For anyone who is reading "Light on My Shoulder," I'm not abandoning that story. I'm only writing this story in addition to it. Also, in regards to this story, most chapters will be longer than this one.

I'm Haley James. There's nothing extraordinary or interesting about me. I'm just another girl trying to make it out of high school alive.

I'm pretty sure that most of my classmates don't even know my name. I've heard people refer to me as "that girl," a label I've grown accustomed to over the years. The only thing that makes me remotely unique is the fact that I'm a tutor at Tree Hill High School. It doesn't exactly put me in the same popularity status as it would if I was a cheerleader and it definitely doesn't me invited to parties, but I love it all the same. The tutoring center is really the only place in that school where I feel comfortable.

But one day I got fed up. I got sick of it being me against the world. I needed a change. I was already a senior in high school and I had no memories to show for it. I had months before I would graduate and I hadn't done anything that was a stereotypical high school activity. So I decided that if unforgettable experiences weren't just going to happen naturally, I'd make them happen.

I had no idea that it would only take one choice for everything in my world to change completely.

The only real friend I've ever had is Lucas Scott. Sure I have other people who I hang out with on occasion, but Lucas is the only person who actually knows the real me. We connected in middle school because we were both condemned to be outcasts; me for my nerdy tendencies and Lucas for being the boy without a father. After I met Lucas, I knew everything would be okay. I wasn't scared when I entered high school because I knew I had Lucas by my side.

But then basketball happened.

Lucas made the varsity team our sophomore year. He finally decided he couldn't let his ass father Dan run his life anymore. I was ecstatic for him; I wanted Lucas to be happy. I don't think I would have been quite as excited if I had known it would forever alter our friendship.

As bitter as I can be about it sometimes, I don't think Lucas ever purposely left me behind. He just got caught up in what it felt like to finally be accepted. Lucas even became friends with his formerly estranged brother Nathan and started dating the most popular girl in our grade, Brooke Davis. All because of basketball. So I guess somewhere in between all of that it changed from me and Lucas against the world to just me. He still talks to me, and I guess you could even call us friends, but it'll never be like it was before basketball.

So that's when I started tutoring. I said in my application I wanted to be a tutor to help people, which was true I guess, but really I was hoping I would meet another tutor who was just as lonely as me.

I think I got more than I bargained for out of signing up to be a tutor. I just wanted a friend, but instead I fell in love.

I still remember everything about that day when he walked into the tutoring center. It was a game day so he was dressed in black dress pants and matching shirt and tie. Our eyes met each others for only a brief second, but I instantly felt a connection. He had this familiar look in his eyes, one that I couldn't place at first. Then I remembered that my eyes had a similar look in them when I stared in the mirror: he was lonely like me.

I wasn't sure if I could quite believe that. For the boy who stole my heart that day was none other than Nathan Scott. Nathan Scott, none other than Lucas' brother, the bad boy who made the Ravens varsity team freshman year and was known for partying and sleeping around. I didn't see how popularity and loneliness could go together at all.

When he approached me that day, I think my heart started to beat at an unhealthy rate. I remember repeatedly saying "Please say I'm your tutor" in my mind. But to my dismay, he asked me where I could find Bridget, the worst and bitchiest tutor. I pointed her out silently, my smile fading. He nodded his head in a sign of gratitude, a moment I would relive in my mind over and over for weeks. Who knew that a head nod could be so freaking adorable?

Everyday after that I would look at him every once in awhile in the tutor center. I was still so intrigued by the state of his eyes that first day and I just couldn't stop wondering what made him so lonely. I could tell he was hardly ever paying attention to Bridget during the tutoring, something she never noticed. Each time he walked past me when he came for his tutoring session, I contemplated finally saying hi or even flashing a smile in his direction, but I never could bring myself to do it. I didn't think I had the confidence to make such a brave (at least what I considered to be brave) move.

Apparently though, I am much bolder than I ever thought.