Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed the prologue. It means a lot to me! This chapter has a little more character insight. I hope you enjoy!
We Are Young – Chapter 1
Haley walked up the stairs to her apartment, pulling out her key she unlocked the door. "Honey I'm home,' Haley yelled from the doorway.
"Woah," Haley said under her breathe as she looked around the apartment. Brooke really had unpacked and organized everything today. There were no more boxes and their furniture was actually visible.
"Don't you just love this place Tutor Girl," Brooke said as she made her way down the stairs. Their apartment was a townhouse style in the middle of the city. Brooke's parents were paying for everything and even were renting furniture for the girls to use while they were there.
"This looks amazing Brooke. I still can't believe that your parents set us up with all of this."
"Well they really enjoy buying my love," Brooke said playfully. "Now tell me all about your day working for the most famous family in the state."
Haley took off her shoes and led Brooke over to the couch. "Well for one their house is absolutely to die for. If you can even call it a house. It's more like a mansion. They have multiple wings and everything is impeccably decorated. Mrs. Scott is the definition of a southern socialite. It's almost unreal to me that people actually live like this," Haley rambled.
"I'm glad you like it so far. What's your first assignment?"
"Well Mrs. Scott is hosting a 25th wedding anniversary party at their house for one of their closest friends. And it's my job to organize all of the last minute details and make sure everything is in place. And then in two weeks there is a charity ball and the list basically goes on all summer long."
"Wow," Brooke replied. "Sounds like you're going to be one busy girl"
"Oh and get this. Deb just handed me an IPad to keep track of everything. She just gave it to me like it was candy or something."
Brooke laughed. Being handed nice things was something that the brunette was used to but the blonde of the duo hadn't grown up as privileged.
"So what about you," Haley said. "Have you decided what you're going to do while you're here."
"Well," Brooke started. "As you know I pretty much had just planned to design and make clothes as well as party all summer but I went downtown this afternoon and saw that a local boutique was looking for help. So I went in and now I have a real job." Brooke said excitedly.
"Brooke that's awesome," Haley said giving her best friend a hug.
Brooke jumped up from the couch. "Ok we need to celebrate. Let's order Mexican food and get buzzed off cheap margaritas."
Nathan walked through the door and set the duffle bag down. He couldn't deny that he was privileged. He had everything that he could ever hope for. Most people only dream about living in a house like this. The Scott's were the most powerful family in the state.
He glanced to see his parents walking down the grand staircase. "Nathan we're so glad you're home," his mother said as she embraced her youngest.
"Nice to finally see you son. You've pretty much been hiding out ever since Duke got knocked out of the NCAA championship," said Dan.
"We made the final four dad. I'd hardly call that bad," Nathan said with a slightly defensive tone.
"Well that wasn't exactly your best games. I've got a list of a few things that we can be working on while you're home."
"It's good to see you too. I'm going to go upstairs and get changed for dinner," Nathan replied as he ran up with stairs dodging any more criticism from his less than pleasant parents.
Nathan made his way up to his bedroom suite. He had his own bedroom and connecting bathroom with a small living area with a couch and television. Nathan sat down on the edge of his bed. Taking deep breaths he attempted to calm himself down. It didn't matter what he seemed to do, his dad always found something wrong with it.
He would never be able to measure up or be good enough for Dan Scott. It had always been like this. Dan constantly riding Nathan on something that he could do better. And not only pressure about basketball but about social standing. Reputation was almost as important to Dan Scott has basketball and having his youngest son be labeled as a 'party boy' was not something that Dan Scott was willing to accept.
Nathan stood up and grabbed and light blue button up from his closet. He slipped his grey t-shirt over his head and pulled his arms through his button up. He buttoned his shirt all the way and picked up the framed picture that sat on his nightstand.
It was a picture of him, his parents, and Lucas on the day he signed with Duke. That was the day all his dreams came true. Duke was his dream ever since he was a kid. He spent all of high school training and preparing. Just hoping that Duke would take notice, and they did. That was probably one of Nathan's best days. It was also the one day that Dan had no criticism for his son, just praise and encouragement.
A slight knock on the door interrupted Nathan's thoughts. "Yes," he answered.
The door opened slightly. It was Burton. "I'm glad to see your home Nathan. Dinner will be served in 5 minutes."
"Thanks Burton. I'll be down in a minute."
Nathan made his way downstairs. He figured he might as well get it over with. At least he wouldn't be alone. Lucas would be here.
Lucas was standing at the bottom of the staircase taking what appeared to be a business call. "Alright that sounds great Mr. Smith. I'll get on that right away. I'll shoot you an email as soon as I get everything worked out. Have a great evening, goodbye," Lucas said as he hung up his phone.
"Do you ever take a break from work?" Nathan asked as he greeted his older brother. Lucas was three years older than Nathan and was groomed to take over the family business. The blonde brother played basketball as well but wasn't the star athlete that his younger brother turned out to be.
"I'm done. Promise. That was one of our biggest accounts. He also happens to be one of the biggest pains in ass."
"Well I'm glad you have so much fun kissing ass all day long," the younger brother commented. "Will Peyton be joining us for dinner?"
"No, she opted to miss the madness and catch on some things at Tric."
"Sounds like someone had the right idea," Nathan mumbled as he turned and started walking toward the dining room.
Haley ran up the stairs to her bedroom to change. It was such a relief to have everything put up and out of the way. She quickly changed into yoga pants and a grey tank top. Haley was exhausted. Things had gone really well today. She felt so blessed to be given the opportunity of this internship.
Being the youngest of 7 children, Haley James was born and raised in Tree Hill, North Carolina. Haley and Brooke had been best friends ever since they met in the 2nd grade. Their friendship worked seamlessly. Haley was the quiet, studious one of the pair, while Brooke was outgoing and bubbly. They were perfect complements of each other. Brooke brought out the more spontaneous and cheerful side of Haley while Haley would keep Brooke grounded and out of trouble.
Together they made a pretty damn good duo. They'd been together through everything. Training bras, first periods, and every boy problem you could ever imagine. They'd had their hard times but they always came out on the other side closer. When it became time to pick a college the decision was easy. They weren't willing to leave each other. So they packed up and headed to UNC together. It had been three years and they hadn't killed each other yet. Haley would say that they were doing pretty good.
"Food's here," Haley heard Brooke yell from downstairs.
Haley threw her hair up in a messy bun as she raced down the stair.
"Thank goodness. I'm starving," Haley said as she entered the kitchen.
"Well you're in luck. I ordered plenty and just made a huge pitcher of margaritas with extra tequila," replied Brooke.
Haley grabbed plates from the cabinet and Brooke took their drinks over the coffee table in the living room. They each sat down and grabbed their glasses.
"To summer," Haley said
"To summer," Brooke confirmed as they clinked their glasses together.
Dan Scott sat at the head of table eating his prepared meal. He'd worked damn hard for everything that he had. His company and his estate were a product of the hard work he had put into everything he did. His basketball dream died with a knee injury. So he made a new one. He married Deb straight out of high school and got started with his investment company right away. Now he was one of the richest men in the whole state and the most powerful man in the city.
"Nathan I was thinking that you could start working at the office while you're at home this summer," Dan spoke up. "Lucas interned in college and I think it might be a good idea to keep you distracted from other things this summer."
"Sounds fine dad," Nathan replied. He could really care less about investments but his major was in business. He was just waiting for his professional basketball break.
Sensing the tension from her youngest son, Deb quickly changed the subject. "My new intern started today. She quite lovely and seems very promising. Her name is Haley, she's Nathan's age and attends UNC. She'll be working at the house quite a bit this week. We're hosting the Gatina's anniversary party next week and she'll be getting everything in order for that."
Nathan and Lucas glanced up and made eye contact with each other upon hearing the news of the party. The Gatina's had been a family friend of the Scott's for a long time. The Scott brothers had grown up with their only daughter Rachel so it was only fitting that they would be hosting the dinner for their closest friends.
"Did you really think that it was a good idea to host that here mom?" Nathan asked.
"They're our closest friends Nathan and I really wanted to throw them a nice party," Deb answered.
Dan spoke up, "Son you're just going to have to get what happened between you and Rachel last summer. Our families run in the same circles and you couldn't possibly have expected to not run into her. I'm fully expecting you to act like a perfect gentleman around her and her family and everyone else this summer. It's about time you started acting more responsibly and more like the man I raised you to be."
Nathan abruptly stood up from his chair. "I don't even know why I even bother with you. Nothing I do is ever going to be good enough for you or your precious reputation."
And on that note, Nathan left. Just like he always did when things got too
I'm trying to make the chapters longer so please just bare with me. I'm a work in process :)
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