It's been said that as much as the choices we make, the people we surround ourselves with determine who we become. The truth of this statement is evident in the following story.

Prologue:

Karen Roe was exhausted. After working 11 hours at her three year old café, with her 4 year old son in tow, all she wanted to do was sleep. And stay asleep until she was ready to wake up. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. She had dishes to wash, laundry to fold, and toys to pick up. As she carried the laundry basket to the couch, her foot slipped on something wet.

-"Crap"

As her bottom hit the hard floor, the clothes went flying. Tears of frustration formed in her eyes, as she realized the roof was leaking and her clean clothes had just landed in the not so clean puddle. Her landlord was lazy at best, and she knew that the roof would not be fixed anytime soon.

The knock on the door forced her to stand up. Hopefully, it was Keith. She could really use a friendly face after the day she had. However, it was not Keith whose face she saw at the door. In less than a second, the smile was replaced with a face full of anger. Dan Scott, stood dripping in the doorway. It was obvious he had been outside for a while, gathering his courage.

-"Get out!"

-"Karen, you haven't returned my calls. We need to talk."

-"Maybe, you should get the hint. I don't want to talk to you. I don't want you in my life. I don't want you in Lucas's life."

-"But he's my son. I have a right to be in his life."

In that moment, all the emotions that Karen had been bottling up exploded. The exhaustion, the frustration, the fear hit Karen all at once.

-"Dan, you lost that right when you left me for basketball. You lost it again when you hooked up with Deb, less than 3 months after I told you I was pregnant. And you lost it a third time, when you moved here with your new wife, in that big house, ignoring our existence, while I wasn't even sure if I could pay the next month's rent." Her volume increased with each sentence she screamed.

-"Karen, I'm trying now. Doesn't that mean anything? I want to help take care of Lucas. I want to pay child support. Let me in."

Karen stared at Dan, her eyes full of doubt. What game was he playing? She would not let him ruin his life, not again.

"Get out! I will call the police."

Before Dan could respond, the pitter pater of little feet showed a little boy in Thomas the Train pajamas. Karen looked at her son, a warm smile returning to her face.

-"Hey buddy. What are you doing out of bed? It's way past your bed time."

Lucas looked at his mother, fear and curiosity in his eyes before responding. "Momma, are you okay? I heard yelling."

"Luke, it's ok. I was just visiting with….an old friend. Let's get you back in bed. Dan, you can let yourself out."

While Karen helped Lucas get back in bed, Dan ignored Karen's invitation to leave by taking a seat on her couch. He took in the small puddle of water on the floor, the laundry that was helping to soak it up, and the furniture that was third hand at best. The feeling of guilt intensified in his stomach. How could he have let his oldest son live in such conditions, while his youngest lived in a house that had a room of toys?

Five minutes later, Karen returned to her living room to clean up the mess that was made, just before Dan had tried to walk back into her life. Her eyes narrowed when she saw that Dan was making himself at home instead of letting himself out. She addressed Dan in a rough whisper.

-"I told you to get out. We don't need you."

-"Karen, look around. You need help. I can give it to you."

_"Dan, you have NO right to comment on our life. Feel free to leave. I'll tell you what; feel free to stop by in another five years."

Dan wanted to yell back, but knew that Lucas was in the next room. That knowledge made him take a deep breath, allowing him to think rationally before responding.

-"Karen, I need you to think this through for a moment. We both live in Tree Hill. It is a small town, were people talk about everybody's business. How do you think Lucas is going to feel, with his brother in the same grade, but having nothing to do with him? With a father who doesn't even know his favorite color? I know that I have messed up, but I am trying to fix it. Let me. Let's fix this before while there is still time. Don't let Luke suffer for my stupidity."

Karen had never thought of the long term repercussions of Lucas growing up in Tree Hill after Dan moved back. However, she was not ready to trust him.

-"Dan, you have made some decent points. However, our parenting styles are too different. It would be too confusing to have Lucas floating between the two lifestyles. I know you want joint custody, and are willing to pay child support, but I don't think that it is his best interest. He is my priority."

-"Karen, let's talk about it. We can talk out issues and compromise. However, I need to be part of his life. Can you agree to this…please?"

Karen paused for a moment. She looked into his eyes, trying to ascertain Dan's intentions. Whether it was Dan's explanation behind his desires, or the pure exhaustion she felt, she couldn't say. But after a short moment, she took a breath and responded quietly.

-"Yes."

12 Years Later

-"Nate, hurry-up. I'm leaving in 5 minutes, whether or not you are in the car."

After yelling at his brother, Luke grabbed his backpack and his duffle bag and walked out to his car, giving his dad a quick good-bye. It was Friday. Every Friday, he left from one parent's house, and returned home to the others. This had been happening, ever since he was 4. For a while it seemed disruptive, but after all the years it was second nature.

Exactly 4 minutes and 58 seconds later, Nathan Scott came running out the house, a piece of toast hanging from his mouth and his shoes untied. As he buckled up, he turned to his brother, ready to list his complaints.

-"Dude, couldn't you wait another 5 minutes? We're going to be twenty minutes early as it is. It's not like you have a girlfriend to meet up with or anything."

Lucas gave his brother a look before responding in his patented sarcastic manner.

-"Dude, did you ever hear of the school bus? Or, you could actually make it home before curfew and Dad would give you back your keys. Feel free to jump out of the car at any time."

Nathan didn't even bother to respond. Lucas and Nathan's relationship had become strained over the past year or so. According to their dad, Nathan had hit a "rebellious" face over this time. Dan blamed it on basketball. Nathan made the varsity team his freshmen year, and became a starter his sophomore year. This had introduced him to a "wilder" crowd than Luke had fallen into, as Luke had quit basketball just before their freshman year. At first, Dan had encouraged Lucas to pick up the sport again, but after seeing the trouble that Nathan had gotten into, he let the subject drop. Luke told his parents that he "just didn't like basketball" anymore. Nathan knew better. He knew that Luke spent most of his afternoons playing on the river court. Truthfully, he couldn't figure out why his brother didn't try out for the team, but he was grateful. He needed his own thing.

After Nathan made the basketball team, he and Luke took separate paths, and had separate friends. Nathan hung out with the jocks and cheerleads. Luke hung out with the river court gang. Unfortunately, being in the same grade created a sense of competition between the two, especially, since there were constant comparisons from teachers, peers, and parents. Luke was smart; mostly As. Nathan struggled to get Cs. Luke was respectful and never missed curfew. Nathan had been grounded more than once for each of those offensives. Nathan felt that the only thing he had going for him was basketball.

However, the main difference between the two was their living situation. Lucas lived one week with his father and the next with his mother. Nathan lived full time with his father. His mother, Deb, had left them for another man when he was 12. Deb had not been back to Tree Hill since. Nathan felt lucky if he got a birthday card.

After Luke parked the car, Nathan mumbled a quick, "See ya later" to his brother, before trying to find his girlfriend, Peyton Sawyer. Luke took his time, gathering his books before heading to the library to do some last minute studying with his best friend, Hailey James.

Luke felt very confident that he had aced his history exam, he gave the test to his teacher, over 15 minutes before the class was supposed to end. He reached for Julius Caesar, his newest read, when he noticed his brother, who was obviously struggling. History was the one of two classes they had together this semester. He had offered to study with Nathan last night, but he had opted to go out with friends instead.

When Nathan came home, 15 minutes late, their dad had given him a hard time. Dan was not only upset that he missed curfew, but that he obviously wasn't studying when Lucas was. Midterms had come out the week before, and Nathan had been lectured extensively. After a smart remark, about not being "Daddy's golden boy" Dan had had enough. Between being late and Nathan's "attitude" he was grounded for a week; no car, no phone, no friends. It didn't help that basketball didn't start for another week, so Nathan didn't even have basketball practice to get him out of the house.

After the bell rang, Luke approached Nathan, something that did not happen in school.

-"Hey Nate, how did it go?"

-"Dude, why do you care? You want to go tell Daddy so you can try and be the favorite."

Luke looked at Nathan, confused at what was happening. "Nathan, you know it's not like that. What is wrong with you today?"

Nate tried to bring his voice down to a whisper, as he noticed people staring. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You suck at basketball, but you need daddy's attention so you try to point out how much better you are at everything else. Well stop it. Nobody cares about your straight As. Just shut up!"

Something snapped inside of Luke. He was tired of constantly attempting to help his brother and being shut down. He was also tired of being reminded that he wasn't on the basketball team. In a matter of seconds, Luke's response flew out of his mouth, surprising himself.

"You know what Nate! I am tired of your idiocy, which can't seem to squelch that big head of yours. You know what, I am going to try out for basketball, and you better pray that I don't go for your position. I'll see you Friday, at try-outs. And then, I'll see you Monday, at practice."