Chapter 7

Summary: Just as Nathan and Haley were going to go to their first "official" date, Haley discovers the truth behind how she ended up being Nathan's tutor.

Nathan arrived early. He was excited and nervous at the same time. He paced up and down, checking his watch every 10 seconds. He couldn't wait for Haley to arrive. He even took a while to get ready, deciding on going with jeans but couldn't figure out if he should wear a button down shirt, a polo, a shirt. He finally settled for a black button down, something dressy but not too formal. He wondered if he should've gotten her flowers. That might be too much, he didn't want to scare her off. He started pacing again and decided that there was still time, he should get flowers.

He turned around, about to head to a nearby florist when a punch from Lucas directly into his jaw stopped him cold.

Earlier . . .

"Lucas you here?" Karen called out.

"Hey mom, you're home early?" Lucas said as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Business was slow tonight, I decided to close early. How was your day?"

"Eh same old." Lucas shrugged.

"I was going to go have dinner with Keith, do you want to join us?"

"No thanks, I think I'm supposed to watch a movie with Haley, but she isn't picking up her phone."

"I told Haley to go home and that I would close up but she insisted on doing it. She seemed distracted tonight. Is something going on with her?"

"She was a little weird today at school, but nothing really out of the blue… I'll go by the café and see if she what's up."

Shortly after, Lucas arrived at the café. The lights were still on, but the door was locked. Using his own keys, Lucas entered the café and heard faint noises coming from behind the counter.

"Haley!" He called out. When he reached the back, he found Haley on the floor, trying to mask her tears. Lucas was quickly concerned and sat down next to her.

"Hey .." He said softly, wiping a tear from her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"You could say it Lucas." Haley said, trying to hold back her tears.

"Say what?" Lucas asked confused.

"That I told you so… oh wait ! How would you know.. I never told you but if I did I knew you would probably tell me that."

"Haley, what's going on?"

"I.. I can't say."

"Haley, it's me .. you can tell me anything."

"No.. you'll only get mad at me or worse.. I can't tell you."

"Now come on, how am I supposed to be mad at you if you don't tell me what's wrong.. and I promise I won't get mad at you."

"You're not going to like what I'm going to say."

"Haley, please you can tell me anything."

And sure enough she was right. Lucas listened intently as Haley told him that she was secretly tutoring Nathan so that he would back off. Anger was slowly building inside of him, which continued to grow after her admission that she started to feel that there was something more between her and Nathan. She didn't tell him of their brief kiss, she was embarrassed enough. After she told him that Nathan was just using her to get to Lucas, that's when she finally broke down in his arms and started crying profusely.

"I'm so sorry, Luke. I'm such an idiot."

"Hey look.. you have nothing to be sorry for ..that son of a bitch used you .. and he is the idiot not you." He held Haley gently in his arms as she cried, but his anger only continued to grow with each tear shed.

--

Lucas' fist came crashing into Nathan's jaw causing him to fall to the ground.

"What the fuck!" Nathan said picking himself up.

"That was for Haley!" Lucas screamed

"And this was for making her cry." He said landing another punch to Nathan's face.

Nathan wiped the blood coming from his lips.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Nathan shot back, his anger now boiling too.

"Using Haley to try to get to me, that's what I'm fucking about!" And he landed another punch to Nathan. "And that one was for me."

Nathan landed on his knees, but he got back up. Lucas' words reverberated in his head. She found out about him, he had almost completely forgot that the only reason he went for tutoring was to get to Lucas. But it wasn't like that for a long time. When Haley shot his advances down during their first tutoring session, that was when it wasn't about Lucas anymore. It was about how much she annoyed him, which soon turned into where he couldn't stop thinking about her. And now he had hurt her, she was crying. She was crying because of him, it made him sick. Normally, he would fight back, especially when it came to Lucas but he didn't, he couldn't.

"You're sick you know that! And you're the one who calls me a bastard? I haven't done shit to you and this is what I get.. this is what my friend gets.. what's next huh?"

". . ." Nathan could only look at him, disgusted in himself.

"I should've had you quit the team after I beat your ass in the rivercourt.. you're pathetic.. there's no way in hell you can be my brother.. that would imply that you are actually a human being .. I took your crap because everyone told me to be the better man but the gloves are off.. if you come after me or any of my friends especially Haley, you don't deserve to breathe the same air as her and if you so much as look at her.. I swear to God I will lay you out.. punk!" Lucas was still angry but letting it out helped diffuse the situation. He wanted to beat Nathan senselessly, but he stopped himself. He cracked his knuckles and started to walk away. It didn't occur to Lucas until later on when he had cooled down that for once, Nathan didn't do anything.

Nathan watched Lucas walk away and he stood there for a moment, and went over to a nearby water fountain to clean himself up. His face was bruised but he didn't care. His thoughts were of Haley and how much he had messed up. He should've been up front with her from the start, as soon as he realized that his plan wasn't going to work anyways.

Despite Lucas' warning he had to go see her, to plead for her forgiveness. He ran to the café and saw Haley wiping down the counter top. The door was locked and he knocked. She turned around and stood there for a moment, looking a little surprised. He saw the bags under her eyes, she had been crying and it broke his heart. She started walking towards the door and she looked at him through the glass door. She's so beautiful, Nathan thought to himself. He just wanted to break down this door and hold her and kiss her and tell her a million times how sorry he is. But her eyes met his, and Nathan swore he felt chills down his spine. Her eyes were not bright and brown, but dark, cold and glassy from her crying. She looked at him for a moment and then flicked off the switch, sending the whole café into darkness. Then she started to walk away.

"Haley!" He called out. "I'm sorry for everything .. please let me explain.." But it was no use. Haley slipped to the back and didn't turn back. She leaned against the wall and sunk down. Tears were about burst once again, but she held it back. She noticed the bruises on his face and figured Lucas went to see him. It made her feel better for a second but then it passed. She was still hurting and what was worse was that a part of her wanted to open the door and throw her arms around him. This whole thing was one big lie and that they would go out and have fun. By this point, she couldn't hold the tears. She truly did care for him and that's what made her cry.

To Be Continued …

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