A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy and feedback is welcomed!
Chapter 4
Shortly after eight that evening, found Nathan and Haley walking into their school gymnasium together. Peyton had seemingly flaked out and forgotten to meet them in front of the school which led them to come in together, a few sets of eyes watching the freshman couple with curiosity, which made Nathan more uncomfortable than before.
Instinctively he messed with collar of his blue button down shirt. Convinced it made it easier to breathe this way.
"Twenty minutes," he informed her, as the loud beat of the bass from the song the DJ was playing bellowed through the gymnasium floor.
"Nathan..." Haley began.
"I'm serious. Go talk to Peyton, do your thing so that she sees us here and then I can leave," he replied fiercely.
Haley let out a laugh. Nathan was determined if nothing else. From the moment they walked home after school that day, to when he picked her up earlier that night, and even now he was relentless in letting her know exactly how he felt about going to this dance. He did not want to be there. Period. However, despite her own feelings towards the entire event, Haley had a difficult time not finding Nathan's attitude quite comical. Nathan had a bad tendency when he didn't get his way to pout. His mouth would turn up in the corners in the smallest of frowns and his eyes would grow into big blue pools that made it almost possible to refuse whatever he wanted. Almost.
"Relax Nathan, it's not that bad," Haley assured him, as they cut around the crowd to a group of tables off to the side of the dance floor.
"Whatever. I've got better things to do than spend my Friday night at school," he responded with cool indifference.
"I'm sure you do. But dances are supposed to be fun. So loosen up," she turned her head to look at him and smiled.
Nathan gave her an irritated glare. Not wanting to be where he was, and very much not understanding Haley's change in mood from lunch. "Since when did you want to be here? I distinctly remember you begging me to come with you. If you don't care I can easily leave..."
"You leave," she pointed. "And it's with a broken leg Scott, now come on. Let's go," she looped her arm through his and pulled him the rest of the way to the tables where they saw Jake standing off to the side watching Peyton dance.
Jake noticed them the second they came up next to him and he gave them both a smile and a nod. "Hey! What's up guys?"
Haley smiled back at Jake warmly, setting down the black purse she'd brought to match her dress on the table he was leaning against. "Hey! So what are you doing here? Did Peyton trap you into coming too?"
"Actually," he shrugged. "She just mentioned going so I thought I'd check it out."
Haley nodded in response to his words. Although when she noticed Jake's attention return to the dance floor she thought she caught him staring at Peyton a bit longer than she would've figured necessary. Her speculations were interrupted, however, by Nathan's grumbles beside her.
"This is lame," he groaned, stuffing his hands inside his pants pockets.
'Yeah, it pretty much is," Jake added, his eyes set forward. Haley sighed, not completely disagreeing, but trying to be as happy as she could for all involved.
"Where's Peyt," she asked, moving in between the two young men and looking toward the crowed, but unable to see much due to her height.
"Dancing with her date," Jake said with little emotion.
"Ok, well you hold the fort," she nudged Jake in the side and gave him a wink. "I'll be right back."
Nathan watched Haley disappear amongst the dancing masses and let out another audible groan. "This is so going to take longer than twenty minutes."
"You on a schedule," Jake turned to him and laughed.
"Not specifically. Just didn't exactly picture my Friday here, ya know?"
"Yeah man, I know what you mean. So...did you get your Mom to sign the form yet?"
Nathan stilled at Jake's question, feeling the tension in his body rise. "No. We moved passed the screaming stage of arguing and are now into the silent treatment. Which isn't really moving things along."
"You're running out of time Nate. Tryouts are in less than a week."
"I know. I know," he mumbled. "But what am I supposed to do?"
Jake shrugged and shook his head at a loss. "I don't know. But you better think of something quick."
"Amazing," Peyton chimed in, walking up to Nathan. "I can't believe he actually showed. It must be a miracle."
"Peyton. Isn't there a Senior's ass you should be kissing right about now?" Nathan smirked at her.
Peyton smirked back at him. "Cute," she turned to Haley who had come back with her. "Are you gonna dance now?"
"Uh no. I don't dance," Haley stated, inching away from Peyton's grasp.
"Everybody can dance. All you have to do is shuffle your feet," she instructed latching her hand onto Nathan's arm, her other on Haley's back pushing her forward. "Now go."
Nathan didn't budge. "Why are you touching me?"
"Because you and Haley are going to dance," Peyton informed, tugging at his arm.
"Forget it," he tugged back, more so than anything else because he hated people telling him what to do. Especially Peyton.
As if in his own head Haley moved back as well. "Yeah Peyt. I don't really want–
"Both of you shut your mouths and go," Peyton said above them, pushing and pulling them forward with all her might. She got them to the edge of the crowd before she moved away, returning to Jake and dragging him along with her. "I'll see you over there, when you're done," she called out gesturing back to where Mike and his friends were sitting.
On the dance floor Haley and Nathan watched Peyton equal death glares until they could no longer see her. When she was gone their eyes finally met, their bodies still in front of each other. They knew they could make a break for it now, but neither chose to leave. A new song began around them and Haley found her arms slowly coming around Nathan's neck of their own volition. They began to sway to the music, the soft melody making it easy to move back and forth.
"Why does she always talk us into these situations," Haley asked offhand.
"To torture us," Nathan answered simply and Haley laughed, her body relaxing a bit within his arms.
"Sometimes I think so. But hey, at least we're in it together right?"
"Yeah well it would look kind of weird if we were dancing to this song by ourselves," he countered with a smirk.
"HA HA," Haley mock laughed, causing Nathan to smile for the first time that night. His eyes sparkled and glowed against the striking blue shade of his button down shirt and black suit jacket. Making him appear much older than his fifteen years.
Haley blushed despite herself, suddenly aware of just how closely they were together. In the time that they had been friends it had never escaped her attention how good looking Nathan was. From the first moment she saw him she knew he was the most gorgeous boy she'd ever seen. And the thing about Nathan was, the more she gotten to know about him, the more she learned, the stronger his beauty became. With most people, learning their faults, destroying the fantasy image inside of your head with getting to know them often lessened their ability to be attractive, but it wasn't so with Nathan. It never had been. Which was why, she supposed that when he came to her door that night, handsomely dressed in a suit, his hands fidgeting in his pockets, Haley couldn't help the giddy feeling that rose inside her stomach at the thought that this was their first date. Albeit a completely set up one, that Nathan begrudgingly agreed to, but a date nonetheless.
Wrapping her arms tightly around Nathan's neck Haley rested her head against his chest letting his height envelope her and cradle her as they rocked back and forth. A small smile spreading over her mouth as she remembered the look on Nathan's face when he saw her in the black spaghetti strap dress she'd chosen to wear...
He'd been right. Two hours certainly didn't feel like twenty minutes, yet that's exactly how long he'd been inside the school gymnasium. Not that the entire experience had been all for naught. Hanging with his friends had been fun. And that dance with Haley hadn't been so bad, even if she did give him the most awful crick in the neck. Still holding her in his arms had been...
"Excuse me..."
Nathan looked up from where his eyes had been firmly focused on the glass of punch in his hand to the older man that had addressed him. A startled face rose at the shorter bald man, and the blue wind-breaker he wore with the Ravens emblem on the upper left side. Nathan hadn't even realized so absorbed in his own thoughts, that he was blocking the free entrance between the crowd and refreshments table.
"Oh, sorry," Nathan replied stepping back, his attention now on the mans jacket.
"It's quite alright," the he replied, deep hard lines upon his eyes and tight mouth.
Nathan stood still as the other man moved to go, the words inside his head leaving his mouth before he even realized what he'd done. "You're Coach Durham right?"
The man paused and turned slowly. "Most people around these parts call me Whitey. But yes I am."
"You coach Varsity basketball," Nathan said bluntly. And the older man nodded staring at him now with almost a curious appraisal.
"True. What can I do ya for?"
Nathan gulped back a breath of air, his hand tight around the glass of red punch he was holding. This was a now or never kind of deal. He could walk away, that would be a lot easier and hell of a lot less scarier. It wasn't much of a choice.
"Nothing really," Nathan shrugged. "I ...I was just wondering what you might say if there was someone who wanted to try out for Varsity, but they couldn't get a parent signature. Would it be possible for them to still play?"
Whitey's forehead wrinkled into half a dozen lines. "Technically?"
"Technically," Nathan nodded.
"Technically," he began "No. Even if this person made it on the team, without parental consent I cannot allow students to participate in after-school activities, by law. It's an administrative code, it's not up to me."
Nathan's face fell. "Oh...ok."
"Why do you ask," Whitey prodded, intrigued by this young man's emotion.
"My mom won't let me play," Nathan answered forlornly. "She thinks sports are evil. Especially basketball. No matter what I say she won't change her mind."
Whitey nodded, he'd heard many a story before from young men coming into his gym and wanting to play ball, but because of their parents disapproval not being able to. It was always a sad thing to see happen.
"What's your name son," he asked, not even sure himself why.
"Nathan Scott."
A lightbulb went off in Whitey's head and a knowing came over his eyes as he looked at Nathan more closely than before, as if seeing a long forgotten ghost come to life. "I thought you looked familiar. You're Dan Scott's son."
Nathan nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
Whitey looked off into the distance as if caught in memory. "Danny," he sighed. "He left quite a mark on this town. I was sorry to hear him go."
Nathan glanced down to the ground and nodded solemnly. "...So you knew my dad?"
"Briefly, for a time," the older man answered, blinking away his thoughts and returning back to the present. "How long have you been playing ball?"
Nathan gave him a suspicious look at his answer but brushed it off quickly."Um, on and off since I was six. But mostly at park courts and in my back yard."
"Never with a club or junior leagues?"
Nathan shook his head in the negative.
Whitey stood in silence for a moment watching Nathan before him. He was obviously tall enough to play, and with almost ten years of experience behind him, was no doubt more skilled than a few of the players he already had lined up for this year's team. Especially considering where he came from...Yet he probably lacked discipline and many of the basics by never being part of a team unit. Things that one simply cannot learn by playing alone or on a school yard court. Whitey knew logically this wasn't something he should do. It was immature, childish. But his instincts were screaming at him to give this boy a chance. Could he go against his own intuition?
"Tell me something Nathan," he said with utter sobriety. "Why do you think you should be given a chance when so many others would like to play?"
Nathan met Whitey's eyes, his voice calm and certain. "Because I don't want to do anything else."
Whitey grinned at that. "Well you have yourself a good time tonight son," he turned to leave. " And why don't you come into the gym next week. We'll see what you've got."
He didn't know if he'd heard the old man right or not, but the smile that crept onto his face, and lit up his eyes, didn't leave Nathan's face as Whitey walked away, it didn't leave his face the entire night.
Things only began to get more confusing and exciting for Nathan in the few days that followed, when he came home late from school to find the dreaded white permission slip sitting on the dining room table. Signed.
Hurriedly Nathan snatched it up and held it in his hands starting at his mothers signature in quite awe.
From the side of the room his mother entered the kitchen, a warning mask across her face. "Just remember it's a game, ok Nathan. Not a life."
He nodded with casual ease. After all it didn't seem like such a significant statement in that moment. But over time, Nathan was surprised to find out how true his mother's words were.