Hey everyone. Your reviews are awesome! Keep it up! This chapter really isn't all that important, I just wanted to introduce Dan and Deb to the story, but I think it's fun to read, so... enjoy chapter 13…
Disclaimer: One Tree Hill belongs to the CW…although it would seem that they don't want it.
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 13"Nathan?" A woman's voice called as a loud knock was heard on the door of condo number 10.
Shit. They're here. Nathan thought as he picked up Tim's boxers off the couch and threw them into his own room. He had really been hoping that his mother's call had been some sort of bad dream.
"Come on Nathan, open the damn door." Dan yelled.
"Ugh." Nathan let out a sigh as he reached for the doorknob and swung the door opened.
"Nathan!" Deb squealed in delight as she flung herself into her son's arms. "It's so good to see you."
"You know son, it's hard to believe that you've actually been living on your own down here for almost 5 weeks. I never would have bet past 3." Dan mused as he let himself into the condo.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad." Nathan said sarcastically.
"Oh, don't mind your father." Deb said annoyed. "He's just been an ass since his golf partner quit on him."
"Oh, please, Duante couldn't hit the green if it was 2 feet in front of him and I swear he hit at least two people every time he drove the golf cart." Dan defended himself by mentioning Duante's unflattering characteristics.
"You know Dan, maybe that right there is the reason that Duante quit." Deb accused. "You're always putting others down. Why can't you ever just face the fact that maybe you're the one with a problem?"
"Right, this from the ex-drug addict." Dan laughed.
"Enough!" Nathan yelled. "If I wanted to listen to you guys fight, I'd just go home!" The only reason he had even considered moving to the beach for the summer in the first place was to get away from them.
"You're right, hunny. Sorry." Deb apologized as Dan rolled his eyes. "So where's Timmy at?" She asked, changing the subject.
"He's at some contest at the beach." Nathan replied shortly as he leant up against the kitchen counter.
"Why aren't you there?" Dan asked in a low tone as he turned on the big screen TV and searched for a basketball game to watch.
"Because you're here," Nathan mumbled.
"What?" Deb asked sweetly. "Nathan, how many times have I told you not to mumble like that?"
"I said, because I have to work tomorrow." Nathan covered.
"Work?" Dan laughed. "If you had just stayed home all summer you wouldn't have to work."
"It's not like that, Dad." Nathan said, annoyed at how easily his father got under his skin.
"Where do you work?" Deb asked as she poured herself a glass of water.
"Here." Nathan said, trying to avoid the question as much as possible. He really didn't feel like going in to why he had to clean this place for the rest of the summer.
"Here? Come on. Tell us what job you could possibly have in this place." Dan said sarcastically.
Great, now he was going to have to go into the long story about how Lucas had moved in next door and how he had wanted him gone…a few empty spray-cans, a screaming Haley, and a very pissed Whitey later, he had a job. "Stuff." He responded, showing no emotion.
"Stuff? Wow, congratulations Son, you really outdid yourself with that explanation." Dan smirked. Deb watched her son closely, why was he avoiding this question?
"I do some cleaning and stuff." Nathan said as he too poured himself a drink.
"What? You clean this dump? I'm assuming the pay is good." Dan had finally settled on a UK game. "Come on Morris! Get the rebound!" He cheered at the screen.
"Yeah, I don't get paid." Nathan said quickly, hoping no one would hear.
"What? Nathan, why would you do all that work for no money?" Deb asked, completely bewildered.
"I don't know." Nathan mumbled, but spoke up a little louder when his mom gave him a stern look.
"It's not your choice is it?" Dan laughed sinisterly. "You got in trouble for something and your punishment is being the janitor of this place. Am I right?" Dan was laughing hysterically by now; apparently the thought of his son having to clean condos was just too funny.
"What happened?" Deb asked in response to Nathan's silence.
"Nothing, Mom." Nathan clearly didn't want to talk about it so Dan pressed harder.
"Come on Nate, tell us what you did." He pushed.
"I just got caught pulling a dumb prank, ok. Can we just leave it alone?" Nathan was thoroughly frustrated by this time. Why couldn't his parents ever just mind their own damn business? "Do you guys want to order a pizza or go out?" He tried to change the subject.
"I want to know what sort of prank would get you in so much trouble that you would have to take on a job like this." Deb demanded.
"It was nothing, I just spray-painted some grass." Nathan took another swig of his drink, which he had filled with alcohol without his parents knowing.
"Why?" Dan smirked.
"Because Lucas is living right across from me!" Nathan exploded as Deb and Dan fell silent. "That's why I did it. Because your 'son' is-"
"Don't call him that." Dan warned.
"Because your son is living right across the hall in condo number 9 all summer!" Nathan finished. "I painted the grass to try to get him kicked out. There, you happy?"
"How did they know it was you?" Dan asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had fallen.
"I got caught." Nathan said simply.
"How did you get caught? Weren't you at least smart enough to do this at night?" Dan asked. Deb just stared at her drink wondering where they had gone so wrong as parents that there son would vandalize someone else's property to get his own brother in trouble.
"Someone saw me." Nathan really didn't want to bring Haley into his family's drama.
"What do you mean? If it was dark, how did they see you?" Dan was growing increasingly more interested in this story because it seemed like Nathan was purposely leaving something out.
"She was running and she saw me. End of story."
"Somehow I sense that there is a lot more to the story than that." Dan smirked. "Was she…well built?" He winked.
"Dad!" Nathan hated it when his dad asked him questions like that, and he definitely hated it when he asked him questions like that about Haley.
"Dan, just stop badgering him!" Deb yelled before entering the bathroom and closing the door.
"Well, was she?" Dan obviously wasn't going to give this one up.
"Just shut up, Dad." Nathan finished off the beer and poured himself some more.
"Oh, I've struck a nerve." Dan joked. "So, do I know this chick?"
"Dad, I'm serious, I don't want to talk about it." There was no way that Nathan was willingly going to talk to Dan about Haley. He knew what Dan was like, if he found out that Nathan had to work with her, he would bring it up for years to come, probably get a background check on her, and make vulgar comments about her whenever possible.
"Well, just tell me who this girl is. I'll see if I can't find something on her to get her word discredited." Dan said simply.
"No, Dad. You don't have to do that." Nathan's anger was growing more evident by the second. Why can't he just back off and leave me to live my own life?
"But I want to Nathan. I don't want you wasting your summer cleaning a damn building."
"I don't want you to. In fact, all I want you to do is stay out of it."
"Whatever you say, son." Dan winked.
"Sorry, Nathan, I forgot my phone." Peyton said as she entered the condo. "Oh, hey Mr. Scott."
Nathan was beyond relieved that Peyton had walked in and disrupted the conversation.
"I, uh, I've just got to grab my phone." She excused herself into her bedroom. She had tickets to a Fall Out Boy concert with a few of her other friends and was not going to be late for anything.
"Peyton." Dan called after her as she emerged from her room carrying her cell phone. "What's the name of the girl that caught Nathan spray painting the grass?"
Nathan vigorously shook his head, but Peyton didn't notice until it was too late. "You mean Haley James?"
Nathan put his hands to his head. Great.
"Haley James, you don't say? Isn't she Lucas's friend?" Dan smirked, this was too good.
"Um, I think I'm going to go." Peyton said, sensing the weirdness in the air. She realized now that Nathan wasn't going to tell Dan about Haley. "Sorry, Nate."
Nathan just waved at her and then turned to his dad. "Dad-"
"She's staying with Lucas, isn't she?" Dan wondered aloud.
"No." Nathan said forcefully.
"You know son, you were never good at lying." Dan pointed out as Nathan rolled his eyes. "In fact, I think I'm going to go pay her a visit and give her a piece of my mind."
"Dad, just leave her alone!" Nathan couldn't take it anymore. His dad was such an ass.
"Nathan, this girl obviously just wants to make things hard for you, and I won't stand for it." Dan made a movement for the door but Nathan stepped in front of him.
"Why do you think you can just control my life?" Nathan questioned.
"What's going on out here?" Deb asked as she finally emerged from the bathroom.
"Nothing, dear, I'm just going to go talk some sense into the neighbor girl." Dan responded happily.
"No you're not." Nathan said coldly.
"Dan, I think it's time for us to go." Deb responded. "I'm sorry, Nathan."
"Whatever." Nathan mumbled as he watched his mother push his father out the door. Nathan stepped into the hall and gave his father a stern look when he started to turn towards Lucas's door. Dan and Deb continued forward until they were out of sight and Nathan could finally breathe easy. Finally. Was it any wonder that he had wanted to move out for the summer when he had them for parents?