2015 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

Dear Lucas,
Every time I mention wanting to get to know you because you know, you are my brother, Nathan and Dad flip out. Dad starts yelling, Nathan gets an attitude, and I honestly don't know what the big deal is. Pretending you don't exist doesn't make you go away. So, since they literally will not allow me to get to know you in person, maybe I can through these letters. What's your favorite color? I think you can tell a lot about a person through their favorite color. Mine is blue. People normally pick blue because of the sky, but I chose it because of the ocean. I've always felt calm and at peace near a body of water, and blue always reminds me of that feeling. Do you have a favorite food? Something Karen always makes for you whenever she knows it would be a good pick me up. I know Keith has his usual at your mom's cafe. Do you think it's his comfort meal, or he's just scared to order something else? I think my comfort food is mac n' cheese. Now don't laugh at me, but when you have a good bowl of mac n' cheese in front of you, there's no way you don't feel better afterward. I'm rambling, I tend to do that when feeling big emotions, and right now it's nervous, to even be writing this in the first place. Until my next letter.

Sincerely,
Logan S.

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It was almost game time. Nathan and Logan were in their rooms getting ready and about to leave for school. They were going together, but she didn't know who she would be leaving with. She knew Nathan was throwing a party at their beach house after the game, so she'd either be leaving with Roman or Peyton, depending on whether or not Nathan was going with Peyton to the beach house. She supposed she'd figure it out after the game.

Nathan and Logan started walking downstairs at the same time. As she made her way to the kitchen, Nathan gently shoved her. When they were kids, they used to play this game where they would race to the kitchen to see who would get food first, but to initiate the game, one of them had to shove the other. Logan looked at Nathan and shook her head. The siblings stood still for a moment as they looked at each other.

Then they bolted for the kitchen.

They didn't too far because Dan Scott was already standing in the kitchen. Nathan saw him before Logan did, and he grabbed his sister to prevent her from crashing into their dad. It wasn't their dad in the kitchen that solely stopped their movements, it was who their dad was looking at.

Their mom... Deb Scott.

"Hey. Check it out. It's called dinner," Deb said when she saw all of their faces. They had gotten so used to eating takeout because Dan Scott doesn't cook, and they don't cook either. Deb is never there, and she's normally the one who cooks. Logan got used to it after a while, but she always ate in moderation.

"Who is that lady? Is that my wife?" Dan whispered to Nathan and Logan as he pointed at Deb. Nathan had a small smile on his face while Logan crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't think you were getting back until Monday," Dan said.

"I wasn't until I sweet-talked Ziodex into doubling their gift to AIDS research. It took me all of one meeting," Deb said and Dan smiled.

"Wow, I'm impressed. Are you sure you don't want to quit saving the world and come sell cars with me?" Dan asked. Logan almost snorted, something she does when she laughs very hard but she held it in.

"Hmm, thanks for the offer, but I like the frequent flyer miles," Deb said and then she walked over to her kids. She hugged Nathan first and then she hugged Logan. They were both still surprised to be seeing her, that they didn't hug her back. "Hey, how are my babies?" She asked. Nathan and Logan looked at each other before Nathan brushed his duffel bag up against hers. They had a lot of ways of communicating with each other without talking.

"We have warm-ups, Mom," Nathan said.

"Oh, come on. Sit, dinner's almost ready and I haven't seen you two in weeks," Deb said. Logan could feel her anger rising and she spoke before she could suppress it.

"Yeah, and who's fault is that? We have to go. Don't wait up," Logan said as she turned around and left the kitchen. After a couple of moments, Nathan's footsteps caught up to her as they left the house and went to his car.

"Damn, Lo... that was harsh," Nathan said as he opened the passenger side door for her. Logan shrugged as she got in the car and put her duffel bag down at her feet.

"It's too late to take it back now."

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"Hey, can I catch a ride with you to Nathan's party later?" Brooke Davis asked Peyton as the cheerleaders were on the sidelines. Logan was stretching out her legs and she looked up at her two best friends.

"Can I tag along?" Logan asked.

"You're not going with Roman?" Peyton asked.

"Obviously not if I'm asking to ride along with you and Brooke, now am I? I don't leave every game with him. Only the ones where neither of you are available because you..." Logan pointed at Peyton. "...Are with Nathan, and you..." Logan pointed at Brooke. "...Are naked in Luke's backseat," She said and Brooke smiled.

"Hey, that's the exact reason I thought Brooke wouldn't be going. I figured she'd be hiding out in Lucas' backseat," Peyton said sarcastically and Logan laughed.

"Jealous," Brooke said.

"No," Peyton responded.

"What? I could see it. You're both so broody. You could brood together," Brooke said. Peyton rolled her eyes, but Logan could see her point.

"She does have a point. Tortured athlete meets tortured artist," Logan teased. Peyton rolled her eyes, while Brooke and Logan smiled at each other. Logan had a feeling Lucas and Peyton would probably end up together one day.

Maybe.

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"Every time I ride with you, I swear I'm never going to do it again," Brooke said as Peyton came to a rough stop outside of the Scott Family Beach House. Logan laughed from the backseat as Brooke jerked forward and she shook her head. The three friends got out of the car, and Tim was approaching them. Logan rolled her eyes, knowing what he was going to say.

Apparently, Nathan was mad at him because Tim passed the ball to Lucas instead of Nathan because Nathan was double-teamed and Lucas had the better shot. Logan didn't care. Nathan needed to get his head out of his ass, in her opinion. Lucas was on the team and he wasn't going anywhere.

"Peyton, Logan. You've got to talk to him. Lucas had the better shot. You saw it, right?" Tim asked. Peyton and Logan exchanged the same annoyed glance and then Logan turned to Tim.

"Not getting in the middle," She said as she shrugged.

"Tim, are you being pathetic?" Brooke asked. Tim rolled his eyes and then turned around as a truck pulled up to the beach house and came to a stop. Logan was the first to notice that it was Keith's truck that he used to tow cars back to the garage.

"What is he doing here?" Tim asked when Lucas and Haley got out of the truck. Logan was surprised to see Haley with him. Nathan and Roman approached as Tim asked his question, and Nathan already had a drink in his hand.

"I invited him. I mean, since you guys are such great friends now," Nathan said. Peyton raised an eyebrow as she looked at her boyfriend.

"What are you trying to pull?" Peyton asked.

"Nothing," Nathan said. Neither Peyton nor Logan believed that.

"Hey, can I get you a drink?" Logan heard. She turned to her side to see Roman had approached her. She had been too busy focusing on Lucas and Nathan and trying to figure out what Nathan was planning because she knew he was up to something. He didn't just invite Lucas out of the kindness of his heart.

Logan knew better than that.

"Lead the way," She said to Roman. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as the pair walked up the stairs that led into the house. She heard the footsteps of their group following behind them. Roman and Logan went to the kitchen and Roman got her a cup of punch, which she knew had been spiked.

"Logan, Roman. Come play!" She heard Brooke call out for her. Logan looked at Roman and he laughed seeing the look on her face.

"Let's just play a couple of rounds," Roman said. Logan sighed and nodded as they walked over to the island of the kitchen where Brooke, Peyton, Nathan, Theresa, Vegas, and some other people were gathered.

"Lucas, you too! Come play!" Brooke called out for him. Lucas joined the group and stood on the other side of Logan.

"What's the game?" He asked.

"I never," Brooke said.

"And yet apparently, you have," Vegas said, making everyone laugh while Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, Vegas!" She snapped, making everyone laugh more.

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

"Drinks," Lucas said as he took the cup Nathan extended out to him.

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

"Okay, let's see. I've never had sex with anything made out of plastic," Theresa said. Everyone looked around the circle to see who would be the one to raise their glass and drink. When Brooke was the one, everyone started laughing.

"Okay, my turn. I've never... no, I did that, um..." Brooke trailed off as she tried to think of something she'd never done, but she wasn't able to.

"Alright. My turn," Nathan said. Logan sighed because she didn't know what he was going to say. "Oh, let's see... Um, I've never had a Dad who wished I was a stain on the bedsheets," Nathan said as he looked directly at Lucas.

Lucas grabbed his cup, finished the drink, and then walked over to Nathan. He mumbled something in Nathan's ear before putting his cup down and walking away from the table. Logan turned to her brother as she picked up her cup and finished the entire drink before throwing the cup at Nathan. Nathan's eyes widened in shock along with everyone else's as Logan walked away from the table. Roman sighed and took a sip of his drink before setting it down and walking after Logan.

Nathan took it way too far.

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Logan found Lucas sitting outside on the back porch swing. Logan took a deep breath before sitting down next to him. Lucas didn't say anything when she sat down, and she frowned. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I heard what you did... you didn't have to take a drink," Lucas said.

"And Nathan didn't have to be an asshole He knew that wasn't funny. Not just because of you, but because of some stuff Roman goes through with his dad. The point is, that Nathan went too far. He shouldn't have said it," Logan said.

"It's not your fault, Logan. It's just the way he is," Lucas said and Logan frowned.

"He wasn't always," Logan said as she shook her head. Nathan wasn't always like that, but Dan's influence runs deep when he's the only one around to sink his claws in.

"How do you deal with it?" Lucas asked.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out," Logan said and he nodded. The two fell into silence. Logan didn't know if it was awkward or not. She didn't know if Lucas had started reading her letters, but she also felt weird about asking. But it still made her nervous. "Luke...-" She was cut off when she noticed his body went tense and he was looking at something else.

Logan turned around to follow his eyes, and she saw something playing on the TV. She followed Lucas inside of the beach house so they could see and hear the video more clearly. "Tree Hill High's Snowball Court King and Queen, Daniel Scott, and Karen Roe," Logan's eyes widened as she realized what it was.

"Karen, what's the secret to your success?" The woman on the video asked.

"Um, the secret to our success. I don't know. Good question, Dan?" Karen asked as she threw the question to her boyfriend.

"Good sex!" Dan exclaimed. The audience laughed while Logan rolled her eyes.

"Be serious," Karen reprimanded.

"Karen, do you think you guys will get married?"

"Do I think Dan and I will get married? Hmm... who knows, I mean...-" Her answer was cut off by Brooke taking notice of what was going on.

"...-Oh my gosh, the hair!" Brooke exclaimed, making people laugh.

Logan looked at Lucas and his eyes were strained. She could see the pain behind them, and she could tell he was trying not to cry. But he was also angry. Logan didn't understand why Nathan would put this on. Making the comment he made was one thing, but this was too far.

"But he really is the sweetest guy in the whole world. So, I'm thinking, yes. Come visit us in 10 years and I bet you can meet the kids, get a tour of our big house, and see how happy we are," Karen said. Logan felt her heart breaking from Karen's response. She didn't get any of that. Instead, she got pregnant and abandoned.

"Who's the girl?" Tim asked.

Logan reached up to wipe her eyes, and that was when she noticed they were wet, and she was crying. She had no idea why. She didn't know Karen, she had no relationship with her, but she was crying over a video that Nathan was using to humiliate Lucas. When she looked at Lucas, he wasn't crying, and he didn't look sad.

He was pissed.

"Okay ladies and gentlemen, there's your Prom King and Queen. Dan Scott and Karen Roe,"

"That's my mom," Lucas said to answer Tim's questions. All eyes turned to him, and Nathan had a smirk on his face.

"At least their dreams came true for one of them, right?" Nathan said.

"Yeah, except the happy part, right?" Lucas shot back. He shoved Nathan hard on his shoulder before walking out of the house. Nathan looked around and started to laugh, but nobody was laughing with him. At least everyone had the decency to know that what Nathan just did wasn't okay. Logan approached her brother and smacked him hard, causing everyone's eyes to widen.

"What the hell, Logan?" He asked.

"Whose dream came true, Nathan? Kids? Check. Big house? Check. But when was the last time we were happy? When was the last time Dan Scott wasn't an asshole to his own children? I don't know what the hell has gotten into you, but I don't like who this person is. When you find my brother, Nathan, let me know," Logan snapped before walking away.

"Logan!" She heard Roman yell after her as she was walking down to the dock.

"I'm not in the mood for one of our little heart-to-hearts, okay?" She said. Roman shook his head and held up his car keys.

"I was just going to offer you a ride home... unless you were planning on staying here?" He asked and Logan shook her head.

"I was... but after what Nathan just pulled, I don't want to," Logan said.

"C'mon, we don't have to talk either, but let's get out of here," Roman said. Logan nodded and went upstairs to her bedroom at the beach house to grab her duffel bag, and then she met Roman outside by his car.

The two rode in comfortable silence, Roman even played Hozier through his Bluetooth because he knew that always calmed Logan down. When they got to the Scott house, Roman pulled the car to a stop in the driveway and Logan looked over at him.

"Thank you, Roman," She said and he nodded.

"Hey, it's no problem. I think we all needed to get out of there," He said and Logan nodded.

"What Nathan said... he went too far, and I'm sorry," Logan said and Roman shook his head.

"You don't have to apologize for his actions, Lo," Roman said and Logan sighed.

"Someone should," She said. Roman laughed and she reached over and squeezed his hand. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She said and Roman nodded.

"Yeah, I'll see you," He said. Logan nodded and grabbed her duffel bag before getting out of the car. She knew Roman was going to sit there until she was inside. She unlocked the door and turned around to wave to Roman as she watched him pull off.

When she walked inside, Dan and Deb Scott looked up. They didn't seem upset she was getting home late, they seemed surprised that she came home this early. Dan knew that when Nathan threw parties at the beach house, both him and Logan normally stayed there.

"Where's Nathan?" Deb asked.

"I don't care. Call and ask him yourself," Logan said as she headed towards the stairs.

"Logan, are you okay, sweetie?" Deb called after her.

"Maybe if you were home more, you'd know the answer to that question," Logan snapped before going to her room. Deb was stunned at her outburst and she didn't chase her up the stairs. Logan closed her door and slid down it, before covering her face with her hands.

She didn't know why what Nathan did was affecting her more than it seemed to affect Lucas, but after seeing that video, and seeing Karen like that. Happy, in love, believing that Dan Scott was a good person that she was going to be happily married to. It broke her heart for Karen and made her even more angry at her father for his actions.

She broke down into tears.

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ah nathan, what an a-hole.

don't forget to vote/comment.

xoxo.