Nathan sighed as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around himself. Last night's party had left him with a pretty bad hangover, and he had tried to sleep it off. He really couldn't remember much of what happened. His father walked by his room and knocked on the door before walking inside.

"Nathan?"

"Yeah. What's up, Dad?" Nathan asked as he towel dried his hair and reached for the gel sitting on the dresser.

"At least 24 points tonight, okay? We don't want a repeat of last year's Stone Creek game, do we?" Dan called as he walked downstairs.

Nathan sighed as he walked towards his closet, thinking back to what happened last year when the team played Stone Creek.

Nathan slept silently in his bed as the clock changed from 4:29 to 4:30, and he had should've gotten up by now. Peyton walked in to his room, with her hand on her hip as she threw her cheerleading bag on to the floor. She turned to him and smiled softly, seeing him laying shirtless in his bed.

She walked towards the bed and sat next to him, folding her legs underneath her body. Nathan smiled as she placed light kisses along his jaw.

"Wake up," Peyton said softly.

Nathan groaned and shifted his body.

Peyton rolled her eyes and laid down next to him, lifting the sheet up and covering her body as well. Nathan's arm found his way around her waist as he pulled her body in to his. Her head rested on his shoulder.

"Nathan, it's four thirty," Peyton said quietly as she began drawing small circles on his chest with her index finger.

Nathan sighed as he opened his eyes and yawned.

"When do we have to leave?" he asked.

"Now. Why are you sleeping at four thirty?"

"I don't know. I'm just mad tired. It's weird."

Peyton nodded before sitting up, "Get ready. We have to get on the bus at 5 to make it to Stone Creek at 7."

Nathan pushed the comforter off of his body and walked towards the bathroom. Peyton walked towards his dresser and found his basketball uniform, she pulled it out and put it on his bed. She found his remote and turned on the TV as Nathan shaved in the bathroom.

Nathan's cell phone rang and Peyton reached for it, seeing that it was Tim she rolled her eyes.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Peyton? It's Tim."

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Listen, I have mono. So, tell Nate to tell Whitey. And, tell him you guys don't have to pick me up."

"Oh. Wow. Okay. So, I'll see you later."

"Yeah. And, tell Nate. Later, Pey."

Peyton closed his phone and walked towards the bathroom, opening the door she saw Nathan stepping out of his boxers and turning the shower on.

Nathan smirked, "You wanna' join me?"

Peyton sighed, "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty horny, actually. Especially after seeing you in that uniform," Nathan said with a smile, as he leaned in to kiss her.

Peyton pushed him away.

"What?" Nathan asked, slightly annoyed.

"Tim has mono."

"What? Is he okay?" Nathan asked as he stepped in to the shower.

Peyton sighed as she walked towards the toilet, and pulled the lid over it, before sitting on top of it.

"Well, yeah. But, I think you have it too."

"Well, you're the only person I've been kissing, Peyton."

Peyton rolled her eyes, "That's good to know, Nate. You can get mono from sharing water bottles."

"Shit," Nathan said as he shampooed his hair.

"Yeah. And, you're tired, right? That's a major symptom. Brooke's had mono at least fourteen times."

Nathan sighed loudly as he shut off the shower and wrapped a towel around himself, "So, what do I do?"

"Well, can you play tonight?"

"Yeah. I mean, I feel a little off. But, I can play."

"..Okay…Hurry up. We have to go."

Peyton reached towards the doorknob, but was stopped when she felt two strong hands on her bare waist.

Nathan turned her around so she was facing him.

"So, does this mean.."Nathan began to ask.

Peyton cocked her head to the side, "It means we can't kiss."

"On the lips.." Nathan said, as he leaned towards Peyton and kissed her neck softly, pushing her towards the bathroom counter.

Peyton moaned quietly as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Nathan groaned as he pulled away.

"What?" he asked agitatedly.

"Are you ready?" Dan asked.

"Almost," Nathan said, as he leaned towards Peyton again.

Dan opened the door causing the two of them to turn around and pull away from each other.

"Dad!" Nathan exclaimed.

"I thought you were getting ready," Dan said, obviously amused.

"Just get out," Nathan said as he walked out of the bathroom, leaving an embarrassed Peyton to follow.

THREE HOURS LATER.

Peyton sat next to a sleeping Nathan on the bus ride home.

Her head was resting on his shoulder as she was listening to her iPod.

"Peyton.."

She looked towards her right to see Vegas O'Connor staring at her with a smile. He was attractive, but not like Nathan. He had a blonde shag and a relatively muscular build.

"What's up, Vegas?"

"What was up with Nathan tonight?"

"He's pretty sick."

"Ah..So, you guys won't be partying tonight?" Vegas asked.

"Nah, don't think so. I'll probably just go take care of him, put him to bed."

Vegas smirked, "I'm sure you will."

Peyton furrowed her eyebrows, "Excuse me?"

" Sorry, I thought. You were going to…Well, Nathan talks about you guys..you know..I just thought you spoke about it openly, too."

"What does he talk about?" Peyton asked loudly.

Vegas looked away, "Uh...I don't know. What you guys do in bed, I guess."

Peyton bit her lip as she swallowed slowly. The tears were building up in her eyes. And, she was finding it difficult to control them. She looked down and saw the familiar Ravens' logo. She squirmed and took off Nathan's letterman jacket. Setting it on his lap she walked towards the back of the bus and towards Brooke who was sitting by herself listening to her own iPod.

"What's up, P.Sawyer?"

Peyton shook her head as she sat next to her and cried softly, letting the tears fall.

"Oh, baby. What happened?" a concerned Brooke asked as she rubbed her best friend's back.

"Nathan."

Brooke snarled, "The monumental asshole."

Peyton nodded, and cried silently in the arms of her best friend.

Half an hour later the kids got off of the bus, and Peyton waited for Brooke, who was saying bye to her "boyfriend-of-the-week," Joey.

Peyton rubbed her bare arms with her hands as she shivered in the cold. She felt two hands drape something over her shoulders and turned around to see Nathan with a smile towering over her. She shrugged his jacket off of her body and watched it fall to the floor.

"Oh. Sorry, I thought you were cold," Nathan said as he picked it up.

"I was," Peyton said as she searched for Brooke.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked as he reached for her hand.

Peyton pulled away, "Don't touch me. D-Don't come near me."

Nathan stared at her confused, "What the hell did I do?"

Peyton snarled, "I don't know. Tell the entire basketball team about what we do in bed?"

Nathan looked away quickly, "What?"

Peyton shook her head, "Just shut up. J-Just shut up, and go find another cheer slut."

Nathan sighed, "Peyton. Calm down, okay? I-I just..Everyone talks in the locker room. Okay?"

"Yeah. Does everyone talk about having sex with their girlfriends besides you? Oh wait, Nathan! Did you tell the guys about the time you almost raped me? I'm sure they really enjoyed that one, right?"

Nathan sighed, "I'm sorry, okay? Listen, as an underclassmen you kinda' have to talk about this stuff in front of the guys. I-I'm sorry. I'm not the only one. We all do. And, if you don't…It's another thing for the guys to rag on you on.."

"So, we have sex so the guys don't laugh at you? We have sex for the team?"

Nathan shook his head obviously frustrated, "No! Is that what I said? I said, everyone talks about it. Everyone talks about who they hooked up with the night before. A-And, I'm not just hooking up with random chicks. I'm having sex with my girlfriend. And, I'm proud of that. So, whoever told you this is just a jackass who is trying to skrew up our relationship!"

Peyton sighed, "Nate…I-I don't want people to think I'm your whore, okay? I want them..to respect me. And, how are they going to do that, when they know I spread my legs for you every night?"

Nathan sighed as he cupped her face in his hands, "Peyton. We're…passionate. Okay? There's nothing wrong with that."

Peyton sighed as she allowed herself to fall in to his chest.

"Nathan, listen. I don't care what they think, okay? I-I just want you to respect me."

Nathan smiled softly, "I do respect you. I love you."

Peyton smiled as she stood on her toes to kiss him, placing her hand on his face as she pulled him closer to her.

Nathan pulled away slowly, "I knew you couldn't resist for too long."

Peyton rolled her eyes as she kissed him again pulling away quickly, "Let's go home. We can go to bed."

Nathan grinned, "Oh really?"

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Yeah. We're both sick. As in, we need rest. Not sex."

Nathan smiled as he wrapped his arm around her as they walked towards the car, "We always need sex."

Peyton laughed and hit him playfully.

Nathan sighed as he slipped his uniform on. Maybe he did need another Stone Creek game.

Nathan smiled as he reached for his cell phone.

"Hey Peyton. You wanna' sit with me on the bus tonight?"

Hey guys. I'm having a little trouble deciding what to do after this. Ideas are appreciated. Thanks!