Hey everyone. Did you all hear the news about OTH? Supposedly it's not coming on again until May 2 because of the Pussycat Dolls show. GRRR...I am beyond mad right now. Anyway...
Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. It really means a lot to me! Here's chapter 10, it's the longest one so far and took me the longest to write. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: So, I pretty much own nothing. :(
Summary: Nathan Scott is the most popular guy in school and Haley James is just an average girl who happens to be friends with Nathan's half-brother, Lucas. What happens when each of their groups of friends end up staying next door to each other all summer?
A Summer to Remember
Chapter 10
"Brooke, you promised that I wouldn't look like a prostitute." Haley reminded her friend as she was guided into the bathroom for the unveiling of her Brooke Davis makeover. Of course, Brooke had insisted that Haley be blindfolded during the whole thing.
"You don't look like a prostitute. Haley, I know you are going to like it because I would never wear it." Brooke reassured her.
Brooke untied Haley's blindfold and watched as her friend studied her reflection in the mirror.
"It's actually not that bad." Haley said with a smile as she made a motion to pull her hair up into a ponytail.
"No! Brooke yelled as she swatted at Haley's hands. "You have to leave it down." She commanded.
"Ok, jeez." Haley looked in the mirror again. She had on a light blue halter top that was not too revealing but was still low enough to be cute. She wore a short denim skirt and a few long beaded necklaces. On her feat were casual but stylish sandals that were the same baby blue shade as her shirt and had a few jewels scattered about on top.
"Ugh, where is Lucas?" Brooke complained. "He said he was just going to run up to the pet store really quick and look at the crabs in some sort of weird attempt to get over his crab-phobia."
"Ok, well, I'm sure he'll be back soon then." Haley responded, not really seing why Brooke was so agitated.
"That was 43 minutes ago, Haley! I don't call 43 minutes 'quick' and we can't go to the party without him!"
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. The pet store guy wouldn't let me leave without buying something." Lucas called from the kitchen as he set his precious package down.
"Whatever Broody, just hurry up!" Brooke yelled as she started to touch up her makeup.
"What did you get?" Haley asked as she made her way into the kitchen to see what Lucas had brought home. She saw a large bowl filled with water and a small whitish brown fish swimming around in circles. "You got a fish! Yea!" Haley squealed as she went over to the bowl and peered inside. "Please can I name him, Lucas?"
"Haley, this isn't just a fish, it's a piranha, and I already named it." Lucas answered.
"Ok. Well what's its name?"
"Nathan. It seemed appropriate since this fish could bite my finger off at any time." Lucas said coolly.
Haley felt a slight pang of hurt at Lucas' words and couldn't help it when that hurt turned to anger and annoyance. "Lucas, I really don't think that's fair. You should at least give Nathan a chance before you go naming a man-eating fish after him." Nathan had become like a friend to her, and although she didn't know exactly what it was that they had, they still had something and that meant a lot to her.
"Ok. God Haley, freak out." He said as he sprinkled some fish food into the bowl and then headed into his room to get dressed.
Haley decided to go and see of Brooke was ready yet. "Brooke, can I come in?" She asked as she knocked on the door.
"Yeah," Brooke opened the door to let her friend in. "Please tell me Lucas is ready."
"No, but he's getting there. Brooke, when are you going to tell him how you feel?" Haley questioned in a low voice that was close to a whisper so that Lucas wouldn't hear her.
"Well, if you must know Tutor Girl, I plan on telling him tonight." Brooke responded casually as she reapplied her lip gloss.
That explains the outfit, Haley thought. Brooke was wearing clothes that were a bit more conservative than usual, and Haley had noticed. "That's great, Brooke."
"I know, but I'm scared out of my mind, Haley. What if he totally gets creeped out and then doesn't even want to be my friend anymore?" Brooke said as she started to almost hyperventilate at the thought. There was no way she could live without Lucas in her life.
"I think the better question is how much longer can you keep pretending that you only want to be friends with him?" Haley answered genuinely.
"Nate, Peyton, come here, there's someone I want you to meet." Tim called from a little down the beach. The three of them had arrived about 10 minutes ago at which time Nathan had begun to look around for Haley and Peyton looked for the mysterious boy that she saw on the beach every day.
Nathan didn't really know what he would do if he saw Haley. There was a big part of him that would want to just go up to her and start talking as though they were the only two people in the world, but the other part said that he should keep his distance, mostly because of what Tim and Peyton would think and because he didn't want Lucas trying to beat his ass. 'Trying' being the key word.
Nathan and Peyton walked over to where Tim was standing next to a scrawny spiky-haired kid. "Nathan, Peyton, this is Chris Keller. Chris, this is Nathan and this is Peyton." Tim said as he introduced them all. Ever since they had arrived, Tim had introduced them to at least 20 people, it was as if the kid knew the whole town.
"What's up?" Chris said as he extended his hand to Nathan and then to Peyton. By this time, Tim had already taken off to go and talk to some bikini clad girls who had just walked by.
"So, do you live around here, Chris?" Peyton asked politely.
"Nah, I live in New York. I write songs." Chris proclaimed proudly.
"Really?" Peyton pretended to be interested until she saw the guy she had been looking for, surprisingly baby-free. "Excuse me." She said quickly and then walked past him, leaving Nathan alone with Chris.
"I'm on vacation here. You know, work is really busy. You wouldn't think it was hard to be a big time recording artist, but it actually is…" Chris carried on as Nathan tried his best not to fall asleep.
"Hey." Peyton said as she approached the guy.
"Hey."
"So, I've seen you out here everyday this week and this might sound kind-of weird but I was just wondering who you are." Peyton blurted out. Wow, subtle, she thought.
The guy just laughed good-naturedly. "I'm Jake. And you are?" He questioned.
"Peyton." She smiled. The two carried on with light conversation until Peyton just had to ask the question that had been on her mind all night. "So, I'm surprised to see you out here with no baby." Peyton joked.
"Oh yeah, I'm baby free for the night." He laughed.
"She's adorable, I've seen you building sandcastles with her. Is she your sister?"
"No, um, actually, she's my daughter." Jake admitted.
Peyton felt her heart drop a little. Daughter? Peyton really didn't care if Jake had a daughter, but Jake's daughter must have a mother…Oh my God, what if he's married? I've been hitting on a married guy!
In answer to the question that he could see in her bright green eyes, Jake said, "No, her mom and I aren't together. I actually don't even know where she is."
"Oh, that…sucks." Peyton answered. She felt like a small weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She really liked this guy. "So how old is she?" She asked out of genuine interest.
"She'll be one in august." Jake answered proudly.
The two carried on in conversation, getting to know each other better, as Nathan listened to Chris go on and on about the joys of life in the music industry.
"So I was all, 'Whoa Brittney, I wouldn't get with you even if you weren't crazy.' And let me tell you, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Beyonce…name droppers." Chris laughed as if something he said was actually funny.
Nathan just took another large drink of his beer and then looked up to see Haley walk in with Lucas and Brooke. God, she looked gorgeous. He wanted more than anything to ditch this Chris loser and just go talk to her.
He watched as the three of them set their stuff down on a random log that surrounded the big bonfire before he was pulled back into the conversation with Chris.
"So, are you here on vacation, Nate?" Nathan winced at Chris's use of his nickname.
"Um, yeah." Nathan nodded as he looked back over at Haley again.
"Do you guys want anything to drink?" Lucas asked after setting his jacket down on a large brown log.
"Yeah, I'll have some wine." Brooke answered.
"Um, Brooke, I highly doubt that they have wine here." Lucas laughed.
"Oh, right." Brooke had forgotten that there is not an endless supply of wine everywhere in the world as there always seemed to be in her home lifestyle. "I'll just have a coke then." For as long as Brooke could remember, she hated the taste of beer; it always made her want to throw up.
"Do you want anything, Hales?" Lucas asked before walking away.
"You know I don't drink, Lucas." Haley reminded him.
"Water it is." He finished for her and then took off.
"So, when are you going to tell him?" Haley asked, the excitement evident in her voice.
"I don't know Haley, I'm starting to think that telling him is a bad idea." Brooke responded in an almost shaky voice.
"What? Brooke, come on. You can do it." Haley soothed, she knew that Brooke was really nervous about this since she had actually used the name Haley in a sentence instead of Tutor Girl.
"I know…maybe we should, like, I don't know, go on a walk or something first?" Brooke suggested.
"Sounds great," Haley encouraged, anything to get Brooke to finally admit her feelings. Haley looked up and saw Nathan, who looked to be bored out of is mind in a conversation with some guy. All Haley wanted to do was run up and save him from what appeared to be the most boring conversation of anyone's life.
Just then, Lucas walked up with their drinks. "Hey, Broody, do you want to go for a walk?" Brooke asked after she had taken a few sips of her coke.
"Uh, sure." Lucas replied and watched Brooke's eyes light up. "You ok here by yourself, Haley?"
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. You two go ahead." She replied enthusiastically, there was no way she was going to interfere with this moment.
"Ok, see ya later." Lucas called as he and Brooke walked off towards where the sun was setting.
Haley looked up at Nathan again and noticed that he was now talking to someone different. She walked around and then joined in on a conversation with a girl who had just complimented her outfit.
Nathan had seen Lucas and Brooke leave Haley alone about 10 minutes ago, just before he had gotten out of his amazingly boring conversation with Chris Keller. Since he had seen her wonder off by herself, he had made it sort of his personal responsibility to keep an eye on her.
As Nathan subtly watched her, he saw Chris Keller walk up and snake his arm around her waist. Nathan felt his whole body stiffen as he saw him lean his head on her shoulder. That bastard, I'm gonna kick his ass, he found himself thinking. He also mentally cheered when Haley pushed him away, but in a sweet way of course.
"Um, I'm sorry, but what are you doing?" She asked as she turned to face Chris.
"Well, I was just wondering if I could get you a drink." He said sweetly.
"No thanks."
"Come on, at least let me get you some water." Chris pleaded with a smile.
"Ok, fine." Haley laughed as she realized that her cup of water was already empty.
Nathan watched as Chris gave Haley a drink and she took it gratefully. It must be water, he thought. He specifically remembered Haley saying that she doesn't drink because she can't handle her alcohol very well…
About half an hour later, after mingling with a few random party-goers while still keeping an eye on Haley, Nathan noticed her behavior start to change a little. Through the course of the half hour, he had witnessed Haley go from shy and reserved around Chris to bubbly and outgoing, to now acting a bit tired and looking as if she was going to fall asleep at any moment, that just wasn't natural. He had also seen Chris bring Haley multiple refills of her water. He really didn't trust that Chris guy.
Then the thought crossed Nathan's mind that Chris could have slipped Haley something. He quickly looked over to where Chris and Haley were sitting on a log and noticed Chris now trying to support Haley's small body as she stood up. Without thinking, Nathan walked up to them.
"What the hell did you do to her, Keller?" He demanded.
"Nothing," Chris winked which only made Nathan more sure that he had indeed done something.
"Haley, are you ok?" He asked, looking at her.
Haley made an attempt to lift her head, but it just fell back down again.
"Chris, what the hell did you giver her?" Nathan yelled.
"Nothing man, she was drinking." Chris defended himself.
"Wrong answer, Keller, she doesn't drink." Nathan was getting angrier by the minute.
"Ok, fine, I'll tell you if you just chill out." Chris said as he readjusted his grip around Haley in an attempt to keep her from falling down. Nathan gave him a look that said 'go ahead' and Chris started his explanation.
"All I did was mix vodka into her water. Yeah, that Tim guy said that he does it all the time, so I decided to try it. I put a little in at a time and then gradually added more as she got more wasted." Chris said, obviously proud of himself, as Nathan looked like he was ready to punch the hell out of him. He also made a mental note to kick Tim's ass later.
"What the hell is your problem, Chris?! How much did you give her?" Nathan asked, noticing the way Haley looked beyond wasted.
"I don't know, probably around fifteen cups."
"Fifteen cups! You idiot, look how small she is! She can't handle 15 cups!" Nathan was furious, how stupid could one guy be?
"Take it easy man, she'll be fine when she wakes up tomorrow. I'll make sure of it." He winked. This sent Nathan over the edge.
"Give me her." He said as he reached out to the girl who was all but aware of her surroundings right now.
"No way! Get your own!" Chris retorted.
"You son of a bitch, you better let go of her before I rearrange your face." Nathan warned.
This seemed to get through to Chris, who had no doubt noticed that Nathan was much taller and more muscular than him. "Whatever." Chris said as he let go of Haley and practically pushed her into Nathan who caught her with ease.
"Haley. Haley." Nathan said softly as he smoothed the hair out of her face and watched her feeble attempt at opening her eyes. "Come on, you're going home." He stated as he tried to help her walk.
When that didn't work, Nathan swiftly gathered her in his arms and hoisted her in the air. She unknowingly nuzzled her nose into his hard chest which made Nathan chuckle. Even when she was completely unaware, she was still adorable as hell. He started walking towards the condo when he caught Peyton's eyes. She hurriedly departed from her conversation with Jake and approached him.
"Nathan, oh my God, what happened to her?" She asked as Haley let out a soft moan.
"That asshole Chris pretty much forced 15 cups of vodka down her throat." Nathan said bitterly. "I'm going to take her home. Can you go find Lucas and Brooke and tell them to come up to their condo?" He asked.
"Yeah, sure." She responded as she took off in the direction she had seen Lucas and Brooke walk away in almost 45 minutes ago.
Nathan quickly carried the petite girl back to the condo complex that they shared, the whole time, one thought ran through his head, What if she's not ok?