2003 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

"Good morning, sir. Table or counter?"

Aurora was at work the following day because she had nothing to do. Lucas texted her, saying that he would be helping Brooke and Peyton with something for Peyton's dad and asked if she wanted to come too, but she told him she had already picked up a shift. After their conversation last night, Aurora hoped they ended on good terms, but she did go home.

"Um, actually, I'm looking for Karen... oh, Aurora!" She heard the man say. Aurora had only glanced up when she heard him walk in, but she hadn't thoroughly looked at him, so hearing her name shocked her, and as she looked up, a broad smile spread on Aurora's face.

"Oh my gosh, Grandpa Royal!" Aurora exclaimed before giving him a hug, which he chuckled and gave back to her. Since Aurora grew up with Nathan, of course, she knows his grandparents, but they don't come into town a lot; she was wondering why they're here.

"Well, you've definitely grown since the last time I've seen you." He said when they stepped away, which made her laugh.

"Well, it has been several years. But, uh, Karen is in Italy right now, for cooking school." Aurora said to him, which made him smile.

"Good for her." He said while nodding his head. "How's that boy of hers doing?" He asked. Aurora wasn't surprised that he was asking about Lucas. Dan and Karen dated in high school, so of course, his parents know her, and of course, they know she got pregnant. Lucas is their first grandchild, technically.

"Lucas is great. She calls every once in a while. Do you want me to tell her that you stopped by?" Aurora asked him. He shook his head.

"No, that's alright. I'll catch her the next time I'm passing through." He said, and she nodded her head.

"What's the special occasion today?" She asked.

"Danny's birthday. We're having dinner at the house, why don't you come by? You are Nathan's oldest friend, and you've always been family." He said.

"Are you sure? I mean, I doubt Dan would want me there." Aurora said.

"Don't mind him. Come, I'm sure Nathan would love to have you there, and May would love to see you." He said, which made Aurora smile. She felt like she could never say no to Nathan's grandma. May is the sweetest person ever.

"Okay, I'll see you tonight."

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"Hey, so your grandpa came into the cafe today," Aurora said to Nathan as they walked past the shops lined up downtown. Haley was with them, and Nathan looked surprised. "He invited me to dinner tonight." She said, which didn't surprise Nathan. His grandparents have always liked Aurora.

"Is it gonna be that bad?" Haley asked.

"A massacre. My grandma's okay. It's just my grandpa is pretty intense. You've met my dad; just imagine where he comes from." Nathan said.

"Scary," Haley said.

"Yeah, you should also come tonight. Maybe it will make everyone behave." Nathan said to her.

"I'll come if you want me to," Haley said, laughing.

"No, I wasn't serious. I wouldn't put you through that. Aurora, you don't even have to come." Nathan said to her. Aurora shook her head while smiling at him.

"I already told your Grandpa I would be there. I can't take it back." She said, and Nathan laughed as he shook his head.

"And Nathan, if you're asking, then, of course, my answer is yes," Haley said.

"Well, then, I'm asking." He said.

"Then Aurora and I will both be there."

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"Grandma, Grandpa, this is Haley. You guys already know Aurora." Nathan introduced the James twins to his grandparents when they walked inside the dining room for dinner. Keith was already here, and he smiled at the girls before May got out of her seat and walked over to Aurora. 

"Oh, little Aurora. All grown up!" May exclaimed before wrapping her arms around Aurora, making the brunette laugh as she hugged her back.

"Hi, grandma May, I missed you too," Aurora said to her before they took their seats. Nathan sat between Aurora and Haley, and Aurora was also next to Keith, so she knew, at least, she would be comfortable with who she was seated by.

"Well, Nathan. You're looking more and more like your old man every day. We all know where he gets his good looks from, don't we?" Royal said as he sat down next to Haley. Then the doorbell rang again, and soon Whitey walked inside. 

"Oh my goodness, Whitey! Good to see you." May said. 

"Good evening, everybody. Sorry, I'm late." Whitey said, and then Nathan leaned over to Aurora and whispered. 

"Glad you came?" He asked, and she laughed a little. 

"We'll see as this dinner progresses." She said. 

"So, how's the team doing this year, Whitey?" Royal asked, and here we go. Once Royal gets starting talking about sports, there is no end. The longer they talk about this, he's eventually going to find out that Nathan quit, and if Aurora could take a guess, Dan did not want his father to know that Nathan quit the team.

Because then all hell would break loose. 

"Oh, we're still undefeated, actually. Dad, you still rooting for the Magic these days?" Dan asked. 

"Please! No talk of sports until after dinner, okay?" May said. 

"I think that's a great idea," Aurora said. Dan looked at her and cleared his throat. 

"To echo Aurora, that is a good idea. Sorry, Mom." Dan apologized. 

"Well, Nathan, what are you averaging these days? You know your dad had 27 and a half a game. You beat that yet?" Royal asked, and Aurora took a deep breath before patting Nathan's knee under the table several times. 

"Royal, we just said...-" Royal cut his wife off. 

"...-I'm just asking the boy a question, May.," He said. 

"Uh, well... maybe you should ask the old man," Nathan said as he deflected and threw the conversation to his father. 

"24 points a game, I think, isn't it?"  Dan asked. 

"So, 24 a game, huh? You'll have to get that up if you're going to beat the old man. Yeah, your dad's star would have risen through the roof at Carolina if it wasn't for that damn knee of his. How're your knees?" Royal asked. 

"No worries," Nathan said. 

"Oh, he's got great knees," Haley said, which made everyone laugh, including her sister. 

"Uh-huh, of course, Danny takes after his old man. Never let adversity stop him. Too bad Keith takes after his mother's side of the family." Royal said. 

"Lucky for him," May said. 

"I'd drink to that, but I have to get a refill," Keith said. 

"Well, I should see about the cake," May said. 

"I'll go do that, Grandma May," Aurora said, looking at Nathan and Haley. "Want to come help?" She asked them, and Haley immediately nodded her head while Nathan slowly nodded. 

"Yeah, the cake. Right." Nathan said as the three of them got up and walked inside of the kitchen, and then he looked at Haley. "I warned you; it was going to be intense." He said. 

"Oh, insane is more like it," Haley said. 

"You know, there's a door right there. We could sneak out, and nobody would even notice." Nathan said, and it was very tempting. Aurora wouldn't want to third wheel, and Lucas is with Peyton and Brooke, so that was out. It looks like she would just be going home and watching Friends if they did sneak out.

"Very tempting. Hey, Nate... uh, can I tell you something?" Aurora asked, and he nodded his head while his eyebrows furrowed. 

"You can tell me anything." He said.

"So your grandpa came by the cafe today, and he asked for Karen," She said, and Nathan's eyes widened. 

"He did?" He asked, and she nodded her head. 

"Yeah. I just kind of got the feeling that they've been keeping in touch," Aurora said.

"Does Lucas know?" Nathan asked, and she shook her head. 

"I don't think so. He asked about Lucas, but Lucas has never met him." She said, and now Nathan looked even more confused. 

"That doesn't make any sense. My grandpa acts like my dad's a second coming; why would he visit Karen?" Nathan asked. 

"I don't know, maybe because Lucas is his first grandchild, and unlike your father, he actually gives a damn about him?" She said. Nathan only gave her a look, to which she responded by shrugging her shoulders. 

"You know what? My family is so screwed up; nothing new would make a difference right now. Let's just get the cake out there and not worry about it." 

―

"So, Nate... how's your game this year?" Royal asked right after Dan had blown out the candles. Aurora noticed that Deb and May rolled their eyes, and from next to her, she heard Nathan sigh. 

"Here we go again," May said. 

"Just cover your ears, May. I just want to know how my grandson's doing on the team." Royal said. 

"Well, I already told you, Dad," Dan said. 

"No, you didn't. You didn't tell me, jack. And every time I mention it, you change the damn subject. Now, will somebody around here tell me what's going on? Nathan?" Royal asked and looked at his grandson, who stayed silent. "Whitey?" He asked, and Whitey was quiet as well, and he looked around the table. 

"Anyone?" 

"Nathan, I think you better take this one," Whitey said. Nathan let out a deep breath before looking at his grandfather. 

"I quit the team, alright?" Nathan said, and Royal looked like someone had just murdered a puppy. Aurora didn't understand why these grown men got so uptight about a game that involves putting a simple ball in a hoop.

"You quit the...-what do you mean you quit the team?" Royal asked. 

"He didn't quit the team, Dad. He's just taking some time off." Dan said, and Aurora rolled her eyes. 

"No, he's not. Please stop lying, Dan." Deb said. 

"Were you ever going to tell me this? I mean, that's a hell of a thing to keep to yourself." Royal said, and then Nathan scoffed. 

"Yeah, you're one to talk," Nathan said. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Royal asked, and he quickly turned to his grandson. 

"I know you visit Karen at the cafe, alright? What's that about?" Nathan snapped, which made Aurora sigh as she palmed her face with her hand. She knew this wasn't going to end well.

"Nathan!" She slightly snapped at him. 

"That's none of your damn business." Royal snapped back, and then he looked at Aurora. " I guess I shouldn't be surprised you told him." He said. 

"You shut up, Grandpa." Nathan snapped. 

"Don't you talk to me like that?" Royal snapped back. 

"Back off, Royal. I've had enough of your crap. Nathan is not the problem." Deb snapped. 

"Would someone please explain?" May asked. 

"Dan has been riding Nathan for the past six years about that damn game," Deb said. 

"Deb, stop," Dan said. 

"No... Riding him so hard that Nathan took drugs so that he could measure up," Deb said, and then both of his grandparents looked on in shock. 

"Drugs?" Royal asked. 

"Until he had to be rushed to the hospital. He could have died because of this insane pressure to put a ball through a hoop. But none of that is my son's fault, Royal. It's your son's fault." Deb snapped at him, and she was right. May shook her head as she looked at her son. 

"Danny. You, of all people. How dare you! You know how much you hated it when your daddy bullied you into being better." May said. Something told Aurora that everything was about to get exposed at this table. Right now.

"I never bullied him," Royal said, but May ignored him and continued speaking right to Dan. 

"And when you wanted a way out, I gave you one. All these years, I protected you. I lied for you. And now you're doing the same thing to your son?" May asked. 

"What lie? What are you talking about?" Royal asked. 

"In college. His knee injury. It wasn't permanent. Danny quit, and I helped him." May said, which seemed to be the shock of a lifetime, but Aurora was disgusted at how much of a hypocrite Dan was. He hated the pressure his dad gave him, so he faked a permanent knee injury to get out from under him and then had the audacity to push Nathan so hard to the point where he took drugs and almost died just to please his father. 

It's sickening.

"What do you mean he quit?" Royal asked. 

"It's not like that, Dad," Dan said, and what's even sadder is that Dan is still scared of his father, and as a grown man, he's still trying to measure up and please another grown man. If Dan were a real man, he would've broken the toxic cycle instead of pushing it into Nathan. Aurora could only hope when Nathan had a kid.

He breaks the toxic cycle. 

"Oh, stop it, Dan. It's time the truth came out." May said. 

"Will somebody tell me what the hell is going on here?" Royal asked. 

"You were on the road when Danny hurt his knee. So we lied." May said, and Royal looked over at his son. 

"You told me it was a degenerative knee condition," Royal said. He sounded like he had just been betrayed or cheated on. In short, he was making this a bigger deal than what it actually was. 

"It was Dad; it was..." Dan said, trailing off. 

"You looked me in the eye and told me that," Dan said. 

"Don't you see, Royal? He would never be the star you wanted him to be. You just couldn't see that. The boy had two choices. To fail in front of you, or quit. Either way, he lost." May said, and that's the sad part. No child should ever be afraid to fail in front of their parents because failure is a part of life and a part of what helps us grow as people. 

"So you just quit? Without even being man enough to own up to it?" Royal asked, which again is only a horrible response to give your child. Saying he's not a man enough. Aurora got it, Dan's dad was rough and probably messed him up with all the pressure and everything, but that didn't give Dan a right to pass that onto Nathan and Lucas. 

He could've chosen to be better. 

"There's more to the story, Dad," Dan said, but you could tell Royal had enough. He stood up from the table and shook his head. "You don't know the whole story!" Dan called after his dad, but Royal shook his head again. 

"I've had enough," Royal said. 

"Me too. Come on, Haley, Aurora. I'll take you guys home." Nathan said to them. Aurora looked at May and offered her a small smile.

"Thanks for dinner, Grandma May," She said, and May smiled back at her. 

"It was nice seeing you again, Aurora." 

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"Sorry, you had to see that," Nathan said mainly to Haley. Aurora already knew a lot about his family dynamic since they grew up together, but Haley shook her head. Yeah, that was definitely intense, but Aurora knew Haley would be able to handle it. 

"Oh, it's okay. It helped me understand you." Haley said. 

"You know, growing up, there were certain things that were just carved into stone. And the main one was that Dan Scott would have been a pro if he didn't blow out his knee. So, all this time, he's just been feeding me this line of crap about how great he would've been and how I'd never be as good as him. Bullshit." Nathan said. 

"Well, at least you know the truth, though, right?" Haley asked. 

"I just don't know what to do with it," Nathan said.

"Okay, goodnight," Haley said as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug, which made Aurora smile. She loved seeing them together. Nathan needed someone like Haley. She and Nathan did have a small fling, but it wasn't a serious relationship; it was more to see if they did have feelings for each other or if they just liked hooking up to piss Peyton off.

It honestly made their friendship stronger.

"Goodnight," Nathan said as they pulled away.

"I'm here if you need me, okay?" Haley said. She kissed her boyfriend on the cheek before heading to the door. Aurora stayed back because she wanted to talk to him some more.

"Hey, remember how I said, my family's so screwed up, nothing new would make a difference?" Nathan asked, and Haley nodded her head. 

"Yeah." She said. 

"I was wrong," Nathan said as he smiled at her; and Haley walked inside, and when she did, Aurora turned to Nathan. 

"You gonna be okay?" She asked. 

"Honest answer?" Nathan asked, and she nodded her head. "I don't know. That was a lot to learn tonight and to take in." Nathan said, and she laid her hand on his shoulder. 

"Well, like Haley said. If you need me, you know I'm always here for you. I always knew your dad was full of shit, so this didn't surprise me as much as you'd think." Aurora said, and Nathan laughed a little before pulling her into a hug. 

"Thanks for always having my back, snicks." He said, which made her laugh and roll her eyes. 

"And I always will, Nate." 

―

"Hey." 

Aurora was sitting in her room, just in the middle of her bed, because it was Saturday and there was nothing to do, and it was Nathan who was in her doorway. She was waiting for Lucas to get back home. He said that something happened with Peyton's dad, a terrible storm hit, and she had to identify a body to see if it was her dad's or not. He said it wasn't, which was good. Aurora felt terrible because she had been so wrapped up in what was happening with Nathan that she didn't even check in with her boyfriend.

"Hey," Aurora greeted Nathan. 

"Grandma's making breakfast. The show starts at 9? You in?" He asked, and she laughed. 

"Um, as much fun as I had last night, I think I'm going to pass on this one," Aurora said, which made Nathan laugh. "You know, I've been thinking. Now that you know the truth about Dan, you're free, right? I mean, he's been lying to you all this time. You don't have to listen to him anymore. There's no more pressure." She said. 

"Yeah, I wish that were true," Nathan said. 

"What do you mean?" She asked him. 

"My dad walked away, and his father will never forgive him for that. I have to go back." Nathan said, which made her frown.

"Nate, you don't have anything to prove to that man," I said. 

"I know, but I have something to prove to myself. I have to beat him, Aurora. It's the only way I'm ever going to be free of him." 

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─── AUTHOR'S NOTE
this was one of my favorite episodes.

don't forget to vote/comment. 

xoxo.