Carnival Lights and Summer Love
A One Tree Hill Fanfic
This is one of my first proper fanfics. I was watching The Notebook the other day and decided to write a story about it but with using Nathan and Haley instead of Noah and Allie. It'll be a similar storyline to The Notebook but with Naley twists! I apologise for any era mistakes - I'm a 90s kid! Anyways peace out, and enjoy the story:)
Summer romances begin for all kinds of reasons, but when all is said and done, they have one thing in common. They're shooting stars, a spectacular moment of light in the heavens, fleeting glimpse of eternity, and in a flash they're gone.
It was a magical summer. Nathan was a country boy, Haley was from the city. You could say it was undeniable, you could say it was fate. Call it whatever but it was true love that brought them to the moment they were at now. That moment of stillness, the moment of young love when nothing else matters and the moment when you know you'll be with that person for the rest of your life. And it all began the summer of 1940 when two souls collided.
Tree Hill, North Carolina was a friendly place. Just a small town off the coast, it was average. Nothing much happened but it was still an exciting place to live. Nathan Scott would know about this. He'd lived there his whole life with his father, Keith and older brother, Lucas. The men resided in the more peaceful side of Tree Hill, just a small abode away from the hustle and bustle of the centre. Nathan and Lucas' mother, Karen had passed away when the boys were younger, Lucas being 10 and Nathan just 8 years old. They had struggled with it but being close to their father helped. Even though the boys were young, their relationship with Keith shone through and brought them together. Keith loved Karen with all his heart and knew the boys were his everything, especially after her tragic death. They had grown into strapping young men and Keith couldn't be prouder. There was always an ache in his heart where Karen would always remain. Life wasn't right without her but the boys were all he had left and he did a damn good job bringing them up. Now at 19 and 17, the boys were just happy to spend a summer with their father and friends, and the annual Tree Hill Carnival seemed a good way to start it.
"Luke, you ready?" Nathan shouted up the stairs impatiently. He knew why Lucas was taking so long. Miss Brooke, who Lucas had rather a soft spot for, would be at the carnival tonight and Lucas had a plan. He was going to ask her out on a date tonight, officially. Nathan was happy for his big brother and had hopes that maybe he would meet a girl tonight. It had been a while, and Nathan had grown tired of the endless amounts of girls that seemed to pass by. He was at the age when he wanted a serious relationship. Countless amount of flings didn't appeal to him anymore, and he was searching for something more.
Lucas made his way down stairs, dressed in a shirt and tie. A flat cap lay on his straw-blonde mop and Nathan could smell the hint of his father's aftershave when Lucas sauntered past him.
"Luke, what died?" Nathan mockingly asked clutching his nose, "At least think of Brooke. The poor girl will be passed out before we even hit the Ferris wheel"
Lucas smiled sarcastically in response. "Laugh all you want little brother but you won't be smiling when I'm driving Brooke home and you're only option is the bus"
Nathan shrugged off the comment. "Bet you 10 dollars by the end of the night, I'll be driving and you'll be sitting next to me wondering what could have been"
"You're on, Nate," The brothers shook hands and both had a twinkle in their eye. "You're forgetting who the ladies man around this town is."
"Dream on Luke," Nathan scoffed, "I seem to remember a certain Scott brother's eventful night with Emmanuelle?"
Lucas cringed as he remembered. "Not funny Nate. For the record, he seriously looked like a girl. Plus, I was pissed. I couldn't remember half of what happened that night."
"Sure bro, whatever you need to believe." Nathan smiled. Lucas grabbed him in a headlock and ruffled his hair.
At that moment their father walked in. "You know if I wanted two daughters, I would have dressed you in wigs and got you a set of dresses for your tenth birthdays." Keith said. The boys quickly got out of the headlock and shrugged it off. Keith laughed. He walked over to Nathan and started fixing his collar.
"So, you both heading down to the carnival tonight?"
"Yeah," Nathan replied, "Lucas is on the hunt for Brooke."
Keith raised his eyebrows with a grin on his face. "Brooke Davis? Nice work son."
Nathan laughed whilst his older brother cringed. He hated when his dad intervened with the women. Keith walked over to Lucas and put his arm over his shoulder. "Take her for a ride on the Ferris wheel. It always works, trust me."
"Thanks dad," Lucas smiled, "You sure it will though? I mean I'm not too fussed on heights"
"Neither was I son but when you see her tonight, that fear will go away and you know that you'll do anything for her." Keith had a distant smile on his face. The boys knew who he was thinking of. Their father had told them countless times about how he had wooed their mother at a passing-by carnival. It was a story that never grew old and kept the memories of their mother alive. Keith snapped out of his daydream and patted both his sons on the back bringing them in for a group hug.
"Awww dad" Nathan groaned as the ability to breathe got more and more difficult by the second. Keith chuckled bringing them out of the hug.
"You boys have a good time tonight. And both of you remember – Ferris wheel. Its how we Scott men get the ladies." Keith winked. "Speaking of ladies, Nate," Nathan groaned – he knew what was coming next. "Got your eye on anyone at the moment?"
"Nah Dad, just going to play the field I think." Nathan smiled and put his hands in his pockets swaying awkwardly on the spot.
Keith smiled proud at the young men his boys had turned into. "Well both of you be careful, have fun." And with that he picked up his newspaper and went to sit on the front porch swing the Scotts had built the previous summer. Lucas and Nathan smiled at each other and set off for the carnival.
It was a clear summer's night, not completely dark but the glow of the sun setting cast a shadow over the small North Carolina town. The boys drove over to the field in their father's truck which slowly rode to a halt when they could see the fairground. When the boys were young, they loved spending their weekends at the carnival with their parents. Faint memories of cotton candy and bumper karts remained in their thoughts. An ache ran through Nathan's heart as the remembrance of his Mother was shown in the carnival. The brothers looked at each other and with a faint smile on their face to show them they both knew what the others were thinking; they started walking towards the bright lights of the fairground.
Nathan and Lucas payed the entrance and slowly walked into the carnival. Tree Hill had really outdone itself this year. Laughter filled the air as men won big prizes for their ladies, and screams echoed through the field as teens braved the scary white knuckle rides. Lucas scanned the carnival for Brooke, in the hope that he would notice her. Nathan took a side glimpse at his older brother and saw the anxiety in his eyes. He put his hand on his shoulder and simply stated, "Whipped."
Lucas broke out of his gaze and let out a small laugh. "Do you blame me?"
Nathan knew what he was talking about. Miss Brooke Davis was the talk of the town. Her father was the mayor of Tree Hill and they lived in a beautiful white house just off the riverwalk. Brooke was radiant but just not Nathan's type. Lucas was mesmerised by Brooke and she just didn't have a clue. She wasn't playing around with him; she was just completely oblivious. Nathan hoped it would work out for his big brother and he had a feeling deep down that it would.
The brothers walked over to the bumper karts to try and get a closer glimpse after Lucas stating for the one hundred and twenty third time that he could swear he had just seen Brooke. Nathan could have killed him there and then but this time it seemed to pay off. Brooke was on the bumper karts and Lucas smiled. Nathan noticed Brooke was with another girl – a petite young woman with big brown eyes and auburn hair in a complicated style. She had a large beam on her face as her and Brooke drove around the small track. Nathan couldn't help but smile along with her. She had a contagious smile – it was breathtaking.
"Hey, who's that girl with Brooke?" Nathan asked his brother, nudging him in the sides.
"Haley James. She's here for the summer with her family. Dad's got more money than God."
Nathan looked over at Haley again and his heart skipped a beat. Sure, he had been with girls but he had never felt this way. She was special. He knew it deep down in his heart that he had to talk to this girl and fast.
The bumper karts slowed down forcing Brooke and Haley to walk off the track. Lucas walked over to Brooke with Nathan following behind. He decided to make his move now rather than regretting it later. Darting in front of Lucas he walked right up to Haley James. She was startled by his action and instinctively took a step back but Nathan just followed her.
"You wanna dance with me?" Nathan simply asked. Haley raised her eyebrow and looked shocked.
"No!" She hissed and tried to avoid eye contact.
"Well why not?" Nathan challenged.
"Because I don't want to" Haley looked uncomfortable. She brushed down her light pink dress and clutched her shawl closer to her body. Nathan was about to speak when some guy who he didn't know the name of, butted in.
"Er Nathan," He said, "She's with us."
Nathan raised his eyebrow. Punk, he thought to himself. Who was this guy to interrupt? Nathan was about to work a little bit of the Scott charm when…
"Hey Haley, you wanna ride on the Ferris wheel?" The punk asked. Nathan was this close to punching the guy in the face.
Haley smiled. "I'd love to." The punk grabbed Haley's hand and led her away leaving Nathan standing there. Haley walked away but didn't stop eye contact with him. Nathan definitely felt something, and he was pretty sure Haley did too. This night just got interesting.
Haley walked away and Brooke came running up to her and linked her arm through hers.
"Nathan Scott," she whispered into Haley's ear. Haley looked puzzled.
"What?"
"Lucas Scott's brother. Works down at the lumberyard with him."
"Oh." Haley said softly, "Did you see he was standing like two inches away from my face?" She said putting a piece of cotton candy into her mouth.
"Yeah but that's Nathan though. Never one to stay away from something he likes."
Brooke walked off to meet Lucas who she was going for a ride on the Ferris wheel with. Haley smiled to herself. Nathan Scott sure was something. His raven black hair and sea blue eyes just made it harder to keep a cold front. She got a giddy feeling inside and felt like a schoolgirl again. Well, technically she still was a schoolgirl but that wasn't the point. The guy who asked her to go on the Ferris wheel with him, Edward, walked over and slipped his hand in hers. She smiled at him but looked back at Nathan. Edward was a nice boy but she couldn't help but wish it was Nathan that was leading her onto the Ferris wheel.
What was she thinking? She had known Nathan for all of two minutes and they hadn't even had a proper conversation yet. It was the first day of her summer and things just got interesting. Tree Hill could turn out to be the place where she would fall in love. This summer just got interesting, and with that Haley walked off, hand in hand with Edward, towards the Ferris wheel leaving Nathan standing there with a mysterious twinkle in his eye.