uPart 6/u
bMemphis, Tennessee - Two days later/b
"Scott, front and centre," Whitey yelled, making Lucas Scott flinch, then sigh. He folded down the corner of the page he had been reading and threw his book into his gym bag. He slid off the bleacher and went to join the coach near the basket under which he was standing.
"Sorry, Coach," he muttered. He rolled his eyes at his friend, Jake Jagielski, who threw a basketball straight at his chest, grinning.
"Far be it from me to interrupt your quiet time, son," Whitey replied, "But we're here to practice."
"Like we need the captain of West Roswell to see you with your nose stuck in a book. You're already a woos, Scott. You can keep the evidence at home." This came from Tim Smith, the team-mate Lucas liked least. It was typical that he was also Lucas's brother's best friend. He and Nathan never did agree about anything.
"Why? Is he here?" Lucas replied, not really caring, but humoring Tim, because he seemed to want him to ask.
"Over on the bleachers," Jake told Lucas, nodding towards the far side of the gym. Lucas followed his gaze and noticed a brown-haired guy in a blue and gold jacket lounging on a bottom bleacher. The guy's eyes were not directed at the Tree Hill Ravens basketball team, however. He, instead, seemed to be watching their cheerleaders, who were practicing down at that end. "That's Kyle Valenti. He's only a sophomore, but he made varsity as a freshman, and he's captain this year. League MVP and all that." Jake caught the ball Lucas threw at him, and did a neat lay-up before continuing. "He's a nice guy. We sat together at the awards banquet last year."
"Okay," Lucas shrugged. He looked at Tim, who passed to him, so that he could do a lay-up. "I don't think he's watching me," he told his team-mate.
"Yeah, why would he, when he can stare at your girlfriend," Tim shot back. "You better watch out, Scott. Brooke and Valenti had a little fling last winter."
Lucas stopped dead and stared after Tim, then turned to Jake, who stood beside him. "It wasn't serious, Luke. Just ignore him," Jake said. "Valenti's a good guy. Tim's just trying to start something."
"Don't worry, Jagielski. I don't think it's Brooke Lucas would care about anyway."
Lucas looked over at his half-brother Nathan in surprise. He came up behind Lucas, not gently nudged him aside, and started to shoot baskets.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lucas demanded.
Nathan turned to stare at Lucas, his dark eyes unreadable, as he dribbled the ball. But, then, Lucas rarely, if ever, understood his brother. For example, he still wasn't quite sure why Nathan was back on the team. He had quit a couple of months ago, after an incident with amphetamines, which he had taken because their father's expectations for his performance had become so stressful. But, suddenly, here he was, back. How that turn of events had come about, Lucas had no idea.
Of course, the reason he had no idea was because he had other things on his mind. Namely that which Nathan was implying. The fact that his girlfriend's name was Brooke, but that he was actually in love with said girlfriend's best friend, Peyton, who was also a cheerleader, and who was also at the far end of the gym. How Nathan knew this though, Lucas didn't want to ask. He couldn't have heard about it from Haley, Lucas's best friend, who was also Nathan's girlfriend. Even Haley didn't know how far things had gone. That Lucas and Peyton had admitted their feelings for each other the week before, and that now they were both just trying to figure out how exactly to break the news to Brooke.
Life had never been this complicated before he'd joined the basketball team and entered his younger half-brother's world.
Nathan shrugged now, and simply said, "It means what it means." He then threw a pass to Tim across the floor, and went to join his friend. Lucas watched him go, frowning.
"Since when is he Mr. Subtlety?" Jake asked. "That was a very Machiavellian comment. One I can't begin to understand. What happened to the good old days when he used to just physically attack you in class?"
Lucas sighed. "That was the other way around, Jake. I attacked him."
"Oh, right," Jake replied, chuckling. "Well, you Scotts never fail to entertain." He sobered. "But seriously, what's going on, Luke? You know you can talk to me, right?"
"Yeah," Lucas told him. "Thanks. But it's not something I can really share. It's still being worked out."
"Okay. But I guess I can safely say that if Miss Brooke Idoes/I hook up with Kyle Valenti again this weekend, you won't exactly be crying yourself to sleep at night?"
"Safe to say," Lucas replied, embarrassed. He hated feeling like such a jerk. But that was exactly how he felt. He liked Brooke. He liked her a lot. She was fun and it was easy to be with her. And he knew that she liked him, too. In fact, he knew that she might even love him.
But she wasn't Peyton. Peyton, to whom he had felt connected for months, long before he and Brooke had ever even spoken. Peyton, complicated Peyton, who did her best to keep everyone at arm's length, but who had let him in anyway.
And now, here he was, away, with both girls present. He and Peyton had already agreed that telling Brooke this weekend, when she was already stressed by the cheerleading competition that was being run in conjunction with the basketball tournament, would be unfair. So he was going to have to keep pretending. Which he hated for two reasons, the first being that he didn't like lying, and the second being that he was going to have to somehow figure out a way to keep his hands off of Peyton. Because, after what had happened a week ago, he knew it wasn't going to be easy.
He had kissed Peyton once before, in the fall, right after she broke up with Nathan. But she hadn't been ready for a relationship then, and he had been so hurt that he had ended up falling into a flirtation with Brooke, who was definitely interested. He had been unprepared for how quickly things would progress with Brooke. She was majorly into him, she was beautiful, and she was willing to offer him things that Peyton wasn't. So, before he knew it, Brooke was his girlfriend.
But he had never forgotten about Peyton, and had never really stopped longing for her. How could he, when he spent about as much time with her as he did with Brooke, because the two girls were inseparable? And, because he spent so much time with her, he couldn't stop remembering why he had fallen for her in the first place. Because, although Brooke was fun, he couldn't talk to her like he could talk to Peyton. She didn't understand the books he read or the music he listened to - or maybe she could, but she didn't want to.
For a while he had thought that was okay - that after how Peyton had hurt him in the fall, he wanted something uncomplicated.
Everything had changed the week before when Peyton's father, who worked on an oil rig, had gone missing in a hurricane. Brooke had sent Lucas off to support Peyton while she went to look for him, and while they were gone...Well, things had happened. They hadn't meant for them to happen. But they had both been so relieved when Mr. Sawyer turned up alive, before they knew it, they were hugging, and then kissing, and they were alone in a motel room...
It hadn't gone as far as it could have, but only because the necklace Brooke had given Lucas entangled itself in Peyton's hair, reminding them both that there was someone else to consider besides themselves. That, while they could no longer deny that they wanted to be together, they couldn't do anything about it until Brooke was told.
And, so, now, here they were, away together, and Lucas had to pretend that everything was fine between him and Brooke. That he didn't want to touch and kiss Peyton every time he saw her. That he didn't want to wrap himself up in the fact of her, in the joy of loving someone who understood him so completely.
It was pure hell.
But, at least he had thought it was his own private hell. Nathan's comments seemed to indicate otherwise. Lucas followed his brother around the gym with his eyes, a knot forming in his gut.
Although his relationship with Nathan had improved in recent months, mainly through Haley's intercession, it didn't mean that he wasn't still aware of his brother's resentment towards him for joining the team. This had forced Nathan to acknowledge Lucas' existence, something he had been able to ignore their entire lives, because their father did.
Lucas was honest enough to admit that their troubled relationship wasn't entirely Nathan's fault. Luke had his own stored up anger at their father, which was easy to take out on Nathan, the golden child. He tried to convince himself that his disgust at Dan Scott was all on his mother's behalf. That it was the fact that Dan had abandoned her, pregnant at eighteen, which made Lucas hate him. He still mostly felt that he wanted nothing to do with Dan. He felt this even more having seen how screwed up Nathan was Ithanks/I to Dan. And, yet, it still galled him to watch Dan's obsession with Nathan. Because why was Nathan so special? What was wrong with Lucas that Dan didn't want to claim him as his own? Why had Dan chosen Nathan's mother, and not Lucas' mom?
Watching Nathan now, Lucas was just glad that Dan had been unable to chaperone the tournament. Because his father's toxic presence was the last thing he needed on top of everything else.
His gaze shifted to the far end of the gym. He could see Peyton and Brooke standing near the bleachers now, their practice having broken up. They were talking to Kyle Valenti, who was also now standing. He could tell that Brooke was flirting. She always stood a little too close to a guy when she was. He wasn't a bit jealous, mainly because of Peyton, but also because he knew it didn't mean anything when Brooke did it. It was just how she was.
He realized abruptly that it had never bothered him. That he had been able to accept that part of Brooke's character because he had just never cared enough about their relationship for it to hurt. That, more than anything, helped the guilt. Because, he knew now that, even if there was no Peyton, he shouldn't be with Brooke. She just wasn't the girl for him, either way.
Which didn't mean that things weren't going to be horrible when they broke up. And, yet, all he wanted to do right now was go over to the threesome by the bleachers and get it over with. He wanted to tell Brooke it was over and then kiss Peyton until her toes curled.
Lucas sighed again, then forced himself to concentrate on the practice. At least he had the team to distract him this weekend. He should focus on basketball. If he put his entire concentration into playing his best, maybe the weekend wouldn't feel interminable.
Because, as things now stood, Lucas knew that it was going to be a very long weekend.
Liz stared at the practice schedule on the gym door, her heart thudding in her chest. She and Max had been in Memphis for twenty-four hours now, and had cased the entire tournament. It had all been so easy, from the flight to Memphis, paid for out of her Crashdown money, to finding a motel close to the high school at which the tournament was being held. In fact, they had showed up this morning to find an entire information booth set up for fans of the teams participating. All the knowledge she needed to find her brothers had been right at her fingertips.
It had been so easy, Liz just knew that she was doing the right thing, although she suspected that Max still had his doubts. But, he was here. It was enough. They had spent the previous night in their cheap motel room, discussing exactly how they were going to approach this, and then, had fallen asleep in each other's arms. It had been fun, and, more importantly, it had bonded them even more closely to each other, so that Liz now knew that, even if things went badly, she had Max to depend on to get her through it.
So now the goal was to stay out of Sheriff Valenti's way, and still manage to get to know the Scott brothers without springing on them right away with Liz's relationship to them. Max had made Liz promise that they would both meet and judge them before Liz told them anything. Liz knew that Max was worried that she was somehow going to end up hurt, but she knew she wasn't. This was the good part of all of this.
The bad part - her mother's deception and the fact that her dad wasn't really her father - well, she wasn't quite ready to deal with any of that yet. She didn't even want to think about any of that.
So, now they were at the gym. They knew that the West Roswell Comets were arriving within the hour to start their practice, likely with Sheriff Valenti present, so they needed to be out of here before then. But, right now, behind the very doors in front of her, the Tree Hill Ravens were running through their paces in preparation for the tournament, which would get underway tomorrow.
"Well?" Liz asked Max, who was standing next to her. He was tall enough to see through the window in the gym door, while she was not.
"They're in there," Max confirmed. "At least I think it's their team. They're wearing the colours you said they would..." Max trailed off and then said, "Oh crap."
"What?" Liz demanded, standing on her tip-toes and trying to see through the window. Sometimes she really hated being short! Clearly this was another thing to blame on her mother, because if both her brothers were basketball stars, the likelihood that Dan Scott's genes had resulted in her height seemed slim.
"Kyle's in there too," Max replied. He shook his head, glancing down at her ruefully. "He's talking to their cheerleaders."
Liz rolled her eyes. "Typical." Kyle had been a good boyfriend when they dated, but Liz had been forced to accept early on that Kyle liked to flirt with other girls. It hadn't meant a thing to him, but he couldn't stop himself either. To him, it was as natural as breathing.
"Jealous?" Max teased, grinning to show that he knew she wasn't.
"Please," Liz shot back. She glowered at him jokingly. "Might I ask why you're looking at the cheerleaders anyway? You should be looking at the basketball team."
Max just continued to grin, shrugged, then turned back to the window. "He's leaving through another door."
"I think he needs to know we're here anyway," Liz told Max. "There are going to be parties and things. Kyle told me all about this stuff last year. We need to get him to invite us."
"Won't the sheriff be there?" Max asked worriedly.
Liz looked at him, then stood on her toes again and pressed a kiss to his lips.
He blinked, but smiled. "What was that for?"
"You are such a goody-goody," she replied. "Of course he won't be there. The point of throwing a party at these things is to avoid the chaperones." She shook her head. "And to think Valenti thinks Iyou're/I dangerous."
Max narrowed his eyes at her, and said, "I think I should be insulted. I did go to an illegal party at a soap factory once upon a time, you know."
"Because I invited you," Liz reminded him.
"But I went," Max argued.
Liz patted his shoulder comfortingly. "I know you did." She giggled, then squeezed his arm. "What's going on in there?" She nodded towards the doors.
"Nothing. The cheerleaders are getting their stuff together. The players are still..."
He was interrupted by a voice behind them. "What are you two doing here?"
Liz started, then turned around in dismay. She stared at the owner of the voice in horror, once her worst suspicions were confirmed.
She should have seen this coming. How could she not have seen this coming? As soon as Max had mentioned cheerleaders...
"Hi, Max," Pam Troy said, her voice sickeningly syrupy. "Aren't you sweet to come all this way to see our squad compete."
Max had backed up a step at the sight of Pam. Liz was aware that girls like Pam made him uncomfortable. He just wasn't quite sure what to do in the face of the fact that they regularly threw themselves at him. Mostly he ignored them, but when confronted, he often behaved like a trapped animal.
It would have to be Pam, Liz thought in disgust. She hated Pam Troy, for being everything that Liz found horrible in other women. She only cared about guys, and popularity, and making others feel bad about themselves. Both Liz and Maria had been her target on more than one occasion, and although Liz didn't really care what Pam thought of her, she hated that the other girl could make her feel excluded, if even for a few minutes. She had done it numerous times since kindergarten, and it drove Liz crazy that other girls were so easily led astray by Pam. Pam's bullying of Liz had been at its worst in the early months of their freshman year, before Liz had hooked up with Kyle. After that, Pam had left her mostly alone. But that didn't mean that Liz didn't remember how awful Pam was, or that she didn't notice when Pam targeted other girls, which resulted in Liz hating her more.
And, now, here she was, in all her horrific glory, to compete in a cheerleading competition. The last thing Liz needed this weekend was to have to deal with Pam Troy.
"We're here to see Kyle," Liz snapped, unable to control herself.
Pam eyed her for a moment, then looked at Max. "Well, isn't that interesting?" she replied finally, her eyes gleaming. It was clear that Pam wanted the scoop about why Liz would bring her present boyfriend with her to cheer on her ex.
Which made it increasingly clear to Liz that it was a pretty ludicrous excuse for she and Max to be at the tournament.
"We just happened to be in town this weekend," Max inserted smoothly, while Liz glared at Pam, at a loss for words. Max, however, seemed to have regained his composure. "We're looking at schools. We couldn't not come and say hi since you were all here."
"What a coincidence," Pam said, although she didn't sound convinced.
She was unable to comment further though, because at that moment the doors to the gym were pushed open and a group of cheerleaders in blue and white sweats streamed through. Max and Liz both took a step back, away from Pam, which resulted in the Tree Hill girls blocking their view of Liz's nemesis. The space left was narrow , which resulted in one of the cheerleaders brushing hard against Liz.
Liz was hit so instantly by a flash, she stumbled slightly. The girl reached out to steady Liz, but Liz flinched away from her, and into Max's arms. She did it instinctively, although she was focused on trying to understand what she was seeing.
In the flash, the girl in front of her was covered in blood. One minute she was innocently reaching for Liz, the next her face was dripping with the red liquid. And, in that split second, for just one instant, a vision of a boy, looking equally as banged up was standing beside her.
He looked more than banged up, Liz realized. He looked dead.
Liz recognized him. It was Lucas Scott. Her brother. Something was going to happen to this girl and her brother. Soon.
"Are you okay?" the pretty girl asked, concerned. Pam was staring at Liz too, looking more disgusted then worried.
"Yes, sorry," Liz replied, shaking her head. She blinked and stared at the dark-haired girl. "I was just thrown off balance there for a minute."
"Well, I'm really sorry. We came out of that gym like bats out of hell," the girl giggled. "But there are only a couple of showers in the change room, and we have to be ready to go out for dinner in half an hour."
"No problem," Liz replied again.
"Hello, Brooke," Pam said abruptly, causing the dark-haired girl to turn her head and take in Pam's presence for the first time. Her expression froze.
"Oh, Pam. I didn't see you there." She didn't sound pleased to see Pam now that she did. It made Liz instantly like her.
Pam didn't reply, just put her nose in the air, as though waiting for Brooke to move on. When it became clear that she wasn't going to, Pam looked at Max and said, "I'll see you later, gorgeous."
Max said nothing to Pam. Liz felt him flinch slightly behind her though, and heard him mutter under his breath, "Oh, joy," as Pam flounced off.
Brooke watched her go, then turned back to Max and Liz, trying to mask the disdain on her face.
"So, you know Pam?" Liz asked.
"From last year. Is she a friend of yours?" Brooke asked evenly, as though no longer willing to be as friendly if she was.
"Not really," Liz replied quickly. "We just go to the same school. Max and I were in town this weekend and we knew our team was playing, so we came to check it out." She paused, bit her lip for a moment, wondering if she should risk it, then stuck out her hand. She breathed a small sigh of relief when no flash overtook her. "I'm Liz by the way." She indicated her boyfriend. "And this is Max."
"Brooke Davis," the other girl replied, exchanging a smile with Max. "So you're from Roswell? I guess you know Kyle Valenti, then?"
Liz smiled, although she was still thinking about the flash. What had it meant? Was it the future? Should she tell Brooke to be careful? She couldn't though. It would be too weird. "Of course," she said, knowing that she sounded troubled. "He's a good friend of mine."
"He's a great guy. I just invited him to the party Nathan...Sorry, he's my boyfriend's brother... is throwing in his hotel room tonight. You guys should come. Kyle's going to bring a lot of the team."
Just then the door to girl's change room across the hall opened and a girl with curly hair, which was in the most unusual shade of blonde that Liz had ever seen, poked her head out. "Brooke, Tanis is saving us showers, but you need to come now. Lucy's lurking."
"Thanks!" Brooke said to the other girl, then turned back to Liz. "We're at the Holiday Inn near here. Hopefully we'll see you! It was nice to meet you."
With that, Brooke disappeared through the door across the hall. Liz stared after her, feeling anxious.
She turned to Max. "Did you hear that? Nathan! Her boyfriend's brother. She's going out with Lucas." She dropped her voice and whispered. "IMy/I brother."
"I guess she is," Max replied, shrugging slightly. He seemed distracted. "Liz, what was that?" he demanded. "You had a flash, didn't you? I felt something happening to you."
Liz stared at him. "You did? You felt it?" Her heart sped up again at the thought of what she had seen in the flash. Brooke was in danger. And so was Brooke's boyfriend - Liz's brother.
"Sort of," Max acknowledged. "You fell back into me. It was kind of like an electric shock."
"I did have one," Liz admitted. She told him quickly what she had seen. "Max, we need to keep an eye on her. Full time. Because, if we don't stop it, I think something terrible is going to happen."
Liz had no idea what the flash meant, but she knew that if she didn't figure it out soon, it was possible that she might never get a chance to know her brother. He was in danger. She had to make sure that whatever it was that was going to happen to hurt him and Brooke, she and Max stopped it.