Two months have gone by
HALEY'S HOUSE
"Okay, now it's time to get to work," Haley said as she broke the kiss. Nathan sighed.
"Come on. I can fail one test," he said. Haley laughed as she got up off the bed and went over to the desk.
"Not on my watch," she said, bringing the books onto the bed and her pen. "Do these equations. And I'll work on some of my work," she said. He stretched out and yawned.
"Oh, I have something to tell you," he said. At the tone in his voice, Haley turned around and looked at him cautiously. "Brooke is throwing a party tomorrow," he said. Haley shrugged.
"So?" she asked. Nathan laughed at her cavalier attitude. She really was from a different world than him.
"She wants us to come," he said.
"Us?" Haley asked doubtfully.
"Yeah, you and me," he clarified.
"Did she specifically say the both of us, Nathan, or did she say you and you want me to come?" she asked.
"She invited me and I am inviting you," Nathan said.
"I thought so," Haley said.
"What?" Nathan asked.
"Nathan, Brooke and I don't get along… at all," she reminded him.
"So?" he asked.
"So, I don't think she'd like it if I showed up at her house uninvited," she said.
"Well, I want you to come and if you don't, then I don't want to go," he said.
"No, you should go. They're your friends and you've been spending so much time with me, you hardly see them anymore," Haley said.
"But I want to spend time with you. Why can't I spend time with you and with my friends at a party, no less?" he asked.
"Because I'm not going to a party thrown by Brooke Davis," Haley said.
"What does that mean?" he asked.
"It means that I don't fit in with that crowd and I have no desire to be exposed to the kinds of things that go on in that type of party," Haley said.
"Lucas will be there," he said, hoping that would make her change her mind.
"Yeah, and he knows that parties and me don't mix," Haley said. He got up and kneeled down at her chair. He drew her in and kissed her long and hard.
"Will you come now?" he asked. Haley shook her head. Then, he kissed her longer and deeper. When the kiss ended, he smiled as he said, "That's worth coming to the party at least." Haley smiled.
"You know, you give yourself way too much credit," she teased. Then he kissed her again. "Okay, stop. I'll go," she said. Nathan smiled, but then he frowned.
"Wait, you don't like it when I kiss you?" he asked in concern. Haley laughed and swatted him playfully on the shoulder.
"Of course I do, but I need some time to breathe in between," she said, laughing harder.
THE NEXT DAY
Haley yawned in the car on the way to Brooke's house. Lucas laughed. "Why am I driving you again?" he asked.
"Because Nathan is already there and I wanted to go later and I knew I could count on you for that," she said, giggling.
"I am not always late," he protested. Haley laughed.
"Sorry, but you are, Luke. If you were on time for anything, I'd wash my mouth out with soap," Haley promised.
"I'm on time for practice every day," he said.
"No, you're not," she said.
"Yes, I am. I'm in the change room when practice starts," he said.
"If you're in the change room while the practice is just starting, then you're not on time because you're obviously still getting ready," she said.
"We do warm-ups, so it's not like it really matters if I get out there a little after everyone else," Lucas said.
"That may be so, but you're still late," Haley pointed out.
"Everyone's a critic," Lucas mumbled in mock anger. Then he smiled and started laughing with Haley. He pulled the car onto the side of the road. Haley looked at Brooke's house in shock.
"That's Brooke's house?" Haley asked. Lucas nodded as he opened her door and walked up to the front door with her. He knocked on it and Brooke answered the door a few seconds later.
"Hey, Broody, it's about time you showed up!" she exclaimed and kissed him. Then, she saw Haley and turned to him.
"And you brought some company," she said, looking at him in confusion. She probably thought Haley couldn't tell what the look was about.
"Actually, Nathan invited her," Lucas said. Brooke nodded.
"Nathan's inside," she said, throwing a sarcastic smirk Haley's way. Haley smiled right back only hers did not have a trace of sarcasm in it. She was too preoccupied with finding Nathan to deal with her issues about Brooke. She waved bye to Lucas and whisked passed the two of them. She walked in and couldn't see Nathan. But she did run into that Amber girl.
"What are you doing here?" Amber asked in sarcasm.
"I was invited," she said.
"Really? By who, your imaginary friend?" Amber asked, clearly drunk.
"No, by my boyfriend. Nathan Scott. I'm sure you remember him," Haley said, slipping past her, taking a little pleasure in the shocked look on Amber's face. She started searching the living room and stopped in front of the kitchen table where people were playing strip poker. Then, strong arms came around her. And lips started trailing kisses down her neck. She smiled at the slightly familiar touch.
"I've missed you," Nathan said. Haley turned around and he started to kiss her. Haley pulled back.
"Nathan, are you drunk?" Haley asked.
Nathan laughed as he said, "What do you think?"
"I think you are," she said.
"Then, I must be if you think I am, right? I mean, you're always right, right?" he asked.
"I didn't mean it like that," she said.
"You never do, Haley, but it always comes out like that," he slurred. Haley took a step away from him.
"Did something happen tonight, Nathan? Are you ok?" she asked. Her voice was full of concern.
"I just got in touch with who I am, Hales, that's all," he said.
"What are you talking about?" she asked. He smiled wickedly at her.
"I missed parties like this, that's what I meant," he said.
"I know. That's why you're here," she reminded him.
"And I'm going to the one tomorrow night too and the night after that and every other night this week," he said. Haley nodded.
"Ok, if that's what you want," she said, not fully understanding what he was trying to tell her.
"Thanks for the permission," he said. Now, she was angry.
"What hell has gotten into you?" she asked.
"Me, Haley. For the first time in a long time, I've been reminded of who I really am," Nathan said.
"A drunk?" Haley guessed. Nathan frowned.
"There's nothing wrong with drinking," he said.
"I didn't say there was," she said simply.
"No, but the disdain in your voice makes it pretty clear that you have a problem with it," he said. Haley shrugged.
"I don't, normally. If other people want to drink themselves into a stupor every night before they die of alcohol poisoning, I consider it their choice. But, I do have a problem with it when my boyfriend starts insulting me while he's drunk," she said.
"Well, I have my own mind and I can make my decisions for myself. You're not making them for me anymore," he said.
"Exactly what choice have I made for you?" she asked.
"The choice not to hang out with my friends," he said.
"That was your decision, Nathan, not mine. You said you wanted to spend time with me. If you remember things correctly in your current state, then you should remember that I told you that you should go. You're the one who wanted me to come," she reminded him.
"Because I wanted to bring you into my circle. I wanted you to be friends with my friends so that we could all hang out together," he said.
"I don't have to like your friends, Nathan, and they don't have to like me. I only want to be in your life. I don't want to be in your world that includes your friends. I have my own," she said.
"My friends are my life, Haley and if you don't accept them, then you can't accept me," he said.
"Are you giving me an ultimatum?" she demanded.
"Big word, Haley. I am drunk," he said.
"Are you saying that either I choose you and your friends or choose not to have you at all?" she demanded.
"That's exactly what I'm saying. If you don't want my friends, then I can't be with you. This is my world and if you choose to be with me, you have to come into my world and be a part of everything that comes with it," he said.
"Nathan, you're not thinking straight while you're drunk. Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.
"Haley, I know what I'm doing," he said. Haley nodded, knowing what she had to do.
"Then, you can have your world because I don't want it," she said. She moved away from him and started to walk away. She turned around and said, "Any of it."
MONDAY (TWO DAYS LATER)
Haley sat down at the table in the tutoring centre. She had gone into a routine to eating lunch with Nathan, Peyton, Lucas, Jake and Brooke, but now she was quite content with going back to her old routine of eating lunch in the tutoring centre. She opened her bag and pulled out her lunch bag. She grabbed her Pepsi, slice of leftover pizza and usual granola bar. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and was surprised to see Peyton Sawyer. "What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.
"We're all wondering where you were," she said.
"Well, here I am. I'm not lost," she said. Peyton smirked.
"I can see that. We were just worried. How come you're not at the table?" she asked. Haley looked at her.
"Why do you ask a question to which the answer is so blatantly obvious?" Haley asked, not in the mood for polite chitchat.
"Haley, Nathan gets a little intense when he's drunk. You shouldn't take anything he says too seriously," Peyton said.
"So you know what happened?" Haley asked.
"Nathan told me yesterday," she admitted. Haley nodded as she put her food down and looked at Peyton angrily.
"Maybe you let Nathan treat you like that when the two of you were going out, but I won't," Haley said. Peyton smirked.
"I'm just trying to explain to you that there are certain things that you need to accept about Nathan," she said.
"I can't and I won't accept treatment like that from anyone," Haley clarified.
"He was drunk," Peyton offered.
"And that's supposed to make what he did to me ok?" Haley asked.
"It's supposed to make you realize that it didn't mean anything," Peyton said.
"But it did," Haley said.
"Haley, Nathan wasn't thinking when he said all of that stuff," Peyton said.
"Some things tend to come out clearer when we lose our inhibitions, Peyton," Haley said. Peyton started to speak.
"It's over, Peyton," Haley said clearly. "Just stop making excuses for him because it's not going to change what happened!" Haley exclaimed.
"Haley, you're not thinking straight right now," Peyton warned.
"Actually, I am. I'm not drunk," Haley said.
"No, you're angry and anger tends to cloud a person's judgement," Peyton said.
"Or it can make a person's judgement more precise. I mean, think about how I was when I wasn't angry. I actually thought that Nathan was a good guy and I believed that he would never hurt me. I obviously wasn't judging him pretty well then," Haley said, putting her stuff back in her bag and storming out of the room.
Peyton walked back to the cafeteria. She sat down at the table. "Where were you?" Jake asked.
"I was in the tutoring centre," she said. Everyone looked at her in shock. Nathan looked at her and shook his head.
"Peyton, you didn't," Lucas said, shaking his head.
"Did," she admitted, nodding her head. Lucas looked at her and sighed.
"How did it go?" Nathan asked. Peyton laughed.
"Do you remember when you told me that I may have met my match in Haley?" Peyton asked. Nathan nodded. "It turns out you were right," Peyton said, smiling at him sympathetically.
"That bad, huh?" Lucas asked.
"I tried, Nate. Whatever you said must have really hurt. She's really mad," Peyton said. Nathan nodded.
"I was drunk. She shouldn't have listened to a word I said," he said, shaking his head in regret.
"I tried to tell her that," Peyton said.
"I can imagine her response," Lucas said.
"Oh, I don't think you could," Peyton said, shaking her head.
"She was mad, wasn't she?" Lucas asked. Peyton nodded.
"That's definitely an accurate assessment," she said.
"Well, wouldn't you be?" a voice asked. They looked up and saw Haley glaring at them with flashing eyes. "You left this in the tutoring centre," Haley said to Peyton, dropping her CD onto the table.
"You know," she started. She paused before she continued. "It's really touching that all of you can sit here and gossip about me," she said angrily. Nathan got up and grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him.
"Haley," he said. Haley wrenched free from his grasp.
"Stay away from me," she snapped, leaving the room. He followed her out into the hall.
"We should talk about this," he said. She turned around and looked at him. For the first time, he saw the raw pain in her eyes along with the steaming anger.
"You made your feelings pretty clear on Saturday, Nathan. So, what is there really left to say?" she asked.
"A lot, I think," he said.
"Well, then, you would be wrong," Haley said coldly. She turned around and went into the one place he couldn't follow her: the girl's washroom.