Nathan was afraid of getting into an accident, he knew his blood had passed the boiling point and if given the chance he would run over every pedestrian between Lucas's home and Alaska. So thinking of himself, as well as the wellbeing of the citizens of Tree Hill, he jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and walked briskly down the street. A few moments later he broke into a jog, before running full speed down the street.

And though the many people that saw him run past thought that his heart would be going a thousand beats a minute, Nathan couldn't feel his heart.

He ran and ran and his heart rate reached dangerous levels, his muscles strained and would keep him on the bench for the next few basketball games but he couldn't do anything about it. He wanted to get as far away as possible. Far away from his half-brother and his girlfriend. Try as he might, he couldn't focus on the images ahead of him. He couldn't really see the people on the sidewalk or the cars on the street. The one picture burned into his mind was his girlfriend, his beautiful, smart, funny Haley on the floor with her arms wrapped around the half naked torso of his older, blonder, equally athletic half-brother.

Betrayed. Jealous. Angry. Shocked. Confused. Infuriated. Disappointed.

Nathan Scott was a Petri dish of emotions.

Finally, he reached his own home. Entering his home quietly, so as not to disturb his mother, he climbed into his own bed. Praying that tears wouldn't come in his sleep, he closed his eyes and entered darkness.

It was only about an hour later, when his eyelids flickered, revealing his dark brown eyes to the world.

As he slowly sat up in bed, still fully clothed, shoes included, he pushed away the covers that had entangled themselves around his body. It took a few moments of just sitting and blinking to remember why he was in bed in the middle of the afternoon, with all his clothes on. The fabric clung to the layer of sweat that had formed on his skin. The thought of Haley and Lucas clung to the layer of disbelief that had formed in his mind.

No fucking way.

That had been Nathan's first reaction when he entered Lucas's house. He had come to talk to Keith, knowing that his only uncle would be there. But when he stepped into the kitchen, he was only mildly startled to hear his girlfriend's voice. Nathan didn't kid himself, he was well aware that Haley and Lucas were best friends. After all, that was one of the original reasons that Nathan went for Haley. To piss Lucas off.

Nathan never expected to fall in love with Haley. But it was undeniable, each time she laughed or made him laugh, there was a slight twist in his heart. For the first time in his life, Nathan was completely honest with someone. He made himself completely vulnerable. And she ended up in his pseudo-enemy's arms.

Why.

That had been the question lingering in Nathan's mind as he made his way home. Why would Haley be with Lucas? What did Lucas have that Nathan didn't? And besides, didn't Lucas already have a girlfriend? There was very little that made sense in Nathan's mind. He didn't want things to make sense. With every breath he took, he inhaled anger and exhaled rational thoughts.

Before actual steam could be exhaled from his body, his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. He grunted, the usual way he told his mother that he was occupied. But she didn't seem to hear him, because she began to knock again. He made an unrecognizable noise and slouched back to lie on the bed. Of all the people that he didn't want to see, his mother was probably the one that would most likely get through to him. And that was why he didn't want to see her.

The knocking continued.

"What?" he asked exasperated, watching the doorknob twist and the door slowly open.

"Nathan..." it wasn't his mother. It was the person at the top of his People I Don't Want To See List.

"I don't want to see you right now, Haley." The words came out in one rushed, clipped sentence. She could feel the anger radiating from him, but she stepped into the room anyway.

"It's not like you think." Her voice was softer than he thought it would be. He expected her to be defensive, brimming with guilt. But she spoke gently, apologetically, with hurt in her voice.

"Whatever."

"Brooke just broke up with him and I-"

"And you what, Haley?" His voice was bitter, his eyes refused to meet hers. "You decided that it was a perfect time to take her place?"

"I'm not like that, Nathan. I can't believe you'd even think that." Her tone was angrier now, but even more hurt.

"Yeah. Sure."

"Nathan, he's my best friend. I came over to hang out with my best friend. I found out about the break up and I was comforting my best friend." In every sentence she stressed the syllables of best friend even more. She hoped that he would finally get the point.

"Yeah, because sex is the best way to comfort a person." Nathan muttered angrily.

"Why won't you believe me? Nothing happened. Nothing was happening."

"Because I saw you, Haley. I saw my girlfriend on the floor with Lucas."

"You saw it out of context Nathan!"

"I saw what I saw!"

"If you really thought of me and respected me as your girlfriend, you'd believe me."

"If you really thought of me and respected me as your boyfriend, you wouldn't have been there."

"He's my best friend!!!" her voice was rising.

"Dawson was just Joey's friend too." He scoffed, referring to the ever popular TV show.

"Why won't you listen to me? He's always been my best friend. You knew that when we started going out! Why the hell is it so important now?" she was yelling.

"Because." His voice oozed with venom, as he stood up and walked over to her.

Slightly intimidated by his height, Haley kept her cool and looked him in the eye. "What?"

"Because I saw the guilt in your eyes when you saw me," it came out in a whisper, but it affected Haley more than anything else anyone had ever yelled at her. She felt so small and powerless as he walked past her through the door.

She looked at him, wondering at his last comment. There had been guilt in her eyes? Of course Nathan would misconstrue it as guilt. Haley was just shocked to see him there. She was embarrassed that Nathan found her hugging Lucas.

But guilt? Guilt would mean that she wanted more than friendship with Lucas. But because he was Lucas, she could never be anything more than friends with him. Sure, he was good looking- better than good looking. And he was fun. And sweet. And intelligent. And interesting. And introspective. And she loved how warm and safe she felt he made her feel each time they hugged.

But they were just friends.

She marveled at these thoughts so deeply, that she didn't even realize that Nathan was still in the hallway. "Don't deny it, Haley." He said without emotion before finally rushing down the hallway and out of the house.

Still in Nathan's room, Haley felt paralyzed. She didn't know whether to go after him or to call Lucas or to call Peyton or... She could barely form full sentences. The thoughts she just had began to finally register in her mind. Her breathing changed slightly, becoming more ragged. Her bottom lip began to quiver as tears filled through her eyes. And before she even left the Scott house, rivers had formed on her cheeks.