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Summary: Takes place during the school shooting in season three. What would have happened if it had gone differently and Nathan has to help Haley fight for her life? Haley was with Peyton and Brooke when the first shot was fired, but she is separated from them in the panic.
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-sototallyrandom
Haley's POV
"Thanks for the help Tutor-wife." Brooke thanks me, using her usual nickname.
"Anytime." I tell her as we round a corner in the hall. Brooke, Peyton, and I had just left the tutor center after a before-school tutor-session to help Brooke pass a science test. I had been working vigorously to help Brooke understand and Peyton had been quietly working on her art in the third seat at our table. When the light bulb finally lit in Brooke's head, the hours spent in the library all week before school were worth it.
"You have the test first period, right?" I ask her.
"Yup. In five minutes when that dreaded bell rings." She confirms.
"You're quiet today Peyton." Brooke tells her. She doesn't even respond, she just continues to walk in between Brooke and I, holding her sketch book on one arm and scratching lines with her pencil with the other.
Brooke and I look back to each other and smile.
"Guys get down!" Peyton screams, dropping to the ground. Brooke immediately does the same, but I look up to see a gun pointed at the window we're standing behind. I'm frozen in shock.
"Haley!" Brooke shouts before yanking me down to the tile floor by my wrist. The glass shatters above us and I throw my arms over my head in defense as the shards rain down on us. It's silent for a split second and then the halls break out into chaos, teenagers running in every direction and screams echoing through the hallways.
"Come on let's go!" Brooke says, taking both Peyton and I by the wrist and dragging us to our feet. They both start to run, but I stumble on my first step and collapse to the ground, my arms just barely having time to break my fall. I wince as pain shoots up my leg and look down to find a small shard of glass protruding from my lower calf. I look back up to find Brooke and Peyton, scanning the hallway for Peyton's curly blonde hair or Brooke's outrageous school style choices.
I finally spot them trying to make their way back to me but being pushed towards the door by the moving crowd. Peyton's leg is also leaving a trail of blood and my heart sinks to my stomach as she collapses into Brooke's arms.
"Brooke!" I scream.
"Hang in there Tutor-girl!" Brooke screams back towards me. Before I know it she's been swept away with the other teenagers towards the front exit. At least she's safe and she can get Peyton medical attention.
I finally bring my attention back to myself to find that I'm being trampled. Frightened students assume I'm dead and can't avoid stepping on me, kicking me, or tripping over me on their way out. A tennis shoe lands on my hand and I yelp in pain, bringing it closer to myself and attempting to curl into a ball to defend myself. With my leg throbbing the way it is I won't be able to get up without being knocked back down. The blows to my head are the worst, but it still hurts horribly when my back is kicked or someone stumbles over my leg.
When the halls are finally empty I manage to pull myself to my feet and lean on the wall. I look around and get my bearings. Among the mess of homework assignments, pencils, and backpacks on the tile floor is a pair of shoes. My eyes follow the trail up his leg and hoodie until they land on his face. Jimmy Edwards.
"Jimmy, help me get out of here!" I say, utterly relieved that I have someone to help me get out before anything happens. I take a hop towards him and wince, stopping and leaning back against the wall. When Jimmy doesn't answer me I look up at him again and only this time I notice the gun held slack in his hand at his side.
My eyes widen and I open my mouth to say something, but my no words can form in my mouth to express myself. Jimmy stares at me with sad eyes and looks down at my leg. I want to get a good look at my injury too, but I won't let myself take my eyes off the gun. His hand makes the slightest movement and I bolt, completely ignoring the searing pain in my leg as I sprint towards where I know the nearest classroom is, hoping to god he doesn't follow me, because he'd catch up in no time flat because of my leg.
When I finally find an unlocked classroom I dive into it, locking the door behind me from the ground. My breaths come in quick gasps and I slouch back against the door and try to calm down. I try to process everything that just happened, but I can't even begin to understand or comprehend. How could Jimmy do this?
When I notice the large dark spot on my jeans I begin to panic. I find the glass with my fingers and look away at the ceiling as I quickly - but carefully – slide the glass out of my calf. I suck in a breath and clamp my hands above and below the injury, rocking back and forth a few times to avoid screaming and giving away my location if Jimmy doesn't already know.
Brooke's POV
Amidst the pure chaos, I manage to find Haley on the ground, only a few feet away from where we ducked when we heard the shot. I call out to her and try to go back, but I'm being pushed along by the crowd and I can feel the weight of a weakening Peyton as she loses blood.
"Hang in there Tutor-girl!" I scream. I suddenly wish I had used her real name after an instant of having a feeling that I'm never going to see her again.
In the rushing crowd I suddenly feel Peyton's arm slipping from my grasp and I look around frantically to try and catch sight of her. Nothing. I try to push against the current of frantically escaping students, but there are too many of them and only one of me.
"Peyton!" I cry out in hysterics. I am officially the worst friend ever. Both of my best friends are injured and I couldn't manage to save one of them.
"Brooke! Come on girl!" Skills' voice reaches my ears and he grabs my wrist, dragging me towards the exit behind him and Bevin much against my will.
"Peyton! Haley!" I cry out one last time before exiting the school. The sun that was warm on my face half an hour ago blinds me as I wander aimlessly around the schoolyard, still whipping my head left and right with the naive hope that I'll see Haley lying down on the grass or Peyton limping towards Lucas. Lucas! I sprint towards the unloading bus in the parking lot and drop my backpack to go faster.
"Lucas!" I cry. I have too much speed to stop and Lucas catches me in a hug.
"What's going on?" He asks. Over Lucas's shoulder I see Nathan looking at the school building concerned and I hate to tell him.
"Someone brought a gun to school and they're shooting." I cry desperately.
"Calm down Brooke, you're ok!" Lucas assures me, squeezing both of my upper arms to hold me still.
"No! You don't get it! I'm sorry!" I scream over the chaos. Now Nathan has joined Lucas in my interrogation.
"What do you mean Brooke?" He asks.
"Peyton and Haley, I lost them in the crowd, I'm sorry!" I cry. "Peyton was shot and I think Haley is bleeding!" I sob, pulling Lucas into a hug. Both of their eyes widen to the size of saucers and Nathan sprints toward the front door.
"Stay here Brooke." He tells me calmly before running after Nathan. A ragged sob escapes my lips as Whitey calls the boys back. They don't listen.
Nathan's POV
"Peyton and Haley, I lost them in the crowd, I'm sorry! Peyton was shot and I think Haley is bleeding!" Brooke sobs hysterically. Suddenly everything makes sense. The running, the screaming, everything. It makes sense, but I don't see how it could happen. My heart aches for Haley and I run towards the building, my objective not to stay alive, but to find Haley and make sure she stays that way. Alive. I ignore coach as he calls for me to get back on the bus and I head straight for the main entrance.
Before I can get there Lucas tackles me from behind and we both go tumbling into the mulch which is sure to leave us lots of marks the next time we care to check.
"Get off me!" I yell at him. "Haley's in there!" As I tell Lucas, it suddenly becomes a reality to me. My best friend, the one I love most, my wife. She's stuck in that school possibly injured with a student who's not afraid to use his gun. I'm the only one who can get her out, it's my responsibility. I picture her face, her waving dirty blonde hair framing her perfect face with her pale skin tone which matches her brown eyes so well. Her smile is more like a smirk, lifting higher on one side, but still beautiful. The image is disrupted in my mind like a reflection in a rainy pond as I bring myself back to the real world, where her face won't be so cheerful and optimistic and her sweet innocence could be ripped away from her.
"It's Haley." I tell him, my eyebrows furrowed and my eyes watering. "Peyton is in there too. I know you guys aren't dating anymore, but I know you care about her." I try to guilt him into not only letting me go, but coming with me. If Peyton and Haley are together when I find them I don't know if I'll be able to get them both out.
"I'm not going to leave Haley in there alone." I tell him. He doesn't respond, but when I jog towards the doors I hear his footsteps behind mine.
"Look, there's blood." Lucas whispers, pointing to the puddle on the ground near a broken window. My heart leaps out of my chest when I remember Brooke telling us Haley might be bleeding, because there is a lot of blood splattered on the floor, way too much to come out of a cut or scrape. As I look closer, I am relieved to find two trails of blood. It comforts me slightly to know the large amount of blood isn't only from one person and it's shared between multiple people, making the injuries seem less severe.
"I'll follow this trail, you follow that one." I tell Lucas, clutching the baseball bat I picked up in my fist.
"Nathan…" Lucas starts to say. A moment of silence passes.
"I know. You too." I tell him, opening the door beside the useless window and follow a path down the hall. Part of me hopes the path leads me to Haley so I can protect her, but the other part, the bigger part, hopes this path leads me to someone else so I know the blood on the floor doesn't belong to my wife.
Haley's POV
All I can do is watch as the blood leaks out of my leg, having already applied pressure by tying the sleeves of my jacket around it.
My bottom lip quivers as a tear runs down my cheek. Jimmy and I used to be friends! We hung out at the river court with Lucas, Mouth, Skills, and the others all the time! The Jimmy I know would never be capable of such a horrible thing.
When the blood soaks through my jacket sleeves I begin to feel dizzy and I know I can't just sit here. I've been telling myself I've been fine and it's just a little cut, but when I look back down to the bloody shard of glass on the tile, it's much larger than I've been trying to convince myself it is.
I remember with a start that first aid kits are on the walls in every room next to the fire extinguisher for emergency purposes. I zero in on the small white box with the cross on it on the other side of the room.
"Come on, you can do it. You ran all the way here." I grunt to myself as I use the handle on the door to pull myself to my feet. I hop on one leg and keep a good hold on the desks, but every time my foot lands on the ground it bounces my other leg and I clench my jaw. When I finally get to the other side of the room I gratefully slide to the floor with my back against the wall beside the first aid kit, unhooking it and bringing it down with me.
I unlatch the plastic box and begin to sift through its contents. I find some useful things and place the box next to my left thigh, leaning over to slowly roll up my right pants leg. It takes a few minutes, but I manage to not touch the wound while pulling up the leg of my pants and taking off the jacket. I apply almost half the tube of Neosporin to keep out infections. The once clear gel quickly turns red and blends in with the blood. After this I fumble with the white bandage and finally grasp the end between my fingers. I cautiously begin to wrap it around my leg, tight enough to keep pressure on it, but not tight enough to cut off the blood circulation to my foot. By the time I've finished taking care of it, my hands are coated in blood and shaking.
I crawl back to the door, my leg now in less pain, and sit in front of it. If anyone does try to get in my weight will help block the door.
My eyes widen and I stop breathing when something raps on the other side of the door I'm leaning my back against. I close my eyes and pray that it isn't Jimmy. A soft skidding noise draws my attention to the floor on my left, where Nathan's driver's license has slid across the white tiles under the heavy wooden door. I smile and reach my hand up to unlock the door, but I bring it back down an instant before turning the lock. A horrible thought breaches the security of my mind. What if something has happened to Nathan and Jimmy is using his license to get me to let him in? I pick up the card and throw it across the room with hot angry tears forming in my eyes as I decide whether or not to open the door.
I think for a moment and come up with an idea. If Nathan really is out there, he'll know how to respond. With much pain and difficulty I turn and press my cheek up against the cool surface near the crack at the doorframe.
"Always." I whisper. I wait for what seems like an eternity for a response. If it's Nathan, he'll know what to say. If not, he won't know what the hell I'm talking about. I wait another few agonizing seconds before Nathan's voice like honey leaks through the crack.
"And forever." He finishes the sentence just above a whisper. I launch myself to my feet and unlock the door. The second the lock clicks out of place Nathan turns the handle and opens the door. I step back so the door won't hit me and lunge into Nathan's arms.
"Haley, it's ok, I've got you. You're safe." He comforts me as I sob into his shoulder, leaving tear stains on his shirt. Nathan takes another step into the room while I'm still latched onto him and closes the door behind him. When he finally wraps his arms around me all the problems in my small little world melt into the background and Nathan's heartbeat is the only thing that matters.
"Haley, you're bleeding." Nathan says in horror, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me away just long enough for him to take a good look at me.
"Sit down." He tells me, leading me back to sit under the door so we can't be seen through the tiny rectangular window.
"Hales, what happened to you?" He asks with tears in his eyes. I'm crying as well and Nathan reaches towards my face and wipes away the tears with his thumb. I didn't even realize there was something wrong with my face until I notice the blood on his thumb.
"It was like a stampede." I tell him, my mind wandering back to being trampled in the hall.
"It was awful, they all thought I was dead and they just stepped on me." I cry, leaning into Nathan's side.
"We're going to wait this out, ok? The police are going to fix everything." Nathan tells me. He reaches for my leg to take a look at it, but I pull it away.
"Piece of glass. I really don't want to take the pressure off." I tell him. He seems hurt that I won't let him help, but I know he understands. His eyes wander to the bloody shard of glass on the floor and when he looks back his eyes are watering.
"You had to take care of it yourself?" He asks.
"I'm fine Nathan."
"You're so strong Haley, so strong." He whispers, gathering me in his arms and holding me close. He comforts me by running his fingers through my hair and I relax into his side, wanting nothing more than to close my eyes and go to sleep right here.
When Nathan's cell phone goes off we both flinch and he frantically searches all his pockets to silence it. When he finally finds it, he stares at the screen and picks up instead of silencing it.
"What are you doing?" I whisper-yell.
"It's Lucas!" He whispers back. I shut up and try to listen to what Lucas is saying on the other side of the call but I can't make out any of the words so I rely on Nathan's facial expressions. When he hangs up he looks at me with concern.
"Lucas and Peyton are in the library, Peyton's leg is hurt too." Nathan tells me.
"That's good they're both hiding in the library right?" I ask.
"The library doesn't lock, it's not safe." Nathan tells me. I know the direction he's going with this and I hate it.
"Don't leave me alone Nate." I beg with tears in my eyes.
"Lucas needs help. He needs someone to protect him while he carries Peyton back here so they can stay with us." Nathan says sorrowfully.
"Please Nathan! I'm scared!" I cry. I've had enough, I just want Nathan to stay here with me.
"You'll be ok. Just keep this door locked and stay quiet." Nathan tells me, nudging me away from the door so he can open it. He slips out and closes the door behind me. I open the door and lean my head out, looking both directions down the hall. Nathan is nowhere to be seen.
"Nathan!" I whisper. "Nathan!" I let out a strangled sob as I get back in the classroom and lock the door. What if something happens to Nathan while he's out there? I should have made him stay! The only thing that makes it better is that I know he'll be back soon with Lucas and Peyton. At least I hope.
"Haley." At first I think I just imagined it, but it comes again with more volume.
"Come out, come out, Haley!" Jimmy's voice calls. He calls in a high pitched voice and drags out my name, as if he's calling for a dog that's hiding from a bath.
"I know you're in there, your husband just left." Although I'm terrified, I suddenly become angry at the thought that Jimmy could have done something to Nathan.
"Don't worry, I didn't hurt him. It's you I'm after." He calls, obviously getting closer to the door.
"Come on, Hales." Jimmy says, using my friends' nickname for me. He doesn't have the right to use it anymore.
"I only need a hostage so the police will let me out of here, I promise I won't hurt you." He says slyly. No way I'm falling for it. I try to hold my breath when he knocks on the door just above my head. I can feel the vibration down the door in my back.
"If you let me in there's no reason for me to be nasty." He tells me, knocking again. I try to quiet my breathing and slow my heartbeat, but nothing is working.
Jimmy sighs. "Fine. Just know it didn't have to be this way." The glass of the little window above me shatters and I'm covering my face from showing glass for the second time today. When I look up, I can't help but scream. Jimmy's red hoodie sleeve reaches in the door and slowly turns the lock with a click.
"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" I scream, scrambling away from the door and towards the other corner of the classroom, crashing into desks and chairs.
"Come on Hales, we're friends." Jimmy says menacingly. The glass he walks over while coming towards me makes cracking noises.
I shake my head furiously and try to open the locked window.
"You want me to break that one too?" He asks with a sneer, raising the gun to face it. He's aiming for the same window my head is by, so I duck just before the shot shatters it. I think about jumping out, but there are long, jagged shards of glass still hanging onto the frames, guarding the exit with knives.
"Ok, let's go." Jimmy says, grabbing me by wrapping an arm around my neck. I choke and gasp for breath, trying to scream for help, but he continues to pull me towards the hall backwards. When we're in the hall he finally releases my neck and instead wraps his arm around the front of my shoulders from behind, keeping me close to his body.
"I suggest you cooperate." He says, pressing the cold barrel of the gun into my set jaw. I nod as the tears continue to build up and walk with him down the hall. I watch my feet as we walk down the halls. Sometimes Jimmy accidentally kicks me in the heels due to our shared stepping space. I let out small whimpers for Nathan every few meters and Jimmy jabs me with the gun to keep me quiet.