Disclaimer: I don't own it...I wish I did though, I could use the money :D

A/N: Oh my GOD!! An update!! And not just any update, the final update for the story! Yes, it's over... for now, at least. I'm SOOO sorry it's taken so long, I have no excuse, considering school finished months ago, but I just couldn't figure out how to end it, and with the stress of finishing high school and waiting for results and finding out if I got into uni... well, I now have the year ahead of me, no school, thank god, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up with my updates. Anyway, enough of me rambling... without further ado, here it is... the end...

Chapter 10: Fixing Things

Knock, knock.

Haley looked up from the guitar she had been strumming aimlessly at the sound of someone at her hotel door. Looking at the clock, she was surprised that someone was here to see her this late at night. She placed her guitar on the bed and made her way to the door, pausing to look through the peephole, and she squealed when she saw her best friend on the other side. She threw open the door and launched herself into his arms.

'Lucas Eugene Scott! What are you doing here?'

'Visiting my bestest buddy in the whole world clearly. You wouldn't happen to know where she is would you? She's about your height, she used to have straight brown hair, goes by the name Haley James, I mean, Haley James-Scott.' She smacked his arm before dragging him into her room.

'I can't believe you came up here! What about school?'

'Oh, it's still there. Actually, speaking of, before I forget, here's the final English assignment. Figured I'd bring it up to you since I was coming anyway.' He pulled out the paper with the information on it from his small bag and handed it to her.

'Oh god, I forgot about school, it all just seems like another life time, you know?' She took the paper from him, scanning it before putting on the table. 'Come on, sit, tell me what's been happening, what've I missed? How is everyone?' He didn't miss the silent question of how's Nathan as they sat on the bed.

'Oh, well, you missed the time capsule thing, but that was a little while ago I guess, so maybe you already knew about that.' He saw the confused look on her face and laughed. 'Maybe not. So we all had to film this short, 5 minute thing about ourselves, while locked in a closet in the school and it'll be released in 50 years. Actually, it was the time capsule that had Nathan laughing for the first time since you left, he came out with this weird half smile thing, until of course Peyton started yelling at him for being a girl and taking so long to snap out of his funk.' Haley smiled, picturing the scene in her head.

'So he's doing ok? I mean, we speak on the phone and everything, but still, sometimes I not sure that he means it when he says he's fine.'

'He's doing better. He misses you, we all do, but Peyton and Brooke have been keeping him occupied, keeping his mind off being sad as much as possible, and you know those two, when they set their minds to something they do it. Dan's been giving him a hard time, I found them outside the school a few days ago, Nathan looked just about ready to knock him out when I dragged him out of there.'

'What happened?' Lucas saw the immediate concern for Nathan on Haley's face and smiled.

'Don't worry, it was just Dan being an ass, although even for Dan this was kinda assier than usual. He came up to Nathan between classes and gave him annulment papers to sign and then send to you.' Catching the look on Haley's face, he quickly added 'they were in quite a few small pieces on the ground and Dan by the time I got there Hales, don't worry. Nathan's no way near ready to give up on you yet.'

'Alright, we've established Nathan's good, so what about my best friend? How are things in the land of Lucas? Or should I being calling it the land of Lucas and Peyton since you two never seem to be apart anymore.'

'Very funny, she's not here right now is she?' Haley looked around the room as if trying to spot her.

'Well, you never know... I wouldn't be surprised.'

'Actually, she and Brooke commandeered your husband, again I might add to go celebrate with them.'

'Celebrate? What are they celebrating?'

'They're all over at Jake's house, he got full custody of Jenny, Nikki only got supervised visits once a fortnight, so everyone's at Jake's tonight.'

'That's so great, he must be so happy. Wait, how come if they're all celebrating your all the way up here in New York with me?'

'Cause I missed my best friend and Jake understands. You know him, he probably would've preferred to spend the night at home alone with Jenny, enjoying the fact that he knows he has her to keep safe but no one can say no to Brooke Davis, I think it's like physically impossible.'

'I know what you mean. So seriously though, how are things with you and Peyton? Since your smiling and laughing and not doing any sort of impression of the living dead, I'm assuming you're still together?'

'Yeah, we're still together, she has felt the need to get rid of me yet.' He had his almost self-deprecating smile as he ran his hand through his hair.

'Oh shut up, after all the stuff you two went through to get together, there is no way that girl is letting you go any time soon. So stop brooding, broody and tell me about our other friend, the lovely Brooke Davis. You know she'd be upset to know you left her for last.'

'Oh, but if she ever found out I'd just tell her that I had to get all the boring stuff about everyone else out of the way to clear the path for the much more interesting news about her.'

'You're such a smooth talker Lucas, but seriously, how is she?'

'It's hard to tell. This morning at school, before the end of the trial, Brooke found her locker with the word dyke written on it in bright red paint. She's been acting like it's no big deal, but I know it's hurting her. I just can't figure out who'd do that to Brooke, I mean, most people love her, especially since she's become Student Body President. It just doesn't make sense. Maybe Peyton'll get something out of her tonight.' He sighed, he didn't like seeing any of his friends hurt, and when it was his girlfriend's best friend and it hurt her too it was worse. He hated seeing Peyton in pain.

'She'll be ok, Luke. She's got all of you, and Peyton, she'll be ok.'

'Listen to you, you've been all across America on tour, and yet you can still roll out the advice sounding like a mother.'

'Eh, some things never change.'

'So tell me about the tour.'

***********************************************************

'Hey Nate.'

'Jake, how're you feeling? Full custody, that's great man.' Jake smiled and looked back at where Peyton and Brooke had commandeered Jenny.

'Yeah, I was so sure that she was going to win somehow, god I don't think I've been happier then when that judge said I had full custody, except the day Jenny was born.'

'Oh god, you know I don't know what I'd do if Haley was pregnant, I'm so not ready to be a father yet, I don't know how you do it.'

'Oh, I was scared out of my mind when Nikki told me she was pregnant, and I think I spent the next 7 months paranoid about the arrival of Jenny, but then I saw her and held her and everything changed. But I guess you don't have to worry about that right now, do you?'

'No.' Nathan replied softly, looking away from Jenny and down at the table.

'You know she's coming home, Nate. Actually, I talked to her the other day...'

'Hey Haley.'

'Jake? Jake Jagielski is that you?'

'Sure is Miss Rock Star Haley James-Scott. So, how's life on the road treating you? Made lots of new friends yet?' Haley laughed and he pictured her shaking her head at him.

'Oh it's all right you know. There are lots of great people out here, everyone's great...'

'But...?' He prompted.

'You read people far too well Jake. I miss you, I miss everyone...'

'Especially Nate?'

'See, reading me again.' There was a pause, and this time he waited for her to say what she wanted. 'How is he? I mean, I speak to him and Lucas tells me he's doing ok when we talk but...'

'You just wanna make sure? He's good Hales, he is. He misses you like crazy, but he wants you to be happy, and so he's happy that you're happy. But I think he is counting down the days until you come home.'

'Some days, I just wanna say to hell with this and jump on the first plane home, just to see him, to hold him. Do you think I'm being selfish? The last part came out so softly he barely caught it.

'No Hales, I think this is an amazing opportunity for you, and Nate knows that. Just enjoy it, don't forget about us little folk down in Tree Hill, and when you've done what you need to, come home.'

'Thanks Jake.'

'Well, I gotta go, Jenny's awake.'

'Well give that little cutie a kiss for me, will ya? And good luck, I know you're in the middle of everything with Nikki right now, so thanks for listening, and I wish I could be there.'

'Thanks Hales. Talk to you later, now go have fun.'

'Bye.'

'How did she sound?'

'She asked me if I thought she was being selfish, doing this, following her dream.'

'Of course she's not. I mean, sure, I wish her dream didn't take her so far away from here and from me, but if it's making her happy...'

'That's what I told her, but I don't really think I'm the one she needs to hear it from.' Nathan looked up at him, and he shrugged, before turning and heading back towards Jenny and the girls. Nathan watched him pick up Jenny, holding her close to him and sighed. He really needed to see Haley.

***************************************************************************

'Hello?' Brooke answered her cell on the fourth ring, wondering who would be calling her this late, almost midnight she noted, turning to look at the clock next to her bed.

'Hey Brooke, it's Anna.'

'Anna, is everything ok?'

'Yeah, sorry for the late call, but I had to tell you something, I couldn't get a hold of you earlier.'

'Yeah, sorry, we were all over at Jake's, celebrating you know.'

'Oh yeah, I'm really happy for him, from what I can tell, Nikki's a bitch.'

'You got that right, were you there the day she tried to start a fight with me at the school? She's nuts. I don't know how she thought that was gonna help her cause when she was in the middle of a custody battle, but you know.'

'She came to school and picked a fight with you? Where was I?'

'I have no idea... so anyway, what were you calling to tell me?'

'Oh... uh, about this morning, with your locker...'

'Oh...yeah. What about it?'

'Well, I know who did it.'

'Who...no.'

'Yeah, it was Felix. Brooke, I'm so sorry, I never thought he'd do something like that. I confronted him about it this afternoon, and he was saying something like better they all thought it was you, not me, and how I should be careful about who I kissed, anyone could see me. I think he saw us the other day, and with you rejecting him... I'm so sorry.'

'Hey, it's not your fault. I don't think either of us could've predicted your brother doing this. But are you sure you're ok? Cause I mean, when he wrote that, it wasn't really directed at me, it was kinda directed at you.'

'Yeah, I know. That's why after I told Principal Turner it was Felix, I told my parents, and I told them why.'

'You did what?'

'I told them. Everything. I told them what Felix did, and when they asked why, I told them about me, what Felix saw, all of it, although I did make sure to add in the fact that you are not, in any way my girlfriend, or gay.'

'Well thanks for that, but how did they take it?'

'Surprisingly, they were fine. My mum just said whoever makes me happy, they like, no matter which pair of chromosomes they have. My dad, well, he just hugged me, then went to yell at Felix.'

'Well I bet that would've been fun, sorry I missed it.'

'Yeah, I gotta tell you, after some of the shit Felix has pulled, I almost pulled out the popcorn to add to the moment.'

'Wish I could've been there.'

'Well, there is the possibility I got some of it on film.'

'No way! Alright, I'll be over bright and early to see that.'

'Actually, speaking of, my parents want you to come over for breakfast, sort of to meet you and apologise all in one. And they said it's about time they met one of my friends.'

'Alright, you've got yourself a deal. I'll see you tomorrow, and if you want me to get up at a reasonable time I've gotta get some sleep.'

'Same. Alright, see you tomorrow.'

Brooke put her phone back on the table next to her, and rolled over trying to get comfortable, but all the while with a grin on her face. Felix might have painted dyke on her locker, but it sounded like he was getting his, and if there was one thing Brooke believed in it was paying for your sins, especially if you were someone like Felix who just didn't seem to give a damn about who they were hurting.

*********************************************************************

'Hey baby, you coming home soon?' Lucas smiled into the phone as he zipped up his bag.

'I'm just getting ready to leave. How was last night? Everyone ok?'

'Yeah, Jake's still on cloud nine I think, Nate was, well he was pretty quiet, especially after Jake talked to him, and Brooke's doing better I think. I talked to her this morning, really early I might add, and she sounded really... chipper, considering. She said she had some news for all of us later but she wanted to tell us all together, and she had somewhere to be. What she was up, let alone going out, at 9:00 on a Saturday I have no idea, but she's Brooke. Trying to figure her out is a waste of time.'

'I won't argue with you there. So, I'll be in the car in about 15 minutes, if you let me go finish packing and saying bye to Hales.' She laughed.

'Alright, I'm going, geez I've never heard you so eager to get rid of me, in person or on the phone.'

'Well, if you look at it from my point of view, the quicker you get off the phone, the quicker I can get in my car and come home, to you, and see you, face to face.'

'Keep talking...'

'Well, I can't exactly kiss you through the phone, now can I? Or touch you...'

'Smooth talker, alright I'm going, you just get that cute butt of yours in your car and get back here.'

'You think my butt is cute?' He asked grinning.

'Oh god, dude shut up and go get in the car.'

'Yes ma'am. You know I never knew you had this side to you...' he laughed as he heard the dial tone coming through the phone. He flipped it shut and pushed it back into his pocket.

'Peyton?' He turned to see Haley watching him with a smile.

'Yeah, she's waiting for me to come home, apparently Brooke has something to tell us, but wants us all there, not that she's home right now anyway, she's out somewhere.'

'Brooke Davis out at 9:30 on a Saturday morning?'

'Yeah, I know, it's like a parallel universe or something.'

'So, I guess this is it, huh?'

'I guess so. It was way too long Hales, I've missed having you around.'

'You too. Come on, I'll walk you to your car.' They made their way downstairs and into the car park in silence. Lucas unlocked the car and put his stuff before turning back to Haley.

'So I guess this is it, huh?' Lucas said, echoing her earlier words making her smile.

'Yeah, I guess so.'

'Don't be a stranger. Have fun, do this for as long as you need, and then come home, ok?'

'Ok.'

'Come here.' He held open his arms, and she moved into them and he held her. 'Hey, it's gonna be alright.'

'What if he doesn't want me to come back? What if I wait too long and he doesn't want me to come back?'

'Shh... he's always gonna want you to come back, don't ever think otherwise, alright? And you know what, if for some strange, unknown reason he didn't, I would. I will always want you to come home Hales, alright?' She looked up and smiled, nodding. 'Alright, I have to go, call me?'

'I will.' She watched as he got in his car, pulled out, waved and headed towards the exit. He made it as far as the final barrier blocking his exit when he heard his name and looked into his rearview mirror to see Haley running up behind his car. He turned, rolling his window down and sticking his head out to see her properly.

'Hales...?'

'I'm coming home with you Luke.'

***************************************************************

'So did you find out anything else about what happened after your dad yelled at Felix?' Brooke asked as they sat on Anna's bed, waiting for breakfast to be ready.

'Well, no, but I haven't seen or heard from him all morning, he hasn't left his room, no music playing, nothing. It's weird, but I guess I'll find out soon enough.'

'Anna, Brooke, breakfast is ready.' The sound of Anna's mum's voice carried up the stairs and through the open door.

'Better not keep them waiting, huh?' Anna smiled at Brooke.

'Come on. You're only bubble cause they're not your parents, I bet you'd be singing a completely different tune if this was your house.'

'Well, lucky for me, my parents seem to forget half the time that they even have a child, so I've never really had to bring anyone home to meet them, friends or otherwise.'

'Wow, I don't think I'd like that. I mean, my parents can be annoying, but at least I know they care.'

'Yeah, so many people think it's awesome, you know, I'm able to do whatever I want, but I'd trade all that for a mum I could talk to, or a dad who'd demand to meet a boy who was taking me out. But that's alright. Peyton always leant me hers. Is it horrible of me to say I don't think I'd cry as much if my mum or dad died as I did when Anna Sawyer died, or I would cry if Larry died. Does that make me a bad child?'

'No, I think it reflects on who are your true parents, the ones who influenced you the most. You parents might have given birth to you, but other than that, they have no real claim to you, how you are as a person. Now, we really have to go to breakfast.' Anna smiled at Brooke as she stood, pulling her friend with her.

'Thanks. You know, if I was into girls, you'd totally be my number one choice to date.'

'Really?' Anna asked with a smile, and Brooke returned the favour with her own dimpled smile.

'Sure. You're sweet, funny, a good kisser, not to mention hot. Any girl would be lucky to have you.'

'Thanks Brooke.' Brooke shrugged and grinned.

'No problem. Now, if I could only meet a guy like you...'

'Oh don't worry, I'm sure you will one day, although I don't know if you'll ever find someone who's as good of a kisser as I am.' Anna said, causing Brooke to laugh as they made their way down the stairs.

'Brooke, I'm glad you could join us. Come, sit down.'

'Thanks for inviting me. I can't remember the last time I sat down for a full meal at breakfast, or any meal really.'

'You never eat with your family?'

'Well, I guess with school the last few years, everything's gotten so hectic and my father's work takes him all over the country, and my mother likes to accompany him, but Luke's mum has made us dinner a few times in the last few months, that's been nice.'

'Luke?'

'Lucas Scott, mum, he's one of the basketball players, his brother's Nathan, Felix didn't like them.' She added the last bit softly and with a bit of anger in her voice.

'Oh, yes Lucas. His mum owns the cafe and the new club, am I correct?' her mum asked, and she nodded, smiling.

'Yeah, that's him. His mum, Karen, she sort of acts as a surrogate parent to all of us.'

'All of you?' Anna's father asked, looking over at Brooke.

'Well, she's always been like a second mother to Haley, Lucas' best friend, but when her parents moved away after she married Nathan, she's been in that role a bit more, and Nathan's mum is great but she's been going through trouble with his and Lucas' father and I guess she's sort of neglected Nathan, plus she wasn't all that supportive of their marriage, and Peyton and I, well, Peyton's mum was like a mum to both of us, and I guess it's been so long since she died we both sort of forgot what it was like to have someone caring about where we were, who we were with, until Lucas came into our lives.' She took a breath and looked up at Anna's parents, who were looking at her stunned.

'This certainly is an interesting town. Nathan, Lucas' brother, married his best friend?'

'Yeah, a few months ago.'

'And Nathan is Lucas' older brother?'

'Actually, younger. I think by about 3 or 4 months, so they're in the same year at school.' She noted their confused looks. 'Dan Scott is their dad, Lucas' mum is Karen and Nathan's mum is Deb. They weren't really friends or on any sort of speaking terms, mainly because of Dan, until earlier this year when Lucas joined the basketball team, which I honestly think was the best thing to happen to the three of us, me, Peyton and Nathan. I've never seen them happier, or at least in Peyton's case, this happy since Anna Sawyer was alive.'

'Well, we will definitely have to meet this woman, and all your friends'

'Why don't you come to dinner tonight at Karen's Cafe, most of the gang should be there, and if they weren't planning on it, I can get them there. Plus, I can guarantee you'll get a great meal.'

'Sounds great, we'll be there.'

'Brooke, I'm pretty sure Anna would have told you the other reason we invited you over, other than to meet you of course.' Brooke smiled and nodded.

'She did, and I just wanted to say that you guys don't need to explain anything to me, or apologise for his actions, if and when he wants to do that, I might listen, but he was the one who did it, and like I said to Anna, since I'm not gay and I know that, it wasn't really me he was attacking. I'm not really the one he owes an apology to.' She looked over at Anna before looking at her parents. 'But thank you.'

'Well, you're welcome. Alright, enough of that talk, Brooke, tell us more about this town. We've been here for a few months, but I can see I'm still out of the loop with all the small town gossip.' Brooke smiled; small town gossip was something she was excellent at.

*******************************************************************

'Alright Nathan, since Lucas is still at least a few hours away, and Brooke is out and Jake probably wants to spend some quality time with Jenny, and I'm really bored, you and I are going to the River court.' Peyton announced, walking into his apartment.

'What?' He asked, looking up from the book he was reading... book?

'We're going to the River court, is that a book?' He looked down, and back up.

'Yeah.' She raised an eyebrow. 'What? I do read.'

'Uh huh, we dated for like, 2 years and I never once saw you read anything without pictures.'

'Alright, so since I started dating Haley I read. I just don't do it all that often. I still prefer things with pictures.' He said grinning.

'Alright, so I've learnt my new thing for the day, let's go. I haven't seen you shooting around for fun in ages and I'm sick of drawing my bedroom.'

'Miss Lucas huh?'

'Am I that obvious?'

'Well you're complaining about being sick of drawing your bedroom, and he's only been gone like, less than a day, plus you used to be able to draw whatever you wanted in your room.' She glared at him, and he laughed. 'Alright, I'm coming.'

15 minutes later she pulled her car up next to the court and they got out. Peyton made her way to the seats to watch and draw, while Nathan took his spot on the court and started shooting. They'd been there nearly half an hour, in silence, when Peyton's phone rang, and after a quick conversation with Lucas she looked up at Nathan.

'He'll be home in an hour, and he said he has a surprise, he wouldn't tell me what it was.' Nathan laughed at her pout and sulky tone.

'Well, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if he told you what it was, now would it?' He asked, laughing.

'Shut up. So, are you ok that he went to visit Haley?' He shrugged and shot the ball through the hoop.

'Don't be evasive, mister. Remember, 2 years, I know all your moves. You used to get like this about Dan, so don't avoid, cause I'll just keep asking.' She had set her pad aside by now, and he didn't make a move to go after the ball, he just stood in the middle of the court.

'I just, wish I'd thought to go. I mean, I did think about it, but I never actually did it. I should've gone to see her.'

'You know Lucas though, it's a little easier for him cause she's just his best friend, not his wife. But I mean, you've talked to her, right?'

'Yeah, but I guess she's not telling me everything.'

'What do you mean?'

'Jake told me last night that he spoke to her, and she asked him is she was being selfish. She's never asked me that, I mean, I'm her husband, shouldn't she be asking me these thing, telling me when she's worried or scared or...'

'You know she wants to ask you, but sometimes, it's easier to ask someone who's not in as deep as you are, I mean, look, she asked Jake, who she's kinda close with, but not you or even Luke, her best friend. She was probably looking for an impartial person who she didn't think would lie to appease her, or on the other hand possibly make her feel horrible. What are you really worried about?'

'God, how do you and Brooke do that?'

'It's a gift, so tell me.'

'She just, always sounds so happy when we talk, happier than I ever heard when...'

'When she was here? With you? Nate, that's just all the excitement of finally doing something she never thought she would, or could do. You know she's coming home. She just needs to do this, have the satisfaction of knowing she can and that she did and then she's coming home to you. Speaking of doing something you really want, did you decide to go to High Flyers?'

'God, everyone really does know everyone else's business in a small town, don't they?'

'Yep. Now spill.'

'I don't know, I'm thinking I might, especially with Hales away on the tour, it might be good to have something to focus on for the summer.'

'That's great Nate. I think it'll be a good distraction for you, get your mind off thinking stupid things like Haley's not coming home, and make the time pass quicker until the tour's over. So in a week, you're gonna go to that camp, you're gonna have 3 months of fun and when you come home, Haley's gonna come home too and next year, well, everything'll be different and back to normal and good again.'

'Wow, listen to the upbeat, cheery words coming out of Peyton Sawyer.'

'Alright dude, that's enough. Go play, I have a picture to finish.'

***************************************************************

'Luke, what if he doesn't want to see me? This was crazy, stop the car, turn around, just take me back to New York.' Lucas looked over at his best friend, who was staring out the front window.

'Hales, first, shut up, second, of course he wants to see you, and sorry but we're already here, no way am I driving you all the way back to New York, it took us like 4 hours to get here, so just relax, take a deep breath and look out the window.' Haley followed his hand and saw Nathan shooting hoops, Peyton on the seats drawing. She forgot to breath for a second as she watched him play. Then Lucas started driving forward and pulled up alongside Peyton's car. By this time, Peyton and Nathan had noticed the car, but not the passenger.

'Lucas!' they heard Peyton's voice, and Lucas smiled, getting out of the car to catch her as she jumped into his arms.

'Hey Blondie, I missed you.'

'I missed you too. Next time you disappear to visit your best friend you take me with you, ok?'

'Ok. But that won't be any time soon.'

'And why's that?'

'I told you I brought back a surprise.' He said, looking towards the car, where neither of their friends had noticed Haley had exited the car and was now standing nervously next to it, watching Nathan, who only spotted her when Peyton and Lucas looked in that direction.

'Hales...?' He said softly, which didn't stop Haley from hearing it.

'Hey,' she replied, just as softly, while Peyton and Lucas watched the two stare at each other in silence, before Haley launched herself towards her husband and into his arms. 'I missed you so much, I'm so sorry, I hate being away from you, hearing your voice just isn't the same as seeing you.'

'Shh, it's ok.'

'No, it's not, Nathan I wanna come home, the tour doesn't matter without you.'

'Hales, you're gonna finish the tour, you're gonna spend the next two and half months wowing the rest of America that you haven't gotten to yet, and then you're gonna come home.' She looked up at him.

'I can't leave you again, and for summer...'

'I'll be fine Hales, I won't even be here.'

'You're going to High Flyers?' He nodded and she broke into a smile. 'That's great, I'm so glad, you worked so hard for this.'

'And you worked hard for the tour. So you'll go finish it, and I'll go to High Flyers, I'll call you every single day, and in three months, we'll both be back here, ready to go back to school and be together, properly, again.'

'Wow, and I thought Lucas was the brother who was good with words.' She said, smirking slightly.

'Eh, you left me alone for so long I had to hang out with someone, I guess his bad habits rubbed off on me.' He replied, grinning down at her.

'Well you make sure you don't change too much, cause I really don't wanna be married to a Lucas clone.' Nathan laughed, bringing her in closer.

'Hey!' They looked up to see an indignant looking Lucas and Peyton who was clearly trying to muffle her laughter against his chest.

'Well, honestly Luke, would you want Peyton to start acting like me?'

'Eh, no not really, I'd rather she didn't.' He responded, smiling down at Peyton who was still trying not to laugh. 'You think Haley's funny do you?' He asked, looking down, and she shook her head, not looking up at him. 'Not very convincing. You know, it's not very nice to laugh at your boyfriend.' Now she looked up, still trying to contain her laughter.

'I'm sorry...' she trailed off, laughing.

'Hmm, I don't really believe you, but I think I know how to make you sorry.' He said softly, and when she noticed the look in his eyes, she stopped laughing and backed up.

'No, Lucas...'

'Too late.' With that, she took off running, Lucas close behind her, while their friends watched. He caught up to her quickly, scooping her up into his arms before, gently, dropping her on the nearby table that still held her sketchpad, one arm easily pinning her down, while the other found her weak spot and started tickling.

'No, Lucas!! Stop!'

'No, no, no, not until you apologise, and mean it.'

'I'm.... Lucas!!' She squirmed beneath his grip, trying to get free, and in the process, knocked her sketchpad, drawing Lucas attention to it, and the sketch she'd drawn that morning, of two people on the beach. They were facing each other, the girl in a long, white dress, the boy in a suit, their hands clasped between them. Above them were the word 'Always and Forever' but when he looked more closely at the boy and girl, it was Nathan and Haley like he expected. Instead, the girl had curly hair he knew would be blonde if there were colour, and the boy had longer, messy hair, and it too would be blonde.

'Lucas, what...?' Peyton turned her head and saw what he was looking at.

'When did you draw this?'

'This morning, Nathan was telling me about their wedding day, and I guess I just drew it.' She shrugged, or would have if he didn't still have her pinned. 'What's the big deal.' He finally looked away from the sketch and down at her face, and he realised she'd done it completely unintentionally, and still hadn't realised what she'd done.

'Peyt, look at their faces.' She turned back to the picture, and that's when she realised it wasn't Nathan and Haley, it was her and Lucas.

'Oh my god...' She managed to push Lucas off her, sitting up and grabbing the book. 'I was listening to him talk, but I was thinking about you, and I guess I just sort of... blended the two,' she rambled, looking everywhere but at him, until he placed a hand on her cheek, forcing her gaze up to him.

'You know how cute you get when you're embarrassed?' He asked, smirking slightly, and she groaned. 'No, really, I love it, just like I love you and the fact that you drew this, without realising, because you were listening to someone describe a wedding, and you were thinking of me and this is what happened.' He chuckled at the slightly panicked look that came into her eyes. 'Don't worry Blondie, I am in no shape, way or form proposing to you, cause as much as I love you, and see my future with you, we're 17 and I for one am not ready to get married.'

'Well thank god, for a second there I thought you were going all Naley on me.'

'Naley?' he questioned, a confused look on his face.

'You mix Nathan and Haley, and you get Naley...it's a Brooke thing. I think she called us Leyton the other day.' He rolled his eyes.

'Does she have some sort of condition that makes it physically impossible for her to use anyone's real name, or at least a nick-name that isn't some weird thing she concocted?' Peyton laughed.

'Um, no I think that's just her. Speaking of, what time is it?' He pulled his phone out of his jeans.

'Uh, it's after 3, why?'

'We have to meet Brooke, remember?'

'Oh, what time?'

'Well, for dinner, but she said an early dinner, so at like 6.'

'Well, that gives us some time, right? Hey Nate, how about a little one-on-one? We'll let the girls catch up, I'm sure Peyton's dying to know what a real tour is like now she has first-hand information right from the source.' He said, grinning at Haley.

'What if I said we wanted to play?' She asked, and Lucas just looked at her.

'Haley, can you throw the ball more than 2 feet?' He asked, but she didn't respond as she moved in front of the basket, and proceeded to use the bucket shot that Nathan had showed her earlier that year. She smiled as it went through the hoop before she moved to sit next to Peyton. Lucas looked at Nathan who was smiling proudly at Haley. 'I'm guessing you taught her that?' Nathan nodded. 'Whatever, you ready to get beaten again little brother?'

'Don't sound so sure of yourself, old man.'

****************************************************************

'Anna, Brooke?' Anna's mother's voice carried up the stairs of the large house early that evening. 'We should get going if we want to make it to dinner on time.'

'Coming mum!' Anna called back as the two girls rolled themselves off Anna's bed, Brooke dropping the magazine she'd been reading on the bed before searching for her shoes.

They met her parents at the front door, and Brooke smiled her famous smile at them.

'Let's get going, I know everyone's going to love meeting you all, I mean they already love Anna.' She led them out the front door, grabbing Anna's hand and dragging her behind her towards their car.

*****************************************************************

'Come on baby girl, we're going to be late for dinner.' Jake smiled down at Jenny as he placed her in her car seat. His parents had offered to take her for the night so he could enjoy the night with his friends, but even though he'd won the trial, he was still reluctant to let her out of his sight. Once he was satisfied she was safely buckled in, he got in and headed for the cafe, not wanting to get a lecture from Brooke for being late, as was sure to happen if he arrived after her.

*****************************************************************

'Come on Blondie, we still have to pick up Nathan and Haley, and you know how Brooke gets when we're late...' he trailed off as Peyton opened the bathroom door and stepped out into her room, and he stood, making his way over to her. She just smirked at him as he stood there silently, taking her in, as he seemed to every time he saw her, like there was suddenly something new and special about her. 'You know what, I've changed my mind. Let Nathan and Haley drive themselves, let Brooke yell at us.' She raised an eyebrow in question, smirk still in place. 'I'm suddenly feeling like I'd much rather stay in tonight.' She laughed, pulling him into what would be a hug if she hadn't pressed herself up against him in just the right places, teasing him in a way that would leave him distracted for the rest of the night.

'As much fun as that sounds, I'm not totally sure you're worth facing the wrath of a pissed off Brooke.' She whispered in his ear, before moving away from him, causing a low groan to escape from his mouth, and causing her to laugh once again.

'Oh that was funny for you, was it?' She nodded slightly, trying to muffle her laughter with the jacket in her hands. 'Fine, have your fun at my expense, but don't think there won't be retribution for this.'

'Oh, I'm scared now.' She said, picking up her phone from beside her bed as she made her way out of her room, leaving Lucas to follow.

'Oh, you better be,' he whispered softly, grinning as he followed her.

******************************************************************

'So, excited to see everyone again?' Nathan asked as he stood in the doorway to the bathroom, watching Haley put the finishing touches on her makeup.

'Uh, excited, nervous... completely scared they'll hate me.' She mumbled the last bit, but not softly enough, and Nathan frowned.

'Haley, none of them hate you for following your dreams. If you'd completely forgotten about them all, yeah maybe, and I think Peyton might've considered kicking your ass if you'd never called me, or Lucas but you did, and most importantly, since they all know that I'm happy for you, they're happy for you.'

'Wow... you really have been spending far too much time with Lucas, haven't you?'

'Yeah, god I really am starting to sound like him, aren't I? See? Just another reason I need to keep you around once this tour's over.'

'Oh yeah? Another reason huh? What are some of the other ones?' She asked, coming up to him, wrapping her arms around him, resting her head on his chest.

'Well, I mean you're really smart, so there's that, cause you know it really does help being married to your tutor. And you're kind of beautiful,' he said softly, and she looked up at him. 'And there's always the fact that, well, I'm kinda in love with you.'

'Yeah? Kinda?' she asked, smiling.

'Kinda... really, madly, more than is usually possible at our age. Enough, more than enough, to know that marrying you was the smartest thing I've ever done, except, you know, ask you out in the first place.'

'Excuse me, I do remember that Brooke set up our first date, there was no asking done by you.'

'Really? That must've slipped my mind.'

'Hmm, must've.' She agreed, nodding. 'Well, it's good to know that you kinda love me, cause you know, I kinda love you too. And I've really missed you these last few months, and I'm gonna miss you even more over the summer.' She ended softly, burying her head back into his chest, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her.

'I've missed you too, and the next three months are gonna be hell without you, but you know, at the end, we'll both be back here, together again, and happier for doing what we want, what we need. And if being apart for a little while again means when we get back we're that much more sure of everything, and really ready to be together, then I'm all for it. It'll be worth it in the end, right?'

'Right.' Although neither of them really sounded sure in what they were saying, they let it go, both wanting to just be there, together, for the short amount of time they had, which wasn't long since Nathan's phone started to ring, telling them Lucas and Peyton were around the corner, and bringing them back to the real world.

***********************************************************

'Alright, so now that everyone is here, finally,' Brooke started once they were all gathered in Karen's Cafe, throwing Peyton and Lucas a look, 'we can start on the evening's festivities... in about two minutes. Dinner will start momentarily, but first, some introductions are in order. Everyone, this is Mr and Mrs Taggaro, Anna's parents.' There was a silence in the room as everyone stared at the older couple, then around to Anna who was standing near Brooke. Lucas was the first to speak, recovering from the shock after only a minute.

'Anna's parents?' He asked, and Brooke nodded. He hadn't missed the fact that she had said Anna's parents. He looked at Anna, smiled, then moved towards her parents, hand out, still smiling. 'It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Lucas.'

'It's nice to meet you too, we heard all about you from Brooke this morning,' her father said, returning the hand shake. Lucas shot Brooke a confused look, but she simply smiled in return, turning to her best friend and grinning.

She watched as, one by one, everyone introduced themselves to Frank and Elizabeth, as they had told everyone to call them, when she noticed the girl beside Nathan, eyebrow raised and she listened to them talking.

'It's so nice to meet you, although I have to admit I've been out of the loop the last few months.' Haley was saying, smiling up at Nathan as his arm came around her waist.

'Yes, Brooke told us you'd been on tour, singing. That's fantastic, for someone so young, and you're married, correct?' Once again she smiled up at Nathan.

'That's right.'

'Well, I must say I was shocked when I heard, but seeing you, together despite the time you've been apart, I have to say your love must be strong to overcome this, and if you have, I believe you'll overcome anything.'

'Oh my god, TUTOR GIRL!!' Brooke's voice rang out through the cafe, and everyone stopped and turned to look at her. She ran at a surprised Haley, pulling her into a brief hug, before pulling back to glare at her. 'When did you get back? Why didn't you tell me you were back? How did I not notice you standing next to Nathan?' She demanded, the last question directed more at herself, and Haley smiled, amused at her antics. She pulled her into another hug. 'I'm so glad you're home.'

'Me too, Tigger, me too.'

**********************************************************************

'So Jake, how's it been, knowing you have Jenny and you don't have to worry about Nikki coming around trying to take her anymore?' Haley asked later, after they were done with dinner, sitting down next to him, giving him a questioning look before taking Jenny softly out of his arms, smiling down at the baby girl.

'Amazing. I guess the possibility of losing her just made her that much more precious, you know?'

'Mmm, I can't imagine the fear of thinking you could lose your baby, that would terrify me.'

'I guess a welcome back is in order, huh?'

'Yeah, I mean, I'm going back in a day, but, it feels good to be home, to know I can still call this place home and to know that, when I come back, it'll still be here... that Nathan will still be here, too. And I have to say thank you to you too.'

'You're welcome, but you know I didn't really do anything.'

'Well, you did, but that's beside the point. Thank you. And I'm so glad you won, just in case you couldn't tell. I wish I'd been here, but I'm so glad. Not many guys in your position would have ever stepped up and done what you did, especially with the amount of love you did it with. You're a great guy Jake Jagielski, Jenny's lucky to have you.'

'Well, you're not so bad yourself, Haley James, and Nathan's lucky to have you, as will any kids you have in the future.'

'Thanks, but hopefully that future's still a few years off, I don't know if I could quite handle being a mother just yet. I know I got married young, but I'm still not that ready to start a family.' She said with a smile, looking down at Jenny. 'You got really lucky with this one, you know that?'

'Yeah, I did.' He said, taking her back when Haley held her out gently. She watched as he moved away to put her in her down in the crib as she was starting to get sleepy.

'You know, you look pretty good with a kid, you're not planning to make me an uncle anytime soon, are you?' Lucas asked, taking the seat Jake had just vacated. Haley looked at him, startled.

'What? No!'

'Ok, calm down, just checking. I'm too young to be an uncle now anyway.' He grinned at her, and she smiled in return.

'Loser.'

'Yeah, yeah, you know you're lucky to have me.'

'Well, I guess I do have you to thank for my husband, so...'

'I'll take that as your way of saying you're glad we're best friends?' he asked, and she nodded.

'We got real lucky, didn't we? I mean, we were pretty happy just the two of us, but now, I've got Nathan, you've got Peyton, we've both got Brooke, and everyone.' She said, looking over to where their significant others were standing, laughing about something, and where Brooke was talking with Anna, Elizabeth and Karen. Jake was talking to Frank as he watched Jenny fall asleep.

'Yeah, things have definitely changed since it was just the two of us, haven't they? But at least it was a good change, cause you're right, despite everything that's happened, you have Nathan, I have Peyton and we have some great friends. All in all, I'd have to say accepting Whitey's offer was one of the smarter moves I've made this year.'

'Well, considering some of the dumb things you did...I'm kidding, I am definitely glad you joined the ravens. But let's just hope that next year isn't as interesting as this year. I'm not sure I could handle that much excitement again.'

'I second that. I'm glad you're my best friend, Haley James Scott.'

'Well, I'm glad you're my best friend too, Lucas Eugene Scott.'

'Hey, we agreed, no using the middle name in public, or ever!' He said, glaring at her, as she grinned at him.

'Hey Broody, Tutor Wife, get over here. Geez, you had an entire car trip to catch up with her, stop hogging her.' Brooke said as they neared, pulling Haley over to her discussion with Anna, leaving Lucas to wander towards Peyton, who was watching him as Nathan followed Haley, wrapping his arms around her as he stood behind her, not joining in the conversation, content to just hold her until she had to go back to the tour.

'You did a good thing, Luke, bringing her back. I mean, I think they would've been ok, but it would've been much harder if she'd stayed away longer.'

'Mmm, it was her idea. I mean, I kinda hoped she'd come back, but I didn't bring it up or anything. She literally chased me as I was driving away, deciding she was coming back with me. I'm glad she did.'

'You know, I'm so glad this year is over.'

'What, you haven't had a good year? Considering we got together, I'm kinda hurt.'

'No, it's been a good year, overall, but considering the parts that weren't so good, it's been a long year, so I'm glad it's over, and that it's ending this way. Hopefully next year'll be more like...this.' He looked down at her as he wrapped his arms around her, leaning down to press a quick kiss to her lips, smiling as he did so.

'I understand completely. So, Ms Sawyer, since all the craziness of the year seems to be behind us, are you ready to just be happy?' He asked, holding his hand out.

'I thought you'd never ask.' She replied, putting her hand in his, before they made their way over to where their friends were all gathered, talking and laughing.

Anyone looking in at the group wouldn't just see friends, old and new, they would see family, both old and new, because that's what they were now. It might have taken a lot for them to get here, but they had, and they got there together, and really, that's all that matters.

The year was over, but all the relationships that had formed were still going, some were being fixed or renewed and made stronger than ever. That's what summer was for. They might be going their separate ways for a few months, but for now, they were all content being happy, knowing all the drama was behind them.

At least for the summer, because let's face it, there's still senior year.

A/N: Ok, so there it is... I am planning to do a sequel, but that will probably not be for a while, I want to work on finishing my other stories first. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and it made sense – sorry for any continuity errors, I wrote this over a period of about three months. Oh, and I know you probably can't drive to New York in a day, but you know... it's a story :D Anyway, thanks to all the people who read this, and those who reviewed, you always make my day. Thanks for sticking by this and I hope the ending lived up to what you wanted. Until next time...