Chapter 21

Nathan shifted in his seat, bored out of his mind. His teacher just kept droning on and on about the same stupid topic with his back to the class as he wrote on the board. Nathan glanced at his fellow classmates and saw a few people falling asleep. Tim was actually already out and drooling on the desk.

Nathan shook his head and pulled out his cell phone. Mr. Martin was so far gone he wouldn't even notice. But just in case, Nathan made sure that his phone was on silent. He checked to see if he had any messages. He had a few text messages from Lucas asking about basketball practice that afternoon. They had a big game tomorrow night that they needed to be ready for. Another message was from Brooke, telling him about some crazy party that was planned for Friday night. She wanted the group to go together.

Nathan didn't answer back. He wasn't much in the partying mood—especially if Haley wouldn't be there. He highly doubted that Clean Teens allowed that kind of thing. Shelley watched the whole group like a hawk and always seemed to keep them in check. And since Haley was her main focus at the moment, there was even less of a chance that his girlfriend would be there. Even if she was, it's not like they could do anything anyways. They were supposed to be broken up.

It sucked big time. As the weeks passed, Nathan felt himself getting more and more frustrated. Both he and Haley were so busy that they never got to see one another. The best he got was an occasional glance of her in the hallway or the cafeteria. And that's only if nobody was looking. Unfortunately, he did get caught by Shelley a few times. The girl sure knew how to give a dirty look. It seemed like afterward she would always turn on Haley. So he'd try to be more discreet.

But it was getting harder every day. And if something didn't give soon, Nathan wasn't sure what he'd do. His phone vibrated in his hand a moment later. It was another text message. Much to his surprise, it was from Haley.

I miss you…he read.

He almost groaned out loud at how right she was. Nathan knew that she was feeling it as bad as he was. Haley never used her phone while in class. She'd scolded him a few times in English before saying that it was an unproductive distraction that would lead to him ultimately falling behind and flunking. Nathan had just laughed and teased her about being such a nerd. That had earned him a hard whack on the arm. But she was always so cute when she was mad.

I miss you, too, he texted back.

Nathan checked the time. He still had about a half hour of class left. He smiled as an idea popped into his head.

I have to go to the bathroom, he wrote.

O-kay…go then. Lol, she replied.

You should go, too.

Why? I don't have to.

Nathan smirked at her clueless response. We should both go at the same time.

I don't get it.

It has nothing to do with the bathroom. I want to see you, he answered with an amused roll of his eyes.

Oh.

Meet me in the janitor's closet on the second floor.

But what if we get caught?

We won't.

Idk…

Hales, please…I want to see you. He then added for extra affect, I have to kiss you. It was a simple statement, but he was sure it would have her blushing, regardless.

It was another moment before she finally responded. Fine. I'll see you there in two minutes.

An even bigger smirk crossed Nathan's face. Afterward, he slid his phone back into his pocket. "Mr. Martin," Nathan called.

"What is it, Mr. Scott?" his teacher replied without turning around. He was still writing away on the chalk board, oblivious.

"I need to use the bathroom."

"Fine. But don't dawdle."

Don't count on it, Nathan thought to himself as he left. There was no way he was going to rush back to that class.

Nathan couldn't get to the janitor's closet fast enough. When he was finally inside, he felt a sliver of disappointment when he realized Haley hadn't showed up yet. He checked his watch. She should be coming any second.

Nathan paced back and forth as he waited. He was so keyed up in the tiny space. He felt like a starving, caged animal. Nathan checked the time again. Where was she?

A minute later, he felt his phone vibrate again. My teacher is handing out a pop quiz. I can't come. Sorry!

Nathan's jaw clenched as he fought the urge to pound his fist into the wall. They just couldn't catch a damn break. He took a moment to calm himself down. The last thing he needed was to call more attention to himself by storming back into class completely pissed off. When Nathan finally felt like he was in control again, he left the closet and walked out into the hallway.

"Nathan," a voice called behind him.

Nathan glanced over his shoulder and felt his body become rigid, once again. He did not feel like dealing with that jerk-off right now. He faced forward and kept right on walking.

"Nathan. Nathan!" Adam called after him. "Scott, don't act like you don't hear me!"

"As much as I'd love to chat, I have to get to class," Nathan replied flippantly, still walking.

Adam ran to his side. "We both know that's a crock of shit."

"Whatever."

"I have to talk to you."

"Yeah, well, I don't have to listen," Nathan retorted. He felt Adam's hand on his arm, dragging him into an empty, nearby classroom. "Get your fucking hands off me, Sykes."

"I have a bone to pick with you."

"And I'm going to break one of yours if you don't let go," Nathan threatened.

Adam removed his hand. "Like I actually want to touch you," he scoffed.

"Whatever. I'm not doing this now." Nathan made a move to leave when Adam stepped in front of him.

"You will hear me out."

"I don't have to fucking do anything," Nathan gritted out. He was seriously starting to lose his temper all over again. And with nobody else around, the idea of popping Adam one was looking better by the second.

"I want to know what the hell you did to Haley," Adam ordered.

"What?" Nathan asked, taken aback.

"I want to know what the hell you did to Haley," he repeated. "Did you say something to her? I bet you threatened her, didn't you?"

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, but I haven't talked to her. And I sure as hell would never threaten her. Where the hell are you getting this shit from?"

"Well, you had to have done something to fuck me over."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't act like you're so innocent. I'm sure you're the one who convinced her to stop tutoring me."

"She stopped tutoring you?" Nathan questioned. He was surprised but unable to hide the satisfaction from his voice. It explained why Adam had been giving him more death glares than usual over the last few days.

"Yeah, she did."

Nathan shrugged. "I had no idea."

"Like hell you did."

"I didn't know about it," Nathan replied, which happened to be the truth. "Did she say why?"

"I'm sure you know."

"Why don't you cut this cryptic shit, since I obviously have no clue what you're trying to get at here."

"I asked her out, and she said no."

Nathan smirked. "Well, there's your problem right there."

"The only reason she said no was because of you."

"Me?" Nathan responded, trying to appear shocked by the statement.

"Yes. Ever since you flipped out on me in the hallway, she's been pulling away from me."

"That's funny. I didn't even know you guys were together."

"And I'm pretty sure you've been in contact with her since then."

"Only pretty sure?" he remarked.

Adam folded his arms defensively. "Regardless, I know that you turned her against me somehow."

"Or maybe Haley just realized what a slimy son of a bitch you really are," Nathan suggested. "I mean, she is a smart girl."

"That's right. She finally dropped your good-for-nothing ass, didn't she?"

Nathan shrugged casually. "She had her reasons. As stupid as I think they are, I have to respect them."

"Well, you must have pulled a real doozy seeing as though she's now joined Clean Teens, too."

"Again, that was her choice. I had nothing to do with that either," he lied.

"Like hell you didn't."

"Look, Adam, I don't know what you want from me. Haley and I are over."

"I want you to leave her the hell alone. Everyone knows you're still stuck on her," Adam pointed out. "You don't think that has an affect on her?"

"So let me get this straight: you're telling me that I should stop having feelings for Haley, because it's interfering with your attempts to hook up with my ex-girlfriend?"

"That's one way of looking at it."

Nathan let out an edgy laugh. "Wow, you're some piece of work, Adam. You really are."

"We have an understanding, then?"

"Hell no. From what I understand, you're trying to force yourself on a girl who's just not into you. She may be vulnerable right now, but she's not stupid."

"She knows that I could make her happy. She's just scared."

"You don't know shit about her."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't. Do you really think that a few tutoring sessions spent talking about whatever stupid subject you're flunking is going to create the foundation of a relationship?"

"Haley tutored me for months. She was even dating you at the time. Who knows, maybe the real reason why you broke up is because she liked me better," Adam taunted.

Nathan snorted. "You are so far off, it's not even funny."

"Jealous, Scott? It must suck knowing that while Haley was with you, she was thinking of me the whole time."

Nathan could feel his temper rise further but tried to keep it under control. He seriously wanted nothing more than to punch this creep in the face at the moment. But there were other ways to put Adam in his place without laying a hand on him. "Really? Because based on what you just told me, it seems like Haley is actually thinking about me when she's with you. Why else would she turn you down?

"And that's assuming she ever thought about you. I mean, she did join Clean Teens. And they're not allowed to date anyone outside of their little group, you know? So if she actually gave a damn about you, something tells me she wouldn't have taken that route." Nathan smirked when he noticed Adam tense up. He was practically seething.

"Jealous, Sykes? It must suck to know that even though we're broken up, Haley will still always be my girl," Nathan mocked, using his previous words against him. "Even if she did give you a chance, you have to know that deep down you'd only always be second best."

Adam's eyes narrowed into slits. Nathan just smiled. "So here's some advice. You stay the hell away from Haley. Because if I ever find out that you've been harassing her or giving her a hard time, I promise you that not even she will be able stop me from bringing you down the next time."

~***~

"Ugh, thank God I'm home," Haley proclaimed as she walked through her front door.

Lucas chuckled behind her. "Let me guess, bad day?"

"You have no idea."

"Did you want to talk about it?"

"It's nothing new. Life is just crazy. I'm stressed about college. Then I have to balance school, work, tutoring, cheerleading, and Clean Teens. And let's not forget that I'm pretending that my boyfriend and I broke up—which is the reason why I never get to see him. Add on the fact that I have another jackass jock pursuing me and you get why I want nothing more than to crawl up into a ball and die," Haley rambled.

"Haley," Lucas said in a serious voice while placing a hand on her shoulder. "You know it's not nice to call Nathan a jackass jock. He is my brother."

Haley rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling at his little joke. "Ha ha," she mocked. "You're so funny!"

"Hey, I at least got you to smile," Lucas defended. "But in all honesty, Hales, if you're too tired or stressed out right now to hang out, I don't have to stay. We can get together another time."

"No, I want you here," Haley told him. "I need a break. And who better to distract me than my best friend?"

Lucas gave her a beaming smile. "You do have a point."

Haley made her way into the kitchen with Lucas by her side.

"I'm assuming your parents aren't home."

"Nope. My dad had to attend some conference for his work in Charlotte so my mom went with him. While he's there, she plans on lounging around at the hotel. They'll be back on Friday."

"Sweet. Par-tay!" Lucas joked as he made his way to the refrigerator.

"Easy does it you mooch," Haley teased. "I'm going to need all the food I can to survive the rest of the week."

"Hey, I resent that." Lucas grabbed a carton of milk and a cookie from the jar on the counter. He also took a bag of chips from the cupboard. "Besides, we both know you're a good cook."

"Well, I can't cook if I don't have any food, now can I?" she pointed out.

Lucas smiled. "Touché."

Haley grabbed them a couple of glasses. She also took a cookie for herself.

"So, did you want to elaborate on that whole jackass jock thing you mentioned before?" Lucas questioned as he poured them both some milk.

"Do I have to?" she complained.

"Yes."

"Fine. Adam was in the Tutoring Center flipping out on me because I assigned him another tutor."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I obviously can't help him if he's—"

"Constantly trying to make a move on you."

"Well, I guess."

"Hales, this has gone on long enough. Do you want me to talk to him?" Lucas questioned.

"No."

"Haley."

"I took care of it. I think…"

"That's it. I'm talking to him," Lucas declared.

"Luke—"

"Just because Nathan has to sit back and bite his tongue does not mean that I do, too. I'm still your best friend and if someone is bothering then it's my right to kick his ass."

"You said you'd talk to him. Now you're going to kick his ass?" she pointed out.

"Well, that all depends on if he cooperates."

Haley rolled her eyes. "What is it with you guys and hitting people?"

"I don't know," he replied with shrug. "Sometimes it just gets the job done. You should try it."

Haley smiled.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed when she smacked him in the back of the head.

"You know, that is kind of fun."

"I didn't mean hit me."

"You didn't specify," she teased.

"Fine," Lucas said with a mischievous smile. "The gloves are coming off now."

Haley stared at him suspiciously. "What are talking about?"

"I know you're weakness, Haley James," Lucas declared.

"You wouldn't," Haley said with wide eyes as she stood up.

He followed suit. "Oh, I would."

Haley started to back out of the kitchen. "Don't, Luke."

"Sorry, Hales. You asked for it now."

"Lucas Eugene Scott, don't tickle me!" she demanded.

"Uh-oh. Saying my middle name just earned you five more minutes of torture," Lucas joked.

It was in that moment that Haley completely turned around and made a run for it. Unfortunately, her best friend was quicker. Lucas managed to catch up to her in no time. Before Haley knew it, she'd fallen onto the couch with Lucas on top of her. He continued his tickling assault, causing her to laugh harder than she had all day.

~***~

Haley felt herself slowly slip back into consciousness. Her eyes were heavy with sleep, and her body was exhausted. She groaned in annoyance. Why was she awake?

Haley turned to look at her alarm clock. It was only two o'clock in the morning. Haley readjusted her blankets and closed her eyes, once again. It was then that she heard a soft tap on her window. Her eyes shot open as she listened intently. A second later, Haley heard it again.

What the hell? The sound came a third time. Haley got up, pulled open her curtains, and stared down into her yard. She felt her earlier annoyance disappear when she saw her boyfriend standing below. Haley quickly opened her window.

"Nathan, what are you doing here?"

"Can I come up?" he asked.

She nodded her head, giving him permission. Nathan hurriedly made his way up the tree and through her window. "What were you throwing at my window?"

"Pebbles," he whispered.

"You could've just come up, you know?"

"I didn't know if your parents would hear me."

"Well, they're not home. So you can stop whispering," she giggled.

"Oh." He laughed. "I guess that makes things easier."

Haley smiled as Nathan brought her into a hug and kissed her deeply.

"You don't know how badly I wanted to do that today," he mumbled once they'd broken apart.

"I'm sorry I couldn't meet you. My teacher caught us all off guard."

"It's not your fault."

Haley brushed her lips against his. "Mmm, well, I'm glad you're here now," she murmured. "Why are you here, by the way?"

"I just needed to see you," he said while running his hands through her unruly bed hair. "I'm sorry I woke you up. It's just that it's the only time I can legitimately see you."

"I don't mind." As tired as she was, Haley would take these rare moments with Nathan anytime.

"Why don't you lie down," Nathan suggested.

"You're not going, are you?" she questioned in a panic. He just got there, and they hadn't spent nearly as much time together as she would've liked.

"No. But I can't very well wear my school clothes and shoes in your bed now, can I?" he joked.

Haley kissed his cheek before getting back in bed. She watched as Nathan stripped down to his boxers, enjoying the view. He reached into her top drawer and grabbed a pair of pajama pants that he kept there for nights like this.

As soon as he got in bed, Haley cuddled up next to him.

"You're so cold," he commented while rubbing her bare arms.

"Well, it is winter," she reminded him.

Nathan brought her more snugly against his body to warm her up. He sighed in contentment when he felt Haley leave a few soft kisses on his chest.

"I know that I've said this probably a hundred times, but I miss you."

"I miss you, too," Nathan stated. "I think if I stare at you anymore than I do, people are going to think I'm obsessed with you."

"As much as I love being the object of Nathan Scott's obsession," she kidded, causing him to laugh, "you probably shouldn't do that. You never know if something might get back to Dan."

"You don't have to worry about that. All my dad cares about is making sure we're not together. He doesn't give a damn about feelings."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to get in trouble."

He lightly caressed her cheek. "Hales, if I thought it would be a problem, I wouldn't do it. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Besides, I'm more afraid of Shelley's wrath than my dad's," he joked.

Haley groaned. "Don't even get me started on her."

"That bad, huh?"

"Let's just say she caught me looking at you a few times, and I've been catching hell ever since."

"I'm sorry, Hales," he sympathized.

"It just sucks, because all we can do is stare at one another. I mean, you've got basketball, college scouts, Dan, and working at the dealership to worry about. Then I've got cheerleading, Clean Teens, college applications, the café, and tutoring. We're so swamped that we never get to spend any time together."

"I know. But I worry about you more. That's a lot to juggle, Hales. Are you sure you can handle it?" Nathan questioned, concerned. He could tell that she was overwhelmed.

"Yes, I just…I just wish we had more time to spend together and relax," she declared while burying her head in his chest.

Nathan rubbed her back soothingly in silence for a couple of minutes. "What if I had a way for us to do that?" he finally spoke up. There was another reason why he had to see Haley tonight.

Haley lifted her head to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it turns out that I'm not exactly the most studious student. I'm just barely passing my classes."

"Is it that bad?" Haley asked worriedly.

"If my grades get any lower I'll probably get kicked off of the basketball team."

"Nathan, your whole future depends on basketball. I mean, if you don't get an athletic scholarship, how are you going to pay for college?" Haley knew that the last thing Nathan wanted was for Dan to pay for his schooling. It would just be another hold he'd have over his son.

"I know that—which is why I've decided that I need a tutor," he announced. "And since you kicked that good-for-nothing Adam's ass to the curb, I know you have an opening. So I figured that maybe you'd take on a hopeless case like me."

"How did you know about Adam? And you are not hopeless, by the way," she added sternly.

"I ran into him today," Nathan explained. "And trust me, when you see my test scores, you'll know how much I suck at school."

"What do you mean you ran into him today?"

"Well, he actually ran into me. He was pissed at me, because he thought that I was the reason you dropped him."

"Crap. What did you tell him?"

"I told him a few things. We had a little chat," Nathan said with a smirk.

"You didn't hit him, did you?" Haley asked warily. "Because I swear, between you and Lucas with your 'talking' I can't—"

"Wait, what did Lucas do? Did he hit him?" Nathan inquired with interest.

"No. I told him be better not."

"Damn." Haley gave him a look. "What? He deserves it."

"Violence is never the answer," she stressed. "And he's just planning on confronting Adam."

"Well, I already told Adam to leave you the hell alone. He won't mess with you again," Nathan informed her. "But it wouldn't hurt for Lucas to say something, too."

"You really think he'll leave me alone?"

"Trust me. He will."

Haley gave him a skeptical look. "What exactly did you say to him?"

"Just guy stuff. Don't worry about it."

Haley was about to question him further, but the resolved expression on his face halted her. She wouldn't get anything else out of him. Besides, at least Adam would leave her alone. That was the important thing.

"Thank you," Haley whispered before leaning up to kiss him. She loved when he was so protective of her.

"You're welcome," Nathan mumbled against her lips. He then added, "You still haven't given me an answer yet, though."

She pulled back a bit and gave him a confused look. "An answer to what?"

"Being my tutor," he reminded her. "I mean, we'd get to see each other a lot more often. And getting my grades up couldn't hurt."

"You're serious?"

"Yes," Nathan said, meeting her gaze.

"But when would we meet? We can't do it at school. And my afternoons and nights are pretty full."

"Afternoons and nights suck for me, too. I was thinking in the morning before school would be best. We could meet at the docks everyday or every other day. Whatever is best for you," Nathan explained.

Haley thought about it for a moment, trying to work it out in her head.

"So what do you say, Haley James? Will you be my tutor?" he requested with a charming grin.

Haley couldn't help but give him a glowing smile back. "Yes."