Chapter Seventeen:

"Why did he agree to do this again?" Ava flinched and covered her eyes as someone rammed her older brother up against the glass.

Nathan had been offered a position on a team for a sport called, Slam Ball.

It was basically basketball, but with padded floors and trampolines.

And the real kicker was, it was a contact sport.

That meant that pushing, shoving, tackling, all that kind of stuff was allowed.

"He wants to prove to himself that he can still do this." Haley answered, flinching herself.

"Did he get up, Mama?" Jamie asked, his hands were also covering his eyes.

"Yeah, baby. He got up…this time."

"Hey." Brooke made her way over to them in the stands with Sam trailing behind her. "How's he doing?"

"Well, he's in one piece for now, but I thought Owen was gonna protect him."

"Hey Ninety-Nine! I thought you were gonna protect Twenty-Three!" Brooke barked. "And why don't you get over your whole 'fear of having children' while you're at it!"

"Hey, you're short." Sam's eyes widened when she caught sight of Jamie.

"I'm five." He confidently ate his popcorn. "What's your excuse?"

"Nice. So, what's your name?"

"James Lucas Scott."

"Scott, huh?"

"Yeah." Haley threw her arm around him. "He's the teacher's pet. And so is this one." She placed a soft hand on Ava's head, who wasn't at all paying attention to her. "Hi, Sam. How uncool are you, hanging out with your teacher? It's like, borderline creepy." She flipped her hair.

"Totally." Brooke added.

"Don't pay any attention to them." Ava stole some of Jamie's popcorn. "They're all crazy."

"So, what's going on here?"

"It's called Slam Ball." Jamie explained to the teen. "Dunks are worth three points, and jump shots are worth two points. My daddy plays on the Slashers with Owen."

"You hear me, Owen?!" Brooke yelled. "You better watch Nathan's back! Literally!"

"They used to kiss."

"That's his version of 'date', I guess." Ava snickered.

"Hey, Sam." Peyton reached out and offered her hand. "I'm Peyton. I really like your outfit, man."

"Thank you. It's a lot like yours, actually."

Ava cackled loudly.

It was true. Sam and Peyton were wearing identical outfits.

"Very funny." Peyton mock glared at Ava. "Just remember who you have to come to."

That cut Ava's mockery short.

"Geez, Millie." Brooke gave her assistant a strange look after her had caught her eyeing the players. "Who knew you were such a sports fan?"

"I'm not. I'm looking for Mouth."

"Mouth and Gigi?"

"Gigi the ex?"

"Gigi from high school?" Ava added, having heard the stories. "Gigi the pushy girlfriend?"

"Gigi the college junior, slash the new intern, slash the ex with college girl body and her college girl face!"

"Okay." Brooke rubbed her back.

"They used to kiss." Jamie gave his commentary. "Mouth and Gigi. He kisses Millicent now."

"I'm liking you."

"I didn't know you like to rob the cradle, Sam." Ava joked, making Sam playfully push her. "You really have changed."

"Thanks." Jamie was too young to catch the joke. "Mama says I'm not allowed to day yet, but Daddy says it's fine."

"Unbelievable!" Ava threw her hands up. "He told me I wasn't allowed to date until I was fifty! The double standards!"

"And obviously, you didn't listen." Sam smirked.

"What did Daddy tell you?" Haley whirled onto her son, clearly alarmed that Nathan had said such a thing.

"How do you like living with Brooke?"

"She's alright."

"You like her." Ava teased. "You don't wanna admit it, but you do!"

"Oh, shut up."

Ava turned herself around to watch the game just in time to see Nathan get slammed up against the board again.

It was like watching hockey.

But worse.

"Wasn't he like, just in a wheelchair?" Sam asked offhandedly.

"Yeah…..this probably wasn't his greatest idea."

"Morning, Daddy." Jamie climbed on top of his father, who was still lying in bed. "You're alive, right?"

"I think so."

"You don't look very life-like." Ava commented, leaning over him.

Nathan hadn't moved a muscle since she and Jamie entered his room. She had to assume that he was unbelievably sore from that slam ball game he played the day before.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Prove it." The pseudo-twins spoke simultaneously.

"I will if you get off me and get away from me, you dorks." Nathan pushed Jamie off him and stood up.

"Should I get Mama?"

"Yeah, you're not looking too bouncy."

"Guys, I'm fine." He bit back a laugh at their concern. "Look. You happy? No?"

Nathan sighed when neither of them answered and did a little dancey dance.

"Well, the dancing's not so good, but okay." Jamie shrugged, hopping off the bed. "Good game, Daddy."

"And you?" Nathan gave Ava a look once Jamie left the room.

She was much older than Jamie, which made it harder to fool her. She was so perceptive that she noticed everything.

"You look like you're in pain." She deadpanned."I'm okay." He stressed.

"If you say so. I'm gonna hang out with Sam, is that okay?"

"Stay out of trouble."

"Who? Me?"

"Here. Have a try." Sam got off her skateboard and helped Ava onto it.

"Do not let me go." Ava held onto her friend's arm as the skateboard wobbled underneath her.

"I can't believe you've never done this before."

"I'm more of a scooter and bicycle person." Ava gasped as she tipped over, but quickly maintained her balance.

"Ready?"

"Yeah, go ahead. But go slow!"

Sam just laughed and handed her an old sweater she could use to pull her along. "I wish had a camera. This is gold."

It seemed there was actually something that Ava wasn't good at. She looked so out of place on that skateboard, that it made it hard for Sam not to be amused.

"Haha. Very funny."

"Millie, what are we gonna do with this place?" Brooke sighed, looking around her very empty storeroom.

"You know what? I like it like this."

"Oh, do you?"

"Yeah, it's cool." Ava spoke as she grew a little more confident on the board.

"Aunt Brooke!" Jamie burst through the door with Haley trailing behind him.

"It's my favorite man!" Brooke beamed and squatted down to greet him. "Who's your favorite girl?"

"Sam!" He hadn't even bothered to look at Brooke once he saw that Sam was with them.

"Excuse me? Who's your favorite girl?"

"You are?" Jamie placated her, his eyes still on Sam.

"Alright, that'll do." Brooke rolled her eyes, standing up again. "Get outta here…I've been replaced."

"You get used to it." Ava giggled as Sam turned her around. "Weee!"

"You're such a child." The raven-haired teen chortled.

"I will take one unfinished wedding dress, that's all I want. And I'll pay top dollar for it." Haley smiled, handing both Brooke and Millicent the coffee she had bought for them.

"Well, I'll pay top dollar for one song off of an unfinished album."

"I don't like this game anymore."

"Mmhmm. I feel you."

"Have you thought of a new line, Brooke? You've done it before, you can do it again."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Haley, but I'm just not feeling inspired lately."

"Well, speaking of, Owen looked pretty hot last night. Didn't you think so, Millie?" Haley smirked.

"Totally." Millie smirked. "What did you think, Brooke?"

"I think Sam is driving me crazy, wilding about like a feral cat! And Ava-Rose isn't too far behind her!" Brooke shot a pointed look to the two teens, who were pulling Jamie around the on the skateboard. "Sam, this is a boutique. It is not a skate park."

"Well, you could've fooled me."

"If you have a plan to fill this place up, have at it. Otherwise, go skate in traffic."

"Clearly, I've upgraded Sam's foster-living environment."

"Clearly."

"Ooh! I have an idea!" Ava piped up, setting Jamie back down on the ground. "You could turn this into a thrift shop!"

Thrift shops were cool. You could go in and find all kinds of things for low prices. Of course, everything was second-hand, but there was a certain charm to the whole process.

"I know your bonus kid didn't just say that to me with a straight face." Brooke rubbed her temples.

She could feel a headache coming on.

"Hey, she's all Nathan and Luke." Haley laughed. "I did my best and I went wrong somewhere."

"Mama, can I sleep over at Aunt Brooke's tonight?"

"Oh, sweetie, I don't know if Aunt Brooke….."

"I would love that." Brooke smiled. "It would be so nice to have a man in the house. How about you, Ava?"

"Really? You're gonna have a playdate with Owen?" Ava couldn't resist. "But, no thanks. Lucas wants to talk to me about something and I don't want to interrupt your big night."

"Listen here, you." Brooke grabbed her and held her still, while she tried to wriggle away. "I've heard about enough from you. Cut it out, or I'll tickle you."

"Okay." Ava giggled, prompting her to let go.

"And speaking of." Haley let Ava take a sip of her coffee. "I thought Owen looked pretty hot last night. Didn't you think so, Millie?"

"Totally. What did you think, Brooke?"

"I think I don't like either one of you."

"Here's your double hot cocoa." The barista at the local coffee shop smiled at Ava and handed her her order. "I added extra whip cream."

"Thank you." Ava took a sip and grinned at the taste before hitting the streets.

It was a clear night. She could see the stars and the moon even under the streetlights.

She loved nights like this.

It was so calm and peaceful that she couldn't help but want to stay out all night.

But she couldn't.

The fifteen year old was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard some very loud music coming from Clothes Over Bro's.

So naturally, she went over to check it out.

And just her luck, there was a whole rave going on.

"Hey!" Barry, one of the guys from her science class, grinned once he saw her walk in. "Ava Scott!"

A round of cheers echoed off the walls and Ava cringed.

They had to be drunk. There was no possible way anyone in that place was sober. Not the way they were acting.

They cheered at the dumbest things, they danced clumsily, and they stumbled around the room in a frenzy.

"Have a drink!" He took her arm and led her over to where the beer was.

So, she was right. Most of them were, in fact, drunk. She had no idea where any of them had gotten their hands on a keg, but here it was, plain as day.

"I haven't seen you at one of these parties in a while." Cara smirked, handing her a beer.

"I haven't really found the time." Ava smiled politely and rejected the drink, pointing to her hot cocoa.

It took every shred of willpower for her to decline the alcohol in front of her. The feeling scared her. The last time she drank, it felt so good.

It wouldn't be bad to feel that way again.

But she promised Nathan she wouldn't drink again. She was starting to regret it, but she did.

She bit down on her lip and took a deep breath to try and regulate herself before taking a sip of her hot cocoa.

Besides the fact that almost everyone was drunk, there was graffiti all over the walls, music blaring through a sound system someone had brought, and to top it all off, they were doing this in Brooke's store!

"C'mon, have a little drink." Cara insisted as Preston made his way over to them.

"Hey, Ava." He smiled. "Can I get you a drink?"

Why was this so hard? She wanted a drink, even if it was just a small shot or something. Anything to get that little buzz in her system to cloud out her worries.

"I've got a drink." But she stood her ground. "If I change my mind, you're the first person I'll tell."

"Good."

"Great." Ava rolled her eyes as soon as she began walking away. "Geez, beer makes you an idiot."

She pushed through a sea of people, trying to figure out just who planned this thing.

And that's when she found her five year old nephew, sitting on top of the front desk, waving a couple of glow-sticks.

"James Lucas Scott!"

Her voice was so stern, she actually managed to startle him. She never spoke to him like that and right now, she was reminding him of his mother.

"Ava!"

"What're you doing here?!" She asked, having to yell over the loud music that just kept increasing in volume.

It was making everything shake and vibrate, Ava was having a hard time just concentrating.

"Sam brought me!" He pointed in her direction.

Go figure.

"Stay here!" She ordered, stalking over to Sam, who was chatting up a storm with Preston. "Hey!"

"Hey!" Sam turned around and smiled. "Cool party, huh?!"

"Fantastic!" Ava gave her an unamused look. "What do you think you're doing?! Brooke works here, Sam! This is her space!"

"We're just having a little fun!"

"And you brought Jamie with you?!"

"He wanted to come!"

"He's five!" Ava stressed. "This isn't cool, Sam!"

"Look, I'm sorry! I just thought the kid should have night out!"

"Unbelievable." Ava muttered under her breath, turning around to see some idiot offering him a drink.

And Jamie being Jamie, was going to take it.

"Are you nuts?!" She sped over to the two, snatching the drink away from her nephew, taking a sniff.

And of course, it had alcohol in it.

A lot.

It was enough to make Jamie drunk, four times over.

"What? I thought he was thirsty!" Evan laughed as if there something humorous about the situation. "Give me a break! You used to drink, too!"

Ava knew full well that she used to drink. Why was everyone trying to remind her as if she wasn't the one who was chug-a-lugging?

And why was that a reason to justify them giving her five year old nephew alcohol? At least when she drank, it was her own choice.

But Jamie wouldn't get to make that choice with her.

"Yeah, but it was my choice! I didn't hand alcoholic beverages off to five year olds! Take this and get rid of it!" She handed him the cup and pushed him away.

"Lighten up!"

Man, Ava wished somebody would turn down that music so she wouldn't have to scream at the top of her lungs.

"I didn't think I'd have to tell you this so early in life, but if someone hands you an 'already poured' drink, do not take it!" She warned Jamie.

"Okay!"

"Here!" She handed him her hot drink. "It's hot cocoa!"

"Thank you!" Jamie smiled as she hiked him up onto her hip, oblivious to the stress Ava was under.

"Your parents are gonna flip and then they're gonna seriously injure me."

Ava didn't know what to do.

Obviously, Brooke didn't know about any of this, so that meant Sam and Jamie snuck out.

She didn't want to get them in trouble, but this party was already out of hand.

And it was getting worse.

So, she took out her phone and scrolled through her contacts.

Peyton wasn't in town. And it was too bad, because she would be the ideal person to call in a situation like this. She would probably be a little upset, but she'd understand and listen to her explanation first.

Lucas was busy and Ava wasn't going to consider calling him anyway. It was too risky.

Haley and Nathan were also no-gos. Why call the parents of the child who was brought to a rave? That wasn't smart.

Skills was busy. And Junk and Fergie had plans. Plus, they'd tell Haley or Nathan about this before she could.

Why, Sam? Why?

So, finally, she decided to call Carter. If anyone could get her out of this mess, it was him. He was always looking out for her and he'd always been her protector, even when they were kids.

But it looked like his phone was off. Great.

Her only option right now, was Brooke.

She was gonna regret this, she was sure of it.

"Hello?" Brooke answered after the fourth ring. "Ava? Honey, this is a really bad time."

"Brooke! I—" And before Ava could even finish her sentence, her battery died. "You're kidding."

Now, she was in trouble.

She could leave, sure. But she didn't want to walk the streets alone with a child. Carrie had really done a number on her and it had taken her a while to even feel comfortable doing it alone.

Her only other option was to stay there and wait for someone to help shut this thing down.

"My ears hurt!" Jamie complained from his place on Ava's lap, covering his ears.

"Mine, too, Buddy!" She groaned, resting her head on his shoulder.

Her ears were practically ringing from the sound, but the teens weren't going to lower it any time soon.

She just wanted this night to be over. She wanted to go home and go straight to bed.

"Too loud!"

"You know what?" She pushed him off her lap and stood up. "Let's go!"

"Home?!"

"Yeah!" She took his hand and began leading him out, freezing when she saw Brooke, Millie, and Owen walk in.

"Oh my goodness." Brooke's nostrils flared as she looked at all that had been done.

The place was a complete and utter mess.

"Brooke." Owen tried.

"I'm gonna kill them." She seethed, stalking right over to Jamie and handing him off to Owen. "Come here, will you take him?"

"Yeah, I got him." Owen set the child on his hip as Brooke snatched Ava's arm.

"Brooke—"

"—Not a word."

Ava knew she was completely innocent in all this, but kept her mouth shut anyway.

She wasn't gonna poke the bear. The look she got from Brooke was enough to make her think that maybe she had done something.

So, she let her drag her over Sam's way.

"Sam! What're you doing?!"

"I told you I could fill this place up!"

Wrong answer. Very wrong answer.

"First of all, you are fifteen! Second, you kidnapped a five year old child, you adolescent Nanny Carrie!" The designer pointed a finger at her. "And third, you are breaking and entering in the place where I work! This is the place that—" Brooke cut herself off, releasing her grip of Ava's arm. "That is Peyton's wedding dress." Her eyes widened.

"Chill out. It's fine." Sam scoffed. "It's right—" Sam gasped when Brooke pulled the sheet off of the dummy, revealing its lack of clothing.

"Oh no." Millie's jaw dropped.

"Where is it?!" Brooke looked at both girls.

And Ava just sent Sam a very pointed look, having noticed Ethan wearing the dress and skating around while others sprayed paint all over it.

"Everybody out!" Millie yelled.

"Let's go!" Owen boomed, carrying Jamie over to the sound system and shutting the music off. "Everybody head out! Now!"

"I'm sorry." Sam finally seemed to realize the extent of what she had done, but it was a little too late.

"Get out!" Brooke ignored her as everyone flocked out of the store. She didn't want to hear it right now. She was furious!

"Not you." Owen stopped Evan from leaving.

Ava wasn't at all surprised when Sam left shortly after Evan got out of the wedding dress.

But what she was surprised at, was when she herself, left, too.

Maybe it had something to do with her not wanting to be the only one there to feel Brooke's wrath. Or maybe it was because she felt like Sam needed her more.

"Sam!" Ava called out to the girl. "Sam! Stop!"

"What?"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going back to Brooke's place to see if I can get this paint off..…I really messed up this time." She held up the wedding dress she swiped.

It was completely ruined. All of Brooke's hard work was down the train.

Even in the dark, Ava could see the tear tracks on Sam's face. If she had screwed up that badly, maybe she'd be crying, too.

So she couldn't blame her.

"I know, but just talk to Brooke. She's not that bad."

"I ruined her store and I ruined Peyton's wedding dress! And then I brought Jamie to the party! How can she not be angry? How can you be so calm?"

"Trust me, on the inside, I'm far from calm." Ava assured her.

She didn't know what she was, she just wasn't calm.

She felt all sorts of things; angry, nervous, scared...

"She's gonna kick me out. This is it, Ava."

"She's not gonna kick you out."

"She will! I went too far this time! It's over!"

"Okay, okay." Ava tried to calm her down. "I'll help you wash the gunk out of this dress and I'll try to calm her down. It's gonna be okay, Sam. I promise."

"Is it coming out?" Ava asked Sam, who was scrubbing the wedding dress in the kitchen sink.

"Some of it."

"Here." She poured more detergent on it. If this didn't work, they were going to have to use some bleach. "This should help…..but maybe we should've soaked it in club soda first."

"I don't think detergent removes spray liquid." Brooke seemed a lot calmer once she and Jamie walked through the door.

"I know there's nothing I can say, other than, I'm sorry." Sam began crying all over again. "I do these stupid things sometimes. I really am sorry, though." She put the dress down and began to head for the door. "You were nice to me, but I'm just not worth it."

"And where do you think you're going?" Brooke raised a brow.

"I don't know."

"You're grounded." Brooke spoke with finality that Ava had never heard from her before.

And she hoped that she wasn't next in line to be on the receiving end of it either.

"You're not kicking me out?"

"No. And I hope that someday, you stop acting surprised when you hear that. Now go to your room. Actually, go to my room, because the windows don't open."

"Can I just say, about the party….."

"Sam? I am so ticked off right now. Go." The woman's nostrils flared.

"I'm sorry, guys." Sam apologized to both Ava and Jamie, who had moved to the sink to looked at the ruined dress to maker herself scarce.

"I think it's kind of cool." Jamie tried to lighten the mood.

"It was my fault!" Ava wasn't sure why she had said that, but it was too late now.

"What?" Brooke's eye twitched, nearly forcing Ava to back down and take it all back.

"I was the one who planned the party, I was the one who invited everyone, I was the one who told Sam to bring Jamie and I let those guys spray paint Peyton's wedding dress! So, you can't blame Sam! It was my fault!"

She was toast.

"Ava…" Sam's eyes widened.

What was she thinking?

"And why did you do all of this?"

"Because I needed to blow off some steam!" Ava lied. "I just needed a night to make myself feel better and I thought that Sam might enjoy it, too. I'm sorry."

Deep down, Brooke knew that something was up, but she was far too angry right now to think straight, so she wasn't even going to question it.

If Ava wanted to take the blame, that was fine with her. Someone was going to pay for this mess and if she wanted to be that someone, that was on her.

"So, let me get this straight." Nathan paced back and forth in front of Ava, who was sitting on the couch, slumped down to avoid eye contact. "You planned a party at Brooke's store, you invited everyone you knew, encouraged them to vandalize the place, invited my son, your nephew to join, and ruined Peyton's wedding dress? Did I leave anything out?"

"No." Ava mumbled.

If he was going to yell at her, she wished that he would just hurry up and get it over with. It was horrible to wait for the inevitable.

"What do you think, I'm stupid?"

"Huh?" Her head shot up in surprise.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you did it." Nathan bent down to look at her.

"I did it." Ava tried and failed.

So, Nathan grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "Havana-Rose. The truth. Now."

"I'm sorry." Her chocolate brown eyes swam.

"Yes or no?"

"…No." Ava finally admitted.

"Exactly what I thought." He let her go once he got the answer he was looking for.

"What tipped you off?"

"I know you, Ava." Nathan shook his head. "This isn't something you would do. When you get yourself into trouble, your try to make sure it doesn't affect anyone else."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

It was nice knowing that he thought highly of her, well, she already knew that. It was nice to hear.

"Why'd you lie?"

"I don't know." Ava shrugged. "Brooke was upset and Sam was scared, so I thought that if I took the blame, it'd be easier on her."

"Brooke is gonna cool off eventually."

"I know."

"She called earlier."

"She did?"

"She said she wanted to talk to you." He smirked when his sister's eyes widened. "And I'd hate to be you, Pidge."