reputation | one tree hill

one

loud music and intoxicated teens filled a stolen school bus as nathan scott drove it through tree hill at a dangerous speed. jordan taylor laughed at the thrill of it all, sitting at the front behind nathan, her friend and ex-boyfriend.

"this is possibly the best bad decision you've ever made," she told him with a giggle, and nathan smiled smugly, as he often did. "you're gonna get your ass kicked so hard tomorrow."

"by who?" nathan asked smugly, and jordan furrowed her eyebrows. "come on, when have you ever seen me get into trouble?"

jordan pondered the question, quickly realising the boy was seldom held responsible for his behaviour. "must be nice being the son of the town bully," she teased, a move she regretted when she noticed nathan's hardened expression.

"so," he quickly moved on. "which of these losers you going home with tonight?"

jordan looked around the bus, disappointed with her options, before looking at nathan with mischief in her eyes. nathan picked up on this straightaway, as jordan was rarely subtle in her expressions, and raised an eyebrow.

"how come peyton isn't here?" she asked suggestively, leaning over nathan's chair so her lips were closer to his ear, actions she knew would disgust the next day.

jordan's promiscuity started in freshman year, not long before she started dating nathan, and it only escalated further when she was drunk. the exploits didn't come without their drawbacks, of course, including two cases of mono and a bad reputation.

nathan smiled smugly at jordan's question, simply shrugging in response as he knew jordan well, and he knew he didn't have to do anything to get her exactly where he wanted her that night.

"why?"

jordan, both feeling reckless and momentarily forgetting nathan was driving, put her hands on each side of the boy's face, turning his head and attaching her lips to his.

the kiss was wet and unromantic, cut short by the sound of tim smith raising an alarm as nathan drove the bus towards a moving train.

"shit," jordan cursed as she fell backwards, landing on top of one of her fellow cheerleaders, who let out a small squeal in response. the bus came to a quick halt, everybody narrowly avoiding injury, and nathan smiled in relief at avoiding the train.

the smile, however, faded when the train passed by and revealed a cop car flashing its lights at the bus. nathan and jordan shared a look of panic as two police offers approached the bus, shining their torches.

;;

"thanks again for saving my ass last night," jordan thanked nathan as they walked to the library together for study hall.

"thanks for repaying me," nathan teased her, a reference to their immoral tryst the previous night, and jordan cringed at the reminder of her behavior.

jordan didn't reply as the arrived at the library, and she felt a strong pang of guilt in her stomach when she spotted peyton. the blond girl looked up and smiled at her friend and boyfriend, and jordan envied the way nathan smiled back with such ease.

she took a seat beside the blond girl, avoiding eye contact as much as she could to lessen her guilt. it wasn't the first time jordan had slept with her friend's boyfriend, but she was desperately trying to change and so told herself it would be the last.

"hungover?" peyton asked, a reference to jordan's behaviour, and jordan nodded weakly, hoping to avoid any further questions. "at least you didn't get suspended."

"the day's still young," jordan said with a small laugh.

as the library fell quiet and the teenagers began to work, whitey durham, the basketball coach, walked into the room. "scott!" he yelled, and two brothers looked up at the same time.

"what's up, coach?" nathan asked, but whitey shook his head.

"not you," he said before gesturing to lucas scott, nathan's estranged older brother, who looked just as confused as the rest of the library. "you."

lucas looked confused as he got up from the table, awkwardly walking out of the library. jordan and peyton exchanged a look of confusion over whitey's sudden interest in the boy, while nathan just looked fuming at the entire situation.

;;

the day dragged on terribly, and jordan was elated by the time lunch came. her head was still pounding from the hangover and she still felt terrible about what she did to peyton.

she glanced over at her usual table and seen peyton and nathan kissing, and so her feelings of guilt led her a different direction. she smiled to herself a little when she spotted lucas, sitting alone with a book in his hand, and she sat herself down in front of him.

"hey, lucas," she smiled at the boy. "great book, by far steinbeck's best," she commented on his book choice, 'the winter of our discontent' by john steinbeck.

"you read?"

jordan feigned offence at his question. "don't sound so shocked!" she said with a laugh, and lucas put his hands up in defence. "anyway, i came over to be nosy and see what whitey wanted you for earlier."

"he asked me to join the basketball team," he admitted and jordan was about to congratulate him, before she noticed how miserable he looked. "i'm not gonna do it. why should i? whitey said 'four guys in a park, that's not basketball' but why not? it's still the game."

"that's bullshit, and you know it," jordan argued with him. "you don't think it's gonna feel better hearing, like, a hundred people cheer for you at a game, instead of just jimmy and mouth? you don't think it'll be cool to have scholarship opportunities in a year?"

"yeah, sure it will, but i can't play with them. i don't wanna be in their gym, wearing their uniform, part of their world."

"do you have more or will i take out my tiny violin?" jordan teased him and he frowned. "look, i don't wanna sound insensitive but you're being a moron."

"now why would you think that's insensitive?"

"listen, i don't know a whole lot about your situation with nathan and your dad, what's-his-name, but i do know two things for certain. the first is you're a good basketball player, you have to be if you're beating skills that much. the second is that joining the team will definitely take care of that virgin situation."

"what makes you think i'm a virgin?"

jordan smirked at his question. "what made you think i don't read?" she challenged him, a challenge she won when lucas nodded in defeat. "look, just think about it. i'm sure peyton would finally notice you."

lucas tried to maintain the broody look he had mastered, but there was an unmistakable hint of a smile, which made jordan smile in turn. she smiled and winked at the boy before getting up and walking away.

;

a/n; hope u enjoy this!! reworked it a little to make it more interesting :)