Chapter 1

"There's only a few seconds left and if the Ravens score, it's game." The voice over the gym's speaker system announced. "And it looks like number 12, Jamie Scott, is going to take the Tree Hill Ravens to yet, another victory."

Looking for an open spot, James Lucas Scott, ran to it. He called out for his teammate to pass him the ball. Once the ball was in his hands, he went towards the basket, running as fast as he could. It almost felt like his heart could stop beating at any second because he was trying so hard to race with the ticking clock.

The announcer watched as the young teenager set himself up for a three-pointer. All eyes were on Jamie and the ball as it left his fingertips. "And it looks like, Jamie Scott for the win!"

When the ball sailed through the net, the quiet gym went up in an uproar as the crowd whistled and shouted in excitement for their home team. The boys all gathered together and jumped in the air to celebrate their newest victory. They lifted Jamie up and the crowd cheered even louder. Putting him down, each team member gave him a pat on the back. Soon after, the cheerleaders joined in with the boys.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Jamie turned. A smile graced his face when he saw his girlfriend, Madison. He had known her since his childhood and they began dating when they had both started high school. Jamie had a crush on Madison when he was younger and he found out that she had one on him to. At a small party their freshman year, they shared their first kiss and were a couple from that day on.

He caught her in his arm when she hugged him. She held onto him tighter when he spun her around. Jamie ignored everyone congratualting him and only focused on Madison.

Jamie set her down and moved her hair that fell from her ponytail out of her face. Her green eyes locked onto his blue ones.

"Even though you reek, I can't believe how hot you looked running on the court."

Jamie smirked at her. "Does that mean, you find my sweat sexy?" He walked closer to her and trapped her in his arms.

"Jamie!" She squealed and tried to push him off of her. With her elbow, she jabbed into his abdomen. He didn't budge and she was getting annoyed with him. "Jamie, let me go."

He gave in and let her go. Jamie noticed that the celebrating was over and the team was heading into the locker room. "I should get going. Meet me back here when I'm done?"

She nodded. "Don't forget to shower!" She called after him. A sly smile spread across her face when the other guys were making catcalls to Jamie.

Jamie walked out of the locker room to see that his parents and Brooke and Julian waiting for him. All of them had bright excited smiles on their faces. His father came to every game, home and away, while his mother only came to home games. She usually, stayed home with his younger sister during away games. For home games, his younger sister stayed over at friend's house. Brooke and Julian tagged along to home games to support Jamie and the team.

Jamie smiled back at his family. His father gave him a strong pat on the back, "that last shot was amazing. Your late night practices are really paying off." He mumbeld that last part in his ear so his mother wouldn't hear.

"Thanks, Dad." Jamie told him.

His father winked at him as he wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Man, I missed watching basketball games." Brooke Davis-Baker commented. "I know I've probably told you this a million times but, you're a lot like your dad." Brooke told him as she gave him a tight hug.

Jamie nodded. It was true but, he never got tired of hearing the compliment.

"Only by looks." The older Scott said. "The attitude and playing is all Jamie."

"Yo, Jamie Scott! You coming?" One of Jamie's teammates shouted from across the gym.

Jamie turned back to his parents. "Aaron's having a victory party over at his place. I kind of need to be there, since I scored the final shot and all." Jamie told his parents as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"Do you now?" His mother raised her brow. She knew exactly what happened at parties like that. The years may have gone by but, the behaviors of the adolescents haven't changed entirely.

"You know that I won't do anything stupid." Jamie told them. "Madison will probably be there and I'll get a lift home from one of the guys." Jamie looked to his father, who shared his eyes. "So can I go?"

Nathan Scott looked straight at Jamie, knowing that he wouldn't do anything reckless. He had told his son some of his stories of what he was like back in high school before he met his mother. Those were moments that he wasn't proud of and he never wanted Jamie to feel that way about his life, especially at his age.

"Be home by curfew." Nathan told him. He motioned for Jamie to give him his gym bag. "I mean it, Jamie."

"Yes, sir." He nodded. "I'll see you when I get home." He bent down to give his mother a hug.

"Be safe." His mother patted her hands on his back before letting go of him. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks." Jamie told her before jogging to meet up with his friend. He turned back to his supportive group and couldn't believe how lucky he was to have them in his life.

"You think he'll be okay?" She asked her husband. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked out of the gym.

"He'll be fine, Hales." Nathan told her. "He's a Scott boy but, he also has you as a mother." He reassured her.

A small ping pong ball missed the blue cup after being bounced on the table. A curse came from the player who missed. The ball was picked up and bounced back, landing in the cup. A cheer from the other side of the table sounded as they watched the boy drink.

"Jamie Scott, keep those shots coming and we'll have a state championship and a very drunk Chuck." Aaron placed his hand on his shoulder and stood next to Jamie. He put his cup to his lips and drank.

Aaron was a senior starter on the team and took Jamie under his wing after learning who his father was and seeing how well he could play basketball. He planned on passing down his legacy to Jamie but, was still please after Jamie proved that he had a whole legacy of his own.

"Chuck, you might want to quit while you're ahead. I don't see you scoring on Scott anytime soon." He pointed over to the boy on the other side of the table.

"Shut up, man." Chuck slammed his cup on the table. With an unsteady hand, he lifted the ball and tried to aim for a cup. He missed the one he was aiming for but, it bounced off and landed in another cup. With a satisfied smile, Chuck crossed his arms over his chest. "Drink up, All-Star."

Aaron picked up the cup and handed it to Jamie. Jamie took the cup from him but, didn't raise it to his lips. His parents would kill him if they found out that he was drinking. He had always promised to be responsible and not give into any peer pressure. It was different now because he was in the popular circle and partying with seniors.

"What are you waiting for?" Aaron asked him.

Jamie looked over to Aaron, who had no problem drinking from his plastic cup. His eyes went back to his cup, looking inside. There wasn't that much so he figured it wouldn't make that big of a deal. Jamie shrugged, "nothing," and tossed his head back to drink from the cup. He tried not to squint his eyes at the bitter taste.

"Jamie?"

He stopped and put his cup down. Then he turned to look at Madison, who was standing with a few other random girls.

"Are you drinking?"

"Don't worry about it," Aaron cut in, "Chuck's such a bad shot that it Jamie won't even feel a buzz. Isn't that right, Scott?"

Jamie looked over to Chuck, who was already having his own affects from the alcohol. His eyes went back to Madison's. "Yeah, Chuck's not even that great of a player. The only reason he's on the team was because the coach feels sorry for him. Poor guy."

He hated saying it but, he had a choice. It was either take Aaron's side and look like an ass or take Madison's side and look like a pathetic whipped boyfriend. That was not how he wanted Aaron and the team to see him.

"I can't believe you." She hissed, dropping her linked arms from the other girls.

"Maddy, wait!" Jamie put down his empty cup as he moved through the people to catch up with her. An angry girlfriend was the last thing he wanted to deal with. Tonight was supposed to be about celebrating another win for the team and Madison was making it all about her, again."Mads!"

She stopped and didn't turn to face him. Jamie could see that she had crossed her amrs across her chest. "This isn't you. This isn't supposed to be how things are for you."

"What are you talking about?" He asked her with complete confusion.

Madison turned to face him. "Since when do you drink and make fun of Chuck? He's our best friend, Jamie. You know that he wasn't blessed with the same childhood as yours." She told him angrily.

"And you know that my childhood wasn't always cake, either. If anyone really has changed, it's you. You've turned into this girly cheerleader so, don't point the finger at me." Jamie found himself almost shouting at her.

It happened over the summer. Madison started caring about how people saw her and what they thought about her. She started buying different clothes and wearing makeup. At the beginning of the school year, she tried out for the cheer squad and got a spot. Madison told Jamie she did it because she just wanted to spend more time with him but, Jamie knew that Madison just wanted to be accepted.

Madison let out an offended huff. "This has nothing to do with me, Jamie. Every day, I see you becoming more and more like Aaron. I thought you wanted to be a good person?"

"I'm trying to be. Just because I have one little sip of beer, doesn't mean that I'm automatically somebody else." He didn't even know what she wanted to fight about anymore. "Mads," He took a step closer to her.

"No," she let out a sigh and took a step back from him.

"What is it? What do you want me to do? Do you want me to apologize to you, to Chuck?" He asked her, knowing that he should go and talk to Chuck, even though he was drunk and probably wouldn't remember what Jamie had said. Madison would remember everything.

She shook her head again. "This is stupid. We don't fight. We never fight about anything."

Jamie scratched the back of his neck. "I know we don't. We've known each other forever."

Madison nodded. "Maybe that's the problem."

"What?"

"I care about you, Jamie. You know that and I like the boy you grew up to be but, let's face it. We're just each other's safety nets and when we start to be different, we get scared. I know that I do and I've noticed that you do, too. You pretend more about it than I do and I don't want you to." She explained.

"So what are you trying to say? You want to break up?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe we just need some time to think about where this is going and if we we even love each other more than friends. It's almost been three years and we've never told each other we loved each other or even had sex yet. That has to mean something and I want to know what that it and if I'm wasting my time."

"Madison," Jamie couldn't find the words to say to her. He had spent all of his life knowing her and he never knew about these feelings that she had. Maybe she was right.

"I think that's what we both need. Are you okay with that?" She asked him, biting her lip.

No. I don't know. All Jamie could do was stare at her. This was going to be his first break up and it was going to be with one of his best friends. That is, if that's what they even were anymore.

Madison walked over to Jamie and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you around, Jamie."

Jamie watched as Madison walked back over to the house. It didn't take long for the other girls from the squad to find her.

"How was the party?" His mother asked him when he walked through the door. She sat on the couch and waited for him to come home, like she always did. Her hair was still long and blond.

"It was fine." Jamie mumbled. All he wanted to do was crash down on his bed and try to sleep off the misery that he was feeling.

Haley Scott stood up and walked over to her oldest child. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. "You're father and I are very proud of you. You played you're heart out and there's nothing more that we could have ever wanted for you."

Jamie nodded. His parents told him that every chance they could. It never bothered him much because he wanted his parents to be proud of the choices that he made. Since he was four, Jamie looked up to his father and wanted to be just like him. There was never a moment where Jamie thought that his father wasn't the greatest person he had ever known. His love for sports wasn't just because his father was the best in high school or because he made it to the NBA. Sports were always fun for him and he enjoyed the fact that he got to share that with his father.

"Are you sure you're okay?" His mother asked him. "You don't seem like you just won against the team that stood in the way for your undefeated title." His mother gave him a knowing look.

Jamie shook his head. "I'm just tired, that's all. I was just going to go to bed, if that's okay."

Haley nodded as she let him go. "All right. Don't forget to say good night to your sister. Lydia's been wiating for you ever since we got home." She said with a laugh.

"Yeah," Jamie told her as he walked towards the stairs.

His mother was truly an amazing woman and he wasn't afraid to say it.

Opening the door a crack, his eyes took in her pink walls in the darkness. A small ballerina nightlight lit up one corner of her room. Jamie quitely walked into his sister's room. He sat on her bed, hoping not to startle her.

Lydia's light colored hair sprawled over her pillow. She was wearing her favorite ruffled princess pajamas. Slowly, her eyelashes fluttered against her skin. Her blue eyes opened and she scanned around her room. A toothy smile spread on her face when she relazied that her brother was home.

"Jamie!" She quickly sat up and crawled over to hug him.

"Hey, Squirt." Jamie joked as he picked her up to have her sit on his lap. "Did you miss me today?"

Lydia nodded her head rapidly. "Mommy and Daddy told me that you won! You made the shot to win!" She was always excited to hear about her brother being a hero.

Jamie let out a chuckle from his sister's enthusiasm. She was always a energetic girl and loved her older brother. "Well, I hope my biggest cheerleader will come to my games soon."

"I don't know." She shrugged.

"Why not? Davis and Jude are there and always asking where you are." Jamie told her.

"I know. Mommy tells me that, too. I just think basketball's boring. Are you made at me?"

"I could never be mad at you, Squirt." Jamie stood up and lifted up Lydia. He plopped her down on the bed and she giggled. Jamie finished tucking her in by pulling her blanket over her. "My hobbies don't have to be your hobbies, okay? Do whatever you want to do that makes you happy."

Lydia nodded again. "I love you, Jamie."

"I love you, too Squirt." He kissed her forehead and walked out of her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Once in his own room, Jamie kicked off his shoes. He had another long day of school, the game, and the party. He never wanted to take it easy. All he wanted to do was get good grades and be the best player he could be for the team.

Looking over to his alarm clock, he reached over to grab his cell phone off the end table. He dialed the number of the person who he could always count on.

"Hello?" The voice asked, confused.

"Very funny, you dork." Jamie chuckled quietly.

"I try. How was your game? I'm sorry I had to miss it."

"We won. I scored the winning basket, of course." He said with a playful smile on his face. His smile grew when he heard her laugh.

"Of course you did. You were always a fireball on the basketball court. Now, why are you calling me so late?" She asked him with a yawn.

"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. "I just got back from a party at Aaron's." He shifted on his bed to get more comfortable. Jamie could talk to her for hours.

"I be that was a blast. He always knows how to throw a good party, not that I would ever be invited to one."

Jamie shrugged. "You never know. Aaron knows that you're one of my best friends and maybe you will if you show up to one of our games, then he would."

"And have Queen Madison get upset because I'm hanging around with you for the entire night? I don't think so. She already thinks that something is going on between us." She explained to him with a scoff.

When it came to Madison, she didn't want any other girl to be around Jamie. It wasn't that she was a possessive girl. She just didn't want to lose Jamie after knowing him for so long. Jamie knew how easily she would get jealous and he always reminded her that she had nothing to worry about. Everything would go back to being normal between them until, another new insecurity set Madison off.

During junior high, a new girl named, Emma Marshall moved to Tree Hill. She had light brunette hair and dark blue eyes. Her parents moved to North Carolina from Cleveland, Ohio. The first few weeks, she didn't have an easy time fitting in and Jamie couldn't blame her. She barely talked to anyone and when she did, it was quiet. He was pretty much forced to get to know her when they were assigned to be lab partners in science class. At first, it was awkward because Jamie was hoping to be Madison's partner for the year or Chuck's, who was his best friend. Emma was actually a really nice girl and opened up easily to Jamie. Madison wasn't too fond of them always spending time together but, she accepted it for Jamie.

"Yeah," Jamie said softly.

"Uh-oh, something happened with Madison, didn't it?" Emma asked him.

She knew him without even having to see his face. Emma had a knack for understanding human nature. She had high hopes for going to college to study communications and humanity. Jamie often made jokes about it her because he didn't think that she had to go to school for that.

"We just got in a fight and she broke up with me. I mean, I'm not too surprised. We've been friends forever and thought that we should give dating a try. I guess it was bound to fade after knowing her forever. Then again, I don't feel like I do anymore." Jamie explained to her as he let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry about that, Jamie. I really am. Even though, I can't remember a time when Madison was the girl you said she was."

"You didn't know her when we were growing up." Jamie still found himself defending who Madison used to be and probably always would. Just because she was different, doesn't mean that Jamie wouldn't always care about her.

"Maybe she'll get over it and call you tomorrow. You'll be a couple again before you know it." She told him with hope.

"I don't know, Em. She was really upset this time." he didn't blame her because he was becoming something different. As much as he tried to fight it, he just couldn't help but want to be that guy, the one his father used to be and the one Jamie promised he never would be for his parents.

Another yawn escaped from Emma's lungs. "Listen, I'm really tired and I have to wake up early tomorrow. My parents are taking me for some college visits. I'll call you when I have some room to breathe, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Jamie told her disappointedly.

"Hey, this isn't the end of the world, you know." She told him. "You're James Lucas Scott and I haven't seen him fail at anything."

He smiled. "Thanks, Em. I'll let you catch a few hours of sleep." He hung up and rubbed his hand over his face.

If only people knew that it wasn't as easy as it looked being James Lucas Scott.

AN: This story was inspired by the series finale, which I loved. All the scens with the characters from the first seasons and moments from early on were amazing. I also loved when they all sang the theme song together. In the last scene, I was hoping to get to see jamie's face but, I was still happy about how it all came together.

I don't have a set length for this yet. Jamie is a junior and is 16. Lydia will be around 6. I hope you enjoy this story and Painting Flowers will be updated soon.

Please Review!