Because of You

nallie23

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill. It belongs to Mark Schwahn and The CW.

AN: Hey everyone! This is my first fanfic and I hope that everyone enjoys it! Please read and review and let me know what you think!

Haley hated that the stereotypical groups were still here. She thought that once you graduate high school, everyone matured. Apparently she was wrong. She watched out the window as the nerds read a book. She watched the bubbly cheerleaders skip next to the jocks and she watched the girls wearing black rimmed eyes smoke their cigarettes. It all just sucked if you asked her.

Haley James knew that she was being somewhat of a hypocrite. She belonged to the "popular" group in high school and that was probably where she would fall here too. But it wasn't always like that. Haley was always the nerdy tutor girl. She was always the one people would come to for help and the one that always got straight A's. The only reason she was a part of the popular crowd was because of who her friends were.

Brooke Davis, Lucas Scott and Peyton Sawyer were her best friends. They had known each other since elementary school and they had grown closer ever since. Lucas Scott was the one person that Haley had felt the most connected to and they were definitely the closest in their little group. They both enjoyed the academics of school, they were both kind-hearted and they were both somewhat reserved. Then there was Peyton Sawyer. A moody, artistic and musical blonde who didn't give a damn about what anyone thought. Peyton had her moments and sometimes brought the mood down but they all loved her and her sarcasm. And finally was Brooke Davis. Brooke was one of a kind. She was bubbly, outspoken, fiercely protective and down-right gorgeous.

Haley loved that they were all so close and even though her and Brooke were a year younger she felt like it would always be that way. It was all perfect until the summer before senior year…

"Halesssss," Haley was pulled from her thoughts when Brooke came bounding through their new dorm. She smiled before turning towards her.

The green eyed brunette had her arms on her hips and her eyebrows furrowed together. Haley fought the urge to laugh at her. One thing you didn't want to do was get on the bad side of Brooke Davis.

"What's up Tigger? Did you find out who our roommate was?" Haley and Brooke were moving into their apartment at Duke University. It was their freshmen year and both were excited but for completely different reasons. Haley was looking forward to the academic aspect while Brooke was looking forward to the college boys.

"NO! I was trying to get up close to the list that was posted but this red haired slut starts bitching at me and saying that I should go back to Kansas! Can you believe that? I would've got right up in her face but the RA's were right there! But it was close to a full out brawl Tutor Girl!" Brooke rambled on and on just like always. She was too dramatic for her own good sometimes.

"Wow Brooke. Sorry I wasn't there to help you out of that crisis," Haley replied with a hint of a smirk.

"Ha Ha. You should just be glad I held myself back so you didn't have to come bail me out of jail," Brooke said exasperated. She plopped herself down onto the couch and combed through her hair with her fingers.

Haley and Brooke had lucked out with an apartment suite this year thanks to the credit cards of Brooke's parents. It was completely furnished with a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, 3 bedrooms and a balcony and not to mention the two girls getting to share the place. The only downer was that they had another roommate too.

"Yeah thank God I don't have to do that again." Haley commented under her breath as she picked up an empty box and put it on the counter.

"I heard that Tutor Girl."

Haley smiled. Sometimes it was fun just to taunt her a bit. "It doesn't matter anyways Brooke. Our roommate will show up sometime soon and we will meet her then.

Brooke sighed. "I know, I Know. Oh and Hales…"

"Yeah Brookie," Haley looked over at Brooke and smirked at the annoyed expression on her face. She hated that nickname.

Brooke fidgeted with her hands. She looked up at Haley, "You know that you are going to see -"

"I know Brooke!" Haley immediately interjected, "I don't want to think about that. Now let's go meet up with Peyton!" Haley gave Brooke a look. She didn't want to be having this conversation right now.

Brooke got the hint and dropped the subject. "Ahh yay! We get to see P. Sawyer! Let's go, let's go! Come on Hales," Brooke quickly checked her outfit in the mirror and then barrelled out the door. Brooke was just a little kid at heart.

Haley chuckled and shook her head. She grabbed the key off of the counter and locked their dorm. She smoothed out her blue plaid shirt and her skinny jeans and caught up to Brooke who was speed walking down the hall.

When Haley and Brooke had been entering senior year, Peyton and Lucas had already graduated. They both had decided to go to Duke University and they were both here now. Haley knew it wasn't going to be the same though. Sure she and Brooke still talked to Peyton a few times a week but like they expected- they had grown apart. But Peyton wasn't who Haley was worried about. It was Lucas. Throughout the past year, she and Lucas had lost touch and though they used to have a great friendship it was now filled with tension, hurt and awkwardness. She hoped this year would mend broken fences but you never know.

The two girls walked through the campus and both noticed the looks they got. She watched Brooke embrace each one and give each guy a little wink. Haley herself felt a little uncomfortable. She tried not to feel that way and accept it like she learned to do last year but her old self still wanted to shine through.

Haley looked ahead and immediately saw a curly blonde head of hair. She and Brooke ran the rest of the way and the 3 girls embraced in an emotional hug.

"I missed you girlies," Peyton whispered.

"We missed you too P Sawyer," Brooke and Haley whispered back.

Haley pulled away and dabbed at her eyes. It felt right for the first time in a while. She smiled at her two best friends as they pulled away and fixed their eye makeup.

"It's so great that you guys are here! Now we can get back to how things use to be," Peyton gushed. Haley glanced at Brooke and smiled. She knew this was where they were meant to be.

In the past year, she had never felt so out of place. She didn't think her life would ever turn around. She almost gave up hope. Almost. Brooke saved her though. And for that, she will never be able to repay her.

"Haley! Haley! You still there," Peyton's voice interrupted her thoughts and brought her back to earth.

"Don't worry about it Peyton, Hales zones out all the time now." Haley saw the weary exchange between the girls and rolled her eyes. It figures that they would gang up on me she thought.

Haley turned her focus back to Brooke when she saw the excited look on her face. "Anyways, I was just about to ask Peyton if she knew where Lucas was," Brooke said cheerily. Haley noticed the way her face lit up when she said Luke's name. She figured that Brooke's harboured crush on him was still going strong.

At that, Peyton's face paled and her eyes widened. "Uhmm…"

"Oh look! There he is! Come on Hales! You too Peyt!" Brooke squealed and grabbed Haley and Peyton's arm.

Haley caught sight of Luke. His back was towards them and he was standing beside two other guys on the outdoor basketball court. Lucas had his gym bag slung casually over his shoulder and the three of them were watching the current game being played.

As they got closer, Haley's stomach knotted. She had only seen him a handful of times this past year, and each time got more and more awkward.

The three girls stopped a few feet behind the boys and Brooke tapped Lucas' shoulder. Lucas looked over his shoulder and froze. He then shifted his attention to the green eyes of Brooke Davis and immediately smiled. He turned around and hugged her tight.

Haley watched with a smile on her face as her best friend hugged her old one. She knew that this was what Brooke had needed for the past year.

Lucas released Brooke and looked towards Haley. She hesitated. She didn't know whether to hug him or just smile at him. She missed the time when it wasn't like this- when it was just natural. He decided for her though and stepped forward to embrace her. She stepped on her tippy toes and buried her head in his shoulder. It felt safe.

She loosened her hold on Lucas when she heard one of Lucas' friends say something.

"Hey Luke, where did you-" Nathan stopped midsentence and trailed off once he looked behind him. He swallowed hard.

Haley looked into the infamous eyes of Nathan Scott and her face hardened. Her fists tightened and her muscles tensed. Just the sight of him heightened every emotion she had.

Nathan turned towards Lucas. His eyes narrowed and his voice was dangerously low.

"What the hell is she doing here?"