"I love you too Peyton" the name kept repeating inside of her head. Peyton. Peyton. Peyton. She wanted to be angry but how could she be angry at someone who was asleep? Besides, it's not 'Haley-like' to get upset at something like that. It would be uncalled for and so incredibly unfair to Nathan if she got upset with him for that reason, so she just decided to try and forget it. Think of other things; imagine rainbows, count sheep, think of how hot Nathan looks playing basketball, things like that. But no, Peyton's face kept creeping into her thoughts.

"That damn slutty blonde" she said under her breath as she sat up in her bed. It was now 6:30 and she was going to get ready for school. Still angry with her own thoughts she doesn't give Nathan the sweet morning wakening like she usually does but instead flicks water at his face with her freshly washed hands.

"What was that for?!" Nathan says surprised.

"Just trying to wake you up" she says bluntly.

"Well geez, who peed in your Cheerios?" He says as he gets up from bed.

"Boohoo, you won't melt from the damn water, just get ready." She says as she puts her hair into a bun because she has no energy to do her hair this morning.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry" he says as he walks into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

"Haley… this morning, did I do something to make you mad?" Nathan asks as they were walking through the hallways.

"No, I was just being PMS-y I guess, I'm sorry." She says trying to cover her anger towards Peyton.

He gives her a relieved expression. "I was so scared I did something… you seemed so upset with me."

"Nathan… I love you so much" she says as she gives him a tight hug from the side.

"I love you too Hales" he says as he pats her head.

And just when Haley thought her emotions were controlled Peyton starts approaching them.

"Hey Nate, you ready for tonight?" Peyton asks eagerly.

"I guess so, I kinda have to be don't you think?" he says in a sarcastic tone.

"Well, um, pick me up at 7:40-ish?"

"Sure, see you then."

"See ya" then she walks away.

"Well you seemed like a happy camper Natey!" Haley says teasing him.

"She's just so… I don't even know how to label her."

"She's your ex-girlfriend! What about, your Freshman year crush, or… maybe ev—"

"That's enough, I get the point." He says giving her a frustrated face.

"Aww, baby don't pout! Your darling Haley James will make all your worries go away with this single kiss." She says as she presses her lips against his.

"Thanks but I'm still pissed at Peyton."

"Well you're the one who agreed to this whole thing, so…" Haley said confused at his current irritation.

"I was just trying to be nice, but I really don't want to go, I'd rather spend the night with you, watching a movie cuddling against you,"

"Mmm. Drinking hot chocolate?" Haley added with her imagination lingering into the thought.

"Sure, and I'd give you those tiny little kisses on your neck that always make you moan a little, just like this." He says as he goes towards her neck.

"Nate…" she says as she held him back.

"We're in school, don't embarrass me." She says with a mischievous smile.

Nathan just looks at her and falls more in love with her.

"Lucas?" Brooke says as she stares at her spaced out boyfriend inside the library.

"Huh?" he replies slightly surprised.

"Want to have dinner tonight?"

"Oh, uh… I promised Haley I'd keep her company tonight since Nathan and Peyton are going out tonight."

"About that… is Haley worried about Nathan going?" Brooke asks as she rests her chin on her hand.

"She says she's not, but I know she is… she's Haley, always worrying about something" he laughs.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you really ask Haley out Freshmen year?"

Lucas is a bit shocked from the sudden question.

"Uhhh. Yeah, why?" He answers as he scratches his head uncomfortably.

"I always thought she was joking about that but I never found myself asking about it, until, well, now." She giggled.

"Ha. Well, I did, it was the summer before Freshmen year. I always knew she liked Nathan but I liked her so much, especially that summer."

Brooke didn't look upset at his words but amazed, of how beautifully he could speak about Haley.

"Sorry if this is making you uncomfortable." He says as he rests his hand on her thigh.

"No, no, keep going. I love hearing about your past." She says as she smiles.

"You know Brooke Davis, I love you" he says with complete sincerity.

"Now tell me more about Tutor Girl!" she says like a child.

"Well what do you wanna know? He questioned.

"Why'd you like her? How'd you two meet? Everything, tell me everything!" she said extremely excited just at the thought.

"You have to promise to never tell Nathan this okay pretty girl?"

"I promise boyfriend!"

"I met Haley when I was 4, I actually met her because of Nathan. He always talked about his best friend and how I should meet her. It's like he wanted to play matchmaker and get Haley and I together. I remember like it was yesterday, he told me to ask her out during one of their birthday parties. But I chickened out. Until the summer Nathan went to basketball camp."

"Mhm, mhm" Brooke nodded intrigued.

"The moment I met her I knew how beautiful of a person she was, inside and out. But as we grew older I always noticed it was Nathan she was staring at during our basketball practices, or Nathan she'd give the bigger portion of food to. Little things like that. Even though I knew she'd reject me, I had to try. Like what if she said yes to me?"

"Everything would be different" Brooke stated quietly.

"I would've never met you. You know, I was talking to Haley about you the other day. She made me realize how much I love you, and how you were the second girl I met that I knew how beautiful of a person she was, inside and out. I mean it Brooke Davis"

She started to become teary-eyed and the beauty of his words did wonders to her emotions.

"You really mean it Luke? Am I like your second Tutor Girl?" he laughed at her odd question.

"If you want to be then yes, you are" he smiled at her.

"Nathan Royal Scott you clean this mess up this instant!" Lydia yelled as she pointed to the dirt tracks he left on her freshly mopped kitchen floor.

"Aunt Lydia I didn't mean too!" he says as he grabbed a rag to clean the floor with.

"Uh-uh, didn't mean to, well you still gotta get it sparkly white like it was before your monsterous feet touched my ground!" she said dramatically.

"Give him a break Lyd!" Jimmy defended.

"Thanks Uncle Jimmy" Nathan said as he put some elbow grease into the tracks.

"No problem kiddo, better clean it good though before the wife takes her anger out on me." The two laughed at his silliness.

"Woah, why is Nathan on all four? And cleaning?!" Haley says in fake shock.

"Very funny Hales…" he says as he gets up to wash his hands.

"He made a mess on my floor and I made him clean it." Lydia said with seriousness.

"Oh Mama, you do know that this boy right here is a little piggy." Haley laughed.

"I am not!" Nathan defended himself.

"You are too! Your clothes are everywhere, I'm surprised you're even able to find your tux for tonight" she added.

"When is that shindig anywho?" Jimmy asked.

"8."

"Shouldn't you be getting ready boy, it's 7"

"Peyton can wait." He said dreadfully.

"Now Nathan, you know better than to make a woman wait" Lydia says to the tall, blue eyed boy.

"I know Aunt Lydia, but it's not like she's Haley."

Haley smiles at his sweet words.

"Still, Peyton is a woman and you should treat her how you'd treat Haley Bob here" Jimmy supported his wife as he had a hold on Haley's shoulders.

"Okay…" Nathan said in a defeated tone.

"I'll help you get ready Natey" Haley smiled at him, and the two trotted upstairs.

"You look so cute!" Haley exclaimed at the site of Nathan in a light blue dress shirt tucked into charcoal gray slacks.

"Cute?" he said weirded by her choice of adjective.

"Yes, you are extremelyyyy cute." She said as she went up to him and pinched his ass.

"Ohhh, that cute, huh? The sexy cute?" He said cockily.

She shook her head in disagreement.

"no, the Nathan Royal Scott cute" then she looked over at the clock on her side table.

"Nathan, it's 7:35. Shouldn't you be heading out soon?" asked concern about the time.

"She can wait a couple minutes" he answers as he starts kissing her.

As he kissed her he could taste the raspberry lip balm she was wearing. Her lips felt especially soft today and he felt more attracted to her than ever. Her tiny little moans were music to his ears.

"Nathan…" she said as her voice trailed off.

"Yes baby?" he said quickly as their lips were still connected.

Then she let out a soft laugh and pushed him away.

"I feel funny." She answered his question from earlier.

"Funny, how?" although knowing her implications.

"Like…funny everywhere" she said whispering 'everywhere'.

He gave her the naughtiest look he could and her faced filled with redness.

"Nathan, I'm serious! This is bad." She said as she laughed a little at her ridiculousness.

"Bad? Oh baby this is farrrr from bad"

"Come on stop! You gotta go now!" she said pointing to the clock that read 7:40.

He let out a soft frustrated grunt.

"Fine, I'll be leaving now I guess." He said in a depressed tone.

"I"ll wait for you" she said shyly.

"What?" he asked confused.

"I'll be waiting for you tonight," she said in a seductive way as she caressed her fingers against his neck.

"Hales?" he questioned making sure she wasn't joking.

"Don't keep me waiting for too long Natey." And she kissed him on the cheek goodbye.

"I won't!" and he quickly scurried out of the house.

"You're late" Peyton stated as she got into his car.

"It's only 7:48 we won't be late"

"Whatever" she said with her arms crossed.

"You look nice" Nathan complimented as he started driving.

"Thanks" she said quietly as she looked at how incredibly hot her date looked.

"Have you been working out Nate?" Peyton questioned.

"I guess, why?"

"Your arms… they look much bigger than from when we were together" she replied.

"Oh, well. I've been doing the same things." He says as he turns the corner.

"You look good" she said wanting to make him feel comfortable.

He turned over to Peyton and smiled.

After meeting her brother and chatting with other cadets Nathan was exhausted. But to his surprise Peyton was a really nice date. He found himself having a good time.

Nathan walked Peyton to her door remembering the words Lydia and Jimmy said to him about being a gentleman and trying to treat her how he'd treat Haley. As they got to the door Peyton began to thank him for the favor.

"Thanks for everything Nate." She smiled at him.

"It was no problem, it was actually fun" he laughed

"Well that's good" she smiled at him.

"Well, I'm going to go home, it's already past midnight"

"Nate wait" Peyton let out quickly

"Yeah?"

Then she kissed him forcefully. After a few seconds his lips began to relax against hers. Not feeling any tinges of remorse Peyton pushed him against her front door and grabbed onto the sides of his shirt. Suddenly Nathan felt aroused and continued touching Peyton everywhere. Eventually, they found themselves on her couch and he felt himself tightening in his jeans and it was no secret to Peyton. She had a lustrous look on her face as she began to unbutton his light blue shirt. Quickly she yanked off the buttons from their place and she found herself sucking on the skin of his chest.

"Nathan…" she groaned in pleasure.

Nathan couldn't believe what was going on. He was so wound up in the testosterone and estrogen that he didn't realize right from wrong when he felt this… good. But the thought of Haley crossed his mind and his heart fell to the pit of his stomach. He got that feeling people get when they're about to go on a really big rollercoaster and are scared shitless.

"Peyton, we have to stop" he says as he props himself up onto the couch. He not only sees the messy haired Peyton but also the future damage he's brought to his relationship with Haley.

"Come on Nate…" Peyton says defeated.

"I love Haley" he blurts out to her. Trying to convince himself more than Peyton.

"Do you really? She's clearly not…pleasing you" she said trying to choose her words wisely.

"This was a mistake Peyton, please don't tell Haley about this" he said desperately.

"Nate, I like you so much why don't you get that?" She said as she looked at him with frustration.

"What does she have that I don't?" she questioned desperately.

"My heart" he quickly answers as he begins to button his shirt again.

At that moment Peyton realized that what he was saying was true. She could never win Nathan over if it was Haley she was against.

"She means that much to you huh?" Peyton asks.

"Yeah, she's my… everything" he answers as he smiles at the thought.

"I'm sorry for all of this, mess" Peyton apologizes to Nathan.

"It's ok, a lot of it is my fault. I should've treated you better when we were together, I don't get why you like me so much."

"Probably the sex I like" she confessed.

He laughed at her silly comment and headed towards the door.

"I'm gonna go now Peyton, I'll see you later" he smiles at her.

"Bye Nate" she says as she thinks over what just happened.

12:37 AM the clock on the dashboard reads as Nathan is nearing the house. He tries to walk in quietly to make sure not to wake anyone. As he's tiptoeing up the stairs he's imagining what Haley looks like right now. He loves seeing her after a long day and she seems more beautiful as the days pass. He opens their bedroom door and sees his cute girlfriend on the bed in one of his shirts that say "Tree Hill Ravens Basketball."

"You look much better in that than me" he says as he approaches his adorable Haley.

She smiles widely at his presence and wraps her arms around his neck.

"I missed you baby" she quickly stated as she gave him a peck on his nose.

He looked at her and tried to soak in her perfection. She was all he needed to be happy.

"Same here" he says as he plants a massive kiss to her lips.

As he's kissing her he realizes that she's not as into it as he is and this makes him a bit nervous. She pushes him away and looks at him with a disgusted face.

"I-I can taste her on your lips…" Haley says disappointed at him.

"Hales…"

She starts to unbutton his shirt and to her dismay she finds a hickey on his chest.

"Oh god" she says betrayed and shocked. Her hands covering her mouth with pure agony.

"I can explain baby, just give me a chance to explain" he begs as she's beginning to break down.

She simply shakes her head in refusal to his pleading and runs into her bathroom and locks the door.

After 15 minutes he can still hear her crying.

"Baby come on" he knocks on the door as he hears her sobbing.

"Please open the door Haley" he says as he persistently pleads.

"Give me a chance to explain"

He begins to hear her sucking in her tears and going near the door so he steps back a bit. She opens the door eyes swollen and tear stained cheeks. As he's about to hug her to comfort her she swings her hand widely and smacks him hard on the cheek. The stinging of the slap already setting in he sees the tears flow harder in her eyes. She seems sorry for the slap but at the same time so extremely vulnerable. Nathan just stands there looking down at his emotional girlfriend and for the first them in their lifetime is at a loss of words. He knows what he did was wrong but it took him so long to stop himself. How could he explain that to her? He knew he was in the wrong so explaining himself seemed pointless.

"I'm sorry Hales, if you want to break up I understand…" he said defeated.

Her lips begin to quiver harder and his heart broke at the sight.

"Am I not good enough for you Nathan? Did I not please you?" she started questioning him.

"No, oh god Hales, no!"

"Was my heart not enough for you?" she added.

"I was ready to give everything to you Nathan…" she confessed, making his heart break even more.

"B-but you broke my heart right before I could." She cried.

"Is this all you wanted?" she said as she stepped out of her pajama shorts.

"Haley…"

"HUH?! Is this all you wanted?" she yelled as she takes the shirt off of her leaving her in her undergarments.

"Stop it Haley, stop." He says as he stares at his stripping girlfriend.

"No. this is what you wanted from me," she says as she goes for her bra clasp.

"This is what you wanted from me right? Sex, my body, my "everything"" she mocked.

As she was about to let go of the clasp of her bra Nathan hugs her so she can't reveal her 'everything' to him. His grip on Haley is tight and he feels like he's holding onto her with dear life. He reclasps the bra for her and puts the shirt back over her head. She's now crying into his chest and gasping for air.

"I-I just wanted you to be happy, but I couldn't keep you happy, s-so you had to go running to Peyton because I couldn't give you everything" she sobbed.

"I told you I'd give it up for you tonight, why couldn't you wait a few more hours Nate?" she cried to him.

"Just a few hours and I'd be completely yours, was I that useless to you that you couldn't wait a couple hours?" she questioned.

"It's not like that Hales…" he said wanting her to understand so much.

"Is my body not good enough for you? Do I need to dress up in my auction costume for you to like me? Or what about a get-up like Peyton's? Is that what I need to do for you to be satisfied Nathan. Because frankly my heart feels so bruised after this." She wept.

"I didn't want to try to cover up this problem with my sexual needs Haley"

"Tonight me and Peyton did kiss after I brought her home."

She looked up at him with disappointment-filled eyes,

"The hickey…" she said quietly not wanting to interrupt my explanation to her.

"it got a little too far but when I realized my actions and thought of you I stopped. I swear we didn't have sex Haley, you have to understand that I would never do that to you"

"I really want to believe you Nate, I really do, but you promised you'd never hurt me either" she stated.

"I trusted you with my soul Nathan…"

"Give me another chance, I beg of you" He teared up at the thought of losing her.

"Why should I? So you can prove me wrong? You… you… BETRAYED ME" she shouted.

"I-I didn't mean to, I was being stupid and I can't lose you Hales. I really can't, you're all I have." He confessed as tears ran down his cheeks.

"You should've thought about that before you made out with Peyton" she stated bluntly.

He stayed silent after hearing those words from her, she was right. No matter what he said it was going to seem like that he had no problem kissing Peyton. And a part of him wanted to yell at her for being so incredibly wrong but the other part of him wanted to tell himself how much of a dumbass he was for getting himself in a situation like this.

"We just need to sleep this off Nathan, I cannot fathom how upset I am with you right now." He stared into her swollen eyes and tried to find hope, and he did. She was haley… she'd always give him the benefit of the doubt, but right now she was hurt. In ways she really can't explain. All she knew was that her boyfriend seemed less loyal than expected.

A/N: I am so sorry for not posting for like a week! My dad decided to change internet providers so we've had to deal with the switch for a week and a half now but I've actually had this chapter for awhile so I really apologize! Please review because I really need to know how you guys are feeling about this dilemma. I have two versions of chapter ten ready so your reviews will be my deciding factor as to how this will play out. Thanks! Love, Camille 3