Hi everyone (if anyone is reading this!). This story is a massive departure from the last few one-shots that I've posted, but it's been in my head for some time and I really wanted to get it out and try writing something a little deeper. I'm nervous as anything about posting this, so your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me know if I should continue this or not. If anyone is interested, I've been working on several other fics (smutty one-shots, amongst other things) that I hope to complete, it's just been a really busy time for me and I haven't had a lot of time to write. I do, however, hope to complete and post them at some point! A good friend has told me several times to stop overthinking what I write (thank you, Jessie!) so here we are… I hope you enjoy this.

"Mr Scott, there's a call for you on line 2. It's your brother."

Nathan Scott looked up from the contract he was reading, surprised. Although they were close, those were words he rarely heard from his secretary as Lucas hardly ever called him at the office. Picking up the receiver, he heard the noise of a busy New York street through the line.

"Hey Luke, what's up?"

"Nathan, hey. Listen man, I need some help." Lucas Scott's voice overrode the traffic sounds over 600 miles away.

"You need my help? What could a New York Times Best-selling author want from a little old sports agent in North Carolina?"

Lucas chuckled at the accolade, "It's for a friend, actually. You still living in that big house of yours all by yourself?"

Nathan arched an eyebrow, even though he knew his brother couldn't see it. "Has my mom been asking you to find out if I have a girlfriend again?"

"No, I promised you I wouldn't talk to Deb about your love life again!" Lucas exclaimed, chuckling again.

Nathan laughed, too. "I'm going to have to trust you ... yes, I'm living alone. Why? What's going on?"

Lucas sucked in a breath. "Look, a friend is going through a really tough time right now and needs a place to stay for a while... rent free."

There was a pause on the other end of the line while Nathan's brain processed his brother's request. "You want some random person to come and live with me… in my house… for free?" he reiterated, to make sure he understood.

"It's not just some random person... It's Haley."

"Haley James?" The pitch of Nathan's voice rose in surprise.

"What other Haley's do you know? Wait, don't answer that" Lucas shook his head, talking as he navigated the foot traffic on the busy street, mentally envisioning the list of girls' names his former NBA superstar brother had in his contacts list.

"Hey, come on, man. You know it's not like that anymore" Nathan defended himself, knowing exactly what his brother was thinking. "Why does Haley James need a place to stay in Charlotte?"

Lucas paused for a moment, as Nathan listened to the loud honking of horns through the phone. When he spoke, his voice sounded a lot more serious than it had been. "Let's just say she's going through a really rough patch at the moment. I think she just needs some time away from Tree Hill."

Again, Nathan was surprised. "Haley James is still in Tree Hill?" Of all his friends from high school, he hadn't expected that Haley James would return to the small town after college - Stanford, if he remembered correctly. Not that he could really call Haley a friend, Nathan thought ruefully, shaking his head at memories of the Nathan Scott that ruled Tree Hill High. He had been a jerk, a bully, and back then he never really gave the plain girl who tutored him twice a week a second thought outside of the their sessions. It wasn't until he had long left the halls of his high school that he realized that Haley James had taught him more than just the finer points of differential calculus.

"Look man, you know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important" Lucas cut through Nathan's thoughts, avoiding his question. "She's just been having a hard time over the last few months, she needs a break. I think getting away might do her some good, but I'm travelling so much lately, she might feel really alone in a big city. Charlotte's not too far. It'll only be a couple of weeks, tops."

Nathan's thoughts flicked to Lucas, and the journey the two brothers had taken that led to them being close now, able to pick up the phone and ask the other for a favor. Nathan had never thought about it until college, how instrumental Haley had been in progressing their brotherly relationship. If he were honest with himself, and he was a lot more now, Nathan never thought about anyone but himself until college. Life had changed so much and Haley had played such a huge part in that change - she was just oblivious to all of it, because he never had the chance to thank her.

As if Lucas could read Nathan's mind, he spoke up. "You said you owed her, man."

Nathan sighed. "You're right, I do. I owe her a lot. Tell her she can stay with me. As long as she needs."

Nathan heard Lucas exhale a sigh of relief. "Thanks, bro. I appreciate it. I'll call you back with details later."

Before Nathan could say goodbye, his brother had hung up, leaving the loud dial tone in his ear. He put the receiver down and sat back in his plush office chair, swiveling to face the view out of the window, lost in thoughts of the girl he hadn't seen in 8 years: Haley James.

Lucas had acted fast after calling his brother, and a few hours later Nathan's phone pinged with a text message detailing Haley's flight details for the following day, with a message saying Lucas would be flying in early the morning after to "help Haley settle in".

Nathan wasn't entirely sure why he found himself filled with nerves as he pulled his Range Rover into a parking space at Charlotte Douglas Airport. Maybe it was over the speed of everything happening, or that he really didn't know what constituted as "having a hard time", causing one of the most confident and adjusted people he had come across to need to leave their home town for a break. Or possibly because he was minutes away from cohabiting with a girl he barely knew and hadn't seen since high school.

Woman, Nathan corrected himself. Haley James was 26 now and, like himself, had probably changed considerably since their Tree Hill High days. To what degree, Nathan wasn't quite sure. Unlike him and his peers, Haley had always been mature and capable - the one everyone looked at and was certain they would have no trouble achieving whatever they set their mind to. 18 year old Haley James didn't need to undergo a dramatic maturity process to become a respectable human being, she already was one.

As Nathan waited by the gate that had signaled that Haley's plane had landed, die-hard Bobcats fans approached him for handshakes, photos or just a slap on the back and a sympathetic comment. Nathan had quickly become accustomed to the adoration ever since he was first drafted to the NBA, but the looks of pity and the apologies still took some time to get used to. Nathan knew they meant well - he had been instrumental in the Bobcat's success for the last 2 seasons following a hugely rewarding rookie year with the Seattle Sonics - but the fans' support wasn't going to fix his knee and was never going to get him back on the court again. Nathan wasn't bitter, but the constant reminder often caused more pain than the career-ending injury that happened nearly a year ago.

A small figure appeared amongst the crowd of passengers streaming past him, and Nathan had to do a comedic double take to check if she was the one he was waiting for. Although 8 years older, Nathan had been confident that he'd recognize his old school tutor, but now he felt as doubtful as he did tackling Haley's quizzes on French pronouns. As the girl slowed to a stop in front of him, Nathan felt his eyes widen as he sucked in a surprised breath.

Although he spent the majority of his high school years with his eyes fixed at a lower level than the eyes of his female classmates, even Nathan noticed the change in Haley's dark brown orbs. He remembered how Haley's eyes were dark, but they always held a sparkle, as if the brown irises were struggling and failing to contain a shimmering, golden pool beneath them. Sometimes they shone in amusement and occasionally Nathan saw pride beaming out when he finally grasped a particularly difficult concept during their tutoring sessions, but regardless of the emotion, they always sparkled with life. Today, he saw a flat, one-dimensional darkness looking up at him, underlined by deep blue shadows that was in stark contrast to the paleness of her face. Her dark blonde hair fell limply around her and despite the warm weather, she wore an oversized grey sweatshirt, which bunched around her arms that were wrapped around herself. Nathan noticed that she was considerably thinner since their high school days, her stomach caved in deeply from the generous curve of her bust (that he had definitely noticed back in high school) and the roundness of her hips was less. Despite Nathan's fondness for girls with curves and assets, he knew Haley didn't look healthy. She looked hollow, empty.

He realized then that he had grossly underestimated Lucas' definition of "having a hard time".