Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! This one has very little Baley in it, but I promise there will be a lot of Baley the next chapter. Although there was little in this chapter, this chapter was very necessary in the plot. I am currently working on Chapter 7 and I hope to have it up by this weekend if no problems arise. Well, without further ado, here's Chapter 6! Please read and review as always! They are VERY much appreciated!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. One Tree Hill and its characters are property of the WB.
Rating: PG to PG-13
P.S. - I am really missing the Laley on the show! With Haley and Nathan fighting, I hope she turns to Luke! And did you guys see Haley kissing Chris in the preview for the next episode! That is so wrong! NO NO NO, Haley don't kiss Chris! Kiss Lucas!
In the Presence of an Angel
Chapter 6
Brooke stayed at Haley's house a few days more while the bruise healed up to where it was at least able to be covered by makeup. Both couldn't deny it to themselves that they had enjoyed each other's company because they both knew what it was like to live with parents you never saw and who didn't care about you. Brooke was troubled, though, because ever since the night of the storm, Haley had been distant and quiet, talking only when asked something and spacing out a lot. It wasn't that hard for Haley to avoid her because she had school and then work most days. She often came home, claiming exhaustion and would go to bed. Brooke sensed this tension and decided to sleep on the couch for the remainder of her stay. A part of Haley had been like this before that night, and Brooke thought it might be due to the rift in Haley and Lucas' friendship. So, the first day back at school, Brooke set out to repair the friendship between the two.
Now, normally Brooke would be fashionably late to school but today she arrived before school started and searched for Lucas. She found him at his locker with Jake by his side as they talked and he got out his books. All the feelings of what he had done and said to Haley the past few days resurfaced, infuriating her so that when she approached the two boys, she had an angry look on her face.
Lucas noticed Brooke headed his way and turned to her as she neared earshot, "Hey Brooke, what's up? Where have you been? Peyton's been worried sick about you." Without a word, Brooke grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him roughly into an empty classroom and shut the door. She then pinned him against the wall and he laughed, "If you wanted to ravage me somewhere private we could go into the janitor's closet." She slapped him hard and spoke harshly, "You bastard! How could you do that to your girlfriend? You know, Peyton, my best friend? You make me sick! I didn't come here to 'ravage' you, I came here to set things straight about Haley."
Brooke could see the sadness in his eyes but he responded in an angry tone, "So Haley has you doing her dirty work now?" "No, she explained all she could to you and now I'm explaining the rest and she doesn't even know I'm here," Brooke said fiercely, tugging on his shirt for emphasis, "now you listen to me good here Scott. You really hurt her by your assumptions and physical abuse, that's right, I said assumptions. Usually, when you assume, it makes an as s out of you and me, or in this case, Haley, but this one is all on you. You weren't there while she cried her eyes out after you two fought and the day you and Nathan were fighting. I've never seen anyone so hurt... Now let's get this straight. Haley is NOT sleeping with Nathan! She was not hugging him that day you came over and she WAS tutoring him Sunday morning. I know this because I was there, at her house with her this past week. She was hugging ME, not Nathan. He didn't know I was there while she was tutoring him, only that a friend was staying there at her house."
"Why were you at Haley's house for a week? I thought you two weren't really friends. You guys hardly talk to each other," he returned nastily. "You really want to know, Lucas? Huh, do you," she prodded angrily then took some tissues and wet them with her water bottle then cleaned off some of her makeup where the bruise was. Lucas gasped and concern filled his expression, "Who did this to you?" "My mother," Brooke said coldly then responded in a softer tone, "I stayed at Haley's while this cleared up and to get away from my mother. She took care of me when I needed help and now I'm helping her through this. There is NOTHING going on between her and Nathan."
Lucas hugged her, "I'm sorry." Brooke replied as she pulled away from him, "I'm not the one you should be saying that to." "I know. I've apologized so many times but she won't listen to me. I guess I can understand though. God, I was so awful to her..." "Then somehow get her to listen. She won't admit it, but she misses you Lucas. I can see it in her eyes and she acts differently. You need to make it up to her, BIG time," Brooke said as she finally let go of his shirt. "I will, I promise," Lucas replied. "Good. Now with that settled, I'm going to go to the bathroom to fix my makeup again. Oh, and I'm going to forget to tell Peyton what you said about wanting to ravage me in the janitor's closet. Normally, if you were some other jerk, I would tell her. Got it Scott?" "Yes, ma'am," He responded.
"I don't know what she sees in you," Brooke muttered as she walked past him towards the door to the classroom. "Maybe it's my charming good looks, my funny sense of humor, or maybe it's because I'm good in bed," Lucas smirked. Brooke made a disgusted face as she mimicked something Haley had dome before and covered her ears, "Ahhh, virgin ears!" Lucas laughed as he smirked again, "Oh, your ears are anything but virgin Brooke." "Stop flirting with me," Brooke shouted, "you have a girlfriend!" "I can't help it if nobody can resist me," he smiled. "Are you trying to tell me something, Scott? You said 'nobody', which implies everybody, as in girls and boys." Lucas got a shocked expression on his face then replied, "I am not gay, Brooke!" "I didn't say you were," Brooke smiled coyly as she opened the door and left. He ran after her, "Brooke!" She turned to him and responded jokingly with a wide smile, "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."
At lunch, Brooke approached the table where Haley, Peyton, and Nathan sat. "Hey girls," she greeted as she took a seat between Haley and Peyton. Nathan remarked loudly, "Hey, what about me?" Brooke smiled, "Like I said, hey girls." Nathan scoffed and returned to eating his lunch. Peyton turned and hugged Brooke tightly, "Brooke! Where have you been? I was worried about you. You haven't been at home or answering your phone." "I know and I'm sorry. I've been at Haley's house the past week." Peyton then turned to Haley with a mad and confused expression on her face, "Haley, why did you lie to me?" Brooke interrupted on Haley's behalf, "I made her promise not to tell anyone I was staying there." "Why," Peyton asked. Brooke lowered her head and tears welled in her eyes, "Because my mother hit me." Despite her earlier decision to try and get over Brooke, Haley rubbed her back in comfort.
Peyton wrapped her arms around Brooke's neck, her own eyes brimming with tears, and murmured in her ear, "I'm sorry Brookie. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you." Brooke patted her back and replied, "It's okay. Haley took good care of me." Nathan had been quiet during the girls' conversation but now spoke up quietly, "Why didn't you tell us Brooke? We could have helped you. Lucas would have helped you too." "Of course I would have. You're a friend to all of us and if you ever need help, you can come to any one of us," a voice behind them spoke and all turned to see Lucas approaching nervously with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "I-I-I've got to go," Haley stuttered as she stood and began to walk away. "Haley, wait! Please stay," Lucas pleaded as he gently grabbed her arm. "No," she said coldly before yanking her arm from his grasp and walking off.
Lucas sighed and sat down then placed his elbows on the table and buried his head in his hands, "She's never going to forgive me." "She'll come around. You've got to give her some time," Brooke responded sympathetically. "Yeah, but I'm afraid that if I give her too much time, she'll never forgive me," Lucas replied. "She'd never let go of a friendship as strong as yours," Brooke said. "Well, apparently it must not be very strong if she will let something like this come between us," Lucas replied bitterly.
"Lucas, you of all people should know how Haley feels about sex," Brooke retorted, knowing that they talked about everything. This startled everyone and they all turned to look at her with wide-eyed expressions. "What's that supposed to mean," he asked furiously. "You guys tell each other everything. You should know how uncomfortable Haley is talking about sex, let alone having it! So how could you even possibly think that Haley would be having sex with Nathan? Are you that dense? I can't believe you!" She scoffed in disgust and stormed from the table.
"She's right..." Lucas said softly after a few minutes, finally realizing truth in Brooke's words. He quickly stood and turned to his brother, "Nathan, I-I... I'm sorry. For accusing you and beating you up. Can we try to start over? Clean slate?" "Um, sure. I'd like that," Nathan replied a little hesitantly. Lucas stuck out his hand for him to shake and once Nathan's hand touched his, he grabbed his fingers and curled his knuckles to his palm like many guys do and leaned down to give him a stiff one-armed hug. "I'll see you later Nathan," he gave his brother a small smile and then gave Peyton a soft kiss on the lips, "I love you Peyt. I'll see you later too. I've got some serious thinking to do on how I can make it up to Haley." "Bye," both said in almost a robotic tone, stunned by the event that had unfolded only seconds before.
A few minutes after Lucas left, Nathan stood and said to Peyton, "I've gotta go, I have to talk to Whitey about something. See ya Peyton." As Nathan departed, Jake walked up, "Do my eyes deceive me or did I just see Nathan and Lucas hugging not two minutes ago when they were fighting each other like two or three days ago?" "Nope, you're not having eye problems. They were hugging," Peyton responded as she smiled. "And what caused this sudden change of heart," Jake asked. "Brooke had some insightful words for Lucas, believe it or not." "Wow... Can I ask you something?" "Sure," she replied. "Are we in the Twilight Zone? Nathan and Lucas getting along... not something I thought would ever happen." "It feels like it sometimes. I never thought so either, but I'm glad it's finally happening. It will be good for all of us, especially Haley." "Yeah," Jake responded just as the bell rang for classes to resume, "come on, I'll walk you to class."
Later that afternoon, Haley was working on an English paper but was distracted by thoughts of Brooke. 'She looked so beautiful today... Stop it Haley! You can't think about her! It'll only make it harder to get over her.' She moved from her desk to her bed and clutched a pillow to her chest as she fought the tears beginning to form in her eyes. 'I can't just forget about her... I love her...' "God, what am I going to do," Haley asked herself as she exchanged the pillow for Mr. Waffles, "what am I supposed to do Mr. Waffles? I need some advice here." He, of course, gave no answer. Haley laughed lightly at herself, realizing how crazy she was acting. Here she was asking a stuffed animal for advice on love and matters of the heart.
Someone knocked on her front door and she quickly wiped away her tears then went to greet the person. She opened the door to find Lucas standing there with his jaw clenched, a determined look on his face. She immediately began to close it, but Lucas stuck his foot in the door and forced it back open. Haley looked at him with wide eyes as she backed away from him, "Luke, what are you doing?" He said nothing but continued into the house, slowly walking towards her as he stared her in the eyes. She kept backing up until she could go no further; she was up against the rear of the couch and Lucas stood only inches from her, his gaze never faltering. Lucas' actions were starting to scare her and she was afraid of what he might do. He reached out and grabbed the sides of her arms firmly so she wouldn't move away and she flinched at his touch. He softened his grip slightly at this as he stared intently into her eyes for several seconds before he wrapped her into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry... so sorry. Brooke told me everything... I'm so sorry I didn't believe you..." She could feel his tears on her neck and his warm, irregular breaths as he continued to hug her tight to his body. Haley was surprised that Brooke had told Lucas about her mother hitting her when she hadn't wanted anybody to know, but she was glad for the sweet gesture she had made. She now had her best friend back. Haley began to cry now too and she just melted into his arms. Everything that had been going on lately came to the surface in the form of tears. Brooke coming to her house, the fight with Lucas and subsequent distance of their friendship, the events of Brooke staying at her house, and her feelings for her and her attempts to get over these feelings but without even a tiniest bit of success.
"I missed you... so much..." she said then she buried her head in his chest as he gently picked her up and walked them over to the couch and sat them down. He brushed the hair away from her face and gently lifted her chin then kissed her forehead, "I missed you too Hales. You can only imagine..." Her sobs became harder and he was the one to comfort her now. "Shh," he murmured softly in her ear, "it's alright..." She wanted to tell him everything; about Brooke and her feelings towards her, but he wouldn't understand. It hurt so much to keep this all inside and that she couldn't tell her best friend when she desperately needed him to help her through this.
They were silent for nearly fifteen minutes, just holding one another in a strong embrace. He slowly pulled away from her and cupped her cheek, "I'm going to make it up to you Hales, I swear I am. Do you have plans for tonight?" She shook her head no and he responded with a soft smile, "Good. Meet me at the café at six okay? I know we just made up, but I have to go, basketball practice. Whitey's really laying it on us for the game tomorrow night. So, I'll see you at the café at six right?" He asked this for reassurance, hoping that Haley wouldn't back out. She nodded again and smiled then pushed his face away from her, "Go." "She speaks," Lucas exclaimed with a laugh. "Get out of here before I change my mind about hanging out with you," she laughed too as she gestured towards the door.
"And why wouldn't you want to hang out with me," he asked in mock hurt and surprise. "Because you already have a date and it's called your ego," she replied sarcastically. Lucas snorted and protest then returned with a witty comeback, "Well then you do too and it's called your brain." "Hey, at least I'm smart. You're just self-centered," she retorted with a smirk on her face. He offered his hand out for her to shake, "Hello Smart, I'm Self-Centered. Nice to meet you." Haley laughed louder at this as she took his hand in hers and shook it. She looked at her watch and replied, "You better get going or you'll be late for practice." "Gee, that hurt Hales. It's nice to know you want me around." "Get out of here Scott," she ordered with a laugh as she pointed to the door. "Alright, alright, I'm going," he put his hands up in surrender and walked towards the exit, "see ya tonight Hales." "Bye Luke," she responded with a wave as he walked out of the house.
Promptly at six that night, Haley arrived at the café to find it dark except a few dimly lit lights on inside. She took out her key and unlocked the door then walked over to the counter where she found a note. 'Haley, thanks for joining me tonight. Come up to the roof and our night will begin. Oh, and bring up some hot chocolate, it's cold up here.' Haley rolled her eyes at this; he was always so dramatic, plus it wasn't even all that cold outside. She then read the rest of the note. 'Don't roll your eyes. I'm freezing my ass off up here! So get that hot cocoa and get up here so you can freeze your ass off too. Maybe then you'll be more appreciative that I made you bring some up here.' She laughed then went to grab a pot of hot water still on the warmer and poured some into two mugs. She got out two packets of cocoa mix and poured them in then stirred them to mix it and added the mini marshmallows. She then went up to the roof to find it empty of her best friend.
A voice from behind startled her to where she almost spilled the contents of the mugs, "Geez, took you long enough. I feel like I'm getting frostbite here." He took one of the mugs from her and sipped it. "Drama queen. It's not all that cold out Lucas." He scoffed then offered a putter to her, "A round of miniature golf, m'lady." She accepted it and set her mug down then grabbed a golf ball, "Quit with that chivalry crap, it died a long time ago. And you're no knight in shining armor either." "Me? Not a knight in shining armor? What about the time I carried your books when you broke your arm or the time I stayed with you when you had the chicken pox or the time you thought you were drowning... in the bathtub!" Lucas laughed. She hit him lightly then responded, "We were three years old and the water was high! And if my memory serves me right, I broke my arm because I fell out of tree YOU dared me to climb and you stayed with me when I had the chicken pox because you felt sorry for me because YOU gave them to me." "True," he chuckled as he reached for his own putter and ball, "ladies first."
They played for an hour then Lucas put up the equipment and led her back down to the café. "What are we doing down here," she asked. "Follow me," he led her to a small table and pulled out her chair, "wait here. I'm going to fix our dinner." While she waited, she brought out the stereo from under the counter and turned it to her favorite station. She lightly sang the ones she knew and hummed the tunes of those she didn't as she danced across the café. As a young girl, Haley's mother, when she'd been around, had made her go to ballet lessons. She was quite a good dancer, even in other types of dance other than ballet and just regular dancing in general. As the song ended, she twirled once and bent down in a grand gesture with her hand near her ankle and one leg bent back as if issuing a bow. Unnoticed by her, Lucas had been watching and now clapped enthusiastically, "That was amazing Hales." She blushed, "Thanks. How long have you been standing there?" "Eh, couple minutes. Dinner's ready. Sit at the table and I'll bring it out."
He came out a few minutes later with two plates in hand and set them on the table, "Food of the Gods because you're a goddess for taking me back after all that I did and said to you this past week. I'm really sorry Hales." She pushed some of the macaroni around on her plate as she replied, "What made you realize that I was telling the truth about not sleeping with Nathan?" "Brooke," he responded, "she reminded me that...hold on, give me a minute or this might come out wrong... she reminded me of how uncomfortable you are talking about sex and that if you were so uncomfortable about it, you wouldn't be having sex anyway. I'm sorry, it sounded better in my head. But you know what I mean, right?" She nodded and he then continued, "Oh, and I'll have you know that I apologized to Nathan and we're going to try to be friends." "That's great Lucas! I'm really happy; Nathan's a great guy, you'll like him. He may have a tough exterior, but he's really a nice guy once you get to know him," Haley exclaimed happily and she then began to eat.
After they had finished dinner and put the dishes in the washer, Lucas led Haley back up to the roof. "Luke, what are we doing back up here?" "I want to show you something, wait right here." He walked to a darkened corner and grabbed what he was searching for then quietly crept towards Haley and broke it over her head, sending milk pouring down on her. She slowly turned towards him with her shoulders hunched and a shocked, slightly mad expression on her face, "Oh, you are so dead." A water balloon fight then ensued for another forty minutes until they went back down into the café to grab some towels and dry off.
"Okay, part 3 of the Luke and Hales Reunion Night is complete. Now on to the next part," Lucas declared as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door. "How many parts are there," she asked curiously. "Only one more," he said as he locked the door and led her to his truck. "Luke, where are we going?" "You'll just have to wait and see," he replied with a smile. Once they arrived at their destination, Haley turned to him with a confused expression and stated, "Luke, we're at your house." "I know," he replied, "come on." He got out the truck then went to her side and helped her down then they walked into the house.
"Okay, we've got all our favorite foods and candies plus ice cream. It's all enough for a Grade A sugar stroke that will surely leave us comatose until morning. We also have all of our favorite movies. Let's get this party started," Lucas exclaimed as he jumped on the couch and grabbed the remote. Haley looked through the movies and held one up to him, "The Terminator, Luke? I don't recall this being one of my favorite movies." "Eh, I figure we could squeeze it in if we get to all the others. I am sacrificing myself to watch all these sappy chick flicks for you, you know." "Yeah, whatever. I think I'm going to take a shower first, this milk is getting a little sticky." "Yeah, you're starting to smell." She pushed him lightly then sniffed the air and scrunched her face, "You smell too." "Hey," he responded in protest. "Can I borrow some clothes?" "Yep, bottom drawer," he said as he got up too, "you can take a shower in my bathroom and I'll take one in my Mom's. Meet back out here in twenty minutes?" "Yup," she replied as she headed to Lucas' bedroom.
"Took you long enough," Lucas stated as Haley entered the living room in a pair of his sweats forty minutes later. "I had to wash the milk out of my hair, it's longer than yours," she replied, sitting on the couch. She curled up next to him and rested her head on his shoulder, "Thanks for this, tonight, I really needed it. I missed you, I missed this... We haven't had a night like this in a while." "Yeah, our lives have gotten so busy this year..." he said as he thought of the past months; joining the team, popularity, dating cheerleaders. "More yours than mine, but I get what you mean," Haley responded. "I promise to spend more time with you. I don't want to lose our friendship; you're my best friend Hales." "You're my best friend too," Haley replied as she hugged him and they began to watch the movie.
Brooke pulled up to the house and got out of her car. She had gone home after school that day and sure enough, her mother was gone just as she had expected. However, after spending a week with Haley, she couldn't help but think that she couldn't live without her. Her whole life in that week had been spent revolving around one person and one setting: Haley and her house. She felt out of place in her own home as she always had, but now more than before. She missed Haley. She didn't want to impose in on her any longer than she had, feeling as if she were overstaying her welcome even though Haley said she hadn't been, but she needed to see her. At school, they barely talked, if not at all. They didn't sit near each other in classes together because of assigned seats and they hadn't talked at lunch because she had run off at the appearance of Lucas. She hoped that their time together, getting to know each other, hadn't been forgotten and that they wouldn't go back to being acquaintances as they had been before that week.
She walked up the sidewalk to Haley's front door and hesitated before she knocked. No one answered the door and it was then she realized that all the lights in the house were out; Haley wasn't home. An expression of hurt and pain appeared on her face as she sunk down to sit on the top step and curled her knees to her chest. She buried her head in her hands and cried. She was alone again.