Playing It Wrong
Chapter One – Deception
Summary: Haley James is at the top of her class and has everything she wants, a great boyfriend, tons of friends, and she's the captain of the cheerleading squad. Nathan Scott is recently injured and hating life. The only good thing he has is his girlfriend. However, when Haley and Nathan's "other halves" go behind their backs and get together, Haley devises a plan for revenge: Date Nathan Scott. Will it work or will she become too distracted along the way?

Haley James stood at her open locker deciding which books she needed for today's classes. While she was smart enough to pass the classes without even looking at the material in the books, she was too much of a nerd inside to not use them. They were full of highlighted lines and notes, as well as tons of sticky notes marking important pages. While she truly was a nerd, people saw her in a different light. Haley James was "queen" of the school. She was gorgeous, with long blond hair, a petite body, and legs that any girl would kill for. She was the captain of the cheerleading squad and ran the tutoring center at her school. She had been head of her class since the sixth grade and didn't plan on having that change with graduation just eight months away.

Haley grabbed her Calculus book and stuck it in her side bag and then shut her locker. She looked down at her watch and then looked up at all the people passing by. 'Where is he?' No surprise that Lucas wasn't where he was when he said he would be. Lucas was Haley's boyfriend and the two had been inseparable since kindergarten when Haley had scared away a bully picking on Lucas. They had begun dating their freshmen year of high school and had been the ideal couple at school. However, they had started having problems a month ago when Lucas would cancel dates at the last minute or just not show up all together. Haley figured it was because it was their senior year and Lucas was relying on basketball to go to college.

Haley glanced down at her watch one more time and sighed. When she looked up again, she saw her best friend, Brooke Davis, making her way toward her.

"Hey tutor girl. How are you this fine morning?" Brooke seemed on edge and nervous, like she had just run over someone's puppy with her car and was afraid of getting caught.

"I'm fine. I was actually about to go to class, but I thought maybe Lucas would show up for once in his freaking life time." Haley was getting angrier by the second and missed Brooke's downward glance at the mention of Lucas. She knew she had to tell Haley, but she couldn't bear to do that to her best friend. Not to mention, they lived together and that would cause all sorts of trouble.

"Brooke?" Haley waved a hand in front of Brooke's face. Apparently there was something truly fascinating on the floor that had captured Brooke's attention. "Focus, please."

Brooke's head snapped up and she looked around frantically. "I gotta go. I'll see you at practice. Bye!" Before Haley could speak, Brooke hugged her and ran off down the hallway.

"Okay…" Haley looked around one last time and then walked down the hallway to her class.

Nathan Scott sat outside in the quad waiting for his girlfriend to show up. They had planned to meet up before classes and discuss the party Nathan was throwing this weekend. Nathan enjoyed having Brooke as his girlfriend. She was optimistic, entertaining and a great party planner. They had been dating since the end of their sophomore year and were practically married. Nathan had been dating Rachel Gatina at the time, but was really into Brooke and when Brooke invited him on a cruise with her, he ditched Rachel for the summer and the rest is history. They had become so close that Nathan had asked Haley if he could move into their apartment even though Brooke had already moved all of his things out of his house and into her room. He didn't want to lose his amazing tutor because of his girlfriend.

Nathan and Haley had never gotten along well and still had their moments when people thought there was going to be bloodshed, but they had learned to tolerate each other and Haley had even offered to tutor Nathan so he could continue playing basketball. Secretly, it was her way of keeping him away from the apartment as much as possible.

Nathan looked down at the coffee he had bought for Brooke and tossed it in the nearest garbage can. Moments later Brooke came running over and sat down next to him.

"Hey! Why'd you throw my coffee away?" She said with a pout and looked over at the garbage, longing for some caffeine.

Nathan gave her a stern look. "It got cold. Where have you been? You said to meet you out here at seven and its 7:25."

"I'm sorry. I had… things that I had to do. I lost track of time. Besides, it's not a big deal. We live together." Brooke shrugged, which made Nathan even angrier than he currently was.

"Ya know what, Brooke? From now on you can buy your own damn coffee and do other things that you need to do in the morning. I have more important things I could be doing, like getting an extra physical therapy session in. I can't play basketball right now in case you haven't noticed!"

Nathan gave Brooke one more look before grabbing his backpack and hobbling away as fast as he could. He had injured his knee, surprisingly not by playing basketball, but by chasing Haley around the apartment trying to get the Xbox controller. She had been studying and asked him to turn the volume down and when he refused she took the controller hostage. He had meant to jump over the couch to get to her, but his foot got caught and he fell, in the process causing damage to his ACL. Haley had felt so bad that she had gone to every one of his physical therapy sessions and constantly asked the nurse if he was ready to play again and if not, how much longer it would be until he could play again. It got so bad that the nurse banned Haley from the room during the session.

Brooke sighed and then got up and went to find Haley.

Haley sat in the quad after school, waiting for Lucas yet again. She had cheer practice in an hour and was hoping to see him before then because she had to tutor Nathan right after practice.

"Haley!" Haley looked up and saw Peyton wave at her from the other side of the courtyard, trying to make her way through the mass of people occupying it. Peyton also lived with Brooke and Haley. When they had all turned 18 at the beginning of their senior year, they moved out of their parents' houses and got an apartment. Peyton and Haley had been friends since middle school and had been through everything together. They were close, but not as close as Haley and Brooke. Peyton was different and often did things that pissed off Haley. Other than those moments, they were always there for each other.

A minute later Peyton sat down next to Haley and pulled out her sketchbook. "How you been? Good day? Bad day?" Peyton looked nervous and tilted her sketchbook away from Haley and began scribbling frantically.

"Uhm… Okay day. Lucas stood me up this morning, but what's new? It's been a good day. I got an A on my research paper. That made me pretty happy." Haley tried to look at Peyton's drawing, but Peyton would move the book whenever she got too close. "What are you drawing?"

"You'll see. So how are things with Lucas?" Peyton looked up briefly and saw Haley's smile falter. Peyton then looked back down at the sketchbook and blurred some areas with her finger.

"They're okay. We've had some trouble, but I'm sure it's nothing. He's just busy trying to get into a great school because if he can't get a scholarship… he's screwed." Haley shrugged and smiled again. Peyton put her pen away and tore the picture out of the book and stood up.

"I hate to break it to you, but it's always something and right now, something isn't basketball. See you at practice." She handed Haley the drawing, grabbed her things, and left. Haley looked down at the picture and suddenly was unable to breathe. Tears welled up in her eyes and she felt her blood begin to boil. In the drawing was her best friend and her boyfriend behind her apartment… being more than just friends.

"Peyton… you bitch."

Haley stood on a bleacher at practice watching the squad do their performance. They had the Classic in three weeks and losing was not an option for Haley. They had been practicing for two hours and Haley was far from impressed. Haley hit the stop button on the CD player and stepped down from the bleachers.

"STOP! Are you guys serious?! Do you really think that CRAP will win us a trophy?" No one spoke. "Anyone? Does anyone want to explain why we've been working on this routine for three weeks and it still sucks?"

"It doesn't. You're being ridiculous. It is perfect," said Brooke. She was getting pissed at Haley. Everyone was tired and dehydrated and Haley was being crazy today. Normally she was nice and would point out what was wrong and show the girls how to improve.

"Oh really? Then why is it that you can't hit the freaking back handspring on eight or Teresa can't clap with everyone else. Or how about Bevin can't even get the damn routine without counting out loud which makes us look stupid! You wanna explain that!" Haley was now yelling and had captured the attention of the entire basketball team.

"Miss James! Is there a reason you have decided to interrupt my practice?" Whitey looked pissed. "Now, I let you girls use this gym while my team practices under the terms that you respect the team, as well as myself. If you'd like to yell, you can find somewhere else to practice. Do we have an understanding?"

"I wouldn't be yelling if my squad didn't suck."

"Oh really… Bye bye now."

"But… Whitey…" Haley crossed her arms and gave him a pleading look.

"Out. Shoo!" He waved his arms and some of the basketball players laughed. Haley glared and then looked at her squad.

"Okay. Fine. Everyone… outside! Now!" Haley grabbed the stereo and headed towards the doors.

"Haley, it's like 20 degrees outside." Brooke looked at her and wondered what kind of bug had crawled up her butt and died. Peyton just shook her head, knowing exactly what was up with Adolf Haley.

"NOW!" Haley slammed open the gym door and walked outside. She was beyond pissed.

The squad spent another hour and a half practicing and being picked apart by Haley. She had finally called practice when they got through it without messing up. All the girls were freezing and pissed at Haley and whatever had made her so upset. None of them deserved what Haley had put them through, but they now knew to go home and practice in order to avoid three hour practices.

Haley was putting her things in her bag when Peyton came over and sat next to her.

"I'm gonna guess that you're pretty pissed off at Brooke and Lucas right now. Am I right?" Haley glared at her and then sighed.

"I just don't see how they could do that. Brooke's my best friend and roommate and Lucas… I never pictured him as the type to hurt someone like that. How could they betray me like that?" Haley looked like she was about to cry, but pulled it together when she saw Brooke walking towards them.

"People do things that we may not understand and possibly never will. Why they did what they did is a mystery to me because I know how close you and Brooke are. Hell you're closer to her than you are to Lucas and you've known him way longer. It's just life and you know it's not always going to be fair and I'm sorry that it happened to you." Peyton gave Haley a reassuring look.

"I guess so. You were no help by the way. That's where part of my anger came from. You just sprung it on me and left me there to think about all the reasons that could have compelled them to do that."

Peyton shrugged. "I'm not good with words, Haley, and you know that. Look at how many arguments we get in when I use words. My art is who I am. I speak better through my art then I do with words. It was the easiest way for me to break it to you. I'm sorry I was so harsh about it."

"It's okay. I still love you. I wish I didn't know. I kind of wish I could be oblivious to this. It would just be so much easier and not add to the stress I already have."

"Well… You could be Nathan. He just found out he may never play ball again and now the only good thing in his life is a deceitful tramp that's sleeping with his brother. It could be much worse. I'll see you at home." Haley nodded and continued putting her things away.

"Hey Tutor Girl." Brooke approached slowly scared that Haley may kill her. She still wondered what compelled Haley to act the way she did at practice. Haley didn't say anything to Brooke. "You okay?"

"Fine." Brooke sat down next to Haley.

"Are you sure? You didn't seem to fine at practice today." Haley looked up and saw Nathan walk out of the locker room. She got up and grabbed her things.

"You know what, Brooke? You should really mind your own business and stay out of other people's lives. Just stick to what you have and leave me to what I have. I gotta go."

Haley and Nathan sat in Haley's old bedroom in her parent's house. They used it for their tutoring sessions because the noise at the apartment was hard to work around. Haley's parents were fine with the idea as long as Haley didn't wind up pregnant from tutoring. Haley sat on her old bed staring at the notebook in front of her. Her glasses were perched on her nose and she was idly doodling while Nathan worked. She had been tutoring him for two years now and had come to enjoy it, despite having trouble getting along with Nathan.

As much as he bugged her, the last thing she wanted to see was his dream slip away because of his grades, even though she may have accidentally caused that with the Xbox incident. She looked over at Nathan who was laying on the end of the bed working on a math problem. She wondered if she should tell him about Brooke and Lucas or if she should just let him find out on his own terms. Either way he would know by tomorrow since Haley was ready to go off on Brooke when she got back to the apartment. She had almost slipped at practice when Brooke stood up to her, but she was not about to bring her personal life into practice.

She had called all the girls, except Brooke, after practice and apologized for her behavior. She told them that she had just had a rough day and had accidentally taken it out on the squad. All of them had been understanding and nice about the whole thing. Everyone knew Haley was nice and would never treat people like that. She had even called Whitey and apologized and he had agreed to let her use the gym again as long as she didn't go crazy.

"Hey Nathan… How are you and Brooke?"

Nathan looked up and smiled at her. "We're great. I mean she's been acting weird lately, but I think its cause her parents cut her off and she's worried about money problems. Other than that we're great. Why do you ask?"

Haley shrugged. "I was just asking. She seemed nervous this morning when we were talking. It's probably nothing." Haley looked back down at her notebook.

"Are you sure that's why you're asking? Is something wrong?"

"No." Haley shook her head, but the look on her face was far from convincing. Nathan sat up and looked at her.

"Haley… What's going on?"

"Nothing. Really. Do your homework. It's almost nine and we need to get back to the apartment." Haley closed her notebook and put it in her bag. She pulled out another notebook and the drawing Peyton gave her fell out. Haley hurried to pick it up, but Nathan noticed.

"What's that? Another one of Peyton's depressing pieces of art?" He laughed a little and went to grab it from Haley.

"It's nothing." She moved her arm and slid the drawing back into her bag. Nathan glared at her and then continued working on his homework.

A few minutes later Haley got up and put her things down.

"I'm gonna go get some water. Do you want anything?" Nathan shook his head.

"I'm fine."

"Okay." Once Haley had left the room, Nathan grabbed her bag and looked around for the drawing she had hidden. She had so many damn drawings in her bag because she was working on a portfolio for Peyton to show to colleges she was interested in. Nathan grabbed the pile and put them on the bed and looked through them, searching for anything he hadn't seen before. He stopped when he got to one in particular that he had never seen. He couldn't believe what he was looking at. Nathan stayed quiet for several minutes and just stared at the drawing.

Haley came back into the room a few minutes later and saw all of Peyton's drawings sprawled all over her bed. Nathan was sitting there in silence, obviously taken aback by the drawing.

"Nathan…" Haley walked over to the bed and sat next to him.

"This is a joke, right? Tell me this is a joke!" He threw the drawing on the floor and then threw his pencil at it, as if the pencil would make it go away or erase the site before him.

Haley just shook her head.

"How long have you known about this?" Nathan looked furious and Haley knew that she about to receive whatever angry words Nathan had to say.

"Peyton told me right before practice. And before you ask, I don't know how long Peyton has known and I'm not going to sit here and listen to you yell about how ridiculous this is. I'm not Brooke and I don't want to hear it. Not right now."

Nathan sat down and shook his head. "I can't believe this."

"Yeah, well neither could I."

"I guess she couldn't stand not having the basketball hero."

"Nathan, that is not true. That isn't all she sees in you."

"Really? Then what does she see in me? She is sleeping with Lucas, who isn't her damn boyfriend. I am. I'm Brooke's boyfriend! I'm supposed to sleep with her, not him! Not him, damnit!"

Nathan and Haley walked up to the apartment quietly. Neither of them had spoken on the walk home because neither knew what to say. Nothing would make them feel better right now. Haley unlocked the door and they both walked inside. The lights were off which was weird considering it was only 9:30. Haley set her bag down and flipped the light switch and the room lit up.

"I wonder where everyone is…" Haley walked over to the fridge to get some water. She noticed a small note on it. "Peyton is… off sucking face with Jake. Whoo hoo." Haley rolled her eyes. She closed the fridge and walked over to the couch and sat next to Nathan.

"I can't believe this," Nathan whispered. Haley looked at him.

"Yeah… Me neither. I mean, how could my best friend and my boyfriend betray me like that? I trusted them with my life and they go behind my back and do this."

"Haley, Lucas is my brother. My brother is sleeping with my girlfriend. That's more messed up." Haley contemplated the notion for a second and then nodded.

"Yes it is." They both heard the door open and looked over at the entry way to the hall. About ten seconds later Brooke and Lucas came out into the living room and stopped when they saw Nathan and Haley.

"Uhm… I thought you guys didn't get back until 10:30?" Brooke looked confused.

TBC.

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