Author Notes: Sorry this took so long. I have been swamped with trying to move and being sick and getting ready to go back to work this Monday. Ah well. Thanks to Baley for her PM during the week as always she is the driving force behind me finishing chapters, lol. And thanks to Bethany Joy Galeotti for writing the music that got me through this chapter and for bringing Haley to life every week. Happy Birthday Bethany!!! Let me know what you think of it!
You Found Me – Chapter Two – Falling for you…
Haley was walking to school once again. Her car had managed to find a new way to be broken this morning and Lucas wasn't answering his phone. He was the only person that she could count on and now she felt like he was blowing her off. But Haley couldn't even get mad about it. Lucas Scott was destined to be something great and Haley always felt like one day he was going to leave her behind. She just thought he would at least wait until they graduated to do it. Haley sighed. Was this how her life was going to be? Trapped here in Tree Hill while the rest of the world leaves her behind?
"More than likely…"Haley continued her walk. She still had a long way to go but if she kept moving she should get there by next Thursday. So instead of continuing to think about how meaningless her existence was, she decided to think of her other problem. Brooke Davis and how she was going to make things right with her. Of course, how do you make up for insulting someone's integrity? And plus why did apologizing to Brooke matter to her? It was Brooke Davis. She probably spent the whole weekend sitting around thinking of ways to get back at Haley for what she said. Haley smacked herself in the forehead. She was doing it again. She didn't know if that was true. She was just guessing based on the people that Brooke was hanging around.
"When did I get so judgmental?" Haley remembered the look on Brooke's face when she left the tutoring center that day. She looked like she had been shot. And she didn't want to be responsible for making anyone feel like that. Haley ran her fingers through her hair as she got to the corner. God she was never going to make it to school at this rate. She pulled her phone out and tried to call Lucas again but to her surprise, her phone's battery was dead.
"God damn it…"She groaned and shoved it back into her pocket. The world famous 'Haley James' misery tour was in full effect today and it looked like today was going to be the best show ever. Just as Haley was about to step off the curb, a 2003 Mercedes-Benz CLK320 (she knew cars since Lucas spent so much talking about them) pulled up in front of her. The car was black and looked like it had just come off the showroom floor. The windows had this tint that made it impossible for Haley to see who was in the car. She was just about to keep walking when the window slowly slid down. She looked inside and there was Brooke Davis sitting the driver's seat looking like she had just walked out of a fashion magazine.
"Hey Tutor Girl. Need a ride?" Brooke asked.
"Tutor Girl? Who's that?" Haley was amazed at good Brooke looked this morning. Her hair was down like always and she wasn't wearing any makeup.
"Well, you called yourself Tutor Girl yesterday and it sounded cute. So I figured that should be your nickname." Brooke smiled at her. There was something about that smile. Haley felt like she was the only person in world right now. It was strange. She had people smile at her before. But when Brooke Davis smiled at her, she got this feeling that made her stomach flutter and her skin feeling a little tingly.
"Well don't just stand there. Get in." Brooke said as she popped the door lock.
"Ok…" Haley couldn't understand why she was feeling like this. It was only a smile. She took a deep breath to try and calm down those butterflies that were still flapping in her stomach. Haley pulled the car door open and got inside. The interior of the car was all leather and the initials B.D. were monogrammed into the headrest. It smelled amazing in the car. Brooke had to be wearing some kind of perfume. The scent was sweet but not overpowering. Haley inhaled the aroma and smiled.
"It smells nice in here." Haley whispered.
"Thanks." Brooke put the car in gear and took off. Haley didn't know what she should say at this point. She had finally got her wish to be alone with Brooke and she still couldn't think of anything to say to her. Just sitting here with her was a bit intimidating. She didn't want to say the wrong thing and piss her off or anything. Brooke was wearing the same leather she had on from the other day. She had on a white t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. Haley looked down at her faded gray hooded sweatshirt and worn out blue jeans. Even the way she was dressed made Haley feel like she didn't even belong in the same car with her. God, could she go fifteen seconds without feeling out of place? She crossed her arms and shifted in her seat.
"What's wrong? You seem a little…" Brooke sounded a little concerned.
"Uncomfortable?" Haley said sounding a little more honest than she wanted to. She usually kept her feelings to herself. The only person she had to talk to was Lucas and he wasn't the best listener in the world. He would spend most of their conversations waiting for Haley to stop talking so he could go back to talking about himself. In fact, no one ever talked to her about how she was feeling.
"I was…I just checking out your car. It's fifty times nicer than mine." Haley uncrossed her arms and tried to look a little less tense.
"Thanks. It was a gift from my parents."Brooke said as she adjusted her rearview mirror.
"Wow, I wish my parents gave me a car like this." Haley said.
"It was their way of saying 'we love you, now stay the fuck away from us'." Brooke's voice changed from its usual confident tone and sounded a bit rejected. Haley didn't really know what to say. Brooke still looked a little upset from her last statement. She had never heard of a parent telling their kid to fuck off.
"How could they say that to you?" Haley asked.
"Because they would rather throw money at me instead of just being my actual parents…" Brooke answered.
"At least your parents know you are alive. My parents barely acknowledge me…" Haley sighed.
"I don't believe that. Aren't you like a parents' dream? You get all A's and everything…"Brooke said.
"My parents are more about paying attention to each other and not paying any attention to me. It doesn't even bother me anymore. I guess I am numb to it now." Haley slid her hand into the inside pockets and began fiddling with the tissue that was in there. She never really talked about her parents to anyone but it was nice to learn that she wasn't the only one who dealt with this.
"Me too. You know I would trade all of this just to get them to fucking notice me…"Brooke sighed.
"Really?" Haley turned to look at the cheerleader.
"Yeah…the money doesn't mean anything..." Brooke said.
"It does when you don't have it…" Haley leaned back the headrest and her eyes wander around the car.
"Good point…but I am more than just the rich girl or the head cheerleader. But that is the only thing anyone ever sees when they look at me. That's why you said what you said in the tutoring center."Brooke said with a grin on her face.
"Yeah, I am sorry about that. I just…" Haley started to say but Brooke held her hand up to stop her.
"It's ok. I know why you did it. I just get so tired of being 'Brooke Davis'. Some days I wake up and I wish that…"Brooke paused for a second like she was looking for the right words.
"I was someone else." Haley said as she finished Brooke's sentence. She kept looking straight ahead even though she could feel Brooke's eyes on her. She wasn't the biggest fan of eye contact. Mostly because she never got any eye contact from anybody not even Lucas. Brooke pulled the car over and parked it.
"You too?" Brooke asked.
"Every day since sixth grade…"Haley looked down at her feet. Why was this happening? Why was she being so open and honest with Brooke? And why did it feel like the right thing to do?
"I am sorry." Brooke gently pulled Haley's left arm so her hand would come out her pocket. She watched as Brooke's fingers slowly slid in between hers. And the butterflies that were in her stomach before came back with vengeance. Brooke Davis was holding her hand. And strangely she liked the feeling of having her hold her hand. Haley looked into Brooke's eyes and felt like she belonged in that car with her. Like her hand belonged in Brooke's.
"So are you going to tutor me?" Brooke asked.
"Of course…" Haley nodded and Brooke let her hand go. Haley almost whimpered from the loss of Brooke's touch. It was over too fast. She felt like she lost something. She was surprised by her reaction. She was even more surprised by what she did next.
"Brooke?" Haley nervously held her hand back out. She didn't want to say what she wanted. If she said it out loud then it might not come true. But she knew that she wanted to touch Brooke again. Brooke looked at her hand and then she looked at Haley again. Haley held her breath and maintained the eye contact. Brooke didn't say anything either, she just nodded her head and slid her hand slowly back into Haley's. Once their fingers interlocked, Brooke put the car back into gear and started driving once more. Haley smiled and exhaled. The rest of the drive to Tree Hill High was quiet. Brooke held her hand until they pulled into the parking lot.
"We're here." Brooke whispered.
"Yes we are." Haley held Brooke's hand just a little tighter. She knew that once they got out of the car, the fairy tale would be over. It was so intense just holding her hand. She finally felt like she belonged to something and wasn't ready to just let her go. She leaned back in the seat and turned so she could still look at Brooke without letting her hand go. Brooke did the same.
"I am glad I stopped to pick you." Brooke said.
"Me too." Haley said.
"So, I'll give you a ride home after school, ok?" Brooke said as she rubbed her thumb across the back of Haley's hand. At this point Brooke could ask her to jump off the roof of the school and she would do it.
"Ok…" Haley looked down at their hands. She took a mental picture of it, just so she could have one thing that was hers. Brooke gently let Haley's hand go and Haley felt her heart drop to the bottom of her feet. She never felt so alone. Even though Brooke was still sitting right next to her. Brooke brushed her hair back behind her ear and Haley felt a tingle go through every inch of her body. Something had happen during that short ride to the school.
Haley James had fallen for Brooke Davis.
To Be Continued…