Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill, or anything associated with the show.
AN: Hi Everyone! This is my new story, The Girl in the Shadows! Please leave me some reviews, I really love to hear from everyone!
Summary: Haley James has lived in the shadows of her mega-famous sister Taylor for her entire life. When Taylor's new love interest, NBA all-star Nathan Scott shows a unique interest in Haley, what will she do? Will she break free from her sister and do what she wants? Or will she remain in the shadows and let love escape her?
This story is AU, and the pairings will be Naley, Brucas, & Jeyton
Please review! Enjoy!
- Madison
The sun shone down on her dark chocolate hair, revealing the strands of red that only appeared in the sunlight. The length reached to the middle of her back and the slight waves swayed to and fro as she walked with her head slightly down, just like she had been told. She made sure she stayed behind her sister as she took in all of the cameras flashing everywhere, turning her scenery into a mass of blinking white lights. She now knew why all of the celebrities wore sunglasses whenever they left their homes. Even though she was not famous, as long as she walked near her "megastar" sister, she would need those trusty sunglasses to block out the flashes that prohibited her from seeing through her deep brown eyes.
Her sister, Taylor James, was a rising star in the TV world. She played the "good girl" Sophie on the hit new show The High Life. Tall, with short and sleek blonde hair, Taylor always looked absolutely perfect. Even with cameras flashing, and the paparazzi trying to block her way, Taylor always remained composed and acted as if they were not even there. Ever since Taylor had turned 23, she had decided to take much more interest in the fashion world and had made the financial decision to add a "personal dresser" to her list of employees. Previously, she had remained obstinate about taking her acting career seriously and not getting caught up in all that was "Hollywood." However, as soon as packs of men began to shower her with attention, that had all been shot to shit.
Haley James, on the other hand, had always been into fashion, yet had never been noticed, for Taylor's presence always seemed to make everyone forget there was a "Haley" that even existed. Not that Haley did anything that would be noticeable by the public aside from dressing well. Maybe the A she earned on her brilliant essay on the meaning of Shakespeare's King Lear could gain some attention, but other than that…
'Oomph!' Haley had stopped paying attention to where she was walking and embarrassingly tripped over a rock on the sidewalk. Taylor was a glamorous millionaire living at the peak of her 'play time' as a young adult, and had she tripped, her surprised face would make the cover of about four different gossip magazines by the end of the week. Haley, the almost 18-year old high school senior, who knows the star more than anyone else in the city, could trip, fall, break a leg, maybe even die, and no one would really notice. Her parents would probably get a little upset if she died. But then again, you never really know.
Haley regained her composure and continued to make her way through the swarm of photographers as she and her sister made their way into the cute little Italian restaurant where they had lunch reservations. Not that Taylor needed reservations. In fact, Haley was almost positive that her sister could, with just a flick of the wrist, get a table anywhere, at anytime. Once inside, the lights stopped flashing, and the two girls were led to their table in the back of the eatery.
As they sat down, Haley took in her surroundings. Not many people were in there currently, yet when they caught wind of Taylor James's presence they would most likely start galloping in like a herd of hungry horses. She did not know why, but for some reason, Haley was transfixed on the idea that she could remain meaningless next to someone who meant everything to some. From anyone else's point of view, Haley looked just as important as Taylor. With her knee high flat black riding boots, her dark pencil leg jeans, and her white blouse with a thin red belt wrapped around her waist, Haley looked stunning, sophisticated, classy, and notable.
But it was Taylor's familiar face, and the overly confident way in which she carried herself that got her noticed. Taylor was flashier, where Haley had more modesty and subtly about her. If Taylor bought something new, she would show it off right away- and she always had to have the latest of everything. Haley was still learning how to work her new blackberry, which she had accidently dropped approximately 3.5 times. The half was due to her leaping through the air to catch it, not so gracefully, before she herself flew to the ground and twisted her ankle. While Haley did love her material things, they were not the things that made her happy, whereas Taylor would light up at the idea of buying something new.
"God, they're such animals! What's so special about me going out to lunch?" Taylor sighed.
"Maybe it's because you-" Haley started, but did not finish.
"It's not like I'm out with anyone that special or rumor-worthy! It's just you for crying out loud!" She half shrieked.
And there it was. It was always one thing to know you mean nothing when with your sister, but it was always something different when your sister tells you that you mean nothing. Ever since Taylor's career had taken off and her fame climbed, it was all about her. Haley's college applications, honor roll, etc., were old news that no one cared about.
Haley started to speak again, but only got as far as opening her mouth before her sister started up again. She was quite the gabber. And tended to interrupt. A lot.
"It's been like this all week! All I did was get a haircut! I mean come, on." Haley wondered if Taylor had added the pause between come and on, on purpose, or if the whole Valley Girl persona was finally reaching the hills of Hollywood, and inevitably her now snobby sister.
"Tay, maybe they're all over you because the show is doing really well? And I mean, since you're the star, who better to follow around?" Haley, once again, tried to reason.
She knew her sister was just putting on an act, and trying to be overly dramatic and make it seem as if she did not like the attention. Haley knew better. Taylor loved this- the attention, the glitz, the glam, the lights, cameras, everything. She loved it, and no matter how great of an actress she became, Haley could always see through it all.
She found it interesting, really. The media was so obsessed with specific people. They would spend their days just waiting for the opportunity to catch a high-profile celebrity in the act of doing something newsworthy.
Haley could just give them the home video of her mom dropping Taylor as a baby while she tried to pick up the ringing telephone on the other side of the kitchen. Or there was also the video of Taylor trying to walk in their old backyard. She took two steps, and then the dog came and pushed her over into a mud puddle, and proceeded to lick Taylor's entire face. Haley always laughed at that one. There had been so much mud.
No- that'd be too easy and cruel.
"Haley. Haley…Haley!" Taylor half shouted half whispered and snapped her manicured fingers in Haley's dazed face.
"What? Oh sorry…guess I just zoned out." Haley chuckled as she picked up the menu and then put it right back down. She already knew what she wanted anyways.
"Well anyways, as I was saying. I'm so glad you decided to come out and stay with me for your winter break! I missed you!" Taylor lightly touched her hand to Haley's.
The general public would look at Taylor's actions and characterize her easily as genuine and sincere. But Haley, once again, knew better and knew how to look past the façade and see what was really going on. Whenever Taylor would pat her hand, and say something as corny as 'I missed you,' in that really cheesy, over the top voice, Haley knew she wanted something.
She eyed her sister carefully, waiting for the request she was sure the elder sister had.
"Okay okay…" Taylor conceded- it was useless trying to pull one over on her sister.
"You know, you don't have to do that every time you-"
"Excuse me, Miss James, are you ladies ready to order?" The overly cheerful, over-weight, waitress leered over their table with an expectant look on her face. Haley just loved how Taylor was addressed personally as if the waitress knew her.
"Yes, I'll have the Caesar salad- but just a lunch portion- oh and a glass of ice water with two slices of lemon." Taylor rattled off her order, and did not look at the waitress even once.
'Please,' Haley mentally added onto the end of Taylor's order. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Taylor. That was probably her sister's most annoying trait- her habit of interrupting people when they're either talking or about to talk. As if no one else had anything to say, you know?
"Make sure you bring me two lemon slices. Two. Not one, not three. I want two. Otherwise it's just a waste of lemon." Taylor glanced at the waitress and smiled like a Cheshire cat.
"Okay Taylor, she gets it." Haley nudged her sister's leg underneath the table, and then smiled at the waitress. "Aren't we just a hoot? I'll have a Caesar salad, please, to start…and then a plate of your baked rigatoni with extra cheese? And a water- no lemon! Thanks!" Haley handed the waitress the menu and then proceeded to give her sister a pointed look as the poor woman walked away. Well, more like waddled, Haley noticed.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't do anything! You're the one who practically ordered the entire menu!" Taylor snorted very ungracefully.
"How rude could you possibly be? They're not your maids, jeez! You could have at least said please. And I ordered a salad and pasta- hardly the entire menu miss 1,000 calories a day freak." Haley's anger and frustration emanated from her pores and Taylor recoiled.
After a couple minutes passed, the two sisters began to relax again. From far away they looked completely in sync, yet totally opposite. Taylor had on a long maxi-dress and was tan with light hair. Haley on the other hand was dark haired and fair skinned, and wore casual clothes.
Taylor cleared her throat and decided to move on from their previous quarrel.
"So, I know you think I want something from you, but I actually don't. I just wanted to talk about what you can do while you're here." Taylor glanced at Haley's face to see if she was still mad and breathed a sigh of relief when Haley looked just fine.
"Taylor I'm not doing your laundry nor am I going to be your personal chef like I was last time!"
"No of course not, silly! I hired a maid for my laundry and a personal chef, so no worries on that front. It's just I'm very busy this week since it's a week before New Year's…and your birthday of course!" Haley smiled at the fact that her sister hadn't forgotten her 18th birthday. Or she had and had just now remembered. Either way it made Haley a little happier.
"So I want this weekend to be as fun as possible for you." Taylor continued.
Just then, their lunches arrived, and as Haley ate, Taylor talked. She listed all of the events Haley could come to with her, all of the clubs that would let her in regardless of her age. Also, Taylor did not fail to mention the courtside tickets she had obtained for all of the Lakers games, how there were three different movie premieres, two fashion shows, and four holiday benefit galas that the girls could make appearances at.
After listening to all that her sister did, just in one week no less, Haley actually had a feeling of admiration toward her sister.
Well, that was new.
"So," Taylor interrupted Haley's thoughts.
"Hmm?" Haley put her fork down lazily.
"What do you want to do first?" Taylor prodded.
Haley had no idea what she was talking about, but from the way Taylor was rapidly tapping her foot and bouncing her knee in that really bothersome way that made Haley want to smack her, she already had something on her agenda. It was always a hidden agenda with Taylor, no matter what.
"What do you want to do?" Haley relaxed in her chair more and took a sip of her water. Ice water, no lemon.
Taylor squeezed her fourth lemon slice into her own water with no ice. Two lemon slices hadn't been enough after all. She cleared her throat, and Haley was absolutely positive that Taylor was trying to appear nonchalant but was just bursting and ready to explode on the inside.
"Well…" She hesitated, "there's a Lakers game tonight? My assistant has season tickets on the court, so we could go to that?" Taylor tried to hold back a grin, and Haley knew she'd got her.
"You like basketball now? Since when?" Haley could feel the nervousness and anxiety just flowing off of her sister.
"Uh, I uh, okay fine. You like basketball, and I like the players, more specifically the Lakers new star forward Nathan Scott. He's so deliciously handsome. Have you seen him yet?" Haley noticed the way Taylor's eyes lit up as she said his name.
"No, no I haven't. We can go to that tonight, it'd be fun!" Haley replied enthusiastically. She should have known it was all about a boy. It's always about a boy.
Due to their age difference, the sisters had never had conflicting boy issues. Taylor liked guys her own age, as did Haley, and they never overlapped. By the time Haley got into high school, Taylor was in college or at least trying out college. She never actually graduated. Haley knew they had similar types, but Taylor was way more into the model-y plastic looking boys, who had a great sense of style and the perfect surfer body. Haley preferred her men to not know the difference between one designer from another and didn't particularly like the whole 'surfer dude' persona.
"Yes! Thank you so much Haley-bop! Let's get out of here- we only have two hours before game time!" Taylor threw a 100 dollar bill on the table, which would probably cover not only her lunch and her sister's lunch, but also half of the restaurant's lunches as well.
Haley got up and followed her sister back outside, into the madness.
So this was just the first chapter, please review! Let me know what you all think! I love hearing what people have to say, good or bad!
-Madison