Chapter 2

Of beach house parties and evolving drama

Note: Thank you so much for everyone who left their lovely reviews, I am actually not committed at all, so I hope I don't flake out on this, so far I am passionate, please note, this fic is written in third person but its from Naley's pov, so if a character doesn't come out great, it's a point of view, not the actual truth, I also have real trouble with Nathan's emotions, he turned from an A-class jerk to the sweetest man and I am trying to show his thought pattern as to make sense of the transition, I hope it worked, looking forward to your opinions.

"We are not mad. We are want to love, and someone must forgive us for the paths we take to love, for the paths are many and dark, and we are ardent and cruel in our journey."
Leonard Cohen

Song muse "Nine crimes by Damien Rice"

For the life of her, Haley, couldn't fathom what she was doing. She had been so guilt-ridden about keeping the fact of tutoring Nathan from Lucas, but decided it was for the best. They after all despised each other, but when Lucas told her Nathan invited him to a team's party at his parents' beach house, Haley didn't know what to think, on the one hand, she was proud that Nathan was not only keeping up his end of the deal, but he was also being civilized towards him, however on the other hand, she wasn't sure the fact that the three of them together in one place was such a good idea; ever since Lucas had asked her to come, she was apprehensive, she knew Nathan wouldn't risk their tutoring sessions, his entire athletic future depended on them but she was also positive he wasn't a big fan of Lucas either.

"The guy has kidnapped you, trashed your court and threatened you with bodily harm. Party, yeah, sure, why not?" Haley sniped on their way over there.

Lucas looked ahead at the road, determined "Ok, listen, I know its all set up, alright? But I am not gonna let him screw with me, whatever he dishes out, he is gonna get back, double."

Beneath that brash exterior Haley was positive Nathan has a good heart, their tutoring sessions proved it, she had seen it firsthand, unwilling to confess it; she cast her eyes down and softly asked "do you think, maybe, just maybe, he has had a change of heart?"

"Requires a heart" he sneered.

Haley became silent, her stomach sinking, she couldn't think of a counter argument that wouldn't look suspicious, like she was trying to defend Nathan instead of looking out for her best friend.

They arrived in the beaten down tow truck to a lavish house overlooking the beach, the biggest one all around, in fact it was the size of two regular beach houses merged together, with fairy lights entwined in the front porch railing. The guest of honor was with his girlfriend Peyton, her best friend; captain of the cheerleaders, Brooke and his dimwitted sidekick, Tim.

When Nathan approached the both of them, Haley looked down to the ground, pretending not to know him.

"I wasn't sure you would come"

"Makes two of us" responded Lucas

"Hi!" Nathan came closer, hovering over her and extended his hand, her eyes widened and her mouth parted in shock "I am Nathan Scott"

It took her two seconds exactly, to close her gaping mouth and unfreeze, she played along, shaking his hand "Yeah, I know, I am Haley"

"I know" he winked, much too obviously, who winks with their whole face? Haley stifled a moan, Idiot!

Inside the house, everything must have cost a fortune; the elegant décor, the perplexing artwork on the walls and the pretentious plastic palm trees in every corner. Haley let out an impressed whistle "well I bet their plumbing works" she said to Lucas, who had to rinse his hair out that morning with a jug of water. He sneered.

"Just saying" she smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Thanks."

"Yeah"

###

The music playing had an annoyingly steady beat, as she and Lucas toured the house, almost getting lost twice in the process.

"So, I know that you are like, having the time of your life, but can we please make like a tree and get out of here"

The setting wasn't what she was used to, that was the first party she has ever been to; well first high school party held by the jocks, she did go to a party held by Junk and Fergie, although it was only her, Lucas and three other friends- excluding Junk and Fergie.

"We just got here" he said.

"Whatever" she shook her head in exasperation, he was insufferable at times "You let me know when you proved your point, I am gonna go to one of the eighteen bathrooms in this place"

"Be back in five?"

"Yep"

But Haley didn't exactly need to go to the bathroom. She was just looking for an excuse to step away from the noise and the people she wasn't familiar with. She went upstairs, looking for a section in the house that wasn't occupied with such a racket. Resting her back against the wall, Haley closed her eyes for a second; relaxing, when she heard chatter from a room at the end of the hall. A man and a woman, she could tell. She tip toed closer, curiosity getting the best of her, their voices became clearer.

"Well he is holding up considering Whitey's moved him out of his position, but it's probably temporary."

"I asked you, how he is, not how he is playing?" the woman said, there was awkward silence before she continued "must be confusing for him, with Lucas on the team now, were we gonna talk about that?"

Haley's brow furrowed, they were talking about Nathan, and so those must be his parents.

"I think that is probably temporary too"

"You think or you wish?"

Haley sneered, that was Dan Scott, how charitable of him to be so considerate of his son's feelings; she wasn't even sure which son she was thinking about at the moment.

The woman continued "I saw Karen at the game tonight, but then I have never really spoken to her…"

"I know this is hard on you, Deb"

"No, not really, I think it's harder for you and Nathan"

There was uncomfortable silence where Haley thought she should slip away, either of them could walk out any moment and catch her eavesdropping, she backed away slowly, about to go downstairs again, when she noticed several photos hung on the wall of another room, through the door. Unable to help herself Haley walked in. Looking at them one by one; it was the Scott family. The first one was of a three year old Nathan; or so he looked, eyes squinting in the sun of a park with a tiny basketball held in his chubby hands, Haley chuckled; it was adorable. Then there was one of toddler Nathan cheeks squished up as both his parents gave him slobbery kisses. Haley's hand went to her heart in awe. The third picture was Nathan and his mother; at least as Haley guessed it, he was around fourteen, his face much less round and chubby, they had their arms around each other and were beaming with pride. Before Haley could have a look at the rest, someone clearing their throat at the door startled her and she jumped up, hands clutching her heart.

"Can I help you?"

It was the woman in the pictures; she stood there with an expectant look, arms crossed to her chest and a brow cocked.

"Uh-um sorry, bathroom" stammered Haley.

The woman stared at her for a second and said "Downstairs, second door on the right"

Haley nodded quickly, looking down and maneuvered her way out of the room. She could feel Mrs. Scott eyes still on her, so she thought it better if she went to the bathroom. Haley locked the door behind her and sat at the edge of the tub.

So far in her life, she had seen things from Lucas' perspective, as the child abandoned by his father in favor of another son, as the brother of a bully who only cared about himself. But she didn't think about what it was like being Nathan Scott, living in his father's idea of a perfect life, constantly reproved and pressured into being what everyone expected him to be, with Dan pitting him against his brother, feeding him lies on how worthless Lucas is. It wasn't like children are born with malicious thoughts, he was probably taught from a very young age how his older brother was a hurdle in his path. His mother was right; the fact that Lucas had made his way into the team, and even took his position must have been confusing to Nathan; even downright scary. All in all, Nathan wasn't a bad guy, just a really confused kid.

Someone attempting to open the door snapped her out of her thoughts "Hang on a minute" she called, flushing the toilet for good measure and walked out.

"Sorry" Haley said sheepishly, walking away from Peyton.

"How is the tutoring going?" Haley turned around, and the blonde continued "you are tutoring Nathan, right?"

Haley waited a little in uncomfortable silence before Peyton reassured "its okay he tells me everything"

"Yeah, he said he needed some help" she shrugged casually.

"Maybe you can teach him to stop being such a jackass"

"I will put that on the lesson plan" Haley joked, though it was her intent.

"Just be careful, okay?"

Haley felt her heart sink, but dismissively said "Yeah, sure."

She had almost turned away when Peyton asked "Does Lucas know you are helping Nathan?"

The shorter girl responded with an affronted laugh.

"You know?" Peyton moved a few steps back "You say a lot when you keep your mouth shut"

"Um…"

"It's okay, I keep mine shut too" with that remark she got into the bathroom, leaving Haley feeling queasy.

There were more family photos of the Scott's downstairs, between many basketball awards and trophies, a place of honor it must be. In those photos however, Nathan was a grown up, with his parents, she picked up one of his and his parents; all of them flexing their muscles and smiling. When she looked up, Lucas was standing across from her, his hand knocked one of the photos down, his face showing a mixture of anger and pain.

Uh oh, that wasn't good "What happened?"

"Ah, same old crap" emphasized Lucas "he thinks if he keeps hammering me I will quit the team"

"Uhh" sighed Haley, sick of it all "What did he do this time?"

"He made some feeble comments"

"That is just perfect, Nathan!" Haley thought angrily, as Lucas continued "I am not going to let him get to me"

"Yeah, obviously that is working out for you" Haley smiled mockingly, and Luke couldn't stop himself from smiling either.

"Luke, have you guys ever actually talked?" she tried.

"Yeah, sure we trade emails too" he looked at her as though she had lost her mind.

"I am saying, you are so hypersensitive around each other. And, I get it, I just think that maybe everything he says, you take the wrong way. And vice versa"

"Ok there is no misunderstanding what he says, and why are you defending him" Lucas snapped, his voice lowering at the end.

"I- I am just- I am trying to bring some perspective" stammered Haley, flustered "I mean, it's a really screwy situation and I am sure having him around isn't any easier for him then it is for you and I think maybe if you guys can just tal…"

Lucas interrupted "Please tell me I am not hearing this"

Haley stared at him daringly, her eyebrows were up and her tongue pressed against her cheek, he needed to be called out "then what are you doing here, Lucas? Obviously you are looking for something, right?"

His nose flared "I am not gonna let him win"

She turned away, utterly disappointed before she turned back to face him again "Fine, don't let him win, I am gonna go home"

"Haley" he whined as she walked away.

"Nope" she dismissed him in contempt. Why was Lucas acting that way? It was so unlike him.

A voice asked behind her "Are you leaving?"

Haley turned to look, it was the man of the hour himself, and she whispered sternly "Nathan, we had a deal, you promised you were gonna be nice"

"I am nice, I invited him to the stinking party, didn't I?" he gritted his teeth in frustration.

"What for, so you can pick on him in public?" returned Haley, and Nathan's brows rushed together in a frown "What did you say anyway?"

"Oh, Man! Is that what… I made a lame joke" he explained, an innocent expression on his face, Haley was yet to determine whether or not it was sincere "I mean, the guys, sometimes we get raw with each other. I was just trying to include him; he took it the wrong way"

"You may need to rethink your approach"

"Well you are his friend; how do I handle this?"

"It's easy stop being such a…" she hesitated before whispering "jerk"

Nathan seemed crestfallen a little, as Haley walked away. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. He expected her to be upset, heck, Peyton was upset, and so was everyone at that table when he made fun of Lucas. But hers stung the most. Her words replayed in his head for a while… jerk, jerk, jerk… His annoyance had turned to shame then full on rage, as he took a few steps and noticed Lucas kneel in front of Peyton outside; on his porch.

He turned back from the window, after he had run to Haley like a little bitch and tattled, he started hitting on Peyton. Nathan wanted to wring his neck.

Their video tapes were scattered all over the ground, around Tim, who looked about ready to give up. "Nathan, I can't believe your parents don't have any decent porn"

Nathan remembered something; a way to louse up Lucas' evening like he did for him, he was being polite actually, Lucas was messing with his entire life, he walked up to the VCR and said "Wait. I got something" pulling a tape from the cupboard and handing it to Tim "put that in"

"What is it?" asked Johnny from behind him.

"It's a comedy" Nathan smirked. Before they played the tape, Nathan scanned the room, to make sure Haley hadn't returned or anything.

The video was of his father and Karen Roe, the night they were crowned snowball court king and queen. Nathan found it amusing; the process of Lucas becoming a bastard.

"Karen, what's the secret to your success?" a woman on tv asked.

He caught sight of Lucas entering hurriedly and cocked an eyebrow cheekily.

"The secret to our success, I don't know. Dan?" answered Karen and Nathan smirked, looking at Lucas as long as he could; relishing in his pain, Nathan felt satisfaction as he looked back at a younger version of his father, saying "Good sex"

Nathan chuckled as he looked back at his half-brother, who was at loss for words.

"Karen, do you think you will get married?"

"Do I think Dan and I will get married?" responded Karen, smiling "Hmm, who knows I mean.."

Their voices were drowned out by Brooke piping in "oh my God, the hair!" she laughed, soon everyone followed and Nathan stood up straighter at the dejected sight of Lucas.

"He really is the sweetest guy in the whole world" Karen continued, and Lucas stood unblinking "so I am thinking, yes, come visit us in ten years, and I bet you can meet the kids and get a tour of our big house, and see how happy we are"

That was enough for Lucas whose eyes were already watering, he could take what Nathan dished out, but bringing his mother into this, knowing that at some point she had her dreams and fantasies of a perfect life that were broken up by Dan Scott.

"Who's the girl?" someone asked.

"It's my mum" whispered Lucas

"At least dreams came true for one of them"

"Except for the happy part, right?" jabbed Lucas, however Nathan just smiled smugly, clearly feeling victorious. When the tape ended, Lucas charged at Nathan, pushing him roughly against a wall before walking away. Nathan cackled with Tim, but nobody else joined them, as a matter of fact it seemed like people were now shocked by the whole ordeal. When he looked at Peyton, her eyes held contempt, and his smile faded, she didn't get it. Nobody did.

"That was awesome, man" said Tim, and Nathan put on a bogus smile again, fist bumping his best friend. Everyone's eyes were burning holes in him and he waited a couple of minutes before they turned back to their activities, mostly with disappointed shakes of their heads. Nathan swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat as he headed to out of the house, looking for fresh air.

The sudden sense of loneliness surrounded him; Nathan closed his eyes for a second, and clenched his jaw, hoping to dull the pounding ache in his heart. He himself didn't know how it happened, but he knew that one second, everyone was falling at his feet in worship, the next they despised every move he made, he was slowly becoming his father and soon enough nothing would stop him from achieving his dream, it wouldn't matter how many necks he stepped on. Nathan shuddered; becoming his father might have been one of his worst nightmares. Jerk. He heard Haley's voice in his head again, and Nathan willed it away, she was absolutely right. He deserved it and more. Then another wave of guilt hit him, once he and Haley actually sat down and talked, she was gentle and understanding, she didn't judge him for who he was, in fact when she had called him a jerk earlier, Nathan saw more care in her eyes, than he ever saw from any of his friends. She was amazing, and he was taking advantage of it, her heart was pure, he really wished it wasn't, because he knew in his soul that hurting Haley in any form was not only out of the question, but an unbearable thought.

Nathan took in his surroundings; the ocean was as obsidian black as the starless sky, making it impossible to see a horizon, a fresh breeze carried the smell of the ocean right over to him and over on the dock he could see Haley standing. His spirits already lifted. Nathan felt a tug towards her.

Strutting over there, she was looking at the waves crashing on shore with an absent-minded expression, her hair blowing in wind under the ridiculous hat, she was wearing.

"I thought you left"

Haley turned her head startled, realizing it was Nathan she sighed "Yeah, uhh, I tried to, the stupid cab never got here"

"Well, I am glad you stayed" said Nathan genuinely "I wanted to thank you for holding back"

She looked mockingly apprehensive for a beat "What do you mean?"

"Jerk is pretty tame" he explained with a smile, and she huffed out a laugh "you could have called me a lot worse"

Haley bowed her head, giving another small laugh, and his face broke into a grin. Nathan continued "probably deserved it"

"Look I have been thinking a lot about this tutoring thing" she started and Nathan felt his heart drop "I am sorry, I just don't think it's a good idea"

"Because of Lucas" he stated, moving next to her.

"Obviously, yeah, I don't know what I was thinking; there is no good that could come out of this"

"Really?" jeered Nathan bitterly "thought I saw you guys fighting back there"

"Meaning what, that I should keep tutoring you to stick it to him?" Nathan laughed half-heartedly, looking down, way to make him feel worse about himself "maybe that's how they do things in Nathan land but I am not gonna do that to my best friend"

"Maybe you are doing me a favor then"

"What does that mean?" said Haley with a frown.

"Sometimes I think it would be easier if I got kicked off the team" he confessed "especially with my dad"

Nathan looked into her eyes seemingly hurt but Haley couldn't say anything, just blinked at him, knowing in her heart that he needed someone to comfort him, she stopped her hand before it could reach out for his and averted from the subject quickly "I should go find Lucas" she said, jumping from her place on the railing "just try and smooth things over"

"He left, like a while ago"

"Great" said Haley sarcastically "well I guess I am walking"

Anxiety poked at him, at the thought of Haley walking home alone in the dark. Sure, tree hill was safer than the teacup ride in a theme park; nevertheless, he wanted to make sure she arrived safely.

"Let me give you a ride" he said from behind her.

"It's not that far" she responded, pulling off her hat.

His mind was made up that he would give Haley a ride home; Quickly following her to the parked cars, he rushed ahead and opened the door to his girlfriend's comet for her "Forget it, you are not gonna walk, look, we will take Peyton's car"

"I am really fine"

She raised her chin, and in the moonlight; his cornflower blue eyes had a grayish tint, that held a calming effect, disguised behind a mischievous gleam, before she knew it, Haley felt a fluttering in the pit of her stomach but it wasn't nausea, as Nathan said "A little high on yourself aren't you, going around telling people you are all fine", she laughed unwillingly and briefly, trying to look away from his gaze, but failing tremendously, as she stood there staring at his face, he continued "look, please just take the ride, it's the least I can do"

After what seemed like eternity, though it must have been a couple of seconds, Haley's resolve shattered and she murmured an "okay" softly, getting inside the car. She could just hit herself, accepting a ride from Nathan when there was still tension between her and Lucas, her prediction was correct, tutoring Nathan would only lead to trouble and Lucas didn't even know about it. She had been dumb to try and defend him, even dumber for taking a likeness towards him, Haley couldn't lie to herself, she knew she was growing a soft spot for the raven-haired boy, and in her heart that seemed like the right thing to do.

When Nathan climbed into the driver's seat, she felt the air around her grow hot, and quickly rolled down the window as he turned the key in the ignition.

With the way Haley avoided talking about his father, Nathan decided to stay silent, he had soon realized that people didn't care to listen for his issues, Peyton did at first, but all she did these days seemed to be roll her eyes at his complaints, he guessed he was getting so whiny that it became annoying.

That was before Haley muttered "What did you mean?"

"What?"

She sighed, raising her voice a little "I asked 'what you meant?' when you said it would be easier, if you got kicked off the team"

"Oh, its nothing- don't bother yourself"

"Well, I want to know" she said determined.

"You do?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yes, I mean besides, this could be the last conversation we ever have" blurted Haley, and Nathan gripped the wheel really hard his knuckles turned white.

"It shouldn't be" he murmured clenching his jaw.

"Left"

"What?" Nathan jerked back to reality, his muscles relaxing slightly.

"Take the next left"

"Oh"

"Nathan, you know this situation with you and Lucas, it just- he is my best friend"

"Whatever" he sulked, Haley sighed, reverting back to her original question "so you never answered me"

"Does it matter now?" Nathan asked dryly.

"It does to me" she whispered.

He pondered for a moment before saying "It was nothing, just some pressure my dad is putting on me, saying 'I am not good enough' for a Scott"

Haley frowned "That's ridiculous, you do those jumps"

Nathan went silent for a beat before asking "Do you mean a jump shot?"

"Yes" she joked "you are great at that, if you can't get a basketball career, you could always become a gymnast"

He snorted a laugh; she smiled at the sight and stated "That was before Lucas"

"No, my dad was always that way, but, yes, the guy isn't making my job any easier" he confessed.

"You want to quit?" she asked but Nathan stayed silent and she just looked away sighing, and pointed at a small house "Just pull over here"

He stopped the car, and she blurted out "Yeah, this is my house; we are staying here while we renovate the mansion"

Nathan laughed shyly "it's not like I was trying to show off"

"Oh, isn't that your default setting" Haley jibed again before she could stop herself, but Nathan just gave a polite laugh, and she grinned sheepishly saying "sorry"

He bit his lips, swiftly, looking hesitant "Can I be honest with you?"

"Um" she laughed a little nervously "I don't know, you tell me"

"What I said at the beach, that was a lie, I am really lucky to have basketball, it's pretty much my shot at everything from here on out. If I lose it, it's over for me"

"So don't lose it" she stated simply.

"Well, that's just the thing, with my grades; I am close to being ineligible to do the one thing that I am actually good at. It's not just my life, either; it's my dad's too. It's like he's still got something to prove to Whitey, and if I screw it up, it's gonna destroy him. And it will destroy me. I know you have no reason to do this, and I know it will complicate things with Lucas"

She laughed, in a way that said 'it was an understatement'. He continued "But I really need your help"

"And I will find you someone else, I promise" she tried softly.

"No, I came to you because you are the best tutor at the school" Nathan argued, only saying half the truth "and you are not gonna tear me down, it's not exactly easy having everybody know you are failing. It's you or nobody else"

His eyes stared intently at her, waiting on her response; she laughed nervously, and rested her hand on her head, conflicted. Taking a deep breath, she finally responded "Okay, I will get your through the semester and then you have got to be on your own. I am serious"

You tell him Haley, she almost rolled her eyes at herself.

"That's totally fine with me"

"Okay, umm… great, so we will start on Monday" Haley said as she fiddled with her hands, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then before exiting the car, she once again stated firmly "lay off Lucas"

Nathan nodded reluctantly and she jumped out, slamming the door behind her and walking away; not looking back once.

He put the comet into gear and drove off, in the past few days; his mind had done more mileage than that car in the half an hour. Not that he would admit it, but the moment Haley had told him she wouldn't tutor him anymore, his mind went into a frenzy because those two hours a day of studying with her were one of the highlights of his life at that moment, right up there with scoring a basket. It wasn't that he enjoyed studying, sure, Haley made calculus seem simpler and Shakespearean dudes in tights seem fun; but it was just her, she made his day better, Nathan noticed that he had memorized her movements and expressions. Her smiles and laughter were inscribed in his mind; so far he counted the shy grin; when he did something she particularly enjoyed or gave her a compliment, her smile would get all big and her head would tilt to the side maybe with a nervous giggle around the end, then there was the proud smile; like when he finally understands what she had been explaining and starts answering on his own, she would stare at him with a soft beam and a twinkle in her eye, the sleepy smile when she had worked all day long, but she still aims for more and her eyes seem droopy but an encouraging smile is plastered to her face, or when he fucks up and she scrunches up her nose and playfully punches him while simultaneously trying to not smile so her lips just curl up, and there was also the barely contained glee laugh, that was one of his absolute favorites when everything about her screamed happy… He knew all of that and it scared him.

His feet pressed down harder on the gas pedal, hoping the booze and his girlfriend would get his mind off this whole ordeal, getting in bed with Peyton was what he needed at the moment, he fiddled with the dial on her radio, when a loud crashing noise and a blow from the passenger seat side; Haley's side, lit up with sparks. Nathan attempted to swerve and avoid additional damage when he lost control completely and hit a tree head on.

Peyton was going to rip his head off, Nathan tried starting the car up again but it wouldn't. Before panic kicked in, he could hear another car pulling up behind him, he felt relieved for a second, before taking a glance in the side view mirror; it was the bastard himself. Nathan stepped out of the car, hiding any signs of shakiness underneath a cocky façade; it would be similar to everyday of his life lately. Lucas came charging his way, voice frantic "Peyton are you okay?"

"Yeah, she is fine. Can't say the same for her car though" He bent down to pick the beer he had bought on his way back from Haley's, then looked up at Lucas accusatorily "What the hell are you doing following my girlfriend?"

Lucas spoke defensively "I wasn't, look I thought she was driving and she was drinking". But Nathan only shook his head, and turned to walk away, when the blond yelled after him "hey where are you going?"

"Back to the party, dumbass" Nathan huffed out a laugh.

"Are you gonna leave her car like this?"

If you hadn't showed up then probably no, but now…

"Yeah, and if you stand there, you can watch me"

"You know this is a crime" Lucas tried reason.

"So call the cops"

Nathan's heart started beating faster, betraying his careless attitude.

Once again, Lucas tried calmly "Nathan, you can't walk away from this. I saw you do it"

An idea popped in Nathan's head faster than whack-a-mole "No, you didn't see me do it, cause I was with Tim the whole time, which is exactly what he is gonna say if anybody asks him. He owes me, so looks like it's your word against hours then. You can guess how that's gonna go down"

"So, you are just gonna lie and walk away! What about Peyton?"

Lucas could almost spot that Nathan cared behind the douchey attitude, before he continued "your girlfriend"

The younger one smirked "my girlfriend? The one you have been hitting on" he thought

"The car is registered in her name" Lucas finished his guilt rant.

"Yeah, and you know what? Come to think of it, like you said, she was really drunk last time I saw her. Maybe she did this" He tried to freak Lucas out; he wouldn't actually rat out his girlfriend, would he? "But then again, all I see is a wrecked car and you"

With that Nathan took off walking to the beach house. The walk back was a blur, Peyton was on his mind, the way he did her was awful but he was so mad he couldn't bring himself to care, on the one hand; getting back at the Peyton who favored Lucas felt nice, on the other hand, pushing his girlfriend under the tracks like that felt entirely wrong, a part of him knew that Mr. goody-two-shoes won't actually let it happen, and the thought comforted him for a minute.

He arrived to see Peyton sulking on the couch, still watching that stupid prom tape "you reinvented cruel tonight"

"It was a joke"

"Funny, how you are the only one laughing"

"Like you and your stupid comic strip" he jibbed. "At least when he played his joke, it was in front of the team and the cheerleaders, she actually put their sex life in a newspaper, and not in a good way," he thought.

When Peyton didn't answer, Nathan sighed, feeling remorseful, Peyton deserved better, and these days he hardly gave her acceptable "I am sorry, I didn't mean that"

"I am sorry is getting a little old with you Nathan"

"I know, I just can't remember a time when things were this bad" said Nathan sincerely.

"Where have you been for the past two hours?"

"I went on a beer run"

Peyton looked disbelieving "To where, Canada?" he briefly gave a nervous laugh, hoping she wouldn't actually hammer him. Which of course she did "Nathan, I wanna go home, but I can't because it seems my car is missing, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Uhh, I think Tim took it" He said, giving her the excuse he said he would, except this time, his palms were much sweatier than before.

"You think?" Peyton's voice was an octave away from a shrill.

The raven-haired boy thought quickly on his feet for more fibs "Well, he wanted to take Brooke home, so I told him, he could burrow it. I didn't think you would care"

Peyton's eyes and mouth were wide agape for a few seconds, before she lifted up a red cup like they used in their drinking game previously and said "I never told a ridiculous lie to my girlfriend's face. Drink up" she handed to Nathan; who looked incredibly vulnerable, the cup and continued "because Brooke got a ride home with Theresa after you disappeared, wanna play again?"

Smart move, Nathan, go for the best friend.

"Alright, then it was some other girl, I don't know" he tried again, almost like a fish flopping out of water "What's the big deal anyway? I know you were gonna stay here"

"So you gave away my car?" she raised her voice again.

"Look, Whatever! I am going to bed, are you coming?"

Peyton responded sarcastically "Yeah, That's what I am gonna do" then she turned her back to him "I can't believe you just asked me that with a straight face."

Heart sinking to the ground, Nathan walked away, trying to give her time to cool off. He didn't want Peyton out of his life, with all her drama; he wanted her to be there with him. The dynamic between has been tug and pull for a long time, but he knew she would be fine in a while and they would be okay. Until then, she would refuse to sleep in his bed, even if he offered to sleep on the couch.

Feeling defenseless, Nathan reached for the phone absentmindedly, and dialed Haley's number, it rang two times before he realized what he was doing and hastily hung up.

The next morning, Nathan heard a knock on the door, followed by Peyton groggily calling his name to open it, but she was closer and it was Tim. He couldn't get there fast enough and Peyton opened the glass door.

"Hey. What's up?"

"You bring my car back?" Peyton asked

"Your car? I don't have your car" Tim frowned.

FUCK, HE SHOULD HAVE CALLED HIM. But he was too exhausted and fell asleep right away.

"Nathan said you took me car" she insisted, and Nathan came running behind her, wide-eyed and nodding his head.

"Oh- your car- we umm- the ummm" stammered Tim.

"Nice try" said Peyton and turned to Nathan "where the hell is my car?"

All cards on the table, Nathan couldn't do anything but tell her about the crash; of course leaving out the details afterwards, instead he told her it will be taken care of.

"I can't believe you, Nathan" she screamed, pulling her leather jacket on.

"Peyton, look just calm down" he tried to reason "I will take care of it. Look, I am sorry"

"Enough!" she shrilled "just stop saying that, I will not keep up with that anymore. We are done Nathan"

He rolled his eyes, another breakup threat "Peyton just stop acting like that. I will get it fixed"

"You lie! You ignore me! And you treat people like crap"

"It was a joke" he yelled exasperated

"I feel sorry I ever met you" she whispered, and Nathan went silent, looking evidently wounded.

"Come on. Pey" he whispered.

"We are done Nathan" she said between gritted teeth, slamming the door behind her.

He kicked the couch in frustration.

###

Nathan slowly entered Peyton's bedroom, when he deemed it enough time for her to cool down, once he had arrived home before, Keith (who Lucas blabbed to, obviously) had called his parents, and his mother laid it on him hard, his dad giving a firm but not harsh lecture, all laced with 'your basketball career' and 'what would the scholars think?', afterwards he went to Keith's shop and declared he would pay the bill, he didn't want any favors form Pucas. Instead the other one had words to say. He threatened him to stay away from Haley.

Of course, for that moment, Nathan was taken aback, how did he know? He certainly hadn't blabbed and if Haley hadn't suffered a blow to the head; he was sure she wouldn't either; she was the one who put that rule of secrecy. However, he retorted with the fact that they were just talking, like Lucas and Peyton; that shut him up.

"Car will be ready by Friday" he said softly

"Whatever" Peyton didn't look up from her drawing "the bag of stuff by the door is yours"

"What's all this?"

"It's all the crap you left here. Take it"

"This is the necklace I gave you" said Nathan, remembering when he bought her the accessory she eyed at a local thrift shop, he asked her to be his girlfriend as he slipped it on her neck and she kissed him full on the lips and agreed. They spent that day laughing and hugging and making out.

"You mean the leash? No thanks"

Nathan gave her a pleading look "Peyton. Come on." He bent down and laid a hand on her shoulder, hoping just to recapture one moment from that day. "Look my mom's gonna cool down and everything will be back to normal"

She jerked away from him suddenly, getting up and putting distance between them as she said "Okay. Trust me; the last thing I want with us is normal. In case you haven't noticed, normal sucks with us Nathan"

"Is this about your car? Because I am taking care of that"

"It's not about the car. It's about you. I finally saw you clearly last night, the way you treated me, the way you treated Tim, the way you treated your brother"

"Don't call him that" snapped Nathan.

"And the way you are playing that girl"

"What? Are you talking about Haley is that what this is about?" his tone became defensive "Peyton she means nothing"

"Okay, if that's a case then you are an ass, and even if she does mean something, you are still an ass, and what's really sad Nathan is that you are too stupid to get that. So thank you for being an amazing son of a bitch last night, you really made this a no brainer"

Nathan sighed "I will call you when you aren't so PMS"

"Don't bother, I mean it, we are done. So get the hell out" when Nathan didn't budge, she snapped, throwing the bag of his stuff at him "I mean it, get the hell out"

He did, in a trance, he didn't remember walking home or going into his room or even pulling the necklace out; and reminisced about his times with Peyton, they seemed like forever ago, they were never too compatible but there was just something that he loved about her, and something she must love about him, why would they keep on going those years; on and off, yes, but still. He remembered how he would tickle her till she was breathless with laughter or how they would make out for hours and part ways with sore lips or when she drew weird things on his arm, those times couldn't be thrown down the drain, however, those times were long gone by, he hardly remembers a time they sat together without it turning into a screaming match lately. And what did she mean about the Haley thing? Did she think he could be in love with her? That was one of the impossibilities, right after the existence of a phoenix; actually the phoenix would be more believable than him and Haley.

Haley didn't think of him that way and if she did, that wouldn't mean he feels the same way. Sure, in Haley he found the comfort and patience he didn't find anywhere else, but nothing else was between them. Peyton was being ridiculous.

Jerk. He heard Haley whisper.