A/N: Hi, everyone! I was rewatching One Tree Hill and rereading my Ava stories recently. I found that there was more i could do with Ava's character, so I decided to rewrite/revise both ERHIT and LER before I continue with the next chapter in Ava's life.

Some characters will be introduced (earlier) and some will remain. And I will definitely have Ava live up to her nickname, 'Trouble' :)

Enjoy!

"Ava-Rose, can you grab me some napkins while you're behind the counter?" Karen asked her daughter.

Ava nodded and did as she was told, grabbing more napkins than necessary, in true Ava Fashion. "I got 'em!" She giggled and skipped over to her mother and Haley, her brother's best friend.

And by default, Haley was her best friend, too.

"Okay, you did not need this many napkins." Haley chortled, rolling her eyes. "You're so silly."

Ava stuck her tongue out at the teen and sat down at the table opposite her mother.

Well, adoptive mother.

She was only Lucas' half-sister with Dan Scott as their father.

See, seventeen years ago, Dan Scott and Karen Roe were high schoolers, seriously in love with one another.

Or so they thought.

Dan didn't want to put his life on hold for a child that hadn't even been born yet, so he decided to go to college, leaving Karen alone to raise the baby on her own with no one but his older brother, Keith, to help her through.

Three months after Lucas was born, Karen found out that Dan had found another woman, Deb Lee and the two had a son, Nathan.

So, making the smart choice, Karen decided to cut Dan out of her life for good. It just wasn't worth all the stress.

But lo and behold, eight years later, a woman showed up to her front door, begging her for help. She was holding a little baby girl, wrapped in a pink blanket, with the name Havana-Rose Scott stitched into it, a pacifier was keeping her calm and quiet.

Five months earlier, Dan and Deb had been going through a rocky point in their relationship and were on the brink of divorce. Deb, unbeknownst to Nathan and Dan, had an affair.

But so did Dan.

He had met a beautiful woman at a bar and they immediately hit it off. They liked the same things, had big dreams that had been taken away from them, and they had both been hurting and in need of company when they found each other.

They had only seen each other once, but a few months later, the woman found out she was pregnant. She was far too scared to even let Dan know, so she kept the baby a secret from him.

But she couldn't keep her.

Funnily enough, the woman had grown up in Tree Hill and had turned to Whitey for help. He directed her to Karen, so she tracked her down and told her everything.

Karen, without hesitation, agreed to take the child in as her own, and loved and cherished her they way she did Lucas.

"Hey, Mom." The sixteen year old blonde smiled as he entered the cafe.

The three women had already started to eat without him, but he hadn't missed much of the meal.

"Hey, hon." Karen greeted, stuffing some food in her mouth. "Mmm."

"It smells good in here. Did you change your hair?"

"If by 'change' you mean, 'dragged a brush through it', then yeah." Karen couldn't help but joke.

"Well, it looks nice."

"Thank you." Karen moved the plate of brownies out of Ava's reach and wagged a finger at her. "So, honey, how was your day?"

"Good, thanks." Haley jumped in before Lucas could even begin to answer. "Good', is relative, considering a third of the world is starving, which doesn't change the fact that I am super clumsy. Did I tell you that I fell down today?" She rambled, making Ava giggle maniacally. "Yeah, slipped off the curb, face down, butt in the air…...too graphic?" She cringed as Karen nodded. "Sorry, I'll just be quiet."

Lucas squeezed the back of his sister's neck, making her squeal and try to get away, but their fun was soon killed by their mother, who had been giving them an unimpressed look for the past few seconds.

"So, I got something for you, Lucas." She spoke after they had calmed down.

"Actually, I found it." Haley rambled once again. "Not that I was looking for something specifically, which implies some hideous sort of 'Joey loves Dawson' scenario that completely creeps me out, but, you know, we saw it and—"

"—You talk like Speedy Gonzalez." Ava deadpanned, completely innocently, referring to the cartoons she had been hours earlier. "Do you even breathe?"

That was Ava.

Sometimes she said exactly what was on her mind, without thinking about whether or not she should say it.

"Ava-Rose!" Karen gasped, though she was trying her best not to laugh at what the seven year old had just said.

And Lucas certainly wasn't helping with his loud cackling.

"Just give him the book." Haley had visibly deflated and appeared to be a bit calmer than before.

"Wow, Julius Caesar." Lucas mused after being handed the book.

"There's a tide in the affairs of men.'…or something like that." Karen quipped.

"Nice." Lucas smiled. "Thank you, guys. Thank you very much."

"Whatever." Haley scoffed, not one for too much emotion. "If that's what you're into."

The two shared an affectionate smile, before digging into their food.

"Havana-Rose Scott!"

The child gasped as she was caught with her hand in the plate of brownies that had just been taken away from her. "Can I get one, Mama?" She asked politely as if she hadn't been doing anything wrong.

"After you finish your dinner." Karen pointed a finger at her. "I mean it."

"Luke! Luke!" Ava skipped over to her brother with an energy he didn't feel like matching at that moment.

"What?" But he decided to humor her.

"Guess what?" She smiled widely. "I bet you can't guess."

"You and Maddie are having a sleepover?' He guessed.

"Nope! Guess again!"

"You grew a couple inches?"

Ava glared at him for that crack. She had always been small for her age, but her mother assured her that she would catch up to everyone else one day.

...Maybe.

"No."

"Then what?"

"I lost my teeth!" She grew excited once again and held the teeth out for him to see.

"Wow, that's cool." He mock-gasped. "Show me your smile again."

Ava smiled so big, showing off her lack of front teeth with confidence.

"Now you'll get a visit from the tooth fairy. I wonder if front teeth are extra….." He quirked an eyebrow.

"Do you think they are?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I never met the tooth fairy, but you'll never know unless you put the tooth under your pillow."

"Everybody knows the tooth fairy isn't real, Luke...but, I'm gonna do it anyways." Ava giggled and moved towards the door, before she noticed a package sitting on her brothers' bed. "What's that?"

"I don't know."

"Open it." She hopped onto his bed and watched him do so.

The package had a Tree Hill Ravens uniform inside of it. Honestly, Ava thought it was the coolest thing ever.

And when her brother put it on, it looked even cooler.

But their mother didn't think so.

"Take it off." She all but whispered as she walked passed.

Lucas and Ava shared a look of confusion before they rushed after her, sitting down on the porch steps.

They found her reminiscing and looking through an old photo album.

"Mom, are you okay?" Lucas asked her, concern lacing his tone.

"Yeah…." Karen sighed. "Do you know who left it?"

"Coach Durham, probably. He asked me to play."

"Maybe you should." Karen shocked him with her response.

"You sound like Skills." Lucas chuckled. "Those guys refused to play today. They said they didn't want to be my excuse."

"How'd you feel about that?"

"Honestly? I was pissed." Lucas admitted. "Those guys are supposed to be my friends."

"They are your friends." Karen showed the blonde and old picture of him from when he was about Ava's age, holding a basketball. "Do you remember that?"

"My first leather basketball. That was the year that Skills' father told us there was no Santa Claus."

"Yeah, and I tried to talk you out of it." Karen chuckled. "Then you said something I'll never forget. You said you felt bad for the kids who never figured it out, because when they grew up and had kids of their own, there wouldn't be any gifts on Christmas morning. You're a good kid, Luke. But sometimes I feel like you're sitting out your life on account of me, and I don't want that you." Karen spoke to both children. "Either of you. My past is not your future, okay?"

Lucas nodded and Ava piped up with a small, "Okay."

"Good."

"Mama?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I lost my teeth." She smiled and stuck her tongue through the large gap where her teeth should've been.

And Ava had said it with such innocence that Lucas couldn't help but burst into unbridled laughter. Her new lisp was the cutest thing.

She certainly knew how to lighten the mood.

"I heard your brother's gonna join the basketball team." Maddie nudged her best friend.

"Where'd you hear that from?" Ava picked up her brother's trait, quirking her eyebrow.

She and Maddie had met in preschool and had been inseparable ever since.

Ava, being the shy child that she was, refused to speak or play with anyone. But Maddie wouldn't take no for an answer.

The blonde marched up to her one day and with as much confidence that could possibly come out of a four year old, said, "I'm Maddie and we're gonna be best friends forever."

And it must've been her gusto that broke the ice.

Ever since that day, Ava had started to work her way out of her shell. She hadn't come out all the way, but she was getting there.

"Everyone in town's talking about it." Maddie told her. "Is he?"

"I think so." Ava shrugged, looking into her lunchbox. Her mother always packed three cookies. One for her, one for Maddie, and one for Carter. "Luke said that he and Nathan are gonna play one on one later."

"Nathan?" Carter questioned after taking a bite of his cookie. "Your other brother?"

Ava and Carter had known each other since they were babies. His mother would come into the cafe quite frequently for coffee and pastries, so she and Karen had developed a bit of a friendship. As they grew up together, Carter had become her confidant and her protector all in one.

"I guess."

Truthfully, Ava had never really thought of him like that. She knew he existed and that they were related, but she had never recalled ever meeting him, so she didn't really know what to think of him.

"Does that mean you're gonna see your dad, too?"

But before Ava could answer, Sarah Peters, the fourth grade bully, butt into their conversation.

"He's not really your dad." She smirked.

"Sure." Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Oh, shut up, Sarah." Carter glared. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"It's true. I heard my parents talking." Sarah insisted. "They said that when your parents got together, it was a mistake. That's why they didn't want you."

"Sarah—"

"—Why else would your mom leave you with Karen?" Sarah ignored the glares she got from both girls. "My dad said you're nothing but an orphaned bastard. They didn't even want you." She waved and skipped away as if she hadn't just spent the last few seconds of the conversation tearing Ava down.

"Don't listen to her." Maddie put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."

But Ava was starting to believe that maybe she did.

"Mom, I'm leaving." Lucas called Karen.

"Luke, can I come, too?" Ava asked her brother.

Out of pure animosity, Nathan challenged Lucas to a one-on-one basketball game. Apparently, it was going to be some big event and Ava wanted to see both her brothers play.

Even if she really only knew one of them.

"It's past your bedtime, kiddo." He bent down to look her in the eye. This wasn't something he wanted Ava to be involved in anyway. Everyone was going to be at this game and it would be easy for her to get overwhelmed or get lost in the crowd.

Besides, she really didn't need to be there anyway. If she stayed up this late, she was going to be beyond cranky and super sleepy.

A sleepy Ava, was not a fun Ava.

"Please?" She bounced on the tips of her toes. "I'll be good! I promise! I wanna see you play!"

"How about this? You go to bed right now, and I'll tell you all about it when I get back?"

"It's not the same." Ava rubbed her eyes, a clear sign that she was exhausted. "I'm not a baby."

Those were three words they had been forced to listen to a lot lately.

Ava was trying to assert her independence more often than not. She was at the age where all her classmates were going through growth spurts while she remained the same. She was eight years old, but she looked like she was five or six with how small she was. The poor kid still had to ride in a car seat when all her friends got to ride in booster seats for crying out loud. She was even loosing teeth at a slower pace than everyone else.

Of course, it wasn't her fault. She was born premature, but, like any child, she wouldn't listen to reason.

"No, you're not a baby." Lucas placated her, though he believed otherwise. To him, Ava would always be a baby. "But you do need sleep. C'mon, I'll tuck you in."

"Can I sleep in your bed?"

Totally proving she wasn't a baby.

The irony.

"Sure." Lucas smiled and placed a hand on the back of her head, leading her to his room so she could climb in bed. "Sweet dreams, okay?"

"Okay." She curled up under his covers. "Good luck."

"Karen!" Keith walked into the cafe. "You ready to go?"

As predicted, Lucas won the game he and Nathan played, so he joined the high school basketball team. Despite the hardships he was going through just to be on the team, his first game was today and his loved ones were going to support him.

All except one.

"Oh. I'm not going." Karen shook her head, cleaning off the counters. "I decided to stay open. I could use the business."

"Uncle Keith!" Ava came out from the back room and jumped into his arms as if she hadn't seen him in forever, when in fact, she had just seen him that morning.

"Hey, Munchkin!" He caught her and set her on his hip. "How's my girl doing?"

"Fine." Ava gave him a toothless grin. "Mama let me have a brownie before dinner, because I got an 'A' on a spelling test."

"You got an 'A'? Mwah!" Keith kissed her cheek. "Congratulations." He smiled before turning back to Karen. "You talk to Luke about this?"

"No, but he'll understand."

"Karen—"

"—She doesn't want to go." Haley interrupted from the doorway. "She doesn't want to see her high school sweetheart, slash your brother, slash the jerk who abandoned Lucas and Ava, slash the father of Nathan, the team's star player, slash my wrists if I hear this story again." She said in one breath. "Let's go."

"Yeah, let's go!" Ava parroted the teen. "I want popcorn!"

"I think you're making a mistake." Keith gave Karen a shrug before leaving with the two girls.

"Don't eat it all at once." Keith handed Ava a carton of caramel corn before sitting beside her and Haley on the bleachers of Tree Hill High. "I don't want you bouncing off the walls."

"Thank you!" Ava immediately began munching on the sweet treat. "Want some?" She asked Haley. "It's good."

"Sure." Haley dug out a handful. "So what's going on in Havana-Land?"

"I don't know." Ava shrugged. "Mama said that if I keep doing well in school, she would get me that Game-Boy I want so much."

"That sounds exciting." Haley ruffled her hair just as Dan made his way towards the bleachers.

"Keith!" The man greeted. "Hey. Finally came to see your nephew play, huh, big brother?"

"Yeah." Keith wasn't really paying him any mind. "I guess you could say that."

Ava shoved Haley's hand away from her hair and looked at Dan.

The two locked eyes and Ava didn't understand it, but she felt something.

Like a connection.

She knew Dan was her father and they didn't have any kind of relationship.

But she saw something different in his eyes. Something warm.

"Hi." She waved.

He looked startled by the fact that she had spoken to him at all, but he answered all the same. "Hi."

And that was it. After Ava had gotten her response, she turned back around and went back to eating her little snack, ready for the game to start.

This was practically the first time he had seen his daughter. He thought she was beautiful. Her laugh was infectious and she looked so much like her mother.

"Is he really my daddy?" He heard her ask Keith with such childlike innocence, it made him smile to himself.

"Yeah." Keith nodded. "That's your dad."

And the man left it at that.

The game was going to start soon anyway.

Unfortunately, the game was even less fruitful than Dan and Ava's conversation.

She didn't know exactly what happened that night, but it was like her brother completely froze and was off his game.

He didn't make a single shot!

It was like watching somebody else play in his body.

"Hi, Luke."

"Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it." Lucas didn't even look at his sister as she entered his room.

"You didn't play well today." She laid down next to him, looking up at the ceiling. "You were awful."

"Havana, is this going somewhere?" Lucas growled. "Because I really don't want to talk."

"Sometimes, at recess, Sarah Peters makes fun of me before we have jump roping contests. I always win unless she teases me." Ava admitted. "Did you play lousy because people made fun of you?"

That had to be the only explanation.

Ava knew her brother.

He didn't just get nervous. There had to be a reason and she was pretty sure that was it.

Lucas furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his little sister.

Sometimes, she was too smart for her own good.

"But it's okay." She continued. "Cause one day she won't bother me anymore and maybe your bullies will stop teasing you, too."

"I sure hope you're right." Lucas went back to staring at the ceiling. "I sure hope you're right."