"Julian." Sylvia Baker sighed and readjusted her sunglasses before turning to look at her son. "Honey, I know this isn't going to be easy..."

"Easy?" He scoffed. "Really? Starting a new school, in a small town, where everybody already knows each other? No shit, mom. Should be a piece of cake!"

She shook her head and gestured for him to get out of the car. He was still bitter about the divorce, and being torn away from his life in L.A., so much so that he was taking it out on her.

Julian let the door slam shut behind him.

Tree Hill High School: Home Of The Ravens!

He rolled his eyes. "What a stupid name for a school."

It had been his mother's idea to move to North Carolina, she'd explained to him that she loved the small-town feel of Tree Hill. She'd told him that they would both be much happier there.

If you wanna be my lover

You gotta get with my friends

(Gotta get with my friends)

Make it last forever

Friendship never ends

Julian had been surrounded by beautiful people his entire life, Los Angeles was full of them. But the three girls climbing out of the blue Volkswagen New Beetle convertible would have blown all of the wannabee actresses out of the water.

They didn't look like they belonged together.

The girl on the left was the shortest, her long hair was piled on top of her head in a curly bun. She wore an agile sweater with a long white shirt, her arms were loaded down with books.

A girl who liked to study.

The one on the left was a blonde, her shoulder length hair framed her face in wild curls. The first thing Julian noticed about her was her Ramones 'Born To Ruin' t-shirt, he loved that band. She had on jeans like the other two girls, but she also wore a brown pleather jacket.

A rebel with great taste in music.

The girl in the middle was obviously the leader. Her brown hair was brown straight, and reached down to her waist. She wore a button up lace cami, revealing her flat stomach.

A popular little rich girl.

The trio stopped to talk to the growing crowd surrounding the brunet's convertible.

"They're gorgeous." A short kid with spiky hair appeared beside him, sticking his hand out for Julian to shake. "Aren't they? Marvin McFadden. You must be new."

"Julian Baker." He replied, pulling his hand back. "Yeah... Is it that obvious?"

Marvin shrugged and readjusted his backpack. "Don't worry, a lot of people are pretty friendly around here."

Julian chuckled. "That doesn't sound very reassuring... What about them?"

"The girl in the middle is Brooke Davis." He began, pointing her out. "She's captain of the cheer squad, and pretty much the most popular girl in school. She's Class President three years running, she's fiercely loyal, and she'd kill for the people she loves. The blonde, that's Peyton Sawyer, she and Brooke have been best friends since they were eight. She's kind of a loner, her mom died when she was a kid, and her dad travels a lot for work, so she doesn't really have any supervision. She's a cheerleader too, but she's also a really great artist, and she has-"

"A great taste in music." He said. "I know. I saw the t-shirt. What about the red head?"

"Haley James." Marvin continued. "Aspiring musician, and Tree Hill's best tutor. She's really smart, everyone knows she's a shoo-in to be valedictorian. She joined the cheer squad last year, but she's been tight with Brooke and Peyton since they were kids."

Julian raised an eye brow. "How do you know all of this?"

He shrugged. "Common knowledge."

Brooke was leading the way inside now.

"Dude." Marvin shook his head. "Don't even think about it. They're all with the Scott brothers."

The Scott Brothers? It sounded like a bad sitcom.

"And they are..."

He let out a loud, dramatic sigh. "You've gotta keep up, dude. Nathan and Lucas Scott. When they're not ruling the basketball court, they rule the entire school. And they also happen to be very good friends with Brooke, Peyton, and Haley. You won't get near them if the Scott Brothers have anything to say about it."

The girls were close enough to touch now. Brooke was still leading the way, her hand was wrapped around Haley's, her free arm linked through Peyton's.

"Gawk much?" She demanded when she caught him staring at her. "Mouth, c'mon! We need your hot bod."

Julian's gaze moved from Brooke to the boy he knew as Marvin.

Marvin/Mouth shrugged. "It's a nickname that just happened to stick. Anyway, I gotta go, that beautiful girl needs me."

"Wait!"

He stopped, shooting her an apologetic look for the delay. Brooke rolled her eyes at the girls, but they stayed to wait for him.

"You." Julian managed to get out, still in shock. "Are friends with them? How does a geek like you get to be such great friends with three gorgeous, popular girls?"

Mouth's jaw tightened. "Wow... You're really great at trying to make friends, aren't you?"

"Marvin... I didn't..."

"Whatever." He snapped. "If you must know, those girls are three of the greatest people I have ever met, and even when they got the chance to be popular, they didn't cast me aside like you'd think. So why don't you shut up, since you know nothing about it."

"Mouth." Brooke muttered, coming forward. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, giving him a gentle tug in the direction of the school. "Why are you wasting your time on this guy, huh? Let's go."

Before Julian could apologize, Brooke had whisked her three friends away, bringing Mouth into the conversation she had previously been occupied in with Haley and Peyton.

"Who is that guy?" Haley asked him, when they were far enough away.

"Some new-" Mouth started to reply, but Brooke held up a hand to cut him off.

"Who knows."

"And who cares." Peyton finished, grabbing Brooke's hand. "He's not important, Mouth."

"Curly's right." Brooke said, squeezing his shoulder. "I heard what he asked you, Mighty Mouth. Don't listen to him. You're our friend, you will always be our friend, and we love you to death."

Mouth smiled to himself.

He'd meant what he said to Julian, Brooke, Peyton, and Haley were truly amazing. Nathan, Lucas and the girls were the type of friends a guy like Mouth spent his entire life trying to find. He felt so lucky to have them.