every night is another story
---
The doorbell rang throughout the empty house. Carly rushed towards the front door. She pulled the door open with a bright smile, a smile that Nathan reciprocated. She granted him access to the house and shut the door behind him.
"My parents are out of town and my brothers went on a fishing trip, so it's just us tonight." Carly spoke. She proceeded into the kitchen where she opened the fridge, pulling out two bottles of water. She tossed one to Nathan, who caught it effortlessly.
"I like the sound of that." Nathan grinned. Carly rolled her eyes at his dirty mind, a light smile gracing her features. She bit her lip, "Maybe if we were actually dating what you are thinking might happen." She quickly walked up the stairs and into her room, leaving Nathan stunned in the kitchen.
When she stepped inside, she flinched at the words that had just spewed from her mouth. "Oh my god, what have I done." She panicked. Carly spun around to go apologize but was met with Nathan blocking the doorway.
"Be my girlfriend." Carly's heart began to race. She brushed it off and frowned.
"Very funny." She mumbled. She turned to her vanity, picking up the chapstick that laid upon the surface. Nathan approached her from behind. "I'm serious, Carls."
Carly looked at him through the mirror, his eyes were burning with sincerity. She sighed. "Nate-" She began before Nathan cut her off.
"Carly, I like you. Hell, I love you. And that scares the hell out of me... I've never had to rely on someone as much as I rely on you. You keep me going, you keep me sane. You mean the world to me. That other night, with that asshole at the beach house made me realize how much I want you to be mine. I don't want to ever see a man with his hands on you like that again. I know I suck at this whole feelings thing but it comes down to this... Will you, Carly Valentina Andrews, be my girlfriend?"
Nathan had gotten dangerously close to Carly during his confession, going as far as to take her face into his hands, wiping the stray tears off her cheeks as they leaked out of her eyes. For once in Carly's life she was speechless. She would always have a witty remark to say or a comforting one when needed but in this moment she was at a loss for words.
Her knees felt weak. Her mind was scattered as it tried to form a response. She looked up at him, a gentle smile appeared on her face.
"I love you too, you idiot. Now shut up and kiss me." Nathan laughed and soon captured her lips in his own. To Carly, it was a kiss to level mountains and shake stars from the sky. It was a kiss that makes angels feel faint and the devil himself weep...a passionate, demanding, soul-searing kiss that nearly knocked the earth off its axis. Well, to them of course.
The pair soon pulled apart, desperate for air.
"So, that's a yes?"
--
The ride to school the next morning was full of stolen kisses and music blasting through the speakers. The couple pulled into Nathan's parking spot. The owner of the space quickly hopped out of the car, running over to the passenger side to open the car door for his new girlfriend. Carly grinned as she stepped out. She adjusted her bag strap and pulled down her skirt. Nathan took her hand in his own, pulling her towards the school.
"You ready for this?" He smiled at the girl. She nodded, suddenly feeling nervous about what everyone would think of them. Peyton had only broken up with him last week; she had wondered what her classmates would say about her.
Nathan seemed to notice her nerves; for he started to gently stoke her hand with his thumb pulled her closer to him. "Ready for the game tonight?" He beamed down at her. Carly looked up into his eyes, suddenly forgetting her worries.
"I'm always ready to see you beat Pickerington. I'm not ready for the drive though." She chuckled. She noticed Haley walking a little bit in front of them. "Is Haley coming to the game? I know you skipped studying with her last night, maybe it would be nice to invite her."
Before Nathan could reply she dragged him over to her tutor friend. "Haley!" Carly shouted across the courtyard. The girl spun around meeting Carly's gaze. Once the pair had reached Haley, Carly nudged Nathan on the arm.
He cleared his throat, "You coming to the game tonight?" His other hand reached for his pocket, tucking it safely inside. Haley shrugged, glancing down at Nathan and Carly's intertwined hands. Her scowl was something confused Carly. "I don't know."
"You should come. We always beat the Pickerington Hicks." Carly giggled at the nickname. Haley's eyebrows furrowed, "They're called the Hicks?"
"No, but they should be." Nathan began, Carly picked up after him. "That place is all pick-up trucks and mullets." She shuddered, Haley and Nathan laughed.
"It's definitely worth the road trip. We'll look for you." Nathan finished. Carly waved goodbye to her friend as Nathan pulled her towards the direction of his friends. She sighed in content, eager for the day to proceed.
--
"Should I paint my nails black or blue?" Carly asked as she walked into Peyton's bedroom. Peyton sat on her bed, drawing in her sketchbook. She threw a glance in Carly's direction. "Blue. You painted them black last time."
Carly approached the bed and sat down next to Peyton's legs. "We're just waiting on Brooke right?" She asked the blonde. "Have you guys talked since last week?" Peyton shook her head.
Moments later a knock sounded at the door of Peyton's room. A white handkerchief was stuck out into the doorframe. Brooke peeked her head out. "Safe yet?" She called, causing Carly to giggle and Peyton to roll her eyes.
"No hostile tone? No bitter complaints? No yelling at your best friend because you broke up with your jerk of a boyfriend?" Peyton grinned.
"Oh, my god! A smile!" Brooke faked being shocked. Carly laughed at the two best friends. "Alright! I was a mess last week! I'm sorry." Peyton spoke.
"Apology accepted. A-P-O-L-O-G, why? Because I love you. Maybe not as much as Carly loves Nathan though." Brooke teased. Carly threw a halfhearted punch in her direction. "Do you mean Nathan Scott? My boyfriend?" Carly revealed. Brooke and Peyton's jaw dropped to the floor.
"No way! When did this happen?" Brooke squealed, rushing over to Carly on the bed. Peyton sat up and hugged the girl tightly, squeezing the life out of her.
"Last night at my house. He asked me to be his girlfriend and told me he loves me." Carly beamed at her friends, feeling her heart race at the mention of the previous night. The girls awed at the story. "Alright enough about me. Lets go beat the pirates!" Carly uttered. She walked out of the room with Peyton and Brooke trailing shortly behind.
--
"Oh my. Lucas looks even hotter in blue." Brooke groaned. The trio walked into the Pickerington gym. Carly grimaced at the crowd of want to be rednecks. She had been catcalled numerous years before. She didn't expect tonight to be any better. "You should totally hook up with him."
"Stop it." Peyton joked. Brooke held her hands up in mock surrender. "What? You're due for a little rebound action, unless you're still into Nathan." Carly stood next to the girls, her eyes resting on Nathan as he warmed up.
"If you're still into Nathan you better get over it really quick Pey. I can't compete with you again." She mumbled, a teasing smile on her face. "I'm not." Peyton confirmed. She nudged Carly with her pom-pom causing her to laugh.
"Alright. Since you're my pal, you can have a courtesy hold on Lucas for the weekend. But after that he's fair game." Brooke suggested. Carly waved to Haley and Mouth in the stands. She made a mental note to talk to the River Court guys more often; they seemed to avoid her more than ever these days.
"He's already fair game. Thanks." Peyton urged. Brooke seemed to have found a new subject of interest, her eyes quickly falling on Haley.
"So, what's the story with that one, anyway?" She eyed Haley up and down.
"She's tutoring Nathan... supposedly." Peyton explained. Carly snapped her head towards Haley, who was eyeing Nathan up and down. Carly narrowed her eyes at the girl who seemed to be undressing Nathan with her eyes.
"And hanging out with Lucas? Right, we're supposed to believe she's just friends with both of them." Brooke observed. Haley looked Nathan up and down once more, this time going as far as to bite her lip.
"Did you see that?" Brooke gasped. Peyton shook her head. "Tutor Girl just gave him the look." Peyton glanced at Brooke while Carly nodded at the blonde. "The 'I want to hook up after the game but don't want to be too obvious' look."
Carly groaned at the girl's statement. Sure, she had loved hanging out with Haley and being her friend, but if Haley wanted something of Carly's, to which that being Nathan, Carly wasn't going to be very friendly to the girl anymore.
"Want to know what I think?" Brooke continued, "I think Tutor Girl likes Nathan but Nathan likes Carly and Lucas wants to get revenge on Nathan by screwing with Carly. But I know I like Lucas. And I don't know who the hell Peyton likes anymore. This is all turning into one big love... mess or whatever." Brooke finished.
"You think Lucas wants to get revenge on Nathan by using me?" Carly asked, dumbfounded. She watched him shoot three's on the court, refusing to believe he would do such a thing.
"Oh yeah, it's obvious. I'll point it out next time it happens so you can see for yourself." Brooke told Carly. The captain yelled for the squad to get in formation, for the game was starting any second. Carly took a deep breath and prayed for their undefeated record.
--
It was safe to say that the Ravens were killing Pickerington. They had a lead of twenty early in the second quarter. Nathan caused a foul, due to Lucas leaving his man unattended. Carly held her breath as she waited for Nathan to say something snarky.
"Hey, why don't you try putting your hands up on defense?" Nathan scowled at his teammate
"Why don't you try not getting beat." Lucas countered.
"Yeah, you'll know getting beat when I beat your ass. Moron." They stepped to the key. The other team made the first free throw, this only fueled the fight between the boys.
"You gonna talk or you gonna play, daddy's boy?" Lucas sassed. Carly sighed, locking eyes with Peyton who only shrugged. Boys will be boys.
"Haley's looking pretty fine tonight." Nathan smirked, waving at the brunette who sat perched on the bleachers. She sent a wave in Nathan's direction as they locked eyes.
The second free throw was made. Lucas stepped towards Nathan and the girls on the side of the court. "Carly's looking pretty hot in her cheerleading uniform, but I bet she'll be even hotter when it's on my bedroom floor." Lucas smirked. He winked at Carly before jogging down the court.
Brooke had a sly smirk on her face. "I told you." Nathan took the ball and hurled it at Lucas' head. Lucas charged Nathan sending them both to the floor, taking Carly and Brooke with them.
Carly's head smacked against the hardwood floor, leaving her dizzy. Brooke was caught directly under the boys. The team attempted to pull the boys off of her two girls but it only resulted in more chaos.
Once the boys were pulled off of each other, the referee ejected them. Carly was left on the ground along with Brooke. Each of them holding their hurt body part, for Brooke it was her ankle and Carly's was her head. Peyton summoned the trainer over to her friends, watching as they were carried to the medical room.
--
Carly laid on a table in the medical room with an ice bag placed on her bandaged head. She was waiting for Brooke's ankle to finish getting taped. In all honesty Carly just wanted to leave this school and never come back. The painkillers she got from her cheer bag hadn't kicked in yet so she was miserable.
"Ow! That's too tight!" Brooke groaned. The trainer who was wrapping her ankle seemed to be more focused on Brooke's beauty than her injured ankle. Carly scoffed, how typical.
"There, how's that?" He asked politely. Brooke in return winced, "Too loose. Ow that's too tight!" She whined as he continued to adjust the bandage. Her expressions of pain soon diminished when she looked towards the trainer, her face transforming into her seductive smile.
"So. You're in college, right?" She suddenly asked, completely forgetting about her injured ankle. "Uh, yeah. Junior." He responded quietly.
"Oh. You know, I love college guys... Two more years, you'll be a doctor." Carly and the trainer chuckled. Albeit, for different reasons. Carly laughed at Brooke's words while the trainer laughed at her forwardness.
"Not exactly."
Carly had enough of Brooke's flirting and sat up while she continued to flirt, going as far to ask him for pills. She stepped outside to see Peyton waiting for her. Carly gave Peyton a small smile and trotted back to the gym to collect her bag that was waiting for her.
She returned to Peyton only to find Haley with her. Haley looked towards Carly with a scowl on her face; the look Carly gave her in return was far more dangerous. Brooke stumbled out moments later. Carly decided to wait for her two friends in the car instead of helping them.
Carly plopped down into the front seat, pulling down the mirror to check her makeup. She noticed Haley almost carrying Brooke and hopped out to pull the seat forward for Brooke to sit in the back.
"Thanks." Carly spoke before returning to the passenger seat. Haley looked to Peyton; "I'll see you guys later."
"Where's your ride?" Peyton asked, looking around the deserted parking lot. Carly silently prayed Haley wouldn't come, for she did not want to endure the long, awkward car ride.
"I'm gonna take the last fan bus back." Carly sighed, looking up from her reflection. "It just left." She spoke.
"That's perfect! Brooke, you can come with us. Peyton, can she come? Please!" Brooke squealed. Peyton rolled her eyes at her drugged friend. "Just don't touch the stereo or we'll have a problem." Peyton walked to the driver's side. Carly slid into the middle seat, leaving the passenger seat open for Haley to sit down.
"Here we go." She mumbled as the Volkswagen Bug pulled out of the parking lot.
--
CARTHAN. CARTHAN. CARTHAN. MY BABIES FINALLY GOT TOGETHER!!!
here's another shitty unedited chapter. If you have any questions about it please feel free to ask. I know what's going on in my head but I don't think I put it down on paper as well as I would have liked. Until next time!
Vote and Comment! Much love!
-h