Ready to Love

Nathan's father, Dan, and Lucas' mother, Karen Roe, were high school sweethearts. When Karen became pregnant during their senior year, she was devastated by Dan's decision to go to college leaving Karen behind to raise their son, Lucas, alone.

After failing in his first varsity basketball game, Lucas decides to quit the team. Meanwhile, Nathan and Peyton's faltering relationship continues to weaken as Peyton tires of Nathan's poor treatment of Lucas.

After a particularly spectacular basketball game, Lucas quickly supplants Nathan as the team's most popular player. Sexy cheerleader Brooke immediately sets her romantic sights on the new star athlete.

Haley convinces Lucas to go with the team to a party at Nathan's beach house, hoping that the guys will become friendlier. When Lucas sees the wealth that is denied him, he finally confronts his mother about why she lets Dan ignore them. Meanwhile, when Nathan's mother, Deb Scott, returns home and tries to deal with her angry son, she turns to Karen for advice.

Lucas asks Keith to play with him in the annual "Father and Son" basketball game and realizes he got the better father figure after Dan publicly humiliates Nathan on the court.

Lucas asks Keith to play with him in the annual father-son basketball game; Dan humiliates Nathan on the court; Peyton marks the anniversary of her mother's death.

When Whitey ejects Lucas and Nathan from the team bus due to their misconduct on the basketball court, the half-brothers are stranded 30 miles from home. They encounter a carload of punks who threaten them with a gun.

The night of Dan and Deb's annual basketball appreciation party spurs old memories and new feelings. Karen makes a new friend, Keith confronts Dan again, and Lucas finally makes his romantic intentions clear to Peyton.

Hoping to have fun, Brooke and Peyton attend a college party, but the situation gets bad when one of the guys, Gabe, drugs Peyton. After Brooke calls Lucas for help, the friends bond while caring for the sleeping Peyton.

After fighting with his father and Haley, Nathan succumbs to the pressure and takes amphetamines to help him play basketball better. However, he isn't prepared for the destruction the drugs do to both his body and his family.

Lucas and Peyton try to redefine their friendship after Lucas chooses to be with her best friend, Brooke, who is unaware that Lucas and Peyton briefly dated. Dan invites Deb to a getaway weekend, but she suggests he devote the time to Nathan.

Unable to cope with the pressure from Dan, Nathan quits the basketball team. Although Haley fears that Nathan will not need her emotional support as much now, he relies even more heavily on her.

After Peyton receives the devastating news that her father is lost at sea, she and Lucas take an overnight trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina, to identify a body that has washed ashore. Overcome with emotion, Peyton kisses Lucas.

As they drive Karen home from the airport, Keith and Lucas collide with an oncoming vehicle, leaving Lucas unconscious and fighting for his life. Dan travels to Deb's house to plead to give their marriage a chance, and he witnesses the accident.

While holding a vigil at Lucas' bedside as he lays in a coma, Karen meets Brooke, who is now dating Lucas, and learns from Deb that Deb and Dan are getting divorced. Karen is horrified to discover that Keith was drinking alcohol while driving.

After his near-death experience, Lucas decides he made the wrong choice in girlfriends. He breaks up with Brooke and secretly rekindles his romance with Peyton. However, the truth is revealed after he is rushed to the emergency room again.

Nathan must choose which parent to live with after Dan and Deb's divorce. Dan forces Nathan to make the decision by threatening to reveal Deb's darkest secrets in court unless Nathan chooses him.

The gang hits the road to North Carolina, for a basketball game and an annual cheerleading competition that squad leader Brooke is determined to win. When one of the teammates gets sick, Brooke's fellow cheerleader Peyton begs Haley to join the squad.

Lucas, Nathan, their teammate Jake and the rest of the Raven basketball players are auctioned to the highest bidder in the annual "Boy Toy" charity auction, and the evening leads to surprising developments.

Lucas must make a difficult decision regarding Brooke. Haley considers having sex with Nathan, and Keith wants more from his relationship with Karen. Dan tries to get runaway Nathan to return home.

While Nathan looks for a job to pay his rent, Haley hosts a party at his apartment -- but she panics when the situation gets out of control. After jilted Brooke realizes she was not invited to the festivities, she decides to attend the party anyway.

Lucas is shocked to learn that Dan once asked Karen for joint custody of him when he was a baby. Meanwhile, Peyton panics after her friend Nicki kidnaps basketball player Jake's baby while babysitting.

Lucas and Nathan bear the brunt of Dan's abuse as he coaches them into the playoffs, pushing both of them to their emotional breaking points. Haley is stunned after Dan threatens her, causing her to reconsider her relationship with Nathan.