A/N: For some reason, I decided to watch One Tree Hill for the very first time ever over the summer. So here I am, SUPER late to this ship, but of course I found myself completely obsessed. Not sure how many people still read Naley fic, but here's my next little offering to anyone who does. I have the first few chapters completed, so updates should be coming soon.

Keeping with OTH tradition, the title comes from the Katy Perry song. Apologies if the chapter breaks or POV feels awkward - originally this was going to be a one-shot from Haley's perspective only, but somehow a storyline developed along the way. Oops. This is my first multi-chapter attempt, so if you love it, let me know!

XX

"What do you mean you're not coming?" Haley hissed into her phone, stepping briefly out of the line of people wrapping around the stadium in an attempt to gain some privacy. "You're the one that convinced me to come to this stupid thing in the first place!"

"I'm sorry, Hay!" Her roommate didn't sound very apologetic on the other end of the line. "I really have to finish studying for this last final."

Haley sighed and glanced at the line of people stretching before her as she began digging through her purse for her keys. "Fine, I didn't really want to be here anyway. I'll see you at home in a bit."

"No! You should stay! Come on, do something fun on your own for once!"

"I do things on my own!" Haley protested indignantly, still searching for her elusive keys in the bottomless pit of her bag. Why had she bought such a damn big purse anyway? "And this isn't fun, there are like five hundred people here! I'm not going in there alone. I don't even care about basketball!"

As a self-proclaimed introvert, Haley James was no stranger to going places alone. In fact, when she had first moved to Charlotte for school, she had done almost everything by herself, exploring the city as often as she could in her free time. She didn't mind seeing a movie by herself or grabbing dinner with nothing but a good book to keep her company, but this was an entirely different story.

Last week her roommate, Lindsey, had come home from class buzzing with excitement because she had heard that NBA superstar Nathan Scott was going to be filming a commercial for Rainstorm Body Spray in the Charlotte Bobcats' home stadium, and there was an open call for extras to fill the seats in order to give the appearance of an actual game for the shoot. Several of her university friends planned to attend, and Lindsey insisted Haley go with her.

While Lindsey knew that Haley was from Tree Hill, which also happened to be Nathan Scott's hometown, Haley hadn't told her roommate that the Tree Hill Ravens' star basketball player had been a senior when Haley was a freshman, and she had harbored a pretty serious crush on him for that entire year. She knew nothing about basketball, and yet she had faithfully attended every game that season, and sighed longingly after him when he passed her in the halls. Even though she was well aware of his reputation as a playboy around school, and she was pretty sure the jock had no idea she existed, she couldn't help but be smitten by the tall, dark, and handsome upperclassman. Although she knew she never had a chance with him - guys like Nathan didn't notice girls like her - she had still been heartbroken that summer when he went off to college at Duke. But, in the way of young love, she had moved on from her schoolgirl crush with the start of her sophomore year.

Of course she heard when he'd been drafted to the Seattle Sonics right out of college - the news was all over Tree Hill. Since she had no interest in sports, she hadn't realized until her junior year at UNC Charlotte that he'd been traded to the Bobcats and had been their starting point guard for the past couple of years. Charlotte was a big enough city, and he was enough of a celebrity, that she never anticipated their paths ever crossing. And even if they did, there was no way she would ever speak to him. What would she even say? Nice to meet you, I'm from Tree Hill too and had the hugest crush on you in high school?

"Hay? Are you still there?" Lindsey's voice snapped Haley out of her thoughts.

"Yeah Linds, I'm here…but I'm leaving as soon as I find my keys," she grumbled, her mood souring further as she realized the line in front of her had begun to move. Grudgingly, she stepped back into her place and followed the throng of people.

"Please stay," her roommate begged. "Think of it as a reward for passing all of your finals. You've got to live it up a little before you become a full-time teacher next year! And besides, you've got to tell me all about how gorgeous he really is in person so I can live vicariously through you."

"You could've come to see for yourself!" Haley refuted. "This was all your idea!"

"I know and I'm sorry," Lindsey sighed. "But I promise you'll have fun. Make friends with the people around you! Maybe you'll even get to meet The Nathan Scottin person!"

Haley rolled her eyes. "Sure, that's definitely going to happen," she said sarcastically.

The line was moving quickly now, and to her dismay she was already near the entrance. There were several stadium employees handing out appearance release forms to everyone as they entered, and Haley found herself scribbling her name as a pen was shoved into her hand.

"Fine Lindsey, you win," Haley grumbled, following the crowd in front of her. "I gotta go."

"Yay! Have so much fun!"

Haley wasn't sure about 'fun,' but she supposed there were worse things she could be doing with her afternoon than attending a fake basketball game.

Once inside the stadium, she searched the faces around her, looking for anyone familiar, and quickly realized it was a futile effort. The arena was too big, and it looked like every Bobcats fan in the city had turned out for this thing.

A surly looking man with "SECURITY" emblazoned across his t-shirt was directing people into groups to await further instruction on where they would be placed in the audience. Several people tried to squeeze into groups they thought would wind up closer to the front, but Haley (ever the rule follower) complied silently and went where she was told.

She found herself in a group of about twenty-five people, and from the looks of the group, they were either Bobcats fans or college girls hoping to catch the wandering eye of Nathan Scott.

Haley hadn't actively followed Nathan's career, but she had seen his face plastered across tabloids at the grocery store checkout on more than one occasion. He often looked a little hungover and was never pictured with the same girl twice. She never bothered to read any of that trash, but it was obvious Nathan had no trouble with the celebrity-bachelor lifestyle. Most of the women he was seen with were models or actresses, but she had no doubt that he didn't spend many nights alone.

She wondered if he'd be looking for someone tonight. The thought inexplicably excited and repulsed her.

A bottle-blonde girl in a mini skirt and tall leather boots caught Haley's attention nearby. "How does this look?" she asked her friend as she adjusted her barely-there tube top.

"Hmmm, pull your top down a little more," her friend advised, "Make sure he gets a good look at the ladies."

Haley rolled her eyes in disgust as the girls giggled. If Nathan was looking for company this evening, he'd certainly have no trouble finding it in this crowd.

Looking around, she decided she was definitely overdressed for this thing. It had been her last day of student teaching, and she'd wanted to look her best. She'd agonized over her closet that morning, pulling out nearly everything she owned before choosing a short, emerald green dress, the scooped neckline and sash around the waist accentuating all of her best features in a tasteful and modest way. She had come straight to the stadium from school and hadn't had a chance to change. Now she felt entirely out of place in her business casual dress amidst the mini skirts and Scott jerseys surrounding her.

"I heard he was dating one of the cheerleaders," Haley overheard Tube Top telling her friend.

"One of?" The other girl laughed. "I heard he's hooked up with the entire squad - some of them at the same time."

Gross, Haley thought to herself. Like high school all over again.

"Oh em gee, and I could be next if I get to meet him today!" Both girls squealed at the prospect, and Haley couldn't help but snort under her breath. Who the hell actually said the letters "OMG" out loud like that? If these were the type of girls Nathan was interested in, maybe it was actually a compliment he hadn't paid her any attention in high school.

"Group fifteen!" A new security guard motioned Haley's group forward. "Section 114, row Q. Let's go!"

The others in her group groaned as they started to move. Haley didn't really know the layout of the arena, but clearly row Q was pretty far back from the court. Guess blondie isn't going to get that hookup tonight after all. She couldn't help the smug smile that crossed her lips at the thought, and suddenly she felt like she was fourteen again. Get a hold of yourself, James, you didn't even want to be here to start with.

"Group fifteen, hold up!" The security guard shouted. He turned towards a young man with a serious expression on his boyish face, and Haley overheard the newcomer say, "That one - let's get her courtside, Nate will like her."

The security guard nodded. "Blondie!" he barked. "Follow Mr. Evans here."

Tube Top squealed and leaped forward, her friend already forgotten. Tears of joy immediately began spilling over her fake lashes, as if on cue.

"Not you!" the guard hollered out. "You! Green dress!"

Haley glanced around, searching for this blonde in a green dress.

"Let's go blondie, we haven't got all day!"

He was pointing at her?

She wasn't sure she would've called her soft, honey-colored curls "blondie," but her quick look around had definitely confirmed there was no one else in a green dress in group fifteen.

Tube Top and her friend were glaring daggers at her as she hesitantly stepped forward. "Um, it's Haley, actually," she squeaked out, suddenly nervous as this Mr. Evans person eyed her, one of his eyebrows lifted in amusement.

"Haley," Mr. Evans repeated, holding out his hand and giving hers a firm shake. "I'm Clay, Nathan's agent. Follow me."

She nodded slowly, allowing Clay to lead her down the steps to the edge of the court where a handful of other women were already seated in the front row. Some were leaning over the wall in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the basketball star, others were re-applying thick layers of makeup and chattering excitedly amongst themselves. None seemed to notice Haley's arrival.

What am I doing here? she wondered as she obediently took a seat in the chair marked "reserved" that Clay pointed out to her. She was about to turn and ask the agent that very question, but he was already gone - presumably to scout out a few more women to fill the front row.

Haley wasn't sure how she felt about being singled out of the crowd because - what had he said? - Nate will like her. She hadn't anticipated seeing Nathan at all except from a distant seat in row Q.

She was definitely going to see him now, and he was probably going to see her too. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her sudden nerves. It had been years since she had seen him in person, and back then, that had consisted of occasional glimpses around the school campus and those glorious nights during basketball season where she got to spend an hour and a half staring at him without looking like a weirdo.

Haley couldn't recall a time she'd ever been within ten feet of Nathan Scott, and there was less distance than that between her and the nearest camera now. Her stomach did a nervous little flip, and she suddenly felt like she might throw up.

This was a bad idea. She had intentionally pushed any thoughts of Nathan out of her mind once he'd gone off to college; she'd felt silly for being so obsessed with him when she was young, and a part of her had been afraid that if she let her thoughts wander too much, she'd find herself crushing on him from afar all over again as an adult. Sure, he'd made appearances in occasional dirty dreams throughout the years, but that was out of her control. Now, in the face of actually seeing him again in the flesh, she was wishing she'd had more time to prepare herself.

She was beginning to regret allowing Lindsey to talk her into staying.