The next morning came by quickly. Haley rolled herself out of bed, began her usual routine, and showed up at school just a bit early so she could get some help from her Science teacher. For being so smart, she sure was having some trouble doing simple equations in that damn class. Sine when did Science involve Math? Okay, stupid question.
She sat down in her seat, waiting patiently for the teacher to arrive. Figures, the one-day she's early, the teacher is late. He's NEVER late. She must have had a black cloud over her head. That had to be it.
"Wow, you're early today." Peyton said, sitting down next to her.
"Oh hey. Yeah, I need some help with this stuff." She motioned to her textbook and sighed.
"Something wrong?"
Haley looked at her. She didn't exactly know Peyton, and wasn't too close with her, but she had to ask her something. And judging by the questions, she was just the person to ask.
"Let me ask you a question."
Peyton nodded. "Sure, what's up?"
"How long did you and Nathan go out for again? Sorry, I forgot." Haley bit her lip in anticipation. Please don't say something like a week..or two weeks...
Setting her sight on the ceiling, Peyton counted quickly in her mind. "About a year. Why?"
Haley let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. "Well, we had a little encounter with his dad yesterday."
"Oh God that must have been fun." Peyton rolled her eyes. "Did he send you death glares?"
"Not really, but he said something that kind of disturbed me." Peyton nodded for her to go on. "He called me flavor of the week."
Peyton laughed. "Who the hell says that?"
"I don't know, but it upset me. I mean, does Nathan play a lot of girls or something? Because that's what his dad made it sound like."
"Haley, you don't know Dan Scott. He loves to make people miserable. And as far as I know, Nathan hasn't gone out with anybody since we broke up..which was like three months ago. And even before we went out, he didn't go out with a lot of people. Unless you want to count random hook-ups then I can't help you there because I never asked."
"Well thanks Peyton, that makes me feel better." She said sarcastically.
"You know what I mean. Haley, he really likes you. I can tell. He never acted the way he acts around you with me and we were going out for a long time. Trust me."
"His dad just creeped me out."
"He creeps everyone out. It's part of his charm...or lack there of."
Haley looked over at the clock. The bell would be ringing in a minute. Joy. "Why is he so mean?"
"Such a question has plagued Tree Hill for years. I have no freaking' clue and I don't plan on finding out any time soon."
The sound of the bell caused Haley to put her attention on the door where students started filing into the classroom. She hadn't seen Nathan, but he was usually the last one in so she didn't worry herself.
After a few minutes, she saw him walk through the door and take the seat next to her.
"Hey." She whispered, as he turned his head to look at her. "I'm sorry about yesterday."
"You're not mad at me still, are you?"
"Nathan, I wasn't mad at you. Your dad-"
"Don't pay attention to my dad, he's an ass." He brushed off her previous comment and removed his textbook from his bag. "Do you need a ride home from school today?"
And there he went again, changing the subject. But Haley just let it go. She didn't want to start a fight. "Yeah, if you don't mind."
He smiled at her. "Do I ever mind?"
"Well considering that you've been my personal taxi for the past few days, I'm starting to think I'm taking advantage of you." She said playfully.
"Take advantage of me all you want. I don't care."
"Yeah, I bet."
"Alright, alright..settle down." The teacher walked to her desk and put her briefcase down, looking up to survey the room. "Ms. Watson, this is an English class not a nunnery. I won't have you bribing Mr. Palmer with sexual favors. Sit." She pointed at the girl and she reluctantly slinked back into her seat.
Haley had to say that if it weren't for Lucas, this would be her favorite class. The teacher was hilarious, pretty down to Earth, and just an all around cool person. Haley was fairly good at English too, so it allowed her to enjoy it a lot more than most of the people in the class did.
She had gotten through her first three periods nervously awaiting the one she was currently in. About five broken/chewed off nails later, she was sitting in her desk waiting for her name to be called. This assignment was so incredibly dumb. But of course she would say that. She was paired up with Lucas.
"Alright, let's get started." The teacher walked to the back of the room and sat down in a nearby desk. "Would anybody like to volunteer to go first?"
Immediately, all heads were looking down. Face it, nobody likes going first. This was no exception. First rule; never make eye contact with said teacher. Well, that went for any teacher..but especially this one. You look her in the eye, and you're done for. But since she was in the back of the room, they were all safe...for now.
Haley nervously twirled a strand of hair around her finger and chewed on her lower lip. This was like torture. Just pick a name, damn it. Run your old, wrinkly finger down the class list and pick a stupid name.
"Okay how about Ms. James and Mr. Scott."
Not my name, damn you! Could she never win? When she said pick a name, she didn't mean her name. It was times like these when she wished she had some kind of telepathic mind powers.
Haley reluctantly got out of her seat, with Lucas trailing behind her. She turned to face the crowd and froze. She hated public speaking. And to be quite honest, acting out a stupid skit in front of her English class didn't make her feel any better. She was embarrassed.
"You two can begin whenever you're ready."
There was that feeling again. All eyes on her. And well on Lucas too of course, but she felt like she was the only one up there. It was so unnerving.
She turned to Lucas and sucked in a heavy breath. "Hope you have all your lines memorized."
"Whatever. Let's just get this over with."
"Right." Haley cleared her throat. Modern day Romeo and Juliet, here comes Haley James. Yeah, and here comes some insanely cheesy dialogue to go along with it. "I can't see you anymore. I get caught sneaking out one more time and I'm grounded for a month." Oh Christ, this was the stupidest thing she's ever had to do in her entire life.
"Well then I'll come and see you." Lucas said blandly, shoving his hands in his pockets
Come on, Lucas. At least try to put a little spunk into it. I'm not asking you to wiz your damn pants for crying out loud. "But you remember what happened last time."
"Oh you mean the time where I got caught, grounded, and then you snuck around behind my back with my brother?"
Wait, back up a minute. That wasn't in the damn script they wrote! What was he trying to pull?
Haley hesitated for a moment as the rest of the class' ears perked up. She tried her best to get back on track again. What's the next line, what's the next line.... Oh screw it. She didn't have a line in her script to retort to that one.
"You make it sound like you and I were going out, Lucas. God, why can't you just grow up?"
"Isn't his name supposed to be Romeo?" A blonde girl leaned over and whispered into her friend's ear.
"Aren't Romeo and Juliet supposed to be going out?" She whispered back. The blonde shrugged. "All I know is that they both die in the end. I'm so confused." They both turned their attention back to the front of the class.
"Maybe YOU'RE the one who should grow up, Haley." Lucas snapped, pointing his finger in her face.
"Oh right. You're honestly telling me that I need to grow up. Hello, is nobody home in there? You're acting like a complete jackass!"
"Yeah? Well you're a backstabber!"
"You are SO lucky we're in class or I'd kick you in your crotchal area Lucas, I swear!"
"Um excuse me?" The blonde girl yelled, raising her hand. When the two continued fighting, she cleared her throat loudly. "Excuse me, I have a question. Excuse me?"
"Shut up!" They both screamed at her, causing half the class to gasp at their sudden outburst. Damn they were loud. But the teacher was in the back of the room jotting down notes. Was she blind or something? Or maybe deaf?
"Great, now that you screwed up what we were supposed to be doing, do you care to redeem yourself before we get a zero for this stupid assignment?" Haley whispered angrily.
"Yeah, you know what? I do!" Lucas pulled Haley over to him and kissed her hard on the lips.
She pulled away suddenly. "What the hell was that?!"
By now, the whole class had their eyes glued to the two. If it wasn't for Lucas and Haley's incessant bickering, you could hear a pin drop.
"You know what that was, Haley. Don't play dumb with me."
"Man, this is confusing the hell out of me. Why did Juliet get all pissed about Romeo kissing her if they're going out?" The blonde whispered to her friend again.
She shrugged. "Something about his brother. Dysfunctional family issues I guess."
"You can't just do that! I have a boyfriend!" Haley screamed.
The room gasped.
"Juliet is two-timing Romeo!" A boy from the back of the room yelled.
"I was never with Romeo to begin with!" Haley stomped her feet on the ground, emphasizing her point.
"Okay, now I'm REALLY confused!" The blonde screamed out, causing a girl next to her to roll her eyes.
"Typical blonde. Romeo is mad at Juliet because she's hooking up with his brother behind his back. But Romeo has a major thing for Juliet, and Juliet wants no part in it."
"Right. I knew that." The blonde said, embarrassed.
"Why him, Haley? Huh? You could have any guy you want and you choose him."
"I'm not going through this again, okay? I like him, he likes me. I-LIKE- NATHAN. End of story!"
The class froze, then registered the name in their heads, and then broke out into a fit of commotion. Nathan and Lucas. Lucas and Haley. Nathan and Haley.
"Holy Shit. Nathan is Romeo's brother! Juliet's two-timing Romeo with Nathan!" The same boy in the back of the room yelled, causing Haley to put her hand over her mouth. She just blurted out what she shouldn't have.
"That's it, I'm done." Lucas threw his hands up in the air and walked over to the door. "Romeo has left the building!" He screamed, before slamming the door behind him.
There stood Haley, in front of the room, by herself, with twenty pairs of eyes staring at her..questioning her with their glances. What was with the freaking third degree here?
She fidgeted for a second before grabbing her school bag and easing over to the door. "Uh yeah, bye." She said quickly, running out.
The class stared at the door for a minute, not fully being able to register what happened.
"A!" The teacher stood up, screaming, and clapping. But Lucas and Haley were nowhere in sight.
Haley stormed down the empty hallway in search of Lucas. She was fuming, and she wasn't exactly sure if it was because he screwed up their skit or because he kissed her. She should have smacked him across the face, THAT'S what she should have done.
He couldn't have been that far away from her. He had only left a few seconds before she did.
"Lucas!" She screamed, quickening her pace down the hallway. "Lucas Scott, get your ass out here right now! I'm not done with you yet!" She gasped as she was pulled by the arm into a nearby dark closet. "What the hell?!"
"Damn it Haley, keep your voice down." The voice sneered.
"Why should I keep my voice down, Lucas? You just pulled me into a creepy, dark janitors closet!"
"Well this is the only place where I can fight with you in peace."
"You do realize how stupid that sounded." She rolled her eyes and went for the door when he grabbed her arm. "You know, you really have to stop doing that."
He disregarded her comment. "We need to settle this."
"I've tried to settle it already. And I'm done trying. You are so impossible to get along with anymore, Luke! I don't know what else to do to get you to forgive me."
Lucas looked away from her. "Stop seeing him."
"I can't do that." She folded her arms across her chest and looked down at the ground. "When I'm with him, I'm happy. Happier than I've been in a long time. I'm not giving that up."
"I thought you were happy, when it was just me and you."
Haley sighed. "I was lonely."
"How could you have possibly been lonely, Haley? Because I don't understand the logic in that."
"Luke, we're best friends. We always have been..since we were little, you know that. But there was always that emptiness that you just couldn't fill. And now I finally have somebody to fill it."
"Did you sleep with him?"
Haley's eyes widened. Was that even any of his business? "Lucas-"
"Did you?"
"No, okay? No, I didn't."
"Surprising." He scoffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"What's that supposed to mean?' She retorted.
"I just figured you two would have...you know, by now."
"You really must not think much of me then, huh?" She was beginning to raise her voice higher than she already previously had.
"No, I don't think much of him."
"You know Luke; he's a lot different than you think he is. You of all people should understand that."
"Right, I should try to understand that he's a different person after all the sh it he's done to me. Maybe he's different with you, but that's as far as it goes. He's an ass." He looked down at the ground and shifted his feet nervously. "I just want my best friend back."
"I'm right here. I've been here the whole time. You just kept pushing me away. I don't know what else to say to you."
When he didn't answer her back, Haley shook her head and went for the door. She didn't understand him anymore. He said he missed her, yet she did everything in her power to have him forgive her and he kept refusing. Like she said, she was done trying.
She reached for the door handle and turned it when she felt his hand on her shoulder. She turned around slowly, trying to avoid further confrontation, but knew at this point, it was inevitable.
Before she knew it, he was kissing her. And the worst part was, she was kissing him back.
Haley felt his arms snake around her waist and tighten. Instinctively, she wrapped her own arms around his neck and brought his head down closer to her. Then the realization of what she was doing hit her like a Mac truck.
She was kissing Lucas. She was dating Nathan. What the hell was she thinking?
She pulled away as quickly as she could and nervously looked at anything but him. How could she have been so stupid? And with Lucas of all people?
"Okay, let me get this straight. You're pissed at me, yet you have no problem shoving your tongue down my throat?" She screamed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Well you had no objection to it, Hales." Lucas retorted.
"Oh yes I did! I pulled away from you."
"Yeah, after a good five minutes."
She stopped for a second, furiously tucking random strands of hair behind her ears. Always the one with the nervous habits. "I don't understand you anymore, Luke."
He dragged his hand through his hair, letting it fall back down to his side. "You've always known I liked you..since we were ten."
"And I thought you said you were over it when we were 11!" She interjected before he could finish his sentence.
"Yeah? Well I lied." He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned his back to her. "When I saw you with him Haley, I just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. I really did."
"So this is why you've been such an ass lately, isn't it."
Lucas nodded his head. He didn't bother to turn around. He couldn't even look at her. "I didn't want you with him..." He took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Because I wanted to be with you. And I knew I couldn't."
It was then that he turned around and saw tears streaming down her face. He never had any intention of making her cry.. But it seemed he was doing just that. And unfortunately, doing a good job at it too.
"If it was anybody else I would have just let you go and dealt with it. But because it was him..I just, I couldn't let him have the chance to hurt you. After all he's done to me I didn't want you to be so vulnerable to him."
"I told you, he's not like that." She said through gritted teeth.
"And how do you know that for sure, Haley? You haven't even known the guy for that long and you automatically assume that he-"
"Because I love him!" Haley couldn't even believe the own words that escaped from her mouth. She wasn't even thinking it, she just blurted it out. But it was true. She did love Nathan. She loved him enough in this short amount of time to trust him..to know that he would never hurt her like Lucas kept trying to convince her he was going to do.
Lucas froze in his tracks. "Haley, no.."
She brushed a stray tear from her cheek. "That's the way it is. I love him. And if you can't accept that then-"
"Then what?"
"Then you have no reason to be a part of my life anymore." Haley watched as his eyes found their way to the ground. "I have to go." She whispered, trying fiercly to fight back her tears.
This time, Lucas made no attempt to stop her.
It had been four hours since her confrontation with Lucas. Four hours that she had been sitting in the same bathroom stall crying. It didn't even faze her that she was skipping her classes. She couldn't bare to be near people at the moment for fear that she would break down and cry.
Since when had life become so complicated? It was just a few weeks ago that she was happy and...normal. Now everything was just a whirlwind of confusion, and Haley was stuck in the middle of it.
She felt disgusted with herself for kissing Lucas. More disgusted with him for initiating it, but just as sick to her stomach that she played along. She couldn't shake the image of Nathan's face out of her mind the whole time she was in that bathroom. It just kept playing in her head over and over again. She didn't want to bare the brunt of that guilt. More importantly, she didn't want Nathan to have to go through the anger and sadness of knowing that she did it.
She couldn't tell him. Not even if it killed her. And she couldn't let anybody else tell him either.
Hearing the shrill sound of the bell signaling the end of the school day, Haley wiped her tear stained cheeks with some toilet paper and nonchalantly walked out of the bathroom, hoping to God that nobody could tell she was crying.
She made her way out to the parking lot and stood there for a couple of moments, looking around for where Nathan's car was normally parked. It wasn't there. Great, he probably found out about what happened earlier and decided to leave her stranded there for hours as punishment.
Haley walked around to the front of the school. Grabbing her cell phone from her bag, she searched through the list of names until she came upon her mothers. She was about to press the send button when she heard a car horn beep. Immediately, she let out a huge breath she didn't even realize she was holding when she spotted Nathan in front of her. She smiled and ran over to the car, getting in and quickly shutting the door.
"I thought you left me." She answered, putting on her seat belt.
"No, sorry I should have had somebody tell you. I had to leave early. My dad set up some basketball meeting with this scout and pulled me out of school around fourth period." He said it almost resentfully. It was evident he wasn't happy with his father's actions.
"Oh."
Nathan looked over at her and took in her restless figure. She didn't seem to be herself. "You okay?"
Haley tilted her head up and smiled. "Mhm yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired." Liar she thought. Why don't you just go and lie some more? You seem to be good at it lately.
"Oh that sucks. I'm having another party at the beach house tonight after the game and wanted you to come."
"Nathan you know how the whole party thing worked the last time." She tried to get herself out of the whole situation. However, it didn't seem like it was going to end in her favor.
"Yeah, I do." He smirked. "I'd say it worked out pretty good."
"Well."
"Well what?" He asked, puzzled.
"The party worked out well. Not good."
"So you agree?"
"No! I was correcting your grammar." She laughed, unbuckling her seat belt. "Don't wear yourself out too much before the game tonight. You'll play like crap."
"What about after the game?" He teased as he leaned over to kiss her. She turned her cheek before he could reach her lips. She couldn't kiss him. Not after what happened with Lucas. She felt completely awful and if she were to kiss him, she'd be cheating even more. "What's wrong?"
"Oh uh, I think I'm coming down with something. I don't want you to get it." Haley watched as he nodded and smiled. "I'll see you at the game. I'll think about the party."
She kissed him lightly on the cheek, even feeling bad about that small gesture. Damn her and her guilt stricken sorrows. She had to get out of that car. It felt as though it was smothering her.
"You're sure you're okay?" Nathan asked one last time before she could completely exit the car.
"Yeah, I'll be okay." She stepped out and closed the door, waving to him as she walked up her driveway. God, what had she done?