Hey everyone, thank you all so much for the reviews and feedback last chapter. I very much appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this next chapter, and please review!
Chapter 29
"Oh my God, you guys, I've got some great news! Want to hear it? I know you do!"
"Hello to you, too, Tigger," Haley laughed. She looked over at Lucas and Nathan and saw that they also had amused smiles on their faces. They were all in the library working on homework for their new classes—at least until Brooke interrupted them.
"There's going to be a huge party tomorrow night in one of the dorms," she announced excitedly. "It's supposed to be awesome."
"Which dorm?" Lucas asked as he pulled out a chair for Brooke to sit on.
"Chafee," she answered.
"Wait, that's Matt's dorm," Haley pointed out.
Brooke shrugged. "Yeah, so?"
"I think I'll pass," she stated. Haley didn't want to chance running into her brother. He'd been even colder towards her since he found out about her tattoo. She didn't particularly feel like being in the line of fire at the moment.
"Come on, Tutor Girl. The rest of us are going…"
"We are?" Lucas questioned.
"Yes," Brooke declared while giving him a look that it was not up for discussion. "You can't not go, Haley. Besides, what else are you going to do on a Saturday night?"
"I'm just not in a partying mood. That's all," Haley replied.
"But, Tutor Girl—"
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to grab a book I need for class," Haley stated before getting up and walking over to the stacks. She found the section that she needed in the back and began looking through it. I wasn't long, however, before she felt a familiar presence behind her.
"Hales," Nathan said.
She kept searching. "Nathan, you didn't have to get up. I'll be right back."
"Why won't you go to the party?"
"I told you. I'm not in the mood." She continued her search and kept her back to him.
"I don't think that's it," he stated.
Haley sighed. "Where is that damn book?"
"Haley," Nathan said before turning her around to face him. "Talk to me. Why don't you really want to go?"
She looked away for a moment to sort through her thoughts. "Because I don't want to run into my brother. Every time I see him he gives me the cold shoulder or makes a comment. I'm just sick of it."
"So why not tell him that?" Nathan challenged.
"And risk another blow out between us? I don't think so," Haley scoffed.
"Hales, trust me, you couldn't make it any worse than it already is," he told her. "You shouldn't let Matt treat you like this. He wants that power over you." Haley closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the bookshelf. She knew that Nathan was right. She couldn't keep letting Matt do this to her.
"Come on, Baby James. Come to the party," Nathan coaxed. A second later, Haley felt his lips on her neck. She shuddered at the unexpected sensation.
"I don't know," Haley stubbornly muttered. Her eyes remained shut as Nathan's mouth nipped and sucked lightly at her tender skin. It wasn't long before one of her hands worked its way into his hair, holding him to her.
"You know you want to," he whispered huskily in her ear. The goose bumps instantly formed on her skin. How does he do that?
"I don't think so," she teased. Her voice hitched at the end when she suddenly felt him suck on her earlobe. His hands then went to her waist and drew her tightly against him. Haley's breath started coming in short gasps as he lightly kissed across her cheek to her mouth.
"Please?" Nathan's lips just barely grazed hers before pulling back.
Haley groaned in frustration. "You are not playing fair." Nathan smiled at the pout forming on her face. She was so adorable when she was flustered.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," he smirked.
Haley got a mischievous smile on her face in return. "Fine then." Nathan stared at her questioningly. After a few seconds, he felt her tiny hands sliding up under his shirt. His skin tingled from her soft touch. He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes when she started to trace the contours of his abs.
Haley grinned when she saw both the pained and pleasured expression on her boyfriend's face. She moved her hands up slowly to his chiseled chest. It was insane how built he was. Haley also couldn't help but revel in the heat radiating from him. She noticed Nathan's eyes open after a couple of seconds. His face then moved in closer to kiss her. She turned her head at the last second, giving him her cheek.
"Now who's not playing fair?" he questioned.
Haley gave him a smirk of her own. "I'll make you a deal," she declared. "I'll go to this stupid party if…"
"If what?" Nathan prodded when she paused.
"If you promise to dance with me a few times," she replied.
"Hales," Nathan groaned. Although, she couldn't decipher if it was from her proposal or just the fact that she'd now started to lightly scrape her nails against his flesh. She knew that always drove him crazy.
"Promise me," Haley said.
Nathan sighed defeated. "Fine. I promise to dance with you."
"Thank you," Haley replied with a beaming smile.
"Now can I kiss you?" The impatience in his voice didn't escape her.
"Yes. What are you waiting for?" she teased. His reply was crashing his lips onto hers in a hard, heated kiss.
"Let's stay here for a bit. We don't have to go back to doing our homework right away," he mumbled into her mouth.
Haley tightened her hold on him and moaned, "Definitely not."
"I'm done."
"Nathan."
"I'm serious, Hales. I can't take it anymore."
"You promised," Haley reminded him.
"Hales, I've publicly humiliated myself enough tonight. The guys have enough ammunition to mock me for the rest of the semester," Nathan declared.
Haley waved her hand at him dismissively. "Oh, stop being so overdramatic."
"Nice moves, Nate. You and my grandmother would get along well," Skills teased as he passed by.
"See!"
Haley had to suppress a laugh. "Fine. We'll take a break for awhile."
"But—"
"I'll only make you dance to a couple of slow songs from now on. Fair enough?"
"Haley," he complained.
"Nathan," she retorted.
"Fine," he agreed. He did promise to dance with her before. The worst part was over with the fast songs. The slow ones he could at least pretend to know what he was doing.
"You're such a good little trooper," Haley teased and kissed him sweetly.
"Yeah, that's me," Nathan mumbled sarcastically. Haley just rolled her eyes and led him over to the couches with the others.
"Nice moves, Nate!" Taylor quipped as the others snickered.
"If anyone asks, we are no longer related," Lucas stated.
"Leave him alone you guys," Haley said as she sat on Nathan's lap. There wasn't enough room on the couch to squeeze her in, not that she minded. Haley was actually glad that she'd decided to come to the party. They were all having a great time together. And thankfully, she hadn't seen any signs of her brother. She had, however, seen Peyton. But the blonde quickly looked away from her and took off.
"Where did Tim go?" Haley inquired after a couple of minutes.
"He's on the dance floor grinding with his new girlfriend," Jake said as he approached the group. "I just saw them."
"Tim has a girlfriend?" Brooke questioned skeptically.
"Yeah. Some girl from our class named Bevin."
"What's she like?" Haley asked.
"Well—" Jake began when he was interrupted by the couple in question.
"Hey, guys, I want you to meet someone," Tim announced. "This is my new girlfriend Bevin. Bevin, these are all of my friends that I've been telling you about."
"Hi," Bevin greeted cheerfully with a wave. Everyone returned the greeting. Haley thought that she seemed nice enough.
"Oh, you two are so cute," Bevin complimented as her attention turned to her and Nathan. Haley shared a look with Nathan.
"Um, thanks," she replied.
"I don't get why everyone keeps talking about you guys. It's nice to see two people in love. I don't think it makes you cheating scum at all." Both Nathan and Haley tensed as the other's mouths dropped open in shock. Haley felt her temper flare but didn't really find herself mad at Bevin. The blonde was smiling kindly like she'd just given them some great compliment.
"Come on, Bevin, let's get you a drink," Tim quickly stated as he steered her away. He then silently mouthed an "I'm sorry" to the group. It figures that Tim would find a girl who can be as clueless as him sometimes, Nathan thought.
"Tutor Girl," Brooke said with a concerned look on her face.
"I think I need a drink, too," Haley declared before getting up. She headed over towards the keg. She wasn't going to drink. She just needed an excuse to leave her friends. Although Bevin didn't seem to mean them in a bad way, they'd still hit Haley hard. It was then that she noticed all of the people looking at her and whispering. She'd been hoping that the rumors and gossip would've died down by now. Apparently not, she noted.
Haley knew a large part of it probably had to do with the fact that she was with Nathan instead of these other girls. After Nathan and Peyton had broken up, a lot of the girls on campus had started flirting and trying to talk to him more. Haley tried not to let it get to her at the time. She was trying to "move on" back then. It did, however, get on her nerves now—especially since most of these girls were total hypocrites. Haley highly doubted that any of them would've backed off if Nathan gave them the time of day—even if he was still with Peyton. They were probably also the reason why this whole situation with Matt and Peyton was so blown out of proportion. People just couldn't keep their big mouths shut. Half the stuff people were talking about wasn't even true, and it was frustrating Haley more and more everyday.
"They're a bunch of vultures, aren't they?" someone spoke up next to her. Haley turned to see Solaris.
"That's one way of putting it," Haley muttered.
"Don't worry. They'll get bored eventually and move on to the next big thing," she assured her.
"I hope so." Haley then gave her a thankful smile. Despite the trouble that Haley was having with Matt, she was relieved to see that Solaris hadn't been acting any different towards her lately. In fact, Haley was pretty sure that Solaris was also trying to reason with Matt. She'd told Haley before that she a couple of older brothers, too. Her exact words in describing them were, "They're fucking crazy." Haley couldn't help but laugh at that one.
"Solaris, there you are!" Matt exclaimed. "I've been looking all over…" Haley gave him a small smile when his eyes landed on her.
"What are you doing talking to my girlfriend?"
"Matt," Solaris warned.
"I'm not doing anything wrong. Unlike some people, she's not ignoring me," Haley fired back. She could hear Nathan's words yesterday echoing in her mind. She couldn't let Matt keep treating her this way. She had to stand up to him.
"Well, unlike some people, she doesn't lie to other people's faces," he retorted.
Haley took a deep breath to keep calm. "I said I was sorry, Matt. Get over it."
"Stop dating my ass of an ex best friend and maybe I will."
"The only person who's acting like an ass around here is you," she argued while still trying to keep her aggravation under control. Haley was usually a pretty calm person. But when she got angry, she had the tendency to explode. There were too many people watching her at the moment. Creating a big scene would not help matters.
"Is there a problem?" Nathan questioned as he came to stand beside her. He'd been watching the whole thing from the couch and decided to intervene. If Matt thought that he was going to pick on Haley again, then he was seriously mistaken.
"How sweet of your knight in shining armor to rescue you," Matt mocked.
"Watch it," Nathan warned.
"Or what?" Matt challenged.
"Trust me, you don't want to find out," Nathan gritted out. Haley glanced worriedly between them. She and Solaris then shared a look. The hostility was coming off of the two guys in waves.
"Well, maybe—"
"Matt, don't," Solaris told him.
"Nathan, come on," Haley said as she started to back him away from Matt. "Let's go." She grabbed his hand and started to lead him to the couches where the rest of their group was located.
"But, Hales—"
"Just walk away, Nathan. I don't want you to do something stupid," she said while looking him in the eyes. She then gently caressed his cheek and kissed him. "Now let's go."
Nathan couldn't let it go. He was sick and tired of dealing with Matt's crap. And he was sick and tired of seeing the effect it had on his friends and Haley. This whole debacle had gone on long enough. It's time to set a few things straight, he thought while looking at the people around him. For the last ten minutes, he'd been searching for Matt in the crowd. He had to get to him before his friends figured out that he hadn't really gone to the bathroom. It was a few moments later that he finally spotted him. He was talking to a couple of guys towards the back of the room. Nathan approached them.
"I don't mean to break up the fun, but we need to talk," he demanded.
Matt looked over at him slightly surprised. "We have nothing to talk about."
"Could you guys excuse us?" Nathan said to the others. They nodded and took off.
"What the hell do you want, Nathan?" Matt questioned annoyed.
"I want to know what makes you think that you have the fucking right to treat Haley and the rest of us like crap," he stated bluntly.
"I thought we went over this already. I don't have to explain myself to you."
He made a move to leave, but Nathan blocked him. "Yes, you do. What the hell are you so tweaked about, Matt? Huh? I'm dating Haley. So what? We lied to you. So what? We apologized for that. And what do you do? You ignore us all for weeks. When is it going to finally end?"
Matt snorted. "You are something else, you know that? After everything you've done, you have the fucking nerve to come to me and act all self-righteous?"
"See, that's what I'm talking about right there," Nathan pointed out. "What did I do that was so horrible, Matt? Tell me, please. I'd really like to know."
"Before you, my sister never would've turned her back on me. She never would've lied to me. She never would've screwed my best friend. And she certainly would've never let you brand her ass with your jersey number."
"First of all, Haley's lying and 'turning her back' on you was brought on by yourself. If you didn't overreact and flip out all of the time, she probably wouldn't have been afraid to tell you the truth. Second, Haley and I have never slept together. Despite what you think, she wants to wait, and I'm respecting that," Nathan replied. "And third, what the hell are you talking about with all this branding crap and my jersey number?" Nathan had no idea where that came from. He was beyond confused at the moment.
"Oh please, like you don't know," Matt retorted angrily.
"Know what?" Nathan asked getting frustrated.
"I saw the fucking tattoo, Nathan! Your old jersey number is on her fucking ass!"
"What? I don't—"
"So congratulations, you finally managed to turn my baby sister into another one of your many mindless, infatuated skanks!"
Nathan's jaw clenched as his last bit of self-control had snapped. Matt had definitely just crossed the line. The anger exploded inside of Nathan. Before he could even think about what he was doing, his fist was raised and collided with Matt's face.
"You son of a bitch!" Matt yelled while wiping the blood from his mouth. He then charged him. Nathan felt himself go flying backwards. They landed on a coffee table that instantly broke from their weight and force of the impact. One of Matt's fists slammed into his stomach and then his eye. Nathan managed to sock him hard in the gut and push him off. He was then on top and got a few good punches in. The cheers and shouts of the crowd that had formed were lost to them as they fought.
"Nathan! Matt!" Haley shouted. She and the rest of the group were trying to push people out of the way to get to them. They were now rolling around on the floor—each one trying to gain the upper hand.
"KNOCK IT OFF!" Lucas exclaimed as he, Tim, Jake, and Skills tried to break up the fight and separate them.
"Oh my God," Haley heard Brooke gasp next to her.
"Guys, stop it!" Haley ordered as she saw Nathan and Matt continue to fight against their friends restraining them. "That's enough! ENOUGH!" It took a couple of minutes before they finally stopped struggling. They both breathed heavily and continued to glare at one another.
"What the hell is the matter with the both of you?!" Haley berated. "Fighting isn't going to solve anything!"
"Hales—" Nathan started.
"I don't want to hear it," she snapped. "This entire situation has gotten completely out of control. I told you to walk away before."
"I told you to watch out for him," Matt said.
Haley whipped around to face him. "He is not the problem here, Matt. You are. I am so damn sick of walking on eggshells with you. I made a mistake, and I apologized to you. And because I felt so guilty about lying, I've also allowed you get away with a lot more than you should have. Well, no more."
"What?"
"You heard me. I'm not doing this anymore! Why do you think that I lied before, Matt?! Huh? It's because I wanted to avoid this. I didn't not tell you about Nathan to save my own ass. I did it because I wasn't sure how you were going to take it. I wasn't worried about me. I was worried about you. I've always been worried about you!" she exclaimed. "I've been suppressing everything I've been feeling over the years just because I couldn't bear the thought of disappointing you or making you angry. And I certainly didn't want to come between your friendship with Nathan, because I know how important he is to you—whether you want to admit that right now or not.
"You're always talking about my obligations to you as a sister. Well, what about your obligations to me as a brother?! Don't you want to see me happy? Don't you want me to be able to make my own damn decisions? Don't you want me to be able to stand up for myself, even though I may not always agree with you? Seriously, does that mean anything to you at all?!"
"Haley—" Matt tried to cut in, but she kept going. She'd been holding in all of this for so long that it was virtually impossible to close it back up now.
Haley could feel the tears stinging her eyes as she spoke. "You've been giving me such a hard time, because you said that you were disappointed in me. You were ashamed of my behavior. Well, what makes you think, big brother, that I haven't been just as disappointed and ashamed of you?! You've been nothing but selfish, stubborn, arrogant, rude and conceited to all of us. All I've ever wanted and needed from you is your trust and support. But you've never given them to me unless it's according to your terms. And if you're going to keep acting this way, then I hope you'll continue to 'ignore' me. I don't want to talk to you or be around you when you're like this. Because, frankly, I don't need that in my life—especially not from you."
"Haley—"
"It's time for you to grow up, Matt," she said forcefully. "Because I know I have."
Haley was laying down on her bed in her dorm room as the earlier events of the night replayed over in her mind. She couldn't believe everything that had happened. Haley knew that there was a lot of tension between Nathan and Matt, but she'd didn't think they'd get into such a bad fight. She'd been so scared and torn as she watched them. She didn't want to see her boyfriend or brother get hurt. It actually broke her heart to see them literally be at each other's throats. They used to be such good friends.
Haley had already been stressed out tonight. But seeing that was the icing on the cake. She'd finally reached her limit. She'd been dealing with all of this drama for over a month now, and she was sick of it. Haley didn't mean to yell at her brother in front of everyone, but she just couldn't take it anymore. Everything had gotten so out of hand. He'd gotten so out of hand. It was time that she finally put Matt in his place once and for all. It had been difficult. But despite that, Haley had to admit that it felt good standing up to him.
Haley soon found herself wondering what everyone was doing now. She'd left after her little "speech." She needed some time alone. Plus, she didn't really want to stick around for everyone's reactions. Haley did wonder, however, if Matt and Nathan had acquired more than just cuts and bruises from their brawl. She hoped that they were at least ok. Haley then sighed and ran her hands over her face. What the hell am I going to do with them? Her answer came in the form of a soft knock on the door. She got up to see who it was.
"Hey."
Haley looked at him for a moment before replying. "Hey."
"Do you mind if I come in?" Haley wordlessly stepped aside and shut the door behind him. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I wasn't thinking clearly."
"Obviously," she muttered dryly. "You shouldn't have hit him, Nathan."
"I know. And I'm really sorry. I just…he started to say things about you again, and I lost it," Nathan stated. He watched Haley carefully, trying to gage her. When she still didn't say anything, he added, "Are you really angry with me?"
Haley sighed. "It's not so much that I'm angry. I know that Matt instigated you. I'm just more…disappointed than anything."
Nathan's eyes dropped to the ground as her words hit him. "I'm sorry," he repeated sincerely.
"Don't do it again," she warned sternly. She could see that Nathan felt horrible about it. And she couldn't completely blame him for his reaction. He'd been pushed to his breaking point like she had. But Haley wanted to make sure he knew not to push his luck another time.
Nathan nodded in response. A moment later, he flinched when he felt Haley's fingers trace the bruise around his eye.
"It looks pretty bad," Haley commented.
"It hurts pretty bad, too," he replied.
"Sit down on my bed. I might have something to help with that," she stated. Haley then walked over to her and Brooke's mini fridge. They usually kept a couple of icepacks in there. She grabbed one and handed it to Nathan.
"Keep this on your eye for a little bit," she instructed.
"Thanks."
"How's your stomach?" Haley questioned. He'd taken quite a few hits there, too.
"It's ok."
"Let me see," Haley requested. She then lifted up his shirt and saw that bruising, too. "Does that still hurt?"
"I'll live," Nathan stated.
Haley hesitated for a moment before asking, "How's Matt?"
"Probably just as sore as I am. He went with Solaris the last time I saw him." Nathan then added while staring at her, "We weren't the only ones who packed a punch tonight, though."
Haley nodded in understanding. "I guess you could say that I lost it, too."
"You were kind of scary," Nathan teased lightly before running his hand through her hair. "But I was proud of you."
"Thanks," Haley muttered while giving him a small smile. She then laughed humorlessly. "We're quite the pair, aren't we?"
"Yeah, we are," he agreed. A moment later, he felt Haley lean against his shoulder. Meanwhile, he brought his hand to her back and started to rub it soothingly. It was then that something popped into his head from earlier. "Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Did you…um…did you really get a tattoo of my jersey number on your ass?" he questioned tentatively.
"It's above my ass," she corrected with a sigh. Why does everyone keep getting that wrong?! "And how did you find out?"
"Matt told me."
"Oh."
"Can I see it?" he requested.
Haley met his gaze before looking away shyly. "I don't know."
"Please?" Haley paused for another moment before finally giving in. She then stood up and turned her back towards him. Before she could make a move, he was already lifting up her shirt. Nathan didn't say anything for a few minutes. Haley was thankful that she wasn't facing him, because he surely would've seen the deep blush on her face.
Nathan stared at the small, dark blue "23" on his girlfriend's lower back in awe. He'd never expected this. But looking at it now, he couldn't deny that he liked it, because he did. He really did. After a few seconds, Nathan moved his fingers across the smooth, inked skin. He heard Haley breath in sharply and felt her shudder a little under his touch.
"Why'd you get it done?"
"I just wanted something to remember my first love by," she softly stated. Nathan felt a smile tug at his lips as a sense of pride shot through him.
"It's permanent, though," he reminded her.
"I know. But even if things don't work out, I still want to be able to look back and remember what I'm feeling now," she explained. "Does it bother you?" Now Haley wished that she could see Nathan's face. She had no idea what was going through his mind right now.
"No. If you're ok with it, then I am, too," Nathan declared. "Plus, it's fucking sexy as hell." Haley blushed again and almost gasped when she felt his mouth cover the skin with her tattoo. Nathan then turned her around and pulled her onto his lap. His lips immediately claimed hers in a passionate kiss. Haley held onto him gently—careful not to touch any possible bruises.
"I actually have something for you, too," Nathan said once they broke apart.
Haley stared at him curiously. "What is it?"
"I was originally going to wait until our three-month anniversary next week to give you this. But after tonight and everything that's been going on, I thought maybe you'd like it now."
"Nathan Scott, are you trying to bribe me into forgiving you?" Haley teased.
He rolled his eyes playfully. "No. I thought you already did. But since you mentioned it…"
"Just give me the gift," Haley laughed nudging him.
Nathan smirked. "Ok." He then reached into his pocket, pulled out a small velvet box, and handed it to her. Haley stared at it curiously before opening it. She gasped when she saw what was inside.
"Nathan…"
"It's a promise ring."
Haley was speechless. The ring was white gold. In the center there was a round diamond. On each side of it was a heart pointing inward. They had four small stones inside of them. The hearts were then followed by another four small stones on the band itself. Haley felt her eyes water as she continued to appraise it.
"Do the silence and tears mean that you like it?" Nathan questioned anxiously.
"No," Haley choked out laughing. "It means I love it." Nathan smiled relieved. He then took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her left ring finger.
"It's gorgeous," Haley declared. "Thank you."
Nathan smirked. "Don't say I never gave you anything, Baby James." Haley laughed and drew him in for an earth-shattering kiss.
"I love you so much," Nathan mumbled against her lips.
"I love you, too." The pair continued to kiss and get lost in their own little world until the door opened several minutes later. Haley broke away from Nathan to see Brooke, Lucas, and Taylor walk in.
"Hey, guys," Haley greeted excitedly while standing. "Look at what Nathan…" The words died on her lips when she took at the solemn expressions on their faces. "What's the matter?"
"There's, um…" Taylor trailed off. Haley noticed the tears in her eyes. Her sister never cried. Even Brooke's eyes were watering. Haley felt the panic start to form afterward.
"What's going on?" Nathan asked as he came to stand by Haley. Something was wrong, and it was making him extremely nervous.
Lucas took a deep breath before finally meeting their gazes. "There's been an accident..."
