Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters since...as you should know, a lot of things would have been changed had the story been mine to alter. But it was not and so I can not lay claim to anything. I will say that I own my OC and any characters related to him.

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CHAPTER 1: New...Girl Things and Such

"I don't know, Tutor Girl, maybe they both just need their space," Brooke opines. Haley wonders if space is the last thing she should be giving any of her friends, given that space is the very reason why both Nathan and Peyton are still upset with her

Let it have been the year before and Haley would have taken anything Brooke Davis had to say with a grain of salt. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the two natural brunettes had never been much of friends, barely even acquaintances, and Haley had not even really liked the head cheerleader. She'd entertained her for the sake of her burgeoning friendship with Peyton, been amused faintly by her and even felt invigorated by the girl's boundless display of energy because the one thing Haley hadn't been able to take away from her was that Brooke is vivacious, and that that is catching. She thought Brooke more than a slut, but definitely that she didn't care about school, that she had no plans other than to live off of her family's money and was clearly on another planet from Haley.

All of that was from before though, when Haley was still ickle Haley James from the tutoring center who forgot to take her glasses off after tutoring sessions and kept her dark hair in a low ponytail, and carried far more books in her tiny hands than she could realistically handle. When she was still navigating being surprising friends with an antagonistic Nathan Scott and an equally over-protective, and slightly self-righteous Lucas Scott. When Brooke and Peyton were on top of the world, best friends until the end of their days and Lucas Scott had never come between them and Haley didn't have to side-eye her own best friend for doing such. Now, though, things are different.

Haley isn't geeky - well, Brooke would probably argue that statement down. She is geeky, but she is also geeky and can play the guitar and piano, and currently returned after touring with Chris Keller for the rest of junior year and most of the summer. She's returned - more blonde in her hair than Haley from last year would have been comfortable with and more skin on display than she's ever had before - and neither Peyton nor Nathan want anything to do with her.

And it hurts.

"I know," Haley moans pitifully, ignoring the eyes that follow her as she follows Brooke down Tree Hill High's main school hall. "You're right, you are - I just…" A burst of air blows past Haley's lips. "I'm not used to it, okay? You didn't see the way Nathan looked at me and Peyton literally told me I was dead to her - "

"To be fair, Peyton has told a lot of people that they're dead to her," Brooke interjects. Unhelpful.

"That's besides the point, Brooke."

"The point, Tutor Girl, is that you left." Warm brown eyes meet apologetic hazel, and Brooke reaches over to wrap an arm around the girl's petite shoulders. It never fails to thrill the brunette to have someone shorter than herself, Haley knows, though Lucas argues that their heights doesn't differ too much. Just the thought of the tall blonde male brings twin stains of pink to Brooke's cheeks, which Haley makes sure to stare at the brunette knowingly over, but Brooke shakes herself of her Lucas thoughts to focus on the conversation at hand. "Listen, I am the last person to judge you for doing what's right for you, but at the end of the day, you did leave and it hurt them. It hurt Lucas, too."

Brooke has tried to not throw it in Haley's face and for that, Haley appreciates both her and the friendship they've been developing within the last year, specifically within the last six months. It had shocked the cheerleader into a stupor when Nathan revealed that Haley had left; her sister having told him upon a late visit to their family home only to see that a lot of Haley's clothes had been packed away. But Brooke had not arrived to that hotel with Lucas with judgement shining bright in her eyes. In fact, at one point, when they had managed a few minutes alone, she'd even went so far as to say that she was proud of her. Brooke didn't like Chris Keller much or at all, but she had been pretty supportive of Haley's decision to go and follow her dreams. The real shock value then, wasn't that Brooke didn't seem to judge or be mad at her for running off, but that Nathan had been and still was, and that Brooke seemed to know more than she was telling Haley.

Brooke and Nathan are good at acting as if they're two ships in the night, passing each other by, rarely if ever walking the very same line but definitely almost parallel to the other in such a way that their similarities still wind up shocking Haley from time to time. Haley knows that Brooke is Peyton's best friend and that Nathan was Peyton's boyfriend for a long time, but she also learned from both brunettes that Nathan had known Brooke longer, that Brooke spent more of her childhood with Nathan when her parents had attempted to be active in her life, at least to put on a charade of good parenting. The thought of them still makes Haley seethe. The point is that something clouds over Brooke's hazel eyes and Haley watches her, knowing that Brooke is keeping something from her.

"You've just got to deal with it and hope that they both get their heads out of their asses," Brooke says and Haley snorts gracelessly, failing to hide her grin. Brooke's own is unrepentant. "Look, even if no one else tells you, I am proud of you. Nobody else was brave enough to say, 'fuck all my friends,' and go become a rockstar in the middle of junior year - "

"Brooke - "

" - like, I'm legit kinda walking the halls with a celebrity right now," Brooke finally insists, as if realizing a truth Haley would not entertain. She wasn't a celebrity, nowhere near. But that doesn't seem to matter because Brooke pulls out her phone and demands, "Take a picture with me."

And even as Haley lets out what is supposed to sound like an annoyed, "Brooke," she cannot deny the way amusement and fondness tug at the corners of her lips, which Brooke is quick to excitedly point out as they enter the outside courtyard where classmates from both their year and junior year are both seated and standing around, mindless chattering flowing with the light breeze of a summer that doesn't seem to want to go away again. It makes Haley think of Florida, the pressing heat only abated by the crisp autumn air that threatens on the horizon, a bright sun that plays hide and seek with the clouds, occasionally coming out to scald them all with its penetrating wink before slipping behind white fluffiness. Now, more than ever, Haley is grateful that she had the good sense to tie her hair up into a messy bun, the only hair grazing her neck and the sides of her face being wispy strands of honey blonde that have disobeyed her request for conformity.

"Oh yeah, now that I'm thinking of it," Brooke drags Haley from her thoughts and Haley returns her gaze to the brunette, who has now linked arms with her. Haley shifts so that the textbook and notebook she has are cradled in the crook of her elbow. "Do you know the new guy Lucas said was starting today?"

"No," Haley replies with a quick shake of her head. Haley and Lucas had met when Haley was thirteen and really wanted a job, wanting money for herself and not wanting to press upon her parents with all of the other children they'd had to worry about. They'd been inseparable since - barring, of course, Haley running away to be a rockstar - but there had been a time when there had been a Lucas without Haley, and all Haley knows there was a guy named Nas and that all of Lucas' other friends knew of him. "I think he and Lucas grew up together, but I don't think I ever saw him."

"Well, Bevin told me that Lisa said that he was super duper delicious and check this," Brooke seemed to smile conspiratorially at Haley, as if she was dishing out some ultra exclusive detail that either Haley just had to know or Brooke just had to share, "he's a genius at math." Haley rolls her eyes.

"At least, that's one less person that'll come running to the tutoring center." Her comment only serves to make Brooke glare at her, but it's half-hearted so Haley beams at her.

"But Haley, you should've heard her!" Brooke insisted. "There was a lot of tall-dark-and-handsome tossed in there, and he apparently has this whole super duper mysterious thing going on - "

"I think this is the most I've heard you say super duper in all the time that I've known you." This time, Brooke's glare was genuine.

" - and there are tattoos, like, a lot of tattoos," Brooke continues on and Haley chuckles at the girl's eagerness, knowing damn well that Brooke has liked a lot of things since returning from California, but whether the girl chooses to acknowledge or not, she hasn't touched. Haley knows she hasn't, knows that Brooke has flirted her pretty little head off but has not hooked up with so much as one guy since coming back to Tree Hill. And Haley knows she has a certain blonde male best friend to thank for that. "You know how I feel about tattoos, Haley!"

"Yes, I do," she tells the girl before cheekily slipping in, "I also know how much you also like book-savvy, super tall blue-eyed blondes who happen to work in auto shops." Brooke takes a long time to meet Haley's gaze, but when she does, her hazel eyes are glittering with both the threat of revenge and the pleasure that comes with reminding of her of Lucas. The blush has returned. Haley laughs and the cheerleader-turned-designer bumps her hip, and Haley pretends to not catch the giggle on her lips.

"Anyway, maybe he won't necessarily be for me," Brooke decides after awhile and Haley can see the table Lucas, Skillz, and Mouth are occupying, noting the extra person but too focused on Brooke to pay attention. "You're still regrettably single, despite my best efforts, I must say - "

"Your best - Brooke, please!"

"Who knows? Maybe it's your time to hop on the love train." Haley scoffs, a dubious expression on her face.

"The love train?" She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, right. Besides, what kind of best friend would you be if you didn't try to hook Peyton up with the new guy first?"

"The New McHottie's a dreamboat, for sure, but Peyton's still hung up on another dreamboat who also happens to be toting a cradle," Brooke states and Haley softens, recalling December and Peyton's obvious, growing attachment to Jake Jagelski and his little Jenny.

"I'm still really sorry it didn't work out like she wanted to," she says. Brooke nods empathetically.

"It would probably mean more if you said it to her face."

"And I would if it didn't feel like Peyton would run me through with a pair of scissors if I even breathed in her direction," Haley counters after she snorts at Brooke's attempts to reconcile the two. Haley has been trying and she's decided that she'll continue to try until her patience is officially worn thin, but that does not mean she's immune to the evident threat implicit in Peyton's very aura. Brooke seems to think on this for a few seconds and they approach the boys' table; they've chosen one on the far outskirts of the courtyard, much closer to the parking lot.

"I actually think she's done that before."

"Tigger, please tell me you're joking."

"Actually, I'm almost one-hundred percent sure now."

"Brooke!"

"Sure about what?" Lucas asks and Haley turns to him, fully prepared to explain to him the ridiculousness of his girlfriend-not-girlfriend, or whatever the hell Brooke and Lucas refer to one another as at this point, but then she falters.

Haley didn't doubt Brooke or Bevin, or even Lisa despite Lisa having proven twice before that she has questionable tastes, when Brooke called Nas - and Haley can only assume that the guy seated beside Lucas is Nas because she knows everyone else at the table - a dreamboat. Haley is loathe to adhere to the terminology. At the same time, and disturbingly so, she can't help but think it to be, well, accurate. She almost doesn't want to look at Brooke to see the viciously triumphant gleam in her eyes.

It's his eyes that really makes the breath catch in her throat. Nas is of a muscular build and she assumes, especially given that he seems to be even taller than Lucas while seated, that he must be a skyscraper of some sort when he stands. But there's smooth olive skin beneath the thin black henley that covers his upper body and torso, the cotton clothing item damn near too small and absolutely clinging to him, almost like second skin and Haley has to chide herself for feeling genuinely offended that the table obstructs her view of what she is pretty sure is a yummy abdomen. Yummy, she has to ask her brain, but the other side of herself is too busy fanning herself to pay her any mind. Now I know I've spent too much time with Brooke.

Nas' eyes are two deep forests, a muted green shade that puts Peyton's to shame, twin flecks of lush golden brown towards the iris that reflect near molten gold as he sits with the sun beaming down on him from behind, his dark hair a perfect compliment to both his gorgeous eyes and skin, faint hints of gold along the tips of the short, tousled locks and -

"Oh, nothing serious," Brooke exclaims and Haley blinks, feeling her face grow warm. She cannot think to look at Brooke because she feels the brunette eyeing her, can see her smile widening without having to look at the brown-haired beauty. Haley also cannot seem to tear her gaze away from the new guy her best friend seems quite familiar with either. "Just...random...new…" At this, Haley's gaze does flit to Brooke's, a warning in her eyes, but the brunette's lips are not smiling. Her eyes, however, are a completely different story as she hip-checks Haley, continuing, "...girl things and such."

"I almost don't wanna know," Mouth opines and Haley is absolutely grateful for the statement because it elicits a round of agreement from the guys. All except Nas and Haley can feel his stare still, feel it like the softest of caresses against her cheeks and she shivers despite the ever-present heat.

"Well, that's just 'cause you're no fun." Brooke retorts and plops herself beside Lucas, managing to catch the popcorn Mouth shoots at her in her mouth after he squawks in indignation at her insult. Haley feels her mouth curve gently at the playfulness, at Skillz and Lucas' enthusiasm at Brooke's cheekiness, at the brunette's own vivacity. But she also feels those eyes and the way the continued attention washes over, suffusing her in a heat that she knows has very little to do with the weather.

"Anyway," Lucas brings her focus to him now, gesturing between Nas and the two girls. "This is my old friend Nas I was telling you both about. Obviously, Nas, this is Brooke." Brooke sends the guy a mildly sultry look that makes Haley stop short, feeling mildly affronted and not knowing the reason why.

"Hey, handsome." Brooke's pur does not help.

"And this - " Lucas speaks at the same time as Brooke and then stops himself short, casting the brunette a blank stare that apparently is enough to make Brooke blanch slightly, a sheepish grin forming on her lips as she ducks her head. Haley still does not understand this dance Lucas and Brooke are partaking in, and she's sure she never will be able to understand it, but whatever it is does not deter either's jealousies. And the very fact that Brooke shifted in her seat, brushing her knee against Lucas', only made Haley chuckle at her friends' silly antics, her attention returning to Nas.

"And I'm Haley, please ignore her." She adds, conspiratorially, with the full knowledge that Brooke is going to hit her, "We all do."

Nas' smile is a slow and small thing, this barely discernible twitch of his kissable - and why that was a description her mind used, Haley doesn't want to know - lips that Haley does not mean to track, genuine and charming. Haley has the distinct impression that not a lot of people get this look from him. She hates how it makes her heart flutter. But more importantly, Haley's gaze is once more dragged to his eyes and she's enraptured by the heavily-lidded shape of them, the heaviness of his brow, the thick dark tufts of hair above them that have a wicked arch just off the center that is far too unique not to pay attention to. Brooke's light smack to her bare arm is nonexistent to her. When he speaks, his voice is deep and rich, smooth and Haley luxuriates in it, "Nice to meet you, Haley James. My boy Lucas here has told me all about you."

Lucas says something, Haley knows he does, but she can hear nothing past the blood rushing in her ears, and to her face, the pounding of blood in her head sounding very much like Nas, Nas, Nas…

"Yeah, Haley's our resident rockstar," Brooke tells Nas, shaking Haley from her reverie and she tears her gaze from the male's, choosing to peer at Brooke's profile, taking in much needed air. She hadn't even realized she'd been holding her breath. Lucas snorts and Haley rolls her eyes.

"Again, ignore her, she's our resident drama queen." Brooke scoffs.

"I am not against turning your nickname into Tutor Bitch," her roommate warns. Haley leans past Brooke to steal a handful of Lucas' friends; clearly the boys had snuck off campus.

"At least it'll actually sound somewhat original now," she retorts, channeling as much of Peyton as she could. It works because she can see Lucas shaking his head in amusement and hear Mouth chortling. More importantly, in retaliation, Brooke ignores Lucas insistent "Hey, wait!" in favor of tossing a fry at Haley's face. Luckily, there's no greasy residence as it falls, so Haley only pops one of the ones she stole into her mouth, chewing with a triumphant grin.

"I dunno, man," Skillz drawls, a thoughtful grin on his handsome deep brown face. "Tutor Bitch sounds crazy powerful. I'd be scared of her."

"As you should," Haley laments.

"Yeah, she'll fail you with just one look," Lucas speaks up and Haley turns to him a slitted stare that only makes her best friend preen. A deep, rumbly sound emanates across the table from her and Haley's gaze turns back to Nas. She's known he was there the whole time, felt him, but once more, her eyes are locked on his, on the gold melting into deep green, on the scar on his right eyebrow.

"Well, it's real nice to meet all of you," he says. Haley's heart flutters once more. She wonders if that's its way of saying the feeling is mutual.