So, here I am with the second chapter of TTSB!
This chapter is settled at the start of Episode 2x02, "The Truth Doesn't Make a Noise", I hope you'll enjoy it!
P.S. I am currently thinking of a nickname for Michael from Brooke, since Lucas, Nathan, Haley and Peyton have at least one from her; if any of you want to make a suggestion, i'd like to hear them :D
P.P.S I'm still looking for a Beta Reader; contact me if you're interested.
THE THIRD SCOTT BROTHER
CHAPTER TWO: THE GAME IS ON
Lucas was staring at the river, the court illuminated by a faint light, a smile on his face; although he still had doubts about his decision to come back to Tree Hill, he always felt better in the Rivercourt: that place was his home.
"You know, I'd have never expected that Charleston would get bored of you two so soon" said a voice behind him, and Lucas turned around to found his brother approaching him. One of my brothers he reminded himself.
"Nathan" Lucas greeted, but both brothers didn't move further, a slight tension in the air between them: the last time they saw each other, Lucas had found out that Nathan and Haley got married, and they haven't talked since then, exception made for the brief call they had the previous night.
It was Nathan the first to break the silence "So, three questions time: are you ready?" he asked, and Lucas nodded "First…what happened to you hair?"
Lucas cracked a smile, followed by Nathan, before answering "Well…you know, I just wanted to made a cut with the past: new life, new haircut…"
"I see..." Nathan nodded, but was still smiling amused; however, his smile vanished, and was serious when he spoke again "Ok, before the second question, I want to say something: I know that the way you discovered that we married was kind of a shock, but…"
"Nate" Lucas stopped the dark-haired boy "Don't worry about it: sure, it did surprise me, but I'm truly happy for you and Haley, and I support you"
"So…are we still brothers?"
"Of course" Lucas smiled, and the two shook their hands and hugged briefly "However, you have to remember that you may be my brother, but Haley is my best friend: break her heart, and I'll break your legs" he warned, half-jokingly, half-seriously.
"Fair enough" Nathan admitted "Last question: is it a temporary return, or you are back to stay?"
Lucas' lips curved in a small smile "I think I'm going to stay here, little brother"
"Great!" Nathan grinned, and for a moment they forgot that there were other pressing matters they needed to talk about; they glanced at each other, both wondering which of the two problems they were going to discuss first; this time, it was Lucas who spoke first.
"Nathan…how is he?" he asked, and, despite the bitterness the blonde boy had always felt towards Dan, he couldn't hide an hint of concern in his voice.
"He is alive…I've heard that he woke up from coma last night"
"Haven't you met him?"
"No…that's not a conversation I'm looking forward to" Nathan said, grimacing.
"I take it that he doesn't know about the marriage yet?"
"Considering how my mom reacted? No chance in hell"
"Afraid of his reaction?"
"More scared about the fact that I have to bear anything he says without punching him, since he's not in the condition for a brawl" Nathan joked.
"Well you could always shut him up asking about his third son" Lucas retorted, and a dead silence fell on them: it was time to talk about that.
"You said that you've met him yesterday, at the beach…what do you think of him?"
Lucas sighed "I don't know, Nathan...I was a bit confused at the moment…"
"What did he told you?"
Lucas ran a hand through his shaved hairs, and started telling Nathan what happened on the beach…
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The two boys were staring at each other, one tense, one shocked; near them, Brooke and Peyton were stealing nervous glances at both of them.
"Uhm…I think it's getting late, right Brooke?"
"What? Oh yes, sure…time to go…w-well, bye guys…"
Lucas and Michael nodded towards the girls, but both of them remained silent until they were alone, the silence broken only by the noise of the waves.
"You are…"
"Your brother, yes; though it would be more appropriated to say half-brother...but" Michael completed, an amused glint in his deep green eyes "I'd dare say that you have more experience than me in this matter"
"How is it pos.."
"Are you really asking me that, considering who *our father* is? I know little of Dan Scott, but it's enough for me to not be surprised about this…Look" he said, stopping Lucas from making other questions "I know that this is shocking, and that I have a lot of questions to answer to, but I'd prefer to have this conversation with Nathan, as well: it would be easier talking with both of you at the same time"
"I think you're right" Lucas nodded "How about tomorrow morning? It's Sunday, we'd have plenty of time to talk"
"Fine by me…where?"
"Do you know where the Rivercourt is?"
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"So, is he coming here?"
"Yes…what do you think?"
"Honestly? If that had happened six months ago, I'd be bursting with rage and I'd be already planning to beat the new punk up, no doubts about it" Nathan stopped, and both he and Lucas laughed, recalling how much of a jackass Nathan was in the past "But now…I think we should give him a chance, and try to know him better"
"Who are you, and what have you done to Nathan Scott, the ruthless king of Tree Hill High?" asked Lucas in mock surprise.
"That guy doesn't exists anymore…I guess I should say thanks to Haley for it…well, you had a part in it too, Luke"
"You're welcome, little brother" Lucas said, smirking.
"I suppose I have to give my thanks to this Haley and to my new big brother as well, since I don't have to be 'beaten up' thanks to you" a voice behind them commented: it was Michael, who was carrying a basketball with him "Of course, assuming that you were really capable of beating me up" he finished.
"Sorry about that" muttered Nathan "I didn't mean to…"
"Don't sweat about it; I realized you were joking, and I have to thank you about what you said after" Michael looked at Nathan seriously "I'd be like to have a chance to know you guys better, too"
"Glad to hear that" Lucas cut in, then he pointed at the ball Michael was holding "I thought we were going to talk."
"That's still the plan" confirmed Michael "But awkward conversation and stuff like that aren't my cup of tea... so, how about we break the ice with a game, and then we talk?"
"You play?" asked Nathan.
Michael smirked "What I do on the court, brothers, can't be referred as mere "playing": it's more a work of art"
"Cocky, are we? You kind of remind me of Nathan" Lucas grinned "Which role you play?"
"Small forward" Michael answered, and made a shot from the three-point line, grinning while a swish anticipated the ball getting through the net; Nathan whistled, but Lucas shook his head.
"Damn, and here I was hoping that you could give Nathan a run for his money; I'm of the idea that we need a new star point guard for the next year"
"Funny, our shooting guard is a bit full of himself, methinks...maybe he has already forgotten the times he was throwing up, in the midst of training sessions"Nathan countered playfully.
"Ouch! No need to be so harsh, Nate" Lucas said, pretending to be hurt "Jokes aside, how should we do it?"
"What about a one-on-one, then the loser plays against the third one?" proposed Michael.
"Up to 15?" asked Nathan.
"Let's start the show!"
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"What are you doing, Brooke?"
"Nothing, P. Sawyer! Just checking my mails!" Brooke hurried to close Peyton's laptop; it wasn't a good idea to let her blond best friend find out that she had just been registered to a dating site: pissed off Peyton could be very violent.
"Are you ready? Haley should be here any minute by now"
"Relax, Goldilocks, I'm ready to welcome our recently married and pregnant friend."
"Brooke…we still don't know if she's pregnant or not" Peyton's voice was bored: they had discussed about it for hours.
"Come on, I'm on the Naley train, but why else would they got married, if she's not preg…ok, ok, got it" she said when she saw Peyton glaring at her "New topic: do you think she knows something about the new Scott brother in town?"
"Dunno about that, from what she told me, Nathan was going to meet him today with Lucas."
"Hmmm…I can't imagine how Tree Hill will react when it will become known that Nathan and Haley married, and that Dan Scott has a third son…that man may be a huge jerk, but he has a gift for making his sons hot…I wonder how he looked like when he was young…"
"BROOKE! Don't tell me you're thinking of Dan Scott that way!"
"Aww, come on P. Sawyer, you know that your dad remains my favorite DILF"
"Damn, that was so not the answer I was expecting!" Peyton sighed relieved when the bell rang "It must be Haley, I'll go."
The blonde girl headed to the door, and thought about Nathan and Haley's marriage: she still remembered the Nathan of the past, back when they used to date, and she couldn't believe that that guy was now married…Well, that's Haley James…Scott, for you she smiled as images of the shy, sweet girl ran in her mind; was she going to look or act differently, now that she was married?
"Hi!" she greeted when she opened the door, and there she was the same Haley as ever: a little nervous, she smiled at her kindly.
"Hi Peyton, how are…"
"Come in Tutor Wife, you have to tell us everything!" Brooke stormed in the hallway and grabbed Haley's arm, dragging her inside Peyton's house.
"So, it's a boy or a girl?"
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"Weren't you scheduled for a surgery tomorrow?" Keith asked surprised.
"Sure I was" confirmed Whitey, in the midst of packing his things up "But I decided to call it off; I don't need it"
"Whitey, you have a tumor…"
"Don't even start, Keith" the coach glared at him "you're a hundred years too young for lecturing me, and besides, don't you have to visit Dan?"
"That is…complicated"
"I know that Dan hasn't exactly been the best brother of the world, neither a good father, or a good husband, now that I think about it…but you're better than him; be the better man, Keith: go and see your brother"
"It's not what he did to me in the past the reason I'm not seeing him"
"Then what is it?"
"I've slept with Deb"
"Oh" Whitey stood there, unsure of what to say "In that case, I don't really know what you should do, but you have to remember that you're his brother: no matter what, this kind of bond can't be broken easily."
"Speaking of brothers: since you've met him, what do you think of…"
"Michael?" Whitey closed his eyes for a second "I don't know much of him, but he seems to be a decent guy"
"So he didn't take after the Scott genes, uh? I'd hate to have a second Nathan here, just now that the original has settled down"
"Oh, I don't know if that's a good thing, considering his mother" Whitey chuckled "She was a fierce, stubborn brat who would chase you to hell to make you answer her questions, and then she would nonetheless criticize every single mistake you made in the game…of course, according to her" he stopped, his eyes moist "It's a shame that she had to die so soon"
"Did you know her well?"
"I met her almost eighteen years ago, at Charlotte, during an away game; she was working for the school newspaper, and made some nasty comments about my decision to keep Dan on the bench for half of the game…since then, she came here to visit me many times, for two whole years…then, she told me that she was going to move in New York, and we stayed in touch for a while…the last time I've talked to her, was five years ago."
"Did she tell you…"
"That she had a kid? Yes, she even sent me a photo of him when he was one, or two years old…I guess she didn't send me more photos because she feared that I would recognize him…"
"How that happened?"
"I don't know; Michael told me that he knows how things went, but I didn't press him"
"What does he think about Dan?"
"Well, he doesn't seem eager to meet him, though I can't blame him; he looked interested in meeting with Lucas and Nathan, though"
"From what Lucas told me, they have already met yesterday, when we came back"
"Really? How did it go?"
"I don't know much…Lucas said that they were going to meet again today, and Nathan should be present, as well"
"I hope they'll get along…the boy looked fine, but I think he's hiding something...you should talk to him, too"
"That's what I plan to do; I can't guess how Dan will react, but I think the boy needs some help to get used to the situation"
"Good to know…now, if you don't mind, I have something to do…"
"As you wish" Keith stood up, and headed to the door; before opening it, he turned to his friend "Whitey…you should think about the surgery" and left, leaving the old coach to his thoughts.
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"Damn, I am exhausted" Lucas leaned on his knees, breathing heavily.
"Me too" exhaled Michael, who was sitting on the bench near the court.
"Me three" said Nathan, passing a bottle of water to each of his brothers.
They had played non-stop for hours, until their legs were unable to go on; during the short breaks between each game, they had started to talk about each other, setting the basis of a bonding.
"I'd never expected you two to be this good" Michael managed to say.
"I have to say that I'm really impressed, as well" Lucas admitted, and Nathan nodded.
"If we don't win the State Championships next year, Whitey will kill us" he laughed, soon followed by the other two.
"You know, you're not like I figured you would be, Nate" Michael stood up, stretching "I thought you were going to be the typical basketball jock, a jerk whose ass I was going to kick, gladly"
"You just had bad timing: few months ago, he was the king of jackasses" Lucas smirked as he dodged Nathan's empty bottle.
"And now, you're married…she must be amazing"
"She is" Lucas and Nathan answered at the same time, to Michael's surprise; they grinned at each other when he said "Am I missing something?"
"You see, Hales is my best friend; back when I joined the team, Nathan tried to use her for pay back…"
"I admit it, I was a bastard…but" Nathan's blue eyes were filled with love "I don't regret it: thanks to that, I met Haley, and that's the best thing that happened in my life."
"Woah man, you got it bad!" both Michael and Lucas laughed at Nathan "In any case, I expected you to be the one to mess up with girls, and here I found that my big brother has a past with two of the hottest girls I ever met!"
Lucas groaned "Did they tell you something about…"
"Relax, they didn't say a word; it's just that I guessed they had some heart issues, and it was pretty obvious with whom, after you came" Michael grinned, but then listened seriously as Lucas explained what happened in the past months between him, Brooke and Peyton; the brown-haired boy could feel the regret and shame in his brother's voice, so he decided to change topic.
"Now, I think you're both curious to hear my story, aren't you?" he asked, and, when both Lucas and Nathan nodded, he continued "Ok, here we go..."
Since I was born, i've carried my mom's surname, Bayle; however, my mother told me that my father's surname was Scott, and that he left us before when she was pregnant, and I didn't press her for further info: even when she offered to tell me who my father was, I refused."
"Why?" asked Nathan.
"Honestly, I never felt the need to know my father, or to have one; I had my mother, and that was more than enough for me: why would I need a man who didn't ever care for me?"
"Are you saying that Dan was aware of you? He never said anything about it" Lucas was dead serious now; Nathan remained silent, the same expression of the blonde in his eyes.
Michael sighed: he knew that the time to tell this part of the story would come, but both Lucas and Nathan had the right to hear it.
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"There's nothing to talk about it, Deb"
"But Dan, that's an urgent matter!" Deb tried, once again, to reason with her husband: she had decided to don't say a word about Nathan's marriage (that was something her own son would have to do), but she told him of Michael; after a moment of shock, Dan had remained silent.
"Listen, I know you're still tired, but we need to do something: first, I think we should book a DNA test, then, depending on the result…"
"There's no need for that, Deb" Dan paused for a moment, the memories of the past carved in his mind.
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He was at Charlotte, and he had just played one of his worst match since he was in college, a far cry from his triumph with the Ravens; he had an heated argument with Deb, who decided to return to the college with a friend, instead of spending the night with him.
He was staring at the empty court, trying desperately to avoid thinking about Karen and the baby he abandoned, about his game, which was getting worse despite his hellish training, when…
"Didn't think I would see the day when the almighty Dan Scott would fall" an amused voice surprised him and, turning around, he saw a pretty girl, with a mass of black hair held by a ponytail, and piercing green eyes behind glasses.
"Who are you?" he asked, annoyed, and the girl smirked.
"My name's Martha Bayle…"
He remembered that they got drunk together that night, but they didn't have sex: that happened the week after, when he lied to Deb, and came back to Charleston to see her again; she never knew that he had a girlfriend, and he never felt guilty about it.
He never loved her, not even for a second, but thanks to her, he realized that he didn't love Deb, either; or at least, not as much as he loved Karen.
A month later, he finally took the courage to end both the relationships: he called Martha first and, to his surprise, she accepted it well, almost relieved, and he guessed it was because they didn't met in the past two weeks, so she may have somehow sensed that there was no future for them.
Feeling better, he met up with Deb, but, before he could say anything, she was hugging him, crying that she was pregnant, and his destiny changed in that moment.
Nine years later, he was at Charlotte for a business meeting, when he ran into Martha for the last time; they had just greeted each other when a little kid with brown hair reached her, and stared at him with the same, deep green eyes of her mother.
His heart stopped in that moment: the boy, who had the same age of Nathan (and Lucas, whispered a little voice in his head), was familiar, even though he had never met him before; it didn't took him much to realize that the kid looked like him.
Few hours later, he was screaming at Martha, in the hotel room he rented; she had left her son with her parents.
"WHY YOU NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT HIM? HE'S MY SON!"
"For you to act like you did with Karen Roe?" asked Martha, her voice as cold as ice.
"How do you know about…"
"After the last time we met, I went to visit coach Durham at Tree Hill" she revealed, and he felt a shiver running down his spine "I guess I've never told you that we were friends, haven't I? However, imagine my surprise when, by mentioning your name, your coach's face darkened, and told me about your high-school pregnant girlfriend you left; it was then that I decided to stop seeing each other."
"When I called you, you were already…"
"Yes, I was already aware of my pregnancy, but I thought you didn't deserve to know about it, and, it was the right choice: after all, you had another children to take care of…yes, I am aware of Nathan" she answered the question he was going to make "Whitey told me about him and Deb in a letter…I'm glad you took at least responsibility for one of your sons."
"I don't know what to say…"
"Then don't say anything: I don't hold any grudge towards you; all I want is you to don't interfere with my and Michael's life, we don't need you."
"But…"
"If in the future, if he asks me to meet his dad, I'll call you, and I'll let you met him; but, before that happens, you have to stay away from his life"
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"You…you knew…about him…" Deb was stuttering "You knew about him, and you never told me about it?"
"What difference would have done, if I had told you the truth? We were already having problems on our own, remember?" Dan asked, and Deb felt guilt as she recalled her love affair.
"Listen to me, Deb: I know I have done many mistakes in my life, but I'm willing to change: life is too short, and I want to make it up to you and Nathan…I want us to be a family again"
"What about Michael?"
"If he wants to meet me, I'll do whatever I can to redeem myself, and the same applies to Lucas; they're my sons, like Nathan is, and I shouldn't have needed an heart attack to realize that; but who I need mostly, now, is you: will you give me another chance?"
Deb looked straight into the eyes of her husband, the same man she wanted divorce from, until a day ago; after so many years, he reminds her of the boy she fell in love in college… "Yes, Dan: we'll try to be a family, again" with Nathan.
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"So, since Tutor Wife here doesn't want to tell us anything about her b…"
"For the last time, Brooke, I am not pregnant, ok?" Haley interrupted the girl, annoyed: it seemed that Brooke couldn't get over the idea that she wasn't expecting a baby.
"Hales, we believe you" Peyton said, glaring at Brooke when she made a muffled noise.
"As I was saying" Brooke resumed "Did Nathan tell you anything about his new brother?"
"I only know that he was going to meet with him and Lucas this morning; I haven't heard anything from him since he left the apartment" Haley glanced at Brooke and Peyton "You have met him…how is he?"
"He seems…"
"Definitely hot"
"Brooke…"
"Right, he doesn't seem hot: he is hot, and was totally checking on Peyton"
"What? He wasn't! If he was checking on someone, it was you!"
"Come on, Goldilocks, admit it: you like the new Scott in town, don't you?"
"I could ask you the same question"
"And my answer is that, though the guy is undeniably hot, I'm not looking forward for another love triangle, so you can take it"
"Uhm, girls, did you ever consider that maybe he was just being polite, and that he isn't currently interested in any of you?"
"And what would you know of it, Tutor Wife? Is it perhaps your motherly instinct, awakening in you?"
Peyton stared amused at Brooke and Haley's bickering, her mind free to wonder about what happened in the last hours: sure, Michael looked like a good, decent guy, and quite handsome, but she wasn't in the mood for it…
Not when I still think about him…stop it, Sawyer: there's no use to dwell in the past…
"C'mon, Haley, we're your friends; you can tell anything to u…wait, it's my phone" Brooke's voice snapped Peyton from her reverie "It's a message from Theresa…oh no" she said, and handed the phone to Haley, who paled immediately.
"What's going on?" Peyton asked, but she didn't need answer, as Haley turned the phone to make her read the message…Damn it
"We need to tell Lucas and Nathan about it ASAP!"
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"So, Dan managed to father the three of us within three months…unbelievable" Lucas commented.
"I think that would be a Guinness World Record" Nathan tried to joke about it, but all three of them remained silent "You said your mother was a sports journalist…how was it?"
"It was great: she knew almost everything about any sport, although what she loved most was Basketball"
"Did she even pressure you…"
"To play? Never, but there was no need for it; since I touched the ball for the first time, I fell in love for the game; when I am in the court, I feel like I have total control of my life, like I am the only maker of my destiny. Did you ever feel anything like that?"
"Always"
"Every time I have a ball in my hands"
The three boys stared at the sky for a while, each deep in his own thoughts, when Lucas' cellphone rang; he quickly answered it "Hi, it's…Hales? What's going on?" Nathan stiffened at his brother's words, but Lucas made a reassuring gesture "I'm listening…ok, thank you, Haley, I'll tell him."
"What happened?" asked Nathan, concerned "What did she say?"
"Everything's fine, except…"Lucas stared at Michael "it seems that someone else knows about you."
That doesn't sound good.
"Apparently, when you met Whitey, two days ago" Lucas continued "one of the school's cheerleaders was there, visiting her aunt; her name is Theresa" Nathan groaned as Lucas mentioned the girl's name.
"She loves to gossip, and she has overheard your talk, and she's now spreading the news to everyone…I'm sorry, Mike."
"Don't be" Michael stood up "To tell you the truth, I don't care about it: I never intended to keep it a secret."
"Even if it's like that, remember this: we've got your back, brother" Nathan said, raising his arm; Lucas nodded, and raised his arm as well, placing his hand on top of Nathan "We will be here for you, Michael."
Michael smiled, and his hand reached his brother's ones "Thank you guys…especially you, Nathan: at least, I won't be the only one hot topic: you and the sister-in-law I have yet to meet will share this honor with me"
"Damn, I have forgotten about it" muttered Nathan, making both Lucas and Michael burst in laughter.
Don't worry, Nate: I've got your backs, too.