#23 | Nathan Scott

chapter three

There were 15 seconds left on the clock and the scores were tied. Allie watched as Tim was dribbling the ball towards the hoop. A guy from the other team blocking him from taking a shot. Tim passes the ball to Lucas who makes the shot right as the buzzer goes off. Allie yells and throws her pom poms to the floor.

The whole team starts rallying around Lucas including Allie. Lucas opens his arms and invites Allie in for a hug. She runs into his arms and he lifts her off the ground. "You did so great!" She says in his ear. He lets her down and the two of them look to see Nathan standing in front of them.

"There's a new Scott in town." Allie says to him before they both walk off to the locker rooms, Lucas's arms wrapped around her shoulders.

-

Allie walks to her locker and starts grabbing her bag. "So Allie, you and Lucas?" Brooke asks her. She scoffs while putting on her black cheer jacket, co-captain engraved on the back. "No, we're just friends. Trust me."

"So he's available?" She asks her friend while spraying perfume on. "Yes he is." Allie says and smiles at her friend before shutting her locker. 'See you guys later? My place?" She asks Peyton and Brooke who nod at her.

She makes her way inside the gym but she stops when she hears yelling. "You're pathetic. You don't deserve to play basketball." She hears and turns to hide behind a wall. She looks over quickly and sees Nathan getting yelled at by his father.

"Allie was right, there is a new Scott in town. What are you going to do about that son?" She could see Nathan's head down, looking at the ground. She's never seen him look so dejected, almost like there was no life behind those eyes of his.

"You don't have anything to say to me, son?!" Dan yells at him and is met with silence. "Pathetic." He says and walks away. She watches as Nathan just sighs and leans against the wall. Allie quietly looks back into the gym, when she catches Lucas's eye.

She signals for him to give her a minute and he nods his head. She walks up to Nathan and grabs his arm. He flinches at the touch and opens his eyes before relaxing again. "I'm not in the mood Allie." He says and turns his body away from her.

Allie sighs and hugs him from behind. "You did great, Nate." He furrows his brows and turns to look at her. "You've never called me that before. Nate." He says to her, looking into her eyes. She looks back into his blue eyes, "Well I guess there's a first time for everything."

She smiles at him and grabs his hand. She squeezes it lightly and smiles at him again before speaking. "He was wrong, you know? You're one of the best players on the court. You deserve to play." She hugs him one last time. "See you around. Nate." She says and walks towards the gym.

Nathan watched as she walked away. He didn't understand why his heartbeat picked up when she hugged him, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face. But for the first time in a long time, he felt like he had someone on his side of the ring. He watched as she went up to Lucas and his mom.

His smile drops when he sees Allie and Lucas hug again for the thousandth time that night. Nathan lets out a sigh again and walks into the locker room.

-

Allie and Lucas walked into Karen's Cafe. "Hey, Hales. You missed an awesome game." Allie says to the other girl, walking behind the counter to hug her. "How awesome?" She asks and hugs the girl back.  "12 points, 8 assists, and I made the winning shot." Lucas replies with a smile.

She lets out a squeal and walks around the counter to hug him. "Ugh, I can't believe I had to work. Tell me about it." She says to him.

Before Allie could add into the conversation, her phone started ringing. She took out her phone from her jacket pocket to look at the caller ID. "Brooke, hi. Sorry I'm on my way home right now. Just ring the doorbell, Ada will let you in." "Hurry up, A. Bazor." She hears from the phone and laughs before hanging up.