NIGHT CHANGES !
𝖳𝖧𝖱𝖤𝖤 ━━━ 𝗇𝖺𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗇 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽𝗌 𝖺 𝗍𝗎𝗍𝗈𝗋

When the game ended, as the ball dropped into the ring, the crowd jumped out of their seats, joining in on celebrating their win — after they've witnessed Lucas Scott scoring the final basket for his team. "Unbelievable! Lucas Scott with the 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Tree Hill Ravens are still undefeated! And I tell you what, if you're going to play the Ravens this season, you better take note, there is a new Scott in town!"

But to no one's surprise, Dan and Nathan Scott — stood in the mix of the crowd, looking dissatisfied with the outcome. It didn't matter if they had still won the game, because to Dan, he cared a lot that Nathan wasn't the one to hit the final basket.

"Hey." As Brayden walked up to Lucas, he wore a small smile on his face while congratulating the blonde. "Nice game, dude." He patted him on the shoulder and Lucas looked back at him, watching Brayden step away. "Thanks."

When Lucas reached his mom and Keith, he was quickly embraced by them as they congratulated him for his win. "For a kid that was about to quit, that was something to see." Keith commented.

"Yeah, but I picked up fouls too early, and I was slow getting back to it."

"You were great." Karen softly squeezed her son's arm at her compliment.

"Thanks, guys. See you soon, mom." Lucas called as he started to back away from them after seeing that Riley was waiting.

"Not too late!"

"You did good, Luke."

"Hey, superstar." Lucas grinned slightly at seeing the cheerleader. Riley chuckled softly, ruffling his hair as she turned around so she side-by-side to him. "I guess a congratulations are in order. Well done, my friend. Now, should we get going? I bet Haley can't wait to hear the good news."

"Yeah, let's go." Lucas nodded, and Riley smirked before jumping up as they kept walking, to wrap her arms around his neck like a headlock, as her feet touched the ground again, making them both laugh.

"Alright, but I need the bathroom first. So, just go to your car and I'll meet you there." She told him as they reached the hallway.

"Okay. See you in a few." Lucas said, before going their separate ways — with her entering the girl's toilets, and him heading towards the exit doors to get to outside.

As soon as Riley finished, she started making her way out the school, and luckily for Lucas, the girl had arrived just in time — meaning, just after her sister, Brooke, had left his car after she surprised him by showing up half-naked in the backseat of his car.

Riley opened the door to the passenger side of his car and sat down on the seat, before shutting the door behind her. "Hey." She turned her head and looked at him, furrowing her brows slightly when she noticed the look on his face. "What? Are you okay?"

"Umm, yeah. Yeah, all good." He didn't sound to convincing, but Riley nodded anyway. "Alrighty, then. Let's get going." Lucas complied. He started the engine and drove off, heading to Karen's cafe where Haley was waiting.

Once he finally pulled up, Riley decided to wait in the car while Lucas went in. He opened the door just as Haley turned the sign over, closing up the cafe. She took off her apron, only turning around at the sound of the door opening. The James girl watched carefully as Lucas stepped in. He hadn't said a word yet, until he clapped his hands with a beaming grin. "Twelve points, eight assists. And I made the game winning shot."

Haley squealed, before jumping into his arms, so he wrapped his arms around her. Lucas chuckled, dropping her onto the floor and she looked up at him, with the smile remaining on her face. "That is great, right?"

"Yeah, it's all right." He nodded.

"Oh, I can't believe I had to work." Haley let out a sigh of disappointment, wishing she was there so she could've seen it. "Tell me about it."

"Well, actually, the beginning wasn't so great, I ran into you-know-who." Lucas said, giving her a pointed look, and Haley understood instantly.

"Dan? Oh, I'm sorry." She frowned. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Actually, Riley is outside, waiting in the car right now, and we were both thinking about checking out the burning boat." Lucas mentioned, making Haley let out an 'Ooh'. "You want to come?"

"Well, I suppose I could be seen with you." Haley replied through an imitation of a British accent, before laughing. "Let me just call home and tell them not to wait up."

"Okay, well, be quick before Riley beeps—" Lucas was cut off by the sound of someone pressing the car horn outside, making him close his eyes and purse his lips, knowing it was Riley. "the horn."

Haley chuckled at her best-friend's antics, before her mother answered the phone. "Hey, Mom, it's Haley. Haley James, your daughter." She glanced at Lucas, and made a gesture that told him that her mother was drunk. "Listen, I'm gonna go out after work, and I'll be home. Ok? All right, bye."

As she put the phone down, Lucas looked back at his friend and chuckled slightly. "Was your mom drinking?"

"No, I got the machine." She replied sarcastically, grabbing her jacket on the way out the door. The Scott boy laughed from behind her, and followed her out — making sure to lock up the cafe before they left.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"Nice game, Lucas." Someone called out to him, congratulating the basketball player as he passed through the burning boat area. Lucas looked back at the person and smiled. "Hey, thanks."

"You are just blowing up." Haley teased him once he turned his head back around to the front.

"Well, yeah, man. I'm a big star now." The blonde haired boy joked around. "You two better hope I keep you around."

"You know," Riley hummed. "we're gonna try not to lose sleep over that, thanks." She mentioned to him, earning a soft chuckle from Haley.

The James girl opened her mouth. "So, last night, I'm watching Scandinavian week on the History Channel, and..." She started reciting.

Lucas furrowed his brows, shaking his head when he interjected. "Because?"

"Because... Lucas," Riley raised a brow, and gave him a pointed look. "blonde Viking guys are hot. Duh."

"Anyway, this whole Burning Boat thing is a total rip-off of a Viking funeral." Haley pointed out to her boy best-friend. "Did you know that?"

"You know, you're the bomb." A voice interrupted their conversation, making the three of them turn their heads in the direction where the voice came from, to see a young boy approaching — with his eyes on Riley.

"Thanks." Lucas smiled lightly, assuming the boy was talking to him. His current happy expression then dropped from his face at seeing the boy hold his paper out to Riley, the girl letting out a laugh when she noticed his mistake. "Check it out."

Riley grabbed the paper out of his hand for her to look at it, and beamed at him. "B+! Brandon, all right! You did it!" She praised the brown-haired boy who she was tutoring.

"Yeah, I just threw all my bad grades into the pot. I'm not going back to that."

"I know you're not."

Brandon's eyes flickered over to Lucas. "I've had I don't know how many tutors," He pointed over to his tutor. "and this girl's a miracle worker."

The girl however, waved him off, and slapped his paper against his chest. "No, this is all you, man." Riley insisted. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Riley. See you." As Brandon turned and walked away, this left Riley jumping for joy at the news. "Yes! I knew he could do it! Yes!"

"Nice work, Ry-Ry." Lucas praised his best-friend who let out a squeal. "Thank you."

"So, bad mojo are you burning this year?"

Riley and Lucas looked over at Haley — when the latter merely unfolded what he had ripped off his basketball jersey, showing his name tag. "I'm not wearing that on my jersey." He sighed, letting the tag drop into the boat.

"So, we're going to watch this together, right?"

"Maybe. We'll have to check our schedule." Riley teased, sharing a look with Haley. "You know, the word around town is that I'm..." She cleared her throat before finishing her sentence. "the bomb. Oh!"

"That's my girl." Haley wrapped her arm around Riley's shoulder as they strolled away, which left Lucas laughing at them as he followed in tow.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The next day, students passed by Lucas Scott in the hallway of Tree Hill High, continuing their compliments towards the boy on his performance during the last game. One of the girls had walked by, calling out to him. "Great game, Lucas." Riley, who stood next to Lucas at the lockers, looked at her best-friend like she was offended, and let out a scoff. "Seriously? How come we cheerleaders never get any praise?"

Lucas raised a brow at her words. "Did you score the winning basket, Riley?" He quipped, and the Davis girl pursed her lips.

"No. But, I do think my cheers of encouragement may have helped you win." She noted.

Lucas chuckled, nodding his head. "Oh, you think so? Well, I must be glad to have a very proud best friend." He commented sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Riley smiled innocently, as she played along. "Anyway, I better go meet Haley at the tutoring centre so I can feel superior." Just as she was about to get going, the blonde-haired girl turned around, facing the boy. "Oh, listen. Haley wanted me to tell you that they're playing 'Attack of the fifty-foot Woman' at the Cresent tomorrow. Do you want to go?"

"Yeah. Count me in." Lucas accepted, receiving a smile from Riley before she turned away to leave the locker area. "I'll call you later." As Riley made her way down the hallway, she couldn't see that a certain raven-haired boy was watching her from his locker.

"Dude." Brayden slapped Nathan upside the head to get his attention. "Will you stop staring at her? It's creepy." He took a brief pause, when his eyes widened in realisation. "Oh my god. Is that back again?!"

"Would you shut up?"

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Riley Davis was in the tutoring centre the next day, currently organising the files on the shelves, when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. A tall figure, also known as Nathan Scott, walked through the door, earning a puzzled look from the blonde. "This is the gym, silly." She told him with the shake of her head. "Are you lost?"

"No." Nathan replied, ignoring the sarcasm in her voice.

"Then, what are you doing here?" She wondered, and let out a tired sigh. "Can I help you?"

"Well, I hope so. You're my tutor." Nathan shared with her, making Riley scoff in disbelief. Whether the boy was being genuine or not, she didn't want to be more involved in Nathan and Lucas' rivalry than she already was. "Yeah, right. I don't think so."

"Well, your name is Riley Davis, right?" He asked rhetorically, and turned the paper slip around for her to see. "Unless there's something you've got to tell me."

"I'm sorry, Nath. I can't help you." Riley gave him her answer. She sighed, handing him the piece of paper back to him. "Just remember I am friends with Lucas as well. Can't you get someone else? I can ask Haley, but I'm pretty sure she'll give you the same answer."

"Exactly, there is nobody else. I'd be fine with it if there was." Nathan lied. He didn't want to admit that he only wanted her as his tutor.

"If there were." Riley corrected him without even realising it, causing Nathan to chuckle, before he pointed out. "See? You're helping me already."

"Look, we can still be friends but I can't help you on this. Ok?" She made sure to tell him. "No, let me rephrase that— I won't help you." She walked away from him after that, leaving Nathan alone, with a small frown on his face.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The pros and cons. If Riley wrote down a list of the positive and negative points to what could possibly come out of this if she became Nathan's tutor, she would wonder, how many would there be? Would there be more pros? Or cons? And she was starting to head that way, if she got one more call from Nathan, who continued his attempt on convincing her to be his tutor.

Riley was currently doing a shift at the cafe, when the sound of the telephone ringing on the counter had interrupted her thoughts. "Karen's Cafe." She answered the phone.

"I-I'm calling for Riley Davis."

"Yeah, this is her." She said, furrowing her brows at the familiar voice. Was this another attempt to get her to be his tutor?

"Hey, it's Nathan. Erm... I really need your help. Please, Riley."

She hesitated. "Sorry, this isn't her." Riley quickly said and hung up the phone, before she placed it back onto the counter. She rubbed her forehead and sighed to herself. Riley almost could hear the desperation in his voice, that it almost made her believe that he was being authentic.

"What was that?" Karen asked. She had just come out from the back, and was now stood behind the counter, watching the girl.

"Erm, wrong number."

"You just said this was her." The woman told her in a perplexed-manner. "What, did you forget your own name?"

Riley snickered at that, although, she didn't turn around, barely glancing back at her. Karen stared at her with concerned eyes, when she noticed her body language, making her ask. "What's up?"

She thought, debating on whether she should tell her or not, when she turned around. "T-This guy wants me to tutor him, and I said no because he's kind of a bad guy."

"You know him?"

"Kind of. Just through other people."

"Dangerous?" Karen wondered, making the Davis girl shake her head, letting out a 'No'. She looked over at the woman, only to smile and roll her eyes when she saw the expression on her face. "What? You've got that look."

"What look?" Karen asked innocently.

"You know what. The look that I haven't seen in a very long time." Riley replied. "What?"

"Well," Karen looked down at the counter before looking back up. "Riley, I think you have pretty good instincts so I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but just to play devil's advocate, if this boy came for tutoring, maybe he's trying to change."

"Might be something in there worth saving." The woman added, causing Riley to pull a face at her words. Maybe she had a point?

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"They trashed the court?" Haley James sounded appalled by what Lucas had just shared with her and Riley. After her shift at the cafe, Riley met up with Haley and Lucas to go on a walk. "What else?"

"Broke into my locker, soaked my stuff." The boy continued to list off what Nathan and his minions had done to him, and he sighed. "I don't know, girls. I don't know how much longer I can put up with this."

"Do you think they're gonna, like, let up anytime soon?" Haley was asking the questions, as Riley stayed quiet, almost frustrated by what she had heard.

Lucas scoffed. "No chance. And you want to know why? Because Nathan controls the team. There's no way in hell he's gonna back off."

Haley and Riley shared a look at that. The former was the only one who knew about Riley's current situation with Nathan so far. Lucas glanced over, noticing this interaction, so he asked. "What are you two thinking?"

"Umm, this weird thing happened at the tutoring centre." Riley started to tell him, causing Haley to widen her eyes slightly. The blonde paused for a moment, thinking about whether she should tell him or not, before deciding against it. "You know what? It's not important. Never mind."

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah." Riley nodded at him, before changing the subject, and questioned. "Are we still going to the movie tomorrow night?"

"Yeah. Sounds like fun."

"Ok, cool."

Haley sighed, looking over at her boy best-friend, deciding to help out Riley. "Luke, how far do you think he's really gonna go? Nathan?"

Lucas huffed. "I don't know. As far as he wants to go until somebody stops him."

Maybe Riley could be the one to do that?

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Seeing Nathan struggle in lessons didn't exactly help her decision. She spent the next day juggling the pros and cons in her mind, to decide if she should accept becoming his tutor, or lean towards the answer no.

She was thinking of Lucas as well. He had missed out on the movies that night, and after she found out the reason why, Riley finally had enough.

So, there she was, outside the Scott Residence the next night, arguing with Nathan about his actions towards Lucas. "Seriously? Can you get anymore childish?" She huffed, speaking in a hushed-tone, not wanting to wake up any more Scott's inside the house. "You kidnapped him, Nathan! And then threw him into the river!"

"Yeah, I remember." Nathan quickly said without thinking, making Riley's glare harden. "O-Okay! Look, I'm sorry."

"You will be sorry, Nathan Royal Scott." The girl threatened, crossing her arms over her chest that stopped her from slapping him. As Riley started to calm down, she sighed deeply. "Look, I went over your English exam, and if you really want to learn, I can help you."

This brought a smile to his face. "That's great. All right."

"But on two conditions. One, Lucas does not find out, okay? Ever." Riley started telling him about the conditions. "And number two... you leave him alone."

"Well, I don't really have much of a choice, do I?"

"No, you don't." She told him. "Because you have already seen how I get when I'm angry, so you do not want to let me down. Am I clear?"

"Absolutely."

Riley nodded. "Okay then. Meet me tomorrow at the Market Street dock at 7am."

"Wait, what about the tutoring centre?" The Scott boy knitted his brows together, looking at the girl who turned back around, insisting for their first tutoring session to be outside of school. "No way. The dock. Take it or leave it."

"Okay. Seven o'clock, then." He accepted, before watching as Riley walked away from his home to get to hers. Once she had disappeared out of his sight, he stepped back inside his home, shutting the door behind him.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"Breakfast of champions. Want some?" Nathan finally arrived to the Market Street dock, where Riley was already waiting for him — with books laid out on the table in front of her.

"You're late." She reminded him. She didn't take her eyes off the books as Nathan set his bag down on the floor before joining her on the bench.

"Ugh, please let this be a cheat sheet." The raven-haired boy groaned, as he pulled out what was in his Cracker Jack box. He glanced between Riley and the bracelet, before a smile appeared on his face. "It's for you."

"Stop it, Nath." Riley groaned in protest, which Nathan had ignored, and gently pulled her left arm to put the colourful plastic charm bracelet on her wrist.

"Don't say I never gave you anything." He smiled innocently at his friend, who stared back at him with a straight-face.

"Okay, that's enough. Do you see this book?" She brought his attention towards the object, turning the book around for Nathan to see. "Because, this book is me. I am math."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Riley sighed. "It's supposed to mean that you can work your whole 'I'm Nathan Scott, Mr Big Shot, scoring my touchdowns' on somebody else, because I don't..."

"I don't even play football." He interjected with a chuckle. "You're even a cheerleader for our basketball team."

"I'm sorry, does it look like I care?" Riley raised a brow at him. "Look, the point is, at the end of the day, all your bluster and BS don't mean anything to math because math don't care, and neither do I."

"Well, does English care? Because I really suck at that, too."

"Please don't waste my time because I am already taking a huge chance on you." Riley had her chin resting on the palm of her hand. "Let's just get started, okay?" Nathan smiled softly, before she turned the book around for him. "Page 81..."