It's been a few days since Haley befriended the two cheerleaders. The three girls got close in that small amount of time and hung out at Karen's Cafe every night that week. But now it was Saturday and as tradition Brooke and Peyton go out. The two girls were currently on their way to Haley's house to get ready for the party. It had taken a lot of convincing and begging for Haley to agree.

"Guys I'm sorry, but I don't do parties. Just go ahead without me and we can hang out tomorrow," Haley insisted.

"Haley!" Brooke whined. "What's the big deal? I mean, you can't tell me you've never been to a party." Brooke was referring to that night in the cafe when Lucas had accidentally spilled an embarrassing story about Haley at a high school party thrown by one of Nathan's teammates.

"The difference between then and now is that I had Nathan. Without him I don't really feel comfortable going," Haley admitted. She really did enjoy herself at those parties, but hated when guys would try to grope her—Luke and Nathan were like her personal bodyguards and kept the pervs away.

"Haley," Peyton softened her voice, "we'll be there with you the whole time."

"Besides if you're worried about running into people from school, don't; this is a rival school's party that I got us into," stated Brooke.

And with that, Haley was set to go.

"So P. Sawyer. Talk to me. You have the hots for Haley's future BIL don't you?"

Peyton looked away from the road to give Brooke a confused look. "Bill?"

"Brother-in-Law. Keep up. And don't avoid the question."

Peyton sighed. Brooke's been "subtly" dropping hints of Peyton's interest on Lucas since they met him. It's been driving Peyton insane. "Brooke, for the last time, I already agreed he was attractive but I don't know him that well. Plus, he's 21. What could someone his age possibly want with someone my age?" She glanced over at Brooke long enough to catch her suggestively wiggling her eyebrows. "Gross, Brooke," Peyton laughed.

Haley couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable. Brooke had decided to make Haley her personal Barbie and raided her closet to find something for her worth wearing. Unfortunately for Haley, Brooke found an old top and skirt Haley had worn to a party with Nathan—it wasn't too revealing, but it did grab people's attention, something she wouldn't mind as long as her boyfriend was by her side.

They finally arrived to a house on the beach with drunken teenagers all over the place and music blaring throughout the house. Haley couldn't help but notice that she recognized some of those drunken boys. She tentatively asked, "Brooke, who's house is this again?"

"I don't know. Some guy who went to High Flyers. It's a basketball school. Why?"

Haley was thankful it was dark and loud or else Brooke and Peyton would have seen her eyes widen and heard her gasp. She finally realized why those people and this house looked so familiar. It belonged to Cooper, Nathan's former teammate, and these were all current players who she had met on various occasions.

The buzzer rang indicating the end of the first game of the season and, as always, Nathan's team had won. Haley cheered from her seat on the stands. She was standing next to Lucas and his mom Karen.

Haley and Nathan had just started going out a few weeks ago. They'd been happy ever since.

Haley headed down to congratulate Nathan, with Lucas and Karen trailing behind her. She called out to him, then ran and jumped into his arms.

"You did it!" Nathan spun her around twice and set her down to give her a kiss. He was about to deepen the kiss when he heard a loud cough. He turned around to see three of his grinning teammates.

One of them spoke up. "You gonna introduce us to your girlfriend, Scott?"

Nathan laughed and stood next to Haley with his arm around her waist. She put a strand of hair behind her ear. Nathan smiled at her shyness and kissed her hair before turning back to his teammates. "Guys, this is Haley. Haley, these are the guys. Meet Skills, Tim, and Cooper."

They were all great guys. Well, all except Tim. He was odd to say the least. But Haley got to know them all very well and they her. So when she realized she was at Cooper's she felt a mix of anxiety and relief for what's in store. Because on one hand, they may blow her cover, but on the other, she could enjoy herself without getting groped—being associated with Cooper would equal protection.

But just as she was about to relax and let go, Haley saw a flash of red hair swaying, attached to none other than Rachel Gatina.

"Haley, I'm so sorry. I had no idea she would be here, you have to believe me," pleaded Brooke.

"It's ok Brooke. I'm just gonna go get something to drink, do you two want anything?" Brooke asked for beer and Peyton for water since she's the designated driver. "I'll be right back." She left for the kitchen and found the keg next to a bucket of water bottles. She bent down to grab two bottles and reached for a red cup.

"Nice tattoo."

Haley quickly turned around and was face to face with a grinning Cooper. She immediately smiled and walked towards him to give him a hug. "Hi!"

"Hey. What are you doing here, James?"

She shrugged in response and said she was with friends.

"Friends huh? Does Nathan know you're here?" he asked even though he knew the answer was no. If Nathan knew, Cooper would've received a call earlier saying to take care of his girl.

Haley quipped, "Nathan's not my keeper."

Cooper laughed and shook his head at the girl's humor. She sure was something. "What are you doing near the keg? I thought you were a straight-edge."

Haley playfully rolled her eyes. "I was getting my friend a drink, okay?" She missed Cooper, but she forgot how protective he gets of her when Nathan isn't around.

Cooper raised his hands in defense and changed the subject. He took the red cup from her hand and began to pump beer into it. "So how are you? It's been a while."

"Yeah, senior year's been kinda hectic."

"I remember." He smirked and then lowered his voice as he handed her the now full red cup, "How's Nathan?" Though he and Nathan were really close at High Flyers, the past year had been too insane for the two to hang out like old times.

"He's good. Great actually. I'm really proud of him," she smiled.

"Yeah, we all are. Seriously, if anyone were to make it, we're glad it's him. He deserves it. And we have you to thank."

Haley blushed. "I don't know about that."

"Stop being modest James. You were his personal cheerleader through it all. You're the best thing to happen to him and that includes getting called up."

She smiled thankfully and the two continued to talk and catch up. They didn't notice a certain redhead glaring with envy.

Rachel was walking around looking for the host of the party—one of her new "boyfriends." They'd been "together" for a few weeks now and what was supposed to be a no-strings attached relationship was quickly fading as Rachel began to develop feelings for him. So when she saw him laughing with some bimbo she fumed. She looked from a distance, knowing she had no real claim over him. But when she recognized her as tutor girl she stormed inside the kitchen.

It had been over 20 minutes since Haley had gone to get drinks, and Brooke and Peyton were officially worried—Peyton more than Brooke as she was sober while Brooke managed to get her hands on some beer by then. "Where do you think she is?" asked Peyton worriedly.

A loud crash and yelling was heard coming from the kitchen. The music stopped playing and the lights turned all the way on as everyone headed to see what was happening.

"Rachel what the hell do you think you're doing?" Cooper yelled. Rachel had just thrown a beer bottle that barely missed Cooper's head and instead hit the cabinet behind him and Haley.

"What am I doing? What are you doing?" she spit back. "Are you screwing her too?" She pointed her now chipped finger nail at Haley.

Brooke and Peyton had shown up at this point and saw Haley with a scared look on her face as Rachel was yelling. She was being held by a brown haired guy whose face showed signs of annoyance and anger.

Cooper rolled his eyes. "No, I'm not screwing her. She's a good friend of mine and we were just talking. And as for us screwing, you can forget about that deal, we're done," he shook his head and carefully dodged the broken glass on the floor as he guided Haley out of his house—the last thing he wants is for Nathan to hear that Haley got hurt under his watch.

Rachel stood there stunned and humiliated. Brooke and Peyton tried their best not to laugh—Rachel finally got what she deserved. But when the music started playing again and everyone went back to drinking or dancing, it finally hit Brooke and Peyton that they just lost Haley, again.

"Where's your friend's car again?" They had finally made it past the drunken crowd of teenagers and were outside on the front lawn.

"Over there," Haley pointed to Peyton's comet. She was still shaken up about how close the bottle was to hitting her and Cooper.

Cooper could tell she was still in shock and offered to call someone for her—meaning Nathan. She nodded mutely. She doesn't know how he'll react. She figures he'll make it into a bigger deal than it was. But still, she needed him to comfort her—he was her rock.

Cooper stepped away to make the call when Brooke and Peyton approached Haley.

"Oh my God, Haley."

"Are you okay?"

"How are you?"

"We are so sorry."

Haley assured them she was okay and would be fine, that she was just a bit shaken up.

Cooper interjected. "I told him. He said he's on his way."

Nathan had just gotten home after a long day of sucking up to sponsors when his phone rang. Now he was driving as fast as he could without getting pulled over to make his way to Haley. He had tried calling Lucas a few times before but he wasn't picking up his phone. He finally gave up and settled with leaving a voicemail:

"Hey Luke, listen man. I just got a call from Cooper. Something about Haley showing up at his party tonight and something happened. I don't know all the details, just that Hales was involved. I'm on my way, but it'll be at least another half hour before I get to Tree Hill. I'd really appreciate it if you could stop by to pick her up and bring her to our place. Her parents are away this weekend and I don't want her left alone. Thanks, man."

Lucas had taken a late and very long shower. He was emotionally drained from that day's activities. He had finally spoken to her, Lindsay—his now ex-girlfriend. They had agreed to keep their relationship as editor and author in tact after an awkwardly long-awaited and multiply postponed phone call.

He stepped into his bedroom just in time to see his cellphone stop vibrating. He grabbed it, seeing 6 missed calls from Nathan and one new voicemail. The moment the voicemail ended, he quickly changed and grabbed his car keys.

He called Nathan letting him know he had gotten his call and then phoned Cooper to ask about Haley. Cooper told him that Haley was driven home by some friends—his description of her friends fit Brooke and Peyton perfectly. So Lucas made a U-turn, and headed towards his new destination: Haley's home.

It was almost midnight when Peyton pulled into Haley's drive-through. Brooke was sitting in the backseat with Haley, trying to offer some comfort.

"Well, we're here. Are your parents home?" asked Peyton as she put the comet in park.

"No, they're gone for the weekend."

Brooke sent her best friend a pleading look and Peyton nodded in understanding. "Why don't you come stay with us? We can have a girls night," offered Brooke cautiously.

"Thanks, but I don't think that's such a good idea. I mean, Cooper said Nathan was coming so..."

The girls wanted to ask how Haley knew Cooper, but knew that conversation should be held another time. The three girls stepped out of the car.

"Do you want company until he shows up?" asked Peyton.

They were at Haley's front door by this time. And Haley realized the complications of Nathan coming home when her new friends were there. Thankfully, she was saved from answering when she heard a car pulling in. It was Lucas.

He got out of his car and rushed to embrace Haley.

"Hi to you too," Haley's voice was muffled into his chest.

"Nathan called me and was freaking out. You okay?"

"I'm fine. Peyton drove me home." That's when he noticed the blonde near the porch. She looked stunning even with a worried expression on her face.

"Ok, well. Nathan should be here soon. He asked me to bring you to our place. Do you need to pack anything?" Lucas asked Haley.

"Umm, no I have pajamas and an extra set of clothes there. I should be fine," she gave him a quick smile and hugged her body tight; it was getting really late and therefore really cold.

That's when Lucas noticed her attire. He took off his gray sweater and handed it to her.

He looked at the two girls still standing on the porch and thanked them for helping Haley.

"It was our pleasure, take care of her for us," Brooke said and stepped towards Haley to give her a goodbye hug.

Peyton stepped in and gave Haley a hug too. The girls parted ways and Haley promised to call the next morning.

Lucas was driving with Haley in the passenger side still hugging herself to keep warm. He turned up the heat and turned down the radio.

"Are you going to talk about what happened?"

She faced the window, sighed, and closed her eyes. "Not now Luke. I just want to get out of these clothes and go straight to bed."

He sighed in defeat and the rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

Nathan finally made it to what he had called home his high school years in record time and saw the empty drive-through. Just as he got out he noticed Lucas's car pull in.

Haley was the first to step out of the car and rushed to him. He embraced her tight.

"You came," she said into his chest.

"I said I would." He kissed her hair and rested his chin on top of her head. He gave Lucas a smile of gratitude before taking Haley by the hand and walking to the front door.

"So you have no idea what happened?" Nathan whispered. Haley had refused to talk about the night's events. She had given Nathan a quick kiss before heading to his bedroom where she kept some extra clothes to change into her pajamas. They were now in the living room—Haley sleeping and snuggled into Nathan on the couch and Lucas sitting across from them.

"Nope."

Nathan shook his head and looked down at his girlfriend. He had missed her so much. "What was she even doing there? She hates going to parties alone."

Lucas took a sip from his coffee before answering, "She went with some friends. I'm guessing she didn't even know it was Cooper's party till she got there."

"Brooke and Peyton right," Nathan stated more so than asked.

Lucas's eyes widened. He shouldn't be too shocked though; the couple did talk daily. "Yeah."

"You've met them before right?" Lucas nodded. "They seem like good people?"

Lucas thought back to their concerned and caring expressions. He answered with conviction, "Yeah. They do."

First and foremost, I just want to thank those who are reading and especially to those who have reviewed, favorited, or followed this story; getting those email alerts truly made my day which is why I decided to update so soon. Secondly, I know this chapter is shorter than the first one, I think most of the other chapters will be about this size with the exception of one very large chapter that's coming up soon. Also, just wanted to share that I actually think I may have exaggerated a bit with Haley's reaction to the bottle being thrown at her.. not sure, but I just wanted an excuse for Nathan to come home.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :) x.