Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter! (Don't hate me for it) I don't want the story to seem rushed but I also don't want to drag it on so I hope this chapter is good for you guys and I hope it all makes sense!

Xoxo – Harps.

The Right Path

Chapter three

"It's you or nobody else." – one tree hill.

A 14 year old Haley James sat by her desk, fiddling with the pencil. She was so frustrated; she studied all night to ace this history test and stupid Nathan Scott, Mr Bigshot basketball player (Haley would never admit she thought it was amazing that he made it to varsity as a freshman – but then, she thought, it was only his fate with Dan Scott as a father) walks up to her. It was five minutes before class, and Haley was mentally going through her notes, when Nathan decides that was the moment to ask her out. She didn't understand why she was still thinking about it, he was Lucas' brother (half-brother, really, but so what?). Haley sighed, looking down at the same question she'd been staring at for five minutes. Damn Nathan Scott! He doesn't even know me, she thought, why would he want to date me? He's popular, I'm not. She continued debating in her head. Wouldn't Brooke Davis be a better match? Or Peyton Sawyer. Not me.

Frowning, Haley turned to look at the back of the class where Nathan was, almost jumping when she saw him looking right back at her with smirk plastered on his face. Was he born with that damn smirk? Haley wondered. She knew she was blushing, but she couldn't look away, and apparently, neither could he. His smirk didn't fade, and Haley was sure her blush only deepened. She finally remembered that she was doing an exam and turned around to continue it, she still felt Nathan's eyes on her. A small smiled found its way onto Haley's face.

The phone rang, jolting Haley awake from her sleep. She reached over to grab it, "Hello?" Her sleepy voice mumbled.

"Haley, is Nathan there?" Haley recognised the voice as Nathan's coach.

She placed a hand on her sleeping husbands shoulder and shook it gently, "Nate," She whispered, it was five in the morning she didn't understand what could be so important. "Nathan," She said more urgently, "Wake up, your coach is on the phone,"

Her husband's eyes fluttered open, revealing the calm blue Haley knew. "What?" He asked, in a tone that was thickly laced with grogginess. Haley bit her lip and handed him the phone with a shrug, Nathan took it, sitting up in bed. "Coach?" He asked.

"Nate, this isn't good news…"

"Dad, I don't get what I could've done, I was double teamed!" Nathan defended, "I needed to give him the ball,"

"That boy doesn't need anything from us," Dan Scott responded bitterly, taking a large gulp of his alcohol, "Nathan you need to fix your game, no NBA team will want you if you give your opportunities away,"

"I'm a freshman! I'm lucky I made it to varsity, for God's sake. The scouts won't recruit a fifteen year old, they're looking at the seniors!"

"Don't give me that crap, Nathan." Dan snapped, finishing his bottle of whiskey and limping closer to Nathan, "Son, if you don't work hard you aren't going to go anywhere!" Nathan flinched under the strong scent of alcohol, Dan hit the wall beside Nathan's head, "Do you wanna end up like Keith? Selling cars? Keep up like this and that's what you'll get!" He yelled.

Nathan looked at his father with a hard expression, "It'll be better than ending up like you," He said lowly. "If I end up like Keith… At least I'll be happy."

"You'll be a bastard!" Dan threatened, throwing the bottle, causing it to smash into pieces. "You'll be a bastard, Nathan," He repeated. Dan grabbed Nathans collar, "Is that what you want?" He sneered at the smaller boy.

"If it means I won't be your son, then yeah." Nathan choked, pushing his sorry excuse for a father off him. Truth is, Nathan loved the game, it's the only certainty he's ever known.

He knows that wouldn't change, ever. But Nathan also knew that ever since his mother left, his father's been worse than ever. And Nathan feared that would never change either.

Haley paced up and down the hallway; she left the room so Nathan could take the call. Her doubts got the better of her and now she was biting her lip; wondering what could possibly be so urgent. It was 5:30 now, and Nathan still hadn't opened the door.

Nathan paced around the room, "What the hell do you mean?" He whispered furiously, brows furrowed and messy hair from running his hands through it endlessly.

"They weren't convinced, Nate. Three months, and they might end your contract early," His coach said back in a disappointed tone.

"One hit, Coach!" Nathan defended, his voice rising, "He swung back for God's sakes, he -" He shook his head, raven hair falling into his eyes. Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose, "It wasn't that bad,"

"They come from a rich family," His coach explained, "Spoilt bastard decided to sue, now we paid 'em enough to keep it out of tabloids, and they'll settle for this. They don't want your money, Nate."

"It's his own damn fault!" Nathan shot back. "Goddammit," He whispered.

"Three months, Nate." His coach reminded him, "Don't do anything stupid and you might still have a job," He ended the call.

Nathan dropped the phone on the bed and took a seat beside it, sighing, he dropped his head into his hands. Three months. He lifted his head when the door opened slowly, and a hesitant Haley walked in with her dazzling smile which he knew was on her face to comfort him.

"Hey," She said quietly, "You okay?"

Nathan looked straight ahead, "Did you hear all of it?"

Haley's smile faltered, and she let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. Taking a seat beside Nathan, she placed a hand on his shoulder – which was tensed. "No," She told him truthfully. "But I heard what I needed to," She said quietly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She wasn't disappointed, or hurt. Nathan would know if she was. She was confused, and honestly, so was he. "I don't know," His voice cracked. "And I don't know what to do, Hales. I didn't want to hurt him. And I didn't even hurt him that bad, I swear," He turned to look at her, his eyes showing pain and vulnerability.

"I know," She told him, knowing he'd hear the honesty in her voice. She held his face gently, "This isn't the first time you've been suspended off a team," She reminded him, when he gave her an unamused look, she gave a small smiled, "C'mon," She nudged his shoulder which hers, "Hell, you've been suspended from school, Nate,"

This time, He laughed with her.

"Nathan?" A small voice asked from behind him, "What are you doing here?"

He turned to find Haley James, the astonishingly beautiful girl in his history class. "I could ask you the same thing," He muttered bitterly. Seeing the disdain on her face, his tone softened, "Sorry,"

Haley gave him an unconvinced look, "Is Nathan Scott apologising?" She asked with fake incredulousness, "To me?" She gasped. The auburn-haired fourteen year old took a seat on the swing beside him. "What's up?"

"Oh, you mean besides having a drunken excuse for a father, who practically tried to beat me today?" He said into darkness.

Haley stared at him with wide eyes. "Oh," She let out a deep exhale, "Wow…" Her eyes found the bottle in Nathan's hand, "Then why are you drinking?" her voice was thinly laced with judgement.

" 'cause I can, okay?" He looked at her with red eyes, had he been crying? Haley thought. "Because I've had a crappy day, because my mother left me, because the only family I could have is my half-brother – who practically hates me, because I can, Haley James," He said crudely.

"Lucas doesn't hate you, Nathan," She said sweetly, blinking back tears of her own. Damn it, Haley, why are you crying? She chastised herself, "And… for what it's worth, I have my answer,"

He gave her a confused look, "What answer?"

"Well, I came here to think about it because no one's at home, and if I'm gonna be alone, why not be somewhere nice and think, you know? And I'm rambling, aren't I?" She asked with flushed cheeks, Nathan nodded but he had a look in eyes that Haley had never seen before – she dared to call it adoration. "An answer to your question," She clarified. "Yes." She said triumphantly. "I will go on a date with you," She told him, blinking up at him.

"You really are something special, Haley James." He told her. She looked at him with teary eyes, "What?" He asked, suddenly worried.

"No one's ever said that to me before," She whispered, looking away from him.

"Well, I find that hard to believe," He told her.

Haley sat up, moving closer to Nathan. "I might kiss you now," She said breathlessly.

"I'll taste like alcohol," He warned.

"I don't care." She said, breathing heavily all of a sudden, "I might be bad at it too," She said self-consciously.

"I find that hard to believe too," He told her before sealing his words with a soft kiss. "I'm gonna fall in love with you someday, Haley James" Nathan declared, looking into Haley's glowing eyes. "And I'm gonna be in the NBA, and I'm gonna make you happy."

"I can't wait for that day," Haley told him with a bright smile.

Hope you liked it, i really enjoyed writing it!! please leave reviews they make my day!! xoxo