I Don't Want To Be

Standard Disclaimers Apply.

Note: This is AU. Deb Roe is Lucas' mom. Dan and Karen are married with two children – Nathan and Crystal. There are other things, but I'll just let you read and find those out.

------- … scene change/break or indicated flashback

Italics … thoughts

Bold … emphasis

I Don't Want To Be: Chapter 3: May I Take Your Order?

"May I take your order?"

If there was one thing Lucas was sure he would never understand, it was old women and their endless fascination with his hair and cheeks. This fact was illustrated by the two old women who were currently insisting on ruffling his hair, pinching at his cheeks, and telling him how cute he was. This is crazy. Just order something already! Granted, they had ordered something, but that had been two hours ago. Then they came back. Don't they have anything better to do? He felt his cheek being pinched again. Ugh...apparently not.

Deb had taken to the café, with some instruction from Keith, with all the ease of a fish to water. Lucas was proud of how well his mom was running the little place. It had been a little rough at the start of the summer, and there had been days that his mom was ready to just sell the café and be done with it. But as it turned out, she hadn't had the heart to give it up. It had the potential to be a good, steady job if she would just stick with it. So she stuck with it, never giving up during the slow/no business days. And now things were starting to pick up.

Lucas, having nothing better to do, worked as a waiter. His mom had, out of the blue, asked him if he would work for her. The boy had said he would help her with anything she thought he could do, but refused the money. And so his summer was spent in and out of the café. Which brings us back to the present – with twelve-year-old Lucas Scott trying to get the order of the two old ladies.

"Is it working?"

Deb looked over at her son and then back to Keith. Sharing a conspiratorial smile, she whispered back, "Like a charm. I told you so."

"Yeah, yeah." Keith, seated on a stool, watched as his nephew patiently waited for the customers to leave his hair alone long enough to order. "I'm telling you, Luke has the patience of a saint. Ms. Johnson and Ms. McPherson have been messing with him all afternoon."

"But they've been ordering all afternoon too. Luke is a customer magnet, just like I said he'd be." Deb was fairly pleased with how her little plan had worked out. Lucas had told her how the old ladies on porches in their neighborhood would stophim when he returned from the walks he went on everyday. Okay, so it was more like he complained about it, but anyway. Polite as always, Lucas never failed to indulge the women in whatever they stopped him for – cookies, Scrabble, checkers, a card game, etc.

He didn't get it, but Deb did. Her son was adorable with his baby face, blue eyes, halo of blond hair, andhis quiet, shy behavoir wasadorable to most. People were drawn to his sweet demeanor. Deb dreaded Lucas growing up, inevitable as it was. He could bring all kinds of girls home… That's okay, I'll just need to be sure that I'm scary enough to ward off the more…wild girls. Can't have them corrupting my baby.

But back to the older women of Tree Hill. Well, there were a lot of older, bored women in Tree Hill with nothing better to do than sit around, watch TV, read, knit, etc. – basically, nothing. Deb figured that she could add an option to that list – eating out at the café. Besides, in a town like this, you have to start with the older people before trying to win over the younger ones. It was like establishing a foundation of some sort.

Deb found it funny how these same people were the ones that had scorned her for having Lucas in the first place. But Deb wasn't really one to hold grudges. There was one exception concerning 'He Who Shall Not Be Named', but he wasn't important – never was and never would be. He had his chance.

And he had blown it big time.

"Okay, now Meredith, we should make our order and let this young man get back to his work," Ms. Johnson said.

"Right, right. What should we order Mary?"

Lucas just hoped they wouldn't take twenty minutes going over everything on the café's menu. He was in luck; they only took ten minutes this time.

"Oh, I've got it! How about some tea Meredith?"

"That sounds wonderful Mary. And those sandwiches there – they look delicious."

"Good, so we'll have two teas and two of those sandwiches there." She pointed to the glass case that had what they wanted in it.

Thank God. I thought they'd never order. Lucas wrote down their requests as legibly as he could and went to the counter. "Two teas and two of…of…those." He pointed to the same case as before.

Deb smiled as her son handed her the order and went to retrieve the items. "Coming right up!"

Three customers came in just then: an old lady, a younger woman, and a baby girl. Lucas wondered if he and his uncle were the only males in town. Well no, that was wrong. He had seen some boys down at this court he had found while walking one day. Lucas hadn't approached them; just watched as they played basketball together. But aside from them, all he had seen were girls/women. Back to work I guess.

"Should I be jealous? My nephew seems to be able to get more women than me."

Deb laughed at Keith. "That's my baby; a real charmer."

"It isn't fair you know; he isn't even trying!" He was smiling though, knowing his nephew sort of hated the attention. "All he did was play with the baby, get a giggle out of her, and bam, instant adoration."

"All women love a guy that can handle babies. It's sweet and shows their sensitive side."

Keith looked over at his nephew. The young lady was showing him how to burp the baby. Or trying to anyway. Right now, nothing of the sort was happening. "How does letting a baby drool all over your shoulder help show your sensitive side?"

Deb looked up from putting Ms. McPherson and Ms. Johnson's order on a pair of trays. "It just does."

Keith shook his head. I'll never understand them – women or babies. He looked over in time to see the disdainful look on his nephew's face. The baby had burped…and then saw fit to spit up on him. The older Scott laughed at his nephew's misfortune.

"Not funny Uncle Keith!"

Deb came home, shop closed. She had been thinking as she drove home. Naturally, her thoughts turned to the bright spot in her life – her son. Now that she was home, she felt worried. Lucas hadn't mentioned meeting any friends over the summer. He seemed to spend most of his time with her at the café, with Keith, or on his walks. Lucas never mentioned making any friends, so she assumed that he really hadn't met any. Deb was worried that a repeat of the past was coming, and her son would avoid making any friends at all.

Both she and Keith had done their best to make sure Lucas knew and understood that this was permanent. They weren't moving anymore, so he was free to make friends without fear of having to leave them behind. Keith had talked to her about getting him to a therapist. It would be good for Lucas. She had read somewhere that moving around a lot can sometimes cause psychological and emotional damage to young children and teens. She wanted to get her son some professional help, really she did, but they just couldn't afford it…

One day, Deb told herself, one day I won't have to say that all the time.

"Lucas?" she called out. She had sent him home an hour or two before she had closed the café and headed home. Her son wasn't answering and she found herself panicking slightly. It was irrational, but she couldn't help it. Lucas wasn't the type to just run off and not say anything, but being the quiet child he was, finding him could take a little time if he couldn't hear you. And as his mother, she worried about him a lot anyway. He was here…right? He had come straight home, hadn't he?

"Lucas?" Still nothing. Deb walked through the kitchen, purse left on the table.

"Luc—" Her call was cut off and a soft smile came to her face. She'd found him.

Lucas was exhausted. He was thankful for his mother sending him home. The blond boy didn't even make it to his room. He flopped onto the couch, telling himself he would rest here for a little while and then go take a shower, enter his bedroom, and go to sleep.

He did not count on being so tired. He had fallen asleep as soon as hit head had hit the cushion. Lucas did not hear the door open and close, nor did he hear his mother calling for him. The boy was just too tired to wake up as easily as he usually did. Otherwise, he would have answered her.

He felt a hand shaking him, causing him to wake up. His mother was smiling at him. "Hey sleepy head," she said to him. "Why don't we get you to your room, hm?"

Lucas blinked slowly, waiting for his mind to wake up fully. It wasn't happening. He lifted his head and looked in the direction of where his mother was trying to him. Too far… He'd become lazy, and was more than happy to just sleep here on the couch. "…" He groaned and laid his head back down.

His mother laughed as she pulled him up, but Lucas was not amused. He got up, leaning heavily on her. A yawn escaped him as they reached his room.

"Come on sweetie, you need to rest up for your big day tomorrow."

Big day? What big day? He must have made some questioning or confused noise because she looked at him funny as she said, "School, Lucas, you have school tomorrow. First day remember?" He grimaced.

Oh joy.

That's chapter three folks. Sorry for the long wait, but school has been crazy with finals coming up. I'll try to get chapter four up within a week. Next chapter: Exceptions.