Author's Note: Hey, all. I told you guys that I was going to be dropping off the prequel really soon. I actually wrote this a really long time ago, so if it sucks, blame Really Long Time Ago Me, not the me that is me today, you know? Anyway, this is just the start, so you can look forward to a lot more yummy Baleyness.
I just wanted to thank you all for all the support for the last story, and I'm glad that you guys were interested in reading this one. I hope that you'll continue to support me and review as much as you did for Who Would Have Though?
…OUAT…
Haley James sighed as she wiped down the counter at Karen's Café. Not more than two minutes ago, a stupid little brat had thought it would be funny to blow bubbles in his soda until it overflowed. Apparently his big brother thought it was hilarious too, so hilarious in fact, that they had to leave before they doubled over in laughter, leaving her to clean up the mess.
"Hey, sweetie," Karen greeted her as she came through the doors that led to the back. The newest chief had quit the other day, they were taking turns with the food until they found a replacement.
"Hey, Karen," she replied, making sure to keep her annoyance at the brat and brother in check. The last thing she wanted Karen to worry about was a mess. "The food was great today. I got lots of compliments to give you."
"Aw, that's sweet," the older woman replied, taking off her apron and shoving it in with the others. Once she was free from that, she moved over and started cleaning the dirty dishes that had been piling up. It had just been the two of them all day long, since Jake had called in saying Jenny was sick and Lori was off looking at colleges.
"I am so glad that this day is over," Haley admitted, wiping the cloth across the counter one last time before giving up and tossing it into the pile of dirty rags on the floor that needed to get cleaned.
"Me too," Karen told her, placing the last glass in the dishwasher and turning around to give the girl a smile. "I've had the biggest headache all day and my stomach is starting to feel sick. I think I might be getting whatever Jenny has."
"Why don't you head out then," Haley suggested, leaning against the counter to look Karen over. Now that she mentioned it, she did look a little pale. "I'm sure a little rest would do you some good cause you can't get sick on me. It looks like it's just gonna be us again tomorrow, so you can't bail."
"But there's still an hour until closing," Karen pointed out, feeling bad about leaving her here alone. She never let Haley close alone because it was too dangerous. There weren't many robberies in Tree Hill, but she didn't want to take the chance, especially with someone as important to her as Haley was.
"Don't sweat it," Haley waved it off, knowing that she wasn't going to give up without a fight, that woman worried about her too damn much. "It's pouring rain outside, I doubt that anyone is going to be coming in."
"Then we should just close early." Haley shook her head, pushing herself off the counter and over to the woman that was more of a mother to her than Lydia James was.
"You have not closed this café even a minute earlier than closing time since you opened it, and you're not going to start now."
"But…"
"No buts," Haley told her sternly, playfully pushing her towards the door. "You go home and feel better. I'll hang here for another hour. Maybe watch some of that television that you have hidden in the back and think I don't know about."
"It's broken," Karen admitted with a smile, knowing she'd been caught. She managed to grab her coat before Haley completely shoved her out the door. "There's that radio under the counter if you want to listen to it."
"I'll do that," Haley nodded, standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at Karen because she hadn't left yet. She saw Karen was about to say something and rolled her eyes. "And I'll be sure to call if there's any sort of problem. I promise."
"And you'll be okay here by yourself?"
"Yes," Haley nodded empathically. "I know where everything is and I know how to lock up, I've seen you do it a million times. I'm not gonna burn down the café."
"It's not the café that I'm worried about," Karen corrected, making sure that Haley knew she was serious. God, she loved that girl as if she was her own. Haley features softened.
"I'll be fine," she promised her. Karen reached forward and brought her into a hug huge. "Thanks for worry about me, though."
"I always do." With one last hug and smile, Karen pulled her coat over her head and sprinted outside and into the pouring rain. Haley watched her run to her car and get inside. She waited until Karen drove by before moving back into the café.
"Good move, James," she mumbled to herself, looking around the empty café. "What are you gonna do now?" She clucked her tongue for a moment, eyeing the things around her. Deciding that there was nothing else she needed to do in way of cleaning up, she decided to get out the radio.
It took her a moment to find it, having to shuffle through all of the discarded aprons and everything. Finally, she found it at the very back and pulled it out.
"Ew," she whispered when she blew all the dust off of it. She couldn't remember the last time they had used this radio, if ever. The only reason why Karen had it was in case there was some kind of emergency that they needed to know what was going on.
Carefully, taking one of the aprons, she wiped the rest of the dust off the old thing and placed it on the counter where she had just finished cleaning. Throwing the apron back under the counter, she walked back around the counter and plopped down on the stool that was usually reserved for Peyton.
Peyton. Other than Lucas and Taylor, she was pretty much the only friend she had. Just thinking about how sad her life had become was depressing enough for her. The funny thing was, not even two months ago, she didn't even have Peyton as a friend, but suddenly it seemed that Lucas wasn't enough. Whether it was that quick glimpse she got into the popular world from her short stint as Nathan's almost girlfriend or not, she wanted more.
No, that wasn't it. She wasn't that lonely. She had Taylor, Lucas, Karen and Peyton, Skills, Fergie and all the other guys at the Rivercourt. No, she wanted more than that, she wanted something special. She wanted a boyfriend.
Letting out yet another depressed sigh, Haley turned the dial on the radio and started searching for a half descent song to listen to. The task was proving to be harder than she thought it would be, as most of the music stations were impossible to hear because of the damn storm outside. Even after hitting it a few times in frustration, she was unable to find a good song to listen to.
Suddenly, as if a light bulb went off in her head, Haley remembered that she had her bag stored in the bag from her horrid day at school. She quickly slid off the stool and disappeared into the back, returning with her bag in hand.
"Come on," she mumbled as she searched through it. She smiled triumphantly when she located the silver disk with the words 'Old School Jams' on it. She wasn't sure what was on it; Peyton had just given it to her the other day so she hadn't had a chance to listen to it yet. "I love you, Peyton."
She discarded her bag and placed the CD in the player and pressed play. She waited patiently for the first song to play. The biggest smile appeared on her lips when she heard the Spice Girls blaring through the speakers. She should have known. She bopped her head to the song, surprised and slightly embarrassed that she still remembered the words.
Frowning when she saw that she had spilt all her belongings from her bag, she slid off the stool and began to pick them up. Just as she was finishing, the song did as well. As she placed the bag on the closest table she felt her heart skip a beat when she heard the opening strings to 'I'll Be' by Edwin McCain. That used to be her favorite song, back when it was played on every single teen show there was. She didn't hesitate to turn it up as loud as it would go.
Realizing that no on else was around; Haley couldn't help but let her hips sway to the music. She could remember singing this up in her room all the time when she was alone in the house. She would never do it if Taylor were home; she absolutely refused to sing in front of anyone. It was just her policy. Without giving it a second thought, she grabbed the spoon that was on the counter and used it as a mic, singing her heart out along with the song.
The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful
Stop me and steal my breath
Emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky
Never revealing their depth
Tell me that we belong together
Dress it up with the trappings of love
I'll be captivated
I'll hang from your lips
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above
"I can't," Haley quickly responded, cursing herself for making such a fool of herself. There goes being in the cool crowd, Brooke Davis was the queen of Tree Hill after all. "I mean, I don't."
"Well you should cause you have an amazing voice," Brooke told her as placed her purse on the nearest table and she began to ring out her soaking wet hair. It took Haley a moment to realize that Brooke was wet, before she sprung into action.
"Oh God, I'm sorry," she apologized, stepping forward. "Here, come into the back, I think there's towels and stuff back there." Not arguing with that offer, Brooke followed Haley into the back where she was presented with two freshly washed towels and a new set of clothes to wear.
"Do you guys have a store back here or something?" Brooke teased, taking the clothes out of Haley's hands and tossing them on the old couch while she dried off. "Why this there an extra set of clothes back here?"
"Oh, they're mine," Haley admitted, standing by the door, getting ready to leave her alone while she changed. "Sometimes I get changed here after school or I'll spill crap all over myself, which I'm actually prone to do sometimes. Like babbling, which I'm doing right now."
"It's okay," Brooke assured her, smiling slightly at the other girl. She'd never really talked to her before, just knew of her through Peyton and Nathan, Lucas as well to an extent. She seemed like a nice enough girl from what she knew. Cute as hell to boot, if you asked her. "Thanks for the clothes."
"Sure, I'll just…" Haley trailed off, pointing in the direction of the door. Brooke nodded and continued to pat her hair down with the towel. Haley watched her for a moment longer before shaking her head and quickly moving back into the front.
The first thing that she noticed when she entered the front was Brooke Silver Bug parked right out front. The second thing she noticed was that Brooke's passenger side window was opened slightly. Haley rolled her eyes, figuring that Brooke was probably the only person that would be able to be driving out in the rain without noticing that he window was open.
She was about to yell the information to Brooke, but decided that she had just gotten dry, she didn't need to get wet all over again. Haley sighed and walked over to Brooke's purse, which was sitting nicely on table 5. She smiled when she saw the keys near the top and grabbed them.
Against her better judgment, Haley took a deep breath, pushed the front door open and jogged out into the pouring rain, towards Brooke's car. She quickly managed to get the door unlocked and started to roll up the window.
"Hey, Tutor Girl," Brooke called as she pushed open the door and walked back into the front. "This shirt is really cute. Where'd you get it?" It took Brooke a moment to realize that Haley wasn't in the café anymore. "Tutor Girl?"
It didn't take her long to spot Haley sitting in her car. She took a few steps forward, coming out from behind the counter to see what she was doing. Before she could figure it out, Haley was dashing back towards the café, completely drenched. Brooke moved back, giving her room to enter.
"What was that all about?" Brooke asked in amusement, eyeing Haley as she whipped her head around, trying to get the extra water out of it. Brooke tossed her the still semi dry towel she had in her hand. Haley gladly took it and began to rub her hair furiously with it. Great, now she was going to frizz. Just what she needed Brooke Davis to see. "I didn't know that you liked to go dancing in the rain."
"Last time I do you any favors," Haley mumbled, not believing that Brooke was teasing her after she just saved her car from getting extremely damaged. Without waiting for a reply, Haley brushed past her and into the back, hoping that she had another pair of clothes back there. She really should have thought this one through.
"What?"
"You left your window open," Haley called out to her, her voice slightly echoed by the closet she was looking through. She fought the urge to growl when she couldn't find any more clothes. Good job, Hales, just great. "I knew you had just gotten dry, so I ran out and closed it for you."
"Oh." Brooke was surprised that Haley would do that. She couldn't think of one of her friends that would be willing to get their hair and outfits ruined just to save her car. Not even Peyton would risk ruining the hair for her. "Thanks."
"No problem," Haley said, breezing back into the room with the towel wrapped around her head and her wet clothes clinging to her body. Brooke looked at her for a moment, her eyes glued to the sexy form in front of her. 'Where the hell has Tutor Girl been hiding that fine ass body?'
"Aren't you gonna change?"
"No more clothes," Haley answered quickly, moving directly towards the kettle. "You want some hot chocolate?"
"Sure," Brooke answered without a second thought, sliding onto the stool that Haley had been sitting in before. She watched Haley move around, trying her hardest not to check out her ass. "You want these clothes back? I mean, it's not fair for you to have to be wet…"
"Don't sweat it," Haley waved off, not bothering to look back. She didn't want Brooke seeing her without her makeup on. This night was already going bad enough, that was about the last thing she needed right now. "It'll only be for another forty five minutes, anyway."
"Not anymore," Brooke corrected. Haley quickly glanced over her shoulder, indicating that she should continue. "Well, why do you think I'm in here? Main Street is still blocked off from that stupid parade and Oak is almost completely flooded. The guy on the radio said that the storm was only going to get worse, and anyone driving should pull over immediately and get inside somewhere."
"And you chose here?"
"Well it was either here with you," Brooke began, suddenly thinking that this wasn't the worst way she could be spending her Saturday night. "Or across the street in that butchery with the fat guy that talks to the meat. There are way too many knives in there for my liking."
"So basically I was the lesser of two evils?"
"Or the hotter of two evils," Brooke pointed out, making sure to keep her voice light so Haley wouldn't think anything of it. Haley rolled her eyes at her words, knowing she was just making fun of her.
"You wanna turn the radio on?" Haley asked her, as she started making the hot chocolate. Brooke did as she was told without a word and found the clearest radio station she could find. "I wanna know if we're trapped in here for the rest of the night."
Brooke nodded her head, even though she knew that Haley couldn't see her. They sat in silence for a moment, the voice of the DJ the only thing that could be heard in the entire café. Finally, after what felt like forever to Brooke, the silence got to her and she had to say something.
"So how come you don't like to sing?" shed asked out of the blue. That was really the only thing she could think of to ask. She say Haley freeze for a moment, before continuing to drop marshmallows into the drinks, as if nothing had been said. "I mean, I only heard a few seconds of it, but you sounded amazing. You should sing in the Talent Show."
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Haley agreed, sarcasm dripping from her voice. She turned around and placed the steaming liquid in from of Brooke. "That way when I get up there and my voice cracks on the first note because I'm so damn nervous to be in front of so many people that think I'm a freak, you and your little cheerleader friends can mock me for the rest of the year." Brooke looked at her in shock. "No thanks."
"I didn't…" Truth was, Brooke didn't know what to say.
"Whatever," Haley waved her off, not wanting to get into this. "What do you wanna do all night?" Before she had a chance to say anything, Haley unwrapped the towel that was on her head and let her hair loose, her locks wavy and wet. All Brooke could do was stare. A wet and pissed off Haley equaled sexy as hell. This was going to be a long ass night.
…OUAT…
That's all she wrote for now. I know, I know, there was no smoochies or anything, but I promise that they will come. I think the Café scene will definitely be a few chapters long; it's the beginning of this whole journey after all. Please tell me what you thought, and I'll try to update ASAP.
Thanks.