Author's Note: I've messed around with the continuity, with the idea that Lucas being diagnosed with HCM earlier in his life is just a domino falling & all of the changes are the fallout from that. Some are going to be evident here, some won't show up until later chapters – either simply because of narrative choices, or because they're changes later on in the established OTH canon.


Chapter 1: To Hell With Good Intentions

A lot can change in 48 hours.

"This is it, folks - no going back now. The next basket wins it."

Lucas Scott has just brought the score to 14-14 in his one-on-one game with his estranged half-brother, Nathan. The arrogant star player of the Tree Hill Ravens challenged his older 'brother' to the game, finally getting sick of hearing the talk about how good Lucas was, how he was good enough to make the Ravens & maybe even better than Nathan. As far as Nathan was concerned, it was bullshit – if Lucas was as good as they said, he'd already be on the team.

The (fittingly) raven haired Scott angrily shoves the ball into the blonde Scott's chest, irate that the street rat had not only refused to roll over & die, but had the audacity to keep fighting back.

"He's never mentioned you, man -not once in all these years." taunted the younger Scott, in one final attempt to throw his brother off his game.

Lucas just looks back at his younger brother, unphased by the words of his brother – after 16 years of neglect, Dan Scott's approval just doesn't mean anything to Lucas. "This is for my mom."

Within seconds, Lucas has managed to maneuver around Nathan into a shooting position, and before the younger Scott can react, fires off a fade away for the win, prompting half of the teenagers stood at the River Court to stand in disbelief that the Ravens' all-star lost to the loser from the River Court, as the other half rush Lucas in pandemonium as they celebrate his win.

48 hours ago, Lucas Scott was nobody. And then he was the unlikely hero, a real life David defeating Goliath. The underdog overcoming all of the odds. If only they knew.

As Lucas is rushed by his friends, Nathan just looks on in jealousy – not for the win, but because those kids are treating this victory like a state championship, whilst Nathan would be lucky to get such a reaction if he actually won the State Championship – before sulking off the court without so much as a "good game" to his brother, and brushing past his girlfriend, Peyton Sawyer – a beautiful curly haired blonde with legs that seemingly go on forever – who bites her lip, unsure of what she should do next, before realising that Lucas has broken away from the mob & started making his way over to her.

"So, what'd you bet?" she asks, already having a guess as to the answer after Nathan claimed that Lucas wanted Peyton if he won.

"I win, Nathan stays on the team."

"Why?" she questions, taken back by the fact that Lucas' prize was something so... benign. She at the very least expected a "I win, you have to kiss me." in response, after Nathan's earlier claim – but it's just yet another reminder of the difference between the two Scott boys.

"Because it's the last thing he wants." Lucas elaborates, in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "And anyway, it's not about him."

Before Peyton can respond, the two blondes are interrupted by Nathan calling her over, having decided that it's time for them to leave.

"I'll be seeing you." the boy states, knowing that now he's on the girl's radar. As she backs away, she offers a small nod in acknowledgement, before turning to face the younger Scott – and the one she's actually dating – whilst Lucas watches her walk away, before letting out a breath he didn't realise he was holding.

Today, Lucas Scott is the coward who won't join the Tree Hill Ravens.

At least, that's what people are saying about him.

Lucas Scott is a good basketball player. Great, even. But he's not one of them. He's not a Raven, and he's not supposed to be. He's known that since he was 11 years old, when he was diagnosed with a genetic heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, which meant that competitive sports were out of the question.

So they can call him a coward. They don't know the truth.

He'd rather be a coward than be like Nathan, anyway.

Lucas had stood on the River Court & played the game of his life. This is his world, and he knows every inch of it – even with the heart condition, Lucas' skill & tactical mind were able to outplay his arrogant younger brother.

48 hours later, Lucas Scott is standing on the River Court again. He's been there for a few hours, now – just shooting threes. Shooting for clarity.

"I guess misery really does love company."

Lucas doesn't need to turn around to know who it is – he'd recognise that voice anywhere. With that being said, he still turns his head to look at the girl he's not-so-secretly been in love with since he was thirteen.

Peyton Sawyer. As far as Lucas is concerned – and has been since he first started noticing girls – she's easily the most beautiful girl in the world. Not because of her looks (Although he freely admits that she's a total knock out), but because Peyton Sawyer is a paradox unto herself.

He doesn't know why she's there, but he doesn't care why, either – she's there, and that's all that matters. It's only when he notices her pom-poms & cheerleader uniform that he realises that tonight was a game night. The game that apparently half of Tree Hill expected to be his first as part of the Ravens, once word of his defeat of Nathan two nights ago had spread around town.

"Well, you've clearly come to cheer me up." he half-laughs, as as small smirk crosses Peyton's lips.

Lucas fires off another shot, before jogging over to collect the free ball. This time, he doesn't return to the three point line, and just turns to face the blonde beauty standing to the side of the court.

"Nathan know you're here?"

"Nathan's the one who left me here." she responds, sighing in frustration as she does so. Once again, Lucas finds himself questioning how his ass of a brother wound up dating this girl.

"Must have got that from Dan."

"You'd know."

Lucas chuckles to himself & shakes his head. He won't admit it, but he loves the sarcastic back & forth that they share.

"Can I ask you something?" she asks, as she sits down on at the bench next to the black top.

"Shoot."

"Why didn't you join the team? I mean, you're clearly good enough."

"...I don't want to lose sight of what the game means to me. I think the moment you add championships & the need to win every single game, you lose something, y'know? I don't want to join the team and wind up hating the game because it's changed."

He doesn't tell her the real reason. He doesn't say those four simple words, "...I have a heart condition," which would explain everything away & remove any lingering doubts. No, he opts for poetic bullshit. She seems to buy it, though. As he talks about not wanting the game to change, Peyton just silently nods, as if she understands.

Lucas doesn't realise it, but he's just described how Nathan had changed from when she first started dating him.

He walks over, and joins her on the bench. They just sit there in silence for a few minutes, neither one being willing to break the silence.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride." he says, as he gets up from the bench.

"It's okay, I can walk."

"Isn't that how all of those urban legends start, with a cheerleader walking home alone late at night? Besides, it can be your good deed for the day."

Peyton raises an eyebrow, looking at the cocky smirk on Lucas' face. "How is you giving me a ride home a good deed on my part?"

"Because that way I know you got home safely, and I won't spend my night worrying about it." he stated, before heading over to the tow truck he had driven to the River Court. A second after he got into the driver's seat, the passenger door opened & Peyton got into the seat next to him.

The two blondes didn't really speak during the drive to Peyton's home. Sure, there was a moment where Lucas briefly thought she was inviting him into her home, but that was just her asking if he wanted to come inside rather than an actual invitation. He could only roll his eyes as Peyton shut the door in his face.


"It's a rule of life. The prettier the girl, the messier the car. It's a real turn-on, huh?"

Lucas & his Uncle Keith were stood inside Keith Scott Body Shop, looking at the interior of Peyton's Mercury Comet. Hours before his one-on-one game with Nathan, Lucas had been sent out on a service call to River Road, and had only discovered it was Peyton who made the call when he arrived.

Thankfully, Peyton didn't ask what was wrong with the car – if he'd told her that the radiator just needed filling, she would've probably expected her car returned the moment they reached the garage. Or maybe she would've known that it was a simple enough job that Lucas could've done it on site, and she wouldn't need to come back there at all.

Keith wasn't exaggerating when he described the back seat as messy – if anything, he was selling it short. Lucas was just thankful that Peyton hadn't left any food to rot in the car, before he spotted a black folder that was designed to be tied shut by some ribbons that were just hanging loose.

As he carefully opened the folder, Lucas' eyes were immediately drawn to a letter carefully placed at the front of the folder.


Dear THUD Magazine

I would like to submit the enclosed artwork for your consideration as a recurring comic strip in THUD Magazine. I am a local artist who loves your publication and would appreciate the opportunity to become a regular contributor.

I have been developing the idea for this strip for quite sometime and have settled upon a style that I believe to be at once visually evocative and succinct in its story telling. To effectively convey an emotional message in 4 short panels is a challenge, but I think I have uncovered an approach that allows me to express myself as an artist and as a writer, while providing a meaningful commentary on the "status quo."

I would appreciate any feedback that you may have to offer on the artwork and the concept.


At that moment, Lucas realised exactly what it was in his hands – Peyton's portfolio. As he started looking over the artwork, revealing the long legged blonde's displeasure with her life amongst the pretty & the popular, he didn't notice the footsteps approaching him until it was too late.

"Those are my sketches!" Peyton shouted at Lucas, as she snatched the folder out of his hands & in the process caused the boy to spin around to face her.

"Um… I wasn't looking."

He had no idea why he said that – it was an incredibly blatant lie.

"This is personal." Peyton responded, a look on her face that almost looked like she was upset that Lucas had the audacity to criticise her artwork. "Alright, I don't read your diary!"

"I don't have a diary." he lamely responded.

"No? 'Dear Diary, my daddy doesn't love me.'" she mockingly spoke, with venom in her eyes. "P.S. Stay out of my stuff!"

And with that, Peyton stomped away from the garage, with Lucas watching her every step of the way with a forlorn look on his face, before a faint smile crossed his lips – he was starting to figure the beautiful blonde out.

After leaving the garage, Lucas found himself clearing tables at his mother's cafe – something that wasn't unusual for the boy, helping out at the garage until Keith closed up shop & dealt with the day's paperwork before heading to the cafe to help out with the evening rush. As he cleared a table, Lucas happened to spot something in the corner of his eye – Peyton Sawyer.

The offices to THUD magazine were situated across the street to the cafe, and Lucas watched as his crush put her hand on the door, before having second thoughts & ultimately walking over to a nearby garbage can, where she dumped her portfolio before leaving. After waiting for a minute to say if she came back, Lucas snuck out of the cafe & retrieved the folder.


The next day, Peyton returned to the garage to collect her car & pay the bill. Neither blonde said a word to one another, Peyton was clearly still pissed about the previous day. Without a word, Lucas handed her the forms she needed to sign off the work done to her car (Unfortunately, Keith couldn't bill her for the removal of the crap cluttering he back seat, which was the bulk of the work), and dropped her keys – and portfolio – on to the counter.

"What are you, stalking me?!" she asked incredulously.

"I thought someone should see them."

"Well, it's none of your business."

Lucas groaned in frustration – God, this girl was stubborn – before he responded. "You know what? You're right. It's none of my business. I wouldn't know anything about it."

"I know you don't." she responds, before taking her cue to leave. This time, however, Lucas gets up from behind the counter and follows her.

"Look, just tell me why you didn't submit them. Your stuff is good." he said, sincerely.

"It's not good enough." Peyton mumbled under her breath, not realising that Lucas was still close enough to hear.

"Look, Peyton, why not?" he questioned, prompting her to turn around.

"I want to draw something that means something to someone. You know, I want to draw blind faith or a fading summer or… just a moment of clarity. It's like when you go and you see a really great band live for the first time, you know, and nobody's saying it but everybody's thinking it- 'We have something to believe in again.' I want to draw that feeling. But, I can't. And if I can't be great at it then I don't want to ruin it. It's too important to me."

Peyton spoke with passion about her art, a passion Lucas hadn't seen from her before & would wager very few people had been privy to. But he understood every single word & emotion that came out of her mouth, and he didn't just feel like he understand Peyton Sawyer a little bit more than he used to, but he felt like... They were connected. Like she'd just reached into his head and pulled out a thought or feeling hidden deep within his subconsciousness.

"Yep. Me too." he simply responded, prompting Peyton to momentarily turn back around to look at him in confusion – he wasn't talking about basketball, so how could he possibly know what she was feeling?

For a moment, Peyton considered asking Lucas what he meant, but she ultimately decided against it and got behind the wheel of her beloved Comet for the first time in days.

"Hey, what about your sketch book?"

"They don't mean anything to anyone, do they?" she flippantly questioned as she turned the key in the ignition and drove away.

She was wrong.

They meant something to him.


Later, Lucas was sat in Karen's Cafe going through Peyton's sketchbook again. And then he found it: A moment of clarity.

In amongst the various sketches that showed Peyton's distaste for the shallow life everyone assumed she led as the cheerleader dating the star of the high school basketball team, was a drawing of numerous faceless bodies, all dressed the same – except for one. The words "THEY ARE NOT YOU" were written at the top of the image.

Within moments, Lucas has exited the Cafe & dashed across the road, as the final editor left THUD's offices for the day. She might not believe in her art, but he does.

"Hey, could you take a look at these? You won't be disappointed." Lucas says as he hands Peyton's portfolio over to the editor.

Before the editor could take note of Lucas' features, the blonde teen had headed off into the dusk that was now falling over Tree Hill.

Sometime later, Lucas found himself stood on the front porch of the Sawyer family residence, knocking on the front door. He'd been there for nearly ten minutes – he knows that someone's home, he can see a bedroom light on, and he swears that he faintly can hear the echo of a NOFX album coming from within the building.

Eventually, he gets a response. He's guessing that Peyton probably didn't hear him knocking, and is either expecting someone or on her way out. Either way, she's not going to expecting him to be standing on her door step.

"You'd think that you'd get the hint after nearly 20 minutes."

Okay, he was wrong.

"I owe you an apology, I shouldn't have gone through your artwork." he says sincerely, prompting a small smile to cross Peyton's lips.

"Thanks. And just so we're clear, that's not an invitation to come into my house."

Lucas throws his head and lets out a groaning laugh as Peyton smirks at him.

"I'll see you at school, Luke." she says as she goes to close the door.

"Peyton, wait!" he blurts out, getting her to stop. She doesn't say anything in response, she just looks over at him, an eyebrow arched out of interest as to what else he had to say.

"Your art matters. It's what got me here."

As Lucas speaks, he pulls something out of his backpack – a collection of papers held together by a bulldog clip, and hands them to the confused girl, who briefly looks the curious item over.

"What is this?"

"You have your art, I have my writing."

Peyton looks up at him, her surprise evident on her face.

"Lucas Scott, the writer – who knew?"

Lucas could have sworn that she sounded impressed. Maybe. Possibly a little. He hoped.

"No one."

"How do you know I won't just put these up all over school?"

Lucas smiles, somewhat weakly, at her. "I don't."

With that gesture, Lucas simply walks away & leaves a still somewhat stunned Peyton standing on her doorstep, before she headed back inside.

She had some reading to do.


"To Hell With Good Intentions" by Mclusky, from the album 'Mclusky Do Dallas'