Tree Hill, 2003
Ethan, Lucas and Nathan were at the River Court playing basketball. Nathan seemed a little stressed, when Lucas asked him what was going on, Nathan said he was dealing with some problems in his relationship with Haley.
"What about you, Ethan?" Lucas asked the boy.
"What about me?" Ethan looked at his two cousins without understanding what they wanted to know about him.
"Well, you seem distant most of the time." Lucas said.
"Problems with Emma?" Nathan asked, causing Ethan to shook his head.
"Nah, we're doing great." Ethan said and then looked at Nathan. "Why? Did she say something?"
Lucas and Nathan laughed at the boy's desperation, thinking that something was wrong.
"No, man." Nathan replied.
Ethan went home, his thoughts in another dimension. As soon as he got home, he went straight to bed. Ethan only noticed that his father was home when Keith, who was sitting on his bed, was poking him.
"You've been distracted, son. Do you want to talk about it?" Keith asked.
Ethan sat on the bed, taking a deep breath.
"How do you know you love Karen?" Ethan asked.
Keith looked at his son, taking a deep breath.
"How do I know I love her?" Keith asked. "Well, I want a future with her. I want to see new places alongside her, I want to bring our families together and build our family in our own way." Keith said sighing. "But she doesn't want that with me. Why are you asking me this?"
"I think I love Emma." Ethan said.
"Oh, that's about it then." Keith looked at his son. "Explain."
"She... She makes me feel safe, sometimes it's like we're in a bubble where we're safe and happy and nothing can get to us." Ethan said. "I love how calm her voice makes me feel. I think it's amazing that she's extremely empathetic to everyone around her, always trying to make everyone feel good and be there for those she cares about. I love that she's so talented and humble, and always strives to be her best self." Ethan continued.
"But... I like seeing her smile, and being the reason for it. I feel like a child who's lost his parents at the mall when I'm not holding her hand or hugging her. And I like that she's always ready to defend everyone she loves." Ethan explained. "I could spend hours quoting everything I like about her, Dad."
Keith looked at his son.
"Do you see her in your future?" Keith asked.
"All the times I didn't imagine it, they seemed like a nightmare." Ethan said.
Keith pulled his son into a hug and whispered.
"I think you know the answer to your question, son."
[....]
The three Scott boys were walking towards Coach Whitey's house. Nathan was telling about Dan last game with the Ravens, how Dan didn't agree with Whitey's play and refused to play the way Whitey told him to, letting the team lose.
"I couldn't do that to my teammates." Lucas said.
"I don't think any of us would do that." Ethan said.
"Yeah." Nathan agreed. "Although if we lose this game, I'm going back to hating you." Nathan said pointing at Lucas.
"Just me? What about Ethan?" Lucas asked.
"Hey, leave me out of this." Ethan said, pushing Luke lightly.
"Well, I never hated Ethan." Nathan shrugged.
"I knew you loved me, Nate." Ethan said while putting his arm around his cousin's neck and pulling him in, pretending to kiss him on the cheek.
"Well, it's the Scott boys. Together." Coach Whitey said, watching the boys approach the door of his house where the man was standing. "My eyes really must be screwed up."
The boys said hello to the coach.
"We wanted to catch you before you went to the hospital." Nathan said.
"Glad you boys did. How's practice going with Danny?" Whitey asked.
"Like a living hell." Ethan muttered.
"It's the same as with you, it sucks." Nathan said.
The boys' answers made Whitey laugh.
"Coach, the players... We all signed this ball for you." Nathan said, holding out the basketball to Whitey.
"Sort of a get-well card." Lucas explained.
Coach Whitey thanked the boys, and took the opportunity to say how talented they are and that none of them would allow Dan Scott to take that away from them.
As soon as they had said goodbye to Coach Whitey, Ethan said goodbye to his cousins and told them he had to run to Karen's café. When Ethan arrived at Karen's café, he saw Karen and Deb at the counter.
"Thank God, the two women I needed to talk to." Ethan said, sitting down facing Karen.
The two women looked at each other.
"Is everything all right, Ethan?" Karen asked.
"Yeah, I need help from both of you." Ethan said and looked around. "How busy are you two?"
"We aren't, Ethan." Deb said, handing the boy a cup of coffee.
"What do you need?" Karen asked.
"Well..." Ethan scratched his head. "Everyone knows I see you as a mother figure, and I imagine that's something sons do with their mothers." Ethan said with his cheeks turning red, and then turned to Deb. "And you have good taste. Although, not for men." Ethan said, making Deb smile.
Karen and Deb were a little confused about what Ethan wanted, although Ethan's confession made her happy. Hearing the boy she helped raise say out loud that he sees her as his mother made her happy and proud. Ethan looked at the two women.
"I'm completely in love with Emma, and I want to buy her an promise ring." Ethan said with a sigh, looking relieved.
The two women looked at each other.
"Ethan, don't you think it's..." Deb interrupted.
"Too soon or that I'm too young?" Ethan asked and Deb nodded. "Maybe, but it's not a marriage proposal. Not yet." Ethan replied.
Karen looked at the boy.
"Why do you want to give her an promise ring, Ethan?" Karen asked in a soft voice.
"For her to remember that I'm committed to our relationship. Because I want every possible step with her, for her to look at the ring and know that I'm going to exchange that ring one day for an engagement ring until I get to our wedding ring. It may take a few years between one and the other, but I want her to look at the ring and know that I plan my future with her by my side." Ethan said, looking at the two women.
"Ethan, that's so sweet." Deb said, smiling at the boy.
Ethan waited for Karen to say something.
"Do you want us to help you choose a ring for Emma?" Karen asked.
"Yeah..." Ethan said without knowing what Karen was thinking.
"And you want to do this with me and Deb?" Karen asked again and Ethan just nodded.
Karen came out from behind the counter and hugged the boy.
"My boy is growing up." Karen said, squeezing the boy's cheeks.
"Don't you think it's rash or stupid?" Ethan asked.
"No, Ethan." Karen said, kissing the top of the boy's head.
Ethan went to a few stores with Karen and Deb, until the boy liked something to give to Emma. Ethan was happy to have Karen and Deb by his side so he could do something like this, he couldn't imagine having to do it alone and didn't want to ask the boys for help.
During the night, Ethan called Brooke and Peyton asking them to meet him near his house and that they shouldn't tell Emma anything. Ethan told his father that he was going out, as soon as he received a message from Peyton saying that they had arrived at the meeting point.
"So, what's this about?" Peyton asked.
"I need help from both of you, and without Emma knowing." Ethan said.
"Okay, I don't like this." Brooke said.
"I'm going to give Emma an promise ring tomorrow after the game." Ethan said.
"Ok, I'm liking this." Brooke said, jumping up and down.
Peyton patted the boy on the shoulder and smiled at him.
"What do you need our help with, Ethan?" Peyton asked.
"Can you guys make her room a bit more...?" Ethan didn't know how to explain. The boy wanted to set a romantic mood.
"Leave it to us, lover boy." Brooke said hooking an arm with Peyton's and smiling.
[....]
The boys were in the locker room, Ethan was feeling anxious not only about the game, but about what might happen afterwards as well.
"Tonight's obstacle is Masonboro. Win, and you're one step closer to a State Champinship. An undefeated season and greatness. Lose... and be losers." Dan said to the team.
'What an incredible motivational speech,' Ethan thought, rolling his eyes.
After the boys had warmed up on the court, just before the game started Dan called them over.
"This is your night. This is your gym. Take no prisoners. Hands in." Dan said.
"Let's win this one for Whitey." Lucas said to the boys on the team.
"Forget the old man. You win it for yourselves." Dan said.
Emma was in her cheerleading uniform with the girls cheering on the Ravens. Ethan looked in Emma's direction and winked at the girl. Causing Brooke to nudge the girl.
"Look at you two being all lovey dovey." Brooke joked with the girl.
"He seems a bit distracted lately." Emma said looking at Brooke.
"Huh."
'The Ravens grab the rebound and push it up court. Ethan Scott passes to Lucas Scott over to Nathan Scott for the slam! It's great to see them finally working together.'
'Coming up on halftime and the Ravens continue to run. Ethan Scott with the ball alley-oops to Nathan. Caw! The birds have taken flight.
Ethan was standing near where Emma and the other cheerleaders were, Ethan looked at the girl smiling.
"Hey, Pompons. Pretty legs." Ethan said smiling at the girl.
"Pretty hands, E." Emma said.
"Yeah. You should see what I can do with them." Ethan said, causing Emma to blush.
"Already see. All night, and between us, E. Not impressed." Emma replied jokingly to the boy.
"Ouch, my feelings, Emm's." Ethan pretended to be hurt by placing his hand on his heart.
"Ethan! The game." Dan caught the boy's eye and made him run back.
The boys were doing well in the game, it was a close match. When one of the Masonboro players passed Lucas, who was standing next to Nathan and Ethan, and bumped into his injured shoulder, causing him to wince in pain.
Ethan and Nathan went up to the player and pushed him hard.
"What the hell, man?" Ethan shouted in the boy's face.
'The refs hurry back to the floor to try and break up a brawl. Lucas Scott is still down.'
Emma, Brooke and Peyton stood closer to each other, worried about the fight going on in the court.
When they managed to break up the fight, Lucas was taken to be checked to see if he could play again. The boys were in the locker room when Dan's annoying voice echoed in the room.
"Already making plans for after the game, boys?" Dan asked and then shouted. "Because this is a joke!"
"You guys are up to five points. You should be up 50 points. Oh and while you have your heads up your asses, why don't you take a whiff of how you've been playing?" Dan said and passed them 'tips'.
Ethan knew the boys could be playing better, but Lucas still didn't look 100% and the moves Dan had prepared weren't being very useful. But the boys were doing their best.
Nathan and Ethan overheard a conversation Dan was having with one of the nurses, in which he said that Lucas should stop playing and go for an x-ray. But Dan ended up getting Lucas' head and letting him play. Ethan and Nathan went to Lucas to make sure he was okay.
'Reverse lay-up by the Ravens for another two. Ethan, Nathan and Lucas Scott have taken over keeping the Ravens in close. But it may be a little too late as Masonboro leads it by five. Time running down in the fourth.
'No going back now folks. This is it. Down by two, less than a minute on the clock. The Ravens need a stop.
Emma was anxious about the game, seeing the possibility of the boys losing, but noticed Ethan looking at Nathan.
Ethan looked at Nathan and then in the direction of the ball, and muttered something that Emma, so far away, had no idea about. But Emma could recognize that when Ethan and Nathan exchanged those glances on the court, it was a move Ethan was planning during and somehow Nathan understood.
'Trap at half court!' Lucas, Nathan and Ethan were blocking the player with the ball, Ethan managed to push the ball out of the player's hand. 'Nathan Scott grabs it and calls time out.
Dan called to the boys to group up again, Ethan knew Dan was saying something but shut out Dan's voice.
'Ethan Scott will throw it in. He does it safely. Finds Tim Smith who immediately swings it to Nathan Scott. We're at eight seconds. Now seven. Nathan works out top. Five seconds on the clock. Now four, he spins to the basket then passes to Lucas for a three-pointer and the win!'
Lucas made a mistake. The Ravens lost.
Ethan and Nathan stopped in their places, the two boys looked at each other.
"We'll do better next time." Ethan said muttering to Nathan.
Ethan walked past Luke and patted him on the shoulder, not knowing what to say to the boy.
The boys were in the locker room, with Dan trying to humiliate them for losing the game. Dan even blamed Nathan for not making the play he had ordered, even ordering the boys to remove their shirts because they didn't deserve to wear them. Ethan took it off and threw it at Dan, shoving the shirt in his face while Nathan took off his shirt.
"Screw you." Ethan grumbled, walking away from Dan.
Nathan took the opportunity to point out to Dan that it was Dan's fault for putting Lucas in the game even though he knew that the recommendation was for him to stop. He even called him a coward, since Lucas played even though he was in pain and Dan, when he was playing, even quit and left his team alone.
[....]
After the game was over, Emma was waiting for Ethan in front of his bike when she saw the boy walking towards her with his head down.
"Hey, E." Emma caught the boy's eye and he hugged her.
Ethan hugged the girl.
"Hey, Pompons." Ethan said.
"I'm sorry about your game." Emma said.
Ethan didn't like losing, but that was part of it. Ethan was more upset by the fact that now the move would be real. Lucas decided that he would move in with them, the boys had talked and asked Keith to move in when the basketball season ended, and for them it ended tonight.
Ethan drove to Emma's house, the girl hugging Ethan could feel his heart beating harder as if he was nervous about something.
The two teenagers entered Emma's house hand in hand. As soon as Emma opened the door to her bedroom, she saw that there was a path with candles on the floor from her room to her bed, where there were heart-shaped flower petals.
"What's that?" Emma questioned and turned to Ethan.
"Emm's, I love you." Ethan said, holding the girl's hand.
"You do?" Emma asked tilting her head sideways, causing Ethan to smile.
"Yeah, Emm's."
"I love you, Ethan Scott." Emma whispered and pulled the boy into a kiss.
Emma stopped kissing the boy and stared at him.
"Did you do all this to say that you love me?" Emma asked.
"Not exactly." Ethan said and pulled out a little velvet box, opening it and showing it to Emma. "It's a promise ring, not an engagement ring. Not yet, anyway." Ethan explained to Emma.
Emma noticed that it also had a ring for Ethan to wear. Ethan put it on the girl's finger, and put the other one on his finger, holding the hand of the girl he had just put the ring on and giving her a kiss.
"Emm's, I'm not giving you the ring to make you feel trapped." Ethan began to speak.
"That's good, because I don't feel trapped with you, E." Emma said.
"The ring is because it's a symbol of my commitment to us. And that one day, I'll exchange this ring for an engagement ring until we get married." Ethan explained. "I know I may be getting ahead of myself, but every time I think about my future, you're in it."
"You're in mine too, E." Emma murmured, pulling a boy into a kiss again.
As soon as they stopped kissing, Emma removed her blouse.
"Emm's, I didn't do all this so that we..." Emma smiled and kissed him quickly.
"I know, but I want to. Unless you don't want to, then it's okay." Emma said and went to pick up her blouse to put it back on, Ethan removed the blouse from her hand and threw it away.
Ethan hugged the girl and pushed her onto the bed.
"I want everything with you, Emm's."
[....]
Ethan woke up early to his cell phone ringing, the boy looked at the display and it was his father.
"Ethan, are you at Emma's?" Keith asked.
"Yeah." Ethan replied.
"We need to go, son." Keith said.
Ethan replied that he would ride his motorcycle following his father's car, Keith agreed and said he would stop by Emma's house to wait for him.
Ethan didn't want to wake Emma, the girl was sleeping so peacefully. But Ethan could never leave without saying goodbye to the girl. Ethan put on his clothes and leaned against Emma, calling her quietly.
"Ethan?"
"Hey, Pompons." Ethan said. "I have to go." Ethan told looking at the girl.
Emma jumped out of bed and hugged him tightly, trying not to burst into tears in front of the boy.
"I'm going to miss you, E." Emma said, kissing the boy's cheek.
"I'll miss you too, Emm's." Ethan said giving his girlfriend a kiss.
Ethan pulled up to the door of Emma's house and saw Lucas waiting for him. Lucas put a letter for Peyton and Brooke on the door and headed for Keith's car.
"Hey, E." Lucas said.
"Hey, Luke." Ethan said looking down.
Ethan got on his bike and looked in the window towards Emma's room, seeing the girl waving at him from there. Ethan waved back, the boy rubbed his eyes to wipe away the tears that insisted on flowing and put on his helmet, starting the bike and following his father's car towards Charleston.