This is my first real story. I've written short stories. But, hopefully, you all enjoy.
I don't own anything. ENJOY!
Chapter One
Nathan's POV
Nathan sat on the river court, holding the ball at his hip. It was the first time he was there since the whole incident. And by incident, he meant beating Lucas in a basketball game.
Lucas Scott was Nathan's older brother. Not by a long time, just a few months. They were both juniors. But, just because Nathan was the youngest, doesn't mean he got to keep his father. Dan, Nathan and Lucas' dad, had left Nathan and his mom to get back with Karen.
Nathan dribbled the ball a bit and took a jump shot. As normal, it went in. It felt good to play again on the river court without the watchful eyes of everyone in the basketball court at school. He loved playing but it wasn't the best thing to be yelled at or sprinting when someone screwed up.
He continued to take shots, some three pointers, some dunks. He enjoyed the feeling of it. The rush he got when he made a shot. He even enjoyed playing in front of people. Their cheering powered him, motivated him.
After a few moments, Nathan sat down at the bench and took a drink of his bottle. He rested on the table until his phone went off. It was Lucas.
Nathan and Lucas had been getting along. Lucas was dating Nathan's best friend, Peyton, and she told them both that if they did anything, they would lose her.
Nathan read the message. 'Hey, man. Come to the gym. We're running a practice."
Nathan sighed, it was Saturday. They normally had this day off. He put his phone away and started walking. He dribbled the ball as he did so and got to the high school in twenty minutes.
He opened the gym door and found all the players and cheerleaders were already there. Whitey stood in the middle of the gym, reading off plays that they were going to run today. The door closed behind Nathan and everyone went quiet.
Whitey motioned for him to join the team in the center of the court. Nathan walked over and stopped at the cheerleaders. He pulled out a small book and handed it to one of them, Haley. Lucas' ex-girlfriend. She took it, "Did you enjoy it?" Nathan nodded, "Thank you." He then joined the rest of the team.
Whitey looked at him, "Thank you for gracing us with your presence. I was beginning to wonder if you were trying to quit the team a second time." The team laughed except for Lucas. He walked over to Nathan, "That was my bad, Whitey. He didn't know about it." Whitey nodded and continued on with the plays.
Nathan tried to listen but it was hard when Haley was less than ten feet away. He was in love with her. Has been since grade school. But she was untouchable for two reasons until recently. The first reason, she was dating Lucas. The second reason, she was a somebody and Nathan was a nobody.
After Whitey dismissed the team, Nathan headed to the locker room. He got halfway there when someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around and smiled at Haley, "Hey, what's up?"
Haley held up the book, "What was your favorite part?" Nathan decided to go a flirty way, "When you gave it to me." Haley playfully slapped him in the arm, "I'm serious." Nathan laughed, "I have to say when George and Slim started bonding." Haley nodded, "That was mine too."
They stood there, staring at each other when Whitey blew the whistle, "Nathan! Either get your ass in the locker room and get changed or run with your clothes that you're wearing on! Your choice!"
Nathan chuckled, "We can talk more after practice." Haley nodded, "Okay. After practice." She turned away and Nathan watched her walk. She was gorgeous. Then he looked up and saw Whitey staring at him. Nathan held his hands up in surrender and walked into the locker room.
He got dressed as fast as he could and ran out into the gym. Naturally, he waved at Haley before taking his spot as shooting guard. They ran through a handful of plays, going over them again and again until Whitey decided they were good enough. Three hours later, Whitey dismissed the team and they all headed into the locker room.
Nathan got his jeans on before Lucas walked over to him. Nathan grabbed his shirt and glanced at Lucas before slipping it on, "What do you want, man?" Lucas shrugged, "I'm just wondering when you and Haley started dating."
Nathan shook his head, "First off, we're not dating. Secondly, why do you care anyways?" Lucas tried his best not to get angry. It was hard sometimes with Nathan. He didn't make is easy, "Because, Heartbreaker," Nathan winced at the nickname Peyton gave him their freshman year in high school. He had dated and dumped at least four girls before the end of the semester. "Haley is my ex-girlfriend. And contrary to popular beliefs, ex's can still be friends. Just, be nice to her okay? She's had a rough life."
Lucas turned away and walked out of the room, leaving Nathan dumbfounded. He grabbed his backpack and left the locker room. He found Haley leaning against the wall, Lucas was speaking softly to her. She nodded at something he said and Lucas walked off.
Nathan, being the quiet guy that he is, turned and started to walk the other way. He didn't want to do anything to bother Haley. She seemed pretty upset. He got to the door when he heard Haley call out to him, "Nathan, wait up."
Nathan stopped and turned around. Haley was running to him, a smile on her lips. When she reached him, she laced her arm through his. They continued on their way out the door, "So, what are you planning on doing the rest of the night?" Nathan shrugged, "I don't know. Go to the river court. Play with my friends."
Haley looked up at him, "You just got done with a three hour practice. You still want more?" Nathan laughed, "I practiced in there, Hales. I play with my friends. Besides, I haven't done anything with them, really, since I joined the team. It'll be nice to go back to normal for a few hours. What about you? What's the rest of your day like?"
Haley rested her head against Nathan's shoulder. He could understand why Lucas asked if they were together. They were literally together all the time. They acted like they were dating. But they never made it official. Nathan planned to do that tomorrow, before the game.
Haley sighed, "Nothing. Can I come with you to the river court? It would be great to meet your friends." Nathan smiled, "Yeah, come on. I'm warning you though, I don't have a car." Haley laughed and they walked to the court together.
They got there a lot later than usual. Nathan's friends were shooting hoops by the time they got there. Skills smirked as Nathan and Haley walked up together, "Dawg, you mean to tell me that you been datin that fine ass girl and I haven't known about it?" Nathan stopped in his tracks. He looked down at Haley, "Sorry. Skills doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut."
Haley laughed, "It's fine," She took his hand and pulled him onto the court. Nathan smiled and put his arm around her shoulders, "Guys, this is Haley. She's a cheerleader. Haley, this is Skills, Fergie, Junk and Mouth. These are the people that I played with before I was offered a spot on the team."
Haley smiled and waved to them all, "Hi. It's nice to meet you." They all nodded and Skills passed Nathan the ball, "Come on, baby. Time to get the show on the road. You and Fergie verses me and Junk. Make it, take it."
Nathan caught the ball, "You do realize that it doesn't matter who I pair up with? I always win." He looked down at Haley and she held her hand out, "Give me your stuff and I'll take it to the table." Nathan gave her his bag and she walked off to the table and sat by Mouth.
Nathan got up to the spot where they checked the ball. Skills stepped in front of him and they checked it. Then Nathan took a jumper. Naturally, it went it. Nathan smirked.
They played a couple of rounds. Switching the teams up, but Nathan was right. No matter who he was paired up with, he won the game.
Skills shook his head, "One of these days, Nate, I will beat you." Nathan scoffed playfully, "Yeah, right." Haley jumped off the table and ran to Nathan, "You looked like you had fun." Nathan wrapped his arms around her waist, "I did. I love playing with these guys. They're like my family."
Nathan looked down at Haley and took the sight of her in. She was gorgeous. She had wavy blonde hair and gorgeous hazelnut eyes. She was at least two feet shorter than him.
Nathan took a deep breath, "Haley, I need to ask you something." Haley took on a serious expression that was still sexy, "What is it, Nathan?" Nathan searched her eyes. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, "Do you think you would ever date someone like me?" Haley looked up at him, confusion in her eyes, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, would you ever date someone who wasn't rich and isn't popular?"
Haley smiled, "Okay, first off, I don't care if the person is rich or not and secondly, in case you haven't noticed, you are popular. Not that it would matter either way."
Nathan was planning on asking her out tomorrow, before the game. But he couldn't wait. He wanted to claim Haley as his own.
Nathan took a deep breath and kissed her.
At first, Haley was shocked. She didn't do anything and Nathan was about to pull away, but then Haley wrapped her arms around his neck. By doing so, she brought him closer to her. They were pressed up against each other and Nathan couldn't feel like he was close enough.
Nathan licked Haley's bottom lip in hopes that she would open her mouth so that he could deepen the kiss. She did and they were pulling each other as close as they could be but then Haley gasped into Nathan's mouth and pushed him away. Nathan let go of her and looked down, "Umm, sorry. I should have told you."
Haley looked at him and wiped away a tear that was falling down her cheek, "It's not that, Nathan." Nathan gave her a confused look, "Then what is it?" Haley put a hand up to her neck like she did when she was really upset, "I have a boyfriend."
Nathan was dumbfounded. He was certain that Haley would have told him about a new boyfriend. He stared at her, "What? When?" Haley wiped another tear away, "Last night. I've been talking with him since Lucas and I broke up. I'm sorry, I should have told you."
Nathan sat down on the concrete. He couldn't take that fact that the girl of his dreams, the love of his life, had rejected him. Haley knelt down and wrapped her arms around him, "Nathan, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you. I'm sorry."
Nathan felt as if he wasn't even there. He felt like he was in a dream, "Then why did you kiss me?" He looked up at Haley and felt tears welling up in his eyes, "Why would you tell me that you would date someone like me and then let me kiss you and you kiss me back when you have a boyfriend?"
Haley shook her head, "I… I don't know." Nathan shook his head and let it fall onto his knees. He felt Haley's arms move from his shoulders, "I'm sorry. I'm going to go." He listened as she walked away.
Tears started to fall as his phone vibrated. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the message. It was from Peyton. "Hey, heartbreaker. What to hang out tonight?"
Nathan stared at the nickname. He didn't feel like much of a heartbreaker at the moment. He felt heartbroken. He didn't reply and he set his phone on the ground. He laid back and looked up at the stars. They didn't seem that bright. They seemed sad and dim, just like him.
Someone asked me to do a romance. I know it doesn't seem like one right now, but it is. And it's not just Nathan/Haley. There's gonna be Lucas/Peyton. Enjoy and please leave reviews. Thanks!