"Hey buddy," Ally greeted cheerfully as she could as she got into Haley's car. She tried her best to smile and ignore the gloominess that Haley seemed to be trapped in. "I, umm, tried calling you last night but your phones seem to not like me."
"Oh," Haley said softly, "I went to bed early."
"Ahh, that must be why there was no answer," Ally replied before looking out the window. "Is this umm, a new cd?"
"Yeah, 12 Stones," Haley said as her hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.
"You got sick of the All American Rejects?"
"Just wanted something new is all."
"Right," Ally said quietly before the silence fell over them.
It was uncomfortable. Never before in all the years that Haley knew Allyson had she ever been uncomfortable in her presence. Never, not until now. Not until Nathan.
"So, umm, Brooke was talking to me about this weekend. Well, tomorrow actually. Something about a dinner celebration for Lucas' birthday?"
"Yeah," Haley nodded, "I'm helping her cook. Knowing Brooke, she'll probably make me do the entire thing."
"Yeah," Ally said with a small laugh, "It'll be fun though. This week has been uggh, just bad."
"You have no idea," Haley replied.
"Thank god it's friday, right?"
"Yeah."
"Are you umm, mad at me or something?" Allyson asked after a few quiet moments.
"No," Haley said quickly, "I'm not, why would you-"
"It's this feeling I get. Something's not right here," she gestured between them, "I don't like it."
"I know," Haley nodded, "It's all me though. I've just been dealing with a lot of stress. Kinda a little bit frazzled is all."
"You know I'm here for you, right?"
Haley broke their gaze as she looked out the window, the words slipping from her lips, "I know."
--
"Hey birthday boy," Brooke greeted with a small, crooked smile, "Ready for your spankings?"
Lucas let out a laugh before shaking his head, "Not my birthday yet."
"Soon though," she whispered huskily before sidling up beside him.
He took a step back, running straight into an oncoming Haley. Turning around, he smiled sheepishly, "Sorry."
"Ah ha! This time it's your fault," Haley teased before waving 'hi' to Brooke, "Hey Brooke."
"Tutor girl," Brooke greeted before her eyes lit up, "Oh, I almost forgot. Something about your little tutoree-"
"Oooh, crowd," Ally exclaimed as she arrived at her locker, "I feel loved."
Lucas smiled at her warmly, "I was wondering when you were gonna get here."
"Were you waiting for me? That's so-"
"You were waiting here for her?" Brooke asked, her head cocked to the side, looking up at Lucas.
"Well-" Lucas began uncomfortably. He looked to Haley for help.
The brunette coughed before grabbing Brooke by the arm, "Hey, Brooke, I've got some umm, questions about tomorrow."
"Yeah, okay but-" She protested but to no avail as Haley dragged her down the hallway, leaving Ally and Lucas alone.
"He was waiting for her?" Brooke asked to no one in particular, pouting, "He's never waited for me before."
"Umm," Haley said, not knowing what else to say, "What was that about my tutoree?" She paused, "Speaking of which, how the hell did you find out in the first place? I never told you and Nathan better not have told you either."
"I aide," Brooke said with a shrug, "What? I got bored and so I looked through the files and Nathan's name just happen to come up so, yeah."
"That's illegal. You know that right?"
Brooke merely grinned, "Not the first time I've broken the law."
"You're terrible."
"I know and I'm proud of it. But, I'm not the only terrible person here at the school," Brooke said with a self righteous look on her face.
"What is it?"
"You haven't talked to Nathan yet, have you?"
"No, why?" Haley asked cautiously.
"Ooooh, this is good," Brooke said with another laugh.
"Spill it, Davis, or else I'm not helping you cook tomorrow."
"Fine, fine, fine. It's just umm, you do realize that it's impossible to ignore Nathan Scott, right?"
"Is there a point to this, Brooke?"
"There is. Oh, believe me there is. It's just, when Nathan doesn't get what he wants. It just doesn't hold over well with him."
"What does that mean?" Haley asked, confused.
"Look behind you," Brooke said as she turned Haley around.
There walking down the hallways was a shirtless Nathan Scott. He looked straight into her eyes, his face determined, the cocky smile upon his lips.
Haley's mouth dropped open, "What is he doing?"
"He's telling everyone that's it's a team dare thing but umm, I think we both know the real reason behind it," Brooke said with an evil smile, "Right?"
"He did this for me?" Haley asked confused, "Why?"
"Because, he wants your attention."
"He wants everyone's attention," Haley argued, "And he's sure as hell's gonna get it. He will get in so much trouble for this."
"Not exactly."
"What?" Haley demanded, "How could he not get in trouble after pulling a stunt like this?"
"Umm, see, he's the star of the basketball team, hun, and because of that little title, he's welcome to a few freebies meaning that he'll probably get off with a small slap on the wrist."
"Well, I'm not letting him get away with this."
"What? Are you his mom?" Brooke asked.
"It's just, not fair. I mean-"
"Look, stop trying to be Ms. Justice and be flattered. He did this for you."
"How do you know all this, Brooke?"
"I'm good like that," Brooke said with a smile before walking away.
Haley simply stood in the middle of the hallway, stunned. What just happened?
--
"Oh my god," Ally said as she tugged on Haley's shirt.
Haley turned around and looked at Ally questioningly, "Something wrong?"
"Did you see Nathan this morning?"
"Unfortunately yes," Haley muttered, "That boy needs to put some clothes on."
"Ha, no," Ally scoffed, "That boy needs to do this kinda thing more often because wow..."
Haley rolled her eyes, "Allyson, I'm not really in the mood to hear you gush about Nathan Scott."
"Yes, yes. I know 'you hate him and can't stand him'," Ally said before looking towards the door, "Indulge me, will ya?"
"Right," Haley said quietly before the bell rang. She turned around in her seat and tried her best to pay attention to the lecture. She couldn't though. Flashes of Nathan kept appearing in her mind. The way he looked this morning. His smirk. His eyes. His chest.. She had to admit, he had a great body.
Even if he was a complete jerk.
Haley squirmed in her seat uncomfortably. She was not going to go through this again. She was supposed to cut off all feelings for Nathan but she couldn't. Not when he looked like that. Maybe this was all it was, just a physical thing. Haley nodded to herself, this was an improvement. If this was just a physical attraction then it wouldn't mean anything because it wasn't like she actually liked him or anything. But, she did. She just couldn't tell herself that.
She couldn't like someone like Nathan Scott. Playing the same old tune. It was getting monotonous.
Haley nodded firmly, she couldn't possibly like someone like Nathan Scott because they were complete opposites. He was a jerk that liked to mess with people's minds and feelings and she was the girl that was against people of his sort. See, complete opposites.
Never mind that the only thing she had managed to think about for the past few days was him. And, not just his body, but him. Everything about him tainted her mind.
And she hated it. She really did.
She didn't enjoy it. She didn't smile when she thought about him. She wasn't lying to herself. Really, she wasn't.
Sighing, Haley never realized it was the end of the period until Ally tapped her on the back.
"Wow, good daydream?"
"Umm, yeah," Haley muttered before rushing to her next class.
Fourth period should really be eliminated from the school schedule, Haley decided. Really, was there a point to a '4th' period? No. There wasn't.
Haley sighed, slightly nervous about seeing Nathan. She really wasn't positive why. Maybe it was because she was flattered that he would do something that outrageous for her. Maybe it was because she knew she was weak at the moment and that whatever he asked her to do or say, she probably would. Maybe it was because she was confused as hell and a simple smile from him would make everything better.
Maybe it was just him.
Not noticing that someone walked into the tutoring room, Haley continued to stare at the window, immersed in her thoughts. It wasn't until someone tapped her on the shoulder that she looked up, surprised to see who it was.
"Peyton?"
The blonde smiled awkwardly at her before stuffing her hands into her pockets, "Hey, umm, I really wasn't expecting you here."
"Oh, umm, I tutor this period."
"Yeah, I know. I just thought someone, umm, else, would be here," she said quietly, before she looked up at the door. "Have you umm, seen Nathan lately?"
"Nathan? Well, yeah, but why does that-"
"Nothing," Peyton said quickly before pushing a curl out of her face, "Really, it's umm, nothing. Just tell him that I was here looking for him, okay?"
"Okay, but why-" Before Haley could finish her sentence, Peyton had already shuffled out of the tutoring room, leaving Haley alone. She paused for a second before asking to the empty room, "Does anybody not know that I'm tutoring him?"
"Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity, you know," Nathan commented as he walked into the tutoring room.
Haley resisted the urge to smile, "Thanks for the info."
Nathan dropped his backpack and sat down next to her, a smirk on his face.
"You're fully dressed, I see, that's different."
"I got cold," Nathan said simply before shrugging, "Liked what you saw?"
"Please, don't flatter yourself."
"I believe you did that with the open jaw and staring this morning," Nathan said with a grin.
Haley scoffed, "That wasn't directed towards you," she said unconvincingly, "Because, you know, I would never ever think about you like that," she said as she nervously fidgeted with her pens, "Never. You're not my type." She looked up at him defiantly, "You're not."
"Really?" Nathan asked, his voice teasing, "I'm not." He moved closer to her, his body only inches away from hers, "So, this isn't bothering you?"
Haley gasped sharply before she clamped her mouth shut and shook her head, "No," she said feebly.
"How about this?" Nathan leaned in close to her ear, his hot breath on her skin.
Haley closed her eyes momentarily and moaned, knowing this was wrong. Why was she letting him get to her like this? This was wrong. She was not supposed to like him but a part of her just wanted to give in.
She tried shutting down and ignoring him completely but it didn't work. She tried telling herself that she didn't like him but that didn't work either. It was the truth, she was attracted to him. Very, very, very much so.
And, so, thus began the new lie she decided to go with. This was just physical, nothing more.
It had to be easier this way.
Haley opened her eyes and leaned into his touch, "This is wrong."
"That's what makes it fun," he said huskily before he leaned back, a smirk on his face, "Don't you think?"
She snapped out of the Nathan-induced haze and glared at him, "Yeah, it makes it a lot of fun." Pissed off that she let him get the better of her, Haley continued to give him a dirty look before she asked, "What help do you need today?"
"Oh," Nathan smirked, "I need plenty of help in some, other, areas."
Haley frowned, "Whatever, Scott. If you're not going to be serious then I'm leaving."
"You're such a hypocrite, you know that? You were just as into it as I was. You know it. Why do you have to keep doing this?"
"What do you want from me?" Haley demanded, "I'm not just going to fall at your feet and start fawning."
"Believe me, I don't want that either. I would like you to stop judging me based on your double standards."
"Double standards?" Haley asked, "What are you-"
"Don't even try to get out of it, James. I know you want me. I know I want you. It's as simple as that."
"No, Nathan," Haley said angrily, "It's not. It's a lot more complicated than that."
"Only because you make it that way. A few minutes ago, you thought I was going to kiss you, didn't you?"
She remained quiet.
"Didn't you?" He demanded.
"Yes," she spat.
"And, you wanted it, didn't you?"
"What is the point to-"
"Answer the question," Nathan said.
"Yes, I did. Okay, I wanted it and I admit, I have this weird physical attraction to you but that's it."
Nathan looked at her, shaking his head, "You need to stop lying to yourself."
She looked up at him, fire in her eyes, "What gives you the right to tell me how I feel?"
"Because right now, I probably know you better then you know yourself. You're so confused because you've twisted yourself into believing lies."
She bit her lip and looked away, "I don't have to listen to this."
"Yes, you do because it's the truth. For once, someone is telling you the truth."
Haley stood up and tried to walk past him but he blocked her every step. "Get out of my way."
"No."
"Nathan-"
"What are you going to do about it? Absolutely nothing. For once, Haley, do something that you want to. Stop trying to be the matyr and do something for you."
"Don't do this," she said, her voice forceful.
"I've made my choice, it's time for yours."
She looked up at him, every part of her body screaming to kiss him but she couldn't. It wasn't as simple as he made it. It really wasn't. There were too many complications that she just couldn't handle.
That was what she kept telling herself. It wasn't because she was scared to death of what he was telling her because for once, someone dared tell Haley James that she was wrong and that she was scared. For once, someone was telling her the truth and bluntly. And she didn't know how to react to it.
"I've made my choice," she said before she walked past him and out the door.
--
Confusion. That was all that plagued her mind as Haley James walked down the hallway, her eyes downcast as she tried her best to sort out her emotions. She didn't understand this, how could someone who she barely knew have such an effect on her? How was it possible that even though she knew he was a bad guy, she was still that attracted to him? And... the question that confused her the most, why did she care so much?
Did she want a relationship with Nathan Scott? The name only brought her disgust only a few weeks back, so the question was, what changed? She always had a weakness for she didn't believe anyone could be completely heartless, after all, everyone had a conscience, didn't they? So, she gave Nathan a chance, she put away her extreme dislike for him and somehow he snuck in.
She didn't plan it.
But, all that she knew before, it wasn't based on her own experience, it was based on what others told her. What others thought of him. What others wanted her to think of him, and she did. She never formed her own opinion about him until now... and even now, she still didn't know what she thought of him.
Shaking her head, Haley felt a warmth caressing her face. She looked toward the light streaming in from the window on the door. Walking towards it, she put her hand on the door knob, her fingers tracing the outline of it. She had never ditched before and she wasn't planning on starting, ever. But circumstances changed and she realized something... never say never. Things always change.
She looked down at the door and gripped the handle, tempted to open the door and leave but her rational side telling her not to. Could she withstand another 3 periods? She knew that Nathan would be in her class 6th period... he would be there and some sort of awkward confrontation would be unpreventable. And then, Allyson would find out and she would be hurt, the thing Haley wanted to prevent in the first place.
Great job she was doing.
Haley bit her lip in uncertainty. She knew she would have to face Nathan sometime but for now, she just wanted to put it off. She didn't want to see him. She didn't want to talk to him. She didn't even want to acknowledge that he existed. He made her frustrated, confused, and angry yet at the same time he had the power to make her happy, relieved, and exhilirated. How was it possible that one person, whom she barely knew, had that much control over her?
The very thought of it scared her.
Haley gripped the door knob even tighter as the enormity of her situation hit her. She had to make a choice and stick with it sometime or another. But, she kept running away from it. She had to be the bigger person. She had to be stronger.
She had to make a choice.
She told Nathan that she did but that was a lie. She was running away.. yet again. She was scared. Scared beyond belief. Scared so much that it hurt to breathe, think, or move. Scared that she would have her heart broken if she let someone in. Scared that she might truly have feelings for a guy who was supposedly all wrong for her.
And, scared that for once, someone stopped and really looked at her. Really cared enough to see through her lies and have enough guts to call on her on it. Someone like Nathan Scott, truly understood her and liked her because of it. He liked her. That had never happened before.
Haley let out a sigh as she leaned against the door, looking up at the ceiling. She took a few steps back and took a deep breath. The door was a symbol. It was an escape, from the problems that she had but it was also a cowardly exit. She would only be running away from her problems, not solving them. Turning around, her eyes travelled down the long, empty hallway. Yet another symbol. The hallway represented the path she was supposed to choose, the right one. The noble path in which she faced her problems even if she wasn't sure what was going to happen in the end. She looked back and forth between the two.
The bell rang and Haley made a choice. The door clicked shut and the sound of footsteps on the grass could be heard outside.