Hey everyone. Again, thanks for the reviews! They totally brightened my day. And just so you know, the Naley is coming...very soon. lol
Disclaimer: Neither One Tree Hill or James Lafferty belong to me, unfortunately.
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 18
"I can't believe that Whitey is actually making us do this." Nathan muttered as he and Haley wiped down a lounge chair in the pool area.
"I know, this is beyond disgusting." Haley stated as she dipped her sponge into the bucket of soapy water. It had been about a week since she had gotten the news of her uncle's departure from prison, and according to her mother, there was no sign of him anywhere. Her fear had already subsided a lot. The initial shock of the whole thing and the surfacing of some of her worst memories had mainly been the source of her fear anyway.
"And unsanitary," Nathan added as he wiped off the leg of one of the chairs. Whitey had happily given them the task of cleaning the entire pool area after a couple of drunken punks had snuck in the night before and left the place a mess. The worst part was that it looked like almost all of them had gotten sick…
Haley looked up at him and smiled. She had been sleeping in his room ever since the first night that she had fond out about Bobby. It had been hard for her to go over there the first couple of nights, she hated feeling like she was imposing on his privacy, but he had told her over and over again that he really didn't mind. The decision to leave her own condo and go to his because a little easier after a few days when Brooke started sleeping in Lucas's room. Awkward.
"So, what's Peyton up to today?" Haley asked, trying to make some light conversation. For the past couple of nights, Haley had just gone over to his condo at about 9 or 10 because she knew she would end up there anyway, and she had started to become almost friends with Peyton.
"I think she said that she's spending the day with Jake." Nathan said as he made a disgusted face and wiped up a weird looking puddle.
Haley couldn't help but notice the way his strong and muscular arms easily lifted up a chair so that he could clean under it. She loved the way those arms felt when they were wrapped around her at night. They had both gotten use to the fact that Haley always cuddled close to Nathan a night and he always wrapped his arms around her and they didn't really even notice it anymore.
"Well, aren't we doing a mediocre job?" Whitey said sarcastically as he entered through the big gate.
"Hi Whitey." Haley laughed as Nathan smiled. No matter how much he claimed to hate the old man, she could tell that, deep down, he secretly respected him.
"Hello, Haley. Any news on your uncle yet?" Whitey asked caringly.
Nathan felt himself tense up a little; he didn't want her to get upset. "No, not really," Haley replied uneasily.
"Oh, what a shame. I had an aunt once that escaped from a mental institution. They found her a few days later riding a cow on a cattle farm. She thought she was on a spaceship." Whitey shook his head sadly, oblivious to the fact that Nathan and Haley were trying their hardest to hold in laughter. "It's such a shame." He repeated and then turned around to look at the rest of the pool are that had not been cleaned yet. "Nathan, you need to get your ass in gear. This place needs to be cleaned up by 10:00 when the pool opens."
"Ok," Nathan responded sarcastically. It was no secret that Whitey favored Haley over Nathan, probably because he could tell that she had nothing to do with the crime that got them into this mess in the first place.
"Oh, Haley, before I forget, Camilla wanted to see you. Something about baking a cake." Whitey said as he silently dismissed the girl, leaving Nathan to work on his own. "Looks like you have a lot of work to do." He smirked.
"Great." Nathan mumbled. "Did Camilla really want to see her?" He asked, calling Whitey out on his previous statement.
"Nathan Scott! Are you trying to accuse me of lying!"
"Yeah."
"Damn it Nathan. I have never been so disrespected by one person in my entire life!" Whitey said, exasperated.
"So, does that mean you lied?" Nathan said calmly. God he loved to make Whitey mad.
"It was not a lie. Camilla mentioned making a desert today. I want cake, so I sent Haley in to give her a little 'push' in the pastry direction." Whitey defended himself as Nathan let out a small laugh.
"You're a real manipulator, Whitey." Nathan smiled and then went back to work.
"That Haley is a special girl." Whitey mused after a few moments. "I hope you know that."
"I do." Nathan said seriously. For the first time, he said something serious to his 'boss' without being sarcastic or snotty.
"Good. Take care of her." Without another word, Whitey left and went back into his office.
"I will." Nathan said softly under his breath.
"So, Brooke, I was wondering if you wanted to go to a play with me in a couple of weeks. You know, after the whole Bobby thing is resolved." Lucas said as he walked over to Brooke who was painting her toenails and sitting on the couch.
"Broody, can we talk?" She said seriously as she closed up the nail polish bottle.
"Yeah, sure babe, what's up?"
"Luke, this past week has been great, almost like heaven for me…I just wanted to, I don't know, make sure we're on the same page, relationship wise." She was obviously feeling a little self conscious.
"Brooke, I don't really know what to say to answer that question, but I'll try…I love you-"
"That's what you keep saying, but I can't help but wonder if you mean it. I mean, it's only been a week since we started going out and you already say you love me like 24/7." Brooke interrupted.
"I don't get it. You tell me you love me too. Are you saying that I don't love you?" He was really confused, she was the one that said 'I love you' first, and they hadn't even been dating then!
"No, it's just that, I've known that I love you for like, years, and I can't help but think that for you, those feelings for me developed in less than a week. I just want to make sure that I'm not, I don't know, forcing you into loving me somehow."
Lucas was taken aback by the vulnerability in her voice. Did she really think that he could lie about his love for her? "Brooke, I may not have realized my feelings for you until a week ago, but that doesn't mean that I've never felt them. In fact, I think I've loved you for most of my life, I just didn't realize it, or didn't want to realize it because I was afraid of ruining our friendship. But things are different now. If you only believe one thing that comes out of my mouth for the rest of your life, believe that I love you."
Brooke had a few tears in her eyes once Lucas finished his impromptu speech. That was all she had wanted to hear, she just wanted to make sure that he felt as strongly for her as she did for him. "I believe you." She responded sweetly as she kissed him firmly on the lips.
Haley had returned to the pool to find that Nathan was almost finished. "Wow, who knew you could work so fast without me as a distraction." She joked.
"Funny. How was the cake baking?" He smirked.
"Pretty much like torture. The whole time, Camilla grilled me with questions about us, as if we were a couple or something." Haley smiled and laughed to cover the way she really felt. She had been doing some thinking since Camilla had asked her if Nathan was her boyfriend. Of course, Haley had said no, but at that moment she realized that she could definitely see some sort of future with him.
"Wow, awkward." Nathan laughed too. Us? Why did the term 'us' sound so good to him?
"Well, well, well, look who we have here. If it isn't Nathan Scott and Haley James." A familiar voice called from the gate at the entrance to the pool. Both Nathan and Haley looked up to see none other than Chris Keller staring back at them.
Nathan instantly felt a sudden urge to punch something as he was the smirk plastered on the jerk's face while Haley felt a pinch of anger as well. She had tried to forgive and forget, that was what she had done her whole life, she tried not to dwell in the past, but Chris just really made her mad.
"What are you doing here, Chris." Haley called in an icy tone that told him exactly how she felt about him.
"I was just in the neighborhood. I just got back from the big OC. Yeah, I actually saw Angelina and Brad while I was there, I even babysat the 4 youngsters."
"They don't live in the 'OC'." Haley pointed out emotionlessly.
"Guess what I saw on my way here with all my bags?" Chris said, changing the subject.
"What do you mean, 'with all your bags'?" Nathan asked cautiously, he definitely didn't trust this scumbag.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that I'm staying here for the rest of the summer? Well, I am. Now guess what I saw." He commanded.
Haley's eyes got wide and Nathan's mouth fell open a little. "I'm sorry, did you just say that you are staying here for the rest of the summer? As in, the last 6 weeks of summer?" Haley questioned incredulously.
"Yeah, now guess what I saw!"
Was he serious? Was this idiot really staying here for the rest of the summer? Nathan prayed to God that it wasn't true. If there were two people on this earth that could literally annoy him to death, it would be his dad and Chris Keller.
"What did you see?" Haley asked, finally giving in.
"Do you really want to know?" Chris responded coyly as Haley rolled her eyes.
"No." Nathan murmured honestly.
"Ok, I'll tell you. As I was getting off of my private jet in Raleigh, I saw the police bust this guy for trying to steal a taxi. It was hilarious. The guy kept using some lame excuse about having to go see his niece or something. Anyway, I talked to one of the officers and even gave him an autograph, and he told me that the guy broke out of jail! How awesome is that!"
Nathan and Haley were both silent. Could it be true? Was there a chance that Bobby was the one who was arrested? Haley was holding onto this possibility but Nathan wasn't going to hold his breath. He didn't trust a word that came out or Chris's mouth.
Haley quickly pulled out her cell phone and dialed her mom's number as Nathan watched her anxiously and Chris looked at her in confusion.
"Mom, have you heard anything about Bobby? Is it true that they caught him?"