"Hello?"
'Hey, it's me'
"Oh hey Brooke"
'I know Luke had this elaborate plan to surprise Peyton but she's going to her grandma's"
"Oh no, he's gonna be so bummed"
At that point Lucas took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at Haley questioningly. Haley just ignored him.
"She'll be back tomorrow night"
"That's okay then."
"Atleast you two will be at my party tonight. Oh did I forget to mention there's a huge party at Nate's? Technically he's throwing the party but it's really for me anyway"
Haley laughed.
"Yeah you forgot but don't worry, Luke and I brought our dancing shoes."
"Awesome. So you guys will be here soon?"
"Luke, Brooke wants to know when we'll be at Tree Hill" Haley said
"An hour or so" Lucas said
"Brookie, we should be there in an hour"
"Yay! Can't wait. Oh and when you get to my street, my house is the one with the red door."
"Ok Tigger, cya soon"
"Bye Roomie"
Haley hung up the phone and turned to Lucas.
"Peyton's at her grandmother's for the weekend. She won't be back until tomorrow evening" Haley said opening a bag of chips at the same time
Lucas's face fell at the news.
"But the parents expect us back in five days. I wanted to spend some time with Peyt" Lucas complained
"Don't worry about it Luke. We'll call and tell them we decided we needed a little more alone time. They will be thrilled at that. You know it's almost like my mom is hoping you accidentally knock me up so they can have a wedding" Haley said rolling her eyes
"Kinda hard to do when you've never let me get past second base" Luke said grinning
"I never let you get to second either. You copped a feel when I was drunk" Haley accused
"Liar! The night of David Jenkins's grad party, you came on to me honey. If I remember correctly, you dragged me into a bedroom and started to have your way with me. Hell, if I hadn't stopped you that night, you never know what could have happened"
"I was drunk" Haley shouted throwing a chip at him
"So was I but I didn't jump your bones"
"As if you didn't enjoy it. I know for a fact you happen to like kissing me"
"Correction, I liked kissing you. Now it's weird. Especially with Peyton"
Haley felt guilty immediately. She ran a hand over her face nervously and then noticed she still had her engagement ring on.
"Shit" she muttered.
Haley slid the ring of her finger and onto the chain she had put on. She then tucked it back under her top making sure it was hidden from sight.
"I still can't believe we're engaged" Lucas said when he noticed her actions.
"Yeah me either. But what's more unbelievable is that we're still keeping this charade up and no one knows"
"We better keep it that way or I'll have my ass dumped faster than you can say fiancée"
Haley laughed and for the rest of the journey they traded insults back and forth laughing the whole while.
………………
When Lucas finally pulled into Brooke's driveway, Haley was fast asleep. It was quarter past 12 in the afternoon. He looked over at her and smiled at how beautiful she looked. He really did adore her but no matter how hard he tried, he never could feel anything more than a deep affection and platonic love for her. Haley mumbled something in her sleep and twitched.
"Hales" he whispered shaking her slightly.
Haley did not respond.
Lucas shook his head laughing under his breath. He got out of the car and approached the front door. He knocked on the door twice and then went back to the car. He opened the passenger's side door and carefully unbuckled Haley's seatbelt and lifted her into his arms easily.
"Broody, you're here"
Lucas turned making sure he had a firm grip on Haley and saw Brooke standing at the door with a huge smile and messy hair. By her side stood Nathan who had his shirt half unbuttoned. It was clear their arrival had interrupted something.
"Hey Cheery, Nate" Lucas whispered as he got closer to them.
"Wake her up" Brooke demanded
"Seeing as how you live with her, you should know that's practically impossible" Lucas said still whispering.
"I don't care. I want to talk to her" Brooke whined.
Nate grinned at his girlfriend before going to Lucas's car and grabbing the bags in the back seat. When he was closing the door he noticed a pink cell phone lying in the back seat. He picked it up and was about to slip it in his pocket when he accidentally hit a key. The screen lit up to reveal a picture of Haley and Lucas wrapped in each others arms looking very couple-y.
Nathan looked at the phone strangely for a moment but then he heard his girl screaming for him so he put it in his pocket, closed the car door and then picked up the bags and went in to the house.
When he got in he saw Lucas and Brooke talking in low voices. Haley was sprawled on the sofa. Nathan couldn't help but stare at her. She looked breathtakingly innocent in her sleep and he half wanted to snuggle next to her and hold her close.
"Nate"
Nathan snapped around to see Brooke and Lucas staring at him expectantly
"Sorry, did you say something?"
Brooke rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. Can you stay here for a while? I'm gonna take Luke over to Peyton's."
"I thought she's at her grandmothers" Nathan said confused
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he can't still surprise her. We're going to decorate her room. They did miss their first Christmas together, he has to make the grand gesture" Brooke said.
"I actually framed a few of the sketches and paintings she has done these past few months and I wanted to hang them in her room before she gets back. And I kinda wanna do it while her dad is away" Lucas said
Brooke laughed, "Can't say I blame ya. Papa Sawyer is hot but he's scary with Blondie's boys"
Nathan and Lucas both looked at her with funny expressions.
"Oh shut it both of you. As if you don't look at older women. Now Nate, I don't want Haley to wake up and find herself alone, so stay close. Plus she might be hungry so why don't you order pizza for the two of you?"
"Okay, you know what kind she likes?" Nathan asked
"Plain cheese" Brooke and Lucas answered together and then laughed.
"Fine, I'll wait. When do you think you'll be back?" Nathan asked
"Shouldn't be too long. We gotta be at yours for my party by 7 and it takes me atleast two hours to get ready so at the latest we'll be back by 4:30" Brooke said
"You need four hours to hang up pictures?" Nathan said incredulously.
"Among other things" Brooke said.
She gave Nathan a kiss and then dragged Lucas out.
"Have fun" Nathan called out sarcastically as Lucas looked over his shoulder at Nathan helplessly.
"Thanks" Luke said in the same tone. "Oh just so you know, Haley is to be avoided when she wakes up"
Once they were gone Nathan looked at Haley who was still fast asleep. She turned slightly and her tee shirt rose exposing her bare stomach.
"Oh boy" Nathan muttered
…………………….
Haley woke up and slowly sat up. She looked around and saw that she didn't recognise where she was.
"Luke? Are you there?"
When there was no answer, Haley started to panic.
"Hey"
Haley spun around to see the object of conflicting affections leaning casually at the doorway staring at her.
Haley gaped at him taking in his appearance. He was wearing a pair of baggy jeans and a black tee shirt that fit him very well. He was smiling in that adorable way and Haley found herself drowning in his eyes.
"Hey" she said finally
"Brooke and Lucas went over to Peyton's to hang up some paintings or something. They'll be back in a bit. I ordered pizza if you're hungry" Nathan said
Haley forgot all about her previous dislike towards the guy and focused purely on the fierce attraction she felt for him. She knew he was saying something but for the life of her she couldn't repeat a word.
"Uh?" Haley said watching the way his muscles rippled under his shirt
"You hungry?" Nathan asked
"Hungry?" Haley parroted
"Yes, hungry. We have pizza, cheese, you're favourite"
"Hmph" Haley said burying her head back in the cushion of the sofa trying to reign in her feelings. Seeing Nathan there, looking the way he did made her want to jump him.
'He's Brooke's boyfriend and he's an ass. You don't like him' She told herself sternly
"Uh Haley?"
"What?" she snapped
Haley immediately felt bad so she started to get up to apologise but instead she heard laughter.
"Lucas wasn't kidding when he said I should avoid you when you wake up"
"He said what?" Haley asked furiously
"Nothing" Nathan said still grinning
Haley started to feel the effects of sleeping in the car and on a sofa. He whole body felt like a giant cramp. She started to stretch and when she looked up she saw Nathan was still standing in front of her but his eyes were staring at her exposed tummy.
"Umm" Haley tugged at her shirt uncomfortably.
That action seemed to snap Nathan out of his trance and he looked up at her face quickly.
"You said there was pizza?" Haley said
"Uh yeah. If you want to freshen up first, the bathroom is down the corridor second door on your right"
"Oh, yeah"
Haley stood up and her legs nearly gave way. Just as she was about to tumble over Nathan reached out and steadied her.
Haley lifted her eyes to Nathan's when she had regained her balance. It was then that she noticed how close he was.
'His eyes are the nicest shade of blue, even bluer than Luke's' she thought absently
Nathan didn't know what he was doing. When he saw that she was about to fall, he had reacted on instinct and pulled her up. Now here she was staring at him in that way that made him feel exposed and he could do nothing but stare back.
She's beautiful' he thought as he looked at her delicate features
"Brooke" Haley muttered suddenly
Nathan nearly jumped when he heard his girlfriend's name.
"Brooke, where is she?" Haley asked
Haley had wanted to kiss him a mere minute ago when Brooke's face had floated in front of her face and she had blurted out her name. Then seeing how Nathan reacted, she immediately covered.
Nathan chuckled as he stepped away.
"You weren't listening to a word I said were you?"
"What?"
"Brooke is at Peyton's with Lucas. They're decorating her room or something"
"Oh"
Haley looked at Nathan mutely for a moment.
"I better go freshen up"
"Okay. I'll be in the kitchen. It's straight through there"
Haley scampered away trying to put as much distance between Nathan and her as she possibly could.
Nathan watched her go and sighed.
"That went well" he mumbled
………………………
I don't own OTH
Sorry for the delay but I have so many fics in the works that its hard to update them all and still keep on top of school work. Thank you so much for the reviews though. That's why I'm writing so much.
I know this chap is a little crazy. Just remember that Nathan loves Brooke and so does Haley. They have an attraction but they don't want to act on it.
Any of you who have read the original know the original plotline. The reason I'm adding so many twists is so that I can keep you surprised. Don't hate me.
In the previous chap I said the party would be in Brooke's house but then I remembered that I had Brooke's family lose their money in Chap 1. So now the party is at Nathan's. I corrected it in the previous chap too so if you're a new reader disregard this bit.
Please review!! I luv luv luv to hear what you think. Good, bad or otherwise!