Author's Note: This is the first fan fiction I've written in a while but
this storyline was nagging at me to write it. The story deals with teen
pregnancy so if you're uncomfortable with that topic don't read. I have
three more chapters written so if anyone likes this one I'll post more
later tonight.
Summary: Sometimes history repeats itself. Will Nathan follow in his father's footsteps or will he step up to the challenge life has thrown at him? Haley/Nathan pairing. Maybe some Peyton/Lucas later on.
Distribution: Just ask me first.
Chapter One
"Hey Mom," Nathan Scott called out as he closed the door and tossed his stuff on the floor.
"Hey Sweetie." Deb answered, walking in from the kitchen. "How was practice?"
"Good." He liked that his mom left it at that. His dad would ask how many points he had, how much playing time and know matter how he answered, it wouldn't be good enough.
"Glad to hear it. Dinner's going to be another hour. You studying with Haley tonight?"
"Yeah, she'll be here around seven."
"Well call her and tell her to come early and eat with us."
"Okay Mom."
Nathan couldn't believe how much his life and changed in a few short months. A few months ago he'd been crumbling under the pressure put on him by his father. A few months ago he was being eaten up by resentment of his half-brother Lucas' spot on the team and in his life. A few months he'd thought he could be a jerk to whoever he felt like, whenever he felt like it., like Lucas and Peyton, even Haley. Then he'd collapsed on the court during a basketball game and he world had changed.
He remembered listening to his dad arguing with the doctor and thinking he didn't have the strength to face him with the truth. So he'd pulled the IV out of his arm and walked out. He hadn't had a destination in mind. He'd just wanted to get away. He'd found himself at Haley's house. When no one answered the door he'd just walked up to her room. He'd expected her to tell him to go to Hell; he deserved it after the way he'd treated her but she hadn't. She'd just sat beside him while he'd poured it all out, his parents' shaky marriage, his dad pushing him to get Lucas off the team, the drugs. Then he'd just cried.
They'd ended up talking all night and falling asleep in each other's arms. He'd never done that before. With Peyton, there'd never been much talking involved. He'd never felt like he could talk to anyone like he could talk to Haley.
That was three months ago and he'd never been happier. Today was the first practice since that fateful game against Cope City. He'd needed to take some time to think about why he'd done the things he did and to learn to love the game again. Turns out that had been a night of realization for his mom too. She'd kicked his dad out and hadn't let him back in. At first Nathan had been surprised but then he realized that if he had such a hard time living with his dad, it couldn't be easy for her either. She and Karen were working together on expanding the café into a full scale restaurant. It was obvious that Deb was really happy to be doing something that was all hers for once. And he was happy for her, even is it did mean she was tight with Lucas' mom.
He and Lucas were starting to mend fences, little by little, at Haley's insistence. There was a lot of anger and bitterness on both sides but she was determined that her best friend and her boyfriend were going to get along. Nathan had to admit that Luke had been pretty cool about the whole basketball hiatus thing. The other guys had been pissed but Luke knew it was something Nathan needed to do. Now Luke was the one carrying the weight of the team on his shoulders. Nathan was surprised to find he didn't mind. He was relieved. And it was Lucas who'd suggested they play one on one every day after he finished practice so that Nathan wasn't rusty when he did decide to rejoin the team. Finally, basketball was fun again.
"Earth to Nathan."
"Huh? Oh hi Haley. He gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"Where were you just now?"
"Thinking. I've been known to do that from time to time you know."
"About what?"
"Everything that's happened since Cop City, my parents, basketball, us."
"Been a little crazy huh?"
"That's just it; it hasn't felt crazy. It probably should but it doesn't. It feels normal."
"How's your mom doing?"
"Really great; she's filed for a legal separation from my dad and she's really thrilled about the café."
"What about you, I mean are you okay with your parents splitting up?"
"You know, I thought I'd be more upset. I mean no one wants their parents to split up but they weren't happy. We weren't happy. It's better this way."
"I'm glad."
"Hey you two." Deb poked her head through the doorway. "Dinner's on the table."
"Okay Mom, be right there."
The kitchen
"This is great pasta Mrs Scott."
"Thank you. And please, call me Deb."
"Sorry."
"No need to apologize. You and Nathan have been together for more than three months now Haley. I want you to feel comfortable with me."
"I guess I never figured I'd be eating here. Thanks for inviting me."
"No, thank you. Dinner table conversation has never been a Scott strong point. It's nice to talk about something other than the weather."
Haley looked at Nathan. "What? You mean you're not a brilliant conversationalist?"
"I'm a guy. We don't like to talk while we eat."
Later, in Nathan's room
"So, I got my English paper back."
"Yeah, well let's see it."
He handed it to her, keeping his face expressionless, and waited for her reaction.
"An A! Oh my God Nathan that's great."
"And I have you to thank."
"No you don't. You never even showed me that paper."
"I know but you were my muse."
"Your muse?"
"Yeah. When you were explaining A Tale of Two Cities to me you just got so passionate about it, you know, and you made me want to read the book so that I could share that with you. That's the first time I've ever put any effort into understanding a book in English class, That's why I'm doing so much better in school Haley. It's not because you explain things, a lot of people could do that. You make me want to learn this stuff."
"Really?" "Really." She kissed him, catching him off guard. "What was that for?"
"I wanted to. I think we've done enough studying for tonight." She sat down on his bed. "Nathan, come sit down."
He slowly crossed the room and sat beside her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. "Nathan."
His heart was already pounding. "Haley."
"I don't want to wait any more."
He looked at her, tried to read her eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure."
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You know you can't take it back tomorrow."
"Nathan, shut up."
Summary: Sometimes history repeats itself. Will Nathan follow in his father's footsteps or will he step up to the challenge life has thrown at him? Haley/Nathan pairing. Maybe some Peyton/Lucas later on.
Distribution: Just ask me first.
Chapter One
"Hey Mom," Nathan Scott called out as he closed the door and tossed his stuff on the floor.
"Hey Sweetie." Deb answered, walking in from the kitchen. "How was practice?"
"Good." He liked that his mom left it at that. His dad would ask how many points he had, how much playing time and know matter how he answered, it wouldn't be good enough.
"Glad to hear it. Dinner's going to be another hour. You studying with Haley tonight?"
"Yeah, she'll be here around seven."
"Well call her and tell her to come early and eat with us."
"Okay Mom."
Nathan couldn't believe how much his life and changed in a few short months. A few months ago he'd been crumbling under the pressure put on him by his father. A few months ago he was being eaten up by resentment of his half-brother Lucas' spot on the team and in his life. A few months he'd thought he could be a jerk to whoever he felt like, whenever he felt like it., like Lucas and Peyton, even Haley. Then he'd collapsed on the court during a basketball game and he world had changed.
He remembered listening to his dad arguing with the doctor and thinking he didn't have the strength to face him with the truth. So he'd pulled the IV out of his arm and walked out. He hadn't had a destination in mind. He'd just wanted to get away. He'd found himself at Haley's house. When no one answered the door he'd just walked up to her room. He'd expected her to tell him to go to Hell; he deserved it after the way he'd treated her but she hadn't. She'd just sat beside him while he'd poured it all out, his parents' shaky marriage, his dad pushing him to get Lucas off the team, the drugs. Then he'd just cried.
They'd ended up talking all night and falling asleep in each other's arms. He'd never done that before. With Peyton, there'd never been much talking involved. He'd never felt like he could talk to anyone like he could talk to Haley.
That was three months ago and he'd never been happier. Today was the first practice since that fateful game against Cope City. He'd needed to take some time to think about why he'd done the things he did and to learn to love the game again. Turns out that had been a night of realization for his mom too. She'd kicked his dad out and hadn't let him back in. At first Nathan had been surprised but then he realized that if he had such a hard time living with his dad, it couldn't be easy for her either. She and Karen were working together on expanding the café into a full scale restaurant. It was obvious that Deb was really happy to be doing something that was all hers for once. And he was happy for her, even is it did mean she was tight with Lucas' mom.
He and Lucas were starting to mend fences, little by little, at Haley's insistence. There was a lot of anger and bitterness on both sides but she was determined that her best friend and her boyfriend were going to get along. Nathan had to admit that Luke had been pretty cool about the whole basketball hiatus thing. The other guys had been pissed but Luke knew it was something Nathan needed to do. Now Luke was the one carrying the weight of the team on his shoulders. Nathan was surprised to find he didn't mind. He was relieved. And it was Lucas who'd suggested they play one on one every day after he finished practice so that Nathan wasn't rusty when he did decide to rejoin the team. Finally, basketball was fun again.
"Earth to Nathan."
"Huh? Oh hi Haley. He gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"Where were you just now?"
"Thinking. I've been known to do that from time to time you know."
"About what?"
"Everything that's happened since Cop City, my parents, basketball, us."
"Been a little crazy huh?"
"That's just it; it hasn't felt crazy. It probably should but it doesn't. It feels normal."
"How's your mom doing?"
"Really great; she's filed for a legal separation from my dad and she's really thrilled about the café."
"What about you, I mean are you okay with your parents splitting up?"
"You know, I thought I'd be more upset. I mean no one wants their parents to split up but they weren't happy. We weren't happy. It's better this way."
"I'm glad."
"Hey you two." Deb poked her head through the doorway. "Dinner's on the table."
"Okay Mom, be right there."
The kitchen
"This is great pasta Mrs Scott."
"Thank you. And please, call me Deb."
"Sorry."
"No need to apologize. You and Nathan have been together for more than three months now Haley. I want you to feel comfortable with me."
"I guess I never figured I'd be eating here. Thanks for inviting me."
"No, thank you. Dinner table conversation has never been a Scott strong point. It's nice to talk about something other than the weather."
Haley looked at Nathan. "What? You mean you're not a brilliant conversationalist?"
"I'm a guy. We don't like to talk while we eat."
Later, in Nathan's room
"So, I got my English paper back."
"Yeah, well let's see it."
He handed it to her, keeping his face expressionless, and waited for her reaction.
"An A! Oh my God Nathan that's great."
"And I have you to thank."
"No you don't. You never even showed me that paper."
"I know but you were my muse."
"Your muse?"
"Yeah. When you were explaining A Tale of Two Cities to me you just got so passionate about it, you know, and you made me want to read the book so that I could share that with you. That's the first time I've ever put any effort into understanding a book in English class, That's why I'm doing so much better in school Haley. It's not because you explain things, a lot of people could do that. You make me want to learn this stuff."
"Really?" "Really." She kissed him, catching him off guard. "What was that for?"
"I wanted to. I think we've done enough studying for tonight." She sat down on his bed. "Nathan, come sit down."
He slowly crossed the room and sat beside her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. "Nathan."
His heart was already pounding. "Haley."
"I don't want to wait any more."
He looked at her, tried to read her eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure."
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You know you can't take it back tomorrow."
"Nathan, shut up."
