Heres Chapter 46 for ya guys!
Mercedes POV
After picking up all our things, and changing, we finally headed out and to LA. I lay in Nathan's lap while he hugged me tight. We hadn't said much in the last few hours on the plane, we didn't have too. It was like... he just looked at me and knew what I was thinking. But there was still something that I needed to talk to him about and I might as well get it out now rather than later...
General POV
"Nathan..." She said sitting up a little to look him in the eyes. He looked back at her a little concerned about what he saw in her eyes. "You're not really gonna give up basketball are you?" Nathan looked away from her and she let him think for a moment but then she pulled his face back to face her gently. He kept his eyes from makingcontact with hers. "Come on babe... talk to me." She said moving her head to try and make him look at her.
"When you first told me you were into me you said that you would give up basketball for me. Do you remember that?" She nodded her head slowly and moved away from him a little more. "Well... my dad's basically told me to pick one, and I choose you."
"That makes no sense Nathan." Mercedes said looking down at him unconvinced. "You love the game, why would you give that up?"
"Mercedes..." He said starting to get a little frustrated. "What do you want me to say?"
"Tell me the truth. Is this really about me or is it about something else? Just... tell me what's really in your mind"
"Fine, you really wanna know?"
"Yeah."
"My entire life my dad has been on my case about basketball, you know? And I don't wanna live under him anymore. He's always telling me to work harder or be better. He's always comparing me to himself and telling me that I'll never be the player that he was."
"Nathan...you are not your father. Thank God for that." He chuckled lightly and she smiled just looking at the smile on his face. "Your father never made it as a player, but you will."
"Oh yeah? How do you know I will?" He said pulling her closer to him., and placing a small kiss on her cheek.
"Call it a woman's instinct." She said leaning down to kiss him.
He pulled away from her and she hugged him.
"I don't know..." He said kissing her head. "Maybe I just need a break from it all. Besides, if I do decide to stop playing Whitey will still have you and Lucas."
She looked up at him and placed her hand on his cheek.
"I don't think your making the right choice in giving up your spot but... if that's what you want then... I'll support you."
Nathan was about to say something when Ciara walked over.
"Z, your puppy's up and he want's his mommy." She said playfully as she took the seat next to Nathan.
"Ok." Mercedes said looking at her. "I'll be right back." She said looking back at Nathan and kissing him quickly.
Nathan shook his head and smiled as she got up and headed to the couch where Haley, Brooke and Monica were playing with the puppy.
"So.. What's up Nathan?" Ciara said casually trying to make conversation
"Nothing much." Nathan said looking away from her as soon as he saw that Jorge had left the poker game that he had been playing with D, Q and Lucas and walking over to take a seat next to Mercedes on the couch.
Ciara followed his eyes and smiled.
"Oh, I see." She said getting his attention back.
"You see what?" Nathan asked a little defensive
"Your jealous of Jorge." She said looking at Nathan
"I am not jealous of him." Nathan said trying to defend himself.
"Yeah, ok!" Ciara said sitting up a little straighter and turning herself to face Nathan. "I saw the looks you gave him at the party. Plus look at the way your looking at him now."
"I just... I don't get why they're so close. And what was up with the whole teddy bear thing, cause I don't get it."
Ciara laughed a little and then turned back to look at him.
"Ok, first off... now I know why she likes you so much."
"What?" Nathan asked confused.
"She talks about you all the time, and she was talking to us about the gift you gave her and how much it meant to her. You see Nathan... Mercedes has never been a greedy person. Even when she had to be, she wasn't. The reason that her and Jorge are so close is because they were both each others firsts. And since they were still friends when they broke up... that's all they are Nathan, just friends. And the reason that the bear meant so much to her is because... Ok... when she was growing up, she grew up as poor as you could possibly get. And her brothers tried their hardest to just try and get through another day. She never had enough for the things that she wanted and she was ok with that as long as she and her brothers woke up alive the morning. But Q saved up a little and bought her a teddy bear. One just like the one that Jorge gave her. She kept that bear all these years because it reminds her of all the hard times that she had gone through in the past. When her mom died, she said that she remembers putting that bear on her bed, but she never found it. She knows her mom did something with it because she was the only person in the house. That's why it mean so much to her it reminds her of her mom. She's grown a lot since I first met her. Cause God knows that she wasn't the same person she is now."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean...living in the hood your either a lamb or a wolf, and if you're a lamb you don't have a high chance of surviving. So she became a hard ass, just like her brothers. She wouldn't let anyone intimidate her, and she sure as hell wouldn't let anyone walk all over her. Sure... there were some times when she lost it because Q got hurt or D did something stupid and she had to bail him out but... she survived. She's been pretty down lately because of her mom and I totally get that. I still remember when she wanted nothing to do with her."
"Her mom? It seems like she really loved her."
"Oh, she does. But when she first got adopted she didn't like to hang out around there much."
"Why did they break up?" Nathan said looking at them on the couch as Jorge placed his arm around her shoulders.
"They broke up because... they were both leading two different lives. She was doing her whole modeling thing and Jorge was doing his thing. They both weren't the same people anymore and they both knew that. Plus... they were both really young and they knew they had to experience themselves more."
"She seems... experienced." Nathan said with a smile on his face as he looked at her playing with the puppy.
Ciara laughed and then turned to see her too.
"You do know that there have been only two guys before you right?" She said turning to look at him.
"Yeah, Jorge and Michael."
"Yep."
Nathan was still looking at her and saw when Jorge leaned in to whisper something in her ear. Ciara saw him tense up a little smiled to herself.
"Why don't you just tell her how you feel about it?" She said turning to look at him.
"No, it's ok." Nathan said turning to face her as well
"Why not? If she was jealous she'd tell you."
"No she wouldn't."
"She really would... watch."
Ciara turned herself towards Nathan a little more and placed her hand on his knee. She pretend laughed and Nathan was looking at her bewildered. He did though see Mercedes look up and watch her. Then without a second thought Nathan removed her hand from his knee. Z got up and walked over to them puppy in hand.
"What's this?" She said as she walked up to them.
"What are you talking about?" Ciara said innocently backing away from Nathan.
"You hitting on my boyfriend Ciara?" She said looking at her.
"It wasn't what it looked like." Nathan said quickly.
"Your quick to respond." She said looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Chill Z." Ciara said giving Nathan a break. "I was just trying to prove my point."
"And what point is that?"
"That you'll tell him if your jealous of someone flirting with him."
"Oh." She said looking at Nathan. "How did that conversation come up?"
"Nathan's jealous of Jorge." Ciara said getting up quickly. "Good luck Nate." She said looking down at Nathan's shocked face before scurrying away.
Mercedes looked at Nathan surprised by the new information and then laughed.
"Your not really jealous of him are you?" She asked as she switched the puppy from one arm to the other. Nathan looked up at her but said nothing. "Babe..." she said taking a seat on his lap. "Jorge and I are just friends. We're really good friends, but that's all we are." She repositioned herself to be straddling his lap and looked him in the eyes. "You're my guy Nathan Scott and don't you forget that." She said almost in a whisper as she leaned down and kissed him.
Nathan gladly kissed her back and pulled his hand to her back and pulled her closer to him. She arched her back and pulled the puppy to the side of her so he wouldn't get squished in between them.
"You two do know that there is a bedroom in the back right?" Ciara said getting their attention.
Nathan and Mercedes separated and looked over at her.
"The only thing they'll be doing in there will be sleeping." Q said from the table where he was dealing the next hand.
"Q!" Mercedes said giving him a dirty look.
"Watch yourself Nathan, cause I'll be watchin you."
"Don't listen to him." Mercedes said looking back at Nathan and smiling. Nathan just smiled at her and shook his head.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Ciara said looking up at her from the couch where she was talking to Jorge.
"Yeah, I should be but-"
"Go to sleep Z. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow and I don't want you to be exhausted." D said looking up from his hand.
Mercedes looked at him with a raised eyebrow and then looked back at Nathan who just shrugged.
"By the way Z..." Monica said getting her attention. "What is your photo shoot for tomorrow?"
"Oh, umm...Vogue"
"I didn't know you were doing Vogue." Brooke said looking up from the magazine that she was reading.
"Wait..." Haley said with a stifled laugh "You're doing a photo shoot for Vogue?"
"Yeah, they wanna do an interview or somethin." She said as if it were something unimportant.
Haley fell back in her seat amazed. She would have never imagined that one of her friends would be in Vogue. Mercedes turned her full attention back to Nathan and leaned down to give him a peck on the lips.
"Maybe you should get some sleep." He said after they had pulled away from each other
"Nah, I'm actually not that tired. Besides... it's not even midnight yet." She said putting a hand on his chest.
"Mercedes I'm serious." D said from the table.
Mercedes looked down at Nathan and Nathan just laughed quietly to himself. She got off his lap and pulled Nathan out of his seat. He put his arms around her waist and they both walked over to the table together.
"Ok..." Mercedes said stopping in from of the table. "D, I know your trying to 'change' and 'be a better brother' or whatever but... sending me to bed? You sound like my dad."
"Hey, I'm your brother and I know what's best for you. So... go to bed."
"You now what... fine." She said looking at him. "But I'm not doin it cause you told me too but cause I'm tired."
Nathan squeezed her hand a little and she turned to him and winked.
"Yeah, ok. Whatever Z." D said looking down at his hand and laughing.
Mercedes backed away from the table and said goodnight to everyone, as did Nathan. She led him to a gold colored door and he opened it for her. She smiled up at him for being such a gentleman and walked inside. He did too and closed the door behind him. She walked over to the bed and gently placed the puppy on it. Nathan smiled to himself as he saw her playing with him.
"You have a name for him yet?" Nathan asked walking over to take a seat with her.
"Umm.. I was thinking about one but... your gonna think it's stupid and-" She answered looking down at the puppy, who was walking around in a circle chasing his tail.
"Oh, come on." He said cutting her off. "What is it?"
She looked up at him and sighed. "Ok... I was thinking of calling him Jr."
"Jr?" He asked a little amused.
"See... I knew you were gonna think it's stupid. I don't even know why I told you."
He laughed a little and got up to sit next to her on the bed.
"It's not stupid." He said putting his arm around her shoulders. "I like it." He reached over her and picked the puppy off the bed. "You like it too don't you Jr?" He said raising the puppy to eye level so they could both see him.
The puppy looked at them for a second before yawning. Nathan laughed and Z smiled at him.
"That means he likes it." Nathan said taking Jr into his arms and petting his head.
"Yeah, ok." Mercedes said laughing a little and getting up. "I'll be right back, ok?"
"Where are you goin?" He asked as he watched her head to the door.
"I'm gonna go get somethin. I'll be back in a second." She said turning the doorknob.
He reluctantly shook his head and watched her leave the room. Unsure of what he should do he lay the now sleeping puppy down on the bed and proceeded to lay down himself. He looked up at the ceiling and just... thought. He still felt horrible about leaving his mom alone for the whole weekend with his dad. But she promised him that she would stay away from him as much as she could. It had been a while now since the first time that they had tried to get away from Dan. They had both bonded together since Haley left and Nathan was left alone and with no one to talk to. Deb felt the same way and took the chance to get closer to her son. That's when they had both decided that Dan was ruining both their lives so they decided to just get up and leave. Somehow Dan found out and said something to Deb. Nathan never found out what he said to her to make her stay but... they had. She said that it would be the best thing to do. Dan promised he'd change but... he hadn't. Nathan felt an anger in his heart when he thought about what he had done to Mercedes earlier. He wished he could have gone back and spared her that, he wished he could say something to her to make it all better. His thoughts were interrupted by the alarm from the clock that sat on the dresser next to the bed. He looked over at it, and read the time.. 12:00 am. Just then Mercedes walked backin closing the door behind her. He looked at her and smiled. She smiled back at him and watched him get up from the bed. He walked to meet her halfway and took her into his arms.
"Guess what?" He said kissing her lips lightly.
"What?" She said with a confused smile.
"It's midnight."
"So..."
"It's Saturday. Today's your birthday." She looked up at him and kissed him softly. "Happy birthday baby." He said kissing her back.
Mercedes suddenly pulled away from him completely and Nathan looked at her confused. She locked the door and he let out a sigh of relief. She walked back to him and he held her in his arms kissing her tenderly. He lay her softly on the bed and she ran her hands up his back. He caressed her cheek with one hand and used his other arm to hold himself up. When they pulled away from each other, breathing heavily, she looked him in the eyes smiled.
"Your lucky we're on a plane, and my brothers are here." She said laughing lightly.
He laughed and collapsed next to her. She rolled over and connected her iPod to the speaker base. She pressed a few buttons and a few seconds later 'Hope Springs Eternal' by John Gold began to play. She rolled over on her side and faced Nathan. He caressed her cheekand she looked up into his eyes.
"I could get lost in your eyes." She whispered putting her arm around his waist.
He pulled her closer to him and kissed her softly.
"And I get lost in yours." He said almost in a whisper.
She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. He held her close to him and toyed with her hair.
Outside Peyton was sitting alone where Nathan and Mercedes were sitting earlier putting a few finishing touches on a sketch she was doing of her and Mercedes. She was really into it and didn't notice someone sit down next to her.
"What are you up to?" Jake asked pulling her out of dream land.
She looked up at him a little flustered but composed herself quickly.
"Umm... nothing much just... making a few doodles." She answered modestly.
"Can I see?" He asked. She handed him her clipboard and he looked at her in awe. "I'd say these are defiantly not doodles. This is really great Peyton." He said handing it back.
"Thanks." She said a little embarrassed but happy that he had complimented her on it.
"Listen... there's actually something that I wanted to talk to you about." Jake said seriously.
"Ok." Peyton answered a little afraid of what it was he wanted to say.
"There was something that I was trying to tell you up on stage earlier."
"What is it?"
"I wanted you to know that... you did an amazing job tonight Peyton."
"Thanks Jake." Peyton answered sincerely.
"No problem." Jake said with a shy smile.
Nathan awoke to Jr licking his face. He smiled as he pushed the dog away from him.Jr once again curled himself into a little ball and just looked at Mercedes. Nathan turned to see Mercedes had her arm draped around his waist. He pulled her closer to him and smiled. He closed his eyes but opened them again when he heard a knock on the door. He got up slowly, so he wouldn't wake her. Mercedes stirred in her sleep and shifted to her other side, facing the door. He opened the door to find Brooke standing behind it, all smiles.
"Hey." She said cheerfully, not realizing Mercedes was asleep.
"Shh." He hushed her and stepped side.
"Oops." She whispered, after seeing Mercedes asleep in bed. " Wore her out huh?" She said teasingly hitting him in the arm.
Nathan laughed quietly and looked away from her for a second.
"No, we just slept." He said looking back up at her.
"Uh, huh. Sure you did." Brooke answered unconvinced.
"Brooke…"
"Can I see your wallet?" Brooke asked leaning against the door panel.
"My wallet?" Nathan asked her confused.
"Yeah, I just wanna check something."
"Umm… ok." Nathan said taking his wallet out of his back pocket and reluctantly handing it to her.
Brooke took it gratefully and opened it. She search around for a while, and then a smile formed on her face when she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a condom package and held it up. Nathan's eyes got big and he looked at her embarrassed.
"Sleeping huh?" Brooke said with one of her famous 'I told you so' looks.
"That's… I…I didn't…." Nathan said trying to explain but being at a loss for words.
He heard a small giggle form behind him and turned around to see Mercedes sitting up in bed with her legs crossed.
"What's up B?" Mercedes said looking up at Brooke still laughing.
"Nothin, just had to come tell you that we're gonna land in like 15 minutes so…" Brooke said putting the condom back in Nathan's wallet.
"Ok, thanks."
"Yep." Brooke said nodding. She threw Nathan's wallet to her. "Have fun." She said with a wink in Nathan's direction right before she walked away.
Nathan turned back to Mercedes, who was holding his wallet, and closed the door before walking over to take a seat next to her. She handed him his wallet back and he took it embarrassed.
"I really had no idea that was in there." He said after a moment of silence tyring to defend himself.
She smiled and reached over him to grab her purse off the dresser. She pulled her own wallet out and handed it to him.
"Look." She said simply.
He looked at her confused and she shook her head signaling him to just do it, which he did. Inside he found 4 different credit cards, 2 debit cards, a picture of her mom and dad, one of her and Brooke, a bunch of 100's a few 50's, 20's, 10's, and 5's and finally behind her fat wad of cash, he found a condom package. He pulled it out and looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"I asked, Haley and Peyton which ones I should buy." She said jokingly. Nathan looked at her with an uncomfortable smile and then looked away from her, still holding the condom in his hand. "That was a joke." She said trying to meet his eyes.
"Yeah." He said putting the package back in her wallet and handing it back to her. She looked at him confused. He was being quiet now, and he didn't want to look her in the eyes. "Look... baby, I don't want you to feel pressured. I know that earlier, when we were at Tric, I told you that I wanted you, and I do. But.. I don't want you to fell like just because I'm ready you have to be too. I can wait until your ready, I just don't want you to feel like you have to do anything that you don't want to. When your ready then your ready. Until then... I can wait."
Mercedes looked at him and then kissed him sweetly. She pulled away and held his face in her hands.
"Baby, I wanna be with you more than anything. I'm ready to give myself to you, that's not the problem. It's just that... whenever we try we always seem to get interrupted." He chuckled and she smiled to herself. "But I wanna be with you. I love you Nathan, and I would give you myself in a heartbeat. I know that things are gonna be perfect when it does happen." She leaned in and kissing his lips lightly. "And if you were pressuring me I would be the first one to call you out on it. Believe me... it's not in my nature to get walked all over. But you don't pressure me Nathan. If anything... you give me a sense of comfort that I don't feel with anyone else. I love you."
Nathan looked at her and took both her hands. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her tenderly. He let himself melt into her. Not once in his life did he feel as happy as when he was with her. He did love Haley once, but he was in love with Mercedes now. Haley changed him, and he knew that. He was a whipped Nathan with her. The guy that he thought he had to be, so she would love him, but she ended up leaving that Nathan anyways. He tried going back to his old ways after that. The Nathan that he was when he was with Peyton. The asshole that didn't give a shit about anyone but himself. He knew that's not who he was anymore. But at least that way he didn't get hurt. But when he met Mercedes he felt like he could actually be himself and she wouldn't care. She would love him for who he was, and she did. He knew that she loved him. And he tried to make sure that she knew he felt the same way. Not in the way he did with Haley though. He was a kinder, gentler, more romantic guy with Z. He was the guy that he wanted to be when he was with her. He didn't have to pretend to be someone that he wasn't, like he did when he was with Haley. He didn't care if she saw the soft side of him. He loves her and that's all that should ever matter. She pulled away from him and smiled.
"I love you too." He said leaning his forehead against hers.
She smiled and caressed his cheek.
"We should get out there." She said pulling away and scooping up Jr in her arms.
He nodded his head and got up. She followed after him grabbing her iPod and putting it in her purse before walking over to the door, where Nathan was already holding it open for her. She took his hand and they walked out together. No one was at the table, or the couch now. They were all sitting in their seats awaiting the jet to land. Nathan and Mercedes both took their seats and waited as well. Once it did they all filed off and walked onto the landing strip where two limos were patiently waiting.
"So we'll see you around lunchtime." Q said walking over to Mercedes holding Brooke's hand.
"Ok." Mercedes said looking away from Nathan but hugging him tighter.
"Alright. I'll see you later baby."Q said looking down at Brooke.
"Ok." She said smiling back up at him. He leaned down and kissed her. She pulled away from him and walked over to Mercedes.
"Alright, let's go Nathan." Q said watching Brooke walk away.
"Where are we going?" Nathanasked confused.
"You're going home with the guys." Z said looking up at him.
"And where are you going?"
"I have to go to my photo shoot right now." She said sadly
"Now?" He looked down at her a little surprised. "It's 3:30 in the morning."
"I know. That's why you guys are going home. Get some rest and I'll see you later." She said kissing him lightly pulling away from him.
Before she could leave from his grasp completely he took one of her hands and pulled her back into his arms.
"Hey... I love you." He said leaning down and kissing her.
She pulled away from him and smiled.
"I love you too."