THE CURE ▶ NATHAN SCOTT [1]

SEVENTEEN

you gotta go there to come back // (rewritten)

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Sunshine flooded through the curtains, settling on the carpet of Carly's room. Quiet breaths surrounded the couple as they continued sleeping. A shrill beeping sound erupted from Carly's alarm clock, causing the owner to stir. Carly's eyes quickly snapped open, slamming her hand down on the snooze button.

As she returned to Nathan's warm embrace, he began to wake up as well. He looked over Carly's head at the time and groaned, "6:15? Carly, really? School doesn't start until 8:30, why so early?" He brought a hand up to rub his eyes as they squinted into the light. 

Carly snuggled herself further into his chest, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Because I need to look pretty at school. You like it when I dress nice." She mumbled, voice heavy from sleep. Her eyes remained closed as a rumble erupted in Nathan's chest as he laughed.

"Baby, I'd like you even if you were dressed in a garbage bag. You're beautiful all the time." A small knock sounded through Carly's door, her head quickly shot up from Nathan's chest. Her finger went to her lips signaling Nathan to be quiet.

"Yeah?" She called out, silently praying that it was Liam who knocked and not Sam. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Liam's hushed whisper. "Sam went out for a run, you gotta get Nathan out of there before he gets back. He'll try to father figure you if he sees him."

Carly sighed and shot a fleeting glance at Nathan's figure on her bed. She pressed her ear to the door, whispering a thank you before listening to his footsteps drift down the hallway. She pushed herself away from the door and walked back over to the bed. Nathan had sat up and began to slip his shoes on when Carly same up from behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. 

"Liam's right. I should head out before Mr. Protective gets back. I should get back to the madness." Nathan finished tying his shoes and turned towards Carly, throwing and arm around her shoulders.

"You could always hop out the window if Sam does come home, that way you can stay a little longer." Carly tried to reason, not wanting to let Nathan out of her embrace quite yet. She had been worried about him, considering the aftermath of the game last night and him showing up at her bedroom door completely and utterly vulnerable.

"Hey, if I could I'd stay like this all day... You know that." He pressed a quick kiss to her temple and stood from the bed. Carly laid back down on her bed and began to twiddle her fingers, lost in thought. 

Nathan walked across Carly's room and gripped the door handle, turning it in his palm. "Hey, Nate. About last night... Are you going to be okay?" She asked quietly, hoping his reaction wouldn't be sarcastic or rhetorical.