I don't own One Tree Hill or any of the Characters or Flashbacks, just my plot.
Anna looked around the room. It was filled with basketball this, basketball that, and on the computer it had a post-it note saying ," the name of her mom's old website, taped in the corner. She couldn't believe it. How many girls slept in their dad's old room in their grandma's house when they'd just found out about both of them earlier that day? To be honest, she'd been really worried at first that Karen wouldn't like her, but she remembered what had happened earlier that night: "Well, the sheets are changed on the bed and your friend is bedded down on the couch in the living room." Anna smiled. "Alyssa always did sleep like a rock." Karen looked at her strangely and said "You have his smile, you know. That smile stayed with me through those months that he was in Charleston with Keith, and it greeted me one day when I opened up the door. He's a very special guy, and you're lucky to have him as your father, despite what your mom may have said." Anna struggled for composure and whispered the truth she'd been afraid to tell her mom saying, "Actually, one time I found this old sketch in the attic. It must have been of him, but she'd scribbled over it and written on the front "I love him even now." Mom never really stopped loving him I don't think." Karen smiled. "Nobody ever does. Well, I hope you have a good night. And even if it doesn't seem like it, I'm really glad you're here." After her grandma gave her the briefest of hugs, the two slipped off and went into their rooms, sad smiles playing on their lips.
A chill of excitement went through Anna's mind. Nobody except Alyssa and Mrs. Roe, or her grandmother as she kept on telling herself, knew that she was here. She knew she needed to get some more sleep, but it looked like morning had just hit, and she smelled coffee coming from downstairs. After putting on some slippers, she almost floated down the steps. She saw a blond-haired guy with blue eyes just like hers, around his early thirties she guessed, tinkering in the kitchen. Anna knew she had to let whoever it was know that she was there, so she cleared her throat. Without totally turning around, he smiled and said "You know, mom, I figured I would give you a huge shock by breaking in and making breakfast for you, but you always were a light sleeper. Why don't you come over here and give me a hand?" Anna felt the blood rushing to her head and the floor tilting up to meet her, and as she let out a small shriek Alyssa came running into the room with an ancient baseball bat and shouted "Get out! This may not be my house, but at least I'M not a burglar like you!" That was the last thing Anna heard before the darkness enveloped her.
Meanwhile, Peyton was striding down the street towards Alyssa's house. Enough was enough, and she'd decided after one very long night to tell Anna the truth, the whole truth, about her dad. When she got there, she knocked on the door, and it was opened by Alyssa's mom looking irritated. "There you are, Peyton. I'd figured you'd come when you found your note. I mean, why would they do that?" "Do what?" Peyton asked with confusion. "Just take off like that. Listen to this: "Dear mom, Anna and I are sick of this place, and we're out for a road trip for the weekend to Tree Hill. Just give me a call on my cell when you call later on to chew me out like you inevitably will. Your Punked-Up Artist, Alyssa." "Did you just say Tree Hill?" Peyton asked, almost shouting. "Yes. What would they want in a small town like that? I mean, except for their high school's two-year run of victory at the state championships, the place is barely on the map." "I have to go get her," Peyton said, walking, almost running, away from the doorstep and back to her car.
Lucas ran into his mother's bedroom. "Mom, what is this?" He yelled at the woman who had obviously heard all the racket because she was hastily putting on a sweater to complete her outfit. "Luke, I know you don't want to hear this, but you really need to calm down so Anna and I can tell you something important." "Is Anna one of those two imposters? Mom, how could you invite complete strangers to spend the night at your house?" "They're not strangers. They're family, or at least one of them is anyway." "What?" Lucas practically shouted, running down the stairs after his mom. The sight he saw on the floor practically made him go out cold. The girl who had passed out was an exact copy of his Peyton. Just Peyton, he reminded himself. The crazy girl who had almost hit him with a baseball bat was crouching beside her and slowly reviving her. He was shocked at the sight that met him when she finally opened up her eyes: blue eyes; his blue eyes.
Twenty minutes later, the four of them were all dressed and sitting in the living room. Karen was sitting in a rocker, Lucas in an overstuffed arm chair, and the two girls sitting on the couch. "I'm sorry about startling you," the copy of Peyton said quietly. "That's okay. I'm sorry for reacting like that, it's just that I'm kinda overprotective of my mom. Now why doesn't somebody tell me what this is all about." When Karen and Anna, as he'd found out her name was were silent, Alyssa spoke up, saying "Well, if these two are going to keep their lips sealed I might as well say something. You see, sixteen years ago, actually seventeen when you consider it takes nine months to have a baby, Peyton Sawyer left Tree Hill carrying this girl sitting beside me inside her. She wasn't quite sure who the dad was because Nathan did something really bad to her, and you and her had gone behind her best friend's back, but as soon as she was born it was obvious you were the dad. I mean, she did a DNA test of course, but she got the same results she'd been sure she'd get: this is your daughter, buddy. There's a lot more to the story, but since you three seem like a happy family I'll just go ahead and fly the coop since Anna obviously needs time to bond with you guys, and she brought enough money for a bus ticket back home." Before anyone could say a word in protest, Alyssa had run out the front door with a marvelously loud bang and had zoomed off in her car, leaving her best friend stranded with two strangers.
Anna felt the tears pouring down. "I'm so sorry. You have to believe that I didn't know about you until yesterday. I mean, I knew that I must have had a dad since my mom never got together with or even dated anyone else, but she never told me who my dad was, so I had to get the birth certificate from the school. I wouldn't have found out about any of it if it wasn't for that stupid basketball tryout!" As she put her face in her hands, her shoulder racked with sobs once again, only these ones were real. Lucas looked over at his mother. "So you mean to tell me that all these years you didn't think I had the right to know I have a daughter? I mean, she's been around for half as long as I have, mom! Why didn't anyone tell me?" Karen patted Anna's shoulder awkwardly and said "No one here knew about Anna, much less that you were the father. It's not anyone's fault really, not even Peyton's. She did what she had to, just like I did when I had you." Lucas looked at Anna. "So why now? Why did you have to leave now?" Anna looked down, ashamed. "So that mom wouldn't know where I went until I was gone. I had the perfect excuse: a weekend at Alyssa's to sort everything out. My mom would never know." Lucas looked at her and said "I know this is gonna sound awful, but I promised a bunch of the guys that I'd go play them at the river court, and I have to get going." Karen shot her son a look of disapproval and said "Why don't you take your daughter there? I'm sure that she would enjoy watching you guys." Lucas looked reluctant but said "Would you? Because you certainly can come and watch or whatever and meet the guys if you want." Anna let out a huge breath and said "I'd like that."
As the father and daughter walked along the road, both wearing sweats and sneakers, the dad clutching a basketball to his side, Lucas finally broke the silence. "What did your mom say about Tree Hill?" "Just that there was way too much drama, and that she wanted me to be protected from it, and she didn't want to hurt people more than she already had." After a long silence, her dad said "What do you want me to introduce you as down at the court? I mean, I'm totally cool with calling you my daughter, but whatever's most comfortable with you." "You can call me your daughter to make things simple," she replied quietly. When they finally got to the court, All of Lucas's basketball team-mates from high school gathered around him, roughing him up. Anna noticed the girl she'd seen last night at the café, Jenny she though it was, sitting on the bleachers and smiling. Then she noticed the girl beckoning to her.
Lucas looked on as the daughter he'd only known about for around half an hour made her way over to Jenny, Jake's daughter. His brother's voice finally snapped him back into reality. "Hey big brother, who's the girl? I mean, that brings a whole new meaning to the term younger woman." The guys all laughed. Lucas said vaguely "She's my daughter." They all stopped laughing, and since Nathan and him were the only one's who'd kept contact over the years, Jake said "Good for you buddy. I always knew you would settle down at some point." That was all that needed to be said, although Nathan shot Lucas a curious glance before returning to the game. They had just talked to each other yesterday at the shop, and the only daughter being mentioned was Haley's and Nathan's ten-year-old.
Over on the bleachers, Anna and Jenny were in a lively conversation about their schools. "Oh, I definitely love cheerleading. I mean, it may seem shallow, but it's a lot of fun, and you meet the cutest guys," the raven-haired girl said, a twinkle in her eyes. "I wanted to try out for cheerleading, but I ended up in basketball tryouts, and before I knew it, I was on the team, so I guess you could say that I'm a jock now." "Wow! That's really cool. I bet your dad is really proud of you. Hey, why don't we see if they'll let you play?" Before Anna could say anything, Jenny had called a time-out and told the guys proudly that she wanted to see her new friend's skills on the court. "I don't know if that's a very good idea..." Anna said, but all the guys except Lucas, who was just standing there dazed, were cheering her on saying "Let's see what Scott passed on to his daughter!" Finally, she whispered on phrase that changed everything. "Okay, let's go."
Sorry that this was so short, guys, but I knew that I wanted it to happen really quickly so the characters would have to respond by instinct instead of thinking it out to make it more real-to-life. Please R&R, I'll put up the next chapter soon if you like it! OnTheOutsideLookingIn