"Wwwwwwwaaaaaaake up!" Lucas said as he walked into Lily's bedroom. Lily was under her blanket and popped out as Lucas sat down on the bed. "Do you know what today is?" He asked.
"I get to stay with uncle Nathan and aunt Haley!" Lily said with a huge smile, he then chuckled.
"Well, yes. But, it is also the first game day of the year." He said excitedly.
"Oh, yeah." She said as he shook his head. He was a little bothered that his daughter had no interest in sports.
"Well, what do you want to do today?" He asked as he got up and walked to her closet. He grabbed the white jeans Brooke had brought her and then a black ravens basketball shirt.
"Brooke!" She said.
"You like hanging out with aunt Brooke?" He asked.
"We get ice cream, nails, shopping and she tells me things." She said.
"What kind of things?" He asked.
"Uh…" She said as she thought about it. "No one can take away my knowled…" She trailed off.
"Knowledge?" He asked as she nodded. "Well, that is very true. How does spending the day with uncle Nathan and your cousin Jamie?" He said with a smile.
"Yeah!" She said with a smile. He nodded and then put the clothes down on her bed and left. She got dressed and then walked to the kitchen. Nathan and Jamie were in the kitchen. Lily climbed into her chair next to Jamie.
"Hi Lily!" Jamie said.
"Hi Jamie!" Lily said.
"My dad and your dad are taking us to the River court!" Jamie said with a big smile.
"Cool." She said as Lucas set two pancakes down in front of her. Lucas then sat down and ate breakfast with everyone. Nathan looked at Lucas and Lucas shook his head. As they ate the kids talked to each other while the adults talked to each other.
"So has Haley had a chance to finish my book?" Lucas asked as Nathan put food into his mouth. Nathan nodded as he swallowed.
"Yeah, she finished it last night." Nathan said.
"And…?" Lucas asked.
"She liked it a lot." Nathan said. "She cried, laugh and even got mad at parts. She said she was rooting for the main character the entire time. She really wants to know how it ends." He said.
"How it ends?" Lucas asked. "It ends with the girl discovering who she is." He said a little confused.
"Haley said you would say that." Nathan laughed.
"What does that mean?" Lucas asked.
"What genre is your book?" Nathan asked.
"I am going to classify it as a inner conflict." Lucas said.
"Haley said it should be romance. She is also very mad that you never named the main character." Nathan said.
"Well yeah, the entire book is based on the journal that the girl kept through out her life." Lucas said. "The book is just a bunch of diary entries." He said.
"Yeah she loves it, but hates that the character is never named." Nathan said. "Why didn't you name the main character?" He asked.
"I couldn't think of one that would be fitting enough for the bright and beautiful mystery girl." Lucas said as Nathan shook his head.
"Well get ready for Haley to be mad." Nathan said as Lucas laughed.
"Looking forward to it." Lucas joked. They finished eating and Lucas cleaned up the kitchen while Nathan was in the back yard with the kids. The kids were playing on the playground that Lucas and Nathan had put together one weekend. Lucas walked outside and saw the kids playing together. He smiled as he sat down next to Nathan on the bench.
"It is great that they are such great friends." Nathan said as Lucas nodded.
"I'm sure we would have been great friends if…" Lucas started to say.
"If Dan weren't such a dick." Nathan said.
"Yeah." Lucas nodded. "I feel bad." He said quietly.
"Bad about what?" Nathan asked.
"How Lily is going to grow up." Lucas said as Nathan looked at Lily then at Lucas.
"She is going to grow up perfectly fine." Nathan said.
"Well…I'm just…I'm just not…" Lucas said as he looked at Nathan. "I'm not Keith." He said.
"Luke, you were raised by Keith. You have Keith in every thought process." Nathan said as Lucas nodded. Nathan then put his hand on Lucas' shoulder. "You can't always think about this though. Yeah, Lily is being raised by her brother, BUT she is never gonna see you as her brother. She will only see you as her dad." He said. "You have a whole army helping you. Me, Haley, Skills, Mouth, Junk, Fergie, Peyton and now Brooke. Everyone is here to help you." He said as Lucas sighed.
"I just…don't want to be alone." Lucas said as Nathan patted his shoulder.
"Lucas, look." Nathan said. "I knew that Lindsey wasn't going to be the right person. I also had no idea you were going to propose to her. When you announced it, I decided that I was just going to be happy for you. But, you love someone else. It's obvious. " He said as Lily came running up.
"Jamie fell!" Lily said really fast. Both boys got up and ran over to where Jamie was. He hadn't fallen off anything but had tripped while they were running on the play equipment. Nathan and Lucas helped Jamie up. He hadn't hurt himself except for a little cut on his hand. The guys walked inside with Jamie and put a Band-Aid on it.
"You okay buddy?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah." Jamie said with a smile.
"Ready to go to the River Court?" Lucas asked.
"YEAH!" Jamie said excitedly. Lucas smiled as he walked back to his room. His room was very well kept. He always made his bed each morning and everything had its place. His wallet, keys and watch were always neatly placed on his desk that sat across from his bed. He had stayed in his old bedroom and put most of his mom's things into storage. He put his watch on, and then put his wallet in his back pocket. He then grabbed his keys and walked out of his room. He walked into the living room where everyone was waiting for him.
"Everyone ready?" Lucas asked.
"Dad said I could ride with you!" Jamie said with a smile.
"Alrighty! Party in my car." Lucas joke as he reached for Lily's hand.
"I'm riding with uncle Nathan." Lily said as Nathan laughed. Nathan reached for Lily's hand and Lily grabbed his. He smiled and made a face at Lucas.
"She likes me better!" Nathan said as he walked out the front door. They walked out to the car and he helped her into the car. He shut the door and then got in the front seat. He started the car and then started to drive. "Are you excited to go to the River Court?" He asked in a happy tone.
"No." Lily said as she looked out the window.
"Why?" He asked as he looked in the rear view mirror at his niece.
"There's nothing to do there." She said as he laughed.
"Except for basketball." He said.
"I don't like basketball." She said as he sighed.
"Why?" He asked. Lily then scrunched up her nose. This was her thinking face.
"I don't know." She said as he nodded.
"Is it because you aren't very good?" He asked.
"No." She said. "Daddy said everything takes practice." She said as she stumbled on the word practice.
"Well your daddy is right." He said. "So why don't you like it?" He asked.
"It's Jamie's thing." She said as it caught Nathan off guard.
"Oh…" He said as they pulled up to the River court. He was actually very disappointed that Lily felt left out, but he understood why. There hadn't been a girl in the family for many generations. The Scott family has always focused on basketball and the boys in the family. He got out of the car and then helped Lily out of the back seat. They walked up to the court while Nathan dribbled his ball. He had been working with Quentin for a while and as much as he protested, he had to admit he was making a small comeback. As he started shooting Lucas and Jamie pulled up. Lily was jumping off the picnic bench. Lucas walked up and looked at Lily. She stopped jumping off and he handed her a jump rope. She grabbed it and started to play with it. He walked over to Jamie and Nathan and started shooting around with them.
"Nice one J-Luke!" Lucas said with a smile.
"Thanks Uncle Lucas." Jamie said as he continued to dribble. Nathan smiled as he watched his son. He then looked over at Lily. She was playing with one of the extra balls that Lucas had brought with him. Lucas continued to shoot around as he heard Lily giggle. He turned around and saw Skills playing with her. He laughed.
"Bout time you showed up." Lucas called out.
"Well, I had to move some things around and make a few changes." Skills said.
"What could you have possibly moved around?" Lucas joke.
"Well for starters you should take Lily and Jamie out of that stupid basketball class you put them in." Skills said.
"Why?" Nathan asked as the guys walked over to the picnic table and sat down. Jamie had followed them and grabbed Lily's hand.
"Come on Lily. Let's play!" Jamie said as the two ran onto the court together.
"So seriously why should we take them out? We want them to spend time together." Lucas said.
"Well, they should join my new team the Lil Ravens." Skills said. "I enjoy teaching both of them the sport so why not do it for more of Jamie and Lily's friends." He said as both dads nodded. "So practice will be in the high school gym on Tuesdays and Wednesdays form 5:15 to 6:15. There are seven games a season since there are eight teams. The games are Saturday mornings." He said as he looked at them both. "Sooooo…what do you guys say?" He asked.
"How did you get the gym approved? You have to go through me." Lucas said very confused.
"Oh I just had you sign a bunch of papers. I knew you wouldn't mind." Skills said as Lucas laughed.
"True." Lucas said. "Well, I'm in. I think it would be better if Lily is taught by someone she knows, like her godfather." He said.
"Well, of course Jamie will be there." Nathan said as Skills smiled.
"Great!" Skills said as he watched the two kids dribble balls around the court. "Remember when that was us?" He said as he looked at Lucas.
"Like it was yesterday." Lucas smiled. "Junk and Fergie would be watching, Mouth would be announcing and we would be playing." He smiled.
"Yeah and Nathan was probably beating up some innocent guy." Skills joked.
"I wasn't that bad." Nathan said as both Lucas and Skills laughed. "Yeah you're right. I was that bad." He said as he shook his head.
"Don't worry. Jamie won't turn out like that." Lucas said as Nathan looked at him.
"You think?" Nathan asked.
"You aren't Dan. Plus he has a hell of an uncle." Lucas said as he got up and ran out to the kids. He picked Lily up and held her with one arm over his shoulder. "Jamie…have you seen Lily?" He asked as Lily laughed.
"She's right there!" Jamie said as he pointed at Lily.
"Right where?" Lucas asked as he turned around to see if Lily was behind him.
"Right there uncle Lucas!" Jamie said as he pointed at Lily again.
"Where?" Lucas said as he turned in a circle.
"There!" Jamie said as Lucas set Lily down.
"Oh! There!" Lucas said with a huge smile. He then bent down and put one knee on the ground. "So uncle Skills is gonna be your new basketball coach. How does that sound?" He asked.
"Fun!" Jamie said as he looked at Lily. He frowned a bit. He really wanted to enjoy the sport with her.
"Fun." Lily said with not as much excitement. Lucas kissed Lily's cheek as he got up.
"A few more minutes and then we will be leaving." Lucas said to both kids as they continued to play together. Lucas walked over to them and sat down. He smiled as he watched them. "So Carrie is gonna watch the kids for the rest of the day?" He asked.
"Yeah, I have to go to therapy and don't y'all have to get ready for the first game tonight?" Nathan asked.
"Yep." Lucas said with a laugh. He then looked over at Skills. "You need a ride…don't you." He asked.
"Yep." Skills said with a grin.
"Well we should probably get going." Lucas said as they all got up. Lucas walked over to the kids and started walking with them to Nathan's car. Lily was standing next to Lucas holding his hand. He got down and hugged her. "I'll see you at the game?" He said as she made a face.
"But…" She said. "I wanna go with you." She said as Lucas sighed. He picked her up and walked over to the tree while he talked to her.
"I know that you want to go with me, but you can't." Lucas said as he continued to walk around. "I'll see you at the game and then after you spend the night with uncle Nathan and aunt Haley we will have the whole weekend together, plus I don't have anything scheduled for next weekend so we get to send the time together." He said as he set her down. She had her arms crossed and her face was scrunched.
"But I wanna be with you now!" She said as she stomped her foot.
"Lily stop." Lucas said. "I know you do but I have to work." He said as he tried to uncross her arms.
"No." She said as she pushed his arms away. He took a deep breath and let it out.
"Lily this is going to stop right now." He said sternly. "I know you want to be with me but I am going to work." He said as she uncrossed her arms. Even though she was young she knew how to push his buttons and when she should stop. "You are gonna go with uncle Nathan and be on your best behavior for nanny Carrie. Okay?" He said.
"Yes sir." She said sadly. He sighed and then hugged her. She hugged him back and he sighed again. They walked back to the car together and he helped her into Nathan's car. As Nathan left Lucas got into his car. He slammed the door closed and sighed. He then hit the steering wheel. As he did this Skills got into the car.
"Luke calm down." Skills said as Lucas took a deep breath.
"I should be with Lily not working." Lucas said.
"So you should be making no money while raising a four year old?" Skills asked. "Smart plan." He stated.
"I just used my 'keep this up and you're in trouble' voice on her. I never have to use it. She has been acting out a lot lately. Last night she went to bed an hour early because she wouldn't listen to me. The day before she had told me no more than she had ever in her life. It is like she is trying to make me mad so that I won't leave her." Lucas sighed.
"Luke, of course she is doing that. She is used to seeing you every day and now that the season has started she doesn't see you. She barely sees anyone other than Brooke, Nathan and Haley." Skills said.
"So what am I supposed to do?" Lucas asked.
"Honestly, this is a Haley question." Skills sighed. He could feel the struggle that Lucas was going through. Lucas nodded and then pulled out and started to drive. He drove to the high school and they both got out. Lucas had given Skills an office since he was now the freshmen head basketball coach, but the assistant head coach of the varsity team. As they enter the locker room some of the JV players were getting dressed. They had their practices during school hours. Lucas and Skills both went into their own offices, which were next to each other. Lucas sat down in his chair and went over some of his voicemails from his players' parents. He had scheduled a morning practice the next morning and many parents were not appreciating how much basketball he was enforcing in their sons' lives. After he finished the phone calls it was almost lunchtime. He gathered his things and made his way towards Haley's classroom. Once he got there the bell rang for lunch. He stood outside the door while the students left the classroom. As the classroom emptied he walked into the classroom.
"And how is Mrs. Scott doing today?" Lucas asked as Haley laughed.
"Better, now that I have a month of teaching under my belt." Haley said as Lucas sat down in the in a chair.
"I need to talk to you." He sighed.
"Okay…?" She said a little confused.
"It's about Lily." He said as she nodded.
"Wanna go to your office and talk?" She offered. There really wasn't room to enjoy their conversations. They both got up and walked to the teachers lounge to receive any mail. They then left and walked to Lucas' office. Once they got there they both got comfortable and started to eat. "You were saying." She said.
"Well, lately Lily has been acting out. A lot. It started Wednesday, a little bit yesterday and then again today. She is developing a really bad temper and attitude." He said.
"Luke, her personality is developing. I know that isn't a very good answer but she is also seeing how far she can push you." She said.
"And that's it?" He asked.
"Well, you haven't been spending as much time with her as you used to…but that is because the season has started and that is completely understandable. It is more noticeable because..." She said as he cut her off.
"Because I'm single." He said as she sighed.
"Luke, I didn't mean it…" She said as he laughed.
"Honestly it's fine." He said.
"So your book…I finished it." She said as she handed it to him. There were a couple of red marks through out it.
"And…?" He asked.
"You didn't name the girl." She said.
"Well, I wasn't planning on it. It is a look into her diary." He said.
"I have a name for you." She said as the bell rang.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Brooke Davis." She said as she got up. "The book is about Brooke. The book is about the love you are hiding from her." She said as she left. He looked at his door and then down at his book. He started to read some of it and then thought to himself. As he read some of the errors he laughed.
"Is my book really about Brooke?" He asked aloud as Skills walked by the office. Skills popped in with a grin.
"If I was to guess your book is definitely about Brooke." Skills said as Lucas laughed. He then shook his head as Skills left the locker room.