Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me but to Mark Shwann.
The italicised sections are flashbacks.
Chapter Three – The Enemy of My Enemy:
... Karen's Cafe...
"Morning sunshine" Luke tells his best friend sarcastically as he sees her plop herself down onto a chair, all ruffled.
She mumbles a 'hey' in response.
"You look like something the cat dragged in" he jokes.
"Oh you sweet-talker you. Sure know how to make a gal feel special"
"Hey, you look tired?" he asks more concerned. He'd noticed her acting differently the last few days.
"Yeah. I haven't been sleeping very well lately." She answers vaguely.
"How come?"
"Just have a lot on my mind."
"Anything I can do?"
"Flag down the coffee? " She asks as she looks up at him.
"Anytime"
She offers him a weak smile in response, letting him know she'll be okay. Truth was, she knows he's got enough on his plate.
She needs him more than he knows.
"My hero" she says as he gives her a cup of Joe, as promised.
"Hey Hales...look i know i've been selfish the last couple of weeks –"
She crooks her head, not seeing what he's talking about.
"laying all my problems with Nathan on you, i know it can't be fun listening to me whine about the newest prank he's pulled—"
"Oh Luke, I don't mind. I'm here for you, you know that" she says warmly.
"I know. Just like I hope you know I'm here for you too" he says as he reaches out to squeeze her hand.
The gesture alone wams her heart but she tries to hide it. She doesn't reply because she's scared her voice may sound a few pitches higher than it should so she settles for a nod.
A couple of customers come over and pay for their breakfast and thank Luke on their way out.
"Oh, Luke, by the by" she sits up on her chair, having recovered "we need to meet after the game to discuss mission socially-destroy Nathan " Haley squeals, excited, remembering why she came over to the cafe in the first place.
Lucas chuckles at his friend's enthusiasm. "Nothing like a good plotting to get your creative juices flowing huh?"
"You got that right, especially when It's for the greater good." She laughs. " Anyway, speaking of creative juices, you ready for it Luke?"
"I – I don't know. Last one didn't go so well. It's the first game of the championships. If we don't make this one then we'll be off to a bad start and we can pretty much kiss the championships goodbye."
"Wow, no pressure huh?"
"Tell me about it"
"Listen, don't beat yourself up. You're going to go out there, you're going to play a great game and you're going to put all the other players to shame. I just know it."
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Tree Hill High – Saturday – Game Night – Post Game
"What the hell man?! Whose side are you on?!" Nathan's voice resonated around the full gym as an opponent steals the ball and Lucas is unable to stop the opposing team from scoring a basket. He really wasn't on his game tonight, heck he hadn't made a decent shot since he joined the team.
"I was double-teamed, I couldn't get—" Luke tries to explain.
"I don't give a shit about your crummy excuses! Man, you're useless! What the hell is wrong with you?!
Luke opened his mouth to reply but closed it again. He looks at the crowd and bows his head in shame as he sees the snickering and whispering he was no doubt the subject of. Haley gives him a sympathetic look. "Look, i'm trying-"
Nathan scoffs. "Trying? That's not good enough! If you're not cut out for this just say so. You're pathetic, man."
"You done?" Lucas tries to act unaffected.
"This isn't the Rivercourt. Do you know how many of our futures are riding on this? Just quit the team already. Don't drag us all down with you." Nathan continues and throws his arms in the air for effect, looking at him like his solution was the most obvious one in the world.
Lucas was starting to get sick and tired of Nathan's rant on him. It's a good thing the whistle blows and Nathan leaves Lucas to go to his position.
"Start taking notes, punk." Nathan turned back to throw at Lucas.
Haley shrugs, remembering how Nathan embarrassed Luke in front of the whole school. Haley leans against a post as she stares at the ground beside her, waiting for Lucas to come out of the locker room.
The Ravens' game against the Cougars tonight was pretty brutal, she had to admit. With the addition of the new members and the old getting expelled, the team had yet to adjust to the different techniques of its athletes. The over-eager freshmen and the stuck up sophomores did not mesh well together. Hell, it was a recipe for disaster.
Haley knew Lucas would need a friend tonight. She couldn't stop replaying in her head all the horrible things Nathan said to Lucas tonight, which if anything only reinforced her conviction to put him in his place.
'That guy really needs a dose of his own medicine.' She was lost in thought, more determined than ever.
"Excuse me-"
A group of players dressed in matching green, black and white sweats approach from behind her. One of the players steps closer to her as he calls for her attention.
Haley looks at him, startled.
"Are you new? I haven't seen you cheerleading before" he asks, not recognizing her from previous games.
She looks down at her clothes, not making the connection. She was wearing Luke's varsity jacket and standing outside the boys' locker room. Can't blame a guy for jumping to conclusions.
"Oh, uh, no. I'm not a cheerleader...Haley James" she says offering him a smile.
The guy nods. "You look good in blue. It suits you."
"Thanks…" She looks away, not comfortable at all the eyes on her.
"I'm Damian"
Haley looks back at him, shaking the outstretched hand in front of her. He wasn't bad to look out, she admitted.
The locker doors open and Haley looks up, hoping it'd be Luke.
"Are you lost punk?" the player's expression quickly hardens as he sees Damien.
Damien smiles silently "Nathan Scott."
Haley roles her eyes at his presence. "What? You two know each other?"
Nathan ignores the question. "What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know better than that?" he warns, feeling his fists contract. "Came to scour the competition, West?"
"Hardly. After tonight's game, I would consider you more a guaranteed victory."
Nathan winces at the mention of tonight's game. He was right, they really sucked. It pisses him off that Damian of all people was there to witness it.
"You still missing your free throws?" Nathan tries to hit back.
"Who cares? They don't show free throws on Sports Centre. You know what else they don't show?... Ravens."
The group laughs behind him. Nathan looks to the ground and up again, avoiding Damien's gaze.
"I heard you guys lost your shooter along with half your team. So, I guess your season's over huh?"
"Nope. Strong as always. Even at our weakest we're still better than you" Nathan says as confidently as he can, folding his arms.
"Well… If tonight's game was any indication, you guys are done for. Unless you win the next three tournaments, you're not making post-season and you're not gonna win next week's tournament… because we are. We're undefeated.
Nathan scoffs and smirks "Do you suffer from amnesia or something because we beat your pathetic asses last year and the year before that and we're going to do it again next weekend. Just keep practising your free shots, punk" Nathan taunts as he turns to leave.
He stops for a second, seemingly pondering something finally walking back, and pulls Haley by the arm away from Damien and his crew. "Let's go, James."
"Uh, excuse me, what are you doing?" She says as she pulls her arm away from his grasp. 'Who the hell does this guy think he is?'
"Getting you away from this guy. Trust me, he's a dick." He answers matter-of-factedly.
"Well he can't be a bigger dick than you."
Nathan shakes his head at the girl in front of him. 'Is she serious right now?' She could be really stupid. He considers leaving her there with Damian but then he remembers that no girl deserves the wrath of Damien West so he tries again.
"Takes one to know one, right? So believe me when I say, that guy is scum"
There's a hint of something she doesn't recognize in his plea, which leaves her confused, and lets her know that there's more than petty rivalry between him and Damien but all she sees is him berating Luke for things that aren't even his fault so she refuses to believe this guy is being half decent and genuinely looking out for her.
"I can take care of myself" she says as she steps away from him.
"Fine. Suit yourself." He gives up, not caring and leaves.
"Hey, Scott" Damian calls mockingly, having watched the exchange. "How's Brooke?"
Damian knows exactly what buttons to push and he succeeds because it takes Nathan half a second to turn around at the mention of Brooke's name, about to pounce this kid's head until he bleeds from his ass until Whitey comes out of the locker room and looks back and forth from the two boys and asks "gentlemen, everything all right here?" more as a warning than a concern.
Nathan grits his teeth and fixes Damian's collar menacingly and begrudgingly moves his hands to his sides. "We're cool coach, just talking"
"Keep the foreplay for the court, boys" he warns then heads to the parking lot.
"You better watch yourself, West. If I ever catch you so much as whisper her name again or look her way, I will beat you to death" Nathan threatens.
Damian seems unaffected, grins cockily, glad that he struck a nerve of his long time rival. Nathan shoots Haley a glance before leaving too. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
Damien chuckles. "What a bitch" he says to his friends then says "sorry" for swearing in front of a lady. "It was a pleasure meeting you" he takes Haley's hand and kisses it. The gesture makes her blush. He starts to leave with his crew but she calls him back. "Hey wait. Let's talk..." her curiousity peeked once more at the mention of Brooke and what it meant to Nathan. "Alone".
Maybe Damien could be of help in mission DNS;
Destroy Nathan Scott.
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Later that night – Nathan's room
Nathan was sitting frustrated on his bed, having gotten in yet another fight with Peyton over Lucas. Things had escalated to the point where Peyton stormed out of his car and he's pretty sure they're broken up now for the millionth time.
"Unbelievable" says Peyton as she backs away from Nathan's lips, feeling him laughing as she tries to make out with him.
"What?"Nathan asks. "Peyton, did you see how bad he sucked?"
"So?" she says put off by him right now.
"He was horrible. I've never seen a guy play so bad."
" And you enjoyed that?"
"Well, hell yeah. Didn't you?"
Peyton looks away, unimpressed.
Nathan doesn't like her reaction, reads more into it. "What is this, Peyton? Do you like this guy or something?"
Peyton laughs and starts moving towards him again.
"You mean more than my boyfriend who I'm trying to make out with right now?"
He bobs his head back and away from her touch. "Well go put some ice on it. You ever think I might want to talk?"
Peyton moves back, not believing this coming out of his mouth.
"No, you don't. You want to celebrate a public humiliation and I'm sorry, that's a little played out." She was seriously getting fed up.
"Oh and being with you isn't?" he hits back, not thinking before the words slip out of his mouth. He was still riled up from his encounter with Damien, but of course he can't tell her why.
Peyton glares at him in disbelief and gets out of the car a moment later.
"Oh, Peyton, come on, I was joking."
He picks up his phone and dials her number to apoiogize to her but as soon as he hears it ring he hangs up abruptly. He doesn't want to give in so quick, needs more time to convince himself its the right thing to do.
Instead, he sits there, staring at the phone in front of him until he decides to try calling his dad, needing the distraction.
"Dad?" Nathan sighs relieved, hearing someone pick up at the other end of the line. "Finally! Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to reach you!" Nathan gets frustrated, remembering how hard its been to get a hold of him. He'd called Dan three dozen times and had even filled up his voicemail. He couldn't believe it was this hard to a hold of his father. What if this was life or death?
"Cool your hormones, son. What the hell is going on?" Dan replies annoyed.
"Why haven't you been answering your phone?"
"I've been busy with meetings"
Nathan rolls his eyes, angry at the lack of effort his father put into trying to cover up his affair as he hears a woman giggle in the background.
"What's so urgent?" Dan asks, distracted.
Nathan almost doesn't want to tell his father anymore, but this was too big to handle on his own.
"You're not going to believe what mom did" he starts, getting riled up again at the mere thought of it.
"What did she do now?" Dan asks, suddenly paying a little more attention to what his son was saying, chuckling under his breath wondering what his nut of a wife has been up to.
Nathan sighs. "Trust me, this is bigger than anything else she's done... I don't know what she was thinking turning the house into a homeless shelter—"
"What?!" Dan interrupts him.
"She invited Karen and Pucas to live with us."
Dan chokes out the mouthful he had taken in and starts coughing strenuously after hearing those words come out of Nate's mouth, trying to catch his breath.
"What did you just say?" he says once he's capable, trying to keep calm, not believing he'd heard right.
"You heard me right, Dad" Nathan confirms. "She's nuts! You have to do something!"
"Wha-- Why the hell would she do that?" He truly was baffled, trying to process what his son had just said, not comprehending what would possess her to do this. He tries to come up with justifications in his head for why she would do this, and all he can conclude is that she's doing this to stick it to him.
He pushes away the hand roaming up his thigh and looks at the woman curtly, scaring her away.
"Don't worry, son. I'm not going to let that happen" he says determined, sitting up straighter in his chair. There simply was no way.
Nathan scoffs, shaking his head. "They've been living there for two weeks!"
Dan literally feels a vein pop. "What?!" He yells into the phone, followed by curse words.
"Thank you!" Nathan gratefully replies, feeling relief wash over him. Finally, someone as appalled at the situation as he is.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me?!" Dan bellows.
"Dad!" Nathan scolds. It's not like he hasn't been trying to reach him the last couple of weeks.
"Shut up and let me think for a second..." he says as he realises it was his own fault. He had after all decided to enjoy his time away by cutting all ties to the outside world.
Dan unconsciously starts scratching his arm in rapid movements, leaving marks, the motion relieving some of his anger.
He nods his head fuming like a crazy person, all the while thinking there is no way in hell he's letting his wife have the upper hand.
"There's a silver lining to every cloud, son... This may actually work to your advantage" he finally concludes. 'It has to' he thinks.
"Great, have you lost it now too? How do you figure that, dad?" Maybe calling his dad was a mistake, Nathan starts to doubt his decision.
A conniving smile starts to spread on Dan's face as he rejoices in his own words, thoughts occurring to him.
"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer"
Nathan is unimpressed, unlike Dan who feels as if his words were gospel. "Meaning?"
"Meaning – get close to him, Nate..." He takes a piece of paper and crumbles it with force, thinking of Lucas, Deb and the situation. "You get close to him son... Find his weakness and exploit it."
Nate's head bobs backwards. This wasn't what he was expecting to hear.
"You want me to what?"
"Listen carefully son." Dan starts, wanting to get his point accross. "There are two things you can do; you can either sit back and sulk like a baby who didn't get what he wants as you watch Lucas take over your spot on the team and your life" he dramatized, catching his son's attention who was picturing the scenario Dan was laying out for him, "or you can make the most out of this situation and be resilient; rise to the occasion. You need to get close to the bastard; make him think you want to become brothers. Have him confide in you, learn his deepest, darkest fears...and then you crush him. Crush him like the coackroach he is. You got me?"
Nathan feels a chill at the maniacal tone in his father's voice. Damn, the man was evil.
"Dad" he hesitated before continuing. "This is your son we are talking about." He was actually felt sorry for the kid.
Dan shakes his head no.
"As far as i'm concerned, I only have one son. Don't make me regret choosing you, son."
The last bit did not go unnoticed by Nathan. Of course, Dan had to throw that in there. As if he meant to choose Nathan. Never mind that it could have just as easily been him in Lucas' shoes.
"No way. Can't do it. He'd never fall for it."
Lucas was a lot of things. But the boy wasn't stupid. He'd see right through him. Besides, no way was he going to crawl to him like a bitch. He had too much pride for that.
"Don't be a girl, son. Don't let your feelings for this kid get in the way of everything you've worked for your whole life." Dan continued to push.
"I don't know, dad" He remained hesitant still.
"You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Get close to him, Nate. Only then can you be rid of him. "
Nathan considered it for a moment. The end might just make the means worthwhile. "How long am I supposed to keep that up, exactly?"
Dan smiled, content. He knew he had his son now. "As long as it takes"
"No way. Two weeks. That's it. And when you come back, i'm moving in with you." He tells Dan matter-of-factedly.
"All right, Nate... Don't let me down. "
Nathan shakes his head as he hangs up the phone. Leave it to Dan to make it all about him somehow.
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Outside Haley's house
"So, let me get this straight – you want to get back at Nathan Scott, and you want me to help you?"
"Yep. That about sums it up. From what I could see, there isn't exactly any love lost between you two so it shouldn't be too hard for you...What's that about anyway?"
He looks at her smugly. "Long story." Damien considers her proposal for a second. "How do I know this is for real? Why should I trust you?"he asks unsure.
"Look, all i can say is he's made my best friend's life a living hell for too long and now he needs to see what it's like to be on the receiving end. Will you help me?"
"Fine, all right. This could work. But how far you willing to go?
"I'll do whatever it takes"
" Even if it means helping us win the tournament next week?"
"Well, how could I do that?" she asks confused.
"Don't worry about the details for now. Tell me, are you in all the way?"
Haley thinks about it. If she can help Damien win the tournament next week by somehow making it Nathan's fault, than that's pretty perfect actually now that she thinks about it. He'll see what its like to be the one letting his team down.
"Yeah. I'm in."
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Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the plotting in this chapter...What are Haley and Damien going to do when they join forces? How will it turn out? Does Haley know what she's getting into? Please Please PLEASE review!! :D