Full Summary: Everyone has a past, none more so than Lacey and Harmony. Lacey; the tender heart, rebellious, caring, emancipated, determined…and Brooke's unidentical twin. Harmony; flirty, misunderstood, trouble…and Haley's older sister. Both girls unwillingly return to the drama, the tension and the love they left in Tree Hill; the ghost of their former lives. And with Harmony dragging herself further under, will Lucas be able to help save her? And in the meantime, who's backing Lacey?
A/N: So, a friend and I, PearlShippingMuch (look her up, she has some pretty cool stories) decided to make a One Tree Hill fic, since she's only recently become addicted, just like the rest of us. :)
This is the result.
Haley wrapped her arms around Nathan and dug her face securely into his chest. He grinned and hugged her closer, bringing his face close to her ear. "It's just a movie," he chuckled.
"Nathan, people aren't meantto be covered in wax!" Haley stressed, her voice muffled in his shirt.
"That's why it's a movie." Nathan laughed. Haley unwillingly lifted her head and rested it so it was on her husband's chest, one eye firmly closed as the other wandered to the screen.
"You know…" Haley sounded unusually perky, "I'm sure we can find a much better use of our time."
Nathan raised his eyebrow. "Oh?"
Haley grinned mischievously, the head that was resting on his chest dipping lower as she kissed her way down. A woman screamed and Haley's head shot up, suddenly fully alert.
"I swear to God"—Haley looked up at her husband scornfully—"If that movie does not come off within the next thirty seconds, Nathan Royal Scott, I will personally—" The woman screamed as the door knocked, almost as if in sync, and Haley's head shot up more forcefully than intended, hitting Nathan in the face.
"You'll what?" Nathan asked, rubbing his chin as he got up and walked over to the door. "Personally kill me?"
Haley frowned momentarily, at a loss for words when Nathan's hand enclosed around the doorknob.
"No! Nathan, don't do it!" Haley whispered frantically. "Do not open that door!"
He paused. "Why not?"
"Can't you see?! It's the mad man!" Haley pointed out, and almost felt stupid. Almost. Her pounding heart over-ruled her momentary retardation. Nathan grinned and threw open the door, his face going from one of blissful amusement to confusion. A man screamed this time. Haley would of found it funny if she hadn't been so determined to find out who was at the door.
"There's my favourite sister!" A girl beamed at Haley from behind Nathan's shoulder, and turned happily to face him. "Hey, Bill! Did you cut your hair? It looks hot."
Nathan scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It's Nathan."
"I know. But you honestly don't think you're her first boyfriend, do you?" The girl made her way into the apartment, uninvited, and plopped herself down on the barstool. "Or husband, is it now? I'm totally not in the loop." She shrugged, popped a cashew into her mouth and frowned. "Is there a massacre somewhere in here that I'm not aware of?"
Haley fumbled for the remote and turned off the screaming television, mid-shock. She suddenly wanted to fall through the floor and die.
Nathan looked over at Haley, and then the girl, and then Haley again. He could almost hear the click in his head as two and two came together. Oh, Jesus Christ.
"What? She never once mentioned me?" The girl asked, looking at Nathan's baffled expression before turning to look at Haley with accusing eyes. "Not only did you not mention that you were married—nor to Tree Hill's amazingly infamous Nathan Scott—but you haven't even told your husband about me?" She asked, feigning heartbreak.
Nathan cleared his throat, wiping his sweaty palm against the back of his jeans. Taylor was still yet so clear, so vivid in his memories. "You didn't answer my question."
The girl jumped up from her seat and held out her hand. "Harmony James. Friends call me Harm. Hot brother-in-laws, however, can call me whatever they want, whenever they want." She winked, looking over at Haley. Pissed off was a grave understatement.
"Aw, come on," Harmony beamed, "is it so wrong for me to visit my favourite sister?"
Haley let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, come on. You're lying through your teeth and we both know it."
Harmony frowned. "You know, I don't get that. How can you lie through your teeth? I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure your teeth don't lie." Nathan made a face, and Harmony's forehead creased in concentration. "Yeah, no, I'm still ninety-nine point nine percent sure."
Haley let out a loud groan. "What do you want, Harmony? Running away wasn't as fun as you thought it'd be?"
Harmony scoffed. "Right, because your life is so much fun, being the married seventeen-year-old housewife."
Haley made a face. "At least I don't go around contracting every disease known to man."
"Oh, sorry, 'rockstar'," Harmony said through clenched teeth, "Chris Keller wasn't enough for you?"
Haley stiffened. "What?"
"Oh, you know," Harmony drawled, "Taylor loves to talk. Almost as much as she loves to f—"
Nathan dropped the beer can he'd been holding, watching as it loudly landed on the hard floor. He cursed. God, he needed that drink.
"Hales," Harmony spoke with feigned concern, "your husband's on the brink of insanity. What have you done to him?"
Haley sucked in her breath. "What are you doing here, Harm?"
Harmony stretched a little. Arguing always took a lot out of her. "I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd stop by. Taylor was always talking about your great…" she eyed Nathan warily, "…hospitality."
Haley turned around, painfully slow to face her husband, who was unsuccessfully trying to keep his cool as the beer can continued to fizz on the floor. "I need to talk to you for a moment." And with that, she seized the collar on his t-shirt and dragged him into the bedroom.
"Keep it PG-13, little sis!" Harmony shouted after her.
Haley made sure to slam the door, and began to pace the room. "You know what you've done, right?"
Nathan looked at her for a moment, and knew she was referring to the last time a sister came to stay. And God knows that didn't turn out great. But unlike Taylor, he hadn't slept with Harmony, and as far as Chris Keller went…
"…and not to mention we've just finished rebuilding our marriage, and I'm not going to watch my life fall apart before my eyes for the second time," Haley went on. "And it just might, now that you've unleashed Hurricane Harmony into the house. We should just as well just invite Taylor, too! Hell, why don't we invite the whole family?"
"Hales, you can't run from your family. I tried, and we both know it's a waste of time. They keep coming back to bite you in the ass, bit by bit until you finally relent," Nathan pointed out, and then frowned. "I don't think you can get emancipated from your sisters anyway."
Haley sighed and collapsed on the bed. "We are so not going to get out of this alive."
"She's your sister, Hales," he smiled, settling down next to her, "besides, it might even be a little fun."
Haley groaned. "You make out your will, and I'll file for house insurance. Deal?" She held out her hand, and Nathan laughed and shook it.
"Deal."
A small, dark figure lifted her arm to signal a nearby taxi. Lugging the suitcase across the ground and into the taxi's boot, the brunette sighed and eased herself into the back of the car.
"Where to?" The man asked, one chubby, over-sized hand already on the wheel.
"Karen's Cafe. Make it quick." The girl replied, handing a neatly folded fifty-dollar bill into his other large hand. He nodded quickly and sped off, not-so-subtly leaving a cloud of dust whirling behind in its wake. The passenger held her head in her hands, breathing in…breathing out…breathing in…
"So"—the driver tried to sound casual—"what brings you to Tree Hill?"
The girl looked out the rolled down window and into the eerily quiet night. What did bring her to Tree Hill? She sucked in her breath for a moment and slowly let it go, bit by bit, searching for an answer that wasn't a complete, shit-faced lie.
"Family."
Harmony stood over the stove, her forehead creased in determination as she made a conscious effort to watch as Haley stirred pasta sauce.
Haley couldn't help but laugh. "You okay?"
Harmony sniffed. "I know I'm supposed to be making an effort, but this is so boring. I've been watching the stupid spoon go round and round for about three hours now."
"Three minutes." Haley pointed out.
Harmony made a face. "Whatever."
Haley smiled and shook her head as Harmony sauntered into the bathroom. She didn't think anyone could stay mad at Harmony for long. Or maybe she just had a weak spot for the sister closest to her own age. Haley frowned at the thought.
Meanwhile, Harmony stripped out of her clothes and watched as they fell to the bathroom floor. She didn't want to look up; didn't want to look at her body. She sighed and looked up anyway, curiosity winning out. She almost cried. A huge purple bruise covered most of her inner thigh, while her breasts looked angry and swollen. She slowly moved her hand to her back and turned around, watching as her fingers ran over the new, red cuts. She could hear his voice in her head; the voice that was once so soft, so gentle.
"You know I love you, right?" He had asked, running his fingers over her lips.
"You're drunk, Brodie." Harmony said softly.
He trailed his fingers down to her neck and lingered there. "Do you love me?"
Harmony wriggled uncomfortably. "Brodie, what's going on?"
"I said," Brodie continued, "do…you…love…me?"
"You know I love you." Harmony replied. She could smell the alcohol on his breath.
He slapped her across the face. "Liar!"
He lunged forward. Harmony screamed.
"Harmony!" Haley was banging on the door. "Harmony!"
Harmony slapped her hand over her mouth and sunk down onto the floor.
Haley kept banging on the door. "Harmony! Are you—"
"—I'm fine! I just slipped!" Harmony called, holding her legs to her chest, hair falling freely around her.
There was a long silence, and then a quiet, "Okay."
She waited until Haley was gone before she allowed herself to let out one, quiet sob.
Lacey talked herself up as the taxi dropped her off and disappeared around a corner. She was calm. She was collected. She was going to yank open the door to Karen's Cafe and demand a lattee with two sugars. Instead, her knuckles whitened around the doorknob, and she saw two very, very familiar people laughing. She felt nauseous. She suddenly wanted dive head first into a drain. She didn't.
Lucas and Jake. God, she hadn't seen them in so long. The two people she wished she would see first, and yet the two people she'd been praying she didn't. She spun around as Bevin and Skills came around the corner, hand in hand. When did that happen?
Lacey groaned and threw open the door, throwing herself inside. The bell jingled. Shit.
"I'm sorry, we're…" Lucas started, and stopped.
Lacey could hear her heart beating in her ears. She didn't dare look at Jake. It would completely throw her off. She was calm. She was collected.
"Lattee, straight. Hold the ice."
Double shit.
Jake sat glued to his chair. Lacey's feet were stuck to the floor. Perfect. This was going swell. Lucas looked as though he was contemplating whether to give her a lattee with ice.
Jake looked at Lucas. Lucas looked at Jake. Lacey didn't look at Jake, but instead looked at Lucas. Jake looked at Lacey. Lacey kept looking at Lucas.
Lacey cleared her throat and wiped her sweaty palms on the back of her dress and looked at Lucas. She was calm. She was collected.
"Hello."
She was hoping that sounded sophisticated. She couldn't hear her voice over the hammering of her heart.
Lucas suddenly burst out laughing. "So do I get a hug, or what?"
Lacey beamed and flung herself at him. Lucas chuckled, squeezed her tightly and put her back down, holding her out for inspection.
He smiled and shook his head. "Beautiful as ever."
"Look at you, you big hottie!" Lacey smiled affectionately.
Lucas shook his head. "What brings the infamous Lacey Davis back to Tree Hill?"
Lacey swallowed the words she wanted to say. I'm here because I got emancipated from my parents, moved to Miami with Harmony, ripped a twenty-thousand dollar cheque from Victoria in half, got involved with a loan shark and got ditched by my best friend.
Lacey smiled. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."
Lucas chuckled and shook his head, moving around the counter to make her a cup of coffee. Lacey breathed a sigh of relief, not fully believing her good luck as she stiffly sat down on a bar stool next to Jake. And wanted to die.
Lucas handed her a cup of coffee over the counter a minute later and went to grab a couple of biscuits out back. Lacey wanted to run after him. She vaguely saw Jake looking at her from the corner of her eye, and forgot how to breathe.
The bell sounded at the front of the shop and Lacey exhaled. Her luck was almost remarkable. Saved by the bell.
"Hey, Jake, Jenny misses her—" someone began, and abruptly stopped. "Brooke?"
Lacey spun around at the familiar voice. It was Peyton, holding an adorable little girl.
"Oh my God!" Lacey breathed, watching as Peyton tried to compose her startled face. "You have a baby? She's so adorable!"
Peyton switched the baby to her other arm and laughed. "She's one hundred percent Jake's."
Lacey paused for a long moment. Oh my God. She didn't even notice the coffee fall out of her hand and into her lap until Jake leapt up from the chair, grabbing a bunch of paper towels and hurrying to explain himself. She could only make out a faint "her name is Jenny" and "she was born a while after you left". When Jake began to dab away at the coffee stains near her thigh, however, she felt it all too completely and leapt back out of her seat. It wasn't that she didn't like the feel of him through the fabric of her dress—it was the fact that she liked it a little bit too much. She didn't even notice Lucas coming back out. Jake and Peyton had a baby together?
Lacey stumbled back like Peyton had slapped her in the face and looked from Jake, to Peyton, to Jenny. Her heart felt as though it had been ripped out and stomped on in front of plain eyes.
She mumbled something about them being a "cute family" and how "happy" she was for them.
And then she left, without even looking back.