EDIT: Bethany has signed on for a season 9. James, Shantel, and Lee are the only main cast members without deals currently (known of anyway). It’s likely that Jackson will be back as Jamie given Bethany’s signed on if the show is picked up for another season.

Nearly every “One Tree Hill” cast member we spoke to during the first half of the series’ current 8th season seemed content with the idea that Season 8 would be the final season of the veteran series.

Season 8 has, in some ways, felt like a wrap-up to a very long journey that’s taken beloved characters from their junior year of high school well into their mid-twenties thanks to some well-orchestrated time jumps. (Nobody likes a high school show in college anyway, right?)

Oddly enough, it was the most recent episode — a clip show reflecting on how far the characters have come — that first suggested that the story might not end this year. After all, fans of the show want to see Brooke’s dreams come true, and while watching her heart break as she had to say goodbye to her dreams of motherhood once again, we realized her journey was not quite over.

It appears that series star Sophia Bush feels the same way. After speaking with Bush several times over the last year, we’ve gotten the impression that she feels quite connected with and protective of her character, and she’s decided not to let go quite yet.

In a move that many fans didn’t expect, Bush has officially signed on to stick with “One Tree Hill” for Season 9, should The CW choose to renew the show for the 2011-2012 season.

Additionally, her on-screen husband Austin Nichols has completed negotiations to return, and they’ll be joined by Rob Buckley (Clay) and Lisa Goldstien (Millie). Jana Kramer (Alex) will also remain with the show even as she pursues her off-screen music career. Her on-screen performances on the show are sure to boost awareness for her country record. There’s been no word on whether Stephen Colletti or Shantal VanSanten plan to be back.

And thus, the question remains: will the Scott family stay in Tree Hill? “Keep your fingers crossed,” Bush tweeted, in the hopes that James Lafferty and Bethany Joy Galeotti will agree to return. (Jackson Brundage’s contract relies on their negotiations being successful, as he plays their son.)

Bush, Lafferty, and Galeotti are the sole remaining series regulars from the first season. Though the show has certainly broadened, it began as the story of Nathan (Lafferty) and Lucas (Chad Michael Murray), estranged half-brothers forced together on the basketball court. To continue “One Tree Hill” without any representatives of the Scott family in the regular cast seems like a risky move.

We talked to Lafferty this week, and he remained cryptic on the issue of contract renewals, telling us, “There are a lot of things that would have to fall into place for a Season 9 to happen. If Season 9 doesn’t happen, I feel like my character has had a very well-rounded ending. That being said, it’s ‘One Tree Hill.’ There’s always a possibility for more story.”

For Galeotti, Season 9 is complicated. She and her husband Michael recently welcomed their first child, daughter Maria Rose, who will no doubt factor into her decisions — especially considering the show shoots in Wilmington but she calls Washington State home. Galeotti has dreams of opening up a boutique bakery and raising a large family.

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