A/N: Thanks to everyone for their reviews! To answer Brody, a beta edits the chapter. A beta is a lot like an editor, only on a lesser scale. And to Aly, no I am not following the storyline of Brooke being pregnant. If you notice I started posting before the episode "Spirit in the Night" aired. So this basically breaks off after "The First Cut is the Deepest."

Chapter Three

As Karen drove up to the garage that had once belonged to Keith, but now was owned by Dan, she thought of how the car accident a month and a half ago had cost Keith basically everything. Keith and Karen hadn't been friends since, and it had happened at a time when their friendship had almost blossomed into a beautiful romantic relationship. Keith and Lucas' relationship, which had always been more like a father-son relationship than uncle-nephew, had suffered because of it, and Karen knew how much that hurt both of them. And because Keith had paid Lucas' medical bills and not let Karen pay him back, he'd been forced to sell his business to his younger brother. Dan had always been the successful one, and even when he hadn't meant to (which he usually did), he'd always rubbed that in Keith's face. It was almost unfair how two seconds that night had changed so much.

Karen walked into the office where she could usually find Keith when he wasn't working on a car. Dan had sure changed the entire place, that was for sure. At every corner was a sign reading "Dan Scott Motors." The many reminders of what Dan did must have felt like torture to Keith.

"Karen," Keith called from behind her, and she turned to see him coming out from the stock closet. "What brings you by?"

"Oh, I… I just wanted to know what you want for dinner tonight."

Keith allowed a small smile to touch his lips. "You could have called me, like you did yesterday when you invited me."

"Yeah, I guess. Um… can we talk, for just minute? If you aren't too busy, that is."

"Oh, yeah. Let's go into the office." Keith stepped past her to unlock the office door. She caught of flash of fear on his face for that second that they were just inches from each other, but she didn't say anything. Things had been so awkward between them since the accident that the words to relieve his fears wouldn't come to her.

He closed the door after she stepped in and she frowned. A new oak desk sat in the corner in the place of Keith's ugly green desk that was older than Lucas was. There was a new lamp sitting on it with a bright bulb. What stood out most about the desk was that it was neat—there was no mess of papers scattered all over it.

"Dan sure keeps this place in top form," Karen said, noticing the large colored TV on the wall in the corner opposite the desk, currently playing the Channel Five News, instead of Keith's old, small black-and-white television. Karen remembered that Keith didn't even like to watch Channel 5's news programs, he preferred Channel 11.

"Well it's his money running the place now, and he never lets me forget it," Keith replied, annoyance in his tone. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh… um… well, about tonight actually. Lucas really has his hopes up about dinner tonight."

"And you want to make sure I don't say or do anything that will make him believe it's something that it's not."

"I'm not saying you would, I just—wanted to give you fair warning."

"Consider myself warned. Is there anything else?"

Caught off guard by Keith's out-of-character abruptness, Karen found herself out of words, her mind grasping desperately for something to say. "So… what did you want for dinner then?"

"Whatever you make will be great," Keith said with a genuine smile. "You know I love your cooking."

She smiled a little, knowing it was true, and felt more than a little flattered at his saying so. In truth she became a little flustered, and slightly embarrassed that at her age she could come undone by the simplest compliment from him.

Composing herself, Karen decided that she needed one more thing from Keith before she left. "Keith… what were you expecting from tonight?"

Keith looked at her warily. If you think that I would have come to your house thinking that after tonight, the last month and a half would go away, I can tell you that's not true. You said that tonight was just a thank you for paying Luke's medical bills."

"I still wish you had let me pay you back. Then you wouldn't have had to sell this place to Dan."

"Well it's done. We can't change it."

Karen nodded and the two looked away from each other. She focused her eyes on the ground, feeling slightly disappointed in Keith's answer about his expectations for their upcoming dinner. She even felt a little guilty for her harsh treatment towards him following the accident, but she knew that put in that situation again she would do the same. Lucas could have lost his life, and she could not reconcile the fact that it would have been because Keith was drinking.

"Karen!" Keith exclaimed suddenly, causing her to look up at him, startled. He was staring at the TV with a fearful expression on his face. He looked at her for a brief second and motioned towards the TV.

She turned and her heart froze at what she saw on the TV: a picture of Tree Hill High School from the air with a bulletin running across the screen: Shooting at Tree Hill High School.

*****

Lucas fell hard onto the dirty tile floor, his vision swimming. He put his hand to the burning wound on his forehead and it came away covered in blood. It took him a minute to focus and he realized the shooting was still going on. Through the screaming of the students who were racing towards the door, he could hear the horrifying rapid gunfire coming from three machine guns.

Rolling underneath a table, Lucas looked around at the dozens of other students hiding under tables. He saw his basketball team two tables away. Most of them were sitting up, looking panicked. He briefly saw Jake lying on the floor, in between the dozens of legs that passed between the two tables in the mad rush to the only available exit from the cafeteria. He could see Mouth, Skills, Tim, and some of the other guys but in the craze Lucas did not see Nathan.

When he looked over to his left, Lucas saw one of the gunmen bend down and with his gun shoot three people who were hiding under a table. With horror he realized he knew that boy: it was Mark Wesley, the kid who sat in front of him in biology. Stunned, Lucas realized that this boy was going to kill everyone he could, including Lucas. His only way out was to make way for the door, which was jammed with people desperately trying to get out. He could get shot before he got out, but his chances of living were greater in trying than in staying under that table. He didn't think he would be so lucky as a grazing on his second meeting with a bullet.

He forced himself out from under the table and nearly stumbled, his vision swimming, as his head protested the quick movement. He felt a wave of nausea hit him and he wondered if it was from the flu he was getting or from the grazed wound. He was almost unaware of himself and everything around him as his feet started towards the door. He passed the table where his basketball team had been; apparently most of the players had come to the same realization he had and had gone for the door. Only two remained under the table: Jake and Nathan.

Jake was unconscious, bleeding heavily from the head. Nathan was sweating from pain and clutching his bleeding left thigh. Even with the bullets flying, Lucas could not leave him there. He turned in his path and raced towards the younger Scott. Hurriedly he pulled Nathan to his feet, his recovering shoulder shooting with pain. He was well aware that he could not take both Nathan and Jake.

"Go, just leave, don't worry about me!" Nathan insisted painfully . "I'll slow you down."

"Oh shut up. Since when have I ever listened to you?" Lucas snapped. He looked down to Jake with tearful, remorseful eyes for just a second. "I'm so sorry, buddy," he whispered to his friend as he turned away, half carrying Nathan as fast as he could towards the exit, praying they would just make it to the door.

*****

Haley James was almost completely overwhelmed by panic and fear. She'd been in the library returning a book when the shooting had started, and she knew that Lucas was in the cafeteria waiting for her. Chances were that Nathan had been in the cafeteria as well, eating lunch with a bunch of the guys from the team, including Jake and Tim. Even if she didn't like Tim that much, he was one of the people she found herself searching for frantically in the massive crowd in the front of the school.

Her voice was near hoarse by the time the police arrived—she'd spent the last twenty minutes since she'd raced out of the school screaming for Nathan or Lucas or Petyon—anyone she could think of and so far she had found no one. Every few seconds, more students would come racing out of the building. All the other students around her were hysterical as well—most were crying, a lot of people were trying to find their siblings, cousins, or friends. A few stood off to the side in complete shock.

A couple of the police officers blew their whistles and got everyone's attention, announcing that everyone would be transported by bus the Tree Hill Library, where all the parents and relatives had been directed to. From there people were free to go home.

"We ask, for your safety and for ours, that you get on the bus, go to the library, and go home from there. You can get your cars at a later time."

Haley felt a little dizzy as the officers directed the ever-growing group to the school bus. Other officers were guarding the other exits while a base was forming for officers to figure out just what to do about the situation. Haley hoped they would get inside the school soon. She'd heard several different accounts already about what exactly was going on inside that school and they were all frightening.

As the bus drove away from the high school, Haley watched more and more police cards, firefighters, and ambulances, many from other districts, heading the opposite way, towards the school. With tears running down her face, Haley prayed that as few people as possible had been hurt. She prayed even harder that by some miracle Nathan and Lucas were all right.

TBC