2003 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

"Hey, can I catch a ride with you to Nathan's party later?" Brooke Davis asked Aurora James as they stood on the sidelines, cheering at the basketball game that was currently going on. Nathan was throwing a party after, which sometimes he does, at his parent's beach house, but Aurora was surprised that Brooke was asking her for a ride and not Peyton.

"I didn't think you were going. I figured you'd be hiding out in Lucas's backseat again." Aurora teased, which made Brooke smirk.

"Jealous." Brooke teased.

"Nope," Aurora responded.

"What? I could see it. You're both so broody, and you've been friends forever. You could brood together... forever." Brooke said. Aurora rolled her eyes, but then she started laughing. She's not that broody, not on Lucas's level.

Once the game was over, the Ravens had won, their perfect record was still perfect, and as Aurora walked out of the locker room, she could hear Tim apologizing to Nathan, saying that Lucas had a better angle on the shot than Nathan did. Aurora paid no attention to that conversation as she walked over to Lucas as he walked away from his mother.

"Two good games in a row? It seems like these kisses are really working out in your favor." Aurora teased him. Lucas laughed before wrapping his arms around his best friend and hugging her.

"You didn't kiss me before the game before this one," Lucas said, and Aurora shrugged her shoulders.

"Dumb luck," Aurora said. The pair laughed, and then Nathan Scott walked over to them. Lucas assumed Nathan had walked over to talk to Aurora, so he fell quiet when Nathan approached.

"Two decent games in a row, man. Getting better or just lucky?" Nathan said. Lucas looked at Aurora, and Aurora looked at the ground because she didn't want to get in the middle of whatever was going to happen. Then she looked at Nathan.

"What's up, Nate?" She asked.

"Team's got a party tonight. At my parent's beach house." Nathan said, and he was still looking at Lucas.

"Why are you telling me that?" Lucas asked.

"Because, I said the team, didn't I? Look, it's kind of the off-season. Might as well deal with it." Nathan said, and then he walked away from the pair, and Aurora turned to Lucas.

"Well, I'm Brooke's ride, so... maybe I'll see you there?" Aurora said. Lucas chuckled a little and nodded his head.

"Yeah, maybe."

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Aurora stopped at the beach house with Brooke in the passenger seat. Aurora was still surprised that Brooke asked her over Peyton for a ride. Not that Brooke isn't her best friend too, but she usually does ride to parties with Peyton. Then Aurora will usually give her a ride home because Peyton usually spends the night with Nathan, and Brooke is ordinarily drunk as hell.

"Every time I ride with you, I swear I'll never do it again," Brooke said, and Aurora laughed as they got out of the car. Aurora's parents got her a Jeep Wrangler on her and Haley's 16th birthday.

"Oh, whatever. You know I'm a better driver than Peyton." Aurora said, and Brooke rolled her eyes but still laughed.

"Okay, true," Brooke said, turning to Aurora. "Keys?" She asked.

"Tempt fate," Aurora responded. As they were about to walk up the stairs, Tim was approaching them, and Aurora felt that she knew what he was about to say.

"Aurora, you've got to talk to him. Lucas had the better shot. You saw it, right?" Tim asked. Aurora rolled her eyes and shook her head. She didn't care what Nathan was mad about and would not have a conversation about this.

"Tim, are you being pathetic?" Brooke said. Tim rolled his eyes, and then Aurora heard the sounds of tires pulling up, and when she turned to the side, Keith's body shop truck was pulling into the driveway. She was a little surprised that Lucas had decided to come.

"What is he doing here?" Tim asked when he saw it was Lucas.

"I invited him. I mean, since you guys are such great friends now." Nathan said to Tim sarcastically. Tim sighed, and Aurora rolled her eyes as she looked over at her best friend.

"What are you trying to pull, Nate?" Aurora asked.

"Nothing." He said. Aurora rolled her eyes and was surprised to see Haley get out of the car as well. So she walked over to them, heard footsteps behind her, and figured them to be Nathan.

"Haley James, I didn't expect to see you here," Aurora said, which made Haley laugh.

"Trust me, me either," Haley said. Haley told her sister how she agreed to tutor Nathan but gave him conditions. That Lucas could never find out and that Nathan needed to lay off Lucas and leave him alone. So, Aurora is the only one who knows that Haley is Nathan's tutor; she promised her sister she would keep her secret and she wouldn't tell Lucas.

"I wasn't sure you'd come." The James sisters looked at the Scott brothers when they heard Nathan talking to Lucas.

"That makes two of us," Lucas said. Then Nathan turned to Haley and held his hand out.

"Hi, I'm Nathan Scott." He said, and Aurora rolled her eyes, but she knew he was doing that since it was part of Haley's conditions that Lucas couldn't know she agreed to tutor him.

"Um, yeah, I know... I'm Haley." She responded as she lightly shook his hand, not for that long before letting her hand drop. Then Haley looked at her sister. "Drinks? Inside?" She said, and Aurora nodded her head.

"Hell yeah, let's go."

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"Have you guys seen this?" Brooke Davis asked as she held up a newspaper article that had a comic strip along with it. Aurora shrugged her shoulders because she didn't really read the newspaper like that. "The High School Fearleader. It's a comic strip." Brooke said as her eyes scanned over it. "This is insulting, right?"

"My dog can draw better than this." Another girl said, which made Aurora laugh. Aurora knew who created the comic strip as soon as Brooke read the title.

It was Peyton.

"Really? What guy keeps his hat on during sex?" Brooke asked, and now Aurora definitely knew it was Peyton who made the comic strip. Nathan looked directly at his girlfriend because he knew it too, and Aurora turned to the side so she could keep herself from laughing. "Who is this socky person anyway?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, I wonder," Nathan said without taking his eyes off Peyton.

"It's just a stupid comic strip. Who cares, right?" Peyton said, and Aurora rolled her eyes. Since people obviously didn't like it, she wasn't going to take credit for it because that would be embarrassing.

"It's more like sucky. Whoever it is doesn't know the first thing about it. It's like it's so...-" Aurora could tell that Brooke didn't know what word to use, so she cut in.

"...-Shallow?" Aurora said, and Brooke nodded her head. When Peyton looked over at Aurora, all she did was smirk in return. Peyton rolled her eyes.

"Where's the keg?" Peyton asked before walking away. Aurora laughed a little under her breath before she walked off too.

She was wondering where her sister was.

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"Lucas, come play." Aurora heard Brooke Davis say, which made her look up. They were all in the kitchen, gathered around the counter and playing I never, and Lucas was walking by, so Brooke called out for him. Lucas nodded, walked over to the group, and stood next to Aurora since he was the most comfortable around her.

"What's the game?" He asked.

"I never," Aurora said as she handed him a cup.

"And yet, apparently, you have." Another student, Vegas, made the joke, and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, Vegas. Don't be mad because you're still a virgin." Aurora snapped back, which made everyone laugh, except for Vegas.

"Alright, so the game is... we all take turns saying things we've never done, and anybody at the table who has... bam!" Nathan exclaimed, and Lucas nodded his head.

"Drinks." He said.

"Alright, Theresa. You're up." Nathan said.

"Okay. Let's see... I've never... had sex with anything made out of plastic." Theresa said, and everyone laughed when Brooke took a sip of her drink. Aurora didn't want to know the story behind that one or any details.

"Okay, my turn. I've never... no, I did that, um." Brooke trailed off and started laughing. Aurora shook her head, and Nathan cleared his throat.

"Alright, my turn. Oh, let's see. Um... I've never... I've never had a dad who wished I was a stain on the bed sheets." Nathan said. Aurora's eyes narrowed into a glare, and everyone they were with laughed, but you could tell they were laughing because they were uncomfortable and weren't sure how to react. Lucas took a long sip of his drink before slamming his cup down and storming off. Aurora looked directly at Nathan and shook her head.

Then she walked away from the table too.

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"Ari, wait... come on! Are you seriously leaving!" Nathan Scott was calling out after Aurora. She had walked down to the beach, not to her car. She just couldn't stand being in the same house as Nathan after he said something that awful to Lucas. When she heard Nathan's footsteps catch up to her, she still didn't turn to look at him.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Why are you out here? Are you leaving?" Nathan asked.

"I might because you're an asshole. Why would you say something like that to him?" Aurora snapped. Nathan looked a little surprised that she was lecturing him about that, but then he knew he shouldn't be surprised. Lucas is her best friend too.

"Oh, that? That was a lame joke...-" Aurora cut him off.

"...-Jokes are supposed to be funny, Nathan," Aurora responded as she rolled her eyes.

"Look, the guys, sometimes we get raw with each other. I was just trying to include him... he took it the wrong way." Nathan said, and Aurora rolled her eyes again.

"Really? So saying, I never had a dad who wished I was a cum stain on the bed sheet... that's your version of a joke? It's not funny, Nathan, and it's not 'raw,' it's personal. Too personal. Didn't you tell Haley you'd lay off if she tutored you?" Aurora asked as she turned to him; this time, Nathan was surprised. He didn't think Aurora would know about that. "What? You didn't think my twin sister would tell me she's tutoring my best friend?" She said.

"Aurora, look...-" She cut him off again.

"...-No, you look. Nobody is saying that you have to be Lucas's best friend, but whether you like it or not, he is your brother, but he's not the one you're mad at; it's your piece of shit, father. The least you could do is treat your brother with human decency." Aurora snapped as she started to walk back toward the house.

"Well, you're his friend; how do I handle it?" Nathan called out after her. She didn't turn around, she continued walking, but she did yell back.

"It's simple. Stop being an asshole!"

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Later that evening, Aurora was out by the beach again, but she was sitting on the pier. She wasn't really in a party mood anymore, but she knew that Peyton would probably be spending the night, which meant she would be taking Brooke home because she knew her friend was probably drunk, so she didn't want to leave Brooke without a ride. Aurora heard footsteps coming to the pier, and when she looked up, she smiled when she saw her sister.

"Hey, Hales... I thought you left a while ago." Aurora said, and Haley smiled at her as she sat down.

"Lucas was my ride, and he left," Haley said, and Aurora nodded her head.

"I drove... as long as you don't mind a drunk Brooke Davis in the backseat because I'll probably be dropping her off at home," Aurora said, and Haley laughed as she nodded.

"No problem for me," Haley said.

"Hey, I thought both of you left." The twins heard a new voice. When they turned around, Nathan Scott was walking onto the pier, and Aurora shrugged her shoulders.

"I tried to, but the stupid cab didn't get here," Haley said, and Nathan nodded.

"Well, I'm glad you both stayed... and Aurora, I want to thank you for holding back," Nathan said. Aurora raised an eyebrow because she didn't know what he meant by that.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Asshole is pretty tame, and you have called me a lot worse before. I probably deserved it." Nathan said, and Aurora shrugged her shoulders.

"You did, and I am going to go get Brooke and see if I can get her home. Haley, whenever you're ready, I'll be in the car, and hopefully, Brooke will be knocked out." Aurora said. Haley laughed a little and nodded her head. Aurora went through the house and looked for Brooke first, but she found Peyton, who said she wouldn't be spending the night and she'll take Brooke home, so Aurora went to her car to wait for her sister, and while she waited, she figured she'd call Lucas.

"Hello?" Lucas answered the phone, but he didn't sound too happy, and Aurora didn't blame him.

"Heard you bailed on Haley." Aurora teased, and she heard Lucas sigh.

"Dammit... I was just... is she okay?" Lucas asked.

"She's fine. I'm taking her home, but are you okay? What else happened? I can hear it in your voice." Aurora said. She can always tell when Lucas is upset about multiple things, and she could tell something else happened besides Nathan's little comment.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said, and Aurora shook her head.

"Lucas, you can either tell me now, or I'm going to drop Haley off at home, and then I'm going to come to your house and make you tell me... so, what's it going to be?" Aurora asked. She heard Lucas sigh on the other side of the line, and he was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"I'll see you soon." He said.

Then the line went dead.

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"Luke, you awake?" Aurora James asked when she walked through the back door that led directly to his room. She ended up not giving Haley a ride home. Haley texted her that Nathan would take her home, so she didn't have to wait, so Aurora headed over to Luke's like she said she would. "Are you okay? You look like you've had a long night." Aurora said.

"That's one way to put it," Lucas said as he chuckled a little.

"What happened?" Aurora asked.

"Which part? The joke, the video, or the car?" Lucas said, and Aurora's head tilted to the side. That was something she did whenever she was confused. She knew about the joke, but she had no idea what the video or the car meant.

"Okay, let's start with the video since I know about the joke... if you can call it that." She said.

"Well... Peyton and I were outside talking when suddenly, I heard my mom's voice, and I knew she wasn't at the party, so I was confused. I went back inside, and Nathan was playing... a video of my mom and Dan from when they were in high school." Lucas said.

"Oh, Luke... I'm so sorry." She said.

"The worst part is, my mom had this whole road map... happy life with Dan, kids. She said in the video, 'come visit us in 10 years and see how happy we are.' Where's the happiness? I'm not happy, and I know she's not happy." Lucas said.

"Lucas, they were 17 years old, in high school, and in love. It's normal for your mom to think they would be together forever. And when it didn't happen like that, she was heartbroken, and rightfully so, especially because he got Deb pregnant three months after Karen, but what can we do? Dwell on our parents' mistakes? Or make sure that we don't make the same ones?" Aurora said.

"I know, but it just... irritated and hurt me," Lucas said, and she nodded.

"I know, and I'm sorry that it did, but then take your hurt and imagine how much it hurt for your mom when she was our age," Aurora said. Lucas sighed and nodded his head, knowing that she was right. "Alright, now tell me about the car." She said.

"When I was driving back, I saw Peyton's car crash into another car, and I thought Peyton was driving. Turns out it was Nathan, and of course, he was under the influence." Lucas said. Aurora was hoping that Nathan didn't drive her sister home drunk.

"So Peyton wasn't in the car?" Aurora asked, and Lucas shook his head.

"No." He said.

"So, what did Nathan do?" Aurora asked.

"What do you think he did? He walked away; he left." Lucas said, and Aurora frowned while shaking her head. She didn't think Nathan would be the hit-and-run type.

"So, what did you do?" Aurora asked.

"Brought it to the body shop," Lucas said, and Aurora laughed.

"I imagine Keith was unhappy about that," Aurora said, and Lucas nodded. Keith was pissed that Lucas brought the car to the body shop instead of reporting the incident.

"Not at all. He told me if I don't tell my mom, he will." Lucas said, and Aurora frowned. She hated how Nathan acted tonight. She had seen him be mean before, but tonight was different. He was really being an asshole and for no reason. First, the dig that he said was a 'joke,' then the video, and now Peyton's car.

"So, what are you going to do?" Aurora asked.

"I'll tell her tomorrow morning... so if I'm not at school tomorrow." Lucas teased, and Aurora laughed as she shook her head.

"Shut up, you'll be fine, but I'm proud of you," Aurora said with a smile.

"For what? I didn't do anything." Lucas said.

"Yeah, you did. You were the bigger person, and you walked away. Well... you didn't walk away from the car, which was also good, but still... you took the high road, and I am proud of you for that." Aurora said, and Lucas smiled.

"I simply thought, what would Aurora do?" Lucas asked, and Aurora laughed.

"Well, Aurora almost did punch Nathan in the face, but she resisted," Aurora said, and they both started laughing.

"Hey, did you get Haley home, okay?" Lucas asked. He was only asking because he found Haley's hat in Peyton's car and wanted to see if Aurora would lie to him. On the other hand, Aurora knew Nathan had taken Haley home, and she didn't want to upset Lucas.

"Yeah, when I dropped her off, I told her I was coming here, and now that I've come here, and you seem better, I should head back," Aurora said. Lucas nodded his head, but he didn't say anything since he didn't want Aurora to know that he knew she was lying.

"Thanks for coming and checking on me," Lucas said. She leaned over and kissed his cheek before getting off his bed and walking towards the door.

"Of course, see you tomorrow, Luke."

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─── AUTHOR'S NOTE
welp, aurora went off on one brother and lied to the other.

don't forget to vote/comment. 

xoxo.