Chapter Five

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School was a blur that day. I hardly made eye contact with anyone, trying to focus on not having a total breakdown. Last period was English, and I was comforted by the fact that at least Max would be there.
But she wasn't.
I sat next to Warren. He was polite, but I could tell he had heard the rumour about me. Oh God, what did he think of me? What did Nathan think of me? Not that I cared what that prick thought.... and where was Max when I needed her?

Y/n: where r u?? :((

Max: taking care of something, I'll talk later.

Had Max stopped believing me? No, she couldn't have. I'm sure she was just busy doing something important for her to skip class. At least I hoped she was. Maybe she was so ashamed to be friends with me that she didn't want to see me? My mind was buzzing, overthinking every possibility. The bell interrupted my thoughts and I headed straight for my dorm, avoiding anyone and everyone on the way.

~
My phone buzzed and I was shocked to receive a message from Nathan (I hadn't deleted his number, even though it wasn't saved in my phone). My hands shook as I opened it.

Unknown sender: got your note. meet me in the parking lot at 10. i'll make it up to you

Y/n: what note?

Unknown sender: Attachment: 1 Image

It was a printed out email on what I could only assume was his dorm floor. It looked as if someone had slid it under the door.

Victoria Chase
To: Taylor Christensen

Taylor,
Totally fucked that y/n btch upppppp. All I had to do was ask Logan what the big secret he'd been keeping for Juliet and Dana was. Litro sent him like, one flirty message and he was all over me lmao.

Anywayssss, with his info I started the rumour that y/n had a sad little crush on Nathan, and was lying to everyone abt getting a ride with him. I knew Nathan would be super pissed at her and that's what she deserves!! Wannabe slut LOL.

Get out your popcorn

XX
VC

Relieved as I was, I definitely did not slide him that paper. How had someone even manage to get a hold of this? They would have had to sneak into Victoria's room, got on her computer and printed it off. It must have been some kind of ninja. Then I remembered Max not turning up last period....I connected the dots. It had to be her right? If it was, I was totally forever in her debt.
As for Victoria, what the hell. This girl had it OUT for me. What had I ever done to her? Was she jealous? Maybe her and Nathan were an item? It wouldn't exactly surprise me. Even still, this was low as fuck. What a horrible girl. As much as I would have loved to confront her, I had had enough drama to last me the semester. If my first encounter with Nathan Prescott had taught me anything, it was to pick my battles.

~
I threw a jacket and some jeans on before heading out to meet Nathan. I wondered what exactly he was planning, hoping it wouldn't be to awkward for him to speak to me again after what had happened in the bathroom yesterday. But I was willing to give him the time of day. He was obviously trying to make things right, and I appreciated that. There were butterflies in my stomach, though. What were they doing there? Whatever. I snuck down the dorm steps and into the cool, dark night.

"Hey y/n."
Nathan has spotted me from across the lot. I approached him quickly, nervous about being caught out past curfew.
"Do you smoke?" He asked as I took a seat next to him on the brick wall lining the parking lot.
"Cigarettes? No."
"Me neither." He said handing me a joint. Oh right. I was hardly hardcore when it came to drugs, but weed was legal in Oregon and I could definitely do with something to help me chill.
I sat with him and looked up towards the stars. The sky was clear and mesmerising. Prescott lit my joint for me and we sat in silence for a while, smoking and drinking in the night air. I thought it would be awkward, but it wasn't.
"So I'm guessing Victoria's your girlfriend or something?" I asked. I was still a little anxious and the pot hadn't kicked in yet.
"Nah, she's like a sister. Bitch move for her to do this, but whatever." He said inhaling. It didn't exactly feel 'whatever' to me, in fact it had ruined the start of school. But sure, whatever.
A butterfly landed on one of the parked cars. It was iridescent blue, I'd never seen one like it. That was no surprise giving I'd spent my whole life miles away from Arcadia Bay, I supposed. I looked at it, thinking out loud.
"What do you think your spirit animal is?" I asked Nathan. Maybe he'd judge me for such a childish question, but I didn't care. He shrugged.
"Weird fucking question. I've never thought about it."
I thought as I exhaled the smoke, not minding the smell. "I think you're ...... a fox!"
I started laughing and couldn't stop. Then Nathan was laughing then too. He even cackled like a fox would, making the unfunny situation even more hysterical to my intoxicated mind. We sat there in the cold, laughing so hard together that I couldn't breathe. The nerves of being caught past curfew were gone and I felt completely relaxed; completely happy. After a minute, Nathan finally managed to get his words out.
"You're a fucking weird kid, y/n." He was grinning ear to ear, looking straight at me.
"Kid? You can't be much older than me. When's your birthday?"
"August 29th."
I nodded knowingly. "Aha! A Virgo!" I exclaimed pointing at him like a fool. Then we were laughing again. It was crazy how quickly our dynamic had changed, but I was so glad. We were enjoying each other's company, who would have thought?
"You-" he said, gasping for air from laughing so hard, "You really believe in that shit?"
"Kind of! I'm a y/zodiac/sign."
"What does that mean?" he asked still grinning like an idiot.
"Uhhh, that I'm a cool motherfucker!!"

We went on for what seemed like hours chatting and laughing. Even when I didn't feel intoxicated anymore, I didn't go back to my dorm. We laid back on the grass and looked into the night sky, as our conversations went on and on. I really felt like I could talk to him about anything, be completely unfiltered.
"Hey, Nathan, do you ever miss your family?"
"My sister's in Brazil, I miss her."
"What's her name?"
"Kris. She'd like you," he said turning to me smiling.
"You think?" I smiled back, then looked back to the stars. "I miss my family. I've always lived in my parents house, and now it's like they couldn't be further away."
"I wish my parents were hundreds of miles away." he grumbled. "My dad at least..."
"How come?"
He was quiet for a minute. "He's just an asshole. Anyway, you should go. It's late."
I checked my phone, it really was late, 11:30 to be exact. Even still, it seemed like an excuse for him to avoid the question. I pushed myself up off the grass, but before I could say goodbye to him, he handed me a hundred dollar bill.
"The fuck?" I inquired.
"To make up for earlier." He said. This was absurd.
"Nathan, I can't accept this. You don't have to buy my forgiveness. We're past it now." I handed the money back to him. He looked puzzled, propping himself up on the grass with his elbow. The way he looked at me... it was almost like there was something he was trying to decipher. Like he was trying to solve me somehow.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. I'm going to head back now. But it was cool hanging with you. And don't worry; I won't tell all my little dyke friends this time." I winked at him.
"You're pushing your luck bitch," he said but he was visibly amused.
"Bye Nathan. I'll see you around."
"Bye y/z/s."

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