THE CURE ▶ NATHAN SCOTT [1]

SIXTEEN

with arms outstretched pt.2

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Carly roamed through the halls the following day, hoping to find her boyfriend at his locker. She couldn't fall asleep last night, Sam had come into her room after her blow up while she was getting ready for bed to inform her that he planned on staying for a while.

Carly cringed at the thought. Sam had his moments of being a good brother, but sometimes the bad ones outweighed the good. She couldn't believe he had gotten kicked out of college then just had a safety net to fall back on at home.

She wanted to believe Sam's intentions were pure, that he was back home for good to help out and spend time with them after the college mishap. But the odds of that happening were slim to none.

Carly found Nathan standing at his locker, headphones in his ears. Carly came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder; he spun around to face her. "Hey, are you okay? You didn't call me back last night; Liam said you had some trouble at practice yesterday." She asked feeling genuinely concerned for him.

"Well, Liam needs to mind his own business." Nathan shot back, his eyes narrowing. Carly raised her eyebrows, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you serious?" She scoffed.

"No... You know we have that game coming up. I just get a little intense." Carly nodded, not completely buying his story. She took note of his body language and his features.

"You okay? You're shaking, Nathan." Carly frowned. Nathan suddenly grinned down at her, "My heart's racing too," He took her hand and placed it over his heart, which was in fact racing. "That's what happens when I'm around you."

Carly grinned up at him before shifting her gaze to the floor, in hopes to hide her blush. "Cheesy, I'll buy it. I'll see you later." She laughed. "Your house tonight, right? For tutoring?" Nathan asked, releasing her hand.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked once more, holding onto both of his backpack straps. Nathan nodded, picking up her hands once more. "Yeah, I'm fine. I had a bad day yesterday. I'm sorry I missed your call by the way, is everything okay at home?" He questioned.

"For the time being, yes but who knows. I'll see you tonight and you can find out for yourself." Carly uttered, turning around and walking towards the library for her free period.

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Carly weaved her way through the bookshelves, shelving books left and right. She attempted to walk down another aisle but a body blocked her way. She fell onto her butt, looking up at the person who had put her on the floor.

"Well, well. You don't have the balls to talk to be but you can lay me out on the ground just fine? Real classy, Luke. Real classy." Carly got up off the ground and brushed herself off. She returned to her cart, taking books off and placed them on their shelves.