Author's note: I appreciate all the supportive comments and demands for an update! I love 'em all! And a special thanks to those who are subscribing to this story and adding it as your favorite. Again, I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. And as always I hope that you'll enjoy! (Disclaimer: Anything related to television series, One Tree Hill, is rightful property to its owners, writers, and producers.)
Susie
CHAPTER 4 – Hopeful Wishing
The only thing more confusing than having to learn the labyrinth of hallways of a new school was having seven different teachers with seven different classrooms. This had been quite the struggle for Haley James. And as thrilled as she had been about her acceptance into the Gifted and Talented program, it just wasn't the same without her best friend who was taking the regular core classes. Fortunately, they did have forty-five minutes of lunch together; the entire school did.
Haley pulled out her brown bagged lunch. She was starving and judging by the bulkiness of her bag, her mom had done well.
Ten minutes had passed. Sitting by herself, she had already scarfed down her ham and cheese sandwich and apple slices her mom had packed. At the other end of the rectangle table sat a group of about five or six girls who hardly threw her a glance. She'd look up in between bites hoping to see those familiar blonde curls bouncing up and down and when she didn't, her line of sight fell upon the same group of girls. She did this back and forth, until she'd notice little things like how every single one wore name brand clothing. One of them with pink braces seemed to be the group leader. While talking she would theatrically wave around her hands seemingly entrancing the rest of the girls. The tips of her fingers were decorated in pink polish matching the inset of her braces. Haley shuddered at that.
"Haley?"
Haley snapped out of it and recognized the voice.
"Hi, Chris." She looked up him at and caught a glimpse of his metallic mouth. She instantly thought of that girl; the leader.
"Where's stick girl?" He inquired while grabbing a seat beside her.
"She has a name,"
"Yeah – I know."
Haley looked around, praying that her best friend would suddenly appear out of thin air. Instead, she saw those same girls now looking in her direction with smiles on their faces. She smiled back with a small chance of hope inside of her that maybe… they would save her from Keller. The expression on her face faded when the girls broke into fits of laughter that seemed aimed at her.
"What are you laughing at, Carrie?!" Chris maliciously yelled in their direction.
The girls were silenced, mortified by confrontation.
"Yeah, what were they laughing at?" Suddenly, Peyton appeared with a tray of food eyeing the other end of the table with curiosity.
"Where have you been?" Haley demanded to know.
Peyton's curiosity was now directed at her best friend. "Temper, temper, Haley James,"
"Whatever,"
Noticing Haley's sour mood and Peyton's sudden arrival, Chris pushed his chair back ready to leave. "Well, I think I should get—"
"You don't have to go," Haley said softly. It was her way of saying 'thanks' without having to actually say it.
"I knew you'd give in one day," He teased, gladly scooting his seat back in, one inch closer to Haley.
"Hales, are you okay?" Peyton quietly probed as she sat down. She decided that her usual banter with Chris didn't seem quite appropriate at the moment.
"I wasn't before… it's just… I was waiting for you and I didn't think you'd ever show. That's all."
"Oh… sorry. The lunch line took forever – that's why,"
"I'm sorry, too. I know it wasn't your fault. It just sucks when no one sits with you… I was eating by myself. And then those stupid girls started laughing at me for no reason,"
"What? Why? Is that why Chris yelled at them?" Peyton asked, her defensiveness kicking in.
"Haley, don't worry about those girls. They're in my grade." Chris informed. "It's probably because they know that you're a seventh grader, no offense. They're just jealous that you get to hang out with the Keller," he joked.
"Or maybe they were laughing at you." Peyton pointed out sarcastically while rolling her eyes. "But seriously, some of the eighth graders have real problems. When I was putting stuff away before lunch, some pudgy eighth grader slammed my locker shut and yelled, 'Sevie!' I thought I had anger issues…"
Haley felt better. Not because Peyton had to take that crap but because somehow that girl always knew exactly how she felt. She was always right there beside her.
"Peyton, everyone is 'pudgy' compared to you. I mean, look at you – you're stick girl!" Chris exasperated in a mocking manner.
"Oh, okay. Because you're such a beefy macho man! I could snap you in two!" Peyton seethed back, settling right into character after having apologized to her best friend.
Haley zoned out for a few seconds. Surprisingly enough, the usual back and forth between Peyton and Chris was a comforting background noise that returned normalcy to her hectic day. She couldn't ever imagine not having this. She couldn't help but notice that at the other end of the table a few of those superficial girls were now staring in their direction with a bit of wanting, maybe jealously. It could've been the fact that they had a boy at their table or maybe because Peyton had showed up with her beautiful blonde curls and long legs. Most likely, it was because they saw honest friendship and at the ages of thirteen, they had yet to discover it themselves.
The first week of school had ended and the weekend had arrived.
"I'm bored." Peyton huffed and shoved a magazine away from her, watching it slide across the hardwood floor.
"Don't you have any homework to do or something?" Haley craned her neck over her shoulder while sitting at her desk. She could use a break from prefixes and suffixes anyway.
"Puh-lease… I have like one worksheet. And that's what Sundays are for… duh."
Haley turned around completely in her swivel-seat, dropping the pencil from her hand onto the desk. "Church is what Sundays are for. Anyway, you should do it now so you don't have to think about it for the rest of the weekend."
Peyton ignored her friend's comment; it wasn't exactly a solution to her boredom. "Want to go to the mall and get new earrings? We can get you those cool hoop ones,"
"You… need to stay away from my ears. And I promised my mom I wouldn't wear those until my thirteenth birthday, at least."
"Oh, because that turned out so well last time," Peyton rolled her eyes.
Haley was quiet and wondered where her friend's mood was coming from. It probably had something to do with her dad but she didn't ask. Not yet, anyway. Sometimes with Peyton, it was best to wait things out. She watched as her friend stood up, paced around the bedroom and eventually ended up at the window.
"Hey. Luke and Nate are playing basketball outside. Let's go harass them!" Haley's ears perked at this. "Oh my God! Is that Carrie and Theresa?!"
Immediately, Haley was standing next to Peyton peeking out her bedroom window. Later on during the week, the two friends had figured out that they'd seen Carrie and her posse before – in their own neighborhood. During the summer even, she remembered a trio of giggly girls that had stopped by three times in two weeks at the Scott's home. One of those days, Haley had answered the door while the twins were occupied with a video game. And then it suddenly made sense where Carrie's animosity was coming from that day in the cafeteria.
"Hi, Nathan… Lucas." Carrie's lips curled unevenly into a strange smile.
"Hey," Lucas greeted, always the friendly one, as his brother ran the perfect layup. Nathan caught the ball as it fell through the hoop and nodded in the general direction of the girls.
"What are you guys up to?" Theresa asked, wanting to involve herself in the conversation as well.
The twins looked at one another and at the basketball in Nathan's hands. "Um… we're just playing a game." Nathan answered dully.
"Can we watch?" Carrie said as more of a statement than as a question. She laced her arm through Theresa's and led the way to the nearby bench.
"Whatever floats your boat…" Nathan muttered, throwing another clean shot straight through the net.
The two girls seemed pleased as they watched the continued game of light one-on-one. They began whispering amongst themselves in clear observance of the brothers.
"LUUUCASSSSS!" The boys paused in the middle of a shuffle, Nathan still gripping the ball with his life. They saw Peyton running across street, followed by Lucas being nearly pummeled over in the process. Nathan smiled seeing the quieter of the two, checking either side of her before crossing the street.
"Jesus! It'd be nice if you gave me a fair warning when you're about to tackle me next time!" Lucas exasperated regaining his balance in the meantime.
"I did. Don't tell me you didn't hear me scream your name? Don't be such a wuss." Peyton joked with him and glanced over her shoulder at the two girls from school. They sat still, unsure of what to do.
"Hey, Hales." Lucas said before stealing the ball from an unsuspecting Nathan. The darker haired twin grimaced, realizing his focus had been elsewhere.
"Something looks different about you…" Nathan looked at his neighbor, narrowing his eyes. He didn't really care about the game right now. Out of nervous habit, Haley tucked her hair behind her ears. "You got your ears pierced. They look nice."
She blushed. He had noticed. "Thanks. Peyton did 'em for me."
He smirked at that and then with a look of concern he said, "Just don't go and pierce anything else now, okay?"
"But Nate, didn't you see the belly button ring I gave her?" Peyton asked, wanting to get a rise out of her least favorite twin.
Nathan gasped involuntarily. Immediately he grabbed the hem of Haley's shirt and pulled it up shocking everyone, including Haley herself. Embarrassed by the whole ordeal, Haley distanced herself and pulled her shirt back down. Both Nathan and Haley gave a look to the unruly blonde.
She shrugged her shoulders; her sense of humor was old news by now. "I was just joking. Sorry, Haley." To the boy she had tricked though, she simply stuck out her tongue.
One of the girls scoffed from where they were seated at the bench, grabbing Peyton's attention. She found Carrie on the edge of her seat holding the arm of the chair stiffly, probably from having to watch Nathan and Haley's interaction.
"You're Carrie, right?"
"What's it to you?" Carrie shot right back, staring evenly at the blonde-haired tomboy.
"You're that bitch that laughed at Haley during lunch because you thought you were being cool. And you pushed her in the hall, knocking her books out of her hands, too, didn't you? All on the first day of school! Yeah, I'm right… you are that bitch."
Haley winced. She never liked it when Peyton cursed and she certainly didn't like the fact that she'd blurted out some embarrassing things that had happened at school. In front of Nathan, no less. So, she did what seemed like an instant solution in the mind of a shy and naturally gentle-hearted twelve-year-old. She ran.
Carrie and Theresa were now standing up with horrified looks on their faces. And officially, Peyton Sawyer was number one on their hate list. Carrie's mouth opened, her pink braces catching the sun. She was stunned speechless and as insulting as this girl had been – the worst part was that she was humiliated in front of Nathan Scott and mistaken (in her opinion) for the bad guy.
"You guys should go home," Lucas firmly said.
"I'm going to go find Haley…" Peyton said. Her feeling of victory against the two eighth grade girls was short-lived as she had watched her best friend run away.
"I'm going to go find her… I think you've done enough." With that said, Nathan ran off in the direction of where Haley had been headed just a few fleeting seconds before.
"You always were the worst hider when we played hide-and-seek." Nathan came forward, joining Haley at the picnic table. His joke was met with silence and the similar pattern of their ragged breaths. He propped his elbows onto the table and sat backwards staring at the ever popular river court. It had seen its years but it was still a community favorite.
She still hadn't answered and sat in the opposite direction, her face nestled into her arms against the table. Haley stared into the grain of the worn wood watching as a miniature pond formed from her tears. He turned and tucked his legs under the bench to match her. "Hey." He touched her shoulder and she finally looked up with a tear stained face. "Come here." He put his arm around her small frame bringing her closer to him. She gave up; not really willing to lean into him but when he coaxed her towards him she did not resist.
She pulled away and reluctantly he let her. He looked at her, suddenly startled by the cold expression on her face. It struck a nerve. He'd never seen such a look on her face and he realized that the four-year-old Haley James they'd met and this one that he was meeting now were two entirely different people.
"Sorry about earlier… your shirt…" He sort of stumbled on his apology, his mind still reeling.
"It's okay. Peyton just loves scaring the crap out of people, doesn't she?" Her voice was hollow.
"Don't be mad at her. She was trying to protect you – even if she does it in a… different way."
"'Different' is one way of putting it." She responded in between sniffles. "It's not exactly cool for everyone to know that people are picking on you at school. I don't… I don't know why… well, I do know why, but… seriously, why do they have to be like that?" Nathan chuckled slightly, wiping the tears from her eyes with the hem of his shirt. "I know that Peyton's just trying to protect me, but she does it in such a… such a mean way and she doesn't care if it embarrasses me."
"Hey, you have nothing to be embarrassed about… not in front of Luke and me. I'm glad Peyton said something. I don't really like those girls. But, I do like you."
Peyton had been sitting on the curb for the past few minutes never looking away from the direction her friends had gone. She kept looking for their two figures to come around the bend at the intersection of River Forest and Oak. Listening to the steady rhythm of Luke's dribbling, she leaned back onto her palms and for a small second she let her lids flutter shut. She forced her eyes open as pacifying as the bouncing of the ball was.
"Why do you have to be so…" Lucas' words drifted into the warm autumn air. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he had been trying to say. But the fact that it hadn't been verbally stated didn't make it hurt less.
"Haley doesn't know when to stand up for herself, so I did it."
"That's bull and you know it." His voice was calm but that was when he was most angry.
Her back was still to him but now she sat up straight, her arms tightly crossed over her chest. She didn't fight his words.
"I didn't mean to hurt her feelings. I just know that she's not the type of person to call anyone out on their mistakes. Haley's just too nice to people and those girls deserved what they got,"
"It doesn't mean that you have to be twice as mean. The reason why Haley is what you say 'too nice to people' is because she's forgiving. She's a lot more forgiving than you… than me… than a lot of other people I know. But I know you're better than that too, Peyton. Only really bad people will do bad things unintentionally. They don't know any better. But most people know how to become a bad person by making the wrong choice… saying the wrong things. And it's like you do it on purpose. That's what makes it worse."
"How do you know if I know the difference between good and bad? Right and wrong? You have a mom and a dad and even a brother who'll tell you! I have no one! My mom dying… was that good or bad? My dad being gone for another whole month because that's his job; is that right or wrong?! I don't know, Lucas! Why don't you tell me?"
Haley looked up at him, trying to hide the surprise on her face. He smiled at her, but the look he gave her wasn't anything more than how he usually looked at her.
"And if anyone bothers you, boy or girl, I'll have to teach 'em a lesson." He pounded a fist into his left hand for emphasis flashing a cheeky grin.
The effect of his previous words washed away when she realized that he hadn't meant them like she wished he had meant them.
"Thanks, Nathan." Haley said softly, now also embarrassed that she could think that Nathan would ever like her as more than his kid neighbor.
He smiled at her sheepishly never one to take gratitude easily. Standing up from the bench, he took her hand in his and helped her up. "Let's go home."
She stood up and until they reached her front porch, he never did let go of her hand.
