"Hey buddy," Ally said as she walked to Haley's lunch table.
"Allyson," Haley exclaimed, smiling for the first time since 4th period, "Why are you here?"
"Too much Health can get boring, you know. I really regret not taking that freshmen year. I should've just got it over and done with."
"You're ditching?" Haley asked surprised.
"Geez, can you say that a little louder, Haley?" Ally asked as she waved her hand to shush her best friend. "So, what's up?"
"Nothing much," Haley said honestly, "I'm just waiting for Lucas to get here."
"Oh, Lucas is in your lunch period?" Ally asked with a devious smile, "This should be fun."
"Right, about that," Haley started uncomfortably, "I need to tell you something."
Not paying her any attention, Ally scanned the cafeteria area for Lucas before spotting him, "Oh, look he's coming this way. And, he's frowning. Is there any time where he doesn't have that brooding look on his face?"
Haley turned around and watched as he approached, knowing exactly why he was looking the way he did. Ally, however, was oblivious. As usual.
"Hey you," Ally greeted with a large smile, "Happy to see me?"
"More then you know," Lucas answered honestly before setting down his lunch tray. "What are you ditching?"
"Health."
"Naughty," Haley reprimanded as she shook her finger.
"Yeah, okay, Ms. Perfect. Some of us can't handle a whole period of people babbling on about sex parts."
"Eating here," Haley said as she stuffed a piece of her orange into her mouth.
"Is that all you have to eat?"
"What?" Haley asked innocently as she looked down at her orange, "It's healthy."
"It's less then 500 calories."
"Point being?"
"Point being that you don't need to be on a diet." Ally said honestly before grabbing some french fries off of Lucas' tray, "Here, eat this."
"Yes, Allyson, of course you can have some to give to Haley. Why thank you so much for asking," Lucas said, joking.
Laughing, Allyson gave him a smile before shoving them in Haley's face, "Eat. Get fat."
"If I can't fit into my low cut jeans, I'm blaming you."
"Blame away," Ally said as she stole some of Lucas' fries for herself.
Lucas merely shook his head, forgetting the problems cluttering his mind only moments before.
Laughing, Haley turned to Lucas, seeing him smile. He hadn't done that in awhile.
It was good.
--
"Hey! Tall, dark, and sexy!"
Nathan turned around before rolling his eyes at who he saw was approaching. "What is it, Brooke?"
Grinning, she asked, "Happy to see me, I see."
"Get to the point."
"Okay, okay. Seems everyone's in a rush lately. What happened to the good old days?" She asked before hinting, "When things were nice... and slow?"
"Brooke," Nathan said, pretending to be annoyed.
"Right, sorry. So, you and Lucas are cool, right?"
Flinching, Nathan said shortly, "He's alright. Why?"
"Well, his birthday is coming up. I wanted to cook us all a big dinner and you're invited. I just wanted to give you a heads up."
"You're cooking?" Nathan asked, slightly worried, "Will it be edible?"
"Thanks for your vote of confidence. I'm so not cheering for you at the next game."
"Seriously though."
Scoffing, Brooke said haughtily, "I'll have you know. I can cook."
"Cook what?" Nathan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Eggs," she blurted, "And, toast. I can make a complete and healthy breakfast."
"Great, so at Lucas' birthday dinner, we'll be having eggs and toast," he said in a unexcited manner.
"No, silly," Brooke grinned, "Haley's helping me out."
The smile on his face immediately faded, "Oh."
Brooke looked at him, confused, "Something wrong?"
"No," he said quickly, "Nothing at all."
"You're a bad liar, Nate," Brooke said as she watched his reaction. Predicting how he would react beforehand, she gave a loud ah-hah as he winced. "Spill."
"I'm not going to tell you, Brooke. You're like the queen of gossip."
"And, it's always great to get new info."
"Right, I need more then that. Dates, names, places. Come on."
Laughing, Nathan shook his head and shrugged, "Figure it out for yourself."
"It's Haley, isn't it?"
"Whatever, Brooke," Nathan said as he walked away, shaking his head.
"I knew it!" She called down the hallway before turning around and walking away herself, out to find a particular petite brunette.
--
"Haley," Brooke squealed as she slid into the chair next to hers, only seconds before the bell rang.
"Brooke," Haley replied evenly, "Almost late. One day you're gonna lose track of your time and get in trouble."
Brooke rolled her eyes, "Never. Besides, I'm great at getting out detentions. What can I say? The teachers love me."
"I'm sure," Haley said as she took out a pen and started taking notes.
"Hey," Brooke whispered loudly after a few quiet moments. "Haley!"
Haley turned to her with a questioning look, "Yeah?"
Brooke continued to whisper loudly, "I've got something to tell you."
Shaking her head, Haley waved uncaringly, "Tell me later."
"It's important," she said in a sing-song voice, "You'll wanna know." Brooke shrugged, "Well, whatever, I'm telling you now."
"Brooke," Haley said, frustrated, "I'm trying to pay attention here."
"You might want to do a better job of that, Ms. James."
Haley looked up sheepishly at the teacher before sinking down in her chair. Shooting Brooke a glare, she stabbed her pen against her notebook. A few minutes later, she heard Brooke's voice again.
"Aren't you gonna ask me what I want to tell you?"
"Can't you tell me this later?" Haley asked, watching to see if the teacher could hear her.
"No, it can't," Brooke said simply, "Okay. So, I was talking to Nathan-"
"I don't care, Brooke," Haley said quickly.
"Yeah, you do, don't lie."
"No, I don't," Haley rasped back.
"Yes, you do."
"No, I-"
"Ms. Davis and Ms. James. Go out into the hallway and settle your differences there. Come back when you can learn to pay attention, quietly," The teacher said sternly.
Embarrased, Haley lowered her head as she walked out into the hallway and sat at a nearby table. "Okay, Brooke, now you got us in trouble."
"Oh, who cares?" Brooke said nonchalantly, "Mr. Miller never gives out detentions or referrals. We'll be fine."
"He kicked us out of class!"
"So? Now we can talk."
Haley shook her head, "Ugghh. Whatever. So, what's the big thing you had to tell me?"
"Well, like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I was talking to Nathan-"
"And, like I was saying. I don't care."
"Haley, stop it. You're being stubborn. I don't like it," Brooke pouted.
"That's my personality," Haley said simply.
"Will you at least just hear me out before you go making any comments?"
"Fine," Haley conceded, "No comments until you're done."
"Right, so I was talking to him," Brooke started again, excited, "And, your name came up and ooooh, I think someone has a bit of a thing for you. He was getting all overprotective and stuff," she cocked her head to the side thoughtfully, "Kinda hot actually." She paused, "You're free to comment now."
"You're insane," Haley said, her voice convinced, "Nathan Scott is the biggest jerk and manipulator on the face of the earth."
"Well, you're gonna have to see him this weekend cuz he's coming to the dinner."
"Then, I'm not helping you cook."
"Haley! That's not fair."
"I don't want to be near him," Haley said indignantly, "He makes me uncomfortable."
"Because you like him too."
"Oh, please, I could never-"
"You're such a liar. Just like him," Brooke exclaimed, "See, you're perfect for each other."
"Brooke, please stop trying to play Miss Matchmaker cuz you're not good at it."
"I'll have you know I set up Brian and Nicole."
"They broke up after a week," Haley stated.
"Hey, it's better then nothing."
"I don't like Nathan," Haley said, "I never have and never will. The only reason why I spend 50 minutes with him every day is because I have to."
"Don't you have other classes with him other then your little tutoring deal?" Brooke's eyes lit up, "Which by the way, I still don't believe is completely innocent."
Haley shook her head, "Nothing is innocent in your eyes."
"True," Brooke conceded, "But, I know him and I know that he has a thing for you."
"Whatever," Haley muttered before turning away and looking down the long, empty hallway. Somehow that made her feel even more alone than she was. She was so confused at the moment but who could she tell? Certainly not Ally, not Lucas, not Brooke. Her first instinct would be to tell her best friend but Ally was so intimately involved in this. If she ever found out how she felt, Ally would probably be heartbroken. Haley knew that if worse came to worse, Ally would stick by her side and give up Nathan for her but she didn't want it to come to that. She didn't want Nathan with a repercussion of causing Ally heartache.
It just wasn't worth it.
Haley sighed heavily. She had no one to turn to for advice, for commentary or feedback.
She was alone.
--
"Time is standing still," Ally belted out at the top of her lungs as the song ended. She grinned, "I love that song."
"Yeah, I can tell. Are you trying to be the next Christina or something?"
"Hey, I've got a voice. Must show it off."
"Right, cuz I'm sure-" Haley's voice died off as she heard the opening beat to the next song.
"Something wrong?" Ally asked, concerned.
"One more sad song," Haley sang softly along before she snapped herself out of her thoughts. Putting on a fake smile, she shrugged, "Nothing. It's just. I like the song."
Ally raised an eyebrow, "Why are you lying to me?"
Haley tightened her grip on the steering wheel, "I'm not." She was. She promised herself it wouldn't get down to this point. She hated lying to her best friend... and she couldn't. Not to Ally.
"You know I'd understand if you don't want to talk about it but-"
"I don't want to talk about it," Haley said simply before she turned into the driveway of Allyson's house, "Bye."
Ally frowned before grabbing her backpack and getting out the door, "Bye."
Haley pulled out before looking up and tried her best to focus her attentions on the road. Shaking her head, she leaned her head back against the headrest and pushed the accelerator pedal a little harder, going a little faster. She closed her eyes briefly. Why did she care so much about him? Why? Opening her eyes, she almost missed the stop sign, about to run into an intersection blind. Hitting the breaks, she skidded to a stop, her head banging against the headrest. When it was her turn to go, she went, but slowly and safely. Haley took a deep breath. She would get through this.
She changed the song.
--
Haley drew her knees up against her chin as she rocked back and forth, lost in the beat of the music. Opening her eyes when the phone rang, she checked her caller id, not surprised to see Allyson's number on the screen. Her hands travelled to the phone but she made no move to pick it up. Sighing, she disconnected her phone and stood up, shutting her curtains and the door to her room.
She closed her eyes tightly as she dropped back against the bed. What was she doing to herself?
She honestly didn't know. She was so completely and utterly confused. Was she doing the right thing? Probably not. Then again, maybe she was. She was so used to always having someone help her make a decision that for once in her life, she had to decide all on her own.
And, she didn't know what to do.
Looking up, she heard a buzzing coming from her purse. Getting up, she saw that again, it was Allyson. Turning off her phone, Haley bit her lip, her heart telling her that this was wrong. She shouldn't be ignoring her best friend. But, she couldn't face Ally. She couldn't sit there another night and listen as Allyson gushed over Nathan or question her on what was wrong.
She couldn't talk to her best friend. The one person she trusted the most.
Turning off her light, Haley crawled under the covers and closed her eyes. Flashes of Nathan crossed her mind as she tried to fall asleep.
She couldn't.
Aggravated, Haley grabbed her cell phone and stabbed his number onto the keypad. Her thumb rested over the call button but she didn't know if she should press it. Looking up at the darkened ceiling, Haley wished for some guidance from above. A sign, perhaps, telling her that she should call him and try to figure things out.
Haley crawled out of bed, her eyes searching the sky for an answer. After a few moments, she turned her phone off, defeated before getting back in bed.
Outside, a shooting star soared across the sky.