Hey guys! Glad people seem to be liking this story so far, I'm definitely enjoying writing it. So this is more middle school Naley development and the story will be in middle school for about 3-4 more chapters because I don't want to drag it out but I also want to have a good foundation. Hope you enjoy it! Disclaimer: I don't own OTH.

In the past two weeks, Nathan and Haley had gotten to know each other pretty well. Nathan definitely knew more about Haley than she knew about him but she didn't mind. She could tell that he wasn't used to letting people in so she appreciated anything he'd tell her. She'd gotten into the habit of calling him 'Roy' after learning his middle name was Royal and he was persistent in trying to learn hers.

It had been two weeks but the two acted like lifelong friends. At least, during math team. Any other time they were just acquaintances, friendly but not friends. Occasionally they'd say hi to each other in the hallway or Nathan would just smile her way.

Haley was amazed by how quickly her opinion about him had changed. She had thought of him as a spoiled, brainless jock that probably loved the attention from all the girls at school. He was definitely a jock but other than that Haley had him completely wrong. He was a dedicated and hardworking kid who, although he didn't like school, was smarter than he let on. Plus, he had a huge crush on this eighth grader named Theresa but was too scared to talk to her. She couldn't blame him though, Theresa was beautiful. She was built like a supermodel with her chestnut brown hair falling in loose ringlets and her shining green eyes, not to mention she towered over Haley at a tall 5'6". Haley couldn't help but feel a little jealous of how highly he talked about her and she wasn't sure why.

"Okay, what is going on with you and Nathan?" Lucas asked, accusingly as he walked up to her at her locker. He had noticed how his 'brother' smiled at Haley a moment before and he didn't like it. His father had been an ass and abandoned him and Nathan was just like Dan. At least to Lucas.

"It's nothing, Luke. He had to join math team and we hang out together during it, that's all. He's not so bad." Haley sighed. She was enjoying getting to know Nathan and she liked his company but Lucas had been her best friend since they were 6 and she didn't want to hurt him. She just couldn't understand why the two brothers couldn't just get along.

"Not that bad? Haley, he's horrible! He does whatever the hell he wants and gets away with it! Plus, he is so clearly flirting with you, it's disgusting." Lucas flipped. Hurt flashed across Haley face and he was instantly filled with regret, he was just trying to protect Haley. "Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"He isn't flirting with me. And even if he was, why would that be the worst thing in the world?"

"Come on Haley, don't be stupid! A guy like him wouldn't hang out with a girl like you unless he thought he was going to get something out of it."

"A girl like me? I'm just so lame that he'd never like me, is that it?" Haley slammed her locker and stormed away. She didn't fully understand why Lucas' words had upset her so much, she hadn't expected him to be happy that she was friends with Nathan. This just wasn't the behavior she expected from her best friend.

Haley was still reeling by the math team meeting that afternoon. They didn't have a meet today but they were meeting to discuss who would do what at the next one. "You okay, Hales?" Nathan leaned towards her and whispered.

"Aw, Roy, you big softie. You care?" Haley teased her mood instantly improving.

"You know, I shouldn't have even asked. You're just gonna make fun of me, fine then…" Nathan put his hands up in joking surrender.

"I'm fine. Just got in an argument with Lucas that's all."

"About me, right? Haley, he shouldn't control who you're friends with." Nathan grumbled. He and Lucas were so easy to antagonize each other.

"He's just trying to protect me, if only he knew I didn't need it. I don't want to talk about this, tell me something good that happened today." Haley was ready to change the subject to something happier and she was glad she did so when Nathan's face instantly lit up. Something had definitely made his day.

"I asked Theresa out today and she said yes." He beamed. Haley's face dropped for a second before she quickly smiled widely. It wasn't that she cared about Nathan going on a date but Theresa was the coolest girl in the school, no way her boyfriend would want to hang out with a nerdy kid like Haley. Why did Nathan have to be so popular?

"That's great! I'm happy for you." Haley pulled him into a quick hug.

"Mr. Scott, Miss James, please pay attention. You can socialize later." Miss Hart called out. Haley blushed and nodded at her teacher; she'd forgotten they were in a meeting. Nathan just smirked at Haley, stifling a laugh at how embarrassed she was.

Once the meeting was over, Haley turned to Nathan. "Do you wanna hang out for a while? We could go down to the docks and do our homework or something."

"Sorry Hales, I can't. I have basketball practice at the high school in like 20 minutes." Haley suddenly felt embarrassed that she had even offered. Nathan could tell she was tearing herself apart for asking and he didn't want that. "Are you free Saturday though? We could meet up and we wouldn't even have to do homework." Haley laughed at his mocking tone when talking about getting together to study, she sometimes forgot not everyone enjoyed school.

"That sounds great, my number is on the math team information sheet."

"Okay cool, is it a cell phone?"

"No," Haley laughed before realization washed over her. "Do you have a cell phone?"

"Well, yeah…my dad likes to be able to contact me." Nathan muttered uncomfortably. He always got so weird when Dan came up.

"Oh alright. Anyways, it's a home phone so just ask for me if my parents answer." Haley glanced up at the clock. "You should get going, Nathan, you're going to be late."

"Oh crap, you're right. Bye, Hales, see you later!" Nathan called sprinting out of the room.

…..

Haley walked into her house hesitantly. She usually hung out with Lucas on Thursdays but she was mad at him and he was probably mad at her so she hadn't even bothered to go see if he was at the café. She knew her mom would instantly know something was up. "Hey mom," She greeted as she walked into the kitchen.

"Haley bob! What are you doing home so early?" Lydia looked up with a wide grin which quickly faded when she saw the look on her youngest daughter's face. "Oh, something happened, huh?"

Haley sat down at the island and looked at her mom in awe. "How do you do that? Just look at me and know?"

"Haley, you're my seventh child. I know all the signs of preteen drama by now. Now, tell your mom what happened." Haley sighed, she hadn't been sure if she really wanted to talk about it but she could really use her mom's advice right now. Both of her parents were incredibly laid back and sometimes immature but they were also both extremely wise and she knew she was so lucky to have them.

"Lucas and I got into an argument because I befriended someone he doesn't approve of. I mean, why does he get to dictate who I'm friends with? He doesn't trust me, mom. Seven years of friendship and he doesn't trust me." Haley felt the anger boil up within her as she talked about it. She had always trusted Lucas. She was an open person and if she was worried he was making a bad decision she'd tell him, yes, but she never spoke to him like how he spoke to her earlier. That's just not best friend behavior.

"I don't think he doesn't trust you, I think he doesn't trust this new friend. Or maybe he is jealous of your new friend, worried that you won't have as much time for him."

"I don't think it's jealousy. I mean, I don't even really see him outside of math team and-"

"HIM? Haley, do you have a boyfriend? I think it may be time for us to have a serious discussion." Of course, at that very moment, Quinn and Taylor walked in. Quinn, by far the sibling Haley was closest with, instantly lit up upon hearing the conversation.

"Haley-bop! You have your first boyfriend? I'm so happy for you!" She dropped her backpack down and ran to hug her little sister.

"Thanks for the enthusiasm, Quinnie, but no. He's just a friend and even if I did like him, which I don't, he is going out with Theresa tomorrow." This peaked Taylor's attention. Taylor was a wild child, little miss popular, party animal, boy crazy, Haley could go on and on. She knew who all the middle school popular kids were, despite being a sophomore in high school.

"Theresa? As in Sarah Thompson's little sister in the eighth grade? Goddamn, who of your friends is cool enough for her?" Quinn hit Taylor in the arm as Lydia muttered something about no swearing around her little sister. Haley just rolled her eyes, she was used to these comments from Taylor. She was always telling Haley how she had potential if she would just loosen up and be more girly.

"Nathan Scott."

"Wow. Yeah, that kid is hot, not to mention a killer athlete. How do you know him?" Taylor questioned.

"First of all, Taylor, he is 12. Don't call him hot, it's creepy. Secondly, he had to join math team for extra credit and, I don't know, we just sort of got to know each other." Haley explained. She watched as realization spread over Quinn and her mom's faces and they transformed to the look of shock she knew was coming once she mentioned his name.

"Scott…like Lucas' half brother Nathan Scott?" Haley nodded.

"And you don't understand why Lucas was upset? Haley, you know he has cried to you about why he wasn't good enough for his father. He acts like a tough boy but he and Nathan have never gotten along because Dan chose to be there for Nathan and it hurts him." Lydia stated. She was surprised that her sweet, thoughtful Haley had thought that it wouldn't upset Lucas.

"None of that is Nathan's fault though, mom. He wasn't even born yet when Dan chose his mom's over Lucas' but somehow that decision makes him horrible? Not to mention that I've known the kid two weeks and I've already noticed that at the mere mention of Dan he gets tense and uncomfortable so I really don't think he is better off for having him there." Haley watched as her mom took in her explanation, her facial expression softening after a minute, along with Quinn's. Taylor had wandered away a minute again, muttering something about this family being like bad reality tv.

In this moment, Lydia was once again reminded that her young daughter was much more mature than she gave her credit for, perhaps even more mature than herself. Not to mention that she saw the absolute best in everyone and cared enough to show that part of them to the world. She was so incredibly proud of the young woman in front of her, although she couldn't take much of the credit. Lydia and Jimmy had been so preoccupied trying to handle Taylor that low-maintenance-Haley had practically raised herself.

"All very good points, Haley. I'm sure if you befriended the boy, he is a good person but don't stay mad at Lucas too long. This is hard on him and you guys have too much history to let his reaction pull you apart." Haley simply nodded. Her mom was right and she knew it but her and Lucas had never really fought before and she wasn't quite ready to let it go.

Quinn and Lydia had started working on making dinner while Haley was sitting at the island, studying for her math test tomorrow. The house phone rang and Haley head shot up but her mom grabbed the phone before she could.

"Hello?...Yes, she's right here," Lydia passed the phone to Haley. "It's for you." Quinn raised her eyebrows at Haley, who accepted the phone with a huge smile.

"Hi, Nathan…no, it's fine. This is a good time…yeah, that sounds good to me." Right then, Haley heard the distant sound of yelling from none other than Dan Scott. Nathan quickly apologized that he had to go. "Okay bye, see you-" Nathan had hung up. "Saturday."

"Nathan called you?" Quinn smirked.

"Yeah, I knew he would. We were trying to make plans after math team but he was going to be late to basketball so I told him to call." Haley explained. She really didn't want her family to read too much into this. She liked Nathan, she knew they could be really good friends but she didn't want her family to make it awkward.

….

"You didn't?"

"I did. I'm serious." Nathan laughed.

"I can't believe you tried to hotwire a car." Haley scolded playfully. She had been sitting by the docks with Nathan for the past 2 hours now. The ice cream they had gotten was long gone, Nathan's had lasted about 15 seconds. That boy could eat.

"I heard Keith talking about how he did it when he was younger at Thanksgiving once and I wanted to try it." Nathan paused for a moment. "You know Keith right? Since he is close with Lucas. I like Keith, I don't know him well but he is a lot more laidback and fun than my dad is."

Haley was surprised when Nathan brought up Keith. Sure, she knew it was his uncle but, like he had said, Keith hung around Lucas and Karen. She loved Keith and Karen, they were both so close with Lucas and they weren't as busy as her parents were. Her parents were all over the place all the time, going to visit her siblings and leaving Quinn in charge. "Yeah, I know Keith. He is a great guy, Nathan, you guys would get along well."

"Yeah, maybe. It's just hard because Lucas wouldn't want me coming around." The two fell into an uneasy silence. Nathan never trashed Lucas to Haley, he had spoken relatively respectfully of his half-brother but Haley could sense the tension whenever Lucas came up and usually tried to avoid the topic. "Speaking of which," Nathan started after a minute. "When are you going to make up with him, Hales? I think it's pretty clear I'm not his biggest fan but that doesn't mean I wanted to ruin your relationship with your best friend. Please don't let me be the reason you aren't friends anymore."

Haley nodded and smiled at Nathan. He was such a kind and mature person. He didn't get along with Lucas but that hadn't stopped him from becoming friends with Haley even though she was friends with him, in fact he wanted her to be friends with Lucas. Why couldn't Lucas feel the same? Maybe their mutual friendship with Haley could bring them closer.

"I'll talk to him, I promise. Now enough of this emotional stuff, how was your date with Theresa?" Haley asked.

"It was good…Haley, I have kind of a weird question for you. Have you ever made out with someone?" Haley's eyes widened. Made out with someone? She hadn't even quickly kissed anyone.

"Um, well no. Is that weird?"

"I don't know. I didn't think so but when I told Theresa that she said it was 'adorable'. She just turned 14, Haley. I won't even be 13 until August. How am I supposed to keep up with her?" Nathan worried. Haley looked at him, she didn't think a 12 year old should be keeping up with a 14 year old. It just didn't seem right, he wasn't even a teenager yet.

"Nathan, you don't have to make out with her if you don't want to."

"Oh, I want to. I just don't wanna suck at it." Haley laughed at this. Such a typical middle school boy response.

"Well in that case, Roy, I'm sure you'll be fine." Haley noticed it was getting darker, it looked like it was going to storm so they shouldn't stay outside. "Do you want to come over to my house? I think we should get inside." Nathan then also looked up at the sky. There was a huge dark cloud right above their heads.

"Yeah, if that's okay with your parents." Just then there was a crack of thunder. Haley jumped up.

"They won't mind. Let's go." She hurried off. Nathan laughed, jogging to catch up with her.

They speed walked towards the James household but when they were a block away it started pouring. Nathan grabbed Haley's hand and started running but Haley pulled back. "Nathan, wait. We're already soaked. What damage could a little water do?" Nathan looked at her like she was crazy.

"What are you suggesting, Hales?" Haley didn't respond, she just started spinning around, her loose t-shirt flowing around her until it got to wet and just clung to her skin. She skipped through the quickly forming puddles, jumping and splashing Nathan.

"You're out of your mind, Haley." Nathan said with a laugh. Haley kicked more water up on him with a sly smile. "Oh, it's on." Just like that they were in a full out water war in the middle of the thunderstorm. It was reckless and juvenile and they were both freezing but neither one could remember the last time they'd had so much fun. 15 minutes later, they walked into Haley's house, dripping wet with their teeth chattering.

"Haley, you're home! Thank god, I was so worried about you out there!" Lydia exclaimed when she saw her daughter standing in the doorway drenched.

"Sorry mom, we tried to make it home before the rain but it just came on too fast." Haley replied. For the first time, Lydia looked at the young boy standing next to Haley. His dark matted down to his forehead, his startlingly blue eyes moving around to observe the house, his slim but athletic built, he didn't look very similar to Lucas at all.

"You must be Nathan," Lydia addressed him. His focus shifted to her upon hearing his name.

"It's a pleasure to me you, Mrs. James." He extended his hand and she took it, impressed by the young kid's manners.

"You too. Now, let me get you both some towels." Once the kids were dried off and Haley went to her room to change, Lydia showed Nathan to her youngest son Michael's old room to find him some clothes that might fit him. Michael was now 21 and much a much bigger size than Nathan but since he had taken most of his current clothes with him so there was some smaller stuff.

"Thank you." Nathan accepted a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt from Lydia.

"Of course, Nathan. Once you're changed, you can go knock on Haley's door. It's the last one on the left." Nathan nodded as Lydia left the room. He quickly put on the clothes he had been given and headed towards Haley's room. He felt out of place in the house without her. Right as he approached her door, it opened.

"Oh hey, Nathan. I was just going to come find you. Come in." She moved out of the doorway as he walked in and looked around the room. It was very Haley. The walls were a subtle, pale purple. She had an oak desk that held several neat stacks of paper on one side of the room. The wall above it was decorated with pictures of who he assumed were her siblings. The other side of her room had a large and packed bookshelf. Her bedspread was plain white with purple throw pillows. There was a carpet next to her bed and two bean bag chairs in the corner. Then he noticed the guitar leaning on her wall.

"Do you play that?" He asked, pointing to it.

"Oh, no. Not really, but I think it's pretty fun." Her and Nathan sat in bean bag chairs and played truth or dare and two truths and a lie for the next hour. It seemed ridiculous but it was also a good way for the new friends to continue learning more about each other. Then Quinn peaked her head through the door. She smiled at the image of her sister laughing and looking so comfortable. Haley needed someone who made her relax a little.

"Hey Haley. Nathan, my mom wants to know if you're staying for dinner."

"Oh uh, thanks for the invite but I should get going." Quinn nodded and left and Haley showed Nathan to the front door where they said a quick goodbye and he left. Haley leaned back against the door after she closed it and Nathan bit his lip as he looked back at the closed door. Wow. They both thought. I think this friendship is going to be very important to me.

Nathan seems like a golden child, huh? How could Lucas not like him? Well, we'll get to how he is with people other than Haley next chapter. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!