Hey, everyone. Thank you ALL for the awesome reviews. They are great. I have a feeling some won't be too nice after this one... :) Anyways, can't wait for your reviews from this chapter.
Chapter 12
"Eew, how long have they been doing that?"
"Ever since I got here."
"Are they trying to ruin my appetite?"
"Oh honey, they are way past that point."
"Yeah, you're- Eew! I just saw a tongue!"
"And so did the rest of the table. Don't complain. Once I walked in on them when they were 'exploring' each other."
"Disgusting. When was that? And where, so I know to stay away from that cursed place."
"In the hot tub at Nathan's beach house last New Year's Eve."
"What? My hot tub!"
"Yeah, and did I mention they were both naked?"
"That's it. I'm burning the whole goddamn thing."
"Oh my god, I'm so glad that wasn't me."
"Yeah, they reminded me why I find Animal Planet very disturbing."
"Thanks for the visual image."
"No problem."
"Jesus, don't they ever need air?"
"Or food. Lunch hour is supposed to be spent eating."
"Well, they do look like two birds feeding each other."
"I can't even tell where her mouth ends and his starts."
"We should start calling them 'Unimouth'."
"Yeah, as a payback for toxicating my hot tub for good!"
"Oh, by the way Hales, I love your jean skirt."
"Thanks Peyt. I don't usually wear skirts but I thought I'd give it a try today."
"And where did you get that halter neck top? It's gorgeous."
"From Brooke."
"Figures. Hey, what shoes are you wearing?"
"Just a pair of sneakers. Oh, let me show you."
"What? No!"
"Umh... Haley..."
"You should... umh... you're showing..."
"Haley, put your legs down. It's really not a good idea to lift your legs like that when you're wearing a skirt.
"Wha- Oops. Sorry about that."
"No problem. Nice underwear by the way."
"Shut up, Peyt."
"Well, at least Brooke and Lucas didn't see anything. The way their faces are smashed together you'd think they don't even know we're here."
"Jesus, do they have to do that here? Right in the middle of the frigging cafeteria. I mean, some students are only freshmen. They shouldn't be exposed to that yet."
"Yeah, that's what sophomore year is for."
"Yeah, cafeteria is for eating and gossiping. Not PDA."
"They should take advantage of the four janitor's closets in this school."
"I thought there were five."
"No, they turned that one by the labs into an extra storage room for chemistry teachers. The place smells all chemicals and shit. I heard that Sarah White and Jim Tamer made out there for like 5 minutes and they nearly fainted because of the toxics there."
"Where did you hear that?"
"She's lab partners with one of my tutees."
"Which one?"
"Justin Hoffman."
"The football player?"
"Yeah."
"I think he used to date one of the cheerleaders in my squad."
"That guy sure loves eating."
"Nathan, that was rude."
"Oh, come on Peyton. The guy weighs like 400 pounds."
"The guy's an offensive guard! He has to be big."
"I love food."
"We know you do, Tim."
"Are you trying to say I look fat, Nathan?"
"Could you sound more of a girl, Tim?"
"It takes one to know one, Angela."
"Hey, you stay out of this, bitch."
"Oh, I don't think so. And don't call Tim fat, Cecil!"
"Oh, will you stop with the whole calling me girls' names? It's getting pretty old."
"Oh, I don't think so, Margaret."
"You're so annoying."
"You're so annoying."
"That was the worst imitation I've ever heard. I don't even have a high voice."
"Oh, that's what you think. Don't you ever wonder why I call you by girls' names?"
"Perhaps because, I don't know this is just a guess: you're the devil herself and your assignment on earth is obviously to live with me and annoy the shit out of me until I scratch my own wrists and bleed to death?"
"Close. And since you're still sitting there and talking means that I haven't succeeded yet. So, I guess I'll just have to try more, Carol."
"Stop calling me girls' names!"
"Stop acting like one!"
"Will both of you stop! Just concentrate on your mutual enemy."
"Which is...?"
"The Unimouth!"
"Fine."
"Fine."
It was Thursday noon which meant lunch time for the students at Tree Hill High. Unfortunately Nathan, Haley, Peyton, Jake and Tim found having an appetite very difficult because of a certain couple's PDA.
"Ok, I'm done with this. I can't watch this anymore." Haley finally said and dropped her sandwich on the table. "Lucas! Brooke!" she yelled and poked them both hard a few times. With swollen lips and annoyed looks they turned to look at her.
"What!" Lucas asked irritated of being interrupted.
"Stop assaulting her lips. People are trying to eat here."
"I told you; today's our 1-year-anniversary." Lucas said. "I'm gonna assault her lips so much they'll be bleeding by the end of the day."
"Not very romantic, Lucas." Brooke said.
"Well, you know what I mean." He said and gave her a quick peck.
"Wait, I thought you already had your anniversary?" Haley asked remembering Brooke telling her about it... and the eatable panties she had worn.
"Yeah, well we couldn't figure out which day to celebrate so we decided on both." Brooke said.
"Yeah, I thought it was on Monday because that was one year after we first kissed." Lucas said.
"And I thought it should be today because exactly one year ago we first had se-"
"Sushi!" Lucas yelled interrupting Brooke. "We had sushi! Hey coach!" Lucas then yelled looking over the other's shoulders where Whitey was standing. Everyone turned around to look at Whitey.
"Hey, just wanted to let you know that tonight's practise is canceled." Whitey said with a smirk.
"Why?" Tim asked.
"You need your rest for tomorrow's game." He said. "If you see anyone, let them know." He said and then turned to look at Haley. "I'm gonna need you for about 30 minutes though. We need to go through the stats and make sure everything is in place. It's our home game so we have extra work." He said.
"Yeah, no problem." She said smiling. "See ya after school, coach."
"Bye, everyone." Whitey said and turned around to leave. He then turned back to look at Lucas.
"And Lucas, practise safe sex... Because if you don't, you will impregnate someone. You're a Scott, don't forget that." He said and left. Everyone waited till Whitey had left the cafeteria to burst out laughing.
"Yeah, Lucas. Just because you can reproduce doesn't mean you should." Tim said laughing.
"Hey, not funny." Lucas pouted.
"Dude, that was hilarious." Nathan said.
"Why are you laughing? You're a Scott too."
"But he was only talking to you. He obviously knows I'm smarter than you."
"In which universe?"
"Oh, stop it you too." Brooke said.
"Yeah, at least now we know what to get for you for Christmas." Haley said and everyone but Nathan and Lucas laughed.
"Hales, not funny." Lucas said.
"Yeah, so not funny." Nathan added.
"Oh, quit your whining." Brooke said. "We're just kidding, right."
"Yeah." Peyton said and everyone nodded.
"Of course."
"Except about the Christmas gift." Haley mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear.
"So!" Lucas started changing the subject. "Tomorrow's a pretty important day."
"Yeah, gotta win the game." Jake said.
"So, we gotta win this to make it to the state championship game which is on Saturday?" Peyton asked making sure.
"Yeah and if we lose, it's the last game of the season." Lucas said.
"Which won't happen." Nathan said.
"Hell no." Tim added.
"Never." Jake finished.
All the guys looked at each other sternly and bumped their fists together.
There was a short silence.
"Ok, that was so lame." Brooke said with a smile.
"Yeah, could you be more cliché?" Peyton asked.
"All that's missing is some classical movie music in the background and the narrator's voiceover saying: 'And right there, right then; we knew we would make it. That moment changed our lives forever and we will carry that with us for the rest of our lives." Haley finished with a deep voice and all the girls laughed out loud.
"You are evil. All of you." Lucas said pointing at the girls.
"I told you, man." Nathan said. "Women are the source of all bad, evil and mean."
"Oh, stop being so melodramatic, Lizzie." Haley said calling him a girl's name again which earned her a glare from Nathan.
"Evil. Don't forget that, guys. Pure evil." Nathan said looking at the guys around him.
"You do realize that without women you'd never get laid." Brooke said with a grin.
All the guys looked at each other and then at the girls.
"Baby, have I told you recently how much I love you?" Lucas asked from Brooke.
"Honey, you're the most beautiful woman I know and your hair looks exceptionally curly today." Jake said to Peyton.
All the girls laughed and high fived each other.
"That's weak, guys. Weak." Nathan said glaring at Lucas and Jake.
"Hey, if she won't keep me warm at night, will you?" Lucas asked from Nathan with raised eyebrows.
Nathan scrunched his nose in disgust before turning to look at Brooke.
"Yes, Brooke. Lucas loves you very much."
"I know." She said looking at Lucas with a grin and kissed him.
Everyone else around the table groaned.
"Oh, here we go again." Tim sighed. "Thank you so much for encouraging them, Nathan." he said sarcastically.
"Guys, I just got my appetite back." Haley whined looking at her sandwich longingly before letting it drop on the table from her hands.
Haley suddenly got an unnerving feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew she'd had that feeling before but quite couldn't remember when. She snapped out of her thoughts when Peyton spoke, or more like complained.
"Eew, there's that tongue again." Peyton said closing her eyes.
"That's disgusting." Jake said shaking his head and shielding Peyton's eyes with his hands.
"Unimouth, separate!" Haley said looking at Brooke and Lucas.
"Nice try, Haley." Tim said.
"Unimouth, separate!"
"What are you doing?" Nathan asked.
"Well, since they are acting like animals you'd think they would respond when I call them like you call an animal." Haley explained and they all laughed. She laughed with them happy that she got her mind off of whatever that it was bothering her.
"Yes, but these two here are a very special kind of an animal." Jake started educationally.
"They hunt for a mate 24/7 and when they finally find one, the female usually gets emotionally attached while the male is checking out her friend." Peyton added with a grin while Haley started to laugh.
"Yes, it's a very tricky species this homo sapiens." Jake said.
"Also known as seximus maximus, in their case." Peyton said pointing at Brooke and Lucas whose lips were still attached to each other. By now, the whole table was laughing at Brooke and Lucas.
"You know, we can hear every word you say." Brooke said detaching her lips from Lucas'.
"Then shouldn't you do something about it?" Peyton asked with a smile.
Lucas and Brooke looked at each other and then the others.
"Nah." They said, shrugged their shoulders at the same time and crashed their lips together while the others groaned yet again.
"Hey, Scott." Haley yelled while catching up with Nathan. Nathan turned to look at her.
"What's up, James?" he asked while opening his locker and taking some books out and putting some in. It was finally the end of the school day and Nathan couldn't wait to go home and rest for the next day's game.
"Can you wait half an hour?"
"Umh, let me think." Nathan started and looked at the roof in deep thought.
"It's finally the end of a looong school day. I'm hungry as hell because I missed my lunch because of my horny brother and his crazy girlfriend. I have no practise, shit load of homework and the second most important game of the whole season tomorrow which means I need all the sleep I can get. Now, do I wanna stay here in this shithole for extra 30 minutes?" Nathan rambled and looked at Haley with an unapologetic face. "Don't think so."
"Come on, I have that meeting with Whitey." Haley said. "You could start doing that 'shit load of homework' in the library while I'm gone." Haley said and then smirked. "And in case you don't know where the library is-"
"I know where the goddamm library is. Just come get me as soon as possible. Libraries creep me out." He said and slammed his locker door shut and started to walk to his left.
Haley stayed leaning on his locker with a smirk. Few seconds later Nathan walked back.
"So, where-?"
Haley pointed at her right with a smirk.
"Third floor, B wing."
"...and I already got the keys from the janitor. I'll make sure both locker rooms are in order before the game."
"Good job, Haley." Whitey said. They were in his office making sure they were ready for the next day's game.
"And I already e-mailed the updated rooster to the athletic director and the Masonboro's coach."
"Did he e-mail theirs to us?"
"Yes."
"Any changes?"
"Apparently Ashton McQueen didn't hurt his knee as bad as we thought. He's in the starting line-up."
"Oh, he's tough. We need to watch out for him."
"Yeah, the guys are aware of it." Haley said and turned to look up at Whitey. "And Jackson Conley is playing."
"What? I thought he was done with the season."
"As did everyone else. I even called the Masonboro athletic office and they confirmed it. Conley got the green light from the team doctor."
"What the hell is the matter with the doctors in Masonboro? First McQueen and now Conley?"
"Yeah, it sucks. But at least now we get to beat their best team and when they lose they can't whine about the lack of their players." Haley said with a smile.
"You're right." Whitey said, got up and gathered some papers. He looked at Haley carefully.
"Is everything alright, Haley?"
Haley looked at Whitey surprised at his abilities to read her. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. There was no point in denying the unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"I just have this feeling… You know that calm-before-the-storm feeling?" Haley started. "Like something bad is going to happen. I have that." Haley said. Whitey looked at Haley worried.
"Is there anything I can do?"
"No, I'm probably imagining everything anyways." Haley said reassuringly. "Do you need anything else?" Haley asked after a short silence.
"No, I think we're done here." He said and moved towards the door. Haley looked at the watch.
"Are you sure? Nathan doesn't expect me in another 15 minutes."
"Just make sure that boy sleeps well and takes his vitamins. Tomorrow is the most important game so far." Whitey said and held the door open for Haley. "And Haley." Whitey started. Haley turned to look at him.
"Take care of yourself." he said. Haley nodded her head and they walked out together. Haley noticed Tim and her tutee Greg sitting on the benches in the locker room.
"See you tomorrow, coach." Haley said and went to sit with the guys while Whitey just waved them goodbye before leaving.
"Hey, Hales." Tim said when he saw her walking towards him.
"Sup?" Greg nodded towards her.
"Nothing, just got done with my meeting with Whitey. What's up?"
"Just finished playing some ball." Tim said.
"Alright." Haley said and turned to look at Greg. "Hey, I actually had to talk to you about something, Greg."
"Whaddap."
"Well, I have to cancel our tomorrow's tutoring session because of the basketball game. There's just too much stuff I have to take care off before the game."
"Whatever." He said uninterested. Haley rolled her eyes.
"But I made you this practise quiz so you can still study." Haley said and handed him a piece of paper. "And I have about 15 minutes now so if you want some help..." Haley offered.
"Yeah, whatever." He mumbled.
"Look, guys. I gotta go find Nate." Tim said interrupting the two.
"He's in the library." Haley said.
"Really? I didn't even know he knew where it was." Tim said with a grin.
"He didn't." Haley said and waved Tim goodbye.
When Tim was gone, Haley turned to look at Greg who was still looking at the piece of paper.
"So, I take that 'whatever' as a yes." Haley said and sat down on the bench next to him. She was used to dealing with asshole jocks who took everything for granted.
"Alright, let's get started." She said trying to sound cheerful.
"Tim! Over here!" Nathan yelled when he saw Tim enter the quiet library. The whole room 'shhh'-ed him while he just rolled his eyes. He had been looking for an excuse to not do his homework the whole 15 minutes he had sat there.
"What's up?" Tim asked while sitting next to him.
"Nothing. Just doing some homework." He said pointing at the books in front of him.
"Sure." Tim said smiling. He knew that there was no way that Nathan could concentrate on homework the day before the game that determined if he would play for state championship or not.
"So, what are you doing here?" Nathan asked interested.
"I wanted to let you know that I'm having a party at my house, the day after tomorrow, on Saturday."
"But we don't even know if we will win state. We don't even know if we will make it to state." Nathan said.
"Doesn't matter." Tim said with a smirk. "If we lose tomorrow or on Saturday, we can just get angry and wasted. If we win both, we'll still get wasted but none of that angry, aggressive shit." He said.
"Sounds good. Your parents gonna be gone?"
"Dad's taking Shari, the gold digging little whore, to a yet another cruise." Tim muttered. It was no secret that he despised his step mother.
"Well, at least you got the house to yourself." Nathan said.
"Exactly."
"So wait, how did you know I was here? I doubt the library is the first place you'd look for me." Nathan added with a smirk.
"Oh, Haley told me. I ran into her in the locker room. She had just gotten done with her meeting with Whitey."
"Why didn't she come with you here?"
"She stayed there with Greg."
"Greg Smith?" Nathan asked narrowing his eyes in jealousy.
"Yeah." Tim answered and smiled when he saw Nathan's jaw clench in jealousy.
"Relax, she was just tutoring him."
"I knew that." Nathan said quickly trying to convince Tim that he didn't care.
"Sure, you did."
"... so as long as you remember to multiply the last part by x, you'll be fine." Haley finished.
"Ok." He said.
Haley looked at the watch on her wrist.
"Listen, I gotta get going." she said.
"Yeah, sure." He said uninterested and started to gather his papers and books.
"Ok then. See you next Monday." Haley said and started to walk towards the door while Greg started to change his clothes. He took his shirt off and set it on the bench. He saw a piece of paper on the bench and realized it wasn't his.
"Hey, Haley!" Haley turned around to look at Greg holding a piece of paper. "Is this yours?"
Haley saw that it was the rooster she had shown Whitey. She walked back with a smile.
"Thanks, I don't know what I would've done without this." She said and reached to take the paper from Greg's hands.
"Yeah, no problem."
"...and since I'm inviting juniors too, I think we should buy 2 more kegs." Tim finished his rant. Nathan was trying his best to do his homework while Tim rambled about the party.
"Please, man. I'm trying to do my homework here." Nathan pleaded.
"Never thought I'd hear you say that." Tim said with a grin.
"Very funny. Maybe you should become a comedi-" he stopped when he felt something vibrate in his pocket. He took his cell phone out and was about to press 'cancel' when he realized the call was coming from the tattoo place.
"I gotta take this." Nathan said and went to stand behind some book shelves while looking around to make sure no one saw him.
"Hello?" Nathan answered quietly.
"Is this Nathan?"
"Yeah." he answered.
"Hey, this is Joe from Tattoo place. You had some questions about a customer I had about a month ago?"
"Yeah, your boss probably told you all I told him. So, I need to know everything you remember about that guy."
"I don't know if I'm much help. He got a phrase tattooed over his chest."
"Which phrase?"
"'What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger'."
"What did he look like?" Nathan asked.
"Blonde hair, athletic build... Pretty much your basic jock."
"Okay." Nathan said disappointed. "Do you know his name? Did he pay with a credit card?" he asked hopefully.
"Nope, plain old cash. Sorry, man."
"Is there anything else you remember?" Nathan asked.
"Well, he was pretty arrogant. Kept talking about all the chicks he's hooked up with. Oh, and he had one of those letter jackets on."
"You mean a lettermen's jacket?"
"Yeah."
"What letters did he have? What sports does he play?"
"Can't remember. I didn't pay much attention. Sorry, man." He said.
"Shit..." Nathan said annoyed. He was getting nowhere.
"All I remember is that it was blue with white sleeves." The guy said.
Nathan almost dropped his phone in shock. That was Tree Hill High's school jacket. He would know, he owned one.
"You sure?" he asked with shaky hands.
"Yeah."
"Thanks for calling." Nathan said and shut the phone. He went back to where Tim was.
"Who was it?" Tim asked.
"The tattoo place." He said.
"Well, what did they say? Do you know who did it?" he asked. Nathan had told him about going there earlier so he knew how important that call must have been.
"No, I don't know the guy." Nathan said. "But apparently he used to go to Tree Hill High." He said looking at Tim.
"You're shitting me." Tim said shocked.
"The asshole was wearing his letter jacket."
"Do you know who he is?"
"Nope. I have no name, no age, nothing. He probably graduated few years ago because it was a college party. Joe didn't remember which sports were on his jacket."
"So, we're looking for a male letter athlete, blonde hair, goes to Duke and graduated from Tree Hill High."
"And has a tattoo on his chest." Nathan added.
"What was the tattoo, anyways?" Tim asked curiously.
"'What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger.'" Nathan said in disgust. Tim dropped the pen he was holding.
"What!"
Nathan repeated the phrase again and when Tim still looked shocked, Nathan snapped his fingers.
"Tim! What's the matter?"
"I know who he is." Tim whispered with a pale voice.
"What? Who!"
"Greg Smith."
"Hey, Haley!" Haley turned around to look at Greg holding a piece of paper. "Is this yours?"
Haley saw that it was the rooster she had shown Whitey. She walked back with a smile.
"Thanks, I don't know what I would've done without this." She said and reached to take the paper from Greg's hands.
"Yeah, no problem."
Suddenly her eyes stopped at something on his chest. A scar and a tattoo. She froze on her spot without being able to take her eyes of this chest.
Haley stared at the scar and suddenly got a vivid flashback to the night of the party.
She put all her energy and adrenaline into trying to keep him away but all she managed to do was scratch his chest. He yelped in pain and backhanded her hard before taking a hold of her arms and forcing them above her head.
Haley's face went pale and the paper she was holding, fell on the floor. She then looked at the tattoo on his chest and remembered the conversation she had had with Nathan the night he had woken her up from her nightmare.
"You remember what he looked like?" Nathan asked hopefully.
"His face was blurred but I think he had blonde hair. I think he had a tattoo or something on his chest... At least in my dream he has. I don't know, it was all very blurry... I guess my subconscious is trying to block it out." She said.
Haley looked at Greg's blonde hair and couldn't realize she hadn't made the connection before.
"Oh my god." Haley whispered and took a shaky step back. She got another flashback, this time to when she was in the kitchen fixing herself the infamous drink.
"And more coke than rum this time…" Haley mumbled and turned around to put the coke and the rum back. She then grabbed the cup and took a big sip. She greeted a blonde guy next to her who was staring at her intently.
Haley looked at Greg panicking. She realized that the reason she had greeted him at the party wasn't because she had been polite, it was because she knew him.
"You okay?" Greg asked with a confused voice. He knew he had a pretty hot body and him being shirtless usually had an affect on the ladies, but Haley was acting almost the opposite. It looked like she was about to be sick.
"Yeah." Haley managed to say and swallowed hard. "I really gotta go now." She whispered and started to walk fast towards the door.
Greg looked down at his chest in confusion. He then noticed the scar and realized that Haley remembered. He looked up at Haley who was almost at the door. He took three fast steps and grabbed her before she was out the door.
"You're not going anywhere." He said and threw her against the wall. She fell down on the ground in pain. He looked around to make sure there were no one at the gym. It was empty just like the locker room. He then locked the door, threw the key away and turned to look at Haley.
"You really shouldn't have remembered anything, Haley."
Haley looked at Greg with a panicked look. Right then she knew when she'd had that calm-before-the-storm feeling before. It was the day she almost got rapes. She swallowed when she realized something.
The calm was over.
So let the bashing begin... Kidding, but I do wanna know what you think of the chapter. Oh, and was it too predictable that Greg was the attacker? I tried to give hints but I think some might've been too clear. Anyways, 'till next time. :)