3.

The scoreboard on the wall counted down every second of every minute. A second doesn't seem too long, but there are other things that are even faster than a second. Inside each athlete there was a racing heartbeat. If the large red numbers could count down the pace, then it might look like time was going to die as soon as it would hit zero. Time would travel so fast that any important moment wouldn't exist and it wouldn't even be allowed to enter a person's memory. There was one heart in particular that wasn't just beating from a heavy overload of work. This heart also beat with a sense of pride; something that it hadn't felt in a long time.

The whistle blew again, indicating that the boys only had a brief moment to sprint to the other side of the gym before the clock hit zero. If there was a boy who didn't make it, the clock would be reset. Endurance wasn't the only thing being tested in this exercise. Coach James wanted to see if anyone would try to push himself over the limit of exhaustion. From the perspective of a spectator or any of the boys, it seemed like Coach James was abusing his right as a coach and running them until the heart didn't know how to beat anymore. The only lesson being taught here was learning the there were no limitations as long as a person was able to push through whatever was slowing them down. A human heart was the greatest test subject.

"All right, boys, bring it on in!" Coach James shouted and waved his hand to lead the young men to him.

There was a silent prayer of relief when they heard that the misery was over. The boys were breathing so heavily that if they tried to talk all that would come out were gasps for life.

Sweat dripped from Nathan's entire body, as well as the rest of the guys, and all he wanted to do was rest his hands on his knees and try to be the only one in control of his breathing. High Flyers went from paradise to hell in under two days.

"I see it. I see it in you. Every muscle in your body is probably on fire right now, and that's what it going to feel like after every practice. Now, I am not going to be a dictator and do this to you everyday. I am not an unethical man. I have done this routine for many years and I have never had a single boy die on my court." He stopped and looked at his watch. "You have about twenty minutes left so grab something to hydrate yourselves and then return back here and walk laps around the court. There is no doubt that you might not be able to move in the morning. Take it slow and ease though it. The body is going to take time to be conditioned to this new way of work. Get going and get back. You have five minutes."

Nathan looked around briefly for Lucas. During the sprints, Nathan and Lucas decided not to be next to each other because they thought that it would distract them from focusing on themselves. Their friendly competition would have to wait until they were able to actually play.

He found Lucas sitting on the bleachers. "Hey, man. I was going to go to the water fountain and maybe the locker room to get my wallet. Did you want anything?" Nathan asked as he patted Lucas on the shoulder.

Lucas looked up to see Nathan. "Sure,"

Nathan offered Lucas his hand to help him stand up. After he pulled Lucas to his feet, the two boys exited the gym eager to regain hydration.

"The coach was right when he warned us that practice would be brutal. Sure, we do the occasional suicides, but that's usually when he's pissed at us or if we lost a game." Lucas explained to Nathan.

Nathan nodded. "My coach can be quite a hard ass sometimes, too. Usually, there's always some kind of hidden lesson behind why he does certain things. My mind can't really focus on his symbolisms because I'm trying to get through his crazy exercises."

"I don't get that. If I wanted a lesson, then I'd pay attention in class. I joined the team because I love basketball and I can actually handle the ball."

Nathan stopped when he got to the drinking fountain. It seems the entire camp was resorted to the one fountain, even though there were two. The problem was that the other one was too short for them to reach. A smile formed on his face when he thought about what Haley had said about perks to being short.

"Nate, the line's moving." Lucas waved his hand in Nathan's face. "Are you okay? You got a dumb look on your face."

"Yeah, sorry," Nathan muttered as he moved forward. He scratched at his temple. What was Haley James doing in his thoughts? Their brief encounter was nothing special. He had to admit that he felt a bit funny around her, which he never felt around a girl before. Usually, girls were the ones who acted all giddy around him and he found that annoying. Girls were Nathan Scott's specialty, well at least being able to get them. Understanding them was something he had yet to grasp.

After waiting in line, Nathan was finally able to feel relief when the cold water hit his dry throat. As he swallowed he could feel as the water traveled down into his stomach.

He stood upright and did a quick turn away from the line to let Lucas have his turn. As he walked out, he bumped into somebody. Nathan guessed that it was just that punk, Damien West, preparing to compare his performance to his own. He looked to see that he was wrong.

Haley was bent over picking up the empty bottles that she had dropped. She was always klutzy. "I shouldn't have been rushing and I didn't even see you bulldozing into me." She hadn't made eye contact with the force that made her stumble.

Nathan knelt down and picked up on of the bottles. He reached out to hand it to her.

"Thanks," she muttered as she took the bottle from him. She moved her hair out of her face and peered up. When she did a bright smile formed on her face. "It's you again. Are you stalking me, Scott?"

Nathan shook his head. "I promise I'm not. I was thinking that you were the one stalking me."

"I don't have the time to follow your every move." Haley continued picking up the bottles. She stood up when she finished.

Nathan looked at the number of bottles that Haley had in her arms. The coach must really have work cut out for his petite granddaughter. First, he had her lifting heavy items that she couldn't even reach. Now, she was carrying close to twelve bottles. There was no way that she was going to be able to carry all of them when they were full.

He looked over his shoulder to see that Lucas was talking to another player. "Do you need any help?" He asked as he caught one of the bottled that popped out of her grasp.

She let out her angelic laugh. "You can stop coming to my rescue. Plus, I don't think Coach will be too happy with you if you miss practice or if he sees you with me. You think he's a tough coach? Well, you haven't seen him as the protective grandfather yet." She piled the bottles into her other arm and put pressure against her chest to keep herself from dropping them again. Her delicate hand took the bottle from Nathan.

"All right," he let out a chuckle. "It's your loss."

"I'll be fine. I've done this so many times before. I'm used to the independent thing. If I do have any trouble, I'll make sure to show up in front of you and spill them all." She joked with the smile still showing on her soft features.

"Just don't get the water on my shoes." Nathan joked back.

"With my track record, you never know." She shrugged. Then she let out a sigh and turned over to the group of boys. "I'd hurry it up if I were you boys. Five minutes means five minutes." She told them, not only to keep them for getting her grandfather worked up, but also to make them get out of her way.

"Thanks for looking out for us, Princess." Damien walked out from the middle of the group with his arms folded across his chest.

Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me? First off, don't call me Princess because from the looks of you, you definitely aren't prince material and your charm seems pretty fake and overused. Secondly, I don't fall for any of cheap flirting." Haley told him. She wanted nothing more than to bounce bottles off of this guy's head, but with her aim she wanted to spare herself the embarrassment and keep the upper hand.

Nathan sent a smirk over to Damien. Another reason why Nathan was so amused was because of the way Haley seemed to be able to handle herself. It reminded him of Peyton's spitfire personality around the other girls at school.

"With that attitude I can't imagine any guy wanting to flirt with you. I guess it could be from your hot ass body. Ever think of wearing a skirt to show off some skin?" Damien flashed a smirk of his own, "Oh, yeah, I can see that." He licked his lips.

"How about you show some respect, West?" Nathan found himself shouting. He found himself getting upset that Damien thought he could say those things to a girl that he knew nothing about. The words were only supposed to remain a thought, but they were hanging from his tongue.

Haley looked over her shoulder to Nathan. "Nathan, don't waste your breath on him. I've dealt with a handful of guys like him." Her brown eyes were pleading with him to not make a big deal out of this.

"Yeah, Nathan, why don't you just turn around and walk your ass back to the gym? Hell knows that you need to spend much more time in there. You sounded like a dying vacuum choking on dust during our sprints." Damien said smugly.

Nathan brushed it aside and walked to stand face to face with Damien. "I'd wipe that smirk off of your face if I were you." His jaw clenched slightly.

"Or what?"

As Nathan leaned in closer to Damien, he felt himself being pulled back. Lucas put himself in between him and Damien. He pushed Nathan further away. "Don't be stupid. You can get kicked out for fighting. This fight isn't worth it. Trust me, I want nothing more to see you kick his ass to a bloody pulp, but just focus on beating him on the court." Lucas whispered to him forcefully.

Nathan let out a sigh. Lucas was right. There was no point in getting upset over this Damien. He knew from Lucas' stories that this was how Damien West worked. Plus, his father would have a field day if he learned that Nathan was kicked out of High Flyers, especially for fighting.

"Fine, I'll meet you back in the gym." Nathan could see Haley over Lucas' shoulder. She was staring back at him with an apologetic look on her face.

"Okay," Lucas nodded. He looked over to Damien and the rest of the guys. They were no longer upfront towards Nathan. Instead they broke off into small groups and walked back to the gym. Lucas followed soon after.

Nathan took a few steps closer to Haley.

"I told you I didn't need you to be my knight in shining armor." She walked over to a table and set the empty bottles down. Then she turned back to Nathan, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning on the table for support.

"I know. You sure know how to take a guy's manhood and stomp on it. I just didn't like what he was saying about you and I couldn't help but stick up for you."

She smiled. "Thanks," she poked at his chest, "but don't do it again. Like I told you before, I've dealt with guys like him before. They think they can flirt with and that I will fall for it. I'm not here for the immature boys. All I'm here for is to assist my grandfather. So, I think it's best if we just don't talk to each other anymore."

Nathan raised his brow. "You think I'm like Damien West? I haven't flirted with you once and just so you know I happen to have a girlfriend back home."

Haley let out another long sigh. "Well, she's one lucky girl, Scott. You should really get back in there. I have work to do." She turned her back to Nathan to indicate that she was done with him.

"Whatever," he muttered annoyed as he walked away from her. He didn't understand why he was so worked up about Haley. The other day she seemed like a girl that he could get used to talking to. He shouldn't even be thinking about Haley at all. She was becoming a distraction and that wasn't what he needed.

Nathan walked back into the gym to see the guys staring at him. The stern looks on their faces meant trouble.

"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Scott. I'd like to see you in my office after practice. I guess you're relaxed enough for 30 more sprints?"

Was he at a basketball camp or a boot camp?

.

.

After changing, Nathan walked through the locker room. Every pair of eyes were glued to Nathan as he made his walk of shame. This was not how he imagined his time being here. Instead of being at the top, he face planted to rock bottom without a warning sign.

The door to Coach James' office was open. The coach was sitting at his desk looking over papers.

Nathan knocked on the door and tensed up with the old man's eyes slowly moved up to see who was disturbing him.

"Nathan, close the door and have a seat." With his pen, Coach James pointed to one of the two chairs across from his desk.

Nathan did as he was told. The click of the door trapped any words from being able to escape. He could just picture the other guys standing around the door and trying to hear what trouble he was in.

"I was going to yell at you, but I was told that you sticking up for my granddaughter because of one of the others. Do you care to explain to me why Haley was around you boys in the first place?" The coach pushed his papers aside and folded his hands and rested them on his desk.

Nathan swallowed the lump in his throat. "I accidently bumped into her and I helped her up. Then Damien made a comment to her. I would just like to add that your granddaughter is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She told me to back off and I didn't listen." Nathan felt himself becoming nervous.

"She most certainly can and without violence. You are aware of one of the top rules at High Flyers, aren't you?"

"Yes, Sir." Nathan sent him an affirmative nod. "I'll control myself next time."

"There better not be a next time. You're lucky that Haley overheard me and came to tell me that you were late for a good reason. You can go, now."

"Thank you, Sir." Nathan nodded and lifted himself off the chair. He walked over and reached for the doorknob.

"Oh, Scott,"

Nathan dropped his arm and turned back to the coach.

"I don't want you talking to my granddaughter. Do you understand me? You're here for the soul purpose of basketball and nothing else. Understand?"

"Understood, Coach." Nathan quickly exited the office and went back to his locker to grab his things. He couldn't wait to get out of the building.

When he returned to his locker, Lucas was still changing out of his uniform. "So, how bad was it? It must have sucked because we all had to sprint more because of you."

"It wasn't as bad as I thought. I guess Haley told him what happened after we were dismissed." Nathan said as he took his jersey off.

"Hmm. What's with you and Haley anyway? I thought you said you had a girlfriend back home?" Lucas began tying his shoes.

"Nothing's going on between us, if that's what you're thinking, and I do have a girlfriend back in Tree Hill. Her name's Peyton, remember?"

Lucas shrugged. "I know. You two seemed like you were pretty flirty."

"Dude, we were not flirting. I was just helping her after I bumped into her. You would have done the same thing if you caused someone smaller than you to drop what they were carrying. I was just being a nice guy."

"If that's your story."

Nathan wasn't in the mood to discuss this with Lucas. In no way was he flirting with Haley. He had no desire to and she wasn't even interested anyway. They exchanged a few jokes. Nothing more.

"You want to grab some food and eat in the room? I'm sure Damien and his friends are down there now waiting for you to make an appearance." Lucas suggested as he put his lock on his locker.

"Yeah, I'm pretty much running on empty." Nathan finished changing.

They exited the building and the sun was blazing down on them. Nathan hadn't had the chance to shower after his quick visit with the coach. The sweat that dried from earlier was slowly returning on his forehead.

Once inside the housing building, Nathan and Lucas set their bags down and waited in line to gather their meals. Nathan's fingers tapped as he impatience kicked in. He wanted to grab food and then return to his room. He'd go anywhere to avoid from seeing Damien West again.

They grabbed a few sandwiches and walked over to the vending machine to buy some sport drinks. From the corner of his eye, Nathan saw Haley walking over to the trashcan. He gave Lucas his dollar and set his bag down.

"Haley," He called out to her as he walked closer to her.

"Nathan, I already told you not to talk to me." She said as she set her tray on top of the can. "I'm pretty sure my grandfather told you the same thing."

"He did." He put his hands in his pockets. "I just came over to thank you and that I don't need you saving me either." He gave her a knowing look.

Flustered, she shook her head, "I don't know what you're talking about, Scott."

"I think you do. You didn't have to tell the coach. Why did you, by the way?" He found himself curious at her actions. She could easily just let everything that happened go and let Nathan get the punishment he deserved from disobeying break orders and al most getting into a fight.

"Now we're even. I really think you should go before my grandfather or one of his staff members sees you talking to me." Her eyes darted in all directions to make sure that nobody would see Nathan talking to her.

"I really don't care. There's nothing wrong with talking to each other."

"That's what you say now. Soon enough we'll make a routine habit of talking and we may even become friends. You will fall in love with me, which will keep you from having full focus on playing basketball. My grandfather will have a grudge against you from spending so much time with me and…"

Nathan put his hand around her arm to calm her down. The feeling of her soft skin sent tingles through his hand and up his arm. "Slow down, James. It's not that big of a deal. How do you figure that?"

She moved out of his grasp. "It's nothing." Her voice became quiet. "Please, just listen to me this time and leave me be."

He watched her go again. There was more and he could sense it. Getting it out of her wasn't going to work because she was probably going to start ignoring him until he received the message that she didn't want to talk to him. He kept telling himself that he shouldn't care. He shouldn't try and just respect her wishes.

"I should never have walked into the supply closet."

.

.

Haley knocked on her grandfather's office door. She was allowed to enter the locker room only during after hours. She knew to stay away from all the guys that came around every summer. Like the boys, she had strict rules of her own to follow.

She walked into his office. "Are you almost finished up? Grandma is making pot roast tonight. It's your favorite." Haley spoke to him eagerly.

"Almost." The old man looked up to his granddaughter and let out a sigh. "I thought you swore that you wouldn't talk with any of the boys. You seemed to be doing quite well at ignoring them for the past few years."

"I know. I told Nathan that we shouldn't be talking to each other and that he should focus on basketball. He seems pretty respectable."Haley sent him a small smiley that quickly faded.

"They all do at first, but I don't have to remind you of that. Anyway, I just have to go over a few notes from today and then we can go." He put his glasses back on and began reading.

Haley relaxed more in her chair and closed her eyes. She could picture Nathan clearly. It wasn't that she had a problem with him personally. Nathan reminded her of another boy that came to High Flyers a few summers ago. He was a very talented player and he was also friendly towards Haley when they first met. She opened her eyes again when the memories of that summer flashed back inside her head. As much as she tried to forget about it, Nathan Scott seemed to bring back the love and heartbreak that Jason Ryans brought to her.

AN: Thanks again for all the reviews for the last chapter. I'm excited to get this story going, which will be in the next couple of chapters. I hope you will stay interested. The next chapter should be up by next Saturday!

Please continue to review!