Its Wednesday one and a half weeks since Nathan collapsed on the floor of
the gym. Things have definitely started to change. Who would of thought
that one boy playing a game he loved could disrupt and change so many
lives. Most for the better.
Nathan is sitting on the coach next to his mom. On her left is Dan Nathan's father. The two of them have not really been spoken since the incident. Part of this was due to the fact that all they had ever really talked about was basketball, and Deb would not allow Dan to talk to Nathan about basketball. The other part was neither knew what to say to each other any more. Dan had been furious with Nathan when he had chosen to stay with his mother rather than move out with him. He had started yelling at Nathan as was a normal conversation, but this time Deb had stepped in and told him to leave. Nathan still was not over all of the crap Dan had been saying to him lately. Nathan glanced over at his mom he still did not know what to think about her. She had been gone so much of his life. In some ways he blamed her for all of Dan's abuse. On the other hand here she was trying to fix this horrible situation and putting up with him. That said a lot about her. He had not gotten better since the incident if any thing he had gotten worse. Though he was not taking drugs any more, he was now skipping school and basketball practice, and had started to drink on the nights he could not be with Haley. Deb decided that they all needed professional help. So here they all sat in silence waiting to hear you can go in now, and dreading it at the same time. He would give anything to be anywhere else in the world. He would even choose to go to the dentist and he hated the dentist. He thought about the place he really wanted to be and that was with Haley. The thought of her brought a small smile to his face. They had grown closer in the past week and a half. He had never known that one person could know someone else so well, but Haley knew him. He tried to hide his true feelings for her from himself, but deep down he knew that she had his heart in the palm of her hand. This scared him, but also made him smile a little bigger. If there was one girl that could posses his heart it was Haley James, and though it scared him he knew she would never do anything to crush it. As he sat thinking of Haley and smiling he noticed his mom watching. This wiped the smile from his face. He sat up straighter and hide his thoughts away. His mom just sat there staring at him with the and what is making you so happy look on her face. Before she could ask the question though the receptionist said, "You can go in now."
Deb stands up immediately and leads the way into the office. It is hard to say between Nathan and Dan who drags their feet more. Neither one is happy about being here. Each took their respective places on either side of Deb on the couch. Neither of them looked happy. The good doctor started to explain all of the rules for the sessions, and Nathan zoned her out. Next he heard his mom talking.
"Things have just gotten out of hand" he heard her say. He just tried to block them out he hated the fact that they were fighting over something he did.
Before he knew what had happened he heard the doctor ask him a question. All he could think to say was "Pass." Even if he knew the question he really did not want to talk to this lady, especially with his parents there.
He sits there and catches "his father has been bullying him" it is his mom. God why can't they stop fighting over him.
Before he knows what is happening he hears "Nathan? Do you think basketball is part of your family's problem?"
Great they were back to him again. "I guess."
"And yet you still like to play?"
Before he can even answer this, his dad starts in. Nathan just blocks him out and sinks further into the couch. He hopes that maybe if he gets far enough down, they will all forget him.
"Do you play for you or because it is expected of you?" The doctor was talking to him again.
His dad once again has to put his two cents in. "He plays because he is good." This makes Nathan lean back even further.
Every one was waiting for the answer. Nathan had been trying to find that answer for years now. He finally answered with "I guess I don't know, okay."
At this Dan became furious. How dare this doctor mess with his sons head. He was his father and he knew what was best for Nathan. He had had enough. He stood and told Nathan "we are done" Deb tries to get him to sit back down. Nathan just follows orders like he always had when it came to his father.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The real scene for this is from
Dr. Thorpe (Con't): Truth is hard. So hostility stays outside. Deb, would you like to start? Reveal - Dan, Deb, and Nathan on the couch. Deb's in the center, and Dan and Nathan are at either side, ****ed.
Deb: Things've just gotten out of hand so we thought we could use some objectivity.
Dan: No, you thought so.
Deb (at same time): Dan...
Dr. Thorpe: Hostility stays outside, Dan.
Dan: I wasn't being hostile.
Dr. Thorpe: Define "gotten out of hand?" Nathan?
Nathan: Pass.
Deb: Things haven't been great for a while and then we reached the breaking point two weeks ago when my son --
Dan (interrupts): Hear that? "My" son -- ?
Dr. Thorpe (at same time): Deb is speaking now, Dan --
Deb: Our son collapsed on the basketball court after taking drugs to boost his performance --
Dan: And you honestly think --
Deb (at same time): -- because his father has been bullying him about the sport since Nathan was old enough to hold a ball.
Dan: "His mother" left out the fact that --
Dr. Thorpe: You'll get your turn --
Dan: -- up until two months ago she was never home.
Deb: I'm home now, Dan, enough to see that you have an unhealthy obsession with basketball and how Nathan plays it.
Dan (at same time, smiles at Dr. Thorpe): This is what she does. Blames me for her shortcomings as a mother. Deb glares at him. Nathan hugs the arm of the couch.
Dr. Thorpe: Okay. We got some things out in the open. Nathan? Do you think basketball is part of your family's problem?
Nathan: Part of.
Dr. Thorpe: But you still like playing?
Dan: Of course he does, he's --
Dr. Thorpe: Nathan's turn, Dan. Do you play for you, or because it's expected of you?
Dan: He plays because he's good.
Nathan feels all the eyes in the room on him, then --
Nathan: I don't know anymore, okay?
Dan (rises abruptly): All right. We're done.
Deb: Dan, will you please --
Dan: Hustle up. No way this is helping.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As practice was winding down one of the cheerleaders, Teresa pulled Peyton aside. Well it really wasn't aside the whole squad could hear the entire conversation. "You know Peyton you have changed lately." Peyton did not know what to say to this so she just stared at her. "You are different...." the way in which Teresa said this left little to the imagination. She meant that Peyton was turning weird on them. Peyton heard several girls snickering at this. Teresa waited for her to say something in her defense, but Peyton just looked at her with a look that said you have got to be kidding me. "That is exactly what I mean" Teresa said this as she turned away from Peyton.
Peyton sat stretching out by herself. Teresa probably was right. She had not been herself for a while, or at least she had not let the real Peyton show this much for this long. Normally she would hide her under the cheerleader image, but lately she saw no point in hiding her anymore. Too much had happened in the last month to care about impressing these girls. At this she looked over at where Luke and the basketball team sat. He caught her eye and made a face at the coach. She just shook her head and went back to stretching out. It wasn't just her that was weird around here. Luke and her were back to being friends and he and Brooke well they were still together. At this she looked over at Brooke who was shamelessly flirting with Luke behind Whitey's back. Peyton had tried hard to stay mad at her, but wasn't able to. She had never been able to stay mad at Brooke. Ever since they were little, Brooke has always been able to weasel her way back into Peyton's heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Across the gym the boys are getting another lecture from Whitey, but it is not one of his normal ones. "If any of you ever tries to pull the crap that Nathan did it will be the end of the team. No if ands or buts about it." They had all noticed Nathan's absence from practice. They all were wondering what was going to happen to him. What they did not know was that going to the shrink was the only way that he could remain on the team. Whitey and Deb had decided this for him last week. He would be able to play if he went and participated in the family therapy. At first Whitey had thought great another player that will come and go to practice as he pleases. Then he remembered his vow to stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. Nathan did not need hours of practice what he needed was someone to help him learn how to deal with Dan. Basketball came naturally to him. This also helped to settle the problem of weather or not to finish out the season. He reinstated the team. He was going to have to change something's himself. He had a long conversation with Keith about his coaching style. Keith had asked him how many of his old basketball players still hated him. Whitey had thought long and hard on this and as a far as he knew the only player he had that hated him was Dan. Then Keith asked how many of his players had taken drugs to be better at playing ball. Whitey had answered immediately one. As far as Whitey knew Nathan was the only player in the history of his program to take performance enhancers. Keith waited for Whitey to make the connection and when he didn't Keith had told him "Doesn't it seem weird that the only times you have had real problems is when Dan was involved? Have you ever thought that maybe it is not you that had the problem all those years ago. Dan had the problem. He thought that he was only as good as he was on the court. You did not teach him this it is something in his character. It has been there since we were kids. He was only happy when he was beating me at something and if he lost watch out because all hell would break loose."
Whitey had thought long and hard on this, while Keith sat there sipping his whiskey. Keith finally interrupted him "My first year I was whining about something and you pulled me into the office. You told me that your job was to make sure that I became the man I was supposed to be, not to be my friend. If we became friends along the way that was great, and if I ended up hating you that was okay too. Because no matter what happened you were going to make sure I did what I had to do. On the court and off. Dan is Dan because he did not want to listen to you. If you were the problem would you have been the one to go to Dan to talk about Nathan's behavior or would you have been the one to blow you off." Keith had gotten up at this and set his cup down. "You can't blame yourself for Dan, but you can make sure it doesn't happen again with Nathan. Closing basketball is not the way to do that either." With that Keith had walked out. Whitey had stayed and finished the bottle. In the end he had come to the decision that it he was going to fix the things he had over looked he had to keep the team. This brings us back to the gym and the first day of practice in over a week. They no longer had their perfect record because Whitey had forfeited 2 games in that time. However they still had a chance to win counties and then maybe sectionals.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke had tried to pay attention to Whitey's speech but Brooke was doing some very interesting things behind his back. So to keep from laughing he had let his mind wander. At first he thought about Nathan's absence. Although they were nowhere near being best friends Luke and him had come to a truce of sorts. Luke hoped that his absence did not mean he would no longer be playing on the team. If he had of been listening he would have heard Whitey tell them all that Nathan was still going to play but he had a prior engagement. The whole team had looked at each other wondering what this could be except Luke who caught Peyton's eye. He made a face of complete boredom and she just smiled and looked away. They had done the whole just friends speech again, and so far it was working, kind of. Peyton had closed off a little again and that was driving him nuts. As he watched Peyton he saw her look at Brooke who was still entertaining the entire team. He had been relieved to see that they were going to be okay. He had worried that somehow he had ruined a friendship. He decided that he needed to talk to her again and try to work things out a little better. He missed talking to her, well him talking and her insulting him. God he was glutting for punishment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haley walked up the sidewalk enjoying the view of Nathan playing basketball. He really was good. He had stopped and was just staring off into space as Haley came close. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not even hear her. He jumped when she touched his arm. "Penny for your thoughts"
He smiled down at her. It was amazing how easily she could make him smile. "They aren't worth that much."
"I'm willing to be overcharged." She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. He leaned down and kissed her deeply. After they pulled apart they walked over to the picnic table.
"Why didn't you call me I would have come over and picked you up so you didn't have to walk."
At this Haley laughed quietly "I like to walk, remember."
Nathan caught right on "How could I forget?"
Haley started to gently run her hands threw his hair. He was so tense she could feel the energy bounce off of him. If he didn't clam down they were never going to get any geometry done. He needed a lot of help with geometry since he had skipped three of the last eight classes. She knew he wanted to talk about the session, but she also knew he would get to it when he did. "So do we stay out here to study geometry or go inside?"
"How about we go inside and study biology instead?"
Haley completely missed his meaning. "We took biology last year we are in chemistry now."
He couldn't help but laugh. "Who were you studying biology with and do I have to beat him up." As it dawned on Haley what he was talking about the red spread threw her face.
"Just shut up now. I don't want to hear it."
"Have I ever told you how cute you are when you blush?"
"No" is all she could manage as the red in her cheeks deepened.
"Can I amend my three things I like about you because you blushing in Luke's pajamas should definitely be on that list."
"Fine I'll decide," she said trying to change the subject "the house it is too cold out here to work." With that she got up and left him sitting there. He stayed there a minute enjoying the view. "And would you please stop looking at my @ss?" This made him laugh. How had she known what he was doing he must be getting predictable. He followed her inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Guess who gorgeous?" Came a voice from behind Luke. The person slide her hands over his eyes. He had just left the gym. He knew exactly who it was. It was the only one person called him things like gorgeous, but he pretended to have problems.
"It can't be Haley whoever you are you are too tall for her. Um... could it be Tricia."
Brooke pushed him from behind and turned to leave. Luke grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her back into his arms. "I knew it was you I was just teasing."
"Oh and how did you know it was me?" Brooke asked.
"Well there is the obvious that you are the only girl in this town that thinks I'm gorgeous."
"That is definitely not true. I had to club three other girls just to be the first one at the door when you came out you are getting a little following."
Luke ignored her he didn't care about what the other girls thought of him. "Then there is your perfume." He leaned in and pretended to smell her neck. "I would recognize that any where."
"Ok you are off the hook this time but next time. So I was wondering if Henry wanted to come out and play?" She now called the drunk Luke Henry after his fake I.D.
"No I promised Keith that I would not drink on school nights any more, but Luke is starving and could use some food. You up for a pizza?"
Brooke looked a little disappointed, but then again spending time with Luke anywhere was fun. "Sure, I guess I can wait for Henry to come out and play on Friday." Luke laughed and leaned in and kissed her gently. Brooke thought that she was really in trouble here. They had now spent almost every night together hanging out since the night of the party. They still had not had sex, and though she wanted too it did not bother her that they weren't. There was something about Luke that entertained her. She was always interested in what he had to say and he could always make her laugh. She really was in trouble though they had not defined their relationship they were well on the way to being boyfriend and girlfriend. She had only considered dating one other boy and Peyton had gotten him first.
Luke interrupted her thoughts "So I'm with out a vehicle so can we take yours?"
"Yeah lets go. Now that you mention it I am kind of hungry myself."
"So how are you coming with the latest book I gave you."
"I don't know about Shakespeare why can't he just speak English and make my life easier."
They walk away talking about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peyton is on the phone with Jake she has just told him about Teresa's little conversation. "I have to agree you are different...." he left her hanging for a couple seconds to make sure he had her full attention "and thank god. If we had one more perfect little cheerleader walking around I might have to go postal. She is just jealous. She sees that you aren't the perfect little cheerleader and that you can think for yourself and everyone still accepts you. So either she is afraid that if she does that they will all stop talking to her, or that we will all find out that she is not different from all the other cheerleaders, and simply can't think for herself. The second one is the one I am leaning toward"
"Thanks" she was going to say more but she heard Emma start crying in the background. "You should probably go I'm fine and Emma needs you more than me."
As she hangs up she looks down at her sketchpad she has drawn a new sketch. It has a girl standing by herself laughing. On the other side of the page is a group of girls that look identical. Over the one girl is written You're laughing at me because I'm different. I'm laughing at you because you're all the same." (StarGirl1231 gave me the idea for this title. Got to give props where props are due.) She looked at this one. It was a little like the "they are not you" sketch but different at the same time. She considered submitting this one into the paper, but it hit really close to home. The girls might figure out it was her. In some part of her she wanted them too. At this she wondered why Nathan had never rated her out. She had never really thought about it until now, but after they broke up she was surprised he had not said anything to the girls on the squad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nathan came in behind Haley she sat down at his desk trying to get him to do some work. He was pacing the room again. Finally Haley just said "Since we are not going to get any work done why don't you just tell me about the therapist, and why you are so p!ssed."
This stopped him dead in his tracks. He had his back to her "Am I really that transparent?"
"Yep. I was trying to give you some time and let you bring it up yourself, but you are taking too long, and you really need to pass this test tomorrow, so talk."
Nathan laughed, "You are a slave driver you know that don't you?"
"No I am realistic and I am not the one who has been skipping classes lately."
"No but you should."
"Nathan what happened. Quit trying to change the subject."
Nathan's expression changed from his mischievous grin to the I just got called on my bullshit and am not happy about it. He finally sat down on the bed. "It was horrible Hales they are fighting because of what I did. It's my fault,"
She came over and kneeled down in front of him. "Nathan I hate to say it but you probably aren't their biggest problem. If that were the case then they probably would not have split up over you."
He looked up into her eyes. They sat like this as he told her everything he could remember. He finally finished with "Thank god the doc wants to see them alone tomorrow." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He turned his head and caught her lips with his. They started out slow and it started to build. Haley finally pulled away.
"I told you to stop changing the subject" she said out of breathe as she pushed him a way and got up to get the geometry book.
"Alright I have a deal for you. We do this geometry crap tonight and I go ace the test. With at least a 80 and you skip classes on Friday."
"How will you know what you got on your test by Friday morning?" She was avoiding the deal she had no desire to skip school.
"I'll stop in after basketball practice and ask him he will know by then."
"Nathan if we both skip who's notes are you going to get then?"
"Come on Haley we need to get away from this place." Haley just looked at him. "Okay I need to get out of here for a while. I have had enough of tree Hill and all the talk. I can't go any where with out people talking about my folks and me. The whole town knows about it." Haley could tell he was being serious but she really did not want to skip. "Haley please come away with me for a day and maybe even the night. We could go take a hike out in the state forest, or go play out on the beach, or go see fifty movies. I don't really care what we do as long as you are with me."
At that Haley's heart melted she couldn't deny him but she could make it hard for him. "Okay, but its not an 80 its a 90 or better."
"No way that is too hard how about 85 split it down the middle."
"Alright deal." She held out her hand to shake his, but instead of shaking it he grabbed her and pulled her over to him.
"How about we kiss on it rather than shake on it." He said with one of his devilish grins. This time it was Nathan who pulled back. "Well if I am getting an 85 we had better start learning." With that he settled right into study mode.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peyton was just putting the finishing touches on the sketch when she heard a sound from the hall. Her heart skipped a beat, like it always did when someone came in the house. Could it really be him, or was it Brooke or someone else? She just waited and watched her door. Eventually a guy walked up to her door. Peyton broke out into a big smile.
"Hi stranger" he said setting his bag down. Peyton just smiled. "Well don't I get a hug?" At this Peyton jumped up and ran over to him.
"You're early. You said that you wouldn't be home until Sunday?" She said into his shoulder.
"Yeah well I couldn't stand to be away from you any longer so I sold them on the deal four days early just so I could get back here to you." Peyton pulled away but the guy still held on to arms and kept her at arms length. "You have got to stop growing sometime. What have you been eating you are as tall as a tree." This was an old joke that he had been telling her since seventh grade when she hit her growth spurt.
"Dad I am no taller than when you left." She had just giggled at this. This Peyton was completely different than the Peyton we have seen in the past she is almost giddy with excitement at her dad being home.
He pulled her back to him "God I have missed you honey. I'm sorry to have stayed away for so long."
"It's ok I understand." Peyton's demeanor has changed back to her old self she had just lied to her dad. She really wanted to scream at him that it wasn't ok she didn't want him to go. He leads her back to his room where we see her sitting on the bed and talking and laughing with him while he unpacks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So what now gorgeous" Brooke asks with that smile that tells Luke he may be in trouble. They had been talking about everything and nothing at all, all night. It was getting close to ten at night. The pizza shop was about to close and they would throw them out soon. "Well I've read your book so isn't it my turn to have you do something for me?" Her smile was getting wider.
"No you have not finished it you still have a couple more acts to read." He loved to tease her.
"It will be done tomorrow night, so...."
"So then meet me Friday at five. I'll do something for you. Wait I have to work after practice make it 8. I'll pick you up at your house." He had been trying to think of something nice to do for Brooke for a while. He got the feeling that no one ever did anything for her. Her parents were never around and all the boys she had ever been with only used her for one thing. She didn't look at it like this though. She figured that she had used them instead.
"I thought you were supposed to do what I wanted not the other way around."
"You can't always be in charge all the time." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.
"Will Henry need to get his I.D. back for Friday night?"
Luke thought about this for a minute I'm honestly not sure about that. Bring him along and we will see."
This put a gleam in Brooke eye, "Oh...You do know if I hate it not only will you owe me for the book but also for Friday. If I love it we'll call it even."
They had left the pizza place "That sounds fair enough to me. But now we are outside and its cold and we still don't know where we are going."
"My house" Brooke said with a shrug. They had been going there a lot lately her parents were never around. "I bought the new Jim Carey movie the other day" this was more of a question than a statement.
"Sounds good to me." They both climb into Brooke's car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke comes into his room and falls to the bed. He looks over at his clock. It reads 2:30. Thank god he had not woken Keith up this time. As he thought this the overhead light in his room turns on.
"Luke this is just ridiculous. You are four and a half hours late. I'm getting no sleep here I've been waiting up for you almost every night this week. You promised that"
Luke interrupts Keith before he can go on. "No you promised me that you would lay off. I was not drinking or getting tattoos or having sex tonight. Brooke and I were just watching movies."
"Yeah well that doesn't mean you can miss curfew."
"You know we wouldn't even be arguing if I was out with Haley you would just except my explanation and leave it at that." He rolled toward the wall leaving Keith to talk to his back.
"Haley is different than that girl. Haley has never brought or sent you home drunk, or with a tattoo."
Luke wanted so badly to tell him just how perfect Haley was, but didn't. It was not her fault that he was in trouble and besides she did make a good alibi. "Are we done I need to get to sleep. I have school tomorrow."
The looked that crossed Keith's face would have killed Lucas if he had been watching. He waited a second to rein in his temper. "FINE we can continue this tomorrow morning."
"I'll count the minutes until then" Luke replied as he pulled his pillow over his head ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nathan pulled into Haley's driveway it was almost three in the morning and they were both exhausted.
"Thanks Haley." He leaned over and kissed her.
"Well unfortunately for me I think you are really going to ace this test tomorrow." She said as she yawned.
"You think? I don't know what I would have done with out you."
"Either actually gone to class or fail the test, but since I've kind of gotten used to going to basket ball games I decided to help you out. Although you may just sleep through this test." She said with hope in her voice.
"Nope no chance I have got motivation to make sure I get a good grade."
"Yeah I noticed. I have never seen you study that hard for that long. I guess I'll have to keep that in mind." Nathan leaned over and kissed her again.
"What that I need to be motivated?" He paused and a devilish grin appeared on his face. Haley knew immediately he was going to make her blush. "That type of motivation might actually get in the way of our studying though." Haley immediately turned red. "You know this $ucks I can't see you blush in the truck."
"Well that is just too bad, and for your information I'm not blushing." Before Nathan could say anything Haley leaned over and kissed him. "I have to go some of us need our beauty sleep." She kissed him once on the nose and then on the lips.
As she climbed out of the truck Nathan shouted to her "I knew you were blushing." The light had come on when she had opened the door.
Haley having enough of being harassed for her blushing decided to say something that would get him to shut up for a while. She leaned back into the truck and whispered in his ear in her sexiest voice she could muster "It was not the sentence that made me blush." She lightly kissed his cheek, and closed the door to the truck. She turned and walked away. Haley felt Nathan watching her as she walked. She was tempted to look back, but she knew it would ruin the effect.
Nathan just sat there staring as Haley walked away. He was dumbfounded. He knew that she was sexy in her own way, but he had not thought that she knew this about herself. When she whispered in his ear a shiver had run down his spine. He thought that she must have picked up a few moves from Brooke. Maybe they should hang out more often.
Haley went to her window when she got upstairs to see if he was still there. Good maybe he will stop trying to make her blush. Probably not though instead he will try harder, just to get her to do something like that again. He finally drove away after a minute or two. She finally collapsed into bed fully clothed and fell asleep thinking of what Nathan's face must have looked like as she walked away.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nathan is sitting on the coach next to his mom. On her left is Dan Nathan's father. The two of them have not really been spoken since the incident. Part of this was due to the fact that all they had ever really talked about was basketball, and Deb would not allow Dan to talk to Nathan about basketball. The other part was neither knew what to say to each other any more. Dan had been furious with Nathan when he had chosen to stay with his mother rather than move out with him. He had started yelling at Nathan as was a normal conversation, but this time Deb had stepped in and told him to leave. Nathan still was not over all of the crap Dan had been saying to him lately. Nathan glanced over at his mom he still did not know what to think about her. She had been gone so much of his life. In some ways he blamed her for all of Dan's abuse. On the other hand here she was trying to fix this horrible situation and putting up with him. That said a lot about her. He had not gotten better since the incident if any thing he had gotten worse. Though he was not taking drugs any more, he was now skipping school and basketball practice, and had started to drink on the nights he could not be with Haley. Deb decided that they all needed professional help. So here they all sat in silence waiting to hear you can go in now, and dreading it at the same time. He would give anything to be anywhere else in the world. He would even choose to go to the dentist and he hated the dentist. He thought about the place he really wanted to be and that was with Haley. The thought of her brought a small smile to his face. They had grown closer in the past week and a half. He had never known that one person could know someone else so well, but Haley knew him. He tried to hide his true feelings for her from himself, but deep down he knew that she had his heart in the palm of her hand. This scared him, but also made him smile a little bigger. If there was one girl that could posses his heart it was Haley James, and though it scared him he knew she would never do anything to crush it. As he sat thinking of Haley and smiling he noticed his mom watching. This wiped the smile from his face. He sat up straighter and hide his thoughts away. His mom just sat there staring at him with the and what is making you so happy look on her face. Before she could ask the question though the receptionist said, "You can go in now."
Deb stands up immediately and leads the way into the office. It is hard to say between Nathan and Dan who drags their feet more. Neither one is happy about being here. Each took their respective places on either side of Deb on the couch. Neither of them looked happy. The good doctor started to explain all of the rules for the sessions, and Nathan zoned her out. Next he heard his mom talking.
"Things have just gotten out of hand" he heard her say. He just tried to block them out he hated the fact that they were fighting over something he did.
Before he knew what had happened he heard the doctor ask him a question. All he could think to say was "Pass." Even if he knew the question he really did not want to talk to this lady, especially with his parents there.
He sits there and catches "his father has been bullying him" it is his mom. God why can't they stop fighting over him.
Before he knows what is happening he hears "Nathan? Do you think basketball is part of your family's problem?"
Great they were back to him again. "I guess."
"And yet you still like to play?"
Before he can even answer this, his dad starts in. Nathan just blocks him out and sinks further into the couch. He hopes that maybe if he gets far enough down, they will all forget him.
"Do you play for you or because it is expected of you?" The doctor was talking to him again.
His dad once again has to put his two cents in. "He plays because he is good." This makes Nathan lean back even further.
Every one was waiting for the answer. Nathan had been trying to find that answer for years now. He finally answered with "I guess I don't know, okay."
At this Dan became furious. How dare this doctor mess with his sons head. He was his father and he knew what was best for Nathan. He had had enough. He stood and told Nathan "we are done" Deb tries to get him to sit back down. Nathan just follows orders like he always had when it came to his father.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The real scene for this is from
Dr. Thorpe (Con't): Truth is hard. So hostility stays outside. Deb, would you like to start? Reveal - Dan, Deb, and Nathan on the couch. Deb's in the center, and Dan and Nathan are at either side, ****ed.
Deb: Things've just gotten out of hand so we thought we could use some objectivity.
Dan: No, you thought so.
Deb (at same time): Dan...
Dr. Thorpe: Hostility stays outside, Dan.
Dan: I wasn't being hostile.
Dr. Thorpe: Define "gotten out of hand?" Nathan?
Nathan: Pass.
Deb: Things haven't been great for a while and then we reached the breaking point two weeks ago when my son --
Dan (interrupts): Hear that? "My" son -- ?
Dr. Thorpe (at same time): Deb is speaking now, Dan --
Deb: Our son collapsed on the basketball court after taking drugs to boost his performance --
Dan: And you honestly think --
Deb (at same time): -- because his father has been bullying him about the sport since Nathan was old enough to hold a ball.
Dan: "His mother" left out the fact that --
Dr. Thorpe: You'll get your turn --
Dan: -- up until two months ago she was never home.
Deb: I'm home now, Dan, enough to see that you have an unhealthy obsession with basketball and how Nathan plays it.
Dan (at same time, smiles at Dr. Thorpe): This is what she does. Blames me for her shortcomings as a mother. Deb glares at him. Nathan hugs the arm of the couch.
Dr. Thorpe: Okay. We got some things out in the open. Nathan? Do you think basketball is part of your family's problem?
Nathan: Part of.
Dr. Thorpe: But you still like playing?
Dan: Of course he does, he's --
Dr. Thorpe: Nathan's turn, Dan. Do you play for you, or because it's expected of you?
Dan: He plays because he's good.
Nathan feels all the eyes in the room on him, then --
Nathan: I don't know anymore, okay?
Dan (rises abruptly): All right. We're done.
Deb: Dan, will you please --
Dan: Hustle up. No way this is helping.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As practice was winding down one of the cheerleaders, Teresa pulled Peyton aside. Well it really wasn't aside the whole squad could hear the entire conversation. "You know Peyton you have changed lately." Peyton did not know what to say to this so she just stared at her. "You are different...." the way in which Teresa said this left little to the imagination. She meant that Peyton was turning weird on them. Peyton heard several girls snickering at this. Teresa waited for her to say something in her defense, but Peyton just looked at her with a look that said you have got to be kidding me. "That is exactly what I mean" Teresa said this as she turned away from Peyton.
Peyton sat stretching out by herself. Teresa probably was right. She had not been herself for a while, or at least she had not let the real Peyton show this much for this long. Normally she would hide her under the cheerleader image, but lately she saw no point in hiding her anymore. Too much had happened in the last month to care about impressing these girls. At this she looked over at where Luke and the basketball team sat. He caught her eye and made a face at the coach. She just shook her head and went back to stretching out. It wasn't just her that was weird around here. Luke and her were back to being friends and he and Brooke well they were still together. At this she looked over at Brooke who was shamelessly flirting with Luke behind Whitey's back. Peyton had tried hard to stay mad at her, but wasn't able to. She had never been able to stay mad at Brooke. Ever since they were little, Brooke has always been able to weasel her way back into Peyton's heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Across the gym the boys are getting another lecture from Whitey, but it is not one of his normal ones. "If any of you ever tries to pull the crap that Nathan did it will be the end of the team. No if ands or buts about it." They had all noticed Nathan's absence from practice. They all were wondering what was going to happen to him. What they did not know was that going to the shrink was the only way that he could remain on the team. Whitey and Deb had decided this for him last week. He would be able to play if he went and participated in the family therapy. At first Whitey had thought great another player that will come and go to practice as he pleases. Then he remembered his vow to stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. Nathan did not need hours of practice what he needed was someone to help him learn how to deal with Dan. Basketball came naturally to him. This also helped to settle the problem of weather or not to finish out the season. He reinstated the team. He was going to have to change something's himself. He had a long conversation with Keith about his coaching style. Keith had asked him how many of his old basketball players still hated him. Whitey had thought long and hard on this and as a far as he knew the only player he had that hated him was Dan. Then Keith asked how many of his players had taken drugs to be better at playing ball. Whitey had answered immediately one. As far as Whitey knew Nathan was the only player in the history of his program to take performance enhancers. Keith waited for Whitey to make the connection and when he didn't Keith had told him "Doesn't it seem weird that the only times you have had real problems is when Dan was involved? Have you ever thought that maybe it is not you that had the problem all those years ago. Dan had the problem. He thought that he was only as good as he was on the court. You did not teach him this it is something in his character. It has been there since we were kids. He was only happy when he was beating me at something and if he lost watch out because all hell would break loose."
Whitey had thought long and hard on this, while Keith sat there sipping his whiskey. Keith finally interrupted him "My first year I was whining about something and you pulled me into the office. You told me that your job was to make sure that I became the man I was supposed to be, not to be my friend. If we became friends along the way that was great, and if I ended up hating you that was okay too. Because no matter what happened you were going to make sure I did what I had to do. On the court and off. Dan is Dan because he did not want to listen to you. If you were the problem would you have been the one to go to Dan to talk about Nathan's behavior or would you have been the one to blow you off." Keith had gotten up at this and set his cup down. "You can't blame yourself for Dan, but you can make sure it doesn't happen again with Nathan. Closing basketball is not the way to do that either." With that Keith had walked out. Whitey had stayed and finished the bottle. In the end he had come to the decision that it he was going to fix the things he had over looked he had to keep the team. This brings us back to the gym and the first day of practice in over a week. They no longer had their perfect record because Whitey had forfeited 2 games in that time. However they still had a chance to win counties and then maybe sectionals.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke had tried to pay attention to Whitey's speech but Brooke was doing some very interesting things behind his back. So to keep from laughing he had let his mind wander. At first he thought about Nathan's absence. Although they were nowhere near being best friends Luke and him had come to a truce of sorts. Luke hoped that his absence did not mean he would no longer be playing on the team. If he had of been listening he would have heard Whitey tell them all that Nathan was still going to play but he had a prior engagement. The whole team had looked at each other wondering what this could be except Luke who caught Peyton's eye. He made a face of complete boredom and she just smiled and looked away. They had done the whole just friends speech again, and so far it was working, kind of. Peyton had closed off a little again and that was driving him nuts. As he watched Peyton he saw her look at Brooke who was still entertaining the entire team. He had been relieved to see that they were going to be okay. He had worried that somehow he had ruined a friendship. He decided that he needed to talk to her again and try to work things out a little better. He missed talking to her, well him talking and her insulting him. God he was glutting for punishment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haley walked up the sidewalk enjoying the view of Nathan playing basketball. He really was good. He had stopped and was just staring off into space as Haley came close. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not even hear her. He jumped when she touched his arm. "Penny for your thoughts"
He smiled down at her. It was amazing how easily she could make him smile. "They aren't worth that much."
"I'm willing to be overcharged." She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. He leaned down and kissed her deeply. After they pulled apart they walked over to the picnic table.
"Why didn't you call me I would have come over and picked you up so you didn't have to walk."
At this Haley laughed quietly "I like to walk, remember."
Nathan caught right on "How could I forget?"
Haley started to gently run her hands threw his hair. He was so tense she could feel the energy bounce off of him. If he didn't clam down they were never going to get any geometry done. He needed a lot of help with geometry since he had skipped three of the last eight classes. She knew he wanted to talk about the session, but she also knew he would get to it when he did. "So do we stay out here to study geometry or go inside?"
"How about we go inside and study biology instead?"
Haley completely missed his meaning. "We took biology last year we are in chemistry now."
He couldn't help but laugh. "Who were you studying biology with and do I have to beat him up." As it dawned on Haley what he was talking about the red spread threw her face.
"Just shut up now. I don't want to hear it."
"Have I ever told you how cute you are when you blush?"
"No" is all she could manage as the red in her cheeks deepened.
"Can I amend my three things I like about you because you blushing in Luke's pajamas should definitely be on that list."
"Fine I'll decide," she said trying to change the subject "the house it is too cold out here to work." With that she got up and left him sitting there. He stayed there a minute enjoying the view. "And would you please stop looking at my @ss?" This made him laugh. How had she known what he was doing he must be getting predictable. He followed her inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Guess who gorgeous?" Came a voice from behind Luke. The person slide her hands over his eyes. He had just left the gym. He knew exactly who it was. It was the only one person called him things like gorgeous, but he pretended to have problems.
"It can't be Haley whoever you are you are too tall for her. Um... could it be Tricia."
Brooke pushed him from behind and turned to leave. Luke grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her back into his arms. "I knew it was you I was just teasing."
"Oh and how did you know it was me?" Brooke asked.
"Well there is the obvious that you are the only girl in this town that thinks I'm gorgeous."
"That is definitely not true. I had to club three other girls just to be the first one at the door when you came out you are getting a little following."
Luke ignored her he didn't care about what the other girls thought of him. "Then there is your perfume." He leaned in and pretended to smell her neck. "I would recognize that any where."
"Ok you are off the hook this time but next time. So I was wondering if Henry wanted to come out and play?" She now called the drunk Luke Henry after his fake I.D.
"No I promised Keith that I would not drink on school nights any more, but Luke is starving and could use some food. You up for a pizza?"
Brooke looked a little disappointed, but then again spending time with Luke anywhere was fun. "Sure, I guess I can wait for Henry to come out and play on Friday." Luke laughed and leaned in and kissed her gently. Brooke thought that she was really in trouble here. They had now spent almost every night together hanging out since the night of the party. They still had not had sex, and though she wanted too it did not bother her that they weren't. There was something about Luke that entertained her. She was always interested in what he had to say and he could always make her laugh. She really was in trouble though they had not defined their relationship they were well on the way to being boyfriend and girlfriend. She had only considered dating one other boy and Peyton had gotten him first.
Luke interrupted her thoughts "So I'm with out a vehicle so can we take yours?"
"Yeah lets go. Now that you mention it I am kind of hungry myself."
"So how are you coming with the latest book I gave you."
"I don't know about Shakespeare why can't he just speak English and make my life easier."
They walk away talking about the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peyton is on the phone with Jake she has just told him about Teresa's little conversation. "I have to agree you are different...." he left her hanging for a couple seconds to make sure he had her full attention "and thank god. If we had one more perfect little cheerleader walking around I might have to go postal. She is just jealous. She sees that you aren't the perfect little cheerleader and that you can think for yourself and everyone still accepts you. So either she is afraid that if she does that they will all stop talking to her, or that we will all find out that she is not different from all the other cheerleaders, and simply can't think for herself. The second one is the one I am leaning toward"
"Thanks" she was going to say more but she heard Emma start crying in the background. "You should probably go I'm fine and Emma needs you more than me."
As she hangs up she looks down at her sketchpad she has drawn a new sketch. It has a girl standing by herself laughing. On the other side of the page is a group of girls that look identical. Over the one girl is written You're laughing at me because I'm different. I'm laughing at you because you're all the same." (StarGirl1231 gave me the idea for this title. Got to give props where props are due.) She looked at this one. It was a little like the "they are not you" sketch but different at the same time. She considered submitting this one into the paper, but it hit really close to home. The girls might figure out it was her. In some part of her she wanted them too. At this she wondered why Nathan had never rated her out. She had never really thought about it until now, but after they broke up she was surprised he had not said anything to the girls on the squad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nathan came in behind Haley she sat down at his desk trying to get him to do some work. He was pacing the room again. Finally Haley just said "Since we are not going to get any work done why don't you just tell me about the therapist, and why you are so p!ssed."
This stopped him dead in his tracks. He had his back to her "Am I really that transparent?"
"Yep. I was trying to give you some time and let you bring it up yourself, but you are taking too long, and you really need to pass this test tomorrow, so talk."
Nathan laughed, "You are a slave driver you know that don't you?"
"No I am realistic and I am not the one who has been skipping classes lately."
"No but you should."
"Nathan what happened. Quit trying to change the subject."
Nathan's expression changed from his mischievous grin to the I just got called on my bullshit and am not happy about it. He finally sat down on the bed. "It was horrible Hales they are fighting because of what I did. It's my fault,"
She came over and kneeled down in front of him. "Nathan I hate to say it but you probably aren't their biggest problem. If that were the case then they probably would not have split up over you."
He looked up into her eyes. They sat like this as he told her everything he could remember. He finally finished with "Thank god the doc wants to see them alone tomorrow." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He turned his head and caught her lips with his. They started out slow and it started to build. Haley finally pulled away.
"I told you to stop changing the subject" she said out of breathe as she pushed him a way and got up to get the geometry book.
"Alright I have a deal for you. We do this geometry crap tonight and I go ace the test. With at least a 80 and you skip classes on Friday."
"How will you know what you got on your test by Friday morning?" She was avoiding the deal she had no desire to skip school.
"I'll stop in after basketball practice and ask him he will know by then."
"Nathan if we both skip who's notes are you going to get then?"
"Come on Haley we need to get away from this place." Haley just looked at him. "Okay I need to get out of here for a while. I have had enough of tree Hill and all the talk. I can't go any where with out people talking about my folks and me. The whole town knows about it." Haley could tell he was being serious but she really did not want to skip. "Haley please come away with me for a day and maybe even the night. We could go take a hike out in the state forest, or go play out on the beach, or go see fifty movies. I don't really care what we do as long as you are with me."
At that Haley's heart melted she couldn't deny him but she could make it hard for him. "Okay, but its not an 80 its a 90 or better."
"No way that is too hard how about 85 split it down the middle."
"Alright deal." She held out her hand to shake his, but instead of shaking it he grabbed her and pulled her over to him.
"How about we kiss on it rather than shake on it." He said with one of his devilish grins. This time it was Nathan who pulled back. "Well if I am getting an 85 we had better start learning." With that he settled right into study mode.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peyton was just putting the finishing touches on the sketch when she heard a sound from the hall. Her heart skipped a beat, like it always did when someone came in the house. Could it really be him, or was it Brooke or someone else? She just waited and watched her door. Eventually a guy walked up to her door. Peyton broke out into a big smile.
"Hi stranger" he said setting his bag down. Peyton just smiled. "Well don't I get a hug?" At this Peyton jumped up and ran over to him.
"You're early. You said that you wouldn't be home until Sunday?" She said into his shoulder.
"Yeah well I couldn't stand to be away from you any longer so I sold them on the deal four days early just so I could get back here to you." Peyton pulled away but the guy still held on to arms and kept her at arms length. "You have got to stop growing sometime. What have you been eating you are as tall as a tree." This was an old joke that he had been telling her since seventh grade when she hit her growth spurt.
"Dad I am no taller than when you left." She had just giggled at this. This Peyton was completely different than the Peyton we have seen in the past she is almost giddy with excitement at her dad being home.
He pulled her back to him "God I have missed you honey. I'm sorry to have stayed away for so long."
"It's ok I understand." Peyton's demeanor has changed back to her old self she had just lied to her dad. She really wanted to scream at him that it wasn't ok she didn't want him to go. He leads her back to his room where we see her sitting on the bed and talking and laughing with him while he unpacks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So what now gorgeous" Brooke asks with that smile that tells Luke he may be in trouble. They had been talking about everything and nothing at all, all night. It was getting close to ten at night. The pizza shop was about to close and they would throw them out soon. "Well I've read your book so isn't it my turn to have you do something for me?" Her smile was getting wider.
"No you have not finished it you still have a couple more acts to read." He loved to tease her.
"It will be done tomorrow night, so...."
"So then meet me Friday at five. I'll do something for you. Wait I have to work after practice make it 8. I'll pick you up at your house." He had been trying to think of something nice to do for Brooke for a while. He got the feeling that no one ever did anything for her. Her parents were never around and all the boys she had ever been with only used her for one thing. She didn't look at it like this though. She figured that she had used them instead.
"I thought you were supposed to do what I wanted not the other way around."
"You can't always be in charge all the time." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.
"Will Henry need to get his I.D. back for Friday night?"
Luke thought about this for a minute I'm honestly not sure about that. Bring him along and we will see."
This put a gleam in Brooke eye, "Oh...You do know if I hate it not only will you owe me for the book but also for Friday. If I love it we'll call it even."
They had left the pizza place "That sounds fair enough to me. But now we are outside and its cold and we still don't know where we are going."
"My house" Brooke said with a shrug. They had been going there a lot lately her parents were never around. "I bought the new Jim Carey movie the other day" this was more of a question than a statement.
"Sounds good to me." They both climb into Brooke's car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke comes into his room and falls to the bed. He looks over at his clock. It reads 2:30. Thank god he had not woken Keith up this time. As he thought this the overhead light in his room turns on.
"Luke this is just ridiculous. You are four and a half hours late. I'm getting no sleep here I've been waiting up for you almost every night this week. You promised that"
Luke interrupts Keith before he can go on. "No you promised me that you would lay off. I was not drinking or getting tattoos or having sex tonight. Brooke and I were just watching movies."
"Yeah well that doesn't mean you can miss curfew."
"You know we wouldn't even be arguing if I was out with Haley you would just except my explanation and leave it at that." He rolled toward the wall leaving Keith to talk to his back.
"Haley is different than that girl. Haley has never brought or sent you home drunk, or with a tattoo."
Luke wanted so badly to tell him just how perfect Haley was, but didn't. It was not her fault that he was in trouble and besides she did make a good alibi. "Are we done I need to get to sleep. I have school tomorrow."
The looked that crossed Keith's face would have killed Lucas if he had been watching. He waited a second to rein in his temper. "FINE we can continue this tomorrow morning."
"I'll count the minutes until then" Luke replied as he pulled his pillow over his head ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nathan pulled into Haley's driveway it was almost three in the morning and they were both exhausted.
"Thanks Haley." He leaned over and kissed her.
"Well unfortunately for me I think you are really going to ace this test tomorrow." She said as she yawned.
"You think? I don't know what I would have done with out you."
"Either actually gone to class or fail the test, but since I've kind of gotten used to going to basket ball games I decided to help you out. Although you may just sleep through this test." She said with hope in her voice.
"Nope no chance I have got motivation to make sure I get a good grade."
"Yeah I noticed. I have never seen you study that hard for that long. I guess I'll have to keep that in mind." Nathan leaned over and kissed her again.
"What that I need to be motivated?" He paused and a devilish grin appeared on his face. Haley knew immediately he was going to make her blush. "That type of motivation might actually get in the way of our studying though." Haley immediately turned red. "You know this $ucks I can't see you blush in the truck."
"Well that is just too bad, and for your information I'm not blushing." Before Nathan could say anything Haley leaned over and kissed him. "I have to go some of us need our beauty sleep." She kissed him once on the nose and then on the lips.
As she climbed out of the truck Nathan shouted to her "I knew you were blushing." The light had come on when she had opened the door.
Haley having enough of being harassed for her blushing decided to say something that would get him to shut up for a while. She leaned back into the truck and whispered in his ear in her sexiest voice she could muster "It was not the sentence that made me blush." She lightly kissed his cheek, and closed the door to the truck. She turned and walked away. Haley felt Nathan watching her as she walked. She was tempted to look back, but she knew it would ruin the effect.
Nathan just sat there staring as Haley walked away. He was dumbfounded. He knew that she was sexy in her own way, but he had not thought that she knew this about herself. When she whispered in his ear a shiver had run down his spine. He thought that she must have picked up a few moves from Brooke. Maybe they should hang out more often.
Haley went to her window when she got upstairs to see if he was still there. Good maybe he will stop trying to make her blush. Probably not though instead he will try harder, just to get her to do something like that again. He finally drove away after a minute or two. She finally collapsed into bed fully clothed and fell asleep thinking of what Nathan's face must have looked like as she walked away.
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