Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to One Tree Hill.
AN: One of my first One Tree Hill Fics. Let me know what you think. Written immediately following "The Living Years" when all the kids are on the public court playing ball. AU after that. Upbeat for this chapter only. Angst/tragedy to come.
Acceptable
Was he acceptable now?
He had never really fit in. He was the quiet brain in the back of the class. The bastard son of Dan Scott. People had never spoken to him in the hallway, not a muttered hello, just a whispered 'look at that kid' in his direction. He was lucky if he got that much. Not that he cared. He was content with his life. His mother loved him and taught him that he was special. His uncle took care of him and his mother. He didn't need a father, he didn't even need his name. Being Lucas had always been enough to satisfy him.
He wondered when that changed. Sitting here now, his arm tossed around his new 'girlfriend', Brooke. He liked her. He liked her a lot. She smelled like cinnamon. Sexy cinnamon. The kind that left a cool heat in your mouth after you tasted it. He liked Brooke a lot.
His mother wouldn't like Brooke. They would have nothing in common. His mother, the town pariah, would frown on this spitfire that he was currently involved with. Brooke was sultry and oozed sex. She wanted him and didn't care who knew it. His mother would blush at the things Brooke would say to him. Shit, he blushed just thinking about her words.
"Hey, Luke! Halftime's over!" Jake called from across the court. Brooke distracted him with her red lips on his and her tongue probing his mouth.
"I'll be back," Lucas whispered when she released him for air. He sprinted onto the court to join his friends.
After the live show at his mother's café earlier, Lucas had invited his team members from the Whitey-imposed hiatus to join him and his local friends on their outdoor court. Surprisingly, with Nathan's attendance, most of the kids had shown up. His long-time teammates from streetball had actually welcomed a match between the 'real' ball-players that played in a gym. Peyton, Haley and Brooke had taken babysitting duty from Jake who had brought his daughter along. Lucas couldn't help thinking that the only person out of the three that he would trust with his child would be Haley. She had taken care of him all these years and continued to prove that unconditional love transcended loyalty and romance. Haley was and always would be his best friend, even if she was kissing face with Nathan, his nemesis.
Nathan. When did his feelings for Nathan change? He had been raised knowing that he had a brother, a rich, well-off brother that hated his guts. Until high school, he had simply accepted this as fact. When he was approached to play on the high school basketball team, he suddenly saw the hate. Nathan hated him for the simple act of existing. Nathan had done everything in his power to bring out the side of Lucas that he got from their father. The competitiveness. The anger. The confrontational rage.
Lucas had let himself hate his brother. He had let Nathan make him into what he hated. Somehow, in the process, Nathan had made Haley see the good side of him and in turn became a better guy. It seemed to Lucas now, that Nathan was worse off with the presence of their father in his life. Lucas found himself flinching from the words Dan would use toward Nathan. Lucas was grateful for Keith and pitied Nathan for Dan. After Dan's meltdown on the court, some rumored to be drug-related, Lucas had officially let go of his rage. For Haley. She really liked Nathan and Lucas owed it to her to try and see the good side of Nathan that she was still discovering.
Lucas met Haley's smiling eyes from across the court. She caught him watching her and stuck out her tongue at him, playfully. Brooke swatted at her from beside Peyton and the blonde just rolled her eyes.
Peyton. He liked her too. God, it was like a dream when she was tearing at his clothes and kissing him. He wanted her so bad. He would dream about her and think about all the things he wanted to know about her. Her drawings would tear him apart sometimes with their sadness and angst. But she was too late. She took too long to figure out what she wanted. She turned him down and Brooke turned him on.
"Luke! Where's your head?"
Lucas returned his focus to the game. The crowd had actually increased since the café was closed and he was just getting into the groove. Basketball cleared his mind of everything except the pursuit of the goal. He wasn't a bastard on the court, he was a god. He loved the feel of the ball in his hands and it listened to him when he forced it toward the goal. The cheers meant nothing to him, just the ball edging around the rim before falling in. He had to focus.
*****
"Your kid looks good out there, Keith," Whitey said to his friend.
"Who, Luke? Yeah, he's definitely got Dan's spark on the court," Keith snorted.
"Not Dan's spark, he's got your love of the game," Whitey replied. "Thanks for inviting me out to see this."
"Sucks that it took canceling basketball to bring the team together," Keith replied.
"Is that Nathan and Lucas playing on the same side? Damn, that's something I thought I'd never see outside of the gym," Whitey realized.
"Deb kicked Dan out of the house. She told him that if he can't make up with Nathan that she wants a divorce. So Dan took him on a weekend and he ended up back here with Haley…"
"Nathan's going out with Haley? Lucas' friend? Am I really that out of the loop?" Whitey asked, surprised.
"This town was always like a soap opera," Keith laughed.
"I hope Lucas finally snagged Peyton," Whitey remarked.
"Peyton? I think her name is Brooke," Keith replied.
"He's going out with that cheerleader? Now I know I'm getting old. That's a surprise."
"She's definitely surprising," Keith laughed.
*****
Nathan scored the final goal to win the game by a point. He was surprised that the game had been as close as it was considering the people he was playing against but his opponents could play as good or better than the people he was on the team with. He had actually had fun for the first time in months on a basketball court. He went around congratulating the players. He got a couple of dirty looks from people hovering around Lucas but he understood. He was the outsider on this court. This was Lucas' turf.
When he had seen the "basketball canceled" notice on the gym a couple of days earlier, he had been relieved. He didn't think he could go back on the court after the fallout from his fall out during the game. The last thing he had seen before he lost consciousness had been his brother's face. Lucas. As if his karma was the reason his life sucked so bad. Haley was his saving grace. She was a pure soul and she liked him. She found stuff in him besides basketball that made her like him. Haley thought he was worth more than his basketball game.
So for Haley, he was giving Lucas a chance. His brother. The 'good brother' according to the rumor mill at school. Virgin, nonalcoholic Lucas, like he was a drink or something. Nathan was the acceptable Scott son, he was the one that was claimed by his father but Lucas was the black sheep, the one unacknowledged by his father. In reality, it was different. Lucas was the one who learned family values and had good self-esteem and he was the bastard. He had really been a bastard lately. Thinking back, he would have kicked his own ass for the tricks he had pulled on his brother.
"Hey. Nice game," Lucas stuck out his hand to shake it.
"Yeah. You, too," Nathan said honestly.
"You guys are actually playing nice? I never thought I'd see the day," Jake called from nearby, laughing with his baby in his arms.
"It's a fresh start for a lot of people tonight, I guess," Nathan said quietly. "Thanks for the game," He added.
"No problem. Gotta keep in shape or the coach might kick us all off the team," Lucas grinned, nodding to his uncle's truck across the parking lot.
"No way, Whitey's keeping tabs on us now?" Tim called, noticing the coach in Keith's truck.
"I guess Keith told him about it," Lucas replied, walking with Nathan toward Haley, Brooke, Peyton and Jake.
"Keith's keeping you on a tight leash with your mom out of town," Nathan commented.
"Keith? Your mom's the biggest snoop," Brooke said, hearing Nathan's words.
"My mom?" Nathan asked, putting his arm around Haley protectively after giving Peyton a sympathetic smile.
"Deb saw us in the drugstore this morning and ratted us out to Keith," Lucas said quietly. Nathan noticed Haley's surprised glance toward Lucas.
"What were you doing in the drugstore?" Peyton asked before anyone else.
"Buying…stuff…" Brooke seemed to realize that Lucas was embarrassed and she whispered something in Peyton's ear.
"What?" Peyton asked, laughing despite herself. "Deb caught you buying condoms and whipped cream?"
Everyone laughed as Lucas turned bright red.
"I bet Keith was livid," Haley laughed.
"Yeah, I caught it," Lucas smiled.
"At least she didn't tell your mom," Nathan conceded.
"Yeah. She was pretty cool about it…" Lucas responded honestly.
"Well, guys, I need to get this girl home to bed," Jake announced, lifting Jenny's carrier into his arms.
"You need any help?" Peyton offered.
"Sure. I'll give you a ride back to your car," Jake responded.
"That's weird," Brooke said as soon as they were out of hearing distance. "Girl is attracted to guy for his kid," She laughed.
"Good for them. I hope it works out," Nathan said. "Peyton needs to be with a grown up," He added.
Lucas met his gaze for a moment, acknowledging the crack but doesn't respond.
"Hey, Luke," Keith called from beside his truck. "I've got to go take a call but I'll see you in the morning okay?"
"Sure, Keith. I won't stay out too late," Lucas added.
Keith rolled his eyes as he got back into his truck. Whitey gave the group a wave.
"We're getting out of here," Brooke announced as soon as the headlights faded. "I need to give this boy a bath."
"Brooke, god, you're blunt!" Haley said as Nathan gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek.
"Sorry about that, she's been among the natives too long," Lucas teased. He gave Haley a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll call you tomorrow." He turned to Nathan. "We usually play around lunchtime on Sundays, Nathan. You're welcome to join us."
"I don't want to step on any toes," Nathan replied quietly.
"You won't. We don't take names or anything, if you show up, you play. That's it," Lucas responded. He lowered his voice. "They don't know that you're the one that fucked up the court. I wouldn't mention that." He gave Nathan a smile and let Brooke pull him toward the car.
"Well? You guys have an official truce?" Haley asked him once Lucas was gone.
"I guess. I mean, I figured if you like him so much that there must be a reason. I mean, you like me, don't you?" Nathan teased, kissing her deeply.
*****