Chapter 3
Two days later, Deb and William's family were going be moving in for a little while. Nathan was totally stressed about it, he was trying to find any way to be gone for the day. He had asked Clay if there were any clients he needed to go out and see, or any scouting that needed to be done, but Haley had made sure to tell Clay that he was not allowed to give Nathan an out. Nathan had even tried to convince her to let him go visit Lucas for a couple of days and take Jamie with, but she still gave him a firm no. So, without a choice, today was the day.
Nathan stood in the living room, moving the vacuum over the same spot that he had been for the past five minutes, a scowl on his face. He jumped slightly when Haley came up behind him, poking his back softly. "Nathan." She said, raising one eyebrow. He looked over at her, turning off the vacuum, "Sorry, I guess I'm just trying to put it off. We're about to have five extra people in out house. I mean, we have the room but... I don't want this to happen." He grumbled. Haley laughed quietly, unplugging the vacuum, beginning to wind up cord. "I'm worried about it too. I mean, we saw how everything went last time." She said, shaking her head at him. "Go out this away." She held up the vacuum to him, nodding. Nathan sighed softly, looking around the quiet house. "Where are the kids?" He questioned her, raising his eyebrows. "Oh, they're at Brooke's again. I wanted to make sure everything was going to be alright before they met everyone." Haley smiled at him. Nathan nodded, putting the vacuum in the closet. "So, Haley. I was talking to Clay... And he said that there might be some good people to scout in West Virginia..." He knew that it was no use to even try and lie to her, since Clay had explained that she threatened him if he let Nathan go anywhere, but he thought he'd try anyways. Haley raised her eyebrows, "Oh he said that, did he?" She said, seeing right through his lie. "Yep. Tonight. Think you can manage things around here without me?" Nathan said quietly, brushing his fingers through his hair. "I think I'll be fine. Except for tonight I was thinking about taking a bath, having a nice glass of wine to release some of the stress from this week. Such a shame that you won't be here to join me." Haley said softly, winking at him. "Oh, that's just not fair." Nathan grumbled, shaking his head at her. "Maybe don't try and lie to me, and I'll play fair." She replied, patting his cheek. He nodded, "Sounds fair enough." He mumbled, sighing softly, heading up the stairs.
About an hour later, the doorbell rang, signifying that everyone was here. "Nathan!" Haley called up the stairs, heading towards the door. She pulled it open, smiling at Deb. "Hello Deb! It's always nice to see you." She said, hugging her tightly. Deb smiled, "Thank you so much for this, Haley. It really helps. I hope it's not too much trouble with Nathan." She said quietly. Haley shook her head, "He's a little nervous, but he'll be fine. Don't worry." She reassured her, waving at William as he walked up to the door. "Deb, you know where your old room is, so just head on up there. I will show the girls to their room." Haley said, waving towards the stairs, watching as the two disappeared up them.
Haley turned around to look at the three girls who were walking towards the house, letting out a deep breath. "Hey guys! Welcome to our house. Make yourselves at home. We have several guest bedrooms upstairs, as well as one downstairs. So if you want to all stay upstairs, that's fine. But just a reminder, I have a four year old, and while it doesn't happen often, she does get scared sometimes in the middle of the night and start crying. So if that is going to bug you, I recommend the downstairs guest room." She said, smiling at them. "I'll take the downstairs one." Nicole said almost immediately, a small scowl on her face. Haley nodded, "Okay. Just head down that hall, it's the first door on your left." She smiled at her. "Now if you two would follow me upstairs, I will show you around." Haley hummed, leading Megan and Jordan up the stairs. Jordan picked a room that was across from Deb and William's, while Megan picked one a little bit down the hall. "Alright, I'm going to let you guys get settled. You're welcome to eat anything you find, and there's a pool out back." Haley said, nodding at them, before excusing herself into her and Nathan's room.
Nathan looked up when he saw Haley walk in, sending her a small smile. "Nathan, come on. You can't hide in here forever. Deb and William are in Deb's old room, Nicole is downstairs, Jordan is in the room closest to Deb and William, and Megan is closer to the end of the hall. You have to go out and interact so I can decide if it's safe to bring the kids home." She teased him, resting her hands on his shoulders. Nathan raised his eyebrows, "Wait, Deb and William are sharing a room? Haley, gross." He grumbled, looking down. Haley chuckled quietly, "Oh stop it Nathan. Just try to relax and not find everything wrong with this situation. And think about how we'll be in Hawaii in two weeks, enjoying the sun. We wouldn't be there without this wedding." Haley pointed out, kissing him quickly. "Let's just go downstairs. You can help me make dinner." She smiled, rubbing his arm. Nathan nodded slowly, standing up and rubbing his hands down his face. This was going to be a long day.
As the day went on, things had stayed just as uncomfortable. Deb and William had made their way out of the bedrooms, but Megan, Nicole, and Jordan had all stayed in their rooms. Nathan looked around the room, avoiding his mother's gaze, his eyes finally landing on Haley, who was sitting one the opposite side of the counter as William, leaning against it, having a small conversation with Nathan's soon to be step father. Nathan stood up from his spot on the stood he was seated on, walking up behind Haley, placing his hands on either side of her. He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to the back of her head. "How about we go out to dinner, and bring them take out? Or we could pick up a pizza." He whispered. Haley looked at him, kinking her eyebrow up. "You know what, fine. Go pick up a pizza. But I'm staying here." She said, laughing quietly as she felt him remove himself from behind her. "Pick up Jamie and Lydia too. I know Deb is dying to see them." Haley suggested, watching as Nathan was already opening the garage door. "Okay! See you soon babe. Bye Mom, William." He nodded, hurrying out of the house and into the garage.
About forty minutes later, Nathan walked back into the house, carrying four pizzas, Jamie and Lydia following behind him. Deb jumped up when she saw them, rushing over and hugging them both tightly. He was glad that she was finally over the whole "Grandma" thing, and now let the kids call her that because it might be a little weird in front of William and his family. Nathan smiled slightly at the scene in front of him, setting the pizzas on the counter. He made eye contact with his mother, and sighed softly, before looking around to find Haley, who was no where in sight. It was just William, Deb, and Nicole in the room.
"So here's an idea..." He began, glancing back over at Deb. "While I was out, I started thinking that maybe we can show you guys around Tree Hill. I know you're considering moving here, it might be nice to know the town..." He suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Nathan. Wouldn't you agree, William?" Deb said, looking over at her soon to be husband. "Yeah, Thank you Nathan. I've heard a lot of interesting things about this town. Some from your mother, and some from other people. I'm sure we're picking the right tour guide, since a lot of the interesting things have happened to you and your friends." He chuckled. Nathan laughed quietly, "Yeah, you could say this town is blessed and cursed." He shrugged slightly, shaking his head and laughing.
William looked over at Nicole, "What do you think, Nicole? Want to get a tour?" He asked. Nicole looked over at Nathan, then at her father. "Oh yeah dad, getting a tour of this old craptown sounds great." She said in a sarcastic, bitter voice. Nathan sighed softly, looking over at Jamie and deciding to hold his tongue from saying anything too harsh. "Really? I'm glad you agree." He smirked at her. "Come get some pizza." He said to everyone that was in the room. "I didn't know what kind you guys liked, so I covered the basics. Pepperoni, Cheese, Sausage, and meat lovers." Nathan nodded, walking into the pantry and pulling out some paper plates, grabbing Lydia a piece. He picked her up, setting her in a chair and setting the piece in front of here. "Okay, I'm going to go find Haley. You can drink whatever is in the fridge. Anything alcoholic is in the fridge in the garage now, Mom." He said, nodding before hurrying upstairs.
"Haley?" Nathan called out, rubbing his hand over his head. "In here!" She called out, poking her head out of Megan's room. He let out a deep breath, walking towards the door. Nathan leaned against the door frame, looking at Megan, Haley, and Jordan. "What are you guys doing in here?" He kinked an eyebrow, his eyes falling on his wife. Haley chuckled, "Just telling them stories. Nothing too bad." She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "I can't believe you jumped off a bridge on your wedding day! And you left her all alone up there!" Jordan said to him with wide eyes. "Hey, I jumped in after a limo that was driven in that had my uncle and a friend in it." Nathan protested, shaking his head. Haley laughed quietly, "It really was not funny at all at the time. But after a few years, we can laugh about it." She said, smiling at him. "You guys have led crazy lives, you know? It's weird because I've listened to your songs, and watched your games, but I never thought any of this would happen." Megan said, shrugging her shoulders. "Trust me, life didn't slow down after our wedding. The crazy never stops." Haley said, standing up. "Nathan bought some pizza, why don't you guys head downstairs." She smiled at them. Megan and Jordan nodded, heading out of the room.
Haley followed after Nathan into their room, grabbing his hand and turning him towards her, pressing a small kiss to his lips. "I love you, Nathan Scott. You know that?" She said, smiling at him. "I love you too, Hales." Nathan grinned at her, nodding his head. "I told them we would give them a tour around Tree Hill sometime. Maybe we can add the bridge that the limo drove off of to our list." He said, shaking his head. Haley raised her eyebrows. "You told them that? I didn't even have to force you to do it? That's great, Nathan! Baby steps." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I know this is kind of scary and weird for you. And I admit you haven't acted the best around them, but this is a good idea." Haley said, kissing him again. Nathan held her to him for a good thirty seconds, before pulling alway from her. "As much as I would love to stay up here with you, we better get back downstairs. Don't want Nicole to bite Jamie's head off for asking her to pass the salt." He laughed, kissing her once more, before grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the room.
Nathan's eyes immediately fell to Jamie when they made it downstairs, he appeared fine. He was actually sitting by Nicole, chatting away with her. His gaze shifted to Lydia, who was now done with her pizza, sitting in Deb's lap while she ate hers. He let out a breath of relief because all was well in the Scott home. Haley pulled him over to the counter, dishing him up a few slices of pizza, handing it over to him. "Thank you." He said softly, kissing her forehead. Haley smiled at him, before grabbing his arm as he turned around. "Nathan." She said, laughing quietly. Nathan looked at her, raising his eyebrows. Jamie laughed loudly, looking at the two in front of him. "Dad, you have a little lipstick on!" He laughed out, smirking at his father. Nathan glared at Haley, shaking his head and groaning. Haley laughed, reaching up and wiping it off his lips. "Sorry." She hummed, shaking her head. "No you're not." He mumbled, sitting down at the counter on Jamie's other side. "Hey, Jamie. Don't be laughing at me, because it's going to happen to you soon. All the time." He grumbled, ruffling his son's hair. "That's why you shouldn't kiss girls yet, Jamie." Haley said, giving Nathan a pointed look. "How old are you? Nearly fourteen? I was about your age when I first kissed a girl, maybe a little younger..." He trailed off, looking up at Haley, who cleared her throat. "And it was your mom! Marriage for life." He said, holding up his left hand and tapping the gold band on his finger. Haley rolled her eyes, "Real nice save there, honey." She said, shaking her head. Nicole scoffed, "I wouldn't believe that, Jamie." She mumbled. Nathan's head turned to her, then to Haley, then back to Nicole. "You'd be right not to believe me, Jamie. I didn't kiss your mom until we were sixteen. That was Uncle Lucas' job, before she met me of course. Then she met me and was like "Oh no, I've been spending time with the wrong brother." And that's how the story goes. Married after the first date." Nathan said, laughing in order to cover up his annoyance at Nicole. Haley shook her head, "I didn't kiss Lucas, and that's not even close to how the story goes, but you've heard it a thousand times, Jamie. So don't worry about it." She laughed. Jamie shook his head at his parents, rolling his eyes. "Besides, we all know Jamie has already kissed-" Nathan shut his mouth when he saw the panicked look appear on his son's face. "-Chester. He's already kissed Chester the rabbit." He finished quickly. Haley looked at Jamie, "What?" She asked, with a confused look on her face. "Nothing, Hales. So Jamie, how was Brooke's house?" Nathan asked, changing the subject quickly. "It was good. Davis and Jude are hilarious. I don't know how Brooke and Julian can do it, though. They are wild." He laughed. Nathan chuckled, the times they had babysat the two, he had thought the same thing. "Because she's Brooke Davis. Amazing in all aspects of life." He said, smiling. "Very true." Haley agreed, looking over at Lydia. "Oh no, she's asleep already? It's only six o'clock!" Haley sighed, "Davis and Jude always make her tired. She tries to keep up with them, and most of the time she can, but those boys always have energy." She said, "I can take her, if you'd like?" Haley asked Deb, smiling. Deb shook her head, "I'll take her." She said softly, heading towards the stairs.
"So William..." Nathan began, his gaze shifting over to the man. "Got a favorite basketball team?" He asked. "Not really, no. I'm more of a football and baseball kind of guy." William replied, clearing his throat. "Oh, nice." Nathan replied, glancing over at Haley. "I'm sort of a die hard basketball guy, if you didn't already know that about me." He laughed. William chuckled quietly, "I never would of guessed." He said, shaking his head. "Deb told me great things about your home, but wow. It's beautiful." William complimented, smiling over at Haley. "Yeah, well. We've been in it for quite a while. Nearly ten years, and we still like it a lot. We've been very lucky." Haley said, looking over at Nathan. Nathan smiled at her, winking subtly. She rolled her eyes, a pink tint appearing on her cheeks.
Jordan looked over at her father, "He jumped off a bridge on their wedding day." She pointed out, pointing over at Nathan. "Oh, that's not a tradition, I hope!" William laughed, looking over at Nathan. Nathan shook his head, laughing quietly. "Just if a crazy woman tries to drive a limo off a bridge, but don't worry. If that happens, I'll do the honors of jumping off it." He laughed. Haley shook her head, "Yeah, no you won't." She said, poking Nathan's arm. "Sorry, William. My girl has spoken. Looks like it's up to you." Nathan laughed. "Did you know that they've been married for nearly fifteen years, dad? They got married when they were sixteen." Megan said, looking over at the two. "Got any tips?" William laughed. "Happy wife, happy life." Nathan replied, reaching across the counter and grabbing Haley's hand. Haley rolled her eyes, smiling at him. "He's not wrong." She said softly, nodding at William. "Don't leave on tour, and your marriage should be fine." Nicole added in, shaking her head. Nathan sighed heavily, opening his mouth to reply to her, but Haley dug her fingernails into his skin to quiet him. "Don't leave on tour? Nathan, you can sing?" William asked, raising his eyebrows. "Deb has told me a little bit about you two, but not much in depth. I didn't know that you can sing." He said, looking at the pair. "Oh no, my dad can't sing. Not even a little bit!" Jamie laughed, smirking at Nathan. "It's Haley that can sing. It's kind of a long story." He said, shrugging slightly. "One that I'm not sure how she knows." He grumbled, looking over at Nicole. "Your brother's book." Nicole replied, shrugging. "Hm, maybe I will have to check out this book." William said, nodding his head. "It's pretty good. I mean, we're in it, so..." Nathan laughed, pointing at himself, then at Haley.
The rest of the day went by fairly quickly, things a little bit more relaxed than they were at dinner two days previous. Jamie had gone to bed at about 10:30, and everyone had gone at their own time after that. It was about midnight when Nathan and Haley had decided to go to bed. Haley had gone ahead upstairs, while Nathan said he would turn off all of the lights. When Nathan was done, he headed up the stairs quickly, just wanting the day to be over, even though he wasn't expecting tomorrow to be any better, because they had all agreed that tomorrow would be a good day to give everyone a tour of Tree Hill. He let out a deep breath, walking into his and Haley's room. Nathan's eyes fell on Haley, a small smile appearing on his face. She was sitting up, her glasses perched up on her nose, reading a book. "I guess you'll never stop being tutor-girl, hm?" He laughed, sitting down on the end of the bed. "I'll stop being tutor-girl, when you stop needing help." Haley teased him, poking him with her foot. Nathan shook his head, "I'm not sure if that will ever happen." He laughed, looking down at the ground. "Oh, trust me honey, I know it won't." She said, winking at him. Nathan laughed quietly, standing up. He changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, before walking into the bathroom and brushing his teeth. A few minutes later, he walked back into their room, climbing into bed next to Haley, watching her as she read. "You're beautiful, you know that?" Nathan said softly, grabbing one of her hands and kissing it softly. "Goodnight, Hales." He mumbled, wrapping his arms around her the best he could from his laying down position, and her sitting up position. "Don't stay up too late." Nathan chuckled, closing his eyes and letting sleep consume him.
