Tree Hill, NC October 2004

"You're late," her voice was raspy as she whispered into his ear.

His strong hands wrapped around her small waist as he bent to kiss her soft, warm lips. There was something absolutely addictive about kissing his girlfriend.

"I know," he whispered back after a moment.

"Well," she took a few small steps out in front of him but turned with a smile to hold out her hand, "as long as you're aware. Come on, we're going to be late for History."

"Do you know," he asked as they walked, "that you are the most beautiful girl that I have ever laid eyes on?"

As the doors of the school opened everyone in the hallway stopped to watch the captain of the basketball team and the captain of the cheerleading squad walk hand in hand, completely engrossed with one another. They were the king and queen of Tree Hill High, both in the top five richest kids in the school and both completely gorgeous. They were a walking cliché; Nathan Scott and Brooke Davis.

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There was something to be said for a sport that a man could lose himself in. Basketball wasn't just a sport he happened to be good at. Basketball was life, it was air, it was everything that mattered. In some way, shape or form, basketball defined everything that Nathan Scott considered himself to be. It had been what he and his father had first bonded over. It would eventually get him into college. It was why he was the most popular kid in school and he was only halfway through his sophomore year. It was the reason he and Brooke had finally started dating.

He and Brooke had been friends since pre-k. Their parents were in the top five richest in the whole town of Tree Hill. They were in the same circles but unlike their other rich friends they attended the public school and effectively ruled it. Halfway through eighth grade they had begun to date. They had been destined for greatness in high school and both of them had known it. But it was more than that, Brooke had a spark in her that attracted Nathan. She played her games, wore the mask that everyone in high school tended to, but when they were together she showed him who she really was and he was blinded by the beauty of her soul.

"You gonna pay attention man," Jake Jagielski asked as he threw a basketball to him.

Nathan nodded but his gaze drifted over to the other end of the gym where Brooke was warming up with the other cheerleaders. Just the sight of her in tight spandex leggings and a tight tang top was enough to turn his body into an inferno.

"Dude, are you gonna practice or watch that foxy brunette all day?"

Nathan playfully threw the ball back to Jake, "watch you're mouth, that's my girlfriend."

Jake laughed as he and Nathan jogged toward the rest of the team.

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"…so if you think you can't make it, and you'd better have a damned good reason for missing it, then call me. Everyone knows my cell. Dismissed ladies, good job today!"

As the girls began to disperse Brooke took a measure of pride in the fact that they were going to the South Eastern Cheer Competition in little over a month and could, no would, win. It didn't hurt that Nathan and the basketball team would be there for a basketball game since it was in Charlotte that year.

Suddenly two arms wrapped around her waist and she was lifted back onto a hard chest, "Nathan! Eww, you're sweating and gross!"

His deep laugh vibrated through her body. She sighed, how she loved this man. He turned her and before she could speak again his lips met hers in a fervor. He tasted salty and little like Gatorade but mostly like the man of her dreams.

"Tell me you're coming over," he whispered.

"Wouldn't miss it," she whispered back. His hand brushed her cheek and moved up to pull through her thick dark brown hair. She had cut her hair recently and now she had bangs, or "fringe" which she was always correcting him with, but thankfully kept her hair to her breasts. He loved her long hair. To be honest he loved everything about her. Everyone thought he was an arrogant asshole and he didn't really care. All that had ever mattered was that she saw him, the real him.

"I love you, Nate," her words clenched his heart as they always did.

"Let me get changed, I'll meet you at my house," he told her.

As he walked away he just grinned when he felt her thin fingers pinch his ass.

222

Nathan and Brooke had been friends long before they had ever hooked up. Brooke had actually spent a lot of time with his family because her parents were the definition of absentee parents. Luckily for both of them his parents, Dan and Deb Scott, loved her and always let her come around. Of course Dan was an asshole. He had pushed Nathan to be the best in basketball all of his life and sometimes it felt like he pushed too much. Deb toned him down but every other weekend she traveled to Virginia where the other part of her company was located. Despite everything though Nathan did love his parents and wanted their acceptance.

He walked into his house and dropped his duffle bag next to the door, "mom, dad!"

He had seen a beat up Chevy in the garage and was curious as to why it was there. Suddenly Deb came through the swing door from the kitchen, she looked very worried, "Nathan, I'm glad you're home."

"Mom, what's wrong," he gently held her arm, "are you okay?"
Deb's blue gaze softened as she gazed at her son, "yeah, baby, it's just that you're father and I have to talk to you."

Nathan followed her into the kitchen with a worried expression on his face, "I don't know what the Deputy told you but I swear I was fully dressed the entire time."

"Nathan," Dan's voice broke in.

"Hold on," Nathan continued, trying to get his mother on his side before he had to face his father, "okay, I may have taken off my shorts but it was only for a second and I had my boxers on."

"Nathan," Deb took a deep breath and Nathan finally realized that sitting at the table with his father was a blond boy. He looked to be about his age and had a decent build, he almost looked like an athlete but he looked a bit too broody.

"Who are you," Nathan asked.

"Lucas," the boy told him.

Nathan had learned good manners and nicely offered his hand. As they shook his father's words shook him to his core, "your brother."

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Brooke walked into her empty house and gently closed the door behind her. Every teenager wanted a little more independence but Brooke had it in spades and would much rather get to see her parents every once and again. They were rich though and tried to compensated for their lack of attention and affection by paying off her credit cards and depositing huge sums of money into her checking account. All in all she should have counted herself as lucky. She had a beautiful light green VW Buggy, a huge house to herself, a pool, and all the money she could possibly ever use. Not to mention her great looks, she subconsciously twirled piece of her hair around her finger. But sometimes all she really wanted was for her parents to come home and hold her and tell that she hadn't been a mistake that had been cramping their style for sixteen years.

She sighed and began to pack an over night bag. She had a lot of her stuff at Nathan's house but she always brought over extras in case she needed anything. She prided herself on being prepared for any fashion emergency. That was her thing. She was the queen bee, one of the prettiest, richest, and most talented girls. Brooke looked herself over in her vanity mirror, she had a reputation to protect.

The house phone rang and she jumped. No one ever called her house phone! She crept over to the phone and lifted it, "hello?"

"Hello, darling, what are you up to?"

Lydia Davis' voice filled Brooke's ear and she could tell that her mother was very drunk, wherever she was, "mother, where are you?"

"Your father and I are in Paris again, darling. I swore that we called and told you that earlier this week."

"Mom, it's Monday, I haven't heard from you since two Wednesdays ago," Brooke informed her.

"Oh, dear, did we forget to pay your credit card," Lydia asked.

Brooke sighed, "no, mother, you didn't. Thanks though. What are you two doing in Paris?"

"Just a bit of this and that," Lydia replied, "oh, here's your father!"

There was bit of shuffling and Brooke waited, "hello? Brooklyn?"

"Hello, Daddy!"

"My precious, we've missed you!"

Brooke's voice broke, "I've missed you too, Daddy!"

There was a shuffling and suddenly Lydia was laughing hysterically. Bill Davis sighed, "I must see to your mother, Brooklyn."

"I know," he always did.

"Brook-" he was cut off.

"Okay, Daddy," as she heard the dial tone she hung up the phone and whispered, "I love you."

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"So you mean to tell me," Nathan took a long breath as he finally sat at the table with his parents and Lucas, "that you got your high school sweetheart pregnant, left her, got mom pregnant and married her. You never bothered to mention the fact that you've fathered another child, because?"
Dan clenched his hands, "Karen didn't want me to have anything to do with Lucas after I left her. I offered to take him."

"Why are you here now," Nathan finally asked.

Lucas looked around the table. Deb was smiling encouragingly, Dan was static, but Nathan was reeking of every emotion, "my mother is opening a café in town. We're moving here. I didn't want to be a shock to you."

Nathan knew immediately that he meant at school. And what the hell would that do to his reputation? He rubbed a hand down his face. Life wasn't supposed to be this fucking hard!

"Nate," Brooke's trembling voice had him looking up to the kitchen door.

He heard Lucas' swift intake of breath but all he saw was her beautiful face wet with her tears, her eyes pink. Immediately he rose and drew her into his arms. He whispered into her ear, "what happened?"

"My parents," she sniffled back into his chest.

He nodded, knowing that they had let her down again, as they always managed to do. He looked back to the table where Deb motioned for him to take Brooke up stairs, Dan was looking worriedly toward the petite brunette and Lucas was blushing furiously, his gaze on his hands.

"Come on, Davis, let's get you up stairs," Nathan whispered.

222

"What do you mean," Brooke had heard Nathan's bizarre closet brother story twice now but she still couldn't believe it. They were lying on his spacious queen sized bed and it was rather late. She had passed out after her crying episode. Now it was almost midnight and Nathan was holding her close, under the crook of his arm, his chin resting on her head.

He laughed, surprised he was able to, "so now he's going to stay with us while his mother gets everything settled. Basically it'll be the worst two weeks of my life."

"Why, is he nasty," Brooke asked.

"Brooke, he's coming to our school. Everyone will know Dan had another kid, not to mention he's into reading everything which means he's a geek and he asked if he could try out for the basketball team, like I'd let that happen."

"Why not?"

"I really want this title, Brooke. Just because he thinks he's decent at basketball doesn't mean he is. I can't risk letting some new kid on the team. Nothing else matters except getting this title," he replied.

When she froze in his arms he swore at himself. She relaxed her muscles but Nathan knew that she was too used to pain and that's why she was so good at pretending that she wasn't hurting, "you know I didn't mean that the way it sounded."
"I know," she rose.

"Where are you going," he propped himself up on an elbow.

"Too get a snack," she replied.

222

Lucas stopped in mid stride as he caught sight of a very tight ass peaking out from the refrigerator he had been about to raid. When he was in a new place he had trouble sleeping. He had read all of his new book and was still wide awake. He thought that maybe some milk and some of the vanilla cake he had seen earlier would sate him but as he felt himself grow hard he knew he was wrong.

"Oh," she had turned and was looking at him with big hazel eyes, "you must be the closet brother Nathan's been telling me about."

She walked to him, confident as could be in her tang top and short girl boxers, and shook his hand, "I'm Brooke Davis, the captain of the Varsity Cheerleading Squad."

"And," the deep voice prompted behind Lucas, making him jump. He glanced at Nathan who simply lifted a brow before wrapping an arm around Brooke's waist.

"And," she rolled her eyes, "the very disillusioned and sad girlfriend of the captain of the Varsity Basketball team."

Lucas' thoughts swirled, his brother was the captain of the very team he wanted to join. He nodded and watched as Nathan brought his head down and kissed her lips. The very lips that Lucas knew he'd been writing about in his journal.

"I say stupid things sometimes," Nate murmured.

"I know," she agreed.

"But nothing else will ever matter the way you do, Davis," he told her.

She smiled and then winked at Lucas before pulling Nathan toward the door, "we're going to call it a night. Good night closet brother of Nathan."

Lucas stood there for a long time before finally murmuring, "my name's Lucas."