Blackwell Academy, Arcadia Bay. You had just moved to a new school, and unknowingly pissed off the most influential person there on your very first day; Nathan Prescott. Little did you know, this was far from the last you'd see of him.
Set in a time...
I spent all week looking forwards to Saturday. Obviously I was excited to spend time with Nathan, and getting a new outfit would be cool too, but I'd never actually been to Portland. I loved what I'd seen of Oregon so far, so Portland was bound to be a beautiful city. And I'd get to explore it with the boy I found myself falling for. Of course, Dana was all up to speed on what was happening by now. She grilled me all through first and second period Monday on what had happened the following evening ("yes, we were hugging," I told her. "And no, it wasn't romantic"). By now she probably knew more about that night than I did. Dana was a good friend to take interest though, and I knew she'd make sure I was looking good when I hit the town with Nathan on Saturday. Even if Nathan wasn't interested in me like that, I was still happy to spend time with him and enjoy his company.
By Friday night I was wiped out from a full week of classes. Dana sprawled on my bed while I set my laptop up with a movie. Sleepovers with her every weekend we're quickly becoming a tradition, and now that we'd stolen Juliet's Netflix password we were set for many, many more of them. A quaint pillow fort was built and some candles were lit as we cuddled up together to watch Nightmare on Elm Street. By the end of the film my arm was sufficiently mauled from Dana grabbing on to it in fear. I didn't mind and besides, I was scared too. We lay amongst the mess of blankets and pillows together, both slowly falling asleep. "Hey Dana?" I mumbled into my pillow. "What?" she replied sleepily. "How long does it take to get to Portland from here?" She shrugged her shoulders, "like, two hours I think." A two hour car ride with Nathan Prescott, not to mention the actually shopping and then the drive home. How had I gotten so lucky, I asked myself contently as I drifted to sleep. ~ Saturday, 12:34
Nathan: meet me behind the dorms again
Y/n: omw
I tried to ignore the fact that he wouldn't pick me up from the car park, and after a morning of getting ready with Dana, I was off to meet Nathan.
I saw Nathan's truck across the street and began to approach him. He honked his horn out of nowhere and I jumped a mile. "That was mean!" I yelled, as he laughed at me from the driver's side window. He leaned his head out and hollered back, "Hurry it up, fucker!" With charm like that, it was no surprise I had such a crush on him. Jeez my standards needed work, I thought to myself. I hopped in the passenger seat and our mini road trip began.
Music blared from the speakers as we blundered down the streets of Arcadia Bay. Nathan looked relaxed as he drove what seemed way past the speed limit. I wondered what it was like to invincible in the way he did; like even the law was at his disposal. "What song is this?" I asked loudly over the music. "It's called Got Well Soon." "I like it!" Both in a good mood, we continued chatting until we were on the freeway. We took it in turns choosing songs, and I realised quickly that Nathan and I had similar taste, which was convenient. I really felt special, being driven around in a fancy car to the capital of Oregon for an all-expenses-paid shopping trip. High school life was turning out to be a lot more lavish than I anticipated. "Hey, open the glove box," Nathan demanded. I did, and was greeted with the sight of cookies, candy and cans of soda. "Cool!" I said helping myself to some Coke and throwing another can to Nathan. I pushed my seat back and put my feet on the dashboard smugly. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" Nathan said shaking his head at me with a smile. "Hey is that your camera?" I asked noticing it in the back seat as I turned to put my drink in the cup holder. "Do you mind if I look at your photos?" He paused for a minute, contemplating my request. "Sure." I picked up the heavy camera and started flicking through the images. If I broke this I'd probably have to sell my sole to pay for the damage, I thought to myself. I stopped on a picture that caught my eye. "I like this one," I said turning the camera so he could see.
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"I was thinking maybe of submitting it for the Everyday Heroes contest. I mean it's a bullshit contest or whatever but-" "No, you totally should. I'm not saying a have a great eye for these things, but the way you break the stigmatisation of death and loss in all your photos is really breathtaking. It's like you show how close life and death really are to each other, but almost in like, a comforting way if that makes sense.... am I just chatting shit? I think I'm talking pure shit." I said laughing to myself as I returned his camera safely to the back seat. "You're not chatting shit." He replied, as he played the next song. "Thanks." I didn't really know how to respond to that, but if Nathan did submit this photo, I had faith he could win the contest. If I took photos like that, I'd be proud. "I need to pee." I announced abruptly. Maybe I shouldn't have drunk so much soda. "We're still about an hour away." "I'm sorry you're going to have to pull over so I can go in a bush or something. I'm for reals going to pee myself." "You're sick," he laughed, pulling up on the side of the road. "Come on then!" I said with urgency as I jumped out of the truck. "Why do I have to come?" Nathan inquired. "I'm not going into the trees on my own I could be attacked by a bear or something! Plus I need you to cover me with your jacket, in case someone walks by. Nathan climbed out of the drivers side incredulously. "Well you're fucking dreaming of you think I'll fight off any bears for you, and I don't know who the fuck would walk by all the way out here." Our side quest played out, and thankfully no bears, or people saw me at my lowest point of the week. Nathan looked faced the opposite direction, my bodyguard. I zipped up my pants skipped back to the car, Nathan watching me smiling. "You're a fucking weirdo you know that? Shameless too." "You know, I think it speaks volumes to how much I trust you, to pee in your presence." I replied mockingly, but it was kind of true. Our road trip resumed and after another hour of fooling around together, Nathan and me arrived at the Portland Mall in high spirits.
