FULL EPISODE SYNOPSIS (spoiler!)

Deb comes home after having been away for three days. She is very surprised to hear that Lucas has moved in with them. Dan also tells her about Haley having left Nathan. Dan is convinced that Nathan will move back in with his parents in time.

Nathan lets himself go. He doesn't clean up and he is skipping school. Lucas comes by to check on him. Nathan tells him not to be concerned and closes the door in his face.

The election for school president is drawing nearer. Erica uses every opportunity to make Brooke look bad and sabotage her. When Coach Durham hands out the campaign schedule, Erica offers to give a copy to Brooke, but never passes it on.

Nathan eventually shows up in class again. He pulls a can of beer out of his bag and starts drinking it. The teacher is annoyed and drags him to the principal. Lucas calls Haley on her cell phone again to tell her how worried he is about Nathan; but he only gets her mailbox again.

Jenny gets sick. Jake does not have health insurance. Peyton gives him her emergency money, so they can take the baby to the doctor. Jake is very grateful.

Andy is correcting coursework at the café when Lucas comes in. Andy moves away from the counter to give Lucas and Karen a chance to talk in private. Karen again asks her son what Dan has over him. When Lucas still refuses to talk, Karen makes him pay for the soda.

Jules is upset when Dan pays for her wedding gown. She wants him to leave them alone, but Dan is set on revenge and tells her, she can either tell Keith about their arrangement and break Keith's heart or get married to him and wait for Dan to tell him - either way, Dan wins. Frustrated, Jules leaves.

Lucas meets Dan and Deb outside of Nathan's house; they all want to check on his brother. Nathan is not too happy to see his family. Nathan is even quite hostile and when Dan puts down Haley, Nathan punches him in the face. Then he leaves. Deb cleans up the mess her son has made.

Nathan calls on Peyton to find out if she has heard from Haley. She hasn't. They talk and Peyton sees how unhappy he is. Later that night Nathan drives by his parents house and wakes up Lucas. He blames Lucas for his unhappiness, without him he would never have met Haley. But Lucas sees through Nathan's anger, he understands that he is just missing his wife.

Andy goes to the dealership to talk to Dan. He asks Dan to do the right thing and let Lucas go, now. Dan is amused. But Andy manages to impress him after all by showing that he is not easily intimidating and is ready to fight for Karen.

Brooke finds out that Erica didn't give her the schedule. As a consequence she does not have anyone to speak on her behalf. Mouth, who is in the audience, comes to her rescue. He gives a great speech and Brooke is touched. Even Erica is impressed. She confesses to Brooke later that she does not have any friends like Brooke and that being council president is all she is.

Lucas gets a call from Haley at one in the morning. She apologises for leaving without a word and enquires about Nathan. Lucas tells her how much Nathan needs her and that she has to come back. Then Haley is called and she cuts off the conversation. Lucas can't believe it.

The next day the new council president is announced. Brooke has won! She is very happy. Later she talks to Erica and tells her that you don't need to define yourself with just one thing and that there's more to life. Erica thinks it's a bit ironic that Brooke is intimidated by the job, while she is scared of life beyond the president's office.

Karen is worried sick about Lucas. She sees no other way than to go to court. But Andy has been thinking about the situation as well and he has come up with another option.

Jake and Peyton finally admit their attraction to each other share their first kiss.

Karen meets Nathan at the basketball court while she is looking for Lucas. Nathan tells her that Lucas would have his own court in Dan's driveway now. He finally talks about his feelings and Karen comforts him.

Andy hires a private investigator to check out Dan.

Brooke talks to Mouth at school and lets him know that they are still friends.

Nathan finds an envelope with a drawing from Peyton which has been pushed through the door.
It says: "Sometimes they come back". He finally calls Haley, but only reaches her mailbox.

One Tree Hill © The WB Television Network 2004 & Tollin/Robbins Productions