FIVE DAYS LATER (SATURDAY MORNING)
"Hey, Nathan!" Peyton exclaimed when Nathan opened his front door. Nathan felt like he'd gone back in time. Back in ninth grade, he and Peyton had dated and this was how they used to start every morning. Peyton would come to his house and ring the doorbell. He'd answer it and she'd give him a big greeting.
"What are you doing here?" he asked without thinking. Peyton frowned.
"Gee, it's nice to see you too," she said sarcastically. She started to turn around but he grabbed her arm.
"Look, Peyton, I'm sorry. I'm just surprised to see you at my doorstep. What's up?" he said. Peyton nodded.
"Me and Jake are kidnapping everyone to go hang out," she said.
"Everyone?" he repeated.
"You, me, Jake, Brooke, Lucas, Tim and…" she replied.
"And?" he repeated. He started repeating the names in his head. Who was missing from their group?
"And Haley," Peyton said. Nathan looked at her in shock.
"Haley James?" he asked. Peyton nodded. "Since when does she hang out with us?" Nathan asked.
"Since she's eaten lunch with us every day for the past week," Peyton replied.
"I don't know if she'd want to come. It's not really her kind of thing," he said. Peyton laughed.
"Oh, please, Nathan. Every girl likes shopping," she said, hitting him on the shoulder and walking into his house.
"Where are you going?" he asked, following her inside.
"Up to your room. You need to get ready. Come on," she said already up the stairs.
"What about Brooke, Tim and Lucas?" Nathan asked walking into his room and picking out some clothes. He went into the bathroom that was attached to his bedroom and closed the door most of the way, but left it open a little crack so he could still hear her.
"We already picked Tim up. Jake just when to go grab Lucas and Brooke. They're at his house. We need you and Lucas to get Haley," she said.
"Why?" he called.
"Because we don't know where she lives," Peyton replied. He was dressed and came out of the bedroom.
"How are you going to convince her to go?" he asked eagerly. Peyton smiled at him. He looked in the mirror and saw that there was a silly grin on his face.
"Just leave it to me. I can convince anyone to do anything," she said.
"You may have met your match with Haley, Pey," he said. Peyton looked at him curiously. "What?" he asked. She smiled. "What!" he asked again, more loudly this time.
"You like Haley, don't you?" she asked. He looked away from her.
"Don't be ridiculous," he said. Her eyes widened with excitement as she smiled.
"You do!" she exclaimed. He started to say something, but she interrupted him. "Oh, you can't deny it now, Nathan. You only avoid looking someone in the eye if you're hiding something," she said. A horn honked outside and Peyton went to the window. She waved as she said, "It's them. Come on, lover boy, we've got to go."
"Don't say a word," he warned her. Peyton laughed.
"Aw," she teased.
"Peyton, I mean it," he said. She rolled her eyes as she nodded. "You promise?" he asked.
"Oh, what are you, in kindergarten? Yes, I promise," she said, leading the way out of the room and to the car.
FIVE MINUTES LATER
They pulled in front of Haley's house. Her house was impressive, but it wasn't a flashy house. It was large enough for all of her brothers and sisters, but it still wasn't as big as Nathan's house. He knew her parents made a good enough living to afford a house like his if they didn't have so many kids. Everyone got out of the car and started walking up to the front of the house. Lucas was the one to knock on the door. No one answered. Nathan had never been over to her house. They always did tutoring at a library, school or his house. Lucas turned the knob, but it was lock. He took his key chain and unlocked the front door. He walked in first and led the way up to the main floor. "Haley?" he called. There was no answer.
"I hear music," Peyton said. Lucas listened carefully.
"It's the piano coming from her room," he said, leading the way upstairs. They walked passed eight doors and stopped in front of the one at the end of the hall on the right. Lucas tapped on it lightly. The piano music stopped as footsteps approached the door. The knob turned and Haley appeared on the other side. She smirked when she saw Lucas, but frowned when she saw every one else.
"What's going on?" she asked, looking at everyone.
"We're going out," Lucas announced.
"Okay. Have fun," Haley said uncertainly. It was as if she thought they came all the way over there to tell her that and she clearly didn't understand why.
"No, Hales. We're all going out," he said gesturing to everyone, including her. Haley laughed.
"We are, are we?" she asked doubtfully. Peyton stepped forward, dragging Brooke in the room by her arm and closed the door.
"Yes, we are," she said. Haley narrowed her eyes at Peyton. No wonder Nathan likes her, Peyton thought to herself. Haley was clearly her own boss.
"I don't think so," Haley said, sitting back down at the piano. Peyton was surprised by the harshness of her tone.
"Why not?" Brooke asked.
"I'm not a big drinker. I wouldn't fit in," Haley offered. Peyton cracked a smile.
"Then, you can be the designated driver," Brooke said, shrugging as if it weren't a big deal, which it wasn't. They didn't discriminate against people who didn't drink. Peyton actually had a lot of respect for people who chose not to.
"Driving at night creeps me out," Haley said.
"So put on the interior. You'd never know the difference," Brooke said, playing along to Haley's game.
"That's illegal," Haley pointed out. Brooke looked to Peyton questioningly. Peyton nodded, indicating that what Haley said was true.
"Whoops. Oh, well," Brooke said to herself.
"Next excuse, please," Peyton said sarcastically. Haley winked at Peyton mischievously.
"I hate shopping," Haley said. Brooke gasped and started choking as if she'd had the wind knocked out of her. Peyton laughed hysterically.
"That was a good one," she said to Haley.
"Thanks," she said.
"So, seriously, will you come with us?" Peyton asked. Haley hesitated. Then, she shook her head.
"Not even if Nathan is coming?" Peyton asked intuitively. There was a flicker in Haley's eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"Not even if he's coming," Haley said.
"Brooke, go and see Lucas," Peyton said.
"Thank you! Hope you decide to come with us, Haley," Brooke called as she slammed the door. They heard her footsteps bounding down the stairs. Haley had a confused look on her face.
"Did she just call me 'Haley'?" she asked. Peyton nodded.
"I think you should come with us," Peyton said.
"Well, I don't," Haley said. Peyton smiled. Nathan was right; Haley was a stubborn one.
"Why not?" Peyton asked. Haley played a few keys on the piano before she answered.
"I'm not the best person to go shopping with," Haley said. Peyton smiled.
"Well, we're not only going to shop at the mall. We'll grab a bite to eat eventually. But I think you're the perfect person to go shopping with me and Brooke," she said. The guys would meet up with them eventually, but for the most part, it'd be the girls shopping.
"Why?" Haley asked.
"Well, Brooke and I sometimes go crazy when we shop. We don't know when to stop sometimes. And you seem like you're the kind of person who doesn't shop a lot. You go to the stores when you need things and you occasionally browse, but you'll look quickly at clothes and take what you like. You won't try on twenty different outfits and model each one for your friends. You'll pick what you like," Peyton said.
"So?" Haley asked.
"Well, you also strike me as the type of person who doesn't like to waste their time. So when Brooke and I go crazy, you'll be there to stop us," Peyton said. Haley laughed as she nodded.
"You'd probably drag us out of the store," Peyton said, smiling.
Haley smirked as she said, "I totally would do that." Peyton's eyes widened in surprise.
"What would people think?" she asked Haley.
"They'd know not to mess with me when I mean business," Haley offered.