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A flash of blue and white blurred right by her. She flinched backward and prayed her Dad hadn't noticed. A small glance towards the bleachers to her right proved her right, his eyes hadn't strayed away from her brother as he ran up and down the court. Darla plastered a smile on her face as one of the teams (she didn't see which one) scored. She shook the poms in the air, her chestnut curls bouncing around her shoulders as Brooke hollered beside her. Excitement buzzed all around her as the timer got closer to zero, she watched as her brother confidently shot the ball through the air, the ball swooshing in the hoop right as the buzzer sounded.

She cheered and hopped around with Brooke and Peyton. The trio of girls hugged before being bombarded by a few of the players they cheered for. Darla squealed as she felt her feet leave the ground. Nathan swung her around as he cheered loudly in her ear. He planted a kiss atop her hair before stealing Peyton from them.

"Peyton's got her boy toy, time for me to go find one of my own." Brooke winked at her and left her standing with the other cheerleaders. Darla giggled as she stared after her. She squealed as she stepped out of the way of a couple of players still jumping around. She looked behind her and tried to spot her best friend Isaac in the crowd, her lips forming a pout when she couldn't find him. She did meet her Dad's eyes though and the look he gave her had her sighing. She sent him a nod and silently exited the gym. Without even bothering to change, she slid one of Nathan's Ravens hoodies over her uniform and hauled her bag over her shoulder.

She weaved her way through the crowd as she tried to peer around for her Dad. She found him beside his car speaking with a few of the other players' dads.

"Time for me to go fellas." The men around her sent her grins and she politely smiled back, recoiling when one of them tried to reach for her. She stepped closer to her Dad's taller figure and nudged him to move closer to the car. He took the hint and opened the door for her before shutting it and leveling the men around him with a blank face. Once he was seated comfortably in the car, Darla spoke up.

"Can you take me to the river court?" Dan scowled at the mention of the place.

"What for?" Though he had a pretty good idea why. The son he spent the last sixteen years trying to ignore was unfortunately close with his youngest child.

"I left my history book with my tutor and that's where he's at right now. It'll be quick, I promise!" Darla clasped her hands under her chin as she swiveled in her seat to plead with him. "Please Dad, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important..." She whined.

"Fine." He grunted out. He sped down the road towards the park, the sky darkening above them as the sun finished setting. The drive was quick and she was already unbuckling the seatbelt before he could roll to a stop. He parked further away from the court itself, an attempt to avoid seeing his oldest offspring. "Five minutes."

"Deal!" Darla darted out of the car, slamming the door behind her. The cold air hit her bare legs as the hoodie only covered half her body.

"Well look who came to play!" Skills announced her presence. Lucas spun to see who he was referring to and a giant smile graced his face at the sight of his younger sister. While he had one sibling that never acknowledged him, he had one that made it her life mission to insert herself into his life. As a kid, it bothered him but as he grew older he never wanted to know what it was like for the soft brunette girl to ignore him. He opened his arms wide as she raced to him. He jolted back but steadied himself as her small body plowed into him. They swayed as they hugged before Skills had to cut in. "Nah man, I saw her first."

"That's not how it works." Lucas smirked. "What're you doing here Bambi?" Her heart swelled at the familiar nickname. "They know you're here?"

"Mouth has my history book." Darla bit her lip before continuing. "He's in the parking lot." Lucas tensed at her words. He didn't need her to elaborate further. His head snapped to the side as his jaw clenched when he didn't see the man's car. Mouth walked over to her and handed her the textbook with  a tight smile. "I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow Luke." She kissed his cheek and walked away. The boys watched her leave their sight before Lucas sighed heavily and motioned for the ball back.

"Let's wrap this up."

"I kinda miss her when she's gone man." Skills rubbed at his chest where his heart was. "I can only imagine how you feel. Shit or even Isaac." He smirked but frowned when he noticed said friend missing from the group.

"I don't want to talk about this. Lets play." Skills rolled his eyes as Lucas changed the subject.

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The ride home was silent but Darla knew her Dad. He was just waiting for them to be in the privacy of their own home to say something to her. As soon as the front door shut behind him and her foot touched the first step on the stairs, he opened his mouth.

"You know how I feel about you hanging around that boy." Darla's shoulders sagged in defeat as she bit her tongue. She took one more step and Dan's temper flared. "You'll look at me when I'm speaking to you Darla Scott." She spun on her heel and met his glare with one of her own.

"'That boy'", she put up finger quotations as she spoke, "is my brother. You can bitch all you want Dad but I'm not gonna cut him off like you did." Dan saw red and stepped closer to his daughter. Her anxiety screamed at her to flinch away but she fought it and kept her glare leveled on his.

He opened his mouth to yell at her but she got lucky as his phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and walked away as he answered it. She took her chance to run to her room, locking it as she slammed it shut behind her. She threw her gym bag on the floor and face planted on her bed. She heard a squeal of tires but she couldn't care enough to lift her head. A faint ringing sounded from behind her and with a groan, she lifted her body off the bed and ruffled through her gym bag for her phone. Without bothering to see who it was, she flipped it open and huffed out a greeting.

"Who pissed in your cereal Buttercup?" She perked up at the sound of his voice. Her heart picked up as his deep chuckle sounded through the phone.

"Think you already know Butch." The boy tsked on his end and she put him on speaker as she slid the hoodie over her head. She threw her hair in a bun as she fished through her dresser for clothes to sleep in.

"Game went okay?" She knew he didn't care for the sport but he was always interested to hear her point of view.

"No surprise we won." She replied.

"So what happened with Daddy dearest?"

"Same old shit. He always picks a fight over Lucas."

"He'll get over it one of these days Buttercup."

"Hope so Butch." She sighed and exhaled loudly. "What did you do tonight?"

"Watched Jay try to hit on my sister again and helped Karen with some deliveries." Isaac grimaced at the thought of his best friend getting with his twin but then he felt his lips curve upwards as Darla giggled in his ear. "Definitely wasn't as fun as watching you jump around in that little skirt of yours." Darla blushed, grateful he couldn't see her tomato-shaded face.

"Yeah, yeah." She shook off his flirting and put her phone to her ear. "I'll see you tomorrow Butch."

"You coming down to the courts in the morning?"

"Maybe. I'm supposed to meet Mouth so we can study."

"What if I convince him to tutor you at the park?" Isaac ignored the look Jay was sending him as the boy made himself comfortable on his bedroom floor.

"If you can convince him, then sure." She chuckled. "Good night Butch."

"Sweet dreams B." Isaac hung up the phone with a small smile on his face.

"You've got it bad dude." Jay laughed. "Buttercup I miss you and I love you!" Isaac threw a piilow at him, a glare on his face. He turned over and ignored the incessant teasing his best friend kept babbling with. Though even he had to admit he had it bad for the girl. "When are you gonna tell Luke?"

"Shouldn't I tell Darla first?" Isaac rolled his eyes. "Wait, shut up, we're not talking about this."

"I'm just saying man. He's one of your best friends not to mention he's Haley's too. You should definitely tell him you've got the hots for his baby sister."

"Just go to sleep Jay." Isaac huffed. He knew he had to tell his girl's brother eventually but he really wanted Darla to know first. But he wasn't sure he even wanted to tell her either. He could handle just being her friend for the rest of his life but he wouldn't survive being rejected by her. It'd break him.

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