I Don't Want To Be

Standard Disclaimers Apply.

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

Italics … thoughts

Bold … emphasis

I Don't Want To Be: Chapter 11: Bad Idea

"This bites," Lucas muttered to himself on the bench. He was holding an ice pack over his ankle. Third day of practice and he was already hurt.

Nathan did that on purpose, I know he did! He had been going down the court, planning to show off a three-pointer. He was getting really good with those and he wanted to show Coach Craig that.

Unfortunately, there was an obstacle named Nathan and – surprise, surprise! – the rest of the team hadn't been much help. It had become apparent to Lucas, since the first day of practice really, that everyone seemed to follow Nathan's lead.

If Nathan got tired, they got tired too. If Nathan felt like giving the Coach a hard time, everyone gave the coach a hard time as well. And, obviously, if Nathan decided to pick on, harass, and otherwise torture Lucas for whatever reason, then everyone else did so too.

It was annoying and now Nathan's little stunt of tripping him up on the court had him benched until he was better. How was he going to explain this to his mother? She had been reluctant enough to just let him play. She'd be quick to pull him off completely if she heard about this.

I'll have to come up with something. He'd need Haley to back him up. That should do it to convince his mom and Keith.

Lucas winced as he shifted the ice over his ankle. It seemed to be getting worse really. There was a lump or something there and the skin was turning this awful blue-purple color… It looked terrible and if the trainer hadn't explained that it was a simple swollen ankle then Lucas would probably be freaking out a little.

When he had fallen, Nathan went on to make it out as a complete accident by falling on top of him too. Actually, he, Nathan, specifically landed on his ankle – hard.

With full weight.

And it freaking hurt, okay?

Lucas hadn't screamed very loudly, but it had been loud enough for everyone to know that he wouldn't exactly be hopping back on his feet like nothing had happened.

Not that the same could be said for Nathan, of course. He was just fine, taking his fall like a 'little trooper', as Coach Craig had put it. The coach had carried Lucas over to the bench and had the trainer look at it. After some painful poking and prodding, the trainer said it wasn't broken. It was just going to swell a lot.

Lucas didn't understand why Nathan wasn't punished. The coach had said that he was sure it was all an accident and just had Nathan apologize. Funny, most people don't smirk like that while they 'sincerely' apologize to someone.

Keith checked his watch. Practice had ended a few minutes ago. So Lucas should be coming out any minute now…

"Keith?"

Keith grimaced, and ignored the person calling him.

"Keith."

The voice, male, sounded sure that he had the right person now, but that didn't mean Keith would turn around and talk to him.

"Keith, I know that's you and I know you hear me."

"So?" Come on kid, where are you?

"Is that how it is now big brother?"

Keith sucked in a breath, wondering why the man wouldn't just leave him alone. "If I say yes, will you go away?"

He heard a frustrated sound before a hand clamped down on his shoulder and forced him to turn around. "No."

Keith refrained from rolling his eyes – barely. Surprise, surprise. Little brother always has to have his way over every little thing. Can we say 'control freak'? "What do you want Dan?"

"Nothing, just wondering what you were doing here. You don't have any kids and I doubt you've been struck with the sudden desire to spend time with your nephew."

Crap. He wanted to say that he was here to spend time with his nephew – Lucas, but that would ruin everything. The snippy barb was just so tempting, but…Deb didn't want Dan to know. So lie! Think of a lie!

"I…do have a kid here." There was a silence and Keith was thinking of something else in case Dan called him on this one.

"You have a son? On the basketball team? Here?"

"Seems to be that way, yes, and yes – hence me being here Danny-boy."

Dan stared at his older brother in shock. There was no way. How? When? And most importantly – "With who?"

"None of your business."

Dan huffed. "Sure. So where is he then?" Dan was forced to release his brother when the other man went running towards the entrance. He speed-walked after Keith, refusing to be left like that. He wanted answers, right now. And Dan Scott always got what he wanted.

"Lucas? Lucas!"

Lucas looked up from the floor. He'd been focusing on it moreso than the direction he was walking in. He found himself swept into a pair of strong arms. Smelled like…cars and…something else. Uncle Keith. "Umm…you can let go now."

Keith released his nephew, running his eyes over him in concern. When he had seen his nephew come through the doors with the assistance of his coach, panic had flooded Keith's system. "What happened to your leg kiddo?"

A shadow fell over them both and Keith refrained from telling his brother to piss off. Had to watch the language around Lucas.

Lucas looked curiously at his uncle's expression as another strange man came up. He had dark hair and scarily familiar eyes. Lucas frowned at the man's condescending expression. The man reminded him of someone…

"Lucas?" Keith didn't like Lucas' gaze being on Dan. Lucas was a smart boy, and scarily observant. Keith feared that if Lucas was allowed to study Dan long enough…well, the elder Scott was afraid the boy would figure it out.

"Hm?" Lucas replied distractedly. His ice blue eyes shifted to his worried uncle. What had he asked him? "Oh, my ankle. Just a little accident," the boy said lightly. His face said that there was more though. He'd tell his uncle about his suspicions later. Saying it now would make Coach Craig jump in.

Keith frowned. "Little accident?" He stood up, straightening himself, and fixed a stern frown on the coach. "And how did this 'little accident' occur?" There was an ice pack strapped to his nephew's ankle. Lucas looked pained whilst limping out of the gym, even with help. This was not a 'little accident' to Keith.

"Just a fall Mr. Scott. One of the boys tripped up on the court and took Lucas down with him." Craig Jones resisted the urge to squirm under the other man's intense gaze. Keith was looking at him like he could burn a hole thought him right on the spot. "Your son is okay, I swear. His ankle will just be a little swollen."

Keith wasn't happy, but he wanted to get Lucas home and off that ankle. "Right." His eyes went to Lucas just as the boy was about to say something.

"Oh Coach, he's not –"

Then it hit him. "Your son is okay, I swear." Son! "Come on Lucas," he said quickly. "Time to go."

Lucas looked at his uncle as he helped him limp along to the car. "But – "

"Don't worry," Keith interrupted again, highly aware of the person listening on the conversation. "I'm sure we can break this to your mom without her freaking out." The three of them – Deb, Lucas, and himself – were so used to correcting those who weren't in on their history, that the boy was probably about to set the record straight as usual. But that couldn't happen today. Not after what he'd told Dan.

The coach left too and Dan turned to watch his brother help the blond child that was supposed to be his son along. There was something about that kid…something familiar. The way the kid had been staring at him with those eyes of his…sharp eyes they were. A familiar blue color.

So his brother did have a son. It felt weird to have missed that. Surely, there would have been talk about Keith getting married and having a kid. This town was so full of gossip that something had to be known. His own wife would have heard about it somewhere and said something by now right? Not if she thought I wouldn't care.

It was no secret that the Scott brothers – Keith and Dan – weren't big fans of each other. But surely not to the point that a wife and kid would have been mentioned in passing, if not by his wife, then at least by their parents. Maybe they don't know, he mused while watching the pair.

Dan was so wrapped up in watching Lucas and Keith leave that he didn't notice his own son approach him. A hand tugging on his business coat made him look down to see blue eyes so like his own.

"Dad, can we leave now?" Nathan didn't know what the heck his dad had been looking at, but he didn't really care. He just wanted to go home, eat, and sleep.

"Yeah, let's go," Dan replied absently.

Lucas had been suitably distracted by the new topic, letting go of his uncle's intervention in him correcting his coach. His mom's impending fussing was a more pressing matter. "Do you think she'll be mad?" the blue-eyed child queried as his uncle unlocked the truck.

"At you? Nah… Though you may want to safeguard your coach and whoever knocked your over. Speaking of which…was there something you wanted to tell me back there?" At this his nephew fidgeted, causing Keith to pause in closing the passenger side door.

Lucas sighed in his seat. Might as well tell him now. "It was Nathan."

Lucas' expression made Keith worry. What's he thinking about? "Lucas?" This seemed to snap the boy out of it. "You said it was that Nathan kid?" The boy nodded and Keith felt something knot up in his stomach. "Nathan…?" Please don't say 'Scott', please don't say 'Scott', please don't say 'Scott', please don't say –

"Scott. Nathan Scott."

Keith inwardly groaned. It figured. The two barely knew who the other was and they already had the beginnings of a feud going. They would likely end up like Dan and himself, two brothers that couldn't stand one another. Scott family tradition it would be. Wonderful. "Right, and this is the same kid who gave you trouble at lunch that one day?" he asked while seating himself on the driver's side.

"Yes."

"Been harassing you much?" Great. He started up the truck.

"Ever since then."

Perfect. "Do you know why?"

"Because he was picking on some kids and I made him stop."

That was Lucas for you, sweet kid with a big heart. "How'd you do that?" Nathan was no angel and he doubted that the kid had stopped once Lucas politely asked him to do so. Keith was praying Lucas wouldn't say that he punched the kid out. It would be out-of- character, but it was all the man could think of to stop Nathan. That or calling a teacher. Please say you called a teacher…

"I pushed him off the kid." Or maybe it was one of Nathan's friends that he'd pushed. He didn't remember what had happened exactly, only that Nathan had ended up on the floor.

I should really stop praying for him to say a certain thing, it'll probably never work. "I see. So now he doesn't like you and is giving you a hard time," Keith concluded as he drove along.

"Mmhm," the blond boy replied distantly. He was thinking about something he'd seen in the parking lot as they'd pulled off.

Keith was thinking too, but not about the same thing. Deb's going to kill me. All he had to do was pick Lucas up and bring him home in one piece. She'd flip over the ankle, but that was fixable. She'd get over that. What she wouldn't be so quick to get over was the run-in with Dan and the beginnings of a feud between Nathan and Lucas. What she wouldn't get over at all was the fact that Dan now thought that Lucas was his son.

Whoo, it's going to be a long night.

And there's the end of chapter 11. We have the beginnings of a feud and the first few strings of what will be a very tangled web. We'll be jumping in time a bit, so get ready for that. Review and I'll see you next chapter!