At The End of The Day
Authors Thoughts: Well this chapter starts with Brooke and Haley, then cuts to Lucas and Nathan, and then returns to the Brooke and Haley, picking up where it left off…I hope it's not confusing and you can follow it.
Chapter 12 "Sometimes I look at you...and you seem to be looking back at me...but sometimes you look away...like your afraid of might what happen if you stare just a second longer." -Unknown"The guy has been telling me for years about these parties and I've always wanted to go but my parents decide this is the year they're actually going to be home for Christmas and want me there!" Brooke ranted. Brooke and Haley were lounging in Brooke's room as they often did catching up after the Holiday break. Brooke had always hated missing a party and clearly this was no different. She had enjoyed visiting Lucas' family at Thanksgiving and she wanted to spend more time with him. Between basketball and school and her running the Social Activities Committee at school they had been spending less and less time together. But all of that was pretty normal. Her parents were a different case. Rich socialites they always had events and parties to go to, parties that had nothing to do with her, and often they went out of town leaving Brooke alone. She presented the image of not caring, but Haley knew better. She knew that deep down Brooke liked it when her parents actually gave her attention rather than throw money at her. But this year they went nowhere and for the first time Brooke wished they'd had. She didn't' get to go to the Scott New Years Eve Extravaganza as she was referring to it now and she was upset to put it lightly.
"Sorry Brooke, it really was a lavish party but I'm sure you've been to plenty just like them before," Haley appeased her.
"Well not like that one, probably not anyways. Tell me Haley, tell me everything that happened, how was it?" she smiled wanting to know every last detail so she could feel like she had been there.
"Well the room was gorgeous and the people were pretty nice. It was a lot of fun everyone just bringing in the New Year together. You'd be surprised at how much you get caught up into it. You know most of my New Years bashes consist of curling up on the couch watching Dick Clark but I actually had a lot of fun," Haley smiled wide.
"I'm glad you had a good time Hales, what else?"
"What do you mean what else? You want a list of every item that was available for eating? And my fault, I didn't get the name of the champagne but it was good," Haley teased sarcastically.
"Haley James you drank!" Brooke sounded all too excited about the possibility.
"It was New Years I had some champagne. It wasn't like I was drinking beer on some random Friday night and I didn't get drunk."
Brooke shrugged her shoulders, "Makes sense."
"But Peyton sure did," she began to laugh at the memory.
"Peyton got drunk?" Brooke joined her laugh, "That girl, she's a wild one isn't she?" she joked playfully.
Haley scrunched up her face, "With wild ideas…" she trailed off.
Brooke lifted one eyebrow up, "Now what does that mean? What am I missing?"
"Oh by the way Dad left a message yesterday, says he and uncle Dan got a great response from all the clients. They all enjoyed the party," Lucas told Nathan as both boys walked out of the gym together.
Nathan smiled, "Yeah you gotta admit Luke, our dad's actually throw pretty good parties when it comes to this sort of professional-business stuff."
"Oh absolutely, Mike in my Philosophy class says his dad's business parties are always stuffy overdressed people making speeches that bore him to death and his dad makes him go to every last one."
"Ouch."
"Yeah…anyways it was nice you know," he opened the door to the locker rooms and let Nathan walk in first, "I actually forgot how much I missed having those." Nathan and Lucas headed over to their gym lockers that were opposite sides one another and sat down on the benches.
"Think we'll ever outgrow them?" Nathan wondered aloud.
"Are you kidding? They're going to make us run them someday. Even if you go off and play basketball and I become a writer they'll still find a way to make us have them. The dealership is probably in the will left to us."
"Dude don't talk about their wills, how morbid is that?"
Lucas scoffed, "Please. Everybody thinks about their parents dying some day, do you see how many french fries my dad eats when we get fast food? My mom yells at him that he's going to have a heart attack and leave her to raise me all by herself."
"Raise you? Aren't you a little grown already?" Nathan raised his eyebrows at his older cousin.
"Sure," Lucas shrugged, "but I'm still her baby," he grinned.
Nathan rolled his eyes, "Change the subject. And speaking of change lets get on it, I have work to get back to."
"Ok so change of subject," Lucas began, "Who'd you kiss at midnight at the party?"
"Haley," Nathan replied easily but his face showed confusion as Lucas began to laugh.
"No really, come on."
"What do you mean really? I kissed Haley, is that so hard to believe?"
Lucas moved a hand over his mouth, the smile still evident underneath and studied his cousin's face. "You're serious aren't you?"
"Yeah," he couldn't help the little bit of a smile that crept on his face at the memory.
"Peyton, that chick's crazy man!" Lucas laughed pulling his shirt over his head and replacing it with his sweater.
"Yeah well, maybe I kind of owe her a thank you, you know," Nathan replied as he changed his shirt as well.
Lucas turned back to look at Nathan, the back of his head was facing him, and he squinted his eyes as if trying to read his mind.
"Wha-what does that mean?"
Nathan turned around and smiled, "Because of her I got to kiss a pretty girl, is that not deserving of a thank you?"
"You like Haley don't you?"
Nathan looked his cousin in the eye, "Maybe," he stated so non-challantly it made Lucas laugh again.
"Yeah and maybe basketball's not our favorite sport, come on man you like her!" Lucas slapped his arm playfully.
"Shh," Nathan looked around them ensuring no one was listening, "I don't need the whole campus to know all right?"
"Does Haley know?"
"No, I mean…I don't think so."
"Well?" Lucas shut his locker door, "Are you gonna tell her?"
"Right…Hey Haley, I have a crush on you! Will you go out with me pretty-please?" Nathan mocked, "This isn't middle school Lucas, you don't just…tell…the person," Nathan shut his own locker.
"I'm not saying pass her a note man. If you're not going to flat out tell her what's the plan then?" he asked as they began to make their way out of the locker rooms.
Nathan shrugged, "Look Luke I like her all right? But how do I know if she likes me?"
Lucas shoved his hands in his pockets as they were now outside and the cold January air was blowing. "I guess you don't know unless you ask her, or unless she gives some sort of indication that she likes you."
Nathan laughed, "Haley and I are friends Luke I don't want to ruin that."
"Well you never know maybe she likes you…oh crap!" Lucas looked at his watch, "I forgot I was supposed to go back and talk to coach after practice…gotta go Nate, here give this to Brooke for me will you?" Lucas handed him the book he'd been carrying in his hand and sprinted back towards the athletic center. Lucas had been planning on returning the book to Brooke, but apparently now he had to do it. He headed for Brooke's room…
"Peyton got drunk?" Brooke joined her laugh, "That girl, she's a wild one isn't she?" she joked playfully.
Haley scrunched up her face, "With wild ideas…" she trailed off.
Brooke lifted one eyebrow up, "Now what does that mean? What am I missing?"
"Huh? Oh nothing." Crap. She'd reminded herself again and again not to mention any of this to Brooke because the gossip-queen would have a field day but now she'd let too much slip out and it was too late to save anything now.
"Nuh uh Haley James you tell me right now. What were Peyton's wild ideas?"
"More like just one wild idea actually, as far as I know anyway…"
"Ok whatever, tell me!" she pouted. No one could resist a Brooke Davis pout. She should have it patented, Haley thought to herself.
"Well it was almost midnight so she sort of kind of suggested Nathan and I kiss," Haley spoke the words quickly it came out like mumbles.
"And?" Brooke perked up giddily.
Haley rolled her eyes, "And we kissed ok? Are you happy now? Can I get back to my studying please?"
"Oh please you always study, Haley James you kissed Nathan Scott! Do tell!"
"It was just a New Years Eve kiss ok?" Haley spoke as if she was trying to convince herself more so than Brooke. Had it been just that? Truth was the kiss had left her conflicted and very confused. Nathan was a best friend to her, but that night she'd suddenly noticed things she didn't really think about when she was around him. Like how blue his eyes were. And the kiss? It was probably the best kiss she'd ever had, despite its brevity. But she couldn't help but wonder if it was all in her head.
"Sounds like somebody's a little on the defensive-side…" Brooke teased.
"I'm not defensive ok," Haley sing-songed, "I'm just putting the brakes on you before your head goes spinning off in a million little ideas or fantasies. Nathan and I are not together ok nor are we gonna be because we kissed. It was just a kiss."
"So you never thought about it? Brooke asked her honestly.
Haley looked up at her, "About what?"
"You and Nathan…"
Haley shook her head, "We're just friends Brooke…"
Truth was she didn't think the idea of her and Nathan was worth fathoming. They were so different.
Nathan approached Brooke's door ready to knock, it was closed almost entirely, and the small crack left open allowed him to hear his name and his lifted hand stilled.
"Haley I know you and Nathan are friends that's just it! You always hang out together, you talk and laugh all the time, I always see you guys together, and so does everybody else."
"So what I'm not his only friend and he's not my only friend. What a girl walks around with a male and suddenly he has to be more than a friend?"
"Well no but come on don't you think it might work? Come on Hales we've been best friends since high school…best friends dating cousins," she grinned wide, "That would be pretty awesome don't you think?"
Haley waived her off, even though inside she wasn't as sure as her outward reaction seemed to reveal, "Brooke please, he's just a freshman," she scoffed hoping it served as a way to end the discussion considering she still had a lot of internal thinking to do herself.
"Brooke please, he's just a freshman…"Just a freshman.
Just a freshman.
Just a freshman.
Nathan placed the book on the floor and backed away replaying her voice as if his brain wasn't sure his ears had heard right.
Just a freshman.
He needed air, and he needed it now.