Autumn was always Lucas' favourite season. The warm breeze, the falling leaves. Red, orange and yellow, lovely yet fatally beautiful colours against the setting sun. It marked his hair with contrast. And the black, the black suits, dresses, and shirts and faces, against the green of the grass. He laughed, green so ironic against the nature of their gathering. The funeral for Keith Scott.
Keith.
His uncle.
His soon-to-be father.
Legally but, in his eyes, his father in all meanings of the word. Stood by him, and his decisions, and his growth since beginning of his memories from childhood. He had a smile so gentle you felt it in your heart. It made you comfortable in his presence; you feel understanding, patience, and love. He was someone his mother could always depend on, the judgement of whom she could always trust. Someone his mother came to love, knowing the pain and void of not having him in her life.
Karen.
His mother.
The best mother anyone could ever imagine having. Someone that even Brooke enjoyed doing chores for.
Through thick and thin, she believed in his abilities and a goodness that she has given him through her grace, wisdom and the most unconditional love. He loves his mother, so much so that more pain for her was present in his heart than his pain for himself. This loss, he knows, comes heavily for her, one that is priceless beyond all measurements of the world. One that he cannot imagine happening... He knows...
Brooke.
Pretty girl.
He questions her all the time. What is it about her that makes him feel so... Right? Who he seems in his mind, and who he believes is in front of him when she is. He doesn't know why, but, she. She is the reason he feels alive sometimes. One who holds the key, not just to his heart, but to his being. His soul, and his mind, so devoted to her it seems there is no one else he could possibly imagining being with. A love that is so alive with possibility and assurance that he longs to be with her every second of every day. He loves her. Her dark hair, beautiful smile, and kind heart. People say they are antithesis of each other, but opposites attract right?
Peyton.
The survivor.
The one who walks on sand with Converse sneakers. Hair blonde so blinding, she seems like an angel. Yet, her footsteps seemed to be filled with tragedy, wherever she goes. Her tears, flow so freely and uncontrollably in moments of emotion... and bright and beautiful laughter in moments of joy... She stands above anyone else for the promise of her limitless talent and potential. Yet for all of her potential, something darks lurks in her soul, and this, this above all that she is to him, makes him shiver. He may not always want to admit it, but, a common something in both their souls feel like they... understand, know each other in a deeper and visceral level.
Nathan.
His...
Brother.
For the first 17 years of his life, he neglected his existence. And vice versa, for Nathan never needed anything from a bastard half-brother. Yet, life and time somehow dictated their paths cross after 17 years of mutual ignorance and teenage ego. Nathan, he began to find, is not so bad. Rather, a guy who is trying to do the best with what is given him... And he knows now, after three years of semi-friendship and pseudo-sibling rivalry, Nathan is more a brother to himself than he could ever have imagined. That, to the younger version of himself in his own memories, is a miracle.
Haley.
Best friend.
Sister-in-law.
After two years, he is still shocked to think of her like that. Beyond skeptical is what he was, when he found out that she and Nathan had somehow gotten married. They won't last, he thought. It was a mistake, and they will have to get a divorce, like... all the other high school couples who got married too quickly. Yet, it stuns him that they made it past her leaving for her dreams. And it almost overwhelms him when he seems them together now, wondering if that's what others see when Brooke is with him. When you see them together, you know they love each other. You feel it, so strong are their bonds that you hope you could have that some day.
Jimmy.
His... Friend.
Jimmy was a bright kid. He wanted to go to MIT, to become an engineer. Since Lucas became a member of the basketball team, he stopped hanging out. It is indescribable that it arrived... to this. This... Tragedy... The facts say Jimmy had become a killer. He killed his uncle, his father. His... Keith.
Thinking about Jimmy made him angry. And he couldn't let that happen, especially not at Keith's funeral. So he looked at his mom on his right, and by now realized that everyone else except them have left.
"What do I do now?" his mother asked, her voice wavering with the wind.
He remained silent.
A tear dripped from her face, tracing the old paths their predecessors have flow past. Despite her tear stained face, the goodness that glows from beneath her skin is visible even in the depths of sorrow.
He took his mother's hand, and brought her forehead against his to kiss, knowing nothing he said will ever be enough.