A/N: I know I shouldn't be starting up another story but I had this idea and I couldn't help but write it. I do however have the next chapter of Summer Checklist written but I am going to redo some parts. It should be posted by Monday so no worries. Enjoy! Leave a few words!
Salvation is Here
Chapter 1
Haley James. Some call her a loser. Others call her a geek. Many call her a tutor. But I just call her Haley James. The girl of my dreams.
I guess I should tell you who I am. Well my name's Nathan Scott. Some call me popular. Many call me a basketball god. But I just call myself Nathan. Haley doesn't call me anything, since I've never actually talked to her before.
We had been going to school together since 2nd grade. The first time I saw her I was sitting in Ms.Howard's class surrounded by all of my friends. Even at a young age I was the "It Man". She had told the class that her family moved here from another small town in North Carolina and was the youngest in her family. As unmanly as it sounds a tiny, blonde pig-tailed, 7 year old Haley James had taken my breath away.
She had come into the class wearing tiny overalls, a nervous smile and biting her bottom lip. To this day she still has her lip biting habit. It is one of the many quirks that she has. The quirks that made me fall hard.
We had classes together every year up until 6th grade. She was put into the advanced classes and I was in standard. But that didn't stop my ever-growing love for Haley James.
6th grade was also around the time my father, Dan Scott, told me that I had a brother. A half brother to be exact. His name was Lucas Scott and was 3 months older than me. He lived across town in a small house with his mother. But I remember the day all of that changed.
Lucas' mother Karen Roe was a kind, gentle woman who always put her son first. Well until Andy Hargrove came into the picture. Karen and Andy were dating for 9 months when the Australian native proposed. She said yes and that's when Lucas' life went downhill. Andy had convinced Karen to move back to Australia with him and to leave Lucas with us.
At first we didn't get along. But we soon realized we had no reason to be mad at each other. It was all Dan's fault and we made sure we let him know that. To put it mildly, growing up we made his life a living hell. We wouldn't let him get to us. To poison us with the evil we knew he had.
Lucas and I eventually became real brothers by heart and best friends too. We told each other everything and we told Dan nothing but lies. There was one lie that Lucas and I would tell Dan everyday. And that was "I love you"
We were freshmen in high school when I told Lucas that I was in love with Haley James. He didn't know who she was so I took it upon myself to show him the greatness that is Haley James. I think he thought I was insane.
I spotted he near her locker and stared at her in awe. Her long blonde hair was curly and loose hanging halfway down her back. Tan skin was shown off by her plain white tank top and denim skirt. She had her toenails each painted a different color. It was cute. It was enough to make me fall in love with her all over again.
I forgot Lucas was even standing with me until he broke into my thoughts. "So I guess that's Haley."
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Fast forward 2 years and I'm now a junior at Tree hill High School. Like I said before I'm popular. Basically the BMOC. I admit that I soak it all in. The popularity, the parties, the chicks, and easy sex. But that's only on the outside.
On the inside nothing makes sense. Use basketball as an example. I love basketball. I don't think I could live without basketball. But sometimes I hate it. Especially when the pressure to win and score, to get the most rebounds is all anyone cares about. To be the best. It's times like that that make me want to walk away from it all. To quit. But I can't because I can't live without it. I think it's all my dads fault.
My dad once told me that the first time he knew I was going to be a basketball player was 4 months before I was born. That's when he found out he was having a son. I hate to think what would've happened if he had a daughter instead.
You would think that my mom would step in and stop my dad from taking over my life. But my mom got away from my father early. She took the easy way out. My mother, Deb Scott, left when I was only 6 years old. The one person who loved me and helped me and took care of me left. I guess love wasn't enough.
I was screwed up as a kid. I still kind of am. But now I have 2 people who I know will never let me down. I have Lucas and my basketball coach Whitey. Whitey was the father I never had but always wanted. I wouldn't ever say this to him but I love and respect him.
So when I was called out of English and down to whitey's office I didn't think anything of it. I just thought maybe we were going to go over some plays before the game next week. But I guess I was wrong.
"Hey coach. You wanted to see me?"
"Nathan come on in. Take a seat. So do you know why I called you down here?"
"No coach. Are we reviewing plays or something?"
Even before I said it I knew it wasn't right. Whitey was acting different. I didn't like it too much.
"Actually Nate we're talking about your grades. You are doing well in most of your classes but are falling behind in math and history."
"How far behind?' I knew I couldn't be that fare behind or he would've said something about this sooner. He would never let me be benched.
"You barely are maintaining a D in both classes. If you don't bring those grades up then I have no choice but to bench you."
"Well what can I do coach? I don't want to be benched."
"Are you familiar with the schools tutoring program?"
"No coach. But what about it?"
"The tutoring center offers free tutors. The tutors are students with above average grades. I felt it was my responsibility to assign you a tutor. She's the best there is. Head on down to the center and meet your tutor."
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The tutoring center was located in a small hallway behind the band and orchestra room. Unless someone had a purpose to be going there, they wouldn't have even known it exsisted.
I looked in through the windows of the tutoring center. The walls were plain white with different colored posters fastened to each wall. The tile floors had scuffmarks on them from years of sliding chairs and one whole wall was bookshelves and filing cabinets. The wooden round tables were situated throughout the room with two people at some.
I walked into the room and over to the first person I saw. She was vaguely familiar. I think her name was Kayla.
"Hi. Uh… I was looking for my tutor."
When she didn't say anything I repeated myself and waited for an answer of some kind.
"Oh! I'm sorry." She did that annoying 'don't- you-think-I'm-cute' laugh and pushed her chest forward. I think this was her version of flirting. "So who's your tutor?"
She reached out to take the yellow slip of paper I was holding, the same yellow paper I hadn't even looked at. Because if I had I would've been somewhat prepared for what happened next.
I watched the girl in front of me as a look of annoyance crossed her face. She mumbled something that sounded a lot like 'stupid bitch' and pointed across the room.
I walked over to the girl she was pointing at and reached out to tap her shoulder. Before she turned around I took a closer look at her. She was petite and was dressed plain. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun and that's when it hit me. I suddenly had to fight the urge to kiss her. My tutor was my dream girl.
"Hi. I guess I'm your tutor. Haley James,"
She held out her hand for me to shake. My hands were sweating and my heart was racing. I wiped my hands off on the thighs of my jeans and took her hand in mine. I definitely felt sparks.
"Hi. I'm Nathan."
She smiled at me and I looked into her eyes. I might just have imagined it but I'm positive she felt the sparks too.
