Thanks for all the reviews from the last chapter. They mean a lot. Now on with the chapter. And as always, I do not own One Tree Hill, or any of the characters.
Chapter 4- Sideways
These feelings won't go away
They've been knockin' me sideways
I keep thinking in a moment that
Time will take them away
But these feelings won't go away
"I don't care if you two hate each other!" Whitey screamed.
"You can kill each other for all I care, as long as you don't do it inside these four walls. Because when you're in this gym you will act like teammates… or I will bench you both permanently"
Whitey pounded his fists on his desk, practically shaking the walls of the tiny office, letting the boys sitting in front of him know he meant business. Once again, he found himself yelling at the Scotts who had managed to start another brawl in the middle of basketball practice. If there was one thing constant in the Raven's team this year, it was the fighting between the brothers.
The animosity between the Nathan and Lucas had grown worse since basketball season started. Without Haley or Brooke to act as buffers for the boys, their wise-ass comments and smart remarks toward each other soon escalated into all out war. What first started as Nathan mouthing off toward an unsuspecting Lucas, had quickly grown into harsh remarks and low-blows being dealt by both of the brothers Scott.
Usually, fists started flying the moment either boy mentioned Brooke or Haley. It seemed like that was the trigger that set off either one of the guys. A smart remark would be made, usually by Nathan, and Lucas would retort with a remark about Haley. Then the gloves would come off and the brothers would take their hurt and anger out on each other until they were ripped apart by their teammates and coach.
Whitey seriously contemplated just letting them duke it out. May the best man win. At least it would stop the fighting. But then his good sense kicked back in and he realized that losing one or both of his star players to violence was probably not the best idea. He had to resort to drastic measures, and find a way to fix this situation, fast.
As hot-headed as they both were, Lucas and Nathan knew when to keep quiet, and right then neither boy dared to utter a word to the coach who was furiously digging into the file cabinet in search of something. They both knew that they had gone too far, and this time Whitey meant business.
Whitey turned around and thrust something at each of the boys, startling them with his sudden movement. They looked at the matching "C" emblems, and waited to figure out which way the old man had found to torture them now.
"I'm not going to have you two at each other's throats all season, so you two can either cooperate with each other or rip this team apart, either way you're going to do it together."
"Congratulations co-captains." He sneered. "Now get out of my office, both of you!"
"Well, well, well… if it isn't my two favorite fighting Ravens. What's the matter boys? You two look like your dog just died." Peyton teased them as she watched her two closet friends walk out of the locker room and shoot daggers at each other. She, along with the rest of the cheerleaders, had witnessed the brothers' battle, and she had stuck around to see if she could talk a little sense into the two idiots she called friends. But judging by the frowns etched permanently on both their faces, she figured that whatever had happened in Whitey's office could not be good. Not at all.
Nathan just ignored her and glared at Lucas, "I don't care what Whitey said, this is still my team, and you better get your ass in shape because I will not let you screw up this team anymore than you already have.
"That's okay Nate, you manage to screw up the good things you have all on your own now, don't you." Lucas challenged.
Just as Nathan was about to grab him and punch him for the second time in one day, Peyton jumped in between the two. "Guys, this has got to stop! You're brothers for crying out loud. And more importantly, you used to be friends!"
"Whatever," Nathan muttered as he turned and walked out the gym, leaving Lucas glaring at the back of his head.
"Luke you two have got to fix this thing between you and Nathan. It's really starting to get out of hand."
"I know, okay, Peyton, but he's just so damn… stubborn."
The next thing Peyton heard was Luke's fist connecting with the locker and his frustrated scream.
"This is just not how I pictured us spending our senior year."
He didn't elaborate further, but Peyton knew what he meant. He didn't imagine their senior year without Brooke, or Haley, for that matter. She knew that he wasn't dealing with their absence particularly well. She wasn't either. After all, those were two of her best friends that were missing too. And it was hard, especially with Brooke being gone. Peyton missed her best friend so much, and she knew that Lucas felt the same way. It seemed that the once inseparable group was missing their heart and soul, and all the friends were falling apart in their absence.
"Look, Pey, I gotta go, I'll talk to you later," he sighed as he walked out of the gym and got into his car.
Lucas just starting driving around aimlessly, not really sure what he was feeling. 'He and Nathan co-captains.' There was no way in hell that was going to work out. They could barley get through a practice as teammates, how in the world were they going to lead the team as captains?
First off, Lucas didn't know how much of the Raven's practices his heart could handle. The medicine for the HCM had made him sluggish and easily winded. He was lagging behind in sprints and could barely keep up with the rest of the team during drills. The only reason that Whitey probably hadn't kicked him off the team yet, was because his fade away was the only thing that had actually improved.
He knew he physically had to push himself harder.
Basketball was not something he was willing to give up just yet. He had already lost too many things he loved this year, and he was not about to add another thing to the list qiute yet.
If he worked harder and pushed himself harder he could just overcome the limitations of the medicine. 'Couldn't he?" He sure as hell was going to try. After all, he was the co-captain now. He couldn't let the team down like that, and he certainly couldn't let Nathan get the satisfaction. He would get better, he just had to.
Almost instinctively, he found himself passing the Rivercourt and figured that maybe he could clear his head just a little. This place had always made him think better and brought him some sort of peace. He hoped it would do that today.
Lucas was so absorbed in shooting hoops that he didn't see other car pull up, and he didn't hear the beautiful cheerleader get out the car before she snuck up behind him and threw her hands over his eyes.
"You know, this game would be a lot more interesting if one of both of us wasn't wearing any clothes," she sexily whispered in his ear. "Guess who, handsome."
Luke could almost feel his lips form a slight smile; he would recognize that voice anywhere. "Rachel" he said as turned around to face her, wondering just what she was up to this time.
Rachel Getina was the new girl in Tree Hill, and she had made her mark from the second she arrived in the small town. She was overly confident, sexy, had a great body, and was a relatively good cheerleader. Overall, she was pretty in a sort of promiscuous way, but she was still very hot. She knew what she wanted, and she was not the kind of girl who would take no for an answer. And right now she wanted Lucas Scott.
So far he had found her half naked in the back of his car, she had managed to "accidentally" walk in on him in the locker room, and he had found her conveniently sun-bathing at the Rivercourt the other day. He had resisted her advances, but so far that hadn't stopped her.
Some of her antics reminded him of Brooke, back before he really got to know her. She acted the same, dressed the same, and even pulled off some of Brooke's famous moves. But the thing was, she wasn't Brooke, and no matter how hard she tried or how pretty she was, she paled in comparison to the chestnut haired beauty that still had Lucas' heart. Rachel Getina certainly was no Brooke Davis.
'But, Brooke's not here, you idiot' his mind screamed. And the feel of her lips on his neck and her hand running down his back, were making it hard for him to resist her advances much longer.
"You know, this would be a lot easier on both of us if you just gave up this hard to get act. I'll admit, it's kinda cute, but I'm ready for some real fun" she purred as she leaned up and pecked him on the lips. He quickly pulled away, and just stared at the girl in front of him.
"What do you say we go out Friday, and have a good time?"
Luke pondered her offer for a moment. On one hand, here was this beautiful girl who wanted him and wasn't afraid to let the whole world know. On the other hand, she was kinda pushy, and her antics were a little slutty and definitely not in a good way. His heart was still hung up on Brooke, but his head was screaming that this was his chance to move on. 'You know she's probably in California doing the same thing. She probably doesn't even think about you anymore' That thought was enough to make him respond in a way he never thought he would. Against his better judgment, he simply smiled at her.
"Sure, you name the place." As soon as the words left his mouth, Rachel took that as an opportunity to kiss him once again, and this time he didn't pull away.
He already knew that she didn't measure up to Brooke. She just didn't have the same endearing qualities, and he was sure that there were no other layers under her party girl exterior, but he sure as hell was going to try and make himself move on. Without Brooke Davis. And Rachel was giving him the perfect opportunity to do just that.
But, somehow, his subconscious already knew that this very decision would come back to haunt him.
These feelings won't go away
I keep thinking in a moment that
Time will take them away
Ok guys, don't hate me for this chapter. I promise that Brooke and Lucas will be in the same city soon enough. Now, I would love to hear what you thought. Thanks for reading.