Thank you for all the feedback so far, it's totally made my day: ) Also happy birthday to one of my readers, 1ThNalEy23. It's quite ironic I got this finished off on the same day you asked, lol. Hope you guys like this chapter! And thanks muchly to my great pal, Tejal for beta-ing this chapter for me.


Chapter 5

Haley sauntered into the school the next day, her head held high—determination evident on her features. She blew off people who seemed to come up to her to feebly mock her and continued right where she wanted to go. Haley paused, looking over her shoulder once before plastering on a smirk that rivalled the infamous Scott brothers' and pushed open the door to the boys' locker room.

As soon as the heels of her shoes hit the locker room floor, she heard the whispering start. The whispering that she was so used to now. Without giving anyone a second glance, Haley strolled pass the few jocks left in the room—all of whom she assumed were Nathan's minions.

A few of them seemed shocked, their mouths opened in horror as she walked into the locker-room, while others winked and whistled at her. Thankfully most were fully clothed by this point, since morning practice had finished a while ago. Haley had known that, and she had also known that Lucas and his friends had left the locker room quite a while ago as well—Lucas was always the first one out.

And Haley also knew that he was always the last one out and he would still be there. After all, it had become common knowledge to her that he took a shower leisurely, longer than a girl, Lucas had told her, because it was usually then that Lucas would take the opportunity to stuff his shoes with stuff that Haley shuddered at the memory of.

Haley continued further down the line of lockers, towards his locker. She'd come in there once or twice in between lessons to make out with Jake and it was then she had noticed his locker right away. It was at the very end, secluded from the rest and to her seemed to be a much deeper shade of blue than the others—a colour of royalty, of power.

She rolled her eyes as she finally saw him, standing with his locker open, freshly out of the shower and joking around with that follower of his. Water droplets trickled down from the tips of his hair and onto his bare and muscular—

Haley quickly shook the thoughts of Nathan's body away and focused back on her mission.

Back on her plan. Her plan of revenge.

With a deep breath, Haley calmly walked over to stand next to him, her back pressed against his neighbouring locker.

"Hi Nathan," Haley greeted with faux sweetness and it was then that Nathan finally noticed her.

And noticed her he did. The moment he turned around to face her, the smirk from his face was wiped off and he almost jumped back in disbelief—realising it was her. He looked around to see everyone else, including Tim who had scampered off at the sight of Haley, seemingly disappear from the locker room—leaving him all alone with her.

"What are you doing here?" He bit out, securing the towel that limply hung off his waist.

Haley snickered at the gesture—was this really the all-powerful Nathan? The manwhore of Tree Hill? The one fidgeting in the presence of a tutor?

God, this plan was going to be easier than she thought.

"I'm not here to cut off your…" Haley indicated, eyeing the bulge hidden beneath Nathan's towel. "If that's what you think."

"What do you want?" Nathan repeated firmly, reaching into his locker to pull out a shirt. The corners of Haley's mouth turned upwards as she saw an opportunity and she quickly placed her hand on Nathan's bare arm, stopping his movement. The soft and gentle touch caught him off guard and he shot back his arm as fast as he could from her touch and gave her a quizzical look. "Tutors don't usually come in here," He shot arrogantly.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I've been in here before. Quite a lot actually." Haley replied, offhandedly.

Nathan was clearly confused by her words and leaned against his locker with his elbow. "Well then, if you're here to tell me how much Lucas is going to get me back for what I did to you yesterday—well, sorry babe, but I don't really give a shit," Nathan responded coldly.

"And honestly, neither do I," Haley replied and sighed as she stood in front of him again. "Look, I—I'm actually here because I wanted to personally thank you, Nathan."

"Thank me?"

"For what you did to me sans the public humiliation of course. I guess I want to thank you for showing me who Jake really was. Your little plan with Peyton, it made me realise that Jake wasn't who I thought he was and not the guy I wanted to be with. If he fell for your game so easily—he wasn't worth my time and I'm glad I found that out now and that was because of you. So thank you," Haley said softly and gave Nathan a genuine smile.

"W-what?" Nathan spluttered, shocked that she had just thanked him.

"You had balls to do what you did. I'm not saying I'm exactly happy about it, but you did get Lucas and you got me—I'll admit that. But, you also showed me the truth and for that I truly am thankful," Haley declared, looking into his eyes that were reflecting sheer bewilderment.

"What are you up to?" Nathan finally stirred deeply and Haley's smile just grew wider.

"Nothing. I just wanted to say thanks and now I have," Haley replied, her eyes twinkled with each word. She turned to walk away before looking back at Nathan one more time. "Guess I'll see you in math later," She added sweetly, shooting him a small wave and Nathan just looked at her—still so completely confused.

"She's insane." Nathan whispered to himself, before Tim came back and slapped him on the back, breaking him out of his reverie.

"Hey man. What did Tutor Chick want?"

"I honestly have no idea," Nathan declared. "She said I had balls…and she thanked me."

"She thanked you for having balls?" Tim asked.

"No, she thanked me for fucking her and Jake up. Can you believe that?" Nathan exclaimed.

"You think she's up to something?"

"I know she's up to something. I just don't know what," Nathan said, throwing a sweatshirt over his head.

"Maybe she likes you," Tim posed, but the maniacal laugh from Nathan was enough to shut him up as Nathan just slammed his locker shut and walked off.

---

Haley looked back at her reflection in the large mirror in the girl's bathroom and breathed a sigh of relief, as she splashed some water on her face and took a few more intakes of quick breaths before smiling proudly.

Proud. Haley was actually proud of herself. Proud that she had accomplished phase 1 of her plan without a hitch, with ease.

She knew she sucked at acting. She was the world's worst liar and everyone saw through it—but today she had made an effort and she knew Nathan hadn't been able to read the true her at all. Her words and actions confused him, really confused him and it was wonderful!

Haley chuckled at the memory of Nathan fidgeting. It was seeing a change in his attitude that helped her slip into her role of seductress, of smooth and sexy Haley, which was someone she had almost no experience at being. The role of flirting with him had just seemed natural to her after awhile as her gaze fell on those tantalising blue eyes—or well…after she sensed that arrogance in his voice and knew revenge was going to be sweet.

Yes, Nathan was an arrogant ass and would always be and Haley had to get him back.

Looking back at her appearance, a devious smile quirked on the sides of her mouth as her eyes met her own reflection's.

She would get her revenge on him. She would take part in this feud. She would break Nathan's heart.

And she would do it by herself.

After tying her hair back with a small band and lightly brushing her tongue across her lips to get rid of some of the lip gloss that she'd lapped on that morning, Haley left the bathroom and casually flung her bag over her shoulder. She began to gradually walk towards her maths classroom when suddenly a hand gripped her wrist and swung her around. Haley swerved in shock and when her feet finally settled on the ground again, she looked up at her provoker and her eyes were suddenly filled with hate.

"Let go of me, Jake!" Haley exclaimed callously and tried to release her arm from her ex-boyfriend's grip.

"Look, I just want to talk to you, Hales. I want to explain—you need to know what really happened," Jake sputtered.

"It was pretty self-explanatory."

"Haley…" Jake pleaded but she shook her head.

"No, Jake. I don't want to hear anything you have to say, because I told you that I never wanted to see you again and you know what? I actually meant it. Because unlike you, I mean what I say," Haley bit out, whipping her arm out of his hold.

"Haley!" Jake called, in exasperation as he tried to get a hold of her again—to let him explain, but she just moved a few steps back.

"Goodbye, Jake!" She exclaimed with vicious look, before running off down the hall away from him.

Jake sighed, as he stood still watching her go. Suddenly, a perfectly manicured hand snaked in through his arm. Jake turned to his side as Brooke hooked her arm with his and gave him her most perfect smile.

"Wow, now that was just harsh. You know there's a certain blonde that won't treat you the way that she just did, Jake. She didn't when you cheated on her did she?" Brooke posed. Jake flinched at her touch and looked at her coldly.

"I didn't cheat on Peyton, Brooke," He declared.

"Tomatoe, tomato. Whatever," Brooke replied with a small laugh. "But you did cheat on that girl didn't you?"

"You guys set me up," Jake bit out.

"No. You've got it all wrong, Jakey. All we did was make your path clearer. Showed you your way," Brooke replied. She then casually placed a hand on her hip and continued with a small eye roll, "Please, like Tutor Freak was really your one true love."

"Brooke…"

"Jake, just remember who was there for you when you needed someone the most. Who was the first person to make you feel like this place was home? The person that you love?" Brooke addressed. Brooke's smile grew wider as she noticed the sudden consideration in Jake's eyes.

"I-I don't…" Jake started, but was interrupted by a hard whack on his back. He turned to see who it was and suddenly paled. "Lucas!"

Lucas stared frostily at Jake and spoke grimly, "We need to talk."

"Ugh, are you guys going to battle it out in the hall?" Brooke suddenly broke sarcastically and that was when Lucas finally turned to her. "Y'know, the punching thing is so clichéd. And if anything, you should handle this out in the courtyard."

"This doesn't concern you," Lucas declared, looking right into Brooke's eyes. Brooke just smiled back at him though, his steely gaze not faltering her at all.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come in the way of your lover's tiff," Brooke replied and then placed a hand softly on Lucas' shoulder, who looked up at her quizzically. "I'm sure you guys have bloodshed in store and all and I know you don't want me to get hurt—so I guess I'll leave," She then licked her lips and gave Lucas and Jake a small wink, "Talk to you later."

Jake shot her a nervous smile as she walked away from them and closed his eyes for a moment before looking up at Lucas. Lucas' gaze followed Brooke as well as she sauntered down the hallway before he turned back to Jake, who was suddenly very uneasy.

"Look, Luke—" Jake began but Lucas cut him off.

"You broke Haley's heart, Jake and with that everything is over between us. You hurt Haley and you are dead to me," Lucas asserted, hostility oozing from his tone.

"Nathan set me up, Lucas. You know he did. Peyton came on to me," Jake argued.

"I know," Luke said, angrily. "And that's why your legs are still functioning. But don't think just because Nathan was behind it I'm going to forgive you. You did apparently kiss Peyton back and bottom line is that you hurt Haley—and that is something I will take up with you later," Lucas threatened. "Once I deal with Nathan, don't think I won't come for you, Jake."

Jake nodded solemnly in understanding as Lucas marched away from him.

---

Haley slowly pulled out her pencil case from her bag waiting for her math class to begin. She had rushed into the room after her clash with Jake, several minutes before the lesson had begun and she was glad she was the first one in, because the moment she had stepped into the room, hot tears sprung to her eyes—tears that she had tried to hide from Jake.

She had been strong that morning, claiming that nothing would hurt her or get her down. She had mentally prepared herself to be strong, to fight her own battles. But the moment her eyes met Jake's, those innocent, pleading eyes, she had felt a flicker of emotion for him again—and it was because of that moment of weakness that she had begun to cry.

She hated herself for crying over him. For being affected by a stupid boy and his unfaithfulness, but she couldn't stop the tears—that was until she thought of her plan again.

Haley knew that was her only way forward, the only thing that would end her cycle of humiliation and betrayal. She would follow Karen's advice that 'when someone hurts us, we get them back' but instead she would apply it to both Nathan and Jake.

She would make Nathan fall for her. Make him feel the way she did with Jake. She would manipulate him, use him to her advantage and then she would dump him the first chance she got, so to break his heart and embarrass him for years to come because he would be the hot shot that got dumped by the tutor girl.

And as for Jake? She would flirt with Nathan; show him more care than she ever did with Jake. She would show Jake that she was over him and that Nathan, the guy who he thought was a swine, was better than him. She would show him she liked the son of Satan a lot more than she liked him—and she knew that would kill Jake.

As she went over her plan a few more times in her head, her smile grew larger and the tears quickly dried up. Haley knew that this scheme would not only get to the two that hurt her, but it would also help her forget the pain she was in right now.

Pain she needed to forget to live a happier life.

After taking a deep breath and pacing the room a few times, Haley sat down at her desk and took out her books. As students began to finally file into the room, she pulled out one of her pencils and began to aimlessly doodle a cute little heart on her desk as she waited for her teacher to finish calling out their names for attendance. She mumbled a pitiful 'here' for hers, as she continued to dig the tip of lead into the wooden table—her gaze avoiding everyone else's in the room. She could tell all their eyes were on her as they whispered behind her back.

Haley continued to ignore them when the noises suddenly intensified and then she heard little giggles escape from the ditzy girl on her left. Haley's eyes drifted in the direction the girl was looking at and realised then that the whispers were thankfully not for her, as she watched Nathan stroll casually into the room. Their teacher made a remark about his usual tardiness and Nathan shot back with a quirk of his own as the class laughed. Nathan then walked over and plopped down into the empty desk next to hers and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Wow, you actually showed up," Haley remarked, the words slipping out before she even had a chance to think of them. Nathan cocked his head at her in surprise that she was talking to him, let alone in class, and gave her that infamous smirk of his.

"I didn't want to miss the reaction to your dumping, babe." He responded smoothly. Suddenly everyone in the room fell quiet as they eavesdropped into their conversation and awaited her response, seeing new gossip being created on the spot.

Haley paused for a moment as she chewed her lip self-consciously, feeling every classmate's eye on her. She inhaled deeply, before looking back at Nathan. She hesitated a second longer before she gave him a huge smile, trying to pretend that his words hadn't affected her. "And here I thought it was to tell me that showers don't do you any favors," She said evenly, her gaze falling down to Nathan's lap.

Her remark even caused a small rose tint to appear on the great Nathan Scott's cheeks as he moved in his seat while the class erupted into 'ooohs' and a chorus of whispers. But it took only a moment for Nathan to straighten up in his seat and appear as cool and collected as he always was. He flashed her a smile, before moving his desk closer to Haley's and leaned in towards her, his face a few inches away from hers.

"Well, if you have any doubts, I'll show you the real deal," He whispered huskily with a wink. Haley arched her eyebrow in surprise and she held back a gasp at his words, before she slowly nodded at him.

"I may hold you to that," She said sweetly after a moment's hesitation, causing little creases of confusion to appear on his forehead.

And that was the last comment the two shared for the day as their teacher began the class and Nathan moved his desk back. He slowly slipped back into his chair, leaning perfectly and propping his feet up comfortably on the boy in front of him's chair as he stared at the wall clock, his gaze anywhere but on her.

A satisfied Haley turned back to her doodle and a huge, almost evil smile played on her lips. She once again picked up her pencil and jammed the lead tip into the contours of the table—

Drawing an arrow straight through the heart.


TBC