Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own One Tree Hill or James Lafferty. But I do own the plot.
A/N: My first ever fan fic. Please R&R. Thank you! ---Sera
She could hear them, hear them whisper about her. But it was true. Haley's fairy tale marriage to Nathan Scott was officially over. They were divorced.
It wasn't like she wasn't expecting this. She wasn't just expecting that it would end so soon. Haley should have seen it coming. For months, they argued about everything that mattered and everything that didn't. It was like they were trying to find a reason to argue.
It happened one night in their apartment. They were arguing, shouting, throwing silverware - in short, it was bad. No, scratch that. It was very, VERY bad. Things got out of hand and Haley screamed the two words that every relationship dreaded to hear - "It's over." The next thing she knew, Haley found herself back in Brooke Davis' apartment with all her things and a stack of divorce papers waiting to be signed.
For days, she tried calling Nathan to explain herself but it ended with her cursing the person who invented voice mail.
It was like something out of an Oprah segment;
"How old are you, Haley?" Oprah would ask.
"Seventeen,"
"You've been married twice to the same man, nearly divorced once and divorced now. Why risk so much?"
"Because I love him, Oprah."
"Belive it or not, at seventeen, you know NOTHING about love."
Haley was beginning to think that Oprah had a point. Eventually, she gave up and signed the papers. Since then, she didn't take a step out of the apartment.
She dragged herself out of bed to have a cup of coffee one morning, only to find Brooke fixing breakfast. As usual, it was a complete mess.
"I'm not cleaning that up," Haley said, walking into the kitchen.
"Well, good morning to you, too. French toast or eggs?" Brooke asked.
"Thanks, but I'd like the food IN my stomach after I eat it." Haley threw herself on one of the chairs.
Brooke rolled her eyes. "Aren't you just Little Miss Sunshine?"
"It's really hard to be Little Miss Sunshine when your marriage is over, Brooke."
"Or in an empty stomach," Brooke placed a plate of burnt french toast in front of Haley, who tried to stiffle a grimace. "Hurry up, or we're going to be late for school."
"Whoa, hold it. There's no way I'm going to school yet."
"What? Why the heck not? You've been cooped up in here for two weeks. This place is starting to smell like you." Brooke said.
"I'm just not ready." Haley replied in a small voice.
"If you keep acting that way, you'll never be ready."
Haley didn't respond.
Brooke sighed, sitting next to her. "You still love him, don't you?"
"Yes,"
"That's too bad because you're not married anymore. It's over, kaput. There's no way you could fix things, even if you tried a million times. Nathan wouldn't talk to you even if you paid him a million dollars to. That means you're officially back in the market. I know a couple of guys who are just DYING to ask you out - "
"Brooke, first of all, that is the worst consolation I"ve ever heard. Secondly, I already told you that I'm not ready to move on." Haley said impatiently. Then she sighed. "God, I must sound pathetic. It's been two weeks. Maybe Oprah was right with what she told me."
"Of course she is - hold on, when did you talk to Oprah?"
Haley blushed. "What? I meant - never mind."
"I may not be Oprah, but I'm telling you to go to school. I'm tired of carrying all your homework every day," Brooke said sharply.
For the first time in weeks, Haley smiled. "Well, I DO feel sorry for you."
"You should. You know how hard it is to flirt with guys with my gorgeous face hiding behind a pile of books?" Brooke asked, tossing her dark hair.
Haley pouted. "Please, Brooke?"
"Fine, but this is the last time. You better go to school tomorrow." She glanced at the wall clock. "I have to get going. I, unlike you, actually have a social life."
"Hey, I have a social life!" Haley said indignantly.
"Yeah, with my apartment." Brooke snorted.
Haley threw a nearby pillow at Brooke, who dodged it. She picked up her bag. "I'll see you later, roomie."
She watched her best friend leave, feeling a bit depressed. She missed everyone in school, cheering Nathan on during games, hanging out with her friends at Karen's Cafe after school when she should be working - if only she weren't such a mess. Suddenly, her phone rang. Haley leaped up to get it.
"Hello?"
'Hey, Hales. It's Peyton."
"Oh. Hi, Peyt."
"You sound like you don't want to talk to me." Peyton said, her voice a bit hurt.
"I'm sorry, I just thought you were Na - someone else." Haley explained.
Peyton sighed. "You'll have to face all of us sooner or later."
"Yeah, like when?": Haley asked.
"Well, Tric is having a huge party tonight and I was hoping you'd come and help me manage it." Peyton said.
Haley groaned. "Why don't you ask Brooke or something?"
"She can't because she's hosting the show. Please, Haley? Nathan won't be there, anyway." Peyton pleaded. Haley wondered why but decided not to ask.
She thought about it. She DID want to see all of them again, and it was a perfectly good excuse. Nathan wasn't going and the parties in Tric were always fun. She figured that it would be fun enough to take her mind off her divorce, at least for a couple of hours.
Finally, Peyton broke the silence. "Well? Are you going?"
"Okay, okay. I'm going. You happy?"
Peyton practically screamed into the phone. "Awesome! I owe you big time. I'll see you there at seven, okay? 'Bye!"
Haley put her phone down, hoping to God she didn't make a huge mistake.