16 | The Leaving Song
2003 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina
Brianna Davis sat in her boyfriend, Nathan Scott's, apartment. She was using his laptop to work on a project. The internet and cable at her house were acting iffy, Beckham said he'd call the cable people and handle it, so while he did that, Brianna called her boyfriend and asked if she could borrow his laptop for the day.
"You are totally saving my life, Nate. Thank you. Beckham has to tell our parents to pay the bill," Brianna said.
"It's cool, I've got to run to practice anyway, then I'm going to pick up an extra shift at the mall, try to pay for this cable modem, and after that, I'm working out with Lucas," He said. Brianna paused as she raised an eyebrow.
"Hold on... Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend Nathan Scott?" She teased. Nathan rolled his eyes but he was laughing.
"You said you wanted me to cut the guy some slack," He said.
"Are you sure it's not also because it's another way to stick it to Dan?" Brianna asked. When Nathan shook his head, she smiled. She was glad that he was bonding with Lucas because he wanted to, not because he knew his dad would hate it.
"No, that's not what it is," Nathan said.
"Okay."
"I'm going to stick it to my dad by erasing him from the record books," He said. Brianna smiled as she nodded.
"Good," She responded.
"I've got to go. I'll see you later," He said as he kissed her forehead. Brianna smiled as she watched him leave. She thought about how Nathan never ceases to give her butterflies in her stomach. Every day that she sees him, she falls more and more in love with him.
She hoped that feeling never grew old.
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Later that day, Brianna was typing her paper and reading aloud as she did. "Until the later part of his life, Darwin was a naturalist and the author of the book 'The Original Species' which was published in..." Brianna trailed off from reading her paper and went back to the other tab she had open to go to the search bar. She needed to find the publication date of Darwin's book. She typed in the word 'original' but before she could type the rest to find out when it was published, something else popped up.
'Original Sin. Hot, Nasty Girls.''
Brianna furrowed her eyebrows and then she clicked on Nathan's favorites from the browser. Her eyes widened when a full list of porn websites came up, and then she frowned. This is what he was doing because she wasn't ready to have sex? It didn't make her feel great, but then she was also thinking, when she is ready to have sex, was he just going to be comparing her to those other girls?
She knew she would never measure up.
"Hey, Bree," She was snapped out of her thoughts by Nathan's voice. When she looked up, he and Lucas were walking inside together. "Check it out, an entire afternoon together and no one threw a punch," He said.
"Are you okay?" Lucas asked when he looked at his best friend. He could see something was bothering her.
"Can I talk to Nathan alone, please?" She asked. Lucas could sense something was wrong and he knew he didn't want to be here for it.
"Yeah, sure. Catch up with you guys later," Lucas said and then he walked out. Brianna still had the Original Sin website pulled up on the laptop. Nathan walked over to the island and stood on the opposite side so he was facing his girlfriend.
"What's up?" He asked.
"I was just doing some research on the Internet and I found out what my boyfriend's been studying," Brianna said as she turned the laptop around so he could see what she was talking about. When he did, he sighed as he looked at her.
"This is... I just stumbled upon this, it's no big deal," He said as he closed the laptop.
"What about the half a dozen other sites that you stumbled upon and marked?" She asked and then she sighed. "It's hard enough for me that I have to compete with the girls at school that just give it away... especially since my last name is Davis and everyone expects me to be just like Brooke... but now I've got to compete with pornstars?" Brianna asked.
"Brianna, look... you're overreacting. You're better than all of those girls at school who just 'give it up.' Your sister included," He said.
"I don't think I'm overreacting, Nathan. This hurts me," Brianna said.
"Why? Brianna, these girls aren't real, and plus, I'm a guy. Guys look at this stuff," He said. Brianna shook her head as she softly laughed.
"Well don't be a guy, Nathan, be a man. You know, I'm not a prude, and I think you know that, but the thought that this is what I'm going to be compared to," She said while shaking her head.
"So that's what this is? You're worried I'm going to compare you to them when we...-" Brianna cut him off.
"...-Yes! I'm afraid that's part of it. Nathan, it's hard enough for me to even think about being naked in front of you. It makes me so nervous, and if this...-" She trailed off as she pointed to the screen. "...-is the standard I'm going to be held to? Forget it," She said as she walked out from behind the island.
"Brianna," Nathan called out after her, but it was too late.
The front door had already shut behind her.
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When Brianna left Nathan's apartment, she went back home. She immediately went to Beckham's room and flopped down on his bed. Nothing had changed since he left. He rearranged some things and took down some of the posters he used to have up, but other than that, his room was the same. His walls were navy blue with a few of his posters still hanging up, his clothes were scattered on the floor, but not too much that you couldn't see the floor.
Brianna also noted it smelled like basic men's cologne.
"Well hello to you too, Brianna. My day is going well, thanks for asking. Now what were you saying?" He asked. Brianna rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious, Beck... how often do you watch porn?" Brianna asked.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Beckham asked.
"Gross," Brianna said as she shook her head.
"Bree... I'm kidding, maybe like twice a week? I don't know, it just depends on if I'm horny or not," He said as he shrugged his shoulders, and then he turned to his sister. "Why?" He asked.
"Well, since our internet is being weird, I asked Nathan if I could borrow his laptop to write my paper, and when I didn't know something that I needed, I went on the internet to look up it, but instead I found porn websites that Nathan has favorited," Brianna said.
"Bree, what's the big deal? Guys watch porn," Beckham said and Brianna groaned.
"The big deal, Beckham, is that I can't compete with those girls. What happens when I am ready to have sex with Nathan, huh? And he's just comparing me to what he watches? I'll never amount to it, I'll never be enough," Brianna said. Beckham sighed as he shook his head.
"Look, Brianna, you don't need to compete with those girls," He said. Brianna sighed as she looked down at her hands. "Listen... I know that I've been hard on you about Nathan, but I see the way he looks at you and trust me, he's all in," Beckham said.
"It just sucks, okay? He's not getting it from me so he's filling up on cybersex... it's not fair and it hurts," Brianna said as she laid back against his pillows. Beckham turned on his side and propped himself up on his elbow.
"Look, Bree... guys watch porn, it's super normal. That doesn't mean Nathan is expecting you to be any of them, okay?" He said as he kissed her forehead.
"Thanks, Beck," She said. He nodded and then stood up from his bed and grabbed his keys. "Where are you going?" She asked.
"To meet Haley... she said Lucas and Nathan have been spending more time together, and she just got off work, so we're gonna go get some food," Beckham said. Brianna smiled as she looked at him.
"Don't forget to be a gentleman, young man," She teased. Beckham rolled his eyes, but he had a smile on his face.
"Oh shut up and finish your paper."
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Brianna left her house and went to Peyton's. When she walked inside, she went to Peyton's room to see her friend lying on her bed and drawing, which was normal. But she had headphones on. Brianna loudly knocked on her door because she knew she was blasting the music.
"Peyton! Hello!?" Brianna yelled. Peyton finally looked up and Brianna dropped her fist from the door as she took her headphones off.
"Hey, sorry. I didn't hear you," She said. Brianna nodded as she walked into the room and sat next to her.
"Obviously. Are you alright?" Brianna asked.
"Not really. I screwed up pretty bad with Jenny yesterday," She said and Brianna frowned. She knows how much Peyton loves Jenny and likes Jake. She was hoping it wasn't too bad.
"Oh no, is she okay?" Brianna asked.
"Yeah, she's fine. It potentially could've been worse. I'm an idiot. What's up, Bree Bree?" Peyton asked. Brianna rolled her eyes at the old nickname, but she was still smiling.
"Oh, nothing. I was going to dump my problems on you, but you have a lot going on, so how about you dump yours on me?" Brianna asked and Peyton shook her head.
"Nah, you're good, Bree. What's up?" She asked.
"So, Nathan let me use his laptop to write my paper because our internet is acting weird... but anyway, I came across all this creepy porn," Brianna said.
"How creepy? Like she-male midgets?" She asked and Brianna laughed.
"No, like, Pamela Anderson wannabes. And, I'm right to be bothered by this right? I mean, would you still be bothered by this if you guys were still together?" Brianna asked. Peyton shook her head.
"Well, not really. But our relationship was nothing like yours," Peyton said.
"Because you were having sex?" Brianna asked. Peyton shook her head again.
"No, because I was never in love with Nathan the way you are," Peyton said and Brianna sighed.
"You know, he says he's totally cool with waiting until I'm ready, but like I told Beckham if he's filling up on cyber-sex... I'm not going to measure up to those girls," Brianna said.
"And what did Beckham say?" Peyton asked.
"He said that it's normal for guys to watch porn and just because Nathan watches it doesn't mean he's expecting me to be those girls, but that feels like a typical guy response," Brianna said. Peyton laughed a little as she laid her hand on her friend's arm.
"He's slightly right. I'll add this though. You don't have to compete with anything Bree, because you've got something those girls don't," She said.
"What's that?" Brianna asked.
"His heart."
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Brianna went back home. She was lying in her bed and reading a book when she felt the bed sink down next to her. She put her book down and saw Lucas had invited himself into her room and laid down next to her. She put her bookmark in place and set her book on her nightstand and turned to her friend.
"What happened to you?" She asked. Lucas looked terrible. He was breathing really hard and it seemed like he was in a lot of pain.
"First practice with Dan," He said. Brianna nodded because that definitely explained it. Whitey is getting surgery so of course, Dan stepped up and volunteered to coach the boys through the playoffs.
"That brutal, huh?" Brianna asked.
"Uh huh... especially for Nathan, poor guy," Lucas said. Brianna raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. The same bewildered look she had earlier when Nathan had said something nice about Lucas. Was the world ending, or were they actually starting to get along?
"You're concerned about Nathan?" Brianna asked.
"Well, yeah... I saw firsthand how horrible it is with him and Dan... He needs you, Bree. Maybe you should cut him a break on this whole internet thing," Lucas said. Brianna rolled her eyes.
"Well damn, how close did you two get? He told you about that?" Brianna asked.
"Yeah, I know. It's weird, right? But we're talking more now, and... at least he's not cheating on you," Lucas said. Brianna rolled her eyes again.
"Lucas... that's not fair," Brianna said.
"All I'm saying is, it could be worse. Did you ever think that maybe all of this is just helping him so he can give you space? So he doesn't hassle you about sex?" Lucas asked.
"He shouldn't need to give me space, Lucas, he should be better than that. Especially if he loves me like he claims he does. And I can't believe that you're defending him right now. Whose protecting my heart in all of this, Luke?" She asked.
"Okay, okay, retract the claws. I never said that it was okay, alright? I'm just saying, after what I saw in the gym today, the guy just needs a little support."
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Brianna went back to Nathan's apartment, but he wasn't there, so she figured she'd wait for him. She was thinking about her conversation with Lucas and she knew she needed to have another conversation with Nathan. While she waited for him, she decided to keep working on her project and paper. She needed to upload a picture of Darwin for her project, and she knew she saved one earlier, so she went to the computer files.
"Where did I put that picture of Darwin?" Brianna mumbled to herself as she looked through the files. Then she saw a folder that was labeled 'Peyton' and she clicked on it. There were pictures from her webcam. In the first one, she was sitting on her bed, and in a couple of others, she only had a towel on. Brianna heard the front door open, so she knew Nathan was home.
"Hey," He said.
"You um... you said they weren't real people," Brianna said.
"Brianna, what are you doing?" Nathan asked.
"I'm a real person, and I have feelings. I have problems, I feel vulnerable and self-conscious and I'm just like every other person," Brianna said.
"I know that," Nathan responded.
"Well, what happened to sex just being magical and being this amazing expression of how much you love someone? These cyber girls, they're just like triple joined, waxed, and always turned on and it's just a lie," Brianna said as she shook her head.
"I understand that. It's just a fantasy," Nathan said.
"Is Peyton a fantasy too?" Brianna asked. Nathan closed his laptop and Brianna stood up from her seat.
"You know, it would be nice if a guy could have a little privacy in his own apartment," Nathan said. Brianna sighed as she turned around.
"I wasn't snooping, Nathan. I had a picture in there for my project that I was looking for, but then I see a folder that was labeled with my best friend's name, so of course, I was curious. But guess what, Nate? Peyton and I are close, yes, but not that close. I can't be her for you. I won't be her for you," She said.
"I don't want you to be Peyton," Nathan said.
"Are you sure about that because..." Brianna trailed off and grabbed Nathan's hand in her own and gently kissed his knuckles. "...I gave you my heart, Nathan, and right now, that's all I can give you. And if that's not enough for you, then I'm not enough for you," Brianna said.
She released her boyfriend's hand and didn't give him a chance to respond before she packed up her things and left his apartment. She loved Nathan, she loved him so much, but she didn't want to feel insecure because of women on the internet. Brianna has never been insecure about herself. She wasn't over-boasting with confidence, but she was always content with how she looked.
She didn't think she was asking Nathan for too much.
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sorry this was short.
don't forget to vote/comment.
xoxo.
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