Chapter 3: Billie Jean

A/N: So this update is much faster than I expected. As I was searching through my e-mails, I remembered that I had a folder where I had sent some chapters to beta-readers. And lo-and-behold, there it was. So I now have the original chapters. They need a lot of work, since I was young and foolish when I started to write this, oh about two summers ago. Not as young, but still a bit as foolish. This is the edit of the original 3rd chapter, after this, things change around quite a lot from where I seem to originally want to take this story. Hope you guys enjoy it, and hopefully I can give you guys another update real soon.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my puppy. Wait I have no puppy. Cruel reality! Billie Jean is of course property of the late Michael Jackson. May he rest in peace.

She told me her name was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round

People always told me be careful of what you do
And don't go around breaking young girls' hearts
And mother always told me be careful of who you love
And be careful of what you do 'cause the lie becomes the truth

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June 1996

Los Angeles, California

15-year-old Haley threw the monkey wrench on the floor with all the force she could muster. It narrowly missed her foot, although she doubted that she would have felt any pain due to the fact that she had her heavy steel-toed boots on today. She wiped her hand on her stain-covered shirt and tightened the sleeves of her work coveralls, which were now working as her belt. It was hot and, working under a car or under a hood, she felt that the long sleeves of the coveralls were a bit much. This led her to decide to roll down the top part and just wear her grimy, oil-stained white wife-beater.

Haley sighed,realizing that yet again she was the only one in the garage during lunch hour. This meant she would have to stay until someone came back, before she could get her food. She laughed knowing that the possibility of her actually being able to go out and get something was slim to none. She made a mental note to remind herself to pack something from home for next time, or at least ask Brooke to make her something and drop it off.

Just as she was about to go back and start working on the car again she noticed a figure in the doorway of the garage's office. At first she just strolled over, but once she noticed it was Jake and that he was holding up two white paper bags, with little grease stains at the bottom, she started to run towards him in excitement.

"Jake you're a life saver. I thought I was going to starve to death!" Haley exclaimed dramatically as she bit off a huge piece of the steaming slice of pizza she had just retrieved from the greasy brown bag. Haley pulled the slice away from her, twirling the gooey cheese around her tongue. Haley, noticing that Jake was dabbing his with a napkin, just shook her head at his crazy antics, and she bit off the cheese and swallowed the hot gooey substance. As the taste the oregano filled her mouth, her stomach growled in approval of the heavenly mixture. She looked over to Jake, who was still dabbing his slice and shook her head disapprovingly again.

"How dare you destroy a perfect …"

"Sorry, but I kind of want to live past my thirty-fifth birthday, y'know?" Jake interrupted her, having had this discussion many times before. He looked at her slice with disgust.

"That's funny coming from a racer."

"Racing would be a more noble way to die." Jake said mockingly, puffing up his chest and placing his left hand over his heart, while holding his pizza above his head.

Haley laughed, shaking her head as she took another bite of her own greasy slice.

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Nathan lifted Peyton, up onto the hood of his car, his other most prized possession. He was happy to see that they were on again; it was getting harder for him to keep track of their relationship these days. Ever since his first race, Nathan had attended all the amateur races, making a name for himself amongst the other racers. This, of course, had caused strains in their relationship. With all the fame came many girls who were looking to show him a good time. They were the ones rejected by the big racers and looked to get in with up coming racers. Nathan, never being one to turn down girls before, basked in the greater attention he was getting from older women now. This of course hadn't boded well with Peyton, and after a couple of fights, Nathan had tried to ignore them but he swore sometimes they were worse than rock star groupies. Having no security guards to stop them, they could appear anywhere, ready and willing for anything. It was safe to say that Nathan had not been very successful in that department. What else was he suppose to do when he walked into his room to find them standing in front of him ready and willing? Especially if they were twins, or worse, triplets?

He knew that he was not the perfect gentleman, but Peyton was well aware of that too, and they still stayed together most of the time. Nathan knew that Peyton had a fear of being alone as well as a need for status. Nathan on his part liked the looks of envy that he got when he had her on his arm. Plus he had spent too much time to acquire her, and he was not about to let another have her. He knew it was not the best nor healthiest of relationships, but Nathan really didn't care.. Life was not perfect, but then he didn't expect it to be, you just had to make do with what you got sometimes.

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"So is he going to be racing next week? I mean, his eighteenth birthday is today, which mean, you know, that he can compete in the underground races…" Haley asked, wiping her greasy hands on a rag, after having finished both her slices of pizza. She grabbed the bottle of grape soda next to her, taking a long swig before placing it back on the desk. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and leaning back in the office chair, plopping her dirty work boots on the corner of the desk, and placed her hands behind her head.

She looked expectantly at the teenage boy knowing he would be able to answer her question. In the two-years they had known each other, he was the only one - besides Mouth - who did not tease her about being less of a lady than the drunken cross-dresser that sang Broadway tunes in front of the Cineplex in town - though she suspected the only reason Mouth didn't tease her was because he was afraid of her. Jake was like a brother - a brother she actually liked.

"I guess. I mean, he's been tuning his car up. I doubt he would need that much equipment just to show up those rich boys he's been racing." Jake grinned. He knew as well as Haley did that Nathan was a talented driver.

"We'll see though," he continued. "Anyways, you would probably know before the rest of us, seeing as you are his lucky charm and all. Doesn't he always tell you before any of us before he's going to race anyway?" Jake stated teasingly.

Haley blushed, another reason that Jake didn't tease her about the being "less of a lady…" situation. It was also because, as Jake so "eloquently" told her once; "behind all that layer of oil and dirt there is a little lady waiting for Nathan to sweep her off her feet."

Though Haley did not like the label of damsel in distress, she did agree that there was some truth behind his words. Ever since that day at the track, and all the races after, she had ridden in Nathan's car on the way. She would get out, give him the mandatory kiss on the cheek for good luck and watch him race. They would talk while the rest of the gang checked out the car, or watched the other racers, and it had all gone to her head and her heart, only to be crushed every time. It seemed that no matter how many times she had seen Nathan with his countless number of skanks, Haley could not stop the feelings she had for him.

"You're going to get hurt Haley." Jake warned. "Why can't you like some nice boy?"

Haley gave Jake a look he knew well and which cause him to laugh. Just as Haley was about to explain for the millionth time that she would never fall for a 'good guy' cause he would never be able to understand her obsession with cars, they heard a car rev up into the garage. She didn't even have to turn around to know whose cars it was. She knew everyone's car in the garage just by sound. She looked up at Jake and took huge bite out of his second pizza slice.

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Nathan watched as Peyton tried to fix her attire, as he drove over to the garage, trying to fool everyone that what had just transpired between the two of them, had not just occured. There were two reasons as to why that wouldn't work. One they were in his car, which did not exactly provide her with the space to properly fix herself up. Secondly everyone could see the smirk that graced Nathan's face - one that could only mean that he had just gotten 'lucky'. As soon as Nathan pulled up to the side entrance of the garage, Peyton got out and rushed into the garage, remembering that she had yet to finish the detail on a car they were supposed to be giving back today. Meanwhile Nathan couldn't help the thought that passed through his mind as he walked over towards the office. He was getting tired of this whole thing, all the games. He stopped, noticing Jake and Haley were having lunch inside the office.

As he entered the office, he took the un-opened bag of Sun-Chips that Haley had in her hands and opened the bag, scarfing down the entire bag. He smiled widely at her as he licked his lips and rub his belly mockingly while she just glared up at him, stood up angrily, and exited the office. The smile disappeared from Nathan's face as he watched Haley storm out of the office and he looked to Jake for an answer. The teen mechanic just shrugged his shoulders, knowing the truth, but the truth was not something Nathan was ready to hear - and it was not something Haley was ready to let Nathan know, so he gave the only answer he could come up with on the spot.

"I guess she was hungry."

Jake got up and walked away, leaving Nathan unsatisfied with the answer he had been given. Looking over at Haley he saw her bent over, inspecting the engine under the hood of a car. He didn't know what he had done wrong, just that he had done something. He tried to rethink back at his actions, the earlier ones and the recent ones. He really could not have his good luck charm mad at him. Not being able to come up with anything, and the sound of people entering the garage, Nathan knew he would have to think about it later on. After exiting the office and looking around, making sure all the customer cars where being taken care of, he went off to work on his own car.

Nathan worked on his car all night; the thought of his first upcoming race against in the true underground races, put all thoughts of his birthday on the back burner. He didn't even notice the fact that everybody had left the garage at five except for Tim . When he was done, he walked over to the car Tim was working on.

"You ready to go?"

Tim slid out from under his car and if Nathan had really thought about, it seemed that Tim had not actually been working on it.

"Man, I think you should go change."

Nathan looked down at his current state of dress to see what was different from any other day. Seeing nothing he looked up at Tim questioningly.

"I'm just saying, your sister is cooking you a big dinner and she might be mad if you show up all oily and dirty in the living room she just cleaned."

Nathan laughed, remembering what had happened last year at that same event. Nathan had appeared filthy and oily to the dinner which Brooke had made for him. They usually had a barbeque, except this time their grandparents had come to visit. Brooke had cleaned the whole house, which was a very excruciating task within itself. He had not heard the end of it for almost two months. This year was going to be another dinner, then, in two days they were planning on having a party to celebrate his big race.

Nathan grabbed the bag that Tim handed him, took a shower, and changed into the clean clothes that had been inside. They drove over to the Scotts' house in Tim's car. As they pulled up to the driveway Nathan noticed that the house was dark. He scratched his head in confusion and walked up to the house. He noticed Tim had not followed him in and then saw a light in the backyard. He opened the back door…

"SURPRISE!"

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Haley watched as a frantic Brooke ran around, checking to make sure everything was perfect and that everyone knew what they were doing. She finally got up from the green plastic chair and went into the kitchen, still getting used to that fact that it was clean. Not that it was usually a pig sty, but it was never this sparkling clean. She didn't even know why Brooke went through the trouble; they both knew that it was going to be completely trashed by the end of the party. Haley knew better though, than to ask Brooke this question, having done it once before, and receiving a long speech on the importance of appearance.

Haley leaned against the counter, taking a sip of grape soda out of the plastic red cup. She looked over to the birthday cake that Brooke had baked. This reminded her of the fact that today Nathan was turning eighteen, and the balloon that was her fantasy world, in which he might notice her, was going to pop. So Haley decided that today she was going to forget about Nathan. But to do that she was going need help from Brooke, who had recently put the phone down and was now beginning to calm down.

"Ok, everything is set. Dad is in San Fran. That will give us enough time to clean up after the storm."

Haley leaned back against counter once again, placing her drink on top of the counter and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Doesn't your 'uncle' live there?"

Brooke smiled and laughed at Haley's use of quotation's mark. It was hard not to smile. Haley had met Cooper once a couple of years ago. He was an exact replica of Nathan, the only difference being that he was just slightly older. They both had that cocky, self-assured over confidence that drew girls to them. Also Uncle Cooper, their late mother's younger brother, was only 3 years older than Nathan, so Haley thought it was silly to call him their uncle.

"Yeah, he does." Brooke twirled a piece of dark hair between her fingers, "Well, everything's set. I just gotta get ready now."

"What about me?" Haley said in mock hurt. Brooke quickly dismissed her, putting her hands on her hips and pointing her finger at Haley.

"Please Haley; you only take, like, 10 minutes to get ready." Brooke then turned around and walked towards the door that led to the living room.

Haley shifted on her feet, hesitating before speaking.

"I was… I was wondering if you could help me tonight."

This statement stopped Brooke mid-stride. She quickly turned around and faced Haley.

"With getting ready, you mean?" She smirked. "Are you trying to impress someone, Miss Hales?"

Haley scowled. Was she that transparent?

"Forget it." She muttered.

"Hey, don't be like that. I'll help." Brooke beamed, grabbing Haley by the hand and dragging her up to their shared room. Seating the girl in front of her vanity, she dragged her closet open and began pulling out various objects. Haley winced as hairdryers, irons, curlers and make up compacts came to rest on the sideboard. This was such a bad idea.

"So, who are you trying to impress?" Brooke asked, while she continued to rummage through her make-up kits while at the same time flipping open some magazines.

"Do I have to be trying to impress anyone?" Haley countered. "Can't a girl just want to look nice for a change?"

Brooke raised a brow but didn't say a word as she reached for the hairbrush. Haley didn't miss the knowing look on her friend's face.

Between them, they took almost three and a half hours to get ready. Brooke had decided to keep her hair straight and was wearing a mid-torso jean jacket with a white tank top and a jean skirt that fell mid-thigh. She walked around bare-foot, examining her 'master-piece'. Haley's hair hung loose, draped over her shoulders, the slight wave, framing her face. She sported an un-zipped jacket that fell mid-torso, like Brooke's, but hers was made of tight black leather with a red and black dragon etched onto the back, which was paired with a black camisole underneath. She also wore her black, fingerless racing gloves. Brooke noticed Haley tugging the red and black flow skirt she was wearing and slapped the hand away.

"Stop fidgeting!" She berated.

"I feel stupid." Haley grouched.

"You look hot."

Haley scowled at her but folded her arms over her chest. "I look like an idiot."

"You're perfect! Though I would have preferred heels with the outfit instead of those boots... Well at least they are tight and not clunky like your other ones." Haley glanced down at her feet. Brooke had tried to get her into a pair of strapped sandals but it was one thing she had firmly dug her heels in about. She already felt completely out of her comfort zone and she wasn't willing to give up her favorite pair of knee high black combat boots.

Haley sighed, even though this was not her usual style of clothing, she had to hand it to Brooke; she looked better than what she had imagined Brooke might try to get her to wear,. She had been worried that the skirt was going to feel awkward but wearing Brooke's cheerleading tights gave her a sense of security. She decided to return the favor and turned around to rummage through the bottom her closet, taking out a box that was buried deep inside. She handed the box to Brooke, who squealed when she opened it to see the heels she had been eying all week at the store.

"Girl! I can't believe you got me these!" Brooke said breathlessly as she took the shoes out like they were some kind of holy relic.

"Well, it's my way of saying thanks. Y'know, for dealing with me for the past two years and now for this."

Brooke hugged Haley and quickly put the white heels on. She then applied her and Haley's make up before finally declaring they were smoking hot and ready to party.

They walked downstairs just as both Mouth and Jake walked in the front door, carrying a cooler. Jake had his back to them, but Mouth was facing them, and he quickly dropped his side of the cooler, forcing Jake to drop his end, and start to curse at him. When Jake noticed that Mouth wasn't paying attention to him but was instead just staring at something of his shoulder, he to turned around. Both of their mouths dropped when they realized it was Haley standing at the bottom of the stairs next to Brooke.

"Go change right now!" Jake demanded.

Brooke glared at Jake, probably because of the change in Haley's demeanor at his command, and held her to the spot as Haley tried to turn around and go back upstairs.

"Oh no you don't, I worked and fought too hard for this! Now Jake, tell her she looks nice and stop being so overprotective, you ass!"

Jake looked as if he was about to argue, but the look on Brooke's face was enough to tell him that it would be useless to fight her. It was not that Haley didn't look nice, because she did; it was the fact that this party was going to have a bunch of high school boys attending, street-racers at that, and he just didn't trust them with her, especially when she looked like that.

"You look nice Haley, really, you do. Just please be careful tonight." Jake finally conceded.

Haley smiled, loving that Jake approved of her new look for the night. She ran over to hug him and was about to offer to help when Brooke grabbed her, apparently reading her thoughts and saying something along the lines that she couldn't just go off and get sweaty and ruin the look. After they guys done setting up the food, people started appearing, and once the DJ was there, the party started. Haley noticed that many of the guys were surprised to see her dressed like she was, and she felt like punching them all in the face, until she remembered her resolution. Instead, she decided to dance with them. Soon, she lost herself in the music, like she would lose herself in the racing. She was having a good time dancing with a boy named Junk, a senior at their high school, when Jake made the DJ stop their music.

"He's on his way!"

Everyone was well aware of whom the reference was to, and they all turned off all the lights. A few minutes later they heard a car park in the driveway but saw only Tim come around, motioning that Nathan was inside. The small light at the DJ booth was probably what led Nathan to the back, because the next thing they knew, Nathan had opened the door and they all yelled, "Surprise!"

After Nathan laughed and motioned for the DJ to start the party again, the lights were lit up once more, and Haley began to dance yet again. She was trying to avoid seeing Nathan, so she moved from dance partner to dance partner, hoping to have someone by the end of the night. If she let herself think about it, she might of realized she sounded rather like the race-whores she hated so much. However, she was not thinking. If she had been, she would have noticed that her dance partner had been changed once more, mid-dance, and she was now in the darker part of the yard with her partner.

"I never knew you could dance so well," said a deep voice behind her.

Haley swallowed, suddenly realizing that her partner was the same person she had been trying to avoid all night. She attempted to move away, but the grip he had on her hips was too strong, and Haley had no choice but to continue dancing. She could feel Nathan's breath on her skin of her neck, as if he had leaned in to tell her a secret. In doing so, she could also smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Why is it that my good luck charm seems to be all dressed up today, but hasn't wished me a happy birthday yet? Should I be worried that she's found someone else to give her luck to?" Nathan asked, his voice had become slightly husky.

Haley swallowed and stopped dancing. Nathan's hand was now resting on her stomach, and he had raised the hem of her cami to rub circles rhythmically on her bare skin. Haley reveled in the moment before realizing what was probably happening, and that Nathan had been drinking. She removed his hand and turned around to face him, but when she did he pulled her towards him.

"I don't know what's going on Haley, or what you're doing to me, but I've been craving you since I first spotted you tonight." Nathan pulled her closer, his forehead resting on hers. Haley wanted to believe that this was all true, but in this proximity Haley was again reminded that Nathan had been drinking.

Haley swallowed once again, trying to remain calm. She cleared her throat and spoke.

"You're drunk." Haley pushed herself away from him, not being able to handle the proximity to him.

Nathan laughed, looking her in the eyes. He then pulled closer to him, once again. This time whispering in her ears.

"You know I can hold my liquor, so it's certainly not that. Meet me in my room in ten minutes, and don't tell anyone."

Nathan squeezed her ass as he pulled away and Haley felt faint. She could not be weak. She also knew that Nathan was right, that he could hold his liquor, but maybe he'd had more today than he usually drank at parties. She turned around, noticing no one was looking her direction. In fact, most of the people had moved inside. She decided to ignore Nathan's invitation and continued to dance.

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Nathan splashed water on his face.

What was wrong with him? He thought to himself as he remembered the events that had just transpired and shook his head.

Haley must be so confused right now, he thought, reprimanding his self for not having more control.

He didn't know what had gotten into him, but the moment he saw her dancing and grinding with all those assholes, he just wanted to grab her away from them and keep her all to himself. Leaning on the edge of the sink, his shoulders sank. He couldn't get her image out of his mind. God, what was wrong with him? He physically shook himself and dried his face on a small, white hand towel before making his way towards his room taking out his key. He unlocked the door and sat on the bed, waiting. His primal instincts were raging, and with the booze backing them up, his right state of mind had lost the fight and now lay dormant. He waited ten minutes, waited for her to show up, impatience getting the better of him. Would she come or was he living a pipe dream?

He was about to leave, thinking he had probably scared her off, when he heard a knock at the door. Slowly, he moved over to the door and carefully opened it. Haley stood nervously in the in front of him, her jacket and boots missing. For a moment neither of them spoke and the tension was almost painful. Finally Haley broke the silence.

"Hey." She twisted her fingers together, glancing at the floor.

"Hey…" He responded slowly. "I thought you weren't going t come up, it's been 30 minutes."

Haley looked up at him and then down the hall.

"I wasn't going to. Then I changed my mind, can I come in?"

Nathan just nodded his head slowly and then opened the door further, allowing her space to come in. She raised her eyes to him before shifting her gaze down the length of the hall before she entered the room. He took a swig of his beer, shutting the door behind her.

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June 1996

Miami, Florida

Using his two hands, he squeezed his head, in a warped attempt to rid himself of the massive headache which was now overtaking his head. He groaned at his futile attempts and dropped his hands in frustration. When his hands came in contact with warm human flesh, he quickly sat up in his bed, opening his eyes rapidly. He quickly took in his surrounding, from the disheveled empty bed of his roommate to the female clothes and empty liquor bottles strewn about the floor of the room.

His gaze soon fell upon the red tresses, which covered the second pillow on his bed. He tired his hardest to try and remember what had happened the night before. The images that soon flooded his mind son made his headache much worse, regret soon filling his body.

What have I done?

As soon as thoughts of the repercussions this event would have on his life, he heard the door of his room open. Thinking it was his roommate, he quickly covered the girl beside him and turned his torso, to better access the Advil in the end desk next to his bed. But the sounds of a scream and a familiar voice made him drop the bottle he had just opened.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

People always told me be careful of what you do
And don't go around breaking young girls' hearts
She came and stood right by me
Then the smell of sweet perfume
This happened much too soon
She called me to her room

Billie Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one

~ Michael Jackson

A/N: I am looking for a better-reader if anybody is interested in helping me with the chapters that follow so that I might be able to churn these out a bit faster, before something happens again and I lose all interest in the story. Also the title of the next chapter is Nobody's Hero, which is the title to a song by the awesome Rush, I have a feeling there will be many more Rush and MJ chapter titles. They just rock. Oh, for those that have reviewed a chapter 3 before, but wish to tell me there thoughts on the changes just send me a P.M. 'Till next time.

LG