Haley James liked to be challenged. She supposed it spurred at an early age; after all, she was the youngest of seven siblings and it was easy to be overlooked. Due to this, the James siblings created their own system of how the attention would get divvied up. Her brothers all had their own interests: one was involved in politics, another was a chef, and the last in computer software. As for her sisters, Vivian devoted her life to school, Taylor was the "wild child", and Quinn was the "free-spirited" one into the arts and travel. Being the youngest, she shaped her identity by all of the differing personalities and interests her siblings possessed. As they moved on with their lives one by one she felt as though she kept aging beyond her years. She took on more responsibility around the house, she worked hard in school because she was good at it, and she became a parent to herself when her own mother and father grew tired of the role.

With all of that being said, she by no means had an unpleasant childhood. She was unconditionally loved and supported, but she grew up a little quicker than she wished. When chaos swarmed her household she could always turn to books to lose herself for a while. She could always find a good read to pass her time with during breaks at the café or in between classes. When she wasn't dreaming that she was a part of some fiction, fantasy world, she engaged in her school work. It was her safe place… or so she thought.

Haley twiddled her thumbs as her Creative Writing teacher discussed an upcoming project that would last for a portion of the semester.

"You will be required to step outside your comfort zone and create a piece of artwork that is honest, raw, and vulnerable. You will blend your life with another classmate's and gain a new perspective. You are all in this class for a reason but that does not mean you are all the same. This project brings people together and creates friendships in some of the most unlikely pairs…," her teacher, Ms. Mitchell, claimed.

"Alright, Sawyer, you will be working with Jagielski," Ms. Mitchell announced.

"McFadden, you will be working with Mirskey."

"James," her teacher called, drawing Haley's attention. Haley lifted her head up waiting for her teacher to announce her partner. "You will be working with Scott-,"

Haley grinned, turning to find her best friend Lucas. The two locked eyes with each other and shared a secret look that described their feelings of relief.

"-Nathan Scott."

Wait- what?!

No way.

Haley turned back to the front of the classroom with a confused expression. There must have been some sort of mistake. There was no possible way she was stuck working with Nathan Scott, grade A asshole.

Shyly, Haley raised her hand, "I'm sorry, Ms. Mitchell, I think I may have misheard you. Could you repeat that?"

Ms. Mitchell smiled sweetly, "Of course, dear. You will be working with Nathan Scott."

Haley exhaled deeply and turned to look at Luke. She had known him long enough by now to know when he was upset by something and she could pick it up instantly with just a glance.

This time, however, his eyes weren't settled on hers. Instead, he was looking in the direction of Nathan's. She almost let out an audible gasp when her own eyes followed Lucas' trail and fell on Nathan's. She did not anticipate him looking at her. His eyes were somewhat similar to Lucas' but there was something different about Nathan's. His were icy. Not in the sort of way that they were cold, but more so piercing. She suddenly felt uncomfortable under his gaze and turned away.

When the bell rang, Haley gathered her belongings as quickly as possible. Despite her best efforts, Nathan appeared by her desk. Looking up at him she bit her tongue holding back what she really wanted to say. She wanted to tell him that no matter what she wasn't going to be his friend by the end of this project, that she won't let him tank her GPA in an elective class, and that she thought he was full of shit.

Nathan's expression never faltered from amusement, "Don't look too upset to be partnered with me."

"I never said that I was upset," Haley replied, running a hand through her hair. "I just thought I was going to be paired with someone who would take this seriously."

"Ouch. Haley James, I'm much more than a pretty face," Nathan joked, adjusting his grip on his backpack.

Haley turned, suddenly feeling a stare creep up from behind. Lucas remained by his desk watching Haley and Nathan's encounter. Feeling uncomfortable by spending any more time with Nathan in front of Luke, Haley directed her attention back to the boy in front of her. "Hey, uh, I have to go but I guess we should get started on this thing sooner than later, right?"

"Right," Nathan answered, as he looked over at Lucas. He flashed a devilish smile towards him and then just as quickly brought his focus back to Haley.

"I'll see you later, partner," and with a wink he was out the door.

Haley James liked to be challenged—and out of all the challenges she had faced in her life, this may be her hardest one to date.

Note:

Hey guys! So I've never used this platform before, or written an OTH fic for that matter, so all of this is really new to me! Please let me know what you all think and if anyone is interested in reading this! I LOVE Naley and have been missing them a lot lately so I wanted to write about them meeting and their friendship and more...

-B