A/N: So it's been a while since I last posted on here, probably getting onto two years now. Some of you may have noticed that I deleted all my stories on here, I won't go into the reasons why but I will say that I'm going to be posting a couple of my old fics back up again probably in the next few weeks. I haven't written in ages, mostly due to lack of time but also lack of inspiration and faith in my writing, but recently, thanks to the amazing br0kenbranch, I've decided to give it a try again and I started writing again. I had this idea for this fic about three years ago now but just never got around to writing it so I'm really excited about writing it now. I'm not sure if I'll write much after I've finished this one (it depends on if I have any more ideas and if I have the time) and I'm not guaranteeing that the post will be very regular or frequent because I have a full-time job now that takes up most of my time but I'll try my best to not leave it too long in between updates. I'm still getting used to writing all the characters again, so bear with me!

'Hurry up, Peyt! It's about to start!' Haley yelled from the living room.

'I'll be there in a second! You were the one who insisted on having ice cream for this,' Peyton shouted back from the kitchen next door, 'have you managed to get through to Brooke yet?'

'Nope, still dialling,' came the reply as Haley drummed her fingers impatiently on the laptop, waiting for the girl on the other end of the line to accept her call.

A few moments of quiet passed between the two women, interrupted only by the dialling tone coming from Haley's laptop and the sound of Peyton rummaging around in the kitchen for bowls and spoons as she waited for the ice cream to thaw. The muted TV projected flickering streams of colour into the living room, chasing away the oncoming shadows that the advance of dusk brought. Outside, the world seemed to be slowing down as though it too was anticipating what would happen next. In the last rays of the late August sun, the parts of the street that were visible from the window in the front room were bathed in varying hues of gold and amber. The approach of Autumn was just around the corner and soon the sky would be dark by this time in the evening. As if in preparation for this, there were still a few kids outside riding their bicycles and playing in their front yards; every now and then, couples walked past hand in hand basking in the warmth of the sunset.

All of this, however, was lost on the two women inside the house, as the one with auburn hair was too busy flicking her gaze between the silent TV screen and her laptop and the blonde currently was in the midst of constructing edible masterpieces in sundae glasses. Peyton drizzled the last bit of chocolate sauce over the ice cream and then carefully picked up her creations, balancing them expertly so as to not drop them and then began to walk slowly towards the next door room.

'Peyton, get your skinny ass in here now!' Haley called as the credits for the programme that had just been showing on the TV roll up the screen and, when she didn't get a reply within a few seconds, she bellowed, 'PEYTON!'

The blonde appeared in the doorway in that moment, shaking her head so that her tight curls bounced like they were doing some kind of dance; she was carrying the two glasses that contain what appeared to be two miniature mountains of ice cream, whipped cream, sprinkles, brownie pieces and sauce, among other things.

'Calm down, woman,' she sighed exaggeratedly, 'anyone would think the house was on fire!'

Haley grinned sheepishly at her, 'Sorry, but you know we all get a little crazy when it comes to this show.'

Peyton chuckled, 'Oh yeah, I know that far too well! I think I still have the mark from where Brooke chucked a coaster at my head for daring to talk during the title sequence.'

'Hey, I still say it was your own fault – I made it very clear what would happen if anyone spoke,' protested a tinny-sounding voice emanating from the laptop on the coffee table.

'Well thanks for finally joining us, Brooke,' quipped Haley, turning to glare at the image of the brunette that had just appeared on her laptop.

'What took you so long, B?' Peyton asked, sitting down on the couch next to Haley and setting the ice cream down on the table in front of them.

'When I heard you guys were going to be eating ice cream, I got jealous and decided I wanted some but then when I went to the freezer I realised I didn't have any, so I had to go out and buy some,' Brooke explained, waving her bowl of ice cream in front of her.

'And you couldn't have told us that before?' Haley demanded, mirroring Brooke's actions but with her phone rather than her dessert.

'I didn't think it would take as long as it did,' Brooke shrugged, her mouth already full of ice cream.

Haley opened her mouth to retort but Peyton cut in, 'Well what matters now is that we're all here together...sort of, so take the TV off mute, shut up and eat your damn ice cream, Haley James.'

She shoved one of the glasses towards Haley and picked up the other for herself. Only just then noticing the sundae, Haley's eyes went wide and lit up, 'Ooo, yummy!'

She clapped her hands like an excited two year old and took the glass and a spoon eagerly. She grabbed the remote and pressed the mute button and suddenly the small room was filled with the jingle of an advertisement for toothpaste. On the laptop screen, they could see Brooke turning on her own TV and pressing buttons on the remote until she got the right channel.

'What do you think is so special that they had to make a one-off episode in-between seasons?' Haley asked through a mouthful of ice cream.

Peyton shrugged and pulled her feet up onto the sofa, 'I dunno, maybe it's just to talk about all the rumours that the show's going to be cancelled after next season.'

'Yeah, or maybe Mrs Peterson finally found a decent wig to replace the one that makes it look like she's got a dead skunk on her head,' Brooke offered, making her friends choke on their ice cream with laughter.

'Yeah right, I think she'd be more upset about losing that thing than she would be if her husband died on air,' Peyton snorted once she'd recovered.

Haley smiled at both her friends and shook her head affectionately before stirring her sundae around her glass with her spoon. It was at times like these that she was comforted to know that no matter what else had changed between the three of them in the past few years that they still had these kinds of moments that demonstrated that they were still as close as ever. Things hadn't been the same since Brooke left for New York three and a half years ago which, of course, was natural. But so often it seemed like while her life had steadily gone upwards, for her and Peyton things had slumped and then plateaued. Of course, she was happy and proud of Brooke – they both were – but she knew that they both wished that their lives had taken a different route.

She was pulled from her reverie by Brooke squealing and Peyton turning up the volume on the TV. And then she was grateful again that they still had this tradition, that even though Brooke was miles apart from them they still made sure that they put aside at least one hour each week to watch their favourite TV show together.

'It's starting!' Brooke squeaked, bouncing up and down.

'I'm actually worried about how excited you are over this, Brooke,' Peyton said with her brow creased but the twitching at the corner of her mouth betrayed how amused she was by her best friend's antics.

Brooke simply stuck her tongue out at her before turning her attention to the TV screen.

'Hello, and welcome to this special episode of The Scott Life,' said a deep voice and a heavy-set man with dark hair appeared onscreen, 'I'm Dan Scott and in today's episode I'll catch you up on some of the things that have been happening in my life and then I'll be making a special announcement about next season, so be sure to stay tuned until the very end of the show to find out. Let's look at a reminder of what happened in the last season.'

The words 'previously on The Scott Life…' appeared on the screen, followed by a series of clips showing the last season's drama.

'I don't care what you guys say, I still think he's got that hot Dad vibe going on,' Brooke said.

'Eeew no, Brooke!' Haley giggled, screwing up her face, 'He's too creepy!'

'Sorry, B, I'm with Hales on this one,' Peyton smiled, 'he's such a smarmy git. I still don't know why Deb's stuck with him or what she saw in him in the first place.'

'Easy answer there, P Sawyer: money,' Brooke stated as though it was the most obvious answer in the world, which, looking at the Scott mansion as it appeared on the TV, it probably was, 'old man Dan is rolling in it and she needs it to keep having her 'medication'.'

'You're so cynical, Brooke, she could just genuinely love him,' Haley said, as the titles started and a picture of Dan with his arms around Deb's waist popped up with their names floating underneath them, 'I mean, look at them: they look pretty happy there.'

'My dear, sweet Haley, you always want to see the best in people,' Brooke smiled affectionately at her friend, 'maybe you're right and she did love him once but she definitely doesn't now. You can see it in the way that she tenses every time he touches her and they have separate bedrooms. Not to mention the fact he sleeps with anything in a short skirt.'

'Doesn't even need to be a short one,' Peyton added with a grin.

Haley suppressed a smile, 'Fine, maybe you're right but even you two can admit that Keith and Karen are really in love.'

'Oh those two, of course they are!' Brooke gasped, as though any other suggestion would have been sacrilege, 'Even our own P Sawyer, who's the biggest love cynic of them all can admit that.'

'Thanks for that title, B Davis,' Peyton snorted, 'and yes, I won't deny that Karen and Keith are very much in love and that they do make a very cute couple, but you can hardly blame me for being sceptical about love and marriage: just look at what's happened to all our parents.'

'Hey, my Dad and Kathy are very happy together, thank you very much,' Brooke protested.

'You're right, of course,' Peyton smiled, but it was a little strained as she thought of her and Haley's situations.

Haley, sensing her sadness, reached across and took her hand and squeezed it, 'We've been talking too much: we've already missed the first couple of minutes.'

For the most part, they remained quiet for the rest of the episode, occasionally commenting on something that had happened and then chatting during the ad breaks. The episode wasn't particularly exciting or interesting: it mostly focused on Deb and Dan's eldest child looking at various colleges, Dan dealing with a difficult employee at his car dealership and Deb organising her latest charity lunch.

'Ugh this is all so unnecessary,' Peyton groaned as the final ad break started, 'this is obviously just a filler episode to keep us all interested until the next season. Dan could have just done a press release or an announcement saying whatever it is he has to tell us and not made us sit through an hour of this garbage. He's only done it to get people watching, money grabbing bastard.'

Haley hummed in agreement, stretching herself out of her position on the sofa and shifting into a more comfortable one.

'Hate to say it but I have to agree with you on this one, Peyt,'Brooke yawned, 'this episode's actually managed to be more boring than the one where Deb had a flower arranging class. I don't know why Dan feels the need to try and make more money from this show – it's already one of the most popular reality TV shows on and he's made millions from it alone, even without his company.'

'I believe as Peyton so eloquently put it: he's a money grabbing bastard,' Haley offered.

'Hear, hear,' Peyton grinned, raising her now empty sundae glass in a mock toast.

'Oh, this is it, this is it!' Brooke shouted, as the break finished and Dan's upper half reappeared onscreen in front of a white background with lighting that was clearly designed to make him appear younger.

'So, as promised, dear viewer, it's now time for me to make a special announcement about the next series of The Scott Life. As you know, this show isn't just about me and my children and friends, but also about my wider family.'

'He's going to bring on Lucas and Nathan!' Brooke squealed excitedly.

'You're so obsessed with those two,' Peyton chuckled.

'What?' Brooke shrugged defensively, 'They're Hot! With a capital 'H'.'

'Brooke, honey, you think everyone on this show's hot,' Haley laughed.

'Well, I can't help it if Dan Scott just happens to have a ridiculously attractive family,' Brooke said, flipping her hair casually over her shoulder, 'but those two make the rest of them look like mountain trolls.'

'Shhhh! You're talking all over his announcement,' hissed Peyton, waving her hand at them to be quiet.

'Please, Dan loves the sound of his own voice so much I doubt we've missed anything important,' said Haley, rolling her eyes.

They fell silent and the sound of Dan Scott's voice once more permeated the living room.

'…And so for that reason, I need my nephews to come and help me with this announcement...'

'I told you!' Brooke shouted in triumph.

The next second, the camera pulled back to show two young men, one on either side of Dan. They were both in their early twenties, well-built and incredibly handsome. While there were clearly some family resemblances between the two of them, and even between them and Dan, for the most part they looked quite different. The one on the left, Lucas, had sandy blonde hair and was tanned, with deep blue eyes and a bit of stubble, while the one on the right, Nathan, had dark brown hair and lighter blue eyes, fairer skin and was clean shaven. They both smiled charmingly and looked at ease in front of the camera.

'Hi, I'm Lucas,' the blonde man said, shifting ever so slightly in his seat.

'Hi, I'm Nathan,' his brother smiled, looking a bit more confident than Lucas.

'And for the next season of The Scott Life,' they said in unison, 'you're going to be joining us as we travel back to our hometown, Tree Hill. See you then.'

The screen held their smiling faces for a second longer before going black and the credits started rolling up it. The three girls sat in shocked silence for a moment, unaware of the theme song of the show that was fading out or the announcer's voice telling them what would be on next.

Eventually, Peyton looked over at Haley and said in a hushed voice, 'You know what this means, right? They're coming here.'

Haley nodded, 'They're coming home.'

A/N: So, thoughts? Good, bad, indifferent? Let me know! I know it probably doesn't make a lot of sense right now but hopefully it'll become clearer as the story goes on. Thanks for reading!