A/N: Thank you for the awesome reviews! And thanks to my awesome beta: Leeese!

Disclaimer: Don't own OTH

Chapter Eight

Secrets & Guys

Nathan walked up to the front porch and knocked on the door. He looked around again to make sure that he wasn't being followed. He knew that there would be trouble if Brooke found out that he was at Haley's parents' house. But it was the only way to find out the truth about Haley.

"We're fine," Karen assured him, who was standing beside him. She had insisted on coming with him just in case there was trouble. "For now anyway."

The door then opened and Mrs. James gave Nathan and Karen a welcoming smile. "You must be the Scotts, Karen and Nathan. I'm Lydia James. Come on in," she greeted them. They followed her into the front hall and into the living room. "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?" she asked them as she gestured the two to sit on the couch.

Nathan shook his head as they sat down. "No thank you," he replied politely.

"I'm fine," Karen added. She really wanted to get down to business. She didn't know how long it would be before Brooke found out what they were doing.

"I'm sorry that my husband can't join us, but he's working today," Lydia replied as she sat down on an armchair. "So you two are friends with Haley?"

Karen nodded. "Yes, we are. But we are concerned about her. We don't believe that she should be working for Ms. Davis."

"I know. I don't trust Ms. Davis either, but it's not my place to say. And Haley can take care of herself," Lydia replied. "She's stronger than she looks."

"I don't doubt that," Nathan said with a smile.

Karen then went back to the original subject. "Mrs. James, we are concerned about Haley because of how different Ms. Davis is," she said, trying not to give too much away. She didn't know if she knew about the magical world or not. "She's not your typical boss. She's dangerous."

Lydia didn't answer her. Nathan immediately knew why. He looked at her hard. "You know, don't you?" he asked her in disbelief. He didn't let his mother or Lydia reply. He stood up and glared at her. "How can you sit there and let your daughter be a slave to that evil witch?" he exclaimed angrily.

Karen tried to calm him down as Lydia answered his question. "Nathan, I understand you want to help my daughter, but it's not necessary. She is where she needs to be." Nathan gave her a confused look as Karen had a thoughtful look on her face. However, neither could reply as there was a clap of thunder. Lydia suddenly grew worried. "Oh dear, she's coming." Nathan and Karen didn't even have to ask. They knew it was Brooke. "You should probably leave before she gets here," Lydia suggested as she got up from her chair.

Karen firmly shook her head as she got up as well. "Don't worry. We know how to handle her."

Just then, Brooke appeared in front of the three and she was not happy. "I should have known that your little trip out of town would end up here," she said as she glared at Karen and Nathan icily.

Nathan just smirked at her. "You told me to stay away from Haley. You never said anything about her parents," he told her in a firm tone. "So maybe you should have been more specific."

"I have run out of patience with you, Nathan," Brooke said angrily as Julian and Owen appeared besides her. "So I'm afraid that I will have to force you to stay away."

Karen moved protectively in front of her son as she gave Brooke a stern look. "I don't think that is necessary. We are leaving Tree Hill." Nathan turned to his mother surprised. He then realized that she was up to something.

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "Really? Why don't I believe you?" she said as she crossed her arms. She then pretended to think for a moment. "That's right. Your new friend Haley is still my prisoner. Surely, you're not going to leave without her or even say good-bye," she taunted Nathan as she gave him a smug grin. She then became serious. "Of course, that would mean you would have to have permission from me to see her. And you don't. But you can if you're willing to follow my rules."

"What would we have to do?" Nathan asked her.

"First, you have to tell me what little spell you have put on Haley to block my magic," Brooke replied. Nathan scoffed at her. He should have known she would want that first. "And second, you would only have five minutes with her. After all, she is grounded."

"You and I both know that we won't agree to the first rule," Nathan said angrily.

"Then I guess I'll have to say good-bye to Haley for you. Don't worry. I'll make sure that she won't be too heartbroken," Brooke replied.

"Like she isn't already?" Nathan snapped.

"Easy, Nathan," Karen gently warned him. She didn't want him to rile Brooke even more than she already was. "Come on. Let's go. We have packing to do." She then snapped her fingers and disappeared from sight. Nathan glared at Brooke before he snapped his fingers as well and disappeared.

When he reappeared, he showed up in the library where his mother was frantically searching through books. "Mom, I'm not leaving Tree Hill without Haley," Nathan told his mother. He could see that his mother wasn't listening to him. "What are you looking for?" he asked her curious.

Karen didn't answer until she found what she was looking for. She gave Nathan the book with the page opened to where she was reading. He glanced through the page and immediately spotted what his mother was looking at. He turned to her surprised as he said, "This can't be possible."

"It would explain why Brooke has been keeping her alive these past few years," Karen said. "She obviously wants to make sure that she was in control."

"We have to tell Haley," Nathan replied in a determined voice. "She deserves to know."

Karen nodded. "I know, but we're going to have to wait. Brooke won't let you anywhere near Haley right now."

Nathan sighed in frustration. He hated that his mother was right. He just wished he could do something to get Haley away from Brooke for good. "I could have handled those guys."

Just then, the library doors opened to reveal the patriarch of the family, Dan Scott. He let out a relieved sigh as he saw his wife and son. "Thank goodness you two are alright. There was trouble at the café earlier. It seems that Brooke sent a spy to watch us."

Karen wasn't surprised. "She's really determined to find out about that bracelet. What exactly was this person doing to cause trouble?"

"He was hitting on Lily and trying to get information from her. Luckily, I stopped him before he went too far," Dan replied.

"That's it. Nobody goes anywhere without someone else with them. I don't want one of Brooke's followers or even Brooke herself to somehow trick us into telling her about the bracelet," Karen ordered. She then turned to Nathan and gave him a firm look as she said, "That means you too."

"Mom, I don't need a baby-sitter. I can take care of myself," Nathan said angrily before leaving the library.

Haley was staring at the ceiling when she heard the attic door unlocking. She sat upright as Brooke walked into the attic. She wasn't surprised when she saw that she had her regular smirk on her face. "Good afternoon, Haley. I just wanted to see how you are surviving without any meals or friends to keep you company."

Haley was suspicious. "That's funny. You usually don't comment on that type of stuff until the end of the day."

"Well, I thought it was appropriate now because of your new friends," Brooke said. There was a short pause. "How long do you think you can survive without seeing Nathan?" she asked her in a teasing tone.

"Don't hurt him," Haley exclaimed angrily.

"I'm tempted to. After all, he doesn't do what I ask, which is to stay away from you. But that will all change soon," Brooke said in a smug voice.

"What are you talking about?" Haley asked her. She didn't know if she wanted to hear the answer or not.

Brooke pretended to give her a surprised look. "You don't know? Well, your new friends are supposedly leaving Tree Hill," she replied as Haley looked at her in surprise. "I offered them a chance to say good-bye to you, but they decided not to. I guess they wanted to spare you the heartache of a good-bye."

"You're lying," Haley exclaimed. "Nathan wouldn't do that to me without a good reason."

"Well, I did tell him that he would have five minutes with you," Brooke replied. "After all, you're grounded. But he still refused."

Haley looked at her hard. She wasn't falling for it. "Ok, what did you really say?" she asked her. "There had to be a catch. Like telling you what spell he put on me?" Brooke didn't answer, showing Haley that she was right. "Nice try, Brooke. But you're never going to get your answer."

Brooke glared at her angrily. "We'll see about that," she said before she stomped out of the attic and locked the door. She walked through the halls before heading downstairs to the kitchen. She groaned frustrated. "Peyton, I need you," she called and waited impatiently for her mentor to show.

She heard a loud pop and she turned around to see Peyton. "Let me guess, neither are talking?" she asked her.

"No, and Chris got caught by Dan when he went to the café," Brooke replied as she groaned frustrated. "And now he's banned from the café."

Peyton nodded understandingly. "I see. Well, I have a few ideas. Do you remember what it was like when you were dating someone?"

"Don't even mention that traitor's name," Brooke warned her as her eyes narrowed.

Peyton gave her a look. "Relax, Brooke. I'm just talking about being in a relationship. I mean I know that Nathan and Haley aren't exactly in a relationship, but they are pretty close." Brooke gave her a glare in response. "So how do you break up a relationship?" she asked.

Brooke immediately knew what she was talking about. She gave her an evil grin. "You are good, Peyton."

"I know," Peyton replied, returning the grin.