"I just don't like the guy," Lucas exclaimed, as he dribbled the basketball before taking a shot.

Haley sat on the cold, metal bleachers that faced directly towards the cement court. This was typically how the two spent their time after school when she wasn't busy tutoring someone or working at the café.

"Really? I couldn't tell," Haley joked, watching as Lucas practiced his shooting skills. "Just be grateful you didn't get partnered with him. I'm the one who will be suffering!"

"Talk to me when you share his last name," he sighed. "You know he's just going to use this as a way to get to me."

Haley frowned. "I heard about the shower room incident. That's just so immature. I wish I could do something… help somehow. You're just trying to play a game you love."

Lucas grimaced, "I think I scarred a few transfers for life who were running late to their next class. If they felt like they hadn't seen all of Tree Hill High yet they definitely did now."

Haley cradled her head in her hands in a fit of laughter, "Oh I just can't get over you walking the halls with the basketballs…"

Lucas laughed, accepting his stint of public humiliation, "The trick is working it to your advantage. I got naked in the school… Brooke Davis got naked in the back of my car."

"Okay, too much information for me. This is where I draw the line, bud," Haley stated, covering her ears.

Lucas rolled his eyes and threw the ball in her general direction. Haley squealed, attempting to catch the ball.

"Unfortunately for me, nothing happened. My morals and what not got in the way. Is it crazy to say that I think I like her and that I think there's more to her than what she presents at the surface?"

"I wouldn't say so crazy that you're gonna have to get committed...," Haley bit her tongue. She was torn with her thoughts; she didn't want to write Brooke off, but she also was never given a reason not to. She tried to always see the best in people though, so she gave him the most honest response she could think of. "I don't know the girl so I can't say much, but, she must be pretty okay if you like her."

Haley tossed the ball back at Lucas and picked up her planner. Paging through the book she searched for the monthly view to see when she agreed to meet Nathan.

"Jagielski isn't so bad at least. Once I ran into him after the hallway bit he gave me a spare change of clothes. Probably the only guy on the team who has been somewhat welcoming to me."

"Oooh I saw him in class… maybe now I'll have a real reason to come to your games," Haley teased, gathering her stuff together. "I told Nathan I'd meet him so we could start brainstorming and what not. Call me later?"

"Just promise me you'll be careful, Hales," Lucas warned.

"Afraid I'm going to like the other Scott better?"

"Hales."

Haley laughed, "I could never replace you, after all, your mom signs off on my checks."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "All I'm saying is he's the spitting image of Dan. It's got to mean something."

Nathan checked his phone for the time. He was running late, as per usual; his mother always joked that everyone else ran on his schedule. He was currently in line at a chain coffee shop a few doors down from the meeting spot he agreed to meet Haley at.

Haley James. He'd been picking his brain for the past week wondering how he would find an excuse to start talking to her when this class project fell in his lap. She was best friends with Lucas which was more than enough of a reason to get close to her. If he got close to her, he was sure he'd have her in the palm of his hand. All he needed to do was work his charm and he'd hook up with her and take another thing Lucas cared about away from him. If managed to accomplish this, he might be able to finally push Lucas enough to the point that he would want to quit the team. Once Lucas was off the team maybe his dad would back off a little, right?

Nathan shook off thoughts of his dad and Lucas and watched the barista place the lids on the two drinks he ordered. Once the barista placed them on the counter, Nathan grabbed them and made his way out the door towards the promenade.

As Nathan neared the table he saw the petite girl looking towards the water. This wasn't the first time he'd noticed how gorgeous she was. She had brown hair, which at times looked reddish, that cascaded past her shoulders. Her eyes were a pretty brown—warm and inviting.

"You're late," Haley stated, looking up at him. Nathan quickly retracted his thoughts about how warm and inviting her eyes were. He almost laughed at how unamused she looked.

"With good reason," he smiled, offering her one of the drinks in his hand. "I figured we'd need the caffeine if we were going to be brainstorming ideas."

"I appreciate the offer but I can't drink a rival's coffee."

"Can't or won't?" he asked.

"Can't," she repeated. "Have you ever had this coffee before?" she asked. When Nathan remained still, she nodded, encouraging him to take a sip.

At the very moment he took a sip of the hot beverage, he nearly spat it out in distaste. "God this is terrible," he said, making a face.

Haley tried to hide her smile but couldn't manage to. She laughed, offering out her own coffee that sat beside her. "Have a sip of mine to get the taste out of your mouth."

"How's that place still in business?" he asked, meeting her halfway and grabbing her drink.

"Because of customers like you who assume that the coffee is good because you've seen it in commercials or you've seen the logo around enough," she replied.

Nathan took a sip of her drink and shrugged, "Well, if they all knew Haley James worked at a real café with real coffee I'm sure there would be a line of people out the door."

"Oh, yeah? Please tell me who'd stand in that line."

"Easy," Nathan answered, as he offered her drink back, "Me."

Haley looked away as she felt a blush rise to her cheeks. Biting her lip, she waited a few seconds before looking back up at him. "Are we going to talk about this project of ours or what?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow, surprised that he didn't get a bigger reaction out of her. Typically, he'd at least get some sort of indicator that showed interest in him but he couldn't read her.

"Sure," he said, folding his arms against his chest.

"You've thought of nothing," she assumed.

"Your list of ideas looks promising," he responded, nodding to her notebook with a blank page.

"Fair enough," she replied, holding her hands up in a fake surrender. "Honest, raw, and vulnerable…," she muttered quietly to herself.

Over the course of thirty minutes the two went back and forth bouncing ideas off each other until Nathan's eyes lit up. "I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner," he said quietly to himself.

Haley tilted her head, intrigued, "Well don't hold back."

"What if we just documented our experience on camera?"

"Like an interview…?" she asked, trying to understand what he was suggested.

"In a sense," he nodded. "The whole point is bringing two worlds together. Why don't we document us trying new things, experiencing what the other person does, and learning about each other?"

Haley quietly rolled his idea around in his head. As moments passed Nathan looked almost a little deflated to her. She'd never seen Nathan appear small to her which made her believe that he really believed in his idea.

Nathan shifted nervously in his seat. He started to wonder why he'd made any suggestion at all. She was the smartest girl in the class. There was no possible way she'd take him seriously. He was confident about a lot of things: basketball, throwing a good party, and sex; however, when it came to classes and grades he didn't have the same drive. He didn't like when people made him feel stupid, but he also didn't have the time to prove anyone wrong when it came to academics. His whole life revolved around basketball—working out, dieting, and practice.

"Nathan-," Haley, began before she was interrupted.

"You think it's a bad idea," he concluded. "I don't know why you're even asking my opinion, I'm not going to take this seriously, remember?"

"Nathan," she said, more softly this time. "I actually think that's a really great idea."

"You do?"

"Really," she said with a smile. "I honestly wish I came up with something like that."

"Thanks," Nathan said, as he smiled at her genuinely. "Anyways, I've got a camera we could use so all we really need to do is start filming and creating plans of what we want to shoot."

Haley was surprised at how well they seemed to be working together. She'd assumed their meet-up arrangement would have been a waste of time but they seemed to be covering what she wanted to get out of a first meeting. They'd shared schedules, numbers, and when they were going to get started.

As Haley finished jotting down the details of their action plan, she looked up to see him opening up a box of Cracker Jack.

"Please let this be a cheat sheet," he joked, "If I'm going to survive my math class I'm going to need it."

"You know we have a tutor center, right?" she asked him.

"Are you trying to see me more, Haley James?"

"I didn't mean it like that," she insisted, "I just meant that if you think you're going to struggle in your class you should get a tutor. It's what the center is for. Plus, it's better if you go early because athletes are a part of the select students who get priority time."

"You're trying to see me more," he restated with a smile. Looking down at the prize inside the small packaging, he pulled out a dainty charm bracelet. "It's for you."

"Nathan-," she protested.

"Don't say I never gave you anything," Nathan said, as he slid the charmed bracelet past her hand to rest on her wrist. As he retracted his hand, his fingers brushed against her skin for just a moment—the slightest touch causing a shiver across her.

The two sat there for a little bit longer until the sun began to set. "It's getting late," Haley mentioned, "I should get going."

"Want me to walk you home?" Nathan asked.

"I think I can find my own house," Haley replied, turning down his offer.

"I was just trying to be nice."

"Yea, I'm sure you were. Do you think I don't know who you are?" she asked, zippering up her bag. "Your act doesn't work on me. There's plenty of Tree Hill girls you can choose from."

"Alright, go ahead and act like there's nothing between us," he teased, getting up from the seating area. "I'll enjoy watching you convince yourself that you're not into me."

"I don't have to convince myself anything. What could you and I possibly have in common? And besides," she said, "you should spend more time worrying about you being into me."

Nathan raised his eyebrow, "And why's that?"

"Because," she said, grabbing her backpack, "you've already given me jewelry and want to walk me home."

Nathan dug his hands in his pockets as he watched Haley walk away from him. He'd remained in that very spot until she'd disappeared into the night. One thing was for sure, he'd never met a girl like Haley James.