"Are you coming out tonight Smalls?" Rachel asked when Haley got back to the room.

"Are you talking to me?"

"Yeah Smalls. You're, like, the smallest person I know and I'm in a gangsta mood."

"Did you just say gangsta?"

"Once again, yes. Quit making fun of my hip lingo and answer my question."

"Hip lingo?"

"You're killin' me Smalls!"

"Oh my God. You just went through that whole thing giving me a nickname so you could say that one sentence, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"Wow. I love you."

"I know, right? So are you coming out tonight?"

"What do you think?" Haley asked with a sneaky smile.

"Of course," Rachel sang excitedly. "I'm guessing you and Chase hit it off well after you two snuck off. I'm going to invite Victoria."

Haley grabbed Rachel's arm before she could leave to find Victoria. "Why are you asking her?"

"I'm calling a truce. Don't worry. It's a trick truce. It's a little part in a big plan. We're going to be nice to her tonight. I'll tell her that she has served her penance and since Ethan likes her, she can come with us." The look on Haley's face showed that she still wasn't following. "Don't worry your pretty little head over it Smalls. You'll see soon enough. I'll be back."

Rachel then slinked off to talk to Victoria and from the looks of it, they made up. Tonight definitely could get interesting.

The girls met the boys down by the docks again that night, but Haley had already told Rachel no swimming. Although Victoria went with them, she was still not a part of their circle. Victoria wasn't stupid either, she made sure to bring a friend with her.

"We're going some place more fun," Rachel announced.

"Like where?"

"We're going to the park. It's, like, a block away. They won't hear us there."

"They won't hear what?"

"Nothing, just follow me."

Rachel led everyone to a park and went straight towards the merry go round and sat down on the outside waiting for everyone else. "Are you guys coming?" she questioned when no one joined her on the merry go round.

"Those things make me sick," Haley said.

"Then we won't spin it. It makes a perfect circle though and it will do. So come sit, Smalls."

"When are you going to quit calling me that?"

"Never," Rachel answered with a smile.

"Why is she calling you Smalls?" Chase whispered to Haley.

"So she can say, 'You're killin' me Smalls.' She's feeling gangsta." Haley emphasized "gangsta" with air quotes.

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack." Chase and Haley both laughed at the absurdity of Rachel's mind.

"Okay, guys," Rachel said to the two of them who the only ones still standing. "Are y'all playing?"

"Playing what?"

"Truth or Dare."

Chase just looked at Haley, wordlessly asking for her approval. Looking at his puppy dog eyes, she couldn't say no. "We're in," Haley conceded as she and Chase both joined the others.

Haley had never lived a life of popularity. She had seen her sisters and brothers have parties like this, but she herself had never played truth or dare. She didn't know if she was more excited or nervous. The nauseous feeling in her stomach made her think it was the latter.

"Okay, Richard, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Nice. Way to be a man," Rachel said.

"Thanks."

"You're going to regret it though… I dare you to go down the slide."

"Okay…" Richard said thinking that was the lamest dare ever.

"Pantless," Rachel added.

"Rach! That could cause permanent damage," Haley said trying to save Richard from the sure pain that he would soon experience if he went through with the dare.

"She's right, you know," Richard pleaded.

"It's safe, I promise. I've seen it done before. Are you backing out of a dare?"

Richard looked at Rachel before getting up and going over to the slide. No pants and a few screams later, Richard rejoined the rest of the group.

"Next time you do that, it hurts a lot less if you keep your legs together. No extra skin pulling."

"Yeah, thanks for telling me that BEFORE I went. And there won't be a next time. So Rachel, I'll shoot it back to you, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to show us your boobs."

"Amateur." Rachel rolled her eyes at the boy who so obviously had not been playing as long as she had. She took off her shirt and gave it to Richard before unclasping her bra and handing that to him too. Sitting there completely topless, she went onto the next person. "Victoria, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Of course," Rachel mumbled to herself. "How much do you weigh?"

"What?"

"You heard me, how much do you weigh?"

"What kind of truth is that?"

"It's the kind that will prove to my best friend that she isn't fat." Rachel needed to keep her trick truce cover intact, but she also wanted to prove something to Haley. "Look, V, I'm not saying you're fat. You're definitely not. But the fact is, you called my best friend fat when she weighs less than you. You don't have to tell everyone, just whisper THE TRUTH to her."

Victoria looked at Rachel for a second. She knew that she really couldn't trust her, but Haley was a different story. You could tell just by looking at the girl how weak she was, she figured why not? After she had whispered the answer into her ear, you could see the smile grow on Haley's face.

Haley looked at Rachel gratefully before giving her a scowl, "I think you can put your shirt back on Rach."

"Actually, I'd prefer if she didn't," Richard said.

"I agree," Kyle followed soon after.

"Sorry, Hales," Rachel shrugged. Boy was she a whore.

"Kyle, truth or dare," Victoria asked.

"Truth."

"Do you cheat on my best friend routinely or do you just have sex with anyone who will spread their legs?"

"That's kind of a double-negative," Haley informed Victoria.

"The truth is that Veronica and I broke up months ago. As in, I dumped her. I guess she was just that insecure that she had to make everyone, including her best friend, think that we were still together. It's not that hard considering we go to different schools. It's actually quite pathetic, which is why I broke up with her. She's simply pathetic."

"That's a little harsh, Kyle," Haley said. She may not like the girls, but that didn't mean she wished them pain. Okay, maybe she did, but Kyle was being kind of rude.

Kyle just rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed with Haley's interruption. "Chase, truth or dare?"

Shit, Chase thought. What would he rather have happen? Being made a fool in front of Haley, or possibly hurting her feelings with a truth. He thought he'd take the lesser of two evils, "Dare."

"I dare you to return what is in your back pocket to Haley."

Chase gave Kyle the death glare as Haley sat confused. "I already did," he lied.

"Right, I can tell," he said looking to Haley's chest.

Haley's face immediately turned beet red when she realized what the boys were talking about. She hadn't even realized she had lost her bra until then. She stood up and ran towards the swing set to get away.

"Way to go, asshole," Chase said before he ran after Haley.

He came up behind her swing and started pushing her lightly, "I'm sorry about that."

"It's not your fault."

"I still feel bad about it. I figured you might want it back though," he said as he handed her the bra back.

"Thanks," she said standing up and kissing him. "You know, I've never had a guy come after me before like you just did."

"How is that possible? You are absolutely gorgeous and you have such a kind heart. You have got to have guys chasing after you all the time."

"Actually, no. You're my first boyfriend… and you were my first kiss too," she added as the blush once again crept up her face.

"Really? That's even more of a surprise because you are one amazing kisser."

"Really?" she asked, her insecurity obvious.

"Really…" he replied as he once again got lost in her kiss. "I hope you don't kiss your brother like that."

"What? Where did that come from?"

"Earlier you told Brianna that I was like your brother. I really hope you don't kiss him like that."

"Definitely not," she giggled and looked back at the group. "We should probably head back."

"I guess," Chase agreed reluctantly. He enjoyed spending time with Haley and not the rest of the group.

As they walked back to the group they noticed that thankfully Rachel had put her shirt back on. Haley could never imagine being that bold.

"Nice for you to join us. Rachel here has just been dared to tongue the hottest person here. Let's see it. Who wins for their good looks?"

Everyone watched on in amazement as Rachel went forward to kiss her pick. "That was definitely the hottest thing I have ever seen," Richard said as Rachel moved back to her seat.

"Obviously. When the two hottest people kiss, it's gotta be hot," Rachel explained.

"Did that just happen?" Haley asked coming out of her dumbfounded state.

"Oh yes it did. And I officially have a total hard-on for you right now Hales."

"Eww, Kyle that is way too much information."

"Come on, you just had another girl's tongue down your throat. How is that going to affect me?"

"Okay, Kyle, truth or dare?" Rachel asked.

"I'll go for a dare this time."

"Not a smart move, babe. After your little declaration, I dare you to whip it out, let everyone see exactly how big you are." Leaning over towards Victoria she whispered, "Or aren't."

"You really do stick up for your friends," Victoria said, pretty impressed considering how much of a slut she was. Rachel just nodded back. She may be easy, but that didn't mean she wasn't a good person.

"I'm game… if you give me a little help taking care of it," Kyle said.

"I guess that's only fair."

Haley tried to divert her eyes as Kyle was unbuttoning his pants, but she couldn't help but take a peek. Tonight seemed to be a great learning experience into the world of the popular, she figured she should take advantage of it. When Kyle revealed himself to the group, Haley definitely learned the meaning of overcompensating. She leaned over to Chase, "He's got nothing on you."

Chase's body immediately tensed up, not knowing that she had seen him that day in the water. "Umm.." he began to stutter, "how would you know that?"

Haley just smiled at him. She loved how she was able to make him nervous like that, "I have my ways."

Then Kyle and Rachel got up and went over to the swing sets in which Haley had just been. She didn't exactly know what taking care of it meant, but she figured it was something that she didn't want to see. She just talked to Chase while she waited for them to come back. She was wondering what was taking so long, but when she looked back over to the swings, she quickly figured out what was going on. She watched as Rachel shamelessly straddled Kyle on the swing as it swung back and forth. She couldn't help but notice that they were in the exact swing that she had been in just minutes before. She had no idea how she could be such good friends with a complete nympho. Especially one who would just have sex with a group of people watching. They were only fourteen years old, she didn't even know that people were like that in middle school. Well, I guess they weren't in middle school anymore. They were officially high schoolers. That was a strange thought. Maybe she was being a prude. She was in high school now. High schoolers have sex. Is that what Chase wanted from her? She didn't know what to think anymore.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Chase pushing on her, "You there?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'm just thinking."

"Looked more like gawking."

"Shut up," she said pushing his shoulder knocking him over.

"Hey, it's fine by me. Free porn. I'll take it any day."

Haley's face fell at those words. That answered her question. He definitely wanted sex.

Chase noticed the change in Haley's face, "Hey, I was just kidding."

"Yeah." Haley looked down at her watch, "Crap, we should probably get back, it's 4 AM."

"Shit! How did it get so late?"

"Probably because you spent so long making out on what now seems to be the designated hook-up spot," Victoria answered.

Haley couldn't help but smile thinking about it. She should have started kissing a long time ago. It was definitely her new favorite activity. They all got up and started to leave when Haley remembered they were forgetting something. "Somebody should probably tell them."

"We'll leave that to you, you are her best friend and all."

This was definitely awkward. No way was she doing at alone. She pulled a reluctant Chase behind her as they slowly approached the couple. When they were about fifteen feet away they shouted to them, "Ummm, we're gonna go back guys. It's 4."

"Almost there," Rachel shouted back.

Haley wasn't sure whether she was talking to her or Kyle, either way she was getting the hell out of there.

"Haley Jaaaaames, come on down," a voice boomed from the front of the room.

Haley looked up to see Brianna motioning for her to come forward. "What?" she asked nonchalantly.

"You know what, girlie. Get your tush up here and tell us your story."

"I think I'll pass."

"And since when has that been an option?"

"I was hoping to start a new trend."

"Right. No such luck. Come on up Hales."

Haley rolled her eyes and went to the front of the room. "Where should I start?"

"Why don't you tell us about your family," Jessica suggested.

"Okay. I'm one of ten kids. My brother Lucas is my best friend. He's two years older than me, but I swear he and I are closer and more alike than my brother and sister who are actually twins. It's always pretty much been us against the world. We're the only two left. I'm the youngest. Actually, last year my sister Quinn moved back to Tree Hill, so there are three of us now."

"What about your parents?" Brianna asked encouraging Haley to continue.

"What about 'em? I mean, it's not like they're around much."

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since my dad had the accident, my mom just went into this deep depression. She quit her job and doesn't really leave the house much anymore. She just cries all the time. And my dad… he's just an ass. Lucas pretty much takes care of me."

"What kind of accident did your father have?" another camper asked. It was routine for other campers to ask questions to help get the storyteller to continue and Haley surprisingly welcomed it.

"He had a car accident while he was driving drunk. He went into a coma for a week. It wasn't anything that caused him permanent damage though, just a lot of stress to the family." She paused for a moment before she continued, not sure if she felt comfortable letting everyone know about this, but she knew she needed to get it out. She turned her eyes towards the ceiling so that she wouldn't have to look anyone in the face and so that hopefully her tears wouldn't fall. "I was there when he woke up. He told me that it was my fault…" At this point she couldn't stop the tears that were falling and she knew it was no use trying. "He said that I was a failure and that he was ashamed to call me his daughter."

"That's not fair," Victoria spoke up. "He can't blame you for something that was his fault."

"Except it was my fault. He wouldn't have been drinking if I hadn't messed up."

"That's not true. What could you have done that was so bad?" someone else asked.

"I took some alcohol to school. Some girls knew that I had older siblings and thought that I could get them alcohol so I did. I just wanted to make friends. I only had one friend in the whole school and we didn't have a single class together, so it was really hard. I think I would have done anything to make a new friend. Anyways, they had cameras in the hall and saw me with it, so I was suspended. I'm pretty sure I would have been expelled if my father hadn't financed a new library for them."

"I know how you feel," Chase said. "I have a really hard time making friends. I don't get it with you though. The second you came in here, you just fit right in. You are one of the nicest people I know. I consider you to be one of my best friends. It's just hard to imagine why anyone wouldn't want to be friends with you."

"I feel the exact same way, Hales," Rachel said sending a glare towards Victoria.

"Thank you for sharing that with us Haley," Jessica said. "Your mom actually shared something else with us. You don't have to talk about it in front of everyone if you don't want to, but I'm sure it's obvious from what your friends have said that there are several people here who would listen if you need them too. Remember, everything here is confidential. Nothing leaves this room."

Haley didn't know why, but she felt comfortable being here in this room and wanted to get it off her chest. "Last summer," Haley began as tears had already started to fall once more. "I was having problems. Actually, for the whole year I was having problems. Along with calling me a failure, my father also constantly told me that I was fat. And that I must have gained weight from the guilt of his accident. He was just saying anything to try to hurt me. And the girls at school would call me fat and ugly all the time, so I believed them. I pretty much quit eating and I ran five miles everyday. I was really sick. I was getting dizzy all the time, my hair started falling out, and my skin even started turning yellow. I would pass out a lot, but my parents never noticed or never cared. I just felt like I would never be good enough. So that summer, my sister left for college and even though we would fight a lot, it was still really hard on me. A few months later, my brother, Nick, was getting ready to go off to college and it just kind of broke me. Every thing hit me at once. I was losing one more of my lifelines and I didn't know what to do. The night before he was supposed to leave we went out to dinner. Nick and Lucas kind of attacked me trying to get me to eat. I got really mad at them because I didn't think anything was wrong with it. I was just trying to be perfect. So I locked myself in my room. I just wanted to get away from everything. The pressure, the torture. Just everything. So I took a lot of my dad's pills from his accident. My brothers literally broke my door down to get me out and rushed me to the hospital. I had to stay in there for a week."

Brianna had moved to sit by Haley to comfort her as she cried. For once Haley didn't mind being seen crying. It's not like she could stop if she wanted to anyways.

"That was really brave of you to tell us all that," Briana said as she rubbed her back. "Any questions or comments?"

"As if I haven't told you enough, you are gorgeous Hales. I would kill for your body."

Rachel's comment got a laugh out of Haley, "Thanks Rach."

"Your dad doesn't know what he's missing," Kyle said, surprising everyone with his kind words. "I never really knew you until the past few weeks, but I've found that you're a really great girl. I'm sorry that your dad doesn't see that because I think everyone here does."

So, now you've got Haley's story. You pretty much already knew it, but now she's opening up about it, which is always good! I hope you liked it. You'll see a few more people's reactions from camp in the next chapter.