"Darque is not a word," Haley replied.

"Yea it is," Brooke defended her word. The five were playing Scrabble and Brooke just laid down the word, "What do you guys think?"

Peyton smiled and shrugged, "I think she might be right," Jake spoke up.

"I am right!" Haley said laughing.

Brooke turned to Lucas, "Who's right?"

"Um…" He looked around guiltily, "I'm not sure."

"Use it in a sentence," Haley challenged looking un-amused.

"I'm on my way to darque tan," She grinned triumphantly.

Haley narrowed her eyes, "That's a companies name."

"So?"

"You can't use a name of a company," Peyton said laughing.

Brooke sighed dramatically rolling her eyes, "Tutor girl, you coulda taken it easy on me."

Haley grinned, "Now what kind of tutor would I be if I did that?" Just then the front door opened and in walked Nathan and Rachel.

"Hey," Jake called, "We need some new blood, Haley's kicking our asses over here."

"What are you playing?" Rachel asked sitting down on the couch, she scrunched up her nose at the board, "That's boring, let's play something fun." She suggested.

"I'll be back," Nathan replied running up the steps two at a time.

"How was dinner?" Peyton asked her so Haley wouldn't have to.

Rachel smiled brightly and leaned back, "I think we've reached a new level," She gushed, and then put on a fake sympathetic look for Haley, "I'm sure this is uncomfortable for you, but I just have to tell you guys," She paused and resumed her prior look of pure happiness, "We finally said it."

Brooke leaned up and stared at her with narrowed eyes, "Said what?"

Rachel giggled, "Come on you know what I'm talking about. Those three little words." She raised her eyebrows but no one spoke, "He said he loved me more than anything else in the world and that no one," She paused emphasizing no one, "would ever come between us."

Haley gulped and stood up, "Why in the world would that bother me?" She asked tilting her head to look at Rachel, then she smiled, "That ship sailed long ago," She waved her hand in the air and glanced up the stairs.

"I've go the perfect game," Rachel said not taking her eyes from Haley.

"What's that?"

"I never."


Haley took a sip of her beer and felt the effects of the game already making her tipsy, "I've never had two mothers," Brooke said smiling at Peyton.

Haley knitted her eyebrows, "Do step mothers count?" She asked tilting her head.

Peyton gulped her drink quickly, "Yup," She knocked her cup into Haley's, "Cheers."

"Ok. My turn," Rachel said, "I've never walked out on someone I've loved."

Haley took a drink glancing at Nathan, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Once she had finished the drink, she glared at Rachel, "I never been worried about losing a guy."

"I've never…" Brooke began trying to take the attention off of the two girls.

"I've never been stuck living in the past," Rachel replied cutting Brooke off and keeping her glare on Haley. Haley responded by narrowing her eyes at the red head.

Peyton let out a nervous chuckle, "I think everyone…"

"I never tried to hold onto a man who obviously wasn't interested," Haley, challenged her back forgetting that Nathan was sitting there.

"Ok…" He replied sitting forward.

"Well you better drink up sweetie, cause you are not even on his radar anymore."

"Ha!" She replied standing up and looking down on Rachel, "He may have said that he loved you, but that doesn't make it true, have you seen the way he looks at me?" She was practically yelling. Rachel stood up and matched her glare, "Besides he would never be into someone who thought that staying thin would keep him interested."

"I'm fun and hot, and Nathan Scott is in love with me!" Rachel yelled and tossed her drink in Haley's face, "You are no one!" She yelled. Haley's mouth fell open as she wiped the beer from her face and Brooke stood up and put a supportive arm around her friend, "I don't care if you were on tour you left him, you left and now I have him. You had your chance!" She was still yelling. Haley looked into the girl's fiery eyes and then glanced at Nathan who sat and watched the whole ordeal. He glanced up and noticed Haley looking at him, and he averted his gaze to Rachel. Haley threw the towel down and ran out the backdoor.


The group watched her go and Lucas started after her, "What the hell is wrong with you?" Nathan's angry voice echoed throughout the house. Lucas stopped in his tracks and turned to watch the fight unravel.

Rachel knitted her eyebrows, "What?" She said softly, somewhat frightened by his anger.

"I ask you to give her some slack and you throw a drink in her face and yell at her?" He said still yelling.

"Natey…" She whined reaching for him.

He pushed her away, "No!" He yelled backing away, shaking his head, "We are done. Go get your stuff cause your leaving." He told her crossing his arms.

"But…"

"And by the way…I never said that I loved you. Where do you get off telling my friends that I'm in love with you?"

"Why are you treating me like this?" She cried.

"Because she treated his sole mate like shit," Brooke whispered only loud enough for the other four to hear.

"Because you're a liar." He told her slowly, like she wouldn't understand him.

"You're such an ass hole!" She yelled hitting his chest with her fists.

He held her hands away from his body and looked directly into her eyes, "I'd rather be an ass than a conniving skank." He let her go and sat on the couch with his arms crossed.


Haley breathed in the salt-water smell, and closed her eyes. She sighed trying to figure out what to do with herself. She knew that she and Nathan were over for good, but she refused to accept it until this moment. She needed to gracefully leave the beach house and head back to Tree Hill. She needed to start on her music as soon as she got to Tree Hill and she needed to find a job, one that would hold her over until school began in August.

She shook her head, pushing the thoughts of college without Nathan from her mind. She bit her lip and tasted blood as she bit down harder, mentally cursing herself for only applying to Duke, because she just knew that she and Nathan would work things out. She looked down, because it was so dark on the porch that she couldn't see a thing anyways.

She listened to the waves as they crashed against the bank, remembering the blue waters of the Greek Isles. The sound of the back door opening and the gently closing pulled her out of her head, but she didn't look up. She didn't need to know who was coming outside, she already knew. "I'm leaving tonight," She said matter of factly.

"Ok," He replied quietly, he sat down in a chair close to her.

She pulled her legs up and rested her chin on them, "Just give me a few minutes, so maybe she won't think she scared me off." Haley attempted a playful smile, but the hurt shone through.

"You don't have to…" He said sitting back.

She glanced at him, and found his eyes right away shining through the darkness, "Yes I do," She said remorse filling her words, "I might be a little slow, but I'm not stupid. You've moved on, and I…I haven't."

"You don't have to…" He tried again.

"Please, don't make this any harder than I'm already doing." She put her knees down, "I'm not mad that you moved on."

"No?"

She laughed briefly, "Yea I've been kinda crazy the last couple of days." She admitted, "I just feel so dumb for believing that you would always love me."

He turned his head away, "Hales…"

"Please Nathan, just let me," She said cutting him off.

"No!" He practically yelled, her eyes widened with shock and she sat back, "Stop cutting me off." He told her quieter, "You don't have to leave because Rachel did."

"What?"

"I dumped her," Nathan replied.

"Really?" Haley said grinning happily.

"Stop it," He said, she let her smile fade, but didn't take her eyes from him, "It's not that easy."

"Will you go out with me?" She asked him suddenly.

They sat in silence just staring at each other for what felt like eternity, "What'd you have in mind?"

"Um…I really didn't think that far ahead," She said with a nervous laugh, "Dinner? A movie?" She suggested.

"Ok," He said, "Dinner."

She laughed happily that he agreed, "Nathan…"

He shook his head and sighed, "It's just dinner Hales, it's not gonna fix this. It's not gonna fix us."

She let her smile fade and she nodded, "I know."