Winds of Change

Three

Her harsh honey glare would've vaporized the cell phone if it were any stronger.

"If looks could really kill," Brooke Davis chirped in a singsong lightly, but quivered under the death stare shot at her by her best friend. Heaving an exaggerated sigh, she flopped backwards on her deck chair, sliding her Gucci sunglasses to cover her bright green eyes. Absently, her fingers tapped on her exposed midriff, playing along the surfaces not covered by her black bikini. Tree Hill's hottest trio had been reveling in the abnormally hot weather by pretending it was July, grabbing tabloids, strawberry daiquiris, and suntan lotion and lounging by the pool. However, the girls-day-in was not quite as satisfying as they thought.

"I'm bored as hell," Peyton sighed, voicing what they had all been thinking. Her blonde curls were almost painfully bright as they caught the sun's light. Squinting her large hazel eyes, she carefully studied her friend's features. Haley James's face was still beautiful, of course. Her skin was still flawless and her cheekbones still high, but there was something ugly and anxious about her today. Her forehead was faintly lined, a slight frown puckering. Her warm brown eyes were narrowed malevolently, boring into her top of the line cell phone. As if it was Cingulair's fault that Chris Keller was an asshole.

Haley's delicate hand gestured hopelessly towards her back, and Peyton dutifully redid the red bikini strings, admiring her friend's new tan. During the summer, Peyton Sawyer would never really tan so much as have an extra sort of glow to her milky white skin. However, her two best friends tanned beautifully, and she couldn't help but be a little proud of how hot her longtime friends had gotten.

Sitting up, with her bathing suit securely fastened, Haley rolled out the kinks in her neck, long blonde hair swishing back and forth. Her pert nose wrinkled in disgust at her own actions, knowing how pathetic it was that she had secretly spent the last few hours waiting for a phone call that she knew wouldn't come. Still, she couldn't help but hope that her cell would blare the tones that signified her long-term boyfriend was trying to talk to her, the ring that Peyton had comically changed to The Atari's "Your Boyfriend Sucks" . Neither Brooke nor Haley could object to it, much to the blonde's irritation.

"I don't know. What should we do?" she asked, nibbling lightly on her full lower lip. Neither Brooke nor Peyton had anything to contribute, which was always a rare occurrence. Silence fell upon the massive pool area of the James Manor, the clear blue water of the pool sparkling enticingly. It was a beautiful color, full of depth and shades. It was a familiar color, the color of eyes that bore into her, pinning her to the spot and irritating her more than anything else ever had.

"We could solve Haley's "problem" so we don't spend another lame night starring a sob fest and also featuring Ben and Jerry's," Brooke grumbled, and anyone who didn't know the true Brooke Penelope Davis would think she sounded every bit the mindless party girl she was said to be. However, the two girls beside her knew her better than they knew themselves, and they knew that the brunette's pouts and impatience just veiled her deep desire to have things back to normal.

Chris Keller was no good for Haley James. Brooke and Peyton had seen it two weeks into the relationship, while their usually level-headed companion was swept off her feet with sweet kisses and serenades. Months later, Haley clung to a relationship that seemed long dead, determined to pump life into it every time Chris's band was in town. Why, none of them really knew.

"Pros and Cons?" Peyton suggested helpfully.

"I think you guys have already covered the cons," Haley said, her voice sickly sweet.

"Hun, there are plenty more where that came from," Brooke patted her head in a grandmotherly fashion. Peyton's sharp hazel eyes continued to watch her friend, gauging her reaction. She smiled a little, humoring Brooke, but there was tension in her small frame, as if the weight of the world sat upon her narrow shoulders.

"Actually, let's not talk about this now," the curly blonde said, shaking her head firmly. Brooke's bright green gaze locked onto Peyton questioning, but Haley shot her a grateful smile, and Brooke nodded with understanding dawning upon her pretty face.

"Let's girl chat!" Brooke said eagerly. "It's been so long since we had a really good one. Mostly they've been about Chris and music and how Haley's being stupid. No offense, sweetie," she tossed off in Haley's direction, who waved it away indifferently. "Let's talk about other stuff."

"Like what?" Haley asked, eager for the topic change.

"How about your love life, B. Davis? Operation: Get In Lucas's Pants a completed success yet?" Peyton questioned, a grin tugging at her lips.

Brooke's mouth contorted into the pout she was so infamous for.

Among other things, at least.

"Now, how the hell would that have happened? I've been glued to you two 24/7!" she was whining again, but good-naturedly this time. Even though Brooke's list of conquests was long and varied, she always preferred the company of her girls to that of her boy toys. She had never really found someone who made her want to stay past the post-orgasm afterglow.

"Well, you never know," Haley shrugged her newly tanned shoulders, thinking back to her brief interaction with Lucas at the café. He had seemed so into Brooke that she might just have gotten him.

"Good God Hales, I know that you tend to live out there in Haleyland, but I would hope you'd notice if I was fucking some guy right in front of you," Brooke cried in exasperation, thin fingers tugging slightly at her long brown hair. This was clearly a girl who had gone too long without release. Brooke needed sex like Haley needed confrontation and Peyton needed freaky art. They thrived off it.

"If you're having sex in the same room as me, I hope I don't notice!" Haley laughed, her small nose wrinkling in distaste. She kind of admired her best friend. Brooke Davis was a girl who knew what she wanted, went out, got it, and was never at all ashamed of pursuing it so openly. People called her a slut, but Haley knew better. Brooke got sex when she wanted sex, but her ways applied to everything from boys to money to grades to friends. If Brooke wanted it, she'd work damn hard, and she would get it. Brooke was fearless and ruthless, and Haley would be lying if she said she wasn't jealous.

Peyton chuckled along with them. "This is nice," she voiced what they were all thinking. Peyton Sawyer had always been the most sentimental of the girls, and was fiercely protective when it came to them. Her father had been in the Atlantic and her mother had been in heaven for so long it seemed like it had always been that way. Haley and Brooke were her family, and she would do anything for them. It always seemed like the trio mattered just a little bit more to her than it did to the others, but their deep bond was glue, and they were just pieces. Nothing would break them, and it was nice for Peyton to be able to breath easily every once in a while. It was nice to know she had something solid.

"Yeah. But let's not get all sentimental yet. What's going on in your romance world, Goldilocks?" Brooke teased, the dimple in her cheek deepening. Haley raised a perfectly arched eyebrow, waiting eagerly for the answer.

"Absolutely nothing," she sighed, toying with a curl. "This world is severely underpopulated."

"Like starving third-world country-esque?" Haley inquired.

"Perhaps emergency aid will be sent her way," Brooke mused, appearing to inspect her nail polish but actually watching her friend's reactions. Peyton looked torn, Haley slightly amused.

"I don't think she wants your leftovers, Tigger," Haley admonished, jokingly.

Brooke and Peyton shared a smile over the return of their friend's spirit. Chris Keller, though Haley seemed to love him for some reason or another, had seemed to do nothing but suck her dry. She was vaguely moody when he was around, and bitter and insecure when he wasn't. They could think of hundreds of gross metaphors involving mosses and dermatological issues where the person afflicted was just plagued over and over again, their ailment coming back every time they thought it was gone. But the atmosphere was a little too happy for them to dive back into disgusting figures of speech, and just enjoyed that Haley was really laughing again.

"Well then she'll have very slim pickings!" said Brooke, a wicked grin curling the lips that so many boys at Tree Hill High fantasized over. Haley swatted at her, as Peyton tossed her head back and laughed. Normally, she'd be a little worried that there were so many guys around and she couldn't find a single one that she wanted to commit to. But there was something about the day that made it okay to just laugh. Besides, with Haley and Chris around, it was a wonder anybody wanted to commit. Ever.

"Whore," Peyton shot across, and Brooke's smile widened.

"Bitch," she said affectionately.

Conversation drifted off lazily, the late-afternoon sunshine warming them as they sipped their cool drinks. Haley couldn't help but smirk at the situation. These three, plus bikinis? Now, that was a key component of many a teenage boy's wet dream. She was about to say so, when Brooke cut her off. Which wasn't unusual at all, really.

"Holy. Shit," her bright green eyes, ringed with black, widened in shock as she lifted her designer sunglasses to the top of her head. "Hales, can I move in with you?"

"Um, sure. You practically live here anyway," Haley laughed slightly, humoring her friend. Brooke, Haley and Peyton could all live in a box on a downtown street corner, and their parents wouldn't notice. It would hardly matter if they moved into the James Manor

Peyton's gaze followed Brooke's, and her jaw dropped in pleasant surprise. "Fuck Haley! Let's move in with him."

Too tired to be offended, Haley sat up to see what all the fuss was about. Rolling her eyes irritably, she discovered that the source of the commotion was none other than her new neighbor. Trust Brooke to be the one to discover it first when a man was around. But God, if water looked enticing in her swimming pool, that was nothing compared to how it looked on Nathan Scott.

A shirtless Nathan.

A basketball playing, shirtless Nathan.

A muscles-rippling, chest-glistening Nathan.

Haley would have to stop her thoughts right there.

However, her eyes trailed along his taut chest for a bit too long, and she was absolutely busted.

"Have you hooked up with him yet?" Peyton demanded, and they were all surprised. That was usually Brooke's first question.

"Okay, in case you guys forgot, I happen to have a boyfriend named Chris."

"How could we forget?" Brooke grumbled, ignoring the glare Haley shot her.

"Hello! Are you fucking kidding me? Chris has nothing on that, right there," Peyton gestured impatiently across the yard.

"That is the epitome of HOT," Brooke nodded, licking her lips slightly. For some reason, Haley felt threatened by that.

"He's okay," she muttered, eyes downcast. She didn't want to talk about this, not with Brooke and Peyton. Not with anyone. Nathan Scott was something else, and she did not want him on either of her best friend's radars.

"Okay!" they shrieked at once.

"Hales, I think you've spent so much time tied to Chris that you forget what a man is supposed to look like," Peyton said. Haley let her slide on how aggressive she was being. That was how P. Sawyer usually got when she went for too long without a hook up.

"Okay, fine, he's gorgeous. But you know what? His personality? Not so nice. I mean, he's cocky—"

"I'll say," Brooke's eyes trailed down his body, and a suggestive smirk spread across her face.

"Stop it!" Haley whined, burying her head in her hands. She knew when she was defeated.

"Oh my God. I know what this is," comprehension dawned across Brooke's gorgeous face. "Haley J's got the hots for neighbor boy!"

"Brooke, do your parents have to up your allowance to support your crack habit?" she spat viciously, honey eyes gleaming in the way they always did when she felt cornered. Instead of being offended, Brooke took this as a sign of victory.

"Have you screwed him yet?" she leaned forward conspiratorially.

"What? No! Guys, I have a boyfriend!" Haley protested.

"So? We wouldn't tell," Peyton made their childhood motion of zipping her mouth and throwing away the key, winking at her friend.

"I would've done him already," Brooke's disappointed stare lingered on Haley.

"As you would anything with a six-pack and a dick," she said scathingly. "Maybe you guys aren't sure what monogamy means, but some of us in relationships try it out."

"You know, I don't think it counts when there's only one person in the relationship," Brooke shot back.

"Okay, why is bitch being a Haley?" Peyton's blonde eyebrows knit together in the middle, a puzzled frown forming on her face. Gone was the laughing, happy Hales they had spent time with this afternoon, and back was the scowling, defensive Haley. Haley stormed away, done with the conversation, done with having bitter truths ring in her ears when all she wanted were sweet lies. Brooke and Peyton didn't follow, knowing that sometimes it was best to just leave their volatile friend to her own devices. None of them knew that it would be two A.M. before the call Haley had waited for so long for would come.

The glowing display of the cell phone could be seen as a beacon of hope in contrast to the darkness of her bedroom. Haley James lay wide awake, her eyes shining with its reflection. To an outsider, she would look small, trembling and scared, frail in the enormity of her bedroom. Those who truly knew her would know that there had never been anything trembling or scared about Haley. No one could explain why she merely lay there as the phone rang on and on. Not even her.

You're better off without him, don't call him...

He's breaking your heart.

He's hanging with your best friend and you're waiting there,

It's tearing you apart.

He lied to you a thousand times,

When I was there he kept you waiting.

And I'm still here waiting there

To catch you if you fall.

I don't know why I care so much

When I shouldn't care at all.

Hey guys. Sorry it took so long between updates, but things have been really crazy here. I hope you liked this chapter, but please let me know.

Thanks for the reviews so far guys. They mean a ton to me.

Xox Sam