Chapter 3 is up guys! I'm sorry this is probably going to be a really bad chapter. And a short one too. Somehow my writing mojo has been a little slack lately but I just wanted you guys to get the next chapter so here it is! I'll be quite busy with school and stuff as I am taking my O Levels this year :( But I'll still try to update as much as possible. So here it is guys! Chapter three :) Enjoy
Chapter 3: The Meeting
"It's the final 30 seconds of the game and the Ravens trail by 1. Can star player, Nathan Scott, make a difference?" Mouth McFadden, the unofficial Raven's sports announcer, yelled into the make shift microphone.
It was the night of the big meeting between the Oakland City Warriors and the Tree Hill Ravens and everyone in town had come to watch. Everyone except Haley that is. She had spent the past few hours playing a game of her own down by the River Court.
She loved it here.
She loved the wind blowing through her hair. She loved the silence that enveloped the place and she loved the fact that no one could touch her here. No one could hurt her. And she was happy here. That was probably the most important thing. It wasn't very often that Haley felt happy and whenever she did, she relished each moment of it.
Happiness was hard to come by for Haley James.
"Okay Tim, I want you to pass the ball to Nathan when there's 25 seconds left. Nathan, you drive the ball and pretend to go for a lay up but then pass back to Lucas just before the shot clock runs down. And Lucas, you go in with a jump shot. Got it?" Whitey's booming voice filled the entire circle, overpowering the heavy pants coming from the entire team.
"But coach," Nathan protested, "I can do it!"
"Nathan you heard me. Pass to Lucas," Whitey said through gritted teeth. Nathan knew better than to defy Whitey publicly. He knew that if he insisted on driving and scoring himself, Whitey would bench him. And the scouts from Stanford and Harvard were sure as hell never going to forget that Nathan Scott was benched in the final 30 seconds of the game.
It would ruin your prospects Nathan. The voice of his father floated into Nathan's subconscious mind. He shook his head quickly a few times and ran back onto the court.
Nathan found his eyes wandering around the bleachers again, looking for the scouts and as they were the previous 999 times he looked, they stood by the corner, clipboard in hand and a stern expression stuck on their faces.
The whistle blew and Nathan's head immediately returned to the game. Tim dribbled the ball up the court and as Whitey ordered, passed the ball to Nathan when the clock showed 25 seconds. Nathan knew he only had a few seconds left to decide what to do. Drive and go for the shot himself or pass to Lucas and let him have the glory?
His mind went into overdrive trying to think that was best. And before he knew it, the ball was out of his hands and the entire team was thundering back to defense. Nathan had lost the ball… again.
8 handovers in one game.
Nathan's worse record.
His eyes flickered back to the scouts and there they were, madly scribbling notes onto their stupid black clipboard. Just then Nathan felt a rush of anger spur through him. They were judging him over one stupid game. They barely knew him and yet here they were writing about him.
And from what? One stupid basketball game?
Turning around, Nathan charged at the Oakland City's point guard and stole the ball back. By then there were only 8 seconds left.
He swiveled around, sprinted down the court and threw down a dunk. The ball slid in gracefully as Nathan swung in mid air. The crowd erupted in cheers and he felt himself calm a little. The cheering of a crowd had always soothed Nathan. He felt validated. It was a nice feeling.
The Ravens rushed over and started hugging Nathan, congratulating him on his "great move". Nathan hugged back, smiling and celebrating like the rest of them. But on the inside he felt numb.
From the corner of his eye he saw Whitey disappear into the changing room and it was then that he knew just how much he had disappointed him. It was a crappy feeling, disappointing someone who had such high hopes for you. He then saw his dad, beaming widely and giving him a thumbs up.
Of course it would be Dan who would praise his defiance.
"Baby Nathan!" Rachel squealed, rushing over. She threw her pompoms on the group and gave him a big kiss. He didn't feel like pretending tonight so he threw her off, turned around and walked out of the gym. Not looking back for even a second.
Haley had spent the entire time practicing her jump shot. It was one of her weaker areas. She could throw down a great lay up and she would never miss a free throw but somehow, jump shots weren't her thing.
Bing. The ball bounced off the backboard and rolled across the grass.
"Ugh! How do people do this?" she screamed into the night.
"Like this," a deep husky voice came from behind her and before she knew it, she saw a basketball glide gracefully through the hoop. Haley narrowed her eyes and turned around. Who did this person think he/she was? Just coming and-
Oh.
Her eyes locked on a pair of ocean blue ones and she felt as if her lungs collapsed. It was Nathan Scott.
He stood there, in all his 6'1 glory. His hair a tousled mess, his cheeks bright pink from the cold and his muscles bulging causing Haley to get slightly dizzy with the sudden spike in hormones.
"What are you doing here?" she shot out, even managing to conjure a little snarl in her voice.
"Wow, I thought you would be much nicer," Nathan replied, a smirk starting to form. Haley turned back around, disgusted. She hated that smirk.
"What do you want Scott?" she asked, walking to retrieve her ball which had rolled over to the far end of the picnic table.
"Nothing. I just wanted to shoot some hoops and this seemed like a good place," Nathan shrugged. Honestly Nathan had just needed to escape all that drama inside the gym and the only escape Nathan ever knew was basketball. Ironic isn't it? Trying to escape basketball drama by playing more basketball?
"This isnt your place," Haley said, turning around to face him. This time she was ready and his ocean blue eyes had less of an effect on her.
"Why? This isnt your court isnt it?" Nathan demanded.
"As a matter of fact it is!" Haley yelled back.
"Who said? Last time I checked it was our court," Nathan asked, an eyebrow quirked up.
They stood like that for a while. Both glaring at each other. A mixture of feelings swept past the both of them in that single glance. A mixture of anger, passion, intensity.
"You did not just say that Nathan," Haley whispered quietly.
Nathan closed his eyes and took a step forward. "Haley I didn't mean it. I'm sorry," he started but Haley took a step back.
"Don't Nathan. Fine, you want to stay? Stay. I'll go."
And with that Haley snatched up her things and stalked to her car. Nathan watched her go.
So there it is guys! Plot twist, have Nathan and Haley met already? How come the River Court was their place? :o Much will be revealed later on :) Please review! I would love reading anything you guys have to say about the story!