Sorry for the wait, I was on vacation. Here's the latest installment... enjoy! P.S. All your reviews totally rock!

Chapter 8

Nathan walked into the tutoring center that morning anxious and with his palms sweaty. The night before he has thought about what Mrs. West has said, " I'll make sure you get the best tutor down there." Which then caused him to remember something Haley had written in her journal, I mean seriously, I'm not trying to sound cocky but… I'm the best tutor out there.And Nathan hoped to god that his teacher and Haley were on the same wavelength. It was killing him the sadness and disappointment that had been filling her eyes, so he knew their tutoring sessions would be a way to make it up to her. That night he kept on working on his plan that would hopefully make things right, or at least better with Haley. And now that brings us back to where Nathan is, approaching the main desk of the tutoring center to find out where he should go.

"Hello," an elderly looking woman spoke, "I'm Mrs. Evans, how may I help you?"

"Um, I'm Nathan Scott. My teacher Mrs. West put in a request for a tutor for me."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Scott, you're tutor will be here shortly. Just take a seat at table A," she said pointing towards the table in the corner.

"Thanks," Nathan replied as he hurried to the table, taking the seat that faces away from the door. Moments later, a flustered looking blonde enters the room, her hair a little out of sorts and her face red. She goes to the desk and Mrs. Evans directs her over to table A. As the girl approaches the table and looks at the dark haired figure, she wonders who she'll be tutoring today, because this was definitely they're first time here. However, as soon a she turned the corner of the table the mystery student is revealed.

"Nathan?" Haley asked, startled as to who was now sitting across from her.

"Haley?" he said, acting surprised, even though on the inside he was jumping for joy and making a mental note to thank Ms. West.

"What uh, are you doing here?"

"Seems that 65 we got made me borderline on being able to play basketball. Therefore, I need a tutor. And uh, what happened to you?" He said noticing her disheveled appearance.

"Oh uh… nothing, nothing," Haley said suspiciously not making eye contact.

"Haley, did someone attack you?" Nathan said, growing worried.

"What? No! Of course not…"

"Haley, please tell me who did this to you. You can't say no one attacked you. You look all disheveled!"

"That's causing someone didn't attack me! Something did!"

"What?" Nathan asked, now utterly confused.

"Someone didn't attack me. Something did. Or should I say, isomethings/i."

"Haley, you're not making sense."

"I was attacked by a flock of seagulls okay! Are you happy! I was down by the docks this morning during my free period –"

"Wait, you have two free periods on a row?"

"Yeah, I have way more credits right now then needed so they let me have a double free period in the morning. But whatever, this is iso/i not that point… As I was saying I was down by the docks trying to enjoy a muffin, which of course leaves crumbs everywhere, and before I could stop it, like 5 seagulls just... they went for it. Totally stole my muffin and scared the living daylights out of me."

All Nathan could do was smirk. This is the part of Haley he enjoyed most. The fun loving, original, and just plain Haley James. He'd seen this side of her many times while reading her journal, and well, he was glad he was finally getting to see it in person.

"What are you smirking at Scott? This situation is not funny, I was just attacked by seagulls!"

"Nothing. It's just, that story is quite… ridiculously funny" he said stifling a laugh.

Haley looked at him, getting lost in the smile of Nathan, however, her defense mechanism soon kicked in. "Alright Nathan stop the laughing. I'm hear to be your tutor, not your buddy, so let's just get down to business," she stated as she saw shock and sadness pass through his eyes.

"Oh uh… yeah right," Nathan stated disappointedly. He had finally gotten Haley to talk to him, and even laugh with him. Too bad that was all cut short when she remembered why she had been avoiding him. "So uh, basically I need to learned everything about history. Nothing we've done this year has sunk in at all."

"I see… maybe if you studied your notebooks instead of other people's private journals then you would have learned something."

Nathan's jaw fell open. 'So, I guess the wound is still open and bleeding…' he thought to himself. "Uh, about that Haley. I'm really really sorry."

"Whatever Nathan, I don't want to talk about it."

"But don't you get it Haley? You do. You keep bringing it up but then shut me down whenever I try to talk to you about it."

"So what?"

"So maybe if you just let me explain myself then we can put this past us and start over."

"Start what over Nathan? Don't you get it? We weren't friends. We weren't anything other than classmates. I mean, I've barely ever talked to you before."

"You know, as well as me, that whatever this thing we have is more than just being classmates. It took me a while to realize it, but me and you, we've got a connection."

"And what gave you this sudden epiphany of our 'connection?" Haley questioned.

"Well after re-"

"Reading my journal. Yeah, my point exactly."

"Okay, you're right. I didn't really give it much thought until I stumbled upon your journal, but don't you understand? You're journal was like that feeling you have when your in kindergarten and you're not afraid of what people think, just who's going to be there to play with you. When I read your entries, especially the ones dealing with, well, uh… me," he stated as a blush fell across Haley's face, "I felt like you got me. Like you understood who I was. And I told myself if I could just become your friend then there would be someone there for me that I could be myself around. I have yet to encounter someone who made me feel like that. I mean, I'm either part of the 'Scott Dynasty' which by the way was Lucas' idea to name us that, not mine; or seen as this basketball jock. But really, that's not who I am. I don't really fit in 100 with all that."

"Nathan…"

"No Haley. I know we were never really friends, and I know that I shouldn't have taken your journal, but it was just lying there on the table in the library waiting to be opened and well, once I opened it I couldn't stop reading. I wanted to know everything about the writer. You made me laugh, you made me sigh, you made me just about every emotion possible. I want to be your friend Haley. I want to know you, not just the thoughts I read in your journal."

"It's just… Nathan I don't know if I can do that. I'm not good at the whole trusting thing, and you reading my journal doesn't exactly help that. Besides, you know so much about me, and yet I know nothing about you."

"Ah, I was hoping you would say that."

"And why is that?"

"So then I could give you this…" Nathan stated, grabbing something from his bag and handing it to Haley.

"A journal?" She said, looking at the black and white speckled book in her hands.

"Yep, my journal."

"You keep a journal?"

"Only starting recently when I stole this one girl's journal and was trying to make it up to her by letting her see my thoughts and feelings."

Haley blushed at his words as Nathan got out of his seat. "Wait…where ya going?"

"Free period's almost over," Nathan said smirking. "Guess we'll just have to start the tutoring tomorrow," he continued as he walked out of the tutoring center.

"Oh, yeah yeah…" Haley stated distractedly, her mouth open, staring at the journal in her hands. Nathan Scott had once again managed to surprise her, however this time it seemed to be in a good way.