( act one — champagne coast)
season 1 & 2 ✧ late summer, early fall

Nathan Scott will always remember the first time he laid eyes on Valerie Dickenson. It was a late summer evening, the birds were chirping, the sun was shining and the whole entire world was still. The windows to his room were open, blowing in soft cool air and causing the curtains to flutter with every gust. He had been about seven years old, and was playing with old Star Wars figurines from his shelf. The sound of a girl mumbling interrupted his peaceful silence and guided him toward the window. The girl was his new neighbor, and she had moved in about a week before. She had long brown hair and almost always carried a pink bunny around with her. Nathan had not found the time to go introduce himself. (even though his parents had begged him to) The boy gazed down, watching as she poured imaginary tea from a porcelain tea pot into all of her stuffed animals cups. "For you, Miss Francesca.." She mumbled, almost tipping over the table in her baby pink princess gown. "And for you, Lady Isabella!" She giggled.

He noticed that all of her stuffed animals shared the same reoccurring color, Pink. There was not one bunny that went without the soft shade.

But now, as Nathan Scott looks out of his window on a warm summer afternoon, nine whole years later, the girl with the pink bunnies is gone. The moon toppled over the horizon while the soft hum of crickets filled his ears. He was doing something he did often, stare at the ceiling with his hands tucked behind his head. Summer was coming to an abrupt end, and soon enough he would have to go back to basketball. Once again, the girls voice pulled him out of his dreaming and caused him to look out the window once more. It was dark, but Nathan could see a girl and a boy standing near the street. "Get out!" Valerie yelled, pointing to the car and throwing pieces of clothing at him. "No, Val, please!" He begged, trying to dodge the endless sweatshirts and shoes going straight for his head. "You are an asshole! Go away!" She crossed her arms, beginning to step away as her now ex-boyfriend continued to come closer. "It was an accident!" He shouted.

The boy was Anthony Furoski, some random football player that went to Tree Hill High School. "You cheating on me was not an accident, it was a decision." Val sighed, "Learn the difference." she continued. "I didn't see who it was! I thought it was you!" Anthony exclaimed. Valerie stared at the boy, her heart racing and her body at an unusual temperature. "So you just miraculously thought that I had returned from vacation that night and decided to have sex with you for the first time at someone else's party?" She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to hold back her harsh tears. "I-I" He stammered. "No, you don't get to explain yourself, I want you out of my sight, forever." She took a deep breath. "Please." Anthony begged.

"She said leave, you piece of shit." Another boy walked out of the door, Valerie's twin brother, Hunter.

Nathan has interacted with Hunter a couple times over the years, but they did separate sports so it was quite rare to catch each other. Anthony stared, picking up his pieces of clothing and angrily walking to his car. He then sped off, revving the engine of his car and turning down the street. Valerie collapsed back into her twins arms, staining his shirt with colossal tears as he brushed the back of her hair. In the eyes of Nathan Scott, it was quite strange to see the faded light of childhood mixing into the abyss of teenage years. The boy watched as Hunter walked his sister back inside, still keeping an arm around her shoulder and telling her that everything was okay.

Nathan let go of the curtain, walking back to his bed and lying down, now engulfed in this own dark abyss of teenage time.

༅

Valerie Dickenson believes that love is a tunnel. As you enter, you see the light at the end and immediately assume everything will remain the same as it started. But as you ascend deeper, you are engulfed in an abyss of darkness. You may not know if the light on the other side means until death or a mutual understanding of a breakup. Valerie Dickenson was one of the many to fall right into that abyss of demise. She did not see where she was walking and fell into the hole of heartbreak.

The girl stared up at her ceiling, hands resting on her tummy as her mind raced with voices. She traced the invisible cracks lined along her ceiling. She had a pit in her stomach and a sharp pain in her heart, her throat burned with the raw sobs she was holding back. The room was quiet, but she heard everything around her, the birds chirping outside, the light buzz coming from the window as someone mowed the lawn in the neighbourhood, every thump of her heart. Everything. Everything was aching. All she heard was his voice trying to justify his actions, all the sweet nothings he whispered in her ear while he was telling them to another girl.

Valerie closed her eyes, but the face of the girl he ended up with that night was etched in her mind. She was beautiful, with silky blonde hair that shimmered in the summer sun and fell perfectly along her shoulders. She could see her sun kissed skin with a natural glow as if she has never met the face of winter. In all, she was the embodiment of summer, especially with the sparkling sapphire color of the ocean in her eyes. The girl wondered if they laughed the same, did they have the same gestures? Did she laugh at his stupid jokes better than she did? Was she the sweetest person he could latch his hands onto? Her stomach twisted at the thoughts, and Valerie had wondered what the girl had that she did not.

Comparison is the rot of the mind.

"Val?" A voice pulled her out of an endless nightmare for just a moment. "Come in." Her voice rasped, she had not spoken a word out loud in a day, and it felt quite strange to speak now. The door to her bedroom creaked, and her best friend's head popped right in. "So what's the damage? Ice cream and depressing movie or full revenge fantasy?" She sighed, plopping down on the bed and hugging a small throw pillow. Tatum and Valerie had been best friends since they were eight years old and they had been inseparable ever since. When Valerie first met Tatum, she had been telling some boy off at the playground because he had taken her favourite spot on the swing, after Tatum realised she had an audience, she immediately called Valerie over to sit with her.

She stared at the girl, who had nothing to say and just furrowed her eyebrows. "Ice cream and depressing movie, got it!" Tatum decided, slouching her back against the bed to mock Valerie's stance. "Maybe this is for the better, she gets Mr "I Forgot Your Birthday Again" and you can get a new boy toy, well, when the time is right." The girl joked, looking over at Valerie who was trying to not crack a smile. "I mean he did think skinny jeans were fashionable, I think you'll be just fine."

Valerie smiled, quickly hiding her face back into her sheets. "True." She hummed, voice still mellow and quiet. Valerie was thankful to have Tatum, she did now know what she would do if she was alone. Another knock came from the door as Valerie looked over. "Valerie? I brought you my friends because I think you need some." Amelia waddled in, barely holding onto all seven stuffed animals. "Hey, what about me, Meils?" Tatum planted a hand on her heart, pretending to fall over and pass out from shock. "You're a sister!" Amelia giggled, throwing her stuffies down on the bed as she climbed up and set them around the girls.

AUTHORS NOTE
hiii so cutie little chapter, extremely short so i apologise for that but i was unsure what to write without having to go RIGHT into the plot, but trust it starts soon!! i hope you all enjoyed reading this intro, and i hope to see you guys next chapter :)