Brooke discovers something that could change Sam's life. Nathan questions his dreams of playing in the NBA while Haley receives an unexpected offer from guest star Nick Lachey. Jamie and Skills mend their broken hearts at Jamie's first school dance. Meanwhile, Lucas and Peyton have a road trip to remember.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- As Himself: Nick Lachey appears as a fictionalised version of himself, trying to buy one of Haley’s songs and having dated Brooke in the past.
- Auto Erotica: Towards the end of the flashback, Peyton jokes that she and Lucas are going to make a bunch of babies in the backseat of the Comet.
- Bait-and-Switch: Skills is shown giving a pep talk to his players, making the viewer think he’s coaching the Ravens. Then the scene reveals that he’s coaching Jamie’s pee-wee basketball team.
- Cabin Fever: Played for Laughs as Peyton complains about being stuck at home on bed rest.
- Call-Back:
- Numerous references are made to Brooke and Chase’s romantic history from Season 4; in the flashback, Lucas makes an offhand comment about Brooke and Chase sharing their own private goodbye, whilst in the present day Mia finds out about Chase losing his virginity to Brooke.
- Peyton accidentally tells Mia about the times she and Chase kissed to make Brooke and Lucas jealous during "You’re Gonna Need Someone on Your Side" in Season 5.
- In the flashback, when Lucas finds out that Peyton sent his novel out to several publishers, he immediately draws the comparison to his submitting Peyton’s artwork to THUD Magazine; Peyton freely admits that it was payback.
- When Lucas shows Peyton the ticket to the The Cure concert that he found in the Comet, Peyton teases Lucas about his pretending to like the band.
- Dine and Dash: Lucas and Peyton do so at a small diner on their road trip; or rather, Lucas suggests they do so and lets Peyton sneak out to the car, before turning to the nearest waitress and giving her a big tip to run out after him acting like he hasn’t paid.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Lucas is clearly appreciative of the view of Peyton’s ass in the rear view mirror as she learns into the backseat to reach for something whilst they’re driving to Atlanta.
- Exact Words: According to Lucas, he never said that he liked The Cure, just that he loved kissing Peyton to their music.
- Failed a Spot Check: In their haste to leave the diner, neither Lucas or Peyton realise that one of the concert tickets has been left behind.
- Full-Name Basis: Lampshaded by Mia and Nick Lachey.
- Honor Before Reason: Nathan ultimately decides that he needs to prove to himself that he’s good enough to make it to the NBA, and chooses to pass up the offer to play in Europe whilst acknowledging that he might be giving up the only offer he may receive to play professionally.
- Internal Reveal: Mia finds out that Chase lost his virginity to Brooke, and that he’s also kissed Peyton.
- Pet the Dog: Nathan tells Bobby to recommend Devon to the European scouts, not wanting to give up on the NBA and feeling guilty that Nathan’s success meant that Devon was cut from the Chiefs.
- Product Placement: A storyline revolves around Nick Lachey wanting to buy a song from Haley, Lachey’s real life single "All In My Head" which was intended to be the lead single for his repeatedly delayed third album.
- Really Gets Around: Haley alludes to Brooke doing so in high school by noting that Chase is far from the only guy to lose his virginity to Brooke.Haley: Welcome to Tree Hill, try to find a boy who didn’t lose his virginity to Brooke Davis.
- The Reveal: Peyton was the one to send An Unkindness of Ravens out to publishers.
- Their First Time: Discussed as Mia finds out that Chase lost his virginity to Brooke.
- Time-Passes Montage: We briefly see a montage of Peyton trying to kill time whilst she’s stuck on bed rest.
- Titled After the Song: The episode title is taken from the song "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" by Louis Armstrong.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The Lucas and Peyton storyline is a flashback to the last day they spent together before Peyton left for Los Angeles after graduation.
