Hey all! So somebody asked me the timeline of when exactly Nathan and Haley met and started dating. All I can tell you is that they met during Haley's enrollment in freshman year, and the rest will unfold from there. Thank you for all the reviews; they were awesome. Please keep them coming! Love you guys.
--Sera
Disclaimer: Don't own a thing.
"…When you and I collide…"
There was a law in Physics somewhere that said that when two opposing forces collided, they would ricochet off each other. Which was typically true – in most cases, anyway – because that wasn't what Haley and Nathan were. They were more like opposing poles on a magnet – one was always attracted to the other.
Because in the entire time that they were dating, one was always chasing the other. There was hardly ever a time that they both just went for each other. Perhaps it was the thrill of the chase – the challenge and the mystery that kept the other wanting more. Whatever it was, it perplexed people. No one ever expected Nathan Scott to be with someone like Haley James, and no one expected Haley James to be dating her best friend's half-brother.
But no one knew what was really going on.
And the plain old truth was; neither did Nathan and Haley.
Back home, things were different – a lot different. Back home, Haley couldn't have gotten that kind of attention. No one would be staring at her while she walked down the hall. No one would gawk at her the way they did now. No one would audibly mutter all sorts of stuff as she passed by. No one would even know her name. But then again, back home – she didn't have Nathan Scott's arm around her shoulders.
It was funny, because Haley was never the kind of girl to be reveling in attention. She would much rather disappear into the crowd. But things were different now – far from her world back in Tree Hill.
Back there, no one knew who Haley James was. She was probably just the "small girl with Lucas Scott" or "Tutor Girl" as she was affectionately called by the people whom she helped pass. In other words, she was nothing more than just a "girl."
Only now, she was no longer just a girl. She was Nathan Scott's girl, which wasn't exactly a bad thing – and it certainly wasn't a good thing for most people, especially Lucas. He was clearly opposed to it as he glared at them from across the hallway.
"Oh, here we go," muttered Nathan in a rather unpleasant snarl when Lucas marched up to them. "Don't you have somewhere to be right now? Or do you want to be humiliated all over again?"
Lucas pointedly ignored him and directed his attention to Haley. His voice was surprisingly calm – but there was no denying the intense displeasure in his eyes. "This is a joke."
"You're the joke," threw Nathan, his arms suddenly – almost instinctively – pulling Haley closer to his side. For a moment, even he looked surprised at what he did but it disappeared as quickly as it came.
"I don't believe I was talking to you." Lucas said between tightly gritted teeth, obviously trying to control his temper.
"You are now. What are you going to do about it? Quote some lame-ass saying to me?"
"Why don't you just get to class and get to failing like you always do? I have to talk to Haley."
"Afraid to talk to me?"
"What are you, her spokesperson now? Or is talking for her part of your deal?" Lucas demanded, practically spitting out the last word as if it tasted horrible.
"Who knows? Maybe her mouth will have other purposes," Nathan taunted, a full-blown cocky smirk on his face, knowing he had touched a nerve.
Haley's sudden angry objection was drowned by Lucas' angrier response. He looked like he had just about had enough as he roughly pushed Nathan's chest, making him stagger backward and Haley to stumble slightly to the side. "You fucking asshole –"
"Stop it, both of you!" Haley shouted sharply. She turned to Nathan. "You are acting like an immature four-year-old in a playground. Grow up and get to class. I don't want to see you right now," she then turned to Lucas. "You – we need to talk."
Haley grabbed Lucas' arm and dragged him to the nearest empty classroom. She let go of him and as soon as he turned to face her, she started, "You are not acting the way you promised me you would."
"Neither are you," replied Lucas curtly.
"Lucas,"
The look on Haley's face seemed to make his then-adamant resolve to break. "Okay, I'm sorry. But I fully intended to not talk to him. I talked to you, remember? Then he just had to act like the bastard he is."
"I told you to get along with him, not ignore him."
"Didn't you just see us? What you want is never going to happen. The way I see it, the only way we're ever going to 'get along' is if we don't speak to each other."
"You weren't making any effort!"
"So were he, and I don't see you grilling him." Lucas pointed out.
Haley sighed in exasperation. "Stop picking fights with him. That's all I ask."
"I didn't plan on picking any fight with him! I'm actually tired of dealing with the asshole! And he made me do it – you heard what he said about you. I can't believe you're taking his side after what he said."
"I am not taking his side!"
"Yeah, you are! Look at you, Hales. You're practically insinuating that all of this is my fault, but you never considered that it's his. Have you ever thought how hard it is to be me – watching him play you, use you to get what he wants, and now – you're blinded! You're completely unaware of what he's doing. You're practically attached to his hip whenever I see you!"
"You know why I have to do this." Haley said angrily.
"You're going too far! And you know what I said is true – you didn't even slap him for what he said about you!"
"I heard what he said, Lucas. But unlike you, I chose to let it go."
"Are you sleeping with him?" Lucas asked, his voice almost helpless and strangled.
Haley hesitated and her eyes immediately filled with tears when Lucas shook his head at her in disappointment. "Luke, it's not what you think!"
"I don't know what to think anymore." He replied coldly.
"How could you not believe me, Luke?!" Haley shouted, fighting to stop the tears from falling.
Before she could say anything else, he shouted back, "You hesitated, Haley! You practically waved a yes sign in front of me!"
"That doesn't mean anything! Lucas, the choices I make may be questionable for you, but I am not sleeping with him. It's like we haven't known each other practically our whole lives – like you don't even know me."
Lucas gave her a grim look as he mournfully replied, "You're right. I don't know you anymore."
Haley was seated outside, her face buried in her hands when she heard a voice ask, "Het, how'd it go? Are you okay?"
She instantly recognized who it was, and she didn't need to look up to make sure. Instead, she asked, "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"
"Aren't you?" Nathan asked her, taking a seat next to her.
"I don't have class until the next fifteen minutes, and you didn't answer my question. Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Haley's head was up but she wasn't looking at him.
"It's some stupid history lesson. I can just wing it on our next long test." Nathan replied airily.
Haley was directly looking at him now, concern filled in her wet eyes. "Nathan, you cannot keep skipping classes like this. Your grades are as bad enough as they are."
"Look, it's no big deal. If they fail me, I won't be able to play in the next games, and they can't do that because we'll obviously lose." Nathan answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Nathan, basketball may give you everything now, but it won't out in the real world."
"It will once I'm in the NBA. Haven't you ever seen MTV Cribs?"
Nathan's mischievous grin annoyed Haley as she rolled her eyes at him. "I don't have time for this right now."
"Sure you do. You just said fifteen minutes, right? Well, you still have twelve left."
Haley was getting more exasperated. One annoying Scott was enough for one day. "Okay, skip class. In fact, skip the whole day for all I care. I'm not in the mood for this."
"Mood for what?"
"I'm not in the mood for acting boyfriend-girlfriend, alright? So you can just go run along and screw some random girl for the rest of the day like you always do, and leave me alone." Haley told him.
"Maybe I don't want to do that."
"What are you talking about?"
"Maybe I want to talk with you."
Haley actually snorted at this point. "Please. Talking to me or getting a free pass to have sex to someone who'll actually let you – I know you, Nathan. I know what you want."
Nathan clearly wasn't amused. "I want to make sure you're okay."
If Haley was taken aback by his answer, she didn't show it. "Nathan, I am fine. I don't need to talk about anything, okay?"
"No, you're not. You were crying when I got here, and it seems to me like you need someone to talk to." Nathan insisted.
Haley glanced at her wristwatch. "Well, even if I did, I wouldn't have the time anymore, because I have to get to class."
"Then don't go to class."
"Excuse me? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
"Yeah, Haley James. And the way I see it, your issues can't be talked about in the remaining five of the fifteen minutes you have left, or during your English class." Nathan said.
"I don't skip class." Haley stated flatly.
"You said you don't date either, and here we are." Nathan said, his grin cockier than before.
Haley couldn't resist another eye-roll. "Nathan, not everyone is the star player of the Duke Blue Devils like you. Not everyone can skip a class and get away with it."
Nathan dismissed this with a careless wave of his hand. "You're Tutor Girl, remember? If you miss one class, it's like staying home with no homework on Sunday to you. It's just English. The last time I checked, you speak English really good."
"Really well," corrected Haley.
"See, no problem at all."
Nathan's triumphant smile wasn't helping. It was like he had already won, and to be quite honest, he almost was. Haley considered what he said for a moment. She needed a break from school, after all. And she wasn't quite sure of what she would do if she ran into Lucas in campus. She knew that she was supposed to be looking for Lucas, ask for an apology, or just talk to him. But the stubborn part of herself refused to do it. If anything, Lucas was the one who was supposed to be apologizing, not her. "Just one class?"
His grin widened. "One class, and I'll get you back here on time."
"One class," she repeated firmly, and when he nodded, she led the way to the parking lot towards his car. "And wipe that stupid smirk off your face. I'm getting really tired of seeing it."
"Just admit it, Hales. You think it's hot." Nathan teased.
Haley was glad that her back was turned to him, because she couldn't prevent herself from blushing at the truth. "This better be worth my time."
"Oh, it will. I promise."
"So, what do you think?" A voice asked her.
Haley was browsing the shelves of the gas station's convenience store, and when she lifted her head, she saw Lucas standing on the other side of the shelf, peering at her over the bags of potato chips. "That depends – what am I supposed to be thinking of?"
"Them – Brooke – her friends," replied Lucas in a rather impatient tone.
Haley tore her gaze away from him and returned to scanning the shelf. She merely shrugged in reply. "They're alright, I guess."
Lucas sighed as he went over to Haley's side of the shelf. "Okay, for someone who is supposed to be an English and Music major, I expected better adjectives. 'Alright' doesn't really do it for me."
Haley laughed, amused at Lucas' obvious anxiety and nerves. "I'm sorry – I'm just having a really hard time choosing here. We won't be there in a couple more hours, and I want something that will last me until we get there."
Without looking at the shelf, Lucas took a random box and handed it to her. "Here – take this. I'm your best friend, so I'd know what you really want without even looking at it."
Haley rolled her eyes at him. "You randomly guessed it, so that doesn't –" The rest of her words were cut off by her sudden sharp intake of breath when her gaze fell on the box in her hands. It was a Crackerjack box. She felt the familiar twisting of her guts and the heave on her heart as memories came flooding back all over again. When Haley looked back up at Lucas, his eyes were full of guilt.
"Hales – I didn't mean to –"
"I'll be right back." Haley managed to say in a small voice. And without another word, she went out of the convenience store and back into the empty car.
Lucas helplessly watched her walk away and sighed. He hated the fact that every little thing reminded her of Nathan, which only made her more miserable practically every ten seconds. He didn't know how to get through to her. It was like she had built a protective wall around her, and no one – not even him – could get in.
"Is she always like that?"
Lucas turned to see Brooke standing next to him, watching Haley as well. Her pretty features looked genuinely concerned. "What do you mean?"
"She's always drifting off to her own world. One moment she's bubbly and funny, and the next, she's gone all quiet and depressed. What's going on?" Brooke asked him. When Lucas hesitated, Brooke sighed and continued, "Look, it may come as a surprise to you, but I actually like her – and it bothers me as much as everyone else, particularly you, to see her that way. I just want to know what's wrong."
"She still has feelings for someone." He answered.
"Since when?"
"Since our first year in college."
"So why is she still hung up on the guy?"
"Because she fell in love with him," replied Lucas, his gaze falling back on the Crackerjack box. An inexplicable feeling of guilt, sadness and anger twisted with him as he kept himself from crushing the box in his hand. "The craziest part is that he fell in love with her, too."
