A/N: For the lovely readers asking, Brooke and Lucas will not be together in any of my stories. You will definitely see more of her interacting with Ava and the two will become pretty close in the long run. These stories are primarily centered around Ava and her family.
Also, very, very angsty chapter coming up. Emotions will run wild, as they do when you're trapped in a library.
Chapter Four:
"Are you ready for the big game?" Ava met Q in the quad that sunshiny day. "It's the first game of the season."
"I'm pumped." He kissed her before taking her books from her. "You look hot."
"Well, thanks. I do try."
Since it was game day, all the cheerleaders were wearing their uniforms to school and Ava was no exception.
She loved dressing up for game day. She would pulled her hair into a half up half down style, sticking a blue and white bow in it, and wore blue eye shadow.
Be true to your school, right?
"How's the hand today?"
"A little better." Q shrugged. "The doctor said it was a sprain, so it's gonna take a little while to heal."
"Don't overwork yourself."
"Me? Overwork myself? Pshaw."
"I've gotta get to class." Ava playfully rolled her eyes. "I'll see you in third?"
"I'll be there."
"Great!" Ava politely took her books back and skipped away.
"Ava!"
"Yeah?" She stopped as soon as he called her.
"Any plans after the game?"
"Uh, no. Why?"
"I was thinking maybe we could study, you know? Read a little 'Les Mis'?"
"I'll be there." Ava winked, making his heart flutter.
"Hey, I saved you a seat." Lindsay waved Haley over to where she and Brooke were sitting on the bleachers.
This would be her very first Tree Hill High Ravens game and she was so excited. Everyone around her was so into the school spirit that she couldn't help but feel it, too.
"Thank you so much." Haley sat down with a huff. "I can't wait to get a good shot of Jamie. Ava!"
The teen heard her loud voice cut through the noise and tapped Maddie. "I'll be back in a second."
She could've just ignored her, but then Haley might have actually dragged her away just to get her picture.
The woman just couldn't help herself, but to take loads of pictures at these events.
"Alright, but don't take too long, we've gotta take our pre-game pictures." Maddie told her. "We never look as photogenic after the game."
It was true. Whenever the two teens tried to take a picture after the game, their hair was all frizzy, sweat glistened on their skin, and their faces flushed with heat.
Not very picturesque.
"I know, I'll be back." Ava laughed and jogged over to her sister-in-law. "You yelled?"
"I did, Smarty-Pants." Haley dug through her purse. "I wanted to take a picture of you and Jamie before the game started…with my camera that I don't have. It's in my classroom."
"Can we go with you?" Brooke perked up. "I'm dying to see Teacher Girl's classroom."
"Alright. Cmon."
"This better not take long." Ava crossed her arms, her pom-poms still in her hands.
She was not going to be late for the first game of the season.
"This is so weird." Brooke mused as they walked through the building. "I feel like I haven't walked these halls in twenty years."
"Yeah, you look like it, too." Ava joked, earning a shove from the girl. "Kidding!"
"Hey, is that Mia?" Lindsay looked through the glass on the library doors.
"Yeah." Haley confirmed as Lindsay opened the door and led them into the room. "Mia, what are you doing here?"
She looked like she had been speaking with someone, but there was no one around.
"Oh, hey, Peyton." Except Peyton.
"Hey, check it out. It's my old friends, Brooke and Haley, and their new pal, Lindsay."
Honestly, Ava was more than grateful that Peyton hadn't lumped her in with this madness.
It was too much drama for her liking.
"Peyton, we made plans for tonight before—"
"—Before you called me a jerk." Lindsay finished for Brooke.
"Jerk? No. No, I did not call you a jerk. I said I didn't like you."
"Peyton….."
"No, you don't have to make apologies for her, just like I'm not apologizing because I'm engaged to Lucas and she's not."
Ava knew this would happen. It was only a matter of time.
She knew Peyton had come back because she still had feelings for Lucas. She could only sit back and guess how this could go.
"You know, I really was gonna try to be nice to you, but I think that's officially over."
"Works for me."
"Great."
"I'm gonna head back."
"You know what?" Ava spoke up. "Me, too. I have a game to get to. Ya'll can waltz in however late you want to, but I cheer in this game."
She took her cheering responsibility to the team very seriously and she didn't want to gain a reputation for being flaky.
"Hey, if you get tired of dragging all that fat back to the gym, there's a water fountain down the hall!"
"Peyton!" Ava's jaw dropped. That was one too many.
"Whatever, you bulimic cow." Lindsay marched right to the door and slammed into it because it wouldn't open.
Ava couldn't help but chuckle at her expense. Part of her felt really bad for doing so, but the other part of her just really didn't like the woman. She couldn't bring herself to fully appreciate her, no matter how hard she tried.
Some people just didn't click.
"I can't leave. There's no handle."
Brooke looked around and found a flyer that explained everything. "They're fixing them over the weekend."
"So what's that mean?"
"I think it means, we're stuck."
"What tipped you off?" Ava asked her sister-in-law, sarcasm dripping through her tone.
So much for not being a flake.
"Help! Help! Somebody!" Lindsay began screaming, banging her fists on the door as Brooke followed suit.
"You look like lunatics!" Ava rolled her eyes. "No one can hear you…..except us and you're giving me a headache."
The longer she listened to the women, the more irritated she grew. The more irritated she grew, the less patience she had.
She just wanted to get to her game!
Mia heard her comment and laughed underneath her breath. Haley and Peyton had told her about Ava, but they never met.
She seemed like a pretty cool kid.
"Somebody get us out of here! Help!"
"Lindsay, nobody's gonna hear you." After a while, even Haley had enough. "They're all at the game."
"We cannot be locked in here." Lindsay stepped away from the doors. "I am totally claustrophobic."
"In a huge library?" Ava cocked a brow.
She was so irritated.
"You beat me to it." Mia told her.
"It's the 'locked in' part."
"Relax, you'll be okay." Haley helped her friend sit down.
Ava had to roll her eyes at that one. Lindsay didn't seem genuinely panicked, but she wouldn't really judge her.
"Okay, they're fixing all the other doors. No handles.' Brooke said.
"And all the phones seem to be out." Peyton chimed in after having tried to call out.
"All the calls will go through the office." Haley told her. "Nobody's answering."
"Does anybody have cell phone reception? 'Cause I got nothing."
"I don't."
"I don't even have my phone on me." Ava sighed. "I left it in Lucas' bag."
"Nobody ever gets cellphone reception in here. Except for me." Brooke said, looking at her phone screen. "Cause the world loves me! I'm gonna call Mouth. I'll have us out of here in two seconds."
Or not.
It went to voicemail.
"There's gotta be somebody else we can call to get us out of here."
"Call the police. 911." Lindsay inhaled sharply.
"Not an emergency." Ava crossed her legs, sitting on top of a table.
"Really? There's someone out there getting murdered, and we're gonna bother the police? No." Peyton shook her head. "There's somebody that we know who's not coaching or playing in this game."
"Don't ask me, I just moved here." Brooke scoffed.
"Brooke."
"I don't want to."
"Brooke."
"I don't even know his number."
"What are you talking about?" Haley asked.
"Brooke's gonna call Owen, her new bartender crush, to get us out."
"I am not. It's too soon."
"Brooke, we're gonna miss the game."
"I don't wanna call him! It violates all the rules of dating etiquette. I am gonna look desperate! He has to do us a favor and then he can make fun of me for it."
"Unreal." Ava chortled.
She was totally missing this game.
"Fine. I'll call him." Brooke dialed the number. "But if he wants nothing to do with me after this, it's your fault. All of you."
"I think I'm okay with that." Haley said.
"I know, I am." Ava set her chin in the palm of her hand, thinking about all the fun she was missing.
"What?" Peyton noticed Brooke smiling like an idiot.
"My battery just died! It's great! Isn't that great?" The brunette showed them her phone's black screen.
Now they were really locked in.
"Uh, stuck is not good." Lindsay began to 'panic' again.
"Come sit down for a second, okay?" Haley babied her, only succeeding in further irritating Ava and by the looks of it, Peyton. "Just breathe and close your eyes and try and think of a place that makes you happy and calm. You got it? Where are you?"
"Give me a break." Ava grumbled, catching a not-so-nice look from her sister that made her huff and look away.
With every passing minute, her temper was flaring.
"I'm with my dad." Lindsay closed her eyes. "We're walking near Walden Pond. It's fall…the leaves are changing."
"You're not here." Haley kept coaching. "You're there. Better?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, Mia, are you okay?" Peyton asked the teen, pretty much ignoring Lindsay.
"I'm great." She smiled. "I actually think this is kind of awesome. I can finally get to know you guys. I have questions."
"Now is not the time." Brooke groaned as if she hadn't been celebrating seconds before.
"Oh, come on. You guys totally fascinate me. Especially you, Brooke."
"Really? Well, in that case, ask away, my dear."
"Okay….. Like, you're really successful, right? Like, really cool and rich?"
"Cool is subjective." Ava joked, she'd been on Brooke's case for a few days now and it was fun.
"Hey, that's enough out of you." The designer mock-glared. "Yes, yes, and yes."
"So, why do you let that horrible stink of a mom boss you around all the time?"
"You should quit being so nosy."
"Come on, Brooke. You know she's not nice." Haley quirked an eyebrow.
"I'm not talking about my mom."
"She doesn't appreciate you." Peyton agreed.
"She's my mother, alright?"
"That doesn't make it right." Even Lindsay had to throw in her two-cents.
"Okay." Brooke threw her hands up. "It's time for the two new kids to stay out of it, and as for you three, I expect you to understand."
"I didn't say anything. That's not fair." Ava's pouted, crossing her arms at the unnecessary reprimanding.
But all Brooke did was narrow her eyes at her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Haley ignored her sister-in-law.
"You know what it means. Neither of your moms were around..…at least, not in all the time that I've been friends with you. I'm sorry for that, but what if you had a chance to have them back in your lives?"
"Brooke. I would love to have them back." Peyton sighed. "Both of them, alright? But I would hope that they'd be coming back because they love me, not because they wanted to run my label."
"Oh, the label I financed?"
"Easy. I'm with you."
"Now." Brooke clarified. "You're with me now, Peyton. But for the last four years, my mom has been with me every day, helping me create a pretty great company."
"That's not true." Haley shook her head. "I was with you when you created that pretty great company, and so was Peyton. Maybe your mom made it bigger, but you created it all by yourself. You did. You made it great before your mom even stepped into the picture."
"You guys don't know anything about it."
"Maybe not, but I do know that a mother's love is unconditional, and you don't have to earn it, you don't have to sign a fashion label to keep it. It just is."
"You don't know anything about it."
"Uh, hey." Mia walked over to where Ava was sitting on a stool by the computer and held out her hand. "I'm Mia…..I know you probably already knew that, but Haley and Peyton told me a lot about you…"
"Hi, Mia." Ava shook her hand firmly. "I'm Ava, but you probably already knew that." She teased, making the older teen's shoulders relax. "What did those two tell you anyway?"
"Uh, nothing too personal." Mia sat down when Ava slid over and made space for her to view the screen. "You used to wear two different colored shoes, which, by the way, is totally cool. Almost every instrument you pick up, you can play, you dance, and you're really funny."
"Yeah, I'm glad I grew out of that shoe thing." Ava laughed dryly. "By the way, you killed it the other night at Tric. I was on my way over to tell you, but, uh, Jason kind of beat me to the punch."
"Yeah." Mia cringed, remembering exactly what happened.
"What's his deal anyway?"
"We were in a band together, but I always had my own sound. He always wanted to be up front in the thick of things and never let the rest of us shine. But then…..Haley found me and here I am."
"Sounds like you didn't need him anyway." Ava nudged her.
She liked Mia and she was glad they were getting along so far. She seemed like a really good friend.
"You okay?" Haley asked Lindsay, who was holding a chair and looking out the window.
"I'm thinking I can break this window."
"Lindsay, somebody's gonna come get us out of here."
"I can do it."
"No." Haley knew this wasn't going to end well. "…..Okay." But she couldn't stop her.
"Check this out." Mia pointed at Lindsay lifting the chair over her head.
The unexpected weight of the chair was too heavy, and it sent her right onto her back.
Haley just temporarily looked up from the card game she had been playing to see that she was alright.
"Geez, that chair is really heavy." Lindsay popped back up like a jack-in-the-box and fixed her messy hair.
"Library chairs tend to be heavier than most." Ava said offhandedly, clicking the computer's mouse to keep up with the game going on.
"This is terrible." Lindsay groaned. "It's Lucas' first game, we're stuck in this stupid library. I wish we knew the score."
"Ravens down by eight." Mia stared at the screen. "Wait, Ava, refresh."
"Ravens down by ten." Ava rolled her eyes. "Q's hand must be killing him. I should be out there."
"Are you online?" Haley stood up, abandoning her game.
"Yeah."
"Brooke! Peyton! C'mere, we've got internet." Haley called her two best friends.
"Hey, you guys wanna see me at Tric?" Mia asked.
"We saw you in person." Ava chuckled. "But what we can do is read the wonderful comments."
"Good idea."
"Okay, there's gotta be a way we can use this to get out." Haley was trying to stay focused despite the two younger ones getting distracted.
"Or at least order a pizza. I'm starving."
"Yeah. Me, too." Ava agreed, exiting one tab to find a nearby pizza place that was open for delivery at that hour.
"No, that's it." Peyton snapped her fingers.
"Do we really need to be thinking about food right now?" Brooke gave her a look.
"That's okay, Brooke." Ava added some onion toppings. "You don't have to eat."
"No. We order pizza online." Peyton explained. "We have it delivered here so we can get out! Okay, Blackwell's pizzeria is open….."
"Peyton, while you guys were standing up there talking, Mia and I already figured all that out." Ava deadpanned. "I guess your mind does slow down when you get old."
"I'm twenty-two!" The blonde's jaw dropped.
"Like I said, old." Ava shrugged. "See what I mean?"
"I see what you mean."
"Havana, I'm gonna smack you." Peyton cocked a brow.
"Sorry." Ava sent her an apologetic, yet nervous smile, hoping she'd be quick to forgive.
"Mmhmm."
"So, what are we getting?" Brooke asked, amused by their little exchange. Especially when Ava moved to Mia's opposite side, keeping a safe distance between her and Peyton.
"What?"
"What kind of pizza?"
"I don't know, mushroom and sausage?"
"Gross." Ava scrunched her nose.
"No mushroom, please."
"Brooke."
"I'm totally with Brooke. Canadian bacon?" Mia suggested.
"Canadian bacon. Extra cheese."
"That sounds good." Ava nodded.
"Guys, seriously." Haley's eyes rolled in annoyance.
"Ya'll are getting too crazy for my liking." Ava let Peyton take over and practically stomped over to Haley, hoping the girl would provide her with some comfort. "I'm the one missing my cheer routine and you're the ones who are crazy. Logic."
"I know, I'm sorry, honey." Haley rubbed her back. "I know how excited you were for this game."
It was all Ava had been talking about for the entire week. She was so pumped to put back on that cheerleading uniform and hang out with her friends during the game. Being locked in the library was a curve ball that was unappreciated.
"First game of the season. I never miss it." Ava crossed her arms, leaning her head on Haley's shoulder.
"You'll be there next game, I promise." Haley winked. "We won't lock you in a library next time."
"Can I get that in writing?"
"Can we just order the pizza?!" Lindsay snapped, attitude lacing her voice.
"Uh, who are you talking to?" Ava picked her head up, but Haley pushed it back down and covered her mouth.
She was quick with her mouth, everybody knew that. If Haley didn't stop her, who knows what she would've said in retaliation.
"She's yelling at me." Peyton clarified. "Do not yell at me."
"I'll yell at you if I want." Lindsay scowled. "Just order it! Sausage, Canadian bacon, mushroom! I want to get out of here!"
"We all want to get out of here, okay? Don't yell at me!"
"Calm down!" Haley cut their argument short, uncovering Ava's mouth.
"…..Just no mushroom." Brooke hesitated to say.
The tension was thick, but she really didn't like mushrooms.
"There. It's ordered!' Peyton clicked a button. "Are we all happy now?!"
"What'd we get?"
"No mushroom, Brooke, okay? No 'mush', no 'room', no mushroom!"
"Relax, okay? The pizza guy's gonna come, he's gonna let us out, and maybe we'll make the end of the game. So in the meantime, everybody calm down!" Haley was clearly at the end of her own tether and sat back down to resume her card game.
"You did a great job with my record, Haley." Mis spoke after a period of silence.
"Thank you." That came out more aggressively than Haley had wanted it to. "Where did that come from?"
"I don't know." Mia's shoulders rose and fell. "I jus think we tear each other down enough, you know? And sometimes you should tell people the things that you love about them, like something they're really good at or a quality they have that you admire, and you did a really good job."
"Courage." Peyton joined the game. "Haley's courageous."
"And strong." Brooke added.
"And kind."
"What about you, Ava?"
"Don't wanna play." Ava's bottom lip jut out to show everyone just how she was handling her dissapointment.
"C'mon, Honey." Brooke smiled. "You know that's not true."
"Uh, I like the little things she does that she doesn't think anyone notices." The fourteen year old tried to remain upset, but it was proving to be a challenge. "Like, when I'm having a rough day and she sits down next to me. She doesn't say anything, but I know what she's there for. I like that she's always there."
"And I always will be." Haley assured her.
"That was sweet. You guys are so cute." Brooke gushed.
"See? Don't you feel like you're pretty awesome now?" Mia grinned.
"Yeah, I kinda do."
"Okay, do me! What's great about me?"
"Your voice is an amazing gift."
"The fact that you came up with this game." Lindsay gave her credit.
"You're laid back and easy to talk to." Ava said.
"Your boobs." Peyton blurted with zero shame.
"And your lips." Brooke added. "I would kill for lips like that. And you've got good legs. It's like a whole—"
"—Okay." Mia cut her off. "Before this turns into a women-in-prison film, I think we should move on." She laughed. "Brooke, I think your clothing line is amazing."
"You're a really good friend." Haley told her.
"I like your personality." Ava smiled. "Always have."
"You're my best friend."
"You're a strong woman."
"You guys!" Brooke pretended to wipe away tears.
This game was a great idea. It was just what they needed to get them to stop fighting with each other.
"Let's do Ava next." Mia announced. "You're really funny and I don't even think you try to be."
"You're gorgeous." Brooke winked. "You were this adorable little kid when we met and now you're this beautiful teenager."
"Thank you." Ava covered her face with her hands for a second to compose herself from the compliments.
"I love how you are with your brothers." Lindsay added, making everyone nod in agreement. "You guys have such a special bond I've never experienced before, because I'm an only child. We got off to a little rough start because you love Lucas so much, you didn't want to see him get hurt. It makes me a little jealous. I wish I had someone like that in my life."
"Ugh, same here." Mia groaned. "I've always wanted a brother."
"Please, take mine?" Ava clasped her hands together. "Because I have no idea what she's talking about. We can't stand each other."
"Ava." Haley laughed along with the other girls. "Did you forget what happened when we all went up to college?"
"No." She pretended to be oblivious.
"What happened?" Mia was curious now.
"Well, when we left, she acted all cool like she was unaffected by her brother leaving home, but a few weeks later, we got a call. Ava had been sleeping in Lucas' bed, wearing one of Nathan's sweaters, every single night."
"Aww, that's so cute!" Mia placed a hand over her heart.
"It's not cute, because it never happened."
But it did. Ava thought that she'd be able to handle her brothers going off to college in a different state, but when that first night without them came, she began to miss them like crazy. The only solution to her problem that she could think of, was throwing on one of Nathan's hoodies, which he conveniently forgot to pack, and crawled into Lucas' bed.
One night, Karen found her in there, hugging her stuffed animal as she slept, and couldn't help but snap a picture before calling and telling the boys about it.
Needless to say, the next time Ava had a long weekend from school, Lucas drove back home, picked her up, and drove her all the way back to the apartment that he, Nathan, and Haley were sharing.
He never openly admitted it, but he had a hard time being away from her, too.
"You love those boys."
"Alright, fine." Ava huffed. "They're okay."
"I love how you're so unapologetically yourself." Peyton told her. "You're personality shines through no matter what's going on around you. Don't lose that."
"I love your heart." Haley smiled. "You give whoever you love, every bit of yourself without expecting much in return. You love with everything in you. It's special. You're like Karen that way."
Ava beamed at being compared to her mother.
She was a total 'Mama's Girl'.
"Karen?" Mia furrowed her eyebrows.
"My mother." Ava clarified, looking at Lindsay. "Your eyes are so pretty, I can almost always tell what kind of mood you're in just by looking at them."
"Yeah, your eyes are, like, not even fair." Mia backed her up.
"You're also one of the smartest people I know." Haley said.
"I am not."
"And you're classy."
"You guys….."
"Peyton, isn't there something nice you'd like to say about Lindsay?"
Peyton paused for a minute before opening up her mouth. "She's got decent taste in men." She took a swig of some whiskey she had found stashed somewhere in the library. "This game sucks." She said, turning to walk away.
Ava had no idea that there was even alcohol on campus, but she could really use a sip...or two.
But if Haley, Brooke or Peyton caught her, she was dead meat.
Besides, she didn't need it. She wasn't going to become dependent on it.
"I'm intimidated by Peyton." Lindsay stopped her. "I spent a year editing a book that was basically a love letter to her. I watched how careful and meticulous Lucas was with the words he chose for her, like he was still holding onto her. Sometimes, I think he still is."
Oh, he definitely still was. It was obvious.
"Which is why he proposed to you, right?" Peyton rolled her eyes. "I hate this library."
"Lucas told me what you said to him about me." Lindsay opened up a conversation with Ava as she and Haley stood by the computer. "I know I'm not your favorite person, but thank you."
"You're welcome…...what did I say?"
"He told me about your conversation in his office."
"Oh!" That managed to jog her memory. "It was no big deal."
Geez, was nothing confidential anymore? It wasn't exactly like the conversation was a secret, but she didn't think he'd say anything about it to Lindsay.
"It was to me." Lindsay told her. "I know we have our differences, but that really meant a lot."
"Look, it's not that I don't like you." Ava refused to look Lindsay in the eye. "I do. I want to. I've just had a lot of trouble letting people all the way in…..it's hard. It's just hard."
Honestly, Ava was confused. One minute she thought she hated Lindsay and the next, she thought she was a really nice person.
Maybe Lindsay wasn't the problem. Maybe she was just subconsciously using the woman as her own personal scapegoat.
"I know." Lindsay nodded. Ava's attitude towards her was beginning to make sense. Why hadn't this occurred to her before? "And I understand. It's hard to give people a chance when you've been hurt."
"Yeah….."
"I found it!" Mia grinned, bouncing back over to them with a book in her hands, cutting the conversation short.
"A way out?" Haley asked.
"No. Lucas' book. I never read it."
"You were a horrible little kid!" Mia guffawed, skimming through the pages Lucas' book, lazily resting on an upholstered chair.
"What'd I do?" Ava leaned over. "Oh." She snorted. "He totally had that coming."
"Which time was that?" Haley asked.
"Ava put kool-aid in Luca's conditioner, dying his hair bright red. I don't believe it."
That was one of many pranks Ava had pulled off, but it hadn't exactly ended well. When she planned to dye Lucas' hair, she didn't account for the fact that he'd be angry with her for it.
She had to hide away at the cafe, attached to their mother's apron until he calmed down enough to talk it out.
In hindsight, she was lucky it washed right out.
"Believe it." Haley popped a cashew into her mouth. "She's not as innocent as she looks. She's spent years torturing her brothers and she's got it down to a science."
"I resent that."
"Don't think I didn't notice you messing with them at Tric."
"You know about that?"
"Ava, I wasn't born yesterday, honey."
"Fair point."
Haley knew she was right and tossed a cashew into Lindsay's mouth.
"One more." The blonde urged, catching the next one. "Score me! Score me, Haley."
"Ravens are down by nine." Haley informed her. "Halftime."
"I'm missing halftime?" Ava glowered and stomped her foot. "We had all new choreo and everything!"
"Why don't you do the routine for us now, then?" Haley suggested.
"It's not the same."
"Wait, hold on." Mia held up a hand. "Are you telling me Lucas was with Peyton, Brooke, and you, Lindsay?"
"Yeah…..not all at the same time."
"Geez, Haley, you sure you never got in on that?"
"Gross." Ava curled her lip in disgust. "Perish the thought."
"Ew, he's like my brother."
"I'm just saying. Jamie looks a lot like him."
"I thought the exact same thing the day he was born." Ava agreed.
"Ah, they're like twins." Lindsay nodded.
"They are not!"
"Yes, they are." Brooke said as she walked over to them. "And what inbred moron is taking so long with our pizza?"
"It shouldn't be too long now." Haley assured her.
"So, you, Jamie, and Lily were all born on the same day?" Mia asked, still flipping through the book.
"They were born on my tenth birthday." Ava confirmed.
"We have it all on film." Haley told her. "Stop by the house one day and I'll show it to you."
"Nice."
"Whoa! 4,000 hits for my video at Tric!" Mia stared at the computer. "Listen to these comments; 'You rock', 'Where can I buy this?"
"That's really great, Mia."
"This song is awesome'. 'I'd love to see this chick…naked'. Ew."
"It's just one comment."
"No, wait, there's more." Mia scrolled. "Another pop princess who can't sing or play', 'She looks like she smells like dirty feet?'. What's wrong with people?"
"You need to stop." Haley vocalized. "Do you know what people use the internet for?"
"Filth and complaining." Lindsay took a drink from the bottle of alcohol Peyton had found.
"Yep."
"But that's so not fair. That have to know there's somebody reading this."
"It's the easiest thing in the world to tear down somebody's work. The hard part is actually creating it. It's criticism versus creation."
"Tale as old as time." Ava mused as Haley took a guitar off the top of a shelf.
"Do you love making music?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." Haley made sure instrument was tuned before handing it off to Mia. "So, the rest doesn't matter."
"Easy for you to say. They didn't say you smell like feet."
"Sticks and stones, Mia." Lindsay advised.
"Right." Peyton made her way over with Brooke, chomping at the bit to have another crack at Lindsay. "This coming from the girl that couldn't handle it when I said I didn't like her."
"Peyton….." Ava shook her head.
Now was not the time to get into this again.
"Okay." Lindsay decided to add more fuel to the fire. "Let's just check the scorecard on this one, Miss 'Pity Me'. You dated the guy two years ago, you disappeared, then you come back and expect him drop everything for the love your bony, jobless self?"
"Okay!" Haley could see this was taking a turn for the worst. "DUI!"
"Nice work, Haley. Better save 'ol Drinky here before I kick her spoiled butt all the way back to Walden Pond."
"Oh yeah?" Lindsay stood up.
"Yeah."
"Guess this is the second time you'll be bleeding all over this library."
The two girls began to physically fight one another, but Ava paid no attention
It was like Lindsay's words had triggered her.
Guess this is the second time you'll be bleeding all over this library.
That had been the day of the shooting.
The day Jimmy Edwards had brought a gun to school and decided to fire it, accidentally hitting Peyton with a bullet.
It was the day where she had decided to hang out with Haley in the morning before homeroom, instead of staying home with her mother.
The day they had been held hostage in the tutor center.
The day her life changed forever.
For years, Ava had willed herself not to think about that day and she always skipped it when she got to that part in Lucas' book.
She didn't want to be reminded of that day ever again.
Because if she didn't let herself think about it, it couldn't hurt.
She could pretend that the reason Keith was gone, was because he had moved away and never came back. She could pretend that Dan was in prison for tax evasion or something insignificant like that.
The whole day never happened.
So the pain her heart wasn't as strong. It was enough to ignore.
"Tim Smith is in the lib-ra-zee!" Tim, who none of them had seen in years, entered the library with the pizza they ordered, snapping the girls out of their funk of animosity.
"Oh no." Brooke raced to catch the closing door before it closed, but Tim caught her. "Tim, put me down!"
"Brooke, it's so good to see you!"
"You idiot!" Brooke pushed her way out of his grip once the door shut. "The door is locked!"
"No, it's not. I just walked in, Brooke."
"From the outside, Tim. The door is locked from the outside. We cannot get out!"
"Girl, chill. I'll just call somebody at the pizza place and have them send someone...…I left my phone in my scooter— Motorcycle! It's a motorcycle." He amended quickly. "Well, since we're locked in here all alone…...who wants a piece?"
"If you had to eat any part of a person to stay alive, what would you eat?" Mia asked as they all sat around, eating their pizza.
"What?" Brooke quirked an eyebrow.
"Like….I don't know. Say we ran out of food and Haley died."
"Thanks a lot."
"Okay, someone else dies, and we need to survive. What do you eat?"
"I know what I'm starting with." Tim looked at Brooke, who glared right back.
"Love handles." Lindsay answered. "I'd make, like, beef jerky out of their love handles. You could snack for days."
"Ew." Brooke gave her a look. "I so would not eat someone's love handles."
"Well, you're gonna starve, and we're all gonna eat you."
"No one's gonna eat me."
"You know, I could eat your neck like a vampire." Peyton said as if it were the subject of a normal conversation.
"You guys, seriously?"
"What's the big deal? You're dead, and I'm hungry."
"Yeah, don't you want us to live?"
"We're hungry, Brooke." Haley joined in.
"Okay, chow down. But I am gonna haunt each and every one of you."
"I believe in ghosts." Tim shrugged.
"Totally." Mia nodded.
"Yeah, don't even get me started."
"Do you believe in ghosts, Linds?" Haley asked, petting Ava's hair.
The girl was resting head in her lap.
After hearing Lindsay's comment, she had shut down and was unwilling to talk. No one else really seemed to be effected by it, which puzzled her, but she figured that maybe because they were older, they could handle it better.
She didn't want to say anything to darken the mood any further, so she just let Haley believe that she was feeling a little tired.
"I think if someone dies suddenly, especially before their time, maybe they get confused." Lindsay offered. "They don't know how to leave a place."
"You think they're still here then?" Tim asked. "Jimmy Edwards and Keith?"
Hearing Keith's name, Ava stood up abruptly and left the group on their own. That was just too much for her.
"Ava….." Haley called after her, but she got no response.
"Mine's a snow day." Mia said. "My happy place. Lindsay's is Walden Pond. Mine's a snow day in Ohio."
"No school." Haley nodded in understanding.
"I'd stay in bed under the warm covers, and my mom would bring me hot chocolate. How about you, Peyton? Your mom ever bring you hot chocolate on a snow day?"
"No, I didn't have….." Peyton trailed. "I didn't have a lot of snow days. Brooke and I did build a pretty killer snow fort once."
Her mother passed when she was young, so she couldn't really remember a particular snow day she had spent with her. But she remembered how much fun she and Brooke had in the snowy, white blanket.
"And you sat in it, and you worried that your lives were about to change." Lindsay quoted the book.
"Just because you edited a book about my life, doesn't mean you know anything about me."
"I didn't mean anything by it. I was just…..it's a beautiful story."
"Hey, what's your happy place?" Mia asked Ava, who had come to rejoin them after a while of being by herself.
Her face was long and her eyes were a bit dull, but she felt well enough to be with everyone again.
"Uh, I don't know." She shrugged, sitting down next to Haley. "I guess I don't have one."
"Everybody has a happy place."
"Uh, Keith." Ava took a deep breath, speaking about her uncle, in detail, for the first time in years. "He owned the auto shop across town and I'd hang out there all the time. We'd talk and he'd teach me everything he knew about cars. Sometimes…..sometimes we'd drive to this empty road and he'd stop the car, tell me to come to the driver side so I could sit on his lap and hold the wheel. For years I thought that I was the one driving. I only found out that it was him when I was eleven." She laughed softly, her eyes glossing over as she was transported back into that memory. "And we had this place we went to.…a park that no one really knows about…I'd sit on the swings and he's push me, and we'd talk for hours. About anything….that's my safe place. Keith."
"He loved you." Haley stroked her hair. "So much."
"He really did, Buddy." Brooke offered a sad smile.
"I know." Ava swallowed a painful lump, refusing to cry. "I'm okay."
Mia sensed that everyone needed a little 'pick me up' and began fingerpicking the guitar strings.
"That's nice, Mia." Haley complimented, keeping a close eye on Ava, who looked like she was doing her best to keep it together.
"Thanks. I've had this melody forever and just don't have the lyrics yet."
"Why don't you keep playing it and maybe we can help you?"
"I think maybe we should probably work on that in the studio, alone." Peyton said.
"What am I gonna do?" Lindsay scoffed. "Steal Mia's song?"
"I don't know. Songs? Friends?"
"What about you, Scraggly? I heard you stole Lucas from Brooke once. Pot, meet kettle."
"Pot meet kettle…." Mia sang, still trying to lighten the mood. "I don't think that's gonna work, guys."
"Wait!" Time interjected. "That's hot! No, drop that bomb again! I got something!"
"Yeah? Alright, ready?"
"Okay."
"One, two, three, four…." Mia began playing again.
"Straight from the ghetto, packing wood like Geppetto." Tim rapped. "Ain't gonna bathe 'till I look like Jared Leto."
Even Ava cracked a smiled with that one.
Tim was a funny character.
Ava never really cared much for him when she was younger, but he wasn't a bad guy.
"Nice." Haley laughed with everyone else.
"Don't laugh at him." Peyton had directed towards Lindsay.
"You're right." Lindsay nodded. "Creation versus criticism. Let me try one."
"Two, three, four…."
"My name's Peyton. Fake blonde Peyton. I don't have a boyfriend, 'cause I'm a jerk."
Ava shared an unamused look with Haley as they watched the girl drama unfold. Again.
But there was really nothing they could do about it, whatever was gonna happen, was gonna happen.
"Play it again, Mia." Peyton stared directly at her rival.
"Guys, we need to stop." Haley, ever the peacemaker, wanted to put an end to the foolishness. "Set an example."
"Mia."
"One, two, three, four…."
"Her name's Lindsay. Man-faced Lindsay and her fiancé proposed to me first….with the very same ring!"
"Oh no." Ava gasped.
It was all gonna explode right here and now. She could feel it.
They all knew that Lucas proposed to both Lindsay and Peyton with the same ring, but no one had been honest or cruel enough to say it.
"You're lying." Lindsay glared.
"Oh, you didn't know?"
"Peyton." Even Brooke, her best friend, could see that Peyton was going too far with this.
"No, is she gonna cry?" But Peyton was fed up and she wasn't going to stop now.
"Stop it." Lindsay bit back.
"Go ahead, let's cry, little rich girl."
"Peyton, quit it." Ava gave her a look. "This isn't you."
"I said, stop it."
"Is Daddy gonna throw you a great, big, huge wedding at Walden Pond for his little crybaby daughter?"
"Peyton, you don't know what you're talking about." Haley tried to stop her before she said something she'd regret.
"It's fine. Daddy's gonna make everything better for the little rich girl that got everything she ever wanted!"
Cue the explosion.
"He's dead! Alright, Peyton?" Lindsay snapped, water gathering at the corners of her eyes. "He's dead! He died two years ago. But not until he couldn't walk or talk or even recognize me. Does that make you happy? Does that make you feel better? That his death is with me every day? That I was the one who had to turn off the ventilator because my mother was too destroyed to do it? You wanna hear the sound he made before he took that last breath? Oh, 'cause I can still hear it exactly how it sounded. Does that make you happy? Are you glad my life isn't perfect?"
"Lindsay….." The outburst snapped Peyton right back to reality. She knew she had gone way too far.
"I used to admire the Peyton from the book. She seemed so noble…..kind. I wish she were here, Peyton. That version of you. What happened to her?"
Peyton sighed, stood up and left. She had nothing to say.
"Peyton….." Ava called after her.
"No, let her go! Let her live with the damage she caused!"
"Don't dish it if you can't take it." Ava turned to Lindsay.
She didn't know why, but that really burned her up inside. She could feel her blood reaching a boiling point as she tried her best to remain level-headed, but to be real, she was at the end of her rope.
"What?"
"You think I forgot about your sly little comment about her bleeding all over this floor again?" She snapped. "What did you think, I didn't notice?"
"It was a stupid comment, it didn't mean anything, She provoked me!"
"That's where you're wrong." Ava's eyes hardened. "It meant everything. That day was awful, one the of the worst, if not the worst days of our lives—"
"—I know."
"No, you don't know!" Ava snarled, making her flinch. She'd been waiting forever to tell Lindsay exactly how she felt and now was as good a time as any. "You read the book, but you don't know! And you don't know, because you weren't there! You didn't see how the pain was eating Jimmy Edwards up from the inside out! You weren't walking through the hallways when he fired that gun! You didn't hear that stupid shot go off, making everybody run and shove everyone else, hoping that the next shot wouldn't be for them! You weren't in the library— this library, when Peyton was bleeding out on that carpet and my brother had to risk his own life to save hers! You weren't in that classroom that we were locked in, under some stupid illusion that we were safe, only to find out that the shooter was in there with us!" With every word, Ava rose until she was on her feet.
"Ava, honey…." Haley, in all these years, had never heard the girl utter a word about the shooting.
She had hoped that the trauma was too much that her mind had made her forget it.
But that wasn't the case.
"You didn't feel the happiness rising into your chest when Nathan walked through the door to get us out, only to have Jimmy pull his gun on us and hold us hostage for hours. He waved that gun around for hours! I had to leave that classroom without Nathan, without Haley, or Mouth, or Rachel, or Skills, because he let me go! And you know what happened after that? I bumped into him in the hallway where he threatened to shoot me! My Uncle Keith was the one who stood in front of me and made sure that I was able to get out, but not before I begged him to come with me. I begged him and he still wouldn't move!"
Her voice broke as she wished with her entire being that it had only been a dream. A terrible nightmare that would have her sleeping right alongside her mother for a few days until she felt confident enough to be on her own again.
Wishful thinking was all it was.
"I had to leave without him! I was the last person that saw him alive! And I should've done more! I should've tried harder! That was my mistake! And I will never be able to take it back!" Furious tears flew down Ava's cheeks as that horrible day flashed through her mind, making her relive it all over again. "Because me leaving, gave my lunatic father an opportunity to kill him! He took that same gun Jimmy brought to school, looked at his brother and shot him. He's gone! They're both gone! And for years, I made myself bury those memories in the back of my mind so I could pretend it never happened, but then you made that day a punchline for a sick joke! People died that day! Peyton almost died! I had to watch my mother grieve and lash out at everyone around her! It didn't just end at that day! It'll never end! And you think that because you read a book, you understand?" When Ava finished her rant, her chest heaved up and down, trying to prevent violent hiccups from escaping her throat. "I'm sorry, about your father, I am. I wish that he was still here with you. It sucks. Peyton was wrong to bring him up the way she did, but she didn't know. You did. And you didn't just hurt Peyton."
Ava hadn't cried like this since she was nine years old.
Actually, she hadn't cried at all since she was ten.
The truth about Dan had numbed that part of her and she refused to show any upsetting emotion because of it ever again.
And she had been doing so well up until today.
The truth was, she wasn't at all angry at Lindsay. Sure, what she had said was out of line, but she was more upset about the fact that she felt like she was doing okay most days, and then all this grief hit her like a ton of bricks.
She missed Keith so much that it physically hurt her. And if she could do anything to take that day back, she would.
But she couldn't.
Her mother was right to leave Tree Hill. She shouldn't have to go through the constant pain of seeing things that reminded her of the man she once loved.
And Lily shouldn't have to ask so many questions about the father she never knew.
But that broke her heart.
Her baby sister would never know how amazing her father was. How gentle and how loving he was.
Stories were nice and all, but she's never feel his strong arms wrap around her and his tender kisses on her forehead.
She would just know about what was.
Why couldn't she get the pain to go away? It's been five years! Why was it only getting worse?
Go away! Go away...please.
"Any room here?" Haley asked gently, arriving at the teen's little place on the floor in between book shelves.
Ava just hiccuped and nodded, allowing her to sit next to her.
At first she thought that maybe she was going to scold her for yelling at Lindsay the way she did, or tell her to apologize, but she didn't.
All she did, was put an arm around her shoulder and pull her in close, while she sobbed.
There was nothing she could've said or done to make it better or worse, but she sat there, holding Ava in her arms, making sure that she felt safe enough to let all her emotions run free.
"Hey, can I…can I talk to you?" Lindsay hesitantly approached Ava, who was perched by the window, plucking the guitar strings.
The girl had finished crying and quit the dramatics long before Lindsay had decided to speak to her. She didn't like crying, she didn't like the feeling of those hot, sticky tears running down her face, and she especially didn't like her inability to stop them from coming.
Ava looked up at her and shrugged, before turning her attention back to her guitar. She didn't care if Lindsay spoke or not.
"I'm sorry." Lindsay sat down beside her and apologized. "I never should've made that crack about the blood. I was trying to get to Peyton and you're right, it didn't just hurt her, because you all had to live through that day. I was wrong to think of it so lightly."
"I'm sorry, too."Ava stopped playing. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I completely flipped out on you and it wasn't even your fault. Peyton brought up your father and that was wrong…I shouldn't have poured salt on the wound. I know what it's like…to lose your father."
Ava's fingers began playing another melody of a song that had sparked something in Lindsay.
"My father loved that song. He'd sing it all the time."
"It's one of my mother's favorites…..Keith used to play it on the stereo for her." Ava smiled, seeing they had something to share.. "It reminds me of him."
"I'll be seeing you, in all the old familiar places, that this heart of mine embraces. All day through." The older woman sang, catching everyone else's attention.
"In that small cafe, the park across the way." Ava sang softly. "The children's carousel, the chestnut tree, the wishing well."
"I'll be seeing you, in every lovely summer's day, in everything that's light and gay, I'll always think of you that way."
"I'll find you in the morning sun, and when the night is new." Ava's fingers continued to play and bring the song to a close, healing everyone in the room just a little bit. "I'll be looking at the moon. But I'll be seeing you."
"Well, I guess it's time for me to get back to work." Tim clapped his hands together and got his things once the last note stopped ringing.
"But you're forgetting something, Short Bus." Brooke rolled her eyes the way she usually did whenever Tim opened up his mouth. "The door's locked."
"No big deal." Tim walked straight to the door and unlocked it from the top to open it.
Oh, for crying out loud!
"Did you know how to do that this whole time?!"
"Yeah."
"Oh, Tim." Ava shook her head.
"Why didn't you say something?" Haley asked.
"I miss you guys." Tim shrugged. "Nobody keeps in touch anymore."
"Pidge?" Nathan saw his sister walking in his and Jamie's direction. "Where have you been? You missed the game."
Ava just wrapped her arms around and hugged him once he got close enough to her.
"Oh." He was a little taken aback, not really expecting it. "What's this? Did something happen?"
"I love you." Ava looked up at him and smiled.
"I love you, too." He rubbed her back before she pulled away.
"What about me?" Jamie piped up, not wanting to be left out.
"And I love you." Ava bent down to his height, planting a big kiss on his cheek. "Mwah!"
"Ick!" Jamie screwed up his face. "That was wet!"
"You get what you ask for, Runt." Ava winked. "Is Luke still here?"
"In the gym."
"Thanks." Ava tousled Jamie's hair before marching into the gym right to where Lindsay and Lucas were seated on the bleachers.
It looked like they had been talking before she got there and she hoped that everything went well between them.
"Hey." Lindsay smiled, the air between the two of them feeling much, much lighter.
"Hey." Ava waved.
"I'll leave you two alone." Lindsay kissed her fiancé's cheek before getting up. "I'll see you at home."
"You left this in my office." Lucas handed Ava her phone, standing up himself. "We won, by the way."
"You did? Cool." Ava checked for messages. She had a ton, but she'd deal with them later. They weren't really important right now. "I missed the game." She gave him a very apologetic look.
It wasn't just her first time cheering as a sophomore, it was his very first game coaching the Ravens.
It had been just as important to him as it was to her, and she didn't take that lightly.
"There'll be others."
"I know." Ava blew out a long breath. "Thinking about Keith?"
"Yeah."
"I miss him." She admitted honestly. "I wish he were here."
"Me, too."
Ava threw herself into his arms and took in his scented cologne. Those hours in the library had made her willing to be a little more vulnerable and she was going to play along for as long as it lasted. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Babygirl."
A/N: So...that was pretty angsty. I don't think Ava's spoken that much at one time in her entire life! But poor baby! She's holding too much in!