A/N: Hey all! I am trying to get as much of this story written as possible, since I will be back to teaching next week and I won't have nearly the time I would like to devote to it. Hence, the regular updates. If all goes as planned, I should be able to get a lot of it written, and then, depending what kind of reviews I am getting, I can post every couple of days or wait a little longer in between updates.
Also, so excited, just tracked my Season 6 DVDs and they should be arriving tomorrow!!! Can't wait. Even though I didn't love Season 6 and I thought that there was a bit too much Leyton for my taste, I still can't wait to get the DVDs!
Read and Review!
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Nathan was lying on his bed trying to concentrate on his Business Administration readings but between Lucas' annoying humming and his grumbling stomach, it was hard to focus. "Dude, shut up," he bit out, as he threw his half-full water bottle at Lucas' head. Score! The bottle hit him in the back of the head and then fell to the floor rolling under Lucas' head. Lucas looked up surprised and irritated at his brother who was smirking on the bed. "Nate, what the hell, man?!" he grunted, rubbing the spot where the bottle hit. "Listen, Luke, I know you are happy and all but I can't listen to you humming off key over there like a love sick school girl," Nathan complained. "Just be quiet, or better yet, leave and go see Brooke," he suggested.
"Nah, as much as I want to see her, she is having dinner with Haley tonight," Lucas said, rising from his desk to go to his bed and flop down on it, picking up the remote control. Nathan's ears perked up at the mention of Haley. He was pretty excited to see her, once he tore his burning eyes away from the hideousness of his brother making out with Brooke. But then she got a little strange and ran off. He thought for a second that there might be something there, since she mentioned the hand thing, but then he dismissed it when she ran off. He must have freaked her out by grabbing her hand the night before, and then she got weirded out at the idea of eating breakfast with him. He had been hoping she would stay not only to alleviate the awkwardness of sitting with Lucas and Brooke, or Brucas as Brooke so annoyingly coined the couple, but also to get to know her a little better. He couldn't stop thinking about her as he fell asleep and all throughout the night; he kept waking up with a vision of her blushing in his mind.
"Well, where are they eating? I mean, we could go meet them, and then you could stop irritating me. I mean, if you are this annoying Brooke must be annoying the hell out of Haley too," Nathan offered, trying to feign a nonchalant attitude. "I am calling Brooke later, but she said she needed some alone time with Haley," Lucas said offhandedly, flicking through the channels before stopping on ESPN. Dammit, Nathan thought to himself. Now I can't see Haley because of stupid roommate bonding, and I am stuck here with Pucas, who is disgustingly in love.
"I am going for a run," Nathan said, standing up to pull on his sneakers. "Dude, you ran 5 miles today at the gym already," Lucas said, "Don't push too hard, you might pull something and then who the hell is going to help me win the next couple games?" Lucas said. "Help you? Dude, you must be in an alternate universe because no one is helping you, you all are helping me," Nathan replied with a smirk, "and frankly, I would rather risk injury than listen to you hum My Girl under your breath one more time, bitch" Nathan shot back.
"Ha Ha, just wait until you are in love, ass," Lucas called, "I'll meet you at the Caf for dinner in a half hour." "Yeah, wait until I am in love," Nathan muttered under his breath, as he stuck his ear buds in his ears and turned up the volume loud, "Fat chance."
"So, we have our dinners, you got your drink, and extra napkins, and another fork because the first fork seemed spotty, so now that we have everything we need, you can stop stalling and just spill, what's the deal with you and Nathan," Brooke asked, as she speared a broccoli floret. Haley looked at her. She could tell that Brooke wouldn't take a 'Nothing' answer, so she had to give her something. "Brooke, seriously, not a big deal," Haley replied. "I was in the Trainer's office, doing your job," she said raising her eyebrows expressively, "and he came in, soaked in the hot tub; I brought him a bag of ice for his shoulder, we talked for a minute about you and Lucas, and then I wrapped the ice on his shoulder," Haley said shrugging her shoulders, as if the whole interaction meant nothing to her and was not the fuel for some seriously dirty thoughts.
"Wait, you talked about me and Lucas? What did you say? Who brought it up? Tell me exactly what went down," Brooke demanded, kinking her eyebrow. Ahh there's my Brooke, Haley thought smugly to herself. She would get so caught up now in dissecting she and Lucas that Haley wouldn't have to reveal anything further about her meeting with Nathan. "He asked me my name, and when I told him, he said, 'Oh Haley James that lives with Brooke Davis?' and I said 'That's me, how did you know?' and he said, 'My brother dates her,'" Haley recounted. "That's it?" Brooke squealed. "Nothing else?" "Oh yeah, how could I forget, he said, 'Sometimes at night I hear Lucas moaning your friend's name over and over and then in the morning there are a ton of Kleenex in the trashcan,'" Haley retorted, stabbing a piece of Brooke's broccoli. "Ooh, shut up, I hate you," Brooke snapped, sliding her plate away from Haley's fork, as she attempted to swoop in for another piece of broccoli. "No, seriously, he said something like, 'Lucas really seems to like her,' and I said, 'Yeah, Brooke really likes him too,'" Haley said, focusing on her own plate of pasta. " Wait, 'Lucas really seems to like her?'" she asked, or 'Lucas really seems to like her,'" Brooke questioned. "What is the difference?" Haley muttered, twirling some spaghetti on her fork. "Haley, come on, it's been a while since you were in a relationship, but please don't tell me you have lost the art of dissection. You had a critical conversation with Nathan that could determine my whole romantic future, now, I will ask you again, focus, where was the inflection?" Brooke demanded.
Haley thought for a minute. Which was the right answer? She really couldn't remember if there was inflection, nor could she remember if Nathan even used the word seems at all. But she dare not bring up that possibility for fear of being brought before the Brooke Davis fire squad again. She inhaled, and looked Brooke straight in the eyes. "He said, 'Lucas really seems to like her,' emphasis on really." Brooke grinned and clasped her hands to her heart, practically swooning. Haley exhaled. Score one for Haley, she thought to herself. Way to dodge that bullet.
"I think this really means something. I mean, he must talk an awful lot about me if his brother remembers the name of my roommate. I mean, I know I have mentioned you, because you are really important to me," she said, batting her eyes at Haley, who in turn rolled hers, "but you are my roommate, so for one roommate to talk to another roommate about his girlfriend's roommate, must be pretty serious, right?" she asked.
Haley fought the urge to roll her eyes again, since at this point she had rolled them so many times in the past few minutes she was afraid they were going to unscrew and roll out of her head. "Yes, Brooke, I think it is clear that Lucas is passionately in love with you, since Nathan knew I was your roommate," Haley said, trying to look at serious as possible. "Me too!" said Brooke, miss the sarcasm dripping from Haley's voice.
"So now that we have figured out that Team Brucas is on the right road of 2.3 children and white picket fence, what about Team Naley?" Brooke asked, pausing to sip her water, "I mean, something happened, or else you wouldn't have freaked out this morning and rambled about your cold fingers, and then run off." Damn Brooke, thought Haley for 10 time in the past two days. She thought she would be able to sit here, finish her pasta and then go back to the room and watch TV ignoring Brooke's chatter about the differences between A-line and empire waist wedding gowns as she planned her future nuptials to Lucas. But for some reason, Brooke seemed stuck on this whole Nathan story.
"Nothing, it was just a little odd. I was sitting on the hot tub, holding the ice on his arm, and then he grabbed my hand, when I went to stand up, and said something about my fingers being cold, and he rubbed them under the water until they were warm," Haley said, as she buttered a piece of roll very carefully, trying to avoid eye contact with Brooke. "Holy hell, Hales," Brooke whispered. "Good alliteration," Haley said. "Okay, I don't know what that word means, but thanks. Anyway, that was like totally hot pre-hot tub sex!" Brooke stated matter-of-factly, as she shoveled a bite of chicken into her mouth. "Nah, he was just being nice, probably because Lucas is dating you. Speaking of Lucas," Haley started. "Don't even think about trying to get me off topic by bringing up my sexy boyfriend. He was flirting with you, Hales. Are you blind?" she said.
"Brooke, don't be ridiculous. He is a nice guy. He was being nice because I brought him the ice and because his brother is dating you, and because it is the right thing to do. Since I imagine we will probably be spending some time in a group," Haley replied, desperately wanting to end the conversation. All this retelling was reminding her of how nice it felt to have Nathan's finger gently massaging hers. "Okay, fine, but I say we keep an eye on it. Like covertly," Brooke suggested. "Great, you do that," Haley retorted. "Oh yeah, speaking of group hangs, we are going out on Friday," Brooke said, stealing Haley's perfectly buttered roll. "Brooke, that's mine, and what do you mean, speaking of group hangs?" Haley whined. "Me, Lucas, you and Nathan, Friday night, miniature golfing. Totally cute right?" Brooke said, clapping her hands together. "No, totally not. First of all, it's January, second of all, what if I have plans?" Haley questioned.
"Hales, I love you, but you don't have plans," Brooke replied, "Now come on, let's grab some cookies, and head back to the room, so I can have naughty IM conversations with Lucas." Haley stood up, and grabbed her tray walking towards the trash. Great, a perfect little "double date." I can keep a tally sheet of the number of times I stick my foot in my own mouth, she mused to herself.
The rest of the week seemed to pass by without much mention of Nathan, much to Haley's joy. Brooke was positively smitten, and had been out of the room constantly spending time with Lucas. The one night that Lucas hung out in their room, Haley got the chance to speak with him, and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. They talked about music and books and realized that they have the same English Lit class only they were in two different sections. They were getting along great, until Brooke started pouting that she felt left out, and Lucas, sweetly, changed the subject to Brooke, to avoid her whining.
Haley was really happy for Brooke, but secretly a little disappointed. She missed roommate time with her best friend, and even though she had sworn off guys after the disastrous time with Tim, it stung a little that she was alone. Finally, Friday night arrived, and Haley and Brooke were getting ready to go out. Brooke had skipped her afternoon class to spend the time selecting their outfits and preparing her face and hair. When Haley stumbled into the room 35 minutes later than Brooke demanded, Brooke attacked her with a curling iron and eye pencil. When Brooke finally backed off, after much protest from Haley, Haley peeked in the mirror. Even though she fussed when Brooke treated her like her own personal life-sized Barbie, she did do a good job. She had curled Haley's long brown hair into soft waves and let them cascade down her back. She played up her big brown eyes with deep brown eye shadow, leaving the rest of her porcelain skin fairly untouched, just a couple sweeps of a light blush, and some clear gloss. She looked really nice, simple, classic, and not to over the top. Haley smiled at Brooke, "Thanks, Brooke, you did a wonderful job," she said.
"Ah it was nothing; you are so pretty naturally that it is easy," Brooke said kindly, and then spun Haley around. "Okay, here is the outfit you are wearing. I picked out these jeans, because your butt looks nice in them. Then, I have this black sweater. I usually don't support sweaters on dates, but since we are going to be outside, I can make an exception. Plus, your boobs look good in it," Brooke rambled, gesturing towards Haley's chest. "Brooke, this isn't a date, I mean, for me. You and Lucas, sure, but not me and Nathan, we are just friends with the couple, okay," Haley rushed out. She really didn't want things to get any more awkward with Nathan, nor did she want to feel any pressure. "Whatever you say, Tutor Spaz, but Lucas said that Nathan said that he was excited," Brooke teased.
Whoa, Nathan was excited. Haley felt her heart pound a little harder. She looked at Brooke and couldn't tell if this was Brooke's fantasy, or if it were true. "Whatever," Haley said, "Let's just go."
Miniature golf went rather well. They played a couple rounds and Haley exhibited her skills, winning twice. Nathan and Lucas took the losses well, whereas Brooke attempted to cheat whenever possible. When the group admonished her for trying to move her ball, she started attempting to throw the others' swings, by scaring them or pinching their butts. After they had played for a while, Brooke began whining she was cold. Haley teased her for wanting to avoid being beaten a third time, but admitted she was cold too. They headed to the concession stand attached to the golf course to get some hot chocolate. Brooke and Lucas took off in the lead, with Brooke begging Lucas to get her extra marshmallows.
Nathan and Haley followed behind them, returning their golf clubs. "So, this was fun," Nathan said, looking at Haley, as she reached up to hang her club on the rack. She looks so great, he thought to himself. Her hair is so shiny and silky. He wanted to run his fingers along it and see if it felt as soft as it looked. When she turned, he was right behind her and she bumped into him. "Umph," she said, as she walked into his shoulder. Way to go Scott, he thought. "Sorry, Haley," he whispered. "Not a problem," she replied, flashing a smile. As she walked past, he caught a whiff of her. He couldn't tell if it was her hair or perfume or just her, but it smelled so good, he had to force himself not to grab her and breathe her in until he knew what part of her smelled so good.
"Yeah, so this was fun, even if Brooke is a baby," Haley said. Stop thinking about his eyes, don't think about how blue and perfect they are, she told herself. When she had bumped into him, like a klutz and looked up at him, she had stared into his eyes. They were so blue. When she got home tonight, she was going to research blues to determine what color they were. They weren't navy, cyan, or sky blue. There had to be a name for them, and if there wasn't this blue was forever going to be known to her as Nathan Blue.
"So want to go get a hot chocolate?" he asked. "Yeah," she breathed, trying to avoid falling into the trance of his eyes again. They wandered into the concession stand. Brooke and Lucas were snuggled on a bench sipping their drinks. Nathan walked up to the counter, and ordered two hot chocolates, then he turned to Haley, "Whipped cream?" he asked. Yes, sir, she thought, all over you and then I will lick it off. "Yeah, please," she replied, trying to erase the image of his naked chest covered in whipped cream. By the time they walked over to Lucas and Brooke, they were already nearly finished their drinks. Brooke looked at Nathan and Haley and said, "Okay, we are done our hot chocolates so we are going to go stand by the car and make out until you are ready." She grabbed Lucas' hand and dragged him out the door towards the lot.
"Well, that's Brooke, for you," Haley said, laughing weakly. Great, now I am here with sexy Nathan and his sexy Nathan blue eyes, and we have to make small talk, which God knows I suck at doing. She smiled and then lifted her cup to blow on her drink.
Nathan forced himself not to groan as he watched her lips form a perfect circle and blow on her drink. He wanted to lean forward and press a light kiss on her lips, but considering she was still probably freaked about last Friday's inappropriate touching, he resisted. There was something about her that he really liked but there seemed to be a part of her that was holding back too.
She sipped her drink carefully, wanting to avoid getting burned by the hot liquid, just as she took a sip, she looked up at Nathan and caught his eye again, getting momentarily lost in the deep blue pools. She saw him grin, and she smiled back, "What's so funny?" she asked, amazed at how breathless her voice was. "Nothing, you have a little," and he gestured towards her face. She felt herself start to blush. Great now I have something on my face, she groaned to herself. "Here," he whispered, "Let me." He reached over and let the side of his thumb graze her top lip, wiping the small smear of whipped cream away. Then, without even thinking, he raised his thumb and licked it. So sweet, he thought, and smiled at her. She smiled back, still blushing, and Nathan felt himself leaning in a little, wanting to capture more of her sweetness with his lips.
Oh my God, Oh My God, OH MY GOD, she was yelling in her head. He touched my mouth, and then he licked it. She felt the butterflies flapping in her stomach and her heart was pounding. She replayed the image of the tip of his tongue touching his thumb to lick the whipped cream and she wanted more than anything to feel that tongue on her lips, on her tongue. Wait, he is leaning in, she thought frantically, he is going to try and kiss me, and I can't, oh my God, Nathan Scott is leaning in.
"So," Haley said, looking down at her hands, breaking the stare, "Brooke and Lucas are probably about 2 minutes away from being arrested for public lewdness, so we should probably go." Nathan blinked his eyes and leaned back. Smooth, very smooth, he thought to himself. "Uh, yeah, let's go," he muttered, standing up.
They walked to the doors, and he opened it for her. She murmured thanks but avoided looking at him. When they reached the car, they were both pleased to see that Brooke and Lucas were not in a state of undress, and thankfully, Brooke was feeling chatty so she led the conversation recounting the evening's events including her valiant attempts to win, and how she was thwarted by her unkind and more coordinated friends.
Nathan pulled up alongside Haley and Brooke's dormitory to drop them off. "There you go, ladies," he said, "Door to door service." Brooke jumped out of the backseat and pulled open the passenger side door, to give Lucas a goodbye kiss, and Haley called her thanks and goodbye to both boys and headed towards the building.
Brooke broke away from Nathan and bounded up to Haley. "So much fun, right, Hales?" she asked as she linked arms with her. "Yup," Haley replied, "So much."
