A Lot Can Happen At Boarding School (One Tree Hill FF)

Chapter 22

Chapter 22: A Tree Hill Raven always knows you can break the ice, but you never know what you'll find underneath.

Haley always had her doubts about team sports. They'd always come off so aggressive and chaotic. It wasn't until Nathan that she actually paid attention to a sport. Touchdowns, goals, baskets; they were all one in the same until him. And it was seeing the game through Nathan's eyes – the electricity of the clock, the magnetism between teammates, and the thrill of the strategy – that made her appreciate not only the game, but also understand the profound affect it can have on a person.

She was especially grateful that it could still have that affect in a short period of time. The Field Day was proving to be an icebreaker sent from the heavens. Post-moping, Haley and Peyton joined the group, watching as their team dominated the soccer tournament. Followed by a respectable display in the ultimate Frisbee round, no thanks to her (as Lucas put it "guess we should have had the trees as a teammate"), and now, the final game of the team events, flag football.

And with each pass, each play, each minute of working together, her friends were finally letting their walls down and she was letting her guard down. They were bantering, and laughing, and the energy that used to crackle between all of them was starting to return. Nathan had even given her a few high-fives, and unbeknownst to him, a concerning amount of heart flutters. But if everyone else had a wall to come down, Brooke Davis had a castle, a mote, and an armed fleet guarding her heart.

The group huddles together, deciding who's going to play what.

"I think Nathan should be QB," Jake notes. "Haley can be center, Lucas and I on offense, Peyton and Brooke on defense."

"Absolutely not, shit-stirrer," Brooke quips.

"What?" Jake asks innocently.

"Haley's ass in Nathan's face to hike the ball? Keep dreamin'."

"Brooke!" Haley shouts, embarrassed.

"That's a real logistic, and if I remember correctly, your ass is an aphrodisiac to boys named Nathan Scott. We don't need the distraction," Brooke continues. Nathan smirks, Brooke isn't wrong. Those were his first thoughts exactly.

"I mean besides that being way over the line, I do have to agree. I'm not athletically inclined. I shouldn't be throwing a ball, let alone bent over and backwards."

The group laughs, she's digging her own grave at this point.

"Look, as Nathan's agent, I'd rather he not play a position he'll get sacked."

"It's flag football," Jake points out.

"Yeah, and look who we're playing," Lucas notes. They turn to find Rachel, Tim, Bevin, Skills, Teresa, and Junk. "Friendly competition always becomes less friendly, more competition."

"Good point Broody," Brooke agrees. "Here's the deal, I'm QB. Lucas is center. Nathan and Haley are offense. Jake and Peyton are defense. Nathan is the most agile, Haley can be the fake out, and Jake and Peyton are scrappy. Plus I have a mean spiral and will get Lucas' ass in my face. That's the plan."

"You're a piece of work," Peyton chides. "But I like it."

"All right, are we good?" Jake asks.

Haley glances around at the group, she nods. "We're good."

...

They were not good.

Every time Brooke passed to Nathan, Tim and Junk were waiting, pulling his flag belt as soon as he caught the ball. The game was a stalemate, neither team even coming close to scoring.