2004 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

Brianna looked at the gate and she shook her head. She imagined what it would be like to audition for Belle in New York, but what if she didn't get it? Would the trip have been for nothing? She looked at Ethan and frowned. Nathan isn't just her boyfriend, he's her husband, and she committed to him first before anyone.

She couldn't just leave.

"I'm sorry, Ethan... I can't do this," Brianna said as she shook her head. The airline worker called Ethan's boarding group number again and he nodded as he sighed.

"Yeah, I figured... You're not ready," Ethan said. He turned around and walked to boarding. Brianna watched him disappear through the door and she frowned.

She guessed she wasn't.

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Nathan Scott stood in his apartment, throwing away the dinner he had made for him and Brianna, and then he put the dirty dishes in the sink. He had a candlelit dinner set up for them because he wanted to apologize for how he treated her and for giving her an ultimatum, but she hadn't come home yet. There was a knock on the door and Nathan looked up.

"Brianna?" He asked. He was confused as to why she would be knocking on the door since she lived there. The knock came again and Nathan walked over to the door. He opened it and he was shocked when it wasn't Brianna on the other side.

It was her sister, Amber Davis.

"Whoa! Little Bree didn't mess around. You're Nathan, right?" Amber asked as she put her hands on her hips. She was soaking wet because it was pouring rain outside. Nathan noticed her suitcase next to her.

"Yeah... Yeah. Do... Do I know you?" Nathan asked.

"Well, you should. I'm your sister-in-law," Amber said.

"Well you're not Stephanie, because we're over there all the time, and I already know Brooke," Nathan said as he looked at her confused.

"Don't make me smack you," Amber said.

"And you're definitely not Beckham," Nathan said. Amber rolled her eyes again. Did none of her siblings talk about her?

"Amber! None of those triplets ever mentioned me to you?" Amber asked. Nathan shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't interested. He just wanted to know where Brianna was. "Can I... come in?" Amber asked as she pointed inside the apartment.

When Amber first got back to town, she went to the Davis house because Brooke was refusing to move until the house sold, but there was barely anything there. Then she went to Stephanie's house where Beckham told her that Brianna married Nathan Scott and told her where the apartment was. Beckham was also stressed because he hadn't heard from Haley. Chris Keller got offered a showcase and asked Haley to come with him, and she wanted to, but she didn't want to leave Beckham.

So Amber decided she would come to Brianna and Nathan, but she didn't know they were also having problems. Nathan nodded and stepped aside so Amber could come in, right as the thunder rumbled again. Amber bent over to take her shoes off and leave them by the door since they were wet, and Nathan noticed she had a tattoo of a scorpion on her lower back. He furrowed his eyebrows, something about the tattoo looked familiar, but he couldn't place why.

"You wanna grab that?" Amber asked. Nathan's eyes widened, he wasn't sure what she meant.

"What...-Excuse me?" Nathan asked.

"My suitcase," Amber said as she pointed to it. Nathan nodded as he felt relief wash over him. He stepped outside and grabbed it.

"Oh, right!" He said as he brought it inside. "So, uh... Brianna never said you were coming," Nathan said.

"Ah, she didn't know. I asked Beck not to tell her," Amber said with a smile and then she looked around. "So where is little sis?" She asked.

"Out," Nathan said as he closed the door to the apartment. Amber noticed the tension in his tone and she laughed.

"Well, that's vague. I guess we'll have to get acquainted until she gets home," Amber said and Nathan nodded.

"Yeah, sure... just uh, make yourself at home," Nathan said. Amber nodded as she smiled.

"Be careful what you wish for... little brother-in-law."

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When Brianna finally got home, she was soaking wet, but she didn't care. She quietly closed the apartment door because she didn't want to wake Nathan up, just in case he was asleep. She took off her shoes and was about to go to the bathroom to take a shower since she had been in the rain, but then she heard a voice.

"Where the hell have you been?" Nathan Scott asked from behind her. Brianna was in the process of taking her wet jacket off and she laid her hand down on her heart as she let out a deep breath.

"I just needed to clear my head, Nathan," Brianna responded.

"Little sis!" Amber Davis exclaimed as she walked out of the bathroom. She had a towel wrapped around her hair, she was wearing a tank top and a pair of soft shorts. What the hell was she doing here? Brianna thought, and why did nobody tell her?

"Amber... what are you doing here?" Brianna asked.

"I'm on break, and I wanted to see the house before the new people moved in. I haven't seen you, Brooke, or Beckham in forever. Beckham told me you got married, so here I am," Amber said and Brianna rolled her eyes.

"Remind me to kill him," She said and Amber laughed.

"Also, Nathan said I could stay for a couple of days," Amber said. Brianna's eyes widened as she looked at her husband who had opened his mouth to protest.

"Actually, I...-" Amber cut Nathan off.

"...-You won't even know that I'm here," She said.

"Yeah... okay, um," Brianna sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. "You can't go stay with Stephanie and Daniel?" She asked.

"Nah, they already have Beckham and soon-to-be Brooke on their hands. Plus, I missed you," Amber said. Brianna wasn't sure if she believed her.

"Can you give us a second please?" Brianna said. Amber nodded and Brianna grabbed her husband's hand and dragged him back to their bedroom. She let go of his hand, closed the door, and then turned around. "You said she could stay? Don't you think... maybe that was worth a conversation?" She asked.

"I told her she could make herself comfortable because you weren't here!" Nathan said as he sighed. Brianna looked around the room and Nathan groaned. "You were with Ethan again, weren't you?" He asked and Brianna took a deep breath.

"Yes, but I...-" Nathan cut her off.

"...-Great! Great," Nathan said and Brianna groaned.

"Will you just listen to me, please? It's over, okay? He left town to go audition on Broadway... and he wanted me to go with him too," Brianna said.

"What!?' Nathan exclaimed.

"I said no because I... my life is here. He didn't mean anything to me, okay?" Brianna said. Nathan sighed as he looked at his wife. "Besides, we're going to have to stick together if we're gonna survive Hurricane Amber."

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Nathan Scott went to the River court to clear his head, and he found Beckham there too. Apparently, Chris had offered Haley to come on tour with him. Haley turned him down, but Beckham said he could tell by her body language and the expressions on her face that she might be regretting her choice to stay. Nathan told him what Brianna relayed about Ethan and how she turned down Broadway to stay. Part of him was glad he was staying, but another part of him felt like an asshole because he knows Broadway is Brianna's dream.

The boys were playing a pickup game when Lucas Scott ran onto the court and clapped his hands. "Hey! Open up top!" Lucas exclaimed as he held his hands out. Nathan laughed and shook his head.

"Huh... see I don't know CPR and even if I did, I wouldn't give you mouth-to-mouth, so... try not to drop when I'm the only person around," Nathan said. Lucas rolled his eyes and laughed.

"And I don't know CPR, so I definitely can't help you," Beckham said.

"I'm getting the stupid test... give me the damn ball," Lucas said. Nathan shook his head.

"Forget it," Nathan said. Lucas stood still for a moment, and then he charged at his brother, and Nathan around toward the river and threw the ball inside. Lucas sighed as the ball hit the water.

"Nice airball," Lucas said as he shook his head. "How about Playstation? Nobody ever croaked from that," He said.

"That would involve going home," Nathan said as he looked down at his hand and started to play with his ring.

"You and Bree still fighting?" Lucas asked.

"Yup, and her sister is here for a few days," Nathan said. Lucas knew exactly which sister since Brooke and Stephanie were already here.

"Amber?" Lucas asked and Nathan nodded.

"Amber," Nathan confirmed.

"Dude, she's crazy," Lucas said.

"Dude, still my sister," Beckham said. Lucas held his hands up in fake surrender.

"The thing is... when I saw her, I got that déjà vu thing, like uh... like I had seen her before," Nathan said.

"Well, she was a senior when we were freshmen, so you probably saw her around school," Beckham said. Lucas nodded in agreement. He remembered that Amber, and Haley's older sister Taylor, who was also a senior were pretty good friends.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I've seen more of her than that," Nathan said with a sigh. Lucas and Beckham waited for an explanation. "Two years ago, when they put me on Varsity from the freshman team... the seniors threw this, kind of out-there party at my parent's beach house. Amber was there," Nathan said. Lucas grimaced and Beckham paled.

They both knew where this was heading.

"This is ugly," Beckham said. Nathan nodded as he continued his story.

"Yeah, I was... I was pretty wasted and she was... she was kind of the first girl I ever had sex with," Nathan said. Lucas tried to hold it in but he couldn't. He started laughing uncontrollably. "Great, great, laugh it up! You know what; the only good news about this is that I don't think she even really remembers me," He said.

"Oh wow, so you rocked her world, huh?" Beckham teased and Nathan rolled his eyes.

"This is not funny!" Nathan exclaimed. Lucas laughed and Beckham chuckled a little.

"It's a little funny. However, sleeping with two of my sisters though? Please tell me you haven't slept with Brooke?" Beckham asked and Lucas laughed while Nathan shook his head.

"It's hilarious!" Lucas exclaimed. Nathan shook his head and ran at his brother, pretending like he was tackling him. Lucas laughed as the two staggered across the river court. "Whoa! Hey, hey, hey, heart patient, remember?"

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"Did you know?" Brianna Scott asked her brother Beckham. She went to Stephanie's house, knocked on the door, and told Stephanie she needed to kill Beckham, so her sister showed her where Beckham's room was. She said he had just gotten back from the river court with Nathan and Lucas.

"Nice to see you too, Brianna Nicole," He said and Brianna rolled her eyes.

"Amber just showed up at our front door and now she's staying with us for a few days... did you know she was in town and would be coming to my apartment?" Brianna asked.

"Bree...-" She could tell he was about to make a joke, so she cut him off.

"...-Do not play with me right now, Beckham," Brianna snapped. They could hear Stephanie's footsteps approaching the room.

"So, before Brianna breaks your jaw, what is happening?" Stephanie asked.

"Amber is in town. He knew and didn't tell me. You could've shot me a warning text, like hey, when you get back home, Amber might be there," Brianna said.

"Bree, she's our sister, she was looking for you, so I told her where to find you. What's the big deal?" Beckham asked.

"The big deal is that she's Amber, and we all know what she's like. She comes in, stirs drama, and then leaves us to live with the repercussions. So yes, a warning would've been nice. I was already mentally preparing to come home and deal with Nathan and work things out, not to see Amber there as well," Brianna said. Beckham sighed as he looked at her.

"Bree, sit down," He said and then he looked at Stephanie who was in the doorway. "We're okay, Steph," He said. Stephanie nodded before going back downstairs. Brianna sat down on his bed next to him. "You've always been a little unfair when it comes to Amber," He said.

"Have I? Where do you think Brooke got her behavior from? The manipulation, especially when she's drunk? Look, I love our sisters, you know I do... but you know how Amber is," Brianna said.

"I know. Look, I'm sorry, I should've warned you, I know. Maybe after a few days, tell her to leave. Maybe it won't be so bad. We could all have dinner together before she goes back to school." Beckham said.

"What, I bring Nathan and you bring Haley?" Brianna asked and Beckham sighed.

"Haley and I have also been fighting. Chris got offered a showcase and he wants Haley to come with him. It's not that I don't want her to chase her dreams... but with that guy? He's been hitting on her since they met," Beckham said and Brianna frowned.

"Ethan told me Griffin showed the Broadway Agents one of our dress rehearsal scenes, and they wanted us to come to New York to audition for Beauty and the Beast on Broadway," Brianna said. Beckham's eyes widened.

"Bree!" Beckham exclaimed.

"Ethan went, but I... I wanted to go with him so badly, but...-" Beckham cut her off.

"...-Nathan?" He asked and she nodded.

"He thinks Ethan is into me. He doesn't want me to work with him after Macbeth," Brianna said and she sighed. "Ethan kissed me," She said.

"He what!?" Beckham exclaimed.

"He kissed me. I didn't kiss him back and I told him it wasn't okay... but it's not even about that. It's Broadway Beckham... it's my dream. Beauty and the Beast and I was wanted for an audition," Brianna said as she sniffled. Beckham wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his side.

"You'll make the right choice, Bree... if it's not about Ethan and it's solely about your dream. I think you should go. An offer for Broadway is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Beckham said and Brianna sniffled as she nodded.

"I know."

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Amber Davis and Nathan Scott were walking up the stairs to the beach house the next afternoon. He had taken Amber up on her offer to go running with her, and then she said there was a ritual new family have to do and they ran into the ocean together, but she was just messing with him, and when Amber saw the beach house, she laughed a little.

"Damn, boy. Why aren't we living here?" Amber asked.

"It's my dad's." He said, but then he held up the keys to the house. "Got the keys though." He said, unlocking the door and the two of them walked inside. "Tell you what, I'll turn on the fireplace if you grab the towels. They're just...-" Amber cut in.

"...-I know where they are," Amber said, and then Nathan paused, a little frozen by her words. He had already turned on the fireplace and he stared at the girl. "Varsity basketball."

"Yeah... um, I was pretty wasted that night," Nathan said.

"Oh, what... you don't remember me?" Amber asked with a small smirk on her face.

"No, uh, of course, I remember you, I just... I didn't think you would come back to bite me in the ass." Nathan said, shaking his head and Amber started laughing.

"Well this time, I'll only nibble." Amber teased, and Nathan shook his head while sighing.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Nathan asked her.

"I was having too much fun watching you squirm," Amber said, laughing and she walked over to him with a glass of alcohol in her hand. "Does that make me bad? Here." She said, handing it to him. Nathan looked at her for a moment and took the glass and they clinked theirs together.

"So are you going to tell me why you're really in town?" Nathan asked as the two of them sat down on the rug in front of the now-lit fireplace.

Amber sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to hide the reason forever. "I... screwed up at school. I got caught cheating on an exam... and then my professor and I got caught cheating on his wife! He was paying my rent; and expenses... Yeah, until she found out, and then that was that. So, I got kicked out. And, next thing, I'm... knocking on your door. So, how about we make a deal? You keep my secret... and I'll keep yours." Amber said, and Nathan nodded his head.

"That sounds like a good plan," Nathan said, and Amber nodded her head while Nathan sighed. "Speaking of Brianna, uh, we should get back." He said, and Amber nodded her head.

"I guess we could do that. This time."

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Brianna Davis stood in the kitchen by herself. Nathan and Amber weren't back at the apartment yet, but Nathan left her a note saying they went for a job, but it was hours ago when Brianna found that note. She was putting some things away in the cabinets when she heard the door open. She turned to see her husband and sister walking inside with all smiles.

"Oh, nice, you guys finally decided to come home," Brianna said.

"I left you a note. We went for a jog," Nathan said.

"To where... California?" Brianna asked. Amber could sense the tension between the two of them and excused herself.

"I'm gonna go... take a shower," Amber said before walking to the bathroom. Brianna looked at Nathan and crossed her arms over her chest.

"We're supposed to be working on our marriage," Brianna said quietly.

"At least you knew where I was," Nathan snapped back and Brianna sighed.

"This has to stop Nathan... I don't want to lose you and it's obvious that we still have issues; only now it feels like you're avoiding me," Brianna said.

"I'm not avoiding you!" Nathan exclaimed.

"Then why are you spending so much time with Amber?" Brianna asked.

"What...-Are you threatened by her?" Nathan asked and Brianna rolled her eyes. She wasn't threatened by her sister. She's always been secure in who she is.

"I don't trust her."

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The next morning, while Amber was still asleep on the couch, Brianna started to pack her things, and she did it loudly because she wanted her sister to wake up. She couldn't focus on fixing her relationship with Nathan if Amber was here.

"What are you doing?" Brianna heard Amber's voice.

"I'm helping you pack," Brianna siad without looking at her. She needed her to stay with Stephanie if she was going to stay in town. Stephanie and Daniel's marriage wasn't on the verge of breaking, so they would be fine.

"Am I packing?" Amber asked.

"That's where I'm sending you, packing," Brianna said as she continued to gather Amber's stuff.

"Wait a minute, Brianna," Amber said.

"You know what? The complaint window is closed, okay? It's time for you to go back to school, or with Stephanie and Daniel, but anywhere that's not here," Brianna said as she shook her head and Amber sighed.

"I'm done with school," Amber said.

"Well, I'm sorry. I need to be here, working on saving my marriage and your presence is getting in the way of that," Brianna said. She stopped packing Amber's things and she sighed as she turned to her sister. "Amber, you're my sister, and you know that I love you. But I love Nathan, he's my husband, and I can't lose him," Brianna said.

"I need a few days to figure things out," Amber said.

"A few days is going to turn into a few weeks. I know you, Amber. By then, it might be too late for Nathan and me," Brianna said. She could see in Amber's eyes that she knew how important this was to Brianna.

"We have to let her stay, Brianna," Nathan's voice rang. The sisters turned around to see him coming out of the bedroom. "She's family," He said. Brianna let out a deep sigh to prevent herself from rolling her eyes. "Just until you figure out what to do, alright?" He said. Amber nodded as she looked at him.

"Sure. Thanks, Nathan." Amber said and Brianna sighed.

It was going to be a long few days.

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bree turned down broadway??? don't worry, it'll work out.

also for my theatre nerds, when the time comes, please don't be nitpicking or correcting about how broadway schedules, productions, etc works. i respect broadway and the theatre, and i looked up some stuff but at the end of the day, it's a fictional story and I'm just making things fit Brianna's character, thank you.

don't get to vote/comment. 

xoxo.