2003 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

"It's not that hard, alright? Peyton and I just don't make sense as a couple. We're better as friends. She even said so herself." Lucas Scott explained to his best friend, Haley James, as they walked across their school's campus the morning after the awkward encounter that happened at his house.

"And then she took it back," Haley said.

"Now, what are you, her lawyer?" Lucas asked.

"No... look. I've seen Peyton really try and make an effort to turn things around, and it just sucks that she got bit the first time she reached out to someone, you know?" Haley said.

"Haley, I'm not the bad guy here. Peyton's just... it's too hard," He said.

"Unlike Aurora, who is nice and easy, is that what you're saying?." Haley said. Lucas immediately shot his friend a look.

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all. She makes me laugh, and she's honest. She's not afraid to be herself, okay? Plus, she's not covered head to toe in issues. What's so bad about that? I thought you'd be happy Aurora and I are dating?" Lucas asked.

"And I am... as long as you're dating for the right reasons," Haley said as she looked up at him. "Peyton has always been your first choice since 8th grade, so you better not be dating my sister just because Peyton didn't want you."

"...-Come on, Hales... you know it's not like that at all..." Lucas said, and Haley shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, Lucas, fine. If you are happy, so am I... but if you hurt my sister, I will kill you," She said. Lucas raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.

"Are you? Happy." He said.

"Yeah." Haley immediately responded, but he wasn't sure if he believed her.

"I hope you're right."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Meanwhile, Aurora James was walking across the school campus with headphones in her ears as she blasted her music. Since she was a child, Aurora has always been involved in dance teams, tumbling classes, and competitive cheer. Her dream job is to become a choreographer one day, have her own dance studio, and hopefully make a name for herself. She's also really into theater and wouldn't mind being in a Broadway ensemble. Peyton saw her friend walking but didn't see her headphones and started waving for her. She wanted to ensure there was no awkwardness between them after what happened last night with Lucas. Peyton walked up to Aurora and tapped her on her shoulder, which made Aurora pause her song and look at Peyton.

"Hey, I've been two-waying you all day. Where have you been?" Peyton asked. Aurora shrugged her shoulders. After Peyton went home, Aurora stayed at Lucas' for a bit, but then she left because she just felt weird about the whole thing. It's always nagged her in the back of her mind that Lucas has always had a crush on Peyton, and she's had self-doubts for a while that maybe Lucas is just settling with her. 

"Just around, really..." Aurora said.

"I wanted to talk to you about Lucas... I know I left so quick the other night." Peyton said.

"Yeah, what was that about?" Aurora asked. 

"Did he tell you what happened?" Peyton asked, and Aurora shook her head. 

"I honestly didn't stick around much longer after you did," Aurora said, which shocked Peyton. 

"I was just returning a CD I borrowed," Peyton said. Aurora knew that she was lying because if Peyton were just returning a CD, the atmosphere wouldn't have been as awkward as it was, but Aurora decided she wasn't going to push her on it.

"If that's your story, Peyton... You don't have to explain anything to me." 

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Later that day, Aurora was at work with her sister. Karen was currently in Italy, attending a cooking school, so Deb had taken over managing the cafe in her absence. Aurora's always had a good relationship with Deb, and she likes to see that Deb and her sister are getting along. 

"Business seems to have dropped off lately, and I'm beginning to take it personally," Deb said, making Aurora smile.

"Oh, no, you don't have to. It's the University. They're on break. Things will pick back up soon." Aurora said. Deb nodded her head as she smiled at her.

"Oh, okay." She responded. 

"You know, Karen always thought we should do live entertainment to bring people in, like um... like an open mic night," Haley said, which made her sister look over at her. She thought that was a good idea, and she thought Haley should definitely sing for it.

"Hmm, well, that's a great idea!" Deb agreed.

"You think?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, absolutely, but let me run it by Lucas first, you know, to make sure he's okay with it," Deb said. Aurora cleared her throat, which brought all eyes to her.

"I could talk to him... I mean, he hasn't popped in much lately." Aurora said.

"Yeah, I've noticed that too... which is one of the reasons I want to talk to him myself," Deb said, and both girls nodded.

"Okay, well... if you two have this ghost town under control, then I have a study session with Nathan," Haley said, making her sister and Deb smile. 

"Haley, I'm glad you're seeing Nathan. He's lucky to have someone like you..." Deb said, and then she looked at Aurora. "Both of you..." She said, which made Aurora smile as she looked at her sister. 

"Tell him I said call me!" Aurora said in a fake flirty tone, which made Haley laugh as she headed for the door. 

"I will. Bye, guys!" Haley said before leaving, and then Deb looked at Aurora. 

"Hey, Aurora... you can take off too... I think I can handle it from here..." Deb said. Aurora looked over at her with a small smile.

"Are you sure? I don't mind staying... without cheer. I have a lot more free time." Aurora said. Cheerleading was canceled until further notice because Whitey also canceled basketball practices until further notice after what happened with Nathan. 

"Exactly, you have a lot more free time; go hang out with your friends... as Haley said, it's a ghost town here," Deb said, making Aurora smile.

"Thanks, Deb... if it picks back up and you need me, call me!" 

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Aurora got a call from Brooke saying she was about to go to Peyton's house and asked if she wanted to come too. Aurora agreed and told Brooke that she would meet her there. When they got there, they went to Peyton's room to see their blonde friend lying on her bed and drawing. Her back was to her door, so she didn't see or hear them walk in. Brooke had a polaroid camera in her hands and took a picture of Peyton's backside. 

"What are you doing?" Peyton asked. When she heard the shot go off, she turned around and was surprised to see the two of them there.

"Documenting. A day without cheer. Hour one. There's something wrong with this picture, though." Brooke said as she examined the polaroid. "Oh, I know what it is... Aurora and I aren't in it! Come here!" Brooke said. The two girls got into Peyton's bed with her, and Brooke took a picture of all three of them. "Would you please draw your freaking drawings later?" Brooke asked, which made Aurora laugh.

"I mean, let's think about it. There's no basketball; we're young, gorgeous, and have all this free time, so let's do something fun." Aurora followed up with.

"What about Lucas? I'm sure he'd be up for some fun... maybe Brooke will even let you borrow the Polaroid, too." Peyton said, which made Aurora laugh as she shook her head. 

"Ah, there it is. Lucas, the elephant in the room." Aurora said.

"Wait, I thought it was a monkey..." Brooke said, which made both girls laugh.

"No... anyway, look, I also came here to make sure there's no weirdness with that. Peyton, it doesn't matter to me why you showed up last night. It's not my business. What is my business is our friendship, and I don't want that ruined by a guy... Lucas has been my friend for a long time too. I can easily revert to that." Aurora said.

"Aurora, I'm cool with you and Lucas. The best friends are always bound to fall in love." Peyton said, which made Aurora laugh.

"You watch too many movies, and the best friends don't always fall in love in the books. That's why they're better." Aurora said as she winked, and that made Peyton laugh.

"I just want to draw a little bit. How about a rain check?" Peyton asked them.

"Count on it," Brooke said, and Aurora held her fist out.

"Hoes over, bros?" Aurora said. Peyton smiled as she knocked her fist against Aurora's and nodded her head. 

"Hoes over, bros." 

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Aurora was back at the cafe the next day with her sister and Deb. Since they were slow, as usual, she decided she would call Nathan. When Haley went to their study session, she did pass along Aurora's message, and Nathan texted her saying they could hang out this weekend, just the two of them because they hadn't in a while. 

"Hey, what's going on, snicks?" Nathan asked as he laughed a little, and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"Moving past the embarrassing nickname... I'm marveling at my and Haley's lack of art skills. How's the amazing race?" Aurora asked sarcastically. Nathan told both girls that he had a change of plans, and his dad was forcing him to go to this resort for the weekend with him.

"Well, it's about as well as can be expected," Nathan said.

"Well, if it's any consolation, your girlfriend and I wish you were here. We're doing this open mic thing at the cafe tomorrow." Aurora said.

"And you're going to be the opening headliner? I always knew you had it in you." Nathan said, which made Aurora roll her eyes. Aurora knew she could hold a tune and a note, but Haley was the better singer out of the two of them.

"Hell no. Anyways, do you want to say hi to your mom?" Aurora asked.

"No, uh, it's bad timing. Look, let me give you a callback, alright? I know I'm bound to be driven crazy at some point." Nathan said, which made Aurora sigh.

"Okay, bye, Nate," Aurora said, then she hung up the phone.

"How's he doing?" Deb asked.

"Well, there was no gunplay or screaming, so I'm assuming it's going pretty well so far. He said to tell you hi." Aurora said.

"Girls, um... these flyers..." Deb trailed off as she looked at them.

"Suck! Yeah, we know! We know! We didn't get the artistic genes. Hang on!" Haley said as she ran out of the cafe. Aurora could guess where she was going... to Peyton's. When Haley ran out, Keith came inside, and Aurora smiled.

"Hey, Keith! I will excuse myself and let the two of you talk."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Aurora had been spending many nights with Lucas and Keith since Karen was gone, and Keith was staying with him, and it just felt like old times when they were all kids. It didn't feel like Aurora was hanging out with 'her boyfriend and his uncle.' It just felt like Aurora was hanging out with Keith and Lucas. But now it was time for the open mic night. Aurora noticed Peyton and Brooke walking in, and she smiled because she felt she hadn't seen them in a while.

"Ah, my two favorite cheerleaders. I'm so glad you guys decided to come." Aurora said as she walked over to their table and sat with them. Brooke smiled, as did Peyton, but her smile wasn't as bright as Brooke's. 

"I've never seen his mom's cafe before. It's so cute." Brooke said, which made Aurora laugh. She didn't hear that Lucas was coming up behind them.

"Hey, mind if I join you guys?" Lucas asked. Peyton looked up at Lucas, and then she looked at Aurora, and she suddenly felt overwhelmed. 

"Actually, I was just leaving... I'll see you guys," Peyton said as she stood up and walked out of the cafe.

"Peyton!" Brooke exclaimed. She was about to get up, but Aurora laid a hand down on Brooke's arm and shook her head. Aurora went out after her instead. 

"Peyton!" Aurora exclaimed when she walked outside. Peyton stopped walking. She felt angry that Aurora had followed her out because she wanted to go home. At the same time, Peyton was having a hard time grasping that they were dating, and Aurora was having doubts that she was Lucas' first choice. "What is going on? Are you mad at me?" She asked. Peyton turned around, and Aurora could see the tears in her eyes.

"It's not you, Aurora. It's me! I thought I was cool with this, but I'm not. I'm sorry." Peyton said.

"With Lucas and me? Look, Peyton... how you feel is your business, but don't get mad at me because you didn't speak up to Lucas sooner." Aurora said.

"I told you, I'm not mad at you. I am mad at myself. Aurora, you deserve Lucas, but I can't help that I have feelings for him too." Peyton said.

"And like I said, how you feel is your business, but I also meant what I said. I wouldn't pick a boy over our friendship... even if that boy is Lucas Scott... look, let's just go back inside, and I'll tell him to stick around Haley... it's me, you, and Brooke for the night, please?" Aurora asked. Peyton wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. She nodded as she walked back over to Aurora, and Aurora wrapped her in a hug. 

"I'm so sorry..." Peyton said.

"Oh, stop it. Come on." Aurora said. As the two girls walked inside, Haley walked onto the stage to announce that it was open mic night and that anyone could come up and sing. 

"Hey, so, I just want to remind everybody that the stage is open if anybody has any hidden talent they want to reveal," Haley said.

"I'll give it a shot." Jake Jagielski's voice rang through. Brooke looked over, and she was surprised to see him while Peyton only smiled. "Great, come on up. Thank god... Jake Jagielski, ladies and gentlemen." Haley announced.

Everyone cheered as he came to the stage, and Aurora noticed something. He put a baby carrier on the ground next to him, and her eyes widened as he sat down on the stool. "Um, so normally, I only sing for my daughter... but something that a friend said convinced me that I should open up to a wider audience, and this seemed like the right time and place. So, everyone, this is my daughter, Jenny... and Jenny, this is my whole world." Jake said.

"Jake has a baby?!" Brooke asked.

"I definitely didn't see that coming," Aurora said as she stood up and walked over to the counter where her sister was standing.

"Hey you, how's your night going?" Haley asked, and Aurora smiled.

"It's alright for the most part, I think," Aurora said, and then she sighed. "Have you heard from Nathan?" She asked, and Haley shook her head.

"Nope, have you?" Haley asked, and Aurora shook her head. The twins had the same thought and spoke at the same time. 

"Want to call him?" They asked together, and then they laughed. Aurora pulled out her cellphone, but the girls didn't know that Nathan was already standing behind them and he saw Aurora's phone.

"That jerk never called you guys back, did he?" Nathan asked. The girls turned around, and Haley hugged her boyfriend first before Aurora hugged him too. "Believe me; you didn't want to talk to him anyway." He said.

"What are you doing here?" Haley asked.

"Not that we're not happy to see you, but the weekend isn't over yet," Aurora said.

"Look, I'm sorry...-" Haley cut him off.

"...-No, no, don't be. I'm glad you're back," Haley said. Aurora smiled as the two of them kissed. She loved seeing them together. She thought they complimented each other well.

"Yeah, me too... it's like, every time I'm with him. I just get caught in this riptide, you know, the harder I try to get out, the harder it is for me to keep from drowning." Nathan said, which made Aurora frown as she wrapped her arm around him.

"Maybe you just need to steer clear of the water for a little while." She said. Then Deb saw the three of them talking, and she was surprised to see her son, so she walked over. 

"Hey, Nate. I thought you weren't getting back until tomorrow. What happened?" Deb asked.

"We were keeping score, Mom... what do you think happened?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry... I should've known." Deb said. Nathan shrugged his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around Haley and Aurora.

"Whatever, I'm used to it." 

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Haley, Aurora, and Nathan were hanging out in their own corner of the cafe. Before Aurora came over, she returned to Peyton and Brooke and told them she would hang out with her sister and Nathan for a little bit. Then Lucas walked over to the trio and looked at Nathan.

"Listen, man, some of the guys, and I are gonna go down to the River Court. I wanted to know if you and the team wanted to come," Lucas asked.

"Why?" Nathan asked. Aurora rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs.

"Because it's fun... don't you remember?" Lucas asked. Nathan nodded, and Lucas smiled at Aurora before walking away from them. And Haley walked up to the stage to announce the next singer.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Gavin DeGraw!" 

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Later, the group was all gathered at the river court. Lucas and his friends. Nathan and some of the guys from the basketball team. Aurora was sitting with Peyton and Brooke. Jake had left Jenny's carrier with them while he played with the guys and the girls were more than happy to watch over his adorable daughter.

Lucas and Nathan played on the same team, and Aurora loved seeing them getting along. Then Haley walked up to the three girls. "Hey!" Haley said.

"Hey, sis," Aurora responded with a smile.

"Hey, tutor girl!" Brooke exclaimed. All four girls laughed as the ball rolled towards them, with Jake chasing after it. Peyton picked up the ball and handed it to Jake, and the two of them smiled. As Jake returned to the court, Brooke took a picture of him with her Polaroid camera and gave Peyton the image once it came out.

"I guess this answers the gay question," Brooke said, which made Aurora laugh. Haley shook her head as she reached out for the camera.

"Give me this." She said. Brooke handed over her camera, and Haley held it up to the three of them. "Get in," Haley said. The three girls leaned towards Jenny's carrier and smiled, and Haley snapped the picture. "Perfect!" 

Aurora was thinking. It just felt good to let go of everything for a night and relax.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

─── AUTHOR'S NOTE
don't forget to vote/comment. 

xoxo.