14

The mansion in front of him wasn't his favorite childhood home anymore on Country Club Road – his parents had upgraded them all to a much bigger house four blocks west after Rebecca's birth nine years ago – but for once that fact wasn't contributing to his foul mood as he sat parked in the family's driveway in Tree Hill. Instead, shifting impatiently behind the wheel of his Jeep Renegade, Nathan Scott, age twenty-one, was rapidly running out of patience with his closest brother.

He was tired of trying to convince him to move his dumb, skinny butt.

Even with Friday campus traffic, their ride out of Durham once their last college class ended at four o'clock had barely taken them a couple of hours, yet here they still were at nearly seven-thirty, no friggin' closer to making their weekend plans a reality. The sun had actually set while they argued, for crying out loud. Nathan fumed and drummed his fingers against the steering wheel faster than ever while he listened to his older brother explain for the umpteenth time why he shouldn't be the one to ask their dad for the keys to the beach house. The second he paused, Nathan gave him a look.

"You're killing me, Lucas."

"What? Why?"

"'Cause we talked about this."

"But—"

"We talked about this last week. We talked about this yesterday. We talked about this the whole stupid ride over here. You've been keeping your nose clean and pulling As and high Bs ever since we screwed up our freshman year, so you're the only one of us Dad'll listen to. In his eyes, you've proven you're responsible again."

Lucas huffed. "You're forgetting how badly I messed up at the beginning of last semester, and you're about to get drafted into the NBA. You have major pull with Dad now too."

"Not as much as you have when it comes to stuff like this," Nathan retorted. "Besides, I'm not drafted yet. I still have four months to go until we walk across that stupid stage and Mom gets off my back about getting my degree first, which means I still have four months to go before I can even declare for the draft, get picked and win more clout with Dad than you."

"Nate, listen—"

But Nathan had no intention of doing that, not for one second longer. He unbuckled his seatbelt, leaned across his brother's lap, unlocked the front passenger door and then shoved it open. "Just shut up and get moving, Lucas. I'm done talking about this with you." Nathan waited for his sibling to step down from the lumpy second-hand Renegade that was giving him bedsores in his backside, and when Lucas still didn't move, he sharpened his tone. "Well? Are you gonna move your ass, or am I gonna have to hurt you?"

Lucas looked at their house, chewed his bottom lip then looked back at Nathan. "He's gonna say no."

Nathan shook his head. "Not if you ask him right and call him 'daddy'. Now go."

"Are you kidding me, Nate? That doesn't work anymore! Dad's not a fool. As soon as I call him that, he'll know I'm trying to—"

"It will work; I guarantee it." As Lucas shook his head and stubbornly stayed put, Nathan heaved a sigh. "Look, I've been keeping track for years now and you're the only son in the family who's got, like, a 93.3% success rate whenever he uses it."

"What? How did you—?"

"I aced my Stats and Probability class in high school thanks to you and Haley, and I've been using the crap you guys taught me ever since. Anyway, whatever. Just think positive and get out of the car."

Nathan gave Lucas a shove which the college senior promptly resisted. "Nathan, I really don't—"

"Quit stalling, Big Brother. You lost the coin toss, like, ages ago."

"I know, but—"

"Lucas."

"What?"

"Get in the house and go ask Dad for the keys before you really start to piss me off."

"I can't. He'll—"

"Get in the damn house, Lucas. If you don't, I swear to god I'll tell Dad what really happened to my Land Cruiser last year, a car you borrowed and then totaled because you were driving wasted."

Thick silence reined for almost a full minute. Over the last four years, Dan Scott had made one thing very clear to his two oldest sons: getting into an elite, private college like Duke did not exempt either one of them from punishment at home should they screw up badly enough. So long as the man of the house was providing cars and forking out cash every month for very generous allowances, all parental rules still applied, and both boys had felt his wrath across their behinds each and every time they'd tested him. Lucas had sworn to himself that last September's spanking would be his final one no matter what, but he knew his plan would be shot to hell if Nathan snitched on him now. He stared at his younger brother hard, his brow coming together.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Lucas studied his brother's face. He was fairly certain Nathan would never tattle on him about something so big, but still, that one percent of doubt existed and Lucas didn't dare risk it, not with his behind and his pride at stake. He exited the car in a huff, his jaw painfully set. As soon as he slammed the door with a few choice words for Nathan, though, he went one step further. He turned back and presented both middle fingers.

Nathan's response was infuriating. With a cocky grin plastered over his face, he simply winked in return then rolled down his window, stretched out in his seat and got comfortable. He was more than happy to wait right where he was while a certain blackmailee grovelled to their old man…

00000000000

Inside the Scott mansion, Lucas deliberately refused to look inside the bronzed bowl to his left where everyone in the family dumped their keyrings. Stealing from that bowl was what had gotten him and Nathan in trouble the first time, and they'd already decided last week they weren't going to repeat their mistake. Reminding himself of that decision, Lucas closed the door behind him and stepped into the vestibule, but that's as far as he managed to get before pounding footsteps were heard and a twelve-year-old sibling came barrelling down the curving front stairs straight into his chest.

"Luke!" Nicholas cried. "You're here again!"

"Hey, hey, little brother. Ease up, I can't breathe!"

Nicholas let go and stepped back but not too far. "How come you're home? Did you forget something last weekend?"

"Nope, I need a favor from the 'rents." Lucas reached out and rumpled his brother's thick blond mop to Nick's delight. "Where's Mom?"

If Nathan thinks I'm asking Dad just 'cause he forced me to come in here, he's crazy…

"I dunno. Somewhere around." Nicholas shrugged and straightened his hair then looked up at Lucas hopefully. "Hey, can you help me work on my three-pointers tomorrow? Tristan's useless and Dad's gotta work and I—"

Lucas winced as he shook his head and cut him off. "Sorry, Skeet, I can't this weekend."

Nick's face fell. "Why not?"

"Because I already have plans I can't cance—"

"But I need you, Luke! I really need help! Why don't you ever help me anymore?"

Lucas sighed and started to reply… and then he stopped. The accusation hung in the air between them and he couldn't even deny it because it was true. It had been months since he'd hung out with his baby brother one-on-one, the only sibling he had who actually looked like him and shared his thoughtful, brooding habits. He noted the poor kid's crushing disappointment for only a moment longer before pulling him into a bear hug and rumpling his thick hair again. "Look, how about if I come back next weekend and I bring Nate with me. I promise we'll both help you out."

Nick's voice was quiet as he clung to him. "But you guys never visit three weekends in a row."

"We will for you, little brother. Deal?" Lucas had to wait a minute but finally Nicholas nodded against him.

"Okay, deal, but you won't bail on me, will you? You promise, Luke?"

Lucas gave him a noogie then shoved him away playfully. "Are you kidding? I don't want you coming after me, Skeet, seriously."

Nicholas grinned but then pouted just as quickly. "When're you gonna stop calling me that? I don't act like a mosquito anymore, you know. I stopped biting you guys and being annoying when I was, like, two."

"More like four," Lucas corrected, "and you're still annoying, just in a different way. Now where's the last place you saw Mom?"

Nicholas bit his thumb and took his time considering. After all, the faster he answered the faster his big brother would leave him.

Lucas didn't have time for that. He gave the skinny pre-teen eight seconds to stop umming and point him in the right direction then chuckled at the boy's transparent stall tactics and skirted around him toward the back of the house. "Never mind, Skeet. I'll find her myself."

"Wait, Luke! I'll tell you if you just gimme a minute!"

But Lucas was already gone.

He jogged past the dining room and skirted the family's large marble kitchen in favor of the solarium on the east side of the house, wondering while he ran if he should take Nathan's advice and call his stepmom 'Mama' like he used to daily up until junior high. In all honesty, it still slipped out every now and then when he was trying to get on her good side, but was his success rate with her just as high as it was with his dad? Lucas wished he knew while also cursing Nathan in his head for making him ponder this nonsense at all.

He picked up the pace and skidded to a stop right inside the solarium, but it was dark and empty; Deb wasn't in her favorite working spot, making headway on one of her job's fundraiser projects. Lucas cursed under his breath, spun around and headed for the kitchen again, so he could take the back stairs two at a time up to the second floor. At the top, he collided with another kid brother.

"Hey, Luke! You're home." Tristan removed his right earpod then offered his fist for a bump. "Where's Nate?"

Lucas returned the bump then tipped his chin quickly toward the windows that were at the end of the hallway overlooking the front of their house. "He's outside. Where's Mama?"

Tristan smirked as he noted the form of address his oldest brother had just used regarding their mother. He worked his earpod back into place and headed downstairs. "She's in Mandy's room and she's pissed, so whatever you want from her you're probably not gonna get. Good luck though."

"Wait, why is she pissed?" Lucas called after his rapidly retreating sibling, "Tris, why is she pissed?"

The fifteen-year old didn't answer.

Lucas considered going directly to their dad at that point for the beach house keys, but his adoptive stepmom was only a few feet away, so how cowardly was he? Lucas decided he wasn't. He shoved his hands deep into the front pocket of his Blue Devils hoodie then make his way toward the only bedroom in the house with light purple wallpaper and a unicorn theme painted on the ceiling. The door was partially open and the bedside lamps were on. Ten-year-old Amanda wasn't inside, but just like Tristan had warned, Deb was and she was not a happy mother.

Lucas sent a quick prayer upwards then smiled warmly as he blocked most of the doorway. "Hey, Mama."

Deb glanced up and returned his smile briefly before gazing back with a frown at the sheets of paper in her hand. "Oh hi, honey. Whatever you want go see your dad for it, okay?"

"Um, who says I want anything?"

Deb's reply made him blush. "I live with your father, honey. At this point in our marriage, I can recognize the signs of a master manipulator from sixty miles away, and you and brothers calling me 'mama' when you're not sick or hurt is a sure sign. Now go see your dad while I decide how to punish your sister for lying to me again about finishing her homework."

Lucas cursed Nathan in his head but entered the room anyway to see what he could do about cheering up their mom. "Can I help? Where is she?"

"No, you can't help this time. She and Becky are on a sleepover at the Smith's house. They'll be back around lunchtime tomorrow."

Lucas leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Don't worry so much, Ma. Mandy's like Nate. He hated schoolwork too, but look at him now. He's in college, he never flunked out, and he's gonna graduate right on time."

Deb sighed as she looked up at her oldest son. "Only thanks to you, I'm sure. If your dad had let you go to Stanford with Haley like you wanted to while Nate went to Duke—"

Lucas shook his head and shrugged. "I'm over it, Mom, seriously. I guess I never told you this, but … I did the research after Dad said no, and believe it or not, Duke's English lit program is actually slightly better than Stanford's so I'll probably come out ahead in the end."

"I'm glad." Deb gave him a small smile then grew serious as she patted his arm. "Now go find your dad while I figure out what to do with your sister."

Lucas didn't want to, but now he really had no choice.

He left Deb alone in Amanda's room then toured the floor he was on to save time in case Dan was actually up there, which of course, Murphy's Law being what it is, he was not. Lucas finally found him downstairs in the room the family teasingly liked to call "The Shrine", filled as it was with the many sports trophies the Scott children (and their father) had earned over the years. Dan's collection had been surpassed by Nathan's the year before, thanks to his successful time at Duke, but that wasn't stopping the owner of the largest local dealership from polishing his hard-won statuettes. Amused at the sight, Lucas watched him quietly from the doorway for a moment before he leaned against the frame and cleared this throat.

"Hey."

Dan turned toward him with a welcome grin but didn't stop polishing. "Hey yourself, son. Twice in one month. To what do we owe the honor and where's your brother?"

"He's outside."

"What, did he forget how to come in?"

"No, he's just, um, looking at the stars." As Dan shot him a quizzical look then began to follow that up with the inevitable question, Lucas straightened up while he took a very self-conscious step into the room, feeling like both a fraud and an idiot. His face had never felt so hot. "Listen, uh, Daddy, I need a favor."

Dan's lips quirked exactly like Tristan's had five minutes before. He had no doubts that his firstborn son needed a favor since only his daughters called him 'daddy' lately. None of his boys did anymore unless they were in major trouble or they wanted something, and since Lucas didn't look scared-guilty, only nervous-guilty, he must be short of cash – no doubt from 'lending' his allowance yet again to his spendthrift brother/college roommate. Dan put the large trophy he was holding back on the shelf, then shook his head, pulled out his wallet with an exasperated sigh and began to count the fifties within. He extracted ten, held them out and gave a blushing Lucas his sternest look. "This is the last time for the month, son. If you let Nathan drain you again, you're staying broke until your birthday in five weeks, understood?"

"What? No!" Lucas blushed harder and stepped back, keeping his fists in his hoodie as he realized what his dad must be thinking of him. "I don't need any money."

Dan glanced at him suspiciously while he re-pocketed the cash. "Then what's the favor?"

"Um … can I – can we, Nate and me – use the beach house this weekend?" Lucas waited for his father to reply and when ten seconds passed with pure nothing, he figured he might as well really test his brother's theory about him. He stared at their dad hopefully and gave him a tentative smile. "Please, Daddy?"

Dan sighed and picked up his trophy again. The polishing continued. "Why do you want it?"

"We need it for a belated Valentine's Day celebration, but I promise we won't trash it like we did our freshman year. It's not gonna be a party, Dad, I swear. It's just gonna be four people: me, Nate, Haley and Broo—

"Lucas."

"Yeah?"

"Stop talking and go get my keys. You know where they are."

Yesss!

Lucas suppressed the urge to charge over to his dad and kiss him. With a smile on his face that stretched to its limits and beyond, he spun on his heel and walked as calmly as he could manage to the bronzed bowl by the front door. A quick snatch, a private laugh and then he was sauntering back to "The Shrine" straight over to his dad to hand over the keyring he'd just collected.

Dan took the ring, removed the two colored Medeco3s his firstborn wanted then held them out along with a Post-It showing the current security code to get into the beach house without triggering the alarm. When Lucas tried to take everything, his blue eyes alight, Dan tightened his grip and didn't let go until Lucas stopped looking at the keys and looked at him instead. "Two words, son. Pristine. Condition."

Lucas nodded fast. "Absolutely, Dad. I swear it."

Dan nodded himself and let go, which was apparently an open invitation for his twenty-one-year old son to tackle him and squeeze the oxygen right out of his body.

"Thanks, Daddy!"

Dan hugged him back and laughed. "You're welcome." He watched the boy practically skip toward the hallway and called after him, "I'm still too young to be a grandfather, so have fun but wear condoms, understand?"

Lucas grinned back at him. "Always do!"

00000000000

In the Jeep, Nathan took his feet off the dash and fixed his car seat to the upright position the second Lucas climbed back in. His brother's face was inscrutable, for once giving nothing away, so Nathan waited for Lucas to fill him in then smacked his leg hard when he didn't.

"Well?" he demanded. "It took you long enough, so what'd he say? Did he give 'em to you?"

Lucas thought of making him beg for it then decided he couldn't be bothered. He smirked in triumph while he tossed the beach house keys into his brother's lap, bracing himself for the inevitable gloating. Nathan did not disappoint.

"Told you," he said, grinning fit to bust once he had their golden tickets in hand. "Your success rate's just gone up half a percent."

Lucas punched him in the arm to shut him up then buckled his seat belt. "Just make sure we clean up all our crap this time, or I guarantee you Dad's never lending us those keys again."

"No problem."

"Pass them over, so I can add them to my ring." As soon as Nathan did exactly that then started the engine and got some tunes rolling for their hour-long drive to the beach, Lucas added. "Oh, and by the way, we're back here again next weekend."

Nathan's good humor vanished. "That's three weekends in a row, Luke! What the hell for?"

"Because Skeet needs our coaching. He's our little brother and we're gonna do it."

Nathan started to object but then decided against it based on the fierce look he was getting. He scowled, put the Jeep in reverse then backed them out of the driveway.

"Whatever, man. But we're taking your car and you're driving us both ways."

00000000000

The rest of the ride to their family's closest vacation home was completely uneventful … until the large house itself actually came into view. Since Lucas didn't have to pay attention to the road, he was the first to notice that something was amiss.

"Uh, Nate?"

"Yeah?"

"Why're the lights already on?"

Nathan took a gander and shrugged as he passed their next door neighbor's. "Housekeepers maybe?"

"On a Friday night, dude?"

"I don't know their schedule; do you?" Nathan asked, glancing again at the house.

"No, but—"

Without warning, Nathan slammed on the brakes. Lucas fully intended to ask if he was trying to kill them both, but before he could, Nathan jabbed a finger at the huge picture window that overlooked the driveway.

"Wait, what the fu—? Is that … Banana?!"

Lucas followed his pointing finger in disbelief, saw what he saw and felt his jaw drop. Two young girls in pajamas were jumping giddily on the couch beneath the window on the second floor, and the one on the left was definitely the older of their tween sisters, Amanda – or 'Banana' as Nathan had nicknamed her within a day of her birth a decade ago.

What had he told his mom earlier? That Mandy was like Nate?

Clearly, truer words had never been spoken if his kid sister was already throwing parties behind their parents' backs while she was still in fourth grade!

"Drive," Lucas ordered. "We need to park and get inside. If she and her friends are drinking…"

Lucas didn't finish that sentence and Nathan didn't need him to. He set his jaw, rammed the Jeep into gear again and got them parked in their driveway within three seconds flat. He didn't bother to grab his bag from the backseat and neither did Lucas. Both brothers had other priorities, like jumping out of the car, charging up the stairs and finding out just what the hell was going on.

The front door wasn't locked when Lucas tried it and the alarm wasn't set either. In fact, they could barely hear the security system announcing 'front door open' over the blare of Lady Gaga and the hysterical giggles, shrieks and shouts of eight pre-teen girls dancing in various states of dress. Most were in baby doll pajama sets, but two were in flower-print panties alone, and one, who just had to be their baby sister, Rebecca, was stark naked. Chalk marks were visible on the hardwood floors and at least one living room wall. Pillows were everywhere; marshmallows, chips, M&Ms and glitter were everywhere else. No one over the age of eleven was visible and everyone was hopped up to the nines on sugar. The boys exchanged another dark look then locked the door and coded the alarm to 'stay' mode.

"I'll grab Beck and get her dressed in something," Lucas said tightly. "You get Mandy and meet us in the girls' room."

Nathan nodded and the boys separated. Nine-year-old Rebecca was thrilled to see Lucas and ran straight to him with her arms outstretched, eager to be picked up. Ten-year-old Amanda … not so much. Of the two brothers, she spotted Lucas first and froze like the proverbial deer caught in headlights, after which she took off for the kitchen to hide, weaving around her friends. Nathan reached out to grab her and missed, spurring a faster flight to the kitchen while her girlfriends squealed their delight at having their party "crashed" by the two oldest and handsomest of the Scott brothers. Most crowded around Nathan like he was a celebrity, snatching at his hands, grabbing his arms and trying to climb his back. Lucas escaped the rest by promising to return then taking off upstairs.

In the girls' spacious bedroom, Lucas set Rebecca on her feet then dug through her dresser where extra clothes were always kept. Of all the Scott children, she was the only one who had yet to outgrow her nudist tendencies, and while normally Lucas didn't think much about it, tonight he was in no mood to deal. He grabbed the first thing he saw – an oversized Hello Kitty T-shirt that was actually Amanda's – and forced is over her head.

"Stand still," he ordered. "You need to put this on."

"No, Lu-uke!" she whined. "I'm hot! Stop it! I don't wanna wear anything right now!"

"Too bad. You're wearing it and stop squirming before I give you a good spank."

The threat worked just like it always did, although why it did, Lucas had no idea. He'd never once hit her before, on her bottom or anywhere else, and he never planned to. Still, he wasn't about to complain if she honestly believed he would since that kind of fearful obedience helped in situations like this. He covered her up quick and ignored her pouting, then sat on the closest bed and pulled her to sit on his lap, waiting for Nathan and Amanda to join them.

They didn't have long to wait.

Within seconds, Amanda's angry shrieking could be heard coming up the stairs, and two seconds after that, Nathan barged in with a kicking little sister slung over one shoulder, her pounding fists trying to dent his back.

"PUT ME DOWN!"

Nathan did exactly that then slammed the door and blocked it with his body before she could escape. She looked from Nathan staring her down with his arms crossed over his chest to Lucas on the bed looking equally upset with her, and she crossed her own skinny arms across her chest, raising her chin and blinking fast to prevent any nervous tears from falling. She didn't speak again until Nathan did a moment later.

"Talk, Banana."

"What? What do you want from me?" Amanda jutted her small chin a little more before she turned from him deliberately and faced the jumbo American Girl dollhouse in the corner. "And I don't respond to that name anymore."

"You'll respond all right, or I'll—"

"Mandy, what're you and Beck and all your friends doing here?"

"We're having a sleepover, Lucas. What does it look like?"

Before Lucas could slide Rebecca off his lap and stop what he could see very well was about to happen, Nathan marched over to Amanda and swatted her pantie-covered bottom good and hard three times.

"OWWW!"

"Nathan!"

Nathan had no regrets. "She deserved it, Lucas. Cut the attitude, Banana."

"I'm gonna tell!" she cried. With one hand clapped over her burning bottom, Amanda retreated by the closet and swiped quickly at her falling tears. Soon enough, she thought better of that and gave her dark-haired college brother a wide berth to sit on the bed by his roommate. Lucas would protect her next time; she was sure of it. "I'm gonna tell Daddy you hit me!"

"Go ahead," Nathan retorted. "When I tell Daddy what you and Beck and your friends were doing here alone, he'll take over where I left off!"

Amanda didn't want to hear that, especially since she knew it was true. She sobbed into Luke's shoulder, prompting Rebecca to glance over at her sister then look up sadly at Nathan. "Please don't tell on us, Nate. We weren't alone for long."

"How long is 'not long', Beck?" Lucas asked.

Rebecca peered discreetly at her bedside clock and didn't want to say. She worried her lower lip then tried to change the subject instead.

"You and Nate are here now, Luke. You can babysit us, if you wa—"

"Forget it," Nathan said. "Luke and me have plans, so everyone's going home tonight and that includes you two."

"But we c-ca-an't!" Amanda blubbered. She scrubbed the wetness from her face and hurried to pull herself together. "Please, Nate, don't send us h-home! Tonight's my ini-initiation!"

Lucas and Nathan exchanged confused looks but neither brother knew what the hell she was talking about. They turned back to her and asked in unison,

"Your what?"

"My F-Feb-Four initiation into The Ch-Chic C-Clique!"

With her big brothers still looking baffled and her sister's chest still hitching hard, Rebecca decided it was up to her to finish explaining. "Only fifth-graders get to be members of the Chic Clique at our school, but every February they choose four new girls for the next year and Mandy got picked. She has to show everyone a really good time tonight and everyone has to have lots and lots of fun, or she's not gonna be good enough to get in."

Nathan looked at Amanda. "Jesus, Banana, are you really into all that popularity crap?"

Amanda nodded, embarrassed but also determined. "It's not a b-bad thing, is it? You and L-Lucas were always popular, and Tristan is too at his school. Even Nicholas is popular even though he s-says he doesn't wanna be." Amanda saw that Nathan wasn't convinced and turned to Lucas, who had always been more understanding. "I wanna be just like you guys, Luke. I have to be, or I'm not a real Scott. Daddy won't be proud of me."

"He told you that?!" Nathan burst out.

Amanda blushed and slowly shook her head. "No … but … he expects it anyway, I think. I don't wanna disappoint him, Nate. I don't wanna—"

Lucas cut her off with a hug while he pulled her onto his other knee. "Listen to us, Mandy. Popularity isn't everything. Who you are on the inside is way more important; your smarts … your kindness … your consideration … your empathy … those are all the qualities you need to develop, the ones you need to focus on so much more. I've heard Mom tell you that before, lots of times. You need to start listening to her, okay?"

"I do listen to her, Luke, but being popular too makes it all even better!"

Lucas had no idea how to argue with that. He turned to Nathan for help, but his brother only shrugged helplessly and rolled his eyes. Lucas decided it was time he changed topics back to the niggling questions he still didn't have answers to.

"You know what? First of all, I want to know how you two got here and how you got in here."

Lucas turned from one squirming, shamefaced little sister to the other until Amanda finally admitted the truth. "I borrowed the keys off Mama's ring and I took the code off her phone." As Luke's brows shot straight up and he opened his mouth, no doubt to scold her for stealing, Amanda whispered the rest before her courage failed her. "Zoe's big sister Rachel drove us over and dropped us off."

"In front of a dark house?" Lucas burst out. "Didn't she ask questions first?!"

"You're not really surprised, are you?" Nathan asked in disgust before Amanda could speak up. "Rachel Smith is related to Tim, Luke; she's always been just as dumb as her cousin."

"I don't care, Nate! How could she be that stupid when it comes to the safety of little kids – including her own sister and ours?! She's gotta be the most —" Abruptly, Lucas was too angry to finish. He set his jaw and turned to the family ringleader of this latest debacle. "Amanda Whitney Scott, what you've done tonight is—"

"Oh please don't take us home, Luke, please? I'll never get into the clique and I'll lose all my friends, if you do! Please just let us stay, pleeeeease? Pretty please with cherries and sprinkles and glitter on top?"

Nathan snorted, entirely unmoved. "You mean like the glitter you girls dumped all around the living room?"

Amanda ignored Nathan's jibe and turned beseeching blue eyes to their oldest brother. She could tell deep down Lucas wanted to give in to her, even despite his anger, and Nathan saw it too once he really studied his closest sibling. He went over to the bed and hauled Lucas to his feet, mindless of the way he'd just dumped their little sisters to the side as they fell off Luke's lap. "You. Come with me."

He yanked Lucas into the hallway then shut the door and held the handle so Amanda and Rebecca couldn't exit. He wasn't particularly worried about them eavesdropping since the pop music and the girly squeals still blasting from downstairs made such an act impossible.

Lucas took one look at the frown Nathan was wearing as well as the steely determination in his eyes, and he gave a half-hearted shrug. "It's just one night, Nate; we have to let them stay. Mandy's begging us and you know how fickle kids her age are, especially girls. Her social life—"

"I don't care, Luke. The answer's no. No way. Forget it."

"Nate—"

"Did you even see the disaster I saw, Lucas? How're we supposed to decorate the place for our girlfriends like we planned? They're gonna be here tomorrow afternoon and there's food and chalk and friggin' shiny shit stuck to almost every surface in this house. And the night's barely begun!"

"I know but—"

"Are you gonna clean that up tomorrow before Haley and Brooke get here? 'Cause I'm friggin' not. Our sisters probably won't even do it since they won't be able to. Their little butts'll be stinging too much after Dad spanks them to hell and back for this."

Lucas waited for Nathan to take that back, and when he didn't, gazed at him with heavy disappointment. "Are you really gonna do that to them? You're really gonna snitch?" Nathan didn't budge except to arch his eyebrows, so Lucas tipped his head toward the stairs. "Just go home, Nate. Take the Jeep, go back home and keep your mouth shut about this. You can tell Mom and Dad we had an argument or something, if they ask, but that's it. I'll watch the girls on my own tonight and make sure everything is cleaned up so we can decorate without a problem once you get back. Just make sure you are back by around ten tomorrow."

Nathan curled his lip, sick of dealing with this mess and fed up with his brother's bleeding-heart tendencies. "Fine. Have fun then. It's your funeral."

Lucas watched him go and shook his head. He couldn't believe Nathan would actually abandon him to all this chaos, but he didn't have time to think about it because he had his sisters and their friends and their messes to start worrying about. He turned back to the door and found two sets of worried blue eyes peeking out at him through a slit.

"Where did Nate go?" they asked after making themselves more visible.

"He's gone home." Immediately, Amanda and Rebecca's eyes began to flood, so Lucas went over and ran comforting hands over their hair. "Don't worry, okay? He's not gonna tell on you—"

"YAY!"

"Quiet." They stopped their jumping and their grinning to look at him semi-expectantly. He returned their gazes as gravely as he could. "Mandy and Beck, neither one of you better do this again, you got it? I want your promise. No stealing keys or codes anymore from Mama or Daddy, no lying about where you plan to go or who you plan to be with, and no staying anywhere overnight without trusted adult supervision."

"We promise! We promise!"

"I mean it, little sisters; I'm trusting you not to do this ever again. If you break my trust and I find out about it, I'll spank you myself then bring you straight over to Daddy so he can spank you too, if he hasn't already."

The girls nodded feverishly, hugged him hard with a hurried thank you-thank you-thank-you, then charged past him without a second thought to return downstairs to the party.

Lucas made a mental note to get his mother's property ASAP from Amanda then walked to the landing but didn't descend at first. He stayed at the top of the stairs and just stood there a moment, listening to the crappy pop music that was trying to deafen him and staring at the chip crumbs he could see all over the floor. One giggling little girl ran around the corner and then another chased her. What their names were, he had no idea … but he knew he'd better get his ass in gear and find out.

He took a deep breath … muttered a prayer … and went down to join the 'fun'.

00000000000

Lucas managed to withstand exactly sixty-seven minutes indoors before he fled outside for a break … and then he was quite literally struck dumb by the sight that greeted him: Nathan not five feet away, relaxing on one of the balcony railings with a leg propped up. Worse, he was drinking a Corona while holding another in his free hand and resting a third on his lap.

"You lasted a lot longer than I thought you would," Nathan observed after he'd taken a sip. "I figured you were gonna be out here ten minutes max after I left."

"Gimme that." Lucas snatched the unopened beer that was dangling from Nathan's hand then popped the tab and helped himself to a huge swallow. He didn't know where it came from and he didn't care either. "I deserve this a helluva lot more than you."

Nathan grinned. "So … how's it going in there?"

Lucas punched him in the arm by way of reply then sat down and drank the rest of his beer. Only when the can was completely drained did he speak again.

"Why'd you come back?"

"Well—"

"You were a total dick to leave. You know that, right?"

Nathan looked uncomfortable. "I know. I made it as far as the corner store, but then I thought of you suffering here alone, and I figured you were gonna need at least of couple of these before the night is over." Nathan offered his half-empty can for a toast which Lucas grudgingly returned. "If you want more, help yourself. The rest of the case is in the trunk."

Lucas didn't get a chance to reply since Amanda chose that very moment to burst from the beach house, plop herself into his lap, and then beg him to make Rice Krispie Treats for everyone. Of course, the second she spied Nathan out of the corner of her eye, she squealed and ran to him instead, more than ready to forgive him for the spanks he'd delivered earlier.

"Nate! You came back!"

"Actually, Banana, I never really left."

Amanda beamed and flung herself against his hip, determined to hug as much of him as her arms could reach. "Thanks for staying with us, Nate. I love you."

"You'd better." He finished the last of his beer then dropped down from the balcony railing and squatted. The second he winked at Amanda, she clapped her hands then hopped onto his back, her face wreathed in smiles as she clung to his neck. Nathan stood up and adjusted her slight weight, then smirked in Luke's direction. "Well, big brother? What're you waiting for? After you."

Lucas sighed, stood back up and led the way.