This Time Around

By: Sari

A/N: This is my first TV show related fan fiction ever and my first OTH fiction so cut me some slack you guys. Basically the premise for this story is that Lucas stayed in Charleston instead of going back to Tree Hill after the summer is over. So it's basically what happens to him in Charleston and how the others go on without him. No couples have been decided yet besides Naley, make sure to give feedback and tell me what you'd like to see in this story!

Disclaimer: OTH isn't mine. It belongs to Warner Brothers and those other cool people. Kali, however, is ALL mine.

Chapter 1: Summers over, now let the real fun begin

If Lucas Scott had asked himself 2 years ago if he would be living in Charleston with his uncle, running away from a problem which consisted of 2 girls he couldn't get out of his head. All the while trying to get over these same 2 girls he was running from he would have laughed. Hard. He wasn't usually so idiotic, he had been raised properly by his uncle and mom but the stupid, moronic decisions he had madelast year had royally screwed him up and now he was just left wondering, "What exactly went wrong?" He couldn't actually pinpoint an exact time. Maybe it was when he joined the basketball team, met Peyton Sawyer and Brooke Davis, or maybe it was when he got that damn tattoo while he was drunk out of his mind.

He would have gone on thinking this way if he hadn't been interrupted by Kali, one of his new friends he had made in Charleston.

"Earth to Lucas?! What the hell are you brooding about now?" She asked aggravated.

"Nothing, just thinking about the past year and how badly I screwed up."

She rolled her eyes, "don't tell me you're still on this subject. I thought we established the fact that you acted like a prick and you were going to turn over a new leaf this year." She sat down beside him and attempted to lighten the situation. "So Step 1 in the 'Brand New Lucas' plan: Get over Brooke and Peyton and move on with your life. I mean come on; you're over 200 miles away!"

"It's not that easy!" He protested. "I ruined her friendship with Peyton, broke her heart, and broke Peyton's in the process."

Kali snorted. "Brooke's a big girl. She'll get over it."

Lucas just shook his head. "You're right, whatever. Let's get out of here."

-- IN TREE HILL –-

Brooke Davis was a woman of many talents. She could dance, sew, cook, and drink with the best of them. One thing she could not do, much to her chagrin, was get rid of the damn hangover she had received last night.

"P. Sawyer, I'm never going out to drink again!" She cried dramatically, throwing a pillow at her best friend.

After Lucas had left for the summer, the two had slowly started to repair their friendship. It was a long process because of Brooke's lost trust in her oldest friend, but by now the two were back to what you would call "good friends." Brooke was positive that a couple more months of this and they would be back to normal—something she was looking forward to.

Peyton groaned and rolled over and grinned at Brooke. "Brooke, if you ever stop drinking I'll pass out from excitement."

"P. Sawyer, you wound me!" Brooke said smiling. This was what she missed the most, the playful banter that the two had. "C'mon get up; we're meeting Tim, Nathan, and Haley at Karen's shop for out 'end of summer' breakfast."

"Who thought of that corny idea in the first place?" Peyton asked, dragging herself out of Brooke's bed.

"We're doing this for Haley, who is depressed because her best friend moved 200 miles away and might not be moving back, so get up, get dressed, and when we get there act like you're enjoying it!"

Peyton rolled her eyes by obliged, going through Brooke's closet and picking out an outfit.

"What is the big deal anyway? Knowing Lucas he's not going to stay in Charleston. Who does he have there?"

"Well look who's here. He left because of us Peyton. You read that letter, he felt responsible for the state of our friendship and left to give us space."

Peyton sighed knowing that Brooke was right. "I just wished all 3 of us had tried to work it out instead of him moving to the next city. That wasn't necessary."

"It wasn't necessary but it worked didn't it? Look at us now. We're speaking again. When Broody was here we can barely keep from pawing at each other in public!"

Peyton let out another involuntary grin. Leave it to Brooke to brighten up an otherwise awful conversation. "We should get going. Don't want to be late!"

---

"Haley we have to go!" Nathan called upstairs. "We'll be late and I'll be damned if I have to hear Brooke bitch about it!"

"Coming…I'm coming!" Haley said while racing down the stairs. "I'm ready, see? Let's go."

He just smiled and held the door open for her.

"Talked to Lucas?" He asked.

Haley grew sad almost immediately when Nathan mention him. She had felt horrible for days when Lucas left even though Lucas had told her beforehand and she understood his reasoning for it. "No I haven't, he's supposed to call today."

Nathan nodded as he maneuvered the car into a parking space in front of Karen's café. "Great, they're not here. I won't have to hear Brooke's mouth."

Haley grinned at him before pulling him inside. "Brooke wouldn't yell at us anyway. She's toned down since the whole Luke-Peyton-Brooke fiasco."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Haley spotted Brooke and Peyton walking in the door and waved them over to their table, scooting over in the booth so Brooke could sit while Nathan did the same for Peyton. Tim finally ran in a few minutes later spouting off apologies for his lateness.

"Tim, man, its fine." Nathan shouted over Tim's rambling. Tim blushed.

The five of them ordered food and ate, chatting idly until Haley's cell went off. She fumbled for it and answered it. "Yea?"

"Is that how you greet you're best friend?" Luke teased, happy to hear her voice.

"Oh my god, Luke! It's about time you decided to call me!" Haley squealed. She jumped up out of the booth, pushing Brooke in the process before racing outside to take the call.

"Hey Hales, how's it going in the Hell hill?" He joked.

"It's not that bad here. How's it over in the wasteland?" She countered.

"Charleston is a whole lot brighter than Tree Hill is on any day—and extra bonus no drama."

"Yeah, well look who created it." She reminded him.

"Okay okay you win, but I didn't call to talk about them. How are you?"

"Better now that you called."

"Well that might not be the case when I say this." Lucas said.

Haley groaned loudly. "You're not dying of some terminal disease are you?"

He laughed. "Naww, I want to grace you with my presence for a couple more years." He paused, tone getting serious. "Hales, I'm not coming back to Tree Hill for the new school year."

"You're not doing WHAT? Wait, Scott, if this is some joke it's not funny."

"Hales, I'm settled here, and believe it or not I like it. I have friends, the school has an awesome basketball team, and Keith is really happy to have me here."

"But what about me? And Nathan? And Brooke?" She cried, making sure to add extra emphasis to the last name.

"I'll visit you and Nathan anytime and you know Brooke could care less about me."

"Visiting isn't the same thing Luke!"

"You're right it's not, but you're still my best friend and Nate is still my brother. Just because I moved doesn't mean that is going to change."

"You've really given this a lot of thought haven't you?" Haley finally asked, breaking the silence that had accompanied his last statement.

"Yes Haley I have, I'm not coming back to Tree Hill." He said finality heavy in his voice.

A/N 2: That's it for the prologue/1st chapter. I hope you guys liked it. Tell me if I should continue or not and also remember to tell me what couples you would like to see and which way you'd like the story to go!