❀⚘

"Come one, come all! To the Tree Hill Burning Boat Festival. Burn your bad karma, bad decisions, bad luck and start anew!" The announcement echoed around Darla as she walked along the street, marveling at the different vendors and food stalls set up for the event.

"Fuck yeah, Ted brought out his hot dog stand again!" Jay whooped as he dramatically sniffed the air. "Okay, after the boat, we're going straight there." Darla laughed beside him as the taller boy excitedly chatted about the snack.

"Did you bring anything to burn?"

"Yeah, I got that letter from my ex burning a hole in my back pocket. I can't wait to throw that shit in the boat." The boy wore a scowl on his face as he reminisced that bad decision. "What do you got?" He eyed the jacket she carried around, noting it was a guys jacket but didn't look like it belonged to any guy he'd know.

"Seems like we're both burning bad decisions tonight. You have a letter, mines a jacket."

"Whose jacket even is that?"

"A guy on the team gave it to me. I'm not telling you who so don't even ask." He eyed her warily, trying to figure out which guy tried to get with her, a small smirk appearing on his face at the thought of relaying that information to his best friend. "Luke!" Darla's eyes brightened at the sight of her older brother. His blond head whirled around at the sound of her voice, and the boy instantly smiled at her.

"Bambi," she greeted him with a hug before moving to link arms with Haley, "hey man." He nodded at Jay.

"So, what bad mojo are you guys burning this year?" The three teens glanced at Haley before holding up their respective items.

"Out with the old shit, bring on the new shit." Jay chucked the letter into the boat, watching the paper with a grin. "Your turn B."

"Wait- why a jacket?" Lucas stopped Darla before she could toss it in.

"It belongs to a guy." Jay piped in. "Not Isaac," he winked at Darla as she glared at him.

"A guy? What guy?" Lucas narrowed his eyes at his sister.

Darla threw the jacket into the boat, turning around and smacking Jay's arm. "Big mouth!"

"Hey!" He moved closer to Lucas. "It's not like he's still in the picture." Darla sighed and turned to Lucas.

"What're you burning?" He fished his item out of his pocket, Darla giving him a sad smile as she noticed what it was. The five letter word on the patch for his jersey meant nothing to him because of where he got the name but Darla's chest tightened at the thought that maybe he sometimes resented her for having the same one.

Jay noticed her mood shift as the blond tossed the name patch into the boat. He tossed an arm around her, giving her a squeeze, trying to comfort her in the only way he could. He knew the girl was trying to be the glue that held her family together and he also knew it wasn't working out for her. Not yet at least.

❀⚘

Another battle had begun. More fuel added into the fire. Another slew of words being thrown around. The hazing had begun. Darla knew it was a sports thing, a tradition all the rookie players on the team had to suffer through. A tradition she knew Nathan was more than excited to continue, especially now that it was Lucas' turn. She'd only heard stories of some of the stuff the players had to endure, none of it really effecting her so she never bothered to care but now it had become personal. It wasn't just Lucas who was having to deal with whatever shit Nathan came up with, now it was her whole friend group. The group of guys who stuck by her and helped her through every dramatic day of her life.

The Rivercourt was trashed. Words were graffitied on the backboards, the nets ripped off the rims, garbage covering every inch of the slab of concrete they played ball on. She was over it already and the hazing was only just beginning.

"Hey Luke, are you busy? No, I'm okay but can you meet me at the Rivercourt, there's something you need to see. Oh, and bring a broom." She shoved her phone back into her pocket and tightened her ponytail.

She sat atop the picnic table when he pulled up. She observed him quietly as he stared angrily at the trashed court. His hands balled into fists, his jaw clenched at the sudden urge to hit something- someone. His gaze finally landed upon his sister, a sad smile on her face. He walked over and plopped beside her, his eyes still set on all the trash. "I was on my run when I saw it." He stayed silent. "If it helps, I'm starting to hate them too Luke."

"This isn't your first B. You don't need to get caught up in it."

"It's too late for that." She scoffed. "I was never not going to be involved Luke."

"We agreed to keep you out of it." His words of assurance weren't helping comfort her in any way.

"Like I said, it's too late for that." She stood to her feet and sighed. "Did you bring the broom?"

"Yeah, it's in the trunk."

"Great, I'll go get it. You should probably call Junk or Skillz to help us, we're gonna need it."

"I can do better than that." He grinned at her.

She was expecting Keith or Karen to show up, but she wasn't disappointed when Isaac's truck rolled up with Jay in the passenger seat. Her face lit up, the broom dropping to the floor as Isaac approached her with his arms wide open. His eyes looked around at all the mess as Jay helped Lucas grab the cleaning supplies from the truck.

"It's going to be a long fucking day." Isaac sighed, his grip tightening on Darla as she snuggled into him.

"Thank you for coming to help us Butch." She pulled away from him enough to look up at him, his heart beating faster as she smiled at him.

"Anything for you B, you know that." His words burned through her and she buried her face in his chest to call herself down.

"Hey are y'all gonna cuddle the whole fucking time or are you gonna help us?" The duo broke apart as Jay threw a pair of gloves at them, Isaac easily catching them as Darla flinched away. Isaac picked up an empty can, chucking it back at him, scowling when he dodged it easily.

"Motherfucker, get back here!" Darla laughed to herself as she went back to cleaning, the three males throwing trash and chasing each other.

"I don't see that ending well," Jay commented. Him and Isaac were in the middle of trash can basketball, having fun with the cleanup, and while Darla stood on a ladder scrubbing the backboard of the basketball hoop.

"It's not that bad anymore, we're almost done," Darla assured him.

"Not this, that." He gestured to the car that was pulling in. The brunette followed his gaze, her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of her blonde friend.

"Not my problem," she mumbled to herself repeatedly. Isaac gave her a small smirk as he heard her mumbling.

"You know, if it wasn't for your family and the drama that follows all of you, our little town would be boring as shit." Jay remarked, smirking up at Darla. "Aye!" He shrieked, dodging the soapy water she splashed at him. "I'm just saying," he trailed off, wiping his wet arm on his shirt with a pout, "Dan Scott was both the best and worst thing to happen for this town."

"I'll be sure to pass on the praise," Darla rolled her eyes. "Better yet, you take him."

"Oh fuck that!" He guffawed. "Daddy Dan is the boogeyman, he'd give Freddy Krueger nightmares." Isaac looked up at Darla as Jay rambled on. To anybody else, it seemed like the mention of her Dad didn't bother her but he knew her too well. Even with her towering over him on the ladder, he could see her hands gripping the scrub brush tightly, the clench in her jaw, and the way her back stiffened.

"How's it going up there pretty girl?" He tried to distract her. The last thing he wanted and she needed was for her mind to go down another Daddy Dan rabbit hole. He stepped closer to her, holding the ladder in place as she moved to look down at him. Her brown eyes softened as she met his gaze, his baby blues beaming at her.

"It's gonna need a new paint job," she sighed. "The spray paint isn't coming off."

"A project for a different day." He moved to the side of the ladder, holding the metal tightly in his hands as she made her descent. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a break." He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards his truck.

"Wait-" she yanked him to a stop. Her hand fell from his as he turned around, eyeing her warily.

"What's wrong?" He glanced around them but it was still just Jay and Luke with Peyton. He didn't see anything unusual.

"Butch," she started, biting her lip. "What kind of break?"

His mind took a minute to catch what she was saying and his mouth went dry as soon as he caught on. His heartrate sped up as his imagination ran wild over what she was insinuating. "B, if you want that kind of break," he stepped closer to her, reaching for her hand again as her cheeks reddened under his heated stare and charming smirk. "We can take that kind of break."

Darla was done for. The look in his eyes stunted her. He affected her in a way that nobody else could. But she knew it was like that for him too. "Butch," she spoke softly, her free hand fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "Do you wanna?" Isaac blushed. He cleared his throat as her hand traveled under his shirt, softly caressing him above the waist band of his sweats.

"B-" Isaac began.

"Brooke's been giving me advice and tips," she went on as her fingers danced along his waist. "Especially on what to do with my mouth."

"Fuck me," Isaac grumbled.

"Butch," she looked down at her hand, "I want to." She reached lower and palmed his erection over his sweats. "But we're at the park and I don't want the first time you cum in me to be ten feet away from my brother."

"Fucking shit B, you're gonna kill me." Isaac gulped as he nervously shifted his cap around, his staple black accessory facing backwards as he looked to his friends who paid no attention to them. "Come on," he grabbed her hand again, dragging her towards his truck as he readjusted himself.

"Need some help?" She grinned as he grumbled to himself.

"Keep it up B," he warned her.

"Okay, okay," she relented, laughing at his discomfort. He helped her climb onto the hood, his body reclining against the windshield, pulling her between his legs, her back tucked against his chest. He rested his cheek on her head, the couple relaxing in each others warmth.

"You know," Peyton grabbed Lucas' attention. "He really is leaving her out of it." Hey gaze was set on Darla and Isaac. Lucas followed it and a small smile adorned his face at the sight. "Looks like your bet worked."

"It's not her fight." The blond male shrugged. "Shouldn't take a bet to remind him of that."

"He's not a bad brother, Lucas. A shitty person but not a shitty brother." He wasn't reassured. "I'll see you later Lucas." She got in her car and he waved a hand in goodbye. He watched her car disappear before turning around and sighing at the mess they still had left.

His eyes darted from the trash to the cuddling couple to Jay (who was laying atop the picnic table tossing a paper ball in the air.) Lucas grabbed his gloves and tossed them at him. "Get up, let's go."

"Come on man," Jay whined. "Just one break."

"We're almost done, stop bitching." Lucas chuckled at his dramatic behavior.

"At least make them help," the taller boy gestured to the couple.

"Bambi!" Lucas called out. Darla's eyes opened and she saw her blond brother waving his arms around to get her attention.

"Break's over B." She sighed, scooting her body off of the hood. "Come on," she held her hand out to her grumbling boyfriend. "We're almost done."

"We could ditch them," he offered.

"Or," she grinned at him. "We can finish cleaning and afterwards we can do our own thing." He quirked an eyebrow at her, not entirely convinced. "I'm gonna need a long shower after this, you can join me?" She smiled innocently at him.

Despite their earlier teasing, he knew she wasn't ready to be fucked the way she wanted him to so her offer for the shower threw him for a loop.

"We won't do anything but shower Butch. We'll save the fun stuff for another time." He saw the sincerity in her eyes, the trust she conveyed.

"Well let's get to it then," he dragged her giggling self back to the trashed area, eagerly helping Jay toss more garbage away. "You can't take it back," he whirled on his heel to warn her.

"Wasn't going to," Darla assured him. "Come on Butch, the faster we clean the sooner we get to leave."

"Say no more," he kissed her forehead before getting to work, shoving a trash bag in Jay's hands and ignoring the way he squealed when a wet piece touched him.

"He's good to you, right?" Lucas moved to stand next to her, handing her a bag of her own to use.

"The best." Darla assured him.

"What do you see in him anyways?" He joked.

"He doesn't have daddy issues," she smirked, laughing when he shoved her playfully.

"Funny," he deadpanned. "Don't you?"

"Maybe," she shrugged. "But he's into it."

"Gross." He gagged. "I'm gonna go drown myself in the lake now."