2003 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

After what happened with Nathan, Whitey discontinued basketball practices until further notice. And since there was no basketball, for the time being, Brooke also discontinued cheer practices. Brianna thought it was nice not to have cheer practice. She loves being a cheerleader, especially since she cheers with her sister and best friend, but she also liked having extra free time.

During the times that they would have been practicing, Nathan and Brianna took advantage of having extra time to spend with each other. Nathan reassured Brianna that their relationship was not about sex for him. He told her that whenever she was ready to take that step, he would be there and be ready to take that step with her.

She really appreciated that.

He also told her that when Whitey continues practices, he doesn't know if he's going to go back to basketball. One of the reasons had to do with his father. Nathan finally told Brianna the entire story of what caused him to collapse during that game. And then, over the past weekend, he and his dad went on a weekend trip, and it didn't end well.

The trip was originally planned for Deb and Dan, but then they got into a fight, and Deb wanted a divorce, so without telling Nathan, Dan made it seem like the trip was always supposed to be for the two of them. Nathan said as they were playing golf, they got into a big fight, and Nathan told Dan that by granting his mom a divorce, he'd be doing her a favor because no one will ever be happy with him around. Brianna agreed with him, but she let Nathan vent, and when he was done, she hugged him and said she would be there for him, no matter what.

Then Lucas, Nathan, and the rest of the basketball team went to the river court and played a fun pick-up game with each other. It was refreshing for Brianna to see the guys playing together and having fun instead of fighting with each other. But now the weekend was over.

Time to get back to reality.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

"Did you finish The Little Prince?" Brianna asked Nathan as they were sitting in the tutoring center. It had been a few weeks since Nathan's collapse during the game, and Whitey was about to resume practices again. Nathan had expressed to Brianna that he still wasn't sure about what he wanted to do. And he mentioned that his family is all in counseling together since his mother expressed her want for a divorce.

"No, I just rented the movie. This book is stupid." Nathan said as he sighed, and Brianna frowned. She understood that he was under a lot of pressure. Whether to resume playing basketball, his mother wants a divorce. His father is... Dan. She didn't know what to do to help him.

"Nate, you're not going to pass French if you keep renting movies," Brianna said.

"Well, it's not like I have a lot of time to just sit around and read." Nathan snapped slightly. Brianna didn't take it to heart because she knew it wasn't her that Nathan was frustrated with. She frowned as she looked at him.

"Are you ever going to tell me how it went?" She asked. Brianna had to move the time of their session and switch Nathan with another one of her students because he had therapy this morning and was going to be late for school.

"The therapist asked me if I really wanted to play basketball or not." He said.

"I remember we talked about it a little bit, but what did you say to her?" Brianna asked.

"I didn't know what to say. Nobody has ever asked me that question before." Nathan said, and Brianna nodded. She understood. All his life, Nathan has been trained to be the best basketball player he can be. He was conditioned, he was molded. No one ever stopped to ask him if basketball was what he wanted to do. It was just expected of him.

"That's really big, Nate," Brianna said, and he sighed.

"These last couple of weeks without it, I mean... if I didn't play, I might actually have a life," Nathan said, and Brianna nodded her head. She loved the extra time she got to spend with him, but she knew she would miss seeing Nathan out on the court if he stopped.

"What would you do?" Brianna asked.

"I would spend more time with you, that's for sure," Nathan said as he smiled. Brianna bit down on her lip as she started smiling. "Other than that, I don't know, but I do have some time to figure it out." He said. Brianna leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

"I think you're really brave. To consider rebuilding who you are. I don't know if I could do that." Brianna said.

"You could," Nathan said as he started packing up his things. Brianna checked the time and saw the period was almost over. She started packing her things up too. "I have to go." He said, and she nodded her head.

"Oh yeah... practice starts back up today," Brianna commented.

"Yeah, maybe for you it does... I'm not sure if I do. I'll see you later, Bree." Nathan said. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss before leaving the tutoring center. Brianna sighed as she watched him go. She knows that Nathan loves basketball, but she also knows that the pressure his dad puts on him is insane. He took performance-enhancing drugs just to live up to his standards. Brianna would respect whatever decision he makes.

But she hoped he wouldn't make a choice he'd regret.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Peyton and Brianna were walking outside of their school's campus to cross over and get to the gym for their first day back at practice. Brianna had her arm linked through her friend's, and she made it a point not to bring up Lucas and Brooke. Peyton claims that it doesn't bother her that Lucas and Brooke are officially dating, but Brianna didn't fully believe her.

"Hey, spirit girls!" Haley James exclaimed as she caught up with the girls. "You know, the whole cheerleading thing always throws me off." She said.

"What?" Peyton asked.

"It's just... I know Bree so well, and Peyton, the more I get to know you, it just gets harder to wrap my head around the fact that you're both cheerleaders." Haley said, and Brianna laughed.

"My mom used to cheer. Brooke, Bree, and I have been cheering together forever, so it's just kind of our thing." Peyton said, and Brianna nodded her head. It was their thing. It was one of the only reasons why Brianna still did it. Peyton originally started cheering because she wanted to be like her mom. When Brianna and Brooke were younger, Brianna always looked up to her since Brooke was the older twin, and she wanted to be like her.

When Brooke and Peyton started cheering, Brianna didn't want to be left out since her sister and their friend were cheering together, so she started cheering too, and then it became their thing.

"Oh, cool," Haley said.

"Okay, P. Sawyer, I need some advice about Nathan. I don't know if this is crossing a line..." Brianna trailed off as Peyton and Haley started laughing. "Okay, funny wasn't exactly the reaction I was going for." She said.

"I was the queen of boyfriend dysfunction, and now I guess I'm everybody's go-to for relationship advice. It's just kind of bizarre." She said.

"Trouble in paradise already?" Haley asked as she looked at Brianna. She shook her head.

"No, not exactly. It's just... today, Nathan was talking about quitting the team, and I just don't know what to say to him about it." Brianna said.

"Yeah, look. I could never find the words to get through that big wall that he puts up, so I really can't help you out that much. But Bree, you're so much better with him than I ever was. He's lucky to have you." Peyton said, and Brianna smiled a little.

"Thanks, Peyton." She said.

"Okay, well... I don't want to keep you two from your practice." Haley said as she unlinked her arm from Brianna's.

"Hmm. Go Ravens." Peyton said sarcastically.

"Hey, um... I didn't mean anything by it... about your mom." Haley said, and Peyton nodded her head.

"It's cool," Peyton said. Haley nodded her head and left the girls to continue practice. When they walked into the gym, Brooke immediately made a beeline for them, but her eyes were on Peyton. Brianna didn't know what happened, but she was hoping that Brooke wasn't mad at her for whatever reason.

"You could've told me Travis was a group," Brooke said.

"It's not like it's some big secret," Peyton said.

"Lucas gave me the weirdest look when I said that. I felt so stupid." Brooke said. Brianna looked between them and cleared her throat.

"Someone wanna catch me up?" she asked.

"I wanted to bond more with Lucas, so I asked Peyton about some music, and it just went wrong, okay? And I completely embarrassed myself." Brooke said, and Brianna frowned.

"You're not stupid, Brookie. You and Lucas aren't into the same things, and that's totally fine. I mean, look at me and Nathan." Brianna said. Peyton smiled as she nodded her head.

"She's right. Look at you two. The Davis sisters with the Scott brothers." Peyton teased. Brianna laughed a bit, but Brooke still looked upset, so Brianna knew this was really bothering her.

"See, that's the problem. He brings up art and books, and I've got nothing." Brooke said. Whitey blew the whistle, and the boys came running out from the locker room. Brianna always loved that they got front-row seats to their practices. When Lucas ran out, he walked over to the trio.

"Hey, you." Brooke greeted her boyfriend.

"Hey, you," Lucas responded in an equally flirty tone, and then he turned to Peyton. "And you." He said, and then he turned to Bree. "And you too, Bree." He said. Brianna smiled as Lucas ran off to join the rest of the team. She turned back toward the locker room to see if Nathan was going to come out as well, and when he didn't, she sighed.

Maybe he did quit after all.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

The following day at school, Brianna saw her boyfriend and was going to approach him, but then she stopped when she realized he was talking to Lucas. They weren't fighting, they both looked relaxed, and they were having a casual conversation with each other. When Lucas walked away, Brianna approached Nathan.

"Am I hallucinating? Did I just see you talking to Lucas?" Brianna asked, and Nathan laughed.

"No. He was trying to talk to me. The whole nice guy thing is wearing kind of thin." Nathan teased, and Brianna rolled her eyes.

"You wanna walk to English together?" Brianna asked.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna cut out of here a little bit early. You wanna join me?" Nathan asked, and Brianna's eyes widened. She wasn't new to skipping school, she's done it before. She was just surprised because that wasn't what she expected Nathan to say.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah, why not? You up for it?" He asked, and Brianna sighed.

"I don't know if I can, Nate," Brianna said. Nathan's eyes fell, and Brianna could tell he was sad, but he wasn't going to push her on it. She appreciated that he wasn't going to try and force her or guilt her into coming with him.

"Okay, that's fine, but look, I'm gonna get out of here, so I'll catch you later," Nathan said. He leaned in and kissed her cheek before turning to go the other way. Brianna shook her head and quickly ran to catch up with him.

"You know what? Catch me now. It won't be the first time I've skipped school." Brianna said. Nathan smiled as he grabbed her hand, and she interlocked their fingers together.

She just loved spending time with Nathan.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Nathan and Brianna went to the Scott family beach house, and they started drinking a lot. Brianna doesn't drink much, but she and Nathan were at the beach house, and they could always go into his room to sleep it off. Brianna felt safe and comfortable with him, so she knew she could let herself loosen up a little with him. They were sitting on the beach and watching the water as they drank.

"So, I guess the point of skipping school today was to get killed so we could skip all the rest of the days?" Brianna asked, and Nathan laughed.

"I told you, my dad's in Charlotte, it's okay... You know, I don't think I've ever seen you drunk before." Nathan said, and Brianna smiled.

"That is because I only get drunk in safe places and with people I feel safe with," Brianna said as she leaned over and kissed his cheek. Nathan smiled. It made him happy to hear that Brianna felt safe enough with him to allow herself to get drunk around him. He hoped that Brianna would always feel safe with him.

"Let's go back inside," Nathan said. Brianna nodded her head as Nathan helped her out of the sand. Then she laid her hands on Nathan's shoulders.

"Catch me, ready. 1... 3... 5!" Brianna exclaimed, and then she jumped on his back. Nathan laughed as he caught her, and he was laughing because of her counting.

"I got you." He said as he started to walk back toward the house, but Brianna was starting to feel dizzy.

"Yeah, I'm good. Oh, please stop moving the pier." Brianna said. Nathan laughed a little, and then he came to an abrupt stop. When Brianna lifted her head, her body went cold and tense. She could feel herself immediately sobering up. Dan Scott was standing in front of them.

He did not look happy.

"Nice knowing you," Nathan said as he slowly set Brianna on the ground. Dan Scott grabbed her arm and started to drag her to his truck while Nathan followed behind. Dan put Brianna in the passenger seat, and Nathan got in the back. The good thing was, Brianna knew she wasn't going to get in trouble for this.

Her parents don't care about her.

"You've got Mason Bowl next week, and this is how you're training." Dan snapped at Nathan as he started driving.

"Can we do this later?" Nathan said.

"There may not be a later for you." Dan snapped back.

"Oh, give him a break," Brianna said.

"Was I talking to you?" Dan snapped at her as he glared. "I'm driving you both home. Your mother is going to love this. You getting drunk on her watch...-" As Dan was talking, his driving was starting to make Brianna nauseous. When he pulled to a stop at the stoplight, she leaned over and threw up in his lap. Nathan started laughing as he sat back in his seat, and Brianna was terrified now, but she knew in a few weeks, it would be hilarious.

"Oops."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

Brianna was hungover and at work.

She told Haley she skipped with Nathan, they got drunk, and she threw up in Dan's lap, which Haley found hilarious. Haley was working the tables while Brianna was behind the counter. The bell dinged as someone entered the cafe, and Brianna softly groaned as her head started ringing again. When she looked up, she saw Lucas.

"What the hell happened to you? You look awful." Lucas said. Brianna had her hair thrown up in a messy bun, the style she normally goes for when she feels like hell.

"Nice to see you too, Lucas." She said.

"Yeah, I missed you in sixth period." He said, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, I kind of skipped," Brianna said. Lucas' eyes widened, and his mouth was slightly opened as well. Brianna rolled her eyes. "You can get your jaw off the floor now."

"He's got you skipping school?" Lucas snapped, and Brianna scoffed.

"Lucas, this isn't the first time I've skipped school before, and you know that. Also, talk to me when you get your tattoo removed." She snapped before turning back to walk into the kitchen. Brooke told her about how she went with Lucas to get him a tattoo, and Brianna told her sister that Karen was not going to be happy about that when she got back from her cooking school in Italy.

When Brianna came back from the kitchen, she noticed Lucas was sitting with Peyton and her dad. She hasn't seen Peyton's dad in a while, so she walked over to the table to greet them. "Hey, P. Sawyer," Brianna said as she laid her hands on Peyton's shoulders as she stood behind her. "Hey, Mr. Sawyer." She greeted him, and Larry smiled.

"Hey, Bree. How are you doing?" He asked.

"Oh, I have a massive headache, but I wanted to come over and say hi since you're finally back in town." She said, and then she noticed the coffee he had. "Have it on the house, I'll let Haley know." She said, and Larry smiled.

"Thanks, Bree," Larry said. Brianna smiled at them again and gave Peyton's shoulders a gentle squeeze before she walked away. She purposely didn't say anything to Lucas because she didn't appreciate the fact that he tried to preach at her.

He was starting to get annoying.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

The following day at school, Brianna was sitting in the tutoring center, waiting for Nathan to show up for their session. He was running about ten minutes late. She figured that he wasn't going to come, so she started to pack up her things. Right as she was packing, Nathan walked in.

"Oh, hey. I almost gave up on you." She said, and Nathan sighed.

"I'm sorry, Bree. I lost track of time. Are you okay? Are you still hungover?" He asked. Brianna shrugged her shoulders and ran her fingers back through her hair.

"Not as bad as your dad's pants." She said, and Nathan laughed.

"How great was that?" He said.

"It was horrible. Let's just tackle geometry, okay?" Brianna said.

"Or... Bottle Rocket is playing at this theater downtown, we could take the train?" Nathan asked, and Brianna sighed.

"Really?" She asked.

"I promise I won't get you drunk this time." He said.

"Okay, but we are doing equations on the train," Brianna said as she started to pack her things up. Nathan smiled as he nodded his head.

"Alright. It's not exactly risky business, but there's always the ride back." He said, and Brianna laughed. Then Nathan noticed an English quiz that Brianna was about to pack away, but it had a red F on the top of the page. "Is this one mine?" He asked. Brianna followed his eyes, and she saw the quiz that he was looking at, and she quickly shook her head.

"No... this other girl I'm tutoring, she missed a pop quiz in English Lit yesterday." Brianna lied. Nathan's face fell as he realized it was Brianna's quiz, and she missed it because they skipped yesterday.

"Brianna, you got an F?" Nathan asked, and Brianna shook her head.

"Mr. Kelly said I could make it up. It's not a big deal." Brianna said. She noticed Nathan was still looking at her with concern as she had all her things packed and ready. "It's shocking, I'm human. I know, let's go."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

The following day, Brianna was sitting at one of the outside tables as she was waiting for school to start. She and Nathan had skipped a total of three days, but Nathan was feeling guilty about the fact that Brianna failed a quiz because she had skipped with him. "Hey, Bree. You got a sec?" Nathan asked as he approached her. Brianna nodded her head, and Nathan sat at the table with her.

"Hey, are you planning our next road trip for today?" She teased. She had a smile on her face, but it quickly fell when she noticed that Nathan wasn't smiling.

"Actually, I thought we could just talk." He said, and she nodded her head.

"Of course, what's up?" She asked.

"Well, look... Brianna, I've had a lot of fun with you lately...-" Brianna started to panic, and she quickly cut him off.

"...-Oh my god... are you breaking up with me? I knew this was a little too good to be true." Brianna said. Nathan's eyes widened, and he immediately shook his head.

"No, no, of course not, Bree. I'm trying to apologize for dragging you out of class these last couple of days." He said, and Brianna let out a breath of relief. Brianna has watched enough TV and movies to know that when someone starts with "we've been having a lot of fun, but..." It normally leads to a breakup, so she got nervous.

"Oh, Nathan... I had fun." Brianna said.

"Bree. You got an F on your quiz." He said.

"Well, so what? You know I make my own choices, and I choose to be with you, Nathan." Brianna said as she gently squeezed his hand.

"That's the thing. Look, I like to be with you too, but the real Brianna, the one that I got all crushed out on, you know? I don't want to see you change. I don't want to see you become like Brooke. I like you, and I like the fact that somebody like you sees something worth it in me." Nathan said. Brianna took a moment to digest his words, and she slightly smiled. Nathan was right, he fell for her just the way she is, and she doesn't have to change herself to keep his affection.

"Somebody like me or me?" Brianna asked.

"You already know the answer to that," Nathan said. Since they were still holding hands, Nathan pulled Brianna into him so he could fully wrap his arms around her, and he brought their lips together. Brianna smiled as her lips moved against Nathan's, and she let out a content sigh.

Every kiss felt like their first.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

I love them.

don't forget to vote/comment. 

xoxo.