Chapter 8 Separations And Goodbyes

"So what college are you planning on applying to?" Lucas asked.

"Stanford, Duke, Columbia, and Emory," Haley replied.

"But Stanford is the one you really want, right?"

"Yeah, that's my dream school."

Lucas dipped his chicken finger in barbeque sauce. "I don't know why you like that school so much. I mean, just because you like the people isn't that great a reason to go there."

"Don't talk with your mouth full. That's not the only reason."

"Haley!"

"Nathan." She turned and smiled as Nathan hopped up on a seat next to his brother.

"What do you want?" Haley asked. Nathan opened his mouth and she cut him off. "Wait, let me guess." Haley hummed and closed her eyes as she held an open palm to Nathan's forehead. "I'm sensing that you want . . . a burger with pickles, onions, mayo, and bacon."

Nathan laughed. "How'd you know?"

"Please. I have skills."

"Hello to you too," Lucas said. "No need to speak to me, I'm just your brother.

"Oh, hey, Lucas."

Haley told the cook to fry up a burger for Nathan and brought out a plate of fries for him.

Nathan grabbed the ketchup and poured it carefully onto his plate. The last time that he'd been here he'd shaken the bottle a little too much and had gotten ketchup all over. Haley hadn't gotten mad but he'd felt bad that she'd had to clean it up for him.

He watched as she and his brother talked and laughed as he ate. Haley was the prettiest girl that he knew and she was a lot nicer than most of the ones in his class who would not stop hitting him, or taking stuff from him, or dropping pencils whenever he walked by.

"Nathan, your mom said that she's going to be picking you up earlier than usual today because of some banquet you're going to?" Haley said.

Nathan groaned. "Yeah. Every year there's a businessman something dinner and we have to go."

"Sounds boring," Lucas said.

"Maybe we should cancel the burger if you're going to eat there," Haley said.

"I never eat there, the food is like . . . last year for the main course they had this tiny piece of duck covered with some weird yellow sauce. I couldn't even eat it, it was so bad. And then some guy gets up and talks for two hours about nothing and makes jokes that aren't even funny but everybody still laughs."

"Sucks to be you." Lucas stole a fry off his plate.

"You could have a little more sympathy," Haley scolded. "Remember all those times your mom dragged you to have dinner with her PTA friends?"

Lucas took his own dishes into the kitchen. "Please stop talking about that, I might have a traumatic flashback."

Outside Deb pulled up in her car, put one hand out the window and waved.

"She's here, go grab your stuff and I'll pack this up for you." Haley pulled out a to-go box.

"Thanks." Nathan rushed into the back to grab his backpack.

"Why is it," Lucas said when he came back from the kitchen, "that he likes you more than he likes me?"

"Everybody likes me more than they like you," Haley said. "Your own mom would swap us out in a second."

Lucas opened his mouth to reply but then Nathan rushed out and after a couple quick good-byes he hopped into his mother's car.

Nathan, Haley, and Lucas were walking over to Haley's house from the arcade when Lucas picked up the conversation they were having yesterday again.

"Hales, you should think about colleges that are in this part of the country, I mean, there are a lot of really good schools here."

"Luke," Haley hesitated, "I applied for early admission to Stanford . . . and I got in."

Lucas stopped, stunned.

"You're moving to California?" Nathan asked. He'd gone online and looked at where all the colleges Haley was interested in were. When she said that she'd applied to Duke he'd been ecstatic, it was only a two-hour drive from Tree Hill.

"Yeah, but, I'll be coming back every chance I get and I'll be here all summer working at the café like I always do," Haley said.

"Well . . . congratulations," Lucas said. He was silent the rest of the way home.

Things had been quiet between Haley and Lucas over the past week or so. Nathan had thought about talking to his mom or Karen about it but he wasn't sure about what to say.

They were over at the café tonight because Deb had had an argument with his father. He hadn't heard them fight, they never did it in front of him or where he could hear, but he could always tell when it happened. There was a different feeling in the air and his mom usually left to take a drive or to visit Karen. Nathan had tagged along this time, hoping to see Haley, but to his disappointment she wasn't there. Karen told him that he could go out on the roof to play with the miniature golf course that Haley had set up there and he'd pounded up the stairs while both women laughed at his exuberance.

Haley had done an incredible job, the place looked almost as good as the course his parents had taken him to when they'd gone to visit his grandparents in California.

He went back downstairs to talk to his mom and he had his hand up to open the door when he heard his name and he froze for a minute.

"So I heard that Haley's already been accepted to Stanford."

Nathan just stood there quietly and listened.

"Haley's going to really miss the boys but she's dead set on that college; her mother told me that Haley's been packed and ready to go there for years." Karen stirred her coffee thoughtfully.

"You should have seen the look on Nathan's face when he really realized how far way Stanford is. He's going to have to find a new love."

"I don't think so," Karen teased. "I give him three weeks before we find out that he's hopped on plane to California to see her."

Both women laughed heartily together and Nathan stepped back. He went up the stairs, walked out onto the roof, sat down on one of the chairs, and stared at the fake turf.

After school the next day Nathan walked down to the riverside instead of going to the café. Nathan stared out at the water without seeing it; after listening to Karen and his mom talk about how "cute" his feelings were he'd felt the need to be alone.

Did Haley feel that way? He'd always thought that she really liked him, but maybe she was just putting up with her friend's little brother. He shook the thought off. No, Haley wasn't like that. She didn't go out of her way to hang out with people she didn't like.

He resolved to keep what he felt under wraps, at least around other people. He'd make an effort to make sure he was alone with Haley when he talked to her. She teased him a lot but she always took him seriously—like he was Lucas.

School was out, Lucas had finished practice, and Haley said goodbye to the last student in the tutor center. They were walking to the café together when a young man called out.

"Haley!"

She turned around with a quizzical look on her face and then smiled when she saw who it was.

"Jamie, what are you doing here so late?"

"My dad came to talk to the principal, he's thinking about making a donation to the school to pay for some new equipment for the gym, and I got dragged along. Hey, Lucas."

Lucas smiled tightly.

"Oh, that's great. All I hear from him," Haley jerked her head at Lucas, "is how much the weight room sucks. Tell your dad I said hi and that I'll be forever grateful for those Bobcats tickets he got me."

Jamie nodded. "Hey, I'm just glad I could do something for you."

"They were really great, I owe him one."

"Are you kidding? You managed to get me off academic probation; I think he loves you more than he loves me. He keeps dropping what he thinks are subtle hints about how I should take you out to dinner to thank you."

Haley blushed slightly and laughed. "I have a strict no dating policy when it comes to my tutees."

"You're not tutoring me anymore, and I'm hoping you might be free this Friday."

Lucas eyed Jamie unfavorably. "We're doing something then, maybe some other time."

Jamie shrugged. "We will get together soon," he smiled at Haley again, "I'll call you later."

As he walked away Lucas rounded on Haley. "That's the guy you got our tickets from?"

"Yeah. What is your problem, Luke?"

"My problem? He's the biggest man-whore in school, Hales."

"So? I'm not dating him."

"He just asked you out."

"Did you see me say yes?"

Lucas lapsed into silence as they walked back to the café. When they walked in Nathan was already there and they both said hello. Lucas gave him the fist pound and Haley hugged him.

"Hey, honey." Karen picked a piece of lint off her son's shirt. "How was your day?"

"Great. I just found out that Haley's thinking about going out with the biggest jerk in school."

Karen looked shocked and Nathan's face fell.

"Gonna kill you, Luke," Haley sighed.

"Haley," Karen was hesitant, "have you met . . . someone?"

Nathan laid his hand over hers. "Is there something wrong with this guy?"

"Don't listen to him, Karen." Haley punched Lucas on the arm. "You see what you did? Now you've got your mom and your brother thinking that I'm being pimped out or something."

"What!" Nathan was shocked.

"Kidding," Haley said quickly. "A guy I used to tutor asked me out but I said no."

"No you didn't, all you said was that you were doing something this weekend."

"No, Luke, you said that."

"Nice job, Lucas," Nathan said sincerely.

"Thanks, L.B." Lucas gave Nathan another very manly fist pound.

"Haley, I realize that sometimes guys can be very charming on the outside—"

"Karen, we're not dating. Everyone relax. Jeeze, you all act like I've never dealt with the opposite sex or something. I have been on a date or two in my life, thank you," Haley huffed.

She went into the back, leaving everyone else to stare after her with worry.