"And the score is 46 to 43. There's only 10 seconds left in the game ladies and gentlemen. Ravens really need to step it up if they want to win this. At this point, anything goes."

Haley rolled her eyes as Mouth blabbered on about the score, her eyes traveling aimlessly down the length of the court. Don't get the wrong idea, she loved Mouth. She just hated his lack of sanity at times. Her mood was pretty much shot at this point, so all she wanted to do was take that little microphone out of his hand and shove it up his butt.

But as usual, she contained herself as she watched the figure of her boyfriend dribble the ball down the court, only to get pummeled by a player on the opposing team. It was a sure thing that by the end of the game, if he didn't make a shot to tie this thing up, he would be cranky as hell.

Haley bit her lip, feeling the tension inside of her bubble up. She wasn't quite sure though if it was because of the game, or because she couldn't fight the guilt that was reaming through her brain. No, it definitely wasn't the game...even though that's what it seemed. The room felt as though it was 90 degrees. Haley could feel the sweat dripping off of her back and soaking into the material of her t-shirt. Why oh why didn't she just stay home and watch TV?

The answer to that question was simple. Nathan. He was the whole reason why she showed up. It was just that she felt so shitty about what happened earlier with Lucas that she didn't even feel like she deserved to be there.

Nathan quickly called a time out and jogged over to where the rest of his team quickly assembled, flashing Haley a smile and waving. She waved back and quickly looked down at the ground. God, she was awful.

"And with five seconds left in the game ladies and gentlemen, it's going to take a miracle for the Ravens to win this one. Looks like their winning streak may come to an end tonight."

Damn that boy and his pesky little microphone. He was going to be waddling in a few minutes if he didn't quit it with that stupid sports announcement crap. Haley tried as best as she could to block him out. She was so on edge that it was taking a toll on her tolerance.

"1..2..3..RAVENS!" The team shouted, panning out into their assigned spots on the court. Nathan looked up at the scoreboard and closed his eyes. This was it. He either had to tie this thing up or they lost.

The time started back up again and Tim threw the ball to Nathan. He quickly shot from the three point line, closing his eyes once again only to hear a swoosh go through the air.

"And it's a tie! Nathan Scott has tied the game!"

The boy was a walking miracle. Nobody thought he'd actually make it in, considering how drained he was from the amount of points he had scored throughout the whole game.

Nobody knew what was going to happen. He'd either miss, and lose the game for his whole team, or he'd make it in and victory would be theirs...again. It was pretty much a sure thing that Nathan would make the winning basket. He always did.

"And we are now in overtime. Nathan Scott has one last chance to win this for his team. If he misses? Well, let's just say the perfect winning streak will be gone. It surely will be a loss for the team, as well as Coach Durham."

"Come on, Nathan!" Haley screamed as loudly as she could. Where had that sudden burst of energy come from? Oh well, she wasn't complaining. She jumped up in the air with the rest of the crowd. "Come on, baby. You can do it." She whispered.

"Here we go. Tim Smith with the ball. He passes to Jake Jagielski, who passes to Nathan Scott. Scott has the ball...Oh and intercepted by Lucas Scott!"

The next thing Haley saw was Lucas running past Nathan, grabbing the ball out of his hands and running down the court. What the hell was he doing? Nathan was about ready to shoot and it was ripped away from him.

"Scott shoots..."

The crowd held their breaths, afraid that if they exhaled, the game would be lost. Lucas stole the ball from Nathan and if he didn't make it in, all hell was going to break loose. It wouldn't be a pretty picture.

It seemed to be in slow motion as the ball sank through the net and slammed onto the gymnasium floor. The crowd erupted in cheers as the players all went to Lucas and threw him up in the air.

"And makes it! Ravens win 48 to 46! What a game!"

Nathan grabbed the ball and slammed it to the ground. That was supposed to be HIS shot. HIS game. That bastard just came out of nowhere and stole it from him. He could have lost the game for them and then they would have really been in trouble. But of course, he got praise for it. Just like always.

He could feel the chunks rise in his throat. He was going to puke at the sight of Lucas being lavished with compliments. And what would Nathan get? Oh, he knew what he was going to get. A lecture from his father about not making that winning shot. He wouldn't stop hearing about it for months.

He stomped angrily into the locker room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Haley watched from the bleachers. It was going to be one hell of a night.

She had been sitting on the same set of bleachers for the past half hour, waiting for Nathan to come out. He was probably showering, then starting a fight with Lucas. That was the most obvious conclusion she could come to.

She looked over to her left to see Dan staring impatiently at his watch. He was also waiting for Nathan, and he'd probably get to him first. The bad thing was, after he got to him, Nathan would be in an even worse mood than he was currently in.

With all the crap Nathan had to put up with, the most logical thing to do would be to lay off of him. However, Dan Scott would have none of it. In the short time Haley knew Nathan, she knew enough to see how much the man badgered his own son into being the best. And if he wasn't the best, he just wasn't good enough. It made her sick to her stomach the way he treated him sometimes.

Haley became startled as she heard the slam of a door, seeing Nathan stomping his way over to her.

"Come on, let's go." He said coldly. Dan started to walk over but Nathan quickly grabbed Haley's hand, pulling her out of the gym as quickly as he could.

"What about your dad?" She looked behind her only to hear Dan start to yell for Nathan, but he brushed off her statement.

"He'll live." He pushed the doors to the parking lot open roughly, causing Haley to flinch. She had never seen him this mad before. All she could do was nod. She didn't want to say anything. It seemed like the tiniest word would set him off.

They both walked over to his car and got in. Haley felt so awkward; she didn't know what to do. What exactly do you say when your boyfriend is pissed off about something that was extremely important to him?

"So uh, good game." Yeah, not that. She was a dumb ass.

She saw him tense up and grip the steering wheel harder. It was always evident when he was mad. He would bite his bottom lip and narrow his eyes. And yup, there it was. The infamous lip bite. Great job, chief. What an excellent thing to say at a time like this.

"I f ucked up."

"No you didn't, Nathan. You did great."

"Not great enough, okay?" He yelled.

Haley slumped down in her seat. Maybe she should just ask him to take her home. That way, she can avoid any other disastrous things that were bound to happen at the party.

"I don't see why you're so pissed. You made almost every shot during that whole game." Why did she keep opening her big mouth? It was like she was subconsciously egging him on. The words just kept dripping out and she couldn't stop them. In a way she just wanted him to realize that he did a great job, regardless of what his father said or thought.

"Yeah Haley, but I didn't make the one shot that counted. That's what I'm so pissed about." His tone was still harsh. Definitely harsher than Haley would like to have heard. She wasn't used to him being this upset. Normally, he'd be stressed out, but in a few minutes he'd be back to his normal self. Today didn't seem like one of those days.

"It's not the end of the world. So, you'll make it next time."

"No, it is the end of the world. Don't you get it? When I go home my dad is going to practically beat the shit out of me!" His face softened a bit after he realized how harsh his tone was and he calmed his voice a bit. "I should have made that shot."

Haley just shook her head. She didn't want to say anything else for fear that he would lash out and do something crazy. It wasn't like she was making it better by talking, anyway. Her best bet was to keep quiet and in return he'd remain calm.

She really wanted to go home. Preferably take him with her and work him out of this stage of misery he was in, but that thought quickly vanished once they pulled up to the beach house. Being at a party was the last thing she wanted to do. Especially now, since she wasn't on good terms with Lucas, definitely wasn't on the best of terms with Nathan, and didn't know anybody else. People didn't dislike her, she just never really made an attempt to befriend anybody else other than Peyton. And she wasn't exactly too close to her either.

Nathan sulked out of the car and slammed the door behind him, Haley following suit. She was in a worse mood now than she was before. Nathan was pissed at her, or at least that's what it seemed like.

The house was already filled with people. Most of the team was already there, and they made their presence known by being their usual, rowdy selves. A few of them were already sprawled out on the grass, moaning due to excessive drinking. Some people just didn't know their limits.

Once again, that feeling of being overwhelmed invaded Haley's senses. The last time she went to one of Nathan's parties was..well, that was when it all began. The good and the bad. She didn't know if she wanted to walk in there and take the chance of new things happening all over again, or if she just wanted to sit in Nathan's car all night and wait for him to take her home.

"Nathan I-" She was about to protest. To tell him that she wasn't too comfortable around all these people. That maybe it would be best if he just took her home or if she called somebody to pick her up.

Sensing her uneasiness, he quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him into the house. The sounds of the music and loud chatter of the people inside caused her to walk closer to him, holding his waist as they waded through the large crowds. The last thing Haley needed was to get lost. She'd never find him in the crowd if he were to walk away.

Nathan's grip tightened on her hand, yet he still didn't utter a single word. They just continued to walk through the sea of already drunken people. Haley felt so little. Sure she wasn't too tall, but that wasn't it. She felt inferior to these people. She felt like she was invading their space. She was the new girl. Although she was currently labeled as 'Nathan Scott's girlfriend', that didn't make it any easier to fit in.

Feeling Nathan's hand leave hers, Haley looked up at him as he motioned to the other side of the room. She felt his hand reach the small of her back, guiding her to exactly where he wanted her to go.

The right hand corner of the room was basically the only spot not inhabited by people. That little piece of confinement was like her safety net. She didn't feel like she was being invaded by drunk lunatics.

Music loudly blared from a nearby speaker and Haley had to resist not covering her ears. It was far too loud for her liking. She had a splitting headache already and the pounding beats from the awful rap song wasn't making it any better.

Nathan bent down to whisper in her ear and she automatically closed her eyes. She loved the feeling of him so close to her. And right now, that's just what she needed. She knew she wasn't going to enjoy herself tonight. But if he was with her, she could at least try.

"I'm going to get a drink. Do you want something?"

She nodded and leaned her head back against the wall. Maybe some alcohol would calm her down. Maybe it would calm him down too. He was obviously still a bit short tempered with her. But he couldn't have been that mad if he opted to stay with her instead of mingle with his buddies.

"Stay here. Don't move." He said sternly, giving her hand a light squeeze and trudging through the crowd.

Poor guy, he was miserable. Haley felt his pain. She was just as melancholy..for totally different reasons though. Reasons that she didn't want him to know of. And her reasons were by far a lot worse than his were.

A cup was dangled in her face from behind her and she smiled. "That was fast." She said, turning around..only to see Lucas standing there. Her smile quickly faded.

Before he could say anything, Haley turned the other way so she didn't have to look at him. She couldn't believe he had the nerve to come to this party after the stunts he pulled over the past couple days.

"So you're going to ignore me all night." It came out like a comment rather than a question.

"You had no problem ignoring me for the past two weeks so why should I choose to do any different to you?"

"Haley, don't do this."

"Don't do what, Luke?" She yelled, turning around. "What, try my best to ignore you so you don't screw up my relationship with my boyfriend? Oh no wait, you already did that."

"Don't make me look like the bad guy here, Hales."

Haley's jaw dropped. "Oh so what, you're saying I'm the bad guy in all this?"

"No, I'm saying we're both equally at fault."

"Oh no. No, no, no..we are not both equally at fault. You are the one who started this whole thing, not me." She pointed her finger in his face and he backed up against the wall. "This whole thing started because you felt like being a jack ass."

"That's not true."

Haley gave a sarcastic laugh. "You know that it's so true, Lucas. Don't even try to feign innocence with me because it's not going to work. I am this close to ripping your face off and trust me, you don't want that."

She saw Lucas' eyes gaze past her head and out to the crowd as he looked back down at her and stalked off. Damn it, just one punch. That's all I wanted. Just one good swing and I'd be alright.

Turning back around, she saw Nathan coming towards her, that look of anger plastered on his features. It seemed like he couldn't shake that look tonight. Everything that happened pushed him closer and closer to the edge.

"What was that all about?"

Haley could tell he was extremely mad. "Nothing." She plucked the drink out of his hand, taking a sip and letting the cold liquor burn down her throat.

"It didn't look like nothing." He shifted his weight onto his other leg and looked at her impatiently. He wanted an answer. And it was nagging at her to just come clean and spill everything that happened earlier that brought about the prior confrontation with Lucas.

"He was being an ass, alright? Now can we please just end the story?" That's great. She had to get an attitude. It wasn't that she was mad at him to bring about that sudden outburst; she was just trying to cover up from spilling her little secret.

They were both on edge. Nathan slammed his empty cup on the ground and looked away. "Whatever."

"Baby, I'm sorry." She reached out to touch his arm but he pulled away from her. "Nathan.."

He shook his head as he looked up at the ceiling. Haley knew that him seeing her with Luke was just the icing on the cake. He was upset about what Luke had did to him earlier in the game, and with all the crap he would have to deal with when his dad got to him, that seeing the two of them together made him feel even worse.

"Find me when you're ready to go home." He answered plainly, walking into the mess of people.

Haley groaned and threw her head against the wall..repeatedly. She had officially ruined the rest of her night, along with Nathan's. Why was she being such a bitch?

She raked her hands through her hair and chugged the remainder of her cup, throwing it down onto the floor

"Where's the damn keg?"