For Maggie, the romantic.
She was wearing a pure white sundress, one so sheer he caught tentalising glimpses of the outline of her body when her movements caught the sunlight. The spaghetti thin straps clinging to her smooth shoulders made him want to tear the dress off and shield her form anyone else with the same urge at the same time.
They were sitting in the sunshine in a field of white flower, like on one of those ads for fabric softener or deodorant. Light bounced off her burnished coffee coloured hair, adding shoots of gold through its wavy mass.
He didn't question their presence there, only let himself bask in the sunshine that seemed to feel all the more dazzling as it passed through her. He had the niggling thought at the back of his mind that the captain of the basketball team should not be thinking about frolicking in flower fields with virgins decked out in full sacrificial white dress, but it flew out of his mind as she leaned in closer to him.
She was so close he could smell the citrus scented shampoo from her hair that would waft his way whenever she leaned over him to help with a maths question.
He couldn't seem to focus on her eyes, for some reason, when all the other details were clear as the image of her face that always distracted him from everything else during the day. And that frustrated him more than was warranted.
She was saying something to him, her lips forming words that reached his ears through cotton wool.
It was hard trying to concentrate on the muffled voice when his brain, both of his brains, were so occupied with other things...
...than...
...Nathan...
Frissons of sensation travelled down his spine at the sound of his name on her lips. He wanted to close his eyes and savour the moment, but she was still saying something...
...up...Nathan...
...wake up...
"Nathan! Wake up!"
Persistent shaking roused him from his impromptu nap. Nathan sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes with the heel of a hand.
A disgruntled Haley with her hands on her hips greeted Nathan as he focused his eyes. Man, she looked adorable when she was pissed.
"I was gone for two minutes and you feel asleep!"
"Being the King of High School is a demanding job." Nathan stretched his arms behind his head and leaned back grinning.
"Ha! King!" Haley snorted. "You are so full of it. Maybe I should tutor you from the next table from now on to avoid bumping into your ego!"
"Aww, don't do that," Nathan put one hand to his chest in a gesture of mock hurt. "If you stay close enough, you'll see my ego's not the only thing about me that's big." He winked at her with what he hoped was his best flirtatious look.
But Haley remained unmoved, not even batting an eyelash at his not so subtle flirting. As if he had not spoken at all, she began packing her bag.
"If you don't want to check the worksheets for questions before I go, that's your problem. Just don't come crying to me if you fail Monday's quiz."
"If I do, you're going to be waiting to comfort me with arms wide open, right?"
"I think you're confusing me with Peyton, and don't you mean with legs wide open?" Haley spared him a withering look without pausing as she shoved books into her bag.
Nathan frowned, the teasing glint fading from his eyes.
"Why do you always assume I'm some kind of brainless jock only after one thing? And me and Peyton are--"
"I don't care what you and Peyton are doing. And I've never said you're a brainless jock, don't put words in my mouth--don't!" Haley stopped him with a look as Nathan opened his mouth to defend himself. "You want to say something like 'That's not all I'd like to put in your mouth'."
Nathan wanted to protest against her utterly inaccurate imitation of him, complete with the caveman 'I-don't-know-duhh' voice, but Haley only carried on without giving him a chance to interrupt.
"With charm like that, how can I ever think you're a brainless jock only after one thing?"
Haley zipped her bag shut and hoisted it onto her shoulder.
"I'm going home. Hope you at least pass the quiz on Monday." She added almost as an afterthought.
"So you do care about me." Nathan smirked up at Haley as she turned to leave.
"I just don't want to have to tutor you anymore." She threw over her shoulder and didn't look back.
Haley made sure her back remained straight and that her steps were even and unhurried as she walked away from the table at the park where she always tutored Nathan. She forced herself to appear unaffected even as her heart hammered like Thumper's foot in her chest.
Why did she have to tutor Nathan Scott? Of all the failing students they could've assigned her, why her? She didn't turn down the assignment when she was told she had to tutor him. Just because the basketballer-cheer-leader types probably didn't even know the way to the library did not mean she couldn't share the same breathing space as one for three hours a week. And she was in the same English class as Lucas, Nathan's brother. They were in the same group for a group report a few months ago and he seemed like a nice enough guy.
She told herself not to be a snob and to reserve judgement until she knew for sure what Nathan was like. She even got as far as admitting to herself that he was kind of cute before he opened his mouth and said hello to her breasts. His eyes never left that region, but the things that came out of his mouth made Haley feel as if she was under constant attack from a barrage of subtle and not-so-subtle flirting. He seemed to delight in provoking her, and she couldn't help but react to him every single time.
What was worse, Haley knew he meant none of the things he said. It was like second nature to him, this continuous effort at trying to get into the pants of anything with mammary glands.
As she started her car's engine and backed out of the parking lot, Haley didn't let herself question the emotions beyond annoyance and exasperation at Nathan's careless words.
Nathan sighed as he followed Haley's figure with his eyes until her car made a turn and disappeared from sight.
Haley was like no other girl he'd ever encountered. She never reacted like he expected to his flirting and teasing. She defied all the rules he knew about girls, and he knew a lot.
No big deal, Nathan began packing his own bag. It was all part of the challenge. It's not a bad thing to be kept on his toes. After all, he would get what he wanted, he always did.
And Haley James was it.
"Dude, seriously? A field of white flowers?" Lucas spared Nathan a snicker as he looked up briefly from the television screen.
"Focus on the problem at hand here." Nathan snapped and grabbed a can of soda from the fridge before slumping down on the couch next to Lucas.
"Okay, okay." Lucas put up his hands in placation and turned his attention back to the game on TV. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Scott."
Nathan threw a pillow at Lucas, which was deftly avoided. "Come on. You've been in her English class since September. You're not going to write any best sellers any time soon, might as well make the class a little useful by telling me what Haley's like."
"You're asking me what she's like when you've spent more time with her in the past three weeks than I have in the whole term?" Lucas raised his eyebrows and looked away from the TV.
"I've tried! I'm still trying! She's got better defences than...than Kobe Bryant in a game!" Nathan finish his soda in one swallow and threw it into the waste basket on the other side of the room with a resounding clank that mirrored his frustration.
"Nate, Haley James is not one of the girls who hang out on the side lines waiting for you with a towel and Gatorade just so they can brag to their friends that they touched the most popular guy in school. She's not going to fall for your lines because she's not superficial enough to care about your social status and, well, because they make you sound like you belong in a bad eighties porn film."
For the second time that day, Nathan's protests remained unvoiced as Lucas put up a hand to make Nathan hear him out first.
"Treat her like a person you're trying to get to know instead of a chick whose name you won't remember the next day. Find out what she likes, tell her about what you like. Be the guy you are with your friends."
"Be yourself?" Nathan asked. "If I wanted shitty advice I'd go watch Oprah."
"Just...be the person you are when you're with me, she's bound to like you."
Taken aback at Lucas' quiet, sincere tone, Nathan could only nod. They were always ribbing each other and challenging each other to one-on-one basketball matches, but Nathan knew Lucas would always have his back.
Even though they didn't share the same mother, the two brothers were as close as any other siblings, probably closer, considering the emotional abuse both suffered from their father. Things weren't always so great, they had their share of angst and fights, but Nathan and Lucas had both grew to realise they didn't have to live their parents' soap opera lives, and had been close friends since their second year of high school.
Silence stretched out for a few moments in the room as both boys pretended to not care about what had just been said.
"So..." Lucas coughed. "A field of white flowers, huh?"
"I knew I should've left that bit out," Nathan muttered under his breath.
Obviously having heard what his brother said under his breath, Lucas continued making fun of Nathan. "No, no! That's important. Field of flowers means you're serious now. Just remember to name your first kid after me and, er, make sure to change your pants before the wedding." Lucas directed a mock look of disgust at Nathan's fly.
Nathan got up without a word and grabbed another soda from the fridge. Coming back to stand directly beside Lucas, he opened the can and up ended the entire content onto Lucas' lap.
"What the f--Nathan! You asshole!" Lucas jumped up, causing splashes of soda to flow onto the couch, staining the beige fabric.
Nathan grabbed his bag and started up the stairs that led to the second floor. Lucas may be a total girl sometimes, but he was right about one thing - Operation Haley James needed another strategy. Let's see how long she'll last under his renewed attacks.
"Mum is going to kill you!" Lucas yelled after Nathan as he dabbed at his jeans and the couch with wads of tissue.
Nathan smirked. It was worth it.
N.B. Thumper is the rabbit in the Disney film Bambi. His foot thumps the ground at a very fast pace when he's excited, like when he sees a lady rabbit. =D
