A/N: Sofia Wylie as Ava :)

"Turn that wrench to the left." Keith instructed his niece, who was leaning over the hood of his car.

The poor girl was practically dangling over it, because her feet by no means, touched the ground. She looked a little funny just hanging out of a car with a greasy bandana sticking out of her pocket to match the one on her head that was keeping her hair out of her face.

Ava had finally gotten her cast off and was able to do all the things she would normally do.

Basically, all the things that made her mother worry more than necessary.

Jumping on the bed, cartwheels, and recklessly riding her bike to name a few.

"Alright." Keith set her back down on the ground and took over. "What do you think the problem is?"

"The engine overheated." Ava shrugged.

"Pretty good guess." Keith's voice was a little muffled. "How's school been for you? Is Sarah still bothering you?"

"Not since I beat her up." Ava smiled proudly. "She doesn't bother Maddie or Sam anymore either."

It was true.

Ever since Sarah and Eliza had pushed Ava to her breaking point, neither one of them had the courage to so much as look at her.

Recess was a whole lot more peaceful.

"That's a good thing. Don't tell your mother I told you this, but I'm proud of you for doing what you thought you needed to do. Sometimes you need to fight back to get people to stop picking on you." The man spoke as he stood up straight to look Ava in the eye. "I have something important to tell you."

This was something weighing heavily on his mind and he had been trying to figure out a way to tell her.

He just hoped that she took it well.

"Like what?"

"I got a job offer in Charleston." Keith began. "And I'm gonna take it."

Charleston was all the way in South Carolina. Three hours away from Tree Hill. That meant that Keith was going to be three hours away instead of just three minutes.

She didn't know what to say.

Keith had been there all her life and now he was leaving.

She felt like someone had just pulled the rug out from under feet.

"Oh." Was all she said.

"Now, don't think that just because I'm leaving Tree Hill, that I'm leaving you." Keith tried to assure her. "That's not what I mean, far from it. I'll still visit when I can and you'll visit, too. And hey, I'm always a phone call away."

Ava didn't want Keith to just be a phone call away. She liked things the way they were. She felt safe with the way things were.

But even at her tender age, she knew that she wouldn't always get what she wanted, and life wouldn't cater to her needs.

"It sounds awful now, but it won't be so bad." Keith nudged her playfully. "You'll see."

Ava didn't say anything. She just walked away and sat down inside of the car with her arms crossed.

This was a lot to process.

It wasn't like Keith had told her that he was moving across town.

He was moving to a totally different state!

What was she supposed to do with that information?

"Ava." Keith wasn't letting this go. "If I could stay I would."

"Then why can't you?" Ava asked as he opened the door and sat down next to her.

It was a selfish question, but she felt she had a right to ask.

She had never known life without Keith, and she didn't want to.

Not now. Not ever.

"You know how you got into a fight with Sarah, because it was something you felt like you had to do for yourself?"

"Yeah."

"This is something I need to do for me. It isn't became of your mom, or your dad, or you and Luke. I have to do this for me. Understand?"

"Yeah."

She understood perfectly.

But that didn't mean she had to like it.

Because she didn't and she wouldn't.

"What are you gonna do this weekend?" Sam asked as she, Maddie, Carter, and Ava exited their elementary school building.

"My dad and I are going to my grandmother's house for her birthday." Maddie answered first. "She lives all the way in Virginia."

"Cool, I heard Virginia's a pretty cool place. What about you, Ava?"

"I don't know yet.' Ava shrugged and kicked a pebble that was in her way. "I don't have any plans."

She was still a little down about her uncle's big news from a few days before, and she didn't really feel like doing anything.

Bumming around the house and watching old movies that didn't really make sense, sounded pretty good at this point.

As long as she didn't have to go outside.

"Ava!"

"It looks like you do now." Sam smirked as Lucas rushed over to them.

"See ya, Ava." Maddie smiled as she and their two friends walked off, leaving her and her brother alone.

"What are you doing here?" Ava asked him curiously.

"I thought you'd be happier to see me." Lucas pretended to be offended. "I wanted to see if you wanted to take a walk."

"What am I a dog?" Ava raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have practice for the game tonight? Isn't your coach gonna be mad?"

She knew that Dan was filling in for Whitey while he had eye surgery and she heard how hard he was pushing Lucas and everyone else. So she didn't think that he'd be too thrilled with Lucas running around town just to talk to her.

"Actually, practice is starting a little later. I wanted to hang out with you for a little while."

"Why?" Ava asked skeptically as they began to walk.

"I can't want to spend time with my sister?"

The two fell into a comfortable silence, not saying anything as they walked all the way across town to the River Walk, passing by numerous happy faces.

"It's not that…...it's just, you're never this nice to me unless something's wrong." Ava finally decided to answer his question. "So, what's wrong?"

Lucas brought her over to the fountain she loved so much and motioned for her to sit down. "You know I love you, right? You're my sister and I will always be here for you."

"You're leaving with Uncle Keith." Ava stopped him from beating around the bush.

"You're way too smart for your own good." He grumbled, making her smile softly. "But, yes. I talked to Mom about it and she agreed to let me go. I'm sorry, Little Sister. I didn't want to spring this on you, but I didn't want to hurt you."

"It's okay." Ava shrugged, looking out at the birds flying over the water. Sometimes she wished she could be as happy and free as they were. "It's something you have to do for you, right?"

"Yeah." Lucas nodded. "But I'll always be there when you need me. I promise. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Lucas was a wreck.

The Ravens had lost the game because he missed the winning shot, his shoulder had been re-injured during the game, and he was leaving in the morning and just couldn't rest.

So there he was, at the River Court.

This was his safe place. The place he came to when he needed to get away from it all, breathe again, to think.

He had grown up on that black top. He knew every square inch of it.

Sometimes, he felt like he knew more about this place than he knew about himself.

"I told you, if you missed that shot, it was all for nothing." Nathan startled him out his thoughts. "I was wrong. I figured I'd find you here. Word is, you're leaving town."

"Yeah. I'm just meeting the guys to say goodbye."

"Are you leaving because of the game?"

"No." Lucas shook his head. "Keith needs to be with someone right now. I need a change. I figured since the season's over, it's time. Plus, I know I'm leaving Haley in good hands."

"Well, I gotta tell you, man. I never thought, when we played that one on one game, that I'd end up back here, feeling like this."

"Like what?"

"Like I'm gonna miss you." Nathan confessed. "You've gotta do what you feel, but I actually wish you weren't gonna leave. Because you're great basketball player." He hesitated before sharing a little bit of his heart. "And because you're my brother."

That certainly made Lucas feel lighter. Nathan had finally accepted him as his brother after all these years of them being at odds with each other.

Honestly, that alone made him want to stay.

"Take care of yourself, man." Nathan held his hand out for him to shake.

"You take care of Haley." Lucas pulled him in for a hug. "I'll miss you, too, Little Brother." He added gently.

And though he couldn't see it, Nathan smiled, too.

"Do me a favor?" Lucas asked once they pulled away.

"What is it?"

"It's always been, me, Mom, Ava, and Keith…...could you watch out for Ava? As much as I'd like to, I can't look out for her myself without actually being here. So could you just make sure she's doing okay?"

"Of course I will." Nathan nodded. "She's my sister, too."

"I was hoping you'd say that."