I guess I have to say that episode six really wasn't strong in the Nathan and Haley department so I skipped it. I would also recommend that you've at least seen the spisode because I left out a lot of parts involving the other characters, but their parts involving Nathan and Haley are still there.
Kait
Ep. 7
"I think Tommy's been missing you these last couple afternoons," Nathan was saying about a week later when he dropped his bag at their normal table in the tutor center.
"I've been missing him too," she grinned thinking of the little guy, "Tell your Mom I'd love to baby sit. Okay now history is on tap for today."
"Oh, this is so stupid. What-why do we have to study history anyway?" Nathan lamented a half hour later.
"So we're not doomed to repeat it," she replied after thinking it over.
"What?" he asks on a laugh confused by her answer.
"Look, don't lose hope, okay? Tomorrow's a teacher's work day so you've got a three-day weekend to study," she reminded him.
"Minus my dad's annual kiss-his-ass jamboree," he replied and then became aware of the fact that she was probably the only one he knew who hadn't been invited, "Hey, I would invite you, Haley, but it's kind of a b-ball crowd."
"Oh, please, come on. Like I want to kiss your dad's ass anyway," she laughed it off even though she had been a little upset about it when Lucas had brought it up.
"Yeah," Nathan replied a little uneasy.
"I made you a study guide. And, everything you need to ace your history exam…" she pulled the metal tin from her bag, handing it over, "…is right in this little box of tricks here-No Doze, eye drops, number-two pencils."
"Why don't you just text message me the answers?" he asked grinning at her nervously playing with the tin.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, "No," she flattened her voice as she stood up and slung the bag over her shoulder, "So, um, just give me a call if you need anything, okay?" she turned and turned back again quickly, "Thanks for cutting Lucas some slack."
"A deal's a deal, right?" he asked smiling up at her.
"Right," she grinned, finally walking away from the table. Nathan turned to watch her walk away fascinated by his tutor.
His day took a downhill turn after that, "How are you, Nate?" Brooke asked leaning forward over the table behind him during Science class.
"Bored," he whispered back, stretching his back.
"And lonely, right? Just a smidge," she questioned him.
"Brooke, whatever drugs you're on, save them for the party, okay?" he snapped somewhat annoyed. He'd never really liked Brooke just put up with her so he could get the sex part from Peyton.
"Ah, "the party." Guess who's coming with me, and I'll tell you Peyton," so she did have a reason for talking to him.
"Whatever. She's off my radar, and apparently, I'm off hers too," he replied, knowing she was currently planning her move into Lucas's life.
"That was pod Peyton. She's totally back on track. And I think the new "old Peyton" would be open to discussing a reconciliation," she bargained, that got his attention. He'd been thinking about Haley a lot lately, but all thoughts of her could easily be pushed aside if he could get his old life back.
"Did she tell you that?" he wasn't sure he believed all this coming from Brooke's mouth.
"She tells me everything."
"What are you up to, Brooke?" he questioned already annoyed with Brooke's question and answer session.
"What? I just want to see two people that are perfect for each other back together. Is that a crime?" Nathan looked forward toward Peyton, she turned around glancing as she felt his eyes on her and then turned back after eyeing him for a moment, and Brooke grinned thinking she'd accomplished something.
"Whoa! Walking here," Haley exclaimed that afternoon as Peyton almost backed over her.
"God! I'm-I'm sorry," she was immediately apologetic putting the car back into park.
"Like you weren't aiming," Haley murmured on a chuckle, waiting for Peyton to continue backing out.
"You're actually not on that list," Peyton looked up at her wincing in the sun. "You need a ride somewhere?"
"Um…" she momentarily thought about it.
"Come on, get in," Peyton ordered, turning back to the steering wheel.
"I guess it's better to be in your car then under it," Haley decides as she dropped into the passenger seat.
"So, I'm not really good at this," Peyton starts after a couple moments of silence.
"Yeah, obviously you're gonna want to put that in gear and give it a little gas," Haley laughs.
"No, I meant-I mean the whole not-being-defensive thing," she clarifies.
"Okay," Haley answered confused, no wonder she and Nathan didn't work out, she couldn't understand the girl's train of thought half the time.
"Last week in Brooke's car, you said he cares about you, and I was trying really hard to be cool, and I didn't ask, um, whether you meant Nathan or Lucas?" Peyton asked warily afraid of the answer herself.
"And now you're asking?" Haley concluded, taking a deep breath.
"In a pathetic kind of way, yeah," she answered.
"I'm-I'm not gonna be much help. I-I guess I meant both of them. Lucky you," Haley replied, remembering conversations with both boys she'd had over the past week.
"Look, it's not like you need my permission or anything, but if you like Nathan, it's totally cool. Just be really careful."
"Be careful. Yes, I know. You told me," Haley continued on speaking the 'careful' part at the same time. She was already learning the hard way that Nathan was someone who could very easily destroy her emotionally, "You be careful, too."
"With which one?" Peyton asked.
"Driving. My mother likes it when I get home alive. Let's go," Haley replied causing them both to laugh.
"I know you and Nathan had a bit of a rocky relationship, but what really happened there?" Haley asked as they made it out of the parking lot.
"He's under a lot of pressure from his Dad, and I'm pretty sure that's why he is like he is most of the time," she sighed, "but there are times when he's a different guy, but that guy seems to be slipping farther and farther into hiding the more Lucas moves into his world."
"Taking it out on Lucas isn't going to make it better," Haley sighed, "whatever, don't worry about it, thanks for the ride."
"Haley," Peyton stopped her as she started to step out of the car, "he really is a good guy, we just had more issues than good times. Don't let that stop you from liking him, okay?"
"Yeah," she sighed jogging up the steps to her home.
"Haley?" Lucas asked later that afternoon when he opened the door after her rhythmic tapping. She pushed past him into his bedroom.
"What are you doing here?" he turned following her back into his room.
"First, I am saving you from that tie," she pulled off her jacket preparing for the conversation she knew was coming, "Second…we need to talk," she heaved another sigh.
"Well, could we do both at the same time?"
"Yeah," she answered turning her back to him to look through his ties picking a black one and wrapping it around her own neck. "Uh, okay, you're not gonna like this. In fact… you're gonna hate this," she tells him tying the tie, "But I feel that I should tell you in the interest of full friendship disclosure."
"Yeah, right. What could be worse than you tutoring Nathan, huh?" Lucas jokes pulling the tie from around his neck. She gave him a look and let out a deep sigh, and the light bulb seemed to flick on for Lucas, "You like him."
"Luke, do not freak out on me, okay? I can't help it any more then you can," she ordered.
"I don't like him!" Lucas informed her rather loudly.
"I'm talking about you and Peyton. We don't decide who we like. We just-it happens," she rolled her eyes at his inability to understand.
"Do you know what you're getting yourself into?" he questioned annoyed.
"I-I'm not getting myself into anything. I am thinking about maybe getting into something that is never gonna happen anyway, so-" she defended finishing on the tie.
"But what could you possibly like in the guy, huh?"
"D-different stuff. We connect. Yes, he can be a total ass sometimes-," she stepped up to him, "-but I'm telling you, it's just a defense mechanism. He really opens up with me, Lucas."
"You know how I feel about him."
"And I'm sorry for that. I am," she answered apologetically.
"But I get it, all right? I understand."
"Okay."
"Just do me a favor, okay? Just-"
"Be careful? I wish everybody would stop saying that," she finally pulled the tie from around her neck, handing it to him and promising to see him tomorrow she was off again.
Nathan was beyond bored as his house became overrun with players, cheerleaders, parents, and caterers. "My parents are such suck-ups. So, what public humiliation you got planned for "Pukas" tonight?" Tim drew him from his daze following his father's speech.
"Nothing, Tim. It's a little played out, don't you think?" he asked annoyed.
"Since when?" Nathan just ignored him as he strolled away, if he could he would escape up to the nursery and hang out with Tommy and send Carrie home, Dan had ordered him to stay away from the nursery though, and he didn't want to have to deal with extra practice once everyone left tonight.
"So, uh, did you get my messages?" he asked stepping up next to Peyton, she looked as bored as he felt.
"Yeah, I got all of them," she answered softly a little wary of this conversation herself.
"I don't blame you for not calling me back," he replied understandingly.
"Are you being self-deprecating?" she questioned somewhat thrown off by his attitude.
"Probably… if I knew what that meant," he replied sheepishly. He was beginning to realize lately that he wasn't the guy he wanted to be, and he at least needed to apologize to her, "Do you want to, uh… Do you want to go somewhere and talk? Just-Just to talk, Peyton," he clarified, he didn't want either of them to be uncomfortable.
"Just to talk," he'd seen her look for Lucas first, before agreeing to talk with him.
He followed her through the house and up to his bedroom, "So, I see you smiling at school a lot. That's good."
"You've been looking?" she asked a little surprised, she honestly thought he'd moved on just as quickly as she had their relationship hadn't been worth much toward the end.
"Yeah, sometimes," he replied with an uneasy smile and she returned it, "Anyway, uh… Look, I don't know if Brooke is just playing games or what. She said you were into us getting back together."
"Funny. She told me the same thing," Peyton responded opening the setup to both of them.
"Right. Look, the thing is…" he started only for them to be interrupted by Tim and a slightly buzzed Brooke laughing their way into the room.
"Oh. Sorry. We'll come back," Brooke started to push Tim back out.
"But there's vodka in the drawer," Tim whined pointing to Nathan's dresser.
"Tim, later. These two need some space," she tugged on his shoulder urging him away.
"You know what, Brooke? Give it up," Peyton sighed annoyed with Brooke's matchmaking attempts.
"Trust me, I'm trying."
"You know what I mean," Peyton replied bitterly.
"I'm just trying to help," she defended.
"Help with what? Get me out of the way so you can go embarrass yourself in front of Lucas?" Peyton questioned.
"That's funny. I didn't realize you were in my way. Are you finally fessing up? Or, are you finally denying it?" With those questions Peyton gave an apologetic look to Nathan and stormed her way out of the room.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Brooke?" Nathan questioned following Peyton from the room with Tim following after him.
Brooke being left in alone shrugged to herself before heading to Nathan's dresser for the drawer which Tim swore to her contained vodka. Sure enough it was there, but she also found a metal tin there and being the curious person she was she felt the need to see its contents for herself. Popping the lid off she saw a small collection of school supplies and a purple envelope that looked oddly out of place. Brooke pulled the card from within the envelope an 'H' rested in the middle of the card, and she flipped it open to read the message inside.
'Nathan
"Believing you will do well is half the battle…"
-Call me if you need anything at all!
-Haley'
Well if she couldn't drag Peyton away from Lucas maybe she could trick Lucas away from Peyton.
Nathan passed the door to the nursery as Peyton and Tim moved off to find someone else to hang with. Deciding Dan would be none the wiser if he snuck in for just a minute he glanced around making sure no one could see him, before ducking into the room.
"Mr. Scott," Carrie nodded from the rocking chair, where she was reading a book to Tommy.
"Hey," he smiled softly, grinning when Tommy grinned and reached up to him, "hey buddy," he scooped up the little boy, "what're you doing up here?"
"Actually I was about to buzz down to see about dinner," Carrie soothed a hand over Tommy's soft black hair.
"Tell you what, I've got this covered for tonight," Nathan pulled his wallet from his back pocket, flipping it open to hand her a twenty, "you can take off."
"Are you sure? Your Dad was pretty adamant about me staying up here until he came to open the door tonight," She questioned warily accepting the cash he offered.
"Don't worry about it, please just take the money and go," Nathan pleaded and grabbed her jacket from the rocker and handed it too her, "and it's Nathan from now on."
"Alright, thanks, Mr.—sorry Nathan," she smiled before making her way out of the room. Nathan turned to Tommy's closet pulling out the miniature suit he knew his mother had purchased on her last trip to Charlotte. He left off the jacket and tie before leaving the room with Tommy in his arms.
"Nathan tell me you didn't send Carrie home," Deb begged when she spotted the two making their way into the kitchen.
"Sorry," Nathan shrugged, setting Tommy on the counter and opening one cabinet.
"Okay, well leave him here with me," she shooed her son away picking up her grandson quickly formulating a plan for the appearance of a baby in their house.
"Why are you being such a bitch tonight, Brooke?" he asked later watching as Peyton ran off after kissing Lucas.
"Well, I thought you liked that in a girl," she stopped leaning over his shoulder her mouth close to his ear.
"Put some ice on it," he huffed, shrugging her off and walking away.
"Sorry," Haley called, she really hadn't meant to interrupt Lucas and Peyton, but since she knew the Scott house relatively well now, she knew she could sneak in the back, deliver dessert and sneak back out, with most of the party-goers being none the wiser. "Uh, sorry. I just-um… Your mom called with an SOS, so I just thought I'd sneak in the back and not bother anyone," she let out a small laugh.
"You need some help?" Lucas asked turning toward her.
"No. I-I'll, uh-You've got your hands full," she laughed at that, not really how she wanted that to sound, "So, I'm just gonna--carry on."
"So who's this little guy?" Karen asked as she and Deb waited in the kitchen for Haley to arrive with the desserts.
"Oh he's…well we've never told anyone this but, this is Nathan's son, Tommy," Deb answered a little warily.
"Wow," Karen breathed softly, "Well I guess you're doing more than any of our parents did in the same situation."
"Not really," Deb sighed, "Nathan does a lot of it, we also have a nanny that pretty much does everything with him during the day."
"At least he's stepped up," Karen replied quietly, "can I?" she asked reaching for the little boy.
"Sure," Deb handed him over easily. Karen studied the little boy carefully.
"He looks like Dan," she decided.
"That's because Nathan looks like Dan," Deb replied, just as the back door opened and three white boxes preceded an almost flustered looking Haley into the kitchen.
"Everything you need…" Haley sighed stepping through the back door into the kitchen, "…for a first class sugar coma."
"Oh, let's see," Deb takes one box opening the lid, "Oh, these cakes are gorgeous. Who makes them?"
"These guys," Karen replies lifting her hands, as she sat at the counter with Tommy in front of her.
"Thank you, Haley. The caterers can take it from here. Go join your friends. Have some food," Deb offered generously, she really liked the girl that seemed to have gained her son's admiration.
"No, that's okay. I-I have to get back, anyway. I'm-I'm still on the clock," she declined gracefully.
"Did you lock up when you left, turn off the coffee machine?" Karen questioned.
"Yeah."
"Well, then you're off the clock," she asserted her boss card easily.
"Great, then it's settled. Uh, I'll get some waiters to serve these," Deb announces before leaving to find a waiter.
"How are you holding up?" Haley asked, smiling when Tommy latched on to the fingers she offered him.
"Well, I haven't had to, uh-caw!-yet," she offered, smiling at the young girl, who had picked Tommy up onto her hip.
"Okay, whatever that means," Haley laughed, most of her attention on the young boy in her arms.
"Haley?"
"Hmm?" she murmured almost distracted.
"Why didn't you tell me it was Nathan you were tutoring?" Karen asked gaining Haley's full attention.
"Oh, uh… it just seemed kind of weird. Lucas wasn't really happy about it, so I just figured you wouldn't be too happy about it. I wasn't even sure if I was happy about it," she replied.
"And now?" Karen checked.
"Um…now things are okay with Lucas and with me," Haley recalled her conversation from earlier.
"And with me. Now go, have fun. It only comes around once," she ordered pointing to the living room.
"Okay," Haley smiled turning toward the door keeping Tommy with her. She planned on using him as her buffer so she could hopefully avoid talking to too many people.
"Haley?" Nathan's voice startled her and she turned to him. Nathan couldn't have been more pleased when both Haley and Tommy's faces came into view with smiles.
"Hey! Um, I'm not crashing. I promise. Your mom just wanted some cakes," she smiled.
"Cakes?" Nathan questioned confused chuckling when Tommy reached for him.
"Yeah. It's a long story. She invited me to stay and I sort of had a brain freeze and said "sure"…and it's probably really weird. I'm actually gonna leave," she handed Tommy to him.
"No, no, no. I'm glad you came," he quickly stopped her.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, I'd even study right now. It'd be a hell of a lot more fun than this suck-fest," he assured her, mentally smacking himself, he could've come up with something better than that.
"Sorry. I'm off-duty," she sang a little, raising her eyebrows, causing Tommy to laugh.
"Well, then let us get you a drink," he offered Tommy back to her placing a hand on her lower back to guide her.
"Okay," she seemed to whisper.
"Tutor girl!" Brooke drunkenly interrupted them.
"It's Haley," she sighed annoyed, hoisting Tommy a little higher and holding him closer.
"Brooke…" Nathan sighed annoyed, knowing she was about to destroy something.
"Haley, right. Nathan's own personal little care package. Everything's starting to make so much more sense now. You two are adorable. What was my favorite part? 'Believing you'll do well is half the battle'…" she directed toward Nathan as if he knew what was going on, "You know, Tutor Girl's little love note you passed around earlier-the one that said, 'Call me if you need anything…at all.'" She grinned to herself.
"All right, Haley, I--" Nathan started, but she shrugged him off handing Tommy back to him.
"Stay away from me," She demanded walking out of the house and away from him.
"Games are getting old, Brooke," He sighed looking at Brooke before turning to the front door, hoping Haley would come back through it.
She felt so stupid. She knew nothing with Nathan would turn out the way she wanted, so after storming out of his home, she'd come back to the café, her safe haven.
"Is this floor taken?" Lucas's questioned startled her, she hadn't even realized he'd come in.
"You know, just this once, I deserve a big, fat 'I told you so'." She lamented, barely holding in her sobs.
"Well, you won't get it from me," he promised. "What happened?"
"Exactly what you told me was gonna happen. I started believing that he wasn't terrible, and he proved me wrong. Once again, the smart girl is really stupid," her tear flow increased then.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. You are not stupid," he urged, wiping at her tears.
"Thanks," she swallowed and sniffed, "Well, at least things are, uh, working out for one of us. It looks like you and Peyton are headed in the right direction."
"Well, if it'll make you feel better, that lasted all of about five minutes," he chuckled ironically.
"It doesn't make me feel any better," she replied leaning her forehead against his, "Well, welcome back."
"To where?"
"Normal." She responded pulling away.
"Yeah. They can have their world. Come on. Let me help you close up."
"No, thanks. I'll do it. I just… I just want to be alone for a little while, okay?" she questioned softly.
"I'll be fine. I'll be okay," when he gave her a look she promised pushing his face away "I'm okay."
"All right," he sighed giving her a pat on the thigh, and Haley sat there for a little longer drowning in her own tears. Before finally getting up and beginning her closing ritual.
When there was a sudden knock at the door, she jumped a little before turning to the door, "Hey," Nathan murmured from the other side of the door, Tommy clutching his jacket as his head rest on his broad shoulder. She turned with an angry expression, steeling herself against the image of him and the little boy, "Can I come in?"
Slowly and deliberately she walked over to the door staring at him, before reaching over and flipping the switch and walking away from the door, "Haley, I didn't know," his voice followed her as she moved.
"Come on. Please, you got to believe me," he pleaded, but he knew it was useless. He'd seen the tears in her eyes and the tracks down her cheeks.
Sighing he turned back to his house, he knew that people had been asking questions of his parents once they'd caught sight of him with Tommy. But he knew Dan was probably spilling something about him being a third or fourth cousin, who they'd agreed to watch for the weekend or some other bullshit.
He knew at that point he didn't want to lie about it anymore, but he knew the one person he wanted to tell first. Now all he had to do was gain her trust again. Those thoughts got him through both his and Tommy's bedtime routine and as he lay down that night, he vowed to use every resource in his power to rectify his situation.-+
