A/N: So, I just wanted to clear one thing up from last chapter. Haley didn't actually see Nathan in the tutor center, one of the tutors just had on an authentic Nathan Scott basketball jersey. Authentic jerseys are kind of a big deal here. He couldn't have been in the tutor center because at that point, he was probably on the bus ride to Clemson (details, details). I sometimes forget to make myself completely clear because things like that seem really obvious to me, but I remember that y'all can't see everything I see in my head. So, after that rant, now back to your regularly scheduled programming…

Try as she might, Haley could not drift to sleep that night. She kept thinking that maybe if she did fall asleep in this bed, she would wake up in her own back at home. Unfortunately, the game she had spent the night watching was now permanently playing on repeat in her head. All she could see was Nathan dribbling up and down the court, scoring baskets and stealing balls. Of course, every now and then, they would flash another part of that obnoxious interview on the screen and he's say something stupid like, "Yeah, Hoosiers is my favorite movie" or "I hope people won't keep calling me 'the next J.J. Redick.' When I leave, they'll be saying 'the next Nathan Scott.'"

Or he could be shouting out to his love, Peyton Sawyer, Haley thought. She rolled her eyes as she lied in bed.

Finally, as her clock showed 3:07, she pulled back the covers and began to organize everything in her room. She pulled out her planner and made a schedule of her classes for the next day, so she'd know which buildings to attend them in. She figured the best thing to do was to play along with her life here at Duke until she could figure out how to get back to her real life. She laid out the books she would need and pulled out the homework assignments the old Haley had apparently done before. She found a tutoring schedule that she had made for Lamont and prepared for what they would be going over the next day. She felt very lucky that she had already been through most of the classes she was taking this semester because that would simplify studying and leave her with more time to figure out a way to get back to where she belonged.

As 7:00 finally rolled around, Haley felt much better. Something about getting her room and classes back under her control made her feel more in control of her life. After flipping through her closet, Haley wished she did at least have the spare time to go resupply her clothes. Apparently I never met Brooke either, she thought, giggling to herself.

Twenty minutes later, she was setting up plates for the breakfast she had made for herself and Lucas. Since Lucas had cooked her two meals yesterday, she felt she ought to return the favor.

"Morning, roomie," Haley said, as Lucas walked into the room, looking tired.

"You made breakfast?" Lucas asked, plopping down in front of his warm meal. "You look a lot better this morning."

"Amazing what a clean sweep can do for you," Haley replied, sitting down next to him. She nudged him playfully. "And pertaining to breakfast, I figured I'd return the favor."

"It's not like you to cook."

"I can change," she returned defensively.

Lucas just shrugged and turned his attention to his pancakes.

"So, during that game last night, did you hear Nathan say him and Peyton were still together? Does she go to Duke too?"

Lucas looked a little perplexed by this question. "I thought you said she was in one of your classes this semester."

"Oh, duh," Haley said, smacking herself on the forehead for show. "I guess what I meant to ask was, where does she live?"

Lucas looked back up at her suspiciously. "Why?"

Haley shrugged. "Just curious."

"Uhm… I think she lives with Brooke Davis somewhere off-campus."

"Brooke goes to Duke?" Haley asked, hoping her jaw hadn't actually hit the table.

"No, I think if she had sent in her application, the admissions committee would still be laughing. She goes to Durham Community College. Remember? You were the one who said it was pathetic she followed Peyton here. Cause last semester, Peyton left her to live with Nathan but then that arrangement didn't work too well."

"Shocking," Haley scoffed.

"Yeah, so she moved back in with Brooke."

"And how exactly do you now all this?"

Lucas blushed slightly. "I hear stuff."

Haley laughed to herself. It was obvious Luke kept tabs on what was happening in Peyton's life. Luckily, that would probably work out in her favor. At least she had finally gotten some answers without Lucas thinking she was crazy.

"Well, I have to run," Haley said, remembering to scoop up her keys as she headed to the door.

"Hey!" Luke called from behind her. "Who's doing the dishes?"

Haley just laughed and waved. She had things much more important than dishes to do.

----------

After her eight o'clock (an easy elementary education class that she had made an A in her first time through), Haley headed back to the tutor center. Her tutoring with Lamont wasn't until much later, but she had a bigger concern.

She went in through the back door this time and saw she was in a long hallway that she figured led back out to the tutoring center in the front. She saw several athletes studying by themselves at long tables in a room labeled 'the longue.' This time, there were not just males but several tall girls who she guessed either played basketball or volleyball. She had determined that this was a study center only for the athletes on campus. As she walked in through the back door, she even saw an office touting the inscription, Athletic Advisor. She was quite pleased that she was probably one of the few non-athletes on campus who had gained access to this building.

Walking past the advisor's office, she saw another door, labeled 'Tutoring Counselor.' Next to the door was a clipboard with several forms attached that said 'Tutor Request Form' and she remembered Lamont saying his friend Josh was going to request her. This only held her attention for a second though, as she spotted the long list taped on the wall next to it. With some satisfaction, she saw the paper that she had been hoping to find. It was a schedule of all the tutoring sessions held in the building.

She took a small notepad out of her book bag and scribbled down the information she needed. She continued down the hall until she hit the jackpot again. Taped on the wall was a list of all the tutors' phone numbers. She took out her pad again and wrote down her own number (which unfortunately, she did not know) and two others she thought might come in useful.

She felt it would be suspicious if she fulfilled the next step of her master plan in the tutoring center so she ran out of the doors and sat down on a nearby bench. She flipped out her cell and dialed in the appropriate number, getting quite caught up in her brilliant scheming.

"Hello?"

Haley almost fell off the bench she was so excited. At the same time, she knew she needed to sound calm to lie appropriately. "Hey, Tracey. This is Haley Sc- I mean, James."

The girl on the other end of the line laughed. "C'mon, Hales, it hasn't been that long! I called you last weekend. You're so retarded; introducing yourself to me."

Haley had not planned on being friends with the girl. She looked down at the caller i.d. on her phone and saw the name Tracey. She felt so stupid; the number was programmed into her phone.

"Yeah." Haley joined in laughing. "Anyway, I was just in the tutoring center and," she checked the name on her notepad, "John asked me to call you. He wanted to let you know that your 12:45 was cancelled."

"Ugh," Tracey replied on the other end, blowing out a loud breath. "Whatever. It figures."

"Well, at least all you have to worry about now is your own work," Haley added helpfully.

"Yeah, I guess. Well, Hales, give me a call this weekend. We should hang out. And you can bring that fine roommate of yours, Lucas, along with you."

"Will do," Haley replied, having no intention of waltzing around this place trying to make new friends.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Haley clicked her phone closed and silently thought to herself, Phase two, complete.

----------

At 12:45, Haley headed back to the Athletes' Building. She had sat through another monumentally boring class and then wandered around campus trying to find a cafeteria. She had tried to call several of her contacts in her phone but none of them seemed to be picking up. She guessed they were all in class. When she had tried a contact called 'Antonio,' she had actually gotten a pizza parlor.

So, she had found the cafeteria eventually and ate by herself. She had another class at one, but she figured that this was important enough to warrant missing it.

She entered the tutor center and saw a tall, dark-haired boy sitting at a table by himself. Since it was such an odd time, they were the only two in there and she figured that was how he preferred it.

She walked up to the table he was sitting at and saw he was on his phone. He had his back turned away from her and she stood watching him for a few minutes.

"Yeah," he was saying, "and that's what I told her. I'm not a magician; I can't be everywhere she wants me to be at once. And that stuff about me and Carmen was such a lie. I told her I'd never touch a UNC cheerleader, no matter how hot they were."

Haley cleared her throat loudly but he only glanced momentarily in her direction.

"Well, that's bullshit. C'mon, you know if I hit it, I'm gonna own up to it. That's just not how I play it." Pause. "Naw, man, I can't go tonight. Coach K would kill me if he found out." Laugh. "Hell yeah! No game Saturday, I will be there!"

Getting frustrated, Haley slammed all the books she was holding onto the table in front of her and the cobalt blue eyes of Nathan Scott finally looked over at her. He turned his chair around and still spoke into his phone. "Well, look, man, I gotta go. She's here. Finally. Yeah. I'll talk to you later." He clicked his phone closed and looked up at Haley expectantly. She sat down in the chair across from him, preparing to explain who she was but…

"Look, I gotta get going. Here's my assignments for next week," he said, laying out a couple of pieces of paper in front of her. "Just email me them, like usual." He put his bag over his shoulder and got up to leave.

"Wait a minute," Haley said, trying to stop him leaving before she missed the chance to talk to him.

"What?" Nathan asked, looking her back over. "All of them are completely self-explanatory and I have somewhere I need to be."

Haley stood up from her chair, which admittedly did little for her against Nathan, but still there was a fire in her eyes. "Look, you don't talk to me like that. A, I'm not your tutor and B, if I was you tutor, which I'm not, I would not be doing your assignments for you. So sit back down."

He didn't sit but he stared at her a little harder. "You're not my tutor? Oh yeah." He gave her a once over. "She's taller than you. And she has red hair. And glasses. Whoops, my bad. Don't worry though, you're better looking," he added, smirking.

Haley was not amused. "Well, since you've got that all figured out, you can sit back down. I need to talk to you."

Nathan finally sat back down, looking intrigued. "Are you a swimmer 'cause I'm kind of into swimmers. You're way too short for volleyball and they're the ones who usually-"

"Shut up," Haley said, cutting him off. "I'm a tutor, but that's not what this is about."

Nathan leaned back in his chair and looked at her closely. "Where is my tutor anyway? She's never late."

"I told her you had cancelled your session because I needed to talk to you alone."

He laced his fingers behind his head. "Ok, Tutor Girl. You've got my attention." She rolled her eyes as Brooke's old high school nickname for her rolled off his lips so easily.

Haley felt self-conscious as Nathan's dark eyes stared her down. She wondered how even this long distance version of her Nathan could make her feel so unnerved.

"I know this is going to sound crazy but I need you to hear me out."

He shrugged. "I already think you're crazy, but I'm listening."

She took a deep breath. Before meeting with him, she hadn't been sure she was going to tell him the entire truth, but once entering the conversation, she could see no alternative. "All right. Here we go. Yesterday, I woke up here, but this isn't where I'm from. I'm not supposed to be here," Haley began.

"Where are you from?" Nathan interrupted before she could even get into the story.

"It doesn't matter."

"Is it somewhere nearby?"

"Tree Hill, but that's not the point."

"Do I know you?"

"WILL YOU JUST LISTEN?!"

Nathan sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, motioning for her to continue.

Haley sighed and entered back into her story. "So, I went to sleep the night before in my bed and woke up here, in a completely different place."

Nathan raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word.

"And before you say anything, I don't mean a different town. I mean a different world. Nothing is the same. I'm not me. You're not you. Everything's different. I've never attended Duke University in my life and now I'm a student here. I've never lived in Chapel Hill, but that's sure as hell where my apartment is. I've ended up in this whole other place. In fact, I'm supposed to be twenty-two years old, but somehow, I've jumped back to my junior year in college."

Throughout her entire story, Nathan's eyebrows had risen higher and higher. Finally, he had to interrupt. "Can you just stop? Besides you clearly being insane, what does this have to do with me? You must have been confused about what they say about me on tv. I'm a 'Basketball God,' I'm not actually God. I can't fix all your problems." He went back to grab his bag but Haley was up in a flash.

"Nathan Royal Scott, don't you dare move! I'm not done talking to you."

For the first time in his life, Nathan felt threatened by a person just barely five feet tall. He relaxed back into his chair and she sat down, looking satisfied.

"I'm telling you this because I think something I said to you is the reason I ended up here."

"Something you said to me? You don't even know me."

"Exactly. I told you I wished I'd never met you and I woke up here-in a world where I never met you."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "That's stupid. Why would I have ever met you?"

"Because," Haley explained very slowly, "Lucas beat you in that one-on-one game during junior year. Or at least, he was supposed to. After that, he joined the Ravens."

Nathan smirked. "Now, I know you're lying. Lucas could never beat me in basketball."

She was getting very frustrated with this boy. "Well whatever because he did. Then, you asked me for tutoring to make him jealous. We got to know each other and we…" She really didn't want to say the last part because she knew she was facing uproar if she did. "We sort of fell in love."

Nathan burst out laughing and Haley blushed furiously. Her own husband laughing at the thought of falling in love with her. He's not my husband, she thought angrily to herself.

"You're his friend, aren't you? Lucas'?" he asked, in between peals of laughter. "Did he tell you to do this?"

"I'm being serious," she said, crossing her arms.

"Oh, come on," Nathan said, as he stopped laughing. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I can't believe you two thought I would fall for that."

"Nathan, I'm not kidding with you. We got in a fight, I told you I wished I never met you and then I woke up here, in a world where I never had met you. Until now."

"Fine, then, prove it," he said triumphantly.

"I will. Your name is Nathan Royal Scott. Your parents are Dan and Deb Scott. And your grandparents are Royal and Mae Scott. You played basketball under Whitey Durham for the Tree Hill Ravens. In high school, your best friend was Tim Smith and your girlfriend was Peyton Sawyer. Your family owns a beach house. Your dad has HCM. Lucas is your half-brother. Your Uncle Cooper drives racecars. You've always wanted to play at Duke University."

"Well, I guess anybody who has read every magazine article about me could tell you that stuff," Nathan said, shrugging at Haley. "You're clearly a stalker."

"Dammit, Nathan! Fine, you want some stuff that nobody knows!" Haley thought she felt tears stinging at her eyes but she definitely was not going to let this arrogant asshole make her cry. "Your dad's a complete asshole to you. He puts so much pressure on you during basketball that half the time you're not even sure if you really want to play. When you were in tenth grade, you made a sex tape with Brooke Davis that Peyton doesn't know about. It's still in your house, by the way, you probably want to burn that before anyone sees it. In ninth grade, you lost your virginity to a senior, Taylor James, who just happens to be my sister. You wish your mom wasn't always gone on business; that she'd just stay home and protect you from your father. Everybody always compares you to J.J. Redick and you can't stand it because you say he's all about the outside shot and you just want to take it to the hoop. Nothing turns you on more than having sex right after a basketball game because you say that it's your two favorite things rolled into one. The most important thing about you, though, is that you never ever want to turn out like Dan Scott. And from what I can tell, right now, that's the only thing setting you apart from him."

Nathan's eyes had considerably darkened throughout her tirade and now he was looking at her as if she was a very dangerous something that could be unleashed into his life. It was evident he was shocked by her endless knowledge about him. "Listen, I don't know how you know so much stuff about me, but I think it'll be best if you just stay away from me."

Haley picked up her bag from next to her chair and put it over her shoulder. "Fine. I don't know why I thought you could help me anyway. Clearly you're not half the man the Nathan Scott I know is."

She turned and began to walk away when she heard him call out behind her. "Hey!" She turned, her eyes burning. "What's your name anyway?"

Haley bit her lip as she looked at him. Confusion was written all over his face. She shook her head and turned away. "Haley James," she threw back as she walked out of the center.

She wanted no part of the Scott in this world.

A/N: So, I was trying to channel VERY early S1 Nathan here. Times like ten since he's just gotten worse in his years without Haley. He's harder to write than I thought he would be.

And just to be clear, I do think Duke basketball and J.J. Redick are in the axis of evil. I wouldn't be surprised if y'all could guess where I go to school (and no, it's not UNC).