"I can't go in there," Haley said nervously. For the first time since starting her senior year at Tree Hill, Haley felt overwhelmed. At first, she wasn't even sure she wanted to play basketball, but now she was desperate for the competition that she'd always loved. It was as if she hadn't eaten in days and would give anything for just one slice of extra cheese pizza. She could almost smell the scent of brand new sneakers and basketball leather. Haley didn't know what she was going to do if she hadn't made the team.

Lucas grinned at her at put an arm around her shoulder. "You can go in," he assured her.

"But what if I—"

"Don't finish that sentence, Hales," Lucas said. "We're thinking positive, remember?"

"Yes, but I'm positive that I didn't—"

Before she could finish, Lucas lifted his hand to cover her mouth. "OK, look, so far, you've been pretty much in control of this friendship, but today, I'm taking the reins," he informed her.

Her eyes widened and her "OK," came out in a muffle.

He laughed and removed his hand. "It's just basketball," he said. He was acting like he was trying to convince her, but she knew better. He was just as nervous as she was.

"What if we don't look?" she asked, as an idea set in.

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked.

"What if I go to Coach Durham's office and check the list for you, and you go to Coach Drake's office and check for me," she said, grabbing his arm, her eyes lighting up.

"Doesn't that sort of make us cowards?" he asked tentatively.

"Oh, come on, Lucas. If you didn't make the team, which, I know you did, do you really want to find out in front of all of those stupid jocks or do you want to hear it from me?" she asked.

He nodded. "You do have a point," he said. "Although, don't you fall under the 'stupid jock' category?" he teased, nudging her with his shoulder as they finally made their way through the front doors of the school.

Haley rolled her eyes. "Need I remind you again of my grade point average?" she asked.

Lucas laughed and then came to a stop when they reached the end of the hallway. This is where they'd split up and find out whether the other one made the team or not.

Their eyes met and they each took a deep breath. "Good luck, Hales," Lucas said softly.

"Right back at ya," she said, slowly turning away from him and heading to Coach Durham's office. The closer she got, the more her pace picked up until she was practically power walking. The door with the list of the new basketball team was surrounded by lots of hopefuls, and Haley watched as some of them turned away, frowns on their faces. Her least favorite part of basketball was that everyone who tried out couldn't make it. When she got there, she elbowed her way to the front and putting a finger on the list, moved it downward in search of Lucas' name. When she reached the bottom of the list, she bit her lower lip and let out a sigh. She turned around and started heading for where they'd parted ways but had to come to a stop when Nathan blocked her path.

"Hey," he said a grin on his face.

"Hey," she said softly. "I'm sorry, I'm a little late for tutoring, but I'll be there in just a few minutes," she assured him.

"I haven't even been to the tutor center yet," he told her.

"Oh," she said.

"I was looking for you, but when I couldn't find you, I figured I'd find out who made the team."

"And? Did you?"

"Of course I did," he said arrogantly. "But I wasn't talking about my team. I was talking about yours. Congratulations," he said sincerely.

"I made it?" she said.

Nathan gave her a puzzled look. "Didn't you know?"

"No!" she said excitedly. "Lucas was checking for me! I really made it?"

"Was there ever any doubt?" he asked in surprise.

"There's always some doubt when you move to a new school," she told him. "Some teams are already established and it's hard to make a team like that no matter how good you are." Haley's face broke into a grin and shook her head. "I'm so glad that—" She stopped midsentence as if she just realized who she was talking to. "I should go," she said quickly.

"But…Hales. You made the team," Nathan said excitedly. "What are we going to do to celebrate?" he asked.

"I'm going to go find my best friend," she said quickly. "I don't know what you're going to do." She walked past him at a near run until she was around the corner, then slowed her pace and let out a deep breath. I made the team, she thought with a grin on her face.

777

Lucas was walking down the hall fighting a grin. Haley had made the basketball team. She was going to be so excited. He couldn't wait to tell her, and really, this was for the best. Now he got to see her reaction to finding out. As he rounded the corner, he nearly plowed into her.

"Hey! Watch where you're going," she teased.

"So? What did you find out?" he asked.

She cleared her throat. "You first," she said, feeling like a louse for lying.

He couldn't help but grin at her. "The transfer student is in," he said.

"Really?" she asked, but he noticed she wasn't as excited as he'd thought she was going to be.

He nodded. "Really," he confirmed. "Now, me," he said nervously. He watched as she lowered her head, then lifted it again to meet his eyes. She was chewing on her lower lip. This can't be good, he thought. I didn't make it.

She placed a comforting hand on his sleeve. "I'm sorry, Lucas," she said softly.

He shrugged nonchalantly, but was surprised at how much it hurt that he hadn't made it. "It's OK," he said dismissively. "I wasn't even sure—"

"I'm sorry because…" her eyes suddenly lit up. "Now that we're both playing basketball, we won't have as much time to spend together," she finished.

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

"You heard me," she said.

"Oh, Haley James, that was a rotten thing to do," he said. He grabbed her by the waist and swung her around as she let out a squeal.

"Congratulations, Lucas," she said just as Nathan came around the corner. He stopped midstride when he saw Haley in his brothers' arms.

She cleared her throat nervously and squeezed Lucas' shoulder. "Can you put me down, please?" she said in a near whisper. Without a word, Lucas let go. And just like that, her feet returned to the floor.

"I'll see you in the tutor center," Nathan said as he walked away, his pace hurried.

"I guess I better go," Haley said quickly, her happiness at having made the team diffused by the disappointment on Nathan's face. "But, hey. Ice cream sodas at the café after school to celebrate?" she asked.

Lucas nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly. But Haley didn't seem to notice as she left. Was it him, or was there some weird vibe between his brother and his best friend?

777

Haley walked into the tutor center and placed her bag on the table across from where Nathan was sitting. The room was deserted except for the two of them. "Sorry I'm late," she said breathlessly, sitting down at the table and pulling her math book out of her bag.

"Would it have made a difference if you'd seen me first?" Nathan asked softly.

"Nathan, don't do this," Haley begged. If he had asked in an abrupt tone, she could have taken it, but he was asking with such honesty that it almost broke her heart.

He sighed. "I just can't help but think…" he trailed off and studied her face. Her eyes refused to meet his. "Would it have?" he pushed.

"I don't know," she said, and he swore her heard a hint of misery in her voice.

"Are you in love with him?" Nathan asked quietly, sitting back in his chair.

Her eyes finally met his as her head snapped up. "What?" she asked in surprise.

"Well, from where I was standing, you two looked pretty cozy," he said.

"Are you jealous?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he admitted.

Haley took a deep breath. "Nathan, I'm not in love with Lucas. You saw…two friends celebrating because they made the basketball team. That's all it was. Not that it's any of your business," she added. And then, after a short pause she said, "Let's get cracking. You have a test on Wednesday and we need to get you up to at least a C."

"I'm not going to be able to concentrate if you don't answer my question," he told her.

Haley sighed. "Fine. The truth is…I don't know if it would have made a difference, Nathan. All I know is that I was meant to meet Lucas, to have him in my life. But this summer, at High Flyers, I would have sworn the same thing about you. But you're so different here," she said yet again. Even though she'd tried and tried, she was still having a hard time reconciling Nathan and Scott as one. She ran a hand through her hair. "I think—I think I really could have loved Scott," she admitted aloud for the first time. "But I can't love a boy who won't move past his father's mistakes and acknowledge his brother. I won't be with someone who is too…afraid to stand up for what is right. And you know that Lucas is a good guy, Nathan. I know you do," she said fiercely, as if trying to pound it into his head. "But you're too busy adopting your father's pomp to try and set him straight. Is that really who you want to be?"

There was another pause as she waited for Nathan's answer, but it never came.

"Are you ready to study?" she asked.

He flipped open his book in answer.

Haley's eyes flew to the door when she thought she saw a flash of blonde curls, but there was no one there. Great, she thought to herself. Now I'm seeing things.

"There's a trick with polynomials," she said as she started tutoring Nathan. And for the next 45 minutes, Haley worked hard to concentrate on what was right in front of her.