"No, you are not worthy of the love which I have devoted to you. I knew all along that the prize I had set my life on was not worth the winning; that I was a fool, with fond fancies, too, bartering away my all of truth and ardour against your little feeble remnant of love. I will bargain no more: I withdraw." William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair
"Luke, will you be all right today?" Haley asked for the hundredth time.
"Hales, for the last time I'm a big boy. I can deal with things on my own." Lucas called from his bathroom.
"I know but you seemed pretty bad yesterday, I just didn't know how bad you were this morning." As Haley fiddled with a loose string on Lucas's bedspread, she heard a gargled reply from in the bathroom. "Sorry, didn't catch that." She heard the distinct sound of Lucas spitting into the sink and then rinsing off his toothbrush.
"I said…" Lucas flung open the door and walked into his room. "That I'm doing fine and it was really unnecessary for you to be over here."
"Well…" Haley smiled clearly proud of herself. "I came over to give you fashion advice." Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Ok I know this seems really out of character for me, but at least I have more fashion sense than you. It's like hardwired into my double X-chromosomes or something." In disbelief, Lucas shook his head, but Haley waved him off. "Anyways, I came over to help you pick out the perfect 'keep the girl' outfit." Lucas gave her a look. "Or a 'get a new girl' outfit?" Haley tried.
"Nice try Hales, but I'm not giving you info."
"But I need to know. Come on Luke, we're best friends you can tell me." Pulling out a tried and true method, Haley batted her eyes at Lucas. "Is it Brooke or Peyton?" Lucas walked to his closet and pulled out a shirt.
"I can't tell you…" he gave to shirt a sniff test to see if it was clean, which warranted an 'ew' from Haley, before pulling it over his head.
"Well why can't you tell me?"
"Because to tell you the truth, I'm really not sure!" Haley's eyes widened in shock.
"You don't know?" Lucas shook his head as he roamed around the room collecting his books. "Lucas Scott, that's a lie. You know damn well who. Hell everyone knows."
"So much cursing from such an innocent looking little girl." Lucas chuckled. "And besides if everyone knows why are you asking me?"
"Because I wanted you to admit it once and for all. I wanted you to flat out tell me that you are in love with her." Lucas zipped up his bag.
"Hales, I can't." Lucas looked to Haley with sad eyes.
"Fine!" Haley relented. She threw her bag over her shoulder and moved to the door. "Well come on, we're going to be late for school if we don't leave now."
"Typical tutor girl," Lucas mumbled quietly but not quietly enough. On his way out Haley smacked his shoulder.
Lucas looked around as he threw his bag down at his desk. On is left, Brooke gave an angry sigh.
"Brooke, I just wanted…" Lucas started but at that moment Peyton walked in. Her expression seemed a bit more annoyed today. Lucas knew he had screwed things up yesterday at lunch. He gave a small smile to Peyton who looked from Brooke to Lucas and then walked down the aisle to sit behind him. He didn't turn but he listened as she threw her bag down on the ground next to her and then slammed her book onto the desk with a bit more force than necessary.
"Luke we need to talk," she whispered from behind him. Brooke crossed her arms and settled back in her chair. Lucas looked at Brooke who was clearly uninterested. With another sigh, Lucas turned to face Peyton.
"What is it Peyton?" The shocked look on Peyton's face told Lucas that he had spoken a bit harsher than he intended to.
"Well you just made this a lot easier," Peyton muttered. But she was stopped when the teacher walked into the classroom. As the teacher wrote the assignment and started to drone on, Peyton leaned forward. "We're through," she whispered into Lucas's ear. Lucas looked back once, but Peyton kept her stare cold. He looked as if he might say something to her, but he didn't get the chance.
"Mr. Scott? Mr. Scott?" Evidently, Lucas had been asked a question but he didn't know what it was. With one last look at Peyton, Lucas turned to face front.
"I…I'm sorry, could you repeat the question." The teacher sighed with annoyance.
"In what year did the Gempei Wars begin?" As Lucas was answering, Brooke glanced at Peyton who smiled. Without any hint of acknowledgement, Brooke turned away.
As the class was leaving, Peyton reached the door when her bag broke. "Damn it!" She bent down to collect her books and the various school supplies that had spilt from within. When she reached for her history book a pink high-heel clad foot stepped on it. Confused, Peyton looked up to see a pair of green eyes staring daggers down at her.
"Just because you broke up with Lucas, doesn't mean we're ok," Brooke hissed. She kicked Peyton's book so that it went skidding across the room, before walking out the door. Just as Peyton reached for it someone picked it up and held it out to her. She looked up at the last person she wanted to see.
"I got it thanks." Peyton snatched the book from Lucas and then rushed from the room.
Nathan threw the ball to Lucas. "Still having girl problems?" he called.
"They'd be so much better if people would just let me forget about them," Lucas grumbled.
"Ah, but you can't run from them. Eventually love will catch up to you."
"Just because you got married, doesn't make you an expert on love." Lucas threw the ball back to Nathan.
"I know more about love than you do."
"Says the man who would barely look at his wife for half a year because she tried to follow her dreams."
"Chris Keller was not her dream."
"When are you going to get it through your head, she wasn't following Chris Keller, it just happened that he was there."
"Now I see what you mean about people's talking about your problems making them oh so much worse." Nathan threw the ball back to Lucas a bit more aggressively.
"Tell you what, when you have two girls vying for your affections, then you can give me advice. But until then, stick with your own problems." Lucas playfully punched Nathan's arm.
"Hey, when you two hens are done gabbing I've got a practice going on over here," Whitey called to the two brothers. They both shook their heads as they ran out onto the court, joining their team.
Nathan threw his gym bag down on his couch. "Hey babe," he greeted the girl in the kitchen. As he bent down to give his wife a kiss, she pulled back. "I know coach made us run extra laps today and I am pretty sweaty, but didn't you once tell me that that was when you found me most attractive." He reached out his arms to embrace her and leaned forward to kiss her, but she ducked under his arms.
"Sorry love, as cute as you are I don't usually kiss guys unless I know at least their first name."
"Haha Hales." He looked to his wife, but she just looked back confused. "Ok fine, I'll play along. Fine, I'm Nathan, you're husband."
"I don't have a husband."
"Look I know sometimes you wish you don't, but you do. And you're stuck with me." Nathan crossed his arms.
"No I'm not, because I don't have a husband." Haley mirrored Nathan, by crossing her arms too.
"Come on Hales, what did I do this time? Forget to put the toilet seat down?" Haley made a face. Thinking that this was the reason for her anger, Nathan grabbed her arms. "I'm sorry ok. I'll try better next time. Now will you admit that I'm your husband." In surrender, Haley's hands went up.
"Fine, I give up. You're my husband. Now if you don't mid, I'm going to go get a shower hubby." Nathan shook his head as Haley walked into the bedroom and closed the door. A moment later he heard the water turn on. Exhausted, he plopped himself down on the couch and flipped on the television.
About halfway through an episode of Family Guy, the door to the apartment opened. "Hey, sorry I'm late but I had to…."
"Ah!" Nathan shrieked as Haley entered through the front door.
"Pick up some groceries," Haley finished as she began to unload the bags. "Who knew Captain Crunch could be so menacing?" she joked as she Nathan looked on in horror. "Look I'm putting it away, where it can't hurt you." Haley shook her head and turned to put the box in the cabinet.
"But you…I mean…." Straining his ears, Nathan could make out the faint sound of the water in the shower still running.
"I'm…" Haley prompted. Nathan catapulted himself over the back of the couch and ran to join Haley in the kitchen. He stayed a foot away from her, hesitating. Then he shook his head and reached out a hand to touch her wrist.
"You…." Nathan seemed to have lost the ability to form complete sentences.
"Ok Nathan you're scaring me." Haley pulled her wrist from him and put her hand on his forehead. "You don't feel hot. But you could just be dehydrated." She turned to get him a water bottle from the fridge. Nathan inhaled deeply, thinking that maybe the other Haley had just been a dream.
"Thanks," Nathan murmured as Haley handed him a water bottle. With a twist of the cap the seal broke. Nathan tilted the bottle so that the cool liquid flowed into his mouth. One big crazy dream. Nathan chuckled to himself and opened his mouth, prepared to tell Haley just what he had dreamed when she spoke.
"Did you leave the shower on by any chance?" Haley asked him. Nathan practically choked on the water in his mouth. It wasn't all a dream. But if Haley was in here, then who was in the shower? At that moment the water cut off. Nathan heard the bathroom door open and footsteps padding down the hallway.
"Hey hubby, where do we keep the toothpaste?" A voice quite like Haley's called to him. Then a girl wrapped in a towel appeared at the entrance to the hallway. Nathan's jaw dropped. She looked just like Haley. Nathan looked from his wife, whose expression seemed to be just as shocked as his was, to the new girl. As much as Nathan loved Haley, he really couldn't see the difference in the two.
Haley seemed to compose herself, at least enough to close her mouth and form a question. "What are you doing here?"
"Now is that any way to greet your sister?" the girl called as she smiled at Nathan and moved forwards to hug Haley.