The Ravens Grow Up

The Pre Game

Jamie's POV
Today, November 22nd, is my first official game day as a Blue Devil. To say I'm nervous is an understatement. It doesn't help that everyone is coming to see me. When I say everyone, I mean everyone. From Logan to Fergie, they're all somehow coming. They're gonna be half the audience. Anyway, my day started with a jog around the campus. I was stopped every five minutes by people wishing me good luck, so my normal one hour jog turned into two. I had a brief breakfast and then went back to my dorm and took a shower. After my shower I changed into my uniform and went to the basketball court. The game won't start for another 4 hours, but I need the time to breathe.
Haley's POV
Getting my family into the car for the two and a half hour drive to Duke was like trying to herd a bunch of cats. Nearly impossible. It started the night before the game when I found out that Cooper was coming to the game. I'm all for Cooper coming, I'm actually thrilled that Cooper found this important enough for him to show up. He's normally very flaky and just shows up out of the blew, so I'm glad I got some sort of notice, but it also means that I can not leave until Cooper shows up since we're driving him and he's going to be staying with us for Thanksgiving. Since Cooper never arrives on time, it just made me more stressed out about it. Then, it was Lydia who slept in. I had warned her the night before to not stay up too late since she's known for sleeping until noon, at least, on weekends, but she ignored me of course. She stayed up until the wee hours of the morning texting Maggie, Davis, Sawyer, and Jude and we couldn't get her up until 10. I wanted everyone up by 9:30 at the latest. After she finally got out of bed, I thought my problems were over. They weren't. Danny was next. Being the 8 year old he is, he had a whole temper tantrum about not being able to ride with Max. That consumed a huge portion of my time, which resulted in Deb cooking breakfast. Once Danny finally got a grip, the 5 of us sat down for breakfast. Halfway through, Cooper arrived and, after putting his stuff in one of the guest rooms, joined us for breakfast. It didn't take him long to notice Lydia's bruised hand.
"Hey Lyd, what happened to your hand?" Cooper asked.
"I hurt it punching a guy in the face." Lydia responded.
"Cool, why didn't you guys ever tell me how badass my niece is?"
"Cooper." Deb warned.
"Violence is never the answer." I rolled my eyes and ignored him. Then it was time to leave, which meant everyone had to go to the bathroom and couldn't find their keys and everything else that could ruin our head start. Eventually everyone got into the car. Nathan is driving, I'm in the passenger seat, Cooper and Deb are in the middle, and Danny and Lydia are in the back. I can finally breathe again as we pull out of the driveway.
Quinn's POV
Logan will be meeting me, Clay, Billy, and Taylor at Duke. I made sure Taylor arrived two days before the game so I could keep a close eye on her and she has been good and has not disappeared or done something bitchy. Well, something too bitchy. Ever since I made her Billy's godmother and warned her about how she had to be responsible so Billy could look up to her, she's been better. She's still Taylor, but somewhat better. Unlike some of the other households that I'm sure include frantic mothers (Haley) and counterproductive children (any moody teen or temperamental kid), my house was relatively calm.
"I'm so excited for Jimmy-Jam!!" I exclaimed as I plopped down on a chair for breakfast.
"Just don't call Jimmy-Jam in public and he should be fantastic." Taylor commented as Billy laughed. See what I mean by not as bitchy. I glared at her.
"What? It's the truth." She said. We got into the car and began the drive to Duke, I occupying myself by finishing my scrapbook for Jamie with pictures from when he first held a basketball to the pictures I'll take today. I also have a bunch of extra pages for when he goes pro, not to mention that the first page is a collage of Lucas, Nathan, Skills, Junk, Fergie, Keith, Dan, Andre, Quentin, and even Whitey playing basketball. All of his major basketball influences.
Lily's POV
I haven't seen Jamie since we were kids. I don't think he even knows I'm coming today and that I've been here for almost a month. Living here has sure been interesting. Today I get to meet Whitey Durham. Lucas told me that Whitey was my father's basketball coach, along with his, and that they were close friends. My mum and Andy arrived yesterday and will be staying for Thanksgiving, then flying back to New Zealand. Lucas, Peyton, Sawyer, and Ellie left first. My car which my mum was driving also includes Andy and Whitey. My mom and Andy are in a deep conversation.
"So, Lucas tells me you want to know about Keith." Whitey whispered from beside me.
"Uh yeah, I just felt like it was time." I replied.
"Well, let me start from the beginning. Your father first came to me as a freshman trying out for basketball. The first Scott I had ever taught."
Maggie's POV
My car includes my parents, me, Junk, and Fergie. The five of us have been driving for less than an hour, but it feels like an eternity. The only thing keeping me sane is my phone, where my group chat with Davis, Jude, and Lydia has been going since last night. I added Sawyer to it when I created it, but she told me to remove her, so I did. She hasn't wanted to speak to anyone from the group since Homecoming, and I'm really starting to worry.
From: Lyd
Mags, ur gonna die when I tell u this.
To: Davis, Jude, Lyd
Message: What?!
From: Lyd
Guess what hot family member of mine is coming 2 Jamie's game.
To: Davis, Jude, Lyd
Message: U mean besides Jamie? Idk. Does Dre Fields count?
From: Lyd
1st of all, ew. 2nd of all, ew again. 3rd of all, Dre is coming but he's not who I was talking about.
To: Davis, Jude, Lyd
Message: Deal with it, Lyd. Ur brother and a lot of his friends r hot. Who is it?
From: Lyd
Gross. My Uncle Cooper.
To: Davis, Jude, Lyd
Message: UR HOT UNCLE COOPER IS COMING?! Y DIDN'T U TELL ME SOONER?? I LOOK LIKE CRAP!!
From: Davis
U know, I never saw what was so appealing about him.
To: Davis, Jude, Lyd
Message: HE IS THE MOST ATTRACTIVE HUMAN BEING ON PLANET EARTH!!
From: Davis
Eh, he's ok. I'm MUCH better looking.
To: Davis, Jude, Lyd
Message: Not. Even. Close.
From: Davis
Whatever.
Davis's POV
"You just got burned." Jude muttered from beside me in the middle seat, Jess and Max in the back.
"I realize that, thanks, Captain Obvious." I remarked. I put in my earbuds and turned on some music. I spent the car ride staring out the window, thinking about Thanksgiving. This year we're going to my mom's parents' house (who are dating right now). I'm not really sure how they've been dating for so long, but I've learned not to question it. My dad's parents, who hate each other, will also be joining us. This is how all of my Thanksgivings are. We switch between my house and each of my grandparents' houses and it's normally an evening full of my mom getting into a fight with either her mom or my dad's mom, my dad's parents not so subtly trying to one up each other, and me and my siblings deciding this is one of those days where we will all get along. It's never fun, not like Maggie's Thanksgivings with her, the McFaddens, Junk, Fergie, Mrs. Edwards (I'm not really sure where she fits in exactly), and the Smiths. Maggie's mom used to be married to Tim Smith, they got a divorce, but not before having Maggie's half sibling Nathan Smith. Then there's Honey and Dana and their mom since Tim got remarried to a woman named Sandra I think. She always raves about how much fun they have. Lydia and Sawyer always have great Thanksgivings too. Their two families, their grandmas, Andy (I don't know his relation either), Lily, Lydia's Uncle Cooper, Whitey Durham, and most likely random pop ups get together at Lydia's house (the biggest house out of all of them) and play touch football and pickup games at the Rivercourt and mini concerts and eat a huge feast that Lydia's mom and Nanny Deb and Granny Karen pour over for hours. I'm not ashamed to say that I am insanely jealous of their Thanksgivings compared to mine which is spent in a house where everything is expensive and breakable and full of arguing people.
Logan's POV
I'm one of the last to arrive at Jamie's game. Of course, being me, I'm early, but the only people I beat were Chuck, Chase, and Chris, which really isn't saying anything. The moment I find the big Jamie Scott Tailgate, my mom races over and hugs me.
"There's my little Doctor." She squealed as my dad and Billy hugged me, along with a huge stream of people including my Aunt Haley, Aunt Taylor, Dre, and more.
"Mom, I'm not a doctor yet." I replied.
"I know, but I feel like I haven't seen you for so long that you have to be a doctor by now." After I finished hugging Danny, I was beckoned over to a group of four chairs by Dre. At that moment Chuck and the other two showed up and after welcoming them, Dre got Chuck and the three of us sat down.
"You wanna know why there are four chairs here?" Dre asked.
"You're gonna tell us anyway, so sure." Chuck replied.
"Madison. She should be here, even Mrs. Scott secretly thinks so, yet she's not."
"She's becoming an engineer, she's busy." I said. Word travels fast in my family, so of course I know that Madison dumped Jamie by now, but even though Jamie is my cousin, Madison is the best out of my best friends. The two of us are quiet book nerds and I can't help but defend her, especially since she isn't here to defend herself.
"You are too Mr. Doctor, yet you somehow managed to show up."
"I didn't dump Jamie. She's probably uncomfortable."
"That's her own fault, besides, her and Jamie are still best friends."
"Dre, you know me, I'm always bros before hoes, but I have to agree with Logan. Jamie's whole family is here, and they're not too keen on her right now, so I think it was smart that she didn't show up." Chuck said. Lydia walked up to us and sat in Madison's chair beside Chuck.
"I think you guys are focusing on the wrong topic, like always. You're so wrapped up in Madison, that you're forgetting this is the most important day in Jamie's life as of right now. I think you should be more concerned about how Madison will affect Jamie's game. If she shows up, will he be distracted? If she doesn't, will he be too disheartened to play at all?" Lydia explained.
"I highly doubt Jamie would let Madison decide how he plays. I mean, he's always cared for Madison, but this is basketball. I mean, this is a whole different level of importance." Dre commented.
"Wrong, again. Ignorant mistake."
"What authority gives you any right to judge my opinion?"
"I am his sister, who he adores, and who he has told every single detail of his life to ever since I was born. I know who Chuck had a crush on last year, I know Dre's deepest fear, I know Logan's biggest pet peeve, and don't even get me started on what I know about Madison."
"Prove it."
"Okay, but keep in mind that you asked for it. Dre, your deepest fear is that by you chasing your dream of being a professional dancer, you are letting down your older brother, Quentin. Since he was such a big basketball player, you always felt close to him on the court, but when you're dancing you fear that your brother is disappointed in you for not bringing the Fields name to NBA basketball." Dre fell silent. Lydia never denies a challenge, even when she really should.
"Fine, share your knowledge."
"Okay, well, to be completely honest, I don't really think whether Madison shows up or not will affect Jamie. The damage is already done, but I do know my brother will be looking for her in the stands. Basketball aside, he's still a huge mess. Until he gets some sort of closure, he won't get any better. I really hope she shows up, talks to Jamie, and then doesn't show her face around me or my brother until she realizes what a mistake she's making."
"Who ever said it was a mistake?" I argued, knowing I was playing with fire.
"How could it not be?"
"You can't possibly understand what she's going through, none of us can. We can only guess. Now, I know Madison, and I know she must have spent weeks analyzing their relationship before making this decision. She loves Jamie."
"She loves him, but apparently not enough for her to even want to try long distance."
"Well that's because long distance is toxic. We all remember Tracy." Dre reminded. Tracy Manning. She was Dre's first serious girlfriend. To be honest, no one really liked her, but we pretended we did for Dre's sake. I think the only reason they stayed together so long was because of the fact neither of them had really broken up with someone they actually cared about before. Anyway, about four months into their relationship, Tracy moves to Michigan. The two of them lasted two weeks after that and then the both of them cheated on each other and that was that. Lydia rolled her eyes and went back to her friends, obviously thinking she knows Jamie soooo much better than the rest of us.
News Flash: She Doesn't.
Nathan's POV
The game begins at 3, so Haley has me and Lucas on burger and hot dog duty.
"So, it's the big day. How much are you secretly freaking out right now?" Lucas asked.
"Not as bad as Dan would've been. Peyton tells me you were caught giving yourself a pep talk this morning though. Nervous, Uncle Lucas?" I teased.
"It was not a pep talk."
"Yes it was, sweetie." Peyton stated from her chair in between Brooke and Bevin.
"Why are we focusing on me? I was just anxious because my nephew is having his first game as a Blue Devil today. I'm not as bad as Brooke who bought Jamie 10 expensive presents in case he lost."
"THAT WAS A SECRET!!" Brooke yelled from her seat.
"Brooke-" Haley began.
"He is my godson and I love him and I didn't want him to be sad in case he lost so I thought presents would make him feel better since it always made me feel better and I am not ashamed of that." Brooke said in one big breath.
"I caught Quinn throwing up this morning, so that's not even the worst." Taylor commented with an evil glimmer in her eyes. What did she do now?
"Actually, Taylor, that was morning sickness. I wasn't planning on telling the family yet since it's early in the pregnancy, but yeah. I'm pregnant." Quinn announced.
"Really?!?! OMG!! Quinn, we're gonna be belly buddies!! I'm pregnant too!!" Bevin exclaimed.
"Nice." Skills and Clay said to each other at the same time. We all congratulated Quinn and Bevin, and then I went back to the food, as did Lucas.
Whitey's POV
"If I had known that the moment Keith walked through those doors that my life was going to change forever, I don't think I would've been so harsh on his poor footwork. You see, your father was one of the best men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, but as his basketball coach he was probably the worst player I have ever worked with. He had a huge heart though, and he cared for your mother and your brother so much. I'm sure he would've loved you too." I said to Lily as the two of us sat on the edge of the huge barbecue.
"Tell me about him and my mum and Lucas. I know how Dan deserted them, but I never really understood how and when my dad came into the picture." She said.
"Well, I don't know the specifics, but your dad had a crush on your mom for years. He loved her and when his ass of a brother, excuse my language, abandoned the girl of his dreams and her unborn child, that big heart of his couldn't resist the chance to help out. He was a father to Lucas, one that Dan never was to Nathan. I think when it comes to dads that Lucas won that category. Keith got me to look into Lucas for basketball and always made sure he was on the right track. Without your dad, Lucas would have never played basketball on the Ravens and would have never met Peyton or finally faced his father or became brothers with Nathan or friends with Brooke. Everyone loved Keith, and when he died I think the whole town was there. Without Keith, Lucas wouldn't have had a dad, someone to look up to, and your mom would have struggled to keep Lucas on the right track while keeping a roof over his head."
"Why would Dan kill his brother? Especially when all he's ever done was clean up after him."
"Dan was a sick man. He was stuck in the past and had a lot of anger towards me and your dad and Lucas. He was a coward for most of his life, and to this day no one could ever think so darkly like Dan did the day he shot Keith and, possibly even worse, blamed a kid who couldn't defend himself. Somewhere in Dan's mind, he had a reason for hating Keith, but the thing that ignited the flame was when Dan's car dealership burned down. Dan had been poisoned and left in the dealership to die, and thought it was Keith who did it when it wasn't. Dan wouldn't rest until whoever did it was either behind bars or dead, so he took matters into his own hands. There was a school shooting at Tree Hill High. The shooter's name was Jimmy Edwards, a friend of your family, who had some things going on with him and was in a very dark place. The gun he brought that day shot 3 people. One was Peyton. He didn't aim for her so much as the fact he wanted to prove he would actually shoot. It just happened to get her in the leg. As you can see, she's fine. The second person was Jimmy himself. Like I said, he was in a dark place and your father tried to stop him, but he shot himself."
"The third person was my dad, wasn't it? And when you said Dan blamed a boy who couldn't defend himself you mean he blamed Jimmy as the shooter. That's... sick. It's despicable and inhumane and a bunch of other words that I don't know."
"Especially because he kept up that charade for months, fooling Nathan and Lucas and your mom into thinking he was changing when he really wasn't. When Lucas figured out who really killed your dad, your mom was pregnant with you. A lot of stuff happened, but I think for that part of the story you need to talk to Lucas. Give yourself a day though, don't overwhelm yourself with all of this."
"Okay, I will. Thanks for agreeing to help me."
"Anything for a daughter of Keith and Karen."