THE CURE ▶ NATHAN SCOTT [1]

THREE

"I didn't think you had any friends from the school newspaper but whatever." They continued to walk to their cars. Carly took notice of the half naked Brooke Davis in the back of Lucas's car. She giggled at the poor boy's face.

They approached Carly's car first, she unlocked the car and opened the trunk. She threw her bag inside and walked to the driver's side. Nathan had kindly opened the door for her as she went to climb in. Before she could shut it he asked her another question.

"Why haven't you been returning my calls, by the way?" He looked down at her. She hadn't been receiving any calls from him so his question confused her. Realization flashed in her eyes when she remembered that Juliet had blocked his number on her cell phone.

"Oh, I think my phone is broken. I haven't even received any calls from you." Carly smiled innocently. It wasn't technically a lie but it wasn't necessarily the truth either. Either way, Nathan let her off the hook and shut her door, telling her goodnight.

--

Carly rushed home and threw on some regular clothes. She quickly grabbed her item that she planned on burning. She sprinted down the street and caught up to Lucas who was walking into his mom's café.

"Boo!" She yelled, successfully scaring him. Lucas let out a yelp and dropped his keys. Carly laughed and she could hear Haley giggling inside.

"You gave me a heart attack!" Lucas exclaimed, picking up his keys and proceeding to open the door. Haley turned around from cleaning the counter. The two walked in silently.

"Twelve points, eight assists." Lucas told his best friend with a grin.

"And he made the game winning shot." Carly added. Haley squealed and jumped on Lucas, giving him a giant hug.

"Good! That is great, right?" They released each other and looked at Carly who watched them with a smile on her face. She had always wished for a friendship like theirs. Peyton and Brooke were closer than Brooke and Carly; she was always the odd one out.

"Yeah, alright." Carly rolled her eyes at the boy's modesty. Considering how he did the game before she thought he had done amazing.

"I can't believe I had to work! Tell me about it!" Haley asked. Carly decided to take a seat in a nearby chair. The running she had done on the way there caught up with her.

"Well, the beginning wasn't so great. I ran into you-know-who." Lucas said leaning forward towards Haley. Carly cringed, instantly knowing it was Dan. She couldn't imagine the amount of disrespect he gave Lucas during that encounter. Haley also grimaced at the code name.

"Dan? I'm sorry, do you want to talk about it?" Haley asked awkwardly, looking to Carly for support. Carly shrugged at the girl, not knowing what advice to give if Lucas did want to talk about it.

"Nah, Carly and I were actually thinking about checking out the burning boat. Wanna come?" Lucas asked. Carly immediately hopped up from her seat pulling her bag closer to her side. She was eager to get rid of her item.

"Well, I suppose I could be seen with you." Haley joked in a British accent. The pair laughed. "Let me just call home and tell them not to wait up." She walked over to the counter where the phone was placed, Carly and Lucas following behind her.

She dialed the number and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Hey Mom it's Haley, Haley James, your daughter," She made a drinking motion with her hand, signaling that her mom had been doing so. "Listen, I'm gonna go out after work, then I'll be home. Okay? Alright bye."

Lucas laughed lightly at the girl. "Was your mom drinking?" He asked Carly looked at Haley expectantly.

"No. I got the machine." Haley said, grabbing her coat and walking towards the door. Lucas and Carly laughed quietly behind her.