A/N: Wow! I was blown away by the response to this story and I want to thank everyone who replied! You guys are awesome. Also, I forgot to do mention two very important things earlier, so I'm going to now. One is the disclaimer; everything belongs to Mark and co, etc. Secondly, a big shout out to by beta Tiffany who always does a great job and is super efficient; thanks so much! Hope you guys like this chapter as much as the last.

Chapter Two

Nathan had thought Tim's 'present' was more than a little odd, but it hadn't been something he could find much to complain about, so he hadn't. However, earlier there had been a somewhat steady stream of girls. Then, a few seconds ago, the door had closed behind one, before opening again with what he assumed had been someone else – only they hadn't done anything. Which lead Nathan to believe that there might not be anyone else in there with him.

"Er, hello?" he said finally, feeling slightly foolish.

No one answered. Nathan shook his head, certain Tim or Vegas was playing a trick on him and started to lift a hand to his blindfold, when a female voice said, "Hi!"

Haley had been trying to think of something cool – hell, even sexy – to say in reply, but when she realized he was about to take his blindfold off she just blurted out the only response that came to her head. Thankfully, his hands fell back to his sides.

"Hi. I was beginning to think I was alone in here," he told the girl.

"Sorry; I guess I've been kind of quiet."

Nathan listened carefully, but despite its familiarity he couldn't quite place her voice. "It's okay," he assured her. When she didn't say or do anything else, Nathan started to wonder again. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said quickly.

"Then why are you still standing all the way over there by the door?"

Haley smiled as she looked down at her trainers, and then across the few feet separating them. "How do you know where I'm standing?" As the words left her mouth, the thought crossed her mind that the blindfold might not be that thick after all and he would be able to make her out through it.

"Well, I know that this closet isn't very big lengthways, and I'm pretty certain that you're not standing next to me so you kind of have to be over there."

"Right. So you can't see through that blindfold?" she asked to make sure.

"Nah. Tim folding it over three times took care of that. So…" he began to interrupt the silence she had let settle over them once more, "you didn't come here just to talk to me, did you?"

She laughed softly, and Nathan decided that he liked the sound. "No, I guess I didn't."

"Well, then, do you maybe want to take a step forward? I don't bite."

Haley nodded before realizing that he couldn't see she was doing so. "Okay." After a sharp intake of breath she stepped towards Nathan, then stopped.

Nathan could hear the sound of her feet on the concrete floor. With an amused smile on his face he said, "You know, I didn't mean that literally. You can take more than just a step."

"I know, I just…"

"Yes?"

"I've never done anything like this before," Haley admitted.

"Me either."

Haley raised a brow. "Well, I think that the hundreds of girls who've already been in here would count as having done this before," she pointed out.

Nathan chuckled. "I guess that's true. But I meant before tonight. And there haven't been hundreds."

"No?"

"More like a few," he stated.

"A few? So you're saying that only 5 or less girls have come in here? 'Cause that's the most I can consider being a few. Even a couple is less than the amount of numbers that you can count on your hands, I would think."

"Okay, tell me you didn't come here to give me an English lesson."

As the reality of what he said sunk in, Haley smiled ruefully. She was in an enclosed space with Nathan Scott and instead of jumping him, as Peyton probably would have told her to do had she any idea what she was up to, Haley was living up to the annoying nickname Brooke had given her; Tutorgirl. And that certainly wasn't what she wanted Nathan to think of her.

As the girl continued to keep quiet Nathan was becoming more irritated by the fact that he couldn't see her. However, he didn't need his blindfold off to be able to guess how she was feeling. "You're nervous, aren't you?"

"That obvious, huh?" Haley looked back at the ground and shook her head. "I'm really sorry; I think I'll just go."

"No!" Nathan said immediately. His hand came up, reaching out instinctively and, somehow found her elbow, which he closed his fingers around lightly. "You don't have to do that."

Haley was shocked, but the doubts in her mind lingered. "But there'll be other girls outside who won't just waste your time like me."

"You're not wasting my time." Aware by now that this girl wasn't going to move any closer, Nathan bridged the distance between them himself. When she didn't move away he let go of her arm. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Haley gulped and forced herself to keep calm. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just wondering. You go to my school, right?"

"Uh…yeah. I go to Tree Hill High."

"Are you a junior too?" he asked.

"Um…I…"

"You're not a freshman, are you?" he asked suddenly. As he considered it, Nathan realized it made perfect sense. She was a fourteen year-old freshman and that's why she was so nervous!

"I'm sixteen," Haley told him. This way he wouldn't be afraid she was too young for him, but it also meant she could be a sophomore or a junior.

"Okay," Nathan said, relieved. However, the silence became awkward again since she still wasn't doing anything. He hadn't even had the chance to breathe with some of the girls who'd come earlier, and now he felt like he had too much breathing time. It was refreshing to meet someone who wasn't jumping on him at the first opportunity, but since he'd never been in such a situation he wasn't sure how to handle it. Still, he felt that he rather liked it. "So…" Nathan trailed his left hand up her arm, savoring its smoothness.

Haley's eyes closed as her skin started to tingle, but she did her best to remain calm. "So…" Inhaling deeply, she opened her eyes and looked above the wide expanse of his chest. "Where did you get that?" she asked suddenly.

Nathan's hand stopped its movements, resting on her shoulder. "What?"

"You have a scar on the bottom of your neck," Haley explained, having spotted the small cut in the hollow of his neck just below his Adam's apple. "How did it happen?"

"Well, I," Nathan took a minute to remember, having been surprised by the question, "I was moving some stuff around the house, but when I was putting this side table down the edge of it scratched me."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore."

And then, Nathan was put even more off-guard when she surprised him again; by kissing his neck.