Author's Note: Wow. Like you know, these chapters are already prewritten, and I just noticed how short these chapters are compared to the ones I write for INOS. Weird. Anywhoo, I've never liked this chapter. I'm not sure why, maybe because it's just so all over the place or something, but whatever. Nothing I can do about it now, right? I hope that you enjoy it anyway.
---OTH---
"That is complete crap, and you know it!"
It had only been fifteen minutes and Nathan and Haley were already in a screaming match. They had originally started talking about their classes for this year, discussing how things were going so far. Just like things always seemed to come to with them, they ended up getting into an argument. Haley knew that something like this was going to happen when Brooke walked out that door. There was just something that came over her when she was in Nathan's presence now; intense rage and passion. It didn't matter what they were talking about, and she didn't always act on it, but she could always feel it just under the surface.
"Oh, give me a break," he yelled back from his position at the end of the couch. He couldn't believe that she was saying this. There was no possible way that she could believe that. "You're not serious, are you?"
"You're damn right, I'm serious," she shouted, her eyes sending him daggers as she did.
"There is no way that Iverson is better than Jordan!" he finally exclaimed, getting more than frustrated with her constant need to disagree with him. Haley shook her head and flopped down on the couch.
"Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion," she finally answered, leaving the argument open if she felt the need to bring it back up. It wasn't like she gave a crap about basketball, she didn't even know who Iverson was. She just knew how much Nathan loved and worshiped the ground that 'MJ' walked on, so she couldn't help but bring it up, just to bother him. And just like she had planned, he fell right into it. "It's basic human rights."
"Not when they're as stupid as yours," Nathan mumbled. He knew exactly what she was doing, but he didn't care. Nobody messed with Jordan, nobody. He saw that Haley was finished with their yelling and let out a huge sigh, plopping back down in his seat.
"Whatever," she mumbled back. She glanced at him quickly before making a point of not looking at him by letting out a dramatic sigh and crossing her arms over her chest.
"So," he began, eyeing her to see if she was going to have another spaz attack. He was surprised that she hadn't starting laying into him about all the crap with Nicki or made some smart ass remark about how Lacy was coming along. Maybe she wasn't going to be as bitter about this as he thought. "What do you want to do?"
"Get a time machine," she answered, turning to look at him sharply. She wasn't angry before, but after their stupid basketball fight, she was full of energy and was perfectly willing to go another round with him about something that actually matter this time. "That way I can go back in time and never date you. Then maybe my life wouldn't be the big pile of shit it is now."
"I knew this was coming," he shot back. He knew that he had no right to get angry about the way she was acting because he was lucky that she wasn't kicking him in the balls right now, but he couldn't help but get defensive. That's how he was taught to deal with his problems. "I knew we couldn't have a civil conversation without you bringing that crap up and throwing it in my face."
"Throwing it in your face?" Haley couldn't believe her ears. Was he really trying to get pissy about her being pissy? That was such a load of BS. "You have some nerve, you jackass."
"I've told you I was sorry about a million times!" He just wanted to clamp his hand over his mouth. How could he possibly be saying something so stupid? Oh right, he was a Scott. You can never underestimate their power to be jerks. "What else do you want?"
"I want you to realize how stupid your mistakes were," Haley told him, her voice steady. You'd never be able to tell that she was fighting back tears. "I want you to know how much your mistakes hurt me."
"I know," he shot back. "I was there. I saw your face when I broke up with you, and when you called me on the Lacy thing. And I saw you in the hospital after I made yet another mistake by bringing Nicki up to Brooke's cabin."
"You have no idea." Haley shook her head. She knew that Nathan could be a little brain dead sometimes, he was a Scott after all, but she honestly didn't think that anybody could be so stupid and insensitive to say the things he was saying, it was horrible. "You don't know anything about what I went through, about what I'm going through."
"I want to know," Nathan told her. He started to shift over, to get closer to her, but stopped in his seat the moment she looked at him. "I want to know how you're feeling. I want you to tell me what you felt when you found out about everything."
"You don't want to know," she corrected. "And I don't want to tell you. I can't keep living it over and over again, I just can't." Nathan nodded and looked down at his lap. "This summer was the worst two and half months of my entire life and if I could, I'd erase them from my memory, but I can't, I have to live with them for the rest of my life."
"I do too," he added, against his better judgment. "I know it may seem hard to believe, but everything that happened, hurt me too, you know?"
"Oh, really?" Haley bit out sarcastically. "Which part hurt more? The part where you screwed Lacy's brains out, the part where you brought some slut up to Brooke's cabin to flaunt in my face a week after we broke up, or the part were you got my best friends to help you cheat on me?"
"I'm back," Brooke exclaimed as she came skidding into the house. She had her arms full, movie and snacks in both, as she tried to catch her breath. She bumped the door shut with her ass and came further into the room. "I ran all the way there cause I thought that driving was pointless since it's just around the corner."
"It's around the block, not the corner," Haley pointed out, with a laugh. It was weird how she could go from being pissed off beyond reason at Nathan to being amused at Brooke.
"Yeah, thanks Tips," Brooke told her, still trying to catch her breath. She slipped off her shoes, kicking them over to where the other ones were and moved into the living room, not sensing the tension between Nathan and Haley. "Turns out that around the corner and around the block are two totally different things."
"You're a bright one," Haley laughed, eyeing Nathan to make sure that he didn't say anything. She wasn't sure what was going through his mind, but she could see the red still on his cheeks from their argument and she was surprised that Brooke hadn't noticed it yet and called him on it. "But you got it right?"
"Yeah, and snacks," she cheered, wiggling her eyebrows and holding up the bags that she had brought. "I got plain for you cause they're your favorite, some candy because I'm just the sweetest and a bag of Cheetos for Nathan cause I know how much he loves that crap."
"Thanks," he mumbled when the bag was thrown at him. He looked at Haley, saddened to find that she wouldn't even look at him. He was even starting to make some kind of progress with her too, and then he had to go and make such jackass comments. Good job, Nate, good job.
"So," Brooke started, looking between the two. She could tell that she had missed something and she was dying to know what. But she didn't bother questioning them now, knowing that she'd get it out of Haley later, when Dick Head wasn't there. "We watching the movie or what?"
"Sure," Haley sighed, nodding towards the television. "Pop it in." She nodded and pushed herself off the couch and moving over to the TV. With Brooke occupied, Nathan took the opportunity try to apologize to Haley.
"Look, Hales," he started in a whisper. He stopped when she sent him a death glare.
"Not now," she hissed at him. "Not ever." He sent her a pleading look that she ignored. She had given him a chance, one that he didn't even deserve in the first place, and he screwed it up.
"Sorry," he sighed under his breath. Haley heard him, but ignored it, turning her attention over to Brooke, who was currently trying to set up the VCR.
---OTH---
"So," Brooke immediately began as soon as she heard the front door close, signaling that Nathan had left the house. "What happened when I was gone?"
"What do you think happened, Tigger?" Haley sighed, crumpling up the bag of chips and tossing them on the glass table in front of her.
"You guys made sweet sweet love?"
"We got into a screaming match," Haley told her, completely ignoring the stupid comment Brooke made. "I don't even remember how it started, the only thing I remember was the screaming, there was definitely screaming."
"Well that's to be expected," Brooke waved off, tugging her legs underneath her and settling back down on the couch. She turned to face her best friend sitting on the other end of the couch. "But what kind of screaming was it?"
"The loud kind?" Haley guessed, eyeing the other brunette, knowing that she would never understand half of things that went on in that pretty little head of her's. "There's more than one kind of screaming?"
"Was it the pissed off kind of screaming?" she started, silently placing her money on that one. "Or the hot, passionate screaming that you two used to do all the time before we found you making out in the corner of the room?"
"Definitely the first one," Haley sighed, wishing that it had been the latter, that kind of screaming she knew how to deal with. "I've never wanted to rip his head off more. He was being such an ass about everything that happened."
"What did he say?"
"He was just being a typical male Scott," Haley told her and she rolled her eyes at the words. Brooke knew what that was all about. "He said that I kept throwing the whole summer in his face, like it was some little screw up that I needed to forget about."
"What a jerk," was all Brooke had to say. There wasn't much else to say, she had expected that exact thing when she left. She may not know Nathan that well, but she knew how his brother's mind worked, and she didn't imagine that his was any different.
"And then he had the nerve to say that the entire thing hurt him too!"
"Typical male," Brooke mumbled, shaking her head. Before she could start off on her regular anti-Nathan rant, the ringing of the phone cut her off.
"I swear to God, if that's Nathan," Haley muttered as she leaned forward to grab the phone. She smiled when she saw the ID and pressed talk. "Hey, dawg."
"Hales, I love you to death and beyond." Skills started with a laugh. "But you have got to be the whitest girl I've ever meet."
"Sorry," Haley laughed, pushing Brooke off of her when she tried to get closer to hear the conversation. "I'll have to remember that. So, what's up?"
"I just got home from the Rivercourt," he began to explain, leaning back on his bed and resting his head on his pillow. "I remembered that it was Thursday and that your big cheerleading tryout is tomorrow."
"Oh, God," she groaned, completely forgetting about that. "Please don't remind me. I was already dreading that enough as it was."
"You'll do great, girl," he assured her, smiling as she groaned again. "I've seen you dance, and you've got some serious moves."
"For a white girl, right?"
"For any girl," he corrected with a laugh. "You'll be the hottest one out there."
"Better not tell Brooke and Peyton that." She smirked when she saw Brooke's ears perk up at the mention of her name.
"Better not tell Brooke what?"
"They know it too." He shook his head when he heard Brooke in the background. He didn't know the girl that well, but he knew that she was a really good friend to Haley and that's all he needed to know. "Anyway, I just wanted to call and tell you to get a good night sleep and not to worry about it too much. I know you'll do great."
"Thanks, Skills." She couldn't believe that she forgot what a sweetie he could be.
"No problem, baby," he told her in his smoothest voice possible. "I'll see you tomorrow at school. Love ya, girlie."
"Love you, too," she laughed, trying to remember when he started to get so lovey dovey as she hung up. She shook her head and tossed the phone back onto the chair beside the couch and turned back around to be greeted with Brooke's smiling face. "What?"
"Haley and Skills," she began in a singsong voice and Haley groaned, knowing exactly where this was going. "Sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g."
"Stop it," Haley told her, quickly getting off the couch and gathering their garbage and moving into the kitchen. She rolled her eyes as Brooke continued to shout the song to her.
"First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes babies in a baby carriage!"
"Brooke, shut up," she scolded her. She didn't need to hear this right now.
"Haley loves Skills!"
"I'm going to bed," Haley told her, knowing that Brooke would follow her up to her room. They hadn't made any plans to have a sleepover, but that was just the way things went with them. If they were at each other's houses later than ten o'clock, they were staying over. Brooke would just wear some of Haley's clothes to school tomorrow.
"What did he what?" Brooke asked, doing just as Haley knew she would do, and following her up to her room, turning off all the lights on the way up. They entered Haley's room and didn't waste anytime starting to get changed into their pajamas.
"To wish me good luck tomorrow," Haley told her quickly as she slipped her top on over her head. She heard Brooke squeal and start to clap.
"Aw, that's so cute," she cheered, smiling from ear to ear. She pulled on her pants and moved over to the bed. "You two are just so adorable together. You guys have to start dating again."
"I'm not dating anyone," Haley told her, pulling back the covers for them to get. They both slid into their sides and got comfortable. "Especially not Skills."
"Why not?" Brooke asked as Haley turned off the lights, leaving them in darkness. She couldn't see Haley, but she could feel and hear her shifting around beside her.
"We're best friends," Haley answered back, her voice not as loud as before. "I would never want to ruin that, he means too much to me."
"There's more," Brooke stated. "I know there is."
"Nathan was always jealous of our friendship," Haley admitted. "Lucas he didn't mind, because he was with you and he knew that Luke would never do that to him, but with Skills, it was different. It might have been because he knew we used to date, that he was my first kiss."
"Aw, Skills was your first kiss?" Brooke gushed, finding them even more adorable with everything she heard. "He was good, wasn't he?"
"I couldn't do that," Haley continued, once again ignoring Brooke. "It would seem like I'm doing it just to hurt Nathan. I wouldn't want to do that to him or Skills."
"But that wouldn't be why you're doing it," Brooke pointed out. She heard Haley open her mouth and then close it again. She smiled in victory.
"Good night, Brooke."
"Night, Hales."
---OTH---
See? Nothing special. Oh well. Hope you liked it. Only one more prewritten chapter left and then I'll have to start writing this again. Yay! Another story I have to write. Oh well, it's my fault anyway. Please, please tell me what you think. Thanks. Laterz, yo!
