Wow, thanks everyone for such great reviews. I'm really enjoying writing this. I'm happy that you all like it as well. R/R please!
The Wrong Kind of Wrong
Nathan walked into SuburbanFilth, his hands tucked neatly into his pockets. He'd come from Haley's house, truly unconvinced that nothing had happened. He saw Brooke helping a customer and walked over, meeting her eyes. She smiled crookedly and he smiled back as the customer she helped walked away.
"You look lost." She said, leaning against the front desk. "What happened with Haley?"
"She said nothing happened." He shrugged with a sigh and looked down at the countertop. "I don't know what to believe. Are you sure what happened?"
"I'm not sure what happened, but I'm sure something did." She corrected.
Looking to his side thoughtfully, he looked back at Brooke with a broken-hearted glance. "Do you think she wants Chris again?" He murmured, picking with a stray piece of something on the desk.
Brooke dropped her mouth open in shock. "Nathan, no! Haley loves you!"
"I don't know what to think!" He shot back in a harsh whisper. "Is she lying? Is she covering for him? Is she planning to run off with him again? I don't know, Brooke."
Crossing her arms over her chest, she thought for a moment. "Chris is devious. Maybe he threatened her or something. Or maybe she's just scared. There has to be a reason she doesn't want to say what went on."
"Maybe it's a reason I'm not too interested in knowing." He muttered, shooting her a knowing glance.
"Don't you trust Haley anymore, Nate? I know what she did," she put her hands up in explanation, "and I know it was wrong. But do you honestly think she'd ruin another chance with you? She loves you."
"Then why won't she tell me, Brooke? She can talk to me." Frustrated, he pushed his hands through his hair. "I just want her to open up to me like she used to."
"Time, Nathan. Time." She assured, leaning closer to him. "All you have to do is give her time."
"I can't. I need to know if he did anything to her, Brooke. I can't just let her-" He cut off, an exasperated grunt leaving his mouth, his eyes shifted away from her.
Brooke watched him sympathetically. "Nathan, don't beat your self up over it."
"You don't get it." He whispered, looking up at her. "I…" He swallowed hard and looked down at his hands on the front desk. "I'm the one who called him. I'm the one who paid him to come back and help her with her music. So if he did anything to her…" He trailed off, his face crumpled in regret.
Brooke's face washed over with understanding. "Nathan…" She started, unsure of what to say. The devastated look on his face made her want to cry herself.
"To think that I could've caused something that she'll have to live with for the rest of her life..." He shook his head softly then took a deep breath. "How could I ever look at her again knowing that I did something like this to her?"
"Nate, it's not your fault. Don't even begin to think like that." Brooke warned lowly. "You were just trying to help her. Because of what you have in here." She put her hand over her heart. "For her."
He wiped a hand over his face, sighing again. "I'll kill him if he touched her, Brooke. And I mean in the literal sense. I'll break his neck." The agony on his face was edged with complete seriousness.
Brooke stared. "I wouldn't blame you, Nate, but-"
"No." He cut her off, stepping backwards. "I will. No one could stop me." He glared to his side at an imaginary Chris before giving her one last look. "See ya, Brooke." He stormed away.
"Nathan!" She called after him, but it was as if he hadn't heard her. Sighing, she dropped her head to the side and watched him leave. About an hour later, while she was restocking clothes on the rack, she spotted Chris Keller waltzing into her store, a devil-may-care smirk plastered on his face.
She glowered at him. "We have the right to refuse service here. Your service is more than refused."
He put a hand over his chest dramatically. "Brooke, you wound me."
"Wait until I do it physically." She threatened, turning and walking away from him.
"Before it comes to that, do you know where Haley is?" He questioned dismissively.
A stiff smile formed on her face as she glanced over her shoulder. "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
"And exactly what is your problem with me again?" He queried, walking behind her.
When she made it to the front desk, she turned on her heal and faced him, her eyes shooting daggers at him. "I'm not stupid, Keller. What I walked in on the other night was more than a misunderstandingas you so simply put it. You did something to Haley and I plan on finding out what it was."
"Really?" He laughed and shook his head. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe there's just chemistry between us? Chemistry that can't be denied."
"No. There's chemistry between her and Nathan. Me and Lucas. You?" She scoffed radically. "There's nothing there but unrequited lust that'll never be fulfilled." She set her jaw, letting him in on the truth. "Haley could never love you like she loves, Nathan. Face it."
His eyes darkened to a dangerous shade. "Watch your mouth, Davis."
"I suggest you watch your mouth, Keller. People love Haley. Namely Nathan. He'd hurt you if you did anything to her." Her smile spread proudly over her face. "And I can't say I wouldn't enjoy watching him do so."
His grin was forced and even. "Good thing I haven't done anything to her then, right?"
Brooke leaned forward, resting her elbow on the counter and her chin in her face, her smile still there. "I'd beg to differ if it was up to me."
He leaned close to her face. "Well it's not up to you, is it?" With that, he turned and left.
Guilty. That's all Brooke could think of. He was guilty.
Lucas watched her wipe down the last part of the counter with a brow raised in inquest. "What's wrong, Hales?" He shook his head, speaking in finality.
She looked up at him, forcing herself to look confused. "What are you talking about?"
"You're not the same, I mean, look at you," he motioned towards her, her baggy attire there for him to use as an example. "Something's wrong."
"Nothings wrong." She tried to declare, dropping the rag in a bucket on a stool. "Are you locking up?"
Heaving in defeat, he stood up from his seat. "Yeah, Peyton's dropping by to talk to me about something."
"Alright." She smiled tiredly, chucking one thumb towards the door while the other hand found its way in her back pocket. "I'm gonna go."
"Why? Because I know something's wrong with you and you don't want to tell me what it is?" He hounded, walking around the counter to come next to her, a desperate plead in his eyes.
She rolled her eyes to look away from him. "Nothings wrong, Luke. Please." Shaking her head, she grabbed her purse from one of the seats. "I'll see you later."
"Whatever." He shook his head and looked away from her.
She wanted to tell him but instead, she walked out. She really wanted to tell people, but then again, what if she was just overreacting? He hadn't even got to finish, she told herself a million more times as she rounded the corner. Maybe she had been making a big deal out of something that wasn't as serious as she had made it out to be. He kissed her, she hadn't kissed back. That was that. She struggled to convince as she walked down the dark street, but she knew that that wasn't the case. What he had done was wrong. Really, really wrong. He touched her in places she'd asked him not to. She'd asked him to stop and he hadn't. Now that was a crime. He was in the wrong, no matter how she tried to justify it to her benefit. Chris messed up, not her for dressing that way. Not her for trying to work on her music.
Before she could make out his figure in the distance, she heard his dull chuckle. Her nerves frayed and she involuntarily stopped in her tracks.
"Haley James." He spoke with a smile in his voice. "You know, you're a hard girl to find."
"I thought you were leaving?" She crossed her arms over her chest, an effort to hide herself from him even more than her oversized sweater was doing.
"I will." He smiled, standing right before her. "Though Brooke's a suspicious meddler, I see you didn't tell anybody." Raising a hand, he flicked her under her chin with a finger. "Good girl." He whispered smilingly.
"Not yet." She warned, narrowing her eyes menacingly. "Nathan knows that something's wrong, too. He even asked if you had done anything to me."
His eyes darkened. "I assume you answered correctly, or you're going to be seeing a lot more of me than you expected."
"Not if he gets a hold of you." She spat with courage, backing away from him. "What you did was wrong, Chris!" She informed strictly.
"I couldn't help myself. You're just so damn pretty." He moved closer to her, untrustworthiness on his features.
Her eyes watered as she backed away. "What if Brooke hadn't knocked on the door? Would you have actually kept going?" Disbelief laced her words.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know. Maybe."
His emotionless words scared her and she looked down the dark street, preparing to run. Then she met his eyes again. She could read the look in them. Her face clouded in panic. She went to run away but he hooked his arm around her stomach, slamming her against the brick wall behind him.
"Hey now, where are you going?" His whispered against her cheek, his hands pressing her arms against the wall. He closed his eyes in soft satisfaction.
"Chris, no. You said you'd leave. You said-"
"I know exactly what I said, Hales. But I'm tired of this." He pressed his body against hers, holding her still. "I'm tired of waiting for you to kiss me again, to go to the next level."
"There won't be a next level." She huffed tearfully. "Chris, stop." Her hoarse whisper broke off into a sob. Not again, no.
"You kissed me, Haley. You did. I remember. It was the best day of my life." His hands roamed under her sweater, grazing her bra. "Then you got all dressed up the other night, you know it wasn't just for Nathan. It was for me, too."
She dropped her head back, her throat clogged with tears. She tried to kick her legs, but he was pressed against her. Too strong.
"I promised myself," he started, nuzzling her neck with his mouth, "that if I ever got the chance to touch you again, I would." He nibbled her neck with his mouth. "This is my chance."
Just as she gasped to scream, his mouth covered hers, his hands roamed beneath her bra, cupping her breast in the palm of his hand. Her world dizzied as if she was going to faint when his knee parted her legs. His hand slid between her parted legs, touching her in her private place. She bit his probing tongue that instant and he recoiled, giving her the chance to knee his groin. He hunched over in pain and she tried to run but he caught her by the hood of her sweater and she fell backwards, her head searing in pain as it cruelly met the concrete ground.
He grabbed her by the neck and she clawed at his face, his eyes, and his neck as he struggled to crawl on top of her. "No!" She choked, hitting him fiercely. Her knee rose powerfully, striking him in the groin again. Harder. He rolled over and she jumped up, running back towards the café. She was going to tell Lucas, Nathan, anyone, and everyone.
Right as she was rounding the corner to the café, she connected with a body and it sent her tumbling to the ground quickly. She cried hysterically, thinking that it was him. But when she heard the voice, she cleared her teary eyes and the blurry figure came into clear view.
"Peyton! Peyton! Please!" She shrieked, standing up and running in front of the girl that had fell against the wall.
"Haley, what's wrong?!" Peyton screamed, grabbing the girl's shoulders, trying to still her. She noticed the blood on her forehead. "Haley, you're bleeding! What's wrong?!"
"Chris, Peyton! He's trying to-!" She hugged the blonde fiercely, happy to have someone there with her.
Peyton hugged her back, stroking her hair. "It's alright, it's okay." She soothed vocally, her heart beating rapidly. "It's okay now. Let's go inside. Lucas is inside."
"Okay." She nodded obediently as Peyton helped her to the café.
Nathan decided to leave the porch, he'd been waiting there for hours and Chris still hadn't come home. He thought about Haley. If Chris touched her…he would beat him into the ground. This was all his fault, he blamed himself. He should've never called that asshole into town. He felt like punching walls. He couldn't believe Haley wouldn't tell him what was wrong with her. He could see it in her face, something wasn't right. And he knew deep inside, she didn't like Chris anymore. Maybe he used it as an excuse because he didn't want to fathom what could've really happened.
He gritted his teeth just as his phone rang. Just as he'd made it to his car. He pulled the phone out of his pocket, reading Lucas' number across the front screen. Narrowing his eyes, he flipped it open and put it to his ear, crossing on arm over his chest. He didn't have time for Lucas' crap right now.
"What do you want?" He spoke rudely.
Lucas sighed over the phone. "Nathan…" He started dejectedly.
Nathan's heart stopped dead in his chest. "What's wrong? Where's Haley?" When Lucas didn't answer right away, Nathan hopped into his car, his mind was spinning. "Where is she, Luke?"
"Chris…he…he attacked her, Nate." He started shakily. "She's…we're at my mom's café."
Nathan hung up and sped off.
R/R please! Tell me what you think!