Chapter 679: Club TRIC - Tree Hill

Monday, March 13th, Afternoon

The number of times she's been to Club TRIC has been incalculable. Not so much half of her time in high school, but she had many fond memories of being at TRIC. Elizabeth "Ellie" Scott looked at the screen and reflected on her high school years.

Brian Scott, the subject of today's film, was her cousin. Ellie and her fraternal twin sister, Kay, were roughly the same age as Brian and went through high school together. They had the same friend group; Brian had children with two from their friend group, Trin, Ellie's best friend, and Gabi, whose mom was friends with Trin's mom.

Ellie's uncle Nathan was on the screen. "Brian at first just existed; James didn't take it so well. Before I went to Charlotte full-time, Brian had started fitting in," Nathan said.

Her Aunt Haley appeared on the screen. "I think that's when he tried to find himself. He was on the basketball team but didn't seem to be engaged by it. We had worked a little on piano and guitar, but nothing serious before our move. Brian met and joined High-Performance Heart Attack; that's when he started coming out of his shell," Haley said.

Ellie's best friend, Trinity "Trin" Adams, appeared on the screen. "I remember meeting him in high school. Our moms were friends; we were the same age, so we got forced together," Trin said.

Ellie watched as images appeared on the screen. Many of them she had seen before; they were from the collections of her dad, Aunt Brooke, Uncle Nathan, and Aunt Haley. Many of them were of Brian and various people. There was one that Ellie could swear was her sophomore year before she got diagnosed. It was her, Kay, Brian, and her oldest sister Candi; it was taken at the indoor pool at Beaulieu Manor. They were sitting on a lounge chair with Candi standing behind them. Ellie knew she was the shortest of the people in the picture, and Ellie wasn't short. Izzy or Trin probably took the picture, which was taken on a film camera by its look.

When was that picture taken? It had to be before Thanksgiving because that's roughly when she went to the doctor and got her diagnosis. They were probably at Aunt Brooke's for something or another, and Candi probably drove her, Kay over, and maybe even Brian. Kay must have been playing nice that day. Candi had her hair in a bob and was dyed black, so it was after Halloween that year.

Candi wore her hair short all year but started growing it the following year. When Candi was in college at Duke, she stopped dying her hair black; she dyed her hair from Halloween that year until college. Life was so different back then.

Ellie noticed that Kat had appeared on the screen. The sights of LaGuardia Airport in the background meant that was done when they were last playing in the New York City Area. Kat always had this ethereal appearance when she wasn't onstage; it had to be her light blonde hair, pale skin, and light-colored eyes.

"I played bass in High-Performance Heart Attack, and we practiced in Hawley's garage. Brian just showed up. I'm not sure how it all went down, but Brian was joining us as a singer and sometimes guitar player," Kat said.

That was how things happened for Brian; it all fell into place. Ellie remembered Brian had a knack for falling into it and coming out smelling like roses. It was where a lot of his success came from.

With a sigh, Ellie watched as the screen changed again. It was Rachel Gatina, Aunt Brooke's friend and the mom of Gabi Vincent, Brian's long-time partner and mom to three of his children.

"It was a cute group; Ellie Scott had a cute boyfriend that hung out with them," Rachel said.

Mark, she was talking about Mark. That was a sad, sad story, Ellie reflected as she looked at the screen.

Trin appeared and sighed. "I've known Gabi longer; her mom and mine were friends from high school," she said.

The image changed, and photos of Gabi Vincent appeared on the screen. Ellie tilted her head and wondered where this was going.

"During his time in Tree Hill, Brian reconnected with his family and made new friends. It's also when Brian started his music journey," Felicia's voiceover said, "He also took up the family game of basketball."

Haley was on the screen. "I was ecstatic and probably went a little stage mom on him. I bought him a guitar and had a studio in the basement. I allowed them to use it. I probably got too involved," Haley said.

Kat was on the screen next. "Brian and I got close; we bonded over our love of music. We had shared ideas about what we wanted to accomplish in music; that's where and how the musical soulmate thing came about," Kat said.

Ellie nodded and looked over the room to where Kat was. Kat was always someone to pick out when they were off duty; on stage, Kat dressed and acted one way, but when she was off stage, she was a different person. Kat is quiet, reserved, and soft-spoken. Onstage she often wore little, but off the stage, she dressed conservatively. Ellie remembered Kat wearing a tank top with a button-down shirt. Ellie always knew that music brought Kat out, especially when she played it. Not so much when she sings but when she has an instrument in her hand.

Ellie looked over to see her Aunt Haley and Uncle Nathan. They were holding hands, and Ellie could see they were holding hands so tight that their knuckles were white. Of everyone here, they lived with the choices that Brian had made. They were living with and raising three of his children. They were re-living it, all of it, even the dark stuff that they wouldn't share.

The following person she looked to was Aunt Brooke. She was friends with Aunt Haley. Ellie never saw it but wondered how much strain Brian caused between them. Brian's oldest child, his son Wyatt, was Trin's son. Wyatt was Ellie's godson, and Brian being Ellie's cousin didn't strain her relationship with Trin. Ellie sided with Trin over Brian.

The film is in the early part of the story. Ellie thought that Van Ankeren knew how to construct a story. It's moving along and giving the viewer the basics of the backstory. Most people in the room knew the backstory; they lived it.

For Ellie, it was nice to see Brian without all his tattoos. She never liked how the tattoos looked on Brian. Not the fact he had tattoos; Ellie has three herself. Ellie never felt that Brian's tattoos meant anything to him. All three of Ellie's tattoos had a meaning. The back tattoo on her shoulder was about her surviving her illness. Ellie's hip Tar Hill tattoo was about where she graduated college. The poem on her ribs had a profound meaning to her.

Ellie took in a deep breath and waited for the next chapter. At least, this is only the beginning of the story.