Returning the Favour (Chapter Three)

TWO DAYS LATER

On Tuesday afternoon, Haley walked to her locker and put some of her books away. She closed her locker door and jumped when she saw Lucas. "Jeez, Luke!" she exclaimed. He laughed at her.

"Sorry, Hales. I didn't mean to scare you," he said.

"Yes, you did," she said. He shrugged. They started walking down the hall and Lucas smiled. Haley looked in the direction of his smile and frowned when she saw Brooke Davis, along with Nathan Scott, Tim Smith and Peyton Sawyer. This was the last thing she needed; a run-in with that jerk, but she continued walking. Lucas hugged Brooke and then they kissed for a few minutes. Haley looked around uncomfortably.

"Hey, Broody," Brooke said.

"Hi, Cheery," he said, smiling. He started to laugh.

"Guys, can we please go get something to eat now?" Tim asked.

Peyton laughed at him and said, "Tim, do you ever have any patience?" Tim shook his head.

"Not when I'm hungry," he replied. Lucas looked at Brooke for a minute and then to Nathan. He stiffened for a minute.

"Will you eat with us?" Brooke asked, pouting and widening her eyes in innocence. Haley rolled her eyes because she knew that when she turned to look at Lucas, there would be a big smile on his face as he nodded. She looked up and sure enough, Lucas was nodding and smiling at her. Then, he stopped and looked at Haley as if he suddenly remembered that she was there. She never hung out with this group and Haley could tell that Lucas was worried that she wouldn't be accepted.

"Hales, you going to join us?" he asked carefully.

"Yeah, Tutor Girl, come on," Brooke said encouragingly. Haley heard the sarcasm in her voice so she shook her head.

"As fun as that sounds, I have some work to catch up on," Haley said.

"Like what? You're ahead of everyone else in all of your classes," Lucas asked.

"Ok, fine. It's not my work. I have some tutoring stuff to work on. I'll see you later," she said, walking away. Lucas exhaled sharply. He turned to look at Brooke who was chatting with Peyton.

"I'm going to go talk to her," he said, starting to leave, but Brooke pulled him back.

"Just leave her be, Lucas. She's probably very busy," she said.

"No, she was upset and she's been upset for a few days now," Lucas said.

"Everybody gets upset once in a while, Lucas," Peyton said.

"Not Haley. And if she is upset, she's the kind of person who will tell her best friend about it and she hasn't," Lucas said.

"So, maybe she's fine," Brooke said. Lucas shook her head.

"No, she is. I know her," Lucas said.

"Well, we're hungry and we haven't seen each other in two days," Brooke said. Lucas shrugged as he gave in to Brooke.

TEN MINUTES LATER

Nathan didn't know why he went to the tutoring centre. He didn't know why he cared if Haley James was upset or not. He didn't know why he felt that he ought to help her in some way and he didn't know why he thought he could help her; he just felt that he should. Haley was sitting at a round table with three-file folders open flat and three notebooks in each along with other papers. She had a few pieces of paper that had obviously been typed on the computer because it was computer paper that she was holding. She grabbed a sip of orange juice and then put it back down. She reached for her red pen and put the papers down on the table so she had a flat surface to write on. He walked up to her and asked, "Is this seat taken?" Haley shook her head without looking up. A few seconds later, she reached for her juice but then stopped when her eyes locked with Nathan's. Then, her eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. He shrugged. "Are you lost or something?" she asked. He looked at her in confusion.

"I mean, isn't this where 'nerds' hang out? Last time I checked, you weren't part of that group," she said angrily. Nathan bit his lip.

"Okay. Lucas was right; you are upset," he said.

"How lucky of me to have you around to point out these sort of things," she said. Whoa! He thought to himself. If he didn't know better, he'd swear that she was Peyton Sawyer's twin sister. Only Peyton had the guts to say something like that and it was certainly her style. He didn't think Haley James had a mean bone in her body. He assumed she was one of those girls that were always nice and full of wide-eyed innocence. The kind of girl that didn't want to hurt anyone or make any enemies. Also the kind of girl that would never dare insult the great Nathan Scott. Clearly, he was wrong.

"Call me crazy, but are you angry at me by any chance?" he asked. Haley smirked sarcastically at him.

"Why would I be angry at you?" she asked, looking at him as if she didn't have the slightest clue as to what he was talking about. "I mean, it's not like you arrogantly insulted me after I helped you out," she said. He swallowed hard. "Oh, but wait," she said. She paused as she looked at him.

"That was you," Haley finished. She gathered up her things and walked to another table and put them down again. She sat down and pulled out a portable CD player, plugged headphones into it and put it down as she went back to what she was doing before he sat down. He was speechless as he looked at her in shock and disbelief.

TEN MINUTES LATER

Nathan went to the cafeteria and found Peyton, Brooke, Tim, Jake and Lucas all eating at the same table. He sighed as he walked over and pulled a chair out and sat down. He grabbed his lunch and opened it. "Where have you been?" Peyton asked.

"At the tutoring centre," he replied. Peyton dropped her fork onto her rice that she had been eating. Tim gaped at him in shock. Brooke raised her eyebrows in surprise and curiosity. Jake had a neutral expression while Lucas' mirrored Brooke's.

"Did you just say you were at the tutoring centre?" Brooke asked. Nathan nodded.

"The temperature must have dropped in hell. I didn't know you knew where it was," Peyton said.

"Why were you at the tutoring centre?" Jake asked in a matter of fact tone.

"Well, you said that Haley was upset," Nathan said, looking at Lucas. Lucas looked at him in confusion.

"And?" Brooke asked.

"I went to see if she was ok," he said.

"Why?" Lucas asked.

"Well, she helped me out a while ago. I was just trying to return the favour," Nathan replied.

"How'd it go?" Peyton asked. Nathan shook his head as he laughed.

He looked at Lucas as he asked, "Let's just say I didn't receive a warm welcome."

"From Tutor Girl?" Brooke asked in disbelief. It seemed that Brooke had the same misconception of Haley that he had had. He nodded.

"What did you say?" Lucas asked.

"Well, it's not what I said this time. It's what I said the last time I saw her that she's mad about," he said.

"Nathan, what did you do to her?" Peyton asked, looking at him knowingly. Peyton and Nathan knew each other very well, since they had dated for a while and known each other since grade eight.

"I don't really remember, but apparently I insulted her in front of my friends," Nathan said, trying to remember.

"Oh, I remember!" Tim exclaimed happily.

"Care to share?" Brooke asked.

"Well, it was Saturday. I asked what you were doing in the tutoring centre with that nerd and you said you were giving her the attention she craved from you or something," Tim said. Peyton looked at him in disbelief.

"Nathan!" she exclaimed. Now, Nathan remembered. It was when he was about to ask her to tutor him full-time but Tim and a few guys on the team had seen him.

"Well, no wonder she wasn't nice to you," Lucas said, shaking his head in disappointment. Nathan and Lucas had been at odds for a while, but since Lucas started dating Brooke and joined the team, they had come to a truce. They were civil towards one another now.

"What exactly did she say to you?" Brooke asked.

"It wasn't really what she said. It was more in the way she said it," Nathan said.

"How did she say it?" Brooke asked.

"She reminded me of you," he said, looking at Peyton.

"That doesn't surprise me. Haley's always had a way with words. She's always known how to express herself without resorting to actual insults," Lucas said. Brooke looked at him.

"Actual insults?" she repeated.

"You know. She doesn't swear," Lucas tried to explain.

"I never thought she had it in her," Peyton said, smiling like she was impressed.

"Not many people do. Haley's a very even-tempered person and she tries to be nice. But when you get her angry…" Lucas said. Nathan and the others looked at him expectantly. "Watch out and take cover," he finished.