Chapter 1
I peered over my shoulder to gaze at the brackish water of the creek; I inwardly groaned at my own stupidity and began to scan my surroundings for any possible routes of escape. I shifted nervously from foot to foot trying desperately to avoid his
glance. At fourteen years old, Nathan Scott was the best-looking kid in middle school. His tall lanky frame had filled out quite nicely over the summer. It was something that I had only recently begun to notice, but I quickly dismissed it as a
temporary hormonal imbalance, silently reminding myself that it was Nathan, my confidant and best friend. Our friendship had become my lifeline over the years, and I wasn't willing to risk it over a silly crush. Lucas Roe, my other best friend,
rounded out our little trio; and we had been inseparable since the good ol' sandbox days.
It was the night before grade nine, the first day of high school, and we were spending the remaining hours of our summer at the rivercourt. The rivercourt was a place of security, a place in which some of the most pivotal moments in our lives had
taken place.
I finally gave in and glanced up at Nathan, his ocean blue eyes were twinkling with mischief, and he wore the infamous Scott smirk. I took a deep breath and began to fiddle with my disheveled hair; I plastered a guilty look on my face and gazed at
him reproachfully. "Now Nate, I think we've had a small, measly, minuscule even, misunderstanding, you might even say it was a mere miscommunication and I think you ought to reconsider the whole throwing me in the creek thing -" I paused to
take a much needed breath and continued my monologue of ramblings. Now hear me out, I've come up with 14 reasons that negate throwing me into that bacteria filled death pond, and if you give me thirty more seconds, I could easily round off
20 solid reasons and I --". His smirk began to widen with each additional rambling word, I halted mid-sentence and stared at him, he was wearing that smile, the one specifically reserved for me. My shoulders began to relax as he reached out to
ruffle my hair in a teasing fashion when a loud guffaw interrupted our moment. Lucas came waltzing over, grinning from ear to ear, "Nate, I can't say I'm surprised, you're such a pushover when it comes to our little Hales, give'r some backbone
dude." I narrowed my eyes at Lucas and began to telepathically send death threats his way. "Why don't you go back to brooding over there Lucas" I motioned wildly to the picnic table on the outer edges of the rivercourt. "You are not needed
here" I said slowly, my voice dripping with mock sweetness. Lucas's light blue eyes were twinkling with laughter, the look of glee matched Nathan's perfectly. Argh, I mentally chastised myself for picking the two biggest knuckleheads as my best
friends, their favourite pastime was tag-teaming me. I began to shift strategies, carefully weighing my options, meanwhile, the boys were inching me closer and closer to the end of the dock. I made an instantaneous decision, "I caught Lucas
checking out your mom at the cafe, Nathan!" Nathan quickly turned away from me and glared at his previous ally. I triumphantly stuck my tongue out Lucas, having successfully diverted Nate's attention. And I began to clumsily ease myself away
from the boys, Lucas's voice rang out in the crisp night air "Haley doesn't think Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player to ever live!" "WHAT!?" Nathan yelped, wheeling around to face me, his eyes begging me to deny the accusation. I
planted my hands on my hips; Lucas was playing dirty, it was time to bring out the big guns. "Lucas's middle name is EUGENE!" I shouted gleefully, Lucas gasped in horror, and Nathan's face was that of a child on Christmas day. "Eugene…it's
better than I ever would have dreamed possible" said Nathan keeled over laughing. "Point. Set. Match. Don't mess with me Lukey- you should know that by now" I said while winking at him. I began to skip past them on the dock, mentally patting
myself on the back that I managed to avoid getting thrown head first into the creek.
"You promised you wouldn't tell anyone Haley" Lucas said in a defeated tone, scuffing his worn out sneakers on the dock. I stopped mid-skip and turned around. My conscious began to scold me, and I immediately began to open my mouth to
apologize, "Lucas I'm really really sor-". "It's okay Hales, you know why?" Lucas's voice began to show signs of excitement. "Because now, I won't feel nearly as guilty about letting our friend Natey in on your little secret…." he trailed off,
watching my eyes for a sign of recognition. It was then it dawned on me, I started to bite my lip. "Lucas, have I told you lately how much I love you, I love you just like a sister would. And as a sisterly like figure, I feel the overwhelming urge to
dispense some of my loving advice…" I began to widen my eyes and clasp my hands together – . "Haaaallleeeeyyyy" whined Lucas, he began to run his hands through his hair. "Don't look at me like that, you're not playing fair." I broke eye
contact with Lucas and turned to Nathan, I began to stick out my bottom lip. Was I playing fair? No I was not, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "Oh no you don't" said Nathan, avoiding any eye contact. "That look can only be
used once a year. It's dangerous." "Yeah!" Lucas jumped into the conversation. "That look is like a free get out of jail card" he grumped. "I don't know what you two are talking about" I replied, feigning innocence. Nathan laughed, his whole face
lighting up, I took a mental snapshot of that image. It was a rare sight to see him completely uninhibited, to be carefree; those moments were becoming rare as we grew up. "How quickly we forget the Tim Smith incident." Nate said with a half-grin
on his face. "That was an accident!" I shrieked defensively. "Explain to me how punching Dim and giving him a black eye was an accident?" "Pipe down Eugene" I said frowning at the memory. "You are so not helping your cause right now" Lucas
replied with a raised eyebrow. "As I remember it," said Nathan, "I do recall taking the blame for the whole punching fiasco after you used the patented Haley James look on me." "Okay first of all, I still maintain that he ran headfirst into me, it was
merely a coincidence that my arm was outstretched like a fist. I can't be blamed for that." The boys smirked and shared a knowing look; they knew the beginnings of a Haley rant when they saw one. "Secondly, I recall you two dunderheads
fighting over who got to take credit for the knockout. And Nathan, you only benefited from that fight, everyone at school adored you after it. Rocky my ass." I rolled out my eyes as I watch Nathan puff out his chest in a humorous fashion. "I do
believe you are referring to all the female attention I received Hales, and I gotta tell you, they loved me before it, and they loved me after it. I mean, look at me. Really, can you even blame them? He wiggled his eyebrows at me. I snorted to keep
from laughing at him and continued. "Now let us pretend, just for a moment, that perhaps I did intentionally punch him, you know what he said to me, was horrible. It was awful and unforgiveable. I can't even bare to repeat it." I dramatized,
pretending to hiccup and cover my eyes. "You are such a goofball" said Lucas affectionately, as he slung his arm over my shoulder. I grinned at him and curtsied. "I only learn from the best, Eugene." I looked over at Nathan and winked at him, he
shook his head in amusement. "What exactly did Tim say that day, Lucas" said Nathan, pretending to ponder the statement. "Don't you dare" I said warningly, as I began to move towards the end of the dock. "You know what Nathan, that day is
a little bit hazy to me… wasn't it something about our little Hales and her athletic abilities?" I began to huff, "Lucas Eugene Scott, I will smother you with a pillow while you sleep, I swear to God. And you", I said continuing to stalk down the deck
towards Nathan. "Ah yes, Nathan caught me off, "I do believe that I remember now. I can not believe that Tim Smith had the audacity, the AUDACITY, to say our very own, Haley Anne James, played basketball like a…" "GIRL!" crowed Lucas
triumphantly. I turned my attention back to Lucas to ream him out when, in that split second, I realized what they had done. They had trapped me in between them on the dock. Nathan grabbed me around the waist and whispered in my ear,
"you've always been a fighter Haleybub, and I love you for it." And with that a scuffle followed. The end result was Nathan, Lucas and I falling into the river; our laughter filled the night air. Upon resurfacing from the water, I watched as Nathan
beat me out of the water and ran over to the rivercourt. As I climbed out of the water, he handed me his sweater. It was the only dry article of clothing between the three of us. Lucas was the last one out of the water. "Breakfast tomorrow?" He
questioned, smiling at the two of us. "Yes!" I said jumping up and down excitedly. "Make sure Karen makes pancakes Lucas! Oh oh, and bacon… better add some hashbrowns. I love me some hashbrowns, waving my hands around for
emphasis. Lucas laughed and shook his head in bewilderment as he headed home, "where does she put it all" he wondered. As Nathan and I watched him leave, he turned to me and wrapped me in a bear hug, He gazed down at me with those
gorgeous eyes of his. "Promise me you'll never change. Promise me that you'll always make me laugh. And more importantly, promise me that you'll always be my best friend." he said in a husky voice. I closed my eyes, and felt myself falling for
my best friend. "I promise Nathan." My voice was barely above ea whisper. He placed his hands on either side of face and kissed me on the forehead. "I will always be there for you Haley James, always."
I couldn't have known it then... but he would break his promise; and my heart in the process.