Here it is, part 3 of my One Tree Hill next generation series. This is simultaneously being published on my Ao3 account, under the same name of SunriseRose1023. Please let me know what you think! Also, buckle up. This is not going to be a very smooth ride. The rating may have to be upped during upcoming chapters, but that may not happen for a while. Remember that reviews are love and I need lots of love, okay? ;) Enjoy!
Out Of The Woods
Chapter One
Jude pressed the bag of frozen peas against his right eye, wincing at the pain that shot through his face. His mother paced the kitchen in front of him, sneaking looks back at him every time she made a turn. He gave a sigh, lowering the peas from his face and opening his mouth.
"Do not. Do not. Put the damn peas back on your face."
Jude swallowed and nodded, closing his eyes and wincing at the pain that reverberated through his skull. He gently touched the peas back to his face and opened his eyes again when the front door slammed shut. Davis stepped into the kitchen and threw his bag onto the floor, tossing out his hands.
"What the hell, Jude?!"
"Watch your mouth, Davis."
Davis looked to his mother, and Brooke let out a sigh. She stepped to the counter and rifled through her purse, pulling out her cell phone.
"Keep the peas on your face."
"What are you—"
"I'm going to do a little damage control and try to keep your brother from getting expelled. Keep your voices down."
Brooke left the kitchen, and Jude lowered the peas from his face. Davis' mouth fell open, and Jude blew out a breath.
"Don't start."
"Don't sta—Jude. We have been in school for two weeks. Two weeks now. That's barely ten days, and you're knocking out the captain of the fucking basketball team?"
"Okay, one: I didn't knock him out. He got a few shots in, you know?"
Jude motioned towards his face and Davis rolled his eyes.
"And two—"
"There is no two. There is barely a one. No, there's not even a one! After everything we went through to get you on the damn team, you're going to get in a fight with the captain? What the actual hell, Jude?"
Jude blew out a breath, and Davis leaned over the counter, pushing the bag of peas closer to his twin.
"Put the fucking peas back on your face."
Jude did, and Davis pushed a hand through his hair.
"Look, I get it. Everyone gets it. Parks is an asshole. But he's a beast on the court."
"So, what? That balances the asshole-ness out?"
Davis blew out his breath.
"No. But you can't just go punching him!"
Jude licked his lips and nodded, wincing at the ache that sent through his face. He lowered the peas to the table, then turned to his brother.
"Four of us were in the locker room. Parks comes in, middle of the conversation, and starts talking about the weather."
Davis blinked, then nodded.
"Oh, I understand completely. No wonder you punched the asshole's lights out."
"Shut up and listen, all right?"
Davis held up his hands, and Jude sighed.
"So he's talking about the weather, how it's still hot, even though it's September. And then he says, it's so hot we should do a dress code for the school, where everyone has to wear shorts and tanks."
Davis shook his head, but didn't say anything, and Jude squeezed the bag of peas in his fist.
"And then he looks right at me, looks me straight in the eye, and says, if it's so damn hot, then why does Lydia keep wearing long sleeve shirts?"
Davis' mouth fell open, and he blinked. Jude nodded, pushing the peas away from him.
"He wouldn't shut his mouth about her, and I just … I lost it for a second."
Davis lifted a hand, slowly rubbing his chin.
"Jude, I—"
"I'm not starting fights whenever I can, Davis. I just … I can't handle it when it's about her. Not her."
Davis nodded, and Jude pushed his hands through his hair, wincing at the pull on his face. Davis took a second, then spoke slowly.
"I get it. I do, but Jude—"
"I know. You don't have to say anything."
Davis opened his mouth, but shut it when Brooke walked back into the room. She set her phone on the counter, then turned to her boys.
"Melanie Parks is livid, to say the least. But, at Kevin's request, they're not going to press charges."
"Charges? They could do that?"
Brooke turned to Davis.
"Yes, they could do that. And honestly, they'd have a right to. Jude started it."
Jude looked down at the counter, picking the bag of peas up when Davis slid it towards him. Brooke sighed, pushing a hand through her hair.
"What are you doing home?"
Davis cleared his throat.
"Oh, uh, Coach is pretty livid, too. He cancelled practice, and was pacing his office like a caged tiger when I left."
Brooke nodded, pursing her lips. She stepped over to gather her purse onto her shoulder, then pushed it back down, slipping her phone into it. She put it back up, then looked at the boys. She shook her head, then looked to Davis.
"Can you get your sister from ballet at five? I'd ask your brother, but he'd probably scare her."
Davis just nodded, and Brooke turned to Jude.
"Get comfortable. We'll discuss your punishment when I get home tonight."
"Mom—"
"Don't even start. Five o'clock, Davis. Don't forget."
Davis nodded, and Brooke left. Davis walked towards the refrigerator, opening it and pulling out a bottle of water, turning back and seeing his brother standing up, reaching for the keys on the counter.
"Uh, excuse me?"
Davis reached over and grabbed the keys which were just out of Jude's reach, sticking them into his pocket.
"Seriously?"
"You're pretty much on house arrest, brother."
"Just give me the damn keys."
"I have to get Meg in like an hour."
Jude rolled his eyes, shaking his head with a wince before he stalked out of the room. Davis tossed up his hands, then followed after him.
"Where the hell are you going?!"
"Where the hell do you think I'm going?"
"Mom's going to flip when she finds out you're gone."
"Guess we just have to make sure she doesn't find out, won't we?"
Jude opened the door and Davis jogged over to him.
"I've got the keys, Jude. Are you seriously going to walk over there?"
"No, you asshole. I'm going to run."
"Are you freakin—Jesus."
Davis shook his head, watching his brother jog down the front steps, then onto the sidewalk. He watched him for a minute, then walked back inside, slamming the door behind him.
Lydia leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes and lifting her chin. She let out a sigh when the sun shone on her face, and she reached up, pulling her hair from its ponytail, letting the chocolate waves bounce around her shoulders. She sat like that for a minute, just letting the sun warm her skin, then sighed as she sat back up, retying her hair in its ponytailed prison before she leaned over her homework again.
"So if 3x equals 9, then x equals 3, and that's all over the square root of … no, wait. That can't be right. Crap."
She tossed her pencil down, putting her face in her hands and groaning softly. Her head snapped up when she heard the tree under her balcony rustling, and a smile broke out across her face.
"Oh, please, oh, please, let that be my handsome prince, coming to save me from the dreaded calculus."
Jude's head popped over the balcony, and Lydia smiled, until she caught sight of his face. She gasped and scrambled to her feet as Jude hopped over the balcony, and she gently took hold of his chin with one hand, laying the other on his cheek.
"My god, what happened to you?"
Jude groaned, shaking his head, leaning down to press his lips to hers. After a moment, Lydia pulled back, keeping her hands on his face. She shook her head again.
"Jude, honey. What happened?"
"Lyd, can we just—"
She gasped as he lifted her up suddenly, instinctively wrapping her legs around his waist. She gasped again when her back hit the wall, looking up at him with wide eyes. Jude looked from her lips to her eyes, speaking low.
"Can we just not talk right now?"
Lydia could only nod, a second before his lips were on hers. One of his hand was pressed to the wall beside her head, and the other moved to tug her ponytail loose, slipping the band on his wrist. Lydia sighed when his hand gently scratched her scalp, and she ran her hands up the bulging muscles in his arms, threading her fingers through his hair. Jude wrapped his arm around her waist, standing up straight, moving his hand from the wall to link it with hers, moving her hand back to pin it to the wall.
"Oh, Jude."
He smiled as he ducked his head to kiss her neck, and she tilted her head to give him more access, digging her nails into his back. He gave a quiet groan, rocking forward, and Lydia gasped again as she arched forward. Jude shook his head, moving his hands to her hips, making her suck in a breath. He held her as he moved to sit on the chaise lounge at the corner of the balcony, sitting her in his lap. Lydia shook her head, moving her hair out of her face, and Jude swallowed when heavy-lidded navy blue eyes locked onto his.
Lydia leaned down, taking Jude's face in her hands, tenderly moving her fingertips across the growing bruise on his jaw, and slowly laid her lips on his. Jude's eyes drifted closed and his hands tightened on her hips before sliding up and just holding her. Lydia had a fleeting thought that he could probably push his hands together and crush her ribcage, and that thought was followed by the one that was 100% positive that he would never, ever do that. He'd never hurt her, and Lydia knew that.
She arched up with a gasp when she felt warm fingers on the bare skin of her back. Her shirt had ridden up—or maybe pushed up—just a bit, where a sliver of pale skin could be seen. Jude was dragging his fingers back and forth over that little sliver, and Lydia sat up, biting her bottom lip between her teeth.
What came over her, she couldn't say. But she reached down and grabbed hold of her t-shirt, pulling it up and over her head. She blinked and took in Jude's wide eyes, as he slowly met her gaze.
"Lyd—"
"It's okay."
She smiled as she leaned down and kissed him again, moaning softly into his mouth as his big, warm hands cradled her ribcage again, this time without the thin barrier of cotton. She slid her hands under his shirt while they kissed, resting her palms against the hard cuts of muscle in his abdomen. Jude let out a groan, sliding his hands up into her hair, and she gave the sweetest-sounding gasp.
Jude pulled back, watching as she sat there for a moment with her eyes still closed, his big hands cradling her face. She blinked those pretty eyes open, locking onto his, and he leaned forward, both of them keeping their eyes open as he pressed his lips to hers once, twice. Jude kissed her neck, catching her head in one of his hands as it fell backwards as she groaned. He smiled as he made his way down, until he placed a kiss right in the center of her chest.
Her hands came up to rest against the bulging muscles in his arms, and he looked up, locking eyes with her again. She gave him a smile, then nodded, and his mouth went dry. His brain still functioned somehow, and his hands slid down her back, before sliding up again and landing on the catch of her bra. Lydia bit her lip again and Jude started to unfasten the clasp.
"Hello, anybody home? Lydia?"
Jude fell back against the chair, and Lydia groaned as she fell forward, forehead resting on his chest. They were both breathing hard, and Lydia was trembling just the slightest bit. Jude lifted a hand and ran it over his face.
"Fuck."
Lydia laughed, shaking her head.
"They'll be up here in about five minutes."
"They might need to wait a little longer. Or you need to toss me a book or something."
Lydia laughed again, cheeks flaming red, and she climbed off his lap, stretching her body out before she bent and grabbed her shirt, pulling it back over her head. Jude pushed his hands through his hair, and accepted the calculus book she handed him.
She walked to the table, sitting back down, turning to face him.
"Maybe you can help me with the homework?"
"How in the hell can you switch gears so fast?"
She grinned at him, tossing her chocolate-brown hair over her shoulder.
"Necessity, baby."
Jude sighed, opening the book on his lap and turning pages. After a moment, Lydia's soft voice crept over to him.
"Will you tell me what happened?"
He lifted his head, and she motioned towards her eye. Jude sighed, lifting a hand to his own eye, then wincing at the ache that small movement sent through his skull. He blinked his dark eyes open and rested back against the chair.
"It's nothing, babe."
Lydia pursed her lips and nodded, and Jude sighed again, standing up from the chair and walking around, kneeling beside Lydia's chair and putting his chin on her shoulder.
"I love you."
She smiled, reaching a hand up and patting the good side of his face.
"I love you, too."
They were both quiet for a minute, until Lydia murmured so softly Jude wouldn't have heard it if he hadn't been right next to her.
"It's because of me, isn't it?"
He blinked, sitting up to look at her, but she refused to look at him. He let out a sigh, closing his eyes.
"Lyd—"
"I figured it had to be."
Jude opened his eyes to watch as Lydia lifted her head, navy blue eyes locking onto his.
"You didn't use to be like this, Jude."
"Like what?"
Lydia licked her lips, looking back down at her book.
"Violent."
Jude closed his eyes again, pushing his hands through his hair. He stood up and walked to the chair beside hers, pulling it even closer, to where their knees were touching. He reached over and took her hands, pulling her closer to him.
"Listen to me."
She blinked, then lifted her eyes to his again. Jude leaned forward, dropping one of her hands to cup her cheek, gently running his thumb over her cheekbone.
"I am so in love with you."
She gave a little smile at that, and he went on.
"It … it consumes me, Lyd. You're all I can think about. All I can see."
Her cheeks flushed at his words, and he shook his head.
"I know that's not good. Borderline obsessive or whatever. But I can't help it."
He let his hand fall from her cheek and sighed, taking her hand again.
"Kevin Parks was running his mouth today. It was nothing, and he was baiting me. I knew he was, and I still let him do it."
"Jude?"
He met her eyes, sighing again.
"He kept talking about how hot it was. Said some shit about a dress code. Then he looked right at me and asked why you kept wearing long sleeves."
Navy blue eyes went wide, and Jude blew out his breath.
"I couldn't hear anything but this roaring in my ears. I couldn't see anything but red. And I just lost it."
He shook his head as he looked down at their hands, glancing up to see Lydia doing the same thing, eyes wide. He shook his head again.
"Next thing I knew, Hart and Mitchell were pushing me into a locker and Parks was bleeding on the ground. He—he got a punch or two in, as you can see, but I …"
He blew out his breath again.
"It was like I wasn't even there. Like an out-of-body thing or whatever. And I don't … I don't know what I would have done if they hadn't pulled me off of him."
Lydia moved to touch his shoulder, and he leaned into her, putting his face in her stomach as she closed her eyes, then softly ran her fingers through his hair.
"It's okay, Jude."
He let out a groan, lifting his head, resting his elbow on the table, staring into pools of navy blue.
"It's not okay. I know that it's not okay, and I end up punching out the captain of the fucking basketball team."
Lydia blinked, then cradled his face in her hands.
"I love you. The way that you love me, and the way you want to protect me?"
She shook her head.
"I can't put into words how that makes me feel. But Jude …"
She tightened her hold on his face just a bit, and he felt a dull ache around his eye socket.
"You can't keep doing this. It's not healthy. I've seen the way you tense up when someone looks at me too long. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the whole caveman thing you do, where you pick me up and manhandle me, but that's only okay when it's just you and me."
Jude smiled.
"You don't want me to pick you up and throw you over my shoulder on the way to class?"
Lydia let out a quiet laugh.
"No, Tarzan, I'd rather not have that happen in public."
Jude smiled, closing his eyes as her thumbs gently moved across his skin.
"We just … We have to figure out how to calm you down. Some way that you won't get so angry."
"I have an idea."
Lydia grinned as he moved forward, kissing her gently before deepening the kiss, slipping his tongue along hers.
"Oh my god, seriously?"
Jude groaned as he let his head fall to Lydia's shoulder, and she glanced back to see Riley standing at the balcony door, arms crossed over her chest, a look of pure disgust on her face. Jamie was standing behind her, standing in an almost mirror-image, eyes narrowed as he stared at Jude. Lydia rolled her eyes.
"Homework."
"Yeah, I don't remember that class from high school."
Lydia's cheeks grew warm as Jude sat back in his chair. Lydia licked her lips, then glanced over her shoulder again.
"I seem to remember 'the talk' coming rather early for us, once Logan walked in on you 'doing homework' with your hand up Emma Smith's shirt."
Jamie's eyes widened and Jude coughed to cover up his quiet laugh. Riley shook her head and rolled her eyes, blowing out a breath as she turned and walked from the room. Jamie cleared his throat.
"Dinner's in an hour."
He turned and followed Riley, and Lydia turned to face Jude, both of them laughing quietly. He leaned over to kiss her cheek, and she patted his leg, then pulled her calculus book closer.
"Now, do you have any clue what Mr. Jenkins was talking about in class?"
"No, I was too busy staring at you the whole time."
Lydia blushed again, and Jude smiled widely, reaching to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, baby, I got it."
"Good. Help me."
Jude smiled, moving his chair closer and draping his arm across the back of Lydia's as she flipped to the right page.
"What'cha looking at, Blondie?"
Peyton Sawyer-Scott smiled as she looked down at the counter in front of her, then glanced over her shoulder, meeting the warm, dark eyes of her best friend. Brooke stepped closer to her, looking through the window of her clothing store, fighting the urge to wrap Peyton in a hug when she heard her sigh.
"Not really looking, just thinking."
"Oh, okay."
Brooke leaned over, bumping Peyton's shoulder with her own.
"What'cha thinking about?"
Peyton let out a quiet laugh.
"A lot of stuff."
Peyton shook her head, and Brooke nodded. She pursed her lips, then cleared her throat.
"Jude came home a little while ago with half his face purple."
Peyton sat up, eyes wide.
"What?"
Brooke tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Apparently, he punched Kevin Parks. Who happens to be the-"
"Captain of the basketball team?"
"That's the one."
Peyton blinked, then shook her head.
"Wow."
"No kidding."
Peyton shook her head, glancing out the front window. Brooke bumped her shoulder against Peyton's again, then spoke softly.
"Talk to me, P. Sawyer."
Peyton nodded, staring down at the counter again. After a minute, she lifted tear-filled eyes to her friend, and a worried look crossed Brooke's face. Peyton sighed.
"Ellie got another letter this morning."
Brooke's eyebrows nearly reached her hairline, but she nodded nonchalantly.
"Where was this one from?"
"Postmark said New York."
Brooke pursed her lips as she nodded. Peyton cleared her throat.
"But the return address was for an apartment in the Upper East Side."
"There was a return address?"
Peyton nodded. She reached under the counter and pulled an envelope out of her purse, sliding it over to Brooke, who picked it up. She read the return address written in familiar handwriting, then stopped. She read it again, then looked to Peyton.
"No."
Peyton nodded.
"Are you kidding me?"
Peyton shook her head, and Brooke dropped the envelope onto the counter, pushing a hand through her hair. Peyton's voice was quiet when she spoke again.
"So it is what I thought."
Brooke sighed.
"That's the address for the apartment I bought her when she modeled for me. Back when—"
"She was a coke whore? Or no. She did heroin or something, right?"
"Peyton."
"Do not take up for her now."
Brooke bit her bottom lip before she spoke.
"Rachel was my friend, Peyton."
"This is my husband, Brooke. And who knows? Maybe she's changed from high school, no longer hiding out naked in the backseat of whoever's car. But she married Dan Scott, so I doubt it."
Brooke pushed the envelope away from her.
"I'm not trying to take up for her. I haven't heard from her in years."
Peyton nodded as she looked down at her hands, and Brooke blew out a breath.
"What the hell is Lucas doing with her now?"
Peyton shrugged her shoulders.
"Beats me. He only writes to Ellie. Not to me or Sawyer or even Karen."
She shook her head again.
"I don't know who he is anymore."
Brooke sighed, walking over and putting an arm around Peyton, resting her chin on her shoulder. Peyton leaned over, her temple resting on Brooke's, then sighed.
"Will you do me a favor?"
"Anything, buddy. You know that."
Peyton smiled as she nodded, then let out a sigh.
"Can you give me the name of your divorce lawyer?"
Sawyer was lying on her back on her bed, with their tiny little kitten curled up on her stomach.
The first thing the Scott girls had done when they got home from their world-traveling summer trip was take another trip, to the local animal shelter. A box of kittens had been discovered on the side of the road, and when Sawyer and Ellie laid eyes on a tiny ball of smoky gray fluff, Peyton had pulled her wallet out.
They named her Smoke, because of the color of her fur, and also because Ellie insisted that she was so tiny, a puff of smoke would blow her away. Smoke fit right in with the family, surprisingly vocal for how little she was. But she was already growing, gaining weight and becoming rather attached to Sawyer.
There was a knock at the door, but Sawyer didn't move to answer it. Smoke lifted her head, an irritated look on her face that made Sawyer smile and reach over to scratch the cat's ears. She listened to the door open, a few seconds before her sister's voice cut through the silence.
"There you are."
Sawyer lifted her other hand to wave, then let it fall back to the bed. Ellie stepped over, hands in the back pockets of her jeans.
"What are you doing?"
"Laying here. Did you know that the ceiling fan does one hundred and forty-seven rotations a minute?"
"Seriously?"
Sawyer nodded, and Ellie moved closer to the bed.
"Is there a reason you're lying there counting ceiling fan rotations?"
Sawyer shrugged her shoulders, and Ellie sighed.
"I know there is. Come on. You can talk to me, you know."
Sawyer sighed and pointed to the desk in the corner of her room. Ellie walked over, moving the mouse and waking up the desktop computer. She sat in the chair and was quiet as she read, until her soft "oh" filled the room. Sawyer nodded.
"Yeah. 'Oh.'"
"Really?"
Sawyer snorted.
"Has People magazine ever lied?"
"I'm sure they have?"
"That's one of the more reputable magazines, El. It's true."
Ellie bit her lip as she swiveled around in the chair to face Sawyer.
"Logan's dating Aunt Lily?"
Sawyer squeezed her eyes shut, picking the cat up from her stomach, moving her up to cuddle in her arms as she rolled over. Smoke licked Sawyer's nose before she settled down, and Sawyer felt the bed dip behind her as Ellie laid down.
Sawyer sniffled, shaking her head.
"I don't know why I'm surprised. I'm not surprised. I made sure that I killed whatever was between us before I left, so—"
"Sawyer, come on."
Sawyer closed her eyes again, and Ellie propped herself up on her elbow.
"Something like that … You can't just kill it."
"Did you look at the damn pictures, Ellie? He doesn't even remember my name. And why would he? When he has the supermodel?"
Ellie smiled softly, to herself, since Sawyer was still lying on her side, with her back to her sister.
"I bet I could call him right now and he'd be on a plane in less than an hour."
"Well, we'll never know."
The smile slid from Ellie's lips, and she sighed.
"I know Lily's beautiful and all, but have you ever taken a good look at her?"
"I grew up with her, El. I know exactly what she looks like, and I even know what she looks like in the throes of the stomach virus. So…"
Ellie snorted, then watched the ceiling fan.
"She's tall and thin. Like you, you know. I mean, you're not that tall, but you're skinny like Mama is."
"And you're such a cow? We wear the same size clothes, little sister."
Ellie let out a laugh.
"True. But, just hear me out. You've got Mama's curly blonde hair, and Daddy's blue eyes."
"Broody blue, Mama says."
Ellie nodded, smiling as Smoke walked around Sawyer's head and started batting the pale pink ribbon in her ponytail.
"Broody blue. Lily's tall and tan. Her hair's so brown it's almost black, and she got Uncle Keith's dark eyes. You two look nothing like each other. Logan is literally with your complete opposite."
Sawyer swallowed around the lump in her throat, whispering softly.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
Ellie sighed, moving to spoon up behind her sister, wrapping her arms around her, and Sawyer gave in to the tears.