Little Moments: It Runs in the Family

by ReeseHolden

Fun, flirty, opinionated, and honest. All things describing Sawyer Scott. Navigating the waters of her twenties, Sawyer finds herself adrift on an open sea of possibility. Love, life, and family. It was hers to lose, and it was hers to gain.

1. Sneaky Feelings

Little Moments: It Runs in the Family

Chapter 1: Sneaky Feelings

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing related to OTH. Sawyer Scott is not my character.

A/N: Hi all. For those of you new to the "Little Moments" franchise I welcome you aboard. This story will follow Sawyer Scott's life as she navigates the waters of her twenties and then some. If you have not read the original Little Moments or Little Moments: Like Mother, Like Daughter that is more than alright. All of the characters and things you need to know will be mentioned in this story. Reading the other ones will only give you a slight advantage. I would suggest that you read Like Mother, Like Daughter though. It will fill in the gaps that this story may have. This first chapter will include background info and it'll have time jumps between each section so the story can move quickly. Oh, and as a heads up, this chapter is T for language. Enjoy guys!

OTHOTH

Margaritas. If anyone was ever having a bad day or just needed to relax, a margarita was the best cure. At least according to Sawyer Scott.

For the last five or so hours she'd been working as a volunteer in the stiffing summer heat and she was doing her best not to mow down the crowd of old geezers and tots to soothe her thirst. Gatorade wasn't going to cut it.

At twenty four, Sawyer was independent and opinionated. She liked old things. Vintage things. Her car was old. Her clothes were from decades passed. She liked old music versus the new crap they played theses days. She'd tell you to read a map instead of relying on some GPS, listen to vinyl versus an MP3, and if she had a problem with something about you or anything else for that matter, she'd let you know. Bitchy and snarky, but beautiful and fun. Sawyer hid behind a coated exterior of musical know-how and attitudes, but deep down she was an old soul, very much like her father.

Lucas had given her his famous squint and those blue eyes. Peyton had one upped him with her tangled mess of hair, her passion for all things music related, and an attitude that could rival a high school Brooke Davis. Sawyer was untidy, and loud. Her younger brother Keith always flinched when they were around each other. He knew she might smack him out of the kindness of her heart. She was incredibly smart and much wiser than she led on. Most mornings she'd eat a pop-tart, get a glass of orange juice and flop down on the couch with some crossword puzzle she could finish in record time.

She was good with words but she wasn't a writer. She produced. Growing up around Red Bedroom Records, she always knew she'd want to help her mom with the company one day. She never wanted it handed to her though. So she'd left Tree Hill for Boston after high school, and gotten her undergraduate degree in music business from Berklee College of Music. She loved what she did. Music ran through her veins and she had a knack for it. Most of the time she got to make her own hours, and going into work at the ass crack of dawn was never a preferred choice. Eleven AM was more her style, and that was on a weekday. Weekends were reserved for those all day sleep-ins.

This summer Saturday was not one of those days.

That was the problem with having a roommate. Any normal June Saturday morning and Sawyer would still be asleep till the sun went down. Unfortunately, Sawyer's best friend, cousin, and roommate, Charlotte Scott, had some type of good will because she'd volunteered the girls to work at the annual Diligence Dash 5K held by the United States Coast Guard. And that was fine and dandy but it was early. Early, early. So early that Sawyer couldn't function. She didn't have anything against the Coasties, most of them were cute, but she was gonna have to put on some horribly designed t-shirt and pass out race packets in the burning morning sun. Not fun.

Thank goodness it was almost over.

Rumbles of applause echoed down the streets and an event coordinator gathered all of the volunteers and gave them new assignments. Pass out drinks at the finish line. Oh great. How rewarding. Sawyer rolled her eyes, but with a new duty at hand, Charlotte and Sawyer moved from the registration table and were now helping haul bright orange coolers towards the finish line. At least they were on wheels. That wasn't helping with Sawyer's less than pleasant attitude. She had behaved herself though, no more throwing drinks on strangers. But that had been okay. It was justice. That Coastie asshole had the nerve to whistle at her and Charlotte when they were stopped at stop sign earlier that morning. Not cool. So Sawyer being Sawyer, she decided she'd had about enough of her orange juice to-go and proceeded to throw it towards the jerk. And she thought it hit him too.

Sawyer drug the cooler to it's designated spot and put her hands on her hips as she looked over to Charlotte. "Looks like we're done." Sawyer pulled her keys from her pocket and smiled, "I'm thinking Mexican?"

"Sawyer, we have to hand out drinks to the runners."

"Why? Is it really that hard to open a cooler and stick your hand in some ice to pull out a little bottle that will quench your thirst?"

Charlotte smirked as she watched Sawyer demonstrate, but she felt the need to stick up for the hundreds of strangers who were bound to cross the finish line at any moment. "They're probably really tired. They just ran like three miles."

Sawyer did what she does best and rolled her blue eyes as she let out a groan of defeat. "Ugh, fine. But when we're done with all of this crap, it's you and me, a couple tacos, some cheese dip, and a few margaritas."

"Sawyer, it's ten in the morning. Margaritas?"

"Well, by the time we're done here it will be past noon." Sawyer smiled and shrugged, "Okay, maybe not, but we can get sopapillas! Come on Char, live a little."

"Alright, alright. " Charlotte nodded then turned towards the finish line.

The announcer had come over the loud speaker and was calling the end of the race much like that of the Kentucky Derby. Why someone would equate these runners to horses Sawyer didn't understand, but it was fairly entertaining.

Sawyer begrudgingly handed sweaty people drinks as they crossed the finish line and sarcastically tried to sound enthusiastic when they walked by. "Glad you made it back.", "Thirty second place. Awesome.", "Need a drink? Me too." They were all prime examples of Sawyer's perky attitude. Again, it was early. She didn't do early.

Something else she didn't do, or rather someone she didn't know, was the guy Charlotte was talking to. He was cute. Real cute. Brown hair, eyes that were sorta-kinda-couldn't tell green, tall, tanned skin, and his USCG printed shirt caught Sawyer's attention.

She tried not to stare. No, that was a lie. Sawyer stared at the guy and her cousin trying to listen in on their conversation. Charlotte's big doe eyes were all love struck and the older Scott couldn't deny the fact that this guy was on the chilli pepper side of hot.

Sawyer saw the two twenty-somethings part ways and she quickly walked over to Charlotte and nudged her in the side, "What the hell was that?"

Charlotte turned to see Sawyer grinning ear to ear with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She didn't have an answer, "Huh?"

"Since when do you stutter," Sawyer arched a brow. "And did I hear that correctly, you're gonna go out with him, tonight?"

"Yeah, no." Charlotte shook her head. "I don't stutter! But yes, I'm going to dinner with him."

Sawyer placed her hands on Charlotte's shoulders and smiled. "Where's my cousin and what have you done with her?" She gave the small brunette a couple violent shakes. "The Charlotte Scott I know wouldn't jump into something like this."

"It's just dinner."

Sawyer rolled her eyes. "Just dinner, puh-lease."

In between a laugh and a comeback, Charlotte sighed, "He seems really nice."

"They all seem really nice." Sawyer had just gotten out of an unfortunate relationship and was on the man-hating team for now.

"Just because your last boyfriend was a douche doesn't mean Graham will be. I know I just met him, I know that I don't know him. I know that..." Charlotte understood that Sawyer was just looking out for her. "But I'll never find out if I don't get to know him."

Sawyer took a deep breath, "Yeah."

Charlotte walked over to Sawyer and wrapped an arm around her waist, "So you know this means that tonight you're helping me get ready."

Smiling, Sawyer nodded, "Yeah, but don't think this gets you out of us going to Mexican."

Charlotte laughed and shook her head, "I don't think I could deprive you of that."

Together the girls laughed, and as the race was winding down they were told that they were free to go. Sawyer looked to Charlotte wide eyed and nearly sprinted off to her car. She hadn't run in the stupid race but she sure looked like she was running as she made it to her car.

"Come on!" Sawyer looked to Charlotte and waved her hands in a aggravated manner. "I wanna miss all the traffic."

Charlotte picked up her pace and the two girls got into Sawyer's sea blue 1963 convertible Karmann Ghia. The car sped out of the parking lot behind Clothes over Bro's and Sawyer shifted gears and gunned it toward K38. They had the best tacos around.

"Blinker! Assface!" Sawyer glared at a car who had failed to use their signals properly and whizzed by while flipping a bird.

"You know, one of these days someone's not gonna like that."

"Eh...Whatever." Sawyer shook her head and laughed at Charlotte. "I dare you to do it."

"What?"

Sawyer promptly stuck her middle finger toward her cousin and nodded, "Come on, Haley Saint James's little girl."

Charlotte cut her eyes toward Sawyer. "Saint James?"

"Just sayin'."

The almost twenty three year old stuck her left hand toward Sawyer and gladly proved her cousin wrong.

Bursting into a fit of laughter, Sawyer turned up Elvis Costello as she drove toward the beach and loudly sung along to her favorite musician until they pulled into the parking lot. The girls got out of the car and found their way to their spot. Sawyer was in K38 so much they'd all but reserved a table for her. They were given chips and salsa to munch on and Sawyer cut right to the chase, "So you gotta tell me more about that Coastie, Charlotte."

Charlotte felt herself blush and she scooped up a large amount of salsa, "I don't know. He's just a guy."

"And..." Sawyer used her hand to wind out the rest of it.

"And he asked me out. He's cute, he's got a really sweet smile, his name's Graham, and that's about all I know."

"Like as in graham cracker?" Sawyer furrowed her brow and got herself a nice helping of Mexican deliciousness.

Nodding, Charlotte shrugged, "I guess so. I didn't exactly quiz him on the origin of his name." She may have been in the education field but that was the last thing she'd been thinking about. "He seems really nice."

"Well just a word of warning. Most of them seem like that."

Charlotte nodded, "You told me this..."

"Wait, hold on." Sawyer cleared her throat and wanted to get her point across, "The really cute ones, the guys that look like Graham are normally big jerks. I learned the hard way. Dillon was everything I hoped for till he let someone else play his guitar."

"He was a jerk to begin with." Charlotte shrugged, "He wasn't worth your time. College sweethearts or not, his band going on the road and him sleeping around was probably the best thing that could have happened."

Sawyer started to feel a tiny bit of rage pool in her belly because Charlotte may have been right. Dillon had been such a nice guy when they'd met up in Boston. They were both young and had a passion for all things music. It had made sense that their mutual respect for the art had turned into a three year relationship. The only bad thing was when his open mic nights turned into paying gigs, then things started to change. He didn't want to write great songs and jam in someone's apartment. Five months ago he saw an opportunity to be somebody and left the one person who kept him grounded and humbled in his dust. Dillon never looked back.

Sawyer shrugged, "Whatever. I'm over that loser." She smiled at the waiter who'd set down their drinks and she raised her glass, "So to Dillon, hopefully he'll trip down stairs and break his penis."

"Sawyer!"

The blonde laughed, "But really...to us. Girls rule, boys drool."

Charlotte clinked her glass with Sawyer and laughed when she took a sip of her drink. She was hoping that this Graham fellow wouldn't be one of those droolers and for the sake of her scorned best friend, Charlotte hoped Sawyer might find someone too. Nothing serious but someone to get her out of her pessimistic funk.

That day was on its way.

OTHOTH

It had been a week since the Diligence Dash. One week since Sawyer had painfully sat through the summer heat but things were looking up. Thanks in part to Charlotte, the girls were going to the beach for the day. The brunette and her new squeeze thought it would be fun to get together with friends and Sawyer would have invited herself if Charlotte hadn't. The convertible driving Scott girl was not one to leave the ocean hanging.

Sawyer was wasting time before they left and was watching television in the living room when she heard Charlotte yell her name.

"Sawyer. Come here!"

The lanky blonde walked into the younger Scott's room and arched her brow, "Whatcha need?"

"Help. I need help." Charlotte looked at the three bathing suits she had picked out and shrugged, "Which one?"

Walking toward her cousin, Sawyer immediately shook her head when she saw the brown tankini. "Ew no. Charlotte, tankinis are for moms or fat people. You are neither."

Noticing how rude Sawyer comment was, Charlotte's mouth fell open, "Sawyer! That's not nice."

"It's the truth." Sawyer wasn't really concerned with what came out of her mouth. She looked at the other two bathing suits. One was on the cutsey side, green with white polka dots and the other was a simple navy. "What's Graham's favorite color?"

Charlotte tried to think if she'd asked him that. "I don't know. Probably blue or green." She laughed because her two options were those colors.

Sawyer narrowed her eyes and put one hand on her hip. "I think the green one is kinda young looking. Too junior high."

"Okay, so the navy?" Charlotte rolled her eyes at Sawyer, she just always had the nicest way of saying things.

Nodding at the bathing suit, Sawyer's face lit up. "And that's his color right? I mean like the Coast Guard's?"

Charlotte laughed out loud. "That would be The Navy you idiot. The Coast Guard's colors are white, orange, and blue." If she was really being precise. The Navy's colors were blue and gold, but she could leave that part out.

"Oh." Sawyer hated to be wrong. "Whatever. I'm gonna change and then you'll be ready, right?"

"Yeah."

Sawyer walked to her room and quickly threw on the first bathing suit she saw, the first old t-shirt, and her holy jean shorts. Flipping her lights, Sawyer tucked her sunglasses on her head, "Charlotte come on! Let's go." Sawyer's voice rang through their small house and Charlotte picked up her oversized bag.

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

Charlotte walked out of her bedroom and saw that Sawyer had on an oversized t-shirt as her cover-up paired with those ratty jean shorts of hers. Sawyer saw that look on Charlotte's face and shook her head, "What?"

"Nothing."

Sawyer wasn't done pressing, "Yes-huh. What?"

Shrugging, Charlotte laughed, "It's just...don't you want to look a little cuter?"

Her mouth hung open and Sawyer huffed, "Ugh, what? This isn't cute?"

"It's alright, but there will be lots of Coasties and who knows, maybe you'll snag yourself one? An old U2 shirt isn't exactly..."

"Fine, whatever." Sawyer dropped her bag and stomped to her room only to return a minute later with an olive green tank top to go with her jean shorts. "I'm not changing again so I don't want to hear it if you don't like it."

Charlotte laughed, "You look great." Sawyer did. She had the body of a supermodel. She was un-fairly skinny and tall, and could pull off almost any look. Sawyer was lacking in the boob department though, but it wasn't her fault, she blamed her mom all the time.

Picking up her bag, Sawyer threw it over her shoulder and dug around for her keys. "We're taking my car."

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte knew better than to argue.

Assuming that Charlotte was gonna say something, Sawyer went ahead and made her case. "It's a convertible. It's cute. It's fun. It's flirty. All things needed to go to the beach. Don't say no."

Laughing, Charlotte put her hands up. "I didn't say anything."

The brunette followed the blonde out to Sawyer's sea blue Karmann Ghia and hopped in the passenger seat. Sawyer cranked the engine and had to make sure the appropriate music was blaring through the speakers before she pulled off the curb. "Where are we headed? Which beach access?"

"He said to park by the Johnny Mercer and then to walk to the left and to look for the volleyball net."

Sawyer nodded and popped the clutch into the correct gear. She weaved in and out of lanes and it took them no time to get to the beach.

"So his friends are cute, right?"

Charlotte shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't met them. He's the one who's always coming over to pick me up and take me out."

"Right...well..." Sawyer sighed, "There's gotta be at least one who will be eye candy."

Laughing, Charlotte smiled, "Probably so."

The girls made their way to the beach access and they were pretty sure they were going in the right direction. There were four of them. Four guys. Sawyer could narrow it down that Graham was the one in the red bathing suit but the other three: Green, Black, and Blue-Green stripes were fair game. No names were needed. She could go by bathing suit colors. Her eyes first went to Blue-Green stripes, "Whoa, ab alert." Sawyer's eyes went wide under her sunglasses as she got a look at the guy's stomach. They were all in good shape, it was gonna be hard to pick. "Holy Hell. These guys..."

Sawyer watched as Graham started walking toward them and they stopped. Charlotte felt her cheeks roasting in the sun and she bit her lip when he approached, "Hi."

"Hey." He looked at Sawyer and smiled, "Hey, Sawyer."

Sawyer lifted her sunglasses, "Hey, Graham."

Graham saw his best friend slowly walking up behind him. He turned to Charlotte and used his thumb to point at the guy walking toward them. "That's Ben."

So Mr. Black Bathing suit had a name. Ben. Sawyer couldn't help but let her eyes roam over his frame. He was nice to look at. Tall. Really tall. Three, maybe even four inches taller than Graham. He had a really cute grin and sandy blonde hair. Not exactly the look Sawyer often went for. She was into dark hair, a little bit of facial hair, and people who weren't as buff. She liked muscle but not Mr. Brawny himself. This Ben fella was getting checked off her list. Who was next?

Sawyer looked to the other too and sized them up while Ben talked with Charlotte. "So you're the girl who's keeping my buddy from our poker nights?"

"I...am I?" Charlotte winced. She didn't want to be that girl. The one who takes up all the guy's free time.

Graham realized that Charlotte was worried. "No, he's kidding. We don't even do poker night." Sawyer laughed out loud and Charlotte took an easy breath as she realized Ben was just kidding.

Ben looked at Sawyer and extended his hand. "It's O.J., right?"

Sawyer shook her head and put her hand in his, "Sawyer."

Nodding, Ben laughed, "Yeah, O.J."

Was this guy Graham's funny friend? "What, no. It's Saw-yer." She was careful to draw out the two syllables so he would understand. Who the hell was O.J?

Charlotte was confused by what was going on and Graham was laughing. The brown eyed girl looked up to her green eyed Coastie and shook her head, "O.J.?"

Graham nodded, "Apparently, the two have met before."

Ben dropped Sawyer's hand and shook his head, "No, we haven't met, but we've been acquainted."

Furrowing her brow, Sawyer crossed her arms, "I'm sorry you have me confused with someone else." Sawyer didn't understand why this guy was calling her O.J or why he'd said that they'd been acquainted.

"I don't think I do." Ben laughed and shook his head. "Uh, you, and I'm guessing Charlotte, drove by a group of guys before the Diligence Dash last weekend?" He waited for the light to click on in her head and he finished, "And you decided to throw your orange juice at them, at us ."

Charlotte's eyes widened. "Oh my God, that was you? She hit you?"

Sawyer was just standing there not knowing what to say. It couldn't have been. No way. She looked up to Graham's Coast Guard friend and saw it in his blue eyes that she had in fact hit him.

Ben patted his stomach and nodded, "Right here." Ben looked behind him to Trevor, "That guy was the ass who whistled, not me."

Mr. Blue-Green striped bathing suit? Him? Sawyer looked over to the guy she thought she'd been most attracted to and narrowed her eyes. Screw him and his good looks.

Charlotte looked to Sawyer to see if she had a response. She didn't so Charlotte made one up. "Um, she has bad aim."

Raising her eyebrow, Sawyer shook her head, "Actually, I have really good aim. But I wasn't aiming at anyone in particular then. You just happened to be on the receiving end of my drink." Knowing that she'd splattered this guy with her orange juice kinda made Sawyer feel bad. He seemed like a nice guy. It was probably the last thing he deserved.

Ben laughed sarcastically, "Well thanks a lot."

Sawyer nodded but kept up her attitude, "Sure, no problem."

Charlotte wasn't exactly seeing their meet and greet as going well, so she bumped into Sawyer's side and gave her a warning look. She turned to Graham and looked past him to the volleyball net. "It looked like you two were about to play?"

Graham looked at her and shook his head, "I told them we could finish it later..."

"No, go ahead. We don't mind." It was something of an old habit for both Charlotte and Sawyer watching sporting events from the sideline. They had both cheered in high school.

Charlotte all but pulled Sawyer over to the side of the court and got themselves a nice spot.

Sawyer turned her upper lip up at Charlotte, "Ow, what was that for?"

"Be nice." Charlotte's big brown eyes were now like saucers. "Please."

"I am." Sawyer furrowed her brow.

"No, you're being...you're in bitchy sarcastic mode, and if you don't play nice I'll take you home." At this point Charlotte was laughing. "Just...I like his guy...and it would be great if you got along with his friends."

"Okay, Mom." It had been a long running joke that Sawyer called Charlotte 'Mom' every once in a while. Charlotte was the mature one, the organized one, the one who could cook.

Sawyer walked back over to her bag, discarded her clothes, put on sunscreen and looked to her cousin. Charlotte was in some kind of trance watching that boy play ball. "Hey? Earth to Charlotte?" Sawyer looked down and snapped at her cousin. She waved the sunscreen in front of Charlotte's face. "Get my back please."

The younger brunette had been so preoccupied by watching the game she hadn't even realized that Sawyer had gotten up, taken off her shorts and tank, and covered the majority of her body with sunscreen. Charlotte stood up and put a heavy coat of white lotion on Sawyer's back.

"Want me to get you?" Sawyer turned around and raised her brow. "He's not looking, you dork." Sawyer laughed and started to reach for the hem of Charlotte's dress.

Scooting away from Sawyer, Charlotte huffed, "Okay." She looked once more toward the boys and sighed. Pulling the dress over her head she knew she was gonna have to get over herself. She was acting childish.

Ben was about to serve but realized that Trevor and Drew weren't paying attention. He looked where they were looking and saw Sawyer putting sunscreen on Charlotte.

Graham was in ready position facing the net and hollered behind him, "Serve it up." Nothing happened and he looked backwards. Graham saw that Ben was staring and so where the other guys, and they were staring at Charlotte. Walking toward Ben he picked up the ball and whacked him upside the head. "Hey."

Ben raised his hand to his head and winced. "I...I wasn't..."

"Let's just play." Graham took the ball and tossed it up with a grunt.

Still holding his head, Ben laughed. Sure, yeah, he'd been looking but not at Charlotte. Something about that other girl was pulling him in.

While the boys started to play, Sawyer sat down and waited for Charlotte to sit next to her. Laughing, Sawyer leaned into Charlotte, "He's looking at you."

That really did it. Charlotte's cheeks turned more red that she new possible and she put her face in her hands, "Stop it."

Sawyer laughed, "I didn't do anything. That was between you and him. I saw the way he was looking."

"Sawyer!" Charlotte didn't want to get any more embarrassed than she was. Sawyer was just making it worse. And it wasn't between she and him, Charlotte hadn't even locked eyes with Graham yet.

"I'm just saying." Shrugging, Sawyer let out a laugh. She laid down on her towel and put her arms by her side. There was nothing better than soaking up the sun. She'd heard the boys mumble-yell has they played their game but Sawyer was concentrating on herself. Headphones, the ocean breeze; it was all she needed.

All she needed until lunch, anyway.

Sawyer heard Charlotte start to move around and realized that she was putting her cover-up back on. Apparently Charlotte and Graham were going to get lunch for everyone. She quickly got up and shook her head, "Don't leave me alone with them." She looked at Drew, Trevor, and Ben.

Laughing, Charlotte shrugged, "Saw, you'll be fine. We're just gonna be gone for a little while."

Sawyer looked over to the guys and sighed, "Fine, but be sure and get..."

"Extra mustard, I know. Got it." Charlotte nudged Sawyer with her elbow, "They are all nice guys...minus Trevor, but Ben's nice. He'll keep you company."

Sawyer looked at the guys and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Don't forget my mustard."

Laughing, Charlotte smiled, "I won't."

Watching the two walk toward the water Sawyer suddenly realized that she was going to have to make awkward small talk with the boys. Maybe they'd just leave her alone?

"Hey?"

Or not. Sawyer turned around and saw Black bathing suit guy walking toward her.

"Wanna help me out? It's two on one and I could use an extra man." Ben had the ball in his hand and looked to the volleyball net.

Sawyer always did like a little competition, "You want...me to play to with you?"

He nodded, "Well if it won't ruin your day, yeah." Ben was matching her attitude.

"Alright." Sawyer got up and walked over to him and took the ball. "Fine."

The two of them made their way to the court and started to play. The girl wasn't the best athlete but she wasn't just standing around either. Sawyer didn't want to make a fool of herself so she'd try her best to set it well and dig it when the ball came her way.

"You're not so bad, you know." Ben threw the ball up in the air and served it over the net. "A lot better than I expected."

Sawyer smiled while her back was to him, "I know."

He walked up toward the net and lightly but his hand on the left side of her back, "Cover the right side."

Nodding, she shuffled in the sand and watched as Ben received the ball and hit it back over the net. She hadn't expected to feel so nervous when he'd touched her but she did. His hand on her skin left an impression. An impression Sawyer was trying to figure out. She didn't go for those types of guys. All big and muscly. Okay, so maybe Ben wasn't that buff, she'd been exaggerating when comparing him to the Mr. Brawny but still, he wasn't what she went for. Maybe it was his his boyish good looks and how he didn't take her shit. Sawyer didn't know, but there was something about this guy that was different.

"Sawyer, that's you." Ben called over his shoulder and watched as the ball went her way.

Not paying any attention, Sawyer let the ball fall on the court and both Trevor and Drew celebrated their point.

Ben walked her way and picked up the ball, "Gotta get those, O.J."

She didn't say anything but watched him as he threw the ball to the other side. Maybe Sawyer was curious about this Ben guy because he wasn't flirting with her. Normally everyone flirted with her.

The game continued until Trevor and Drew won. They all took a break, laughing and talking about the beating Sawyer and Ben took.

"Hey. I was playing with a girl. Give me a break."

Sawyer turned to him and furrowed her brow, "What are you twelve? Who says that?" She laughed and shook her head, "Thanks a lot."

"I didn't mean it like that. You were...fine. You played fine."

Oil and water. Sawyer could already tell that they were complete opposites. Fire and ice, however you wanted to call it, Ben couldn't have been any further from Sawyer.

"Food! Tell me you got extra mustard?" Sawyer saw Charlotte and Graham walking to the group.

Graham nodded and smiled, "She got plenty." He passed out everyone's food while Ben dug into the cooler and handed everyone a beer.

Sawyer was extra appreciative of the beer and raised her bottle. Lunch went nicely. They all chit-chatted and most of the guys had lots of questions for Charlotte. They thought it was pretty kick ass that her dad was Nathan Scott. The Nathan Scott that played for the Bobcats. None of them had asked about Lucas, but then again, none of the guys read things like The Comet. At least Sawyer hoped not.

When she ate the last bite of her hotdog Sawyer put her hands on her bloated stomach, "I ate too fast."

Ben laughed at the girls and got up, "I'm guessing you two won't be joining us?"

Charlotte lifted up and and furrowed her brow. Trevor and Drew had already taken off towards the water. "Shouldn't you wait ten minutes or something?"

"That's an old wives tale, Charlotte." Graham put his trash away and held his hand out for her. "The water's warm."

Shaking her head, Charlotte declined his offer, "Maybe later."

Ben got up and started running to the water and they all watched him dive into the breaking waves. He had good form. Sawyer could give him that. Graham had headed toward the water and Sawyer saw Charlotte lay back on her towel and shook her head. "You don't have to worry about them. They are in the Coast Guard for crying out loud."

Sawyer just laughed as she let the burning afternoon sun tan her skin. Five o'clock rolled around and everyone was starting to head out. Drew and Trevor left first and Sawyer was about ready to get home and rinse the sand out of her bathing suit. She looked to the water and saw that Charlotte and Graham were sitting close to the ocean. There was no way she could deny the fact that they made a ridiculously good looking couple. But it was about that time and Sawyer was ready to head home. She made her way over to the duo and used her foot to tap on Charlotte's side. "Hate to break up the romance, but you think we can head home soon?" She was Charlotte's ride afterall.

Charlotte looked at Graham and before she could say yes to Sawyer, Ben walked up to them. "I'll ride back with Sawyer if you two want to stay." He nodded down at Graham and Charlotte and then looked to Sawyer, "If that's okay with you."

A part of Sawyer wanted to say no, 'Hell no, strangers don't ride in my car!', but there was something about Ben she was kind of, sort of, not gonna tell anyone...interested in. "Sure that's fine."

Never in a million years would Charlotte have thought that Sawyer would have agreed to that. Not just anybody got to ride in her car. Maybe she felt bad for hitting him with the orange juice last week? Maybe it was a guilt ridden answer? She turned to her friend and mouthed 'thank you.'

Sawyer wasn't going to be subtle and mouth a 'you're welcome' back. "Sure, now you and Graham can sit and make out like lovesick teenagers." Charlotte turned beet red and smacked Sawyer's leg but the older girl just laughed and she and Ben started to walk away. Gathering up her things, Sawyer watched as the blue eyed Coastie threw on his shirt. "Make sure you dust all the sand off. I really don't want it in my car."

Ben laughed at her tone and saluted toward her, "Yes, ma'am."

She rolled her eyes and they walked side by side to the car. "So where am I taking you anyway?"

"The apartments close to Food Lion. You know where that is?"

Sawyer laughed, "I've lived here all my life. I know where everything is."

Ben spotted an old sixties convertible and turned to Sawyer, "So what's the deal with the car? You don't see a girl driving something so bad ass very often."

Liking the fact that he complimented her car, Sawyer shrugged, "They don't make 'em like they used to."

Ben nodded and walked to the passenger seat. "I don't know if I'm gonna fit."

"Yeah you will, just pull your knees up to your chest." She opened up her door and sat down. "Shit!" Sawyer awkwardly thrusted upwards, "The seats are really hot."

He hadn't sat down but Ben was able to put two and two together. Summer sun plus black leather. Not good. "Yeah, I thought so." He gingerly got into his seat and felt the heat on his back and butt. "Kinda like seat warmers."

Sawyer laughed and shook her head. "Yeah, well I want to be able to switch these off."

"You could have put the top up." He looked at her with a smirk and a raised brow.

Cutting her eyes at him, Sawyer started the car. This guy got on her nerves. But he got on her nerves to the point where she kinda wanted to smack him and then kiss him. It was a little too soon to tell though. Sawyer pulled out of the parking space and off toward the apartment complex.

Ben couldn't help but notice how Sawyer pressed the clutch and shifted gears. A girl who could drive a stick was sexy. Even if she was bitchy, it was sexy.

"Did you learn to drive with a stick?"

Sawyer couldn't hear him cause the music was up so loud. "Huh?"

Placing his hands around his mouth, Ben spoke louder, "I said... Did you learn to drive with a stick. You seem like a pro."

"Yeah." Sawyer down shifted and nodded, "My dad has an old mustang he used when he taught me."

"An old Shelby?"

So he knew his cars. Sawyer smiled, "It's crimson with a black vent. Fastback and a two eighty nine."

Ben was certainly impressed with her car knowledge now. Maybe she moonlit as a mechanic? He turned to Sawyer and raised his brow, "I bet that was fun." Ben laughed and shook his head. "I had to learn with my dad's truck. It was fine until it would randomly loose its power steering." Sawyer started to laugh. Ben nodded, "I'd have to turn that thing with all my body weight." He reenacted the motion with a grimace.

This guy was like a big kid. Really. Sawyer glanced over to him and laughed. She laughed at him for being a goofball but she laughed at herself because she was liking this oversized man-child.

Pointing up ahead, Ben told Sawyer she'd need to turn soon. "It's up here."

"I know." Sawyer changed lanes and got ready to turn.

It got quiet for a second and then Ben pointed to his building. "It's this one." Sawyer nodded and pulled along the curb. "Thanks for the ride."

"Yeah." She laughed, "And sorry if the leather burnt your ass."

Ben started to smile and nodded. "First it's orange juice to the chest and now a burnt ass. I guess I better stay away from you?"

He was starting to flirt now. Sawyer smirked, "Well good luck with that. If Charlotte and Graham keep it up I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of each other."

"I'll just have to be careful around you then." Ben opened up the door and got out of Sawyer's car. "Hey?" He looked to her as he walked away. "Put that top up next time. Maybe you won't..."

Sawyer rolled her eyes and punched the gas. She watched him walk away in her rear view mirror and when she saw her own reflection she was a little surprised by her red cheeks. Sawyer wasn't a blusher. At all. This Ben guy was something new.

OTHOTH

June had turned to July and three weeks has passed faster than ice cream could melt on a hot summer day. Sawyer was at work and going over a few things before closing time. Walking past the pool table, Sawyer made her way to the studio and stuck her head in, "Hey, Mom?"

"Yeah?" Peyton turned down the track she was listening to and spun her chair around to face her daughter.

"You know that band we like who sent us those EPs?" Sawyer held out a manila envelope and gave it shake, "I drew up their contracts."

Peyton got up from the chair and reached for the envelope to look over the contract. "Were you able to reach their..."

"Uh-huh. I talked to him a little while ago. They should be coming to town to do final negotiations next week."

Impressed by Sawyer's promptness and responsibility, Peyton smirked, "Well, I guess that's done then." Laughing, Peyton walked out of the studio to her desk and picked up her bag. "I'm gonna head home. Go see if I can get your father away from his computer for a while. If you don't have plans, or if Charlotte's not cooking, you can come over for dinner."

Furrowing her brow, Sawyer grimaced, "Are you cooking?"

Peyton put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes, "Just because you said that I think I might."

Sawyer laughed but shook her head, "I was planning on hanging around here for a while. Those new CDs came in and I figured I'd sample a few."

Nodding, Peyton smiled, "Alright, well don't stay too long. Be sure to lock up when you go."

"I will." Sawyer walked to her desk as her mom walked away, "Tell Dad I say hey." Peyton threw her hand up in the hair acknowledging Sawyer's request and left the twenty four year old by herself. The younger Scott sat down at and looked at the pile of music that laid untouched and unopened. She was about to sort the good from the bad.

She inserted the first disk in the stereo and cranked up the volume. The leaf inside the case was short and consisted of song titles written in chicken scratch. Birds in Flight. That was the first band. "Alright, let's see what you got." Sawyer hit play and music started to ring through her ears. "Nice tempo. Good beat." Nodding as the song played, that happy demeanor quickly turned sour when she heard the lead singer's voice, "Oh God" Sawyer grimaced, sure that her wrinkles would set into her skin and she quickly ejected the CD. So much for Birds in Flight. At least their name went with the music. It had sounded like squawking geese as they blindly ran into the side of a building. Not good.

If she was gonna survive the rest of the pile, Sawyer needed some company. A bottle of red sounded pretty good about now.

Getting up, Sawyer walked out to the bar and went directly for the wine. Most people had to wait for the bartender to get a drink but considering her grandmother owned the place she could do just about whatever she pleased.

"Hey Neal, I'm getting some company."

The Tric employee laughed and nodded, "Alright."

Sawyer bent down to pick her poison. They kept all the good stuff out of view on her request. Her secret little stash was purely for overtime working hours.

A group of four or five guys walked into the place and one of them leaned against the bar to get drink orders. Sawyer stood up and she rolled her eyes. "You again?"

Ben looked straight at her and laughed. Ever since their beach meet-and-greet they'd run into each other on several occasions. The bread aisle at the grocery store, Port City Java, and the DMV. Random occasions that included polite smiles but very little small talk. The Coastie smirked and shrugged his shoulders, "Better get used to it." He laughed and shook his head, "What's this? Like the forth time we've seen each other."

Sawyer narrowed her eyes, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"No." Ben shook his head. "I just think it's funny." Smiling, he looked behind Sawyer to the array of drinks and pointed. "How about four beers?"

Looking behind her and then back to Ben Sawyer laughed, "Are you kidding? I'm not the bartender."

"What?" She was behind the bar holding a bottle of wine. Most of the time that would lead people to assume the obvious. "I just..."

"Yeah, I work here but not...here" Sawyer pointed down and shook her head. "I work at the studio." That finger pointing down shifted toward the back of the bar and to the Red Bedroom Records sign.

Ben felt like an idiot for assuming but it was what any normal person would have thought. "I uh...sorry."

Sawyer couldn't blame him for figuring she was the bartender but she walked back in front of the bar and toward the studio, "See ya around."

Ben watched her walk away and he wanted to say something, keep their conversation going, but he was too shy to really act on it. There was something about that girl that had him intimidated yet confident at the same time.

He waited around for the bartender to get his beers and when he started to walk away Sawyer came back into the picture.

"Neal. Toss me a glass."

Ben couldn't help but watch as the bartender threw a wine glass her way. As he walked by her with his beers in hand he laughed, "You sure you don't tend bar?"

She nodded, "Pretty sure." A smirk crept up Sawyer cheeks and she flipped her wine glass in her hand.

Quickly walking over to his buddies, Ben put down the beers and hurried back to follow Sawyer, "O.J.?"

Hearing that name, made Sawyer smile. "Yes?" She turned and arched her brow.

Looking around the room, Ben turned back to her, "So what's the deal? You can't just work here and get the bartender to throw you a wine glass."

"Come here. I'll show you." Sawyer kicked her head toward the studio and they walked into the smaller, quieter room. She put the wine bottle on her desk and picked up a picture. "See these women?" He nodded so Sawyer pointed to the oldest brunnet who had streaks of gray, "That's my grandmother. She owns this place. The one right here." Sawyer pointed to Haley, "That's my aunt Haley, Charlotte's mom, who works here as a producer and..." Turning to the wall she walked over to the gold record, "This is hers. She's kind of a good singer."

Sawyer pointed to the other woman in the photo and the resemblance alone let Ben know who that was. "And that's your mom, huh?"

"Yep. She started Red Bedroom when she was in her twenties."

Ben looked around the room and saw the old album covers on the brick wall, a guitar and amp just over to the side, shelves full of music, and a pool table that was cooler than any he'd ever seen. "Family business?"

Nodding, Sawyer put the picture back on her desk, "I've been here since I came back from Boston."

"Ugh, Boston? Didn't you get sick of the cold weather and the rain?"

"I loved it up there."

Ben could tell there was more, "But..."

Sawyer shrugged, "Nothing. I had a great time. Learned everything I needed to know about the music business I hadn't already picked up from my mom, did a lot of great networking, and now I'm here." She wasn't exactly going to give him details about assface Dillon. He was old news.

"Seems like a cool job."

Looking toward the stack of CDs, Sawyer walked over to them, "Yeah. I'm going through these to see who's worth our time and money."

"I've got excellent taste in music." Ben nodded and put his beer down on Sawyer's desk and started looking through the CDs. "Bodily Harm. Esther Platt and the Jalopies." Ben laughed, "Awesome band names." He shook his head and held out a CD, "Here, put this one in. Let's see how they are."

Sawyer took the music from Ben and put it in the player. "Chatam County Road. Maybe they'll be good?"

The music started to play and Ben instantly started tapping his foot. "Yeah. I like this."

"You can't judge too fast, Ben."

"Well I'm just saying." The lead singer began the first verse, "Yeah." Ben nodded along to the beat, "Listen to that grovel in this throat. He's got soul."

Sawyer shook her head, "Sounds like he's got a cold."

"No way. Sounds like good ole' Memphis blues."

She knew Chatam County Road was not Red Bedroom material. "Hand me another."

Ben rolled his eyes at the missed opportunity and gave Sawyer another CD. "This one's a winner."

"Wanna bet?" Sawyer looked down at the CD and knew by the name this artist was going to suck.

Taking a swig of his beer, Ben nodded, "Yeah sure. I'll bet."

Sawyer watched him take a few steps toward her. He took the CD back from her and nodded, "If this one has any hint of talent you're going on a date with me."

"What?"

"Yeah." Ben nodded, "If these people, band...whatever. If they're good, I'm taking you out. I'll show you a good time and maybe buy you dinner."

Sawyer laughed, "Maybe?"

He smiled, "Maybe."

"And if they suck...I get..."

"To rub it in my face at the bread aisle in the grocery store, when I pick up my coffee before work... Bragging rights."

It was tempting but Sawyer wanted more. "Bragging rights and you have to tell me the story about that tacky tattoo."

Ben laughed, "What? You don't like my seahorse?" He'd known she must have seen it at the beach. "Alright fine."

Sawyer smiled and extended her hand, "Deal's a deal."

Wrapping his hand around her's, Ben nodded, "Alright. Put it in. Let's see how this is gonna go."

She walked over to the stereo and laughed as she read the CD again. Egyptian Pony Club didn't sound like a winner to her.

The music started and Sawyer was absolutely positive that she was gonna win. Music was her thing. The voice echoed out of the speakers and it was like nails on a chalk board. "Ha! See." Sawyer laughed and looked over to Ben.

"Go out with me." He walked over to her and nodded, "Come on."

"You lost. A deal's a deal."

Ben nodded, "So I'll take you to the grocery store, Port City Java, wherever you want to go so you can make fun of me, but go out with me." He knew there was something there. There was some...something he was feeling and she had to be feeling it too.

Sawyer wasn't going to lie. She'd been thrilled at the fact that he'd asked anyway but she was gonna play a little hard to get. "I don't know."

Taking a step closer to her, Ben nodded, "I'll pick you up Friday at seven." He waited to see if she responded and she didn't. "Okay, fine. You can drive."

Laughing out loud, Sawyer nodded, "Alright. I'll bite."

Ben smiled and Sawyer felt her heart start to race. She was biting at something that could turn into nothing or it could turn into something. Considering this was the same guy she'd met at the beach it could go either way. He was sweet and charming. His childlike antics were annoying but interesting. She wasn't one for blond hair cause it reminded her of her dad which weirded her out, but Sawyer was willing to take a chance. Who knows what'll happen.

OTHOTH

There you go guys. First chapter's done. It was a long one, I know. For those of you who read Charlotte's spin-off (Little Moments: Like Mother, Like Daughter) you probably recognized a whole lot of what happened in this chapter, but I wanted to start here. Give the new readers a chance to catch up. But don't worry, I'm gonna try and get to "real time" (where they are in Charlotte's story) as soon as possible. Hopefully I'll be doing long chapters that will cover a lot of ground.

And as with any new story, feedback is key. I need know how many of you are interested in the story so I know if I should post more. So please take a second to let me know what you think. Want me to go for it, dive into the world of Sawyer Scott's snark and surprise, or leave it be and let you guys imagine how Sawyer ends up? Your pick.