Author's Note: I'm sorry this took forever. I had major writer's block and I decided to write another fic. But this chapter goes back in time. Everything in this story takes place four years prior. So the drama is a little toned down here, or a lot toned down. I figured, there wasn't much Brathan fluff, so here ya'll go.
Chapter Five: All These Things That I've Done
Four years ago…
Nathan Scott shared a high-five with Dean Winchester after arriving at the crowded bar in New York City. Dean found himself with a beer in one hand and a pool cue in the other, arrogantly challenging those too drunk to actually win. Nathan received a few 'Congratulations' from a few customers and fellow basketball players, even a couple of free drinks from the bartender.
Yep, this was his night. The draft took place in New York this year and he'd been selected by the Charlotte Bobcats as their new small forward. After getting off the phone with his girlfriend, Brooke Davis, who squealed with excitement, he and Dean headed to LASH to celebrate.
The two shared an avid passion for basketball, meeting at the prestigious High Flyers camp sometime in high school. Although both played college ball together in Duke, Nathan went on to be drafted to the NBA while Dean pursued a career in law enforcement after a knee injury put an end to his basketball career.
"Man, you are one lucky son of a bitch." Dean boasted, taking a drink of his beer and tapping the pool cue lightly on Nathan's back.
"What can I say? I'm blessed." Nathan replied and received an eye roll from his friend
"Yeah, don't forget about us little people when you hit it big," Dean reminded him, cocking an eyebrow.
Nathan smiled and nodded, "Whatever, man. You better keep in touch when you get to L.A."
"Sure, man," Dean gestured for Nathan to grab a pool cue, "just don't forget to give me court side tickets when you come out there so I can get a good view of you getting your ass whooped."
Nathan let out a dry laugh as he grabbed a stick and waited for Dean to rack up the balls. His eyes watched three striped balls go in the pockets after Dean broke, and glancing at his friend, he had a cocky smirk on his face.
Half an hour into their second game--Dean clearly winning the first round--a blond waitress strolled up to the newly acquired Bobcat. Taking a beer from her tray, she handed it to him with a sly smirk, "Here you go, hot shot. Courtesy of the blonde by the bar."
Nathan accepted the drink and quickly turned his sights to the crowded bar, where a petite blonde wore a navy blue dress that complemented her so well. Narrowing his eyes, he'd immediately realized that it was in fact Haley James.
He couldn't decide whether he was happy or shocked to see her, but by the time he'd made up his mind, she was inches from him and pulling him in for a hug. He followed suit and wrapped his arms around her before pulling apart.
"Well, well," Haley began, a hand to her cheek in admiration, "Nathan Scott."
He grinned and shook his head, "Haley, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, you know," she waved a hand aimlessly, "trying to catch a break from all the paperwork that awaits me at home."
His lack of response cued her in his confusion and she quickly clarified, "I'm a teacher at a high school few blocks from here. Finals was last week so I have a slew of research papers to tend to that I'm just trying to avoid."
He nodded in understanding, catching Dean's attempts to get his attention behind Haley. She followed Nathan's eyes and landed on Dean, who gave a lame wave and a smile. She waved a simple hello and turned back to Nathan, "Don't mind him. He's a buddy of mine."
"I can see that," she chuckled, "so I believe Congratulations are in order."
"Thanks," he ran a hand through his hair, hoping his nervousness wouldn't show. He hadn't seen her in so long--she left Tree Hill in the middle of their senior year and no one had been able to reach her. Now, four years later, she was standing in front of him--exchanging words as if they'd never part ways.
It took only a few minutes for her to coax him to take a seat with her at a table and he complied when he noticed Dean flirting with a busty redhead. Sitting across from her, a waitress handed Haley another drink before she spoke again, "So how has life been for you, Nathan Scott? That is, besides getting drafted and all."
Nathan shrugged, "Life's been good to me. Still living in Tree Hill, and never really thought of leaving."
A slight scoff escaped from Haley, "Tree Hill. Hmm. I guess my life never really turned out the way I wanted it to."
"How so?"
She waved a hand, "Oh, you know. Staying in Tree Hill. Music career. You know," she shrugged, conveniently avoiding his eyes, "you."
Nathan barely nodded. He watched as she shifted in her seat and continued the conversation, "So what happened? You left in the middle of senior year and nobody really heard from you again."
"Well," she leaned back in her seat to be more comfortable, "I ended up here with my sister Quinn, finished out my senior year and got into teaching. After getting on my own two feet, I moved out and have been living in Manhattan ever since. I know I lost touch with people, but I'm sure you can understand that. I wasn't really the most…accepted person when I came back from that tour. And things never really became normal for me."
"I understand," he replied.
"But I mean, I had Lucas this entire time. He was the one person I could talk to about anything so we do keep in touch."
"Yeah, well, Lucas had a hard time when you left. It's not like I gave too much of a damn, but," He hesitated before saying her name, considering the circumstances of the last time they saw each other, "Brooke thought he should have someone to be able to talk to. Who better than his brother, right?"
Haley chuckled, quickly dismissing the mention of her name, "I've heard. Lucas told me all about it, how you suddenly went from asshole Nathan to little brother Nathan. He appreciated it though, as much as he was weirded out by it."
Nathan couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't the most comfortable situation for him back then, but he didn't have too much of a choice when Brooke made the decision. The two continued to catch up on talking, with Nathan stealing glances at Dean who was locked up in the corner of the room with the same redhead. Beer after beer, Nathan and Haley caught up on the last few years since high school graduation. Eventually, they ended up back at Haley's place after she insisted on having a 'quieter environment' to talk some more.
The conversation ended in bed without any mention of Brooke Davis.
--
The next morning, Brooke Davis stirred in her sleep as her alarm rang. The thought of all the meetings she had to deal with that day ran through her mind and she groaned. Sitting up, she decided to check if Nathan's flight was on schedule to arrive by lunch, giving her an excuse to skip half of the meetings for the rest of the day and rather spend it with him.
Her blackberry sat on the nightstand and she reached over to dial his number. Reaching his voicemail, she left a message:
"Hey, baby. I was just wondering what time your flight comes in so I can come get you myself rather than send a driver. Thought it might be a good idea to relieve myself of the headaches I usually get at these corporate meetings, so give me a call once you wake up from that hangover from celebrating. And tell Dean I miss him! Love you."
Hanging up the phone, she retreated into the bathroom to start her day.
--
"Fuck!" Nathan's voice startled Haley as she felt him practically fall out of bed. She turned to face him and found him fumbling to put on his clothes, cursing about being stupid and being late.
"Hey," she spoke up in a soft voice. Her heart sank when he shot her a look full of regret and shook his head.
She knew he thought this was the biggest mistake of his life. She knew the alcohol had taken over his inhibitions and slept with her. She knew he wouldn't be staying. She knew he'd be with someone else and she might never see him again.
She knew as soon as he walked out the door without saying a word to her.
--
Dean fiddled with his fingers as he sat with his elbows to his knees, waiting for his flight to be boarded. Nathan sat next to him, skimming through the missed calls and listening to only the important voice mails. He hadn't said much in the last couple of hours, and Dean didn't question him. Nathan grew anxious as he went through each voicemail, and hearing Brooke's voice broke his heart. He'd just slept with another woman while his girlfriend was back home, waiting to be in his arms again. Putting the phone down to send a text message, he replied by telling her when his flight would arrive. After sending it, Dean looked over at his friend and broke the silence.
"Is that Brooke?"
Nathan glanced up, "Yeah, she wants to pick me up and skip work."
"Hmm," Dean shifted his eyes from Nathan to the crowd in front of him, "you gonna sit there and drown in your misery or you gonna tell me why you came stumbling back to your hotel room this morning?"
Nathan shook his head, knowing full well Dean knew what happened; he practically invented sleeping around with women. But he knew Dean wouldn't be handing over high-fives about this. Brooke was the type of girl you should never do this type of stuff with; especially the second time around.
"I messed up, what else can I say?"
Dean reached over and punched Nathan in the shoulder, "You're a real dick, you know that? This, I can definitely understand if it was me. But that's me. I don't have a beautiful woman to go home to who loves me to death and isn't waiting to be in my arms. I didn't expect this from you, man."
Nathan inhaled and sighed deeply, feeling a little out of place considering he's usually lecturing Dean about how fragile a woman heart is and to be careful with who he sleeps around with. So, this, Dean couldn't even swallow.
As if on cue, Nathan's phone rang and his immediate reflex was to answer it. Cursing himself after realizing who called, he slowly held it up to his ear and listened to her voice.
"Hey, Nate. Wha--"
"Look, Haley. What happened last night was a big mistake. It should've never happened. I love Brooke and she's the only important person in my life. So none of this means anything, none of this is even close to meaning anything. Just….don't call me, okay?"
"Nath--!"
He flipped his phone closed and turned it off. Placing his head in his hands again, he berated himself as Dean watched him, asking who she was to begin with.
"She's an ex-girlfriend. Remember the chick who went on tour?"
"Ah, the ultimatum girl." Dean shook his head, "Well, you fucked up, it's done. All you gotta do now is redeem yourself. And I know this is outrageous coming from me, but you need to tell Brooke."
"Are you insane?!" Nathan's head shot up and glared at him, "If I tell Brooke, this is all over. Everything! You're fuckin' out of your mind, man."
"Well, sorry," Dean held his hands up, "but I'm not the one who screwed my ex-girlfriend while I have someone waiting--"
"I get it!" Nathan snapped back. His mind drifted to the previous night, hoping to God it was all a dream. Hoping he could go back and erase everything that happened between him and Haley. The loud speaker announced its boarding for the Los Angeles departure and Dean stood up slowly, holding his duffel bag in his hand.
"Go home to your girlfriend, man. Fix it."
--
He stood at the baggage claim, carefully eyeing the luggage that slowly passed him by. The sound of her voice almost made his knees weak as he turned to find his brunette girlfriend staring back at him, her dimples proudly shown on her cheek. He reached out for her as she wrapped him in a welcoming hug.
"Oh, god," she sighed, "I missed you so much."
He couldn't help but chuckle, "I missed you too, you know that. But I was only gone for a week."
She pulled back and slapped his arm, "A week is too long! I was miserable at work with all these conferences and trips and other crap I decided not to do."
"Brooke," Nathan shook his head, "you can't just skip all of these things because you don't feel like going. It's your dream to have this compa--"
"Exactly," she cut him off, placing a hand on his chest, "which is exactly why I can do whatever I want. Besides, I've got it covered. Lisa's my right-hand man for a reason. She can handle it." She nodded towards the baggage carousel that had his navy blue Duke University bag and he turned to retrieve it.
Dropping it by his side and walking together to the limo that waited for them, he placed an arm around her shoulder, "So got any plans today?"
"I dunno," she pretended to contemplate, leaning her head on his arm, "I was actually planning on spending the day with my boyfriend who recently got drafted by the Bobcats, but he's nowhere to be found. So I guess you'll have to do."
His hand squeezed her shoulder and she let out a giggle as he shook his head and laughed. They made their way inside the limo and before they could get comfortable, a '911' phone call from Lisa came through on Brooke's blackberry. With a hesitant groan, she picked it up and calmed down the frantic woman on the line.
He watched her as she tucked some loose hair behind her ear and grinned at him periodically as she continued to speak to Lisa. Those dimples, that smile, the way her hair fell on her face whenever she turned to face him, the way her perfume had a light smell of sweet pea, and the way she held out one hand to grasp his, assuring him she'll end the phone call as soon as she can. He turned to his right and looked out the window, vowing to himself that Brooke will never find out about his mistake.
--
"You…suck."
Brooke scoffed and placed both hands on her hips, "Excuse me? I think that was a pretty close game."
"Oh yeah?" Nathan challenged her, "You think 11-5 is a close game?" He tucked the ball under his arm as he walked towards her.
"It was better than 11-3 last time. And besides, I'm a fashion designer, not a basketball player."
"Yeah, but you don't take kickboxing for nothing. I thought you'd be able to beat my ass."
"Okay, genius," she snatched the ball away from him and held it against her, "first of all, kickboxing relieves stress for me and it teaches me to protect myself when necessary. Second of all, I could beat your ass if you tried to attack with me a basketball, not play a game with it."
"Same difference," he picked up the water bottle next to her feet and took a drink, "another game?"
"In a few minutes," she took the ball and placed it on the ground, balancing herself as she sat on it and adjusted her pony tail, "I'm glad I skipped work today. And the last week.. I haven't been able to just relax, you know? It's nice."
"And the added bonus of having me here, of course." Nathan smirked as he placed himself next to her.
"Oh, you flatter yourself, Nathan Scott," she rolled her eyes, "But I'm serious. Sometimes, I feel like…I just wanna be young, you know? I'm 22 years old and I'm running this million dollar company and as much as it's my dream come true, it's just so fast and so overwhelming sometimes that I feel like I'm missing out on my life…on a young person's life."
"So you'd rather drink and party than be a successful fashion design-slash-millionaire?" He was trying to make light of the conversation, but she ignored his comment. She had a tendency to do this whenever she had the chance to just sit back and think, but Nathan tried to avoid the negative thoughts and focused on her being successful in life. Something he was so proud that she achieved, something she loved and dreamed of since she was younger.
"It's different with you, babe. You get to play. I have to sketch, and design, and go to meetings, and yell at people for putting size 0 models on the cover of my magazine…"
Nathan placed a hand on her knee, "Hey, I bust my ass too, you know. Remember all those suicides Whitey would make us do? On top of all the other crap he put us through? It's not always fun, but it's what I love. And I know this is what you love."
"Of course I love what I do. But I guess that's the price you pay when you're so talented, huh?" She gave him a flirty smile and wriggled her eyebrows.
"You flatter yourself, Brooke Davis. Come here." He pulled her closer to him and she found herself kneeling between his legs as they both stayed on the concrete of the River Court. He brushed off the bangs on her forehead and she pulled him in for a kiss.
"I love you, you know that?"
Nathan grinned and looked into her hazel-eyes, "Hmm, you could remind me." She made a face at him and he pulled her in for another kiss. He placed a hand under her chin as he deepened the kiss and whispered back, "I love you, too."
--
Four months later….
Nathan stepped into the locker room as he flung his towel over his shoulder and headed towards his locker. Taking off his jersey, he tossed it on the bench behind him and grabbed another towel in his locker to ready himself for a shower.
Training camp had started and he's spent the last couple of weeks in Charlotte impressing the coaches so he could be one of the players that actually step on the court, not be part of the bench mafia. In the process, he'd gotten closer with a few of his teammates; some he'd admired from years prior, and others who was just as new as he was.
"Hey, man, you free tonight?"
Nathan turned to his left and found his teammate, Kenny Jones, taking a seat on the bench next to him. Kenny was drafted right after Nathan, coming from West Virginia University as a shooting guard, and the two developed a really close relationship despite knowing each other for a week.. That, and they used to play against each other in college basketball.
Nathan shrugged and shut his locker, "Can't, man. I gotta get back home tonight."
"Ah, come on, " Kenny nudged him, "some of the guys are going out to a bar tonight to celebrate being a Bobcat."
"I think I'm done with bars for now," Nathan replied, his last celebration in a bar flashed through his mind, "Besides, I really do have to get to New York. Brooke had a fashion show tonight and I promised her I'd be there for the after-party."
Kenny tweaked a brow, "Oh, your fashion mogul girlfriend? I guess if you're gonna ditch your boys, might as well be for a hot chick--"
"Hey!"
"What, man?" Kenny held his hands up and grinned, "She is fiiiine, though. I dunno what she's doing with a chump like you." Nathan shook his head and laughed as Kenny opened his own locker to retrieve his things, "So I guess I'll see you sometime next week."
"Yeah. Have fun tonight. I gotta catch a flight in a couple of hours." Kenny slapped him on the back before leaving the locker room and Nathan headed to the shower stalls.
The after-party for Brooke's spring fashion line was held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, and hosted by Vanity Fair. The show was a success and everyone that came out raved about her clothing line and its young and fresh concept. In the room full of crowded people, Brooke Davis stood in the sidelines, watching everything go by.
"Brookie!" A silver-haired woman approached her, wearing an outfit similar to 1920's attire and Brooke cringed at the name…and the clothes. "Oh, darling, your clothes are absolutely divine! My daughter is such a great fan, she only wears Clothes Over Bros. It's so refreshing to see young talent in the fashion business. Here, let me introduce you."
"Oh, um," Brooke held up a hand, "I'm actually waiting for someone right here and if I move, he won't find me. And my cell phone isn't exactly getting any signal so maybe later on?" She showed her best fake cheery smile and the woman waved off a hand and walked away to reach for another cocktail being passed around by waiters.
She sighed and tapped her foot impatiently as her arms were crossed against her chest, showing a fake smile whenever someone acknowledged her clothing line. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful, but she was bored. Everyone praising her for being so young and successful, yet she felt anything but. There were times when she wanted to just walk away from it all, but Nathan never let her. He was her biggest cheerleader when it came to this, and that's all she needed right now. Her watch showed 11:35pm and she continued to wait impatiently.
"Look, over there, over there--that's Nathan Scott!" The photographer a few feet in front of her signaled his assistant to run towards the entrance and Brooke whirled to find Nathan being hounded by more photographers. His face showed no interest in pictures, and Brooke ran to him and pulled him from all the commotion as the flashes continued to surround them.
"Well, I guess I can't really surprise you, huh?"
Brooke laughed and planted a kiss on his lips before she spoke, "I guess not. What took you so long?"
"Practice ran late. Flight was delayed. You know how that goes." He placed his arms around her, landing on the small of her back as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "How did everything go?"
"Oh, it was absolutely divine," she mimicked the older woman from earlier, "But I'm bored and I just wanna get out of here."
"What? Brooke, this is all for you."
"Oh, please, no one's even gonna notice I left. Look at all these people. You'd think that since the night is about me, they'd actually talk to me, but no. They wave, they smile, they say things I've already heard hundreds of times, they suck up to me--it just gets boring. I think maybe I need something new?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, something that could be for everyone. All these people talk about is how my line is fresh and young and every teenager or someone in their early 20s would wear it. But what about everyone else?"
"So you think you're bored because your line isn't as broad as you'd like it to be?"
Brooke sighed and leaned her head against his chest, "I guess. I still just wanna get out of here."
"You sure? Last chance to back out."
"Oh, trust me. I'm ready to go." Nathan nodded and he held her hand, guiding her to the exit towards the back, away from all the photographers. She called for her limo and it arrived shortly, taking them to her penthouse a few blocks away.
Making their way to her door, he quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her in. She narrowed her eyes in curiosity as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss. "What was that for?"
"Just because." She smiled and turned back around as she inserted the key and opened the door, revealing candles that lit up her living room. As she walked in, white flower petals were all over the floor as bouquets of flowers were lined up against the skyline view of her windows. Brooke stopped in the middle of it all and turned around to see Nathan behind her, with a smile on his face.
"What's going on?"
He shrugged and made his way towards her, "I just thought I'd do something nice for a change."
Her raspy chuckle escaped her lips and she pulled him in for a hug, "Oh, honey, this is nice. I love it. It's beautiful."
"I'm glad you think so." He released himself from her embrace and clapped his hands, "Opie!"
She searched around the room for her dog, the golden retriever he'd gotten her back in high school and the one she left behind in Tree Hill at Peyton's while she was in New York.
"Nathan, what are you doing? Opie's in Tree Hill, remember?"
"Not really." He replied nonchalantly, and in a few seconds, the dog was walking towards them and made its way to Brooke. She knelt down and hugged the dog, "You brought Opie here to surprise me? Nathan, we were gonna come home this weekend, you know."
"I know, but--"
"Ohmygod." Nathan's smile grew even bigger as Brooke's hand held a box that hung around Opie's collar. She stood up and looked at him and her eyebrows furrowed at the realization before he took the box off the collar and knelt down in front of her, holding the box in his hand.
Brooke gasped and placed a hand to cover her mouth as Nathan reached for the other, "I guess life has a funny way of bringing two people together who never thought they'd be in love. We've known each other our whole lives; you're my best friend, you're my lover, and you're the one I want to tell my grandchildren about. I can't imagine a day without you by my side and I couldn't have asked for anyone else to have with me when my dreams came true. You're the reason I know what love is all about--and I want to spend the rest of my life making sure you feel every bit of happiness that you give me."
He held her hand tighter as tears began to flow down her cheeks, "Brooke Davis, will you spend the rest of your life with me?"
She broke out into a laugh as she nodded repeatedly, "Yes…oh my god, Nathan, yes!" Realizing he hadn't opened the box, he laughed and showed it to her: a round solitaire that was set on a band of diamonds, gorgeous enough to give Harry Winston a run for his money. He placed the ring on her finger and she giggled with excitement as he stood up and hugged her tightly. She admired the ring over his shoulder as they continued with the embrace and released herself to give him a kiss so passionate that Opie decided it was his cue to leave the room.
Brooke finally caught her breath and stepped back, looking at the ring and back to Nathan, "You were wrong, Nathan." The confused look on his face urged her to continue, "You always surprise me."
--
Haley James sat in her apartment located in Manhattan. The sunset cast a beautiful array of lights through her window as she tapped one hand softly on the table, the other holding a cell phone. Her mind raced, her palms were beginning to sweat…and her eyes stayed fixated on the pregnancy test that lay in front of her. It wasn't really the first one she'd used; truthfully, it was probably the seventh. Two more after the doctor confirmed it himself. But hey, she wanted to make sure.
Her finger scrolled through the phone book of her cell phone, first landing on 'Mom'. She gave a half-hearted smile at the idea of calling her first, and receiving an enthusiastic 'Congratulations!' from her, but the smile faded when she remembered the current situation: pregnant and unmarried, or better yet--single. What would her mother think?
She continued to scroll until the next highlighted name landed on 'Nathan'. Images of a happy family scoured her mind, but the reality sunk in sooner than she'd hoped. Scrolling back up, it finally landed on the one person she could count on the most. Without any further hesitation, she called.
He didn't pick up. Just as well, he was probably busy coming up with ways to better the basketball team he coached. Before placing her phone back down on the table, it suddenly rang and 'Lucas' was displayed on the screen.
"Hey, stranger."
"Luke." Haley's voice was practically a whisper. She hadn't spoken to him in a few months, and the reason she called wasn't exactly to see how he was doing…although not out of the question. She was scared about what Lucas would think of her; this was her best friend who stood by her no matter what. She didn't know if this would include "no matter what."
"Hales? Sorry, I didn't pick up right away. Just got out of the shower." Lucas was shuffling in the background as he tried to get his attention back to the phone call. "What's up?"
"Lucas, I know we haven't kept in touch in the last couple months, but--there's something I have to tell you."
"Haley," his voice sounded reassuring, "you're my best friend. You could disappear for years and that would never change. You know you can tell me anything."
She found herself smiling at the security he made her feel. It was now or never, and truthfully, there's no one else she could imagine telling it to. She took a deep breath and let the words roll out of her mouth, "I'm pregnant."