Each Other's Comfort
Terribly sorry for the delay. But you want to hear good news? I graduated college! So I'm looking for a full time job and while doing that I have conspicuous time to write also. I will be better. Hope this helps since we're starting to delve into some real plot here. Don't hate the cliffhanger…
CAli
Ch. 4 – The Club
3 p.m. – Victoria's Secret
"Why am I here again?" Nathan said, or all about whined.
"Because you fucking love me," Haley said as she browsed some new underwear. She'd seen it all before at her work, but for some reason shopping for it seemed like it was sexy, and not inventory.
"I'll always love you, Hales," he said. "But why am I even looking at lingerie that won't even fit me?"
"Are you coming out?"
"You're fucking hilarious." There was no humor in his voice.
They were at another mall and Nathan's class was cancelled. All he wanted to do when he got home was relax and watch some SportsCenter. But Haley ambushed him with a day off and an urge to go shopping.
He resisted once. That earned him poutiness for a week and him fending for himself in the kitchen because Haley conveniently had to work the night shift and couldn't prepare dinner and his credit card was missing for that amount of time.
He knew better now. If she wanted to go shopping, he could forget relaxing plans. But that didn't mean he couldn't complain. And he took every opportunity to complain. But it still didn't affect her.
He hated her for that.
He watched Haley browse every two-piece lingerie design. He wondered if she found someone and just forgot to tell him since practices were starting two-a-days and she was becoming compulsive-obsessive with her music project.
"Is this a special occasion?" He asked.
"Nope. Other than more confidence in my body."
My god, girls were weird. Including Haley. There was nothing wrong with her body and she liked to shop in a different Victoria's Secret store. It was like she didn't want anyone to know what she was doing.
"You're perfect, Hales. And why am I here? Don't you have Brooke for lingerie shopping?"
"Brooke's working. Keep complaining and you'll never see these clothes on me."
"Is that a promise?"
Her cell phone interrupted her retort and she snorted when she saw her caller I.D.
"Hey, Babs," Nathan heard Brooke's voice over Haley's cell phone. He did an eye-roll. Yeah, she was working all right. "Whatcha doin'?"
"Uh, I'm supposed to be shopping. Like how you're supposed to be working." Haley said as she moved to another mannequin and Nathan dutifully followed.
"Sounds like super fun. And I am working. You know old man sceetz is on shift. All I have to do is flash a lil nip and I could do whatever I want. You know it's weird without you here."
"Oh, everybody loves me Brooke."
"You bet your sweet ass. I swear, if you just let loose once and have some of my killer jello shots I can love you, baby, I can love you long time."
Oh, God, that sick laughter. Nathan cringed. Brooke was a bad influence. He had to keep an eye on how much she and Haley hung out. Haley seemed to enjoy the disgusting, yet hot (if he let go of his protective side) innuendo and he frowned a little. How much did his Haley and Brooke hang out without his knowledge?
Her laughter flitted through his thinking and he noticed she was walking away from him a little bit. He widened his strides a little to catch up and eavesdrop more.
"Why are you calling, Brooke?" Too bad Haley's voice showed her smile. Damn it.
"Clubbing, Friday? I met a super hottie briefly and apparently his friend is a hot shot artist. Wants to meet us. Or me, specifically, but you know how I am. Strength in numbers."
"You mean strength in numbers until he expresses an interest in your boobs or ass then it dwindles to awkward situation."
"Then bring Nathan. I know he's your back-up fuck buddy."
Hoe said what, now?
She caught his face, which showed his line of thinking and she glared in her be-nice way.
"Nathan is my best friend. He's not a back-up fuck buddy."
"Then he needs to be your back-up fuck buddy! He is way too hot to be just your best friend and Babs, there is sexual tension. Like, for real."
"I'm not a back-up!" So he was weak when it came to his manhood. Sue him. He's a guy.
"Nathan's there?" Brooke said, and Nathan had to cringe at the octave he heard.
"Nathan's here," Haley said, sighing.
"Shopping? With you? He's totally whipped!"
"I'm not whipped!" Nathan said.
"Shut up," Haley said empathetically to him. "Off topic, Brooke."
"My b," Brooke said. "Seriously, Haley. Strength in numbers. Bring Nathan."
Haley hesitated for a moment and elongated her response while she looked at him. Nathan had pride, but he also had desperation. He jumped up and down, moved his hands in small, safe baseball gesture and mouthed NO.
But Haley never listened to him when she wanted to do something.
"Sure, Brooke," she said. "We'll go. Text me later in the week of the club and addy."
"Will do. Love ya Babs."
He'd definitely need to monitor her friendship with Brooke more closely now.
"I hate you," he said.
"Oh, come on, it could be fun!"
"You know I hate clubs."
"Well, if you actually danced with other girls besides me, you wouldn't be jealous."
"Uh, I don't get jealous."
"Then at the club, I dare you to dance with someone besides me and Brooke."
"Please, I wouldn't touch that hoe with a ten-foot pole."
She sighed. "Would you be nice? She's actually really cool."
"Hoe is cool now?"
"Nathan."
"All right, fine. She just oozes of sex, I mean, that's just gross. Whatever happened to subtlety?"
"Aw, chivalry isn't dead with you."
"Only with you."
"Well, at least I'm always here."
"And I'll be here forever."
They didn't hear an old couple a few feet away at the entrance coo while they witnessed their fond smiles.
9 p.m. – Haley and Nathan's Apartment
"Nathan, hurry up! For someone who didn't want to go, you're taking your sweet-ass time making yourself look presentable!" Haley said, yelling in the hallway.
"Shut up, Haley! You can't rush perfection!"
Haley frowned and mouthed the last words Nathan said. God, he was such a dork. She huffed from the couch in the living room she was on and got up. She rolled her eyes as she stride towards the bathroom and she stopped at the threshold and stared.
Nathan had on a nice striped maroon dress shirt and impeccable business pants with shiny black shoes. His raven hair was slightly mussed that made tiny spikes all over his head and he was putting on dabs of after-shave on his jaw line.
She caught by surprise because she expected him to treat this like a joke. She expected that god-awful, bright red shirt with a black cotton pattern that was supposed to be shaped like a cross and some sort of Celtic symbols surrounding it to "amplify" the cross that her ex, Skills bought Nathan for Christmas. The shirt was "in style" and supposed to show how "gangsta" Nathan was. That's how Skills described it, and she absolutely hated that shirt. If Nathan wasn't so perceptual, the shirt would've "disappeared" during the move.
But she expected the shirt, baggy jeans, one of his old pair of Jordan's and a cross necklace and the possible appearance of the black Chicago Bulls hat that Nathan probably cherished more than his Jordan shoes collection.
She honestly was prepared for Nathan to dress ridiculous because he didn't want to go. But here he is, looking like he was going to a business dinner than out clubbing. As cheesy as it sounded, he took her breath away.
"Wow," she said as she leaned against the doorframe. "You look… hot."
Haley gave him a teasing smirk and Nathan arched an eyebrow before looking at her. She knew he hated superficial adjectives when it came to looks. He thought it was cheap to call someone "hot" or "smoking." There was more to those generic adjectives about someone's looks, he always said.
One of the best things about Nathan, Haley thought, was his passion about creativity. He was an true artist in his soul, but he still kept that athlete persona for the masses. Why? Because they treat him as an athlete, they're gonna get him as an athlete. He always said they don't deserve to see who he truly is. Sometimes Haley disagreed, but she was also secretly selfish; she loved the fact that was the one that truly knew him.
Nathan chuckled a little at Haley's innuendo and she saw his eyes check her out. He was willing to play this little game. She watched as he took in her perfect red dress that hugged her hips just right and stopped just below mid-thigh. It had that just-right v-neck that showed enough cleavage and had lace on the side that showed off her ribcage and the curve of her upper body. Her four-inch black peep-toe heels made the top of her eye level with his jaw line. Her hair was straight and flowed a little bit over her shoulders and her brown eyes popped because the dark, shadow eye make-up she had.
He wanted to call her "smoking" or "sexy," but his mouth wouldn't cooperate with his brain. She was more than something generic, even in normal clothing.
"You look gorgeous," he said.
Haley scoffed and little but the pink tint showed her blush. He sounded sincere but with conviction. Sometimes the way he looked at her made her shy but she craved it. It showed her no matter what, Nathan would protect her. And even though his childhood was worse than hers, she still needed a hero.
She looked down before she looked up and stepped forward into the bathroom and held her hands out for a hug. He quickly complied and reached in, his strong arms circled around her waist and hers automatically wrapped around his neck. He picked her up a little, no effort to keep her lined to his face since she was taller now Haley moved her lips to press against his. It was quick and chaste, and she immediately buried her face into the crook of his neck.
"Thank you," she said.
He chuckled a little. "For what?"
"For going to the club with me. And I know you really can't stand Brooke."
"Even if my father was going, I'd still go with you. You know I can't handle it if you go to the clubs without me."
She laughed a little. "I'm not going to get raped, Nathan."
"Okay, Miss Invincible. Besides, Brooke is easy to ignore when you're around."
"Why, because you only have eyes for me?"
He paused for a few seconds. "Pretty much."
The way he said it, she knew he was joking. She let out a very unattractive laugh pulled away from him. She had this urge to touch his outfit and smooth out the wrinkles in his shirt that she left when she hugged him. The palm of her hand started to smooth out his shirt and she looked up with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"I'm gonna have to bat away a lot of females tonight, huh?" She said, then looked back at his shirt.
"No need. I'm gonna be doing all the work as usual and glaring at all the guys that dare treat you like a slut."
"Oh, aren't you perfect?" She said with little sarcasm.
His comeback was quick. "I only try with you."
She smirked at his cuteness and smoothed one more wrinkle. She shook her head a little and then took a breath.
"Okay, we gotta go," she said. "Brooke is probably pissed that we're late."
He frowned. "What are you talking about? She said ten at the club. We're an hour early."
"But we're not an hour early at her house. She wants to pre-game. Let's go."
"Oh, my God. She's been partying like this since she was fifteen. When is she gonna get over being a slut?"
9:30 p.m. – Brooke's Apartment
"Finally!" Brooke dramatically sighed when she opened the door.
"The club won't swallow in an earthquake, Brooke." Haley said with a smile on her face and she kissed both of Brooke's cheeks.
Nathan cringed at the sight and Brooke caught his look. She smirked and gave him a seductive once-over. "Hey, stud." She said.
"Hey, slut." He replied back.
"Nathan!" Haley said as spun around and slapped his chest with an open palm. The smack could be heard and she glared hard.
Nathan gave a slight wince at the pain but it passed so quickly none of the girls noticed. He shrugged like the slap had no effect. "It slipped, I swear."
"Don't worry, Haley," Brooke said. "I've been called worse and I love the fact our friendship bothers your boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend, I swear," Haley said.
"Yeah, and I'm fucking a girl."
"Jesus Christ," Nathan muttered.
Haley sighed. "Where are your jello shots? I think Nathan and I need it if this is a preview of what the night will be like."
Brooke's flirty smile went to evil smile and Nathan almost cave-manned Haley and picked her up over his shoulder and run for the hills. But before he could do anything along those lines, Haley grabbed his hand and followed Brooke's direction.
"In the kitchen, babe," Brooke said. "And trust me; this night will just get more sexual after those jello shots."
10:00 – Rapture Nightclub
In less cliché words of Brooke, the club was "popping."
Nathan looked around of all the blonde bimbos with platinum hair, orange-brown tan and humungous fake boobs. They were grinding with equal gelled-happy douchebags that wore the same attire as Nathan. He felt ashamed.
He never really liked the clubs in town. Yeah, sure, he's been – especially with his teammates – and he got lots of female attention, but they were so fake and so groupy-mentality that Nathan felt almost claustrophobic every time a blonde girl made eye contact with him.
Clubbing wasn't his scene, but every time Haley wanted to go (whether for research or fun) he never had a problem with the clubs. He stuck close to Haley (because he's a dude; he knows what guys are looking for at clubs) and actually has fun drinking and dancing with her.
Haley usually dragged him out like now. Going with a group of girls and he swears after a few drinks, her "girlfriends" are just basically lesbian for her and trying to put on a show for him. There's grinding, seductive looks, and basically their horniness tattooed on their foreheads.
The night outs always start the same. Rounds of shots (that he always somehow paid for), some slutty dancing by themselves while he and Haley looked on in amusement. Then they take Haley away and it's pretty much attention on them because her "girls" start grinding on her. Nathan buys another shot for himself to just deal, with the cliché attention and but stays back and watch for any perverts.
Then, of course, the men around them notice and start cat-calling or staring. Of course, this brings the DJ's attention, which leads to even more men gathering around and Nathan's on alert because he can feel his protective side oozing on the hair that stands on his arms. It's when men start to touch Haley when goes to her. One look and the men back off. And he shows the men how to really treat a woman in a club and respectively grinds with Haley.
But it's never just him and her when this routine is involved because her "girlfriends" start to grind against his backside and sandwhiches them. And now Nathan looks like a player and he gets high-fives he really doesn't want.
It isn't until Nathan spends about fifty-to a hundred dollars in shots that he finally gets Haley to himself. The drunker these "girlfriends" are, the more willing they are to get attention from a drunken douchebag. It's like the saying says: alcohol really does lower expectations. But he's still a gentlemen and still looks over these "girlfriends" that are just way too wild.
Those nights, he could handle. Those girls don't necessary flirt with him and it's only when alcohol is in their system when they get a little too touchy-feely with his best friend that he's comfortable with. At least they have an alter ego when they drink. Because normally - these girls that Nathan is forced to party with when Haley is in the mood to go clubbing – they're nice when they're sober and actually a great influence on his best friend when working on school projects.
But Brooke? Brooke doesn't go to school and she basically acts like a slut 24/7. She freely admits to using her body to get what she wants and she doesn't mind at all about being objectified. And she hits on anything that walks. Including his best friend and it just rubs him the wrong way. So he's worried when he has to go to Rapture because of Brooke.
He has a feeling if he's not sober this whole night, Brooke would somehow someway take advantage of Haley and kiss her and he might get in a fight when drunken assholes make a play to get Brooke to kiss Haley again. It doesn't matter if Haley constantly tells him that will never happen and they're here so Brooke can meet a guy.
It honestly bothers Haley when he says it out loud so he thinks it loud and clear in his mind. Brooke Davis is a slut he wouldn't trust ten feet away from him.
"Stop moping!" Haley yelled in Nathan's ear.
He couldn't help it, he was miserable. It seemed to be techno night so all he heard was dub step of the cheesiest pop songs alive that made the song sound like it was having sex then actually playing music. And the waitresses around might as well are passing out condoms instead of drinks by the looks of the patrons on the dance floor.
On top of that, Brooke's mystery man hasn't shown up yet so he's stuck watching Brooke dance with Haley like a slut. Well, she is a slut, but he couldn't help but think Brooke would try something different every once in a while.
Haley tried to get him involved but he just wasn't feeling it. He didn't want to share Haley with Brooke because… well, that will just be disastrous. So he stayed in the upper platform that held couches for customers to lounge in while he kept a hawk eye on his best friend.
Nathan gave Haley a warm smile and made some half-hearted excuse of the music being horrible. She tugged on his hand and he shook his head no. He gestured that she'd stay with Brooke and he was okay. She pouted before saying okay and ran back.
He watched as she resumed her position in front of Brooke and kept a respectable distance but still appropriate of girl-on-girl dancing. But of course Brooke had to keep it sexual and grabbed Haley's hips and pulled her closer before she screamed in delight. Nathan was happy he couldn't hear her or else he might pop a blood vessel in his eyes from rolling them too much.
He watched for maybe ten minutes before Brooke signaled that she need a drink. His eyes stayed on them as they held hands and journeyed to the bar. His hands instinctively gripped the handle bar in front of him when guys made moves to touch Haley, but Brooke was smart enough to keep going.
The platform had a great height advantage for Nathan to watch everything at the bar. Haley seemed fine, happy even and she stayed close to Brooke in the crowded club. Brooke yelled at the bartender then virtually ignored Haley as she dug into her clutch for her phone. His irritation grew that Brooke wasn't really paying attention to Haley's safety. Thank god, guys were only looking at Haley and not touching her.
Brooke was still busy with her phone when some guy grabbed Haley's elbow then another guy put his hand over Brooke's eyes and pulled her back into his body. Nathan panicked. He started shoving people out of the way as he tried to run to the bar. Millions of thoughts processed his brain. Kidnappers? Drunken assholes? Why wasn't anyone doing anything? His final thought was that he was too late.
"I'm thirsty!" Brooke yelled in her ear and she nodded. The dancing was starting to turn into an intense workout.
Brooke led the way to the bar and she was glad they were taking a break. She was having a blast but she kind of wished Nathan wasn't being a party pooper. He stayed in the VIP area while she danced. Usually, whenever they went out, Nathan was right by her side dancing and actually looking like he enjoyed himself somewhat.
Haley knew he hated going out. But they've always done everything together and she secretly liked the protective vibe Nathan gave, although there was no reason for it. But he absolutely hated Brooke. She never really understood his hatred, but she didn't pressure.
So while he stayed like a loner, she danced her ass off.
When Brooke suggested the bar, she was grateful. But she wasn't grateful for the assholes that tried to touch her. It was easy to ignore because she was nice and tipsy, but now she was starting to realize the true benefits of Nathan being around in a club. She never really noticed how much assholes could be in clubs.
She belatedly felt people touching her but Brooke kept pulling her towards the bar so she didn't really pay any attention. They finally hit the bar and Brooke leaned over to grab a bartender's attention. Haley was really content. Brooke looked back and asked what she wanted and she felt she reached her limit in alcohol so she told Brooke to get her water. Then Brooke ignored her as she dug into her clutch purse.
Haley looked down and found Brooke texting on her phone. It must've been the guy Brooke was supposed to meet. Speaking of which, Haley wondered where the guy was. He would've been here by now. She frowned and flitted her eyes around her surroundings when someone grabbed her elbow in a rough manner. She gasped and looked at Brooke to see a smile on her face but it quickly changed when a guy's hand covered her eyes and pulled back rough.
She briefly wondered where Nathan was before she looked up at the guy to find every detail about him in case she had to do a police sketch. She noticed the dirty-blonde hair, brown scruff forming on his face, and bluish-green eyes. What she was memorized on his shy-childish grin.
"I'm sorry," he said. "It was his idea."
Haley did a hesitant double-take and looked at Brooke and saw her give out a girlish squeal before launching in the man's arms that blindfolded her. It was dark in the club, but Haley made out brown hair and brown eyes that seemed to glow. He had facial hair, but she wasn't for sure if it was a five o'clock shadow or the beginnings of a beard. But Brooke looked extremely happy. I guess this was the guy and he brought a friend.
Haley visibly relaxed and tilted her head back in a full-blown laugh. She reached her hand over but her whole body was yanked back and she collided with a hard chest. She kind of lost her balance when the grip on her upper arm tightened to stop her from falling. She looked up and saw a different side of Nathan.
"Nathan," she breathed.
"Is this guy bothering you?" Nathan said in a low, angry tone that had Haley frowning.
"Um, no," she chuckled. "He's with Brooke's guy. Just played a little prank. I didn't his name actually." She turned toward him with a curious look on her face. "I'm Haley and this is my best friend, Nathan. You are?"
"Chris. Chris Keller."
I figured I wrote a lot as a comeback chapter so the next will be a continuation of this cliffhanger. Please let me know what you think in the reviews and I will write personal responses along with spoilers.
CAli