An – Ok guys I know it's been like forever since Something Of Value but life kinda got in the way a bit. So anyway, here's what you need to know…
Basically this is the sequel to Something Of Value. If you haven't read that yet, you'll need to otherwise you won't understand the plot. SOV was mainly focused on my OC Cassie and her relationship with her family since returning from boarding school… and then of course the whole Dan and Keith feud. This story is going to follow on from that however the other character's will be getting storylines of their own as well so that they are all included.
So to the shippers out there, yes that does indeed mean that you'll be seeing a lot more Keiren, Naley, Brucas and Jeyton in this one, as well as a lot of the core friendships Breyton, Leyton, Baley, Laley, Paley, Pathan, you get the drift. I wanted to try and focus on the whole gang this time rather than just the one character. But having said that I do enjoy writing Cassie, since she's my own character and the most like me. Lol.
Please feel free to leave comments and criticism (of the constructive kind! Lol). I like to hear opinions so I know what it is that you guys want to see. That way I can do my best to please as many of you as possible.
So here we go….. Hold on to your seats, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
Chapter 1 – The Battle of Evermore
Darkness surrounded him entirely, the only light coming in the form of an eerie red glow from the few lights that were scattered randomly around the corridors. His right hand tightened on the grip of the gun, as he gingerly felt his way along the wall with his left.
Beads of sweat slid slowly down his brow. Jeez it was hot in here. He couldn't remember it being this hot the last time he was here, though he had to admit it had been a long time.
A noise from behind caused him to spin around quickly, readying the gun, his finger poised carefully on the trigger. Much to his disappointment, all he saw was a narrow and very empty corridor. Nevertheless, the noise had not been a figment of his imagination.
He smirked to himself as he began to move back in the direction he'd originally come from. He was closing in on her. He could feel it.
Somewhere within the depths of his mind, a voice reminded him that she was not the only person he was looking for. There was another person that he very much wanted to find. But she was the one he really wanted. And when he found her, she would pay.
He stopped abruptly as he realised that he'd almost stepped out into an open corridor. Flattening his body against the wall, he carefully peered around the corner, his eyes darting around nervously as he checked every corner and crevice he could see in the poorly lit room.
Empty. No-one in sight.
Releasing the breath that he hadn't been aware he was holding he slid around the corner, hugging the wall as though it was a lifeline.
His footsteps were silent, so when he heard a very faint squeak of shoes against marble, he knew that it hadn't come from him. And when he heard it a second time, he smiled. He was close.
The voice in his mind spoke up once again, warning him that it could very well be another person's footsteps he was hearing. And that would ruin his whole plan. He knew that he needed to find her first. Because once he had her, his other opponent would come rushing to her aid. And when they did, he would have his victory.
He paused for a moment, trying to gage an idea as to whom the footsteps belonged. A moment later, he had his answer.
A piercing alarm rang out, and the gun fell from his grip as his whole body began to shake involuntarily.
"Gotcha!" A voice spoke, and he looked up into a pair of very amused blue eyes.
"Dammit! I almost had you!"
"Ha! Yeah right. Three hits mean you're out buddy. I guess that's game set match to us."
Lucas scowled playfully at his sister as he removed the electronic vest he was wearing. "I want a rematch. Where is your partner in crime anyway?"
"Mom bowed out gracefully about the same time that I eliminated daddy dearest. She knew I wanted to kick your ass myself."
He rolled his eyes and threw an arm around her shoulder loosely as they made their way toward the exit. "You're evil, you know that?"
The devilish smirk on Cassie's face was a sight for sore eyes to Lucas. Since the incident with Dan he'd promised himself that he would spend a lot more time with his little sister, mostly because the thought of almost losing her made him realise how important it was to spend as much time as possible with the people you love. But also because the moment he'd found her on the floor of the high school, shaking in his father's arms, he'd made a silent promise to himself that he would protect her, with his life if necessary.
"Uh, why are you looking at me like that?"
Her voice startled him from his thoughts. "It's just good to see you smiling that's all."
She turned away from him momentarily as they handed the laser gun and vest back to the assistant. "You're such a dork Lucas Scott."
He feigned a hurt expression. "Oh! So that's what I get for trying to share a nice moment with my sister huh? You really need to learn how to take a compliment."
"Alright alright." She turned serious for a moment. "I have to admit it feels pretty good to be able to just go out and have fun again. However…" She crossed her arms and stared him down. "do not for one second think that I haven't noticed you and Dad watching me like a hawk from sun up to sundown."
He bowed his head sheepishly as they walked. He really hoped that he'd been more inconspicuous than that, but he realised he should have known better than to think Cassie wouldn't notice.
"Uh…well I… we just…"
She gave him a moment to stumble over his words before she decided to put him out of his misery. "It's ok. It's actually kinda nice to know that you guys are looking out for me. But seriously, I'm fine. You really don't have to worry."
"I'm your big brother. It's my job to protect you." he defended.
"Yeah but Lucas, you almost killed a guy just for hitting on me." she teased. "Granted he was a jerk but…"
"No buts Cass. The guy was a sleaze."
"I wasn't going to defend him. What I was going to say was that I could have handled it myself." she smirked, remembering the night clearly.
"Are you sure you'll be ok?"
Cassie rolled her eyes in mock frustration. "Lucas for the millionth time I'll be fine. It's not like you're leaving the club. Go dance with your girlfriend would you?"
"Yeah ok but…"
"Brooke!" Cassie interrupted her brother by yelling for his girlfriend.
The girl in question bounced over in her usual tigger-like manner reminding Cassie why Haley had given her the nickname in the first place.
"What's up?"
"Would you please drag my brother here away to dance? I'm gonna need surgery to have him removed from my hip soon."
After a little "gentle" persuasion, Brooke managed to prise her boyfriend away from his sister's side, much to Cassie's relief. She loved him dearly and she had to admit it was pretty awesome to know that he was there to protect her, but he was beginning to drive her slightly insane. She reasoned that it had only been a month since the whole thing with Dan had come to a head and she knew that Lucas still blamed himself for what happened, despite her attempts to convince him otherwise. So she tried her best to be understanding, but she had to let him know that she was ok on her own, even if some days it wasn't exactly the case.
"Hey there sweetie."
An unfamiliar voice broke her from her thoughts. She turned her head in the direction the voice had come from and her eyes met a face that she didn't recognise. The guy looked to be around his early to mid twenties. He was slightly taller than Lucas with a shaved head and a goatee. He might have been attractive but the sleazy smirk that he wore on his face instantly put Cassie off.
"Hi." she replied politely, turning her head away in a manner that could only be taken as dismissive. She had just quite obviously given him the brush off. Most guys would've picked up on it instantly. But apparently he wasn't most guys.
"So you here on your own?" He slid into the booth next to her as he spoke, leaning a little too close for her liking.
"Look, I don't know what pick up school you went to, but in most cultures it's quite obvious when a girl is giving you the brush off."
"Aww don't be like that baby. There's no need to play hard to get."
His fingers brushed her arm quite intentionally and she felt her temper rising.
"Back off asshole I'm not interested."
She stood from the table and moved to brush past him but as she did he stood and caught hold of her wrist. She was about two seconds away from breaking his jaw when he was roughly shoved away from her by a very pissed off Lucas.
"I believe her words were; Back. Off. Asshole." He pronounced each word slowly, as if speaking to a small child.
"Lucas… don't. Come on it's ok." she assured, trying to stop him from causing a scene before her parents noticed.
Too late.
Keith, who had witnessed Lucas shoving the guy but missed the reason why, approached the group. "What's going on guys?"
"Nothing Dad it's fine. Lucas seriously it's not worth it."
Lucas, however, hadn't finished getting his message across and grabbed the guy by his collar. "When a girl tells you to back off, you back off jackass. If I catch you within ten feet of my sister again they'll carrying you out of here. You get me?"
"Come on dude. Just cause she's your sister, doesn't mean she's all innocent. A girl dresses like that, she's looking for some action…."
His sentence was abruptly cut short when Keith stepped forward, shooting him a threatening glare. "Except that this particular girl asked you to back off. Now I'm gonna give you two choices, you can walk away on your own, swallow your pride and laugh this off later, or I can personally show you where the door is, if you know what I mean."
The guy held up his hands, realising that he'd pushed his luck too far. Brushing past the group, he headed for the door.
Cassie turned to her brother, smirking. "Were you protecting me or him?"
"Technically you but I guess I unintentionally did him a favour huh?"
"Damn straight."
Lucas laughed at the memory as the pair ascended the stairs to the food court where they had arranged to meet their parents. "I shudder to think what would've happened to the poor guy if I hadn't stepped in."
"Let's just say I was about to give him an extreme makeover."
"Alright I get it, you can look after yourself, but humor me ok? Like I said it's my job to be protective, so you're just gonna have to get used to it."
…………………………………………….
"Come on Peyton. You'll get used to it after a while."
"No! No way! Brooke, it's ugly! We're not keeping it in the living room."
A week after Keith and Karen's wedding, Peyton's dad had announced that he'd been offered an extremely well paid job in the Florida Keys. The only catch was he'd need to be there permanently, which meant moving.
Peyton had been disappointed at first, but once she got used to the idea, she had told him that he should go for it. She was old enough to look after herself now and besides, she wouldn't be alone, although at the moment she was questioning whether that was a good thing.
When Brooke had found out that they were going to have the house to themselves, she had gone on a rather extravagant shopping spree, reasoning that, if she was going to live there permanently, she needed some of her own things. Peyton, of course, relented, though she was now wishing with every fibre of her being that she hadn't. Brooke had apparently taken a liking to a particular thrift store that Haley had introduced her to and had returned to purchase a hideous excuse for a lamp, which she was now insisting was to be stored in the living room.
Brooke stomped her foot like a petulant child, and stuck out her lower lip.
"Please, that hasn't worked since we were twelve it's not about to work now."
"P Sawyer if we're going to be living together you seriously need to learn the art of compromise."
"Ok here's a compromise, put it in your own room. That way I don't have to see it every day."
Brooke blew out a frustrated breath but conceded, knowing that it was probably the best deal she was going to get.
"Fine! But you have to keep your closet doors. My lists are on there and I will not have them destroyed. It's not like I can write anything on those awful drapes you were planning to replace them with."
"Yeah, that was the point!" When her best friend only raised an eyebrow in response, Peyton smirked and conceded. "Fine!"
Her tone turning serious, Brooke hugged her new housemate and glanced around the living room of the house that they would both now call home.
"This is gonna be so awesome! I have a feeling we're gonna get along just fine!"
……………………………………….
Nathan blew out a frustrated breath and checked his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time, his impatience only growing when he realised it had been more than two hours since his wife had locked herself in the bedroom of their apartment. Approaching the closed door, he knocked lightly.
"Haley, come on, we're going to be late."
After what seemed like a lifetime, the bedroom door opened and at the same time, Nathan's jaw hit the floor. For several moments he was too breathless to speak.
"I've told you before, perfection takes time." she joked.
Nathan couldn't agree more and suddenly felt extremely underdressed. His wife stood before him, wearing a form fitting, emerald green, dress. Made from shimmering satin, the dress was the epitome of elegance. The halter style neck gave way to a scooping neckline, and the back of the dress fell just low enough to be sexy, but classy.
"Wow, uh, I thought we were just going out to dinner." he stammered, still struggling to form a coherent sentence.
"We are but um… there's kind of slightly more to it than I told you."
The trademark grin that always gave her away when she had a surprise instore, appeared, and he knew whatever she was about to tell him was going to involve him getting changed.
"What's going on?"
"Alright well, just here me out before you say anything ok?" When his only response was a hesitant nod, she continued. "Well when I was cleaning the bedroom the other day, in a totally non-snooping fashion of course…"
"Of course…" Nathan laughed, wondering where in the world she could be going with this.
"I, um, well I kind of came across a letter that you got the other day… from Duke."
"Haley…" he started to form an excuse about why he hadn't shown her the letter. Truth was he still didn't have a clue what he was going to do. He was still getting over the fact that they had replied so fast. The application had only just been sent the day before Keith and Karen's wedding.
"I called Coach K and told him you'd accept." She held up another piece of paper with the name of the college printed at the top. "And that I would too."
For the second time that night Nathan was stunned into silence.
Not sure how he was going to react at her basically making the decision for him she rushed out an explanation. "Nathan, Duke is your dream. It has been forever. And I want that for you. You supported me with my music and I just really really want you to have that. I'm sorry that I didn't tell…"
She was cut off when her husband captured her lips in a kiss that told her he was far from mad. She felt his arms wrap around her waist as he lifted her off the ground.
Finding herself beginning to get flustered by the kiss she forced herself to pull away.
"So I take it you're not mad?" she said through a smirk.
"Mad? I'm… stunned. I can't believe you would do that for me. Are you sure it's what you want?"
"I'm sure. I'm also sure that you need to change. We're meeting Coach K and the Head of Admissions for dinner. I laid you a shirt and jacket out ready."
Though he hadn't thought it possible, Nathan fell a little more in love with his wife at that moment. Kissing her once more he did as asked and quickly entered the bedroom to change. For the first time since his father had been gunned down by police after almost killing his cousin, he felt his spirits soar. Not only were his dreams finally coming true, but he would have Haley by his side for every moment. Everything was finally falling into place.
………………………………….
Cassie tried with every fibre of her being to stop her hands from shaking as she made her way down the now familiar corridor. She was unsure as to why she felt so nervous. She'd been here more than enough times to have conquered that feeling now surely. But for some reason today felt different, strange somehow.
She wasn't even sure why she had come. This was her first visit in three weeks. Ever since the morning of her parents' wedding she'd told herself that it was time to stop going. To let the past go. And she had so far. So the fact that she was now making her way on unsteady legs towards her uncle's hospital room was a surprise even to her.
She knew her father would hit the roof if he found out. He still hadn't managed to visit himself, though she knew that deep down part of him wanted to.
The first thing she noticed upon entering the room was the silence. Gone were the myriad of machines that were once responsible for keeping Dan Scott's blood pumping through his veins. The wires that ran across his chest and arms had been removed. All that was left was an intravenous tube that Cassie assumed was used to feed and hydrate her uncle.
She jumped as the silence was interrupted by a nurse who was completing her early evening rounds.
"Sorry sweetie. Didn't mean to startle you."
"It's ok" she replied, smiling politely at the woman, who looked no more than a few years older than Cassie herself. Unable to quell her curiosity about her uncle's condition, she asked the question that was on her mind. "Um, what happened to all the machines?"
It was the nurse's turn to smile. Unaware of the situation between her patient and the young girl before her, she assumed that the news she had to give would be well received.
"They're no longer needed. He's breathing on his own and is making good progress. There's no medical reason for him to be unconscious. We're just waiting for him to wake up on his own." She made her way to the door, but stopped and turned back to Cassie. "Maybe a friendly voice is just what he needs."
Before Cassie could reply, the young nurse was gone, leaving her alone with her uncle once again. Hesitantly, she stepped closer to the bed, glancing back at the door as though making sure she still had a way out.
It was easy to see the difference in Dan's health since she last visited. His skin, once ashen and drawn, was now beginning to show signs of colour. He looked peaceful and content; a far cry from the hideous monster that had abducted and almost killed her only a month ago.
"I… um… jeez pull yourself together Cassie." Her voice was shaky with nerves and she took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down. "I don't know what I'm doing here. I promised myself that after Mom and Dad's wedding I'd stop coming to see you. That maybe then I could let everything go and move on with my life. And I've been doing pretty good so far. I guess part of me just wanted to make sure that nothing's changed."
Without realizing it, Cassie had cast her eyes downward and was keeping herself busy toying with the zipper on her grey summer jacket as she spoke.
"We had a great day today. Went to the Laser Quest at the mall. It was fun, you know? Real quality family time. And I guess I'm just scared because it's the first time since I got back that we've really been able to just relax and laugh and forget about everything else. I don't want anything to ruin that."
Cassie sensed the movement before she saw it. Her eyes shot quickly to where the movement had come from. She stared at his hand for what seemed like an eternity, wondering whether it was her imagination playing cruel tricks. Oh how she wished it had been.
The movement was slight, but it was there nevertheless. Glancing up at his face, Cassie's heart was gripped with irrational fear as she saw her uncle struggling to open his eyes. Her own breathing quickened and she looked back at the door, willing herself to get out of there as quickly as she could. Why the hell wouldn't her feet move?
She could do nothing but stare as the man responsible for the nightmare's that had plagued her dreams for the last month, opened his eyes and looked right back at her.