A/N: Special thanks once again goes out to all my constant reviewers. Your comments always make my day so please keep them coming.

Thanks to everyone who is reading as well. Feel free to let me know what you think, good or bad.

Inspired 61: he does love her; he just has some growing up to do. I hope you'll bear with him as he does so.

Lucas's flashbacks are in italics, but all the bolded parts are actual scenes from the show.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

"Have another drink, old man," Nathan taunted once he'd learned the reason for his uncle's visit. "Trust me, if I'd beat on him, he'd have a lot more injuries than just a black eye."

Keith sneered. "And why's that? Cuz you're so tough?"

"Tougher than that scrawny ass punk," Nathan boasted.

"Nathan," Peyton rebuked softly, before fixing her large, green eyes on her boyfriend's uncle. "Look, Nathan was with me all weekend. He didn't jump anybody."

"And, of course, you wouldn't lie for him, now would you?" Keith asked sarcastically.

"She doesn't have to lie for me," Nathan remarked snidely. "I didn't even touch the bastard. I haven't even seen him today."

"You expect me to believe that?" Keith asked, his temper rising even more upon Nathan's description of Lucas.

Nathan frowned. "I don't give a fuck if you believe me or not. I don't have to prove anything to you."

"Watch your mouth, will ya, son," Dan scolded with amusement. "But you're right. You don't have to answer to him." He faced his brother haughtily. "Now get out of my house, Boozy. And next time you want to accuse my son of something, make sure you have proof. Or I'll have you charged for harassment."

Keith clenched his jaw in fury. His brother had a hell of a nerve accusing him of harassment, considering what his son had done to Lucas…had been doing to him for weeks. But all he could do for the time being was heed Dan's order and leave. He should have known Dan would protect Nathan over Lucas. Hadn't he always?

Throwing the trio one final glare, he stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

Dan let out a chuckle when he heard the tires screech as Keith drove off. "I think you made him mad, son."

"I didn't do anything," Nathan declared.

Dan just laughed and winked. "He's gone, Nathan. You can tell the truth now."

Peyton felt her boyfriend stiffen and she squeezed his hand supportively.

Nathan looked down at her and gave her a small smile, before facing his father again. "I am telling the truth, Dad. It wasn't me."

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"It wasn't him," Lucas stated vehemently. It was later that night and Karen and Keith each sat on Luke's bed.

"Lucas, honey, I know you want to believe the best about Nathan, but he's not a good guy. Who else would do this?" she asked, fussing over his eye.

"I don't know," Lucas replied in exasperation. "I don't know who it was. I only know who it wasn't. And no, Mom, I'm not in denial. I know what Nathan's like, ok?" His mind played back to several altercations he'd had with his brother in the past few weeks.

Various Flashbacks

Nathan stood threateningly before him. "Watch it, punk, before I beat your scrawny ass."

Nathan pushed him, causing a ruckus in the crowd. "Keep your eyes on the ball instead of my girl."

Nathan sat in the classroom, raised his hand, and snickered "I can describe Lucas in one word. Bastard."

Lucas walked out to his car, finding all 4 tires slashed, with the words "I warned you, punk" spray painted across the windshield.

Nathan stepped out of the van and walked over, laughing at Lucas who'd just been thrown in the ditch. "Well, Well. The gang's all here. I told you it was gonna get worse…"

Lucas pulled up to the Rivercourt. It was trashed. "You suck" was written on the backboard where the net used to hang.

Nathan was heading his way, fury in his eyes, ready to beat his ass for once again staring at Peyton. However, Jake held him back.

End of Flashbacks

Lucas shook his head again. "He didn't do this," he repeated.

"How do you know?" Keith asked, "You said it all happened so fast and he was in disguise."

"That is exactly how I know. Look," he continued, when the two just looked at him as though he were being naïve. "Nathan's got some pretty shady methods, no question about that. But whatever he's done, he's always let it be known it was him. Always. I can't see him wasting his time doing something to me if I'm not even gonna know it was him." Shaking his head again, he continued. "No way. He likes to taunt me way too much not to take credit for something like this. It wasn't him," he concluded once again, but more firmly.

"I'd say the mention of Peyton's name pretty much confirms his guilt, Luke. I know you don't want to believe that, but who else would care if you stared at her? You mentioned before he's very possessive of her," Keith reminded him.

Lucas sighed. He understood their reasoning, but, for some reason, he just knew that Nathan was not responsible for this morning's incident. He only wished his mother and uncle would trust in his instincts instead of looking at him like he was crazy for having an ounce of faith in his brother.

"I'll gouge your eyes out," Lucas said mockingly. "Nathan doesn't even talk like that," he tried convincing them again. "He's more like 'Hey punk, I'm gonna beat your ass' or 'Look at my girl again and you're dead, you fucking bastard!' – Sorry" he told his mom when she threw him a scornful look for cursing. "Just saying." He leaned back into the pillows. " 'Quit the team or I'll destroy you,' " he added, thinking of another of Nathan's common threats.

Karen looked at her son with soft eyes. He obviously believed Nathan was innocent in this, but she wasn't convinced of it. It seemed to her that he just wanted to shut out any possibility that Nathan had attacked him from behind, and for Lucas's sake, she sincerely hoped he was right. It would destroy him, indeed, to know that his brother could be that callous toward him. "Well, who knows," she conceded. "Maybe it wasn't him, after all."

Lucas gave her a small smile. At least she was open to the idea that he may be right. That was a start. He glanced over at Keith, hoping for a similar response.

"Yeah," Keith gave in. "It could have been someone else." He thought of his confrontation with Nathan. The kid had denied everything. He'd even seemed surprised, not only by the accusation, but by the incident itself. Keith assumed his youngest nephew had been lying, intent on getting away with his violent behavior, as he got away with everything else, but upon hearing Lucas's speech in Nathan's defense, Keith had to wonder. He was even leaning toward the idea that Nathan was innocent of this one.

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The next day, the dreaded Monday, Nathan and Peyton, along with their group of friends, sat in the cafeteria during lunch. They normally preferred to spend their lunch hour outside, but since it was raining, they were forced to stay indoors. The only one missing was Brooke. Peyton noticed the brunette come storming over and turned her head away.

"Umm, I'm gonna, uh, go…to…uh," she stammered. "I'll be back," she finally managed. She gave Nathan a quick kiss and made a hasty exit before he, or anyone else, could ask where she was going. She didn't want to be there for what she knew was coming.

"You no good, rotten, son of a bitch!" Brooke screamed at the top of her lungs, catching everyone's attention. They all turned and stared as she pushed Nathan roughly by the back of the head.

Having still been trying to figure out where Peyton had taken off to so quickly, Brooke's harsh actions and words took Nathan completely off guard. "Brooke, what the hell?!" he asked, grabbing the back of his neck, which had pulled a bit from the push.

"How could you?" Brooke demanded to know.

His eyebrows creased in confusion and he turned to face her. "How could I what?"

"Don't you DARE pretend you have no idea what I'm talking about," she spat out furiously, poking her index finger into his chest repeatedly.

"Brooke…"

"No, shut up, Nathan. Don't give me any more of your freaking bullshit!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" he asked, truly confused. The last time he'd seen Brooke was on Saturday at the Bowling alley. What had happened since then?

"You know what I'm talking about. You know exactly what I'm talking about!" she screamed louder.

"Ok, calm down, alright," he tried to reason. Clearly she was upset and he really didn't want to have this argument in front of their all too curious audience. "Why don't we talk about this somewhere else," he suggested coolly.

"Why? So no one else finds out what you did?"

"Brooke, I don't even know what I did," he replied, his voice now rising too. "Whatever it is, I'm sorry. Ok?"

"Oh, you're SORRY!" she hissed. "Is that supposed to make it all better? Well, it doesn't. And, believe me, your sorry ass hasn't even begun to be sorry."

"Brooke!" Nathan yelled. Whatever her problem was, he couldn't believe she was doing this in front of half the school.

If he was surprised before, he was dumbfounded when Brooke turned away from him, facing the general direction of the other students in the cafeteria, and began addressing them. "You all want to know what he did?" she asked them, still obviously furious.

Many nodded, curious to find out what Nathan Scott had done to piss off Brooke Davis to such extreme.

Nathan grabbed her arm, turning her back around toward him. "Brooke," he said in warning. If what he'd done was so terrible, he'd really rather she didn't announce it to this bunch of nosy bystanders.

"They should know, Nathan. Everyone should know what kind of friend hotshot Nathan Scott is," she told him, facing the crowd once again. "As I was saying," she continued, "you know what this guy did?" she said, pointing at Nathan. "What he said to me?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Brooke, come on…" he tried again to reason with her.

Ignoring him, she went on. "He said…that I…" She took a deep breath, unsure if she could go on. "That I… Brooke Davis…could neeeeever pass a drama class…that I'd make a lousy actress," she finally managed. "Can you believe that?" she asked as though she'd suffered a great insult.

"What!" Nathan said, stunned by her words. "Are you serious?"

Nathan's shocked facial expression was her undoing. She suddenly burst into laughter.

"You seriously thought I was mad, didn't you?"

Nathan smirked. "Maybe a little," he admitted.

"A little, huh? Hello! Not only did you believe it, you even apologized for it," she pointed out smugly. "You all heard him say he was sorry, right?" she asked the crowd in general, to which most nodded. "And you all thought I was actually mad too, didn't you?" Once more they nodded and she graced her audience with a curtsey.

Nathan shook his head in amusement. Leave it to Brooke. "Unbelievable."

She threw him a huge, dimpled grin. "Gotcha," she said.

"Anything for an audience, huh?" he accused, putting her in a loose headlock, and messing her hair.

"No, anything for a lobster dinner," she revealed, still in his grip. "Which you now owe us, by the way."

"I don't think so," he replied, letting her go, but making her squeal when he poked her sides. "I don't see no paper saying 90, final grade."

"I know technically that was the deal, but the class doesn't even start until next semester, and I've already managed to make half the school believe me, so obviously I'm getting that 90 with my eyes closed."

"No deal," Nathan taunted. "A scene in the caf is not what we shook on. Sorry."

Peyton came over to stand beside them. "So? Shall I call for reservations now?"

"For what?" Nathan asked.

"You know," she answered her boyfriend. "Lobster."

"Apparently, Nathan's decided to get technical and wait for the actual grade before he takes us," Brooke stated indignantly. "Like he's ever been a stickler for rules. Hmm."

Peyton laughed at her friend, but stopped abruptly when she noticed Nathan's narrowed eyes fixed on her.

"You knew she was going to do this?" he asked, just cluing in.

Peyton chuckled in admission. "Why do you think I left? Unlike you two, I don't feel comfortable in the spotlight."

"In other words," Brooke piped up, "for the first time since you've been dating, she would have been embarrassed to be seen with you."

"Me? You were the one spazzing out," he countered. "You should have heard her," he told Peyton.

"Uh, I kind of did," Peyton admitted. "I sat right over there in the corner," she revealed, pointing to where she'd watched the whole scene go down.

"What? You were there the whole time and you didn't come save me?"

"And miss the entertainment?" Peyton teased.

"Some girlfriend you are," Nathan sulked playfully.

"Aww, I'm sorry, baby," Peyton said in amusement, as she put a hand on one of his cheeks, and kissed the other. "But you got to admit, that was the performance of a lifetime; definitely worthy of at least a reassessment of the terms of our agreement."

"Yeah, good one, P. Sawyer," Brooke said impressively, giving her friend a high five. "You should totally be a lawyer."

"Thank you, B. Davis," Peyton answered in a professional tone.

But Nathan just laughed. "Forget it," he said firmly. "You two set me up and then expect me to play nice?" he asked in amusement. "That's not gonna work," he added when they both gave him their puppy dog eyes.

"Come on," Brooke pouted. "I deserve something for proving my talent."

Nathan snickered. "You deserve something, all right," he agreed. "But it ain't no lobster dinner. Maybe if you'd screamed at someone else, I might have taken you to McDonald's."

Brooke slapped his arm. "You're such a stubborn ass. I hate you."

"For real this time, or are you still acting?" Nathan asked humorously.

"Huh, guess you'll never know," she said haughtily, as she sat down.

Nathan and Peyton sat as well, in the spot they'd been occupying before Brooke's show.

"Oh, hey, Nate," Tim said, once all the group's laughter over Brooke's performance subsided. "I think I should be up for the best friend award."

Nathan chuckled. "Why's that?"

"You'll see," Tim answered gleefully. "If not before, then at least at practice tonight."

Nathan looked at his friend curiously. "Just tell me, Tim. You know you suck at secrets."

"Let's just say a certain someone, won't be gawking at a certain someone else's girlfriend anymore," he said, trying to sound mysterious. "And leave it at that."

Nathan, about to take a bite of his apple, suddenly put his arm down and stared at his friend, realization marking his handsome features. "Anything to do with Lucas, by any chance?" he asked, though he already felt sure of the answer.

"Who told you?" Tim asked.

"You just did," Nathan replied. "Tim…"

"You don't have to thank me, Nate. What are friends for, right?"

"Tim," Peyton jumped in. "Nathan got blamed for that."

"What? No way."

The rest of the group, curious as to what they were talking about, wasted no time asking. They were quickly filled in, and all of a sudden, Jake just started laughing.

"What's so funny, Jagielski?" Nathan asked.

"The fact that you got blamed for it," he admitted. "I mean you, the one who, just two days ago, was ready to beat this guy's ass in a crowded bowling alley, gets accused of a sneak attack the very next day. Go Figure," he said, still laughing.

Nathan smiled upon hearing Jake's twisted analogy.

Peyton failed to see the humor. "That was a real assy move, Tim. How would you like to get jumped in an alley?"

"It would suck," Tim admitted, yet continued to laugh. "But Pucas deserved it."

"No one deserves that," Peyton said in rebuttal.

"She's right," Jake cut in. Looking at her, he continued. "I wasn't laughing because Lucas got jumped by Tim…just the idea that someone could think it was Nate," he added reassuringly.

"I know, Jake," Peyton told him with a genuine smile. She knew he was kind hearted and, unlike many of the others in her group, would never take pleasure in anyone's pain.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Nate," Tim said. "I didn't think you'd get blamed. I just figured I'd make him back off Peyton for you."

"He's never done anything to me that would require him to back off," Peyton said angrily when Nathan only shrugged, unaffected by it all.

Nathan rolled his eyes. The only thing that bothered him right now was Peyton sticking up for that bastard. "Peyton, it's just Lucas. Who the hell cares?"

Peyton sat back and sighed. She could never figure out how Nathan could be so cold toward his own brother. But she wasn't going to start an argument with him over it, so instead she stuffed a forkful of fries into her mouth, to prevent herself from saying any more.

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Nathan entered Whitey's office before practice, curious to know what the coach wanted to talk to him about. Probably just some game plays, he thought. But when he saw his uncle sitting with the old coach, he stopped in his tracks. What was he telling him? The same thing he'd told his dad yesterday? What was going to happen now? Would Whitey believe him? Would he kick him off the team? Nathan swallowed hard, expecting the worst, but when Keith stood up, came over to him, and then apologized, he blinked in pure shock. He wasn't expecting the words that came out of his uncle's mouth.

"Now, I don't know if you had anything to do with Lucas's beating or not," Keith started, "but I realize I jumped to conclusions, and for that I am sorry," Keith said genuinely.

Nathan didn't know how to react. He wasn't used to an adult figure actually apologizing to him. And yet he was unmoved by the gesture. He didn't care what his uncle thought or that he was sorry. He barely knew the guy. He shrugged his shoulders carelessly. "Whatever," he said simply, leaving the room.

Coach Durham put a hand on Keith's shoulder. "You know, son, it takes a big person to admit when they're wrong and apologize for it. Even if Nathan doesn't see it just yet, one day he'll look back and remember, and he'll come to realize you're a good man."

"I'm not so sure about that," Keith said. "I don't think he'd even recognize a good man if he saw one."

"I'm sure you mean besides me," Whitey joked.

"Of course."