Hey guys! Thanks for your amazing reviews. Just to clear a few things up, nothing was wrong with Nathan when he fell. He was just hurt a little. And about Brooke and Eric, you'll get to see a bit more depth to their relationship as the story progresses. To B.P. Davis, I promise you it's coming up really, really soon. Oh, and I think you guys are gonna like this chapter. -----Sera
"Hurry up, guys! We're going to be late!" Peyton shouted from outside the house.
"We'll be down in a minute!" Haley called, her head poking out through the open window. She quickly tied her hair in a loose ponytail and knocked on the closed bathroom door. "Let's go, Brooke!"
"Hey, unlike you two, beauty takes a lot more time," Brooke said impatiently as she stepped out of the bathroom. She surveyed Haley's outfit. "Take off that disgusting poncho before anyone sees you with me."
Haley looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror. "It isn't that bad."
"Oh, please Hales. It looks like your blind great-grandmother picked it out for you in the 99 Cents Store." Brooke said distastefully.
"Will you two get down here now?!" Peyton called, the horn of her black convertible blaring.
"Remind me to burn that thing when we get home." Brooke said, helping Haley out of the poncho.
The two of them ran outside, locking the front door behind them.
"You are such a drill sergeant, Sawyer." Brooke said as she got into the car.
"Well, I'm sorry, but if you two stayed up there any longer, we'll be having detentions all week. What were you doing there anyway?" Peyton asked curiously.
"I had to save Haley from a major fashion disaster." Brooke explained.
"Hey, it was just a poncho!" Haley objected.
"A disgusting poncho," Brooke corrected. "I mean, what would people think when they see you with me and you're wearing it? It's just wrong."
Peyton laughed at Haley's outraged expression. "So how was your sleep last night, Hales?"
"Uneventful." Haley replied. It was a lie. She dreamt about Nathan again and she always woke up the same way; in tears. The tattoo he showed her last night really shook her up and even until now, it was still on her mind. Heck, it would always be on her mind.
They drove in silence for a few minutes then Peyton spoke up, "You guys want to get some coffee?"
"I thought we were running late." Brooke said in an accusing tone.
"Well for some odd reason, there's no traffic today so if we make it quick, we can still get to school on time." Peyton explained patiently.
"Perfect! We can spend those twenty dollars I won, right Tutor Girl?" Brooke grinned.
Haley rolled her eyes. "Whoopee."
They finally arrived at Tree Hill High with thankfully, ten minutes to spare. Brooke practically screamed into Haley's ear when she spotted a silver Porsche parked in the school driveway.
"Is that…" Haley began.
"Yep, that's him. Brooke's world-famous boyfriend, Eric." Peyton said.
Haley let out a low whistle, watching a tall, dark-haired and very good-looking guy pull Brooke into his arms. "He is fine."
"Leave it to Brooke to be able to nab a guy who looks like that." Peyton remarked as the two of them got out of the car.
"Weren't they having a fight last night?" Haley asked, frowning.
"Not anymore." Peyton said, watching the couple kiss.
"Eric! What are you doing here?" Brooke cried.
"I came to surprise you. Wow, you look great." Eric said, spinning her around.
She narrowed her eyes, noticing that his gaze was on another pretty girl behind them as he spoke. "Did you just come here to check out other girls?" She demanded.
"Maybe," He grinned, winking at the girl.
Brooke pushed him away in anger. "You asshole!"
"Chill out Brooke. It's no big deal."
"No big deal?" Brooke repeated shrilly. "You can't just come waltzing in my school, pretending to be so nice and then check out girls thinking I'm stupid enough not to notice!"
People were starting to stare at them as Eric said between a fake, tightly-gritted smile, "Brooke, everyone can hear you . . ."
"I don't give a damn if people on Mars hear me! This is the third time I've seen you do this!" Brooke shouted.
"Babe –"
She slapped him, making the onlookers stare even more with amusement and curiosity. "Don't call me that. Now get out of here before I think of other ways to humiliate you."
Peyton and Haley ran to her, watching a humiliated and peeved Eric get into his car and drive away until he was a speck in the distance.
"Trouble in paradise already, Brooke?" Peyton asked.
"There's no such thing as paradise." Brooke snapped, walking away in anger.
"This is going to be an interesting day." Haley remarked as they followed suit.
Later that day
"Nathan? May I have a word?"
He looked up to see Miss Spencer standing next to him. He nodded, shutting his locker door and following her into an empty classroom.
"What's up?" Nathan asked as he took a seat in front of the teacher's table.
"It's about your test results in Calculus." She answered, her tone dead serious.
His throat suddenly went dry. "Miss Spencer – I'm so sorry – couldn't you just give me a make-up test or something -?"
Miss Spencer handed him his test. "And why would I do such a thing?"
Nathan nearly fell off his chair. He couldn't believe it. "Are – are you kidding me?"
She was smiling slightly. "I triple-checked that. You got an eighty-nine, Nathan."
"Oh my God –" He stammered, still staring at his paper in disbelief.
She gave him a few minutes to take it all in then said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Go tell her."
He thanked Miss Spencer and quickly ran to the tutor center. "Haley – Haley!"
A few students looked up and glared with him in annoyance.
"Er – I'm sorry, but do any of you know where Haley James is?"
"Third door," a girl answered, pointing to a closed door across the room.
Nathan burst inside and shouted, "Hales!"
"Whoa, relax. What's up?" Haley asked as she put down the book she was browsing.
"I just got my Calculus results back and you'll never guess how much I got," he handed her his test paper.
Her face broke into a huge smile. "Eighty-nine?! Oh my God, Nathan! This is amazing!"
He shrugged. "I couldn't have done it without you."
Haley beamed as she hugged him. "I'm so proud of you, Nate!"
They hugged for a couple seconds then Nathan held her at arms' length and said, "Hales, I just want to say thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am. I know things between us are awkward and just plain weird but I really appreciate the fact that you still found it in your heart to tutor me, so thanks, a lot."
She hugged him tightly, her face brimming with pride. "I have an idea. Why don't we skip the tutoring tonight and just hang out – you know, celebrate your test results? What do you say?"
"River Court, around seven?"
"Sounds great,"
As Nathan walked out of the tutor center, he couldn't help but grin widely and look forward to tonight.
"Hales, wait up!" Lucas called, running towards her.
She looked up and said cheerfully, "Hey, Luke."
"I heard about Nathan's test results in Calculus. Congratulations." Lucas said, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
Haley frowned. "Shouldn't you be congratulating him?"
"Yeah, but he seemed to be in his own world all day. I could barely get a word out of him. In fact, he would just smile stupidly if anyone talked to him." Lucas eyed her knowingly as he spoke.
"He's acting strangely, isn't he?" Haley mused, trying to hide a sly smile.
"Word on the street is, you have something to do with it." He persisted.
"Whatever gave you that idea? I mean, just because I tutored him –" She began innocently.
Lucas affectionately put an arm around Haley's shoulders. "Hales, you've been my best friend since we were kids. I know you. And I also happen to know where you're off to tonight."
Haley shrugged. "Believe what you want to believe, Luke," she paused. "Where are you going?"
"I might stop by the café and help mom out. My social calendar is practically empty."
She put a hand to her mouth in mock disbelief and exclaimed, "Lucas Scott – the Lucas Scott – with an empty social calendar? It's a real, live miracle!"
He playfully punched her on the shoulder. "I miss hanging out with my best friend."
Haley smiled up at him, linking her arm with his. "A certain brunette misses you, too."
"Hah, yeah right." Lucas snorted as they walked out of the school campus.
"You'd be surprised."
Nathan sat in the middle of the basketball court, his figure still visible in the darkness.
Suddenly, he felt arms wrapping around his waist, making him jump in surprise.
Haley's voice then remarked, "You're awfully quiet."
"You just love sneaking up on me, don't you?"
She laughed, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Have you been waiting long?"
He shook his head as he helped her stand. "Not really."
They started walking on the grass and talking, although a foot apart from each other.
"How have you been lately?" Haley asked.
"Good."
She raised a brow at him.
"Okay, you want the truth? I've been playing so bad that I might be benched on our next game and I'm so damned worried that I might get kicked off the team so I'm barely getting any sleep." Nathan admitted, kicking a small pebble.
"Maybe if you thought about it less, you wouldn't be such an awful player." Haley suggested.
"Yeah, that's pretty easy to do," he said sarcastically. "I love basketball, Hales. It's the only thing I have so I could get out of this town."
She smiled bitterly. "You really want to leave?"
He nodded. "There's nothing to hold on here anymore." I already lost you.
"You're so lucky. I still don't know what I'm going to do after graduation."
"You could always fulfill your dream to be a singer."
Haley felt her stomach clench painfully. "No. I decided that it's not my thing."
"You love music, Hales. You can't give it up. You told me that it would always be a part of your life." Nathan said.
"It still will be, just in a different way, I guess." She said, digging her hands deep into her jacket pockets.
"When did you decide this?"
"When we got divorced,"
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Nate. It's just that – I always think of you when I sing. I figured that if I don't sing, maybe it would hurt less."
They both lay on the grass, staring up at the sky in silence.
"I'm really proud of you, Nathan. That eighty-nine was impressive." Haley remarked suddenly.
"So does that mean you're not going to tutor me now?" Nathan asked.
"Of course I would - just on topics you haven't mastered yet." She answered.
"Well, what happens if I've mastered everything?"
"Then I'll call you a genius."
"Seriously, Haley."
She giggled. "Then I'll stop tutoring you - and probably have no reason to talk to you now."
Nathan suddenly sat up. "You're kidding, right?"
Suddenly, the sprinklers sprang on, immediately soaking both of them to the bone. Haley screamed, jumping up. Nathan quickly gathered their things and pulled her arm as they ran to the nearest waiting shed, which was probably fifty meters away.
"Are - you - okay?" He asked her, panting.
Haley was laughing hysterically, leaning against the post of the shed for support.
"It's not funny, Hales. We could both get sick and the game's in a couple days." Nathan said seriously.
"Will you lighten up? C'mon Nate, how long has it been since you had this much fun?" Haley demanded, her hand on her hip.
"A few weeks." He admitted.
"Exactly. Screw the game and let's go get sick." She took his hand and led him to the middle of the park where the sprinklers were fully on.
Haley put her arms around his neck, looking into his dark, midnight blue eyes and smiling. "Nate, could you at least pretend to have fun? I know I'm not exactly the most entertaining person on the planet, but I'm trying here."
"I am having fun." He gazed down at her beautiful but completely soaked features and felt his emotions reeling. The Just-Friends mantra playig over and over his head seemed to fade away. In fact, every thought of reason in his head was suddenly gone.
Nathan leaned down, his lips hovering just above hers, and very lightly, he brushed it against hers.
She murmured his name, begging him to deepen the kiss.
He tilted her head back, gently parting her lips with his thumb, giving it a few more seconds.
Haley pulled him closer in desperation. "Damn it Nathan, kiss me."
He laughed, "See how much fun I'm having?"
Nathan sealed the tiny space between them, his arms around her waist and holding her against him. He kissed her tenderly at first, taking his time to coax a response. When she finally did, the kiss immediately became more passionate, as if they were making up for lost time. It was like something dead inside Nathan suddenly came alive and every scorching, endless second of the kiss was amazing. His tongue went in search of hers and once he found it, he teased her by stroking it rhythmically with the waves of desire coursing through the both of them.
When he pulled away after what seemed to be hours later, Haley was so weak in the knees that he had to support her.
Nathan grinned as they walked back to the shed. "See, now wasn't that a lot of fun?"
Haley couldn't speak. It was like the torrid kiss numbed her entirely,
"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked her.
She nodded. "Will you walk me home?"
"Sure, c'mon." Nathan slung his bag over his shoulder and followed her out of the park.
He noticed her silence. "Was the kiss that bad?"
"No, of course not, It was just a lot to take in and..." Her voice trailed off.
"It's just a kiss, Haley."
She didn't answer.
"I've wanted to do that for so long." Nathan said quietly.
He heard a small sigh, but that was it.
Tentatively, he slipped his hand into hers and brought it to his lips. Thankfully, she didn't let go as Nathan intertwined his fingers with hers.
Any thoughts? Lemme know.