Hey guys, thanks for the reviews. I love reading them in between doing my boring school work. Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it and please continue to review!

Chapter 3

"Tutor Girl, what's wrong?" Brooke asked as she and Peyton entered their dorm room. Haley was lying down on her bed with her face in her pillow.

"Nothing," Haley replied without looking up.

"Look, if this is about Nathan, ignore him. I've known him forever. He can be a real butthead sometimes," Peyton explained.

"It's not about Nathan," Haley said. "I can handle him."

"Then why are you so upset?" Brooke questioned. "Does it have to do with Shane?" Haley nodded as she flipped over to face her two best friends.

"I thought everything was going well between you two," Peyton commented. "You were so excited about tonight before you left."

"Yeah, well, that changed," Haley muttered. Brooke and Peyton motioned for her to go on. "We got into a little tiff."

"About?" Brooke prodded when she didn't explain further.

"Sex," Haley answered.

"Oh crap, he's not pressuring you again is he?" Peyton asked. Haley nodded.

"What a jerk," Brooke commented as she put a comforting hand on Haley's arm.

"I mean, I know that I shouldn't let it get to me. It was my decision to wait. It's what I want. But then he gets all mad and frustrated and I start to feel guilty for making him…"

"Tutor Girl, stop right there. You can't make him do anything. If he can't accept your decision or beliefs then that's his problem."

"Yeah," Peyton agreed. "Don't feel guilty because you've done nothing wrong. If he really cares about you, then he'll respect your choice and wait."

"I know. It just hurts when he gives me the cold shoulder because I really like him. You know?"

"You're doing the right thing," Brooke assured her. "But if he keeps this up, you might have to rethink your relationship. You don't want to be with someone who's going to make you doubt yourself."

"Thanks, guys," Haley said as she pulled both Brooke and Peyton into a hug. "I needed that."

"No problem, girlie. That's why we're here," Peyton proclaimed.

"So, what was your anniversary gift at least?" Brooke questioned.

"I didn't get one," Haley answered.

"What?!" Brooke exclaimed.

"It was only three months, Brooke," Haley said.

"I don't care if it was one week," Brooke retorted. "That bastard should have given you something. Hell, Lucas got me something for our two-day anniversary."

"But that's because it's Lucas. He's into romantic things like that," Haley pointed out. "Peyton, Jake never got you anything right?"

"Actually, he got me concert tickets for our three-month anniversary," she replied. "Sorry." Haley groaned and buried her head back in her pillow. Great. Now my boyfriend is cheap, too.

"You'll just have to train him in the future. That's all," Brooke assured her.

"He's not a dog, Tigger."

"Hate to break it to you, but most men are," Peyton stated. "You've got to whip them into shape now before it's too late." Haley looked up at them laughing.

"Do they know about this?"

"Of course not. The key is to not let them know you're doing it. You've got to make them think they came up with it on their own," Brooke explained.

"Don't get us wrong, we love our guys as equals, but they can be really dense so it's our jobs to push them in the right direction," Peyton added.

"I'll make a note of it," Haley laughed. "Anyway, I need to know one more thing. When is this party you're planning? I need to know in advance so I can book my plane tickets back home."

"I'm thinking next Friday on the fourth," Brooke said. "But we'll see."

"Ok," Haley yawned. "I'm sorry. I'm kind of wiped."

"Don't worry about it. I have an eight o'clock class tomorrow so I have to get to bed, too," Peyton said. Brooke nodded as she also yawned. As her friends got ready to turn in, Haley snuggled under her covers. She turned over to her left side and stared at the picture on her nightstand. It was of her and Shane taken during spring break. They'd spent the whole day relaxing and joking around on the beach. That was before the pressure got really intense. The pressure to be with him and satisfy his "needs" as he called it. Haley wished that they could go back to that time. Their relationship was innocent and pure. Now it seemed to be more and more strained. No matter how many times she tried to convince herself otherwise.

Nathan threw his bag down and slammed his dorm room door shut that Saturday. They lost. They were one game away from going to the championship and they blew it. Well, he blew it by missing the final shot. The clock was quickly running out and he was double teamed. Nobody else could get open so he shot the ball as best he could. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough. It spun around the rim before bouncing off. He had let both his team and college down. But what was worse was the fact that his father was there in person to see it—which meant that it was only a matter of time before Dan Scott tracked him down and chewed him apart. As if on cue, there was a loud pounding on the door.

"Nathan, open up!" Dan ordered. "I know you're in there." Nathan groaned as he walked over to let his dad in. The older man barged right into the room.

"What the hell was that?!" Dan yelled.

"What was what?" Nathan replied.

"Don't you be a smart ass with me. You completely missed that last shot. A shot that would've taken Duke to the championship and gotten tons of NBA scouts interested in you. Now you've got nothing."

"I couldn't help it, Dad. My defenders were all over me and no one else was open," Nathan replied. "I tried my best."

"Great players make great plays, Nathan. You shouldn't need anyone else. And that was definitely not your best. It was weak."

"I highly doubt the scouts will write me off for one lousy shot. The whole reason we even made it that far was because of me."

"And now they lost because of you, too." Nathan could feel his fists clenching. Even if he had made the shot, his father still would be yelling at him right now. There was always something that Dan found to pick apart. Ever since his father's knee injury on the UNC team long ago, he'd been riding Nathan to be "better."

"I didn't do anything wrong, Dad. We all played hard and we lost."

"Well, that's unacceptable. You're not fooling around this summer. We're going to train everyday. If you're going to shake this off next season, you sure as hell better be fit and ready."

"Dad…" Nathan began to protest.

"End of discussion," he cut him off. "I'll see you in a few weeks, son." As Dan went to the door, it opened to reveal a sullen looking Lucas.

"Oh," he commented shocked.

"And the screw ups just keep on coming," Dan taunted. He then shook his head disapprovingly and left. Although Nathan had grown up with Dan, Lucas never had. Dan had left Lucas' mom Karen for a basketball scholarship to UNC right after she told him she was pregnant. Three months later, he dated Nathan's mom Deb while at school and got her pregnant. He ended up marrying her and they raised Nathan together. Karen later married Dan's older brother Keith. It was Keith who became a father figure to Lucas. As a result, Dan and Lucas never had that much contact with each other. Nathan and Lucas hadn't even gotten along in the beginning either. But after a few years as teammates on their varsity basketball team in high school, they'd learned to put aside their differences and get over it. However, there was always tension and awkwardness when Dan and Lucas were in the room together.

"What did the devil want?" Lucas asked as he entered the room.

"Oh, he just stopped by for a fatherly chat," Nathan answered sarcastically as he dropped onto his bed.

"He yelled at you about the shot, didn't he?"

"Yup," Nathan confirmed as he stared at the ceiling. Not only was the rest of his season ruined, but so was his summer now, too. Dan would be true to his word. He'd be on Nathan's back about training everyday. I can't wait for that.

"It's not your fault, man. We all messed up," Lucas said as he dropped his gym bag on the floor.

"Try telling that to him."

"Good point. Look, um, I'm meeting up with Brooke. Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just want to be alone anyway," Nathan stated.

"Ok. But don't beat yourself up too much over it," Lucas replied. "The rest of our season was sick."

"Yeah, it was" Nathan smirked. The two then bumped fists before Lucas left. Afterward, Nathan rested his head against the bed's headboard and turned on the small TV they had. A basketball game between the Lakers and Knicks was on. The last thing Nathan wanted to watch was another game after the one he'd just played. He scanned through the channels to see what was on. He stopped when he saw that "Yo Momma" was on MTV. This is just what I need--some trash talking and a good laugh. In the middle of the episode, there was another knock on Nathan's door. Maybe Dad thought about another one of my screw ups and came over to remind me out of the kindness of his heart, he thought sarcastically. He then lazily got up off of his bed and answered the door.

"Hey, can we talk?" Melissa asked as she nervously stood in the doorway. Nathan was surprised to see her. She'd been giving him the silent treatment for the last three days.

"Um…sure," Nathan replied as he stepped aside to let her in. He took in her appearance. She was wearing her track pants and a tank top with her sleek black hair in a high ponytail. And from the sight of her red eyes, he could tell that she'd been crying.

"What did you want to talk about?" he questioned. He waited patiently as she seemed to collect her thoughts.

"Us," she answered. "I'm sorry I've been such a bitch to you, Nathan. I just…I really like you and it hurts thinking that you might not feel the same way."

"I do," Nathan stated.

"Well, it doesn't feel like it. You're always at basketball practice or out with the guys. And with what little time you do have left, you're either in class or studying. You never want to be with me anymore."

"That's not true. It's the end of the semester, Melissa. There's a lot going on. Not just for me but for you, too."

"I know but I still feel horrible."

"Well, don't. I do care for you. I wouldn't be with you if I didn't."

"But school's almost over and I'll be going back to Chicago while you stay here in North Carolina. And then I'm studying abroad in Australia next semester. We're going to be apart for awhile," she whined.

"I know but we can still make the best of it," Nathan proposed. "Look, Brooke is throwing a party next Friday after final exams end. We'll go and hang out the whole night before you have to leave. How does that sound?"

"What about this week?"

"We'll get together more, too. Basketball season is over so I have more free time."

"You promise?"

"I promise," Nathan confirmed as he pulled her in for a kiss.

"I'm sorry about the game," she said when they broke apart.

"Me, too," he muttered. "But I'd really rather not talk about it right now."

"Well…who says we have to talk at all?" Melissa questioned as a sexy smile formed on her face. She then pushed him down on the bed, took off her shirt, and straddled him.

"I like the way you think," he said huskily.

"I figured you would."

"Tutor Girl, I'm going to fail!" Brooke exclaimed as she slammed her math book shut and threw it on the floor.

"You might want to watch out for that. If you damage the book you won't get your money back," Peyton informed her. She was sitting on her bed working on some sketches.

"I don't care. I'm just going to burn it in the bonfire at the party anyways," she replied.

"That's nice," Haley laughed as she came over to sit on Brooke's bed. "What do you need help with?"

"All of it," Brooke pouted. "Why do I need to have a math requirement? I'm going to be a fashion designer. All I need to know is how to count money and measure fabric. These stupid graphs and theories won't help me when Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, and all those other Hollywood bitches are knocking down my door for a dress."

"I think the school does it so we'll become well-rounded individuals," Peyton explained.

"I don't want to be well-rounded. I want to design sexy clothes and that's it."

"And you will. Let me just finish the last paragraph of this paper and I'll help you. Deal?" Haley proposed.

"Fine by me," Brooke replied as she pulled out a fashion magazine and started reading.

"You know, you could review your notes again before we go over it together," Haley suggested as she took a seat at her desk.

"Nah, I'd rather do this while I wait." Haley looked over at Peyton and they both shared amused smiles. Typical Brooke. About ten minutes later, Haley was finally done.

"Ok, Tigger, over here," Haley said beckoning her to her desk.

"Why can't we study on the bed? It's more comfortable."

"It's also more distracting. You'll concentrate better over here," she informed her.

"Fine," Brooke pouted.

"Hey, I'm going down to get my mail. Did you guys want me to get yours, too?" Peyton offered.

"Will they let you do that? Isn't that a felony?" Haley asked.

"No, that's only if you read it," Brooke said.

"Oh, then sure," Haley replied as she rummaged through her purse next to her. She found the key to her mailbox and handed it to Peyton. Brooke did the same.

"I'll be right back," Peyton declared. Once she left, Haley began to go over a few problems with Brooke.

"Wait, that's all you have to do?" Brooke questioned amazed twenty minutes later.

"Yup. It's not too hard. You just have to know when to use that method," Haley explained.

"Tutor Girl, you're a genius!" Brooke exclaimed as she threw her arms around Haley for a big hug.

"Thanks," Haley laughed hugging her back. "By the way, where's Peyton? She's been gone forever."

"I don't know. Maybe she's actually reading our mail," Brooke said with a shrug.

"That's comforting," Haley muttered as she logged on to her computer.

"What are you doing?" Brooke questioned.

"I'm checking to make sure that the plane tickets I purchased a few days ago went through," she answered.

"Ugh, now I'm depressed."

"Why?" Haley asked concerned.

"Because you're going back home to California and leaving me," Brooke replied pouting.

"Tigger, we kept in touch last summer. What makes you think this one will be any different?"

"I don't know. It just will be. I wish you lived in Tree Hill with us."

"Me, too. But, unfortunately, I don't. So we'll just have to make do," Haley replied just as Peyton returned.

"Where the hell did you go? Guam?" Brooke questioned.

"No. I…uh…I got held up," Peyton said avoiding their confused gazes.

"Held up by what?" Haley prodded. She noticed Brooke looking at the blonde intently.

"Just stuff."

"You were with Jake weren't you?" Brooke guessed.

"What?! No," she quickly denied. Haley then took in Peyton's appearance and laughed. "What's so funny?"

"You're shirt is on inside out," Haley giggled.

"And your lips are all red and swollen," Brooke added.

"Ok, fine. But I couldn't help it. I just happened to be walking by his dorm room when he pulled me in."

"Sure," Brooke teased.

"It's the truth."

"We believe you," Haley stated unconvincingly.

"My services are totally unappreciated. That's the last favor I do for you guys," Peyton declared.

"Just like the favor you did for Jake?" Brooke quipped. Peyton then picked up her pillow and chucked it at Brooke.

"Hey!" Brooke exclaimed dodging it. She ended up back on her bed. "There's no need to be so violent, P. Sawyer."

"Just be quiet, B. Davis, and read your mail." Haley had already opened most of hers. There was a letter from her mom, a few credit card offers, and a flyer for some event on campus.

"Crap…crap…crap…crap," Brooke repeated as she sorted through her own things. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes seemed to light up. She threw the rest of her mail beside her on the bed and held up one business envelope in front of her.

"What's that?" Peyton asked curiously. Haley moved closer so that she could see. Brooke, however, didn't answer. She stared at it for a few seconds before hurriedly ripping it open. She pulled out a few brochures and a letter—which she began reading.

"Oh my God!" Brooke squealed.

"What?" Haley questioned.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Brooke started shouting and bouncing up and down.

"Ok, crazy girl, what's going on?" Peyton asked.

"I won!" Brooke declared excitedly. "Well, actually, someone else won but they couldn't do it at the last minute so it means I won!"

"Wow, that's great," Haley commented. "Won what?"

"I entered into this contest a few weeks ago for a free trip on a cruise to the Caribbean. According to this letter, I got it since those other idiots backed out!"

"Oh my God, Brooke, that's so great," Peyton stated hugging her.

"Yeah, congratulations, Tigger," Haley said. Although she was happy for Brooke, she was a little envious. She could've used a relaxing vacation like that.

"When do you leave?" Peyton asked.

"Um…this Saturday actually," Brooke replied as she read over the letter, once again.

"Wow, that's soon," Haley commented.

"Not soon enough in my opinion," Peyton added. "The faster summer vacation begins the better."

"You guys, it gets even better," Brooke announced. Her eyes were practically glowing by now. "I can bring five people with me."

"What?" Haley asked shocked.

"It's an all expenses paid trip for me and five guests."

"No way!" Peyton shouted. Haley could feel her own excitement mounting. A week on a cruise in the Caribbean sounded like pure heaven.

"Oh my God, this is perfect. It'll be the three of us and the guys."

"Wait, the guys?" Haley questioned as a dreaded thought popped into her head.

"Yeah, Lucas, Jake, and Nathan will come with us," Brooke answered. "It'll help them get their minds off of our crushing defeat yesterday." Crap.

"Ugh, why does Nathan have to come?" Haley complained.

"Haley, I can't not invite him," Brooke declared. "He's our friend."

"Why not?" Haley argued. "He'll probably get drunk, fall overboard, and ruin the whole trip for us anyway." Actually, the whole falling overboard scenario might not be a bad thing…

"Tutor Girl, don't be ridiculous. Just because he'll be coming with us it doesn't mean that you'll be around him the whole time. It's a big ship," Brooke said.

"It really won't be that bad," Peyton added.

"Trust me, it will," Haley mumbled.

"Look, I don't give a crap if the two of you bitch and moan and try to make up for the sexual tension…"

"What? There's no sexual tension…" Haley began to deny. Where on earth did she get that crazy idea from?

"…you're both going even if I have to have Lucas and Jake drag your sorry butts to the airport and chain you to the plane seats."

"Speaking of planes, you might want to tell the guys about this before you start to plan the whole thing," Peyton said. "Jake's supposed to go back to Georgia next Sunday. We have to see if he can change his tickets." Oh crap, I forgot about that, Haley thought. She was set to leave for California the following Monday.

"I can't go," Haley said.

"Tutor Girl, we already went over this. You and Nathan…"

"No, it's not about that. I already bought my plane tickets, too."

"Well, can't you just trade them in for ones after we get back?" Peyton suggested.

"The earliest ones I can get are for three weeks from that Monday. Most of the stuff before that is already booked. That's why I took these tickets."

"So?" Brooke questioned not getting it.

"So, it won't work. Where will I go until I have to leave?"

"Stay with me at my house in Tree Hill," Brooke offered.

"I can't impose on you like that, Brooke," Haley replied.

"You're not imposing. I'd be happy to have you."

"What about your parents?"

"They're never around. And even if they were, they wouldn't care."

"But…" Haley tried to protest.

"No, it's final. You're coming on the cruise and then staying with me for two weeks after that," Brooke declared forcefully. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to pay a visit to the boys and see if they can make it." She then grabbed her brochures and letter and marched out of the room.

"Wow, that was actually kind of scary," Haley muttered. She had never seen Brooke so resolute about something. The only other times she got like that were when it involved clothes or cheerleading. But she was also glad. Haley did really want to go. She didn't even have to worry about her things in the dorm since they were going to be shipped back to her parents' house in California by the end of the week.

"That's Hurricane Davis for you," Peyton declared as the door opened again and Brooke stuck her head in.

"Also, be ready by the time I get back," she said. "We're going shopping for some new outfits." Before either Haley or Peyton could say anything, she had already left.

"We're not going to have a moment's peace this week are we?" Haley questioned to Peyton.

"Definitely not."