The Con

Chapter Six: Breaking Down

Haley reapplied her pearl pink lip gloss in the rental care rear view mirror. Her heart was beating fast but she tried her hardest to ignore it and push the nerves aside.

"You can do this Haley," she told herself sternly. Flipping back her long hair, she stepped out of the car. She looked down at her outfit and compared it to that of a woman standing outside the Beach Bar. She had been so scared that the Beach Bar would be a literal reference and she would have to come in a bikini, but luckily although the woman was scantily clad, she wasn't in a bikini.

Haley herself, after spending hours trying to put the perfect outfit together, had settled on a black off the shoulder top with a red flower pinned on the side, a black chiffon-like skirt that reached her knee, and a pair of high-heeled red shoes. The top had been bought that afternoon at Brooke Davis Designs.

Haley took deep, calming breaths. A lot was riding on tonight, it had to be perfect. She walked to the club and past the bouncer who nodded a quick greeting. The bar was busy and dark. It took her a while to spot Nathan and Brooke. They were with a tall blonde man and a tall blonde woman with crazy curly hair. Nathan was laughing at a joke Brooke had made, while she leaned against the blonde man - Lucas, no doubt - and the blonde had her hands in her jeans pocket. No doubt the famous Peyton.

Upon seeing her, Haley instantly grew nervous. Peyton was stunning. Big hazel eyes and a pretty, girlish smile. She tapped Nathan on the arm and Haley felt a little something like jealousy swim in her stomach. No, not jealousy, just nerves.

Suddenly Brooke looked up towards the door, where Haley was standing. Haley didn't have much time to think. She jumped behind the nearest guy and moved with him, seeking out her first chance to go into the bathroom. After all, she wasn't supposed to be here.

Flashback:

Taylor had been occupying the bathroom for the last hour and Haley was getting antsy. After being told of Haley's new situation as employee of Nathan's almost-sister-in-law, Taylor had mused quietly and not really said anything. Honestly, despite her stubbornness and insistence that she was ready to be the Primary, Haley didn't know what she was supposed to do next.

The toilet flushed and Taylor came out. She looked at Haley appraisingly before throwing herself down onto the bed. "Okay, so here's what you're going to do. First, phone Brooke and tell her you're really sorry, but you can't make it…"

"Yeah, so she said she was really sorry but she couldn't make it," Brooke said. She shifted her weight from her left foot t her right foot. God, she loved her brand new strappy sandals, but they were pure agony to walk on. All five inches of them.

"Brooke," Nathan said in a warning tone that made Peyton laugh. Brooke turned to her.

"What's so funny?" She asked. Brooke and Peyton had been best friends pretty much forever. She loved the girl, but her and Nathan had zero chemistry, and even if they did they were both too loved up with other people. Only neither of them would say who that was.

"Brooke, the die-hard matchmaker," Peyton said. "And I think it's a little insensitive considering me and Nathan are practically betrothed."

Nathan groaned. "God, don't remind me."

Peyton swatted him on the arm. "Hey!"

Brooke waved her hands dismissively. This conversation was getting totally off-topic. "Look, Nathan, the girl is a total babe! And she's sweet too! I mean, yeah, she's not like the skanks you usually date, but that's a good thing."

"Brooke, I told you, no more blind dates! And besides, I kind of like someone else…"

Brooke let out a snort of annoyance. "Yeah, a skank," she said under her breath.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Does anyone want a drink?"

"Yeah, something really expensive," Brooke said spitefully. "And her name's Haley," she threw in, just on the off-chance that Nathan would want to know more. It was a long shot though.

Nathan paused. Haley. God, that name was everywhere lately. He'd gone to a car show room this morning and the sales woman was called Hayleigh. The new receptionist at Scott Corp. was called Hailey. Brooke's new protégé was called Haley. He couldn't escape.

Of course, he hadn't called Haley yet. He may have fallen for her hard and fast, but he was still a man with pride, and he wouldn't break the three day rule. However, his fingers itched to call her, he just had to be stern with himself and say no.

"So, Brooke wants a water, what does everyone else want?" Nathan asked.

Brooke pulled a face. "Switch the water to a Lime Daiquiri and I'll shut up about Haley."

"Deal!" Nathan and Lucas said at once.

"I'll have another beer," Peyton said, raising her glass.

"Yeah, me too," Lucas nodded, tightening his grip around Brooke and pulling her closer. She giggled as he whispered something in her ear. Nathan and Peyton made barfing noises.

"I need to get away before I throw up," Nathan teased, turning on his heel and making his way up to the bar. The crowd around the bar was about three deep. Nathan was in for quite a wait.

"Well, I guess I must have missed my phone call," a girl's voice said from beside him. Nathan recognised it instantly and turned in amazement. It was Haley.

Flashback:

"…And then you have to wait until Nathan is on his own and approach him," Taylor went on, picking up a bottle of nail varnish and unscrewing the lid.

"Haley?" Nathan asked, looking down at the petite brunette who had risen a good few inches. Obviously high heels.

"Hey," Haley laughed. "What a coincidence, I never expected to see you here."

"Ditto. What are you doing here?" Nathan asked, still trying to take in the fact that out of all the places in Wilmington, she was in the same bar as him.

God, he sounded like something out of Casablanca.

"Um," Haley said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears, "I was supposed to meet someone here, but I can't find them anywhere. How about you?"

Nathan ignored the pang of jealousy in his chest. Meeting someone normally signified a date. "I'm here with some friends," he told her. God, she looked amazing. Sophisticated and elegant. And he still got lost in those eyes every time. "Can I get you a drink?" Nathan asked.

Haley took a deep breath and shook her head. "Actually, I don't really like it here. Do you want to get out of here?"

Flashback:

Taylor admired the glitter in the Ruby Dazzle nail polish she was wearing. She turned her hand this way and that was, letting the glitter catch the light from the lamp. "Persuade him to get out of there with you. I don't care how you do it. I'm sure you'll work out something."

Haley watched Nathan's confused expression. "What?"

Haley gave a false little laugh. "I mean it. I hate this place. I mean, what kind of beach has fluorescent lighting and empty beer bottles everywhere?"

Haley felt relief pounding in her stomach as Nathan laughed at her. "You have a point there."

"Of course I do," Haley said, cocking her head to one side. "So, what do you say? Are you going to come with me?"

Nathan bit his lip. He looked kind of reluctant and Haley felt blind panic. Did that mean he didn't like her? Was she already failing at being the primary? "Where would we go?" he asked, but Haley noted that he still sounded a little off.

"How about a real beach," she said, not about to be put off. "Tree Hill has one, right?"

"Yeah, I have a beach house there."

Haley's eyes lit up. Even though this was all part of a plan, she really did love the beach. "Let's go there then."

"I don't know, my friends…" Nathan's sentence died off as he looked down at an expectant Haley. The soft look in his eyes told her that she had won. "Okay, okay," he laughed. "I'll go tell them that I'm going."

Haley reached up and pulled Nathan into a hug. She didn't know why she was doing it, but it seemed so natural. Feeling Nathan so close was doing strange things to her self-control, but she forced herself to pull away. "I'll go get the car and wait outside."

"What do you mean, you're going?" Brooke asked incredulous. "You didn't even get us our drinks!"

Nathan gave an apologetic shrug. "I'm sorry. It's just that… well, there's this girl and…"

"You're abandoning us for a girl?" Peyton asked. "You do know that if Dan found out you were at a bar with me and went home with some girl he'd kill you, right?"

Nathan did know that. It was the reason he'd been so reluctant earlier. He knew that his dad would make a huge deal out of it, but Haley had been so excited about the beach. He'd saw the way her eyes lit up. And when she had hugged him… Wow.

"Yeah, I do," he said out loud. "But I really like her."

"Nathan man, you were gone for like, five minutes," Lucas laughed.

Nathan shook his head. "No, I knew her before that. We met at your Mom's café…"

"It's the skankoid?" Brooke asked, disbelief etched on her face, Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Brooke, stop calling her that!"

"Sorry," Brooke muttered in a voice that said she wasn't sorry at all. "Fine, go then. But you still owe me a Daiquiri."

Nathan kissed her on the forehead. "Thanks Brooke."

The road was quiet and it seemed that Haley and Nathan were the only ones there. The only sound came from the trees surrounding them - leaves on the wind, owls hooting - and the car itself. Haley concentrated on driving, only it was hard when Nathan was so close and dressed so good. His pale blue oxford shirt brought out his eyes, and his jeans showed off his long, lean legs. He looked amazing.

"So, I noticed you looked kind of excited when I mentioned the beach house," Nathan said, breaking the silence that they'd been driving in for a while now.

Haley smiled, breathing in the spicy scent of his aftershave. "I love the beach. We used to go every year when we were kids, before my parents died…" Haley's voice trailed off as she inwardly kicked herself. She wasn't supposed to get personal. That was one of the biggest mistakes of the con.

"I'm sorry," Nathan said. Haley gave a dry laugh.

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

"How old were you? I mean, if you don't want to talk about it that's fine…"

"I was seven," Haley found herself saying. "Me and my sister Taylor went to live with our Grandparents in Richmond, Virginia. I hated it there. New school, new life. Taylor had it worse. She was ten and going through her awkward 'I'm-nearly-a-teenager' phase."

"You and your sister close?"

Haley was about to say 'yes,' but she knew she couldn't. If the plan went off, then Taylor would be expected to be at the wedding if they were supposed to be close. So, she closed her eyes and she lied.

"No, when I was nineteen I moved back to New England where we were from originally and got a job there. I kind of lost touch with Taylor. Last I heard she was working in a bar in Utah."

"That sucks," Nathan said. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost touch with my brother. I mean, we used to hate each other when we were kids, but now… well, he's my best friend. He keeps me sane when my dad tries his hardest to drive me insane. I can't imagine losing touch with him."

Haley smiled. "You're lucky… Damn…"

The car slowed down to a halt.

"What's up?" Nathan asked, looking around.

Flashback:

Taylor paused briefly as she painted the nail on her little finger. "And then for the Coup de Grace…"

"Do you even know what that means?" Haley cut in, rolling her eyes. God, Taylor could be so dramatic sometimes.

"Shut up Scaly," Taylor said, using a childhood nickname.

"Mature."

"Whatever. Look, are you going to listen or what?"

"Fine, go ahead."

"Right. Once you get him out of the club, wait until you're on a deserted road and then accidentally 'break down'."

"Why?"

Taylor took a deep breath like she was dealing with an annoying two year-old. "Because, Scaly, threatening situations always push someone closer. Make sure you have no communication. Steal his cell if you have to - only obviously, you have to do that in the club - and then sit back and relax as Nathan Scott falls more in love with you than ever before."

"Haley, what's the matter?" Nathan said again.

Haley took a deep breath and lied for the second time in five minutes. "It's the car," she said, annoyance in her voice. "It's broke down."