Chapter 7a

"So, you're going to the party?" Lucas asked. He was sitting on the counter at the cafe talking to Haley who was closing up the place.

"Yeah, aren't you?" she asked while wiping the counter in front of Lucas.

"Yeah, just didn't know you were going."

"Nathan wants me to go." Haley said.

"Why?" Lucas asked half angrily, half curiously.

"He's feeling guilty." Haley said.

"About what?"

"For almost driving over me." Haley said nonchalantly and burst out laughing when she saw the look on Lucas' face.

"What!"

"This morning I was on a run and he was driving and apparently neither of us paid any attention to the road."

"So, he almost killed you." Lucas asked angrily.

"Yeah, but he was feeling really bad about it which made me feel really bad about it because it was just as much my fault as it was his so I said I would come to the party if he really wanted which he did so now I'm going." Haley said in one breath.

"Umh, ok." Lucas was loss at words. He'd never heard Haley talk so fast. It reminded him of Bridget Hennessy from '8 simple rules'.

"So, we driving together?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, I could drive you." Lucas said when he remembered that Brooke was going with Peyton.

"Cool. It's now 7. Pick me up in an hour?" Haley asked while checking her watch.

"Yeah, sounds good. Do you need a ride home now?"

"No, I drove myself." She said.

"Haley, you shouldn't drive." Lucas said.

"I know, but I was in a hurry. Besides it was just here. It's not like I went cruising on the West side." Haley said and then continued. "I miss driving! Speeding! The smell of the gas and the sound when you leave tire marks on the asphalt."

"Haley-" Lucas started but got cut off by her.

"You do realize that I haven't driven in over a week now. By the time of the race, I probably won't even know how to drive a manual." She said frustrated.

"Haley, the race is next Saturday. It's only a week." Lucas tried.

"Whatever. This totally sucks." Haley said and checked her watch. "I gotta go home now." She said.

"Don't speed!"

"Yeah, yeah. See ya at eight?"

"Yeah, see ya then."

Half an hour later

Haley had just gotten home and eaten some food when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller id and didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" she asked confused.

"Haley? It's Nathan."

"Oh, hi!" Haley said surprised.

"Just wanted to make sure you were still coming to the party."

"Yeah." Haley said. She was still in shock that Nathan had called her.

"Do you need a ride? Since I now know where you live..." Nathan said laughing.

"No, Lucas is picking me up." Haley said.

"Oh." He said disappointed.

"But thanks." Haley said.

"Yeah sure, see you soon." He said.

"Yeah, see you soon." Haley said and hung up.

At 8 o'clock sharp.

Haley heard a car honk outside. She checked her watch and cursed when she saw that it was already eight. She hadn't noticed it was already eight because she had been thinking about the phone call. She quickly put a pair of jeans and a small tank top on. She took her purse, ran downstairs and put a pair of flip flops on. The car honked again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming..." Haley mumbled while opening the front door and waving at Lucas who was waiting impatiently.

"You're late." Lucas said when Haley got inside the car.

"I said eight-ish." Haley said.

"No, you didn't." Lucas said laughing. "Is that all that you're wearing?" Lucas asked when he noticed Haley's small tank top.

"Yeah, why?" Haley asked.

"It's just kind of revealing." Lucas mumbled. Haley looked down at her top.

"No, it's not."

"You're gonna get cold." Lucas said.

"No, I won't." Haley said and smiled a small smile.

"Fine, be stubborn." Lucas said and reversed from the driveway.

"So, is Jake coming tonight?" Haley asked.

"I don't think so. He said he would be with Jenny tonight. Something about hanging out with Peyton too much." Lucas said.

"Peyton must be bummed." Haley said.

"Yeah, I guess." Lucas said. "Hey, since we're almost done fixing the car we should take it for testing as soon as possible." Lucas said.

"Yeah, you're right we should do that." Haley said when she remembered the race.

"So, I think we can take it for a test drive on Wednesday."

"So that leaves us with three days of testing it." Haley said while counting the days.

"Two. The Weast is on Friday." Lucas said.

"Great." She said sarcastically.

"It won't be that bad. You should come." Lucas said.

"I'm so not having this conversation again." Haley said angrily.

"Ok, just chill. I won't bring it up again." Lucas said.

"Good." They drove the rest of the ride in silence. When they got to the beach house they walked in silence until they were inside the house.

"See ya later." Lucas said.

"Yeah, later." Haley said and watched Lucas go. On his way he high-fived some guys Haley didn't know. Haley couldn't help but feel like he was drifting away from her. Or she was drifting away from him.

Whatever the truth was, she felt like her friendship with Lucas was slowly dying. She couldn't believe that it had only been a week. In a week her life had gotten so complicated. It used to be Haley and Lucas against the world. Now it seemed that Lucas was part of the world.

Then there was Nathan. The guy she had hated for her entire life. And all of that had changed in a week. Her feelings towards him had done a complete 180. She knew that she liked Nathan more than just a friend. And it confused her and more than anything, scared her. She was afraid to open up to him. What if she ended up being miserable? And she knew that if she started dating him, it could destroy what was left of her friendship with Lucas.

Haley looked at the crowd feeling sad and confused. She saw Peyton, Tim and the rest of the gang coming her way. She quickly put a fake smile on and went to their direction.

"Hey Peyton." Haley said.

"Hi Haley! And look! I'm wearing my own shirt." She said pointing at her shirt.

"Nice." Haley said and high-fived her. "So, Jake's not coming?" Haley asked to make sure.

"Yeah, I actually have to talk to you. Alone." Peyton said and turned to look at Tim who was standing there admiring Haley's boobs.

"Tim!" Haley said annoyed and snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Yeah?" he said while slowly looking up.

"Get lost! Now!" Haley said.

"Fine." He said and left.

"What's wrong?" Haley asked from Peyton.

"We're friends, right?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, of course." Haley said.

"So, you would tell me if something was going on with Jake, right" Peyton said.

"Sure." Haley said. "What's going on, Peyton?"

"I just feel like there's something going on."

"What do you mean?"

"Like today he told me that he couldn't come to this party because he had some homework to do. On a Saturday night! And he always gets these phone calls and he always leaves right after them. When I try to ask him about it he just mumbles something about a family emergency. I mean, jeez! How many emergencies can a family have!" Peyton finished.

"I'm sure there's nothing going on." Haley assured.

"You think?"

"Yeah. He will tell you if something's wrong." Haley said.

"So nothing out of the ordinary is going on?" she asked. Haley gulped. She was a terrible liar.

"That's right." She said quickly. She felt guilty about lying to Peyton but Jenny wasn't her secret to tell.

"Good. You have no idea how glad I am to hear that." Peyton said and smiled. Haley smiled back.

"So, where's your drink?" Haley asked laughing when she didn't see her drinking anything.

"Actually, I'm staying sober tonight. I think I'm still having a hangover from last week." Peyton said smiling. Haley laughed at that.

"Anyways, I'm gonna go find Brooke. Talk to you later!" Peyton said and left. Haley looked around and tried to spot Nathan from the crowd but couldn't. She went to the kitchen and when she saw that he wasn't there either, she went upstairs. She headed towards the bedroom she knew to be Nathan's. The door was open so she went in. She saw Nathan wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. His back was towards her so he didn't see her. He was standing there motionless staring at his bed.

Haley coughed. Nathan turned around quickly to see a smirking Haley.

"What are you doing? You're missing your party." Haley asked when she walked closer to him and saw that his bed was filled with different kinds of shirts, jeans, sweats and shorts. Nathan was clearly having a hard time figuring out what to wear.

"Nothing. What are you doing here?" Nathan asked quickly.

"Looking for you." Haley said. "And my sweatshirt." She said and grinned. Nathan grinned back.

"Well, any specific color you prefer?" Nathan asked.

"Not really. As long as it's not pink." She said smiling.

"No problem." He said and stared at Haley. Neither moved for a second. Then Haley started to slowly walk towards him. When she got right in front of him, she stopped. Then she slowly reached for something. Nathan could feel Haley's hot breath on his neck. Nathan closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Then Haley took a few steps back holding Nathan's sweatshirt. She was grinning.

"I'm gonna go wait in the kitchen. You should go with the faded jeans and the red Abercrombie shirt." She said while putting on the black sweatshirt. She was almost out the door when she turned around. "Love the nipple ring." She said and winked before disappearing behind the corner.

Nathan stood motionless for few seconds. Then he put on the faded jeans and the red shirt as instructed. He started to walk downstairs towards the kitchen. When he got there he saw that the party was in full swing already. The music was load and people were dancing everywhere. He looked around until he saw a small person wearing a black sweatshirt with the numbers '23' on the back. Nathan started to walk towards her. When he got closer he saw that Haley was trying to reach for a glass from the cabinet. Nathan walked behind her.

"Need some help?" he whispered in Haley's ear. Even though Haley was wearing a sweatshirt she shivered when she felt his breath on her cheek and ear.

"Hand me the glass, will ya." She said.

"Sure thing, gorgeous." He said. Haley smiled. Haley turned around so she was facing him. Nathan held the glass for her. "I see you found your margaritas." He said when he saw the pint of the red liquid on the counter next to her.

"It was kinda hard to miss with the big sign taped on the side saying 'Haley's! Anyone else: touch and die!'." Haley finished smiling.

"Just wanted to make sure nobody touched your drink." He said.

"Thanks. I love margs." Haley said while taking a sip.

"I know." He said and winked. Nathan took a small bottle of vodka from the top drawer. "Let's get out of here." He said. Haley just nodded and took the glass and the pint with her. Haley could feel Nathan's hand through the sweatshirt on her back, guiding her towards the door. They went up on the balcony and sat down on a wooden bench that faced the ocean. Haley placed the pint of margaritas on a table that was next to them. Most of the people were hanging on the beach so they had the balcony all to their selves. It was starting to get dark. They were both quiet for a while.

"So..." they started at the same time. They laughed.

"You go first." Haley said.

"Ok, I was just wondering if you've heard from parents. They were visiting your sister in Chicago, right?" Haley looked at Nathan surprised that he had remembered.

"Yeah, they called me earlier today. They're heading to Minneapolis to visit Vivian, my other sister."

"How many brothers and sisters do you have?" Nathan asked laughing.

"Too many." Haley said laughing. Nathan nodded for her to continue. "I have three brothers: Matthew, Brian and Chris and three sisters: Quinn, Vivian and Taylor." Haley said.

"Brian and Chris James..." Nathan said out load. He knew he had heard those names before.

"They played basketball." Haley said.

"They won state in their junior and senior years." Nathan said when he remembered.

"Yeah, if I remember correctly, on their senior year they beat West on the first round." Haley said smiling.

"I was watching that game with my dad!" Nathan said.

"Me too." Haley said smiling. "My parents used to take all of us to watch every game any of us had." Haley said smiling.

"Did your other brother play basketball?"

"Matt? He's the oldest. I was like 6 when he was in high school so I don't remember much. He played football and he was even pretty good but he quit after college."

"What about your sisters?"

"Vivian and Quinn were both in the volleyball team. They made it to state one year but lost on the semi-finals. Vivian is a junior in college and Quinn is graduating this fall."

"How about your third sister..." Nathan asked trying to remember the name.

"Taylor? She's the black sheep in our family." Haley said and sighed. "She was a senior when we were freshmen. She quit college two years ago and last time I heard from her, 3 months ago, she was working in some Coyote Ugly type of bar in Kansas." Haley said quietly. "She's the reason I work so hard for school. I don't wanna put my parents through the same she did. And keeping a perfect 4.0 GPA should be enough." Haley finished.

"Is it?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I guess. My parents trust me, sometimes even too much. That's why they're on the other side of the country because they trust me to take care of myself. Which I do. They are always joking and acting stupid which is really funny and cool but sometimes I just wish that they would act like adults. Like real parents, you know." Haley said.

"But don't get me wrong!" Haley then started. "I love my parents and I couldn't hope for a better family. So I really shouldn't be complaining about them, you know." Haley said. She knew how bad things were at Nathan's house so she didn't wanna sound like a whiny little bitch just because her parents trusted her too much.

"Yeah, I totally get you." Nathan said understanding Haley's dilemma.

"Yeah, but enough about me." Haley suddenly said. "How come your parents let you use the beach house so often?"

"My dad doesn't care. He thinks this is his way of good parenting. Apparently me getting wasted and partying every weekend helps me grow up and become a responsible young man. What a loud of bull." Nathan said. He was looking at the ocean with a sad face.

"How about your mom?"

"She's never home and when she is she doesn't wanna know about it. It's like if she doesn't know about it, she doesn't have to do anything about it."

"Hear no evil..." Haley muttered.

"...see no evil. Exactly." Nathan finished. They both sat there in silence Nathan's arm still around Haley.

"Parents suck." Haley suddenly said and they both laughed.

"Yeah, I think we've already established that." Nathan said. "But I say screw 'em. I'm not gonna let my dad ruin this party." Nathan said proudly.

"Cheers!" Haley said happily and they both drank.

"So, you excited about soccer?" Nathan asked.

"The season doesn't start till after the spring break but yeah, I can't wait." She said excited.

"That's cool. The basketball try-outs are on Monday."

"Oh yeah, that's right. That's kinda early, don't you think." Haley said.

"Yeah, but apparently the coach wants to have the team together as early as possible."

"That's good. Can't wait for the games to start. Lucas is always so excited before the first game." Haley said smiling. She could feel Nathan stiffen up at the mention of his half-brother.

"Is he any good?" Nathan asked nonchalantly.

"You've played against him. You know he is." Haley said.

"Yeah, I guess." Nathan said.

"And speaking of you and Lucas, I don't think you two have even seen each other since Tuesday." Haley said grinning. Nathan groaned when he remembered that he and Lucas promised to get to know each other.

"Don't worry." Haley started. "I won't do anything about it until after the race. After the race it's project 'Scott brothers united!' and there's nothing either of you can do or say to stop me." Haley said laughing. Nathan just groaned.

"Hey, speaking of the race." Nathan started trying to change the subject. Haley stiffened up at the mention of it. "It's next Saturday, right?" Nathan asked even though he knew it was.

"Yeah, it's at your uncle's race track, right?"

"Yeah, he's the best." Nathan said. "So, any chance on telling me who your racer is?" Nathan asked while grinning madly.

"I will if you will." Haley said without thinking. She was shocked that she was actually willing to tell him that she was the driver for the Easts. They both stared at each other in shock.

"You first." Nathan said.

"No, you first." Haley said panicking. Nathan gulped.

"Tim." He finally said. He just couldn't tell her that he was the racer.

"Yeah, we kinda figured that out already." Haley said while being proud that they had been right about Tim. If only she knew...

"So, what about yours?" Nathan asked.

"Our driver?" Haley asked. "Our driver is..." Here we go, Haley thought. I'm gonna tell him. "It's m-"

"It's Lucas, right?" Nathan cut her off before she got the chance to tell him it was her.

"What?" Haley asked.

"It's Lucas, right?" Nathan asked grinning. Haley just stared at her for few seconds.

"Yeah." Haley finally said. She just couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth, especially when he already thought it was someone else.

They both stared at the ocean feeling guilty that they had lied to each other. Then simultaneously they took big sips from their drinks.