Nathan Prescott X Reader

Chapter Twenty Two

"So that line represents.... his fall from power...?"
"Hmm," I contemplated, twirling my pen. "I think it's more about the theme of power, and how it corrupts the characters in the novel."
Warren sighed. The two of us were leaning over his desk, working on our English project. Our plan to do it on the grass on campus was a fruitful one for about ten minutes, until it started pouring down with rain, resulting in a mad dash to Warren's dorm. The A3 paper was already scribbled with concepts and plot points, but we still had a shit tonne to do.
"You're way better at this shit than I am y/n," Warren huffed, smiling nonetheless.
"You should see the shit I come up with in Science." I said lightheartedly. "We all have our fortes."
"Should we call it a day?" he said leaning back in his chair.
"Sure." I replied standing up and stretching a little. We'd been working for at least two hours straight. "I'd say we've had a successful afternoon! Should we reconvene next week?" I couldn't exactly say I felt happy, but it was at least the best I'd felt since... well, you know. The sound of the rain was calming and I was satisfied to have done something productive.
"Sounds good to me."

Warren got up too and opened the door for me. I smiled at him as I exited, but my heart immediately dropped when I saw who was stood in the corridor; Nathan.
I was frozen, only able to stare at him. It looked like he'd just entered the dormitories and was heading for his room, but he quickly spotted my and froze for a moment too. A standoff ensued for all of a second, Warren onlooking awkwardly from the door frame.

Then Nathan was approaching us; storming towards us. He was angry, I could tell. Really angry. His fists were clenched and his characteristic twitch was more noticeable than ever. I stood, stock-still, as he finally reached us, domineering over me.
Nathan looked up at Warren, seething. It looked like he wanted to say something.... well, it looked like he wanted to do more than say something. He stared him down, hyperventilating with rage. But he said nothing. He didn't yell. He didn't try to hit him. He just looked at him. Like he was holding himself back. But why?
And then he looked down at me.
His face still twitching with anger, he managed to conjure one, quiet word.
"Whore."

Then Nathan Prescott thundered back around and entered his own room, slamming the door behind him so hard that a fire extinguisher fell off the wall. I didn't look back to see Warren's reaction. My heart still pounding, I walked purposefully towards the stairs, heading for the girls dorm.

Seriously? Seriously? I was the whore. After I'd walked in on him in Victoria's room the other day. Who the fuck did he think he was speaking to me like that? After all the shit he'd put me through, that little prick was calling me the whore. My body shook as I walked, I was so angry. And, as whenever I was angry, tears quickly accompanied. I rubbed them away. Why, why, why, why. Why had things turned out this way. Why couldn't he just be nice. Why couldn't I have fallen for a nice person.

"Y/n?"
A voice interrupted my thoughts. I swivelled around, my hand on my dorm door, to see Victoria near the entrance of the girls' corridor. Ah, of course. She'd come to taunt me.
"Can I.... can I speak to you? she said, looking genuinely concerned as she approached me, an expression I'd never seen on her face prior to this moment.
My anger dissolved into pure, unfiltered sadness once more. "What is there to say?" I sighed. "You were right. You got what you wanted. You don't have to come rub it in."
"Wait!" she said with some urgency as I turned back around, managing to reach out and grab my shoulder. "Can you come in my room? Please." she added, likely noticing my skeptical look. "It's important."
Reluctantly, I complied, following Victoria to her dorm room. I felt extremely nervous. Was this some kind of a set up? The way she was acting towards me was so.... out of character.
I sat down on the edge of her bed apprehensively, and she sat next to me, looking serious. My stomach churned with anxiety.
"It's about Nathan." she began. I shook my head knowingly, about to stand up to leave. She'd just come to make fun of me after all. "I think you should give him a second chance."
I was dumbfounded. "A second chance?"
"That day, when you returned my bracelet," Victoria went on to explain. "Nathan had come to talk to me about you. He told me how much he missed you. How much he regretted what he'd done. Y/n, that video, he.... well, me and Hayden talked him into saying that. Because we knew it would upset you."

I shook my head in disbelief. "He said what he said. That's his responsibility, not yours or Hayden's."
"But he didn't mean it," Victoria pleaded back. "Look I.... I didn't realise how much you meant to him. When I saw how much you were hanging out, I freaked. I thought you were just another girl interested in him for his money or.... whatever. But I was wrong, I know that now. The way he spoke about you y/n.... my God I wish someone admired me in that way. I just care about him, and was so worried you'd hurt him in some way. I'm..." she hesitated. "I'm sorry."
I still couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Nathan wouldn't even look at me that day. And if he really felt like that he would come tell me himself."
"The only reason he wouldn't look at you is because he didn't want you to see he had been crying," she explained, exasperated. "He wants to make things right, he really does. I'm sure you know by now that Nathan doesn't have it easy. If you rejected his apology, it would break him y/n. He's scared. He's scared because you're so important to him. He can't handle another rejection in his life." Victoria sighed. "You're all he talks about.... I really do believe he regrets how he treated you. He just doesn't understand.... well.... he doesn't understand what being in a real, loving relationship is like."

We sat in the quiet for a moment as a processed what Victoria had said. Could she be telling the truth? Could Nathan really feel that way about me?

"Thank you." she added flippantly. "For bringing my bracelet back."
"It's okay." I said, trying to decipher my own emotions. "Thanks for talking to me."
"I just care about him, you know?" she said, looking as if she were trying not to cry.
"Yeah." I responded. "Me too."
I stood up to leave, my mind racing with everything I'd just been told.
"What are you going to do then?" she said looking up at me.
"Well unless he actually speaks to me about it.... nothing."
"Y/n, if he talks to you.... will you forgive him?"
I paused once I'd opened her door. "I don't know."