Chapter 36

Haley smiled slightly as she watched Nathan and Lucas as they stood in the old Tree Hill gymnasium, laughing with each other.

Her first summer school class had ended about ten minutes prior, and she'd rushed over to spend time with Nathan before his summer camp started in about an hour.

He'd been a little stressed about coaching, so he'd invited Luke to come help him for a few days since Lucas was more experienced in coaching.

And of course, Lucas had happily agreed, because Brooke Davis also happened to be in town the exact same time. She'd have to remember to get the more in depth scoop from her dear friend later.

Nathan glanced over and met her gaze, a grin forming on his face as he shoved the clip board he'd been holding into Lucas' chest, jogging over to her.

"Hey, Coach Scott," Haley hummed, her hands connecting with his chest as soon as he reached her.

Nathan chuckled, dipping his head down and kissing her lightly for a moment. "Hey," He responded, raising one hand to rest on her wrist, his thumb lightly caressing her skin.

"Nervous?" She asked him softly, raising her eyebrows and smiling up at him.

"Me? Never," He joked, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, honestly. I'm pretty nervous."

"You're going to be great, I know it," She assured him, biting her lip and looking up at him.

"We'll see about that. I honestly hope that I can keep my temper in check," He said, sighing softly. "Luke's here, hopefully he'll chill me out."

She slid her hand up, curling her fingers around the lanyard that the whistle he was wearing was attached to. "You'll be alright."

He nodded, kissing her forehead lightly and letting out a deep breath. "So, how was your first day of summer school? Hell?"

"Oh, boy... No one wants to be in summer school. I don't even want to be there," She laughed, shaking her head. "Quentin was alright, very negative, but it's his own damn fault he's in there."

"So I don't need to lay down the hammer at practice?" He laughed, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, you can still do that," She joked, smiling up at him. "I wish I could stick around to watch you," She said, taking a small step closer to him.

He chuckled, nodding at her. "I'll have Luke tell you how sexy it is later," He joked, resting his hand on her waist. "You could always stay."

"Yeah, I don't want them to make jokes about you being whipped quite yet, or me being whipped," She laughed, poking his chest lightly. "Even if it is a little true."

He laughed, shrugging his shoulders, "Well, I make sure Quentin feels the hell he's been giving to you all year. Don't you want to stick around for that?"

"Oh, definitely not," She laughed, smiling up at him. "Don't be too mean."

"I had the meanest coach alive, and then when I got home I had the cruelest coach alive, so mean is all that I know," He informed her, squeezing her waist lightly. "Just kidding, Hales... Luke is here to help me, I'll be the perfect amount of mean."

Haley rolled her eyes and chuckled, standing on her toes and kissing him one more time. "Good boy. Alright, I'm going to head home," She told him, brushing the back of her hand over his cheek.

"Okay, baby, I'll see you in a little while," He said, hugging her briefly, smiling down at her. When she started to walk away, he turned and jogged back over to Lucas.

"You are so in love," Lucas commented, a smirk on his face as he looked at his younger brother.

"Completely," Nathan responded, taking the clipboard back and glancing at his brother, whose eyes were practically popping out of his head.

"You told her?" Lucas asked him, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah," Nathan said, nodding and chuckling quietly. "I'm growing up," He joked, shifting slightly.

"Congrats, Nate..." Lucas laughed, slapping him on the back. "I can't believe Haley did in a few months what everyone else has been trying to do for years."

"You've all been trying to get me to fall in love with you?" Nathan asked him, smirking slightly and raising his eyebrows.

"Shut up," Lucas laughed, wrapping his arm around Nathan's neck, attempting to tug him into a headlock.

Nathan laughed, pushing him back. "I don't want to get sappy with you, Luke. Save that shit for Brooke Davis, we have a camp to run."

"I just want to tell you that I'm happy for you, Nate," Lucas chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "That's it. That's all that I will say."

"Thanks," Nathan said, letting out a deep breath. He walked over to the rack where the basketballs were rested on, picking up one and tossing it over to Lucas.

Lucas chuckled, dribbling the ball, before shooting it towards the hoop, watching it roll around the rim then fall through the net.

"Come on, Lucas," Nathan laughed, shaking his head. "I thought that was going to fall to the ground. What's wrong? Still suck?"

Lucas looked over at him, raising his eyebrows. "Okay, tough guy, you shoot it then," He suggested, grabbing the rebound, holding it out towards him.

"I'm alright," Nathan said, gesturing to the clipboard in his had. "I have work to do, I can't just sit around and play."

Lucas shook his head, deciding not to argue, just stepping over to his brother's side and looking down at the clipboard.

After a little while of discussing the game plan, Nathan glanced over when a couple of guys walked into the gym, joking around and shoving each other.

He glanced over at Lucas, letting out a shaky breath. Okay, okay... They were just teenagers. He could handle this. Lucas was there to back him up if he couldn't.

The guys made eye contact with Nathan, before walking over quickly.

"Q told us that our new coach was Nathan Scott, but we didn't believe him!" One of the guys said, his eyebrows raised.

"You were a legend at Duke!" The other one said, clearing his throat.

Nathan nodded, crossing his arms. "I was. But now I'm your coach, so hit the locker room," He said, nodding out of the gym towards the locker rooms.

They both nodded, before rushing away to follow his orders.

"Laying down the law in the first five minutes, nice work," Lucas chuckled, shaking his head and letting out a deep breath.

"I just don't want to talk about it right now," Nathan grumbled, rubbing his neck.

"Oh, you don't want to talk about basketball? Won't that create a little trouble, Coach Scott?" Lucas laughed, raising his eyebrows at him.

"I don't want to talk about Duke, Lucas. I don't want these guys to look at me like I'm a legend, because I suck ass," Nathan grumbled, gesturing towards the basketballs. "So we're just going to tell everyone to hit the locker room, and get ready for the hell we're about to send their way."

"Got it. Tough guys. No friendly faces here," Lucas said, trying to crack a joke to ease the tension that suddenly filled his younger brother, but it was unsuccessful.

Nathan glanced over, nodding at the guys that entered following. Pretty soon, there was a pretty decent sized group there, but there was no sign of Quentin.

"He's not here," Nathan said softly, turning to Lucas and looking up at him. "Should I wait?"

"Who?" Lucas asked him, sending him a confused look.

"The kid I told you about, the one that gives Haley hell. He's not here yet. What do I do?" He asked, clearing his throat and shrugging his shoulders.

"Start without him, make him run ten extra laps for being late," Lucas told him, nodding slowly, before turning to look back at the guys that were sitting on the bleachers in front of them.

"Alright," Nathan said, looking up at them. "Welcome to camp. I don't know how it's been the last couple of years for you guys, but I know how these next four weeks are going to be. Hell. Now, if you listen to the things I say, and do what I tell you, then it might be a little bit easier. But something you need to know about me right off the bat, is that I'm not looking to take shit this summer. I will toss you out of the gym without a second glance," He began, nodding at them. "So, with that. I'm your new coach. You can call me Coach Scott, and Coach Scott only. This is my brother Lucas, and he'll be hanging around for the first week or so."

Lucas nodded to them, crossing his arms and letting out a deep breath.

"I've been looking over your stats over the past few years, and I absolutely hate what I've been seeing. So right here, in this gym, we aren't splitting up into Freshmen, JV, or Varsity. You're all going to start together, and then we will divide you into groups based on who we think will work well together. I don't know what kind of crap your old coach was telling you, but we're starting new. So, to start, you're going to run twenty laps. Go," Nathan said, gesturing for them to stand up and start running.

Lucas chuckled as they did, looking over at Nathan. "Nice work, little brother," He told him, nodding. "That's exactly how I would've done it."

"Thanks," Nathan said, glancing towards the door, letting out a deep breath. "Speak of the devil," He grumbled as Quentin stepped into the gym, a cocky smirk on his face.

"Nate," Quentin said, stepping over to him. "Knew you'd come around."

"Hey, it's Coach Scott inside this gym, Quentin," Nathan said, nodding at him and shrugging his shoulders. "What the hell are you doing here so late?"

"Stopped to talk to Ms. James, let's just say things got a little hot and heavy and leave it at at," Quentin said, winking at him.

Nathan scowled, his posture stiffening. He knew this kid was just messing with him to try to get under his skin, and it was definitely working. The way he was talking about his girlfriend, no way.

"Listen here, Quentin, if you're late again I'll throw your ass out of here. Now dress down, and get running. Lucky you, you get to run thirty five laps because you're late and you're being disrespectful," Nathan said simply, nodding towards the locker room. "Better hurry, if you take too long, you'll be running all day."

Quentin opened his mouth to respond, before shaking his head and heading into the locker room.

"That's the kid you've decided to take under your wing?" Lucas asked him, raising his eyebrows.

"Take under my wing? No," He said, shaking his head and scowling, watching as the other players ran around the gym.

"He's a jerk, but you've been jittery waiting for him to get here..." Lucas trailed off, before nodding in realization. "Okay. I get it. Yeah, you think he's a high school Nathan Scott."

"Shut up, Luke. I'll make you start running too," Nathan grumbled, keeping his attention on the court.

xxxx

Haley glanced over her shoulder from her spot lounging on the lawn chairs she bought when she heard the back door slide shut, a small smile forming on her face.

"Hey," Nathan said, looking down at her and smiling slightly. He took a seat at the end of her chair, facing away from her, looking out at her yard.

She raised her eyebrows, scooting forward, resting her hand on his back. "What's wrong? Did something happen today?"

"I don't know, Hales..." He sighed, shifting his gaze to the ground, shrugging his shoulders.

"Talk to me," She said, rubbing her hand up his back slowly, frowning.

"You know, the biggest reason I did this was because you wanted me to," He told her, kicking his foot at the ground.

"I know," She responded, biting her lip and letting out a deep breath.

"I don't think you get it, Haley..." He grumbled, pressing his face into his hands, shaking his head.

"Get what, Nathan?" She asked him, frowning and scratching her fingernails along his back.

"You don't get how hard this is for me," He said, looking over his shoulder at her.

She scooted closer to him so that he was sitting between her legs, raising her eyebrows. "Hey..." She trailed off, continuing to rub his back.

"Sorry, I just... You don't understand, Haley..." He sighed, looking forward again.

"So make me understand, Nathan. Don't just keep repeating that I don't understand," She said, shaking her head.

"I loved basketball," He said, running his fingers through his hair. "And this, this is not basketball. This is dealing with a bunch of teenagers that aren't very good at it."

"Why don't you look at this as a way for you to stay involved with basketball, even if it's not playing?" She suggested to him, wrapping her arms around his chest, pinning his arms to his side.

"I just want to be with you, Haley... And we said that this would be a way to spend more time together, but I don't see how that's working, because you doing your summer school, and then after that, I do this camp thing," He said, letting out a sigh.

"Nathan, do you want to just be sitting around and waiting for me all day long?" She questioned him, raising her eyebrows.

"No," He responded, leaning back into her lightly, closing his eyes and clearing his throat.

"You need to finish out this camp, Nathan," She told him, shrugging her shoulders, kissing the back of his neck. "You can still be great, baby... One door closes, another one opens. Maybe you've just been wandering the hallways for awhile trying to finding the next door."

He sighed softly, shaking his head and looking down. "I miss it, Haley..." He said, squeezing his eyes shut. "Every day of my life. I miss everything I used to be."

"Well, I like everything you are now, Nathan," She told him, brushing her fingers up his chest.

"I hate feeling vulnerable and broken in front of you," He grumbled, leaning forward slightly, only to be pulled back into her tight embrace.

Haley loosened her grip enough for him to let his arms free, shaking her head. "Nathan, I love you, and I want you to feel like you can tell me anything, and I want to feel that I can come to you with anything," She paused for a moment, letting out a sigh. "You are not broken," She told him, shaking his torso lightly with every word.

He let out a slow, deep breath, squeezing his eyes tighter shut. "I just want to be put together like you are."

"I'm not, Nathan..." Haley said quickly, pressing a light kiss to the side of his neck. "Please understand that. I have so many doubts about everything I do, Nathan. But I'm positive that I love you, and that you're not broken."

Nathan bit his lip, feeling his heart pound in his chest at her words. He loved her more than he could ever imagine. It almost felt silly that in his moments of insecurity and doubt, she could pick up his heart rate at any given second and his thoughts would almost be completely turned to her. She really was a light.

Haley slid her hands down his chest, and let them rest at his thighs, nuzzling her nose against his skin. "I love you," She repeated to him.

There it was again. It shook him to his core every time those three words fell from her lips. It wasn't fair how much power she had over him. He felt every sense of the word sink into him.

"I love you too, Haley..." He repeated, his voice slightly hoarse from emotion.

"You're going to be fine, baby... You have me to lean on when things get tough. I've said that plenty of times, and I'll keep saying it until it sticks into your gorgeous head," She hummed out, kissing down his neck softly, her hands slowly moving along his legs.

He let out a deep breath, tilting his head to the side, leaning back into her.

Haley smiled slightly to herself, brushing her thumb over his knee. It hurt her when he doubted himself, when she could see him closing off. When he told her that she'd never understand, it hurt a little bit. But that was Nathan. She had to fight a little bit before he let himself open up. Maybe one day it would be different, but this was all he'd ever known. He had been closed off to real feelings his whole entire life.

She heard him whisper a breathy 'I love you' as she kissed along the back of his neck, her tongue occasionally shooting out to brush along his skin.

It was impossible to describe the love she had for him with words. It had not been that long since they'd first admitted it to each other, but it rolled off the tongue so easily now. Like they spoke a language that only the other person understood. At the risk of sounding cheesy in her own thoughts, it was magical.

"Is it concerned public indecency if it's in your own yard?" Nathan asked her, raising his eyebrows.

Haley laughed, standing up from her spot behind him, walking around to stand in front of him. She gripped his face, leaning down and kissing him sweetly. "You're so special to me, Nathan. I'll support you through this. I think you should continue with it, but if you want to quit then I don't care."

He smiled up at her, grabbing her hand and tugging her down so that she was straddling his lap. "Thanks, Haley..." He said softly, smirking at her.

"And based on that smirk, I have the feeling that you're not going to listen to anything I say after this moment," She laughed, brushing her fingers through his hair. "Don't worry, we'll talk about it later..."

He nodded his head, tugging her up to her knees, pulling her shirt up, brushing his fingertips along the '23' on her back.

Haley smiled, resting her hands on his chest, pushing him back against the lawn chair. She grabbed his hands from their spots on her waist, linking her hand with his, and holding them up by his head.

"You're mine, Nathan Scott..." She whispered to him, kissing his forehead.

"I know," He responded, grinning slightly, his eyelids fluttering shut as Haley kissed down his cheek and along his jawbone.

Haley lifted her head up to look around her yard for a moment, his gaze flickering to the neighboring houses, clearing her throat.

"Don't stop now, Haley James... Live on the wild side with me," He said, shaking his head.

She looked down at him, laughing quietly. "You know me too well," She said, shrugging her shoulders. "If we're going to do this, it needs to be quick."

He laughed, pushing up on her hands lightly. "Well, baby... That is where you know me too well."

xxxx

Nathan woke up to the sound of his phone buzzing loudly on the nightstand, letting out an annoyed sigh. Who the hell was texting him in the middle of the night?

He shook his head, pulling Haley closer to him, and shutting his eyes, only to blink them open again when he received another text, and then another.

He sighed softly, releasing his arm from around her, rolling over so he was facing the nightstand his phone was on. He reached forward picking it up, and looking down at the messages from his brother.

After letting his eyes adjust for a moment, and receiving a few more texts from Lucas that were trying to annoy him into waking up, he sat up slowly, lifting up the covers off his body, and tossing his legs over the side of the bed.

Haley rolled over so so was facing him, keeping her eyes shut as she reached out her hand, resting it on his back.

He looked over his shoulder at her, smiling slightly. After a moment of sitting there, admiring his sleeping beauty, he stood up slowly.

"Where are you going?" Haley mumbled out, lifting up her head and looking over at him.

"Lucas needs my help, he's outside right now..." Nathan informed her, pulling a t-shirt over his head.

"With what?" She asked, sitting up slowly, scooting back so that she was leaning against the headboard.

"I'm not sure," He chuckled in response, walking into the bathroom to brush his teeth. After a moment, he emerged from the bathroom, letting out a deep breath.

"How long will you be gone?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and yawning.

"I don't know, but I'll text you as soon as I do," He said, stepping over to the bed, sitting down next to her. He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I love you, Haley James."

She smiled slightly, leaning forward and brushing her lips against his. "I'm really confused right now, but just, um... Keep me updated," She said, touching his cheek.

"You and me both," He responded, nodding at her. "Trust me, baby, I won't let him keep me gone for too long."

She nodded, brushing her hand over his shoulder. "Alright. I love you too," She mumbled, sliding down the bed.

Nathan smiled at her, heading out of the room, down the stairs, and outside the house. He walked over to Lucas' car that was parked on the street.

"Dude, what the hell are we doing?" He asked, pulling in the front seat and climbing in.

"You'll see," Lucas said, glancing at the time. "Why are you questioning me?"

"Because it's the middle of the night, and I was sleeping next to my smoking hot girlfriend, and you were sleeping next to yours, yet you forced me to come do whatever the hell we're doing," Nathan grumbled, crossing his arms.

"You'll thank me later," Lucas said, reaching forward and turning up the radio a little bit, tapping his fingers on a steering wheel.

After a little while, they pulled up to the Rivercourt, the lights shining brightly down on it.

Nathan looked over at Lucas, before moving back to the court. He raised his eyebrows, watching Quentin run around on the court, shooting the ball into the hoop.

"What are we doing here?" Nathan asked him, raising his eyebrows.

"Playing," Lucas said, getting out quickly, slamming the door shut and looking into the car.

Nathan got out, shaking his head. "No. I'm not playing," He said, rushing over to Lucas.

"You are," Lucas said, pointing towards the court. "Unless... You're too scared?"

"I'm not-"

"I know, you keep saying that," Lucas said, resting his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Come on."

"Why is Quentin here?" Nathan asked him quickly, scowling at him.

"It was his idea," Lucas said, looking towards the court again. "You have to do it sometime, Nate. I know you tried a little bit back in California, but you need to move forward."

"Lucas..." Nathan warned him, watching Quentin as he stopped to look at the two of them.

"Get out there, Nathan. I know you want it," Lucas said, pointing to the court. "You're already dressed for it, pretty much."

Nathan looked over at Lucas, sucking in a deep breath and walking onto the court over to Quentin.

"Hey Nate, or should I say Coach Scott?" Quentin joked, smirking at him.

"Very funny," Nathan said, shaking his head and letting out a deep breath.

Lucas followed him, clapping Nathan on the shoulder. "Okay, Nathan, we're going to take it easy."

Quentin picked up the ball, tossing it over to him. "Make a free throw," He said, nodding over to the faded line.

"I..." Nathan sighed, rubbing his neck and walking over to the line. He looked up at the hoop, pausing and staring at it.

He'd done this so recently... Why was it so difficult?

"Take your time, Nate," Lucas said, offering him a small nod and crossing his arms.

Nathan blew out a slow, deep breath, raising his hands up I shoot. As soon as the ball left his hands, his eyes flew shut.

The sound that followed was one that he'd never grow tired of. The swish of the ball falling through the net.