One Tree Hill (season 3)

Dan is found alive outside the dealership. Nathan is still mad at Haley and tells her he's leaving for camp, while Haley wants to make amends with him and continue their romance. Three months later, the end of summer is approaching. Karen and Brooke return to town. Dan tells Deb he doesn't remember anything after passing out. Lucas and Peyton have grown closer again over the summer, hanging out together the whole time, sharing mutual secrets and intimate things and making their bond stronger than it has ever been. Peyton feels like her mother lied to her by not telling her she was adopted, but her father promises her they planned to but couldn't before she died. Brooke tells Lucas she’s had the idea of having with him a sort of non-exclusive fling, being able to see other people, and he hesitantly accepts despite not being so sure about that because he would be with her. Deb tells Dan she wants a divorce now that he's better. Brooke moves into Nathan's old apartment with Haley. Dan reveals that he remembers seeing someone in the dealership as he blacked out, but pretended to forget. Lucas tells Peyton Ellie is back in town. Nathan is shown at camp, still wearing his wedding ring as a necklace. Lucas is shown in his room, holding the now burnt card Dan was given that read "for everything you've done".

Brooke is throwing an end of summer beach party to celebrate their last summer before their senior year. Nathan returns to town and still wants nothing to do with Lucas and won't talk to Haley. Peyton learns from Ellie that she tried to visit her when she was ten and her father hid it from her. Dan has been having blips of memories return from the night of the fire and confronts Karen about who could have tried to kill him, proposing Keith or Andy. Lucas spots Ellie in town seemingly making a drug deal. At the beach party, Lucas struggles watching Brooke flirt with other guys. Lucas tells Peyton he saw Ellie making a drug deal. Haley is sad at the party as she hoped Nathan would show up and he doesn't. Lucas confronts Nathan and says he can hate him, but if he hurts Haley he will hurt him. This causes Nathan to show up to the beach and tell Haley that he doesn't want to hurt her, but he's just not ready to figure out who they are to each other yet. Lucas tells Brooke he's the guy for her and one she will realize it. Peyton confronts Ellie about the drugs. Dan comes to the beach, and seeing Lucas by the bonfire triggers a memory from the night of the fire, in which he remembers Lucas in the dealership.

It's the night before the first day of school, and Lucas and Haley discuss their plans for the year and hope things will go back to the way they used to be. They both decide not to do their years-long tradition of making predictions for the upcoming school year. On the first day of school, Haley and Nathan awkwardly avoid each other while Haley faces bullying from mean girls due to her being well known. Ellie tells Lucas that she was buying marijuana, but it's because she has cancer. She didn't tell Peyton because she wanted Peyton to know her on her own terms. Dan confronts Lucas about being in the dealership, but he denies it, and Dan warns him it's not over. Dan visits Whitey and lets him know he's going to try to replace him as coach at that night's school board meeting. Peyton's dad lets Ellie come visit her room which upsets Peyton who sees it as an invasion of privacy. Mouth struggles with his breakup with Erica. Brooke gets a job at a clothes store. At the school board meeting, Karen gives a heartwarming speech for Whitey, explaining that while they may never have won a championship, Whitey taught the boys valuable life lessons. Whitey is allowed to continue coaching. After the meeting, Peyton and Lucas talk in the gym where Lucas tells her about Ellie's diagnosis. Dan arrives and confronts Lucas, nearly strangling him, for trying to kill him. Peyton makes Lucas tell Dan that Lucas actually was there that night and saved his life, pulling him from the burning fire. Dan retreats and says it's their secret. Later, Brooke asks Lucas to stay the night, but he declines, saying it's because they're non exclusive. Nathan finally talks to Haley and says he wants a divorce, because their marriage did happen. But he says they have to be separated for a year. He says they will have to see what happens in that year, and Haley tells him she knows they will be together, but he isn't sure. Dan is seen receiving a file from a police officer. Lucas and Haley both decide to write their yearly goals. Peyton decides to record a podcast, feeling it's like therapy, as suggested by her father. Whitey tells Mouth he's retiring after this year, but asks him to keep it a secret. At school, Nathan walks Haley down the hall, so no one will bully her again.

Peyton and Brooke throw a costume party at Tric. Lucas wants to wear something to make Brooke commit to him, but his plan later fails. Due to advice for Brooke, Haley tries to seduce Nathan in order to get him back. Peyton struggles with her relationship with Ellie and cannot decide whether or not she wants to have one with her, especially after finding out that Ellie likes the same music she does, something she thought she got from her mom. After blackmailing the incumbent to retire, Dan announces he's running for Mayor to Deb. He tells her he won't give her the divorce she wants until the race is over, so they must keep up appearances. This leads to a night of Dan and Deb playing pranks on each other, to annoy the other into getting what they want, however Dan tells her game on. Nathan still isn't ready to talk to Haley, even though Brooke thinks they can reunite at the party, but Nathan doesn't plan to go. At the party, Lucas meets a new girl who flirts with him, making Brooke jealous. Nathan decides to come as Batman, to hide from Haley but watch out for her. Haley tries to make him fall for her through her costume, but it doesn't work and she goes home. Before she leaves, Nathan seemingly kisses her. Later that night, Nathan meets with Chris and asks him to help Haley with her music as she's been having writers block. Larry advises Peyton to talk to Ellie, saying she is lucky she has the time now to get to know Ellie, when she didn't have the time to know her mother would die. Peyton meets with Ellie and tells her there has to be something she got from her real mother, and Ellie tells her she got her art from her mom. It is revealed that it was really Chris who kissed Haley, not Nathan. Ellie is seen drawing a picture of Peyton, revealing that Peyton got the talent from her too.

It's the first basketball game of the season, and tensions are heavy between Nathan and Lucas, clashing over Haley, and Brooke clashes with a new cheerleader named Rachel Gatina, the girl whom Lucas met at the Halloween party: despite this, she inadvertently sets him up with her because of the non-exlusive thing. Rachel, viewing Brooke as competition, tries to date Lucas to bother Brooke, even though Lucas doesn't want to commit to her. Nathan upsets Haley by not acknowledging their kiss (that she thinks was with him). Chris asks Haley to make music with him but she refuses. Dan is preparing to announce his run for mayor at the Midnight Madness basketball game, where they will retire his jersey. Peyton learns Ellie has been writing about meeting her and that she is an artist, which makes her furious as she views Ellie as a liar. She reprimands Ellie and tells her to leave town. At the Midnight Madness game, Dan announces his mayoral run, but is surprised when Karen does the same. Lucas grows tired of Nathan ignoring Haley leading them to get into a fight on the court. Furious, Whitey makes Nathan and Lucas co-captains. At the same time, Brooke grows tired of Rachel, now a cheerleader, trying to steel her spotlight, leading two a physical fight between them, and she and Lucas also have a huge fight because they really can't get each other due to the whole non-exclusive thing. Nathan tells Haley if she can work with Chris and not feel anything towards him, maybe they can be together again, so she meets with Chris to start making music.

Brooke starts a "Fantasy Boy Draft", after the cheerleaders start fighting over the same guys. Haley and Peyton continue to argue about Nathan. Dan butts heads with Karen as the election draws nearer. Haley and Chris work on her music, which is only good after she writes about Nathan. Trying to keep his condition a secret, Lucas struggles to keep up with the pace of basketball. Haley goes to Lucas and realizes he hasn't told Whitey about his HCM, so she warns him she will tell him then, but Lucas says if she tells Whitey then he is off the team: he promises he can get back to normal if he takes the medication. As the draft begins, Peyton surprisingly picks Mouth. Brooke, trying to beat Bevin, picks Chris Keller. Bevin and Rachel trade places and she picks Lucas as Haley follows by picking Nathan. Shocked, Brooke is telling everyone to wait as she realized the thing she least wanted to happen, happened. All the cheerleaders are happy with their choices, except Brooke. Brooke tells Rachel that she isn't getting Lucas but Rachel quotes her saying that she will then be kicked off the team. Haley thanks Peyton for not picking Nathan, but Peyton says it was about time she started fighting for her husband. Karen and Deb are clearing up as a tv ad comes on for her party, as it continues, it shows Karen smashing Dan's window and then the ad turns out to be an ad for Dan's party. As the two stare in disgust, Karen tells Deb it's time to go negative. Meanwhile Lucas trains to keep playing basketball despite taking his medication, which weakens him. Karen and Deb get Dan's truck moved as Brooke fills in the slots for her draft, with Rachel getting Lucas. Meanwhile, Peyton feels bad for sending Ellie away. Haley is in the cafe and edits her name on the map of famous singers to 'Haley James Scott'.

The night of the Fantasy Date Nights has officially begun. Haley wanted a private date alone with Nathan and is upset when she has to double date with Chris and Brooke. The date does not go well and fails to bring Haley and Nathan closer together. Lucas goes on his date with Rachel, who wants him to forget Brooke, but he refuses, as she tells him she is very sceptical about Brooke being the one for him. Karen and Deb plan to vandalize Dan's billboard but the night does not go as planned. Peyton and Mouth spend their date visiting Mouth's grandfather who has dementia and cannot remember his family. Haley brings Nathan up to the cafe roof where she shows him the prediction she made. Nathan writes his own prediction and tells her he has to trust her not to read it until the end of the year. Lucas goes to Brooke's apartment because he would be with her and walks into her room, seeing her waking up and, as she turns around, Chris rolls over, meaning the they have slept together and she has cheated on him: Lucas is disgusted by the vision and furious at Brooke.

Lucas, still angry for Brooke's cheating, refuses to answer her calls. Karen does a radio interview for the election, but Dan ambushes it by calling her and asking unflattering questions. Nathan tells Deb that he does not feel they are getting out. Brooke goes to the mall and is told that she will not get paid for her designs as all the rights go to the store. Peyton tries to convince Lucas to talk to Brooke, but he refuses, feeling hurt. On the day of the first game, Brooke does not show up to school. Dan goes to see Lucas and threatens to tell Whitey about his HCM if he does not pass the ball to Nathan and sit out for the season. Dan propositions Chris Keller to break up Nathan and Haley. Nathan shaves his head for the game. In the locker room, Lucas walks in and the two begin to argue with each other about the way they treat both Brooke and Haley. Peyton gives Haley a ride to the game and tells her that she is sick of everyone leaving and that is the reason she has been mad at her, but then adds that she is happy she is home. During the game, Lucas is distracted by Chris, imagining him and Brooke together. As the teams continue to score, Brooke sits at home and takes down all the photos of her kissing boys leaving just Lucas. The Ravens lose the game. Dan comes in and berates the team. Nathan starts to back talk to him, so Dan pins Nathan up against the wall just as Whitey walks in telling him to get out with a bat. After the game, Lucas ignores Brooke, so she and Peyton go to the store and steal her designs back. After the game, Haley waits for Nathan. He tells her he wants to walk home alone, as they walk away, Nathan calls her and asks her to walk home with him. Mouth goes to see Karen and shows her a video of what Dan did to Nathan. Lucas stops at the river and angrily throws away his heart medication.

Dan wants Karen to concede the election and shows her a video that he believes has the identity of the person who tried to kill him. After stealing Brooke's clothes from the store selling her designs, Brooke, Peyton, and Haley find themselves behind bars. Lucas confronts Brooke about her sleeping with Chris Keller and cheating on him: she apologizes, but he says that she has made it clear she does not care about him. Haley helps Brooke decide to design some of her own clothes to sell. Peyton is annoyed by the presence of her guilty conscience after losing Ellie's cancer survivor bracelet. Chris Keller convinces Nathan to be his wingman at a cash poker game which ends with the pair being accused of cheating and a long walk home after they lose all their money. Chris reveals to Nathan he kissed Haley the night he returned, just as Haley realizes the same thing. Dan wins the election and Karen tells Lucas about the video. Lucas meets with Deb and it is revealed that Deb was the one who tried to kill Dan. Lucas warns her that Dan will not rest until he punishes someone. Deb leaves Tree Hill and makes a phone call to an unknown person and says "Lucas knows". Nathan finds Haley and tells her that he misses having her with him when life got rough and asks her if she wants to stay the night, at which Haley happily accepts and the two spend their first night together since she got back home. Peyton finds Ellie's address. Brooke finds Lucas and confesses that she wrote him a letter every day during the summer but never sent them because she was afraid to get hurt again after what happened the year before and apologizes once more: Lucas decides to forgive her, so the two get back together and start dating exclusively.

Lucas and Peyton take a road trip together to find Ellie. Brooke tries to trust Lucas and Peyton, but the image of what happened the year before resurface in her head, so she becomes jealous again. While out of town, Lucas reconnects with a friend from the past, Faith. Deb and Nathan have a talk which leads to secrets being revealed. Brooke, Haley and Mouth successfully launch the Clothes Over Bros' website, only to find that demand far exceeds supply. Peyton shows up to Ellie's house and asks for help with Haley's record and asks about her cancer status.

The Ravens lose their second game in a row, which leads Whitey to try some very tough love. Dan implants a thought about Haley in Nathan's head which leads him to think it is true. After being gone for 7 months, Keith returns and reconnects with Lucas and Karen. Brooke receives a mysterious letter inviting her to a fashion showcase. Keith and Karen reconnect and when he asks her about Andy, she replies that he was not the man for her. Peyton and Ellie sneak into the Nada Surf concert and convince their manager to let the band play on the benefit album. Feeling once again insecure due to their very weak emotional connection, Brooke decides to share her letters with Lucas.

The students meet with the counselor to plan for the future. Nathan and Haley realize they want to attend colleges across the country from one another. Keith is questioned by the police, but cannot be held as they have no evidence, and he was only arrested as a favor to Dan. Keith asks Karen out on their first date, to go to the Ravens game. At school, Dan is giving a lecture, which Nathan refuses to attend. He later tells the counselor that going to college is the way to escape Dan. Peyton talks with Ellie about college, and Ellie says she could see Peyton studying art, music, or maybe business. At the game, Dan tells Nathan a scout wants to watch him. Whitey forced Nathan to sit out the game. During the last few seconds of the game, Nathan talks to Lucas and reminds him to put the ball in the dead spot. Lucas takes his advice and the Ravens win the game. Flashbacks to the counseling session show that Brooke reveals she does not like to talk about college because she will be alone. Peyton tells the counselor she now wants to go to college and maybe study art, music, or business. Peyton gets home and Ellie reveals she was at the game and she begins to cry. She shows Peyton an idea for the CD, called "Friends With Benefit". It starts to rain in Tree Hill. Keith, Karen, and Lucas enjoy a meal, Dan watches from outside. Keith tells him to go home as they are not his life.

A violent storm hits Tree Hill, causing a blackout. Lucas and Brooke, stuck together in her apartment, begin arguing again due to a letter he wrote her using the exact same words he had used the year before in one for Peyton, leading the two to have a fight out in the downpour. Nathan and Haley, who are at Nathan's home, have a serious conversation about their mistakes and reconcile once and for all, promising to never be separated again. Peyton shares some intimate moments with Ellie, revealing she is scared of her not surviving cancer, but Ellie tries to reassure her and then tells Peyton she has to stop being afraid and to begin living rather than surviving. Peyton, inspired by her words, speaks about loving Lucas but having let him go, fearing she has made an irreversible mistake. Ellie tells her it is never too late. Keith and Karen are at the cafe and finally give in to their feelings and make love for the first time. The day after, Peyton goes to see Ellie, but she is shocked and devastated to find her dead.

Peyton and Haley take a road trip to New York with Brooke for the fashion show, but after one night in the city, Brooke comes to a realization. Meanwhile, the basketball team and cheerleaders road trip to the cheer competition. After returning to NC, after a night of drinking, Peyton and Lucas find each other in the same bed. Nathan and Lucas go to dinner with Tony Battle, an old friend of Nathan. Peyton gets drunk with Rachel, and because of the room swaps she stays with Lucas. Karen considers an impromptu marriage proposal to Keith.

Clips of the students' time capsule from Junior year are leaked and played on the TVs all over school. This results in embarrassment for many of the Tree Hill gang, but also a reconnection in old friends. Peyton flirts with Fall Out Boy songwriter Pete Wentz. Keith gives Lucas an option of a lifetime. The concert features performances by Haley, Fall Out Boy, and Jack's Mannequin. The show references Jack's Mannequin singer, Andrew McMahon, and his real life battle with leukemia.

Jimmy Edwards, an outcast and bullied student at Tree Hill High, down and depressed after the leaking of the time capsule, goes to school with a gun and, after yet more abuse, begins shooting, hitting Peyton in the leg and causing panic. The school is put in lockdown while Jimmy takes Haley and other students hostage. Outside the school, Brooke is desperate because she has lost Peyton in the crowd and tells Lucas, so he and Nathan rush into the school to save Peyton and Haley respectively. Lucas finds Peyton wounded in the library and stays with her, promising that nothing will happen to her. Believing she will not survive because of the blood loss, she finally confesses she loves him and the two share a brief but meaningful kiss, then she passes out and Lucas decides to risk it all, taking her in his arms and trying to exit the school. Jimmy finds them and threatens them. Keith gets into the building and assists Lucas and Peyton in escaping by trying to calm Jimmy, who, feeling too guilty about what he has done, shoots himself. Then Dan arrives, collects Jimmy's gun from the ground and shoots Keith, killing him.

Two weeks after the tragic day, Peyton has recovered from her injury in the leg, Lucas and Karen, both devasted, are mourning Keith and everyone is still shocked for what happened. Brooke, thinking it could help to come back to normality, throws a party at school to the anger of Lucas, who thinks it is only disrespectful for Keith, who died in that hallway: the two have yet another fight, during which he even tells her she can't understand the situation because she wasn't there. Meanwhile, both he and Peyton are still thinking about the kiss and her confession and the two meet again in the library and share another intimate moment: they agree to forget what happened not to hurt Brooke, pretending that it was only because of the situation. Besides, Lucas, thanks to her, is finally able to find some peace from his pain. Nathan and Haley, both still traumatized, agree about being lucky of having what they have together, because it could vanish in a moment, like it happened with Keith's life. Brooke is more and more aware that Lucas and Peyton's connection is still too strong and unbreakable to be platonic, telling her it's obvious she and Lucas still love each other and they both know it’s true, so Peyton, feeling once again guilty, is forced to lie to her about the truth.

Karen is still desperate for Keith's death. Trying to recover from the late tragic events, the gang decide to go away from Tree hill to spend a weekend in the mountains in Rachel's cabin. Nathan, feeling that life is too short, proposes again to Haley, who happily accepts. Brooke discovers some important details about Rachel's past, while Peyton decides to start a fling with Pete Wentz, an older musician she has recently met.

Seeing how devastating Keith's death has been for Karen and understanding how important life is to put it at risk, Lucas decides to tell her, Whitey and Nathan the truth about his heart condition and then painfully quits the team because continuing to play is too dangerous, seeing his dream of becoming a professional player vanishing. Meanwhile, he and Brooke keep growing more and more emotionally distant. Nathan and Haley begin organizing their wedding, while Brooke uses what she's discovered at the cabin to take revenge on Rachel. Peyton is still messed up due to the last traumatic events and asks her father Larry advice about what to do regarding her love life after ending her fling with Pete. Larry's words prompt her to make a decision: she goes to Savannah to find Jake, thinking it could be what her heart wants.

Lucas and Karen have gone away from Tree Hill for some days to recover from the last traumatic events and to make him visit some colleges he would like to attend. Meanwhile, it is the playoff night for the Ravens and, with Lucas gone, Nathan has to lead the team to the win alone. Peyton is spending some time in Savannah with Jake and the two rekindle their relationship: feeling safe with him and Jenny and thinking it could be enough to be happy, she decides to stay and proposes to him.

Jake accepts Peyton's proposal, but then hears her saying in her sleep she loves Lucas. After talking about what happened the day of the shooting, he realizes she’s only escaping from her true feelings, trying to bury them not to hurt Brooke due to her and Lucas still dating: he tells her she needs to come back home and clear her mind about who she’s truly in love with. Lucas comes back too after having realized he wants to become a writer. Meanwhile, Brooke has organized a sort of comic show at Nathan and Haley’s rehearsal dinner to relive their love story as she has also realized, with him being away, that she does better without Lucas and she hasn't even missed him, having understood she is not so dependent on him. During the show, Lucas and Peyton are very nervous to play Nathan and Haley proclaiming their love to each other: while doing the scene, Peyton flashbacks to all the journey of her and Lucas' relationship from the very beginning as she finally realizes he's the one for her and she is still in love with him. At the end of the night, she decides to tell a shocked Brooke the truth.

Nathan and Haley's wedding day has arrived. After Peyton's confession, she and Brooke have a huge argument about their love triangle, ending their friendship again. At the wedding, Lucas lets it slip with Brooke about the kiss in the library, thinking she already knew, leading to yet another fight between them. The two begin throwing at each other all the lacks in their relationship: Lucas tries to justify himself for the kiss and tells her how angry he was after Keith's death, feeling not understood by her, as Brooke responds that a kiss always means something and that the “I love you’s” only said in words but not supported by actions, as it is between them, don’t matter, because they only seem to push each other away and do better when they're not together. The two remain at odds and surely on their lowest moment. Karen tells Lucas she is pregnant with her and Keith's child, while he finds a pregnancy test, not knowing whose it is: Karen confirms it's not hers. After the wedding, Nathan and Haley leave for the honeymoon, but they have a car crash on a bridge.