THE CURE ▶ NATHAN SCOTT [1]

TWENTY FOUR

hanging by a moment

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"I can't believe I have to do this stupid basketball free shot thing for PE." Haley groaned throwing her weight onto the blanket she was laying on. Carly giggled and rolled her eyes. The pair were studying outside in the grass by the football field. Carly squinted up at the sun, pondering why they even had a football field. The team sucked and everyone hated going to the games, Calry was obligated though because she had to cheer on the sidelines.

"It's a free throw. And it isn't that hard." Carly spoke, watching as Haley eyed her suspiciously. The girl groaned again and brought her hands to her face, rubbing her eyes. "That's because you're banging the star of the basketball team, I bet he shows you all the moves, even the basketball ones." Haley snickered.

Carly gasped shoving her friend's shoulder. Her eyes twinkled with humor, signaling she wasn't actually offended by the crude remark. "Shut up! Nathan didn't even teach me how to make a free throw, by the way. My brother did."

"Which one the cute tall one or Liam?" Haley asked, rifling through her bag for her highlighter to continue going over her notes for their upcoming exam. Carly eyed her suspiciously, wondering if she intentionally meant to call Sam cute or not. "Sam. I didn't know you thought he was cute, maybe I can put in a good word for you." She smirked.

It was Haley's turn to shove the raven-haired girl on the shoulder, gasping. Carly batted her hands away, "Hey I'm serious! Maybe he can teach you how to make a free throw so you don't fail PE. But keep in mind he is a college dropout." Haley pondered the idea for a moment and then shrugged, "Well, what do I have to lose?"

The pair giggled then fell into a peaceful silence, reviewing and writing extra notes for their next period. After several minutes, Haley got anxious and Carly could tell she wanted to ask another question. "What is it, Haley? You keep moving around and it's distracting." She chided, not looking up from her paper.

"I know it's none of my business. But how are you and Nathan doing since the whole family dinner thing?" Haley spoke quietly, eyeing some sophomores walking past them. Carly sighed, placing her notebook down and looking across the field and towards the gym where Nathan was currently practicing.

It was one of his first practices back since he quit and Carly was still coming to terms with his decision. She wanted him to be happy, but something felt off about the entire situation. "Nathan and I are perfectly okay, that's not what I'm worried about. It's just... He feels the need to always one-up Dan and it's hard for me to watch sometimes. I love him a lot but some of his decisions I can't see working out in his favor."

Haley nodded along, looking over the girl's face as she spoke. "His parents went to therapy today. So hopefully that will ease some of the tension."