Chapter Three – Perfect Situation
Putting her mail into her mouth, Haley James searched through her oversized purse for her keys. Finally finding them at the bottom of the bag, she unlocked her front door. As walked into her small two bedroom apartment, she tossed the keys on to the hallway table and set her purse down next to them. Grabbing the mail out of her mouth, she kicked the door shut behind her, and made her way to her bedroom. Throwing down the unopened mail onto her bed, she pulled off her tennis shoes and flopped down onto her bed, exhausted. Grabbing the remote controller to her stereo she pushed play and waited for the CD to start up.
What's the deal?
With my brain?
Why am I so obviously insane?
In a perfect situation…
Haley began to sing along to the song as she got comfortable.
I let love down the drain.
There's the pitch,
Slow and straight.
All I have to do is swing and I'm a hero,
But I'm a zero…
She had spent the last three hours of her day in the gym, doing crunches, sit ups, pull ups, bench pressing weights and jogging on the treadmill. To her, it was a great work out. Peeling off her sticky work out clothes she pulled on a clean pair of shorts and a tank top.
Hungry nights,
Once again,
Now it's getting unbelievable,
'Cause I could not have it better,
But I just can't get no play,
From the girls,
All around,
As they search the night for someone to hold onto,
And just pass through…
Grabbing the phone off its charger, she dialed her voicemail and waited to see if Chris Keller had bothered to call her back. Nope. "Damnit!" Haley said turning the phone of and throwing it across the room angrily. Grabbing the pile of mail, she sorted through it. Trash. Trash. Bill. Trash. Bill. Bill. Trash. Trash. – What is this?
Singing oh-oh,
oh-oh, ohhhh-hoooo
Singing oh-oh,
oh-oh, ohhhh-hoooo
Haley tore open the large square envelope and read it over. "He's marring that slut?" she exclaimed. Even more pissed off then before; Haley marched across the room and grabbed her phone off the ground. Punching in the first phone number that came to mind she waited.
Ring…
Ring…
Rin-
"Hello?" A voice said from the other end of the phone.
Haley skipped the hello's, the what's ups, and went straight for the problem. "Lucas Scott! How dare you? How dare you not tell me…tell me…" She cried into the phone. "How dare you not tell me that Nathan is marring that whore?"
"Haley?" Lucas asked confused on the other end.
"You're damn right its Haley! Why didn't you tell me? Huh? Was it pull a big one on Haley day, and I didn't get the memo?" Haley screamed into the phone.
Get your hands,
Off the girl.
Can't you see that she belongs to me?
And I don't appreciate this,
Excess company.
Though I can't,
Satisfy.
All the needs she has and so she starts to wander
Can you blame her?
Lucas laughed. "They actually sent you and invitation?"
"No. I just made one up in my head. Yes! Yes, Lucas! That whore sent me an invitation to rub the fact that she's with him in my face!"
"I'm sure Nathan was the one who had it sent. He probably was just being nice. I bet you he doesn't even think you're going to show up." Lucas remained calm.
"How does this not bug the hell out of you? The girl you love, the one you are supposed to be with is marrying your brother." Haley said starting to rationalize and calm down. "Listen, me and you aren't too far apart on the totem pole here, buddy. I know this is killing you too. Please, feel free to bathe in your self pity with me."
Singing oh-oh,
oh-oh, ohhhh-hoooo
Singing oh-oh,
oh-oh, ohhhh-hoooo
"Now that's the spirit!" Lucas laughed. "You're the lucky one."
"Lucky? Lucas, me ex husband is marring one of my supposed best friends – correction – ex best friend and I'm the lucky one? What are you smoking?"
"True." Lucas chuckled. "But its not like they expect you to go. I have to go. I'm the best man. I have best man duties to oblige. I have to where the penguin suit and on top of all that I don't have a date."
"Why don't you take that girlfriend of yours? You know, the one you always talk about."
Tell me there's a logic out there.
Leading me to better prepare,
For the day that something really special might come.
Tell me there's some hope for me.
I don't wanna be lonely.
For the rest of my days on the earth…
Brooke. Lucas thought. He quickly shook the thought of her name out of her head. "She…She has other plans."
"That's just great for her."
"No kidding…" Lucas thought for a moment. "I have the perfect idea!"
"What?"
"You can be my date!" Lucas exclaimed.
Haley laughed. "You can't be serious."
"Oh but I can." Lucas smiled to himself. "I'm stuck with out a date, and let's face it you got a pity invite. No one is expecting you to go. And I'm expected to bring a date. It's perfect."
Haley started to protest. "Lucas…I don't thin-"
Lucas cut her off. "Brooke won't expect you to be there. She most likely doesn't even want you there. It would piss her off royally for you to actually show up, let alone with me!"
Haley thought about it for a long minute and sighed. "As much as I'm pissed off at her, Lucas, it wouldn't be right to ruin her wedding like that. I may hate her, but I want Nathan to be happy, and if that means he needs to marry her…Well then…Well then I'll just have to accept it."
"Fine. Don't go to piss Brooke off. Go for me. I need a date. The best man cannot show up at the wedding alone. Its…It's a bad omen!" Lucas shot out.
"You're such a liar." Haley laughed. "At me and Nathan there wasn't even a best man."
"See how well that turned out?" Lucas laughed.
"Play nice." Haley rolled her eyes. "Especially if you want me to go to this thing with you."
"Does that mean you are considering it?" Lucas asked hopefully.
"Fine. I'll go. But not willingly." Haley sighed. "If anyone asks you dragged me with you so you wouldn't be stuck with Tim all night."
"How did you-"
"I'm your best friend. I have my ways." Haley ran a hand through her long blonde hair. "So am I going to be wearing a dress to this thing?"
Oh-oh,
oh-oh, ohhhh-hoooo
Singing oh-oh,
oh-oh, ohhhh-hoooo
Singing oh-ohhhh...
An hour later Haley hung up the phone with Lucas. She still wasn't too thrilled with the whole idea, but she could tell that Lucas was desperate. Why else would he beg her into going with him as a date?
Turning on the shower, Haley took off her clothes, and waited for the water to get warm enough to go in. Climbing into the shower she let the warm water wash over her face, secretly hoping that it would wash away the hurt and pain she had caused over the last seven years of her life, and the hurt and pain she had felt would also subside. This was a false hope for Haley. The damaged she'd caused, the pain that she had felt, the life she never lived, was all reality, not some fairy tale with a happy ending. A story with a happy ending is a false story. There are no happy endings in reality, just life.
Haley tried to hold back the tears but couldn't. Sitting down at the bottom of the shower she let herself go. She let herself cry. Cry over the man she had once loved. Cry over the best friend misplace. Cry over the loneliness she felt every time she walked into her empty apartment. She wanted so badly to hate Brooke. To hate her for betraying her. To hate her for lying to her. To hate her for stealing Nathan. To hate her for marrying the man that she loved. But she simply couldn't.
As the water hit Haley's back she realized something very important. It wasn't fair to blame Brooke for her own loneliness. Brooke hadn't made her this way. She had made her own self so pathetic. It's not like Brooke didn't ask for Haley's permission –not that she even needed too– before accepting Nathan's request for a date. Had she not told her that it was fine? That Nathan was free to date whom ever he wanted, even Brooke. Haley had no reason to have blown up at Brooke the way she did when Brooke mentioned a second date with Nathan to her. She had no right. Pulling herself back up to her feet Haley let go of all the hate and anger she felt towards Brooke. It was a burden on her shoulders that she didn't need to bear.
She was going to re-reconcile with Brooke before this wedding happened if it killed her. And going to the Wedding Rehearsal dinner with Lucas was the perfect situation…
