THE CURE ▶ NATHAN SCOTT [1]

EIGHTEEN

you gotta go there to come back // pt.2

---

"So, when you divide out a common denominator correctly, you eliminate three of the answers, leaving the correct one left. It's that simple." Carly grinned when she saw the light click on in Nathan's mind. He completed the problem and dropped his pencil. 

He leaned back in his chair, resting his arms behind his head. Carly slid the work towards herself, silently reviewing the answers he pushed out onto the paper. Her thumb pressed the top of her pen, making a clicking noise over and over.

"And here I thought Nathan Scott was all brawn and no brains." Carly smirked. She wrote down Nathan's score on the paper, circling it. "Nine out of ten. Good job Nate." She passed the paper back over to him, clicking her pen shut.

Nathan's phone began to buzz across the library table as they packed up their things. He snatched the phone off the tabletop before it caused more disruption. Carly giggled lightly at how flustered he became.

"I gotta go, my dad is up my ass for some reason. Can we wrap this up tomorrow or something?" Nathan slid his backpack over his shoulders and stood up from the table. Carly shrugged lightly, stretching her arms out in front of her. She had been sitting at the table with Nathan for well over 2 hours and her muscles were compacted.

"Yeah, can I swing by your house though? I left my jacket there the other night." She informed him, recalling the late night tutoring session that was spent at Nathan's house. Nathan nodded, opening up the door for Carly to walk through.

"Yeah, sure. I can give you a ride if you want. You can be my excuse to leave if things get hostile." Nathan grinned, gripping Carly's waist and pulling her towards him. She grinned, "Hostile? Nice use of vocabulary. I'm glad you actually pay attention when I tutor you." The teasing tone caused Nathan to chuckle.

"A pretty girl tells you to study flashcards, who wouldn't do that?" He climbed into his SUV, patiently waiting for Carly to buckle her seatbelt. "Well, most of the kids I tutor either flirt with me or look at my boobs..." Carly trailed off, watching as Nathan's face turned into a scowl.

She playfully slapped his arm, "I'm kidding." She groaned, Nathan's eyebrows remained furrowed but the corners of his lips turned upwards, alerting Carly he had gotten over her comment. His eyes were trained on the road as they continued down the path towards Nathan's house.

"Mostly." Carly mumbled, coughing slightly. She ultimately laughed again when Nathan groaned and scowled once more. She reveled in the emotions she could draw out of him. Her laughs echoed throughout the car, a sound so contagious that Nathan eventually joined in.

---

Nathan approached the front door of his house. His hand placed on the small of Carly's back. The knob of the door was turned and pushed, allowing the pair to walk inside the large house.