Title: Who You Were

Author: sera_rocks / Sera

Rating: M

Summary: After his father's death, James Lucas Scott is forced to go back to Tree Hill and the house he abandoned years ago to search for the will. What he finds goes beyond mere bequeathed possessions as he uncovers the secret past of the father he never knew, and the unforgettable love of two people who were destined to be together.

A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday. I know I did, but school is starting for me tomorrow, and I have so much work due, it's crazy. Plus, my exams are coming up so I'm going to concentrate on those for awhile, alright? I know I promised an update for Sway, and I'm sorry. I had it all written and planned out but I wasn't happy with it. I don't want to post something I'm not completely satisfied with, so there. Anyway, there is your heads up; no updates for two weeks at least, okay? School is school and it is numero uno priority right now. :)

Again, much thanks to those who reviewed and continue to support this story. I am so excited for it. I know it's a lot different from anything I've done and it's a big risk making Nathan a not-so-good father, but I am so happy that you all are sticking with it and continue to trust that I am not going to make Nathan an ass. Lol. I post this chapter without Lillie looking over it (so if there are typos and things of that sort, it's totally her fault. Lol. Kidding! Love you, Lillie!), so if you guys have any constructive criticism, please don't hesitate to tell me. Of course, reviews would be lovely, too. ;)

Please tell me what you think, and see you in two weeks! (hopefully)

Chapter 4:

Tree Hill, 1935

It was graduation night, and much like any other senior in Tree Hill High School there, it was the last night to party with friends, freely with no thought of responsibility. As far as they were concerned, this was their last night of careless freedom before they reluctantly and – much to their dismay – forcibly went out into the real world. Tonight was supposed to be a night to be remembered.

Nathan, on the other hand, just couldn't wait for it to be over. It was bad enough that his parents were so surprised he managed to graduate. They had no idea how hard he worked the later part of the year, how many nights he hadn't slept just trying to pull up his grades.

He found out awhile ago that the girl whose name he still did not know was in the honor roll, and valedictorian at that. Nathan wished he and his family had arrived earlier to actually hear the announcement, and Tim was too stupid to take note of it. Nathan wished he applied himself more in high school, maybe studied more instead of slacking off. He could've met her, known more than her name. She was clearly an intelligent girl. He could have known so much, done so much, made his parents proud. This girl would make any parent in the world proud – even Dan.

He tried asking around for information about, but it was too difficult. Nobody knew much about her except that she mostly kept to herself and the only person who could give him what he needed to know was Peyton, and he had sworn to stay away, which he was proud enough to proclaim that he managed to do. He had been so caught up with school that he didn't really look for her now, but he still thought about her sometimes, for a few brief seconds – not in a creepy, stalker way. It was more of … he wondered how she was, how she would do it if she were him. He didn't know if he really liked her or he was just intrigued by her. Either way, it confused the hell out of him.

"Nathan! Where are you going?"

Nathan gave an inward, frustrated sigh. He was hoping to leave unnoticed.

He spun around to see Lucas and pointing his thumb to the gate, explained, "I just need some air."

Lucas raised his brows at him. "What is going on?"

"Why do you always assume something is going on? Can't I just leave a party without it being made into something it's not?" Nathan asked irritably. He sighed again, this time louder and more frustrated so Lucas would notice. "I'm just tired of this. I think I'll walk home or something."

"This is our last party, Nate – the last time we could be with out friends."

"Maybe your friends Luke, but not mine," said Nathan coldly. It was true; hardly any of those people in there mattered to him. Sure, he saw these people every day and he talked to some of them once in awhile, but who were they? Just nameless, faceless people he acknowledged from time to time. None of them made an effort to curb the rumors about him – maybe spread them more, but never curb. None of them made an actual effort to be his friend. Maybe they admired him, revered him, respected him at some point, he didn't know. But those people in there were nothing to Nathan and he didn't care if he wouldn't ever see them again.

"But what about us – your friends, then? Remember them? Jake, Peyton and Brooke …"

"Jesus Christ, Lucas! You're acting like I won't see you people tomorrow! Why are you overreacting?"

Lucas merely shook his head at him. "This is not like you."

"You don't really know me then, do you?" And without another word, Nathan walked away, shutting the door behind him.

Admittedly, Nathan felt guilty about leaving but the truth was, he was simply tired of it all. Graduation night or not, it was still just another party and he had been to many of those. Tonight's party did not make much of a difference.

As he stepped out of the gate and away from the crowded backyard, he noticed a deserted and rather shady clearing that led to a small lakeside. Nathan settled himself onto the grass and as he did, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. It was a change, to be away from the crowd for once instead of being in the center of it. He reveled in the momentary silence as he stared into the distance.

Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him. It was quite unfamiliar, but all the while, comforting somehow. It was so quiet and tentative that Nathan had to strain his ears just to hear.

"Can I sit?"

He quietly groaned as his mind raced to think of a nice way to say no – maybe a good, plausible excuse why not, something that wasn't too insulting. It was probably, as Tim nicely put it, one of Nathan's "fan girls" and truthfully, he would give anything to avoid them now. The sex was good, sometimes great, but it got boring after some time. And they were hopelessly clingy and needy, always wanting any form of attention Nathan could give, which was the last thing he wanted to give. Sex was just sex. Anything beyond that was a waste of time. Nathan wasn't stupid. He saw how relationships, no matter how perfect it seemed in the beginning, would simply die and end up hurting people. His parents were perfect examples.

He was probably quiet for some time because she then pleaded, "Please? I just don't want to be in there and this is probably the best place to stay away. You don't even have to talk to me."

Nathan was surprised. This girl, whoever she was, was definitely not one of his so-called fan girls. For one thing, she wanted to leave, too. He couldn't think of one girl who chased after him that did not like parties, especially ones that people would be relentlessly talking about for weeks to come. And for another thing, she wasn't there to flirt with him, much less talk to him. She just needed somewhere to go. Who the hell was this girl?

Nathan turned to look and when he got his answer, he nearly slipped off the spot he was sitting on. It was that girl he had sworn to stay away from – and she was here now, with him. He had religiously kept his promise of staying away, but he sure as hell wasn't going to do that now.

God, she was beautiful, even in that dim light. There was an innocence about her that he couldn't place, but at the same time, she was something else entirely. She had no idea how captivating she was to him. Her brown hair was styled its usual way; long and down her shoulders. She wore the same shabby set of clothes of a white blouse and a long skirt, but this time, she had a shawl wrapped around her shoulders to protect herself from the cold. Nathan had the crazy impulse to slip his jacket off and offer it to her. Just the thought of her wearing it made him smile slightly, which she took as a sign that it was alright to sit.

She joined him on the grass, sitting Indian-style. Nathan liked how she was at ease immediately, that she didn't feel nervous around him despite all the things she must have heard about him. What person in that school did not know of the things people said about him?

As soon as she sat down, she breathed a soft sigh of relief. She must have felt his gaze on her because she lifted her head to look at him. Her brown doe eyes were mesmerizing and they shone with sincere warmth. Nathan had never seen kinder eyes than hers.

She looked sheepish as she tried to explain. "I was forcibly dragged to that party by a friend. She abandoned me and I just had nowhere to go. So, here I am."

Remind me to thank her later, Nathan thought wryly. He shrugged at her. "Welcome to the club."

She bit her lip, tearing her gaze away. She stared at the grass for some time before asking, "Shouldn't you be in there?"

"Should I?"

"Well, you are Nathan Scott. That party is sort of like your kind of event or something. At least that's what I hear people say, anyway." She added the last sentence quickly, almost afraid he would get insulted.

Nathan was intrigued. "Do you believe what people say about me?"

She turned to him, looking straight into his eyes. "I try not to make judgments based on other people's observations."

"Well, just so you know … hardly any of those stories they say are true, anyway."

She nodded repeatedly a few times, as if carefully considering what he said. "People gossip for a reason."

He raised a brow at her. Instead of being annoyed at her like he usually would be, he liked how she challenged him, how she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. It was such a nice contrast from the simpering girls who had nothing to say and just giggled at every sentence that came out of his mouth. "Did you ever think that maybe they just need a story to tell?"

"Maybe that story is true."

"Half-true?" He offered, smiling a bit and he had to quickly stop himself from grinning broadly when she returned the smile. It was timid, but it was there and it meant progress. When she didn't say anything but had a rather stubborn look on her face, he added, "Okay, I have an idea. Why don't you just give me a series of the things you've heard about me, and I'll tell you if it's true or not?"

She surveyed him, her eyes wary. After a few moments of studying him, she asked cautiously, "How do I know that what you're telling me is true?"

"You're just going to have to trust me," he chuckled at the apprehensive look on her face. "Come on, what do you have to lose? At the end of this conversation, it's still up to you if you believe me or not."

"I guess you're right about that." She finally agreed and turned to face him completely. "Okay, um ... there was a rumor that you and Lucas are half-brothers, and you have the same dad but different moms. Is that true?"

Nathan answered yes almost immediately, which she looked surprised at. "Why is that so shocking?"

"It's not. I mean, I always thought it was true but for you to be so at ease with it –"

"It's not really a secret," he shrugged. "My dad never acknowledged Lucas' presence even if we already knew it. But when Lucas' mom, Karen died, I guess he sort of felt obliged to treat him a little better. He's been living with us since middle school, and he's a good guy – a bit meddling and irritating sometimes, but that's just how he is. He's kind of my best friend."

"Kind of?"

"I don't really like to shout it to the heavens."

She actually smiled at him and Nathan wasn't disappointed. He liked how her whole face, especially her eyes lit up. She wasn't even trying to make him like her, but he was definitely starting to. When she saw that he was expecting another question, she then asked, "People said you got into some fight with some people in a club, and that you were supposed to be arrested but your dad paid the police not to arrest you and to keep quiet about it. Is that true?"

Nathan grinned at her. "The fight is true. Everything else is not. I had to be escorted out and that was it. Needless to say, I'm not allowed to step into that club again."

"Why have a fight in the first place?"

"Truth be told, I don't know. It's just one of those idiotic things men do – get drunk, see someone you don't like for one reason or another and you beat them up. It's an ego trip and sometimes, it gets too far. Usually, the other guy is too drunk to put up a fight but on that one, he wasn't so …" He trailed off. He wondered how she would take it but she seemed to be unfazed. Pleased, he motioned for her to continue.

"They said you paid off your teachers just so you could graduate. Is that –"

"No, it's not," his voice was suddenly cold and bitter which probably threw her off because her calm veneer was gone. She had gone from leaning towards him to moving away so there was an obvious awkward distance between them. Nathan was quick to apologize. "I'm sorry. I think I scared you or something. It's just – I worked really hard to get my grades up to pass. I don't like it that people think that just because I'm well-to-do and I don't have the cleanest record when it comes to school, I pay off everything. It's kind of …"

"Insulting," she finished, nodding in understanding. She had returned to leaning towards him. "I know what you mean. I'm glad you worked hard to graduate, Nathan. I'm glad you worked hard to get what you want."

Her eyes were sincere and honest and Nathan appreciated that about her. He smiled gratefully at her, which she returned with no hesitation. "Anything else?"

It was then that she shyly looked away, a light pink tinge filling her cheeks in the most charming way. He was entranced. "Well – I'm kind of at a loss right now because there are other things people say, and they're … um, to put it mildly – a bit lewd."

"You don't have to ask me anything you're not comfortable with," he promised her, looking straight at her as he did. When she didn't ask anything, he then said, "Well, what's my evaluation then? Did I pass the Nathan-Scott-is-actually-a-decent-person test or what?"

She laughed, which made Nathan's stomach suddenly swoop. He liked everything about her. He really did. He had a feeling he would like her even more, given the chance. He wanted that chance. He would give anything and everything to get that chance.

"Surprisingly, yes," she answered, with a full-on smile that reached her eyes. "I'm really glad you let me sit with you."

"I'm really glad you decided to sit here with me," he replied truthfully. He then leaned towards her. "We've been talking for awhile now, but I still don't know a thing about you."

"What do you need to know?"

"Your name would be a nice start."

"Haley," she told him rather shyly. Haley. He liked it. He could get used to saying that name over and over again. Nathan could no longer resist and finally did what he had been dying to do since they started talking; he smirked at her.

And, even if she was the most unique, most different, most amazing girl he had ever met and had a conversation with, there was one thing that tied her to every girl who had flirted with him, and Nathan wasn't even disappointed about it. Who was he kidding? He was thrilled about it.

She had blushed.

Tree Hill, present time

James was exhausted. He had no idea what time it was and his entire body was aching from being in one position for so long, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. He had so many unanswered questions about his father. It was like he was finally getting to know him for the first time, and the feeling was overwhelming. It was like completely reverting from his beliefs and being forced to see that his dad was human – and that maybe, he was a good person. There was a reason why his mother fell in love him … a reason why she had stayed all those years, even if James never understood why.

He reached into the chest and felt something smooth and soft in his hands. He pulled it out and revealed it to be a deep blue silk scarf. He ran his fingers over the material, marveling at how it was kept in such a good condition, like it was still new. James noticed the end of the scarf and how, embroidered there were the small letters of his mother's initials – before she was married.

James neatly folded the scarf and carefully placed it on the floor, as if it was the most fragile thing and that it could fall apart at the softest touch. He now had so many items surrounding him, but none of them were answering his questions. If anything, they only added to it.

When was he going to get any answers?