Lucas and Nathan are brothers. Lucas lives with Karen, Nathan with Deb and Dan. There has never been any problems between the two.

Chapter 4
Second Time Around

Haley blindly reached across the bed trying to find the origin of the annoying shrill.

"Hello?" she groggily said as she answered the phone.

I hate wake-up calls. What possessed me to order a wake-up call this freakin' early?

Haley set the phone back down into it's cradle and threw the covers off of her. After a second of just laying there, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and headed into the bathroom. She turned on the shower and went back out to grab some stuff from her suitcase. She grabbed her cell phone from the charger and checked her messages. Melissa and Jessica had called to make sure she had gotten in alright and that she hadn't gone insane yet. Jake, her cousin, had called. He and his family were going to be flying in the day after tomorrow. He was the only cousin that Haley talked to on a regular basis. Jake was four years older than Haley. He lived in California and worked with up and coming musicians. In fact, he was the one who had taught Haley to sing.

After she finished her shower, Haley wrapped the fluffy robe around herself and went back into the bedroom. She picked up the phone and called the front desk.

"Hello, I was wondering where I would be able to rent a car for the rest of my stay here?"

"Tree Hill only has one place to rent cars. It opens at 8:00. Would you like us to call you a car to drive you over there?"

"Yes please. Could you have them here at 8:30 please?"

That way I will have two hours to get ready and to do some work.

"Yes. Is there anything else we can do for you Miss James?"

"No, that will be all. Thank you."

"Thank you, Miss James. Have a great day." Haley hung up the phone and went back into the bathroom to dry and curl her hair and apply her make-up. The room was just too quite for her so she turned on the television.

"And onto sports, the Tree Hill High Ravens have just won another State Championship. Coach Scott has lead the team to victory for the past three years. Coach Scott also lead the team to victory back in 2002 when he was co-captain of the Raven's basketball team."

Haley ran out of the bathroom at the sound of his name. She released the breath that was caught in her throat when she saw his face appear on the screen.

Oh, it only Lucas. I wonder whatever happened to Nathan. Did he ever come back to Tree Hill? Why am I even thinking about him? That was years ago.

Haley walked back into the bathroom to finish her hair and make-up. She then put on her white, cropped gauchos, with her red, off-the-shoulder sweater. She finished off her outfit with some red strappy heels and red chandelier earrings. She glanced at the clock and saw that she had almost an hour before the car would be here. She needed some caffeine so she grabbed her purse and headed down to the lobby to grab a cup of coffee. When she got back up to her room she pulled out her laptop and began writing a story for an upcoming issue. At a couple of minutes before 8:30 she grabbed her purse and went back down to the lobby. The car pulled up just as she walked out the doors. The driver got out and opened the door for her.

"Hello. How are you?"

"Good. You?"

"Just fine Miss James. Will you be needing to go anywhere else before I take you to pick up a rental car."

"No, just to get the car please."

The driver shut the door behind Haley and got back in and drove off. After driving for about ten minutes the car stopped and Haley's door was opened again. She stepped out he driver shut the door and left. Haley walked into the office and rang the bell at the desk. As she was waiting her phone began to ring. She pulled it out of her purse and flipped it open to find that it was Chris Keller, one of her best friends from New York.

"Hey Rock Star."

"Hey yourself. So how you holding up so far?"

"Well, I haven't killed myself yet. That's gotta count for something. But I was only with them for a couple of hours yesterday before I left and checked into the hotel."

"So, how is her fiancé? Is he crazy like we had guessed?"

"He actually seemed normal. If fact, he was really nice. So how was your date last night?"

"Well, …, she was entertaining."

Haley laughed. "I'm guessing a bottle blonde, with boobs just as fake as her hair, and an IQ lower than a rock's."

"You know me too well Hales."

Just then someone stepped out from the back.

"Hey Chris, I gotta go. I'll call you later after the fun mother-daughter bonding day is over."

"Have fun Hales. Love ya."

"Love ya too."

Haley flipped her phone closed and looked up. It was him.

"Um, hey."

"Hey."

"Um, hey." I didn't not just say that. I haven't seen him in years and all I can say is "Um, hey." Oh my gosh, he is just staring at me. Say something.

"I need to rent a car for a week."

"Okay. Do you want a specific make or model."

"Not really. Anything is fine."

"Okay. Let me see what we have available." He typed something into the computer and waited for a second. "For the next week we have a Cobra Mustang available. Do you want to take that?"

"Sure."

"Okay. I Just need you to fill out this form." He set down a paper in front of her on the counter. She began filling it out as he opened up a cabinet and pulled out a set of keys. When she was done filling out the paperwork she handed it back to him and he handed her the keys. "Here's the keys and here's the brochure. If you have any problems with the car just call this number here. And here explains what you need to do when you return it."

He is seriously acting like this! Like we have never even met. After all we went through, and now he treats me like every other customer. Fine, let him be an ass.

"Okay. Thanks Nathan. Bye."

"Bye Haley." Haley walked out the door and looked at the number on the key chain. 18C. She looked at the signs around the lot and found it. A beautiful brand-new, black Cobra Mustang. It reminded her of the car Nathan drove in high school. His dad had given him a black Mustang for his 16th Birthday. That was almost a year before Haley started to hang out with him. Junior year Haley had become much more popular compared to the dork she was the two previous years. She began going on dates, but nothing serious. At the end of February her Junior year she began seeing Josh Turner, the Student Government's Vice President. He was a senior and the captain of the baseball team. Haley and Josh both cared about each other, but weren't in love with one another. So when Josh went to Texas for college they decided that it would be best to go their separate ways. Senior year Haley became friends with Lucas Scott since they had every single class together. They both had a passion for books, reading, writing, anything to do with English. Through Lucas, Haley became friends with Nathan, Brooke, and other basketball players and cheerleaders.

Haley drove over to her parent's house since she didn't know where the dress fitting was at. She parked the car in the driveway and walked up and knocked on the door. Her dad was the one who answered it this time. "Hi Sweet Tea. How are you?"

"Good daddy. How are you doing? You look a little tired. Do you feel okay?"

"Yeah. Just a little tired from last night. You know how your mother like to go all out when she entertains. Lord help us, I can't wait until this wedding is over with. Speaking of weddings, anyone special in your life?"

"Nope. Not right now daddy."

"So how's the magazine going?"

"It's great. Amazing actually. You should come up to New York sometime and visit. You can come see the office and meet my friends."

Haley's mom came walking down the stairs to find Haley and her dad sitting in the living room talking.

"Haley dear, I didn't know you were here. We're meeting at the dress shop though."

"Oh I know, that's why I came here. I didn't know where it was so I though I would come and get directions."

"Let me go get one of their cards." Haley's mom walked out of the room and came back after a second with a business card. She handed it to Haley. "The appointment is at eleven. Don't be late Haley."

"I won't be Mother." Haley turned around to see her father grinning at her.

"Have a great day sweetie. I'll see you later at dinner."

"Bye daddy. I love you." Haley gave her dad a kiss on the cheek as she walked to the door.

"Love you too Sweet Pea."

Haley went back to the car and drove off.