A/N-I do not own anything. Some of the situations going on, some things word for word I do not owm...the only thing I own is Sophia...all else belongs to the creator of One Tree Hill. Thank you everyone for the Love.

Chapter 6

A few weeks had passed and Luke was doing well with the team and had actually started to get the hang of things. After the first game he had really started to do well. Scoring an average of 17 points a game. I was really proud of him. The team was still giving him a hard time. I over heard two players who's names I didn't know, saying something about how Luke was only a freshman, had come out of no where, starting when there were seniors on the team who have not even gotten a chance to play at all and wasn't even that great. I wanted to say something but I was not going to stoop to there level. I never even mentioned anything to Lucas or even Haley. I just let it go and figured what was the sense in saying anything.

I was laying on my bed reading a book that I had to read for school when Haley came in.

"Hey Soph. What are you reading?"

"Of Mice and Men. You should be reading it too since we have to for school."

"Oh, I finished that like a week ago." I rolled my eyes.

"Of course you did." I said as she sat down next to me.

"OK so I have something I want to talk to you about."

I sat up and put the book down, "OK, shoot."

"So I was in the tutor center and Nathan came in." She paused and looked at me. "He said he needed help and that I was assigned his tutor."

"NO! What did you tell him? To shove it?"

"Well thats what I wanted to talk to you about."

I looked at her with a strange look. "Whats there to talk about? You told him no right?"

"Well at first I did but then I decided that I could help Luke if I did."

I interrupted her, "How in the world would tutoring Nathan help Lucas?"

"I told Nathan that I would tutor him if he left Lucas alone."

"So you are actually going to tutor him? Are you going to tell Luke?"

"No! I don't want him to know at all."

"You need to tell him Haley."

"No Sophia. Im not going to tell him and neither are you."

"Then why did you tell me?"

"Because you're my best friend and I needed someone to talk to about it."

"Well what is there to talk about? You have already made your choice. You decide to go behind your best friends back and do something that you know would really bother him."

"Sophia, Im doing this for Lucas."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself tell him Haley or I will" I turned around, picked up my book and started to read.

"Whatever." I heard Haley say before she shut the door behind her.

I can't believe she would do something like that to her friend, let alone her best friend. What the heck was she thinking? I should tell Lucas but then again it's not my place. This needed to come from Haley.

-X-

I hadn't seen Haley in a few days other then at the school and even there we didn't talk. I didn't say anything to her while at lunch. After school I would talk to Luke and hang out with him but if Haley was coming over or going to be somewhere with Luke I would come up with an excuse. Luke had noticed that something was off with Haley and I but when he would ask either of us we would just say that everything was OK. I was still mad at her and I was sure she hadn't told Luke about her tutoring Nathan but she was my best friend and I missed her. I went from seeing her 90% of everyday to not seeing her at all. It was tough so I decided I was going to go over to her house and talk to her.

"Hey Mr. James, is Haley here?" I asked when he opened the door to let me in.

"Yeah honey, she's upstairs in her room."
Her door was closed when I knocked on it, "Come in." I heard from the other side.

I walked in to find her sitting at her desk and she looked to me and said "Come her to yell at me more and tell me how much of a terrible friend I am?"

"Haley, look Im really sorry for the way that I talked to you. I should have never said those things to you. I mean Im still upset about it but thats not my place." I said to her and sat on her bed.

"No, you were right. I need to tell him and I know that but I don't know how. And Im sorry too. I should have known that it was going to upset you too because you care about Lucas as much as I do." She got up and sat next to me on the bed.

"So when are you going to tell him?" I asked.

"Soon."

We sat for a few seconds before I said, "Friends?"

"Always." She said grabbing my hand, "best friends."

"So are we going to this game or what?"

"Heck yeah, lets go." She put on her jacket and we went to the school.

-X-

After the game Lucas was asked to got to a party for the "team".

"So tell me again why we are going to this party?" I asked walking to the house which was only a few blocks away.

"Because Nathan said it was for "the team" and apparently that means me." He said.

"The same "team" that has been harassing you? Why subject yourself to that?" I asked

"Because whatever they dish out I can take. Im not going to let them get to me." He answered.

"So why are Haley and I here?"

"Because I want my friends with me. I go to a party I want you guys to go to."

"OK but if it gets boring Im out of there." I said.

"Me too." Haley said

The house was huge. The living room was the size of my whole house. It was Nathan's beach house, well his parent's. He was allowed to throw parties all the time, I guess, without adult supervision. He was only 15 so it surprised me a bit. I knew that if my parents knew I was here, they would kill me. There were kegs and alcohol everywhere. Everyone had red cups in there hand which I knew signified that it was full of some kind of substance then should not be consumed by a person under the age of 21. There were upper class men there too, most of them basketball players and there friends. In this house total, I would say was about 80-100 people, easily. I was hoping to God I would not see Kristin here because she would definitely make me leave. I hadn't seen her yet so I think I was OK. We walked around for a little while before Haley and I were ready to leave.

"Can we leave now?" I asked with Haley standing next to me looking hopeful.

"Guys, we just got here, its only been like a half an hour."

"OK well Im going to go find a bathroom. Haley, will you come with me?"

"Yeah, meet us back here in five minutes Luke." she said.

"OK." He answered walking in the other direction.

Haley and I set off to find a bathroom when we were stopped by Peyton.

"Hows the tutoring going?" She asked. Haley looked at me. I looked back at her and said "She wasn't talking to me".

"Your tutoring Nathan, right?" Haley then looked at her without answering. "Its OK, he tells me everything."

"Yeah, ya know, he said he needed some help." Haley finally answered her.

"Maybe you can teach him to stop being such a jerk." Peyton said.

"I will put that on the lesson plan." Haley told her.

Then Peyton said "Just be careful, OK."

"Sure, OK."

Haley and I went to walk away when Peyton spoke again. "Does Lucas Know you're helping Nathan?"

I just stood there listening to the two talk. I wasn't going to say anything.

Haley let out a small laugh.

Then before Haley could say anything Peyton spoke. "Ya know, you say a lot when you keep your mouth shut."

Haley went to say something else before Peyton interrupted her "Thats OK. I can keep my mouth shut too." Then she walked into the bathroom.

"Lets go upstairs and see if there is a bathroom up there." Haley said grabbing my hand and forcing me through the hall way to the stairs.

"What do you think she meant by 'be careful'?" I asked as we walked into the bathroom.

"I don't know and I really don't care." She seemed as though she didn't want to talk any further about the conversation she had just had so I didn't press anymore.

Downstairs we found Lucas in the same spot we had left him a few minutes ago. He looked pissed or upset or both.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Oh you know, same old crap. He thinks if he keeps hammering me I'll quit the team." He answered.

"What did he do this time?"

"He made a stupid comment." He paused, "Im not going to let him get to me."

"That seems to be working out really well."

Then Haley spoke. "Luke have you ever really had a normal conversation with him?"

"Oh yeah Hales, we exchange email's too." He said to her in a sarcastic tone.

"Im saying, you guys are so sensitive around each other and maybe everything he says you take the wrong way and vice versa."

"There is no misunderstanding what he says and why are you defending him?" Luke says looking a little pissed.

Crap! This is not happening right now. I don't want to be here. I was to go home now.

"Im just trying to bring some perspective to the situation, I mean its a really screwy situation . Im sure that having you around isn't any easier for him then it is for you."

"Tell me I am not hearing this right now Haley. Tell me Im not." Luke says

"Guys, come on, not here. Lets talk about this later. Haley please stop, just let it go." I jump in between them. They were ignoring me.

"What are you doing here then?" Haley spoke passed me.

"Im not going to let him win."

"Fine, then don't let him win. Im going to go home." Haley turned to leave.

"Haley wait." I called after her as she walked through the throngs of people.

I looked back to Luke before following her. "Im going to go with her, are you good?"

"Yup, peachy." He said and then I left.

Walking as fast as I can through the bodies that were shoulder to shoulder to get to Haley before she got too far I ran into Nathan.

"I thought the deal with Haley was that if she tutored you then you would leave Lucas alone."

"What are you talking about?"

"What did you do to him Nathan?" I asked.

"Nothing Sophia." I was shocked he knew my name since he was all high and mighty around this place. Figured he didn't even notice us small people.

"Well you did something."

"Oh was it the comment I said?" I looked to him, "Oh it was just a joke, we play like that, the guys on the team I mean. My bad if he cant take a joke. Ill remember that next time."

"Whatever." And then I went out the door. I ran to the street and I could see Haley walking a ways up.

"Haley wait." I yelled for her. She stopped and turned around. When I made it to her I asked "Are you OK?"

"Yeah. Sophia, I don't think I can tell him that Im tutoring Nathan."

"Well personally I think you should and I think you should do it soon."

"I know. And wait until I talk to Nathan. What the hell was he thinking. He said that if I tutored him then he would leave Lucas alone."

"Well when I was leaving I kind of saw Nathan and asked him the same thing." I thought she may be a little upset with me for doing that but she wasn't.

"What did he say?"

"He said that he may have made a comment that Luke took too personally and that it was only a joke, something all the guys do with each other."

"Yeah im sure it was a "joke", he is such an ass. Maybe I shouldn't tutor him anymore."

"I know I'm probably going to sound crazy here but you have to keep tutoring him."

"Seriously Soph, really a week ago you practically clawed my eye balls out and told me I was the worlds worst best friend for doing it and now you're telling me I have to keep on doing it?"

"I did not tell you that you were the worlds worst best friend." I said with a small laugh.

"In so many words."

"OK, I'll give it to you. But Hales you're too good of a person to do that. You're not going to drop Nathan like a fly because you are too good for that. And besides, the damage is done, you are already screwed with Lucas." She bumped me with her hip. "But no seriously, just tell him."

"I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise But I want you there when I tell him."

"Oh no no no girly, thats all you."

"Please Soph, I need you there. Please don't make me do this alone."

"UGGGGHHHH Haley, I cant. I hate confrontation."

"Please Sophia, I cant do it alone."

"I don't want him to know that I knew Haley."

"Ill just tell him that I had just told you." She was now pleading.

"Haley, it seems like thats just going to cause more drama then need be."

"Please!" She looked at me like she may cry.

"Fine."

-X-

I woke up the next morning with Haley already awake next to me. She had spent the night with me last night.

"Im going to go tell him right now." She said.

"Seriously Haley? Its 9:00 in the morning."

"I have to tell him now or Im going to explode."

"You haven't told him in how long? A week? I think you can wait another few hours."

"No Sophia, I have to tell him now."

"He's probably not even awake."

"Sophia, Please."

"Fine, fine, can I at least eat something, bush my teeth and then get dressed?" I asked hoping I could give it another hour before the rest of my day went to crap.

"Yes."

"Haley seriously, relax."

"That's easy for you to say."

"Its going to be OK." I said to her as I walked down stairs.

-X-

"OK, ready?" She asked.

"Yeah just let me get my shoes on. Haley I think we are making a bigger deal out of this then need be. I think Luke will be OK, I mean after the initial pissed off reaction he may be OK."

"Yeah right Sophia, You said it yourself, its going to really bother him." I knew it was going to but I was not sure if I was trying to convince her or myself. I knew this was not going to end well and I didn't want Luke to know that I knew because then he would be upset with me for not telling him. Beside that, I really hate confrontation especially between my two best friends. Haley knocked on the side door to Luke's room.

"Hey Luke, can I talk to you?" Haley asked Lucas as he opened the door. He looked as though he had been awake for a while.

"Yeah, whats up." He looked a little confused.

"Um there is something that I need to tell you and before I do I want you to know that you are my best friend and there is nothing I wouldn't do for you and I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. I want you to know that the reason I did it or Im doing it rather is to help you." Haley was rambling.

"Spit it out Hales, whats going on?" Luke looked to me for maybe an explanation. My face didn't change at all. I didn't say a word.

"Luke please don't be mad at me but-" she was about to cry, I could tell, "- I have been tutoring Nathan." She didn't look up from her hands.

"Hold on a second. You have been tutoring Nathan? For me? How is that?" He was calm when he asked this question.

"Yeah, I told him I would tutor him if he left you alone." She then looked at him.

"Well I can handle myself Haley. I don't need you to do anything to help me."

"OK." She said.

This was going better then I thought it would.

"So you can stop tutoring him."

"No, I cant."

"Why?"

"Because I made a promise and if I brake that promise then im as bad as you thing he is."

OK, I take that back, this wasn't going so well.

"He is bad Haley, he is really bad. He a bad guy."

"No he isn't Luke. He isn't as bad as you think. He really opens up with me."

"Haley I don't want you tutoring him. So stop."

"No Lucas Im not going to stop. Im sorry but I made a promise and Im going to keep it."

"Well then as long as you are tutoring him, we won't be friends."

"Lucas." I said from the spot I was sitting across the room.

"Hold up a minute, you knew about this?"

"Yes I did. She told me when she started." What the heck was I doing. He was now going to be pissed at me too but honestly I didn't care. He was now being an ass.

"Well then you both can leave and not talk to me ever again." He said getting up to open the door. "You both have been lying to me this whole time so I guess we aren't the friends I thought we were. So go."

"Lucas don't be ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? Im being ridiculous? OK, lets get this straight, my two best friends who I thought were there for me and had MY back were lying to me this whole time and Im being ridiculous."

"Lucas lets talk about this." Haley chimed in.

"NO! GET OUT!" Haley and I both jumped at his little out burst.

I got up and walked out the door he had held open.

I heard Haley say to Lucas, "You have no reason to be mad at her, she didn't do anything. She only did what I asked her to do."

Then I heard her yell from behind me, "Sophie wait."

"Whatever, he wants to be mad at me, thats fine, he can be. He will get over it. You are my friend too and he needs to understand that. Yes I have loyalties to him but I also have loyalties to you too."

"Im sorry I put you in the middle of this."

"Don't worry about it Hales."

I knew this was going to happen. It is what it is, Hopefully this wasn't going to be the wedge that was going to tear this friendship apart but then again it was a stupid thing that Lucas could easily get over. He just needs time.

-X-

Haley and I have not talked to Lucas in a week. He had Keith take him to school everyday, in school he wouldn't even look in our direction, when I would go to the Cafe and he was there he would leave, and at lunch he sat alone instead of with us. He was not getting over it as fast as I had hoped. But I guess in time he would, I mean we were his best friends, how long could he actually go without talking to us. Skills and the guys knew what had happened but they really didn't say anything about it, they went on like nothing had changed. They still sat with us at our regular table and talked to us but they would also still talk to him. Haley and I still did our usual, going over each others houses, hanging out at school and doing our homework together. We really didn't talk much about the situation with Lucas.

One day while in my room I heard a knock on the door and in the door way was Lucas.

"What do you want Lucas?" I asked in a hostile tone. I was still pretty mad at the way he spoke to me.

"I came to talk to you." He answered looking a little sad.

"OK, talk."

"Look, Im sorry for the way I spoke to you but I was really mad. You knew what she was doing and you didn't tell me. We are best friends Soph."

"Yes we are but I am also her best friend too. She told me and I told her to tell you, I had even gotten really mad at her for it but she asked me not to say anything. She wanted to be the one to tell you. It would have been a million times worse had I told you"

"Thats when you two were barely speaking."

"Yes but thats not the point. I knew she was my best friend and I knew that there had to be a reason that Haley was doing it. Haley doesn't just "do" things." Luke let out a heavy breath. "She was really scared to tell you Luke. She was scared to death and thats why she didn't tell you sooner. She was waiting for the right time and I didn't tell you because thats not my place. This was between you and her. It had nothing to do with me."

"I know." He fell back on the bed. "But seriously, Im really sorry for the way I talked to you, you did not deserve that."

"Well thanks for the apology but I owe you one." We both let out a small laugh. "So is you next stop the James house?"

"Yeah." He gave me a sad smile. "Want to come with me?"

"Nah, I have been thrown into one too many friend battles, Im not going there again."

"Yeah really. Well wish me luck. Hopefully she does not attack me"

"Can't promise anything but Good Luck."

With that he got up and left. I let out a long sigh. "Thank you God" I said to myself. I was not sure how much longer I could stand not having Lucas talking to me.

-X-

"How did it go with Haley yesterday?" I asked Luke, walking into the school.

"I said I was sorry for the way the that I talked to her and she said she was sorry too for going behind my back and then I asked her if she would stop tutoring him but-" I cut him off.

"Lucas Scott!" then he cut me off.

"Let me finish before you bust out the middle name. I just told her that if she was going to keep tutoring him then she was to be careful."

I nodded, "Well we all know Haley and she does everything with a level head. She knows what shes doing so I think we are safe and so is she."

"Yeah, I know."

"And you do know that she isn't trying to hurt you or upset you, right?" I asked him opening my locker.

"Hey guys." Haley came up from behind us.

"Hey Hales." I said.

"Hey." Luke seemed a little uncomfortable when he looked at her. He did say everything was OK between them so I don't really get it.

"Alright, Ill see you guys at lunch." Luke said as he walked to his class.

"How are things between you two?" I asked Haley once Lucas was far enough away he wouldn't hear us.

"He came over and we said we were sorry, he asked me to stop tutoring Nathan but I told him I was not going to, that I made a promise and then he said OK, told me to be careful." She answered.

"Oh, thats good." I looked at Haley and she didn't seem so sure. "Hales? Thats good , right?"

"Yeah. Yeah I guess its just weird because he knows about it now and I guess it makes him uncomfortable."

"Maybe he just needs some time, ya know. He'll be fine."

"I hope so Soph. I hope so."

I hooked my arm through hers, "Lets go to class."