Thank you for reading the third chapter of Show Me How to Live!
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**FYI**
In this story, Nathan and Lucas are COUSINS, not brothers. Karen married Keith, and they had Lucas. Dan and Deb are still Nathan's parents.
Haley is a single mom to her 5-year-old son Jamie. She owns and manages Karen's Café, with her business partner Karen Scott.
I want to address some issues that I have seen come up in the reviews. Yes, Jamie's father is Chris Keller. I will further explain this in later chapters.
Yes, Jamie is not Nathan's son. This is an AU story (Alternate Universe!) I know that we all love the show, but I decided to take a different route with this story. I do appreciate all of the positive reviews that I have gotten!
Saturday mornings at Karen's Café were always busy, but today was another story. After photos were posted online of Nathan's venture to the café the previous day, everyone wanted to try and catch a glimpse of him possibly returning, so it was standing room only in the small café.
To make matters worse, the waitress who had been "out sick" yesterday, had just called Haley and quit, but that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg. Haley's executive chef, Chef Jeff's wife was in the hospital, having their first baby. This left Haley, waitress Anna, and the 19 year old sous chef Adam to run the café during a busy breakfast rush.
Haley knew that it was going to be a long day, and it was only 9 am.
As she carried a large tray of plates of food to a waiting table, she heard the bells of the door ring, followed by collective gasps and whispers.
She looked up, her dark brown eyes locking with familiar icy blues.
"Woah," Nathan exclaimed as he entered the café, noticing no empty tables anywhere, no room at the counter, along with phones being pointed at him, and people staring and whispering. One person in particular, caught his gaze: Haley.
He spent fifteen minutes barricaded by the crowd by the door, taking photos and signing autographs, before finally making his way to the counter, and face to face with an exhausted-looking Haley James.
"Looks like you're a little busy here," he laughed, leaning against the small edge of the end of the counter.
"Thanks Captain Obvious," Haley replied dryly, turning to add another ticket to the already-full order wheel in the pass-thru window.
"Sorry, not funny, got it," Nathan said, hands up in surrender, "What happened?"
"One of my waitresses quit and my chef's wife is having a baby," Haley responded, before taking another table their food and returning to the counter and an awaiting Nathan.
"Could you use some help?" Nathan asked, looking around and noticing that it wasn't getting any emptier. If it was possible, it looked like there were even more people than when he had entered only a few minutes earlier.
"At this point, I could use a miracle," Haley sighed, wiping the counter and collecting some dirty dishes in a bin, "Thank god we close early on Saturdays. 2 o'clock can't come fast enough."
"I could help out if you wanted me to," Nathan offered, shrugging, "I didn't have anything else planned for today."
"I'm 99.9% sure that Nathan Scott has never waited tables in his life," Haley retorted, turning to accept someone's payment and giving them their change, thanking them for coming and telling them to return another time.
"That would be true," Nathan admitted, "But I took a few cooking classes in college. Easy A's. And I'm good with people. And if you've ever seen my games, you know I'm fast as hell."
"Look, Nathan, I appreciate the offer," Haley said, "But I really don't think that's such a good idea."
"Alright, then I'll take a breakfast burrito with extra guac and a large black coffee," Nathan smiled, glancing over to the order wheel, which was completely full, and even had a few tickets sitting on top of it. Adam, the sous chef, was running around the kitchen like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to handle everything by himself.
Haley turned, and viewed the overflowing order wheel, Adam having a freak out, and Anna bussing tables while taking orders. She turned back to Nathan, grabbed an apron from under the counter, and threw it at him.
"Wash your hands, and don't make me regret this," Haley sighed, "You can start helping Adam with the orders."
"Hey, Haley, after how I treated you yesterday, I kinda deserve this, don't you think?" Nathan questioned, tying his apron and heading back to the kitchen, a sincere look on his face.
4 hours later…
As Haley turned the lock on the café doors, turned around, leaned against them, and sighed. Looking at the café, it was a mess, but not as big of a mess as it could have been, without Nathan's help.
He had worked in the kitchen for a few hours, working well with Adam and helping him to relax a bit. He had then switched to taking orders, which the customers certainly did not complain about. He had finished out the day doing dishes in the back, which is where he was now, finishing up the last of them with Adam.
Haley had sent Anna home a few minutes earlier, and made her way back to the kitchen, pausing outside the doors, only to hear Nathan and Adam discussing Adam's future in basketball.
Haley knew that Adam was putting himself through school with this job, as well as working early morning shifts at the docks on the weekdays, in addition to being on Tree Hill College's basketball team.
"Sounds like you've got it all figured out man," Nathan said.
"You really think I could do it?" Adam asked, "Make it to the NBA?"
"I think you can do whatever you put your mind to," Nathan smiled, "You've already got the working hard part down. Now, you've just got to focus, do your best, and don't take no for an answer. That's what my dad taught me. Got me to where I am today."
"Thanks Nathan," Adam replied, "For the advice, and for helping out here today. We couldn't have done it without you."
"Nah, man, I was happy to help," Nathan shrugged, "I never had to work as a kid, for anything really, except basketball. Things were handed to me, money was always there, and I always kind of thought that's one of the things that led me to be who I am. Who I used to be anyway."
"You're a good guy Nathan," Adam said sincerely.
"Thanks Adam," Nathan replied, "Hey, I'm working with some kids at a basketball camp at the high school. Maybe one of these days, if you have the time, you'd want to stop by and help out?"
"Yeah, that'd be awesome," Adam answered, looking excited.
Haley took the pause in the conversation to enter the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.
"Thanks for staying to help clean up, Adam," Haley smiled, "You can head on home. I know you've got homework."
"Unfortunately. Bye Haley. Bye Nathan" Adam said, before heading out of the café out the back door.
"You didn't have to stay to finish the dishes," Haley began, "I could've come in early tomorrow."
"Nah, I'm sure you'd rather be getting your beauty sleep than scraping dried guac off of glass plate," Nathan laughed.
"Are you saying I need beauty sleep?" Haley retorted, eyebrows raised, not quite realizing that this could be considered flirty banter, especially by Brooke.
"Uh, no…I was just saying that…well," Nathan was totally frazzled, something that never happened to him around women.
"I'm kidding Nathan, lighten up," Haley smiled, walking over to the large double sink to help him finish the dishes.
As she walked, though, she slipped in a puddle of water that was on the floor, and right before she thought she would land on her butt in front of Nathan Scott, something, or rather, someone caught her.
"Woah there twinkle toes," Nathan smiled, "Are you okay?"
As he lifted her up, she realized how close to him she really was. His 6'2 frame towered over her own 5'3. She could feel his warm breath grazing the top of her head. She looked up at him, still in his arms. Their eyes locked, and for a split second, she felt something. Something that she couldn't quite explain. Finally realizing what exactly was happening, she quickly, wretched herself out of his grasp, nearly slipping on the puddle of water again in the process.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she stammered, clearly frazzled, "Thanks."
Haley put a towel down on the floor to soak up the water, and she and Nathan finished all the dishes in relative silence.
"So what's this I hear about an Open Mic Night at TRIC?" Nathan asked, finally breaking the silence as they walked out of the kitchen.
"My friends Jake and Peyton started it to attract more business, but now it's become a weekly thing," Haley explained, wiping off the counter one more time, "Why, is Nathan Scott a closet pop star?"
"Not even close," Nathan laughed, before the TV, which was still on, caught his attention.
"In the studio, I'm Josie Kent, keeping you up to date on all your favorite celebrity gossip. The NBA's bad boy Nathan Scott got down and dirty today, but not in the way I'm sure you're all thinking. His public image took a slight turn for the better today, as he helped out at a local café in his hometown of Tree Hill, North Carolina. Sources say that the owner of the café begged Scott for his help on a busy morning. These photos were just released by StarWatch, showing Nathan taking orders, cooking, and even bussing tables. If Nathan Scott is trying to convince the world that he's changing, it's working."
"Begged for your help?" Haley repeated, sounding disgusted, "What kind of crap are they reporting?"
"I liked the sound of it," Nathan smirked, before receiving a shove from Haley, "Ow, what was that for?"
"For being an ass," Haley replied, turning the TV off, "Damn, news sure travels fast. You were only here a few hours."
"That's how the press is," Nathan said, "But hey, at least this might get you more business."
"Great, just what I need when I'm down a waitress and a chef," Haley sighed.
"I'm sure there's gotta be waitress in this town somewhere," Nathan reassured her, "And hey, if you get stuck, you can always beg me for help again."
"Haha very funny," Haley replied, checking the time on her phone before quickly gathering her things, "I've got to go get Jamie. He has to practice the piano before Junk and Fergie come to babysit."
"Junk and Fergie?" Nathan looked puzzled at the sound of the names.
"Friends from high school who never lost their nicknames," she said, as they walked out the door.
"I'll have a beer," Nathan said to the bartender, as he sat at the bar at TRIC later that night. Lucas had invited him to come to Open Mic Night to meet some of his friends, and it wasn't like he had anything better to do.
"Brooke, are you sure this looks okay?" Haley asked, looking at her reflection in the mirror of the bathroom at TRIC, smoothing her tight black lace shirt paired with white skinny jeans and looking at the black heels adorning her feet.
"Haley, you look hot," Brooke smiled, admiring the outfit she had chosen for Haley, "You're lucky your best friend is an amazing stylist."
Nathan had now met Peyton and Jake and Millie and Marvin, who everyone called Mouth. Another friend who hadn't lost his high school nickname. They were all standing close to the stage, as a very drunk man in his forties sang, "I Believe I Can Fly."
"Where's Brooke?" Nathan asked Lucas, who was standing next to him.
"She'll be right back, had to run to the ladies room," Lucas answered, a grimace on his face, "Man, can we just put him out of his misery already?"
A few minutes later, the screeching was over, and Brooke melted into Lucas' side, her protruding stomach making itself known as well.
"Miss me?" Brooke smiled at Lucas.
"As much as ever," he replied, giving her a quick kiss.
"Wasn't Haley coming tonight?" Nathan asked, having looked around and not seen her.
"Uh, yeah," Brooke assured, "She'll be here soon I'm sure. So, Nathan, it was nice of you to help out at the café today."
Changing the subject, the gang began talking about Nathan's experience in the café, before Peyton got up on stage.
"Alright ladies and gentleman, our next performer is no stranger to any of you. She is a huge local talent that we look forward to hearing from every week. Put your hands together for Haley James!"
Nathan was surprised to see Haley walk out onto the stage and sit behind the keyboard. Taking a deep breath, she began to sing, and as she did, he couldn't believe it. She was incredible.
Let Me Fall by Bethany Joy Lenz (Inspired by Haley's first performance at TRIC)
The crowd erupted as Haley finished her song. She blushed, smiled, waved to the crowd, and walked off the stage, to her awaiting group of friends.
"Killed it as always Hales," Lucas said, hugging her, as the rest of her friends told her how great she did.
She didn't expect to see Nathan there, although she should have known Lucas would invite him.
"That was…you were…" Nathan stammered, reminding her of how he had acted in the café earlier that day.
"Thanks," she smiled, cutting off his awkwardness that she knew was supposed to be a compliment.
He seemed like such a different person than the confident, macho bravado guy who thrown a tantrum in the café the previous day, than the guy she'd seen in all of the tabloids and the news interviews. How could one day change a person?
Or maybe, she wondered, he really wasn't that guy at all. The guy who was a jerk, a player, a ladies man, the ultimate in spoiled celebrity. To her, this whole tough guy act seemed like a façade.
Haley inadvertently shook her head, getting these thoughts out of her mind. Why should she even be thinking about this guy? And then her mind drifted to the moment in the kitchen when she'd slipped, and he'd caught her, and their eyes had locked gazes. That split second feeling. That was not going to be easy to forget.
Hope you all enjoyed the third chapter of Show Me How to Live!
The idea came to me for this story and nagged me for weeks before I finally relented and sat down and wrote it. I haven't written any fanfiction for over a year, so I apologize for any mistakes or for this not being very good.
I recently discovered One Tree Hill on Netflix from the suggestion of a friend and watched the first 8 seasons in a month and a half (I know, I'm pretty ridiculous!)
Leave a review with any suggestions, comments, or ideas you want to see in future chapters! :)