Brooke followed her husband down the very familiar halls of Tree Hill High. He opened his classroom door and she walked into his classroom. She smiled at him and he closed the door behind him. This was their favorite first day tradition. He sat down at his desk and she sat down in a spare chair he pulled up to the desk. She then pulled out a bag from their house. She had packed them a special lunch.
"How's your morning going?" Brooke asked as he unpacked their meals.
"Great! I think this is going to be an amazing school year!" Lucas said as she nodded.
"That's good to hear." She said. "Did you get a chance to talk to Kieran about this morning?" She asked and then sipped her coffee. He let out a sigh and then looked down.
"No I didn't get a chance to talk to him." He said.
"Oh." She said with a slight eye roll and then looked down at her food.
"Didn't you see him before he left." He said rudely. "Why didn't you ask him?" He asked.
"I was on the phone Lucas." She said plainly.
"No surprise there." He said a bit snarky.
"Really Lucas." She said as she stood up. "I am trying. I am trying to be a good mother and wife. I am trying to run my own company. A little consideration would be nice since you are my husband." She said frustrated.
"A little consideration?" He said angrily. He was about to continue his thought when there was a knock at his classroom door and then their son walked in. Brooke took a deep breath in and let it out, she then smiled.
"How's your first day of junior year?" She asked as Kieran nodded.
"It's going." Kieran said and then pulled out a paper from his backpack. "I didn't get to talk to either of you this morning. So I thought I would come now. Is that a problem?" He asked knowing his parents were just fighting. Lucas and Brooke both looked at each other and sighed.
"It's fine son." Lucas said as he walked over to him and grabbed the paper. "What's it about?" He asked as he started to read it over.
"I don't want to be in AP Physics." Kieran said.
"We can take you out of it." Brooke said as Lucas quickly looked at her. When it came to school Lucas was always pushing their children while Brooke typically let them out of many things.
"Wait a minute." Lucas said as he looked back at his son. "Why do you not want to be in the class?" He asked.
"I just don't have the time." Kieran said. "I'm already in AP English and AP U.S. History."
"Your junior year is an important time. Universities will be looking at this year when deciding on admissions." Lucas said as Kieran sighed.
"So are recruiters." Kieran argued back. "I want to play basketball in college and I can't focus on the game if I'm buried in homework every single night." He said.
"Alright Kieran." Lucas said. "I except great grades since you only have two AP classes instead of three." He said as Kieran nodded.
"Thanks dad!" Kieran said as his parents sighed the paper. He grabbed it from his dad and walked towards the door. "I'll see you both at dinner tonight!" He said.
"Of course!" Brooke said with a smile. "Make sure you're at Karen's Cafe by 5:30." She said as he nodded and walked out of the classroom. Brooke turned back to her husband. He was sitting at his desk eating the lunch she had made for him. She walked back to the chair that Lucas got for her and sat down. She started to eat and then Lucas looked at her.
"I'm sorry." Brooke said as she smiled. He kissed her hand and they continued to eat.
"I love you." He said as he looked at her. There was something still bothering her. He took a sip of his water and cleared his throat. "What else is on that mind of yours?" He asked as she looked over at him. Her face was terrified to speak and he sat up taller in his chair. "Brooke what's going on?" He asked.
"I heard from Harrison shortly after everyone left for school this morning." She said.
"What did he say?" He asked.
"Clark will be getting out sometime this month." She said as he nodded.
"We don't have an exact date?" He asked.
"Unfortunately no." She said. "His sentence is ending this month so he could be let out at anytime..." She said and looked down at her phone. "Do we tell Kieran?" She asked.
"I don't know." He said and then sighed. She looked at him and half smiled. He smiled back at her. "I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't say it earlier, and I don't say it enough." He kissed her and when he pulled away she smiled at him.
The bell rang for the last time for the day. Students started pouring into the hallways and out the doors. Many were ready to go home and be away from school, but many still remained at the high school for the different clubs and sport tryouts. Lucas was already in the gym with Skills Taylor setting up for tryouts. Marvin McFadden was also in the gym getting ready to video the scrimmages that Lucas was going to have them play. Charlie Andrews came into the gym half dressed. He was wearing last years practice shorts and had his practice jersey slung over his shoulder. His shoes were still untied and he was clearly upset. He sat down on the bleachers and began to tie his shoes, loudly talking under his breath. Lucas finished setting up some cones and then walked over Charlie and stood in front of him.
"Hi coach." Charlie said without looking up.
"What's going on?" Lucas asked and Charlie looked up at him. Lucas had a warm smile on his face that many of his players had come to know as a sign that he really is listening and really does care.
"It's just my parents." Charlie said.
"How are they?" Lucas asked. "I don't think I've seen George or Linda in a very long time." He said while watching Charlie tie his other shoe.
"Yeah don't plan on seeing them either." Charlie said angrily. "They won't be home until the end of September. They were supposed to be home today. I thought we were going to have a family dinner for the first time in months." He groaned and then got up. More returning players started to fill the gym and Lucas walked back over to Skills.
"What's going on with Andrews?" Skills asked as they watched Charlie run over to Parker and Kieran to stretch.
"His parents are still out of town." Lucas said as Skills looked at Lucas.
"Still?" Skills said shocked. "They have been gone all summer."
"I know." Lucas said as they watched newcomers walk into the gym all wearing their own clothes. There weren't a lot of new players. Enough to fill the open spots on JV and Varsity, and a whole freshmen team. Lucas blew his window as the new freshman coach, Peter Walker, walked into the gym.
"Sorry I'm late." Peter said to Lucas.
"It's fine." Lucas said as the boys all circled around him. "Welcome to try outs!" He said loudly. "My name is Coach Scott and I'm the varsity head coach. Here with me is the junior varsity coach, Coach Taylor and then our newest coach the freshmen coach, Coach Walker. A little about Coach Walker, he just graduated from the University of North Carolina, he is the newest History teacher here, and four years ago he graduated from Tree Hill High as a straight A starting point guard for the Tree Hill Raven's men basketball team. So let's welcome Coach Walker." He said as he clapped and everyone joined in. "Now, we have a few spots on varsity, a few on junior varsity and a whole freshmen team open. We are going to run through basic drills and plays. After that we will hold around the world scrimmage. You will be put on a team of players with different talents. At the end of try outs, you will know what team you are on. You will then see your team specific coach." He said as all the boys were looking him in the eyes. "Alright let's get to work!" He said and then blew his whistle.
Lily walked into the auditorium and sat down next to Spencer. She was the last to arrive before the head captain, senior, Heather Blake started to talk.
"Welcome ladies!" Heather said with a smile. "I see many girls out here and we have four spots open on the varsity team. Good Luck." She said as Jenny walked out and showed the girls the routine they would be preforming. One by one girls went up and preformed the cheer and then showed off different stunts and layouts. It was finally Lily's turn and she got up and walked to the stage. She knew most of the cheerleaders from different events her father would be invited to for being the coach. She got to the middle of the stage and smiled.
"Ready, okay!" Lily cheered and clapped. "RAVEN SPIRIT, YEAH GET UP, GET UP LET'S HEAR IT! YELL FOR THE TEAM THAT IS THE BEST, COME ON CROWD YELL T-H-H-S! T-H-H-S! YEAH THAT'S RIGHT. LET'S GO! LET'S FIGHT! LET'S WIN RAVENS! RAVENS ALRIGHT!" She finished the cheer with a smile. "Let's go Ravens!" She cheered and did a toe touch easily. She noticed Heather smiled and remember that Kieran said to impress Heather to get on the team. Lily then walked over to the blue mat to show off her tumbling. She got to the edge and started to run. She did a back handspring into a black flip then into a cartwheel, another backflip and then a one handed back handspring and finished with a no hand back flip. Heather stood up and clapped causing the other cheerleaders to clap too. Lily smiled and then got off stage. She ran back over to Spencer and sat down. Shortly after the last girl finished Heather got back on stage.
"We will post the girls who made the varsity team in about 30 minutes on the bulletin board in senior hall. If you did not make it, please note that there are junior varsity tryouts tomorrow." Heather said and then dismissed everyone. Lily and Spencer walked into the hall and then down the hall to the student lounge. They walked inside the room and it was empty. They sat down on the couch and started to talk.
"You totally made it!" Spencer said with a huge smile. Lily smiled back at her.
"You made it too. You did great!" Lily said as Spencer checked her phone. She opened her text messages to see her mom had texted her and she hadn't. Lily noticed this. "Have you heard from your mom yet?" She asked.
"No." Spencer said and then put her phone down.
"Did you talk to your dad about it?" Lily asked.
"Are you kidding me." Spencer laughed. "Dr. Dad can't be bothered by anything other than his long list of surgeries." She sighed.
"What did Ashley and Peter say?" Lily asked.
"Ashley said she is surprised mom didn't leave sooner. Peter said the same thing but added that I could come over to his apartment if I wanted to hang out." Spencer said and rolled her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Lily asked. Spencer shrugged.
"I'm hurt." Spencer said with a frown. "But I really don't want it to ruin everything this year like I know it will. So for now can we just pretend she's on a trip?" She asked as Lily sighed and then nodded.
"Yeah, we can do that." Lily replied. She really wanted to talk about everything Spencer is going through but she knew in time Spencer would talk.
Lucas blew his whistle and all the players circled up. Peter and Skills called out names of players and one by one they left until there were only ten players left in the gym. "Alright gentlemen I want you to look around the gym. This is my varsity team for the year. As I call out your name please come get your new locker assignment or your new combination if you were on the team last year." He said as the guys looked around the room. "Jackson Vick, Travis Zellner, D'Ante Williams, Steven Downs, Knight Tanner, Parker Sweet, Kieran Scott, Jamie Scott." He said as Jamie then left the gym, it was now just Lucas and Charlie.
"Saving the best for last?" Charlie asked as Lucas smiled and started walking with Charlie towards the locker room.
"Don't be late tonight for family dinner at Karen's." Lucas said as Charlie stopped walking and turned towards his coach.
"What'd you say?" Charlie asked.
"I want you to go home, pack a bag, be at Karen's Cafe by 5:30, and then come home with us after." Lucas said. "I don't want you to go home to a big empty house and order pizza. It's your first day of junior year, you should be sitting around a table and talking about your plans for this year, not sitting in front of the TV by yourself." He said as he opened the gym door and they walked through. "Don't be late, and you need to have your favorite class, your not so favorite class, something that you're looking forward to and something that you think you might need help with along the way." He said as they walked into the locker room. Kieran and Parker were both standing at their lockers and watched Charlie and Coach Scott talk for just a minute longer. Lucas nodded at the boys and then walked into his office closing the door behind him. He had a phone call with Harrison to figure out what exactly was going on with Clark.
"What was that about?" Kieran asked as he walked up with a towel around his waist.
"Your dad invited me to dinner." Charlie said as Kieran nodded weirdly.
"Interesting..." Kieran said.
"Yeah I thought it was kinda weird..." Charlie said as Kieran shrugged and then walked to the showers. Kieran finished showering and walked back to his locker in his boxer briefs. He got to his locker and started changing. Steven Downs looked at Kieran and nodded his head. Kieran acknowledged him.
"How was your summer Downs?" Kieran asked as Steven smiled. He was the tallest kid on the team, standing at six foot five inches. He has beautiful dark skin and was blessed with dashing blue sparkly eyes.
"It was great." Steven said. "I saw dozen of schools and narrowed down my choices."
"Oh which ones?" Kieran asked. "I can't believe it's your last season as a Raven." He sighed. When Kieran made the team as a freshman, Steven was the only one on the team that didn't say it's because Kieran's dad is the coach. Steven knew Kieran earned it.
"It went by fast." Steven said. "Duke, University of North Carolina and UCLA." He said as Kieran nodded his head.
"Dude, I'll come see you at UCLA. Don't you worry about that" Kieran laughed. Steven shut his locker and then looked at Kieran.
"How about your summer?" Steven asked. "I heard your mom took you and Lily to Milan." He said as Kieran nodded.
"Yeah she did!" Kieran said as Parker and Charlie got back to their lockers. They were talking to other players and boys in the locker room.
"Dude, details. How long were you there?" Steven asked.
"Just two weeks. We saw everything." Kieran said. "Met a couple models." He smirked as Steven nodded. Jamie walked to the showers just as Bryce Goins walk into the locker room.
"There's my boy!" Steven said as he high-five Kieran. Kieran smiled as Bryce walked up and closed Kieran's locker. Kieran turned and saw the large senior wrestling team captain. He has a buzzed brunette haircut and dark brown eyes.
"So that's why Samantha broke up with you." Bryce said with a smirk as Kieran looked at him. Kieran ignored him and grabbed his backpack off the ground. He put his arms through the backpack and nodded to Parker and Charlie and they started walking towards the door leading to the parking lot. "Where are you going Scott?" He called out. "I've been looking for you all day." He said as Kieran stopped walking. Bryce smiled.
"Why?" Kieran asked. Parker groaned, he knew this was going to lead to a fight.
"Dude, come on." Parker said as he pushed Kieran along with him. Kieran agreed to go.
"Oooh." Bryce said. "I get it now." He said as he looked around the locker room. "Sam broke up with you because you and Parker are a thing." He said as he pointed at between Kieran and Parker.
"Good bye Bryce." Kieran said as he opened the door.
"Good bye Kieran Jones." Bryce said with a smirk. The name caused Kieran to turn around.
"What the fuck is wrong with you." Kieran said as Bryce started to mock him.
"Did I hit a nerve?" Bryce joked. "You know he's getting out right." He said as Kieran's face went completely white. He was shocked about the news Bryce just shared with the locker room. "Oh my bad." He said as he tapped his head. "My dad told me I can't tell you that. Oops." He smirked.
"You're lying." Kieran said.
"Am I?" Bryce questioned. "My dad is the warden where your pathetic birth father is serving time."
"You mean the dad that can't leave the bar long enough to see his son wrestle, we're going to believe his words." Kieran barked back. Bryce shoved Kieran into the door, causing it open and Kieran fell through onto the pavement outside. Parker and Charlie walked through the door and helped Kieran up.
"Dude let's just leave." Charlie said as Kieran nodded. Lucas and Brooke have instilled in their children that violence is never the answer. Kieran has been struggling with his temper since he had become more stressed out with school, sports, and high school as a whole. Kieran grabbed his backpack off the ground as Bryce walked through the door.
"Fuck you fake Scott." Bryce said and then pushed Kieran onto the ground. Kieran's backpack went flying and Kieran hit his elbow on the concrete. He quickly got up and was facing Bryce.
"Fuck you trailer trash." Kieran said and then punched Bryce. Bryce threw a punch hitting Kieran in the eye. Kieran punched back and soon the two boys were in a full fist fight with their friends trying to pull each other off the other. Skills was leaving the gym when he saw the circle of boys in the parking lot. He knew it was a fight and quickly ran over to break it up. When he got to the fight he saw Kieran land a punch to Bryce's nose. Skills got into the fight pulling Kieran off of Bryce.
"If you ever want to see the basketball court again you will walk away." Skills shouted at Kieran. Kieran was still trying to push through Skills as many students scattered. Skills pushed Kieran hard and Kieran stepped back into Charlie. "Walk away. Kieran. Now." Skills said sternly. Kieran put his hands up and then spit blood at Bryce's feet. He turned away and grabbed his backpack. He then spit more blood out and walked to his Jeep. Charlie was parked one one side of him and Parker on the other side. Charlie looked over at Kieran as he was still spitting blood out of his mouth. Charlie then made eye contact with Parker. Kieran got into his jeep, slammed the door and started his car. He pealed out of his parking spot and drove off. Charlie sighed and then walked over to Parker.
"Where do you think he went?" Charlie asked as Jamie came over to Parker and Charlie.
"I don't know." Parker said.
"I got dressed as quick as I heard someone yell fight." Jamie said. "What happen?" He asked. Parker and Charlie looked at each other and then watched as Bryce walked over to his truck. Just like Kieran, they could hear music blasting from his truck as he drove off.
"Bryce has always had it out for Kieran." Parker said.
"Always Jamie." Charlie added. "I mean like they have hated each other since elementary school." He said as Jamie nodded.
"Yeah I think I've hear my aunt and uncle talk about him with Kieran." Jamie said. "What was this fight about? He asked as Skills walked up.
"Yeah what was this fight about?" Skills asked. Charlie shook his head and was about to turn around when Skills stopped him. "Andrews, if you care about Kieran you will tell me what the fight was about." He said as Charlie and Parker looked at each other.
"Kieran didn't start it." Charlie said.
"Bryce was being an as...jerk." Parker said. When Skills heard his players cuss, they ran and ran and ran. Just like when they find their players in fights. "He was talking shhh...bad about Kieran." He said.
"He was looking for a fight." Charlie added and Skills nodded.
"Where do you think he went?" Skill asked as they looked at each other.
"We were all just wondering the same thing." Jamie said as he pulled his phone out. He called Kieran and like he expected no answer. "Well he didn't pick up." He said.
"I think we should leave him alone." Parker said as he walked to his jeep. Skills nodded and walked away, trying to call Kieran. He then got a text from Kieran, 'I'm at Charlie's.' Parker looked over at Charlie and mouthed 'your place.' He then opened his door to his bright yellow Jeep Wrangler.
"Jamie you want a ride?" Charlie asked as he looked over at his truck. He had a white F250.
"No, Spencer, Lily and I always walk home together on the first day." Jamie replied as he saw the two teenagers walking out towards him.
"Okay, well...see you at dinner." Charlie said as Jamie nodded. Charlie got in his truck and drove home, with Parker following behind him. Jamie walked over and met his friends.
"We made it!" Both girls cheered.
"Awesome! Me too!" Jamie said as he hugged both of them. They started walking down the road and towards the Tree Hill Cemetery like they have been doing since walking home in sixth grade.
"What happened to Madison today?" Lily asked. "She avoided us all day." She said.
"She's in our history class and acted like we weren't there." Spencer said rudely. "What did we do to her?" She asked.
"She didn't sit with us at lunch today. So she didn't sit with her boyfriend. Did something something happen between the two of you?" Lily asked.
"Ummm..." Jamie said as they crossed the street. "I kinda broke up with her last night." He said as both girls stopped walking.
"You broke up with her?" Spencer said shocked.
"Why did you wait until now to tell us?" Lily asked.
"Um, well, we kinda talk about you two most of the time." Jamie said as the girls looked at each other. "Which." He said and then smiled. "I really don't mind. But it just never got brought up until now." He said as they were only a block from the cemetery.
"So what happened?" Spencer asked.
"I don't think I should tell you guys." Jamie said. "I don't really know if we broke up or if she just wants to be on a break." He shrugged.
"Ooooh." They said together.
"We know." Spencer said.
"She's a little mad we decided to try out for cheerleading since she knows she wouldn't make it." Lily said as Spencer giggled a bit.
"She got mad at us over the summer because we spent all summer getting ready for cheer tryouts." Spencer said.
"Yeah she told me you guys suck, and she hates you." Jamie said as Spencer and Lily looked at each other.
"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't have told us that." Lily said a little hurt.
"Oh." Jamie said. "Just forget it then." He said.
"It doesn't work that way Jamie." Spencer said as they stopped at the cemetery.
"I'll just be a minute." Lily said as she started to walk in.
"Take your time Lils." Jamie said.
"We have no where else to be." Spencer said as she sat down on a bench on the sidewalk with Jamie. The two started talking. Lily walked an all to familiar path to where her birth parents were laid to rest. She got to her parent's site and stopped in front of them.
"Hi mom. Hi dad." Lily said with a half smile. "I started high school today." She said as tears formed in her eyes. "It was everything I wanted it to be and more. I made the cheer team, and so did Spencer. I wish you guys were here." She sniffled. "Starting high school, I have more questions about the two of you then I have ever had before." She got quiet again as she thought about her parents. She wiped her tears away and then took a deep breath. She let it out and continued to talk. "I wish I could have met you guys. All I know is from the pictures, or videos or stories I hear. But it's the not the same, and I hate it. I wish I had my own memories, pictures, videos, anything that was my own." She sighed and looked at over the tombstones. She sat there for a moment longer and then stood up. "I wish you could see me now." She said and then heard a voice behind her.
"They can." Whitey Durham said as she turned. He had a soft smile and a bouquet of flowers.
"Hi grandpa Whitey." Lily said quietly. "I guess I mean I wish they could really see me." She sighed and he nodded.
"I don't know what it's like, and I can't pretend I do. I didn't lose my parents." He said.
"The day we lost Keith, was terrible. Your father used to come to the high school after every game, home or away. He came to office and we sat and talked. And talked, and talked. In a way we talked about you." He said as she looked at him.
"But he didn't know I existed." She questioned.
"Doesn't mean he didn't think about you." He said. "He talked about wanting a daughter. About how amazing that daughter would be."
"Nobody has ever told me that." She said.
"I imagine he didn't talk about it much." He said. "Your mother thought about you all the time."
"I wish I would have known them." She said.
"You do." He said as they sat down on a bench together. "While you don't have your own memories, this town was where it all started. I remember your parents roaming the halls, standing at the same lockers as you are now. Karen and Keith are everywhere you walk. You can make memories where your birth parents started their lives together." He said as she looked at him and smiled. "How was your first day?" He asked.
"Great!" She said with a smile. "I made the cheer team." She said and he smiled at her.
"Karen would be so proud of you. She loved that team." He said with a smile. They sat and talked for just a couple more minutes and then Lily looked over at her friends. She said goodbye to Whitey and then walked towards her friends. As she was walking she checked her phone. She had a text from Heather, it was a video of Kieran fighting with Bryce. She made it over to Jamie and held her phone up.
"Kieran was in a fight?" Lily stated as Jamie nodded his head.
Charlie and Parker both received text from Kieran saying that he was at Charlie's pool house playing video games. Charlie and Parker arrived shortly after Kieran arrived. Kieran was in the bathroom as Charlie quietly packed and Parker played Fortnite. As Kieran was packing the friends were talking from different rooms.
"Hey Sam keeps texting me." Kieran said. "I'm just going to tell her where I am." He said as he walked out of the bathroom. He was holding a towel to his nose that was still bleeding.
"I swear to god, Kieran." Charlie said. "Don't invite that demon over here." He said as Parker laughed a bit.
"Just don't call her demon when she gets here." Kieran laughed. Charlie sighed and Parker laughed more.
"Dude he fucked up my face." Kieran said as he looked on his phone's camera.
"If Coach Taylor didn't pull you off of him. I think you would have killed him." Parker said. "His face was bad."
"Good." Kieran said plainly.
"Um so do you want to talk about it?" Charlie offered as Parker nodded.
"Dude we're here for you." Parker added. Kieran looked over at his friends and then stood up. He walked past them and into the mini kitchen. He opened the freezer and found an ice pack. He grabbed it and placed it on his eye. He felt so much better. He was starting to develop a headache.
"No I'm fine." Kieran said as he leaned against the counters.
"What he said was really..." Charlie started to say and Kieran cut him off.
"Shitty." Kieran said. "Rumor or not, he can go fuck himself." He said as he started to get angry again. "Can we please stop talking about it." He said as he huffed. He just wanted to take his mind off it. He walked to sliding door and saw Jenny and Samantha walking towards the pool house. "We got company." He said as the other boys both jumped up and walked to the door.
"Greeeeat Sam is here." Charlie scoffed and then went back to sit down on the couch. Kieran walked back to the love seat he was sitting in and sat back down. Parker opened the door for the girls and they immediately went to Kieran.
"Are you freaking kidding me Kieran!" Samantha basically yelled in his face. Kieran looked at her and said nothing.
"You know there are videos all over Instagram and Snapchat of you and Bryce fighting." Jenny said as the boys all looked at each other.
"Were they at least flattering?" Kieran asked.
"That's so not the point Kieran." Jenny said as Kieran rolled his eyes.
"Fighting Key. Really." Sam said. "What's wrong with you." She stated and then Kieran took a deep breath and let it out.
"What's wrong with me?" Kieran questioned and then stood up. "What's wrong with you Sam." He said. "I put myself out there for you today. I chased you down the hall, apologized in a class, bought you lunch, texted you all day and you are still mad at me for some imaginary scenario that you thought up in your head to convince yourself you are mad at me." He scoffed and then walked to the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and then walked out of the pool house. He sat down on a chair outside.
"I'm gonna go talk to him." Jenny said as she walked out of the pool house. Charlie noticed Samantha was standing in the middle of the room not knowing what to do or where to sit. It wasn't a secret that Parker and Charlie didn't like Sam, but they tried not to let it show too often. Today was not that day.
"Sam, I do not recall inviting you over." Charlie said.
"Shut up Charlie." Samantha said as she looked out the window at Kieran. "What was the fight about?" She asked.
"None of your business." Parker scoffed. Samantha turned back around to face the two teenagers.
"You know you have to be nice to me." Samantha said as Charlie laughed and looked over at Parker.
"No we don't." Parker said.
"Never once has Kieran told me I have to like you." Charlie said as Samantha rolled her eyes and walked outside. Jenny was talking to Kieran and he was barely responding. Samantha walked over to Kieran and stood behind Jenny. Kieran looked at Sam, they had been dating long enough for Kieran to read Sam's body language. He smiled at her and she smiled back. He then nodded his head up and down. Sam walked over to Kieran and sat down on his lap. Jenny rolled her eyes and got up. She walked back into the pool house to talk to her friends.
"Does it hurt?" Sam asked as she rotated to face him while still sitting on his lap. She was lightly touching his face.
"Yeah." He said as he took a sip of water.
"Was the fight about me?" She asked as he looked at her strangely.
"Why would it have been about you?" He asked. She paused not ready to answer. He watched her as she thought about what to say.
"No reason." She lied. "What was it about?" She asked.
"He was saying something to me about Clark." He replied.
"What did he say?" She asked.
"I don't really want to talk about it." He said. "In about an hour I will be in front of my family and will have to answer a million questions."
"I'm sorry about today. Not the fight, well I am sorry about that, but I'm sorry I let you chase me down the hall, and apologize in class, and ruining your morning with my phone call." She said. "Can we just go back to you being my boyfriend?" She asked as he nodded and then kissed her cheek. She smiled back at him. She rearranged herself to now be straddling Kieran. Parker could see the two outside and he rolled his eyes.
"Kieran forgive her?" Charlie asked.
"Looks like it." Parker groaned. "I really thought this would have been their last fight. They are terrible together." He said and then sat down.
"Why did you bring her over here?" Charlie asked as he looked at Jenny. She was texting in the cheer team group chat.
"Well did you really want her at my house, screaming about how Kieran got in a fight. Kieran's mom was at house when we got home." Jenny said.
"Okay, I'll let it slide." Charlie said as Jenny rolled her eyes.
"I wonder how long it will last this time." Parker said.
"Same as last time." Jenny said. "They will be fighting by Friday." She said and then the
door slid open and Samantha walked in holding Kieran's hand and had a huge smile on her face. Her black hair was now a little ruffled. Kieran walked in with his shirt unbutton. They both sat down on the love seat.
"We got back together." Samantha said with a smirk.
"Clearly." Charlie said with a chuckle. Kieran laughed a bit and then grabbed his phone off the coffee table. He checked his phone and had a miss call from Davis, which he thought was odd.
"Hold up. Davis called me." Kieran said as Charlie turned the tv down. Kieran then called back Davis. The phone rang and rang. Finally Davis picked up. "Hey D what's up?" He said into the phone.
"I missed the bus home." Davis said.
"How did you miss the bus?" Kieran asked as he looked at his watch.
"I don't know." Davis said. "I guess I just took longer to get to the bus stop..." He trailed off.
"It's outside the back of the school. Literally you walk out the back door and the busses are there. Where's Keith?" Kieran asked.
"He's on the bus." Davis said.
"Keith didn't wait for you to get on the bus?" Kieran said as he stood up. He was looking for his keys. "I'll come get you." He said.
"Thanks Key." Davis said and then hung up. Kieran sighed and put his phone in his pocket.
"I need to go pick up Davis." Kieran said.
"Can't he just walk home." Samantha said as Kieran rolled his eyes. Jenny and Parker looked at each other with a grin.
"No, I'm gonna go get my little brother from school." Kieran said plainly. "It's his first day of middle school, I'm not going to let him walk home alone." He said as Charlie jumped up with a cheesy grin on his face.
"I'll go with you." Charlie said. "Which means, Samantha get the fuck out of my house." He said and Samantha rolled her eyes.
"You know you love me Charlie." Sam said as Jenny and Samantha stood up.
"Yup, it's love!" Charlie said with a laugh. Parker also stood up and the group now went their separate ways. Charlie grabbed a bag he was packing while Kieran and Samatha were talking. "I figured I'd just leave my car here. No point in taking two cars." He said as Kieran nodded.
"So you'll call me tonight?" Samantha asked. "When you get home from dinner." She asked as she smiled at him. He smiled back and then kissed her. He loved to kiss her.
"Of course." Kieran said with a smile. The friends said their goodbyes and then Kieran looked over at Charlie. "Scale of 1 to 10 how mad is my dad going to be when he sees my face?" He asked as the two walk out to the jeep. Charlie looked at his friend's face and shrugged.
"Could go two ways." Charlie said as they got in the jeep. Kieran started to drive towards the middle school. "Your dad could either be really pissed about it or you can tell your dad what the fight was about and I think he would understand." He said.
"I don't know." Kieran said. "My parents have been fighting lately. They don't know that we know, but it's kinda obvious. I just don't want them to worry about another thing." He sighed. He pulled up to the middle school and saw Davis sitting with another student. They were talking. Kieran honked and Davis popped up and looked over at the jeep. He said goodbye and ran off to the jeep. He got into the backseat. "Who was that?" He asked as Davis looked at the girl. She had her blonde hair tied into two braids. One was behind her shoulder. She was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jean shorts with light purple converse. She waved as Kieran drove off.
"Her name is Dylan." Davis said. "She just moved here." He said and then looked forward, that's when he noticed Kieran's black eye. "Woah. What happened to you?" He asked.
"He took on Bryce Goins." Charlie said as Davis' mouth dropped open.
"NO way." Davis shouted. "He's twice your size!"
"And now twice as ugly." Kieran mumbled.
"Did dad see you?" Davis asked.
"No." Kieran said as he stopped at a red light. They were making their way towards the river court. "Why did you miss the bus?" He asked.
"Ummm..." Davis said not wanting to answer the question. "It just took me longer to get outside."
"Yeah okay." Kieran scoffed.
"What was the fi..." Davis started to say and Charlie turned around in the seat.
"I wouldn't little man. Not a good question." Charlie said. Kieran pulled up to the river court to see Jamie shooting while Lily and Spencer were sitting at the table talking. He parked and they all got out. Davis ran over to Lily and Spencer.
Lucas pulled into his driveway and parked inside the garage. He turned off the car and got out. He walked to the steps and walked up the little staircase to the door leading to the mud room off the kitchen. He closed the garage and walked in. He was greeted by Graham their golden retriever. Lucas knelt down and started to pet Graham. He got a milk bone from the counter and then gave it to him. He walked through the house and it was quiet. As the children got older, the house got quieter. He walked to the back door and looked at Graham.
"Come on boy!" Lucas said as Graham followed Lucas outside. Graham went running through the back yard as Lucas started picking up the yard. There were several balls scattered across the yard. Davis and Keith's bikes were laying next to the half court. He sighed as he picked one bike and walked it to the garage. He then walked back and walked the other bike back to the garage. He saw the bus pulling around the corner and walked back to the back yard. Graham was happily laying on an outdoor bed on their porch. Lucas smiled and then walked inside as Keith walked in the front door.
"Dad?" Keith called out.
"I'm in the kitchen bud." Lucas called out as Keith walked into the kitchen. "How was school?" He asked.
"It was fun." Keith said as he sat down at the kitchen island. "I have a lot of classes with Sawyer." He said.
"That's good. Any classes with Lydia or Davis?" Lucas asked and then looked around.
"Speaking of Davis, where is he?" He asked.
"Yeah I have a couple classes with them." Keith said as he drank the glass of water that Lucas set in front of him. "He missed the bus." He shrugged as Lucas quickly pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. He had a couple text messages. Some from Brooke, Nathan and Haley and then one from Kieran. He opened his text from Kieran and read it in his head. 'Dad, Davis called me and said he missed the bus. I'm on my way to pick him up and then we're going to the river court.' Lucas nodded and then responded to his son. 'Thanks, see you at dinner.'
"How'd he miss the bus?" Lucas asked as Keith shrugged.
"Where's mom?" Keith asked. "She's normally making cookies for the first day of school." He said as Lucas nodded.
"She's at the cafe with Aunt Haley." Lucas responded.
"So no cookies?" Keith asked as Lucas clicked his tongue.
"I can make cookies..." Lucas said as Keith laughed and got up.
"It's okay dad." Keith said as he started walking towards the back door. He opened it and let Graham in. "Were going to go for a walk." He said as he walked to get Graham's lime green harness and leash.
"Okay, have fun." Lucas called out as Keith was walking out the front door. Lucas walked to his office by the front door and sat down at his desk. He opened an email from his editor and read over his upcoming weekend schedule. As he was looking over it, his phone rang. He grabbed it and picked it up. "Hey pretty girl." He said into the phone.
"I love it when you call me that." Brooke said with a smile.
"I know." He grinned. He knew it made her smile. He could hear it in her voice. "So what's up?" He asked.
"It's looking like I will have to go to New York Thursday morning-ish afternoon-ish instead of Friday morning." She said and he paused. He figured finding a substitute teacher would be easy enough. Haley is normally very willing to substitute at all the different schools in Tree Hill.
"Okay, I can do that." He said as she smiled again.
"Did Wade get your schedule to you yet?" She asked as he pulled up the email again.
"Yeah, on my way home from work." He said. "I'm looking at it now." He added as he scrolled through.
"What does your weekend look like?" She asked.
"Friday afternoon I have an interview with Reader's Digest. Saturday morning I have the press conference for the latest installment of the Girl behind Red, Saturday afternoon I'm meeting with that Julian guy about 'An Unkindness of Ravens,' and then I'm free that night." He said as she was making some mental notes and also telling her assistants his schedule.
"Will you send that to Penny?" She asked.
"Already did." He said. "So why a whole day earlier?" He asked.
"Eleanor Waldorf invited us over to dinner on Thursday night after she gives me a private tour of her new studio in the Upper East Side." She said.
"Oh okay." He said.
"Plus you have been saying how you needed to talk to Cyrus before you sign all the papers. It would also be nice to have some legal advice, not from my dad, about Clark getting out." She added and then heard a laugh over the phone.
"Brooke you don't have to convince me to go a day early." He said. "It will be nice to have some time together. We can see if they would like to go see a show after dinner, or maybe we can take a carriage ride through Central Park." He said as she was now grinning ear to ear.
"How did I get so lucky." She said and then let out a sigh of happiness. She quickly snapped back to reality. "Also..." She said.
"I knew there was something coming." He laughed.
"On Friday night we will be hosting a mixer in our penthouse." She said as he stopped laughing. "I thought it would be better if we were there the day before, instead of getting there and going straight into a party."
"Ahh." He said.
"The mixer is for my new college interns." She said. "There are twelve design majors joining my team for their work study this semester. It won't be too crazy." She said and heard a laugh again. Five years ago, Brooke sat down with Eleanor and asked how she could take her company to the next level. Eleanor gave her some of the best advice she had received. She soon started to enlist senior level university students to apply for an elite internship that allows them to work with some of the best designers at Brooke Davis INC.
"That should be fun." He said. "What time?" He asked.
"Nine to Midnight." She said.
"Oh perfect." He said as he watched Keith come inside the house with Graham. Keith then ran up the stairs and Lucas called out, "Walk, please." He said and then got back on the phone.
"Who was it?" She asked.
"Keith." He said. "Did you know that Davis missed the bus?" He asked.
"No." She said worried. "Did you go get him?" She asked panicked, then before allowing him to answer she continued to talk. "It's his first day! What if he got lost?" She said as Lucas cut her off.
"Kieran went to get him." He said as Brooke relaxed. "Geez honey, it's okay if he walks home. Lily did it at his age and so did Kieran." He said.
"But not alone." She said. "Did you get a chance to talk to Harrison? I know you had a lot of questions."
"Yeah, I called him after tryouts. I think Mouth's segment tomorrow morning for the tryout recap is going to be great!" He said as she smiled.
"What time are you getting here?" She asked.
"I think Keith is changing clothes and then we will head over. He just walked Graham." He said.
"Have you heard from Lily?" She asked.
"Nope, Lily is the only one I haven't heard from." He said.
"Same." She said. "I thought I would have gotten a call about making the cheer team." She sighed.
"Well maybe she wants to tell you in person." He said.
"Yeah, that's probably it." She said. "So let's talk tonight about what we want to do with the kids." She said.
"Okay." He said as heard Keith run down the stairs. "We'll see you soon." He said and hung up.
"Was that mom?" Keith asked as Lucas stood up and looked over at his son.
"Yeah, she was just checking in." Lucas replied.
"How often do you and mom talk to each other in a day?" Keith asked as Lucas locked the front door and then walked to the back door. He locked that and then walked with his son to the garage.
"Ummm..." Lucas said as they both got in his car. "We talk a lot during the day. It really depends on the day." He said.
"What do you mean?" Keith asked. Lucas backed out of the garage and closed it. He backed into the street and then started to drive.
"Well, like today, your mom and I have been talking all day. We ate breakfast and lunch together. We text and we will call each other. Then sometimes mom and I won't talk because we are both busy." He said.
"What do you guys talk about?" Keith asked. Lucas smiled at his son. It isn't too often that Brooke or Lucas get to spend one on one time with their children. Having four kids and only two parents, they are typically spread thin amongst their kids.
"We talk about about you and your siblings." Lucas said and then turned at a stop sign.
"We talk about work, and our friends, and we'll talk about what's for dinner."
"What do you say about me?" Keith asked.
"We talk about your grades, your behavior, um we will talk about if you can get the latest whatever you ask us for. We just talk about things you do. If there is something important that we both need to know." Lucas replied and then pulled into the parking garage behind Karen's Cafe.
"I'm glad you love mom so much." Keith said as Lucas parked. Lucas smiled as he watched Keith get out of the car. He then got out of the car and walked inside with his son.
Please review and take my poll! It is featured on my story and here's the link poll/polls_tab_ ?pollid=512578
-M :)