Chapter One "Persona Non Grata"
'Unacceptable Person'

"First day of the rest of your life Haley James. You're a senior now, you can be anything you want. Go for it." Haley said to the mirror, giving herself the pep talk she had been giving herself every day since sophomore year.

She continued staring at herself, at not quite seventeen she was fairly average. Slightly unruly reddish-brown hair, make-up free face, okay body. She definitly wasn't the type of girl that had a date every friday night.

She flopped back on her bed, or for that matter, the type of girl that had any plans friday night.

"Haley sweetie, we need to go." Her mother called up the stairs, exhaustion evident in her voice. A very pregnant Taylor had appeared on their doorstep not even a week before and things had been hectic.

"I'll take her ma!" Another voice called from down the hallway, Connor had decided college wasn't for him and was also back home.

A minute later her nineteen year old brother appeared in her doorway grinning. "Ready Haley-bub?" He asked, pulling her up and throwing her backpack good naturedly at her.

He had been a heart breaker in high school and didn't quite understand his sisters' choices in life.

"Yeah Con, let's go." She replied, slinging her backpack on and following him down the stairs; her pep talk ringing in her eyes.

Maybe this year would be different.

They were the social monarchy of Tree Hill High, people looked to them for guidance, needed them for their fill of gossip.

Nathan Scott, Peyton Sawyer, Brooke Davis, Lucas Roe and Jake Jalieski and of course their small band of followers.

If you were to tell any student or teacher at THHS that they weren't the center of the secluded world of high school, you would be laughed at.

Currenlty the group was lounging on the grassy area beside the school known as the quad. Only high school royalty was allowed to sit there, the others walked around the area, staring in awe.

"So Nate, pick out your first hook-up buddy yet?" Peyton asked her friend good-naturedly, resting back against her boyfriend of almost a year, Jake.

Nathan shrugged, "A couple." He said nonchanlantly. He was by far the most popular of the group and had hooked up with atleast half the student body, if rumor was true some of the teachers too.

"How about her Nate?" Brooke Davis added as she perched herself on the bench of a nearby picnic table, careful to keep her expensive skirt dirt free.

The others eyes followed Brooke's finger to her target. Haley James, social outcast.

They erupted in to laughter, the thought of Nathan ever lowering himself to that extent ridiculous to them.

"Why don't you guys like her?" Nathan questioned, not sure where his sudden interest had come from.

Lucas and Jake shared a looked, remaing quiet as Brooke explained in a very Brooke way.

"She a loser Nate. People like her end up alone. She isn't like us." Brooke rolled her eyes, sharing a look with fellow mean girl cheerleader, Rachel.

Rachel rolled her eyes in disgust, "She's fat and plain and ugly and who wears jeans on the first day - no offense Peyton."

Jake turned red slightly, he didn't like them talking about Haley like that. He wanted to speak up, but he couldn't.

"Uh she isn't fat guys. Her jugs are just huge! Tim likes." Tim Smith, the resident idiot of the group interjected. "I'd like me a piece of that."

Nathan frowned, picking up his backpack and hurrying away from the group.

"Nate, Nathan!" Lucas yelled after him, not sure what had come over Nathan.

Haley let out the breath she had been holding the entire way around the quad. She dreaded that part of the day the most, not knowing when she would become the object of humilation to them. The pitying glances Lucas and Jake gave her as their friends ripped her apart, didn't help any.

She opened her locker after a couple of tries, it alway stuck. It looked the same as it had. Empty. Haley unlike every other student at THHS did not decorate her locker with pictures of fun times, she had nothing to put up.

"Hey, you're Haley James right?" A voice asked behind her, causing her to jump.

She turned slowly, facing the person who had talked to her, "Uh yeah." She mumbled looking down at her feet.

"I'm Nathan, Nathan Scott." He said extending his hand.

She ignored it, "I know. Not to be rude, but why are you talking to me?" She questioned, wary of his sudden friendleness.

"Because I want to." He responded, smiling at her. "I guess I wanted to get to know you because your the only person in our class I haven't talked to yet."

"That's not true." She said, "You haven't talked to a lot of people, you just don't realize it because you don't see the people your friends consider non-essential." Then she turned, closing her locker and walking away.

Nathan watched her retreating form, that girl was a mystery.

Haley wasn't sure what she was thinking when she had decided to skip honors physics and spend the entire period in the bathroom.

Correction, she did no. It was the fact that James came right after Jalieski and she would be partners with her former best friend for the remainder of the year.

She looked at her tearstained face in the mirror, "You are nobody Haley James. Nobody." She silently scolded herself, the tears becoming more rapid.

"You aren't nobody. Nobody is nobody. Everybody is somebody." A voice said from behind her, she turned slowly, unaware that she wasn't alone.

"It's what my mom used to say to me and my brother Derrick before she died." Peyton explained, giving the girl a weak smile.

"My brother Derrick and I." Haley corrected, instantly biting her tongue.

"Whatever." Peyton responded, leaving the bathroom.

Haley slid down the wall into a sitting position. "What is going on?" She questioned herself. This had been the most talking she had done in school since sophomore year.

Jake looked at the empty seat next to him, wondering where Haley was.

It wasn't like her to skip, she loved school. He was worried about her, worried about how she had been since they last talked.

Everytime he saw her she looked so sad, her big brown eyes vacant, lifeless. It was obvious she wasn't the person he had once been friends with.

He tried to talk to Lucas' about it, but Lucas' just brushed him off. Lucas missed her too much, he needed her still. So did Jake.

All the fake friends didn't matter, there was one person missing.