love, maddie ✧ one tree hill

t h r e e

The crowded gym was filled with cheers and applause.

"Time out!" Whitey Durham calls bringing his boys to the sidelines.

Maddie Scott watches from the bleachers, now accompanied by her friends.

"So, this is the Lucas Scott I've been waiting to see?" Stella asked finally seeing what everyone else saw.

"In the flesh! See, we told you he was good!" Toby said clapping for the boys as they broke the huddle once again and went back out on the court.

"Under twenty-five seconds to go, the ravens trail by 2."

"Let's go ravens!" Maddie cheered hoping that the boys could pull through and win.

Everyone in the gym is practically on the tips of their toes as they watch Jake Jagielski throw the ball in to Nathan Scott who gets double teamed but goes up to shoot anyway. The ball bounces off the rim and Jake goes up for the rebound before looking around him to see who's open and choosing to throw it to Lucas Scott who's stood right outside of the three-point line. This is make it or break it for the Ravens.

He shoots the ball just as the buzzer goes off and in a surprising turn to everyone, he makes it. Nothing but net. The gym goes up into an uproar of cheers and applause.

"Unbelievable! Lucas Scott with the three-pointer at the buzzer; and the Tree Hill Ravens are still undefeated! And I tell you what, if you're going to play the Ravens this season, you better take note, there's a new Scott in town!"

"Lucas is such a beast!" Toby yells feeding off of the energy of everyone else in the gym.

"Yeah. I'm glad he came back." Maddie says silently as she looks proudly out on the court seeing her estranged brother be congratulated.

••

After the crowd had dispersed Maddie found herself sitting in the bleachers next to her dad who was brewing in poorly masked anger. Stella had to go home right after the game finished, as per her parent's orders, so she rode home with Toby and his mom while Maddie stayed behind.

When she spotted Nathan walking towards her and Dan, she gave him a soft smile instantly being able to tell his energy was off by the way he moved.

"I thought this was your team." Is all Dan had said to him before getting up and walking out leaving both of his children behind.

"Ignore him Nate, you did the best you could." Maddie tells him hoping to lighten his spirits.

"Yeah, thanks twerp. I'm glad I have you here." He says wrapping a gentle arm around his sister following after their dad.

••

"Stella did you ask your parents if you could go to the burning boat yet?"

The Scott family had made it home from the basketball game after a silent car ride and now Maddie was laying comfortably in her bed on a three-way call with her two friends trying to make plans for the next day.

"Yes, I did."

"Well, what'd they say nerd girl?" Toby interrupts making Maddie let out a chuckle.

"Oh I'm 'nerd girl' until you need tutoring in a class, yeah? We'll see if I ever tutor you again." She says with a laugh of her own.

"You will, you hate seeing me fail. And besides even if you didn't, I could always go with nerd girl number two."

"I'm not even offended by the name just the fact that I'm deducted to a second choice. T, I thought we were better than that?" They share a laugh at her words.