The Secret's Out (Chapter Three)
Nathan and Haley walked out of the café together. "Where do you want to go?" he asked. Haley turned around and started walking backwards and smiled widely.
"Follow me," she said, leading the way. They walked for what seemed forever until they were near on a dock with a picnic table. Haley smiled and sat down and motioned for Nathan to sit down beside her. He sat down and put his arm around her and drew her close. She bent her head back to look up at him. She put her hand on his cheek and moved her index finger along the smooth skin. He put his hand under her chin and bent his head down and kissed her hard. When the kiss ended, Nathan smiled when Haley opened her eyes and smiled up at him.
"I've been wanting to bring you here for a long time," she said a few seconds later. Nathan looked around. It was pretty peaceful and quiet where they were and the fact that there was a lake added that extra touch of peacefulness. He smiled and pulled her tighter. "I come here whenever I want to be alone and clear my mind," she said.
"If you come here to be alone, why did you bring me here?" he asked.
"Because now we can be alone together and besides, it's also my favourite place in town," she said. He laughed and kissed her on the cheek.
"So, what are you doing tomorrow night?" Nathan asked.
"I have plans with Lucas," she said. Nathan nodded. "What are you doing?" she asked. He shrugged.
"Well, I was hoping to spend some time with you, but I'll probably end up just staying home," he said. Haley stopped leaning against him and moved her head up to look him in the eye.
"Nathan Scott is going to stay home on a Friday night?" she teased. Nathan shrugged. Haley yawned.
"Are you tired?" he asked. Haley nodded. "Do you want to go home?" he asked. Haley shrugged.
"It doesn't matter," she replied softly.
"Hales, we've stayed out a long time the past few days. If you're tired, then you should go home and get some sleep," he said. Haley smiled to herself. She looked up at him and kissed him.
"Ok." Haley said.
FRIDAY
Nathan walked to the door and answered it. He was stunned when it was Peyton Sawyer smiling at him. He smirked. "Hey, Peyton. What's up?" he asked. Peyton shrugged.
"Just thought I'd come to hang out. Jake's working at the café," Peyton said. Nathan shrugged and moved out of the way for her to come in. "So where are your parents?" she asked walking into the living room and sitting down.
"Mom's at work at the café and Dad's at the dealership," Nathan replied.
"So, you're here all alone?" she asked. Nathan nodded. "So, are you coming to Brooke's party tonight?" Peyton asked. Nathan shook his head.
"No, I think I'm just going to stay in tonight," he said. Shock didn't even come close to describing the look on her face. Peyton laughed.
"You're gong to stay at home on a Friday?" Peyton asked. He nodded. Peyton looked at him suspiciously. "Are you sure you're not hanging out with Haley tonight?" she asked.
"No, she's got plans with Lucas tonight," Nathan said without thinking. Then when he realized what he said, he sighed in frustration. He put his hands up to his face and rubbed his temple and then when he looked back at her, Peyton was smiling.
"I knew it!" she practically yelled. Nathan's expression changed distinctly. His face was a mask and Peyton couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"You knew what?" he asked in mock amusement.
"That something's going on between you and Haley," she said.
"Yeah, she's my tutor," Nathan said, looking at her in confusion. Peyton scoffed.
"She's more than just your tutor, Nathan, so don't insult my intelligence by trying to lie to me," Peyton said. Nathan stood still for a moment. Peyton was hoping he was going to bring the wall down and finally admit to it. To her amazement, his mask disappeared and she could see the amusement in his eyes.
"How did you find out?" he asked.
"You stayed at the café," Peyton reminded him. He looked at her in confusion.
"What?" he asked.
"Yesterday when we were all hanging out at Karen's Café and Haley was working. When everyone, including the rest of the team decided to leave, you didn't go with them. You decided to stay behind," Peyton said.
"And by that, you figured I'm dating Haley?" he said. Peyton took a step back and looked at him.
"Did you just say 'dating'?" she teased. He glared at her. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. You've never 'dated' anyone before, Nate, and to hear you say it and actually mean it is new," she said, laughing.
"Very funny. Now let's get back to how you took the fact that I stayed at the café to mean that I was dating Haley," he said.
"Oh, it didn't," Peyton said. He looked at her in confusion. "I just thought it was weird. I mean, I knew you and Haley were friends, I just didn't think you were very close friends. So when I came back to get my coat and saw the two of you looking a little cosy, I figured something was going on," Peyton said. He sighed. "How long have you two been seeing each other?" Peyton asked. Nathan smirked.
"A little over two months," he replied. Peyton smiled and nodded.
"Interesting," she commented.
"What?" he asked.
"Well, that just happens to coincide with when you stopped having your infamous one-night stands," Peyton said. Nathan shook his head in annoyance. He and Peyton had been friends since sixth grade, so they knew exactly what buttons to push. They even dated for a few weeks in ninth grade, but it was over as quickly as it had started. "Who else knows about it?" Peyton asked.
"Besides you and me, only Haley knows," he said.
"You're keeping it a secret?" Peyton asked in confusion. Nathan nodded. "Why?" she asked.
"I'm really serious about her, Peyton, and if the rest of the school found out about us, we'd never get a moment's peace. Lucas would go ballistic and I don't want Haley to be hurt by her best friend like that. I know how important her friendship with Lucas is to her. Other girls would constantly be bothering Haley or warning her about me if they happened to be one of the girls I…," he said.
"You had sex with and then ditched the morning after?" Peyton finished and smiled at him in amusement when she noticed that he was glaring at her.
"I'm not that guy anymore," he said defensively. Peyton softened.
"I know you're not and I'm guessing part of that is because of Haley. I'm just surprised," she said.
"About what, that I'm being nice and in a steady relationship?" he asked. Peyton shook her head.
"No, that Haley James is actually dating you," Peyton said. "Gee, thanks," he said. Peyton chuckled. "Come on. You know what I mean. Do you remember when you asked her to tutor you?" Peyton asked.
"Yeah, she was convinced that I was just using her as a way to drive Lucas nuts," Nathan said.
"And you're trying to tell me that wasn't part of the reason?" Peyton asked. She knew him too well.
"Well, yeah, okay, at the time, it was part of the reason," he admitted.
"That's what I thought. But what I meant was that she had such a hard time deciding whether or not she should tutor you. I remember her telling me that she was taking a huge chance on you. She wasn't completely convinced what your motives were back then," Peyton reminded him.
AN HOUR LATER
Peyton walked into Karen's Café and smirked when she saw Haley come around to the counter. She had a bin and was walking around collecting dirty dishes. She put the bin down on the counter and looked up at Peyton. She smiled. "Hey," she said. Peyton nodded. "You waiting for Jake?" she asked. Peyton nodded.
"Where is he?" Peyton asked. "Oh, Deb sent him on a delivery across town. He should be back in a few minutes," Haley replied.
"So what are you up to tonight?" Peyton asked.
"Lucas and I are going to hang out," she replied.
"Oh, so you're not going to be kissing Nathan tonight? Saving it for Saturday?" Peyton asked quietly. Haley paused momentarily and then she chuckled.
"Nathan told you, didn't he?" she asked.
"That you and he have been having secret meetings behind closed doors for the past two months?" Peyton asked. To her amazement, Haley's face remained calm. She didn't look angry even though it was obvious that Peyton was teasing her in the hopes of getting a rise out of her, but Haley caught on to the type of person Peyton was pretty quickly. She knew that Peyton liked to kid around a lot but anything that came out of her mouth was never her intending to be mean. She nodded. Peyton smirked and nodded. "After I cornered him with it, yeah," Peyton replied smiling. Haley's face grew serious.
"Look, Peyton, you have to promise not to tell anyone- even Jake and especially not Lucas," Haley said.
"Hey, I'm not Brooke; I know how to keep my mouth shut," Peyton said, laughing. Haley nodded appreciatively. "Just out of curiosity, why haven't you told Lucas?" Peyton asked. Haley smiled.
"Did you see how he reacted when Nathan decided to stay at the café yesterday?" Haley asked. Peyton stopped to think for a moment. Then, she nodded. "That's why," Haley replied. Peyton laughed. Haley leaned on the counter and looked at Peyton. "I'm going to tell him about it eventually. I just…" Haley started to say. Peyton shook her head.
"You don't have to explain it to me, Haley. I understand. I've been in the middle of a Lucas/Nathan war before and it was over a basketball game. I can't even imagine how hard it must be when you're dating one and best friends with the other," Peyton said. Haley nodded.
"It is hard when two of the people you really care about hate each other," Haley said in agreement.
"For what it's worth: It's not like you need Lucas' permission to date Nathan," Peyton reminded her. Haley laughed.
"Oh, I know that and it's not like I have an obligation to tell him or anything. Because I don't," Haley said, seemingly more to herself.
"That's right; you don't. But we both know that you will tell him because that's the kind of friend you are," Peyton said. Haley nodded and smiled.
"Just not right now," Haley said.
SATURDAY
Haley walked to the dock and sat down at the picnic table while she waited for Nathan early on Saturday morning. She opened her textbook and binder and started working on some of her own homework. It was cold that morning and she started shivering. Then a jacket was put on her shoulders and she recognized the scent of cologne immediately. She turned around and smiled as Nathan put his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. "Hey," he said and planted a kiss on the top of her head. Then he made his way over to the other side of the bench and put his books down. "So what are you working on?" he asked.
"Biology," she replied. He laughed.
"Sounds fun," he said sarcastically.
"Ha, ha. How are you doing with that study package I gave you?" she asked.
"Fourth page," he replied proudly. Haley dropped her pen and looked at him in amazement. There were five pages, but with the way he usually worked, she expected him to be on the third page. She got up and put her arms through the sleeves of his jacket and walked over to him. She smiled.
"That's great," she told him as she kissed him on the cheek.
"Well, I had a lot of spare time yesterday. I figured I might as well do some homework," he said. Haley laughed. She started to walk away but he gently grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down beside him. "Hold on a second. I haven't seen you since Thursday," he said. Haley smiled and turned around to face him. He pulled her into a kiss that made her thankful that she was sitting down as she felt her body start to weaken. If she had been standing up, her knees probably would've gave out.
"What the hell?" someone said. Haley could swear that she recognized the voice and she pulled away and turned around to see that Lucas was there. He looked stunned. "I came here to hang out with you because I thought you might want some company. Um, something tells me that I was wrong," Lucas said. Haley could practically feel the anger coming off him in waves. He turned around and walked away. Haley got up, still wearing Nathan's jacket, leaving her books on the table and walked after him.
"Lucas, wait!" she called after him.