Thank you all so much for the great reviews! Means the world to me. Keep 'em coming:)

Chapter 3

"Lucas, I don't wanna go." Haley whined on the phone. She was lying on her bed trying to talk some sense into Lucas.

"Oh, come on Hales. This is the perfect opportunity to get to know them. Remember, we need to find out if they're trying to screw us over." Lucas said.

"I don't care. I just don't wanna go."

"Haley, what's this really about?"

"What? I told you. I just don't wanna go. It's stupid." she said and got up from her bed. She started to pace around her room. Would Lucas know that she was lying?

"Nice try. What's going on, Hales?" he asked concerned. Haley sighed. She should've known that she couldn't lie to Lucas.

"Nothing." she said quietly.

"Come on, Haley. Tell me what's bothering you." Lucas said.

"Alright, alright! I don't have anything to wear!" she finally confessed.

"What? That's the stupidest reason not to go. Come on, I know you've got something. And since when do you care what you wear, anyway?" Lucas said.

"Since I found out I have to go to a West party. This totally sucks, Luke! Tonight's gonna be a disaster! I can feel it."

"No, it's not. And don't care about the clothes. Just put on some jeans and a shirt. Oh, and don't forget your swimsuit." Lucas said laughing. "It's time for us to have some fun, Haley."

"We have fun." she said stubbornly.

"You know what I mean. Come on, Hales. You know a party won't be a party without you."

"Awww thanks."

"You have to come. I dare you to."

"You dare me? What are you, twelve?"

"Sure, if it'll make you come. Me and Jake don't-"

"Jake and I!"

"-wanna go there without you. Come one, Haleyyyyy…" Lucas said.

"Ok! Ok, I'll come!"

"Good!"

"Which one of you is driving?" Haley asked.

"Jake."

"What about Jenny? He usually never leaves her for a party. That's weird." Haley said.

"He was gonna stay home but his parents insisted that he should hang out with us tonight and have fun since it's the last chance before school starts. He's driving just to be sure that if something happens to Jenny he can always leave. Anyways, be ready at 8." Lucas said smiling.

"Bye Luke." Haley said.

"See ya then." he said before hanging up.

Few hours later

"This is a bad idea…" Haley mumbled under her breath. She was in her room trying to decide what to wear. It was almost 8. She had been on the phone with her parents who were visiting her sister Quinn in Chicago. They had told her to have fun and take care of herself. And to not have sex on the beach. Haley loved her parents but sometimes she thought she was the only mature one in their family.

Haley looked at her clothes that she had pulled from her closet. Lots of jeans, sweatshirts and sweatpants, t-shirts and soccer shorts.

"I need new clothes." she mumbled. She heard a car honk outside. She groaned and quickly chose the first pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt she found. She took her backpack and put a small bottle of vodka in there. Then she threw a bikini top and small pair of shorts in there. She ran downstairs, put on some flip flops and got in the car.

"Finally." Lucas said when Haley got into the car.

"Sorry…" she mumbled.

"No problem." Lucas said. "You ready to go?"

"Yep." Haley said.

"Alright then, let's go!" Jake said and reversed from Haley's driveway. When they got closer to the party they noticed a lot of people walking on the streets. Lots of teenagers.

"Are they all going to the party?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know. I guess we'll see." Jake said. They drove in front of the beach house and even managed to get a parking spot close by. They got out of the car and started to walk towards the front door.

"I think we should have a signal. You know if someone wants to leave." Haley said.

"Haley-" Lucas started but Haley ignored him.

"I think we should 'caw'. Caw! Yeah, that sounds good. Caw! Caw! Caw!" Haley cawed. People were starting to stare at her.

"Haley, stop cawing. We gotcha. If we wanna leave, we caw. Now let's-"

Haley cawed.

"-just get inside and have fun. And remember, we have to get to know them. That's the only way we can find out if they're trying to pull something."

"This is a bad idea." Haley said.

"Come on, Haley. Cheer up." Jake said.

"I'm telling you, this is a bad idea." Haley repeated. She had that feeling that something horrible was going to happen.

"Yeah, you already told us. You gotta be more cheery!" Lucas said when they got to the front door.

"Cheery!" Haley asked while opening the front door. They saw Brooke, Peyton and Nathan and some of his buddies standing there. The whole room went quiet when they saw the Easts enter the house. Haley just stared at everyone. Then she turned to look at Lucas.

"You want cheery? I'll give you cheery." she hissed at him. Then she threw her hands in the air and yelled as load as she could in an über-cheerful voice: "Party in da house!"

She turned to look at Lucas with a sullen look. "Cheery enough?" Lucas just nodded while trying not to burst out laughing. Haley turned to look at Nathan who was still staring at her because of her little outburst.

"Where's the kitchen?" she asked. Nathan just pointed his finger towards the back of the house. Haley went there. The whole room was still quiet and watching Haley make her way towards the kitchen.

"She always this crazy?" Nathan asked from Lucas. They were both still staring after her. On her way to the kitchen she pushed some blonde hoe against the wall with one hand just because she was blocking her way.

"Man, you have no idea." Lucas said. They were both quiet for a while then suddenly turned to look at each other. Did they just have a conversation? Without any insults? Without wanting to kill each other? They both coughed and turned back to their friends.

Haley made her way into the kitchen. She needed a drink badly. She set her backpack on the kitchen counter and opened the fridge. She took a big bottle of sprite out and set it on the counter. She looked for a glass but couldn't find any so she started to go through the cabinets.

"Decided to make yourself at home, huh." Haley turned around to see Nathan smirking at her.

"Yeah, gotta problem?" she said and continued to search for a glass.

"Ooh, a feisty one. You need something?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, where the hell do you keep your glasses?" Haley asked giving up. Nathan smirked and walked towards Haley. When he was right in front of her, he raised his hand to open the cabinet above Haley's head. Without breaking eye connection, he took a glass out and handed it to Haley.

"Thanks." Haley said and looked into Nathan's eyes. She blinked, took the glass and moved back to where her backpack was and started to go through it. She pulled out a small bottle of vodka. Nathan stared at her pour a little bit of vodka on the bottom of the glass and then drink it. Then she poured some more and opened the Sprite bottle.

"Do you have to stare?" Haley spitted out.

"Yeah, gotta problem?" Nathan repeated Haley's words from earlier. Haley just rolled her eyes and poured some sprite into the glass so it was full.

"Vodka and Sprite. Nice choice."

"Thank you."

"But you didn't have to bring your own alcohol. We have 3 kegs here." he said.

"Thanks but no thanks. I don't drink beer."

"Good to know." he said. They stared at each other for a while. Haley looked around the kitchen.

"Nice kitchen." she said.

"Thanks, you want a tour around the house?" he asked. Haley didn't know what to say. Luckily she didn't have to because she noticed Lucas motioning for her to come over where he was.

"Raincheck?" Haley said while grabbing the sprite and the vodka bottles and putting them in her backpack. She took the glass that was filled with mix and took a sip.

"Yeah, sure." he said and watched her go towards Lucas.

"How's it going?" Nathan heard a whisper in his ear. He turned to see Brooke there.

"Jesus, you scared me. I didn't even hear you come behind me." he said.

"I'm sneaky. So, any success with our lil' Ms. James?" Brooke asked.

"Not much. I'm gonna give her a tour around the house later. Maybe I can get something out of her then. How about you?"

"Talked with Lucas." Brooke said nonchalantly even though she was really excited about it. "He's not saying anything relevant. I'm gonna keep working on it." she said.

"Where's Peyton?"

"I'm right here." she said behind them.

"Jesus!" Nathan said. "What's with sneakiness?" he asked from the girls.

"Any luck with Jake?" Brooke asked from Peyton ignoring Nathan's comment.

"No, he's not saying anything. He just left with Lucas and Haley. I think they were heading outside."

-------------

"So, any luck finding out if they're trying to pull something?" Haley asked from the guys. They were in their swimming suits holding their towels and walking towards the water. Lucas and Jake had some swimming shorts on and Haley was in her bikini top and a tiny pair of surfing shorts.

"No, Brooke's not saying anything."

"Neither is Peyton."

"Same goes with Nathan."

"Why are we so sure that they are up to something? I mean, Peyton seems really nice and sweet. I don't think she would do anything like that." Jake said. Lucas and Haley looked at each other and smiled.

"Someone's got a crush on a West." Haley singsonged.

"What? No! Come on."

"Dude, just confess it. It's so obvious." Lucas said.

"Sure, she's nice but even if I liked her, nothing could ever happen. There's always Jenny." Jake said.

"So what? She might be ok with the fact that you've gotta kid." Haley said.

"In what universe? Look, Jenny's the only girl in my life and that's the way it's gonna be." Jake said ending the conversation.

"Ok. But you know, if you did wanna date the girl we'd totally accept it, you know. Now that the schools are united there's no west and east really left anymore." Lucas said. Haley and Jake smiled at each other.

"You did not just say that!" Haley said horrified.

"Luke, is that your way of asking our permission to date a West?" Jake asked laughing.

"What? No!" Lucas said choking.

"Dude, you're a terrible liar."

"I'm not lying! Besides, who would I even date?" Lucas asked.

"Like someone by the name of Brooke Davis? I saw you talking to her. You were totally into her. You were actually blushing!" Jake said. Haley burst out laughing.

"Haley, stop laughing!"

"I just can't help it. The thought of you and her together is just so funny. And so unlike." she said while trying to stop laughing. Without succeeding in it.

"Well, what about you and Nathan? Now, there's a funny couple." Jake said laughing.

"What!" Lucas yelled angrily. He didn't want Haley dating his ass of a half-brother. "Haley, please don't tell me you actually like the guy." Lucas said.

"No! He's the biggest asshole in the county." Haley said quickly.

"Good. 'Cause I don't want you dating him. You can do so much better." Lucas said.

"Don't worry. There's nothing going on between us. I was just making conversation. You know, getting to know the enemy like you wanted." she said more to herself than to Lucas. She couldn't help but feel intrigued by Nathan and she didn't even know why.

"Good." They were now almost in the water. They stopped.

"I'm so not gonna swim." Haley said changing the subject. The guys looked at each other with a devilish grin. Slowly they started to walk closer to Haley. She noticed that and looked at them suspiciously.

"What are you guys do- You're gonna throw me in the water, aren't you." the guys didn't say anything. Haley started to back down from the guys while they walked towards her.

"Well, you're gonna have to catch me first!" she yelled and started to run as fast as she could. The guys sprinted after her. Catching her turned out to be harder then they thought. She wasn't faster than the guys but she was so small that she was able to slip away whenever they thought they had her. Finally the guys caught her. Lucas took a hold of her hands and Jake grabbed her legs and they started to drag her towards the water.

"Let me go!" Haley was yelling and laughing at the same time. They finally reached the water.

"Jake, you ready? On three!" Lucas said. "One. Two. Three!" they threw a screaming Haley in the water. She quickly got up and started to run after Lucas and Jake. She tackled Jake in the water and together they got Lucas. They were having so much fun that they didn't notice four pairs of eyes following their every move.

Brooke, Peyton, Tim and Nathan were sitting on the porch watching them.

"It's like Dawson's Creek. Only so much worse." Brooke said in disgust when she saw Lucas hugging Haley before pushing her in the water.

"Oh, come on Brooke." Peyton said. "They're just having fun."

"Well, it's annoying for the rest of us. Who invited them anyway?" she said. Nathan and Peyton both turned to look at Brooke. "Ok, so I did. I wonder if you can un-invite someone." she mumbled while staring at Haley.

"I thought they weren't dating anyone." Tim said.

"They're not." Nathan said. "Brooke's just jealous."

"What? I'm not jealous! And even if I were, which I'm not, I definitely wouldn't be jealous of her." Brooke said the last word with disgust.

"Come on, it's so obvious. You've got the hots for Lucas Scott. An East!" Peyton said smiling.

"Oh, you two are ones to talk! You-" Brooke pointed at Peyton. "-are totally into that Jake. And you-" she pointed at Nathan. "-have been staring at that Haley girl ever since she got in the house. So, I may find an East attractive but I'm not the only one." She finished and they all turned to stare at Lucas, Jake and Haley. They were sitting on the beach apparently talking about something funny about Haley because Lucas and Jake were laughing out loud and Haley was holding her head in embarrassment.

"...and then she hit her mailbox!" Lucas finished telling the story to Jake and they were both laughing out loud.

"Luke! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!" Haley said trying not to laugh.

"Oh, come one Hales! You know Jake doesn't count." He said.

"Yeah..." she said. "But seriously, I don't want anyone else to know. I mean it!" she said seriously.

"We promise not to tell anyone." They both said. Suddenly Jake's cell phone started to ring. He looked at the caller id and answered the phone with a worried look.

"Dad, is everything ok?... Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can." Jake said and hung up. He turned to look at them with a serious face.

"Caw?" Haley cawed lightly.

"Is everything alright?" Lucas asked concerned.

"Umh actually no." He said and got up. "Jenny's got a fever." Jake said shaking.

"Oh no! I'm sure she's gonna be fine." Haley said.

"Yeah.. Listen guys, I gotta go home. Can you get a ride from someone else?" Jake asked.

"Of course but we could come with you." Lucas offered.

"No, no. You guys stay here. Have fun."

"Are you sure?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He said. Haley hugged him goodbye.

"Call us." Lucas said. Jake nodded and turned to run back in the house to get his stuff. Peyton saw him get inside the house.

"Umh, I'm gonna get a drink." She said and left. She saw Jake put his shirt on and gather his stuff.

"You leaving already?" Peyton asked disappointed.

"Yeah... Got a family emergency..." Jake mumbled.

"Again? You had one the other day when we were at River court." Peyton said confused. Jake just stared at her. He suddenly got a strong urge to tell her the truth about Jenny. He shook the feeling off.

"It's none of your business." He said harshly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to hit a nerve." She said quietly and left the room with a hurt look on her face. Jake was about to go after her when he remembered Jenny. Apologising to Peyton would just have to wait.

-------------

"I hope Jenny's ok." Lucas said. Lucas and Haley were walking slowly back to the house.

"Yeah... Oh my god." Haley suddenly said and stopped. Lucas turned to look at her.

"What?"

"I was right. I told you something bad was gonna happen tonight! I told you I had that feeling." Haley said.

"Come on, it's just a coincidence." Lucas said.

"I don't believe in coincidences." Haley said.

"You also don't believe in commercial breaks and fat free food."

"I'm a psychic." Haley said ignoring Lucas' comment.

"You're a psycho." Lucas emphasized the last letters. "There's a difference." He said when they got inside the room they left their stuff in.

"Where the hell am I gonna change?" Haley mumbled while making sure the vodka and sprite bottles were still in her backpack.

"I'm gonna go find a bathroom to change and then get a drink. I'll talk to you later." Lucas said.

"You're not gonna leave me alone, are you?" Haley asked with a panicked voice.

"You want me to stay here while you change?" Lucas asked with a weird voice.

"No! God, hell no!" Haley said laughing. Lucas sighed in relief.

"Good, because that would've been just too weird." Lucas said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Too Dawson and Joey for my taste. I meant that I hope you're hanging out with me at the party and not leaving me alone." Haley said.

"Actually I was thinking about trying to get to know the Wests a little bit better." Lucas said.

"You're kidding, right?" Haley asked. Lucas just smiled apologetically.

"Unbelievable!" Haley said and threw her hands in the air in frustration.

"Haley, we came here to get to know them, remember?" Lucas said.

"I know. I just didn't know I was supposed to get to know them by myself." Haley whined. She saw Lucas smiling at her in sympathy. She hated that.

"But I understand. Ditching your best friend for some West whore is apparently more important to you." Haley said in an overdramatic voice and smiled at him, letting him know she was joking.

"Yeah, you can totally see through me." Lucas joked.

"I know, I'm psychic, remember?" Haley said grinning.

"Yes, I remember you're a psycho." Lucas said laughing.

"Whatever, now go make some friends." Haley said and started to lightly push him out of the room.

"Ok, ok, I'm going. See you here in a few hours." He said before disappearing from the room. Haley sighed deeply and looked around the room. There was no way in hell she was gonna leave the room until Lucas came back. It was a small room with a direct access to the beach. It had a few chairs and a table in it along with a small kitchen. She noticed the kitchen and went to find a glass from the cabinets. She heard the door open and turned around to find a sad looking Peyton coming in. She froze when she saw her.

"Oh, I didn't know anyone was here." She said and started to go.

"No, it's ok. You can stay." Haley said remembering that she was supposed to get to know them. She also remembered Jake telling her that Peyton seemed really nice.

"If you're sure." Peyton said quietly and sat down on one of the chairs. Haley came back with two glasses.

"You want a drink?" Haley asked.

"Sure." Peyton said. Haley set the glasses on table and poured some vodka and sprite in them.

"Cheers." Haley said when she lifted the glass in the air. Peyton did the same and both took a drink. Haley saw Peyton looking sad.

"Are you ok?" Haley asked quietly. "I know it's not my place to ask since we barely even know each other..." Haley mumbled. Peyton smiled a small smile at Haley and drank some of the mix.

"I'm fine. Just a little sad."

"Something you wanna talk about?" Haley asked.

"Naw, it's nothing big. This guy I kinda like was pretty mean to me tonight." Peyton said not wanting to tell any details because she didn't want Haley to find out she was talking about Jake.

"I'm sorry." Haley said sincerely.

"Thanks." Peyton said quietly. "Guys suck!" she suddenly said louder. Haley started to laugh.

"I don't think I'm the person you should be talking about this." Haley said smiling.

"Why?" Peyton asked.

"All of my friends are guys." Haley said.

"How does that work? Who do you go when you want to talk about girly stuff?" Peyton asked while sipping the drink Haley gave her.

"Like what?" Haley asked.

"Like... let's say shopping."

"I don't shop."

"Ok, how about make up?"

"Have you seen my face? I don't wear make up."

"Ok, how about when you have your period and you feel like crap?" Peyton challenged while drinking her mix.

"The guys usually know when I have my period. Then they avoid me for 5 days." Haley saw Peyton looking confused.

"I get moody when I'm PMSing." Haley said.

"So what? We all do."

"Naw, it's more than that with me. I get really moody." Haley said emphasizing the word 'really'.

"So you do what, yell at people? That's normal." Peyton said.

"With me it's more like throwing stuff." Haley said.

"What?" Peyton asked laughing. "What do you throw?"

"Well, now that the guys know to stay away from me, I don't throw that much stuff anymore. But once, I think it was like 3 years ago, I threw an ash tray at Jake."

"You're kidding." Peyton said laughing.

"It hit him in the head. He's still got a small scar above his left eyebrow." Haley said smiling.

"That's funny." Peyton said and drank some more. She'd like to throw an ash tray at Jake right about now.

"I think I just had my first girl talk." Haley said smiling.

"I feel honored." She said smiling back. Haley noticed that Peyton's glass was empty.

"Jesus, you drink fast! Mine's still half empty."

"Half full." Peyton said and smiled.

"Whatever. Wanna refill?"

"You betcha." She said smirking.

"We need some music here." Haley mumbled while pouring more alcohol.

"Hey, I can fix that." Peyton said and got up quickly. She almost fell back on the chair when she felt the alcohol's effect.

"You ok?" Haley asked smiling.

"Yeah, that's some good shit you got there." She said while pointing at the vodka. "I know Nate keeps a cd-player somewhere here." She said and started to look for it.

"Found it and there's also some burned cd inside so we don't have to go back in the house to get one." Peyton said happily while holding the cd-player. She plugged it and pushed "play". Some rap song started to play.

"Ugh, I hate rap. They all sound the same." Peyton said. "All the rappers are so full of themselves. Like the one we're listening to. Who the hell is he anyway?" Peyton wondered.

"Nas." Haley said while taking a sip.

"What?"

"Nas. The one who we're listening to."

"How do you know?" Peyton asked.

"The guys." Haley just answered. Peyton finished her drink.

"Shit, you're fast." Haley said.

"It's hot in here." Peyton said. "Are you hot?"

"Well, I would like to think I'm pretty attractive." Haley joked. Peyton looked at her confused.

"No. I don't feel hot." Haley said laughing while watching Peyton grab the vodka bottle and pour herself another drink.

"Woah! Not so much vodka." Haley said and took the bottle from her. She poured as much Sprite as she could on Peyton's glass. Peyton was clearly getting drunk.

"I wonder why." Peyton said.

"Why what?"

"You're not hot."

"That's because I'm wearing bikinis and a pair of shorts while you're wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt." Haley said laughing.

"It's so hot in here." Peyton said.

"I have a t-shirt in my backpack. You want to wear that?"

"Yeah!" Peyton said happily. She threw her shirt off so fast Haley didn't even have time to blink.

"Looks like you've got some practise on that." Haley grinned while taking her t-shirt out of her backpack. She gave it to Peyton. Peyton was about to put in on when she suddenly ran to the cd-player and turned the volume up.

"I love this song!" she yelled when she heard 'Let's Get Retarded' by Black Eyed Peas on the cd-player. She stood up on the other chair and started to dance.

"Come on, Haley! Dance with me." Peyton started to pull Haley towards the chair.

"Oh no no no no! I don't dance. Ever." She said.

"Oh come on!" she said and wouldn't let go of her. Haley sighed and remembered Lucas' words about having fun tonight.

"Oh, fuck it." She said and took a big sip straight from the vodka bottle. She let out a small "Woo!" and climbed on the chair with Peyton and started to dance.

-----------

"Nate, we're out of orange juice." Tim said. He and Nathan were standing on the balcony on the second floor.

"Where's everyone?"

"Starting the bonfire. Nate. Orange juice. Out.

"What do you need orange juice for?" Nate asked.

"To mix with vodka."

"Use Sprite." He said remembering Haley.

"But orange juice is better." Tim whined.

"I think we have some juice in the other kitchen."

"You have another kitchen here somewhere?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, we never use it though. It's downstairs where you get off from beach." Tim was still looking confused.

"Just follow me." Nathan said.

"You're da bomb!" Tim yelled.

"Tim, just say thanks." Nathan said and left.

"Thanks!" Tim yelled and caught up with Nathan. They walked downstairs. When they got closer to the other kitchen, they could hear loud music coming from the room. Nathan looked at Tim confused.

"I thought you said everyone was on the beach."

"That's what I thought." Tim said. Nathan and Tim opened the door and stepped inside. The sight was far better than neither of them could imagine.

Haley and Peyton were standing on a small chair and dancing. They were singing Black Eyed Peas so loud they didn't see or hear the door open. Haley was only wearing a bikini top with a tiny pair of shorts. Peyton, who was clearly the more drunk one, was wearing a pair of jeans and nothing but a bra. Tim and Nathan stared at them their mouths open.

"Yeah, baby!" Tim finally got the words out of his mouth. Haley and Peyton turned to look at the guys. Peyton jumped from the chair, turned the volume down and went to hug the guys. Haley sat down and poured some more vodka for herself.

"Woah! You're drunk, Peyton!" Tim said and hugged the girl back.

"I know. Haley here gave me some vodka. Thank you, Haleyyyy!" Peyton said and smiled a big smile.

"You're welcome. You might wanna put a shirt on." She said grinning. Peyton looked down and realized she was only wearing a bra.

"Oops! Can I still wear yours, Haley? Please? Pleaseeeeee?" Peyton asked.

"Sure." She said.

"Thanks!" she said and put Haley's shirt on. She smiled a big smile then suddenly her face went pale. She put her hands over her mouth. "I don't feel so good." She said before running out of the room. Haley just shook her head in amusement and took another sip from her drink.

"I'm gonna go check on Blondie." Tim said and left the room. Nathan turned to look at Haley. He couldn't help but notice that the girl was hot.

"Is this seat taken?" Nathan said and pointed at the other chair.

"Does it look taken?" Haley challenged. Nathan just smirked and sat down.

"Nice outfit, by the way." Nathan said and smirked when he saw Haley blush a little bit.

"Thanks." She just mumbled.

"So, what's a pretty girl like you doing inside?" Nathan said smirking. Haley just snorted.

"Does that line ever work?" Haley asked.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me." He said and winked. Haley didn't answer, just smiled a little.

"Nice beach house you got here." Haley said politely.

"Thanks. How about that tour?" Nathan asked smirking.

"You know, I might just take you up on your offer." Haley said and got up.

"Oh baby, you can take me anytime anywhere." Nathan said smirking. Haley shook head in amusement.

"But I need to change into my jeans first." Haley mumbled while getting.

"But I like your shorts." Nathan whined but immediately grinned when he checked out Haley's ass when she bent down to get her jeans from her backpack.

"Sad. Now go wait outside." Haley said and pushed him out of the room. She quickly changed her shorts into her jeans, put her cell phone in her pocket and stepped out of the room.

"You ready?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah." She said and they left.

--------------------

"... then we ran out of gas and had to hitchhike the rest of the way home." Brooke finished telling Lucas a story.

"You serious? I could never hitchhike. If it were me, I'd probably end up walking the whole way back." They both laughed. They were standing on the terrace looking at the beach and talking about everything.

"So, tell me. Are you and that Haley girl dating?" Brooke asked grinning.

"No, we're not dating and we never have. Haley's my best friend. Has been since we were 8." Lucas said and smiled when he pictured Haley there getting angry at the question.

"Good to know." Brooke said and winked.

"So, how about you. You dating anyone?" Lucas asked nonchalantly. Brooke looked at him and grinned.

"Why? You wanna ask me out?" Brooke flirted. Lucas looked around to make sure Haley wasn't anywhere close.

"Maybe." He said and winked.

"Well, FYI, I'm not dating anyone. And yes, I would love to go out." Brooke said and smiled at Lucas.

--------------

"What's this room?" Haley asked. She and Nathan were touring the beach house.

"A guest room." Nathan said and closed the door.

"Another? So, you've got 3 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, a family room, a living room which is by the way the size of my entire house, a 3-car garage and a balcony." Haley counted. Then she turned to look at Nathan.

"You rich bastards." She said and they both started to laugh.

"Just remember that money can't buy happiness." Nathan said.

"Well, it can buy you a 42-inch plasma TV and a beach house. And that would make me very happy." Haley said joking. "I'm just kidding. I may not have a brand new car or a mansion but I love my house. It's got everything I need, you know." She said quietly.

"Family's important." Nathan said. Haley and Nathan both sighed when they thought about their own more or less disfunctional families.

"Sometimes families suck." Haley said and they laughed.

"Amen to that. You want a drink?" Nathan asked when they got to the kitchen.

"Yeah, I think I left mine in the other kitchen." Haley said.

"What do we have here..." Nathan mumbled while they opened the fridge.

"Ooh! Someone made margaritas!" Haley said excited and took the whole pint out.

"Yeah, that'd be Peyton." Nathan said.

"Well, she ain't drinking that tonight." Haley grinned and took two glasses out of the cabinet. Nathan filled their glasses. They started to walk towards the bonfires. It was already dark outside so the only thing they could see was the fire from th
e bonfires.

"You want smores?" Nathan asked.

"Ooh, I love smores." Haley said excited.

"I take that as a yes." He said and laughed and went to get them some. Haley sat down on the warm sand close to the bonfire and hugged her knees while sipping her margarita. A second later Nathan came back with two warm smores.

"Where did you get these? These are warm already." Haley asked.

"I stole some freshman's." Nathan said and shrugged. Haley just laughed and took a bite. They sat in silence for a while. Suddenly Haley's cell phone started to ring. She looked at the caller id.

"It's my dad. Can you hold my glass?" She asked and gave her glass to Nathan before answering. She flipped the phone open and answered it. "Hey dad, how's Quinn?... Yes, I'm at the party... No... No... Of course not... No... No! God, dad! What kind of a person do you think I am!... Very funny... Love you too. Say hi to Quinn and Mom... Bye." Haley flipped the phone shut and sighed.

"Your parents are out of town?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, they went to visit my sister in Chicago."

"You staying home alone?"

"Yeah, I used to go over to Lucas' house but ever since I realized I can take care of myself, I've stayed home. I just didn't wanna bother them." Haley said and Nathan wondered how she could possibly bother anyone. "It just gets a little lonely sometimes." Haley finished silently.

"I barely see my mom." Nathan started. "She's always out of town working. And the more my mom's gone, the more of a pain my dad is." Nathan said playing with the sand.

"Your dad's hard on you?" Haley asked.

"Yeah..." Nathan said and mumbled. "He just takes basketball way too seriously."

"I'm sorry." Haley said and shivered a little bit. She was still only wearing her bikini top and jeans because Peyton was wearing her shirt. She hugged her knees to keep herself warm.

"You're cold." Nathan said and took his sweatshirt off and offered it to Haley.

"Oh, I'm fine. Keep it. I don't want you to get cold." Haley said.

"No, I'm good. Really. Just take it." Nathan said and then added. "Besides, it'll look better on you anyway." Nathan smirked and Haley just rolled her eyes while taking the light blue sweater from him. She put it on and couldn't help but inhale Nathan's cologne deeply from the sweatshirt. She smiled at Nathan and swallowed the rest of her margarita.

"Wow, you drink fast! How much have you drank tonight?" Nathan asked.

"Some vodka and this."

"But you're not drunk!"

"If hanging out all my life with guys have taught me one thing, it's how to handle my alcohol." She said and winked.

"Yeah, apparently." He said and smiled at Haley.

"I should probably go find Lucas." Haley said then.

"Already?" Nathan asked disappointed.

"Yeah, I have to work at noon tomorrow." She said and got up. Nathan got up too.

"Ok, I'll help you find him." He said and they started to walk towards the house.

"Thanks, Nathan." Haley suddenly said.

"For what?"

"For keeping me entertained." Haley said and then added. "And for not being an asshole." She smiled.

"Don't get used to it." Nathan said and smirked.

"I promise I won't." She said and winked back.

He opened the door for her that lead to the room where Haley and Lucas' stuff were. She collected them and went to find Lucas.

"Where the hell is he?" she said when they left the room. They saw Tim and some of his basketball buddies.

"Yo, Nate man! We've been looking for you! Where you been?" Tim said and tried to do a weird hand shake thing with Nathan. Nathan just stared at him annoyed.

"Nowhere." He said quickly. Tim looked at Haley who was wearing Nathan's sweatshirt.

"Where you hanging out with her? An East?" Tim asked looking at Haley. She just raised her eyebrow at Nathan who was looking really uncomfortable. He wasn't ready to admit to his friends, or himself, that he was attracted to an East.

"No way." Nathan said and smiled a fake smile.

"But she's wearing your sweatshirt." Tim said. Nathan thought for a moment about telling the truth.

"Don't know where she got that." He finally said and looked down. He couldn't look at Haley in the eyes. If looks could kill, Nathan would've died a thousand painful deaths. Haley suddenly smiled sweetly. Then she took the sweatshirt off. The guys whistled when they saw that she only had her bikini top on. Haley turned to look at Nathan with the same death glare from few seconds ago.

"Good thing I didn't get used to the niceness, huh." She said coldly and dropped the sweatshirt. She started to walk away from them. She went upstairs and tried to find Lucas. She looked from a window but only saw a couple making out on the balcony. She then looked from the kitchen, the living room and family room. She then went back to the balcony.

"Luke! You here?" she yelled. She then walked around the corner and saw Lucas and Brooke looking at her with weird looks. Haley didn't think about it more. She just wanted to leave.

"Caw." She said when Lucas didn't say anything. That seemed to snap him out of his thoughts.

"Haley! Is everything-? What are you-? Where have you-? Why are you wearing-? What time-?" Lucas couldn't finish a sentence.

"Caw!" Haley cawed again. "We're leaving."

"Already?" Lucas asked looking at Brooke. "But-"

"Luke." Haley said quietly and looked at him with a tired face.

"Hales, is everything ok?" Lucas asked and started to walk towards Haley. Haley looked at him sadly but didn't say anything because Brooke was there.

"Luke, can we just go?" she asked. She saw Nathan walking towards them. "Now!"

"Yeah, sure. Just hold on." He said and turned around to say something to Brooke.

"Haley, can I talk to you?" Nathan asked quietly. He was looking at Haley with an apologetic face.

"Luke, now!" Haley yelled ignoring Nathan.

"Haley, please. Just hear me out." Nathan pleaded. Lucas heard it and walked next to Haley.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Nothing. Can we go?" Haley asked and looked at Lucas. Lucas looked at Haley who was looking miserable and then Nathan who was looking apologetic and embarrassed.

"Sure, Brooke promised to drive us." Lucas said.

"Great, I'll go wait in the car." She said wanting to get away from Nathan. Brooke followed her. Nathan was about to go after them but Lucas grabbed his arm.

"What the fuck, man?" Nathan yelled angrily. Lucas pushed him against the wall and took a strong hold from his shirt.

"What the hell did you do to Haley?" he asked angrily.

"Nothing." He said and tried to push Lucas away from him. No luck.

"You can try and mess with my head as much as you want to but you leave Haley out of it!"

"Whatever, dude!" he said a little bit scared but then grinned when he saw Tim and his pals coming behind Lucas.

"Is there a problem, Nate?" Tim asked. Nathan and Lucas didn't answer.

"Well, is there a problem?" Nathan asked from Lucas. Lucas didn't move.

"Luke, what's taking so-" Haley started but stopped when she saw the scene in front of her.

"Go wait in the car, Haley." Lucas said without turning around.

"The hell I am. Come on, Luke. Let's go." Haley said and then added. "He's not worth it." Haley said and looked directly at Nathan. Lucas let go off Nathan.

"Stay the fuck away from her." he said with a serious face before turning around and leaving with Haley. Nathan watched them leave and could distantly hear Lucas' voice.

"Where the hell is your shirt?"

So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Please, lemme know. :)

-Fes-