Hi everyone. Thank you all again for the reviews last chapter. I'm glad that you're all enjoying Haley and Tim's friendship. I always loved Tim on the show, and I could just picture he and Haley making an odd, but cute, pair of friends. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter. I had fun writing it. So please read and review!

Chapter 20

"Ok, what is up with you?"

"Nothing."

"I don't believe you."

"Ok."

"I'm serious."

"What?"

"You're all…happy."

Haley laughed. "And that's a bad thing?"

"No. I'm just trying to figure out why. Did Chase send you another present?"

"No."

"Did he drop the L-word?"

"No."

"Well, it has to be something. You've been all cheerful and dreamy-eyed these last few days," Peyton stated as she started to stretch a little bit. It was Wednesday afternoon, and they were at cheerleading practice. Solaris had let them take a fifteen-minute break to regroup. Haley, Peyton, and Brooke had grabbed a spot on the mats off to the side to talk.

"I'm just in a good mood. That's all," Haley said. She was in more than a good mood. She'd felt like she was on Cloud Nine ever since Sunday night. It felt so great to have everything resolved with Nathan and know where they stood. All of the kissing and making out recently had been pretty awesome, too. It was kind of fun and thrilling to sneak around. She usually had Nathan all to herself without any interruptions. Haley knew that it wouldn't always be this way. She and Nathan definitely had some tough times ahead of them. But for right now, she was going to enjoy the newness of it all while she still could.

"Aw, leave the poor girl alone, Peyton," Brooke spoke up. "If she doesn't want to tell us, that's her business." Haley threw Brooke a thankful look. Her friend always had a way of diffusing situations.

"Hey, I was just curious. I wish I could be that carefree this week."

"Why? What's going on?" Haley asked curiously.

"I've just got tons of schoolwork to get done. Plus, Jake and I are trying to finish up our project. It's taking forever."

"That's right. You and Jaglieski have been spending a lot of time together," Brooke commented. "How is that going? Did you two finally give into temptation and go at it like rabbits, or what?"

"Brooke!" Haley scolded.

Brooke shrugged innocently. "What?"

Peyton just laughed. "No. Like I told Haley a few days ago, I'm taking a break from guys for a while. I need to focus on myself. Besides, Jake and I are just friends."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Don't mind her, Peyton. She's been boy crazy since birth," Haley joked.

"Oh, shush," Brooke laughed.

"You know it's true."

"It's ok. Nothing Brooke says surprises me anymore," Peyton declared.

"Then I guess I'll just have to try harder," Brooke declared indignantly.

"Girls, five more minutes, and we'll start going over the routine again," Solaris announced. They all nodded in response.

"Is it bad that I'm already tired?" Brooke questioned as she laid back on the mat.

Haley shook her head. "I am, too." Their routines seemed to get more challenging each week. The team also had more games. The season was really starting to pick up. Haley then looked over at the court and saw the guys running more suicides. Except this time, they were doing them backwards. I would so fall on my ass, she thought. Haley never had that kind of stamina or coordination. Afterward, she looked past them to the sidelines. Haley could feel another smile tugging at her lips. She had to admit, Nathan looked so sexy in his assistant coach shirt as he yelled at the team for slacking off.

"Thinking naughty thoughts?" Brooke inquired. Haley looked over to make sure Peyton hadn't heard but saw that she'd gone to talk to a few of the other girls.

"No."

"Liar."

"Are you?" Haley shot back.

Brooke got a mischievous smile on her face. "Always."

"You're sick, Davis."

"I can't help it if my Broody is so sexy. I love it when he gets all fired up," she stated. Haley turned back to the court and saw that Lucas was now letting the guys have it. She then shifted her attention back to Nathan to see if he was getting just as angry again. However, much to her surprise and delight, she noticed that he wasn't watching the guys at all. He was staring straight at her. She felt goose bumps form on her skin soon after.

"I swear, I'm going to strangle Quentin," Lucas muttered. "You know, I think he's moving slower just to piss us off. What do you think, Nate? Nate? Nate?!"

"Huh?" Nathan said as he looked over at his brother.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, why?"

"This is like the fourth time you've zoned out on me today."

"Oh, sorry," he apologized. He'd been having a hard time focusing for most of practice. He tried to keep his eyes solely on the guys, but his attention would eventually drift back to Haley. He just couldn't resist watching her stretch and practice the squad's routine. Every time she bent over his eyes would automatically hone in on her ass in those short shorts she was wearing. They were just so damn sexy. He'd also meet her gaze every now and then. The secretive smiles she gave him just seemed to push him even more over the edge. He couldn't wait until he had her alone tonight during their tutoring session.

"What's going on? Are you sick or something?"

"No. I've just got a lot on my mind," he answered.

"Well, the guys and I were planning on going to the bar tonight and shoot some pool. Did you want to come?" Lucas offered.

Nathan shook his head. "Thanks, but I can't. I have a tutoring session with Haley. We've got a lot of stuff to work on."

"That sucks. Your statistics class still kicking your ass?"

"Pretty much, but Haley makes it easier."

"She always was the smart one. Well, besides me," Lucas quipped.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "If you're so smart, then figure out a way stop the team from sucking." The guys still could not get their act together. Nathan was seriously starting to lose the little patience that he had left.

"I'm a genius. Not a miracle worker."

Just then, Whitey blew his whistle. "That's enough for today, guys. Hit the showers. You all stink."

"So what's the verdict, Coach?" Nathan asked as Whitey approached them.

"I don't know. I think maybe we should consider scouting for some new talent. The team is falling apart at the seams, and Quentin isn't helping the situation. He's too unpredictable. I know we've been winning the games, but it's not as a team. Everyone's playing selfish, and we're barely making it by."

"Did you want to hold tryouts?" Lucas asked.

"Not now. Let's give them another two weeks to get it together. Then we'll see what options are open to us," Whitey answered. Lucas and Nathan both nodded.

"Sounds good," Nathan replied.

"You boys can leave now if you want. You were working hard today with the team. We can go over some more plays on Friday," Whitey stated before he started to head to his office. Lucas and Nathan shared a worrisome look. It must have been a bad day if Whitey didn't feel like going over plays and strategies. They always did that after practice.

Lucas shook his head. "Nate, I think we're in serious trouble."

"Oh my God, I can't do this," Haley groaned

"Yes, you can," Nathan replied.

"No, I can't. I suck," she reinforced.

"Just do it like I showed you."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"No, I can't!" Haley declared. "Nathan, I just scored a damn basket against myself. And stop laughing. It's not funny!"

"Come on, you have to admit that it's a little…" he trailed off when she gave him a threatening glare. "…ok, it's not funny." The two were sitting on the floor of Nathan's dorm room playing a short game of NBA Live. Originally, Nathan had thought that it would be a nice break from their tutoring session. They'd been going over problems and reviewing old tests for the last hour. They could use a breather. But his idea of fun had quickly transformed into some kind of nightmare for Haley. She wasn't lying when she told him that she sucked at videogames. It had taken her ten minutes just to figure out which buttons moved the players in the right direction on the court.

"I quit," Haley declared.

"You will not," Nathan objected. "I won't let you."

"Yes, I am."

"Come here," he instructed.

"What?" Haley asked confused.

"Come here," Nathan repeated before grabbing Haley by the waist and situating her so she was now sitting between his legs. Haley let out a silent gasp as her body seemed to quiver from his touch. She could feel his hard chest behind her and his arms encircling hers. A second later, he'd covered her hands on the control with his own. She then felt her cheeks heat up. She always got like that whenever he was this close to her.

"Ok," Nathan stated. "Let's try this again." He then pushed a few buttons on the control to restart the game.

"I don't want to," Haley pouted. She'd embarrassed herself enough in front of him already.

"That doesn't sound like the Tutor Girl I know. Since when do you just give up?" he challenged.

"Since now. I hate this stupid game," she said.

"Well, we're going to change that. And I'm going to let that offensive statement slide, since you're my girlfriend," he teased before kissing her on the cheek.

"Your charm is not going to work this time," she mumbled stubbornly. Nathan just smirked while shaking his head. He then repositioned her fingers on the buttons before starting the game again.

"Oh my God, that guy is coming at me!" Haley panicked about ten minutes in. Even though Nathan was helping her, she still wasn't doing that well. He'd go to push one button while she went to another—which resulted in her guy banging into other players or shooting the ball at the wrong times. Eventually, Nathan just let go and decided to let her try it alone.

"Push the circle."

"What circle?! All the buttons are circles!" she exclaimed exasperated. How could anyone enjoy playing these games? All they did was get you worked up and anxious for no reason at all.

"The button with the picture of a circle on it," Nathan clarified.

"Why is he doing that?! I pushed the freaking button, and the guy is still coming after me. Damn it, Nathan, you suck at this! You're supposed to be helping me!"

"Hales, the guy is guarding you. He's supposed to chase after you," Nathan explained with a laugh. Her freaking out was too funny right now.

"Well, he's making me nervous."

"You're making me nervous. Relax," he teased.

"I can't. If I do, that guy's going to pummel me."

"It's just a game, Hales."

"No, this thing is a heart attack waiting to happen," she retorted.

"Do you want to stop?" Nathan sighed. Obviously, she wasn't finding this as fun as he thought she might.

"Yes!"

"Ok, fine," Nathan relented. He then grabbed the control out of her hands and shut it off. "Are you alright?" he asked a minute later when she suddenly got quiet.

"I think I just had a flashback of gym class my freshman year of high school. Sue Garver chased after me in a game of flag football and ended up tackling me. God, I hated gym," she shuddered while leaning back against his chest and closing her eyes. Nathan had to suppress a laugh. Yeah, Haley and sports, even virtual ones, definitely do not mix, he mused.

"I'm sorry. I thought you'd like NBA Live once you got the hang of it," he stated as he soothingly started to rub his hands up and down her arms.

"Never again," she mumbled. Nathan chuckled softly to himself as he continued his ministrations on her arms. Her skin was so soft and smooth that he couldn't help himself.

"Are you cold?" he asked as the goose bumps began to form on her flesh.

Haley shook her head. "Actually, I'm hot."

Nathan smirked. "Yeah, you are." He then lowered his head to her neck. Haley's laugh quickly transformed into a gasp when she felt him nipping and sucking on her sensitive skin. She leaned further into him and moved her head to give him better access.

"You know, this is much better than some stupid videogame," she muttered as her eyes started to close.

"I'd be offended right now if you weren't right," he laughed in a husky tone.

"I'm always right."

Nathan pulled away and looked down at her. "I think I'm a bad influence on you. You're starting to get my ego."

"Actually, I'd rather get something else from you," she flirted causing him to groan.

"You are so sexy when you talk like that," he teased while kissing her on the lips. He then wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her to stand up with him. Haley turned around in his embrace and was instantly met with his lips on hers again. She completely melted into him as he continued to kiss her passionately. It wasn't long before she felt his tongue start to stroke hers. Haley let out a soft moan and tightened her grip on him.

Tired of standing, Nathan started to push her back onto his bed. Haley complied as he positioned himself over her. Every nerve in his body seemed to be humming as he felt Haley's hands run through his hair and along his back. He kept his own hands on the curves of her hips as they continued to make out. Even though they'd had many heated make out sessions over these last few days, this was all still new to them. There was no doubt in Nathan's mind that he wanted Haley. He always had. But she wasn't like the other girls he'd been with. She wasn't fast or easy nor did he expect her to be. Peyton wasn't either, but their relationship had developed rather quickly. With Haley, Nathan didn't want to push her or make her feel uncomfortable. He was perfectly fine with taking it slow and just enjoying being with her.

Haley suddenly felt Nathan's lips start to move more languidly over hers. She didn't know what had caused the change in pace, but it still felt good all the same. Nathan's hand then came up to softly caress her cheek. A second later, he pulled away.

"What's the matter?" Haley questioned with a frown.

"Nothing," he stated. "We should probably get back to studying. I have a killer test tomorrow."

"Oh," Haley commented. "Ok." She tried to keep her voice even and calm. Since when does he not want to make out? She started to wonder if she had done something wrong but quickly pushed that thought out of her mind. He did have a big test tomorrow. He probably was just stressed. They also wouldn't have long until Lucas came back to the room—possibly with the guys in tow. Haley didn't even want to think about what would happen if they got caught in the position they were in now. Nathan gave her one more peck on the lips before getting off of her. Afterward, he walked over to his desk and brought his books back to the bed. Haley pushed over so that he could sit next to her. They then continued going over the material for his exam. About a half hour later, they were interrupted by the sound of a key turning in the lock.

"Hey, guys," Lucas greeted as he entered the room. Just as Haley had expected, Tim and Matt were right behind him. "You're still at it?"

"Uh, yeah. But we're almost done," Nathan answered. Haley nodded as she tried to appear normal. She could feel her body already getting a little tense. She was still trying to get used to acting platonic with Nathan when everyone else was around.

"Dude, you missed one kick-ass game of pool," Matt declared. "Tim actually won."

"Oh yeah. The Tim totally knows what he's doing when it comes to his balls," Tim proclaimed. Haley covered her mouth to keep from laughing as the guys looked at him in disbelief.

Lucas shuddered. "That was not an image I needed."

"Nasty," Matt added.

"I meant pool balls," Tim corrected.

"It's too late, Dim," Nathan replied as he shook his head. "The damage is already done." For the next few minutes, the group talked casually. Haley eventually moved away from Nathan when she realized she was a little too close to him on his bed. Luckily, no one seemed to think twice about it. She saw what time it was, however, and realized that maybe she should just leave. It was getting late.

"Well, guys, it's been fun but…" Haley began to say when her cell phone, all of a sudden, went off.

"Who is it?" Matt questioned. Haley pulled it out to check the ID.

"Chase," Haley answered. She noticed Nathan tense up slightly out of the corner of her eye. She'd left a message for Chase earlier. She still hadn't told him that Operation Torture was no longer necessary. Haley was kind of nervous about how he was going to react to her and Nathan being together. "I, uh, have to take this. I'll talk to you guys later."

"Be careful. Do you want me to walk you back to the room?" Matt offered.

"No. I think I can manage," Haley said. She then waved goodbye to guys, shared one last look with Nathan, and left.

"That sounds like fun," Haley commented. She was now back in her dorm room on the phone with Chase. While he talked about how school was going and the weekend, Haley was trying to build up the nerve to tell him about her and Nathan.

"So, what about you?" Chase questioned. "How was your weekend?"

"Um, it was…it was pretty good," Haley answered. "I had fun."

"Really? What did you do?"

"Uh…just stuff."

Chase laughed. "What kind of stuff?"

"The normal kind." Damn it, Haley swore to herself. She knew dodging the issue was not going to help.

"Ok, what's the matter?" Chase inquired.

"Nothing. Why?" she tried to play dumb. She knew it was useless, but she was still trying to find the right way to tell Chase what was going on.

"You sound kind of nervous. And I can practically hear you pacing over the phone."

"I'm not pacing," she denied—even though she most certainly was.

"You're a terrible liar, love muffin," he teased. "What's going on?"

Haley sighed. "Ok. I kind of have something really important to tell you. Are you sitting down?"

"No," he replied.

"Sit down."

"Why?"

"I just think it'd be best if you were sitting," she advised.

"But..."

"Chase," she warned.

"Ok, I'm sitting down. Now what's up? Are you ok?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she stated.

"Is Brooke ok?"

"She's fine, too."

"Well, that's good. So what exactly is making you all anxious? You know that you can tell me anything."

"It's about Operation Torture," Haley began.

"Did you have a suggestion?"

"Well…um…there's been a slight change in plans. The whole thing needs to stop."

"What? Why?" he asked in a surprised tone. "I talked to Brooke a couple of weeks ago, and she said that everything was working like a charm."

Haley took a deep breath. Here it goes. "Look, I'm just going to come right out and say it. Nathan knows."

"Knows what?" Chase asked cautiously.

"Everything. He knows about us dating earlier in the summer, Operation Torture…just everything."

"Oh crap. How did he find out? We were all so careful…"

"I told him," Haley blurted out.

"What?! Haley, why on earth would you do that?!" he exclaimed.

"Before you freak, please just hear me out," she requested. Haley then went into the whole story about tutoring Nathan, how close they'd gotten, Tric, and everything that had happened since then.

"…so now we're dating," Haley finished. She frowned a second later when she was met with complete silence on the other end of the phone. "Chase, are you still there?"

"Uh…yeah," he answered. "I'm just trying to process it all…damn."

"I know it's a lot to take in. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it sooner, but Nathan and I were trying to work things out and…" she began to ramble.

"Haley," he cut her off. "It's ok. You don't have to apologize. I get it."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I only suggested Operation Torture to help you out. In the end, whatever you want to do is your decision."

Haley breathed a sigh of relief at his words. "Thanks, Chase. I was afraid you'd be mad at me."

"No, I'm not mad. If you're happy, then I'm happy for you. As long as the Kissi—I mean Nathan is treating you well. He is, right?"

Haley felt a smile tug at her mouth. "Yes. He's really great, Chase."

"Good. So, now what are you going to do about your other friends and brother finding out?"

"We don't know yet. Right now, they still think that you and I are dating. It's just not the right time to tell them anything."

"After what you just told me, I think it's a good decision at the moment. I don't know how it will play out later on, but it's the risk you take."

"I know," she muttered softly.

"So, um, there was another reason why I called you other than to catch up," Chase revealed after a couple of seconds.

"What is it?" Haley asked curiously.

"Well, I was wondering if…I mean, my plans have sort of changed so…" he trailed off.

"Chase, what's going on?" she prodded. The way he was skirting around the subject was making Haley uneasy.

Chase sighed. "What exactly are you doing for Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks..."