2003 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

It was game day, and Aurora James was pleased about it.

She always loved game days, but what made this game day particularly exciting for her was the fact that Lucas was playing. She was happy that he decided not to quit the team. It wouldn't have been as fun with him gone, and they would've only had pictures from one game to document the moment.

"Under twenty to go, Ravens trail by 2."

Whitey had called a timeout, and the cheerleaders were doing one of their typical crowd cheers to get everyone excited to cheer on the guys; when the guys broke their huddle, the girls moved back to the sidelines, but Nathan took the opportunity to squeeze his best friend around her waist lightly, which made her laugh as she hit him with her pom-pom. Back on the sidelines, she caught Lucas's eye and winked at him.

"You're doing great." She mouthed to him, and Lucas smiled at her before he returned to focusing on the court.

"So, a quick timeout and the Ravens take the court, their undefeated record at stake. Eighteen seconds left on the clock. They need a basket to tie or a 3-pointer for the win. Jagielski to the inbound finds Tim Smith out top. We're under 10 seconds now. Smith dumps it down to Nathan Scott, and he's double-teamed, but he forces up a 7-footer. It kicks off the rim. Jake Jagielski, though, with an offensive rebound, with under 5 seconds on the clock. Jagielski out to Lucas Scott; he's behind the three-point line. The Ravens are going to win or lose it right here."

While the ball was passing through the air, the silence was so thick. It was as if everyone in the room had held their breath to see what would happen next. The opposing team and their fans hoped that Lucas missed, while The Ravens and their fans hoped that Lucas made it. And right as the buzzer went off, indicating that the game was over.

The ball went in, and the basket was good.

"Unbelievable. Lucas Scott with the 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Tree Hill Ravens are still undefeated! And I tell you what, if you're going to play the Ravens this season, you better take notes. There's a new Scott in town."

Everyone stormed the court after the game, and Aurora immediately ran to Lucas and jumped into his arms. Lucas laughed as he caught her and spun around a few times. Then Aurora rested her hands on his shoulders while he was holding her up by her thighs.

"You did amazing! The game-winning 3, at the buzzer! What the hell, dude! Who are you?" Aurora exclaimed, making Lucas laugh as he put her down on the ground and hugged her again.

"I couldn't do it without your support."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Lucas and Aurora both changed out of their uniforms in the locker rooms; Aurora came out first, so she waited for him, leaning against the wall that led into the separate locker rooms. When Lucas did walk out, she linked her arm through his, and they started to walk over towards Karen and Keith. "Nice game, Lucas," Keith said when they approached. "Hi, Aurora." He greeted her, and Aurora smiled at him.

"Hey, Uncle Keith." She said as he and Lucas high-fived.

"Thanks," Lucas said to him.

"You rock. For a kid that was about to quit, that was something to see." Keith said, and Aurora nodded her head in agreement. She was so happy that Lucas didn't quit, and now she was thinking that Lucas was probably happy that he didn't quit.

"But I picked up fouls too early and was slow getting back into it," Lucas said, and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"You also made the game-winning shot at the final buzzer; shut up," Aurora said, which made Keith and Karen laugh, and Lucas rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. 

"You were great," Karen said to her son, and Lucas smiled.

"Thanks, guys." He said, and then he looked at his mom. "See you soon, Mom." He said, and then he looked down at Aurora and squeezed her shoulders. "Come on, good luck charm." Aurora started laughing, and the two waved bye to Keith and Karen, but Karen called out after them.

"Not too late, Luke!"

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

"So, are we just going back to the cafe? Or are we switching it up and doing something new? I mean, I know Haley is back at the cafe and probably doesn't want to be left out, so we could go back there." Aurora said to Lucas as they approached his truck. Lucas opened the passenger side door for Aurora, and when she got in the truck, she put her duffle bag at her feet. When Lucas got in, she held her arms out for his, and when he gave it over to her, she put it on the ground, on top of hers.

"Whatever you want, really? Is Haley still on the clock?" Lucas asked, and Aurora shrugged her shoulders. She figured Haley was probably closing. Before she could say anything else, Brooke popped up from the backseat and was naked from the waist up.

"Hey, you," Brooke said. Lucas and Aurora both turned around and were shocked to see Brooke... they were even more shocked to see she was naked.

"Uh, I think you got in the wrong car," Lucas said. Aurora was wondering how Brooke was even comfortable enough to be doing this. She knew Brooke had no issues flirting with guys, but she knew that Brooke heard her voice, so she knew she was in here too. Aurora figured she's already come this far, so she had to see it through.

"Nah. Don't mind me. I just have to get out of this uniform. So, uh, anyway, I'm Brooke. But you probably already knew that. Can I tell you that last shot was awesome? How'd it feel? Good, huh? You know it did." Brooke said, and this time, Aurora cleared her throat.

"I'm still here... and you're still naked," Aurora said. Brooke shrugged her shoulders as she slung her bra over Lucas's shoulder, and Aurora felt bad for Lucas because he looked so uncomfortable, and she didn't know what to do. Then Brooke suddenly jumped down and went back into hiding.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed. Lucas and Aurora both turned to Lucas's window because someone was knocking on it.

"That game wasn't horrible," Whitey said, which made Aurora laugh.

"Thanks, coach," Lucas said.

"Well, don't turn pro yet. You drag your scrawny butt to the weight room twice a day starting now." Whitey said, and Lucas nodded his head.

"You got it." He responded.

"Oh, uh... by the way, there's a half-naked girl in the backseat of your car and a fully clothed girl in the front... just thought you'd like to know," Whitey said. He tipped his hat to Lucas and smiled at Aurora before walking away. When Brooke sat back up, she had her cheer jacket on and zipped.

"Grouchy." She mumbled about Whitey, which made Lucas and Aurora laugh. "So, anyway... you're in it now, aren't you? When that last shot went through, did you feel it change?" Brooke asked, and Lucas looked confused.

"Feel what change?" Lucas asked.

"Everything. I mean, how many moments in life can you point to and say, 'that's when it all changed.' You just had one. But don't worry, baby." Brooke whispered as she leaned up and leaned over his shoulder. "The popularity thing isn't so bad... just ask your girlfriend. Have a fun night, you two." Brooke said before she got out of the car. Once that was over, Aurora looked at Lucas.

"Cafe?" She asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Lucas and Aurora walked inside the cafe as Haley flipped the sign from 'open' to 'closed.' Aurora wasn't walking. Lucas was carrying her on his back, so he had to bend down a little when they walked in so she didn't hit her head. Haley turned around when she heard the bell ding. She saw that Aurora was hugging Lucas, and they both had frowns on their faces.

"Oh, no... did you guys lose?" Haley asked.

"12 points, eight assists, and I got the game-winning shot," Lucas said, and their frowns quickly turned to smiles as Aurora hopped down from his back.

"Hales, Luke was kicking ass! You missed a great game." Aurora said to her twin, and Haley sighed, but she was still smiling.

"Good!" She exclaimed, and then she hugged Lucas. "That is great, right?" She asked once they pulled away from their hug.

"Yeah, it's alright," Lucas said, and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"More than alright. Give yourself some more credit." Aurora said, and Haley groaned.

"I can't believe I had to work; tell me about it!" Haley said as they headed over to the counter. Haley just had to do some cleaning before the restaurant was officially closed up, so Lucas and Aurora sat in front of the counter.

"Actually, the beginning wasn't so great. I ran into you-know-who." Lucas said.

"His sperm-donor," Aurora whispered, which made her sister roll her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?" Haley asked.

"Actually, I was thinking about checking out the burning boat. You two wanna come with me?" Lucas asked. The burning boat ceremony is an annual thing where the students and residents of Tree Hill can burn stuff they don't want to carry around with them anymore. It lasts for a few days, so that way, everyone gets a chance to get rid of whatever they want to get rid of.

"Well, I suppose I could be seen with the two of you. Let me just call home and tell them not to wait up." Haley said as she walked over to the phone in the cafe. "Hey, mom, it's Haley... Haley James."

"And Aurora James... your other child is here too!" Aurora exclaimed, and Haley laughed while making a sign of drinking with her thumb and pinkie finger, which made Aurora laugh.

"Your daughters... listen, we're going out after work, and we'll be home, okay? Alright, bye." Haley said as she hung up the phone.

"Was Mom drinking?" Aurora asked, and Haley shook her head as she laughed.

"No, I got the machine; let's go."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

"Hey, I didn't think you'd be here." Aurora James said to her best friend, Nathan Scott. When she, Haley, and Lucas got to the burning boat ceremony, she saw him standing alone. He never mentioned whether he would come, but Aurora was happy to see him. When Nathan heard her voice, he looked over and smiled at her, and then he turned back to watch the waves crash against the shore.

"Just needed to get out of the house and clear my head," Nathan said.

"Is everything okay?" Aurora asked, and Nathan shrugged his shoulders.

"My dad is getting on my case, of course. Lucas has a decent game, and somehow I still need to do better. I still need to measure up, and it's just so irritating. Why can't I ever do anything right?" Nathan said out of frustration, but that made Aurora sad that Nathan felt that way. She wrapped her arms around his torso and laid her head on his chest.

"Don't say that Nathan... you're not doing anything wrong. Your dad is just an asshole. Sure, Lucas had a good game, but so did you. Don't let your dad tell you otherwise, okay?" Aurora said as Nathan wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her.

"Yeah... okay, I'll try. Thanks, Aurora... I don't know how I would've survived that man without you." Nathan said. He kissed the top of her head before they pulled away, and she smiled at him.

"Do you have anything you want to burn this year?" Aurora asked.

"Your friendship with Lucas." Nathan teased, which made Aurora roll her eyes.

"Hey... watch it." She teased, and Nathan laughed.

"I'm only partially kidding. It just seems like I don't see you as much anymore. I miss my best friend." Nathan said. Aurora frowned as Nathan wrapped his arm back around her shoulders, and she rested her head against him while hugging his torso.

"Nate, I'm always here. All you have to do is call me. Stop spending so much time with Peyton." Aurora teased, which made Nathan laugh.

"She's my girlfriend. I can't do that." Nathan said. But in all honesty, Aurora didn't understand why or how they were still together. They fight and break up all the time, and when they are together, all they do is have sex. Is that really a relationship? Aurora thought that maybe Nathan only stayed with her because he felt like there was no other option. But anyone who knows them knows their relationship is not healthy at all.

"You could always break up with her for good," Aurora said, and Nathan rolled his eyes.

"I don't want to do that," Nathan said, and Aurora shrugged.

"Your loss... but anyways, I'm gonna catch back up with Luke and Haley, but I wanted to tell you, hey, and I do miss you... and Nathan, you played a good game tonight; no one can take that away from you, okay?" She said. Nathan nodded and smiled at her as Aurora leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"Are you burning anything this year?" He asked, and Aurora shook her head.

"No... I'm actually doing pretty good this year." She said, which made Nathan smile.

"Good."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

The following day, Aurora was with her sister in the tutoring center. Haley is a tutor; Aurora isn't, but during her free period, she likes to go into the tutoring center with Haley to do her homework, and then if she needs help, Haley is right there. Haley loves helping Aurora whenever she needs it, so it's a win for both girls.

"Hey." The twins heard. They both looked up at the same time and saw Nathan. Aurora smiled while Haley focused on her work because she assumed Nathan was there to see her sister.

"Hey, Nate... what's up?" Aurora asked.

"You know I love you, but I'm actually here because your sister is my tutor," Nathan said. That made Haley lift her head and look at the jock. She looked utterly stunned. She looked over at Aurora, who looked just as shocked.

"Right. I don't think so." Haley said as she laughed and shook her head.

"You're Haley James, right? I mean, Aurora's sister, James, is your last name, like her... and you two also look very identical even though you're not identical twins... and I know she's Aurora... so you're definitely Haley." Nathan said as he held out a blue paper to her.

Haley took the paper he was holding, and she looked over it, so Aurora leaned over so she could look at it too, and sure enough, Haley's name was listed on it as Nathan's tutor. Haley shook her as she handed the paper back to him.

"I'm sorry, I'm best friends with Lucas," Haley said.

"Well then, I'm sorry too," Nathan said. Aurora rolled her eyes before giving Nathan a look, and Haley also rolled her eyes.

"Forget it. I'll find you someone else." Haley said.

"Whoa, whoa, look... there is nobody else, alright? I'd be fine with it if there were." Nathan said. Aurora could understand why he was paired with Haley. They're all in the same grade, and Haley is the best tutor in the tutoring center.

"If there were." Haley corrected him.

"See? You're helping me already." Nathan said, and Aurora laughed.

"Look, I can't help you, and on top of that, I won't help you. Okay?" Haley said before packing up her stuff and she left the tutoring center. Aurora sighed, and then a second later, the bell rang, indicating the period was over. Aurora packed up her things, and she looked at Nathan.

"Sorry, Nate... we can't all be friends with you and Lucas. It's a special reserve only for me." Aurora said. Nathan laughed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they left the tutoring center and walked towards their next class, which they had together.

"Maybe she'll come around eventually."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

"Oh my god... I heard about this, and I was hoping it wasn't true." Aurora James said as she got out of her car and walked onto the river court. It was trashed. There was graffiti everywhere on the court and on the backboard of the baskets, which Lucas was currently washing off. Aurora was pissed because she knew Nathan and the team were behind it.

"What do you want, Aurora?" Lucas snapped at her. She knew that it wasn't her that he was actually mad at, so she just brushed off his tone.

"I just wanted to come down and see if I could help you," Aurora said. Lucas shook his head as he came down from the ladder. She could see the anger and hurt in his eyes, and that made her even sadder.

"I don't need your help," Lucas said.

"Too bad you're getting it." She said. She noticed he had other cleaning supplies, so she grabbed another sponge and started to scrub at the graffiti on the ground. "Look, since I know Nathan was the one who did it, I'm just going to apologize now," Aurora said.

"Why are you friends with him anyway? I mean, you have Haley and me; what could you possibly need him for?" Lucas asked, and Aurora sighed.

"Lucas... I met Nathan two years before I met you. Seven hundred thirty days and all the years after that, I can't just throw all of that away because you two can't get along. I would never give up my friendship with him for you, just like I would never give up my friendship with you for him." Aurora said, and Lucas sighed as he realized his mistake.

"Aurora, I'm sorry. I know it's not your fault. I just... I look at you, and you're so good, pure, a heart of gold, down to earth, and so understanding... everything that Nathan isn't, and I just don't get how you can stand to be around him." Lucas said. He was now on the ground, too, helping her scrub. Aurora took a deep breath, and she momentarily stopped scrubbing the court so she could look at Lucas; and when Lucas felt her eyes on him, he turned to meet her gaze.

"I can do that because Nathan wasn't always like this, you know? He was a sweet kid, down-to-earth, with a heart of gold. Then Deb started going on business trips more frequently, and for long amounts of time, leaving Nathan alone with Dan... it's easy to sink your poisonous claws into a vulnerable child that thinks the world of you." Aurora said.

"We can't blame it all on Dan," Lucas said.

"But can't we? Do you understand how manipulation works, Lucas? Especially when it's from parent to child? Look, I know you think Nathan has some perfect life since he had two parents to raise him... but if you were to ask him, he would say that you're the lucky one because you didn't have to deal with Dan. So whenever you're having one of your 'daddy issues' episodes, just remember you lucked out, big time. Nathan got stuck with the toxic asshole, and you got Keith. You're the lucky one." Aurora said to him before she turned back to scrubbing the court.

"I wish it were that simple, Ari," Lucas said, and Aurora sighed.

"I know... I understand that, Lucas. I do... But sometimes, I wish the two of you would try to see things from the other one's perspective. It would make things a lot easier for me, selfishly." Aurora said. She and Lucas both laughed, and then some of her hair fell in front of her face, and Aurora rolled her eyes because she hated when her hair came out of her ponytail.

Lucas reached over, moved her hair out of the way and behind her ear, and then kept his hand there. Resting on the back of her cheek, near her jaw and neck area. Aurora suddenly stiffened up because she didn't know what he would do. Would he kiss her for real this time? Most of the time, Aurora has kissed him before games, she's been joking, but she has had a crush on Lucas for years; she just never said anything because she didn't want to ruin their friendship if he didn't feel the same way.

"You are the most selfless person that I know... and I know balancing the two of us can't be easy, so thank you... for being the greatest friend that I've ever had. Just don't tell your sister." Lucas said, which made them both laugh. "I wouldn't trade you for the world, you know?" He said, and Aurora smiled.

"I wouldn't trade you for anything either, Luke," Aurora whispered. Aurora and Lucas smiled at each other, and his hand was still resting on her jawline and closer to her neck. Aurora didn't know if the prediction she wrote for this year would come true. She wrote in her predictions that she and Lucas would finally become more than friends; at this moment, it felt like that was about to happen.

Lucas's lips brushed against hers, almost as if he wasn't sure if he should kiss her or not. Aurora moved her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her, and their lips met. Lucas immediately melted into her as their lips moved together, and both knew this kiss was much different than Aurora's 'good luck' kisses before he would play a game. When they pulled away, the pair was breathless, and Aurora's cheeks started flushing.

"What was that for?" Aurora whispered, and Lucas had a smile on his face as he looked at her.

"Because I wanted to."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

A few days later, Aurora was sitting at one of the outside lunch tables at their school. It wasn't her lunch period, but she wanted to come outside for her free period. But as she sat, she was worried. Last night, Lucas was supposed to go to the movies with Haley, but he never showed up, and he didn't call either, so the girls were worried, but then Karen called and told them what happened. And Aurora has been ignoring Nathan, so she didn't completely go off on him.

"Hey." Aurora heard. When she looked up and saw Lucas, she was relieved.

"Hey, Luke. You okay?" Aurora asked. Lucas sighed as he sat down next to her.

"I tried to call you about last night...-" Aurora cut him off.

"...-No, it's okay. Your mom called and told us what had happened. Are you okay? We were really worried about you." Aurora said, and Lucas nodded his head.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Lucas said, and Aurora shook her head.

"You don't need to be sorry, Luke. I just want things to get better for you, and it seems no matter how many times I try to talk to Nathan... he just doesn't care. I'm so sorry." Aurora said, and Lucas shook his head.

"It's not your fault. Trust me. I want things to get better too." Lucas said, and Aurora sighed.

"They're not going to, are they?" Aurora asked with a frown on her face. Lucas shook his head which made Aurora frown more. She thought there had to be something she could do to make Nathan lay off him.

"Well, not without a fight," Lucas said, and Aurora shook her head. She didn't want Lucas and Nathan to fight, not again.

"I don't want you and Nathan to fight again. This is so stupid; why can't he just get his head out of his ass and accept that you're on the team?" Aurora said.

"Hey... I'll find a way to get past this. Don't worry about me." Lucas said, and Aurora shook her head.

"Worrying about you is part of being a best friend. It's only because I want the best for you." Aurora said, and Lucas nodded his head.

"I know." He said. The bell rang, indicating that period was over, and they had five minutes to get to their next one. Aurora started packing her stuff, and then she and Lucas stood up from the table. "Are we still good for the Burning Boat tomorrow?" Lucas asked, and Aurora nodded her head.

"Yeah, see you then."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

─── AUTHOR'S NOTE
aww, aren't they so cute?

don't forget to vote/comment.

xoxo.