"You don't seem to grasp the severity of this situation, Haley!" her mother said angrily, not looking up from the carrots she was chopping up to put in the beef stew she was making.

"Mom, it's not that bad!"

"Haley, the police were looking for him!" her mother said in a raised voice.

"I didn't know that, Mom!" Haley said, defending herself.

Her mother shook her head and wiped her forehead with her forearm. "I can't believe that my teenage daughter, so often the voice of reason even for me could be this…irresponsible! "

"Mom!"

"He pulled an IV out of his arm, Haley! Weren't you worried about that?"

"He looked…fine," Haley said weakly.

Her mother gave her a look of disbelief. "Well, he wasn't fine! He broke out of the hospital, for crying out loud!"

"Mom, you're being dramatic," Haley said. "I can't deal with you when you're like this."

"Excuse me?" Lydia said, dropping the knife and finally raising her eyes to her daughters. "I don't think we've ever been to this point!"

"Would it have been different if Lucas had been here instead of Nathan?" Haley asked.

"Of course it would have been!" Lydia said.

"And why is that?" Haley asked challengingly.

But Lydia James was not about to back down. "Well, for one thing, I've actually met Lucas," she pointed out.

"You're met Nathan!" Haley said.

"In passing when we're in the grocery store does not count," Lydia informed her daughter.

"But—"

"And for another, Haley, I'm not worried about Lucas taking my teenage daughter to bed!"

Haley crossed her arms in anger. "I am not sleeping with Nathan," she said.

"Well, I would hope not, Haley," Lydia said, trying to get control of her temper. She took a deep breath and picked the kitchen knife back up, going to work on the carrots again. She deliberately changed her tone of voice back to normal. "But when you're alone in the house, Haley, and the opportunity presents itself, sometimes, things get out of hand."

"I'm not a ball of hormones, Mom," she said.

Lydia sighed. "Yes, you are, Honey. All teenage girls are balls of hormones when they're around boys they like."

"So, what are you going to do? Are you going to ground me?"

"No, grounding you would be too easy," Lydia said, once again lifting her eyes to her daughters, this time in sorrow. "I'm just going to wonder if you're telling me the truth from now on. Every time you walk out that door, I'm going to wonder if that's really where you're going."

Haley groaned. "That s worse than being grounded!"

"Yes, well, I'm not trying to accommodate you," Lydia said. "I'm trying to get you grown up safely."

"I wasn't in any danger, Mom," Haley said.

"That's what scares me, Honey," her mother said. "Is that you really believe that."

777

"I tried calling you all weekend," Nathan said as Haley approached him.

She readjusted her book bag and sighed. "I couldn't get to a phone," she told him. "After you left, the police called my parents. And then, next thing I know, Karen was knocking on my door telling me to pack a bag. I had to spend Saturday night at her house."

"With Lucas?" Nathan asked. "Ouch."

Haley shook her head. "Actually, no. Conveniently, Lucas was staying at Skills' for the night. And I don't even think Karen knows we're fighting."

Nathan heard the pain in her voice and put an arm around her shoulders as they approached the school. "He's gonna get over this, Haley," he promised.

"Yeah," Haley said unconvinced.

Nathan held her tighter as she stumbled. "You OK?" he asked.

She stopped in her tracks and looked around. "Nathan?" she said in a small voice.

"Yeah?"

"Is it just me, or are people staring at us?" she asked nervously.

Nathan looked around. "People…might be staring," he conceded.

She took a deep breath. "I have to go," she said in a panic, rushing into the building.

"Hales!" he yelled at her back.

"I'll see you after school," she yelled over her shoulder. She disappeared down the hallway before he could catch up to her.

Infuriated, Nathan took a left where he normally would have taken a right, and made his way to the library. He'd seen Lucas there in the mornings before school sometimes when he'd had to serve a.m. detention. He stormed into the library and looked around, his eyes finally finding Lucas. Nathan ignored the starts that were following him as he made his way to the corner of the library. By the time he got there, his temper was flaring. "You know, you've always thought that I was the jerk, Lucas. And I'm sure that you think that I'm using her to get to you or playing some stupid game with you. But it's never been like that for me. Not with Haley."

"Shut the hell up!" Lucas said angrily.

Nathan shook his head then slammed the palms of his hands on the desk next to Lucas' text book. "No! I have one more thing left to say. You remember this. I never would have made her choose." With those last words, Nathan spun on his heel and strode out of the library.

777

"So, I heard you had drama before school today," Brooke said, sliding her tray onto the table beside Lucas'.

"I was in the library studying," he said, confused.

"I know," Brooke said, peeling the sticker off her apple. "But apparently you weren't alone," she said.

Lucas nodded. "Yeah," he said, taking a drink of his milk.

"Luke, you OK?" Brooke asked.

"He doesn't know the first thing about Haley!" Lucas said.

"Nathan?" Brooke asked.

"Yes, Nathan!" he spat.

"Well, what did he say?" she asked.

"I'll tell you what he said!" Lucas said angrily. "He said that maybe he was a jerk, but he would never have made her choose! Can you believe that?"

Brooke shrugged. "Actually, yeah," she said softly.

"What?" Lucas asked, his head whipping around to look at Brooke.

"Lucas, have you seen the way he looks at her?"

"No," Lucas said flatly.

"Of course not," Brooke said. "Well, if you had, you would believe it. He was waiting for her before school today."

"How sweet," Lucas said sarcastically.

"It is sweet, Lucas."

"So sweet, it's making me sick," he said.

Brooke laughed. "Let's change the subject, then," she said.

"To what?" Lucas asked suggestively.

"To us," she said playfully. "What are you doing tonight?"

"I don't know. What am I doing tonight?" he asked.

She lifted an eyebrow at him. "Me, hopefully," she challenged.

Lucas laughed. "You never stop surprising me, Brooke Davis," he told her.

"Yes, well, I am a woman of surprises."

"I get that," he told her.

"I want to finish what we started the other night," she told him.

"Brooke, I told you—"

"Yes, I know what you told me," she said dismissively. "But I'm in this relationship, too, Lucas. And I'm telling you…I'm ready," she said forcefully.

Lucas' eyes widened in shock and he looked her up and down. "Right now?" he croaked.

Brooke laughed at his expression. "No, not right now," she told him. "Well…maybe right now."

"Brooke—"

"Relax, Romeo. Not right now. But this weekend, Lucas. I want you this weekend."

"Brooke—"

"Luke, I have waited—" she started, and then stopped when he put a finger to her lips.

"I want you, too," he said huskily.

"Then it's a date?" she said, her breathing shallow at the mere thought of being with him.

"It's a date," he confirmed, sealing it with a kiss.

777

"You skipped first period this morning," Jake said, catching up to Peyton after school.

"Yeah, well, I was tired," she said by way of excuse.

"Or, you were embarrassed," he said.

She could hear the smile in his voice. "I am not embarrassed," she said. But she could feel her cheeks pinkening even as she denied it.

"Of course you're not," he teased with a shrug. "And you shouldn't be. Lots of girls throw themselves at me."

Peyton gasped and came to a halt. "I didn't throw myself at you!" she said emphatically.

"Of course you did," he argued. "You had me pinned beneath you on your mattress. I couldn't have moved if I'd wanted to." He winked at her, a wide grin on his face. "But don't worry. Luckily, I didn't want to."

Her gaze narrowed. "You're unbelievable," she said.

He reached for her hand and gave it a tug. "So are those crystal green eyes of yours," he whispered.

She lifted her hands to his chest to push herself back away from him, but his hands lifted to her waist before she could make her escape. "Jake—" she said.

"What?" he said, his breathing increasing just from looking into her eyes.

"What are you doing with me?" she asked painfully.

His grin got wider. "Right now?" he asked teasingly. "Holding onto you for dear life."

She shook her head. "No, not right now," she said insistently. "What are you doing with me?" she repeated.

"Trying to kiss you," he said.

"No, Jake," she said.

Jake took a deep breath. "I don't know what I'm doing with you," he said honestly. "I just know that I can't stay away from you. And I'm hoping you can't stay away from me," he said softly, hopefully. There was a short pause. "Peyton?"

"I can't stay away from you," she whispered. Closing the small gap that was left between them, she lifted her lips to his.