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"After nine seasons and 187 episodes, the final episode of One Tree Hill aired on The CW Wednesday night, but the beloved series won&amp;apos;t be soon forgotten by its tight-knit cast.\r\n&amp;quot;We started this show in 2003, a year before The O.C. aired, and we were on longer than Lost,&amp;quot; Lee Norris, 30, told Us Weekly during a phone interview Thursday. &amp;quot;That&amp;apos;s nine years -- more time than I was in high school. We may not have been the No. 1 show, but our fans were really invested in the characters, and I think we wrapped things up in a way that they deserved.&amp;quot;\r\nTyler Hilton, who returned for Season 9, adds: &amp;quot;This was the perfect way to end it, with nothing too crazy that tried to push the envelope. It was just a really nice way to end a show with people that you&amp;apos;ve known for nine years. It was a cool way to send everybody off.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThe final scene gave a glimpse into the remaining characters&amp;apos; futures, where they cheered on Jamie Scott during his basketball game at Tree Hill -- the same place his father Nathan (James Lafferty) once played.\r\n&amp;quot;Being back in the gym -- it was the first time we&amp;apos;d been there in years because our characters had all graduated high school and moved on with their lives,&amp;quot; Norris says. &amp;quot;It all kind of came full circle.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nWhen Us spoke to Lafferty, 26, in January, he admitted that it was initially hard to accept that the show was coming to an end. &amp;quot;It didn&amp;apos;t ever sink in while I was saying goodbye to everybody. It didn&amp;apos;t sink in when they said, &amp;apos;That&amp;apos;s a wrap on James Lafferty.&amp;apos; It didn&amp;apos;t sink in in any of those typical moments.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;It kinda sunk in when I was by myself alone in my trailer, and I was getting changed for the very last time. It was like, &amp;apos;Now this is weird. I&amp;apos;m never gonna be back here, never gonna have these private moments in this trailer again,&amp;apos;&amp;quot; Lafferty explained. &amp;quot;That was an interesting feeling. But it&amp;apos;s time to move on. The realist in you says, &amp;apos;It&amp;apos;s been nine years. We&amp;apos;ve told every story we can tell. We&amp;apos;ve done it in the best possible way. And we&amp;apos;ve done justice to the stories and to our fans.&amp;apos;&amp;quot;\r\nNorris watched Wednesday&amp;apos;s finale at Sophia Bush&amp;apos;s home, along with several other One Tree Hill stars. &amp;quot;We talked about the finality of it all, shared some inside jokes that no one but us would get -- things like that.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nBush, 29, was happy with the way the series ended. &amp;quot;It&amp;apos;s a big finish,&amp;quot; she told Us in December. &amp;quot;Our writers are very talented in taking you on a roller coaster ride and returning you home to a place that is familiar.&amp;quot;\r\nShe added: &amp;quot;At the end of the day, most shows are considered successes if they make it three, maybe four years. And we&amp;apos;ve run for nine years! We did more episodes on television than Seinfeld or I Love Lucy. I don&amp;apos;t feel that we have any right to complain about it being over. I think we should all be grateful that we had it for as long as we did.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThe final season -- which also starred Austin Nichols, Bethany Joy Lenz, Lisa Goldstein, Robert Buckley, Jana Kramer, Stephen Coletti, Paul Johansson and Shantel VanSanten -- also marked the return of previous cast members Chad Michael Murray and Craig Sheffer (among others).\r\nThough there aren&amp;apos;t any plans for a reunion movie yet, Norris and Hilton wouldn&amp;apos;t be opposed to the idea. &amp;quot;I don&amp;apos;t think anybody would say no to something like that, if for nothing else than a passion project, just to get to do it again,&amp;quot; Hilton explains.\r\n\r\nWhile Bush is tapped to star in a pilot for CBS, Lafferty said he just wants to &amp;quot;continue working and stay useful,&amp;quot; whether that means acting, directing or producing. Norris, meanwhile, is prepping for his next big project. &amp;quot;I&amp;apos;ve been part of two amazing shows -- One Tree Hill and Boy Meets World -- so I&amp;apos;ve got a lot to live up to,&amp;quot; he tells Us.\r\nHilton, 28, released his new album, Forget the Storm, on April 3 and plans to focus on his music career for the time being. &amp;quot;It&amp;apos;s going to keep me busy for a while. With acting, you never know. If something comes along, I&amp;apos;ll move some things around and make it work. That&amp;apos;s how One Tree Hill got started for me.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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