Biiiiig thanks to the readers... Biiiiger thanks to the reviewers (naleysocute23, goober396, naleyluv, OTH.daddy'sgurl.06, formerflautist, harroc83, chelle2911, SLUVER15, aqualeo2425, Duckygirl, naley23lover101, MissAlyson, honey23, SluttyDeb, Eshumaa, mistydm, theSunffaluffigus) Sooooooooooo sorry if I forgot anyone... just let me know and I'll give you a cookie... in the form of answering ONE question, as long as it's NOT Do Peyton and Nathan get married. HAH
Big thanks to my beta because she rocks )
Chapter 4: Operation Naley Commences
"I loves me some summer," Tim exclaimed as he walked out of his last final of the year.
"There are so many things wrong with that sentence. Are you sure you got a 2.5 average?" Haley questioned.
"Hell yeah baby. After I studied my ass off for those finals I probably made a 3.0! Look, here comes Nate."
"Hey Nate, how's it going?" Haley asked. Nathan had stressed himself out about finals, but Haley believed in him. She knew he was going to do great.
"I'm alright. Just happy that school's over with and summer's here!" Nathan said excitedly. He and Haley had spent a lot of time together the past month studying for finals. Everyday, he learned something new about her. Whether it was how smooth and shiny her hair was or how the ends curled slightly. How much lighter and longer it got since the beginning of the year, how she muttered to herself when she was trying to solve a difficult problem, how she crinkled her brow when she got an answer wrong, how her eyes lit up when he solved a difficult problem and how she softly sang to herself when she was checking his work
Nathan thought she sounded like an angel when she sang, but knew she was embarrassed about her voice. Tim told him that he complimented her voice one day and she immediately stopped singing and blushed, mumbling something about being tone deaf. Nathan never wanted her to stop singing so he pretended not to notice.
"So, what's on the agenda for today guys?" Tim asked, breaking Nathan out of his reverie. "Because we can't not do something! This year marks a milestone!"
"And what would that be Tim, you actually passing all of your classes?" Nathan joked. Tim's intelligence was an ongoing joke between the three of them and Tim was never offended by it.
"Whatever Nathan. I do believe that I beat you by... half a point in the GPA race?" Tim mocked.
"It doesn't count Tim. I didn't have a tutor for like half a semester," Nathan reasoned.
"Fine. We'll have a battle of the wits next year. Prepare to eat my super intelligent dust Scott," Tim challenged.
"You're on Tim. You do realize that you stand no chance considering I have to number one tutor in our class right?" Nathan smirked.
Tim thought about what Nathan said for a minute. "Well, then she'll have to tutor both of us to level out the playing field then."
As Haley heard this, she stepped into the conversation. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I only said I would tutor Nathan this year. No one said anything about next year."
"Aw, come on Haley. You know how badly I do without you. Just look at what happened... when... that thing happened." Nathan pouted, his voice trailing off towards the end of his sentence.
Nathan's parental situation was still a sore subject for everyone. Nathan never wanted to talk about it, while Tim and Haley respected his decision, even though they never forgot about it. Haley was willing to wait for Nathan to be ready to talk about it, but with the way things were going lately she was beginning to wonder if he would ever be ready.
"Fine, I'll tutor you both next year, but can I just say that this is a big colossal mistake?" Haley asked.
"Sure. You can say whatever you want tutor." Tim grinned.
"Ok, school is officially over, yet here we are talking about next year. Is it just me, or is something seriously wrong with this picture?" Nathan questioned.
"You're right. Let's get out of this place." Tim said.
The three friends made their way out the school doors. As they reached outside, Nathan and Tim decided to be courteous and walk Haley home. Tim and Nathan lived in the same area while Haley lived in the opposite direction.
"So, anyone decided what we're going to do today?" Tim asked again in an attempt to put his 'Naley' plan, as he referred to it, in motion.
"I don't know. It's up to you guys," Haley said while Nathan just shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, how about we go to dinner and a movie?" Tim brilliantly asked. Little did they know that Tim had already promised his parents he would baby-sit Emily. Actually, he'd practically begged his parents to go out so he could baby-sit Emily, but no one needed to know that.
"Sounds good," Haley agreed. "What time should we meet up?"
"How about you guys come over to my house around six?" Tim suggested.
"Sure." Haley said as they reached her house. "Well, this is my stop. I'll see you both later."
"Wait!" Tim called before she reached her door. "Um... Nathan why don't you get Haley then just come to my house?"
"No, Tim. I live in the opposite direction. It would be stupid for him to come get me then go to your house," Haley said.
"No, it's fine. I'll come get you," Nathan agreed.
"Are you sure?" Haley asked. She didn't want to put Nathan out.
"No problem Hales," Nathan reassured. To be honest, Nathan was glad to do it. Anything so that he could spend more time alone with Haley.
"Great!" Tim said. "Operation Naley has commenced," he whispered under his breath.
Nathan and Haley turned towards Tim both sporting looks of confusion.
"What?" Nathan asked.
"Um... I said... operation nooooot Haley... but left out the OTH..." Tim said slowly contemplating each word. "But what I meant to say was... operation not... leaving Haley alone... because... you know with so many psychos around who knows..." He trailed off.
"Oh, well would you look at the time, gotta run. I promised I'd play with Emily when I got home. Gotta go, see you later," Tim said quickly before running off, leaving a bewildered Nathan and Haley.
"Your best friend is weird," Nathan said to Haley.
"Hey, he was your best friend first," Haley countered.
There was awkward silence between the two, neither knowing what to say. They had never been alone before. Well, they had been alone, but it was always due to tutoring.
"So, I'll see you later...?" Nathan asked, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, um... see you then," Haley said, lingering in her doorway.
"Ok. So before six…?" Nathan asked again.
"I think we've established that already." Haley smiled.
"Um... yeah... just... you know, making sure," Nathan stuttered. "So, I'm just going to go now."
"And I'm going to go." Haley pointed into her house. "In here... because it's my house."
"Ok. And I'll be going over there." Nathan pointed the towards the street. "To my house. Well, not there, there. But in that general area... where my house is..." he trailed off.
"See you later Nathan." Haley chuckled. She was glad she wasn't the only one embarrassed.
"Later alligator," Nathan said, then instantly regretted it. "Oh God," he whispered to himself, shutting his eyes hoping he hadn't said that out loud. He needed to get out of there.
"Bye Nathan," Haley said, shutting the door behind her. She could feel his embarrassment and decided to make it easier on him by leaving first.
"Later alligator?" Nathan whispered to himself as he left Haley's house. "Why don't I just tattoo 'I LOVE HALEY' on my forehead?"
Nathan paused for a minute. 'Whoa... where'd that come from?' he thought. 'As a friend... yeah... that's what I meant... as a friend.'
When Nathan got home he was relieved to find that neither of his parents were home. He wasn't up to dealing with them today.
He ran up to his room to dump his school stuff. Nathan glanced at the clock and noticed it was only 3:30. 'Two and a half more hours.' Nathan thought. He looked around his room for a distraction to pass the time. Usually he would work on his homework after school, but since the year was over he had nothing to do.
'3:31' Nathan read as he glanced at the clock. 'Wow. Time just flies when you're having fun.'
'Ok. So it takes about 20 minutes to get to Haley's from here. It takes about 10 minutes to get to Tim's from Haley's. So that means I should leave here around 5:30 if I want to make it on time. That means I'll have to shower around 4:50 if I want to make it out of here by 5:30.'
"What should I wear?" Nathan questioned out loud. He walked to his closet and looked through his clothes. 'Dinner and a movie? So that's casual clothes. Jeans and a shirt.' Nathan decided. 'Now what shirt?'
It was finally time for Nathan to leave and he had never been more anxious than he had been at that moment.
'Dude, slow down. What are you hurrying for?' He thought to himself. Nathan knew it wasn't a date, but for some reason his heart was racing and he was really excited about tonight. He had to keep reminding himself that this wasn't a date.
As Nathan neared Haley's, he was having a problem calming his nerves down and had to keep mentally chanting, 'This is not date.'
He reached Haley's house and took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. He didn't have to wait long before Haley's dad opened the door.
"H...hi Mr. James." Nathan said in a small voice. For some reason, he had always cowered in the presence of Mr. James even though Mr. James had been nothing, but nice to him since the first time they'd met.
"Nathan, fancy seeing you here," Jimmy James joked. "Are you here to see Haley?"
"Um...we're going out," Nathan said. "I mean... we're going out... with Tim, all together. In public."
Jimmy smiled at the jittery boy in front of him. He liked Nathan, he really did. But he also had fun scaring the boy.
"That's good because I would hate for my daughter to be alone any place with a boy," Jimmy threatened jokingly.
Nathan was literally sweating bullets. "No, we're going with Tim. We're going to a movie, but we could just skip it because it might be too dark in there. Yeah, I think we should skip the movie," he said hoping to please Mr. James.
"That's a good idea Nathan. Who knows what could happen in the dark." Jimmy felt a bit bad for scaring Nathan, but it was just so fun that he didn't want to stop.
"Yes sir," Nathan agreed. "I don't like dark places either." 'I don't like dark places? God you're an idiot.'
"I'll just go get Haley so you can be on your way. By the way, where is Tim?" Jimmy asked, hoping to scare Nathan even more.
'Crap. I'm never going to be allowed near Haley again.' "He's... he…"
Before he could finish Haley came down the stairs. "Dad, leave Nathan alone."
As Nathan caught sight of Haley he took a deep breath. She was wearing a dark purple tank top and a knee length jean skirt paired with white flip-flops. Her hair, which was left down, looked silky and smooth, making Nathan want to run his fingers through it. Even in the simplest of outfits Haley managed to leave Nathan breathless.
"Wow," Nathan whispered causing Haley to blush and Jimmy to mockingly glare in Nathan's direction.
"You look beautiful Haley-bop," Jimmy complimented. He trusted his daughter and he trusted Nathan. It was endearing for him to see a young boy so smitten with his little girl, but the father in him was cautious of this budding relationship. He hoped that they would both continue to be ignorant to the other's feelings. One could only hope.
"Um... you... you look nice," Nathan stammered. He didn't want to tell her she looked great even though that's what he thought, because he was scared Mr. James was going to lock Haley up and throw away the key. Nathan decided that saying she looked nice was taking the safe route.
"Sweetie, the kids are leaving," Jimmy called out to his wife Lydia.
Lydia appeared out of the kitchen smiling. "Haley-bop, you look wonderful. Nathan, handsome as ever," Lydia gushed causing Nathan to blush.
"Thank you Mrs. James," Nathan thanked courteously.
"What have I told you about that Mrs. James business Nathan?" Lydia scolded playfully. "It's Lydia."
"Ok," Nathan conceded.
"Well, you two should get going. Have a nice date," Lydia said.
"It's not a date," Nathan and Haley both reassured quickly.
Haley laughed nervously. "Well, we're going to go. Bye mom, dad."
Nathan said goodbye and they were out the door.
"A date Lydia?" Jimmy questioned.
"Oh please. Don't tell me you can't see that they like each other."
"They're kids!" Jimmy said, frustrated.
"Yes and I believe that you were a kid before too. And I believe that my father didn't like you either," Lydia argued.
"That's different. We were 17. They're only 15."
"Leave them alone, I think it's cute. First love, it's precious. It's like looking in a mirror don't you think?" Lydia questioned.
Lydia and Jimmy were a fairy tale romance. After a whirlwind romance starting at 17, they'd married after college despite the disapproval of both their parents. Now 20 years later they had never been happier.
"Yeah, yeah... But if they start dating I'm buying a shot gun."
"So..." Nathan began nervously. "How's your summer going?" 'How's your summer going? Stupid stupid stupid.'
"Well, considering it's only been about a couple of hours good I guess," Haley responded.
Neither knew what to talk about on the way to Tim's so they both just remained quiet the 10 minutes it took to get to Tim's.
After what seemed an eternity, they reached Tim's and rang the doorbell. A disheveled looking Tim opened the door.
"Hey guys, you're early."
"Yeah, is that ok?" Haley asked.
"Actually, yeah, I'm glad you guys are here. My parents decided at the last minute to go out and celebrate… something. Anyways, I got stuck babysitting Emily so I can't go," Tim said, faking sincerity.
"Oh," Nathan said disappointed. Truth be told, he was looking forward to spending time with Haley.
"Hey, we can hang out with you while you baby sit Em!" Haley offered.
"NO!" Tim replied quickly. "Um… Emily's being fussy and doesn't want anyone to… to… take away from her Tim time! You know… because I've been so busy with school that I haven't spent much time with her."
"Ok. Well, I guess we can hang out tomorrow then," Nathan suggested.
"Well… yeah, but why don't you two just go to dinner and the movie? No reason why we all have to stay home tonight," Tim said.
Before Nathan and Haley could respond, they heard Emily shouting from upstairs.
"Who's at the door, Timmy? Is it Nathan and Haley? You said they were busy and couldn't play with me today!! Let them in!"
"Well, you two have to leave right now bye," Tim rushed as he shoved Nathan and Haley out the door.
"So, do you want to go get something to eat?" Haley asked.
"Sure."
The walk to the restaurant was filled once again with an awkward silence. Haley, fed up with the tension, decided to break the ice.
"Ok, we're friends right?" Haley asked.
"Yeah," Nathan said tentatively.
"So why is this so awkward?"
"Oh thank God. I thought I was the only one who thought this was awkward," Nathan said in relief. "Well, technically, we've never had a real conversation. I mean, we've been alone and talked, but sentence structuring, geometry problems, and events in history don't make really good conversation."
"You're right!" Haley cried. "I don't know anything about you, and you don't know anything about me!! So why don't we get to know each other during dinner?"
"That sounds great."
They arrived at the restaurant and were seated fairly quickly. It wasn't a fancy restaurant so they were dressed appropriately.
"Can I start you off with something to drink?" the waitress asked as she seated the two.
"I'll have a raspberry iced tea," Haley said.
"And I'll have a root beer."
"Ok, well I'll be right back with your drinks."
"Raspberry iced tea?" Nathan asked jokingly.
"Yes, raspberry iced tea. I don't know how many times I've ordered iced tea and it was actual iced tea… no sugar!" Haley gasped in disbelief.
"Yeah, I'm not a big fan of tea in general." Nathan said.
"Noted, so do you know what you're going to order?" Haley asked.
"I think I'm going to get a burger with fries, but the chicken sounds good too. What about you?"
"Mmm, Mushroom Melt ¼ lb burger with extra pickles with fries and a BIG side of Mac and cheese. And then some dessert later," Haley answered, putting the menu down. "I love Mac and cheese. If they had an entrée size I would DEFINITELY order it… on the side of my meal."
"Whoa Hales, you sure you have enough space to put all that away?" Nathan mocked.
"You calling me skinny Scott? I'll have you know that I could eat all that and then some," Haley stated proudly.
"Yes, I'm calling you skinny. And I'm also calling your bluff. Haley, you have like no meat on you. Where the hell are you supposed to put all that food?"
"Oh, a challenge. Fine, why don't we order the same thing and dessert afterwards? Then we'll see who can eat the most," Haley suggested.
"You're on."
When the waitress came back with their drink orders Nathan ordered for both of them.
"Ok so what's your favorite color?" Haley asked.
"Blue. Why?" Nathan replied, confused.
"Well, since we're getting to know each other I decided to start with the easy questions first. You looked like a person who likes blue," Haley mocked.
"What's your favorite color then?"
"Green."
"Green?" Nathan asked. "I would have pegged you for a purple sort of girl."
"Why, because of my shirt?" Haley's gaze wandered to her shirt.
"No. Because purple is a girly color, but not really. It's not as popular or flashy as pink because it doesn't have to be. It's simple, yet elegant and beautiful."
Haley blushed at Nathan's description of purple, hoping he was thinking that of her.
"But um… Green's a good color, a solid color." Nathan coughed, embarrassed. "Um... favorite food?"
"Mm. Mac and cheese. I really like pickles, but that's not really a food it's a condiment. You?"
"Lasagna. Meat, sauce, cheese and noodles, simple but delicious," Nathan said licking his lips.
Back and forth Nathan and Haley learned about each other's favorites until their food arrived.
"Look, the food's here. I'm starving," Haley told Nathan.
After they finished their food Haley browsed through the dessert menu. "I can't decide between the chocolate cake with strawberries, the cheesecake or the brownie with ice cream," Haley pondered aloud.
"God I think I'm going to vomit." Nathan groaned.
"See, your problem was you ate like we were racing. You finished your food in like five minutes! You have to take your time and chew. That way you can eat waaaaay more," Haley explained. "I could probably eat all three, but I shouldn't. I think I'll go with the cheesecake. What about you Nate?"
"If I eat anymore I think I might blow up."
"Lightweight," Haley mocked. Haley motioned for the waitress to come over and ordered her food as Nathan sat in his chair with a pained look on his face.
"Just keep breathing Nate. And stop drinking your root beer. It's just going to fill you up even more," Haley scolded.
"But it tastes so good," Nathan whined.
The waitress returned with Haley's dessert and their bill. Haley happily ate her cheesecake as Nathan sat, still in pain.
"So do you still want to go see a movie?" Haley asked as they left the restaurant.
"No, I don't think I should be sitting down right now. I need to walk it off."
"Alright, we could take a walk downtown. It's nice outside."
"So, what do you dream of being?" Haley asked Nathan.
"Well, I really just want to play basketball. I know you're probably thinking that it's not a way to make a living or anything-"
"I think that millions of dollars a year is a pretty good way to make a living Nate," Haley expressed, interrupting Nathan.
No one ever saw me like you do
All the things that I could add up to
"Besides, I've seen you play and I may not know much about touchdowns or goals, but you're really good. Really good," Haley encouraged.
"Thanks Hales." Nathan smiled because even though she didn't know that touchdowns were football and goals were for soccer and hockey, she still believed that he was good.
I never knew just what a smile was worth
But your eyes say everything
Without a single word
"So when you become a big basketball superstar, you're not going to forget about little old me are you?" Haley asked, smiling up at Nathan.
"No, I could never forget you. How could I forget the person who tutored me in high school, making me eligible to play on the team? Which led scouts to recruit me for basketball scholarships to Duke, which led me to be the number one draft pick after college?" Nathan envisioned.
Haley smiled at Nathan.
"Good old Hannah Jones." Nathan sighed.
Haley gasped in mock outrage and punched his arm.
Cuz there's something in the way
You look at me
It's as if my heart knows you're the missing piece
"Not funny Nathan. But seriously, you're really good at basketball and you're not so bad at the school stuff either."
"No, you're not so bad at teaching me the school stuff," Nathan corrected.
You make me believe that there's nothing
In this world I can't be
"Give yourself some credit Nathan. I didn't do your work for you. I was just a guide in the right direction. We all need a little guidance now and then," Haley said, shrugging her shoulder a little.
I never know what you see
But there's something in the way
You look at me
"You never stop tutoring do you?"
If I could freeze a moment in my mind
A second that you touch your lips to mine
I'd like to stop the clock make time stand still
Cuz baby this is just the way I always want to feel
"I'll always be there to help you Nate. But with the way things are going I don't think you're going to need me too much veeery soon. You're smart Nate. Don't forget that. And don't let anyone tell you any different."
'I'll always need you Haley,' Nathan thought wistfully.
Cuz there's something in the way
You look at me
It's as if my heart knows you're the missing piece
"Where'd you go Nate?" Haley questioned.
"Huh?" Nathan said as he broke out of his trance like state. "Nowhere, just thinking. What about you? What are your dreams?"
You make me believe that there's nothing
In this world I can't be
I never know what you see
But there's something in the way
You look at me
"Um, I want to be a journalist," Haley said quietly.
"Hales…" Nathan warned.
"Fine, um. It's stupid," Haley declared silently. "I want to sing."
I don't know how or why
I feel different in your eyes
All I know is it happens every time
"It's not stupid," Nathan whispered. At that moment all he wanted to do was make Haley smile the way she just smiled when she revealed her secret. "Do you know how to play the piano?"
"Yeah…" Haley said hesitantly.
Cuz there's something in the way
You look at me
It's as if my heart knows you're the missing piece
"OK, come on." Nathan grabbed her hand and dragged her to his family's beach house.
"What are we doing here Nathan?" Haley asked as they walked through the door.
"This is my family's beach house."
"Whoa whoa whoa… not that kind of girl Nathan," Haley said, partly joking and partly serious.
"Funny Hales. No, look over there." Nathan pointed to the corner of the living room where they had a baby grand piano sitting, collecting dust.
You make me believe that there's nothing
In this world I can't be
"Nathan I can't-"
"You said you could play the piano. And you said that you wanted to sing and look at that, a piano!" Nathan declared cheerfully.
"I can't. I've never sung in front of anyone," Haley cried as she attempted to get out of singing.
"There's a first for everything Hales. Close your eyes and pretend I'm not here. Or you can just look at me," Nathan suggested.
"I have to look at the keys sometimes," Haley whispered.
"Do whatever makes you comfortable."
Haley sat down on the piano bench and took a deep breath. She shakily began singing and playing Elsewhere by Sarah McLachlan.
Nathan smiled at Haley. She became totally focused on the keys in front of her and singing the song that her voice came out strong. Nathan thought she sounded beautiful. He didn't recognize the song because he didn't listen to that type of music, but he wanted to hear more.
Towards the end of the song Haley turned her head to Nathan without interrupting her performance and caught him staring. She stumbled a little, but finished the song never breaking eye contact with Nathan.
I never know what you see
But there's something in the way
You look at me
"You're beautiful," Nathan whispered as Haley finished. "Um… I mean, that song was beautiful… and you sang it… beautiful… ly"
"Thanks." Haley blushed, dropping her head in embarrassment.
They both sat there for a moment, just relishing in each other's company. Neither knew what to say, but were both comfortable in the silence.
"Nathan-"
"Haley-"
They glanced at each other then laughed to cover the discomfort.
"Ladies first."
"Ok. Nathan tonight was-"
Before Haley could finish her thoughts they heard keys jingling coming from the front door.
"Who do you think it is? A robber? Oh my gosh, what if someone's coming to rob you and we're here and he kills us?!" Haley whispered frantically.
"I doubt a robber would use the front door Hales." Nathan chuckled. "I think it might be my dad. We have to get out of here. He'd blow a gasket if he found us." Nathan grabbed Haley's hand and headed for the back door, leading to the beach.
They walked along the beach soaking in the romantic setting. The sun was still up, but it obvious that it would be setting in the next couple of hours. The sky turned the most beautiful color; a mixture of oranges, yellows, reds and some purples.
There were not a lot of people on the beach, which Nathan was grateful for. Unbeknownst to them, they were still holding hands and sometime between when they left the beach house and were walking along the beach, their fingers entwined.
Nathan's mind was going into overdrive. Here he was, stuck. On one hand, he had Haley James friend extraordinaire. She was someone he could depend on, whose friendship he valued so much. On the other hand he had Haley James, the most beautiful person he'd ever met and the most beautiful person he'd ever seen.
"It's so beautiful out." Haley admired the setting, unaware that they were still holding hands.
"Yeah, it is" Nathan agreed. "Listen, Hales, I have to tell you something and just… I just need to get this out."
"Ok."
"Haley, these past few months have been so great. You tutored me, believed in me, became such a good friend to me… my best friend actually. What I'm trying to say is, Haley, I-"
Before Nathan could finish, they were interrupted by Tim's parents.
"NATHAN! HALEY! IS THAT YOU?" Mrs. Smith called out.
"Hello you two, lovely night out," Mr. Smith greeted.
"Oh, Mr. Smith, congratulations on… I'm not actually sure what I'm congratulating you on, but Tim said that you two were out celebrating?" Haley said questioningly.
"No, we're not celebrating! Tim practically begged us to go out tonight. I think that he wanted to spend time with Emily," Mr. Smith informed.
"Oh really?" Nathan gritted.
"Oh no, are we interrupting anything?" Mrs. Smith asked. "Greg, they're on a date and we just ruined it! We're sorry kids. This is so sweet, I guess Tim was right about you two!"
"WHAT?!" Nathan and Haley screamed.
"We'll just be going. Have a nice night. Don't worry, our lips are sealed."
Nathan and Haley were left stunned.
"Why would they think we were on a date?" Haley pondered aloud.
"Um, Hales, I think this might have something to do with it," Nathan answered as he raised their hands.
Nathan frowned as Haley quickly removed her hand from his. 'She obviously doesn't feel the same. At least I didn't say anything.'
"Um, sorry about that," Haley apologized.
"It's alright. I think I should get you home now."
"Ok," Haley whispered dejectedly. She didn't want the night to end, but Nathan obviously did and she wasn't going to argue.
The walk back to Haley's house went a little too quickly for the both of them. They were in their own little world thinking about the night.
Haley was having conflicting feelings about Nathan. In her mind Nathan only thought of her as a friend and she wasn't willing to risk that friendship for some stupid high school crush she had on him.
Nathan was having similar thoughts. When Haley quickly took her hand back he'd viewed it as a rejection.
"So, this was fun," Nathan said breaking the silence as they reached Haley's front door.
"Yeah."
"Ok, so see you around?"
"Sure."
As Nathan turned around to leave, Haley stopped him. "Wait!"
Nathan turned around looking expectantly at Haley.
Haley took a deep breath. "I like you."
"I should hope so. I mean we are friends," Nathan pointed out, not wanting to be presumptuous.
'Geez. Friends? That's like the death card' Haley thought sarcastically. 'No turning back now.'
"Well, yeah, as friends…but maybe more than friends."
"Maybe… or for sure?" Nathan prodded.
"For sure. I mean, I know it's really sudden, but we've been spending a lot of time together and I guess it just happened. I didn't know you before, but then we started hanging out and I realized that you're nice… and sweet. I understand if you don't feel the same way and I probably just ruined our friendship. You know who's fault this is? Tim's! I'm going to kill him. 'Oh Haley, you should tutor him-'"
Haley's ramblings were interrupted by Nathan's lips crashing over hers. Haley's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly melted into the kiss.
"Wow," Haley whispered as Nathan's hands cupped her cheeks when their kiss broke.
"I for sure like you too," Nathan whispered back as he leaned his forehead against her's.
"So… what does this mean?" Haley wondered aloud.
"I guess this means… that we're more than friends?"
"Like boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"If you want to be my girlfriend."
"I want to be your girlfriend," Haley said smiling.
"I want you to be my girlfriend." Nathan smiled back then quickly added, "And I want to be your boyfriend."
"So… I guess this mean this was our semi-sorta-kinda-but-not-really first date?" Haley drawled out.
"I guess." Nathan chuckled as he leaned in for another kiss.
"You do realize who's doing this all is right?" Nathan asked after their second kiss.
"Tim's?"
"Yes. He set us up! You heard what his parent's told us. And he told us that Emily didn't want us there, but she did! Oh he's going to pay," Nathan plotted.
"Nathan is that really necessary? I mean if we didn't like each other I'd be all for a little payback, but… I mean we kinda owe him right?"
"Yes… but I wanna pay him back. Now you're either with me or against me. What's it going to be James?"
"God… you're not one of those bossy guys? Because I'm telling you right now if you are, I'm going to rethink this relationship," Haley mocked.
"Ha… Ha… So what's it going to be? Are you going to help me get back at Tim for meddling?"
"Sure," Haley agreed, laughing.
"I have the perfect plan" Nathan revealed. "We make him think that you like him. It'll freak him out. He thinks of you as a little sister. It'll be awesome."
"You're mean!" Haley cried. "So what? We make him think it the whole summer?"
"No… just for a couple of days."
"Alright boyfriend. So, I'm pretty excited about the summer how about you?" Haley asked as they lingered outside her front door.
"I guess. I mean, no one special to share it with." Nathan joked.
"Well, then EX-boyfriend, I'm going inside now." Haley turned toward her door, but was stopped by Nathan's arms encircling her waist.
"Not so fast Hales. We're going to have a great summer," Nathan reassured, kissing her forehead.
"Good, but Tim and I are going to be ballroom dancing again. Hey, why don't you take it too?" Haley suggested with a snicker.
The mention of summer activities hit Nathan like a ton of bricks.
"Fuck," he whispered. "I forgot that my dad signed me up for basketball camp. I leave in a couple of days."
"How long?" Haley asked.
"The whole summer," Nathan said regretfully. He finally had the girl he wanted and he was going to be leaving her for a couple of months.
"Oh," Haley said, disappointed. She was looking forward to spending the summer with Nathan. "But it's just a couple of months right? I mean, you're going to be back. It's not like you're going to be gone forever?" Haley said hopefully.
"Yeah I guess. Are you still going to be here though?"
"I'm not moving Nathan."
"No, I mean is girlfriend Haley James still going to be here… or is friend Haley James going to be here?"
"A couple of months isn't going to change my mind Nathan, I promise."
"Ok. Sorry Hales, I forgot about camp. Just say the word though and I won't go."
"Nathan, I'm not going to tell you not to go. You love basketball and from what Tim tells me this is intense basketball training that really helps with your skills. If it brings you closer to your dreams then go for it. I'm not going to stop you, but I will support you."
Nathan smiled at Haley. 'God she's perfect.'
"So, this plan of ours to screw with Tim needs a name," Haley said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Why does it need a name?"
"Because every covert operation has a name."
"We're not the FBI or CIA Hales. And this isn't a covert operation… actually I guess it is. But it doesn't need a name."
"Please?" Haley begged.
"Fine." Nathan thought for a moment. "What about operation Dim?"
"Dim?" Haley asked.
"Yeah, operation Destroy Tim. Dim for short. We can't go around saying operation Destroy Tim now can we?"
"Operation Dim it is," Haley agreed.
They stood there facing each other for a few moments before the porch lights started turning off and on.
"I guess I should head in. My dad's flickering the lights, signaling that he wants me inside."
"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Sounds good," Haley said as she reached up to peck Nathan on the lips.
"Night Hales."
"Night Nathan." Haley walked into her house as Nathan left and leaned against the shut front door.
"How was your date honey?" Lydia asked her daughter.
"It was perfect," Haley whispered, touching her lips. She smiled to her parents who were watching her in the living room and then ran to her room.
"I'm buying that shot gun tomorrow," Jimmy said to his smiling wife.
Song Credit: Christian Bautista - The Way You Look At Me