AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's been awhile since I've committed to writing a multi-chapter fic, and I've only done it once before, so I promise I'll do my best to stick with this. I'm doing my best to keep this plot reasonably light and fluffy and not overthink every sentence, so please bear with me if things get a bit ridiculous and unrealistic :)

Obvious disclaimer applies: I don't own OTH, because if I did... well, let's not go there. This story also features an app that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist and I haven't knowingly copied anything. If it feels like I did, it's a total coincidence and I'm sorry.

Enjoy! x


"Argh, that's it! I'm done with dating men."

The two women who were seated at the table turned as a third chair was scraped back and a small figure hurled herself into it, reaching across to grab the bottle of wine that sat between them before pouring a healthy amount into the only empty glass.

"Going lesbian, Tutor Girl? How progressive of you." Brooke Davis arched an impeccably shaped eyebrow at the newcomer before grinning smugly at the curly-haired blonde in front of her. "Told you she'd be here before the main course."

Peyton Sawyer grimaced. "Guess I'm paying, then."

"You guys bet on my date tonight?"

Sitting back in her seat, Haley James surveyed her two friends. Their regular dinner dates had become compulsory events when the trio had found themselves back living in their hometown of Tree Hill, North Carolina, three years ago. Despite an awkward start to their friendship in high school, studious Haley, popular Brooke and misunderstood Peyton had stayed in contact with each other as college had distributed them across the country. Fate, or simply an inevitability, had brought them back together and Haley couldn't imagine her life without having them close by - despite her dating life being a frequent topic of conversation.

Brooke shrugged nonchalantly. "It wasn't a bet exactly... it was more of an observation on your attitude towards dates you've been going on lately."

"It was so a bet," Haley rolled her eyes as she tipped another mouthful of wine into her mouth.

"What went wrong?"

Haley sighed heavily. "He's Mia's brother's friend, from work. He picked me up in a bright yellow, tiny sports car and took me to Tom's Diner."

"Ewww..." Brooked screwed up her nose in disgust. "That greasy place? That's where all the drunken college kids go."

"Argh, I'm so sick of this; I keep putting myself out there and all these guys keep blowing it!"

"Well that's probably where you're going wrong, TG... you're the one supposed to do the..."

"You're just meeting the wrong kind of guys," Peyton wisely interrupted Brooke quickly, accurately sensing that their friend wasn't in the mood tonight for jokes. "I mean, what sort of man are you looking for?"

Haley sighed again. "I just want someone who makes me laugh, someone who's different from me so I'm pushed to see and do new things... someone who's brave and strong... Someone who can make me weak on the knees by just their kisses..." She trailed off with a dreamy look in her soft brown eyes. "I'm just looking for..."

"... The One," Peyton finished for her, knowingly. When Haley agreed with a soft nod, Peyton continued. "There's nothing wrong with that, dude. You're not being picky, it's just that it's not easy to find The One."

"Yeah but it's not like I have a great selection to choose from. I don't know why I thought dating in Tree Hill would be any better than when I was in California. It was a disaster then and it's a disaster now. Except now I'm just old."

"Haley James, 28 is not old," Brooke exclaimed as their waiter returned with their meals.

"I'm 29 in two months," Haley pointed out as a bowl of steaming macaroni and cheese was placed in front of her. Her mouth watered; she was so grateful that her friends knew her so well, regardless of whether or not they had bet on the success of her date. Picking up her fork, she spooned in a mouthful.

Peyton gave her a cheeky grin. "With the food tastes of a five year old.'

"I would totally hate you right now, but this meal is just too good." The girls laughed together before Haley let out a sigh. "It's just, I saw my life a little differently, you know? I thought by 30 I'd be married with a couple of kids."

"Don't get down on yourself, Haley James," Brooke said, gently. "You've done so many amazing things in your life - you went to your dream school, got your music and teaching degrees, you've been whipping those teenagers into shape for the last 5 years... not to mention all the great friends you have." She grinned cheekily.

Haley smiled gratefully at the brunette. "Thanks, Brooke. I know, and I love my life. It's just... it'd be nice to have someone to share it with."

"There's someone out there for you, Hales. You just gotta keep putting yourself out there," Peyton insisted.

"It's easy for you to say, you and Jake have been practically married since high school... and you, soon-to-be Mrs Scott," Haley turned towards Brooke, "are actually getting married in four weeks' time. You've already found the loves of your lives. It's just so hard meeting people at our age; it's not like back in college or starting a new job where there were so many new people to meet, so many possibilities... not like I was actually getting out there and dating back then anyway, but if I knew it would be so hard..."

"Well you've never tried broadening your search, have you?" Peyton pointed out. "What about internet dating?"

"Ew, gross, Peyton I'm not that desperate!"

"You don't have to be desperate! There's loads of sites and apps now for people who want more than just a one night stand with some sleaze bag. Places with way more credibility. Didn't your sister meet her new man on a dating app?"

Haley paused, thoughtfully chewing her mac and cheese. Swallowing, she nodded slowly. "Actually, yeah that's true. They met on something called MetYet and they've been officially dating for a month."

"Oh my gosh, I've heard of MetYet!" Brooke exclaimed. "One of my journalists wrote a great article for magazine and it went on to get reprinted in Time magazine... they charge a fee to sign up, but it's totally worth it because only people who are serious about dating instead of just hook-ups want to join. They only let you message each other for a certain amount of time before you're even able to swap numbers, so you have the chance to get to know someone. It's called MYMessaging, it's really cool."

Haley's mouth twisted in contemplation. "I dunno... I mean, how well can you really get to know someone through online messaging?"

Peyton shrugged, "I guess it just allows you to connect on a more personal level maybe? If everyone's on the same page, it's probably a really good way to break down the walls and communicate."

"And you said that Quinn and that guy clicked almost straight away just by MYMessage," Brooke pointed out.

"Hmm... maybe I'll think about it..."

"Well, I'm totally fine with you not having a date for the wedding, Tutor Girl. My mother has gone into bitch mode over the seating plan, I swear at the rate she's going there won't even be enough room for Lucas at the head table."

Haley giggled. She was thrilled that two of her best friends were getting married - while they had continued their high school relationship, the distance had been hard on both of them as Lucas joined Haley at Stanford and Brooke moved to New York to pursue her fashion design career. Thankfully, Lucas was able to move to be with Brooke after college, and a few years later they both decided that Tree Hill was their future.

"Oh, that's an easy one," Peyton spoke up. "Just kill her off and Luke can sit in her seat."

The trio laughed and clinked their wine glasses together, settling in for the change of conversation as Brooke continued to talk about her upcoming wedding. Haley smiled over her glass, grateful the attention was, at last, not focused on her pathetic love life. It was one thing to talk about what she was looking for, but she didn't even want her best friends to know how truly lonely and heartbroken she felt, knowing that she'd once had it all, had everything she'd ever wanted, and didn't think she'd ever find it again.