A/N: Another update? Yes! Thanks to all your kind words, I got my butt in gear and wrote this chapter. And I actually really like this one and I think some of you will too…


"Foul him, Marcus!"

Haley wasn't usually so vocal when watching basketball, especially not by herself, but she figured this had to be the best way to relieve some of her stress.

She was screaming at the t.v. from her couch, watching the Blue Devils take on Xavier University in a Holiday Classic. She rolled her eyes as one of the players she did not know hit Nathan mid-stride for an easy lay-up.

"Scott's really on fire tonight with a nice assist there from Deandre Alwood," the commentator said as Xavier took the ball out.

"Why don't you interview him?" she asked sarcastically, throwing a handful of popcorn into her mouth and chomping angrily.

"We actually caught the Blue Devils arriving earlier and you can see these fans really do love him," the other commentator said as a video showed on screen of the team getting off the bus in their blue sweat suits. Nathan stopped in front of several young boys, signing basketballs for them. She didn't know if it was because she was so accustomed to his voice or not, but she could just make out the words he was saying to them.

"You guys play?" he asked. They nodded in response, looking at him in awe.

"Who's your favorite player?" he continued, handing back their balls. Haley could just make out one of the boys saying 'you.'

A brilliant smile lit Nathan's face as he gave the boy a high five. "All right," he said, continuing his way into the locker room.

The game flashed back on as Nathan violently fouled one of the other players and the commentators laughed. "Well, that move isn't going to do him any favors."

Haley grabbed the remote and pushed the mute button. "Do they ever stop talkingabout him?!"

Despite not wanting to face it, a new internal battle had begun raging in Haley's mind now. She had listened to the announcers talk about how good Nathan was, how he was a sure shot for the NBA. Though she could barely believe it, she had just seen his kindness to the young boys that looked up to him.

Maybe he was better off without her in his life.

After all, they had gone through hell and back together. Nathan had probably avoided a lot of pain without her in his life. Maybe she had been wrong in believing her Nathan was happier. In fact, she knew her Nathan was not happier than this one. Not currently, at least. He didn't get to see his dream of the NBA fulfilled.

In the past few weeks, she had begun to think that maybe she was the only one whose life was really made better because of Lucas winning the one-on-one game. Lucas was probably happier; he still had Keith. Nathan got to be a Duke Blue Devil, just like he had always dreamed. Brooke and Peyton's friendship was stronger than ever. They had never gone through the hardship of fighting over Lucas twice.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing. She figured it was Lucas again. Since Christmas Eve, he had called at least three times a day just to make sure she was all right by herself and to check that she was still coming for New Year's.

The name that registered, however, was Peyton Sawyer.

"Hello?" she answered curiously.

"Hey, Haley. You watching the game?"

"Yeah," Haley said as she watched Marcus miss a three-pointer. "Is it just me or are these announcers in love with your boyfriend?"

Peyton laughed. "I know. It's enough to make a girl sick." Then off to the side, Haley head Peyton snip, "I know! I'll tell her."

"What?" Haley asked, confused.

"That's just Brooke." Haley could almost hear Peyton rolling her eyes. "Look, Haley, are you going to be in Tree Hill any during winter break?"

"Yeah, I'm planning on staying at Luke's."

"Oh my God, tell her to invite him too!" Haley distinctively heard Brooke say in the background.

"Ok, ok," Peyton answered. "It's just, this girl from Tree Hill, Rachel- have you heard of her?"

"Gatina?" Haley bit off icily.

"Yeah, her. She's having a pre-New Year's Eve party the night before New Year's Eve, obviously, and me and Brooke were wondering if you wanted to come."

Haley knew she had to come up with a reason not to go. And quickly. "Actually, I wasn't going to go back until the day of New Year's Eve."

"Well, you'd only have to leave a day earlier," Peyton supplied.

"I wouldn't even know where to find her house," Haley lied.

"Ok, I've got an idea. Nathan's driving back that day too. You can hitch a ride with him. It'll save you tons in gas money, and you'll be here for the party. You should come, Haley."

Haley sensed a bit of pleading in Peyton's voice and she bit her lip. "I really just don't think-"

Haley heard a grappling for the phone and the sound of Peyton and Brooke arguing. Suddenly, Brooke's voice came on the line loud and clear. "Listen, Tutor Girl. This is going to be a blast and you and your sexy best friend have to be there. End of story. It won't hurt you to hitch a ride with Nate. Just ignore all his 'I'm a basketball superstar' bull shit and you'll be fine."

"Brooke, I don't think-"

She distinctly heard Peyton snatch the phone back from Brooke and then a yelp of pain. "Is that ok, Haley?" Peyton asked.

"Peyton-"

"The team's not flying back in 'til eight, so he's going to be coming straight to the party. HEY!"

"We'll see you then, Tutor Girl. And try to wear something hot."

And before Haley could get another word in edgewise, the line was empty.

------------

The fateful day had finally come and Haley had no idea what to do.

She had packed her bag, just in case. Even if he didn't come (He wouldn't, would he? she thought desperately), she would be ready to go to Lucas' the next day.

She wasn't calling him, that was for sure. She didn't know if he was supposed to call her. He couldn't possibly know where she lived. She could call him if she wanted. She had memorized his number by heart after seeing it on her phone's screen so damn many times. Out of spite, she refused to save the number.

She glanced at the clock on the kitchen counter. It read 8:02.

He's not coming, she told herself. She said the team got back at eight. God, I hope he doesn't come.

Haley did not want to see Nathan after what had gone down on Christmas Eve. She didn't think she could face him after she'd basically bared her soul to him and given him the upper hand by breaking the 'no touching' rule. Not to mention that he had tried to kiss her. All that was just too much to take.

Trying to calm her nerves, Haley sat back on the couch, jiggling her legs. She reached for the tv remote and flicked it on. She flipped aimlessly through the channels, stopping suddenly when she saw Marcus' face on the screen. She threw the remote on the ground in front of her as she watched Marcus step forward and allow a man to put a medal around his neck.

"After winning the Holiday Classic, Duke's star forward, Nathan Scott, was named tournament MVP."

First, a clip of Nathan holding a small trophy was shown, then, him looking dazzling in a Duke baseball cap after the game. "It is such an honor to be named MVP. I couldn't have done it without these guys. We knew we had to beat them after they knocked us out of the tournament last year."

The clip cut him off and two smiling hosts came back on screen.

"Oh my God!" Haley screamed. "Can I please not hear about Nathan Scott for two seconds!"

Knock, knock.

Haley's eyes widened as she looked at her door. She fell off her couch, lunging for her remote and clicked the off button as quickly as she could. She sat up, running her hands unconsciously through her hair and made her way to the door. She put on a confident face and opened the door.

"Did you just say my name?"

Haley crossed her arms over her chest defensively, deciding it was best not to answer. "How did you find my apartment? Should I now add stalking to your list of traits?"

"Peyton," he said simply. "Can I come in any time soon or do you just want to talk about this for the next century?"

Haley moved out of the doorway to allow Nathan entrance.

He glanced around the room momentarily then looked back at Haley. "Where's your bag?"

"What? Oh, over there." She pointed at a spot next to the counter where she had laid her duffel bag earlier.

"That's it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Is that a problem?"

He shrugged, going to pick the bag up and slinging it over his shoulder. He looked back at her expectantly. "You ready?"

"I can carry that," Haley said, walking over and trying to pull her bag out of his arms.

He swatted her arm away. "Would you just calm down and accept a damn favor? Come on, we need to go. Everybody's going to be drunk before we ever get there."

"Fine," Haley grumbled, as she followed him out of her door. She locked the apartment securely and bounded down the stairs after Nathan, watching him shove her bag into the backseat of his SUV. She climbed up in the passenger's seat, feeling more than a little awkward about the situation.

He got in next to her, not saying a word. He put the car in gear and left the parking lot. Soon, they had nothing but highway and silence on their hands.

They drove in awkward silence for fifteen minutes with Nathan's loud rap music bursting their ear drums to breaking point.

Haley's heart skipped a beat as Nathan's CD transferred to its next song and the beat started.

She instantly recognized the song. She didn't know the name or the artist and she never had, but she knew every word to the song. It was the song she used to sing to Jamie every night to make him go to sleep. It had just enough of a melody that she could sing it. Since only old school rap calmed Jamie down through his infancy, Haley had reinvented the song as a lullaby. Every night for a year and a half, it had consistently put Jamie to sleep.

She closed her eyes as the memory of it washed over her. She had been rocking Jamie in a chair next to his crib, singing. Nathan had come up behind her and put his arms around her shoulders. As Jamie's eyes fluttered closed, Nathan had leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You have no idea how hot it is when you do that. Is he almost asleep because I want so badly right now-"

"Are you ok?"

Haley jumped and opened her eyes. She realized that this Nathan had turned down the song and she had continued to sing aloud. She closed her mouth immediately.

"You know that song?" he asked when she didn't respond to his previous question.

"Yes."

He gave her an odd look. "How?"

She shook her head, not answering him.

He immediately bristled. "Fine." He sighed. "Look, Haley, I wanted to talk to you about the other night. I know you're friends with Peyton and-"

"You don't want me to tell her you tried to kiss me," she finished for him, looking out the window.

"Is it really that huge of a request?"

"You're unbelievable," she stated icily.

"So, you're going to tell her?"

"Why? Trying to think of a good story to tell?" Haley asked, turning to face him.

"No, I just wanted to tell you that you were right. The other night, I mean. We had a long flight and I had time to think about what you said, and you were right that the things you told me about having a son and wife made me feel like I had some sort of obligation to you. And I didn't mean anything by it." He took his eyes off the road to glance at her, almost seeming to be measuring if what he said was all right.

She waved a dismissive hand. "I'll let it go. I've been meaning to apologize to you too. I know I've sort of been projecting this personality on to you and it's not fair. I've started to accept that you're not the same person as the one I'm trying to replace my husband with."

"You mean, I'm not good enough," he finished for her.

"Don't do that to yourself, Nathan," she said automatically, trying not to let herself feel too much for the boy sitting in front of her. "What I'm saying is I guess I thought we-me and him, that is-" she instantly corrected herself. "Had this sort of true love that would always work out. Maybe I'm realizing there's no such thing as soul mates, just circumstances. You know," she suddenly turned to look at him, "I didn't even believe in fate until I met Nathan."

Nathan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Nothing like ruining a girl's belief if faith, he thought to himself. He sighed. Only I could do that.

Her left hand was resting on the console and he couldn't help but notice it. "Where's your ring?"

She pulled her hand back, feeling around her wedding finger. "It went back to my right hand. I don't want anyone else to think I'm engaged to Lucas." She giggled.

"Lucas?" He hadn't meant for it to sound so accusing.

"Yes, my best friend, Lucas. I see where it came from though. We live together and Peyton thought he had given it to me."

"Wrong Scott," he said, meeting her eyes.

She couldn't look into those eyes. Not right now. She instantly turned away from him and looked out the window. "Yeah."

------------

"Peyton, can you take me to Lucas'?" Haley asked as she dodged another shot from a water gun.

She had arrived at the party with Nathan an hour ago. He had left her behind, immediately heading for the keg. Since then, Haley had been drinking plenty of water and searching for Peyton so she could say hi and leave.

"I thought Lucas was coming here," Peyton said, shoving the boy with the water gun away from them.

"He couldn't make it," Haley lied. Truthfully she hadn't told him because she was terrified at what he might do if he found out she was hitching a ride to Tree Hill with Nathan.

"Oh. Yeah, give me a minute. I'll go find Nathan and borrow his keys. My car is in the shop," she explained.

"Ok," Haley said as she watched Peyton part through some people.

Haley glanced around nervously. So far, she had managed not to run into Rachel (for which she heavily praised God) and avoid being talked to by anyone in general. She didn't see many people she knew, save a few ex-cheerleaders.

She shrank back against a wall and out of sight from most of the people there and mostly out of line from spilt cups of beer.

She looked up to see a tall guy coming through the door and looking around curiously. As he moved further into the room, she instantly recognized him. She left her place at the wall and made her way over to the Duke basketball player.

"Chad!" she greeted as he caught sight of her.

"Well, if it isn't Duke's hottest tutor," he said, giving her a hug before she even had time to think about it.

"What are you doing in Tree Hill?" she asked, instantly backing out of his embrace.

He shrugged. "Marcus flew home to Chicago. Mom and Dad are skiing in Colorado. Nathan said there were some wild happenings going on in Tree Hill tonight so I drove down. Don't pretend you aren't happy to see me, though."

"I am!" Haley said truthfully. "I don't know anybody here. I was actually just waiting for Peyton to get some keys so she could take me to my friend, Lucas'."

"You're leaving already?" Chad asked, looking disappointed.

"Whenever Peyton gets back," Haley said, looking around for any signs of the blonde girl. "But we should go sit somewhere and talk while I'm waiting. Somewhere quieter," she said as a group of kids ran through playing alcoholic freeze tag.

"Ok," he agreed.

They made their way into the kitchen and Chad picked up a beer for himself. Haley showed Chad the way to a small table overlooking the backyard that she had often seen people sitting at during Rachel's parties and they sat down in seats next to each other.

"So, Haley, this Lucas your boyfriend?"

"Oh, definitely not," Haley responded quickly, shaking her head, and unconsciously biting the nail of her ring finger.

"Well, unlucky guy," Chad said, giving her a dazzling white smile.

"I saw you on tv," Haley said, trying not to let herself feel uncomfortable. After all, she reminded herself, he was just being friendly.

"Did you like what you saw?"

"I liked it when you handed that one guy the water bottle," Haley kidded.

He laughed. "You and I should definitely hang out more Haley."

"You and I? Very impressive English skills, Chad."

"I'm very impressive at a lot of things," he said, putting his drink down. Before Haley knew what had happened, he pulled her face towards his and was pressing their lips together. Haley's whole face heated up as she raised her hand and gently but firmly pushed Chad away.

"Chad, look-"

"What the helldo you think you're doing?"

Chad stood up from his chair as Nathan approached him. Haley was left a moment to ponder how long Nathan had been watching them. "Hey, Nate." Chad put up his fist to bump Nathan's, but instead, Nathan's fist connected with Chad's jaw.

"Nathan, stop!" Haley shouted, immediately jumping up from her own chair.

Chad looked shocked for all of two seconds before he sent his own punch at Nathan.

The two started going at it immediately and as if by magical force, the whole party knew within the span of one minute that a fight was going on. Haley danced around, trying to figure out how to stop them as they went at it on the ground.

Finally, Fede and Brandon, two of Nathan's old teammates, stepped in to pull the two apart. Haley immediately went over to Chad's side, trying to brush grass from his clothes and assess his wounds.

"Chad, are you ok?" she asked, feeling as if the whole things was all her fault.

"Yeah," he replied, rubbing his face. "Nathan, what the hell is your problem?" he yelled at his teammate, who was looking similarly bruised.

Nathan spat on the ground in front of him, looking from Haley to Chad. "Why were you kissing her?"

"Because I wanted to and I thought she did too." He glanced momentarily at Haley. "But-"

"But she didn't!" Nathan yelled at him accusingly. "You had no right to do that. You can't just kiss somebody if they don't want to!"

"Nathan, I was handling it fine myself!" Haley yelled over at him. "Chad, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault he's a jackass. You don't even like Haley!" Chad spat out.

"You should be thanking me!" Nathan said indignantly, looking pointedly at Haley.

She crossed her arms. "I can handle this fine myself, thanks. And without beating Chad to a pulp."

"Oh my God, did you break something, Nathan?" The voice of Rachel Gatina broke through the crowd as she entered the scene, surveying the damage done by the fight.

"What's going on?" another voice piped in. By now, there was a huge crowd watching the scene with interest, so Peyton had to part through the people to make it to her boyfriend's side. "Nathan, I heard you were fighting."

Nathan looked guiltily toward Chad and Haley.

"With Chad? What did he do?"

"All I did was kiss Haley and she said she didn't want to so I stopped and then the bastard hit me!" Chad shouted, still obviously very upset.

"Unbelievable, Nathan! I'm so sick of you and now this! That's it. We're finished."

The entire crowdoohed appropriately as Peyton tried to leave the room.

"Peyton, wait!" Nathan shouted.

She turned to face him again. "No. I'm not going to stand around and watch this happen. Maybe you need to consider why you're so upset Chad kissed Haley. I'm sick of you. It's always about some other girl with you. I honestly don't even think you would have cared if Chad kissed me." She turned on her heel and left the room.

"Fine. Whatever," Nathan said, ignoring the chattering in the crowd. "Anybody got a beer?"

A hand in the crowd reached out and gave him a can of Bud Light. He clicked the top open and chugged. Without glancing at Chad or Haley again, he walked back into the house through the open double doors and Haley distinctly heard him shout, "Anybody want to have sex?"

The crowd began to disperse and Haley saw Brooke come walking up to her from the next room. She was still rooted to the spot, shocked over what had happened.

"What's going on, Tutor Girl? I heard two Duke basketball player were down here fighting over you."

"They weren't," Haley quickly said.

"Hey, Chad," Brooke greeted. "What happened to your face?"

He sighed and walked back into the house.

"Brooke, can you drive me home?" Haley asked, hoping Brooke was still sober enough to drive."

"Yeah, Tutor Girl." She put her arm over Haley's shoulder and led her back into the house. "Let's get you to Lucas'. Do you think he'll be there?"

Rachel was still standing, looking at the scene with her hands on her hips. "Somebody's going to clean this up!"


A/N: Ok, so fights are really hard to write. That was my writing lesson for the day. I hope everybody was able to understand everything that was going on. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also, I know fanfiction sometimes does some weird formatting to stuff I post. So, if anything looks funny, I"m sorry and it's totally not my fault. lol