Chapter 7
"I'm getting you back for that!" Nathan shouted.
Lucas laughed while dodging him. "That's if you can catch me first!"
"I got you covered, Nate," Skills called as he pumped up the large Super Soaker in his hand. "Take that!"
"Oh crap!" Fergie exclaimed as the water got all over him. "Luke, a little help!"
"I'm coming," Lucas replied as he ducked behind a tree. He picked up a water balloon stashed there and threw it at Nathan and Skills. The whole River Court gang was currently at Nathan's house. It was their second day of summer vacation, and the weather was already in the nineties. His mother was actually home for a change while his father was away on business. Taking advantage of Dan's absence, Nathan had invited them over to use the large, built-in pool in his backyard. The group of thirteen-year-olds had also brought their squirt guns and a bunch of water balloons—which were contributing to their water war at the moment.
"Ow!" Nathan yelped when it exploded on the back of his head. Lucas laughed out loud. Nathan narrowed his eyes at him. He then looked for Skills. Unfortunately, his partner in crime was currently being soaked by Junk.
"Hales!" Nathan called as he ran to her. She was laying on a lounge on the patio. Her cousin Peyton—who had come to visit for a few weeks—was sitting on the one beside her. They were talking about something when he approached them.
"Oh, hey, Nathan," Peyton greeted while giving Haley a look. For some reason, Haley's cheeks seemed to turn a light pink as she shot daggers back at her cousin. Nathan wondered briefly if she was getting sunburn but was quickly brought back to reality when a water balloon flew past his head.
"Hey, watch it," Peyton yelled to the guys.
"Sorry! Wrong target," Lucas called back. He was still hiding behind the tree.
"What is it, Nathan?" Haley asked.
"Skills and I are getting creamed. We need the two of you on our team," he declared.
"But we're not playing," Peyton pointed out.
"I know. But I'm asking you to." Haley could definitely be feisty when she wanted to be. That could come in handy. Peyton was also very strong-minded and tough. She didn't take crap from anyone. Nathan knew that if he got them on their side, Lucas and the others wouldn't stand a chance.
"Nathan, I don't really feel like getting wet right now," Haley replied.
Peyton nodded. "Yeah, we're tanning."
Nathan rolled his eyes. "Can you two stop being girls for like two seconds?" Haley had been reading way too much Cosmo Girl. He made a mental note to "misplace" all of her magazines in the future. He didn't want them brainwashing his best friend into becoming like the other vapid girls in their grade.
"In case you've forgotten, dufus, we are—"Peyton began when another water balloon came flying towards them. Nathan ducked out of the way. A second later, there were two loud screams. Nathan looked up from the ground to see both Haley and Peyton soaking wet. They stared at one another shocked before turning to Nathan.
"Where are the extra Super Soakers?" Haley questioned.
Nathan smirked. "Follow me," he instructed. There was another stash of guns filled and ready to go under the deck.
"They are so dead," Peyton declared. For the next twenty minutes, the water war raged on. Nathan couldn't stop laughing as Haley and Peyton terrorized Lucas, Fergie, and Junk.
"Nathan, cover me. I'm going in," Haley said. They were currently hiding behind a bush. Skills and Peyton were behind another one a few feet away.
"Got it," Nathan replied. Haley then quickly dashed out and sprayed anyone in her path. Nathan threw a couple of water balloons when Fergie and Junk started to close in on her. Eventually, Haley made it to Lucas' hideout. She got hit by a couple of balloons from Lucas but kept going. Afterward, she disappeared behind the large tree.
"What's going on?" Peyton called to Nathan. "Where is she?"
Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." A few minutes later, Lucas emerged from behind the tree. He had Haley clutched in one arm while his other hand held the mother of all water balloons.
"Uh oh," Nathan muttered.
"Cease fire or the hostage gets it," Lucas called.
"Lucas Eugene Roe, let me go right now!" Haley scolded.
"Eugene?" everyone questioned at once.
"Hales," Lucas complained. "That was supposed to be our secret."
"You asked for it. And this is a war," Haley replied with a cheeky smile.
Nathan smirked. That's my girl—a fighter until the end.
"Whatever. Just everyone drop their squirt guns and surrender," Lucas ordered.
"No way," Skills shouted.
"You're going down, Eugene," Peyton added. She and Skills then looked to Nathan. He gave them the signal. Nathan then grabbed two water balloons. He darted out of the bush. Fergie and Junk had their guns ready and were shooting at him. Nathan threw the first balloon—which ended up hitting Fergie in the face. The second one he chucked at Junk, hitting him in groin. Afterward, Nathan charged at Lucas and Haley.
"Nathan!" Haley exclaimed. Lucas let the water balloon drop. Nathan felt it hit his back as the three of them went hurling into the pool behind them. Once in the water, Nathan quickly grabbed Haley and brought her to the top.
"Nathan," she coughed. Lucas also came up sputtering.
"I got her. We win," Nathan declared. Skills and Peyton made their way to the pool with their Super Soakers pointing at Lucas.
"Damn it," Lucas muttered in defeat.
Nathan smiled triumphantly. It was wiped away a minute later, however, when he felt Haley whack him in the chest. "Ow!"
"You jerk. Why did you have to throw me in the pool?" she questioned.
"Hales, it was the only way to save you," he explained. "Sometimes you have to take one for the team."
"Yeah, well, I'm never going on your team again," she proclaimed as she started to pull away from him.
"Aw, come on, Hales. Don't be mad," Nathan coaxed as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against him.
"Nathan, I didn't want to get this wet," Haley stated.
"So?" he said while eyeing her. "You look good wet." Haley's eyes widened in surprise as her face flushed. It was then that Nathan realized how his words must've sounded.
"Oh, no, I didn't mean that…you're not…well, I mean you are…" he trailed off tripping over his words. "…I'm just…I'm just going to shut up now."
Stupid, stupid, stupid, Nathan repeated in his head. Could I sound anymore like a loser? He didn't know what had just happened. He'd never had a problem talking to Haley before.
Haley gave him a small, timid smile. "It's ok." Unexpectedly, Nathan felt a warm, tingly feeling form in his stomach. He also became aware of the fact that Haley was still wrapped up in his arms. Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments until the sound of splashing could be heard. Everyone else had followed their lead and jumped into the pool. Nathan then quickly and discretely let go of Haley. He didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea.
"Nathan…Nathan…Nathan…"
Nathan groaned into his pillow when he felt someone calling his name and tapping his shoulder. He turned over in bed and rubbed his tired eyes. When they finally focused, he was shocked to see Haley standing next to the bed above him.
He looked up at her confused. "Haley?"
"Hey," she softly replied.
"Am I dreaming?" he questioned. This couldn't be right. He had to be seeing things.
"Um, no. Keith let me in," Haley explained while giving him a curious look. "I didn't mean to disturb you. Keith said you should already be awake."
"Uh, yeah," he said while sitting up. Nathan looked over at the clock. "In about five more minutes."
"Oh, sorry," Haley mumbled.
Nathan shook his head. "It's ok. You're a nice sight to wake up to."
Haley looked away from him as she felt the blush form on her face. It didn't help that he was shirtless at the moment. She was starting to think that her decision to come here wasn't the best idea.
"So, lucky me. This is the third day in a row I'm seeing you," Nathan commented with a charming smile. "Is there something you want or did you just miss me?"
"How did you sleep last night?" Haley questioned, ignoring his last remark.
Nathan quirked an eyebrow. "Surprisingly better. You?"
"Fine," she lied. She hadn't been able to sleep at all. All night she kept thinking about Nathan and the information he'd revealed to her at the docks. Haley found herself picking apart childhood memories that involved Dan and Nathan. She practically drove herself crazy imagining what horrible things Dan could've actually done rather than what Nathan had originally told her.
"Is that why you stopped by?"
Haley shook her head. "No. I was just wondering. I…um…I know that you're going back to the site today. I just wanted to make sure that there weren't going to be anymore problems like last time."
"That's it?"
Haley nodded her head. "Yes. My dad and Karen have enough to worry about. And Trent and the guys are still pretty tweaked about what happened. I was just hoping that you'd—"
"That I would what? Keep my head down and act like the outcast I am?" he questioned.
"No," Haley replied as she shifted under his intense gaze. "I just wanted to make sure that you…"
"That I what?" Nathan pushed curtly.
"Never mind," Haley sighed. "Forget it…" She then turned around to leave. Nathan, however, was up and by her side in an instant.
"Haley, wait."
"No, just forget it," she stated as she headed for the door.
"Haley—"
"I actually came by because I was worried about you after you confided in me last night. But I guess that I was just being stupid thinking that you could be nice for more than, oh, an hour. My mistake. If you're just going to act like an ass again then—"
"Haley, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry," Nathan apologized as he went to stand between her and the door. "Really, don't go. I just thought that you were going to start talking down to me like everyone else has. That's all."
"No," she replied. "What I was going to say was that I was hoping that you would try to at least make an effort with them like you did with me last night. I know that you're angry and feel alone, but if you really try to be at least nice to the others, they won't be so negative or aggresive towards you."
"That hasn't really stopped you," Nathan pointed out.
"Look, Nathan, I'm sorry that I've been so defensive. I really had no idea what was going on. But now that you told me about…about Dan," Haley scowled as she said his name, "I can understand why you feel the way that you do when you're here."
"Haley—"
"But, that doesn't completely excuse everything that you've done recently or in the past. While I'll admit that I'm starting to reconsider some of the previous things I thought about you, I still can't really trust you. Too much has happened to prove otherwise."
"So, where does that leave us?" Nathan questioned.
Haley shook her head. "Same place it always has…no where." She then made a move to leave. Nathan, once again, blocked the door. He had a feeling that if he let her walk out now, he wouldn't really get a chance to see her again like he wanted to. This conversation had of tone finality about it that Nathan wanted to prevent at all costs. Besides Keith, Haley was the only other person in this town that he felt he could genuinely trust. She wasn't the type of person to tear others down.
"So why don't we change that?"
"Nathan," Haley sighed. "Please move." She shifted her gaze to the side to keep her eyes off of his bare, muscular chest. He was a least a foot taller than her, which gave her the perfect view of his torso. She had a strong feeling he was in his boxers, too, but didn't dare look down. Haley already knew she was blushing slightly.
"Haley, I miss you."
"You already said that last night," she reminded him.
"And I still mean it now. I…I want to try being us again."
At that, Haley's head snapped up sharply. "Excuse me?"
"I want to try being us again," he repeated.
Haley's eyes narrowed. "Nathan, I have a boyfriend. I'm not going to—"
"I know," he quickly amended. "I didn't mean it like that. No matter what, we were always friends. Why can't we try and get that back?"
Haley shook her head before muttering softly, "It's not that simple, Nathan. We're not the same people that we were."
"But we can be," he stated.
"And how am I supposed to know that this isn't some ploy of yours?" she questioned.
"I guess you'll just have to trust me."
"Well, I guess that's a problem seeing as though I just told you that I don't."
"We can work on that, too," Nathan declared. Haley stared at him in disbelief. He was actually serious about this whole "friends" thing. Surprisingly, Haley found herself considering it for a minute. She then quickly dismissed the idea. It would never work. It was too risky.
"I trust you," Nathan added after a minute.
"I can't, Nathan. I'm sorry."
Disappointment flashed in his eyes momentarily before he quickly masked it. Afterward, Nathan stepped away from the door. "Ok. Fine. I get it."
"I'm sorry," Haley repeated as she reached for the door handle.
"Good luck at the site today then. I hope it all goes well," Nathan stated.
Haley halted in the doorway. She turned back around to look at him and was surprised to see him pull his duffle bag out from the closet. He then carried it over to his bed.
"What are you doing?"
"Packing," he answered without looking at her.
Haley frowned. "Why? You have to get dressed and be there today, too."
"Not anymore. I'm leaving."
"No, you're not. You can't," she argued.
"There's nothing keeping me here."
"What about the café?"
"There are enough workers and volunteers. They don't need me."
"But you have to be there or else the judge—"
"My future is pretty much screwed up anyway. I'm sure a little jail time won't make any difference."
Haley stared at him incredulously. "You can't be serious."
"Oh, I am," Nathan said as he grabbed a pair of jeans and put them on. Haley glanced away as he got dressed.
"What about Keith?" Haley questioned. "You're just going to take off on him after everything he's done for you."
Nathan shrugged casually. "He probably can't wait to get rid of me either."
"But…" Haley trailed off. She could feel her face get hot as the anger started to build up inside of her. "But…but what about me?"
"What about you?" he asked, still not meeting her gaze.
"You start spouting off all of this stuff about you missing me and wanting to be friends again just so you can take it all back and leave?" she retorted.
"Why do you care?" Nathan challenged. This time, he did meet her eyes. "It's not like you wanted to give me a chance anyway."
"Ugh, you really are an ass," Haley huffed. She couldn't believe he was just going to skip out on everyone. So much for him changing his ways, Haley thought. She felt so stupid even considering for a second being friends with him again.
"Although, if you did want to give me a chance, it might give me some incentive to stay," Nathan added.
Haley's eyes narrowed at his words. When she saw the small smirk forming on his face, the realization dawned on her. "Oh my God…you…you…" she stated shocked. "Are you trying to blackmail me or something?!"
"No," he replied innocently. "I'm just saying that it would be nice if I had someone my own age to hang around with. As I told you last night, I'm pretty much alone in this town. But if I had you, it would at least make it bearable." Nathan had to hold back a laugh when he saw Haley's mouth drop open in a mixture of astonishment and outrage. He really had no intentions of leaving or skipping out on everyone. However, Nathan was hoping that Haley would at least take the bait before she figured that out.
"You are unbelievable!" she exclaimed. "You actually think that I'm going to be friends with you and trust you again after you pull something like this?!"
"I'm willing to try if you are. It's your choice," he told her.
"I'm not doing it," Haley proclaimed stubbornly while folding her arms. She couldn't believe the nerve of him.
"I guess that's my answer then," Nathan said as he grabbed his duffle bag and walked to the window.
"Wait, where are you going to go?" Haley questioned.
"I don't know. I'm probably going to have to stay off the main streets, though. You know, in case the cops come looking for me," he stated.
"This can't be happening," Haley mumbled to herself. She felt like she was in a nightmare of some sort.
Nathan opened up the window and threw is bag outside. "Bye, Haley. Good luck with everything. It was nice knowing you." His voice was calm and indifferent. On the inside, however, Nathan was praying that she would stop him already. How was he going to explain his presence to her at the site later? He was going to look like an idiot.
"Nathan, wait!" Haley exclaimed.
Thank God! Nathan paused on the windowsill and watched as she approached him. "Yes?"
"You forgot one of your shirts," she said while holding it out to him.
His hope died at that. "Oh." He took it from her hands and gave her a forced smile. "Thanks."
Afterward, he continued to climb out the window.
"Nathan, wait," Haley said again. She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. Somehow, she knew that she was going to regret this. "Don't go."
"Why not?" he asked. He was now completely outside. Haley approached the window
She took a deep breath before replying, "I'll do it."
"Do what?"
"I'll be your friend or whatever," she stated. "Just…just don't go. Not like this." She didn't want him ruining his life over something like this. Something she could've prevented. Haley could at least try being his friend. He's not asking for too much…I think. She quickly pushed the doubts she had to the back of her mind. They weren't important right now. She could obsess over them later.
Nathan was quiet for a moment. He met her doe brown eyes and instantly felt guilty when he saw the concern and reluctance shining in them. He could tell that this wasn't easy for her. But at the same time, he didn't want to let her slip away from him. He couldn't.
"Alright, I won't," he stated.
"Good," Haley murmured. She bit her lip and backed away from the window so that he could climb back in.
"Thanks, Hales."
"Haley," she corrected.
"Right. Sorry."
Haley stared at him for a couple of minutes. She was still having trouble believing that she had just agreed to this. It all happened so fast. What would Lucas and the others think? Should she even tell them? It didn't take long for her to realize just how many problems this little arrangement would cause if it got out.
"Nobody finds out about this," Haley ordered. "Got it?"
Nathan nodded his head. "Yeah."
"And if I'm going to do this for you, you have to do something for me," she added.
Nathan frowned curiously. "What is it?"
"Not only will you continue to help fix the café, but you also have to be nice and polite to everyone. If you still act like a jackass, this ends immediately. Understand?" If she had to do this, she at least wanted to get something positive out of it for her friends in return.
"Ok," Nathan replied. A smile soon formed on his face. It was so like Haley to watch out for the others. She always was like the mother of their group.
"I wouldn't be smiling if I were you. I pretty much hate you right now," she declared.
Nathan's smile, despite that, only widened. "It's better than nothing."
