Author's Note: Hey you guys! Gosh, I am so so sorry for keeping you waiting this long for the update! I gotta admit, I was having doubts about continuing this story, but after your so sweet reviews I've decided to give it a chance. So remember, your reviews mean literally everything! I had some technical issues with my laptop which resulted me being unable to write and post, but it's all good now so be ready for much often updates ;) I hope you enjoy your chapter, and please tell me what you think! xx
P.S. Big thanks to catalinaD for Beta Reading the chapter and agreeing to help me with the story!
Haley joined her friends at their usual lunch table. A table reserved for jocks and cheerleaders, as everyone knew. By the time she, Peyton, and Brooke arrived everyone was already sitting there.
Lucas instantly got up and hugged Brooke tightly. He hadn't had a chance to see her since she came back from her vacation. Her mother asked her to come and help run her clothing company in Florida for three weeks. Of course, at the time Brooke thought Victoria wanted to spend more time with her since she was never home, but it turned out the only reason she called her was because of the lack of staff in their clothing stores. So not only did Brooke not get her long-expected 'bonding time' with her mother, but she spent her summer holidays working as saleswomen in one of her mother's clothing shops. It sucked. It also sucked for Lucas who barely got to hear from her during those three weeks since Victoria always kept her occupied and made sure she didn't have 'time to waste chatting with her Prince Charming'.
"Hey, pretty girl, I missed you!" He said smiling and gave her a peck on the lips. They both wanted more than a short peck, but he knew that now was not really the most appropriate place for a make-out session, so he decided to leave that for later- when they got their alone time.
Brooke's smile widened at his gesture. Her boyfriend may be a head jock and a total badass on the court, but she loved how he acted like such gentleman with her!
"I missed you too, Broody," she said smiling, still in his arms.
Damien West watched them from his seat at the table rolling his eyes, and cut in:
"Oh, will you two just stop that girly crap and jump to the make-out already? I'd rather get it over with than watch your foreplay. It's making me sick."
A few guys around him snickered, while Brooke and Lucas turned and gave him the dirtiest looks they could manage. Before Brooke could respond - with what surely wasn't going to be a pretty response - Haley's eyes widened.
"Damien!"
"Hi, baby," he ignored her tone and smirked, but wasn't planning on getting up to greet her.
Instead, he grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap. Before she could react, he kissed her roughly and slipped his tongue in her mouth without a second of hesitating. Whistles were coming from the guys at their table, joined by some girls. Haley instantly pulled away with a disgusted look on her face and jumped off of him.
"What the hell is the matter with you?!" She yelled at him. Her cheeks were turning redder by the minute from both anger and embarrassment.
"What?" He replied innocently.
Haley was pissed, but she didn't want to make a scene - it was only their first day and too many curious eyes were on them already. She gave him the most horrible look and turned to her friends at the table.
"I actually lost my appetite. I'll see you guys later."
She then turned around in an attempt to leaving but Brooke's hand stopped her.
"Are you sure? I can come with you," she offered with concerned look on her face. Peyton instantly agreed.
"No, you stay with Lucas and the others. I'm fine; I'm just not that hungry anymore. I'll catch up with you guys later," she forced a small smile and left. Before completely leaving the area, she could hear Damien calling after her and her friends' angry voices.
"God, Damien, why do you always have to be such a pig?!" She heard Peyton yell and couldn't help but smile a little. Her boyfriend may act like an idiot sometimes, but she knew her friends would always have her back no matter what. It felt nice.
After his little encounter with Haley James, Nathan Scott tried his best to remove the girl from his head. He didn't quite know why but it was harder than he thought it would be. Something was seriously pulling him to her - to her chocolate-brown eyes and her natural wavy blond hair, her beautiful pure face, and those perfect, soft lips…
Damn it, Nathan, pull yourself together! He couldn't believe his thoughts about this girl he hadn't even said a word to - well, if you didn't count a few clumsy apologies that came out of his mouth after he crashed into her and made her drop all her things. Yeah, that was real smooth; he thought bitterly when he remembered once again what idiot he must've looked like. She must think I'm such a fool… He shook his head and then got angry with himself. Actually, it doesn't matter what she thinks! Why would it? It's not like I want to impress her... Do I? No, he didn't. He couldn't. Right? Damn it, she's Lucas' best friend and Damien's girlfriend! Like he would want anything of Damien's.
He quickly tried to dismiss all thoughts about Haley James when he finally found his locker. Well this is just great; he thought sarcastically when he saw that they were placed in alphabetical order, which meant that his was right next to Lucas'. This is going to be so much fun.
He put all his stuff in there, except for the books for his first class: Political Science. Well, at least it's a subject in which I don't suck. Nathan didn't really care that much about studying - he was always more of the athletic kind of guy, much more interested in sports than school. Also, it wasn't like he had much time for it with everything else going on lately, but other than P.E., Political Science was one of the rare subjects that he actually liked.
Just as he closed the locker and was about to turn around, he felt someone tapping his shoulder.
"Excuse me, sir, did you maybe happen to see this tall, annoying dude that thinks he's better in basketball than us and happens to be our best friend?" His friend Skills asked him playfully. He smiled widely and decided to go along with it.
"Gee, I don't know... I did however saw this muscular, awesome, good-looking guy that is better than you in basketball," he replied causing his friends to roll their eyes good-naturally.
"Hey, Skills, man, how're you doin'?" He laughed and they did that side hug thing that guys do. He then greeted the other guys that were standing next to him: his friends Mouth, Tim, Junk and Fergie.
"Oh I'm doing just fine; it's you we haven't seen in ages!"
"I'm sorry man, I know, but it's been crazy with my uncle's garage business and I had to help out," he replied guiltily, though he knew he wasn't telling the full truth. But it's better that way.
"I don't know, man… It started to look like you were avoiding us. You really hurt our feelings. I think you're lucky we're even talking to you right now," Mouth teased him. Nathan nudged him while they started to walk down the hall.
"Oh, shut up, Mouth!"
He really did miss his friends and he felt guilty for not telling them the truth about the summer, but he knew he couldn't. This was his problem, not theirs. The less they know about it, the better.
"So, what have you guys been doing this summer?" He asked, trying to get his mind off the thoughts that were starting to worry him again. He wasn't going to think about that now, "Other than, you know, missing me," he teased.
"Well, that's pretty much all Tim did," Junk said causing Tim to smack him in the back of the head, "Ow!" He whined while the others laughed.
"And the rest of us the usual, we haven't really left River Court," Fergie jumped in, "Although Skills did meet this girl - who's way out of his league by the way!"
"Oh shut up!" Skills said while the guys nudged him, but then added with satisfied smile: "She is totally hot, though."
"Really? What's her name?" Nathan asked curiously.
"It's Bevin. I know, she even sounds hot," Skills answered with a wide smile on his face. Nathan laughed at his friend and stopped walking when he noticed his classroom.
"Ok guys, this is me. I'll see you guys later?"
"Sure, we can meet at River Court tonight," Tim suggested, "And don't say you can't, 'cause it's been ages since we last played together, dude. Don't you miss your Tim-time?"
Nathan sighed.
"Ok, I guess that's one thing I don't miss," he said and chuckled at Tim's offended face, "I'll see you guys then!"
He walked in the full classroom and took a seat near the end of the room, sorting his books on the table while waiting for the teacher. He didn't recognize anyone there, so he pulled out the paper with the names of the other students in his class. The teacher just came in and took a seat behind her desk while he was finishing reading the list. Just when he thought he didn't know anybody in his class, his eyes widened as he read the last name. In that second the doors of the classroom opened and he found himself staring at none other than the panting, flushed Haley James herself.
After the fight she had with her boyfriend, Haley needed some time alone. She walked around the school and found a little bench in the shadow of a big tree where no one could see her. She sat on it and put her head in her hands. She promised herself she wouldn't cry, but she was just so angry and disappointed once again that she almost lost it. Didn't Damien care about her at all? Was she really nothing but some object to him that he kept just to brag about and show around? Haley felt her heart sink at that thought. Don't be ridiculous, she tried to convince herself, that can't be it. She was just really pissed at him! She was sure his thoughts were good (or at least she hoped they were), but he acted like a jerk and embarrassed her in front of everyone, again. She couldn't help but remember how Lucas instantly got up and hugged Brooke, and how she was just roughly pulled in Damien's lap and got his tongue in her mouth before even a greeting. It felt really humiliating.
And then her thoughts traveled once again to the mysterious guy she had that embarrassing encounter with earlier. His infectious piercing blue eyes, perfect tall, muscular body and that handsome, thick, dark hair… All in all, though, he did look kind of familiar. She couldn't remember when or where she saw him - must've been around school since he obviously attended Tree Hill High - but she knew she'd never been so close to him. She would definitely remember those blue eyes! She felt a little guilty and embarrassed about her thoughts of him, but she couldn't help regretting not seeing his smile. He must have an amazing smile… She smiled herself just at the thought, but her smile soon vanished when she remembered the encounter once again.
God, why do I always have to be such a klutz?! She knew it was him that crashed into her, not the other way around, but she just had to lose her balance and drop all of her books and papers she was clumsily holding in her hands! Uh, he must think I'm just a clumsy fool. He couldn't even spend two seconds around me, he had to get away. That thought saddened Haley even more - the way he suddenly became cold towards her and just ran away without another glance. She didn't know why, but she knew she needed to find out the reason. She wasn't even sure why was it bothering her, but it was - something about this boy was definitely pulling her to him.
All of her thoughts were quickly gone though when she noticed the time. Damn, is it that late already?! She quickly rushed back to school to find her locker. The hallways were now almost empty which wasn't a good sign. After leaving her things in her locker, she hurried to her class.
She burst in flushed and breathless from all the running. Great. Political Science. Of course it's Political Science, she thought sarcastically, because this day didn't suck already. Political Science was her least favorite subject (except P.E.), and the one she was never good at. Of course, she had to be so lucky that the teacher was already in class, and it also had to be her least favorite teacher - Mrs. Wilson.
Haley never really understood why, but that women did not like her! She always openly treated Haley as slower and dumber than other students. And yes, maybe Haley wasn't the best at the subject, but it didn't make her any less valuable than the other classmates, and it certainly did not give Mrs. Wilson any right to treat her the way she did! Brooke thought it was because she discriminated against cheerleaders - which Haley always found funny, but at some moments it really made her wonder what if.
"Oh, Ms James, how nice of you to finally join us!" Mrs. Wilson commented sarcastically with a sour smile on her face. God, how Haley hated that woman. She just saw her come in a few seconds before her!
"I'm very sorry, Mrs. Wilson, I was having trouble with finding my locker," she lied, with most sincere little smile she could pull in that moment. She didn't really feel the need to be thrown out of class her first day as a senior.
"I'd maybe even believe that if this was your first year here," Mrs. Wilson replied harshly. "And since you're a senior, I'm sure you're quite familiar with the school hallways and lockers. At least you should be, although considering it's you, I shouldn't be so surprised."
And what the hell is that supposed to mean?! Haley felt her blood boil and eyes narrowing while she tried her best to keep it cool. What did she ever do to this woman to make her hate her that much? I mean seriously, the first day of school barely even started and she was already coming at her!
A few of the students snickered, but none really laughed since they all knew Haley's position in the school. And if they weren't afraid of Haley, they were definitely scared of her best friend B. Davis who had a tendency of being over-protective about her friends, and could be pretty scary when she wanted to!
"You're lucky, though," Mrs. Wilson continued, "We haven't started yet, and considering I am so nice," she paused when a few laughs where heard, while Haley tried her best to suppress laughter herself. Mrs. Wilson just sent the class a fierce glare before continuing.
"…I will let you in this time. But don't think this can become a common thing!" She added strictly before gesturing her to come in and sit down.
Haley hadn't read the list of students yet, but she already knew none of her friends were in this class with her, so she just nodded and found a place in the corner of the classroom, not paying attention to the curious faces watching her.
"Wow gee, aren't you nice," she muttered, annoyed, earning a few snickers from the people around her, but Mrs. Wilson, luckily, didn't hear her.
The rest of the class passed by in a blur. She couldn't concentrate on what the teacher was saying - partly because she was already annoyed and exhausted from this far-from-good first day of school, but mostly because Mrs. Wilson was probably one of the most boring people she'd ever heard! Every word from her mouth seemed to put Haley to sleep and she wondered if she would be any better in Political Science if this woman wasn't teaching it. Probably not, she admitted, but it would definitely be more interesting and maybe even bearable.
Loud school bells interrupted her thoughts. Finally, she thought relieved. She honestly didn't know how much more of Mrs. Wilson's rambling she could bear. However, of course one school hour wasn't enough for her teacher, so she had to delay them.
"Wait, everyone, we're not finished here!"
Everyone groaned and one student complained about the bell going off.
"I don't care how many times this bell rings, we're done here when I say we're done! That's unless you want a detention the first day."
Loud sighs and groans were heard while students unwillingly returned to their seats.
"Does she always have to be such a bitch?" Haley heard someone whisper.
"Ok, now that we have that settled, I have an assignment for you," Mrs. Wilson continued, causing most of the students to roll their eyes. Of course she'd give them homework the first day - nothing unusual for that 'nice' lady.
"You will be working in pairs and the deadline is in exactly three weeks."
The teacher explained the assignment and started reading who was paired with who. God, please just let me be with someone who knows something about this useless stuff, Haley thought in expectation.
"And finally, Haley James will obviously have to have any help she can get, so you, Miss James, will be with…" she stopped to turn the paper that she was reading the names from, "…Oh yes. Nathan Scott!"
Haley's heart stopped. Suddenly the whole class went quiet, only shocked gasps from some students could be heard. Everyone knew the situation between Lucas and Nathan Scott, as well as between him and Damien West. Everyone also knew very well that Haley was Damien's girlfriend and Lucas' best friend, and that they were Nathan's worst enemies. It seemed to Haley that everyone in the class was watching her closely and expecting her reaction.
She knew who Nathan was and she knew it was a sore subject for Lucas so they didn't talk about it much. However, she also knew that Damien and Lucas hated the guy more than anyone and were often fighting with him - which she couldn't do much about since they wouldn't even tell her what he was like or what he did to piss them off. She just trusted them and disliked the guy for them - she couldn't hate him, however, since she hadn't even met him, but from what her boyfriend and best friend told her she knew he was a bad guy.
What she didn't know was what he looked like. She just saw him a couple of times, but never close up. That was until now. It was another reason why Haley felt her heart stop - the second Mrs. Wilson read his name, all the eyes were on him, and following their gazes she saw him. The guy from earlier, the guy who completely enchanted her, the guy who unleashed a thousand butterflies in her stomach, the guy she couldn't stop thinking about for the last two hours… and the guy who was her boyfriend's and best friend's enemy. She honestly didn't know how to react. His gaze sent shivers through her spine and made goose bumps on her skin. Before she knew it once again she got lost in those blue eyes of his and found herself unable to look away…
So, how did you like it? I would really appreciate hearing your opinion because this is in fact why I'm doing it, and the fact that this is my first Fan Fiction ever makes me ever more curious about what you think of my writing Next chapter will come sooner than this one did, I promise!
