He's never noticed Haley James before, but since Lucas mentioned her he's found himself taking an interest.
She sits a row in front of him, two seats to his right. He watches her carefully- not his usual type…but kinda pretty. He tends to go for skinny blondes and blue eyes are always nice. Haley James has brown hair- thick, glossy and obviously unstyled. He hasn't really looked at her eyes yet- he's thinking maybe a dark green.
She turns around to talk to some girl and she catches his steadfast gaze. Brown eyes he notices- kind of a nice golden brown. He keeps his eyes fixed on hers, unfazed that she's caught him looking at her. Nathan isn't easily embarrassed, and he's very competitive. No way is he gonna be first to look away…
She breaks it quickly. He wins- but it's something of an empty victory. He wouldn't have minded keeping the connection for a little while longer.
He wonders if Lucas really is interested in her….then convinces himself no. Lucas can't be interested…he was just asking about her out of curiosity. Besides all his previous girlfriends hadn't been anything like this girl. Look at Brooke for gods sakes! Could Haley James, with her bookish interests and bad dress sense and pretty but completely innocent looks be any more different from the fabulous Brooke Davis? Lucas had his pick of the crop anyway- any girl he wanted could be his in a matter of days. Why would he pick some random girl that neither of them had ever even noticed before. No. Lucas can't be interested he only just broke up with Brooke after all. Not that that seemed to matter- Lucas had been absent from the Scott household for the whole weekend, including the bank holiday Monday. Hanging out with some mystery girl apparently. He had come home on Monday night happier than Nathan had seen him for a long time. Seeing the usually broody Lucas so chipper was a little unnerving for Nate. And since Lucas clearly had someone else on his mind then it wouldn't matter if Nathan was to do something unexpected…ask Haley James to the school formal say…
He had been wondering about who to take for a while. He had broken up with Peyton recently and she was so pissed at him, she probably wouldn't speak to him for weeks, let alone go to a dance with him. Aside from Peyton he couldn't really think of anyone he would like to take, until he noticed Haley James.
Well why not? He could plainly see that she was one of those nice girls. The kind that gave everyone a fair chance and was friendly with most people. She offered to be Jared Binchy's lab partner when he was (as usual) the only one left without a partner. And she did it in a nice way- that made it seem like she was glad to be offering and not doing it out of pity. He didn't know anyone else who would touch Jared Binchy with a barge pole. She was obviously smart and from the conversations he'd had with her when they did group work he knew she was easy to talk to. And funny. And she was very pretty.
"What're you thinking about Nate?" asked Rosemary Malone, the stunning red head Nathan had to blame for his breakup with Peyton. Well, technically it hadn't been completely Rosemary's fault that Peyton had caught them hooking up at Jake's party….but if she had looked a little less hot and worn a few more clothes it would have been a lot easier to resist.
He smirks at her flirtatiously. He swore he'd stay away from girls like Rosemary for a while. But sometimes he just can't help himself.
"Nothing much. Just who to ask to the formal…"
Rosemary simpers prettily, taking his flirtatious grin to be a hint.
"Well, no-one's asked me yet…"
Some girls are just so unsubtle Nathan thinks to himself, losing interest in the game already.
"That's surprising…"
The bell rings and Nathan wants to catch Haley before she gets away. He gets up abruptly, grabbing his bag and jacket.
"See you round Rose…"
He leaves Rosemary Malone with a shocked expression. She assures herself that he'll ask her to the formal tomorrow- or later on today perhaps.
Nathan walks quickly to catch up with Haley,
"Hey Haley." he calls out before she can disappear from sight.
She turns and look surprised but not displeased to see Nathan hurrying to catch up with her.
He hands her a thick notebook.
"Thanks for the notes…big help…"
She looks confused as she takes them back.
"Ummm….didn't I lend these to Rosemary? Unless I've had a sudden lapse in memory or something…"
As ever Nathan is unfazed. He's always been the charmer in the family. He grins that famous charismatic grin and replies.
"Yeah, I was having a bit of trouble so Rose leant me the notes you leant her. Hope you don't mind…"
"No not at all." she smiles gracefully and when he sees that smile, Nathan suddenly finds that he doesn't hold the upper hand in this situation at all.
As he walks away he makes his decision. He's definitely going to ask her to the formal. No question about it.