2004 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

Aurora James along with her best friends Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer were at the mall shopping for dresses for their school's formal which was taking place that evening. They walked past a baby pink dress and Brooke made a face.

"Think of all the taffeta that had to die to make this thing," Brooke said and Aurora laughed while Peyton hit her with part of the dress. "Eww!" Brooke exclaimed as she laughed and continued walking. Then she stopped at a different dress and was in awe. "Ohhh, look. Oh! Maybe I could just buy it, keep the tags on it, and return it the next day. I mean, it's a Formal, I'm not going to be wearing it for that long anyway, I hope," Brooke said and the girls laughed.

"Oh gosh," Aurora said as Brooke took the dress off the rack.

"What do you guys think?" She asked.

"No," Peyton said and Brooke frowned.

"Really?" She asked. Peyton and Aurora shook their heads, but Aurora was going to buy the dress for her. "Just as well, it's too much anyway," Brooke said as she sadly pats it and walked away. Once she walked away, Aurora picked up the dress and took it to the counter. Brooke saw where Aurora was going and when she approached the counter and saw the dress, she gasped. "You are so not my best friend anymore!" She exclaimed.

Aurora turned around and smiled at her. "And what if I said I'm buying the dress for you?" Aurora asked. Brooke's eyes widened as she smiled.

"You are so my best friend again!" She exclaimed and Aurora laughed. After she purchased the dress, she handed the bag to Brooke and the trio left the store. "So, A. James, thank you for buying me the dress, and if you try and take it back, I'm going to have to bite you. But, what are you two wearing to this thing?" She asked.

"Oh, I got it covered. I just came on this little outing for you!" Peyton said as she smacked Brooke on her butt.

"Same! I've had my dress for a bit now. I just wanted to come for you," Aurora said and Brooke smiled at them.

"Oh, well. You two are gonna be the best Formal dates I've ever had," Brooke said.

"And not Felix?" Peyton asked.

"Against the rules, but Felix has been kinda sweet lately. I might have to start giving him the benefit of the doubt instead of just the benefit," Brooke said and they laughed.

"Okay," Peyton said as she checked the time. "Hey look, I gotta go to the club and pick up some stuff. But I'll call you later," She said and Brooke nodded.

"I also have to go, I have a shift at the cafe. But I'll see you at Peyton's when we're getting ready," Aurora said. Brooke nodded and smiled.

"Okay, thanks for this, Ari," Brooke said and Aurora smiled.

"Hey, anything for you."

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Aurora was at the cafe working her shift with her sister. Along with Karen, the twins were standing behind the counter. Karen was on the phone and had the phone balanced between her shoulder and her ear. "Alright. I'll see you when you get back," Karen said and then hung up the phone.

"Andy down under?" Aurora asked.

"Oh, no. New York for a seminar," Karen said and the girls nodded. The bell above the door jingled as Peyton Sawyer walked inside. Karen turned around when she heard it and smiled.

"Hey! There she is," Karen said as Peyton walked further into the cafe. "Give my trusty club promoter a sack on the house. She's earned it!" Karen said.

"Alright!" Haley said as she grabbed the coffee pot and approached Peyton who came to the counter. "Sup, girly?" She asked.

"Actually, this trust club promoter needs a favor," Peyton said.

"Alright," Haley said as she started pouring her coffee.

"How would you feel about playing TRIC next weekend?" Peyton asked. Aurora's eyes lit up as she looked at her sister. She was thinking that would be a great opportunity for Haley. "And I don't mean one or two songs... I mean like a whole set," Peyton said. The bell jingled as Chris Keller walked inside, but they didn't look up at him.

"Oh, wow, I'm flattered, but I can't," Haley said.

"Why not!?" Peyton asked.

"Because I don't have a set!" Haley said with a smile on her face and Aurora laughed.

"I got plenty of songs," Chris Keller said, making his presence known.

"Really!? See, that's weird because I wouldn't know that. I've never even heard him play one," Peyton said and Aurora smiled.

"Ah, but you know, let's just skip to the track where you tell me you want me to play," Chris said.

"How do I know you're not going to screw me again?" Peyton asked. Haley and Aurora shared a look before turning back to the scene in front of them.

"Been there, done that," Chris said.

"Are you gonna have a list of crazy demands?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, but just one; the twins play with me," Chris said.

"I appreciate the offer, but I sing for fun, this is Hales' dream. I prefer dancing," Aurora said. Chris looked at her and nodded.

"Fair enough. Alright, then I change my demand. Haley plays with me," Chris said.

"Uh, do you really think I'm ready for that?" She asked.

"No, but you will be if we rehearse tonight," Chris said.

"Oh, I can't tonight. Tonight's the Formal," Haley said.

"Hmm, just as well. I don't really wanna play with someone who's not... totally committed. Not with record labels in the audience," Chris said. Haley rolled her eyes and looked at her sister, who smiled at her. "I have interest, but you just went off that prom," He said.

"Alright, fine. I'll be there," Haley said. Chris smirked as he left, and Peyton smiled, knowing that Haley would be playing a full set. Aurora sighed because she knew the plans that Nathan had to surprise Haley tonight for the Formal.

She was hoping rehearsal wouldn't take too long.

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Brooke and Aurora met up outside Peyton's house before letting themselves in. They brought their dresses and makeup because they had all made a plan to get ready together. "Hey!" Brooke exclaimed when the girls walked into the room. Brooke took her bookbag off and put it on Peyton's bed.

Aurora had walked over to the dress Peyton had hung up. It was a light green silk dress, and it had light frills on it. Aurora smiled as she turned to her friend. "Is this your dress? P. Sawyer, it's beautiful," Aurora said. Peyton turned to her friend and smiled.

"Yeah, it was my mom's. She wore it to her Formal," Peyton said and Aurora smiled.

"Ah, so your mom was wearing vintage in the 80s," Brooke teased. Peyton laughed and shook her head.

"No," She said.

"I know she would have loved to see you in it," Brooke said and Aurora nodded.

"Definitely," Aurora said.

"Thanks. Well, at least some part of her will be with me tonight," Peyton said and the girls smiled.

"It's gonna be a great night! Just the three of us," Brooke said. None of the girls heard Anna coming up the stairs. She knocked on the doorframe of Peyton's room.

"Hey!" Anna said.

"Or not," Aurora said mainly to herself as she gave Anna a half-hearted wave.

"It's Anna's first Formal, so... I thought maybe we could all get ready together," Peyton said as Anna walked in with her dress draped across her arm, in the plastic that keeps clothes safe.

"Cool," Aurora said with no enthusiasm.

"Besides, Felix is at home, hogging the mirror," Anna said which made them all laugh. Peyton sat down on her bed and Anna set her dress down. "Um, I could use some help with my hair," Anna said as she walked over to the mirror. "What do you think Lucas prefers? Straight or curly?" Anna asked.

Peyton and Aurora approached the mirror and stood behind Anna. Aurora, with her straight hair, and Peyton with her curly hair. Anna looked between the two of them in the mirror and wore a sheepish smile as she realized what she had done.

"Half and half?"

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Once the girls were ready, Brooke, Peyton, and Aurora headed to the formal together because Lucas came and picked up Anna. "Okay, let's get a table and do a laugh," Brooke said as she looked at them.

"Oh, Anna's saving us seats at her table," Peyton said.

"That'll be cozy... Did you forget who she's here with? Do you want to sit with him?" Aurora asked.

"We're gonna have to if we're hanging out with Anna!" Peyton exclaimed and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"Keep this up, P.S., and I might just get jealous," Brooke said.

"Get?" Peyton asked as she made a face. Brooke laughed while Aurora smiled. Felix and Mouth stopped in front

"Wow, look at you, Mouth! Looking like James Bond," Brooke said. Mouth smiled at her.

"Thanks. But I feel more like I'm about to pull a rabbit out of something," He said. Aurora and Peyton laughed as a song started playing.

"Well, the first dance of the night goes to..." Brooke trailed off and grabbed Mouth by his suit. "Double-o-seven. Thank you!" Brooke said as she led Mouth onto the dance floor leaving Aurora and Peyton with Felix.

The girls walked away to find their own table.

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"Hey, Nate. There you are? Where's Haley?" Aurora James asked when she saw her best friend walk into the Formal. Nathan was annoyed and upset because Haley was still in the studio with Chris, and he had planned for a horse and carriage to bring them to the Formal and he had to cancel it.

"She's still at the studio with Chris," He said as he rolled his eyes and Aurora frowned.

"Still?" She asked.

"She doesn't need that guy, Ari," Nathan said and Aurora frowned more.

"It's not like that, Nate. Yes, Haley is a good musician, but she doesn't have the connections to the industry that Chris has. Once they play their set at TRIC and the people from the record labels hear Haley sing, she won't need Chris, and she'll probably get her own record deal," Aurora said. Nathan took a deep breath as he nodded. Aurora always knew how to calm him down with logic when he was being emotional.

"I know... I just... Will you dance with me?" Nathan asked. Aurora smiled and nodded. She and Nathan went to the dance floor and she wrapped her arms around his neck, while he placed his hands gently on her waist.

"Are you gonna be okay, Nate?" Aurora asked and he shrugged. "Does Haley know you turned down High Flyers? Which, I can't believe you did, by the way. You've been talking about that camp since we were 8," She said and Nathan shook his head.

"No, she doesn't know," He said and Aurora frowned. "Tim's gonna get my Mom's key to the beach house. Party afterward?" Nathan asked.

"Why can't you just ask your Mom for the key? She's desperate for you to love her again, Nate. She'll give you anything you want," Aurora said and Nathan shrugged.

"I know... but I don't feel like talking to her. I'll only momentarily dance with her so Tim can swipe the key," Nathan said. Aurora laughed and shook her head.

"Seems complicated for no reason," She said.

"Have you talked to Luke recently?" Nathan asked. Aurora raised an eyebrow because of the tone of his question.

"Not really... is something wrong?" Aurora asked. Nathan wanted to tell Aurora about the other part of their trip to Charlotte. They went to get to the HCM test. Nathan took it, but Lucas didn't. The results are 50/50 and Nathan's results came back negative.

"The night we went to Charlotte... it wasn't just for the basketball game," Nathan said and Aurora gave him a quizzical look.

"What else happened?" She asked.

"Since we found out Dan had a genetic heart condition after his heart attack called HCM, they were doing free test screenings for it that weekend of the game," Nathan said. Aurora's eyes widened.

"Nathan, are you...-" He quickly cut her off.

"...-I'm fine. My results came back negative," He said. Aurora stopped the swaying of their dancing, wrapped her arms around Nathan and hugged him tightly.

"Thank god," She whispered. Nathan held her close in his arms and took a deep breath as she let out a breath of relief.

"But Lucas didn't take the test," Nathan said. Aurora lifted her head from his chest and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean he didn't take the test?" She asked.

"He said he didn't want to know, and he didn't want to give up basketball," Nathan said and Aurora scoffed.

"So he'd rather give up his life!?" She exclaimed and then she took a deep breath.

"I was thinking if he had talked to you about it, you could convince him to get the test done, but I see he didn't tell you. I'm sorry I sprang it on you," He said and Aurora shook her head.

"No, no. I'm glad you told me, and I'm glad your results are negative. What are the statistics?" She asked and Nathan sighed.

"50/50," Nathan said.

"So if you don't have it... oh my god," Aurora said as her eyes widened. Nathan recognized that she was about to panic and he wrapped his arms back around her and pulled her to his chest.

"Breathe, Ari... we don't know for sure," Nathan said.

"50/50 is pretty freaking sure. I am going to kill him," Aurora said and Nathan laughed a little. The pair didn't notice that Karen made her way to the stage to announce the King and Queen.

"Alright, if I could have your attention, please!" Karen exclaimed. Aurora and Nathan broke their hug and Nathan sighed.

"I'm gonna try Haley again," He said and Aurora nodded.

"Yeah, I can't believe she's not here. She was more excited about this thing than I was," Aurora said and Nathan nodded as he took out his phone and dialed his wife. It went to voicemail and he sighed.

"Call me back as soon as you get this, Hales," Nathan said and Aurora could hear a bit of anger in his voice.

"Everybody, if you could gather around," Karen called out.

"I'm starting to freak out a little bit," Nathan said. Aurora frowned as she linked her arm with his.

"The votes are in for Tree Hill High's King and Queen. As you know over the last week, the student body was asked to cast a vote for one King and one Queen," Karen said. Haley James-Scott had made it to the Formal as Karen was talking. She saw her husband and sister standing together and she ran over to them.

"Nathan! I'm so sorry I'm late, I just...-" Nathan cut her off.

"...-Come on, come on. We gotta hurry, we gotta hurry," Nathan said as he was drunkenly attempting to put the corsage on Haley.

"The clock at the studio stopped and...-Ow!" Haley exclaimed as Nathan poked her with the pin. "Have you been drinking?" She asked.

"Just a little bit," He mumbled. Aurora didn't think he was too drunk during their dance.

"This year's Tree Hill High King and Queen are... Nathan and Haley Scott!" Karen exclaimed. Haley looked at the stage in shock, and then she turned to Nathan who was smiling and she kissed him. The two of them started walking to the front and Aurora heard Haley's voice through the speakers.

When Haley noticed the song, her smile fell. "Nathan!" She exclaimed.

"Surprise!" Nathan said.

"But this...-" Nathan cut her off.

"Come on, come on," Nathan said still trying to get her onto the stage.

"I told you this song isn't ready yet!" Haley exclaimed.

"I know, but you're too critical, everyone's gonna love it," Nathan said as they got on the stage. Nathan was still smiling. "I told the DJ to play it if you won," He said. Haley sighed as she looked at the ceiling, she knew what was coming, and when Aurora recognized what song was playing. She knew it too. "This is your night, Hales. I want it to be perfect," He said.

Karen put the tiara on top of Haley's head right as Chris' part of the song came on. Aurora covered her face with her hands. "Oh goodness," She whispered to herself.

"Wait, is that... is that Chris?" Nathan asked. Haley moved some hair out of her face, and she gave a guilty smile. "You told me that I was in Charlotte when you recorded this... You were with Chris and you didn't tell me?" Nathan asked. He wasn't upset about the song itself, but he was upset that Haley lied about it.

"Nathan, I was going to tell you, I swear," Haley said. The smile had completely fallen from Nathan's face and a stoic look took over as he turned away from Haley and faced the crowd.

"Yeah? You're a little late... for the second time tonight."

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Aurora went to the party at the beach house after the formal, but she went outside to the beach and sat in the sand watching the waves. She was thinking about what Nathan told her. Dan has a genetic heart condition and the chances of passing it on to his children are 1 in 2, 50/50. Nathan doesn't have it, so that means Lucas must have it, right? Aurora wasn't sure. Lucas refused to take the test. Then she started thinking about Keith. Does he have it too?

"Is this beach taken?" Lucas Scott's voice rang in her ears. He just had to reject a drunken Anna who was trying to have sex with him, and Lucas told her that after what happened with Aurora and Peyton, he vowed to himself that he wouldn't have sex again until he was in love. Aurora looked up and shrugged.

"There's plenty to go around," She said. Lucas groaned a little as he sat down.

"Don't worry; I'm not gonna ask if you're okay, but I do miss my friend," Lucas said as he looked at her. Aurora sighed as she turned to him. "Know any good jokes?" He asked.

"Yeah... what do you call the guy who could potentially have a genetic heart condition but he didn't get the test done, and his best friend didn't even hear about it from him?" Aurora said as a serious look came to her face. Lucas sighed as he looked down.

"Nathan told you," He said.

"Of course, Nathan told me. He is my best friend too," Aurora said as she shook her head. "How could you not take the test, Luke?" She asked.

"Because I don't want to know, Ari. I don't want to limit the way I live because of some condition," Lucas said and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"One, that's stupid. Two, it's selfish. Three, we have this thing called modern medicine. You probably won't have to live with limitations," Aurora said.

"Ari...-" She cut him off.

"...-What if it were me, huh? If Haley and I were the ones with a 50/50 chance of having a heart condition that could kill us one day, and I refused to take the test, how would you feel?" She asked.

"That's not fair," Lucas said.

"Neither is what you're doing," Aurora shot back and Lucas sighed. He knew she was right, and he knew his reasoning for not wanting to know was selfish, but he felt that he had the right to be selfish. Lucas started laughing a little. "Is this really funny to you?" She asked.

"No... what's funny is that we've barely talked in months and now the longest conversation we're having is an argument," Lucas said as he shook his head, an entertained smile on his face. Aurora sighed as she laughed too. "Want me to take you home?" He asked. Aurora looked over at him and nodded.

"Yeah, thanks, Luke."

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Lucas and Aurora took a detour to the cafe to eat before Lucas drove her back to her shared apartment with Alex. Aurora loved living with her brother again. He was gone a lot during the week because of his classes and his job, but Aurora also had school and work at the cafe, so it didn't bother her. They did get to spend a lot of time together on the weekends which she loved.

"Thanks for the food, Luke. We should do this more often," Aurora said.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Be friends," She said as she shrugged.

"We are friends. Best friends, if I remember correctly," He said and Aurora smiled.

"But we should be those best friends again," Aurora said. Lucas nodded with a smile on his face.

"I'd like that," He said.

"Me too," She said with a smile. "But no benefits," She said as she pointed at him. The two of them laughed as Lucas shook his head and then he smiled.

"Deal," He said. Aurora laughed before leaning in and kissing his cheek and then she opened the door to get out of the car. Before she closed it, she turned around and sighed.

"I understand that you don't want to feel like you have a limitation on your life... but Luke this is your life, and it's important to so many people. Please just think about taking the test," Aurora said before closing the door and heading up the sidewalk to the front door. Lucas sighed as he watched her go. He knew she was right, and he didn't want to scare the people in his life.

He wasn't sure what to do.

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