This is my second Naley story and it takes place in Manhattan. I've never been there, but I hope to one day... But the main point is that I've never been there, so my descriptions aren't as accurate as I would like it to be. So please excuse any mistakes I've made regarding the city. Thanks.

ONCE UPON A LIFE
Jobless, homeless, and penniless, Haley James have learned what it takes to survive in the city for the past four years since running away from her abusive foster home. Now 20, she's bunking with her friend, Peyton and trying to do odd jobs to support herself. But running into Nathan was never part of her plan. She finds herself at wits end arguing with him and trying to be civilized with him, but he's always so cold and distant. Somewhere in between their quarrels, she finds herself falling for him, but she knows her place in society forbids it.

Handsome, ruthless, and rich, Nathan Scott has had enough with beautiful gold diggers, prying at his wallet. He came to a conclusion to swear off all women, at least for the time being. But there's something about Haley James that keeps him wanting to see her more. Although, his parents and sister disapproves of it, he falls for her. But being the heir to his family' fortune and business, he knows that they can't be together.

Spoiled, irresponsible, and wild, Brooke Scott manages to get everything she's ever wanted. She steps on people's pride and makes them bow down to her, especially the women in her brother, Nathan's life. After all, they only want his money, so why make it easy for them? She especially hates Haley for getting all the attention from her brother and mistakenly thinks that it's Haley's fault her own relationship has failed. Now she's just getting even. After all, Brooke Scott never loses.

In one big city, the three of them meet through fate and learns hidden secrets about each other and what it takes to survive. But they also find themselves falling in love, getting hurt, and doing things they've never done before. TOTALLY NALEY! AND COMPLETELY AU!

Her long dark blonde hair blew with the wind, with her bangs bouncing up and down as she walked along the sidewalk among dozens of other people. Strangers. How alone she was. But it wasn't something new to her. She had been alone since the day she was able to remember anything. Her parents had died in a car accident when she was three and that left her in foster care. She'd been living with her foster parents since she was three and stayed with them until she turned sixteen when it happened and she could no longer take what was happening. She ran away and she never looked back. At that time, she had a job at a small warehouse and had a friend a couple of years older than her. Her friend was kind enough to take her in and allowed her to live with her. She thought of Peyton. She was very grateful for Peyton and would do anything for her. She was her guardian and her best friend. Only a couple of years older than her, Peyton was already on her own and working to become an artist. She was a very beautiful person and her art is even more beautiful. Thinking about Peyton made her heart sunk. How could she tell Peyton that she not only did she lose her job, but she saw Jake, Peyton's boyfriend with another girl. Rushing to work, she saw Jake on the subway and was on her way to say hi, when she noticed another girl beside him, holding his hand and kissing him.

Haley sighed. It had been a horrible day. She's lost another job and would soon have to find another one. She continued to walk around the streets trying to clear her mind. She didn't mean to be late for work. Peyton had been sick with the stomach flu all week and it drained most of her energy. She was knocked out so cold, she didn't even hear the dozen of messages her manager had left her. By the time she made it to work, she had already been late four hours. She shook her head trying to change the subject in her head. She looked up at all the buildings surrounding her. She loved it in the city. Everyone was so independent and always had somewhere to go. On this summer day, the sky was sunny with not a cloud in view. But of course it was loud and noisy with the sound of cars honking and people shouting, but to her, it seemed to calm her. She looked up and saw that she was back home. Home. She hasn't been home in a long time.

Nathan threw the newspaper angrily on his desks and grunted. ANOTHER SCOTT SCANDAL, the headline read. He stood up and looked out his office window. The sun shone on the young chairman's dark brown hair and created a light reflection of himself against the window. He was tall, built and lean. Something the girls had gone crazy over. But he was through with it all. He was done with the whole scene and wanted to have nothing more to do with it. Just last week, he had to break up with Natalie, his girlfriend of four months. Another scandal. He knew what it was and knew that it was his fault but he had to do something to save his little sister, Brooke. Even though Brooke deserved it for breaking Natalie's nose, he didn't want his little sister to be charged and possibly go to jail. He had to silence Natalie. But he could see that he had failed. He heard the door knock and turned around to find his assistant walking in.

"You have a three o'clock appointment with the Richardsons, sir. Do you still want to attend, or should I cancel?" she asked politely. She was short with brown hair and about thirty.

"I'll go. I need you to do some things for me, Laurie. Find out when Natalie is available. I would like to meet with her. Call me when you've arranged something," Nathan said.

Laurie smiled and nodded. "Sir, I do think that with what's happening, I should sit out my vacation and work until things calm down a bit."

"Thanks, Laurie," Nathan said shaking his head. "But you deserve some time with your husband and kids. It was my fault last time when you missed your sister's wedding. You need this more than I need you to stick around."

Laurie smiled. "Thank you. Oh, and your sister is waiting in the lobby for you."

Laurie turned and walked out closing the door gently behind her. Nathan sighed. He has some serious damage control to do. Nathan picked up his jacket hanging around his chair and began to walk out of his office.

"Nathan!" Brooke greeted her brother cheerfully.

"Brooke," Nathan said and made his way over to her. She was naturally shorter than he was and had the same hair color, but her face was more of round shape, and she had brown eyes instead of blue, like Nathan's.

"So, where should we go for lunch? I think I want sushi," she suggested.

"Alright, but Lucas is going to join us. After all, being our lawyer, he wants to talk about what happened," Nathan said looking serious. Brooke frowned. She obviously didn't want to discuss this matter anymore.

"What more is there? That gold digger was asking for it. She had the nerve to say that I looked fat," Brooke explained.

Nathan sighed wearily and massaged his temples. Brooke really can be a handful.

"Plus, she said straight out that she was after you for your money. How could I just let it go?" Brooke added hoping to relieve her brother of his headache.

"Let's go. Luke's probably waiting for us."

Haley closed the door behind her. Their small apartment looked exactly the same as she left it. Which meant that Peyton was still in bed. She made her way over to Peyton's room and slowly opened the door to take a peek. Peyton was on her side sound asleep. Haley closed the door and turned around. She found herself in the small kitchen and looked for anything edible to eat. She found a box of cereal and started to pour it into a bowl and added milk.

"Hey, anyone here?" a voice called out. Haley knew who it was. She dropped her spoon and let it lean against the bowl.

"In here," she yelled.

Jake appeared in the door way and smiled at her. He had short brown hair and dimples, enough to make any girl weak in the knees, but after what Haley saw today, Jake was anything but kind.

"Hey, Hales. She still not doing better?" he asked tilting his head towards Peyton's room.

Haley shook her head. "No," she answered dryly.

"What's wrong?" he asked noticing her tone. Haley looked down into her cereal bowl.

"Nothing. I just lost my job, that's all," she said trying to keep her cool.

"Oh, sorry," he said. He moved towards her. "Hey, I've got a friend who owns a club. He's always looking for girls."

Haley lifted her head. "What kind of club?"

"Well, it's not like a strip club or anything of that sort. You'll just be serving drinks, cleaning tables, and making sure the everybody's having fun," Jake explained.

"But I'm not legal, at least not for another 20 days or so," she said sadly. Stupid age requirement, she thought.

"Don't worry, I think I can talk him into it. He owes me a favor too, now thinking about it."

Haley jumped up and hugged him. He was a lifesaver. But her mind soon returned and she quickly removed herself from him.

"Uh, thanks," she said awkwardly looking away.

"No problem," he said smiling. "How about you come by at ten at 3rd and Gambell. Wear something more…uh, appropriate for the setting," he said.

Haley nodded and returned to her sit by her cereal bowl. "Thank you so much."

"Just glad to help. Listen, I've got to go, but tell Peyton to call me when she can," Jake said and started to make his leave. Haley agreed and picked up her spoon. What a position to be in. She now owes Jake, but she also has an obligation to tell Peyton what she saw.

"So then, I punched her. It really wasn't that hard, honestly," Brooke said taking a sip of her lemonade.

Lucas nodded. He turned to look at Nathan who was obviously distracted. Nathan's head was turned to the side staring out the window absent mindedly.

"Well, I think I can offer them a deal that'll work for both of us. Natalie has become a UN spokesperson. I don't think she's willing to ruin that image just yet," Lucas said. "Are you going to be alright with all of this?" Lucas watched Nathan as he returned his gaze from the window.

Nathan nodded silently and pressed his lips.

"I'm fine. Just do whatever it takes," he said seriously. "I don't care what goes on with the other side."

Lucas nodded. "Are you busy tonight?"

Nathan shook his head.

"Some of the guys are going to this club. Wanna come along?" Lucas asked.

"Sure, why not," Nathan answered trying to sound interested.

"Oh, and you can come along, if you want, Brooke," Lucas said and grinned widely at her.

"Oh, geez, thanks," she replied sarcastically and made a face.