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Of altered dreams and father complex

"A thousand half-loves must be forsaken to take one whole heart home."
— Rumi

Song muse "Boys don't cry by the cure"

For ages she had known Lucas, crushes, bullying, secrets; they have been through it all, never at any point has she thought of keeping anything from him. Luke was her confidant through and through, so you could imagine how betrayed her best friend felt when he found her hat in the car Nathan was driving.

True, there was nothing between her and Nathan, other than tutoring sessions, but the rivalry between both boys had gone on for a while now, that Lucas felt furious, confronting Haley immediately the night before. He left shortly after and Haley was relieved because she wasn't sure how she could explain what was happening, and the fact that she was actually seeing things from the other one's perspective and that it all made sense to her.

So that day, when she walked into Karen's café and noticed Lucas sitting at a stool by the counter; his back to her, Haley decided quickly on leaving, she rushed out the door and had already walked a few steps when she heard him call her name, and Haley turned around, facing Lucas.

"How long are we gonna do this?"

"Do what?"

"Avoid each other" said Lucas.

"You tell me. You are the one upset" she said, her voice cracking slightly.

"And you are the one who lied to me"

"I don't know what to say to you Luke"

Lucas moved closer, his voice filled with accusation "just explain to me, why you were with Nathan. I mean considering these past few weeks and what he has done"

"I can't" replied Haley.

"You know, how I feel about him, Haley" he said, walking away from her.

"Lucas. Fine" she shouted after him. Lucas turned to face her, mouth curled in malice, Haley's voice raised a little, tears already springing into her eyes "yes, I know how you feel about him, but there is something you don't know."

He gestured for her to go on "I promised I would tutor him if he left you alone" suddenly Lucas' whole demeanor changed, he whispered a small "What?"

Haley's tone became firmer "I am doing it for you, Luke"

It was her turn to walk away from him; she left Lucas behind; standing utterly ashamed. Though as Haley rounded the corner, it was her turn to feel shameful, because she had to add lying to the list of why she felt unworthy of her friendship with Lucas lately, right after secrecy.

She knew in the depth of her very being that what she had with Nathan wasn't just a method to help Lucas, nor was it guilt over a student who needed help; perhaps it had started out that way. She was smart enough to know that her heart racing at Nathan's smile indicated something more. It wasn't a crush, she had those before, but this was more intense, how her heart ached whenever Nathan showed any sign of distress, how she couldn't stop wearing the tacky bracelet he gave her or how she felt joy and pride radiating through her very being whenever Nathan took a step closer to being a better student and human being.

The worst part about this wasn't the fact that Nathan would never feel the same way; though it did majorly contribute to her anguish, but it was actually the fact that Peyton seemed into Lucas and vice versa, Nathan was apparently still into Peyton, from what she could tell and the thought of him in any kind of pain was agonizing. Haley would feel content in knowing that Nathan was happy and alright, even if not with her. The intensity of her feelings terrified Haley to her very core that she had to sit down on the sidewalk a little, drawing in a shaky breath.

"This can't be happening" she whispered, closing her eyes and pulling her knees closer to her chest.

Next day had arrived soon enough, and Haley found herself already getting dressed for her shift at Karen's. She had been avoiding Lucas all day long, as she brought customers their orders, Lucas was watching her since she got there over his shoulders, hesitant to speak first, he felt he had wronged her greatly and wasn't sure how to apologize.

"I am an idiot" declared Lucas.

"I know"

"I am sorry" he whispered, she nodded slightly, and he continued in a normal voice "I miss hanging out with you, Hales"

Somewhere in her heart, the feeling of guilt returned at the fact that he apologized, she fidgeted a little "Yeah, I miss hanging out with you too"

"Listen, I appreciate everything you did for me. I do, Haley, but, how about you let me handle the team from now on, okay?"

"Okay?" she smiled.

"So you can stop tutoring, Nathan, now" he said as she picked up a bill on a table.

"Umm, no, I can't"

"Haley!"

"Lucas! I can't, I promised him. I break that promise, I am just as bad as… you think he is" she retorted firmly, and walked away.

For a few minutes she thought he would let this go, but of course he didn't.

"Hales, listen, you don't have to feel guilty for him" he came up from behind her as she pulled a slice of blueberry pie from the oven "He isn't worth it"

"You know, Luke, you don't even know that" she said defensively.

"What?"

She sighed "I know how you feel about him, but did you ever think he wasn't that bad?"

"For a split second, but then I pushed that thought right out of my head. Haley…"

"You know forget it" she raised a hand, defeated "bad idea"

Lucas decided to let it go, Haley was just being Haley, seeing the best in people, and if Nathan ever broke her heart, well he would just have to break his leg.

###

The hall was buzzing all around, yet, Nathan stood in the middle shoulders slumped. He had just tried apologizing to Peyton; however, she insisted that they were broken up. There was disdain in her voice and he knew she probably meant it this time.

"Hey!" Haley's sweet voice, snapped him from his trance.

"Hi" he looked down at her with a smile.

"Ready?"

"Yeah" he nodded

His entire mood changed when he saw Haley, and he found himself even cracking a joke, his smile becoming huge when he heard her giggle behind him as they walked into the tutor center.

"What happened?" she asked, as soon as they sat down.

"Huh, what?" he frowned "What makes you think anything happened?"

"Nathan" she pressed.

He looked at her for a few seconds, unsure of when his face betrayed him before sighing "Peyton broke up with me"

"What? Why?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, Nathan, it always matters" she said sincerely, reaching out and putting her hand on his. Nathan's heart leapt and he had to swallow the lump in his throat; he hadn't realized how much he needed just a small gesture of compassion.

"If I tell you, will you promise not break up with me, too" he tried to joke, but the crack in his voice gave him away.

"Hmmm" she gave him an, I-know-you-did-something, lopsided playful grin with a cocked eyebrow "Speak!"

Nathan laughed softly; he knew she would forgive him "I kind of pulled something with Lucas at the party, after you went outside"

She closed her eyes, disappointed "Nathan"

"I know, I promised you"

"Why are you doing this?" she asked softly.

"I don't know" he confessed "You know what the funny part was"

"What?"

"For a moment, I had to make sure you weren't there"

"Didn't want to risk your tutoring sessions?" she joked.

"Didn't want to risk not seeing you everyday" he responded frankly, and a blush crept up in her cheeks "So, you mad at me?"

"No" she finally whispered, "just disappointed"

"That's worse"

"Nathan, I am trying to see things from your side, I promise, but the way you are with people, I can't just stand by and tell you its okay, how you treat the ones around you"

Nathan frowned agitated, "let's just start"

She passed over their history book, ready to explain, but before she could stop herself, Haley asked "Do you miss her?"

He froze, but didn't look up, after a beat, he shrugged and changed the subject as he saw the plastic bracelet peeking from under her sleeve; he reached out and slightly pulled it "Hey! That is some fine jewelry"

"Shut up" Haley said, blushing even more, as she pulled her sleeve over it again and crossed her arms.

"Come on" he persisted, tugging on her sleeve with a smile.

"You know what, fine" she responded, proceeding to remove the bracelet.

"No, no" he said quickly, closing his hand around her wrist "just kidding, it suits you" he winked, and Haley huffed a laugh.

"Let's start; you have exams coming up" she tried to sound serious, but her smile said the opposite "So, the fourteenth amendment…"

###

"The good news is that you did better, and the bad news is, better is a D" said Haley handing him back his practice test; they were at Nathan's house.

"Yeah, I guess, I didn't really give this one my best shot"

Nathan was upset and he wasn't even trying to hide it, something new had happened, Haley asked "What's going on with you?"

"Well, you know me and Peyton broke up" he reminded her, of their conversation a few hours before.

"Peyton and I" corrected Haley.

"She broke up with you too?" he joked and Haley rolled her eyes.

"Just, I didn't know, she was gonna take it this hard, she went off on Brooke in practice, kinda worried about her"

Before she could stop herself, Haley jibed "Well, maybe you should've worried about her more when you were together" when Nathan looked up, face hard "I am sorry, but it's true"

"No, you don't know the first thing about Peyton and I" he responded defensively.

She cleared her throat and said "me and Peyton"

"Whatever"

Haley took a sip of her tea, as Nathan avoided her gaze and looked over his test; it was so confusing with him, one minute it was jokes and niceness, the other it was the cold-treatment. She stared him down for a long time but he continued avoiding her gaze until she spoke "listen, I should go"

"What?" his eyes snapped to her "we still have time"

"Yeah, I think that's enough for today"

Nathan groaned "No, listen, Haley, let's just forget it and continue"

"It's no use Nathan" she tried "you clearly aren't focused enough"

"Well, then let's watch a movie or something" he said desperately.

"I can't, I have…"

"You were going to stay with me for three more hours, anyway, don't try to convince me you have plans, if you aren't going to teach me anything, then let's just hang" he offered "I will make popcorn"

Haley huffed "Fine, but we are watching something educational"

"Educational?" his brows rushed together in a frown.

That was the day Haley found out how heavily Nathan breathed when he slept, they had gone out to a nearby rental store to find a DVD, when she insisted on the story they were assigned to in class 'a midsummer night's dream'. Haley had read that book countless times, reveling in the enchanting events yet slightly disappointed in what seemed to her as one dimensional characters. Nathan, on the other hand, tried as hard as he could to pull her in the direction of the Austin powers movie, but Haley was adamant. She had said educational and she was going to stick by her statement.

By the time, the third scene had started, Nathan's head was slumped against her shoulder; sound asleep, Haley just continued eating the popcorn he microwaved, moving slightly lower so he wouldn't get a kink in his neck.

"Haley" she heard him say.

"Yeah?" Haley asked but he never responded, when she looked over at him, she realized he was still sleeping and came to the conclusion that she must have imagined it, she threw another handful of popcorn in her mouth.

Her shoulder had fallen asleep an hour ago, but she didn't have the heart to shift, the bowl of popcorn was almost empty. All of a sudden, Nathan's mom entered the room, Haley sat up a little straighter, Nathan's head slid lower, his face squished against her arms but he still hadn't woken up.

"Oh" she stammered "hello, Mrs. Scott"

"Hello"

She tried moving to shake her hand. But Nathan chose that precise moment to close his arms around her in a vice grip, mistaking her for a pillow, and she shrieked as he, pulled her down with him. Haley blushed as she lay slumped awkwardly to the side, Nathan still holding onto her, his heavier weight not allowing her to budge a friction. The older woman stood there, her arms crossed. At that point his mother seemed to be upside down.

"I am Haley, Nathan's tutor" she looked down, Nathan had drooled a little on her "we are just- umm, studying"

Nathan picked that precise moment to snore and Haley sighed closing her eyes.

"Well, you are doing a great job"

Haley gave a sheepish short laugh, attempting to push Nathan off, man, he is heavy "I should go"

"No, I wouldn't dream of it" the older woman said, walking away "if it weren't you for you, how could I be sure my son was getting enough sleep?"

The tutor groaned in embarrassment, her meetings with Mrs. Scott were getting more and more awkward each time.

Long after the credits rolled on screen, Nathan had started stirring; opening his eyes ever so slightly, before jumping up in shock; he had noticed Haley, stuck under him, eyes showing boredom, she was staring stoically at the blue screen of the TV.

"Morning, sunshine" she said with a sarcastic smile.

"Ughh, what happened?" Nathan mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"You were enjoying the movie so much; you decided to watch with your eyes closed"

"Sorry" he responded meekly.

"Study and I will see you tomorrow, after school" she said, Nathan watched her walking away; somehow, he didn't feel that embarrassed. Actually, it felt natural, waking up in her arms. But a tiny voice in his head mumbled that it was wrong, at least, like he was cheating on Peyton.

Peyton and I are broken up, shut up.

###

Nathan, who had seen Peyton casually walk into the locker room that day, was dumbfounded. Once she entered, all the boys, in their towels, stopped and ogled, but she didn't give them a second glance, not even him or Lucas, instead she had made a beeline to Whitey's office, only throwing a quick "hi" his way.

For a while, Nathan had stood there in the locker room, waiting for some sort of explanation, even Lucas stalled a little more than usual. Eventually, she and Whitey, walked out of his office together, not looking at either boy.

"Close your mouth, boys, might get stuck that way" Whitey joked over his shoulder, as they left the locker room.

The rest of the day was hardly different, even after overcoming the original surprise, Nathan's mind was still buzzing. Until Haley had come knocking on the door, as soon as he answered, Nathan fell to the floor, cackling "What are you wearing?"

She rolled her eyes, "a poncho"

"What threw it up?"

"My mom made it" she deadpanned.

Nathan couldn't stifle his laughter however, "so you actually wore it voluntarily"

"Shut up and let's get started"

He continued laughing as he put the pot of tea over the stove; added honey, cinnamon and peppermint; just the way Haley likes it, and pushed over the cup to her, receiving a quick 'thank you'. He tried to remember what Peyton liked to drink, did she drink tea? No, it was coffee, no wait…

"Can I buy a vowel?"

"Huh?"

"I was asking what you thought about Demetrius"

"A douche, really" he answered naturally.

"Why would you think that?"

"I mean come on, Hales, he is trying to force Hermia into marrying him, like when Helena told him of their plans to run off and get married, dude should've taken it as a sign to take a hike, but he still tries to screw them over, and then he abandons Helena; the one who could actually like… What?" Nathan stopped as he noticed Haley staring at him in awe.

"You read the book!"

"Cable was out" he responded.

Haley cleared her throat, obviously pleased with him "Why do you think Helena is allowing him to treat her that way?"

"Daddy issues?" he shrugged

"Nathan!"

"Maybe, she really loves him or maybe Shakespeare is just trying to screw me over"

"Yes and yes" she said and Nathan guffawed. Then, Haley slid him a practice exam "I think you are ready for this, and I will give you extra math homework next to your English one, just a heads up."

He spent around two hours answering questions about 'a midsummer night's dream' as Haley graded other's papers. After he was done, she started on his, as he thought about Peyton, everything about their situation was messed up, and at that point, he was sure, she truly didn't want him anymore. The question is…

"Still in denial?" asked Haley.

"About what?" he looked over at the petite brunette.

"Missing her" Nathan sighed as she continued: "it's okay that you do"

"What are you, my tutor or my shrink?"

"Whatever you need" she smiled, looking away

"I treated Peyton pretty bad, she had every right to walk away" He noticed Haley looking at him profoundly and he confessed "okay, yeah, it was my fault, I screwed up, I just wish, I had another chance"

Haley looked away with a sad smile. Her heart felt as though had been crushed with an icy grip and she hastily changed the subject "Nice work"

"That was the truth" Nathan huffed with irritation.

"No" she laughed "on your practice exam, 81"

"Oh" he looked at the paper with pride "you know, it's funny, I think we have actually talked more than Peyton and I ever did"

"Peyton and I" she said proudly, patting his arm "good job"

"Yeah you, too, hey, are you coming to the game?" he asked as she walked away.

Haley turned around "umm, that depends on how you do on your English exam, anything less than an 81, I am staying home and watching the office"

"Alright, Haley"

She stopped walking away again and turned to face him "Yeah?"

"I know this hasn't been easy for you, I just wanna say thanks"

Avoiding his gaze, she nodded "Good luck"

Peyton like coffee… no, tea… wait, she never drank anything. Of course, she drinks something, dumbass. Nathan groaned loudly, as he stared at Haley's empty cup. He couldn't remember his girlfriend of two years favorite drink, but he nailed Haley's preference in two sessions. Perfect.

He needed to make things right with Peyton, she deserves that much.

###

Deborah Helen Scott nee Lee passed nothing on to her son Nathan, from her Marilyn blonde hair, to the serenity in her face. He actually favored his father physically, as a matter of fact, his uncle Cooper had played a joke on him when he was little to mock the lack of similarities, told him that he wasn't actually Deb's son, and that they took him from the hospital by accident, four year old Nathan cried the entire night, even after Cooper apologized a hundred times and swore that he was only joking, Nathan stayed in his mother's arms all night weeping, Deb had scolded her brother that day and even stood up to Dan when he told Nathan to go to his own bed, stating that if her son needed her, then she would be there to hold him.

Henceforth his incredible attachment to his mother, when Nathan was younger, up until age nine, he would stand for long periods of time, holding onto her legs around the house, Somehow, though, as he grew older things have changed drastically, his mother had stayed the same caring woman she always has been, but her role in his life had greatly lessened. For months at a time, she would go on business meetings to the point where he would actually be surprised when seeing her at home, which left him with Dan Scott and all they ever talked about, was his basketball future.

So Nathan absolutely loved the times where his mother would just come and sit with him, even if she didn't know the first thing about his life.

"How's my boy?" asked Deb, approaching Nathan who was lifting weights.

"Why?" He joked, putting the barbell "dad sent you to spy on me? Poison my drink?"

She handed him the icy lemonade and he laughed, smelling the glass for good measure before taking a sip; he loved teasing his mother, well, when he could.

"You know you would think he organized this whole thing himself, so he can get back in the court"

He was referring to the father-son game which was approaching at an alarming speed.

"I know he has been tough on you lately, Nate, but I want you to know, things are gonna change around here."

Nathan gave a short bittersweet smile, his mother had promised him change too many times to keep track "I just wish he would lay-off, you know? I wanna be good for him; he just gets so worked up about this stuff"

"Well, if you don't wanna play, don't play. He will get over it"

He shook his head, handing her back the drink, as he said: "you know that's a lie mom", then he walked away.

Deb's heart ached for her son, she couldn't simply let him walk away looking so frail, casting the lemonade aside, she got up; hoping a change of subject would do the trick.

"Hey, Nate, I was thinking about the cookies I used to make, you want some?"

"Nah" he smiled sadly "I can't eat anything with sugar content a week before the big games"

"Who told you that?" she stood up straighter, he shrugged and Deb felt blood pounding in her head, sometimes she wanted to strangle Dan, the boy was sixteen and every part of his life focused on getting a ball into a hoop "come with me, now, we are making our gummy bear- dippin dots- M&m's – cookies. Then we will go to the dentist"

She pulled her son out of his room as he tittered.

"How are you Nathan?" she asked softly, putting the cookies into the oven, as Nathan licked some remaining dough off the spoon.

He shrugged "I can bench press…"

"No" she interrupted "how are you? Is there anything new? Let's say, short, brunette and sleeping on our couch?"

Nathan took a few minutes to grasp what she was referring to, before he groaned in embarrassment 'You saw that?" he moaned.

"Uh-huh" she laughed mischievously.

"No, that's just Haley, she is my tutor"

"And does just Haley put all of her student to sleep, or is that just you?" she teased.

"Mom, come on now, we were watching that ridiculous movie, and, can we just let it go…"

His face turned a bright shade of red and Deb laughed.

"I remember when you were young, your bed time was 8:30, up until you were seven, and we hadn't even set the bed time for you, when it was 8:30; you would just fall asleep. One time, we were at Grandfather and Grandmother's place, Royal was talking to you and all of a sudden, you just fell forward. We were scared to death, until you snored, I don't think your grandfather has ever felt so offended." Then she moved closer to his ears and whispered "that was when I bought you that water gun you wanted, for getting me out of there"

Nathan laughed uproariously with a mouth full of cookie dough, and his mother put her arms around his shoulders, Nathan has gotten so big, yet, he was still her baby boy who carried too much on his shoulders.

###

Art has always been Peyton's thing, ever since her mother passed away, music and drawing were forms of expression; when she and Nathan started dating, she made a portrait of him, head bowed demurely, worried furrow lines creasing his forehead with their necklace in hand. That was the way he presented it to her, still so unsure, in the first stages of their relationship and incredibly shy, the photo was drawn with a charcoal pencil, in black and white, except for his eyes; which she colored a soft blue. Then over time, Nathan had changed, Dan Scott really had an effect, eventually the adorable selfless playful guy she fell for turned into a pompous jerk who only cared for himself, their first breakup she cried a lot, their second one, she tore up the portrait and burned it, their third breakup she punched a wall and had to be rushed to the ER for breaking a knuckle. Time after time, they broke up and made up, the only good thing becoming them sleeping together at that point, which though fervent; held nothing of the intimacy it did before, there wasn't any emotional connection; he didn't even notice the sketches she put on her walls, each one telling a different story of her life.

She stroked her brush over a canvas, all covered in black, Peyton moved the brush with furious speed.

Nathan knocked on her bedroom door and softly asked: "What do you call that?"

"Love, what do you want, Nathan?"

As he expected, she was still beyond pissed at him. He a careful step closer and said "It's what I don't want, I don't want this for us"

"Maybe you should've thought of that sooner"

"Yeah, I know" said Nathan calmly, moving even closer, fiddling with his hand; a habit of his when nervous "I have been thinking about how we were when we started going out. Like that day at Rhysfield beach. The nights here in your room"

Feeling her resolve wavering, Peyton turned towards him semi-sharply and retorted: "We haven't been that way for a long time"

"We could be, come on Peyton, I have been thinking about you. I know you have been thinking about me"

"I have actually had a lot going on lately" she answered a little dismissively and proudly.

'Yeah, me too, my dad's been growing crazy about this father/son game, and my mom, it's like ever since she came back she's been wanting to hang out"

"I really can't hear this right now" snapped Peyton

Nathan faltered for a beat, and then said:" alright, well, how about you come to the game? Maybe we can hang out afterwards"

He felt exiled from any territory of intimacy as Peyton turned her back on him, a final plea was in order so he wouldn't lose every shred of affection he had in his life; so he moved behind her, close to the girl's ear and said: "I miss you, Peyton" then with a sad smile added "see you there" then he walked away.

Peyton picked up the brush and threw a little blue on the black, it didn't change the painting one bit of course, she sighed, knowing that Nathan Scott held a place deep in her heart; she just knew it wasn't the place he used to hold.

###

The day of the game weather was silently cold, even the lightest breeze was missing, and the entire ambiance screamed grey. Nathan walked with Tim, when he spotted Haley, walking a good distance ahead of Lucas.

"Catch up with you later man" he said, not looking at Tim, then he looked at Haley and said with a smile: "Got a sec?"

"Hey! Yeah, what's up?"

"Check that out" He raised the math quiz that he had taken earlier up to his chest, almost at Haley's eyelevel, she eyed it with for a beat and exclaimed giddily: "An 84? That's so great"

The petite girl was staring up at him with a huge smile; he grinned widely and opened his arms; offering a hug.

"Yeah, hey, congratulations"

As Haley launched herself into his arms, standing on tiptoes and craning her neck to hug him, Nathan bent down low and encircled his arms around her upper back. Still grinning, he raised his eyes to meet Lucas', in a silent dare, he knew his plan to use Haley had gone down the drain the moment he talked to her, yet, he just needed to get in a jab; the smile slowly faded into a taunting expression.

The hug was short and slightly awkward, but Haley breathed a quick laugh; feeling at home in his arms, and she wasn't the first one to let go. Nathan on the other hand, had a sudden surge of protectiveness course through his body, almost as if he was challenging anyone near that Haley; or at least a part of her, belonged to him. When they stopped hugging, Nathan had a fake smile plastered on his face and she nodded curtly, blushing.

"I will look for you on the bleachers" he winked, leaving a flustered Haley behind as he walked towards the gym.

The gym wasn't a place Haley ever thought of going to, and if it weren't for her GPA being threatened, she would've rather avoided the place all together; a dodge ball caused bruise had just healed. But on the bleachers, Haley could finally enjoy the school spirit; or rather the town spirit, everyone at tree hill seemed hung up on basketball and the enthusiasm was infectious, her mood would however be better if her best friend wasn't avoiding her like the plague.

"Lucas. Hey, Scott" she called with a huge smile. Bad idea, both, Lucas and Nathan turned their heads. She motioned towards Lucas, silently asking about what was bothering him, Nathan looked away but the other one gazed at her venomously before looking away as well.

Haley's smile faded, confounded by his change of attitude.

The game started; the tree hill ravens clad in white and the senior ravens were dressed in black. Each player ran up to face their father, or in Lucas' case; Uncle Keith. They seemed happy; fathers and sons, Lucas going for a man-hug with Keith and even Nathan and Dan were all smiles, as they teased each other.

"Sounds like the old man got a lot more buzz than you did" said Dan, when the announcer called his name and the crowd cheered.

"Are you sure your hearing aid isn't turned up too loud?"

Dan laughed, attempting to poke Nathan's ribs but the younger one swatted his hand away playfully. Haley's lips twitched into a smile. It was great that Nathan seemed to be having fun with his dad. The ball was thrown in between both of them and Dan elbowed Nathan slightly, as he jumped up and hit the ball, passing it to another father. The start was fun, people were cheering and Dan scored quickly. The gym was buzzing with cheers, everyone was happy, the parents proud of their children, even allowing themselves a little humiliation.

As soon as the young boys got their hands on the ball, they started showing off, Lucas had tossed the ball in the air and started spinning it on his middle finger, whistling nonchalantly; whilst Keith raised his arms in defeat, then he passed it to number twelve, who maneuvered around his father easily, dribbling the ball between his legs, and then he threw it over to Nathan.

"Don't try that crap in me Nathan"

Nathan was too caught up in the spirit of it all and had interpreted the threatening note in his father's voice as a friendly challenge, smirking, he bounced the ball on the ground, catching it inside his jersey as it went up and then hit it, allowing it to hula hoop around his torso. Haley started laughing and cheering with everyone as Nathan made his way towards the basket and scored. Nobody seemed to notice the way Dan looked at Nathan, Haley did however and it made her uneasy.

During half time the boys were on cloud nine, even the tension between Nathan and Lucas seemed to have faded slightly, they were joking around in their locker room when Dan came bustling in.

"Enemy approaching" Tim said leaning in on Nathan.

"That's right, enemy approaching, you going to bring your best game or what?"

Nathan looked at him incredulously "You are down by thirty, dad"

"No, I am talking to you" Dan moved forward aggressively pointing at Nathan, "you bring your best game and I will bring mine and then we'll see"

"We'll see what?"

"We will see who is best, or would you rather not know?"

Nathan felt his heart drop, for a little while there he was fooled to think his dad was just enjoying the game with him.

"Hey" said Keith entering "come on relax little brother"

Dan didn't take his eyes off Nathan, staring him down like prey: "This isn't your place, Keith"

His eyes then quickly flashed over to his brother, who came to stand beside Nathan.

"It's not your place either, Dan" Keith gestured at the boys "it's their game now, we should be proud they are so good"

"Like you had anything to do with it" scoffed Dan.

Nathan shut his eyes, feeling a huge weight crushing down on his chest.

"You walk away, Danny" Keith said in a gentle yet firm tone.

"Let's see what you got" Dan sniggered at his son, and then left the locker room.

The sixteen year old stood there with melancholic eyes, shame coursed through his veins as his face heated up at the idea of being threatened in front of his friends, his blood boiled and he his lips curled in anger when he glanced and noticed eyes on him.

"You give me your best game" Keith snarled jokingly "and I am gonna hurt ya"

Some of players laughed, even Nathan smiled ruefully, so Keith patted his shoulder slightly and reassured: "you are doing fine"

Lucas could tell a couple of things by Nathan's quick frown, first, that in the father dilemma, the other one had gotten the short end of the stick. Second, Keith was the best father figure he could've asked for. They could keep Dan Scott for all he cared.

They announced the start of the second half and Nathan's face turned impassive and stoic, the players walked back to the gym and Lucas was chased by Haley.

"Luke, are you mad at me? What's going on?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now" he snapped.

"Okay, can you just tell me what I did? Please"

"I saw you with him"

He knew Haley like the back of his own hand, her walk, her mannerism, everything about her tone and smile, was something he had never seen before; this wasn't a normal tutor-student relationship.

"Who, Nathan?! God, he got a good grade on that math quiz. It was nothing" she said.

"I want to believe you, Haley. I do. But I don't think you are telling the truth"

Haley responded too quickly "I am telling the truth, Lucas, there is- there is nothing going on"

Lucas looked down, smiling sadly when he noticed Haley's wrists "nice bracelet"

She stood there as he ran off, feeling exposed.

All around her was too loud, the scoreboard had been reset to zero for both teams, the team who scored the next point would return champions of the night, and of every family dinner for the next three years, she guessed.

Dan started nudging Nathan, but it wasn't how it looked before, Nathan seemed uncomfortable, the dynamic after half-time was filled with tension. The movements were more aggressive and suddenly as Nathan dove for the net with the ball, his father slammed his larger figure into his, sending the boy sprawling across the gym's floor.

Haley's hand flew to her mouth instinctively, her heart dropping; Nathan's body had hit the floor with a loud thud, silencing the gym around them, he groaned in pain, attempting to get up but he didn't seem able to do so. Dan hovered over him, saying something that was inaudible to her, yet, Haley couldn't help but feel fury invading her mind; his father had done nothing to help him up, as a matter of fact, he seemed slightly victorious, Nathan looked away from his place on the ground, and Haley had half a mind to go slap Dan, when surprisingly, Lucas went to help Nathan up; offering him a hand, which the other accepted.

She rejoiced when Nathan got to his feet, clapping and cheering loudly.

Nathan and Lucas were cooperating in a better way than they ever had, it seemed that the boys had set aside their feelings for each other, Lucas handed Nathan the ball, but still dazed with embarrassment and fury. Nathan dropped it, and the announcer stated it was a turnover.

"That was a sloppy turnover, Nathan, That's not like you" said Dan with the ball in his hand, looking back at his son who covered his dad from behind.

Nathan angrily responded: "That's because it was on purpose"

"On purpose, why?"

Both of them moved harshly, mimicking each other's movements, Nathan was only talking and seemed to be moving to deliver a point across, no attempts at reaching for the ball.

"Because you don't deserve my best game, dad, look, I could've beaten you." Dan started elbowing Nathan in the chest, but the younger one persisted, charging at him like a bull "you know it and I know it, you wanna mess with that go ahead. I will give it to you"

Nathan walked backwards, staring his father down and for a beat he actually thought he could see something in his eyes, something that indicated his relationship with his son was more important than that game. However, Dan, quickly shot the ball through the hoop, and people, aside from the select few on the inside, cheered.

"You didn't beat me, dad" challenged Nathan, before walking away "you never will.'

###

As soon as Nathan arrived to his room, he slammed the door behind him and locked it, after that he removed his shirt and shoes and threw himself on the velvety material of the bed, drawing in a large breath.

He felt like the definition of scum, after the humiliating loss, which he was positive wasn't going to be let go of easily. He saw Peyton as he walked out of the gym, feeling excited, he walked up to her and told her things would be different; he fully intended to treat Peyton better.

But then she surprised him with the fact that her mother had died on a day like today, Nathan couldn't help but feel ashamed and then downright heartbroken as she announced she didn't come for him, on cue, Lucas walked out and she moved towards him. The truth was out in the open, she was ditching him for Lucas, Nathan couldn't even bring himself to talk anymore, instead he walked home, tiptoeing to his room and just sat in silence for what seemed to be hours, though had to be shorter.

A knock on his door snapped him out of his thoughts, he tried to ignore it, pretend he was asleep or even wasn't there, but the person persisted. Groaning, Nathan stood up to open up and was met with the curly haired blonde.

"Peyton?" his voice was laced with shock.

She fidgeted slightly; her voice distressed "Nathan, we need to talk"

"Okay" he nodded, letting her into the room, his eyes not leaving her face as though if he blinked she would disappear.

"We belong together" she brashly and hastily announced, and Nathan let out a shaky laugh "you are what I want, do you want me?"

Nathan nodded, feeling a tug that was unnatural towards her, a way he had never felt before.

"I do, Peyton" he answered sincerely "I will change, I promise"

"Good, because that is the only way you will keep me"

He was in front of her in two steps, hands cradling her face softly; he pressed his lips to hers. Nathan slowly opened his eyes, and he gasped inaudibly, Peyton was gone and in her place stood Haley, a halo surrounding her, she was absolutely breathtaking, nothing had changed about her, yet, everything had changed, her brown hair framed her face as she smiled dazzlingly. She touched his hands, and electricity coursed through his body, but he couldn't move away. They stared into each other's eyes for a couple of seconds, he was lost in her loving hazel ones, as she tugged on his hand, like a beautiful siren lulling him to his imminent death.

"Do you want me?"

"Yes" muttered Nathan with a fixed expression.

"Could you lose me? Could you lose your Haley?" she whispered menacingly.

Nathan felt his heart beat faster at the words 'your Haley', but he choked out a "no" his throat going dry.

Haley moved closer to his ear, and softly declared "you will"

"I can't, please" Nathan begged, still confused at the sudden hold Haley had on him.

"You don't deserve me" her face broke into a frightening Cheshire smile and she backed away.

"Hales, wait, I can change" he almost screamed, running forward, trying to grab onto her as her graceful form faded into thin air.

Nathan jolted awake, sheen of sweat covering his body, he struggled a few seconds to breath probably.

Your Haley.

The voice rang in his ears, Nathan had dreamt of zombies feasting on him, of being naked in front of the entire student body, of being chased by sharks on land. But this dream terrorized him to his very core. His heart hammered against his chest, and he didn't have any ideas on why. Could you lose your Haley? With trembling hands, Nathan reached for his phone, quickly dialing her number.

"Hello" answered the sweet voice

"Hales"

Ok, so I had a hard time portraying their emotions, but i fully believe Haley was aware of her feelings long before Nathan was, and I wanted to transition Nathan's love for Peyton to Haley and to show how it would go, I loved writing the tv scene, it was really fun, as well as the dream (even though I think it was too cheesy) Thank you and please leave your honest opinion.