Heart of the Champions

Chapter 7

Ina's POV

It was our first game and I was super excited but also very nervous. In fact, so nervous that I could barely sleep last night. Knowing I was supposed to meet Nathan at the dock in an hour motivated me to get up. I quickly went to work on my hair, throwing it in a messy bun knowing I will just braid it for the game later. Walking over to my closet, I was content knowing I was going to be in a super comfy outfit all day. For game day we were obligated to wear our Raven crewneck hoodies and I personally chose to wear leggings with it along with my nikes. I didn't bother to put makeup on. I took at glance at myself in the mirror and was satisfied. Doing a little turn, I did a double take on my body. Damn... my ass looks good in these leggings. I smiled to myself. I've never been super confident in myself let alone my body, so I was happy that I finally was seeing results I've worked so hard for. I quickly brushed my teeth and was ready to go. Grabbing my bag, I headed downstairs to say my quick goodbyes to my mom. She was grinning from ear to ear standing at the kitchen table waiting for me. Before her was a beautifully cooked breakfast that consisted of pancakes and cut up fruit. She looked at me with such light in her eyes. "Oh honey! I'm so excited for your first game. I already have my shirt with your name and number and I have a button with your picture on it. I made you breakfast. Breakfast of champions." She smiled at me. I smiled back at her. I instantly thought of Nathan when she said "Breakfast of Champions". Nathan... Dan. My heart was melting. I'm so blessed with such an amazing, supportive family. How would I survive if I had Dan Scott as a parent? I give Nathan all the credit in the world because I still struggle with my parents but I would be lost without them, especially my mother. I walked over to her and engulfed her in the biggest hug possible. "Thank you Mom. For everything." I said. "Of course sweetie. I know this whole thing hasn't been easy for you and I wanted to be here for you." I smiled once again, giving her another squeeze. "You're the best." I said. "I try. Now eat your breakfast. You need energy for your game time." she said while giving me a quick kiss on the top of the head. 

I made my way to the dock, and sure enough, Nathan was sitting there waiting. He was looking at the water surrounding the dock and he looked so content. It was a beautiful scene to watch. I mentally took a picture before walking up to him. "Morning. Are you ready for your English quiz?" I questioned. Nathan smiled when he finally realized my presence. He replied with, "You know, I actually feel pretty good about it." I smiled and nodded my head at him. "Well that's great Nathan. I'm proud of you." He smiled triumphantly at my comment, but it quickly faded when I handed him a practice quiz. He took it and began to work on it as I finished some studying of my own. After he was finally done, he handed me the quiz. I began looking over it, and making corrections as needed. He looked like something was bothering him so I took the chance to ask him, "Nathan are you okay?" He looked at me like he was shocked to hear such a question. "Yeah I'm fine." he said. "Your face says otherwise. Tell me what's wrong Nathan." I said. I continued correcting his test as he spoke. "My dad has really been on my case since this whole Lucas situation popped into place. I'm just really stressing about it and my situation with Peyton hasn't been the best either." he said. I could see how upset he was by the look on his face. "I'm sorry. I know how tough Dan can be on you. I never really thought about how hard the whole Lucas situation would be on you too. Try to not let him get to you though. You just keep doing what you know how to do and everything will be fine. You're an amazing player Nate and no one can take that away from you. Not Whitey, not Lucas, and not even Dan." I reassured him. My pen was moving across the paper scanning his answers. I eventually tore my gaze from the paper after I didn't receive a response. Nathan was staring back at me with his eyebrows raised and a side smile that made my stomach flip. "What?" I asked. I could feel my cheeks growing red.  "You just called me Nate." he replied while smirking. Shit. I didn't even realize what I said until now. It felt right when it happened. I tried to play it off by rolling my eyes and saying, "So what? I thought everyone called you Nate." He smirked even more before saying, "Not everyone. Only my close friends." I threw my arms up in frustration. "Jesus Nate. I said all those nice things about you and the only thing you take out of it is that I called you Nate!" I exclaimed. He started laughing at my frustration. I crossed my arms. "And now you're laughing at me." He took a second to collect himself before speaking. "You called me Nate again." he said. I let out a loud groan before burying my face into my elbow. "Can we just forget this ever happened?" I said. Nathan placed his hand under my chin and lifted up my face from its previous position. "You're cute when you're embarrassed. My cheeks began to grow even more red if that was possible as he gave me the compliment. It took everything in me to make eye contact with him, but once I did, I was lost in his eyes for what seemed like forever. We were staring at each other for quite some time and Nathan looked as if he were going to lean in and I began to panic. I quickly cleared my throat before speaking. This seemed to bring Nate back to reality. "You did it." I said. He looked at me with a confused expression evident on his face. "Did what?" he asked. I held up his practice test. "You got an 87. I think you're gonna be fine Nathan." I said while giving him a little smile. He grinned from ear to ear at it. "Wow. Thank you for helping me. Couldn't have done it without you." he said. I smiled looking down. "No problem. Good luck on your test. I gotta go, see you later Nate." I winked at him. I could feel his stare burning into my back, but not once did I look back. I made my way to my care and went to go pick up Lucas.