A/N: There will be Naley eventually. Thank you for the awesome reviews. And I want to thank my beta: Leeese.

Chapter Seven

Crash Course in Polite Conversation

After everyone had been introduced, they sat down at the dining room table. Brooke was relieved when Julian sat on the other side of the table. However, she wasn't pleased when Victoria insisted that he sit across from her. She didn't argue since Haley was able to sit down next to her.

Victoria started the conversation. "Brooke, I'm sure that you have heard that Dan and Deb are thinking about moving here. Wouldn't that be nice?" she asked. She didn't let her daughter answer as she turned to Dan and Deb. "You will love the town. It is a perfect place to start over from your old life."

"There are cute guys in Tree Hill, right?" Alex asked them. "Because I'm so not moving here if there aren't."

"None of them can be cute as me," Julian said. Alex rolled her eyes. "Besides, all high school guys are immature. You need a college guy."

"I beg to differ on that subject," Brooke replied. Haley knew exactly where she was going with the conversation. "There are plenty of mature teenagers in Tree Hill including your cousins." She knew that she was taking a risk, but she wanted to find out what Dan and the Scott family would say about it.

"They are no relatives of ours," Dan quickly replied. "I've already warned your mother of this. Now I'm warning you two to stay away from them. They are nothing but trouble."

"Why punish Lucas, Nathan and Lily if you're upset with Keith and Karen?" Brooke asked. "Or Millie and Alex? It's not fair for them to be caught in the middle of this family feud between you and Keith."

Victoria gave her daughter a stern look. "Brooke, that's rude and inappropriate. Apologize to Dan and Deb right now."

Brooke was quiet. Haley then nudged her. She had a feeling that things would get worse if Brooke didn't apologize. Her best friend took a deep break before speaking. "I'm sorry, but I was just stating my opinion." She continued to talk calmly as she added, "And Haley and I have already met the other Scott family. And they have become our best friends. So I don't see any reason not to trust them."

Julian laughed. "Come on, Brooke. I would make a better boyfriend than either one of them. After all, I'm not the one who got married to my girlfriend just because she was pregnant." Brooke and Haley exchanged confused looks. Julian couldn't help but smirk as he saw the exchange. "You two don't know, do you?"

Before Brooke could ask, they heard the doorbell ringing. Victoria frowned. "Who on earth could that be?" She turned to her guests. "Would you excuse me for a moment?" she asked. Dan nodded. "I'll be right back." She pushed her chair back and got up. She left the room and went to answer the door.

Brooke then turned back to Julian. "Now what were you saying about my friends? Did you say that Lucas was married before?" she asked. She didn't get a chance to ask any more questions as they heard a commotion in the front hall. She quickly excused herself and hurried out of the room. However, her guests were right behind her.

She was surprised to see both Scott twins standing there. She didn't even have a chance to ask when Lucas and Nathan turned to Dan and Julian. They glared at them as Lucas started yelling at them. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded. "Are you stalking us now?" he asked disgusted. "I'm sure you are already spreading lies about me and Nathan."

"I'm just telling them the truth," Julian exclaimed. "Somebody has to tell them about the truth about your family, but you couldn't even do that."

Lucas glared angrily at him. Brooke and Haley didn't even have a chance to stop him before he punched Julian in the face. "Don't you dare talk about my family," Lucas told him as his friends held him back.

"When are you going to start taking responsibility for your own actions?" Julian asked.

"When are you going to grow up?" Nathan snapped back.

Victoria quickly spoke up. She was tired of these two insulting her guests. "That's it. I want you two boys out of my house right now before I call police."

Brooke knew that her mother was serious. "Lucas, please go. I don't want you to get into trouble."

"Don't bother trying to get him to leave. I've already called the police," a familiar voice said. Everyone turned to see Dan putting his cell-phone away. His nephews looked at him in disbelief. Brooke and Haley were just as surprised. "Normally, I wouldn't press charges. But I think a night in jail will calm you two down."

"I don't need your help," Julian said angrily as he glared at Dan. "I've got this. So why don't you just take care of the kids you did claim?" he snapped.

Deb knew that the conversation was getting ugly. She turned to her daughters. "Why don't you girls go and finish your dinner while we discuss this with your cousins?" she asked them. Alex groaned, but followed her sister back into the dining room. She then turned to her husband. "Do we really need to involve the police in this? Shouldn't we let these boys work it out themselves?"

Haley made a face. "I think it's a little late for that," she replied as they heard sirens. Lucas and Nathan exchanged looks as Victoria went out to greet them. "Maybe you guys should apologize to Julian while you still have the chance."

"Or before you get grounded," Alex said as she came back into the hallway. "Uncle Keith and Aunt Karen are here. And they don't look happy."

"Alex, get back in there and finish eating your dinner," Deb ordered before she followed Dan outside.

"We might as well apologize now because we're toast either way," Nathan told his brother. Lucas sighed, knowing he was right. They apologized to Julian and he reluctantly accepted it. Brooke then offered them dinner. Lucas and Nathan instantly agreed.

The twins exchanged smiles with Millie as they sat down at the table. They ate quietly until they heard the front door open. Everyone turned to see Victoria walking back into the house. Brooke could tell that she was furious. However, she stayed calm as she started to speak. "This dinner is now over. Millie, Alex, your parents are waiting for you in the car. Lucas, Nathan, your father is waiting by your car. I suggest that you leave now or your punishment will be worse than it already is. Haley, Karen is going to drive you home. Brooke will get her car in the morning."

Brooke quickly said good-bye to her friends as they left the dining room. There was an awkward silence before Brooke spoke. "I'm going to go and finish my homework," she said as she slipped out of her chair. She didn't get very far when she heard her mother calling her name. She stopped and turned around to face her mother. "Yes, Mother?" she asked.

Victoria wasn't having it. "Don't give me that attitude, Brooke," she said. "This is exactly why I don't want you to hang out with those boys. They are not the type of friends you should be socializing with."

"And you think Julian Baker is?" Brooke exclaimed. "He was just as rude as Lucas and Nathan were, perhaps even more. I know that Lucas hit Julian, but he deserved that punch. He insulted his family."

"I don't care who he insulted. I want you to stay away from that Scott family," Victoria ordered. "They are forbidden to step foot on this property again and you are forbidden to go over to their house or to that café." Brooke was about to protest when her mother didn't let her. "If I find out that you're sneaking around behind my back and seeing that boy, then you can say good-bye to the rest of your friends in Tree Hill."

Brooke raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You mean you're going to ground me?"

Victoria tried not to smile. "Grounding isn't exactly what I had in mind. Although, you do deserve it after that little incident at dinner. But I'll let it go this time. Just make sure that you're more respectful to our guests next time." She was about to return to the dining room when she turned back to her daughter. "And heed my warning, Brooke. Stay away from those boys or else."

Brooke didn't answer as she headed upstairs and to her bedroom. She couldn't believe that her mother was still forbidding her to hang out with Lucas and Nathan. She didn't care what her mother said. She wasn't going to stay away from her friends. What possible punishment could her mother come up with for disobeying her?

Brooke didn't have a chance to ask her friends what had happened afterwards until the next morning. Haley filled her in with what she knew first. "Apparently, Nathan wanted some company at the café. So he called my house and found out that I went to your house for dinner. He drove past there and recognized his uncle's car. So he called Lucas and they decided to rescue us from their uncle and cousin."

"Who watched Lily then?" Brooke asked curiously, knowing that Lucas was supposed to be baby-sitting Lily.

"They dropped her off at my house before they went to your house," Haley replied. "That's why Karen offered to take me home. She had to go and get Lily. Can you imagine how that night went for her?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, she was probably spoiled to death by your parents with television, cookies, candy and soda. But I would rather have your laid back parents than my parents any day."

"Was Victoria trying to be a parent again?" Haley asked.

Brooke just rolled her eyes. "It was the same threat that she had made the other day. The only difference is that it sounded like she was going to ground me or something if I didn't stay away from Lucas and Nathan." Haley looked at her surprised. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I'm not worried though. She hasn't grounded me in the last sixteen years. I doubt that she would start now."

"Well, you may not be grounded, but we are," a familiar voice said as Lucas and Nathan walked over to them. Neither of them was looking happy. Lucas continued his story. "Mom and Dad were furious when we took off from the café and dropped Lily off at Haley's house. They were even more pissed off when they found out that the police ended up being involved."

"We're sorry for ruining your dinner, Brooke," Nathan added.

Brooke shrugged. "It's ok. I wasn't having that much fun anyway. It was my mother's idea to invite Julian and his family, if you even want to call it that. I can't believe that you're related to that man or even Julian."

Lucas sighed. "Yeah, don't remind us. How long have you known him?"

"Do you remember the wedding that I had to attend the other day?" Brooke asked. Lucas nodded. "That was his mother's wedding. I also met Millie there. But I didn't meet the rest of his family until last night."

"I can't believe your uncle called the police on you," Haley told them. "What kind of relative is that?"

"Dan always has been that way as long as we can remember," Lucas replied. "He has always tried to make our lives miserable. And then Julian started doing it to us. I'm sure Alex is next in line."

"I hope not," Nathan said. "Dan and Julian are enough." He then looked at his watch before turning to his brother. "Come on, Luke. We should get to the gym if we want to practice before school starts." Lucas nodded in agreement. They quickly said good-bye to the girls before they headed to the gym.

Brooke then turned to her best friend and gave her a smile. "Want to go to the gym and see how awesome they are?"

Haley made a face. "Actually, I can't. I have to get to the tutoring center."

Brooke frowned. "Isn't tutoring for after school, not before?" she asked confused.

"Yeah, but I was willing to meet with them in the morning if they wanted to," Haley replied. "Why don't you find Rachel? I'm sure she would love to flirt with Nathan while he shoots baskets." Brooke gave her a look. "Think what you want, but I'm telling you that she's looking for a new boyfriend. If she is, tell her to break it off gently with Mouth. Don't let her lead him on." Brooke didn't have a chance to respond as Haley left her.

Soon, Brooke and Rachel were watching Lucas play against Nathan. Brooke couldn't decide who was best. They both were great. She hoped that they both would make the team. However, she soon was distracted with Rachel trying to get her attention. "So what was with the police cars in front of your house last night?"

Brooke knew that Rachel wouldn't be the last to ask that question. "There was an incident with my guests. That's all." She didn't want to go into the details about it. Instead, she changed the subject. "So what is the deal with you and Mouth? Are you two dating or not? Because you look like you're searching for your next boyfriend."

Rachel shrugged. "If you don't tell me your secret, I won't tell you mine."

"Just don't hurt him, ok?" Brooke asked her.

Throughout the day, Brooke was bombarded with questions about the previous night's events. Out of respect for Lucas's family, she just told her classmates that there was an incident with her guests. To avoid the whispers and stares, she quickly ate her lunch before she hurried to the library. She knew that nobody could bother her there. After all, it was a library. Lucas was right behind her. They quietly did their homework together as they waited for lunch to be over.

After school, Brooke took her time in getting her stuff together. She wanted to make sure that she would be able to talk to Lucas before they left. She could see that Lucas was doing the same thing. She could tell that he wasn't happy about being grounded. She walked over to him and gave him a gentle smile. "I'm sorry you got grounded."

Lucas gave her a comforting smile. "Hey, it's not your fault. It's mine for losing my temper."

Brooke was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "Last night, Julian made a rude comment about being a better boyfriend than you or Nathan. And he said that it's because he didn't marry his girlfriend just because she was pregnant." Brooke didn't know how to continue after that. "Is there any truth to that?"

Lucas didn't answer for a moment. Brooke waited patiently to hear what he had to say. "No, Julian was just trying to get attention. He doesn't know what he is talking about." He then heard Nathan calling him from across the room. "I should go. I'll call you when I can," he promised. Brooke nodded. She watched him leave before she went to catch her own ride.