A/N: This was my very first OTH story ever written and knew it should be better than what it was. Hope you all enjoy the new and improved version. Please read and review.

Disclaimer: Don't own OTH

Chapter One

Nathan Scott opened his eyes and didn't even look at the time. He knew that it was time for his run. He quickly climbed out of his bed and into his jogging clothes and sneakers before grabbed his mp3 player. He put on one of his favorite songs and headed out the door. He hummed along to the song as he ran down the sidewalk.

After his twenty minute run, he arrived home and headed straight to the shower. After a quick shower, he dried himself and then changed into his work clothes. He looked at the time and knew that he had to get going. Yet, he didn't want to leave without telling Lucas. He hated to wake his brother after he had spent all weekend hanging out with his girlfriend, but he had to do it.

He gently knocked on his brother's bedroom door. "Lucas, I'm heading to school now," he called and waited for an answer. When he didn't get one, he knew that it meant trouble. He knocked on the door one last time before he slowly opened it and walked into the bedroom. He immediately saw the made bed and groaned in frustration. "He is so grounded," he muttered before he left the room.

He went down the stairs and through the house and out the front door. He knew that he couldn't do anything about Lucas until he saw him in school. He suddenly paused as he watched a moving truck pull up to the house next door. He had forgotten that someone had bought that house. He was curious to find out who it was. So he walked through his yard and into the next door neighbor's yard before he reached the car that had parked in the driveway.

He gave a welcoming smile to the two women who were climbing out of the vehicle. "I'm Nathan Scott, your next door neighbor and I'd like to be the first to welcome you both to Tree Hill."

The two women returned the smile. The woman who had been in the passenger seat spoke up. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Haley James, the one who is moving in." She then gestured over to the driver. "My sister Quinn is just helping me," she explained as she opened the back passenger seat and a golden retriever jumped out. She immediately started barking at the stranger. "And this is Jewel," Haley told him as she tried to calm the dog down.

Nathan approached Jewel cautiously and gently started stroking her. "Like the singer Jewel?" he asked as the dog began to calm down and started wagging her tail. "Or is there a different reason?"

"I take it that you're good with dogs," Haley guessed as she watched them fondly. "And she is named 'Jewel' because she was so adorable as a puppy."

Nathan nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I raised a few dogs during my childhood. I thought about having another one in the family, but time just slipped away from me," he told her. He then changed the subject. "So do you need help unpacking the moving truck?"

Haley smiled at him gratefully. "That's sweet, but I think that the movers can handle it," she said as her sister nudged her. "But you can help us unpack our trunk," she said. Nathan nodded.

"So what brings you to Tree Hill?" Nathan asked Haley as they walked into the foyer. He then put the box carefully down on the ground.

"I wanted to get away from city life for awhile," Haley told him. "I grew up in Wilmington, but I didn't want to live there my whole life. So I thought a small town like Tree Hill would be perfect for me."

"Well, you're in luck. Nothing ever happens here except the typical car accidents," Nathan told her. Haley and Quinn laughed. He wished that he could find out more about his new neighbor, but he had to get to work. "Excuse me, but I must get to work."

Haley nodded understandingly. "It was nice to meet you, Nathan," she said before they exchanged good-byes. As soon as he left, Quinn gave her sister a wide smile. Haley knew exactly what she was thinking. "No, don't even think about it."

"What am I thinking about?" Quinn asked her innocently.

Her sister gave her a look. "You are thinking about setting me up with him," she told her. "And it's not going to happen. He's unavailable. He was wearing his wedding ring."

Quinn was disappointed. "That's too bad. I think you two would have made a cute couple."

"Even if he was available, I've just moved into town. I would like to get to know him before I went out with him," Haley said. Quinn knew that she had a point. "Well, I should check on those movers." Quinn knew that the subject was closed and followed her sister back outside.

Nathan soon arrived at the school and parked in his usual place next to Jake's car. He then climbed out and walked into the school. He exchanged greetings with students as he walked to his destination. He reached the teachers' lounge and greeted Jake as he noticed a very pregnant Peyton. He frowned. "I thought you were starting on your maternity leave today," he said confused.

"That's what I wanted," Jake replied as he gave a stern look to his wife. "But my wife is stubborn."

"I want a few more days with my students," Peyton protested. "Not to mention that they haven't been able to find a substitute for my classes yet. Victoria would do it, but someone would then have to be principal, not to mention her daughter Brooke is in my classes. So that would show favoritism."

Nathan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that would be just as bad if I was Lucas's teacher. It can't be done."

"Speaking of Lucas, how is guardianship going?" Jake asked him. Nathan didn't answer. Jake made a face. "What did he do this time?"

"Lucas didn't come home again last night," Nathan replied. He then let out a sigh. "It's funny. I tell him that he can't have Lindsey stay the night. So he sleeps over at her house instead. I know he's seventeen, but he's still my responsibility. And he needs to respect my rules."

"No offense, but it makes me grateful that Jake and I have a long while before our child is a teenager," Peyton said as she placed her hand on her huge belly.

Jake tried to cheer his friend up. "At least you only have to watch over him for two more years. Then he is off to college. And it's probably going to be Duke."

"The problem is that Lucas doesn't want to go to college. He wants to marry Lindsey after they graduate high school," Nathan replied. "He thinks that she is 'the one', but I told him that he should wait. He snaps back by saying Rachel isn't the right one for me. Of course, he has never really liked Rachel in the first place. So I'm not surprised that he's saying that."

Just then, Victoria walked into the teachers' lounge and gave them a smile. "Good morning all. How is everybody today?" she asked them as she walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. Everyone told her their responses before she spoke again. "By the way, Brooke isn't feeling well. So she isn't going to be in school today. I'll be picking up her homework from her classes later."

Everyone nodded in acknowledgement as Nathan left the lounge. He wanted to see if he could find Lucas before classes began. Otherwise, he knew that Lucas would avoid him until basketball practice. Despite encouragement from Lindsey, he knew that Lucas wouldn't skip basketball practice. The only way that he would was if something happened to him.

However, he wasn't able to find Lucas before classes began. He was disappointed and frustrated, but he knew that he would give him the lecture during basketball practice. He decided to just head to his office and look over the plays for the next basketball game.

Hours later, school ended and basketball practice was about to start. Nathan walked into the gym and waited for his players to come out from the locker room. He wasn't surprised to see that Lucas wasn't there right away. He knew that he was having a hard time prying himself away from Lindsey.

Nathan knew better than to wait for his brother. He instructed his players to split up into two teams. Just as he was done, Lucas came running in the gym. Before he could give an excuse, Nathan spoke up first. "Lucas, can I speak to you for a few moments?" Lucas didn't say anything as he followed his older brother into his office. Nathan then shut the door before he sat at his desk. He took a deep breath before speaking. "Lucas, how many times do I have to tell you to come home by curfew?"

Lucas just gave him a shrug. "What's the big deal? You knew where I was," he said.

Nathan gave him a look. "You need to respect me and my rules. After all, you're living under my roof. I can kick you out at any time, but I don't want to do that. After all, you're still my brother."

"If you want to get technical, it's half-brother," Lucas corrected him.

Nathan glared at him. He was tired of his brother's attitude. "Ok, you're not only grounded for that comment, but you have just earned yourself ten laps around the gym." Lucas was about to protest when his brother continued. "Do you want to make it twenty?" he warned him. Lucas kept his mouth shut as he walked out of the office. Nathan sighed as he looked at the picture of his mother and stepfather on his desk. "Mom, I really am trying, but I can't seem to get through to him. What else can I do?"

After a long day, Nathan arrived home, exhausted. Lucas had barely spoken to him during practice. He couldn't blame him for being angry with him. He wasn't surprised when Lucas had left without saying good-bye to him. He also wasn't surprised to see that Lindsey was in the front seat of Lucas's car. Nathan hoped that he wouldn't stay at Lindsey's house too long.

As Nathan walked into the kitchen, he was relieved to see that Rachel had kept his dinner warm. Yet, she was nowhere in sight. He was surprised that she wasn't waiting for him. But he was too tired to think about where she could be. He ate his dinner alone. Just as he was done eating, he heard the back door unlocking. He gave his wife a smile as she walked into the room.

"I thought we should have some dessert," Rachel said as she showed him the ice cream. "I got your favorite, Rocky Road."

Nathan smiled at her. "You're the best," he replied as he got some bowls out from the cupboard. "Did you hear that a new neighbor moved in next door?"

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, I saw her this afternoon during my lunch hour. I can't believe that she has a dog. We won't get any sleep now."

"That's not true," Nathan replied. "Just because she has a dog doesn't mean that the dog will bark at all hours of the night."

Rachel wasn't convinced. "I hope not or there will be trouble," she told him.