Thanks for the reviews! I love reading them! And sorry for taking a few days to update, I had to paint my room. And then after I'd finished writing this chapter, it wouldn't let me load the document for whatever reason. So I've had this chapter ready for about 5 days now, but haven't been able to upload it! Anyway, it's here now, so enjoy.
And don't worry; the drama won't really begin for a few more chapters. I'm enjoying writing all this cheesy Naley stuff.
Anyway, enjoy.
Chapter 5:
I'm lying in my bed; it's around midnight. Which means I've been in my room for three hours now, trying to sleep but failing miserably. I still feel guilty about Nathan, though part of me knows I shouldn't.
I spent the rest of the day on my own for the most part. After checking on me, Rachel went to her boyfriend's. I stayed here, part of me hoping that Nathan would call, the other part of me hoping he'd stay away.
I didn't want to give in to call him. Mainly because I was still a little pissed about our earlier conversa- errr, argument. I knew we each needed a little bit of time apart before we dealt with those issues again.
The second reason why I didn't want to talk to him is because I wanted to give him a chance to talk to his family. Last night's ordeal was weighing on him heavily; he was distracted all morning. I just wanted to give him time and space to make peace with his family, or attempt to anyway with Royal.
Around nine when Rachel got home, I told her I was heading up to bed. I was exhausted, but my eyes wouldn't close. Three hours later, I continue to face the same predicament.
I keep my eyes open, not just because I can't sleep, but also because I want to be awake if Nathan comes over. I want to be able to apologize with an open mind, not one clouded with sleep.
By twelve thirty, I've officially counted all the cracks in my ceiling, as well as imagined at least fifteen different ways to apologize to Nathan, three of them in different languages.
By one forty-five, I find it safe to assume that he's still pissed, and that he's not coming over tonight, not that I blame him. Slowly I turn on my side and allow all the fatigue from the past 24 hours to wash over my body. Within minutes, I'm asleep.
Sometime during the night I had rolled over in my sleep and bumped into the wall. I woke up, only to remember that my bed is located in the middle of the room, not next to either wall. Turning my head, I see a sleeping Nathan next to me. Glancing at my clock, it reads three twenty-four. We still have a few more hours until we have to face reality.
I carefully brush my thumb over his jaw line, admiring how beautiful he is, even when he's asleep. Tonight he's worried about something, his forehead is wrinkled and his eyes are shut tightly. I wonder if it's about yesterday. I move my head up and gently kiss him on his forehead before settling back in to sleep, my body a little closer to him.
As I balance between conscious and subconscious states, I faintly feel Nathan's arm slip around my waist and pull me closer.
The next morning, or a few hours later I guess you could say, my eyes open directly to face Nathan, who's already awake. He stares at me for a few seconds, and suddenly I say
"I'm sorry Nate" just as he says, "I'm sorry Hales."
We face eachother for a few seconds before we each let out a small laugh. Even though we both apologized, I still feel a little tension between us.
"Look Nathan, I totally overreacted. It's your business, I guess you can deal with it any way you want to."
He nods his head. "You were right Hales, I was totally out of line. Of course I wouldn't pull a Dan and ditch the girl, but you were freaking out about the possibility of me being a father and not being able to play basketball, and I guess reality just sunk in. Forgive me?" he asks, his blue eyes looking sincerely sorry.
"Of course. But only if you forgive me for tweaking out on you yesterday." I say back.
He smiles and we move in to hug eachother. Even though we were only apart for a few hours, it feels good to be back in his arms. I bury my head in the crook of his neck and inhale that all too familiar smell of his aftershave.
"Hey Nathan?" I ask, pulling back from the hug.
"Yeah?"
"I know we just made up and all, but can I ask you something about yesterday?"
He hesitates for a moment, as if he's wondering if he's willing to risk opening that can of worms again. "Okay."
"What Rachel said, about sleeping with all those girls…how many have you been with?" I ask, then feel myself blush a little. Even though we're close, it's still a little embarrassing to ask, let alone know.
Nathan looks away, avoiding my gaze. He's silent, and in the silence many worst-case scenarios enter my mind. But nothing like I imagined could prepare me for what he said next.
"I…I don't remember."
I stare at him in disbelief. How do you not remember whom you've been with?
Seeing the look on my face, he quickly speaks again. "Well, it's not that I don't remember really, I remember a lot of them…but for most of them I was drunk. I sorta lost count."
"After how many?" I ask carefully.
"Uhhh." He looks up guiltily. "Around the twenties."
Holy shit. I've been with three guys. Nathan's been with at least twenty-some girls?!
Nathan cowers away from me, pulling some of the blankets with him. "Here comes the cold." I think to myself.I can tell he expects me to slap him, or to start screaming again. Nah, it's way to early in the morning for that. Instead, I start laughing. Not like giggling, more like full on laughing-my-ass-off-gasping-for-air- sort of laugh. Nathan looks beyond confused.
Sensing that I won't be slapping him anytime soon, he inches closer to me, back to his normal spot. I quickly pull more blankets onto me, while still laughing hysterically.
"What's so funny?" He asks.
"Nathan you're such a slut." I say in between laughs.
"Not my fault the ladies love me." He says smirking, and I groan.
"Oh it's love all right. I'm sure they go crazy for those STD's too." I tease.
"Nah. I'm clean. Wanna see?" He offers while smirking, big surprise.
"The syphilis? No thanks." I deadpan. "Tell me when you get gonorrhea though. That might be interesting to see."
"Alright. Game over." Nathan says, and rolls over on top of me so that I can't escape when he begins to tickle me.
"Natha- NATE, st- …sto-!" I try to get him to stop but I'm laughing too hard to actually say anything. He continues to tickle me. This carries on for a few moments until I can finally get a breath of air.
"Okay! Nathan Scott does not have an STD!" I scream, hoping he'll stop tickling me. Luckily, it works. Nathan backs off, and rolls back into his spot, yet again smirking.
My sides hurt again. I glance over at Nathan and give him an evil glare. He laughs in response.
"Jerk." I say, the mock glare on my face.
"Awww Hales. Want me to kiss it and make it feel better?" He kids.
I nod my head jokingly, and he moves his head over to my stomach. Glancing up at me, he says, "Can I kiss a few other things while I'm down there?"
Pushing him away, I say "Perv."
God, what is with that smirking?
Rolling back over in bed, I quickly glance at my alarm clock. 7:15 am.
Glancing at the clock too, Nathan sighs. "I should probably go home soon. Me parents still want me to say goodbye to Royal, even after all the shit he's put me through this weekend."
"I'm sorry Nathan." I sympathize. "On the right side darling, at least he's going home." I say brightly. "While I'm going back to bed, because it is way too early in the morning for me to function. Though I doubt I'll be able to sleep because my stomach hurts so much." I throw in.
"Alright, so let's go back to sleep." Nathan says, settling back down under the covers.
"I thought you said you had to go."
"I probably should. But I'd rather stay here with you." He says, and I can see the truth within his dark blue eyes.
"Good." I smile. "Because I'd rather you stay here too."
We settled back down under the covers, where we both easily fall back asleep. But not before I feel Nathan's arm slide around my waist, this time his hand finding the skin underneath my tank top. I shiver, and instinctively Nathan pulls me closer.
If only he knew he's the reason why I shiver so much.
Hours later, I wake up, Nathan is gone, and the smell of pancakes and bacon is wafting through the house. On instinct I reach over in bed, only to find him gone. He left a note though, saying he had to go, but he'd probably be back later.
After reading the note, I wander downstairs following the delicious smell of pancakes. Upon arriving in the kitchen, I see Rachel pulling a carton of orange juice out of the fridge.
"I didn't know you could cook." I say, slightly surprised.
"I didn't." She smiles, wandering over to the stove, where she proceeds to pick up two bags of take-out food. "Who knew that IHOP delivers?"
"Great. I'm starving." I say, just as much stomach growls loudly.
"Evidently." Rachel says, smirking.
I grab a plate and food and sit down at the table across from her. "Rough night?" She asks deviously, taking in my appearance.
I haven't looked in a mirror yet today, so I have no idea what she's talking about. But I decide to play along anyway. "You could say that." I say, taking a bite of food.
She smirks at me, and I return it.
"So the rents called this morning." She begins.
"Oh this oughta be good."
"Yeah, they met some friends in Hawaii. A guess another couple on their honeymoon or something. Anyway, the couple owns a hotel in Vegas so they invited our parents to come stay there for a few days."
"Shocker." I say, not surprised at all.
"I know, that's what I thought." She replies. "Anyway, mom said they threw a couple more thousand in our bank accounts so we have money for school shopping and beer." She smirks. "
"You threw the beer thing in right? Because the day mom actually supports underage drinking is the day she supports actual parenting."
"Yeah, I added it. Thought it was a nice touch."
"It was." I smile.
"Considering the fact that we have the house guaranteed to ourselves for the next couple of weeks, what better an idea than to share it with everybody else? It's been awhile since we've had a party in the lame-ass hick town. Interested?" Rachel asks.
"Very much so."
"Good. Because I was still going to have one even if you didn't agree. It's going to be this Friday; Sort of a last-freedom-party-before-we're-officially-tied-down-as-seniors- sort of shindig."
"Alright. Sounds good." I say through a mouthful of food.
"Pleasant. Anyway, since we now officially have money again, I'm going shopping. Wanna come?" She asks.
"Nah, I think I'll hang out with Brooke and Peyton later, it's been awhile." I say, as she fake barfs up her food. "Oh come on, they aren't that bad." I argue. "At least they have brain cells in the double digits, which is more than I can say for your friends."
"Bev and Reese may be stupid, but at least they have connections to the hottest nightclubs in town. Can you say that about your friends?"
"Please. Brooke got me my first fake id in the sixth grade. Not that I even looked old enough to use it, but it's the thought that counts." I joke.
"Whatev. You're friends still suck." She smirks, but she winks, so I know she's kidding.
"Oh really? Because that's what your friends are famous for." I tease.
Rachel clears away her plate and heads for the door. "Low, but completely justified, blow. Anyway, you better take a look in the mirror before you call anyone a hoe sweetie." She kids. "Bye Bitch!" She says, as she leaves the house.
"See ya Slut!" I finish, and with our normal goodbyes completed, I head for the shower.
Rachel wasn't lying when she said I looked like a mess. My hair was everywhere, looking as if I really did have a wild night. Some of my makeup had spread, but it wasn't too bad.
I hopped in the shower quickly, got out, and called Brooke.
"Hello?" She answers.
"Hey B. Davis. Busy today?"
"Tutorgirl! MY GOD it's been forever! And no, completely free, why?"
"Heh, it's only been three days Brooke."
"Well lots of things can happen in three days! People die, get pregnant, celebrities get married and divorced. I'm being completely reasonable here."
I laugh, and continue on. "Well I can assure you none of those has happened. Anyway, Mommy and Daddy dearest just refilled our bank accounts, want to go shopping?"
"Oh My God! Yes! Yes! Yes!" She screams, as I hold the phone a foot away from my ear. Honestly, you'd think Brooke never goes shopping. In reality, she practically lives at the mall. "I'll pick you and P.Saywer up in thirty minutes Tutorgirl!" She says as she hangs up the phone.
The entire conversation took place in under forty-five seconds. Laughing, I hang up the phone, knowing I have at least another hour before Brooke comes to pick me up. The girl is always late. I wouldn't doubt it if she was late to her own funeral when she's older.
I walk to my closet, still clad in only a towel, and decide what to wear for the day. Not that it'll matter much. Brooke will show up in an hour and waste another twenty minutes forcing me into another outfit. It's quite funny actually. No matter what I pick out, if I don't look like a total slut, she'll change my outfit.
I decide to test her today. I grab my sluttiest top, a black halter, and my shortest denim skirt. Then I dry my hair, and through it up in a sleek ponytail. Quickly I text Nathan.
"Hey. Going shopping w/ B n P 2day."
A few minutes later my cell vibrated.
"Haha. Have fun w/ that. Ballin RC (Rivercourt) w/ L and S."
"Back u." I quickly reply.
"So whatd u pic 2 wear?"
I send him a picture of my outfit.
"Not slutty enuf. B's gonna make u change."
"I kno. Cant wait…movie 2nite?"
"nething but the ntbk (notebook)"
"damn. ill find sumthin else P."
"g2g. cu later hales."
"cya nate."
I close my phone just as Brooke's car honks from outside. Quickly I grab my purse and throw on a pair of flip-flops. I open the door, and almost immediately Brooke pounces on me. Giving me a three-second scan, she says, "Tutorgirl, we have work to do."
I glance over at Peyton, who merely smiles.
"Great."