"Congratulations. You've been selected to be a part of this prestigious basketball summer program. Here you will be trained and treated as professionals and be pushed past the limits in order to see your potential. This program has seen many exceptional and talented players come and go. You might even find them on ESPN. So, again, I congratulate you for taking part in this history. Now let's see what you've got." Coach Jimmy James blew his whistle after Clay Evans gave his rehearsed speech. He gives it every summer to both new incoming athletes and returning ones because High Flyers truly is a privilege.

Evans and James took notes on the athletes as they went through the short but vigorous practice exercises.

Each player was selected from schools across the East Coast. If they were there, they were the best. And Nathan Scott happened to be there. After all, he was his high school's best player. Never once did he have to compete for his captain spot back home. But being here, as he's running suicides, he notices that every single player was in sync. Each one was making those runs and keeping up with him. He knew he had to be faster, stronger even—overall, better—if he wanted to grab the attention of Clay Evans, a sports agent who is responsible for the career of past successful High Flyers alumni. So, Nathan pushed himself.

Two hours later, the athletes were given a break for water and bathroom runs as well as socializing. Nathan was taking a sip of his water when he heard the gym doors open accompanied by a loud bang when it closed.

He turned to see who had just entered and was shocked to see a girl. High Flyers is specifically for male athletes and he found it odd that a girl was in their gym.

He noticed she kept walking, ignoring some of the attention, mostly stares, she was getting. She was just about to pass him when she looked in his direction. She looked directly at him and he swore he saw a ghost of a smile on her face.

She quickly looked away when he returned her gaze and continued walking until she reached one of the players. The player happened to be Nathan's roommate. They had met that morning when they moved in. His name was Jake. Nathan concluded he was an alright guy; they got along just fine. He saw that Jake was lying on the benches with his eyes closed listening to music through earphones. When the girl approached Jake, she kneeled down and swiftly took out one of his earbuds.

"Hey!" Jake called out. His irritation quickly replaced with joy as he realized it wasn't an annoying player but his best friend.

"Hey back," Haley smiled. The two shared a quick hug. "Gross! You're all sweaty." She playfully pushed him.

Jake ignored her and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Um, I work here now. Remember? Or did you lose your memory?"

Jake shook his head at her sarcasm. "You know what I mean."

Haley laughed. "Quinn sent me here to drop something off for Clay. I just thought I'd stop by and say hi first. So, hi."

"Hi," Jake smiled back.

"So where is he anyways?" she asked looking around.

Jake pointed to the direction of the offices just as Clay walked out.

He began making his way towards his wife's little sister. "Baby James."

"Hey BIL!"

Clay rolled his eyes at the nickname his sister-in-law had given him. He's tried to get her to stop, but to no avail. Now he just ignores it the best he can. "What are you doing here?"

"God, why does everyone keep asking me that?" she asked exasperated. Clay looked at Jake for clarification to which Jake responded with a shrug. Oblivious the boys' actions, Haley continued, "Quinn sent me. She told me to give you this." She handed him the brown bag in her hand. "You forgot it this morning." It was his lunch.

"Thanks." He took the bag from her and gave her a quick side hug. "Come on, since you're here I can introduce you to the guys." Clay blew his whistle and instructed the players to huddle around him. "As you may know High Flyers chose each one of you for your ability and talent on the court. Not so much in the classroom. Some of you are fine in that respect. Some of you are not. So this summer we've instilled the help of someone whose ability and talents does lie in the classroom to assist those who want help."

He motioned for Haley, who up to this point had been standing behind him, to join him on his side. She shyly took a step forward. "This here is Haley James. She's a tutor and will be helping those who want it this summer." Clay continued, "You'll be receiving more information later on. You can go back to your break."

The camp had a strict curfew and schedule for the athletes. They were to be in their dorm by 9:00 and lights out by 10:00.

Nathan was flipping through his sports magazine when he heard his roommate curse under his breath.

Nathan glanced up to his left to see Jake take out his earphones and connect his MP3 to a plug.

Nathan had previously deemed Jake a decent guy, but he didn't really know him. He looked back at his magazine and moved himself to get to a more comfortable position when he winced in pain.

"You okay?"

Nathan looked up surprised, he didn't expect for his roommate to make small talk. "Uh, yeah. Today's workout was killer. You don't seem too fazed by it, though."

Jake softly chuckled. "Yeah, I'm used to James and Evan's routine."

"This isn't your first year?" Nathan asked intrigued.

Jake shook his head. "Technically it is, at least as an official player." Nathan gave him a confused look so Jake took it as a sign to elaborate. "I know James and Evans personally. They let me come in to train at the camp last year as a favor to a friend."

"No kidding. That's awesome, man."

"I thought so." Jake smiled. "I'm also gonna be a senior at Oak Lake in the fall. What about you?"

"First time. And I'm gonna be a senior at Tree Hill."

"Ah. The Ravens. Our rivals," Jake teased.

Nathan laughed. "Guess so."

After continuing to talk and getting to know one another, they heard the floor's supervisor yell, "Lights out!"

Jake offered to stand and turn the switch off since Nathan was still sore.

"Thanks, man."

"No problem. I gotta say though, you had me thinking for a while that you were one of those 'I didn't come here to make friends' type of guys," Jake admitted.

"I am that type of guy, you just seemed too pathetic sitting by yourself at break so I'm taking pity on you," Nathan joked.

Jake playfully scoffed. "Please, man. I have friends. Just you wait and see tomorrow."

Nathan couldn't help but wonder if that girl he had seen Jake hug was one of those friends.

"So the cool thing about this place is that the food doesn't suck too badly. Yesterday's was pretty good but I wouldn't get my hopes high for any gourmet shit." Jake passed a tray to Nathan. They were in line for breakfast and Jake was telling Nathan how things run around High Flyers.

After filling their plates, Jake headed towards a table and Nathan followed. He was thankful Jake was going to show him around today. After talking last night he came to the conclusion that having friends wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Jake stopped at a table with two occupants and placed his tray down before sitting and gesturing to Nathan to do so as well. "Guys, this is Nathan, my roommate. This is his first summer here. I'm showing him around. Nathan this is Tony and Antwon, or as we call him, 'Skills.'"

"Nice to meet you," Nathan said.

"Welcome to High Flyers newbie," Skills said.

"Thanks. Can I ask why they call you Skills?"

The guys at the table laughed. "'Cause I got skills on and off the court."

"Please," Jake scoffed. "He's just full of it."

Skills, offended, replied, "Excuse you, but I exude confidence. Don't hate because you got none."

"Yeah? That's not all you exude. Just wait until after practice and you're drenched in sweat," Tony rebutted.

The guys laughed at the table while Skills gave Tony a 'really?' look. "Man, you just jealous."

"Yeah, whatever."

Skills rolled his eyes at their jabs. "So newbie, where you from?"

Nathan looked up from his plate. "Tree Hill."

Tony and Skills yelled, "Ay!" while pointing at Jake.

"Y'all know you eating with the enemy?"

Nathan and Jake shared an amused look. "Yeah I know. I told him I'd spare him for the summer."

Nathan was officially glad that he chose to befriend Jake. He was also hitting it off with Skills and Tony. He found out they were also incoming seniors at different high schools and had met Jake the previous year.

"I don't remember meeting anyone from Tree Hill here last summer," Tony said.

"Yeah that's because there wasn't," Nathan responded. He noticed how all the guys gave him an expecting look for him to elaborate. "My school only funds incoming seniors to High Flyers. I guess no one was good enough."

They guys nodded, knowing how tough it was to get accepted into the camp.

"So who'd you beat out to get here?" asked Tony.

Nathan chuckled. "Uh, my brother actually."

All three guys' eyes opened wide.

"No way!"

"You serious?"

"Yeah, I'm serious," Nathan confirmed.

"Damn, blood rivalry. How'd he take it?" asked Jake.

"Alright. I mean he was bummed, but when he realized he would be spending the summer with his girlfriend instead of 20 other guys, he calmed down."

"Smart man," Skills pointed out.

"So what about you guys?" asked Nathan.

"I was the only applicant," Tony answered.

Skills gestured to himself suggesting he was clearly the best.

"What about you Jake?"

"No big competition. Couple of good players but nothing I couldn't beat. Last year was tough though. There was another player who wanted the spot and he eventually got it. But anyways, that's why Coach James and Evans let me come and train with them."

"Really?" asked Nathan shocked.

"Yup," Jake nodded.

"So you were both that good?"

"Yeah, I mean I guess we were. Hell, he knew it too."

Nathan saw Tony and Skills nod in agreement.

"What do you mean?"

"He means he was a cocky son of a bitch," Skills responded.

"So he knew he was good. So what? Isn't that just confidence? Like you said," Nathan questioned.

"Man don't compare me to West!" Skills exclaimed offended.

Jake spoke up quickly before Skills went on a rage rant. "Look, there's a fine line between confidence and arrogance. It's alright to know you're good. No problem there. It's fine if you express it appropriately. But when you start to walk around like some holier than thou bitch that we should bow down to, then we got a problem. West had that problem."

"Good to know," Nathan replied.

Skills changed the subject when he stated, "Oh, hot damn. If it isn't Miss Fine Ass Quinn Evans."

Nathan turned his direction to where the guys were looking at. Nathan had to admit she was attractive.

"Man I swear she gives me major MILF feelings," Tony replied.

After seeing Nathan's confused look, Jake added, "She and Coach Evans have a 4 year old son. You'll see him around a lot. He's a cool kid."

Nathan nodded in gratitude for the background and was about to turn back to his plate when he saw that girl who hugged Jake yesterday.

She walked into the dining hall, hand in hand with a little boy—Nathan could only assume that's who Jake was talking about just seconds before—and headed straight for Mrs. Evans.

Nathan nudged Jake. "Isn't that the girl you were with yesterday?"

Skills chuckled. "Baby Girl."

Jake shook his head amused. "Yeah, that's Haley. She's Quinn's little sister."

"She's practically yours too, Jagielski," Tony added joking.

Jake rolled his eyes at his friend's comment and explained to Nathan. "She's my best friend. Has been for over a decade."

"Really?" Nathan asked curiously. "So you two never...?"

Jake profusely shook his head and adamantly answered, "Hell. No."

"Now don't lie, Jagielski," Skills teased.

Nathan looked at his roommate with a curious look.

Jake rolled his eyes. "We dated for like a week her freshman year of high school and only because she asked me to pretend to be her boyfriend so nobody would bother her. I don't even think you can call that dating anyways."

Nathan nodded. "So what's she doing here? Just visiting?"

"Not really. Her dad's Coach James. And Evans is her brother-in-law. She's spent her summers here for as long as she can remember. And this year she wanted to help out. She's the tutor Evans was talking about yesterday."

Nathan remembered.

"Mommy!"

"There's my boy!" Quinn exclaimed with her arms outstretched. She grabbed hold of her running son and embraced him. "Did you have fun with Bobby?" That was the name Clay had designated Haley after finding out Haley-Bob wasn't just a pet name. Haley lets it slide since he lets her call him Bill. It was supposed to be an appeasement, but it ended up sticking and that's how Logan refers to his aunt.

Logan nodded. Quinn smiled at her content son before putting him down. "You hungry? Because I had Chef Lenny make your favorite."

Logan's eyes widened in excitement. "Pancakes!"

Quinn laughed. "That's right. Come sit down."

After placing him in front of his meal, Quinn turned towards Haley. "Thanks again for taking him last night."

Haley nodded. "No problem." She smiled as she watched her nephew practically devour the stack of mini pancakes. "You and Clay enjoy a quiet night?" she asked.

"Yeah, we did. But it wasn't all that quiet." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Haley playfully gagged. "That's gross Quinny."

She shrugged her shoulders as if to say whatever. "I got Logan from here, you can go hang with Jake if you want."

Haley glanced to where Jake was sitting. "Nah. Maybe later. It looks like he's with friends. Do you need me to babysit later? Jake's mom is gonna bring up Jenny and I figure since I'm already taking care of her, Logan can tag along."

"No, I think we're good. Thank you though."

Haley gave her a tight smile. "No problem. Um I'm gonna head out. Go take a walk or something."

Quinn nodded. She hopes Haley will be okay being back here. She insists she is, but returning could bring up bad memories. Then again, ten months is enough time to mend a broken heart.

I.

A/N: I'm so glad to be back with another chapter story! I decided to upload this a little ahead of schedule because I want the pressure to finish writing it—it's completely outlined FYI. And don't worry, I've learned my lesson about making promises on my updates, so I won't do that anymore but I will try my best to update as soon as I can. Anyways, I want to say thank you for all the feedback and support I've gotten for my other stories, they mean a lot. So please, please, favorite & follow if you like this first chapter and leave a review letting me know what thought :)

- R. xx