lips with his, "You can call me whatever you want." He growled. She smiled against his lips and pulled him back on top of her, not really caring if they were late or not. They had been trying to get ready for the past hour, but kept getting caught up in each other. Of course, she should've known that would've happened when she decided to get ready over at his house.

"Nathan! Ten minutes!"

Brooke sighed and placed a hand on Nathan's chest, lightly pushing him off her, "All right, let's get moving Bitch. Before Dan has a fit."

He glared at her, and she sent him an innocent smile, "What? You said I could call you whatever I wanted."

He shook his head and couldn't help but laugh at her. She really was too cute sometimes. And beautiful, he thought, checking her out appreciatively as she stood up and straightened out her uniform, which had become rumpled from the time they had spent messing around on his bed.

"So this party tonight…" she began, reapplying her lip gloss, "Is it safe to assume that the entire team is going to be there?"

"By that I'm guessing you mean Lucas?" he rolled his eyes.

"And his girlfriend…or sister…or whatever." She added, fluffing her hair and staring critically at herself in the mirror "Anyways, remember, she's one of my girls now."

He shrugged, "Whatever." He pulled off his shirt over his head and slung it on the bed, digging in his duffle bag for his #23 jersey. "The punk won't show up."

"And if he does?" she questioned.

He smirked, "Then he's got more nerve than even I thought."

She stared at him through the mirror, "Nathan…you're not planning anything against him are you? I mean, not that I really care or anything, but, well I'd just like to know."

"Why would you assume I was?"

"Oh…I don't know…maybe because I know you." she shrugged, "Well even if you were, it couldn't be worse than what you've already pulled." She added, knowing of the previous incidents.

He smirked and pulled on his varsity jacket over his shoulders, "Don't count on it."

"Nathan! Get to moving! Now!"

Brooke looked up at him and laughed, "Uh-Oh, Daddy Scott means business." she teased, leaning down to grab her duffel bag.

He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Brooke…what did I tell you about that?"

She laughed and linked her hand with his, bringing him close to her so that she could plant a sweet kiss on his lips, "And since when do I listen to you?" she looked up at him, flashing her adorable dimples.

He grinned, Yeah, his girl was definitely hot. He placed a hand on the small of her back, bringing her closer to him so that he could deepen the kiss. He walked her backwards towards his bed and lay her down across his bed, for the 3rd or 4th time that night, who was counting?

"Nathan…" she giggled as he continued to kiss down her neck, "Your Dad's going to kill us."

"Hmm…" he murmured, his hand traveling down the side of her body, "We can be late."

The protest died on her lips, when his hands reached their intended destination. She shut her eyes and let out a shaky breath. Yeah, her boy was definitely hot. She allowed herself to get lost in him and his touch and his kiss. For the 3rd or 4th time that night, who was counting?


"All right, come out Bad-ass, let's see it." Lucas called out, pulling on his new basketball jersey and adjusting it over his frame.

A second later his bathroom door opened and Peyton finally stepped out. He turned around and let out a low whistle taking in her appearance. "Well, hey there Blondie. " he teased, "Who are you and what have you done with my Peyton?"

She blushed and fiddled with the short hem of the skirt, "Shut up." she complained, "I feel so stupid wearing this."

"Well, you look good." He said honestly. And she did. The short flouncy skirt revealed her long tanned legs and the fitted top, hugged the curve of her waist perfectly. Her curly hair was pulled back into a neat half ponytail and her make-up was subtle, yet flawless.

She let out a breath, "Thanks." She smiled as she took in his attire, "Speaking of looking good…" she teased, "Look at you Hot-shot."

He tugged on the collar of his jersey and puffed out his chest playfully, "I know." He wiggled his eyebrows at her playfully, "I make it look hot."

She laughed and went to stand next to him by the mirror, "Look at us, getting ready for the first big game of the year. Never did I think this would be us a couple of weeks ago."

"Yeah, well it just goes to show you how much things can change."

She looked over at the clock on his night stand and realized they needed to get a move on if they wanted to get to the gym in time. She scrambled for her duffel bag and tossed his over to him, "Hey, so did you talk to your mom? Did she change her mind?"

His eyes darkened slightly, "No. She wasn't here when I got home, and as far as I know, she's still at the café."

She let out a breath, "That's too bad. I really would've loved to see her there."

He shook his head sadly, "That makes two of us." he slung an arm around her shoulder and squeezed it gently as they walked out of his room, "But hey, at least I'll still have you and Keith there for support."


Karen looked up from the table she was cleaning as she heard the commotion outside. A huge truck, full of teenage kids zoomed by. She could distinctly hear the continuing chanting of 'Ravens' even after the truck disappeared out of sight.

She looked up at the clock and noticed it was almost 6:30. She sighed as she realized that the game would be well underway in less than an hour.

She looked up at the sound of the door jingling open, and smiled slightly as Keith made his way inside.

"Hey, you ready to go?"

She avoided his gaze, "I'm not going."

"What? Why?"

"I decided to stay open. I could really use the business."

He let out a sigh, "Does Luke know?"

She scrunched up her nose, "Kind of. We sort of had a disagreement over it a couple of days ago."

"He needs you to be there, Karen."

"He'll-he'll be okay…and he'll understand."

"I'm not so sure about that. Listen, I know what going back there tonight means for you. And I'm only going to say this once, but you need to let it go. Lucas needs you to be there for him on such an important night and believe me when I tell you that if you don't go…it's always going to be something you're going to look back on and wish you'd changed. So think about it please? And, hopefully I'll see you there tonight."

The door jingled once more as he exited, and she walked over to it, looking around the empty café, thoughtfully. She fingered the business sign, staring at it for a moment, before making her decision and flipping it over so that it read Closed.


Brooke and Nathan walked in hand in hand a little while later into the packed gym. It seemed everyone from their school was there and the place was buzzing with excitement. She grinned to herself, her eyes sparkling. She totally felt in her element, and she realized just how much she had missed this over the summer. Basketball was such a huge deal in their small town and the games were always such an event. She had to admit that she loved the feeling of walking in with her eye-catching uniform on the arm of the team's hottest star, knowing in all honesty that all eyes were on her and her boyfriend. And really who could blame them? She was sure, the two of them were quite a sight together.

She caught sight of her squad on the other side of the gym and she turned to Nathan, leaning up to kiss him quickly, "Just in case I don't get to talk to you before tip-off." she smiled, "You're good luck kiss. Of course, not that you need it."

He kissed her back, catching Whitey's exasperated look out of the corner of his eye, "I always need my good luck charm." He smiled back, referring to her kiss right before tip-off, which he now considered a ritual.

She kissed him back for just a minute and pulled away from him reluctantly, walking over to her squad, ready to go over the last minute stuff with them.

"Hey girls!" she said happily, coming to stand in front of them, "You guys ready or what?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "We've been ready. We have been for past 30 minutes that we've been warming up. Now, I don't know about you, seeing as though you're late."

"And who are you?" she retorted, "The team captain? Oh no wait. That's me. Sorry Sla-chel, but I don't owe you any explanations." She threw her hair over her shoulder and smirked, "And if you must know as to why I was late…well let me just put it this way…although Nathan can be quite fast on the court…he likes to take his time when it…uh..comes to other things…" she kinked up her brow suggestively, for the sole purpose to tick the redhead off.

"Basketball Slut." She muttered.

"Jealous whore." She shot back.

They glared at each other and Haley who'd been quiet came in between them knowing how quickly things could escalate between the two. She pulled Brooke off to her side and gave her a look. Brooke smiled innocently at her and turned away from her to talk to Bevin and Teresa.

Haley stretched her arms over her head, wanting nothing more than to get the whole thing over with. It struck her that even as long as she'd been doing this, she never quite bought into the whole excitement and madness that came with the first game of the year. Not like Brooke anyways, she thought, catching her best friend out of the corner of her eye. She could think of better things she could be doing with her time, instead of prancing around a stuffy gym in a too-short skirt, yelling silly words of encouragement to guys running around after a ball.

She let out a breath and shook her head, willing herself to get into the spirit of the game. She paused as she watched Peyton and Lucas walk into the gym together. She apparently wasn't the only one to notice them as she caught sight of Dan Scott watching the two blondes with a strange look on his face. She saw Lucas direct his gaze towards the crowded stands, his eyes landing on the older man.

"Aw…" she heard Rachel mutter next to her sarcastically, "Daddy must be so proud. Both sons in the team. How lucky could a father get? Too bad one's a complete star and the other one's a complete loser."

"Aw…." Peyton said, coming up behind the girls, having heard Rachel's last comment, "And your mommy must be so proud. Having done the entire team, or at least tried to, how lucky could a mother be?"

The other girls laughed and Rachel glared at Peyton, "Listen Blondie. You're new to this. I'd watch it if I were you. You do not want to mess with me."

Peyton rolled her eyes as she stretched her legs in front of her, "Please,like that's even a real threat. You may get away with being a bitch most of the time, but make another underhanded comment like that and I'll show you why you don't want to mess with me." She wasn't fazed by the icy glare the redhead threw her way.

Brooke grinned, approving of the girl in that moment. She walked over to her and slipped her arms through hers, "Way to go Goldilocks." She whispered in her ear.

Haley looked away from them. She turned her attention back to the other side of the gym. Where it no doubt, kept straying back to, ever since the handsome blonde had first come in. At that same moment, he looked up and their eyes met. He smiled hesitantly and she smiled back, letting out a sigh of relief she didn't realize she'd been holding in. She thought back to their conversation the day before and truly hoped he would be okay. She knew how important this game was to him, especially considering, who was and who wasn't in the stands.

She looked away from him when the way he was looking at her became too much for her. Who knew a simple glance from someone else, could have your heart pounding in your chest like you'd just run a marathon?

"Hey beautiful." A pair of lips grazed the shell of her ear and she jumped, turning around to glare at Felix. She slapped him on the arm, "Don't ever do that again." she hissed.

"Whoa…soo agressive..soo hot." He laughed at the look she was giving him, "Anyways, I just wanted to come over and wish you luck."

"Why? I'm not the one playing."

"No. But you are the one pumping up the crowd. Although…" his gaze traveled down her short skirt, "Just seeing you in your uniform, already has me pumped up and full of school spirit, if you know what I mean."

Her mouth fell open slightly and she shook her head as she watched him walk away. How in the hell did she ever agree to go out with this jerk? Oh, she told herself glancing back at the new member of the basketball team, You know the answer to that one, whether you want to realize it or not.

"Haley!" she turned startled to catch her best friend's annoyed stare. The brunette shook her head at her, "We're starting in a couple of minutes and I've been trying to get your attention, but like always, your head is up in space. Focus, Tutor Girl!"

"Sorry." She mumbled, taking a deep breath and shaking herself out of it. She had never been one to zone out over a boy. Or boys, as her case may be. And she wasn't about to start now.


Peyton took a deep breath and fumbled with her short skirt. She felt incredibly self-conscious and felt as if all eyes were on her, although she knew that was probably not true. She felt ridiculous and totally out of her element. Why in the world did she ever think doing this was a good idea?

"It gets easier every time, y'know."

She turned to her side to find Brooke smiling at her earnestly.

"What does?"

She waved her hand around at the crowd, "Them. The whole thing. It gets easier with each game." she shrugged, "Just breathe, Goldilocks. And let everything let go out of your mind. Just do what you've been doing at practice, and you'll be fine." She patted her on the shoulder lightly.

She smiled back and nodded, "Thanks."

The pretty captain paused as she turned back to regard her, "Are you coming over to Nathan's later?"

She shrugged, "Oh..I don't know. Hadn't really thought about it to be honest." We hadn't thought about it, she wanted to add, thinking of her best friend.

"Well…hey it's tradition for the entire team and squad to be there, so think about it okay?" she smiled at her again and turned her attention to Bevin, going over some minor details with the pretty blonde on the first cheer.

Peyton looked at her a little surprised, and she couldn't help but think back to the conversation that she and Jake had a couple of days earlier. Okay, so maybe the girl wasn't over friendly. But it was a start. And in that instance she caught a small glance at the great girl Jake claimed her to be.


Lucas looked around the crowded gym, his gaze lingering on the cheerleaders on the other side of the gym. Well..to one in particular.

Okay...it wasn't exactly helping with his nerves in any way. It didn't help him in any way that she had to look amazingly beautiful in her simple uniform.

He picked up a ball and dribbled it around the court in an effort to focus. He ran along with the rest of his teammates as they all warmed up, stopping right underneath the basket and sending the ball into a smooth lay-up.

"Looking good hot-stuff." Peyton called out to him as he jogged by, quietly enough as to not draw attention to herself, but just loud enough for him to hear.

He grinned back and jogged back over to the bench, unzipping his jacket and slipping it off. He paused, as he felt the eyes of the man he had come to hate over the years. He turned and looked him straight in the eyes, unwilling to let him faze him.

"Hey Luke, my man. I see you made it here alive."

Lucas tore his gaze away from Dan and smiled as he saw Jake approach him. They knocked knuckles, "Just barely." He joked. Well, kind of.

Jake nodded and he paused as he saw Lucas glance back to the older man in the stands. He clapped him on the shoulder, "Hey, man. Don't let him take it."

He looked back at him questioningly, "What?"

He nodded towards Nathan's father knowingly, "Your talent. Don't let him take it. That's something that's all yours, and yours alone."

He thought over Jake's words as he walked away, smiling to himself. His smile grew wider as he spotted his mom coming in and looking around. She met his eyes and she waved at him, smiling over at him. He saw her take a deep breath and walk over tentaviley to the bleachers, and at that moment his heart surged with love for his mother.


Nathan who was practicing on the other side of the gym looked over at the blonde boy over by the bleachers. He gritted his teeth and boiled internally as he caught sight of the name on the back of his jersey. Scott. As if he needed another reminder on how fucked up everything was. As if it wasn't enough that he could catch the speculation as to why there were two Scotts on the team.

He let out a breath and shook his head. He so didn't need to think about any of this right now. He needed to concentrate on his game. He turned towards the cheerleaders who were in the middle of one of their newest cheers. He couldn't help but grin as he caught sight of his girlfriend. She was totally in her element and she looked so hot, prancing around in her short skirt, yelling words of encouragement to the team. Although to only one in particular, he realized as she looked back at him and winked, blowing him a kiss.

He winked back at her and chuckled. What would he ever do without the most beautiful girl by his side cheering him on? He didn't even want to think about her not ever being there.

As he went under the basket for a layout, his gaze wandered over to the new cheerleader…Peyton..or something. His brother's girlfriend or best friend or whatever. He paused as he allowed himself to fully look at her for the first time. Damn, he thought. Why hadn't he ever noticed her before? The girl was beautiful. Of course, maybe not in the sort of obvious way his girlfriend was. But still. The girl definitely held her own, he realized, checking out the way her slim body stood out in the skimpy outfit and the way her curls were pulled prettily away from her face. And those eyes...even as they stared back at him coldly, he couldn't help but notice that they were the deepest shade of emerald.

He flashed her his famous grin and winked at her when her eyes met his. He couldn't help it. That part of him, that always noticed a pretty girl, that natural flirt in him would always be there. He couldn't shut that part of his personality off.

She rolled her eyes and turned around, but not before he could catch the blush that appeared on her cheeks.

He jogged past the girls and caught sight of Lucas's angry stare. He couldn't help but laugh at the tall blonde's expression. Having this girl on the squad, might work to his advantage in the end, he realized, thinking about how much fun he would have watching his brother squirm as he flirted and messed with his girl, or whatever she was to him. But one thing was sure, judging from his brother's expression, she was definitely important.


"Nathan!" his dad called out, coming up from behind him, "Remember, 20 shots… no less.

He fought the urge to salute his father, but opted to give him a quick assuring nod, "Got it, dad."


The game is about to start and Whitey calls them all in for a huddle, "All right boys. Go out there and make me proud. Ravens on three…1..2..3..Ravens!"

Whitey turned to Lucas, "All right son...you'll be sitting out the first half…"he turned to Nathan, "And you..Go out there and remember what we talked about."

Nathan nodded and he couldn't stop the smirk that appeared on his face. He leaned in towards the blonde so that only he could hear, ""Remember when I told you there was only room for one of us in this team? Why don't you watch and learn how it's done punk."

The entire gym resonated with cheers and applause as the younger Scott, ran around the gym.

"And there he is again!" their school announcer boomed over the speakers, "Bringing it home again. Another basket by Nathan Scott! He really looks sharp out there tonight. And now a steal by the ravens. They'll go on the offensive. Coach Whitey Durham urges them on. Tim Smith -- he's got Scott! And he hammers it home! ! He's already got 14 of the Ravens' 17 points tonight. Whoa! What a turnaround jumper! He's hot! What am I saying? He's smoking!"

"Hey Scott, L!" Whitey motioned over to him, "You're going in for Tim. C'mon let's go boy!"

Lucas dropped his towel on the bench and nervously got up. So this was it. No big deal, he told himself. You can do it.

Well, at least he thought he could. By the 2nd minute of being in, he wasn't so sure. He went to catch the ball that Brad threw his way and he narrowly missed it.

Brooke rolled her eyes as the ball whizzed past her, "Yeah..Nice catch!" she bit sarcastically. Seriously, couldn't this loser do anything right?

He didn't miss a beat as he grinned at her, "Nice legs." Was the quick reply.

Her mouth dropped open slightly in surprise. She couldn't help the flirtatious grin from spreading across her face. That part of her, that always noticed a cute guy, that natural flirt in her would always be there. She couldn't shut that part of her personality off. And the boy was definitely good looking, she realized, really looking at her boyfriend's rumored half-brother for the first time. Okay, so maybe he wasn't drop-dead gorgeous in the sort of obvious way that Nathan was, but the blonde definitely held his own.

She turned to her side, upon feeling her best friend's glare, "What?"

Nathan sighed in frustration as he looked over and noticed. He jogged over to Lucas, and jabbed him subtly on his side, "Keep your eyes on the ball, instead of my girl, punk." He snapped.

He didn't have a chance to respond as at that moment an opponent took the ball and by the time he realized it, he was too late to stop the opposing team from scoring a basket. He looked up towards the stands and couldn't help but notice Whitey shake his head in disappointment.

Nathan however found it amusing, "Hey!" he cracked, "Which side are you on?"

He let out a breath through gritted teeth. Get it together! He looked up in time as the ball came flying at him. He caught it smoothly and went in under the net to score, shooting it up in the air. He winced as it hit the rim of the basket and rebounded to the other side.

Nathan rolled his eyes and recovered the ball, dribbling it past the defense and sending it into a smooth dunk.

Dan stood up and clapped loudly, "Yeah! That's my boy! Go, Nathan!" he yelled out in a loud clear voice.

Whitey wipes his hand across his face tiredly. He signals the referee for a change and he obliges, blowing the whistle. Whitey motions to the older Scott, clapping him on the back as he walks over to him, "It's not your night, son." He motions to Vegas, "C'mon boy…you're going in."

Lucas walks over to his spot on the bench and slumps down it. He looks up and Nathan runs by laughing, "Hey…start taking notes, punk. You might actually learn something."


Brooke ran her fingers along Nathan's back, pushing herself as close to him as she possibly could. He groaned softly as his hands ran down the side of her body, his fingers digging into the smoothness of her thigh. God, she felt so good…

A second later, he pulled away from her, snickering. She pulled back to look at him and raised an eyebrow, "What's so funny?"

He shook his head, "Nothing, nothing." He closed the small gap between them and pulled her back into his arms roughly, his lips meeting hers again in a searing kiss. And yet again, despite his efforts, a chuckle escapes his lips.

She pushed him away angrily and fell back on her side of the car, "Un-fucking-believable."

"What?" he laughed openly now, "Babe, did you see how bad he sucked?"

She rolled her eyes and looked out the window, disinterested, "Like I care?"

He shook his head, utterly enjoying this, "He was horrible! Never in my life did I ever see a guy suck so much."

"And that's funny?"

He looked at her like she was crazy, "Hell yeah."

She rolled her eyes again and turned away from him.

He glared at her, "What's up Brooke? You never had a problem bashing the guy before." He looks at her closely, "What? You like this guy now or something? I saw the way you checked him out earlier. Go ahead, deny it." he challenged.

For some reason, Haley's words from the day at the mall came back to her just then, I get the situation between him and Nathan is screwed up…but you don't even know him…she shook her head and laughed. Why was she thinking about that now? "Yeah, right, He's totally not my type." She snaked her hand around his neck, pushing her way on top of him, "At least not the way that you are, who by the way I was trying to make out with. And yet, you can't stop thinking about your brother, so maybe I should be the one asking you what's wrong?"

He pushed her off him, thoroughly annoyed now, "Well put some ice on it. You ever think I might want to talk? And don't call him that." he added.

She scoffed and crossed her arms in front of her, "You're really going to pull that on me right now? I mean really Nathan, when was the last time we talked?"

"Well then, maybe you should rethink our relationship." He muttered.

Her head whipped around to face him, "Are you kidding me?" she snapped, "Who's the girl in this relationship? Because, right now it sounds to me like you are." she slumped down in her seat, "Y'know what? Screw this. Just take me home, I can only take your shit for so long."

"Fine." He snapped, absolutely furious. She seriously did not just acuse him of acting like a girl.

"Fine." She shot back, absolutely furious. He seriously did not just agree to take her home that quickly.

He gunned the engine and peeled out of the secluded park, they usually parked after a game to fool around. She rolled her eyes and scooted away from him as far as she could. They rode in absolute silence the entire drive to her house. Trust him, to act like an immature jerk. Sometimes she truly did not understand him…and sometimes…she got tired of trying to.

She sneaked a look back at his angry expression. Shit…if only he wasn't so damn hot….

He slammed on the brakes as he screeched to a halt directly in front of her house. She gathers her stuff quickly, avoiding his gaze as she kicked her side of the door open.

He sighed as he watched her angry movements. He reached out a hand to stop her and pulled her back a little so that he could look at her, "Hey..." He started softly, "Will I see you later tonight?"

She paused, her anger dissipating slowly at his apologetic stance. In the next instance it was gone, and she shook her head firmly, her expression hardening into a cold nonchalant smile, "Maybe you will. And maybe you won't." she shrugged, "Don't hold your breath, Superstar." She stepped out and slammed the door behind her, running up the steps of her house without so much as a backward glance.

He shook his head and slammed his hand on the wheel. Trust her to act like an absolute bitch. Sometimes he truly did not understand her….and sometimes…he got tired of trying to…


"Could it have gone any worse tonight?" Lucas moaned as he lay across his bed.

Peyton rolled her eyes at the pathetic expression on her best friend's face, "Could you be any more melodramatic?"

He sat up and looked at her , "Are you kidding me? Did you hear what they were saying about me?"

"Who cares?" she shot back exasperated, "It's just a game. Who cares if the entire school, most of your friends and half the town saw you suck?"

He glared at her, "Y'know…now would be the perfect time to do your whole cheerleader thing and oh, I don't know…try to cheer me up and tell me things aren't as bad as they seem?"

She crossed her arms in front of her as she regarded him, "Nope. Sorry. I'm not sugarcoating shit for you. I call it and I tell it how it is…and so yeah…tonight wasn't your best. In fact, I don't remember ever seeing you play so bad-"

"Peyton!" he cried out angrily.

She bit back a smile, "Sorry. The point is… it was one game, Lucas. Your first…but certainly not your last. So chill, Dude. You'll just have to do better next time buddy. "

He sighed and rolled around his bed to face her, not wanting to talk about it anymore, "Well…I certainly wasn't the only one to cause speculation tonight." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively.

He waved his hand at her cheerleader outfit, which she had quickly discarded after arriving at his house, opting to change into one of his shirts and pair of sweat pants, claiming the skimpy outfit suffocated her, "I'm talking about that. And how it certainly seemed to catch the attention of several guys there tonight, or should I say one in particular?"

She let out a breath, rolling her eyes, "I swear…before tonight the jerk probably didn't know I even existed. But sure…the one night I show up in a flouncy skirt, perfect hair and flawless make-up…all of a sudden he gives me the once-over, regarding me with his killer smile and expect me to just fall for his undeniable charm." The sarcasm just rolled off her tongue and she scoffed, "How typical."

"Okay, okay enough with the sarcasm. I get it. All I'm saying is I saw the way he looked at you tonight and the jerk better not try to pull anything with you."

"He won't. He's got a girlfriend remember?"

"And when has that stopped him before?"

She shrugged and turned away, not wanting to get into it any further, because if she was honest with herself, when he had winked and smiled over at her, well she'd be lying if she said she hadn't felt a small, but very real thrill. The guy was hot, and even someone as jaded as her, couldn't deny that.

She looked at her best friend, clearing her thoughts. "Anyways…so this party? Are we going or what?"

He gave her a look, "And further embarrass myself? I think not. I do not want to face those people after tonight."

She sighed, "Those people…in case you've forgotten…are now your teammates…and one of them..is your supposed dream girl…" she shrugged, "But hey…I guess if you don't want to see her…"

He sat up quickly in bed, "Well I guess…we could stop by..."

She laughed and shook her head, "I knew you would be a goner once I mentioned Haley…god you're so whipped and you're not even with the girl…" she shuddered visibly, "Kill me the day I start acting as love-sick as you…"

"Ha-ha." he dead-panned, getting up slowly from the bed.

She crossed her arms in front of her, "Will you hurry up?"

He gave her a curious look, "Why do you want to go so bad?"

She shrugged, "I just want to go check it out. Who knows? We might even have fun."

"Uh-Huh…Sure. You just want to go see Nathan." He teased.

"Lucas." She said sweetly, pushing him in the direction of his closet, "Go change."

He popped his head out of the closet, "Speaking of…we're going to your house straight after this…because there's no way in hell I'm showing up with you looking like that." he teased, ducking his head back in quickly as a pillow flew past him.


Nathan slumped down on the couch. He was at his Dad's beach house and it was only 10:00 and he was supposed to be setting up, for the huge bash that was supposed to go down in less than an hour. But honestly, he couldn't bring himself to really care, if it went down or not. People could just bring their own damn beer and hang around. He could care less. But he wasn't doing shit.

He groaned as he thought back to his argument with Brooke. Why did that girl have to get to him so easily? Why did he even have to care? She didn't realize the power she had to break or make his day. And he hated it. He was Nathan Scott, damn it. He wasn't used to feeling so damn vulnerable in a relationship. He was used to feeling in control. To being in control. He had never been the love-sick one in the relationship, chasing the girl down like a whipped puppy.

He'd be damned if he let her be the exception.

The doorbell rang, bringing him out of his reverie. He relunctantly got up, momentarily wondering why Tim, who was already supposed to be there to help him set up, didn't just walk in, instead of making him get up to answer.

He opened the door and his eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Rachel? What are you-"

He didn't have a chance to finish as the redhead pushed him back inside the doorway, slamming the door behind her and bringing his head down to crash her lips into his in a fiery kiss.