Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill. I am in no way affiliated with Mark Schwahn.
*It is the beginning of junior year
*Nathan goes to school at High Flyer's Academy, along with best friend Chris Keller, and girlfriend Peyton
*Brooke, Haley, and Lucas are Best friends, and live in Tree hill, attending Tree Hill high
*Peyton and Nathan have been together since the middle of freshman year (they have the same kind of relationship that was portrayed in season 1)
*Italics equal flashbacks
* Brooke and Peyton are really good friends, but Brooke nor Haley know Nathan
*Dan is not going to be in the story; both Karen and Deb are single parents who are friends
*This is a brathan story
*This was adapted from the brathanseries's
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Nathan Scott shoved his favorite green hoodie inside his already bulging suitcase, holding it down in an attempt to get it closed. Today was a landmark in his young life. He was leaving the only home, the only stable parent he had ever known, and was making a fresh start in another town. A part of him wanted to stay in the place he had grown accustomed to. The other part craved to know what it would be like to make a clean break, and be a part of his half-brother's life. He still remembered the recent conversation between him and Lucas. He'd already known even then, that it was time to leave High Flyer's, once and for all.
"Nathan?"
"Yeah man, what's up?" Nathan replied, smiling to himself as he recognized the worry in his brother's voice. Unlike his brother, Nathan was not worry-prone, and lived life as it came to him.
"Are you going to come?" Lucas asked, his voice cracking up over the phone.
"I think so. But there's a deal breaker."
"What?"
"I get dibs on the hottest girl at school. After all, the first couple weeks can be pretty scary for an illiterate jock." Nathan joked, referring to what Lucas had first called him when they had met. Their relationship was a complex one, at best. They shared the same father, whom had dated both their mothers in high school, and had ended up impregnating both of them. Seventeen years later their mother's were still friends, and their father was still a distant ghost in their memories.
"I thought you had a girlfriend. You need two now?" Lucas had responded, the laughter evident in his voice. It was a well known fact between the two, that Nathan was the player, and Lucas was more the shy, sulky journal writing type. "What's wrong with Peyton? Is she mad your leaving?" He added, making Nathan feel guilty just at the mere sound of her name. He'd never been the knight in shining armor Peyton had desired him to be. He hadn't even made it to good boyfriend status in her book. He hadn't been there, in her corner, the multiple times she'd needed him to be. She'd gradually mastered the art of fighting her battles herself, unknowingly becoming independent of him.
"I haven't exactly told her yet." Nathan admitted, picking up a tiny, black picture frame from his dresser. He traced his finger over the outline of Peyton's delicate face, vaguely recalling the day the picture had been taken. It had been a warm sunny day, his favorite kind. It was their three month anniversary, and being a unarticulate freshman, he had of course ruined everything. He still could picture her face, as he told her how much he "liked" her. Things between the two of them had never been easy, but they had always made it work. Sometimes to the point where it felt forced, because it would be easier to hold on, then let go completely.
"You are disappointing, Nate. Yet, pathetically consistent." Lucas sighed, "When are you planning on telling her?"
"After we have sex for the last time." Nathan smirked, picturing Peyton in her black lingerie. As much as their personalities conflicted, in bed they blended perfectly. It was the one remedy for every fight, for every disagreement. It was simple, he lusted after her, and she longed for him in the same way.
"You know, I'm not letting you anywhere near Brooke or Haley, right?" Lucas laughed, mentioning the names of his two best friends, from Tree Hill. Nathan had never met either of them in person, but he'd heard more than he'd ever wished to know from Lucas.
"It's not me, you should be worried about." Nathan shot back, putting the picture of Peyton back on the dresser, face down. "So, is there still that spot for me on the team?"
"It's right here waiting for you, Nate," Lucas said, "All you have to do is take it."
"Okay, I'll come." Nathan finally relented, even though he'd made up his mind weeks before, to move to Tree Hill. "But, I meant what I said about our deal."
"Don't worry Nate, the freshman girls will love you."
"Fuck you, man." Nathan laughed, glancing around his semi-packed room. "I'll beat your ass for that, when I see you in person." He said, hanging up the phone in his usual manner. He threw the phone on the bed, watching it land next to a pile of folded clothes. This was it he realized. There was no going back.
The knock on the door brought him back to reality, causing him to drop the box currently in hi s hands. "Shit!" He muttered, as whatever was in the box made a cracking sound. The knock on the door resounded, before the door swung open, without out his acknowledgment.
"Nate?" Peyton Sawyer stepped through the door, dressed in a pair of tight skinny jeans and a light blue tank top. Her shoulder length curly hair was swept up in a messy ponytail, exposing her angular face. "There's something I have to tell y-." She stopped mid-sentence, as she took in the state of his room. The taped boxes, the scattered clothes, the bare walls, and the empty closets.
"I'm leaving, Peyt." He said simply, figuring the blunt truth would be better, than dancing around the truth. He watched as her green eyes filled with tears, before disappearing, and filling with rage. Peyton's rapid mood swings had never ceased to amaze him.
"You're…leaving." She repeated slowly, looking him in the eye. "And where the hell are you planning on going?"
"Tree Hill," He shrugged, picking up a gray shirt off the floor. "With Lucas and Karen."
"What about me, Nathan?" She walked up to him, "What about us?"
"Look, I'm cool with doing the whole long-distance thing if you are."
"Oh, I'm sure you are." She smirked, "You get whatever random slut during the week, then get to screw me on the weekends. Sounds about right."
"Peyton, if this is about Tif-."
Peyton cut him off, "This isn't about her Nathan! This is about me and you. This is about the fact that you chose to tell me you were leaving now, without even caring about where that leaves us." Peyton sighed, "Nathan, you haven't once told me you love me, and we've been together over a year."
"I'm sorry." Nathan said simply, avoiding her piercing green eyes.
"I need more than that, Nate."
"What do you want me to say, Peyton?"
"That you love me."
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"Okay, so Peyton dropped the "L" word again," Nathan told his best friend, Chris Keller. "I don't know…I just couldn't say it back."
"Hmm, I wonder why," Chris said sarcastically, "Maybe if you actually loved her, it would be easier."
"Like, you know anything about it," Nathan rolled his eyes, "Have you ever even had a girlfriend? And I'm not talking about those wannabe groupies, who camp outside your door."
"Just because I don't date, doesn't mean I haven't experienced true love's calling." Chris said, pointing his finger at Nate. "Your ball." He added, throwing the basketball towards Nathan.
"Right. You know you did earn your title as a manwhore, somehow." Nathan smirked, "Maybe it's all that groupie love."
"Point taken," Chris panted, as he attempted to block Nathan from scoring, "But at least I'm not a cheater."
"Fuck off, Chris." Nathan shouted, making the basket despite Chris's best efforts.
"Just admit you don't love her," Chris said, picking the ball up off the ground, "If you did you wouldn't have slept around with Tiffany, behind her back."
"Hey, she said she forgave me for that. Plus, Tiffany meant nothing."
"Then why would you risk your relationship for something that meant nothing? Don't get me wrong, Tiffany is one hot piece of ass, and I would ban-."
"I get the picture, Chris." Nathan stated, shaking his head.
"I'm just saying, I think you feel like you owe her for all she's done for you," Chris explained, "You're grateful to her, but you're not in love with her."
"Whatever man, you're Keller logic is fucked up," Nathan told him, "But I'm still going to miss your dumb ass."
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"I care about you, Peyton."
"But, you can't say you love me right, Nate?" Peyton shook her head bitterly, watching Nathan's every move.
"Peyton," Nathan grabbed her arm, gently wrapping his resilient arms around her tiny frame. "I know how we can make this better." He nuzzled her neck, in an effort to distract her from their current issues.
"Not. Going. To. Work." She said slowly, pushing him away from her. "Why does it always have to be about sex with you?"
"Because it's the one thing I'm good at?" Nathan shrugged, as she turned away from him, trying to conceal the tears that she had been fighting away, since she'd first walked through the door.
"I know this is going to burst your massive ego, but you actually suck in bed," Peyton seethed, "I had to fake it, more times that I could possibly count. Hopefully Tiffany had better luck then I did."
"Peyt-."
"Go fuck yourself, Nathan." She screamed, not trying to hold back the tears spilling over anymore. She could feel it ending, even as the words came out of her mouth. The only boy that she had ever loved was leaving her world, just as abruptly as he had entered it. All she could do was look at his handsome face one last time, and try to remember him this way. Ashamed, guilty, confused, and broken. That way she could trick herself into believing he was like her, that she had been more than just a small tremor in his world. She wanted to tell him the words that she had arrived with on her lips, but those words would never be spoken between the two of them, now. I love you. Three simple words, that meant so much, that she had been so eager to say a couple moments ago, now shattered into pieces, just like her heart.
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As Mark Twain once wrote, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." In life we are given many choices. Some are difficult, and make us wonder if there is an easier, simpler way. Others come more naturally, so much so that we don't notice the effect they have on our lives, and on us. They ultimately do mold us into the people we become, the people who we are destined to be.
Nathan boarded the bus heading towards Tree Hill, pushing everything that had happened out of his mind. He finished shoving the last of his suitcases in the outside holding compartment, hoping he'd packed everything he needed. He knew his life was changing drastically in ways that he couldn't even recognize, yet. He had been given a chance that most people could only dream of. A chance at a brand new life, and a chance to erase all previous mistakes.
Nathan felt like he was taking a risky gamble with his future by moving to Tree Hill. Maybe he was supposed to continue being the hot shot captain at High Flyer's, and lead the team to their first championship. Perhaps, he was destined to someday settle down and marry Peyton, like his mother had dreamed. He closed his eyes, as the miles wore on, as the scenery outside the window blurred into one colorless mass. He didn't know what awaited him, once he stepped off this bus, but he knew it was bound to change his life.
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Next:
* Lucas asks best friends Brooke and Haley to help throw his little brother a welcome bash
* Nathan has a very interesting first week.