Chapter 17: Through Angst and Pain
It was a very early Wednesday morning. Normally, Nathan would have wanted to stay in bed a little longer...he hates getting up early. On that day, however, he couldn't get any sleep at all. His thoughts were just constantly haunted by a realization that he may be losing Haley. He hated what he had done. Most of all, he hated he could no longer take it back. "I guess I'm on a losing streak of some sort," he sadly thought as he dribbled the basketball in an empty court near the apartment he shares with his brother.
He threw the ball for a shot. As the ball fell off the ring, Lucas caught it and threw it back to him. "I guess you couldn't sleep either," Lucas remarked as he approached he faced his brother with an equally grave expression on his face.
Nathan shook his head sadly, "No, I've been a mess lately."
Lucas just nodded, "Yeah, that makes the two of us. She still hates you?"
Nathan nodded as he let out a heavy sigh, "Yeah...I'm starting to think I'll remain unforgivable for the rest of my life."
Lucas let out a gentle laugh, "I don't know, Nate. Haley's not like that, she'll forgive you eventually."
"When? After a year?" he exclaimed in an exasperated voice.
Lucas threw the ball at him, "She can't possibly stay mad at you for that long."
Nathan let out a sly smile as he threw the ball for another shot, "What if she does this time?"
Peyton walked into the kitchen early Wednesday morning. She wasn't expecting anyone there so she was surprised to see Brooke up so early. "Now that's a first! Brooke Davis already out of bed at 6:00 in the morning," remarked Peyton as she made herself some coffee.
Brooke gave her a sly smile as she flipped through a magazine, "Well, good morning to you too! Staying in bed is useless when you couldn't sleep."
Peyton turned to her with a sympathetic expression on her face, "You're still feeling pretty bad, huh?"
Brooke nodded sadly," I ruined it for us, Peyt...I just wanted to do what's best for Jenny."
Peyton nodded understandingly, "I know. Listen Brooke, it wasn't your fault that Ethan blew up and you and Jake yesterday. Maybe...he's quite bothered himself."
Brooke took a sip from her plain black cup of coffee, "Yeah...I can't believe he'd accuse me of cheating on him...not that I didn't do it to other guys!"
Peyton laughed as she playfully poked her friend's arm, "Well, it's good to know you haven't pleaded complete innocence yet!"
"I wouldn't mind pleading guilty for Nikki's murder!" Brooke said with a devilish grin.
Peyton smiled at her, "Me too."
"Why plead guilty when you can get away with it? I can help you dump the body!" said Haley as she entered the kitchen.
"Couldn't sleep either?" asked Peyton as she turned to face Haley.
Haley nodded with an exasperated look on her face, "I just lay awake in bed...thinking about..."
"Nathan," Peyton and Brooke said knowingly as they finished Haley's sentence.
Haley let out a sigh as she poured herself some coffee, "I don't know...I mean I thought we could become friends and all..."
"Just friends?' asked Brooke as she cut in.
Haley nodded firmly, "Yeah...just friends."
Peyton looked at her curiously, "Are you sure? I mean, I could tell you want things between you guys to be more than that."
Haley pouted as she took a seat, "I do...but...I don't think I can deal with another episode of dump-Haley-for-NBA again."
Peyton just nodded understandingly, "Well...speaking of dump...I think Lucas just dumped me out of his life."
Brooke turned to her curiously, "You two seem to be getting worse..."
Peyton let out a sad sigh, "Worse and over...he poetically said so."
Haley looked at intriguingly, "Wait...Lucas Scott and poet don't really go well together."
Peyton laughed as she explained, "In our literature class, he recited this Pablo Neruda poem...he told me he meant every word!"
"Maybe I can use Edgar Allan Poe to send Nikki a death threat!" commented Brooke with an angered look on her face.
Later that morning, the girls dragged themselves to school. "Hey maybe we can go make popcorn and watch some movies tonight," suggested Haley. She knew all three of them had to get some things of their mind.
"Yeah, that would be great," answered Peyton as she parked the car.
"Maybe we can order some pepperoni pizza with extra cheese too," added Brooke as she stared out from the passenger seat with a depressed look on her face.
Haley just nodded, "Pizza and popcorn...perfect!"
Peyton just laughed, "I'll go get beer!"
As they got off the car, they all went their separate ways.
Brooke made her way to class without meeting anyone's eyes. As far as she's concerned, she doesn't want to have to face Ethan that morning. "C'mon, just let me get out of here without seeing him," she muttered as she hastily walked to her classroom.
As she reached the room, she was surprised to see a familiar figure leaning by the doorway. Jake was drumming his fingers on a book as he waited for Brooke. "Jake, what are you doing here?" asked Brooke as she approached him.
Jake smiled at her, "Hey Brooke, how are things doing with you and Ethan?"
Brooke let out a sigh, "No change...he still thinks all we've shared was crap."
Jake just laughed, "Well, I'm sorry to hear that."
Brooke just shrugged, "So, how are you doing? Are you...worried?"
Jake looked at her intently, "Actually...I wanted to ask you a favor."
"You want Nikki dead?" she asked as she looked at him intently.
Jake laughed, "Not exactly...I was hoping you could help me...talk to Jenny about her dysfunctional mother."
Brooke looked at her intently, "Wait...are you going on a guilt trip too?"
Jake shook his head, "On Nikki? I would never regret my decision to keep Jenny away from her..." He let out a sigh before he continued, "I will, however, regret it if Jenny finds out the truth from someone else. I don't want her to hate me when she grows older when she learns I've been keeping something from her. She has a right to know, Brooke."
Brooke nodded understandingly, "You want me to tell Jenny about Nikki?"
Jake looked at her uneasily, "Can you handle that?"
Brooke let out a sigh, "I might not be able to stop myself from saying what a bitch Nikki is, though."
Jake just laughed, "Don't worry, I won't stop you...Jenny deserves the truth...the whole truth!"
They both just laughed as they talked about Jenny a little more. After awhile, Brooke looked at him intently, "Well, I guess...just let me know when Jenny's ready to have...that talk"
Jake nodded as he smiled at her gratefully, "Yeah, I'll call you. Thanks Brooke!"
Brooke smiled warmly as she nodded before she stepped inside her classroom. Right across the hall, Ethan saw Jake and Brooke talking to each other. He even saw Jake waiting outside her door before she arrived in class. Ethan just furiously glanced at Jake as he made his way to the exit door. After awhile, he made his way out of the building himself.
Haley was just walking along the hallway when she noticed a familiar figure coming out of the dean's office. Nathan didn't know what to do when he saw her. Fortunately, Haley made things easier by just walking away. Suddenly, Haley heard her name being called out.
"Haley," began Nathan as he ran after her.
Haley wouldn't dare turn around. "What's he 'gonna do now?" she asked herself as quickened her pace.
"Haley," Nathan called out again as he tried to keep up with her. "Will you just stop for awhile?" he asked her in his mind.
Determined to ignore him, Haley just kept walking although she could already feel that eyes were already on them. "One more and I'm kicking your ass!" said Haley defiantly to herself as she continued to walk hurriedly
"Haley, please..."Nathan shouted as he found himself able to catch up to her.
Suddenly, Haley turned around and glared at him. "What?" she snapped at him as people looked at them curiously.
Nathan just gave her a sheepish smile as he nervously ran a hand on his hair, "Um...you dropped this." He then handed her a book.
Haley felt her cheeks burning as she realized what he was calling her for,"Oh..." Nevertheless, she didn't dare give him an apologetic look. Instead she grabbed the book from his hand and looked at him squarely, "Thanks." With that, she turned around and walked away.
Meanwhile, Nathan was just left to stare after her. "You're welcome," he mumbled as he stood still.
Lucas made his way to class with his head down. He didn't really feel like running into anybody. He just wanted to get his classes over with and play ball. "I guess...all I got is basketball now," he sadly thought as he put his hands inside his front pockets.
"'Wanna go for another carousel ride?" asked a voice from behind him.
Lucas turned around and was surprised to see Nikki grinning at him devilishly. Raising an eyebrow at her slightly, he gave her a cold face, "What do you want?"
"I want my daughter back!" she exclaimed demandingly.
"How many times do I have to point out to you that Jenny was never yours?" challenged Peyton as she suddenly appeared from behind Lucas.
The moment he realized Peyton was around, Lucas sensed trouble. He knew the two girls couldn't stand each other. He knew Peyton is disgusted with Nikki as much as he is. "It looks like there's nothing Nikki can ruin between me and Peyton this time," he thought as he watched the girls intently.
Nikki gave her a devious smile, "Well...it sure is good to see you, stupid baby-sitter."
Peyton just let out a sarcastic laugh, "And I can smell a skank all the way from across the hall."
Nikki just glared at her, "I see you're with him now. Peyton, is it? You see to have taken a liking to finishing up after me!"
At this point, Peyton felt that Nikki had gone too far. "Actually, I got to Lucas' first!" Peyton defiantly pointed out as she moved to claw on Nikki.
Not wanting Peyton to hurt herself, Lucas immediately grabbed her, "It's not worth it, Pey."
Turning to Nikki with furious eyes, Lucas instructed her coldly, "I'd leave now if I were you."
"Not until I have my daughter," Nikki said defiantly.
Peyton suddenly let out a haughty laugh, "You never will."
Nikki gave a knowing smile as she glared at Peyton, "Oh, I can...with my brother's help." With that, she turned her back at them and walked away as Peyton and Lucas looked on.
After awhile, they both realized that they still had their arms around each other. Immediately, they awkwardly pulled away from each other. Nonetheless, they found themselves looking into each other's eyes. After awhile, Lucas just stammered a remark, "Uh...bye." With that, he turned around and headed to his class without looking at Peyton again.
Peyton stood still as she watched him walk away. "Bye," she said in a barely audible voice.
