Disclaimer: Still applies! I own zilch.
Chapter 4
Haley shoved her books into her locker. She took a deep breath and just stared at the mini mirror she kept in her locker. She was thankful that they had a test in Physics. With some force of fate, Lucas, Brooke and Nathan were in her Physics class. Along with Peyton and Jake. Even better, she sat in between Lucas and Nathan. Lucas insisted on shooting her confused looks while she was taking her test. Somehow, she managed to keep her concentration during the test.
"Ready to go to lunch?" Nathan asked, coming up behind her.
Haley sighed. Hurdle #2. Lunchtime with everyone. Watching Lucas and Brooke cuddle was the last thing she needed. But she was also very hungry, "Sure, let's go."
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'Well…this is awkward.' Peyton mused. She never questioned why her school had round tables for lunch. She liked them because she could always see her friends from whatever angle.
Now, the six of them stood around the table trying to figure out how to sit. If they sat in couples, Brooke, Lucas, Nathan and Haley would have to sit next to at least one person they didn't want to.
It was an immediate dilemma that clicked in everyone's head. Almost simultaneously, Haley and Nathan sat down next to each other, and on the other side of the table, Brooke and Lucas sat down. There were only two seats left, one in between Lucas and Nathan and one in between Haley and Brooke.
Peyton let out a big sigh as she looked at Jake. He just gave her a smile as he sat down.
And so, lunch began.
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The 30 minutes that they had for lunch always seemed to be short. But, for some reason, today it seemed to stretch on forever. Nathan had his arm around the back of Haley's chair, and was conversing with Jake about basketball. Haley was trying to talk to Peyton, but was sorely distracted by the sight of Brooke and Lucas wrapped around each other.
"So, I told Mrs. Layman to send in my artwork, because I knew it wasn't going to win…" Peyton trailed off, when she realized that Haley was watching Brooke giggle at something Lucas said.
Peyton cleared her throat. "But I did win. And the prize is that I get to sleep with Jack Black for one night. How does it sound?"
"Awesome." Haley faintly agreed, watching Lucas feed Brooke a carrot. God, was she suddenly incapable of eating by herself?
"Yeah, I don't know if he is a handcuff type of guy or he likes to play around with whipped cream. What do you think?"
"Whipped cream." Haley said absentmindedly. Then she stopped and stared at Peyton. "WHAT?!"
Nathan and Jake stopped their conversation to look at Haley, who was looking shell-shocked. Even Brooke and Lucas stopped their cooing and looked at Haley. Peyton burst out into giggles.
"You weren't listening to me!" Peyton said. She turned to Nathan and Jake, "I was telling her about my art…"
She noticed that they weren't paying attention to her either, but staring in the direction of Brooke and Lucas. 'What the hell, why are they the object of fascination today?' Peyton irritably thought. But the second she saw them, she understood why.
The round tables were pretty big for 6 people but all of the sudden, it seemed a bit small, with Brooke practically straddling Lucas' lap and kissing him with fervor that Lucas was reciprocating very well.
Haley's hand shook as she reached for a napkin to wipe her mouth with. I'I can't handle this. Not now. Not today.'/I She thought as she suddenly stood up, her chair scraping back.
"I…um.. need to go." Haley stammered out, avoiding Jake and Peyton's sympathy eyes as well as Nathan's concerned ones. She turned on her heels and forced herself to walk calmly out.
Nathan hit the table with his fist causing Brooke and Lucas to fall apart. Brooke wiped her mouth as she noticed the disgusted looks Peyton and Jake were giving her and Lucas. She also noticed the empty seat.
"It's bad enough for the rest of us, who at this moment don't give a damn about you. But stop hurting Haley even more. You have done enough." Nathan said, his eyes flashing and voice low.
Brooke stealthy picked up her bag and left the table.
"Obviously, she isn't hurting anymore, now that her big knight in shining armor is by her side." Lucas said, starting to get angry at being interrupted during a perfectly wonderful make-out session. "Why don't you go make out with her She won't feel lonely. After all, didn't you going to her for tutoring so that you could get in her pants?"
Nathan stood up, ready to pounce on Lucas, who stood up as well, determined not to be intimidated. Jake stood up as well, to prevent Nathan from doing anything stupid. Peyton just sat there, shaking her head. According to boys, violence was the way to go. Way to be all macho.
Nathan gave Lucas a dirty look before grabbing his stuff. "I'm outta here." He gave Jake a nod and clapped Peyton on the back before stalking out of the cafeteria."
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"Haley! Stop!"
Haley continued walking. She pushed herself through the crowd and headed for the girls bathroom.
"Haley. Stop. Please!" The voice behind her pleaded.
She pushed open the bathroom door, letting it thump back, but it didn't because a hand reached out and stopped it.
Haley twirled around, "Brooke. I have nothing to say to you. So please, stop trying to buddy up to me because it's a wasted effort."
Brooke checked under each stall making sure it was empty. Satisfied that it was, Brooke locked the bathroom door.
"No. I want to talk to you." Brooke said firmly, standing in front of the door.
Haley started to wash her hands. It was a habit that she did whenever she was nervous. "Talk. Will I respond? Not likely."
Brooke sighed. She deserved that. "Listen, first, I want to say that I'm sorry…"
Haley whirled around, pointing her finger at Brooke. "Don't. Don't say you are because you aren't. It wasn't a freak of nature, it wasn't something that had to happen. You did it at your own free will."
"Listen, it goes deeper than just that." Brooke sighed, leaning against the radiator. "It started a long time ago, last year to be précised, when Lucas first joined the team."
Haley blinked. She didn't expect to get a story out of this. But she was curious now. Lucas, when he first joined the team, was always stressed about the hazing and just fitting in. So they never talked about anything to do with the team.
"He and I had a short fling. It would have progressed into something more, but the thing is that he seemed afraid. He didn't like many of the basketball players on the team. Mainly because when the cheerleaders and basketball players would share a bus, cheerleaders and basketball players would make-out. And he didn't like the idea that a relationship had to be physical all of the time. He didn't want to be one of those guys." Brooke sighed, "So, he started dating you. Because you were pure and innocent and Lucas wanted that."
Haley stiffened. She was sick of being stereotyped at innocent. She knew everything about the big bad world. Just because she didn't participate in didn't mean that she was worldly. She also wanted to ask if Nathan was one of the guys that would make out with a cheerleader. Then she realized that he was with Peyton at that time and she knew her answer.
"But I had already fallen for him. I know I seem boy crazy at times, but with Lucas, it just felt as if he wanted to look past my looks and see what I was made of. It was nice because I didn't have to keep the airhead act up around him." Brooke gave Haley a small smile. "Being an airhead is tiring."
Haley gave a half-smile. She knew Brooke was an intelligent, sensitive girl, which is why her actions had confused Haley.
"I guess, during our fling, I had done something right, because I knew that Lucas cared about me, just like I cared for him. But he also cared for you, which is understandable because one, you are awesome and two, he has known you forever. But you know, things that are forbidden, seems more attractive? That was what we had. And I promise you Haley, while you guys were dating, we did nothing more than kiss." Brooke said, trying to get Haley to open up a little bit.
Haley gave a sarcastic chuckle, "Oh yes, that is supposed to make it tons better. Brooke, You know, in the last year, I have gotten to know you better, because of Lucas. He would praise you many times, and I thought, yeah I need to get to know her. But I didn't think that you could have done something like this to your friend."
"But you knew I liked him!" Brooke exclaimed, "You hurt me just as much too. You didn't know about the fling, but you knew that I liked him. But you still went out with him, even though I know you don't love him the way you love Nathan or the way I love Lucas."
Haley paled slightly. Love? Nathan? Uh-oh. Okay, deal with that later. "You're right. I knew you liked him, but I thought it was just a phase. You didn't tell me any of that. If you had, it might have changed everything. It would have changed everything. We would have spared all this pain."
Brooke sighed, "I know. Trust me, I wanted to tell you, but it was like my little secret. A place where I visited when I would get depressed. I tried to tell him to break it off with you so that he wasn't two-timing you, but he cared about you as well."
Haley sighed, "Listen Brooke, I don't want to be fighting with you. Obviously, Lucas isn't the friend that I thought he was because he has said some pretty rotten stuff. I need time to think about all of this. Right now, I just want to drop it. I don't know if I can go back to trusting you like before."
Brooked smiled, "That's all I can ask. I want you to know that I am still here for you." She turned around to look at Haley, "You gotta admit, At least one good thing came out of all of this."
"What?" Haley asked, quizzically.
"Well, you and Nathan are finally together!" Brookes aid, as she bounded out of the room.
Haley looked at herself in the mirror again and fought the urge to hit her head against it.
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"So you coming to my game?"
Nathan was lying on Haley's bed, throwing a stuffed bear in the air and catching it. Haley was typing her paper up on her computer. Strangely, it wasn't odd having Nathan in her room. It was normal.
Haley looked up from her paper, jumping up to snatch her bear out of Nathan's hands. "Don't do that to Mr. Cuddles! He will get sick."
Nathan shot her an incredulous look, "You have to be joking."
Haley frowned. "I can assure you that I am certainly not joking."
Nathan smiled at her serious face. "Okay, okay. But back to my original question, are you going to come to the game tomorrow night?"
Haley chewed on her lip, staring at the screen. She had always gone to all the games, but cheering for Lucas now. Wait, she is supposed to be moving on!
"Okay" She agreed, rather reluctantly.
Nathan smirked. He knew she was going to say yes. "Also, Tim is throwing a party after. What say we make an appearance?"
Haley began to vehemently shake her head. "No way. I don't do parties."
"C'mon Hales, it will be fun!" Nathan cajoled.
Haley sighed, she knew that in the end she would end up going because Nathan would pull some slick line and she would feel compelled to go, so cut the entire chase.
"Fine."
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The gym was packed by the time she got there. Which is the way she liked it. Haley liked big crowds because they were the easiest to get lost in.
She spied Mouth sitting on the bleachers, near the rest of the basketball team, so she decided to go join him. She liked Mouth; he was a quirky guy but a really sweet one too.
"Hey Mouth!" Haley said, sitting down next to him. He was saying something into a microphone for
He quickly clicked it off, "Hey Hales!"
"What's up?" Haley asked, trying to find Nathan and Lucas among the basketball players running around.
"Not much, really." Mouth said, "Um…I'm sorry to hear about you and Lucas." He said, fidgeting around.
Haley looked at his in surprise. "Yeah, it's okay I guess. Life screws you over sometimes and you just have to deal with it."
Mouth nodded. "Oh well, Lucas' loss right?"
Haley gave him a genuine grin and hugged him. "Yeah."
"So…" Mouth began, "What is up with you and Nathan."
Haley looked out at the players. Nathan spotted her, giving her a grin and a wink. She grinned back at him. "Exactly what it seems." She said evasively.
"Okay," Mouth didn't have time to decipher her comment because the game started right then. He flipped on his recorder, "Welcome Tree Hill to the Tree Hill Ravens versus Pickerington Morons!"
Haley elbowed him in the ribs and laughed.
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Haley was getting into the game. She was screaming along with the rest of the crowd. It was a really close game, both sides winning many times during the duration of the game.
As the final buzzer sounded, everyone in the auditorium (at least, on the Ravens side) let out a simultaneous 'whoosh' of relief and started cheering like crazy. She saw Peyton motioning her from the sidelines and tried to make her way over, while trying to maneuver through the crowd that was now pouring down onto the court.
She finally got to Peyton, all disheveled, "Hey."
Peyton ruffled Haley's hair even more, "Listen, you going to Tim's party?"
"Yeah," Haley turned around, looking for Nathan, "Nathan is going to give me a ride over.
"You wearing…that?" Peyton asked, looking down at Haley's sweater and jeans.
Haley frowned, Peyton usually wasn't into fashion thing, and so it was really odd. "Yeah…why?"
Before Peyton could answer, Haley was swept off her feet and twirled around. Haley giggled as Nathan gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.
"We won!" He exuberantly announced the obvious. "Listen, I gotta shower. Are you going to hang around here? Or what do you want to do?"
"Pick her up from my house." Peyton firmly said, grabbing Haley's arm, before she could protest.
Nathan smirked, "Going to make her look sexy? Too late."
Peyton and Nathan laughed, as Haley blushed and pouted. "I'm right here!"
"Yeah yeah." Peyton dismissed, "Listen, just pick her up from my house in 45 minutes kay?"
Nathan sighed, "45 minutes you say. Is that girl time?"
"No, real time. Now hurry up and say goodbye Haley. I'm going to go find Jake." Peyton scurried off, disappearing quickly into the crowd.
Haley smiled, "I swear, they need to get together. They are so cute!"
Nathan hugged her, noticing that Lucas was looking their way, with Brooke trying to catch his attention. "So, seriously, you up for this party?"
Haley smiled, "Yeah. I am. Okay, I'm going to let you go, the sooner you shower, the quicker you can help me escape from Peyton's clutches."
Nathan laughed, letting go of her. "Okay, see you in 45 real minutes?"
Haley gave him a kiss on the cheek, knowing that Lucas was watching, "You betcha."
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A/N– More drama in the next chapter! Thank you guys so much for the replies! I want to get this chapter out ASAP because I have to go pack!
Kristen (first of all, thank you for the praise :D) Yeah, my Lucas and Haley are different. I wanted to Lucas to come off a bit cockier but still confused. He is a very confused soul on the show, which is evident. But I think he doesn't realize the consequences of his actions. Haley is also naïve, but she is confused because she felt that she could have trusted Lucas. But Haley is also the type of person to not hold a grudge and try to find the best in everyone.
HalesnLukeBFF4ever– Thank you for your comment :D My muse for Shattered Piece is currently taking a vacation in the Bahamas. Hopefully I will have something by next week!
was-an-angel – Interesting has only begun! Thanks for replying!
onetrueself– Glad you find it funny. That is my goal, but like I said, I have an odd sense of humor!
Bre – Totally agree with Nathan and Haley being the best. I sure hope they end up together on the show now!
Mia – Glad you liked the quote! I gacked it from somewhere, sadly I can't remember where :X
Okay, I hope you guys have a GREAT New Years and see you all in 2005!
3, Tina