"Haaaaleees! I made breakfast!" Quinn bursted into Haley's room before knocking, only to see her little sis locking lips with her boyfriend. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't know you spent the night. I'll just- i'll be downstairs." She called as she ran out.

Haley laughed. Her and Quinn were so close, she was happy her big sis was back in town. They hadn't seen each other for over a year and it was nice having her positive quirkiness around, "Alright, lover boy. I think it's time for us to get out of bed." She patted his chest before jumping up.

"Really? It's barely 7 and we were out all night last night."

"Out of bed. Now." She demanded as she tossed his shirt at him. "Quinn probably thinks we did something last night because you never wear your shirt to sleep."

He chuckled, "Well you did say I could sleep over and you know very well I sleep without my shirt." He shrugged, pulling his shirt over his head.

"You're just lucky my parents weren't the ones who walked in." She smirked, "Hurry up, Quinny made us breakfast."

He watched as she excitedly ran downstairs to join her sister for their early munching. She was one work-out. She woke up early, slept late, and was such a tease. That's what was exciting, though. She was tough, but she was simple.

"Good-morning, Nathan." Quinn greeted as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Sorry about what you walked in on, me and Hales didn't do anything that you wouldn't approve of."

"Relax, Nathan. It's fine." She smiled as she sipped on her coffee, "I'm not that old and naggy."

Nathan watched as Haley stuffed her face with waffles and chuckled, "So, Haley tells me you go to Stanford?" He asked to start conversation.

She nodded, "Yeah. It's a great school, I can't wait till lil sis joins me later on this year." She winked over at Haley.

Haley nodded, swallowing the huge chunk of waffle she had in her mouth, "Nathan got offered a spot at Duke."

He shrugged, suddenly feeling sort of conflicted.

"Duke? That's a really good school."

"I know. I've dreamt about going there since for as long as I could remember." He rubbed his hands together, getting lost in his thoughts.

He wanted to go to Duke. He promised himself he'd do anything for a chance to make it into his dream school, and he actually had an opportunity. It was right in front of him. Duke was calling his name, and he just had to accept it, right? I can't accept it, yet. Not until I check out some other schools. There's still more time in the school year to figure it out.

"Well, you two are in quite a mess then, right?" Quinn suggested.

Haley raised her eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Quinn looked at the two ambitious high-schoolers. "I mean, you guys talked about it, right?"

They remained quiet.

"Come on. College is around the corner and you two are planning on going completely different routes."

Haley turned to Nathan with a blank expression on her face, "I guess I never thought about that."

Quinn sighed, she didn't want to ruin their moods but it was bound to become a topic sooner or later.

Haley looked down at her coffee, drowning herself in her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Hales. I didn't know."

"It's okay, Quinn. Nathan and I will discuss it later."

He rubbed her back, not wanting to tell her about his offer from stanford just yet. He didn't want to get her hopes up because even he wasn't sure if he wanted to take it or not. If Duke had offered him a point-guard position, he wouldn't even need to think twice. But Duke wasn't looking for a point-guard, and that was Nathan's specialty.

"Nathan, can I talk to my little sis for a moment?" Quinn asked.

He nodded, leaving the room not a second too soon.

"Hales."

"Quinn, I'm fine. It's not a big deal." She gave her sister a fake smile.

"College is always a big deal. I know you really like Nathan."

"Is it that obvious?" Haley sighed, running her hands through her hair.

She laughed, "Isn't he the same boy you once hated?" Haley nodded. "I remember you coming home from middle school, absolutely stressed out from having to deal with another day of Nathan Scott."

Haley let out a soft laugh, "I remember those days. I loathed him."

Quinn hugged her. She knew Haley, and she knew how far in she fell for things.

"He's taking me to prom." Haley shrugged into the hug, "That's something to look forward to."

Nathan sat on the couch in the living room, listening in on their conversation. He grinned at the thought of prom. He couldn't wait to see her wear her dress, just above her knee, strapless. He couldn't wait to embrace her on the dance-floor. He couldn't wait to show her off because she was by far the prettiest girl in school, and he still didn't know how he was lucky enough to have her all to himself.

"How did you know you liked him?" Quinn wiggled her eyebrows.

Haley bit her lip, taking a second to answer. "I don't know. I guess I always kind of liked him." She laughed, "But he was such an ass. You don't know how often I wanted to pull my hair out back before we became close."

Nathan chuckled, hearing footsteps coming from up the stairs. He saw Jimmy James walking over to him. He quickly stood up to greet him. "Good-morning, Mr. James. Haley invited me over."

"I know you two had a sleep-over, Nate. Don't get your panties in a wad." He mumbled out. "You guys were pretty loud last night if I do say so myself. But don't worry, I was young once, too." He laughed good-naturedly.

Nathan sighed nervously. He really was a cool father, and the last thing Nathan wants to do is disrespect him.

"The girls have you sitting out here while they chat about you in the kitchen, I suppose?"

Nathan nodded, taken back by his great guess.

"I'm surprised you're still here..." Jimmy crossed his arms, staring at the 6 foot all-star. "You really like my daughter? You're not just playing games with her, right?"

"I love your daughter, sir." He just realized he admitted he loves her to her father, and suddenly felt a bit mortified. "The only game I play is basketball." He chuckled.

"You love her." He nodded, keeping his arms crossed as a small smile grew on his face.

"Jim, give the poor boy a break." Lydia called out as she made her way down the stairs.

"Good-morning, Mrs. James." Nathan waved.

"So you and Haley haven't had sex, yet?" Jimmy asked.

Nathan froze, his heart started to pound. He shook his head viciously and began to stutter, "N-no. No, we haven't. I-I um, I haven't had sex with her and-"

"Bye mom, bye dad!" Haley ran in and dragged Nathan towards the door.

"Where are we going?" Nathan asked with a growing smile on his face, "You're still in your pajamas."

She shrugged, grabbing her car keys, "Come on, Quinny." She yelled out as they ran out of the door.

Nathan felt his cheek cramping up from trying not to smile. Haley had been laughing at him for the past few days whenever she had the chance to. He was glad though, it was always nice hearing her laugh, even if he was the target.

"You are so awkward around my parents!" She laughed out, she just couldn't control herself.

"Hales, people are staring." He referred to the people walking by them in the halls.

She faced him and held in her laughter, "Sorry. Prom is only 2 days away and I've been really giddy about it."

"It's fine." He smiled, "I love seeing you so happy."

"Brooke's been working real hard, I'm gonna go check up on her." She glanced over at her best friend who was now passing out Prom Queen pins. She held his hands and smiled as she saw his wrists. There weren't any new cuts and he wasn't trying to hide them anymore. "The short sleeves are lookin' real good on you, kiddo." She winked before running off to her bestfriend.

"How you holdin' up?" She nudged her.

"I'm pretty sure I'm getting all of Tree Hill's residency to vote for you." Brooke sighed sarcastically, "What's up, tutor-girl." She said more as a statement than a question.

"Nathan met my family." She smirked.

Brooke let out a laugh, "No way, how'd he take them?"

"Not so well. We're going out to dinner with them tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to come along?"

"Of course. The James family is my family." Brooke smacked her butt.

Haley giggled at her friend's straight-forwardness, "Well good. I was going to invite Peyton but Lucas said they had plans." She shrugged, "Quinny's back in town so you don't have to feel like much of a third wheel."

"Aw, yay! I get to fill her in on your latest scandals. Now go get back to your boyfriend." Brooke winked before walking off.

"Haley, are you okay?" The chemistry teacher asked.

"Huh?" Haley shot up, "Oh, sorry. I must've zoned out."

Nathan held his chuckle in.

"Pay attention." He said sternly before resuming the class.

"Nice one." Nathan whispered.

"Shut up." She nudged him, keeping her eyes up front.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He continued to whisper, making sure Mr. Jones doesn't notice.

"They're not worth that much." She whispered back.

"Let me be the judge of that." He wouldn't give up.

She sighed, glancing over at the clock. She opened up her notebook and began writing something. She ripped it out, nicely folded it and shoved it in the pocket of his neatly ironed polo shirt. "Open it in 5 minutes then come see me after class." She whispered.

He nodded, curious as to what the note said.

He was glad he sat next to Haley. Each desk was set for a pair of 2 students per desk, so that gave him and Haley some space. He got to stare at her focused-face and studied her mannerisms. She liked to tap her pencil against her notepad every now and then and she subconsciously licked her lips throughout the class. He noticed she didn't even have to pay full attention to still understand what was going on in the class and he could tell she didn't have much interest in the subject whenever she was called on but she always knew the correct answer and that always interested him.

"Psst." She nudged him, letting him know the 5 minutes were up and the bell was just about to ring.

He opened the note and saw the word 'NEUR' written very neatly. He raised his eyebrow as the bell rung.

"I don't understand, what does this mean?"

She giggled as she gathered her things, "The root-word NEUR comes from the Greek word neuron which means nerve."

He still didn't understand.

She leaned over her seat and kissed his cheek, "It means I'm nervous, moron." She said as she began walking out of class.

"Nervous for what?" He grabbed his backpack and followed her out.

"For dinner with my family. Brooke's coming too, by the way. I really want to impress my parents."

He nudged her, "Don't worry. No one's as nervous as I am."

She rolled her eyes in a loving manner, "Listen I have to get ready with Brooke. Stop by before we leave for the restaraunt."

He nodded, "Will do. Stay pretty." He smiled into their kiss. He leaned down so she didn't have to tip-toe.

She winked at him as Brooke pulled her away.

Nathan whistled as he ooened his front door. He hadn't noticed a car up front and was surprised to see his dad standing in his mom's living room, obviously waiting for him.

"Dad, what are you doing here? How'd you get in?"

"You're dating Haley James?" He ignored his questions.

"No, I just enjoy kissing her at my basketball games." He spat out sarcastically, referring to the other night when he caught Dan staring at him and Haley at the state championships.

"David from Duke called me and told me he offered you a spot at Duke. You should be focusing on that instead of this girl you just started seeing."

"Haley isn't a distraction, dad. I thought I made that very clear the night I beat your all-time record."

Dan clenched his fists as he got closer to his much smaller-sized son.

Nathan held his arms up to hopefully let him know he wasn't in the mood for a physical altercation.

Dan saw his wrists, and quickly grabbed them. He saw the scars and lowered his voice, holding in his evil chuckle, "You cut yourself?"

Nathan pulled his arms back.

"And here I was, beginning to think you were becoming a man." Dan laughed a very insincere laugh, "You're weak, Nathan. You just proved that to both you and me." He shook his head, "Cut deeper next time." He pushed him aside as he seeked his way out.

He was left more shocked than ever. Cut deeper next time? Would that prove to Dan that he was a man? Suddenly, he remembered how sweet the razor blade felt against his skin...

"Hair up or down?"

Brooke examined Haley as Haley examined Brooke.

"Down." They agreed. They both wore fancy yet casual dresses, appropriate for the sit-down dinner that was to take place at a very riveting restaurant.

"When's Nate coming?"

"Soon, I hope. I'll call him and tell him we're ready."

She grabbed her phone and dialed his number. She waited a couple 3 or 4 rings before he answered, "Hey, when are you coming?"

Nathan was glad Haley called, he was in need of reassurance. "I'll be over in about 10 minutes."

"Okay, drive safe." She said before hanging up.

He sighed, snapping out of his foolish thoughts. He couldn't let Dan get the best of him. He wasn't going to cut deeper next time because there wasn't going to be a next time.. Was there?

He wasn't sure, but he definitely wasn't going to cut tonight. And that's all he could hope for. He was going night by night. Prom was only 2 days away, and he wasn't going to break his promise.

Nathan sported a simple dark blue button up, without a tie. He wore grey slacks and didn't bother to fix his hair up. He picked up a bouqet of flowers, in hopes to impress Haley's family.

"Hey, babe. These are for you and Quinn and your mother." He handed her the flowers as he was invited into her house, giving her a quick kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you, Nathan." Lydia beamed.

"What, nothing for me?" Brooke pouted.

He chuckled, pulling her in for a hug.

"Oh, hey Nathan! I want you to meet someone." Haley led him into the living room.

"Nate, this is my boyfriend, Clay." Quinn introduced.

Nathan was surprised to see Clay Evans, the stanford scout, here as Haley's sister's boyfriend. This was too weird.

"At least you're not the only new boy out for dinner tonight." Quinn giggled.

"Nice to meet you, Nathan." Clay played along, he obviously noticed his anxiety.

"Alright, let's gooooo." Jimmy James clapped his hands and made his way out.

"Come on Brooke, let's ride with Nathan." Haley held her hand as they followed Nathan.

"I didn't know Quinn had a boyfriend." Nathan brought up as he drove.

"Neither did I. So now I guess Brooke truly is a third wheel."

"Hey! I'm basically family, anyways." She smacked Haley playfully from the back seat. "Besides, there's 7 of us so HA."

Haley rolled her eyes at her logic, trying not to laugh. "Clay goes to Stanford but he also works there. He's pretty rad, actually."

Nathan nodded, "I bet."

"And listen, buddy. You don't have to feel awkward tonight around my parents. They really like you." Haley assured him.

Brooke stuck her finger in her mouth and fake gagged, "Exclusive, much?"

They ignored her usual conservative-based comments. They both knew Brooke was their number one supporter and she just faked her gags for kicks. It was quite amusing, for the both of them. They enjoyed having her around just as much as they enjoyed being alone.