AN: Hello! I know it took me quite some time to get this chapter up, I'm sorry. I've been extremely busy, I've had exams and not that much inspiration so yeah.. On top of that, I don't like this chapter a whole lot to be honest. It's fillerish and I didn't seem to get it right so I don't know. I still hope some of you get to like this a bit! Thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter and favourited/alerted (though apparently it's called followed now, I'm not used to that yet :P) this story!

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 14. A New Beginning

Lucas walked the steps onto a porch that was familiar, yet it had been years since he had last stood there. It brought back a flood of memories and though he had expected them, it surprised him just how it made him feel.

It was the end of a chapter in his life, a chapter that had been over for quite a while now, but it felt as if it only now got the closure it needed. It also reminded him of another chapter of his life, the one before the previous one. But most of all, it seemed like the official beginning of a new one. And he couldn't wait to start it.

He knocked on the front door of the house and as though he had been expected, the door swung open,

"Coach Scott, come on in." Whitey smiled from in the doorway, letting Lucas in.

"Coach Durham." Lucas nodded with a smile himself, shaking the old man's hand and stepping into the house.

It had been a long time since Lucas had seen Whitey but as he was about to become the coach of the Tree Hill Ravens himself, he considered it only normal to go and pay the man a visit.

Whitey had been that one man, along with Keith to be honest, that had taught him the most important things in life. He had been more than just a basketball coach, and he had taught him way more than just how to play the game.

The two men talked for a while, discussing Lucas' new coaching job and the new Tree Hill Ravens. Being honest, Lucas had been quite anxious to come and see Whitey, being aware all too well of the importance and significance of the old coach, but now that he was actually talking with him, he knew that Whitey fully supported him. It had helped a lot when Peyton had told him before that she believed in him and now, knowing that Whitey did so too, he knew he'd be okay.

He really couldn't wait now to officially start his job as the coach of the Tree Hill Ravens.

But as it happens most of the time when you're about to start a new chapter in your life, the previous one tends to come up in conversations as well.

"I was sorry to hear about you and your wife, Lucas." Whitey said in his old, gravelly voice, making Lucas look up in surprise. "Yeah, your mom tells me things, you know. I go by the café sometimes, buying a nice cup of coffee, letting Karen fill me in on things happening."

Lucas let out a few chuckles, "It's good she does that, you have to stay on top of things, right?" They both laughed a little. "But it's okay, sometimes things just don't work out the way we want them too."

"True. On the bright side, it is great to see you back in town. Tree Hill sure has missed you."

"Yeah, it's nice to be back here." Lucas smiled. "I sure missed Tree Hill as well."

Silence fell for a little while until Whitey let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head just a little. "I've seen Miss Sawyer in town too lately. Guess Tree Hill tricked you both into coming back, huh?"

Lucas laughed as well, "Guess it did. It's nice to have her back in town too." He said and couldn't help the smile that was forming on his face.

"Old gang back together?" Whitey smiled.

"You could say that, yes." Lucas nodded, that smile still firmly in its place.

"So, how are things going?" Nathan asked, walking up to his brother watching over the last practice of the Ravens before their first game.

"Quite well, actually." Lucas answered. After his talk with Whitey the day before and now this last practice, he felt fairly confident about his team.

"Good." Nathan nodded. "You meant the team, right?" He asked then, tilting his head a little.

Raising an eyebrow, Lucas said, "Of course I meant the team, what else?"

"I don't know. Things with Peyton, maybe." Nathan answered matter-of-factly as Lucas shook his head a couple of times.

"You are such a gossip, you know that?"

"Well, I have to dig for gossip since you refuse to tell me anything. It's been like forever since you guys became friends again, I'm betting there's something more already. I even bet that Brooke and Haley know all about it already, but poor Nathan is always left out." Nathan said and crossed his arms over his chest, sounding a lot like a little kid.

Lucas couldn't help but laugh a little and patted his brother's shoulder, "First off, don't refer to yourself in third person, okay? Secondly, there's nothing more. It's um… complicated right now."

"So there is something more? See, I knew it. Ever since Haley said you were kind of confused about Peyton and stuff, I knew things were going to happen."

"Haley said what?" Lucas asked, eyes widening. "Now I can't even trust my best friend anymore."

"Oh, please. She kept your affair quiet, didn't she?"

"It wasn't an affair, Nathan!" Lucas hissed, looking around and making sure his team was still playing.

"Whatever. Anyway, she didn't tell me about it, so don't complain about Haley. Now come on, speak up." Nathan demanded.

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Fine. I don't know how things are between us, okay? I told her I loved her and –"

"Whoa, whoa. You told her you loved her?" Nathan interrupted his older brother, holding a hand up in the air. "Are you stupid?"

"Why is that stupid? It's the truth."

"It's also the last thing she needs to hear right now. Let me tell you, she's probably freaking out so much right now."

"And since when are you such an expert, huh?" Lucas scoffed.

"Well, let me point out to you that I am the one who's been married for years now, while you are the one who just moved back home after a divorce. Just saying, you know." Nathan shrugged.

"Fine. So she's freaking out now?" Lucas asked.

"Probably."

"So expert, what do I do?"

"You wait till she says something about it. Or you say something about it yourself. I don't know." The younger Scott answered, shrugging his shoulders again.

"That's no real advice, Nate."

"It's time to end your practice. You don't have time for advice, anyway."

"This is so exciting. It feels like forever since I've been to a Ravens game." Haley said excitedly, even bouncing a little.

"You guys never been to a game before Luke became the coach?" Peyton asked.

"No, not really. I mean, with Nathan being on the road so much, we didn't have much time."

Peyton nodded, "Yeah, I get it. But you're right, this is so exciting. I wish Brooke was here too."

"I know, me too." Haley said and sighed just a bit. "Although, she'd probably make us do some dance moves and cheer for the team. You know, 'just for old times' sake'." She finger-quoted in the air, laughing.

Laughing as well, Peyton nodded, "You're probably right. And being a cheerleader in high school was already bad enough, I don't care to relive that."

"Yeah. Besides, you were pretty bad."

"I was not bad! How can you say that, Hales?" The blonde said incredulously, her eyes widening.

Haley shrugged, but had to laugh too at the shocked expression on Peyton's face. "Just you know, facts. I don't know if you remember that time you bumped into practically everyone and then actually fell on the ground, in the middle of the routine." She said teasingly, enjoying Peyton's reaction.

"I do remember that, yes, but that has nothing to do with me being bad. Because you know, I wasn't bad. Rachel had gotten me drunk the night before, that's why I performed so poorly that day. Besides, everyone loved it." She smiled.

Thinking back of that day when they had just all gotten on the podium and had just danced like the young kids they were, Haley nodded, wearing a smile herself. "Yeah, you're right. Everyone did love it."

"See. Now, let's just agree that I wasn't bad and watch the game, it's about to start." Peyton said then, letting out a happy laugh and Haley had no problem matching that.

"Peyton!" Lucas called out, making his way through the people, receiving handshakes and claps on the back as he passed them.

She smiled at him through the crowd, forgetting that maybe she should feel awkward and just being extremely proud at him and his team for the moment. He reached her and before she could really control herself, she had thrown her arms around him and congratulated him on the game.

"You won!" She stated the obvious with a grin when they let go of each other. "I knew you could do it!"

"Thank you." He smiled back sincerely.

They both stayed silent for a couple of seconds, just locking eyes, before they were pulled back into reality by an all too familiar voice,

"Well, well, if these aren't Lucas Scott and Peyton Sawyer."

Peyton turned around quickly, meeting Whitey's eyes with a wide smile, "Coach Durham! It's so nice to see you!" She said, throwing her arms around him as Lucas amusedly watched over the two of them.

"It's actually just Whitey these days, he's the coach now." He answered, clapping Lucas on the back. "But thank you, Miss Sawyer, it's nice to see you too."

Lucas and Whitey talked a bit about the game and then Whitey left again, but not before telling Peyton they would see each other again soon and agreeing with Lucas to catch up later in the evening to rewatch the game.

"I need to run by the players first, but…" Lucas let his sentence trail as he and Peyton made their way out of the gym.

"I'll be at the café for a while before going home. I'll see you there." She smiled and then they went their own way, Peyton spotting Nathan and joining him on their way to the café where Haley was already helping out Karen.

After coming home from the café, Peyton had crawled into bed, tired of working all day and then going to the game. However, she hadn't been able to sleep at all and had instead grabbed her sketchpad.

It brought her some kind of solace, like it had always done, and some kind of peace. She didn't know what to do or how to act and somehow, drawing took her mind of off things. Even if it only helped a little, it was exactly what she needed. It had been a couple of days since Lucas had told her he loved her and she had tried to sort out her thoughts, figuring out what to say when she would see him again, but when she did see him at the game earlier, it didn't seem so important anymore and they had just simply not talked about it. It was important though, she knew that. But it was also big and scary and probably what she had also wanted forever, but now that it was actually in her reach, she didn't know if she could handle it all.

Just as Peyton decided to try and get some sleep anyway and she laid her sketchpad aside, she heard a knock on the door downstairs. She got up from her bed and put on a robe, making her way down the stairs and through the living room to open the door. It was pouring outside and whoever was standing in front of her door was becoming impatient, knocking again a couple of times.

She reached her front door and turned the lock. As she opened the door, she immediately recognized the person standing there,

"Luke, what… You're soaking, how… Come in." Peyton said worriedly, opening the door further for him to come in, but instead, Lucas just stood there, frozen, in the rain.

"Lucas, what are you doing here? What is going on?"