Hi everyone! I'm deeply sorry for this enormous delay, but I had a really rough month, between exams and reale life issues, and I didn't have the time to complete the chapter, I am really sorry :(
To apologize, I offer you the sixth chapter of TTSB, which will explain an important part of Michael's past; also, I have some stuff that, hopefully, you all will find interesting. The thing is, I had been thinking of giving my characters a face in which they could be identified, and I want you all to be a part of this decision.
For Michael, I have chosen to use Jensen Ackles' face: I had always thought that he is a really cool actor, and I loved the brotherly scenes between him and Jared Padalecky in Supernatural, especially the funny ones.
About Sarah, I have found some actresses that, in my opinion, would look good as her, but I want you all to choose, so, during the next days, I will make a poll with 4 actresses, and you will pick the one that will be officially (at least, in my ff XD) Sarah ;)
Also, If any of you has some idea of who would be a good choice to portrait Martha, let me know, I'm eager to know your opinions :D
tvaddict1992: I'm sorry, I made another cliffhanger and made you all wait, hope you like this one ;) As for your question, well...I can't tell your right now XD What I can say is that "my" season two will be the closest with the canon ;)
wez: You'll find more about Michael in this chapter, though there's still a lot that we have to discover ;)
Guest(the one who posted on 9/22): Thank you, I really appreciated it! I'm glad you like how Michael's fitting in the story, my purpose is to make him integrate naturally in the gang :D
Now, with no more pauses, here's the latest chapter of The Third Scott Brother!
(p.s.: this is not the complete version fo the chapter; SweetLilloz's edited one will be posted soon ;))
The Third Scott Brother
Chapter Six: Oppressing Memories
New York, 10 months ago
"What the hell are you doing here?" the door of Michael's room opened forcefully, slamming against the wall; the one who opened was a fuming Martha, her face twisted by shock as she saw Michael and Sarah smoking pot.
"Miss Rose, you may leave; your presence is no longer welcome here any more" Martha said, her voice glacial; the girl grinned as she stoop up and headed to reach her purse, but Michael stopped her, squeezing her hand "Wait."
The smile on Sarah's lips widened in triumph, but Martha's expression didn't change: she had kind of expected this reaction. "Michael, I said she has to go, now" she repeated, and Michael let Sarah's hand go, not before kissing her and whispering something in her ear; still smiling, the girl passed by Martha, saying "Good Evening, Miss Bayle."
The elder woman didn't move, and waited until she heard the noise of the front door closing to speak again "Michael, we need to talk."
"Do we really have to?" he asked, annoyed, and got up, turning his back to Martha, walking towards the kitchen.
"Yes we have!" she shouted, following him "Mike, this is serious!"
"Mom, you are overreacting." Michael said as he opened the fridge "It was just a…"
"Don't say it was just one joint!" Martha slammed the fridge's door close "And you know that I'm not only referring to what happened today, but to what you're doing lately, since you're dating Sarah!"
Michael sighed "So, we're back at it, right? Again?"
"Until you open your eyes and see who she really is, I have to. She is changing you, Michael and you're not even noticing! Sometimes I don't know who you are anymore."
"Please, the problem isn't Sarah, you just can't accept that, maybe, I'm tired of being who I used to."
"Did you just hear yourself? You look like another person! That's it, you're not seeing Sarah anymore!"
"Say what?"
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"I asked…what the hell are you doing here?"
Peyton, Brooke and Haley turned their head towards the source of the voice, finding a fuming Michael, whose eyes were furiously glued on Sarah; not far away, Keith was watching the scene with a worried look.
That's not the time for dwelling in the past thought Michael, trying to turn his memories off Especially if I start thinking of that damned day.
Sarah, meanwhile, quickly recovered from Michael's sudden arrival, hiding her surprise -alongside her animosity towards the girls- with a seductive smile, followed by a wink "Oh Michael dear, it seems we can't be apart from each other for too long, even if we have to bear the presence of these girls." she finished, staring at the trio of girls with disgust.
Brooke and Peyton scoffed at the same time, but, before either of them could shot back, Michael spoke.
"We're not here for a twist of destiny, Sarah." he answered, showing a text message on his phone "I asked some friends of mine to warn me if he happened to notice a woman matching your description; being nearby, and considering the situation, I decided to come."
"And why did you ask your basketball-addicted loser of a friend to look out for me, hmm? Oh, right, he's called Mouth, isn't he?" Sarah asked, smirking at the shocked faces of the girls, while Michael was unimpressed-he didn't surprise him that his former girlfriend was already aware of almost everything that had happened to him since he moved in Tree Hill.
"Only his friends can call him Mouth, which you're not" said Peyton.
"Aww, that's too bad, but surely it can be changed, right?" Sarah shot back, an evil smile spreading on her lips.
"Touch Mouth, and I'll make sure you regret it for the rest of your life." threatened Brooke.
"Calm down, girl, the only person I care for in this pathetic town is right in front of me." Sarah turned her attention back to Michael, her eyes darting to Keith for a moment "So, is he the famous Dan Scott? You two don't look much alike, honey."
Michael grimaced at the mention of Dan "Because he is not my…he is my uncle…and enough of this, Sarah; I asked you a question: what the hell are you doing here?"
"Why, I was only having a chat with these lovely girls and their habits" the blond-redhead shot a teasing glance towards Brooke, who didn't jump at her throat only because she was held down by Haley and Peyton, who had reached the conclusion that Keith and Michael's presence would in any case stop the beating that the bitch was asking for.
"Why I found it hard to believe that that's your real reason for being here? Oh wait, maybe because I know how much you love to lie." Michael's voice dripped sarcasm, but it didn't bother Sarah, who kept flashed another smile.
"Oh love, you know me so well…to be truthful, I came here for shopping." she tugged a hand on her purse, coming up with a silver heart-shaped locket.
"That's mine!" screamed Brooke "How did you get it?"
"Regularly paid at the garage sale." Sarah grinned, satisfied at seeing the younger girl's shocked and hurt expression.
"But you weren't there." pointed out Haley "How did you buy it?"
"Silly girl" Sarah waved her index finger, like she was lecturing them "A little bird told me about this sale, and I simply asked an old lady to buy that locket for me."
"You never change, do you?" asked Michael, frowning: how many times had he saw Sarah acting like this, in the past?
And how many times did you accept it, like it was something normal?
"That's why you love me, darling." Sarah winked again, making Peyton bursts "Wink another time, and I'll…" but she was stopped by Brooke.
"How much money do you want for the locket?" she asked.
"Save it, not even all the money of this whole world would convince me to sell this back to you…not that you have it, at the moment." Sarah smirked again, seeing as Brooke was barely trying to hold her emotions.
"What if I'm the one you have to make a deal with?" proposed Michael, perfectly aware that Sarah's aim was not only hurting Brooke, but also involving him, in one way or another.
"All in due time, Michael" Sarah reached him, whispering to his ear "I'll text you with info about when and where you and I will meet…alone this time." she walked away, greeting Keith with a nod "Good Evening, Mr. Scott."
Keith reached Michael, Brooke, Peyton and Haley, who were all dead silent "Is everything ok?"
Quite the opposite.
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"I'm sorry for you having you involved in my problems, I know you've already a lot to deal with."
"What's going on is nothing at all your fault Michael, except for having dated a psycho bitch like her in the past."
"Point taken." Michael chuckled a bit, leaning on a wall of Brooke's house as she offered him a cup of tea.
After Sarah left, Michael had made a brief explanation of his relationship with Sarah at New York, then Keith gave Peyton and Haley a lift to Karen's pub for the auditions of the all ages night, leaving Michael and Brooke alone.
"I can see now how you could have easily guessed what was the matter with me and Peyton the first we met, at the beach." Brooke stared intently at Michael, who smiled.
"Well, I didn't guessed you had issued with one of my half-brothers." he joked.
"You know what I mean…you're heartbroken too" she stated softly "And none of us noticed."
"I am good at hiding my feelings" Michael took a sip of the cup, but stopped when Brooke made the next question.
"Were you in love with her?"
Michael sighed "I thought I was…though she was the 'one'." he answered, a note of melancholy in his voice.
"Yeah…I know the feeling." Brooke stopped for a moment "Did she…"
"Cheat on me? No, she's a manipulative bitch who loves to lie practically in every occasion, but she never hide what she is, or where her interests lie; to put it simply, she showed me that the girl I loved existed only in my head."
"I think I can understand."
"And now here I am, running away from my past and chasing girls of whom I care little, or nothing, just to don't drown in the memories."
Brooke gasped, mocking shock and offence "Are you implying that the kiss Peyton and I gave you meant nothing to you? You better be careful with your words, mister!"
"Very funny." Michael laughed "Jokes aside, I'm referring to the whole friends-no-benefits agreement, which sucks greatly-though the alternative is even less appealing-" he sighed, than he glanced at the brunette "Speaking of which, how is it going between Felix and you?"
Brooke blushed fully "Who told you? Did that jerk mention something?"
"Actually, I know nothing, I was only asking because it's crystal clear that there was something."
"Well, he isn't my boyfriend, nor my friend if that matters, just somebody I'm using to release pent-up stress."
"I never said it was something important." Michael chuckled, then checked his phone "Time to go…I promised Karen to give Peyton a hand for the auditions."
"How is going?"
"Quite good, except we need talented musicians for the exhibitions."
They reached the front door, and headed to the patio; there, Michael asked the question that was running on his mind all the time.
"Does that locket mean much to you?"
Brooke froze "Michael…"
"Brooke, I need to know."
"It's not a big deal, really." Brooke shrugged off "I have tons of things more beautiful and luxurious than that."
"I didn't ask you if it was expensive, but if it was important for you."
"Fine, it was a birthday gift." she took a moment of pause before explaining "It was my seventh birthday, my parents took me to a restaurant to celebrate it, and gave me that silver locket, while I was hoping to have a set of makeup that I saw on the mall…" she laughed "I remember I was so angry that I never touched it for almost a year."
"I don't understand...why did you seem so distressed when you saw it, if you didn't care for it?"
Brooke looked up, and Michael realized she was fighting to keep back the tears "Because it was the last birthday my parents attended."
Michael frowned, his face paling "Brooke, I…"
"You know what's the funny thing? I had completely forgotten about the locket before Sarah showed it; if not for that, I wouldn't…I wouldn't have…"
"Come here." Michael hugged Brooke, who started sobbing on his shoulder; they stayed there, on the patio, in silence.
Okay, time for another lovely chat with my lovely bitch of an ex Michael thought, determined to solve the things all and for once.
None of them noticed that somebody was watching the scene, with eyes full of jealousy.
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"Can we make a break? I'm dead tired." asked Haley.
"Sure, what's the difference? They all suck, and greatly."
"Come on, Peyton, it's not that bad"
"Haley, you've been there the whole time, and you know it: we haven't seen a single decent artist, yet." Peyton slammed her forehead on the table "Hugh…we need to find somebody, or the night be a disaster, oh, and we should find a way to deal with that Sarah bitch."
"I have to admit, the situation is getting worse that I thought." Haley sighed "What should we do for…oh, I can't wait for the meteor shower!"
"What the hell are you talking ab…Michael! You're here!" both of the girls stood up, while Michael reached them.
"Is everything all right?" he asked smiling: it was too much easy to guess that they were talking about Sarah.
"Well, if we ignore the fact that we don't have nobody for the all age night, and that your psychotic ex is stalking us, yes, it's all right!"
"Peyton!"
"Don't worry Haley, it's ok: I agree with Peyton; but let's now focus on the auditions…really there's was nobody at least decent?"
"Actually…"Haley stopped when Peyton glared at her "None."
"Hey, Nathan sent me a mail" said Peyton, checking on her laptop "It's a song."
As soon as the first notes started playing, Haley gasped "N…no! Turn it off! It's a virus!" she tried to take the computer, but Peyton managed to pass it to Michael, while the song kept running.
It's October again
Leaves are coming down
One more year's come and gone
And nothing's changed at all
Wasn't I supposed to be someone
Who can face the things that I've been running from...
Let me feel, I don't care if I breakdown
Let me fall, even if I hit the ground
And if I...
Cry a little
Die a little
At least I know I lived, just a little...
"Haley!" shouted Peyton when the girl closed the laptop "It's amazing! We have just found out our main event!"
"Where were you hiding that voice, sis-in-law?" teased Michael, more than impressed.
"Ok, stop now, I'm not going to sing at the event, so there's no reason to talk about it."
"Come one, you are perfect! Besides, there's no one els… what are you doing here?" she asked rudely to a tall boy, with clear eyes and brown hair.
"I'm here for the auditions." He answered back, annoyed.
"Sorry, they're over, you are late."
"No, he're not." Michael corrected "Your name?"
"I'm Chris Keller." the boy answered, and started singing.
Everywhere you go, perfection
Follows you the wrong direction
And you will never see if for
You get all that you need and more
You see it, you want it
You find it, it's yours
He was a fantastic singer; Haley was watching him smiling, while Michael gave Peyton a nod of approval, which made the blond girl frown, annoyed.
But you can't say what you want or
Take what you want or
Choose the moods that you fake when you want
You said your life needed something special
Then where it's at
And aren't you glad
The only one of 5; exception
The child of your pride, deception
And on your list of things to do
Is make me fall in love with you
You find one, you want one
Cause I'm one, who plays
You can't say what you want or
Take what you want or
Choose the moods that you fake when you want
You said your life needed something special
Which you don't have
You can't say what you want or
Take what you want or
Rest and wake anyway that you want
You said your life needed something special
Well, here I am, and aren't you glad.
Now you got it bad
I know you do
You can't say what you want or
Take what you want or
Choose the moods that you fake when you want
You said your life couldn't get much better
Then where you're at
And you can't say what you want or
Take what you want or
Rest and wake anyway that you want
You said your life needed something special
Which you don't have
Well, aren't you glad
Well, aren't you glad
Well, aren't you glad
"So, what do you say?" asked Chris, but the tone of his voice made Michael think that he didn't care much of their opinion.
"We'll let you know." answered Peyton, glaring at him; Chris smirked,a andhe headed out, but, as he reached the door, he turned, and glanced Haley "You're not half bad, but you need to work on your music…if you want to improve, the Chris Kellere can help you."
When he got out, Haley turned to Peyton "Are you crazy?! Why did you tell him that? He was great!"
"Because he's a jerk, Haley, and besides, I don't need him: I have you!" Peyton smiled confidently, which made Haley stay silent.
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"I said, you won't see Sarah anymore."
"You can't do that!" Michael shouted, furious, glaring at his mother; that was ridiculous!
"I can, and I will." shot back Martha.
"Whatever" he scoffed "You can't stop me to see her at school, she's the cheerleader coach, remember?"
"Well, that can be arranged." Michael shot a glance at Martha, who took a deep breath "I recently had a…offer for a good, well paid job, at Charlestone. We're moving."
"Are you kidding? You always hated going back there during the holidays, and now what, you want to live there? All of it because you don't like my girlfriend?"
"That's not...the only reason" Martha looked anxious "Listen, there's something I need to tell y…"
"I don't care!" Michael interrupted her "I don't give a damn, of your reason, if you want to go, go, I'm staying here."
"What did you just say?"
With a trembling voice, Michael spoke "I said…I'm staying here, with Sarah. I'm not leaving her, and if you don't support us, well, it means I no longer have a mother anymore."
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"Damn it all!" Michael kicked a garbage can with all his strength, alone in a deserted alley; there was no way out : all the memories he had tried to forget, were coming up, taunting him mercilessly. Why didn't I let her finish talking? That question had tormented him in the past 6 months, echoing endlessly in his mind.
He was giving his back on the alley entrance when he heard a voice "There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere."
Michael cursed Not now "It's not the time to piss me off." He warned.
"Like I care, we need to talk, now." Felix's voice was angry, threatening "What were you doing with Brooke?"
Michael laughed "Man, I'm not really on the mood for this bullshit." He tried to walk away, but Felix stopped him, grabbing his shoulder "We're not finished!"
Bad choice, punk.
Before Felix could even realize what happened, Michael punched him on the stomach, making the hispanic boy groan in pain and drop on his knees; a moment later, Michael slammed him against the wall, pressing his arm against Felix's chest.
"I'll say it once, and you better understand: if you wish to brawl with me, I'll take you on whenever and wherever you want, but don't you ever dare meddle in my past again, is that clear?"
"Fuck you!" Felix shot back, wincing in pain when Michael hit him again, with his knee this time.
"Wrong answer, Tagarro." Michael let go of Felix, who fell on the ground "And, just so you know, between me and Brooke there's nothing more than friendship, though you can't even claim that."
As he left Felix licking his wounds, Michael received a text message.
It's Sarah; we will meet tonight, around 10 pm, at the beach.
Perfect Michael's face was dead serious Time to end this.
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Martha hadn't yet moved after their discussion ended, and she stood there as her son reached the kitchen carrying a suitcase and a bag, heading to the front door without saying a single word.
When he was going to open it, time seemed to stop, and the two, mother and son, stared at each other, their matching green eyes entwined; Martha seemed on the point of talking, but, a moment later, she closed her lips, and Michael, shaking his head, opened the door, leaving the house.
On the kitchen table, Martha's phone was ringing, the screen showing the id of Dr. Greeves, but the woman ignored it, staring at the door slowly closing, as tears dropped from her eyes.