Author's Note: I'm editing this story. And then finishing it. Sorry I was such a terrible deserter/quitter. I just didn't have anymore time back then. Anywho, a new update is going to take some time, but it'll come. I promise.

New readers, please read and review.

Hating Hollywood

Chapter 1: Tree Hill Bar

Exhausted beyond belief, Nathan Scott strode into the bar, a regular bar in a regular town. As he walked in, the people turned their attention to him. Eyes burned holes and mouths gawked.

After all, this was THE Nathan Scott. Famous basketball player gone actor-slash-director-slash-lady's man—well, okay, more like player.

Aware of the looks he was receiving, he just smirked richly at them. He saw a bunch of giggling girls and waved, making them joyously bob their heads while flirtatiously giggling. All the time while thinking, "god, they are such idiots." Of course, they didn't know that, did they?

He looked behind him at the entrance door. This town was the absolute picture perfect idea of the statement "Middle of No Where." He had no idea where he was. No idea. The limo driver just assured him that he would be safe from the paparazzi. He grimaced at the thought of the media. Lately, he was on the receiving end of some harsh tabloid accusations. But, honestly, he didn't mean to date three different actresses at the same time...

He slid into the cold bar stool and ordered a shot. Gulping the cold liquor down, he looked around. Sitting at the bar stool a few away was a gorgeous brunette wearing a red business suit that curved every which way. She was sipping a Bloody Mary and reading a newspaper.

He casually walked over to her. Hey, why not score some fun? He slid gracefully into the stool next to her, but she didn't even move.

"Hey, bartender. Get this girl a nice serving of Sex on the Beach," he ordered cockily. The girl looked up agitated by this dweeb who was irritatingly loud and obnoxious. She gave him a look of disgust.

"No, I'd rather not," she said to the bartender, who nodded at her and took a quick glance back at The Nathan Scott.

Nathan looked completely bewildered at this girl, who happened to be more interested in the newspaper than him. What had just happened?

He looked at the girl, her smooth legs crossed over. She glanced back up at him.

"What are you looking at?" she asked not hiding her vexation.

"Nothing, beautiful," he smirked, hoping that his prize winning smile would melt her into all types of goo. Didn't happen.

He continued to stare at her. Why? Because he was horror struck that his smile didn't make her swoon. Completely unaffected (well, no, she was creeped out), the girl looked at him cautiously.

"Um… Do you have some sort of syndrome?" she asked warily while shifting away from him.

"No," he said somewhat defensively.

"Then would you please turn away," she asked curtly and returned to the newspaper. But Nathan didn't give up. C'mon guys, this is The Nathan Scott we are talking about. Guy with a thousand leagues of ego.

"What's your name?" he asked seductively. Just those three simple words would have dropped any girl to the floor, but for this particular girl, she glanced back up at Nathan completely exhausted from his continuous attempts.

"Haley," she said, her voice ringing in Nathan's ears. "Who are you?" she asked with scrunched up eyebrows.

Nathan almost fell out of his chair. Did this Haley girl just ask him what his name was? He was THE Nathan Scott. Hello, the guy currently starring in three movies and breaking the hearts of all the leading ladies. Did she live in a box? Even the homeless guy across the street obviously knew who he was. He had asked Nathan to autograph his can of beans.

"Excuse me?" Nathan asked with such umbrage you would've thought Haley had slapped him square across his face.

"What's your name?" Haley asked still clueless. Nathan's face mirrored all types of emotions, shock to resentment. Every colorful emotion showed perfectly on his chiseled face. Haley put her newspaper down and then raised her eyebrows still completely clueless.

"You don't know who I am?" Nathan asked in disbelief.

"Do I know you? Have we met before? O my god, did I forget your name?" she asked a little worried. She hated it when she forgot a person's name. Especially, when it was a big name client. That always bit her in the ass. A warm red glow of embarrassment swept across her soft features.

"No, but you should," Nathan said heatedly. How could the girl not know him? His face was plastered on billboards, blurring on TV ads, and gracing the covers of magazines. He was literally the It guy for every girl.

"Sorry?" she questioned him, her eyebrows still raised.

"I am The Nathan Scott," he said defeated.

"Who is 'The Nathan Scott'?" she asked with air quotes.

"You've got to be kidding me," he shook his head in disbelief. No fucking way. There was a person in this world who didn't know his face or name. No fucking way.

"Am I supposed to know you?" she asked questioningly while fishing for the olive in her drink with her tongue. Nathan almost forgot she was talking. His mouth dropped down as he watched her tongue suck at the olive. He quickly shook himself out of this weird reverie. He was Nathan Scott, a guy who never was captivated by any girl, brunette or blonde. He was the captivator. She was supposed to be the captivatee.

"Yeah, considering the whole fucking world knows me," he exclaimed dramatically. So dramatically that Haley again shifted away from him and stared at him like he is an endangerment to the society.

Her beeper suddenly went off and made her jump with fright. She snapped it out and looked at the message. She placed the glass down and reached down to pick up her suitcase. Then she walked away. But Nathan couldn't let her get away. Not with at least knowing who he is. And then maybe sleeping with her…

"Hey!" Nathan called after her. Never in a thousand years would he imagine himself chasing a girl, just to make her understand the complete meaning of the title "The Nathan Scott." After all, the "The" part was a major part and not to be ignored. He wasn't like the rest of plebes out there. He was distinguished and special.

Haley turned around completely alarmed by this weird guy. Why was he chasing her? She reached into her purse and tightly placed her hand around the cold bottle of pepper spray. Never know when ya might need it.

"What do you want?" she asked while grasping the spray bottle firmly in her hand. He stopped next to her. He didn't attack, much to her relief. Slowly the grip on the pepper spray loosened up. But she was going to watch her back. This guy was bizarre, that was for sure.

"I am The Nathan Scott," he said once again, waiting for the usual response to just dawn on her. Nope, there was no dawn of realization. Just a blank stare. No dropping to the floor in absolute astonishment, no jumping up and down in awe, no gawking at the magnificent appearance of the star, not even an eye bulging/jaw dropping response. Nothing.

"Ok, I think we went over this before. I don't know who that is," she said talking slowly like he was some dysfunctional child.

"I am the guy who is in three of the top box office movies," he said. Nathan was expecting, nay hoping, for some kind of response, but again he only saw the blank stare.

"Um… ok. Good for you. I'll try to swing by the theater sometime," she said unsurely. I mean, what do you say to someone who claims to be in three movies? Not to mention, someone who is being very annoying. Do you pat him on the back and say "jolly good, but why don't you leave me alone because I just don't care" or do you just scare him off by pulling the old crazy-fan act? Like jump around crazily and ask him to autograph every square inch of your body. That should scare him off. But that's just not Haley's style. She's more of a sarcastic maiden.

"I got two Oscars," Nathan said, trying to woo her again. "One for best actor, another for best picture." Maybe that little fact would refresh her memory. Maybe not…

"Well that's something to talk about at the cocktail parties," she said casually. She was never impressed by the glitz and glamour of the Oscars. What could she say to him? "Oh really? Wow, you won an award at an award show that nobody cares about anymore really. Most people would rather talk with their loved ones or say, I don't know, have sex than watch that stupid show." Didn't think so.

"I dated Peyton Sawyer and Brooke Davis," he said again desperately trying to make her realize who she was talking to.

"Well, I guess you had some fun," she said nonchalantly while taking a glimpse at her watch. Again, what should she say? "Oh my God! But hang on… who are they? If I don't know you, what are the chances I know them, you great idiot?" Nooo, he might not take that too well.

"I have five mansions around the globe. One in Sydney, Tokyo, New York, LA, and London," he said nervously. His palms were sweating now. Why? Because he was under all this pressure. This stupid Haley girl didn't seem to be wavering under his glory.

"That's some good real estate," she calmly said. She didn't think it was appropriate to say "Oh boy, you must've wasted a fortune when you could've spent the cost of one of five mansions on some productive endeavor, like saving the forest or providing some poor starving kid with bread and water. But nooo, you had to throw your money down the drain." Hey, it was his money and he could do whatever he wanted with it. But c'mon, five mansions? Why would you ever need five mansions?

"I have fifty-seven cars," he said frenziedly. This was insane. He hardly knew this girl but all he wanted to do was prove his worth. And so far, he didn't seem to have much. He looked at her as they walked. She just rolled her eyes.

"What a number," she said unimpressed. How could one say "I hope you realize that you probably will never even sit in the majority of your cars and that once again, you have only proved yourself as a prodigal bastard" while keeping a straight face? Haley could, but didn't think it was appropriate. Besides, she was late for a meeting. She weighed both sides of the scale. Make fun of the asshole or get fired for being late… make fun of this asshole or get fired for being late… Oh, decisions are so hard to make.

"I was named the number one bachelor by People magazine," Nathan said while walking beside the brunette, who stopped for a mere second to give him that look. You know, the you've-got-to-be-the-most-pathetic-creature-in-this-vast-limitless-universe look. Well, at least he got some response. Not the kind he was praying for, but a response to say the least.

"What an accomplishment," she scoffed. Put yourself in her shoes. What would you say to this man? "Congratulations, you were publicly named the most uncommitted guy with the most amount of females who didn't want to stick around long enough for a second date." This poor raving lunatic had her pity on this one though. That was too mean. It's like they publicly insulted him so many times in that one statement, but all everyone saw was the word "bachelor," nothing behind the word. Did they every stop to think there were some reasons why he was named a "bachelor"?

Haley briskly walked with Nathan trailing behind like a lost puppy. They were approaching a taxi. A taxi in Tree Hill? Yeah, I know it sounds so absurd, but it was there, waiting patiently. Haley opened the door swiftly with only one ambition: run away from this insane bastard. But guess what? Nathan slid into the seat next to her. When The Nathan Scott is determined to charm you, oh boy you better watch out!

"Did you know that for just one movie, I earned fifty mill?" he said, completely unfazed by the taxi. He just sat there talking like he was not stalking her.

"Well, I bet that paid the bills," Haley said while muttering obscenities. Apparently, he didn't get the message. She had made the rash move to get into a taxi just to hopefully get rid of him. But that obviously didn't work. It was like this guy was a barnacle; an annoying, talking barnacle that you wished would just dry up and die.

"I have—" Nathan started to again to attempt to impress Haley, but was cut off by none other that the tempting vixen herself.

"Look, I don't care what you have or who you are. In fact, you represent everything I don't care about. You represent Hollywood, which only steals and pilfers the poor and confused. Rich societies, I really don't care about, because no matter what you say, all those rich people are unhappy and lifeless. And listen, I don't know why you tell me all these things when I couldn't give a damn. Just because you're on TV doesn't mean I know you and doesn't mean I care. So give me a break and please just shut the fuck up," Haley huffed. She was in no mood to deal with a star-studded ass. She was so late for the meeting; she may as well have been fired already.

In all honesty, she didn't like Hollywood, but she didn't hate it either. It was just that right now, this guy was unnerving her. He was a rambling idiot that was so materialistic that he probably would end up marrying an ugly old heiress with the resemblance of a leathery cow.

"Do you hate me?" Nathan asked, now almost scared of the answer. It was apparent that this girl had taken his self-esteem down a notch and had demolished his confident state of mind. Now he was only Nathan Scott… formerly known as The (or THE, depending on his mood) Nathan Scott… that is until she told him otherwise…

Haley sat back, just surprised by the question. She didn't know how to answer truthfully. She hardly knew him… well except from his famous persona. But c'mon… no one can be that cocky and still be as real as cornbread.

The cab stopped at her office building. She got out of the taxi with Nathan in tow. He leaned hard against the taxi, nervous of her answer. She just looked at the sullen face of Nathan Scott.

He didn't know why at this moment, all the fanmail in the world meant nothing; he didn't know why suddenly all his possessions seemed small; he didn't know why he cared what one person out of all people alive thought of him. He just inexplicably did. It was the first time he was actually getting an honest answer from somebody who didn't give a shit about his wealth or power or fame. And no matter what the answer would be, Nathan knew that he'd probably always remember it.

"No… I just don't know you," she finally said, hoping that he would understand. She truly didn't know him. She'd never had a real conversation with him about abortion, homemade apple pies, and favorite 80's music.

They stood there for a few seconds, Haley looking at the ground. Funny how fascinating the concrete pavement suddenly appears to be during these types of situations. She glanced back up at him, only to find his beautifully blue eyes staring at her. Quickly, she walked away. With each heavy step, she willed herself to go into the office. She didn't want to fall for his charm. It had finally gotten to her and she was falling badly. And she has resisted so well too…

She knew she could very well be fired, but there was still this spark of hope that maybe, just maybe the boss had gotten laid and was in a good mood, a non-firing mood.

As she walked reluctantly to the office, she felt a pair of strong sturdy arms turn her around and then a pair of swimming blue eyes gaze at her. He then smashed his lips on hers and was steadily kissing her with increasing fervor.

Instinctively, she placed her arms around his neck. And she couldn't help but lift her foot off the ground. The kiss was foot-popping intense. And strangely enough, it seemed just so natural. Just then she heard her name being called. She got off him and turned around to look up at the office building.

"Ms. James! Ms. James! You get your ass up here or your ass is fired!" her boss yelled out the window. Feeling her face tinge with a bright shade of red, embarrassment swept over her as people stared at the Nathan and Haley. Some recognized Nathan and started pulling off the old crazy-fan act.

So much for that "spark of hope." Grumbling, she turned back to Nathan, but he wasn't there. Instead she saw the taxi swerve off back towards the bar, his silhouette sitting in the cab and looking in her direction.

Years of being that wonder girl for almost every guy in this dumpy town still hadn't prepared her for this moment, the moment when everything changed

She wanted to chase after him, but her legs only carried her in one direction: towards the tyrannical boss and away from The Nathan Scott…