Chapter 5

"Second day of school." Jake mumbled to Haley. Lucas had called Jake in the morning and asked him to pick up Haley because he had something to do before school. Haley would've driven herself but they didn't want to give the Wests any clue that Haley was their racer. Plus, she hated parking. Jake and Haley were by their lockers.

"Yeah, it's only second day and Lucas has already ditched us." Haley said and slammed her locker shut.

"He told me to meet him at his locker." Jake said while taking a few books out. They started to walk towards Lucas' locker.

"So, Haley. I was thinking about what you said yesterday. You know, about baby-sitting Jenny." Jake said.

"Yeah?" Haley said.

"Well, I was thinking about asking Peyton out." Jake said.

"Really? That's great!" Haley said. "When?"

"I don't know. But if I do, can I count on you to take care of Jenny? My parents are out of town for this week so I can't ask them." Jake said.

"Dude, of course. Just let me know when." Haley said. They stopped when they saw that there was quite a crowd by Lucas' locker. Nathan, whose locker was next to Lucas', was going through his locker looking for something. Tim was standing next to him talking about something. Peyton, Brooke and Lucas were deep in conversation. Haley turned to look at Jake with a big grin on her face. Then she sprinted towards Lucas and jumped on his back.

"Hey buddy!" she yelled in his ear.

"Jesus Christ, Haley! You trying to kill me?" he asked. Nathan turned to look at them and when he saw Haley laughing loudly on Lucas' back, he turned back to his locker with an annoyed look.

"Oh, you know it." Haley said and jumped from his back. She turned to say hi to Brooke and Peyton. Haley could've sworn that for a split second she saw Brooke glaring at her. Haley blinked and when she looked at Brooke again, she was smiling sweetly. The bell rang.

"Oh, gotta go." Haley said and left for her class. Nathan quickly slammed his locker shut and ran next to Haley.

"What do you want?" she asked without looking at him.

"I had some problems with the worksheet you gave me." Nathan said quietly. Haley turned to look at him. She wanted to tell him to piss off but the tutor part in her couldn't turn someone down when they needed help.

"Oh. Which part?" she asked.

"The last 3 questions." Nathan said.

"Oh, those were the tough ones. I didn't expect you to get them." She said without thinking. Nathan stopped on his tracks. Haley turned to look at him.

"I didn't mean it like that." She said quickly when she realized how it must have sounded like.

"Whatever." Nathan said and left. Haley watched him go and sighed. Even though she thought that Nathan was a jerk, she hated herself for making him think he was stupid. Her main reason for success as a tutor was the way she handled her students. She didn't talk to them like they were retards and she didn't get angry or impatient if they didn't know the answer. She simply helped them. She sighed and made her way to her first class.

It was finally 7th hour and Haley was sitting inside the tutoring center waiting for Nathan. Right when the bell rang, the door opened and he got in. He sat down in front of Haley and glared at him.

"Before we start, I need you to know that I'm really sorry for what I said. It was a stupid comment and I feel really bad about it. I never meant to be rude or mean." Haley said sincerely. Nathan looked at her surprised. He hadn't expected an apology from her. He thought she was still angry about what happened at the party.

"I overreacted." Nathan said.

"No, you had every right to be angry. I mean, god! I'm supposed to tutor you, not make you think you're stupid." Haley said.

"You tell Tim he's retarded all the time." Nathan said smirking.

"Yeah, well. I'm not tutoring him." Haley said smiling. "Besides, he's a lost case." She added while opening her book. They both laughed at that.

"You're damn right there." He said while taking his books out and handing her the worksheet.

"Ok, let's take a look at this." Haley mumbled while taking it from him. Nathan smiled at the concentrated look on Haley's face.

It was almost the end of the 7th hour and Haley and Nathan were still in the tutoring center.

"...so basically the only thing you didn't get right was the last part of the equation."

"That's good, right?" Nathan said.

"Yeah, you're getting better. Congrats!" Haley said happily.

"Thank yourself." Nathan said. Haley looked at the clock on the wall and noticed that they only had few more minutes left.

"Ok, I've made you another worksheet. And this time I have full faith in you." She said while handing him the paper.

"Thanks. Means a lot to me." Nathan said. Haley smiled and took the pen from Nathan's hand.

"And here's my cell number for emergencies. Call me if you need anything." she said and wrote her number on the corner of the work sheet. Nathan put the paper on the table.

"Anything?" Nathan grinned.

"Anything school related." Haley specified but smiled at him.

She started to gather all of her papers and books. Nathan did the same. They left the room and started to walk towards their lockers.

"You know, I'm really glad you're my tutor." Nathan suddenly said.

"Thanks. I promise I'll do my best." She said.

"By the end of the semester I'll be the teachers' pet." Nathan said grinning.

"Oh, you think you can beat me?" Haley said laughing. "Bring it on!" she said laughing. They both laughed.

"So, you heard about this Weast dance?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, could it be anymore lame?" Haley said.

"I guess it could be worse." Nathan said,

"I guess. Doesn't matter. I'm not going." Haley said.

"I thought we didn't have a choice." Nathan said.

"We don't. I'm just gonna call in sick or something."

"Too bad." Nathan mumbled. Haley was about to say something but she saw Lucas and Jake by her locker. She stopped when she got there and turned to look at Nathan.

"So, same time, same place tomorrow?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, see you then. Bye Nathan." Haley said and smiled.

"Yeah, bye Haley." he said and went to his own locker. Lucas and Jake looked at Nathan and then Haley.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" Haley asked while taking some books out of her locker.

"You were all buddybuddy with Nathan. I thought you said he was the biggest jerk." Lucas reminded Haley.

"He can be that." Haley said quietly. Lucas could've sworn he saw Haley blush.

"But?" Jake asked smiling. He had never seen Haley like that.

"He can also be like a normal person." Haley finished quietly. Lucas heard it however.

"What! You're kidding, right? The guy's an asshole." Lucas said loudly. Few freshmen who were walking past him stopped. Lucas glared at them angrily.

"I know. All I'm saying is that he can also be different." Haley insisted.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this!" Lucas yelled.

"Would you just chill! God!" Haley said angrily and slammed her locker shut. Lucas glared at her. She glared at him back. Jake looked at them both and rolled his eyes.

"You know how I feel about the guy." Lucas finally said.

"Yes, I do. But if you're planning on surviving the next 9 months in the same school with him, I suggest you try and change your attitude." Haley said and started to walk away from them, towards the parking lot. Lucas and Jake came to walk next to her.

"It's pretty damn hard when he's being an ass all the time." Lucas said.

"I'll talk to him." Haley said. "End of conversation." She then turned to look at Jake. "Hey, you. Did you ask Peyton out?" Haley asked excited.

"What?" Lucas asked. He didn't know about Peyton and Jake. Haley and Jake ignored him.

"Not yet. I did ask for her cell phone number." Jake said smiling.

"That's awesome! Way to go, Jakie!" she said.

"Don't call me that." Jake said.

"Ok, I won't." Haley said even though they both knew she was lying.

"So, I'll let you know as soon as I know if I need a baby-sitter." Jake said.

"Hey, I wanna babysit too." Lucas said.

"We'll babysit together." Haley said laughing.

"How Dawson & Joey." Jake said laughing. Lucas and Haley both smacked him.

"Hey! No hitting." He said laughing when he stopped in front of his car. He opened the door and got in.

"Bye Jakie!" Haley yelled and laughed when he showed her the finger. Lucas and Haley continued walking towards his car.

"So, Nathan's the good guy now." Lucas said.

"Luke, don't start." Haley warned him.

"I'm just confused. First you think he's an asshole then he's nice to you at the party but turns out to be an asshole again. And now you think he's a good guy?" Lucas asked.

"Like I said, he can be a jerk. But he can also be different. And I'm glad about that. Do you have any idea how hard it would be to tutor him if he was an ass all the time?" Haley asked when they got in his car. Lucas didn't say anything. Just drove.

"See you later at Keith's?" Haley asked when getting out of the car. They were now in front of Haley's house.

"Yeah, I'll pick you up around five." Lucas said.

"See you then." She said and shut the door. Lucas watched her go inside her house. He really cared about Haley. She was like the little sister he never had. He had always been protective of Haley but now this whole thing with Nathan just made it worse. Lucas hated the guy and couldn't stand the thought that Haley might actually like him. Lucas knew that Nathan was just using Haley to mess with his head and piss him off. Nathan could try and do anything to him, he didn't care. But when he went after Lucas' best friend, the girl who had always been there for him, Lucas had had enough. Lucas had to make sure that Nathan knew what would happen if he hurt Haley. He made a U-turn and started to drive towards West side.

Haley closed her front door and sighed. She hated fighting with Lucas. But even more she hated the feelings she felt when she was with Nathan. She wasn't supposed to start to like the guy especially after what he did to her at his party. She climbed the steps and went into her room. She sat down on her bed and opened her backpack. She took out all the books and papers and started to sort them out. A piece of paper caught her eye. It had her cell phone number on the corner.

"Shit!" Haley said when she realized she had accidentally taken Nathan's work sheet with her. Now he couldn't do any work and they would fall behind on her schedule. She hit herself in the head annoyed for being so careless. She laid down on the bed thinking about her options. She didn't have Nathan's cell number so she couldn't call him. She had no choice but to go to Nathan's house and take the paper there herself. She went to her car and started to drive towards West side.

Nathan was shooting hoops on his court, shirtless of course. He didn't know what to think. He liked flirting with Haley and loved hanging out with her. But all his life he'd been taught to be proud because of being a West. Since he could remember his dad had always told him how worthless the people on the East side were. And up until he met Haley, he agreed. But Haley was different. She was smart, funny and didn't care what other people thought of her. Nathan felt like he didn't know what do around her. Should he really open up and get to know the girl and not care what his dad thought? Or take the easy road? He was still thinking about the pros and cons of those options when he saw a person walking towards him. Nathan dropped the ball and stared at the person.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked.

"Came to have a lil' chat with ya." Lucas said.

"We've got nothing to talk about." Nathan said, turned around and took the ball from the ground. He was about to throw it towards the net but Lucas took it from his hands and threw it as far away as he could.

"What's your problem, man!" Nathan yelled and pushed him in the chest.

"You. I told you to stay away from Haley." Lucas said angrily. Nathan just smirked at him.

"What Haley and I have has nothing to do with you." He said cockily. Lucas took a firm grip from Nathan's shirt.

"I told you already! Stay the fuck away from her."

"Don't think so." Nathan said. Lucas pushed him as hard as he could. Nathan fell on the ground and got up angrily.

"Oh, you're gonna regret that." He said before hitting Lucas in the jaw and pulling him by his shirt.

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Haley turned to Nathan's driveway. She parked her car and looked at the huge mansion in front of her.

She jogged to the front door and rang the door bell. Nobody answered. She rang it again. Still no answer. She started to look around the driveway and saw Nathan's car.

"So he must be home." Haley mumbled. She then noticed a red truck parked on the other side of the driveway.

"Lucas." Haley said out loud. She tried to open the door but it was closed. She started to walk towards the backyard. She kept walking until she found herself staring at Lucas and Nathan who were both shirtless, wrestling on the ground and hitting each other. Haley didn't know whether to laugh or yell. So she chose the one she enjoyed more.

"What the fuck is going on!" Haley yanked Lucas off of Nathan and dropped him on the ground so they were both lying on their backs and staring at Haley.

"How-?" Lucas started but Haley waived her hand in the air to shut him up.

"What-?" Nathan tried but Haley did it again. Haley stared at them both while thinking what she would say. The guys didn't move. They tried not to breathe. Lucas knew how Haley was when she was angry. Nathan, poor Nathan, had no idea but he could've sworn he saw Haley's eyes turn dark red for a split second. He swallowed. Haley took a deep breath and stared at them both.

"Now you both listen to me and you listen to me good because I will only say this once." Haley said calmly without emotion. Lucas gulped. The only thing that was scarier than a screaming, angry Haley was a calm, angry Haley. Haley continued with angrier voice. "I am beyond sick of watching you two fight. It's immature and honestly getting old. Not to mention it's driving me crazy. Since I'm the one that has to hang out with both of you and listen to you bitch and moan about the other like fucking losers, I'm gonna put a stop to it. I know there's a lot of history between the two of you and I also know that you can't change history. But you can change your future. Do you both really wanna live the rest of your life hating each other? Your own brother?" Haley said in a serious voice.

"Step-brother." They both said at the same time.

"Well, actually you guys are half-brothers." Haley said quietly. They looked at her confused. Haley sighed. "Step-brothers are not blood related. They're parents have just married each other. Half-brothers share a same mother or, in your case, a father." Haley explained. The guys blinked.

"Anyways!" She snapped out and continued with an angry voice. "Since you both are attending the same school and most likely will share the same basketball team, I strongly advice you both to change your attitudes. Spend some time together. Play some ball. Hang out. Talk trash about your dad if nothing else. Give the other a chance. I wouldn't hang out with either of you if I thought you were incapable of that. So I know you can do it."

"It's not gonna happen, Haley." Lucas said. Haley glared at him.

"I wasn't asking, Lucas." Haley said and looked at Lucas. "Look, you're my best friend." She said and then turned to look at Nathan. "And I'm probably tutoring you for the rest of the school year. No offence, but you're grades really do suck that bad." Nathan smiled a little. "So basically I'm gonna be spending my entire senior year with you guys and I'm not gonna watch you two fight the entire time. So I'm asking, no I'm telling you to try and get to know each other. I know that some people don't just get along and everybody can't be friends but just give it a try. What do you got to lose?" Haley asked. The guys were about to answer but she continued before they had their chance. "Before you start protesting, lemme tell what you've got to lose if you don't do this." She said and looked at the guys who were still lying on the ground staring at her.

"Me." Haley finished.

"What?" Lucas and Nathan asked at the same time.

"That's right." She said and turned to look at Nathan. "I'm having mixed feelings when it comes to you. You've been a total ass for as long as I've known you and last Saturday definitely didn't prove otherwise. But I feel like I've also seen the human side in you and I'd like to get to know that side better. Not to even mention how much easier tutoring would be. But if you really are that asshole I met at the party and you won't try to get to know your half-brother, nice nipple ring by the way…" Haley suddenly said but then continued "…you can say goodbye to tutoring. I can't quit tutoring you because I want full credit but when I say that I can make your 7th period a living hell, you better believe me. And since tutoring probably doesn't mean much to you, let me put this other way: one word to the principal that you're not co-operating and it's goodbye to basketball." Haley said while glaring at Nathan.

"And you, Lucas. You're my best friend and I've known you since I was like eight. You've always been the one person I can trust the most and you've always had my back. But lately you've been a bit of a dissappointment. I know it sounds harsh but you need to hear it. Fighting doesn't solve any problems. And I'm not gonna let you ruin your senior year. You need to give Nathan a chance. It's for your own good." Haley paused for a second and then continued with a sad voice. "If you don't, I don't think you're the person I thought you were."

"So, you're willing to throw away our friendship and everything we've been through just because of him?" Lucas asked angrily.

"No." Haley said and paused. "But are you?" She asked quietly. Lucas stared at Haley thinking about her question. Was he willing to give the guy a chance and get to know him for Haley's sake? Or would he tell him to go fuck himself like he deserved and in the process lose his best friend? Lucas sighed.

"No." he finally said. Haley smiled at him.

"Good." She said and smiled at them. Then her smile faded. "Get up." She said. The guys quickly got up. Haley stared at the two tall boys in front of him. "I'm gonna go now." She suddenly said. She could see both of the guys relax and even smile a little. "But if I see any more bruises on either one tomorrow, there's gonna be hell to pay." She said and then smiled brightly. She tiptoed and patted both of the guys on their heads and started to walk away. Then she quickly turned around and walked back.

"Ooh Nathan, I almost forgot. The reason I came here in the first place." She said and took the work sheet out of her pocket. "I accidentally took this with me today. Pay attention to question number six. It's not as easy as it may seem." She said and handed the piece of paper to Nathan.

"See you at Keith's, Luke." Haley said and left. She was almost out of the yard when she turned around one more time.

"And for god's sake, put some shirts on! This isn't Florida!" Nathan and Lucas just stared at her walk away until they couldn't see her anymore. They turned to look at each other.

"So..." they both started at the same time.

"Do you think we should try this thing?" Nathan asked while picking up his shirt from the ground.

"Do we really have a choice?" Lucas asked and took his shirt from the ground too. The guys looked at each other and sighed both knowing that they had to give it a try.

Big thank you to everyone who has reviewed! It means the world to me. Keep 'em coming :)

-Fes-