It's not killing me yet, it'll kill me somehow
Seeing you with that grin, seeing you in this town.
It's a shake, a shake small. The colors of you.
Paint me alive, assemble me too.
It's a shame cause I, see you all the time. I see them look at me,
But you act like you don't mind.
And when I'm looking, I'm looking straight at you.
You don't pay attention, no matter what I do.
The name Nathan Scott is typically paired with at least one of the following three words: basketball, popular, or asshole. Nathan Scott is the revered basketball star, the most popular guy at Tree Hill High, and a total asshole. It's been his label since freshman year and he's definitely earned it. Hell, he's proud of it. His overbearing father and his alcoholic mother have molded him into the guy that he is today and he's going to hold his head high while he tears down everyone around him. He works hard to give the Ravens a winning season and, in return, he gets to do whatever he wants.
But then Lucas joined the team and people started to give a damn.
He's been frustrated ever since and it's been affecting his game, which just can't happen if he wants a scholarship.
Which, obviously, he does.
Nathan tries the whole hazing thing, but even dropping Lucas off at a swamp won't get him to quit the team. Eventually, he gives up. Dan won't hop off his dick about it, but there are ways to avoid his father and he's perfected them over the years. You have to get crafty when your dad's Dan Scott.
Lucas thinks it's okay to bring his whole River Court gang with him when he moves from the bottom of the pile to the top and that includes Haley James. Nathan ignores her at first, focusing his attention on basketball and trying not to fail English. But then Whitey pulls him aside and tells him to fix his grades or he's benched.
He starts paying more attention to Haley.
First off, it's common knowledge that she's like, brilliant. Brooke refers to her as Tutor Girl for Christ's sake. Second, spending time with her would definitely get under Lucas's skin, which is an added perk.
So he approaches her.
And she shoots him down almost instantly.
It's unexpected, to say the least. He's Nathan Scott. Everyone knows his name. Everyone knows his jersey number (23). Jesus, any girl in school would practically throw their bra at him as he walked down the hall if it wouldn't get them suspended. But Haley just doesn't care.
That bothers him a lot more than it should.
[&break]
He's watching her one day between classes as she's grabbing some books from her locker. Tim's talking about some girl he hooked up with last weekend and Nathan's ignoring him. (He's lying anyway.) Haley's wearing one of those stupid knit hats as she tries to shove a textbook into her already stuffed bag. It falls to the ground and he jumps at the opportunity, patting Tim on the shoulder once and smirking before he approaches her. Bending down, he picks up her book and hands it to her, trying to flash his most charming smile. "Here."
She just looks at him, her expression unwavering. So yeah, he was a total dick to Lucas and the guy's like, her best friend. He can't change the past. Looking at her this close, she's actually kind of cute. Her eyes are brown but they're not boring and her hair looks soft. He kind of wants to reach out and tuck it behind her ear but he's pretty sure she'd slap him or something.
After a moment of awkward silence he laughs, straightening his back and keeping the book where it is. "I think you dropped this," he finally says.
She just rolls her eyes and takes the book, holding it down by her side as she slides past him. "Thanks," she mutters, taking off down the hallway.
He can't help but watch her go, wondering what the hell he has to do to get this girl to talk to him.
[&break]
He tries to talk to her a couple more times with the same results and he's getting frustrated. It's not just about tutoring or pissing off Lucas anymore. This girl's a challenge and not one that he just wants to overcome and drop. He's intrigued by her, if he's being honest with himself. She's headstrong and stubborn and he's pretty sure they could get into some seriously heated arguments if given the chance. But she's also kinda pretty and different from any other girls at Tree Hill High and he knows somehow that she wouldn't put up with all his bullshit.
She's basically the opposite of Peyton.
He's out at the River Court one day, just practicing some free throws, when she comes by, going straight to the bleachers and taking a seat. He stops shooting and walks over to her, the ball wedged between his wrist and his hip. "You come to insult me some more?" The last time they'd talked, she may or may not have called him a few names.
She rolls her eyes. "I came to apologize but if you're just going to be a jerk..." She doesn't finish her sentence, but she stands up like she's about to leave. Before he can think it through, he holds out his arm, blocking her path.
"Not so fast, Haley James. I'd like to hear more about this apology." He can't help the smirk that grows on his face. She takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Sinking down so she's sitting again, he sits next to her, letting the ball roll away. She turns her body a bit so she's facing him, her hands in her lap.
"I'm sorry I was rude to you. I apologize sincerely for calling you names and insulting you." It sounds insincere at best, scripted even. "Can I go now?"
He laughs. "Was that written on your hand or did you memorize it?" She relaxes a bit and a smile starts to play at the corners of her lips. It's obvious that she's fighting it. He just quirks an eyebrow at her, his smirk growing. Finally, she exhales and looks away, letting herself grin.
"Honestly?" she asks. He just nods, prompting her to go on. "Lucas helped me memorize it on the way over." At that, a full-blown smile actually shows up on her face and he can't help but think that it looks really nice on her. He laughs, nodding.
"I won't lie - it sounded a bit rehearsed. But I won't tell Lucas if you won't." He nudges her lightly with his shoulder, his gaze lingering on her face before he makes himself look away. She has the sort of face a guy could get lost in, but he'd never actually say it out loud. Tim would probably check to make sure his balls were still intact if he ever did.
Clearing his throat, he stands up. With the basketball gone, he's not quite sure what to do with his hands, so he just rubs them lightly on the smooth material of his shorts. It feels like they just had one of those moments, like in romantic comedies just before the girl and the guy she's meant to be with finally realize that, y'know, they're meant to be together. It's a daunting thought and he doesn't really know what to do with it, so he looks away, scanning the court until he sees the ball. Jogging to pick it up, he takes a shot and, surprisingly, he misses.
He just stands there for a second, kind of dumbfounded that he missed. His mind wasn't in it and he wasn't focused, but still. Haley claps and he glances over at her, eyebrows raised. "I don't think I've ever seen Nathan Scott miss a basket before," she calls out. "Everything okay?"
His brow furrows at that. Since when does she care if everything's okay? "Everything's fine. I was just... distracted."
She smirks. Smirks. He didn't think the girl had it in her. "By what?"
He looks straight at her when he responds. "I think you know."
She finally looks away and, even across the court, he can see her blushing.
[&break]
At school the next day, it's as if nothing's changed, like their little moment on the River Court and the conversation afterward (They stayed at the River Court until it started getting dark.) didn't happen. He tries to talk to her in the hall between classes and she blows him off, rushing to talk to her precious Lucas or to work at her precious Tutor Center. He can't tell if she's really, really busy or if she just really doesn't like him.
Neither option is ideal.
Finally, just after lunch, he manages to get her alone, pulling her into an empty classroom and closing the door behind them. "Nathan, what are you doing? People will get the wrong idea."
He just shrugs a shoulder and sits on top of a desk, dropping his backpack next to it. "Who cares what people think? I just wanted to talk to you."
She fidgets with the strap of her backpack, looking at everything but him, but especially at the door. "Well, what did you want to talk about?"
He can't help but be irritated that she can't even have a civilized conversation with him. He's been going out of his way for the last few days to get her to notice him, to talk to him. He thought they had something at the River Court, but now it's like she despises him. Yeah, he's done some pretty bad things (Dropping Lucas off at a swamp, stealing a school bus, and crashing Peyton's car to name a few.) but he's never done anything to her directly.
"You know what? Forget it." He hops off the desk, slinging his bag over his shoulder and starting to walk out of the classroom. She sighs behind him and moves quickly so she's blocking the door.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" She runs a hand through her hair and some of it falls in her face. Nathan tries to ignore it. "You've been sweet lately, I guess, in your own way and I don't want you to think that's gone unnoticed. Because it hasn't." He just looks at her, remaining silent. "But you've done some really awful things to Lucas and he's been my best friend since I was little. I can't just forget that because you're being nice to me or you're shooting me that little grin," she motions to him as she talks, "that you're sporting right now. You're gonna have to try harder if you really want my attention."
He wants to just push her hair off her face, but he keeps his hands firmly placed on his backpack. He nods, about to say something about how he understands and he'll do something to try harder, but she's already gone. The door closes quietly behind her and he leans against the teacher's desk, scrubbing a hand over his face.
No girl has ever given him this much trouble before.
But then again, he's never cared this much before.
It's messing with his head.
[&break]
He racks his brains for about three days about what the hell he can do to prove to this girl that he's seriously pursuing her and not just fucking around. Every waking moment not spent on basketball is spent on it and it's driving him insane. Even Dan has noticed, making some snide remark about how his game is lacking or how he'll never beat Dan's scoring record.
It's whatever. He's heard it all before.
But then it hits him.
She won't talk to him or give him a chance because of what he's done to Lucas.
He begins to formulate a plan.
[&break]
Okay, so formulating a plan takes all of five minutes before he actually starts to act on it. He's more of a do-er than a thinker and it's always worked out for him up to this point. Then again, no one's really challenged him up to this point. But whatever. It'll work.
Basketball practice is about to begin when Nathan corners Lucas in the locker room. "Look, man, I need to talk to you."
Lucas scoffs and shakes his head. "I've got nothing to say to you." He tries to shove his way past Nathan, but Nathan's much stronger.
"Then listen. I only need like, a minute." Lucas just looks at him for a moment, his face closed-off and dark, before nodding.
"A minute," he repeats.
Nathan nods before starting the speech he prepared (in five minutes). "I'm not much for speeches, but I'm sorry." He tries to make it as sincere as possible, looking straight at Lucas. "I'm sorry for hazing you and for being such a dick to you when you didn't deserve it and when you did nothing to me. I was just worried about my spot on the team and how you totally wanted Peyton." He laughed a little at that, scratching the back of his neck. "That's really all I have to say." He waited, but Lucas didn't say anything for a bit.
It was just starting to get awkward when Lucas finally said something. "Whatever. We have practice."
He shoves past Nathan, ramming into his shoulder, and stalks off toward the gym.
So much for his plan.
[&break]
He figures he's done just about everything that he can to try to apologize to Lucas, so he finds Haley in the hall the next day to talk to her. He finally spots her at her locker and he can't help but grin. She's abandoned the knit hats and the ugly ponchos and substituted them with simple jeans and a tee shirt. It looks good on her.
"Hey."
She shoots him an incredulous look and slams her locker shut, stalking off in the other direction.
He takes a second to wonder what he did this time before just deciding to give up.
She's obviously already decided he's not good enough for her and he doesn't feel like wasting his time on a girl who won't give him the time of day. Especially when he's actually made an effort this time around.
[&break]
He goes out of his way to avoid her for the next few days. He doesn't need to see her or watch her roll her eyes and storm away at the sight of him. Plus, he's got a big game coming up and he needs to focus if he wants to beat Dan's scoring record once and for all.
It's actually game day when he finally sees her again. She's wearing a Ravens cheerleading uniform which, what? That just doesn't make sense. She's Tutor Girl, not Ravens Cheerleader Girl.
He can't help but be curious, though, so he approaches Brooke, his eyes never leaving Haley. Let's just say he's not mad at that skirt.
"Brooke."
"Nathan." She's hanging up some sort of poster about tonight's game and she doesn't bother to look at him when she speaks.
"Why is Tutor Girl in a uniform?"
Brooke scoffs, rolling her eyes. She finally turns to face him and tilts her head in his direction, quirking an eyebrow like she does when she's trying to be cute. It doesn't work on him, but he's seen it work it's magic more than a few times on Tim. "Don't act like you don't know her name. I've seen you following her around like a puppy, Nate." She laughs. "But to answer your question, Bevin got sick and Tutor Girl isn't a half-bad dancer. Lucas recommended her to Peyton or something, so I just decided to let her try it. She's learning the cheers in between classes today. Why?"
He shrugs a shoulder, glancing toward Haley again. "No reason."
"Right." She obviously doesn't believe him, but he obviously doesn't care.
[&break]
The game is probably one of the most difficult ones he's had to play during his high school career, but he doesn't let that stop him. He's downing three pointers left and right, dunking on the douche that's guarding him every chance he can get. Style points never hurt anyone and the guy's talking trash like it's his job, so he kind of deserves it. After a particularly difficult dunk, he glances at the cheerleaders.
Haley's smiling at him.
He smiles back and the other team scores. Whitey screams at him and he curses under his breath, hustling back down the court for the inbound pass.
This girl is going to be the death of him. And his career.
At halftime, Whitey gives them this long speech about honor and respect for the game that Nathan only half listens to. He's heard it all before anyway. His mind is in other places.
The game starts up again and he works extra hard to avoid Haley's gaze. If they win this game, they're pretty much guaranteed a spot in the play-offs and a state championship is sounding pretty good to him right about now. Plus, it might finally get Dan off his back.
Doubtful, but still.
The third quarter ends and the Ravens are behind 54-49. It's not a big deficit and Nathan could close it in less than a minute, so he's not worried. Unfortunately, Whitey and Lucas are. They both badger him to pass the ball to Lucas, let him take a few shots, bitch, bitch, bitch, moan, moan, moan. Whatever. He'll play how he plays and they'll win.
He plays selfish basketball until there's only seconds left on the clock and they're still behind by 3. Obviously, he's not going to be able to win this on his own like he thought, so he starts taking Whitey's advice. He passes the ball to Lucas at the three-point line and he scores. They're tied.
Tim blocks a pass, thank God, and causes a turnover. He immediately passes the ball to Nathan and, just before the buzzer sounds, he dunks as hard as he can. Thankfully, the refs call no foul and they've won the game. The crowd's practically storming the court and everyone's celebrating. He forgets to check out the cheerleaders and just cheers with the rest of his team, slapping Time on the back and high-fiving him for the turnover. He actually nods to Lucas and Lucas actually nods back. Go figure.
Then he feels a set of small hands cover his eyes and a voice next to his ear. "Guess who." He doesn't want to be wrong, so he just turns around and, God help him, it's Haley.
"Hey." He has to yell to be heard over the crowd surrounding him. She smiles up at him and he grins back, wiping the sweat on his forehead on the back of his hand.
She stands on her tip toes so she can talk closer to his ear. "I heard you apologized to Lucas." He just nods. "I'm sure that wasn't easy for you." He shrugs a shoulder like it wasn't such a big deal. "I'm sorry I blew you off in the hall."
He leans down toward her. "Why'd you do that?"
She shrugs. "Believe it or not, Nathan, you're intimidating and I didn't know at the time that you'd apologized to Lucas. I thought you were just ignoring my advice and trying to get me talk to you."
He laughs, nodding. "Sounds fair enough." She bites her lip and he tilts his head. There's something she's not saying, something that she's trying to hold back. "What?"
She shakes her head and he's about to ask again when her lips are on his. He's surprised, so he just freezes at first, but then he begins to respond. His hands find their way to her hips and he pulls her closer, kissing her back. He tries to deepen the kiss, but Peyton calls Haley and she pulls away. "I have to go," she says, pointing behind her. Nathan nods and she flashes him one last smile before she leaves.
They're not like, boyfriend and girlfriend or anything. At least, not yet.
But hey. At least she finally noticed him.