Author's Note: Revised chapter two.

Chapter 2: The Charlotte Theater

Months after that sweltering hot day in Tree Hill, Haley was in the balcony still dreaming of "the first unfortunate incident." The simple kiss had been labeled as the "unfortunate incident" being how it single-handedly blew apart her steadily growing disgust at those overspending pigs in Hollywood. It was kind of mind shattering when she realized that she had feelings for the biggest pig in Tinsletown. More like mind exploding and then nuking and then exploding all over again…

And the worse part was the paranoia. She started to think that maybe this guy had played her like she was a game. Maybe, he purposely wanted her to kiss him, then manipulate her mind, making her think that the kiss held some meaning … he was an actor after all… The weird theories for that kiss slowly started to get more and more outrageously improbable. It was then she realized a better theory: maybe she should visit a psychologist…

Whatever she did, she had to do before the festival, the Moondance Festival. Her company was the business who provided all that red carpet… the red carpet that the stars were supposed to frolic and prance upon. Lift up their skirts like little pansies and give all the reporters lap dances… That sort of stuff. The Moondance was a pretty damn big American premiere movie show and so they needed much red carpet for the whole frolicking/lap dancing thing.

For each show, the company gave away 1 ticket to the opening in a raffle. Some little fucker, probably her best friend named Lucas, put her name in and guess what happened? She won. Her damn good luck got her ass into something she'd kill to not do. This event she liked to call "the second unfortunate incident." Then "the third unfortunate incident" would be when Lucas would suddenly find out that he had been castrated… damn ass had tricked her…

So here she was. In the balcony, wearing a red silk gown, which apparently made her look "smoking" (quoted from Tim; it should be duly noted that his favorite movie is The Mask).

The door opened and Lucas bustled in looking quite beside himself.

"So you must be excited?" he asked her smirking. Damn ass was cocky, but soon, thanks to "the third unfortunate incident" he would be cockless… how she loved revenge and puns!

"Who wouldn't be jumping with pure ecstasy at the mere thought of socializing with a bunch of ratbags?" she threw at him sarcastically. Lucas, her dumb dick of a best friend, had left her to be devoured by the vultures of higher society. Coexisting in the same universe was enough. How she would come home without committing suicide was going to be a miracle in itself.

"Still bitter are we? Well at least you'll be having some famous company to grace your presence with," he said with a deep cocky smirk. Haley looked up at Lucas, thinking for a mere second he was talking about The Nathan Scott… No, Haley… he couldn't possibly know about that… that was a secret to keep to the grave… just like that old woman in Titanic… to the bottom of the ocean… she would carry that damn secret to the bottom just like her… minus the saggy body…

"What are you talking about?" she said acting dumb. Although she could never act convincingly, she had a knack for pretending to be dumb. It just came natural. She could flip her hair, widen her eyes, and act like a dumb blonde (no offense) in a second flat.

"Oh the dumbass act huh? You use that too much. I swear half the people at work think your mom dropped you on your head. The other half think you dyed your hair brown," he said knowing her too well. Haley was like a Doctor Seuss book. You could read her. Even if you were the stupidest kid on earth, eventually you could read her. "Besides, Jenny from Accounting caught you watching E! the other day," he continued.

"I was not," she said hotly. Ok… she was stretching that little white lie. But Lucas doesn't need to know every goddamn thing in the world…

"Apparently you were watching an E! special on Nathan Scott." He glanced up at Hales who was reddening like a tomato. He got her good. He mentally patted himself on the back… Hey, no rolling of the eyes! Self-awareness of one's achievements is very important. Lucas is a very firm believer in that concept.

"Yeah well, Jenny from Accounting lives in a house boat," Haley huffed. Stupid Jenny, Haley cursed. As of tomorrow, Jenny's seat was going to have a sharp pin on it for the rest of their working days until she retired… or died, either one. That old bitch loved to gossip and hated Haley, a very bad combination for little poor innocent Haley. But no one took Jenny seriously. C'mon, she lives in a house boat for crying out loud. She's a water demon.

"Are you dissing the house boaters?" Lucas asked so dramatically, you'd have thought Haley had actually cared enough to insult house boaters. For Lucas, it had been a childhood dream to live on a boat. The wind ruffling in his hair and the seawater spraying him as he peed out in the big deep blue. One of his most sought after dreams if he did say so himself.

"No… I'm just implying she's a crazy old bitch," Haley said dryly. She was always blunt. Why hint at something when it's so obviously true that you could practically smell, hear, and see the fart?

Haley looked at her watch. Three o'clock on the dot. Sighing deeply, she turned around to grab her leather purse and took one last look at the cracked mirror.

"Haley if looks could kill, I'd be so alive right now," Lucas said amused at his own joke. What an idiot. Sometimes, he got lost in his own paradoxical world where his unbearably lame humor would score him some major points towards the opposite sex. Haley couldn't blame him though. He hasn't had sex in over a year. That kind of thing could make a perfectly sane person collapse into a mentally unstable state where he would soon depend upon his stupid jokes to get laid. But no one would want to sleep with someone who has such an appalling sense of humor. It was really a catch 22 situation. Poor Luke.

"Kidding Hales, you look hot as always," he said in a hurry as if he thought Haley had taken his words literally.

"Whatever Luke. I have got to go to this thang. Boy, you better watch your ass," she said before abruptly pulling the door closed. She glanced at her car, the Babe (her nickname for it since high school). Dented, scratched, and spray painted on. Unknown fumes were being emitted and the car creaked haughtily.

"My Babe's sure gonna make a fashion statement tonight," she said out loud. She could only imagine what those limo-riding celebs were going say. She smirked mischievously with pure glee. Sure, she'd risk embarrassing the company and getting fired, but risks are a part of life, a life that she could guarantee would be amusing just to see their faces.

She pulled up to the entrance and was about to step out onto the plush red carpet, when the valet knocked on the window. She rolled it down gracefully.

"I'm sorry, is there a problem?" she asked in the sweetest innocent voice she could muster. It was kind of difficult when the valet's face looked like a swimming oil pool of pink volcanoes. His acne was bad. She was tempted to grab the barf bag under her seat and cover his face or she herself would end up puking. Very tempted.

"Yes ma'am, your vehicle is disruptive," the valet squeaked out. He was a little nervous considering the girl in front of him was hotter than most stars. She smiled elegantly at the boy and was directed to a back lot.

"Why, thank you," she said while mentally cussing the kid out. Her "vehicle" was perfectly fine except for a few nicks and cuts. Patting her Babe on the windshield she grabbed her purse and was about to walk on the red carpet when a security guard stopped her.

"I'm sorry, is there a problem?" she asked again in the sweetest innocent voice she could possible muster. It was hard, especially when the security guard had so many chins it made her dizzy from counting. "Where is that barf bag now?" she thought.

"Yes ma'am, your ticket is blue. Blue ticket holders go to the side door," the guard said while his chins wobbled up and down. Haley almost got confused at which was his mouth. Was it the one with the stiff graying stubble or the one with the hairy moles? Still thinking about this mystery, the guard directed her to the side door where she finally was pulled out of the trance the chins were giving her. They were hypnotizing her, going up and down like that. "Do not look directly at them," she thought, willing herself to look at his eyes, not his chins

"Why, thank you," she said while again taking another glimpse of his many chins. They were gross and fascinating in an odd way. How could someone have so many chins? Hmm… maybe those people at America-is-obese-so-let's-all-eat-rabbit-food Association were onto something…

She walked into the Charlotte Theater, almost feeling overwhelmed with its vastness and the décor's beauty. With the aid of a handsomely flirtatious usher, she found her seat and settled herself in.

Seeing how it was taking so damn long, Haley sat there impatiently, every now and then cursing Lucas. Soon, she started to get bored. Unbelievably bored. Strumming her hands against the seat ahead of her like a drum, she started to hum Barry Manilow. She was so into it, she didn't realize the two girls occupying those seats in front of her.

"Excuse me, but could you please shut up," snapped a girl with curly blonde hair. Peyton Sawyer. Haley yawned, completely unfazed.

"Nope," Haley yawned again. "Why the hell do they take so long?" she asked annoyed, looking at the empty stage.

"Because they just do," said a girl with smooth silky brown hair, the hair you see in those L'Oreal commercials. "Damn those girls and their lovely hair. Stupid Brooke Davis. Why must your hair have no split ends and always be moisturized?" Haley thought.

"Listen Blondie and Blondie's lackey, I don't give a damn about your big names. Why don't you shut up, turn around, and never speak to me again because your shrilly voices are giving me a headache and are quite frankly, downright nauseating," Haley managed to say while drumming her fingers tauntingly at the two girls.

Peyton just looked at Brooke, both of them turning away from Haley. They most likely thought she was insane. And she was. Just picture a girl like her sitting in a room filled to the brim with ego. It was truly suffocating her. To be honest, she pictured Hell exactly like this. No joke.

Suddenly, she heard a rumble of applause at the back of the theater. A man parted through the crowd of fans like Moses and swept in. Haley's mouth just dropped right then and there. No fucking way. Nathan Scott, The Nathan Scott, was in this room. No fucking way.

He was supposed to be in France according to that E! special… not that she watched it or anything…

She tucked her head in, whispering sweet prayers for him to just pass her by. "Dear God, just make him pass by," she found herself repeating this prayer over and over again. But she knew the inevitable was going to happen. It was that sick gut feeling in her stomach telling her that her damn good luck had again just gotten her into something she'd kill to not do.

He casually and gracefully sat himself down right next to her. He smiled, or rather smirked at all the cameras. He didn't even notice her… at least he pretended not to. "Damn actors and thespians," she thought furiously as Nathan continued this innocent act. "What could you expect Haley?" she taunted herself, "he's a publicly renowned jackass. You should've known he was playing that game. See, some of your theories were right. You're not crazy Hales, you're not crazy. You're just talking to yourself in your head. Perfectly normal thing to do. Everybody does it. Why not just join the band wagon? It's like there's peer pressure to talk to yourself in your head… Wait… what was I talking about? See, this jackass is already corrupting your mind. You've just completely lost your train of thought… Mental note: actors are so damn confusing; never get involved with one."

The music pounded through the room and the roll of the drums sounded. The lush green curtains parted and out came the announcer, an old man with a shiny bald head.

"'Bout damn time," Haley thought angrily, mentally murdering Lucas. There would be no peace until he paid, and he must pay dearly. Castration, it seemed, was simply not enough right now.

"Ladies and gentleman, reporters and cameraman please take your seats and welcome to the Moondance Festival hosted at the Charlotte Theater," the announcer voiced into the microphone, his voice resounding throughout the room.

As the first premiere movie started to roll on, Haley found herself having a sudden urge for popcorn. She looked around hastily for the popcorn stand before the lights began to dim. Just as she turned to Nathan's side, she saw in his lap was a giant super-duper king sized box of buttery popcorn. "Just my good luck kicking in, I suppose," Haley thought cynically.

With the salty smell so close by and the temptation just calling out to her, Haley felt her mouth start to drool. She looked eagerly at Nathan, who seemed perfectly content.

"You're not gonna eat that whole thing, are you?" Haley asked her mouth swelling with the tempting desire to just gulp it all down. Nathan turned to her, apparently very surprised. Maybe he didn't notice her…

"You!" Nathan whispered bewildered. What the hell was this girl doing here?

That kiss was amazing… he had been thinking about coming back to her town, to the bar. But he couldn't bring himself to. What if she rejected him? His fear of being flat out rejected was overcoming the incredibility of that blissful moment. He was used to grabbing whatever he wanted it, but Haley was different… amazingly different. So infatuated was he that he didn't know one thing that may have been just a tinsy insy bit important: her full name.

"Yes, me," Haley said, avoiding eye contact by just looking at the popcorn. She couldn't help herself. The popcorn was calling her name "Haley, Haley, just kick him in the balls and take me… just take me." Haley shook her head to displace these weird thoughts. Ever since she had met him, she had become crazy.

"Take some," Nathan said, unable to control himself. Her hand reached deep into the box (which just happened to be in his lap…). She pulled out her hand and started to munch away while watching the movie. This simple gesture made Nathan grow hot. His cheeks burned red. As the movie continued, she slumped down beside him, leaning ever so lightly on his shoulder. He leaned back on her…

Haley felt her heart beat a mile a minute. She was falling hard… "Aww… He's so perfect… Wait, snap out of it Haley! Stop! Remember, actors are confusing. Don't put yourself in this position. He barely even knows anything about you. If you gave him twenty questions, he'd fail with non-flying colors. No, just stop while you're ahead… aww… but he's so cute too," Haley thought, having a mental struggle. The angel was telling her to give him a chance. The devil was telling her to drop him, better yet manipulate him in that game… She had officially crossed over into Crazy World.

When the intermission came up, the lights glimmered back on and pointless chatter ensued. Haley slowly looked at Nathan; and vice versa. Both looked away, embarrassed.

"So what's your full name?" Nathan asked nervously while wringing his hands. This was their second encounter and he was already turning into a big pile of handsome goop. She laughed softly at his question.

"Haley Rebecca-Ann James," she replied uneasily. Then there was awkward silence as Haley fiddled with her thumbs and Nathan pretended to be really enjoying his popcorn.

The intermission ended and the movie was back on. Slumping beside each other, they watched the movie. When it ended, the announcer said that the next movie would come on "shortly."

So, Haley and Nathan chatted. When I say "chatted" I mean they talked about the weather. You know, it goes along the lines of something like this: "Why, the weather looks mighty fine." "O yes it does. Last month was quite dreary though." "Dreary?" "O very… the precipitation was nonstop." "You don't say…"

Stupid chit chat. Pointless really, but it always happens during situations like these. It's like protocol. You are required to talk about the weather. Required or the world will fall apart because we will all start becoming more straightforward. And that would just be too damn bad...

Then of course, there is the awkward silence that follows the "chat." Both look at each other, then cough or sneeze to fill that silent void. And then finally, the two reach the main point… they "talk."

"Nathan, about that kiss…" Haley started with a nervous stutter. Usually, she could talk endlessly, mostly with sarcasm, but now her mouth was dry and stiff. The mere mention of that moment was enough to make her sigh. Every girl is a hopeless romantic, no matter how many times they deny it. And Haley wasn't about to start her denial… at least not right now with Nathan so close.

"Yeah," Nathan agreed, even though there was nothing vocalized to agree on really. Ever since he met her, he couldn't help but feel depressed at his life. Something was obviously lacking in his life. Sure, he had his fair share of cars, mansions, movies, and showgirls. But he wanted someone to actually be honest with him and not placate him, patronize him, or lie to him. He had a feeling that only Haley could really offer such brutal honesty.

The memory of that awe inspiring kiss hit him. Without really thinking about anything anymore (his mind had gone all fuzzy), he leaned closer towards her, their lips barely touching.

"Testing… One Two Three… Testing," said the announcer who started to tap the microphone. Because it was working, Haley and Nathan abruptly pulled out of their reverie. They looked at each other and laughed uneasily. First her fat ugly boss, now the shiny bald headed announcer…

"This movie is Without You starring Nathan Scott, Peyton Sawyer, and Brooke Davis," he announced, bobbing his shiny head up and down. The movie flicked on and the audience was absorbed in it.

When the movie finished, much to Haley's relief, the lights flickered on again. To be honest, Haley had felt the urge to gouge her eyeballs out while watching the hopelessly pathetic movie. And then to add to self-destruction, she had many urges to pull Peyton's hair from her scalp. Why you ask? Well, how would you like it if you saw your unofficial guy making out with the biggest bag of hoe since Brooke Davis? Exactly.

Wait, did she just claim Nathan as hers? "Wow wow wow, Haley stop right there. First of all, you are moving way too fast. Second of all, he is not yours. He is an independent human being with his own rights that are written legally in the Constitution and more notably the Bill of Rights. You don't own him," she thought to herself as the movies slowly started to wind down.

As the procession to the exit started, Haley and Nathan found that they were the only ones left behind. Nathan turned to look at Haley, his heart racing. In movies, he always played that smitten dumbass who followed the leading lady like a submissive puppy. In reality, he was a ruthless heartbreaker. What had happened to him?

To be honest, Nathan really didn't care. He impulsively reached his fingers out and touched her hair, feeling its silk. Still looking into her eyes, he entwined his fingers behind her head and pulled her towards his lips. She parted her mouth open slightly, but willingly. When their lips met, it was slow and soft. Each second, Nathan made sure his lips moved deliberately and surely. The slow buttery kiss was beginning to melt into a more rapid, hot, rushed one. It seemed like the lust and fervor each had was barely contained as the kiss started to get more and more physical and almost violent. Nathan pulled her body closer to his and she arched in even more. Her small hands were unbuttoning a few buttons of his oxford shirt. But then, Haley remembered where she was and who he was. She pushed him back. They stood five feet from each other, trying to get their breathing rates calmed down.

"Thank you," he said, still slightly out of breath.

"For what?" asked Haley. Her breath seemed short and hitched. Damn it, she wished she had brought her inhaler with her tonight.

"The kiss…" he answered. He turned and headed out for the entrance. After she collected her handbag and straightened her dress, she went out the exit. Both were completely unaware that they would soon meet again.