Hello, readers and reviewers! I apologize for the really long-awaited (even for me) update. I hope you guys will enjoy this one! I had fun writing it. Thanks for all the love with this story, by the way! xoxo
Saturday mornings typically slipped past Haley's schedule; she'd sleep right through them. So when she was unwillingly awoken by boisterous sounds at her front door, to say the least, she was not a happy camper. Rubbing her eyes to wake herself up a bit more, she didn't even bother with her unruly curls as she stumbled out of her bed. Descending the stairs, the banging coming from whoever was at the front door got louder and louder. It couldn't be Lucas because for one, he'd still be sleeping and two, he'd walk right in knowing that Haley never locked her front door.
Turning the knob, she swung the door open. If she had still been half-asleep, she was fully awake now.
"Brooke?"
"Tutorgirl!" she exclaimed in her signature bubbly demeanor.
"Excuse me?"
"What? Would you prefer Holly?"
"Uh... whatever. What are you doing here, at my house, before noon on a Saturday?"
"I was just... you know, passing by..." she slyly replied.
"Uh huh..."
"Well, aren't you going to invite me in?"
"Actually, I wasn't plan—"
"Thanks!" she exclaimed.
The cheerful brunette made her way into the house, doing a 360-degree turn, examining as much as she could of the house. Her perfectly manicured finger tapped lightly on her chin as she seemed to be in serious contemplation. As usual, she was dressed to kill in a distressed jean mini-skirt, wedge sandals, and a tube top, finished off with a breezy, lacy cardigan. Haley felt slightly uncomfortable for she was clad in one of her brothers' faded t-shirts, several sizes too big and a raggedy pair of shorts.
"So, your parents home much?"
"Huh?"
"Assuming from the lack of a car in your driveway and people in your house, I'm guessing that it's just you today?"
Haley mussed up the hair on the top of her head, thinking about how to best say what she wanted to say. She was unsuccessful.
"Has anyone ever told you how nosy you are? Ever heard of the word... oh, I don't know... maybe... privacy?"
"Nosy?!"
Haley flinched a little, considering that she had called one of the most popular students and head of the cheerleading team of her school, 'nosy'.
"Um..."
"Nosy? Honey, how do you think Brooke Davis became Brooke Davis, who by the way, doesn't know the meaning of the word privacy,"
She said this in upbeat but genuine tone, indicating how true her statement really was. Her feminine and fashionable sunshades were propped perfectly atop of her head, seeming to accentuate her magnificent locks which were manipulated into curls on that particular day.
Haley sighed defeatedly. The girl not only knew how to appear perfect but the fact that she was so quick to admit her flaws made even more close to perfection, if possible.
"Look... no one's here. Lucas is definitely not here, so what do you want?"
Brooked focused her gaze onto the quirky little girl that stood before and could only smile back, completely charmed.
"Hm... so, that's why he likes you?" she muttered just loud enough for Haley to hear.
"What?"
"Oh... nothing! Anyway, as you and I both know, you'll be going to junior prom along with the likes of me, Peyton, Bevin, Theresa, etc., etc."
There were way too many grammatical errors in her selection of words to point out.
"That's because I told you that a couple of days of ago. What's your point?"
"Well, Tutorgirl, if you'd let me speak without being interrupted, you'd know the point by now, okay? If you're going to prom with us, then I'm sorry but this..."
She paused to point her finger, tracing invisible lines over Haley.
"... has got to go,"
Haley looked down at her attire quizzically.
"You do realize that these are my pajamas, right?"
"Whatever. Just appreciate that I, Brooke Davis, am taking time out of my Saturday schedule to take you shopping!"
She sang out the last word—shopping.
Haley's eyes widened in panic. How much caffeine had this girl had already? Haley glanced quickly at the clock that hung on the wall of the room adjacent of the front foyer. It wasn't even nine o'clock yet!
"Brooke, I do appreciate the gesture... but really, it isn't necessary that you take me shopping!"
Brooke gave her a once over by studying her from head to toe.
"Oh, but trust me, it is,"
Haley didn't even bother to try to coax Brooke out of it. She trudged upstairs like a punished child to try to call Lucas to help her out. After all, she was his girlfriend! It didn't help though, when he had already been on the other line talking to Brooke who had prematurely warned him to stay out of it he knew what was good for him.
Reluctantly, Haley got in the shower, hoping to have Brooke lose her impatience. But what was slow getting ready for her was about a half of the time that it took the meticulous brunette to prepare herself for everyday.
She came down in worn-in jeans, a fitted tank top, and flip-flops. Her wet hair was thrown into a loose bun as she approached the ever so patient, Brooke Davis.
Looking pointedly at Haley's feet she said,
"Normally, I'd say something, but you've held me up long enough and this is something that I don't do, normally."
Haley rolled her eyes as she grabbed her small messenger bag off of the floor.
"Let's just go," she somewhat grunted as she turned her new friend towards the front door.
--
As awkward as the morning had been already, a quick, but not quick enough according to Haley, stop was made at Peyton Sawyer's home. She too had been blessed with a wake-up call from her cheery best friend and had been forced to come along. She might as well save Haley from some of the pain she would have to go through that day.
The three walked alongside one another, peering briefly at most of the stores with disinterest. They were brought to an immediate halt by the strength of the determined brunette in the middle when they passed by a huge department store, Dillard's.
"Yummy!" Brooke exclaimed, dragging the others with her.
Next to the Juniors' department, which the avid shopper, Ms. Davis, had nearly lost herself in, sat the beautifully displayed dress department. A gorgeous array of dresses from every color of the rainbow hung in satin-covered hangers, waiting for the yearly prom-shoppers. Since the girls had come in quite early, the aisles between the displays were just as empty as Brooke had hoped for. Haley was mesmerized by the sparkly and fluffy gowns. She had never had a reason to dress up for something so formal. She'd attended a couple weddings when her siblings got married but it was usually low-key. The most she'd ever done was a knee-length skirt with a nice top.
Brooke nudged the still sleepy, Peyton.
"I think she likes,"
Peyton put her arm around her friend's shoulder smiling nonchalantly.
"Brooke, even though every girl doesn't announce their love for silky, scandalous dresses as much as you do, who can really deny them?"
Brooke was extremely excited clasping her palms together, watching a very bedazzled Haley. Peyton had already chosen her dress, which Brooke already knew, leaving her plenty of time to focus on the real issue. She found Haley James to be adorably intelligent and a quirky little character. The fact that Lucas had been best friends with her for such a long time meant a lot to Brooke. She had that similar bond with Peyton. It was just as important to Brooke as it was to Lucas that she get to know his best friend. When she was given a mission, she wouldn't stop until she had accomplished it.
"So, Tutorgirl, you see anything you like in particular?" Brooke asked with a bright smile.
Haley turned her attention from the glitzy cocktail dresses to Brooke.
"Can you please stop with the whole 'Tutorgirl' thing? And yes, I actually do like some of these dresses but these are way out of my league, if you know what I mean. Hah! Who am I kidding? Of course you don't know what I mean. I don't even know why I'm telling you that I can hardly afford any of these dresses. I hardly know you! Ugh... what am I doing here?" she groaned inwardly.
By this time, Peyton had staggered over, swatting at some of the dresses in her way. But she stood bug-eyed at what she had just witnessed. Brooke, on the other hand, was amused and as usual, had something to say.
"I can totally see why Loverboy has a thing for you! You are just too cute!" she squealed while pinching Haley's left cheek softly.
Peyton's eyebrows raised in response and asked,
"And who the hell is Loverboy?"
"P. Sawyer, don't even act like you don't know,"
"Ohhh... wait... I know who you're talking about..."
Haley watched the two interacting with complete irritation and confusion.
"Um... I'd like to know who the hell Loverboy is!" she huffed, interrupting their distracted moment.
Both girls turned to face her with Cheshire-cat grins that Haley did not appreciate. She narrowed her eyes at the both of them, obviously waiting for an answer.
"We don't want to embarrass him, do we?"
Brooke nudged her best friend who decided to play along.
"Yeah, Haley, despite how obvious it is, if you don't know by now, it's not really our place to tell you," Peyton smoothly added.
Haley twisted her mouth in a frustrated manner, but didn't push it. She just wanted to hurry up and get out of there. As she ignored the cattiness of the other two, she fingered through the material of some of the dresses as she walked past them. Suddenly, she stopped. As she had aimlessly wandered through, a specific dress had caught her attention. A small gasp escaped her lips. She checked the size and let out another surprised gasp. It was perfect! Brooke and Peyton had noticed as well. They scurried over to see if the gown would fit their approval.
"You have got to try that on!" Brooke gushed.
"'Cause if you don't, I think I might!" Peyton teased.
Haley couldn't help but to smile in excitement. Greedily snatching the dress, she marched off to the fitting rooms, with an ecstatic brunette and contented blonde in tow. Shutting the door to her private room, she slid out of her jeans and kicked off her flip-flops. Carefully she removed the dress from the hanger before unzipping it. She beamed at her reflection in the lengthy mirror, admiring how it held her curves flawlessly. The hue from the lavish material accentuated her rosy skin tone. Haley James had fallen in love.
Peyton and Brooke waited patiently outside of the fitting room area as minutes passed by. After ten minutes or so, Haley had come out without the dress or a smile on.
"What just happened?" Peyton asked confusedly.
"Did it fit? Did it look weird or something? Come on, Tutorgirl, details!"
Haley sighed, refusing to catch eye contact with either of them.
"It's beautiful. That's the problem." She dejectedly answered.
You didn't have to be a genius to figure out what was wrong. As the two other girls looked on sympathetically, Haley hung the dress back where it had come from. She straightened her back and held her head up as she turned to the exit of the department store.
"Peyt, I have to do something real quick, could you go after her?" Brooke requested.
"Yeah... sure,"
And the blonde went striding quickly to catch up.
Brooke walked over to where the dress hung, seeing a mother and daughter gawking over it. She didn't even hesitate to grab it and headed over to the register counter, despite the snickering from the pair.
She held up the price tag to her eye level and smiled firmly in response. Slightly expensive but definitely on sale and nothing Daddy couldn't take care of.
--
As Haley began to open up the passenger-side door to Brooke's baby blue Volkswagen beetle, she shifted to the driver.
"Today was one of the most strangest days that I've ever had but... I enjoyed myself." Haley thoughtfully said.
"Sorry with the whole morning intrusion and everything. It's a forewarning that there may be more of them." Brooke replied with a smile.
"Thanks, I guess. You... you don't have to do this. Just because your boyfriend is my best friend... you really don't have to associate yourself with me if you don't want to,"
"I do want to! You're a really cool girl, a really cool Tutorgirl! Anyway, if Luke loves you and respects you then, I don't see the harm in getting to know you. As long as you're fine with getting to know me,"
--
"Hales!"
Haley lay on her bed, trying to process everything that had happened that day with her cell phone pressed to her ear.
"Are you busy, Luke?"
"Nah... just at the Rivercourt, shooting some hoops. So, uh... how was... shopping?"
"Haha... sorry for that whiny phone call this morning even though you refused to help me! Talk about being whipped!"
"That I am... but I'll only admit this to you. I'm guessing it wasn't bad judging by the fact that you haven't stopped by the house to beat me up."
"Yeah... it was actually pretty fun but of course, weird at the same time."
"I know... my Haley James? Looking for a dress? Definitely weird."
"Hey!"
"Joking, Hales! I'm just joking,"
"Don't tell anyone or else I will beat you up... you have a good girlfriend."
"I know, I do. But, I also have the greatest best friend."
"Could you be any cornier?"
"Haha... you love it!"
"Whatever! I'll see you tomorrow for dinner," She said.
It had become ritual for Haley to join her best friend and his mother for Sunday night dinners when her parents weren't around which was quite often.
"Alright. I'll pick you up around six o'clock. Goodnight, Hales,"
"Goodnight, Lucas,"
