P.S. I do not own anything.

CHAPTER 2

Nathan found himself to be quite nervous as he neared the tutoring centre. He wondered if it was wrong of him to not even know that the school had a tutoring centre. He found out about it only when he did a little background check on Haley. Turns out, she has tutored a few guys on the team. Nathan wanted to get back at Lucas and Haley James seems to be the answer to that but Nathan was questioning this plan more and more as he neared his destination.

He entered the tutoring centre and was pleased the she was the only person present. She was standing beside a shelf, concentrating intently on a book. She was wearing a black tank top under an unbuttoned flannel shirt with her skinny fit jeans. Man this girl was hot! And she didn't even have to try.

"Hi", he made his presence known, "you're Haley James right?". He knew who she is but didn't want to sound too obvious.

Haley looked up from her book and got the shock of her life when she saw a smirking Nathan Scott at the tutoring centre although she didn't let her face show. He really was good looking with an equally horrible character. Haley was aware of the numerous times he had bullied Lucas. "ya", she cautiously said "can I help you"?

"Yes you can, you're my tutor", he said handing over the forms to her smirk still in place "I was assigned to you". She checked the forms sceptically and wondered how they could assign another student when she was completely filled out.

"I'm sorry I'm totally filled out, I'll assign you to another person".

Nathan's face dropped. This plan isn't going too well he thought. I've got to convince her somehow. "Look, I'm failing miserably and my friends told me that you can help me out. Is there some way you could fill me in?"

Haley contemplated on what to do. His sudden greediness to study struck her as odd but she didn't have the right to turn him away. "Okay then, are you up for 7am sessions at the market street docks?"

"Why not at the tutoring centre?" asked Nathan with a questioning look.

"It doesn't open that early and I don't have the keys to the centre and getting it is just extra trouble I can do without", she explained. "so tomorrow 7am, I'll see you then?"

Nathan was quite taken back by her curt responses. Girls usually fawn and giggle around him but her stance didn't even waver. "Okay I'll be there", he said while making his way out of the tutoring centre, "I guess I'll see you then... tomorrow... 7am... alright bye". What the hell was that? Nathan thought as he walked down the hallway. He has never been nervous around a girl before but the way she completely dismissed his charms got to him. This is going to be harder than I thought.

... = ...

Haley was sitting at a bench near the docks overlooking the river. She has been waiting for Nathan for 10 minutes now and her patience is wearing thin. Last night she told Lucas about tutoring Nathan. He had been quite annoyed at first and a little doubtful that Nathan had approached his best friend of all people but he was eventually okay with it since he was sure that nobody can mess with Haley.

Thinking about yesterday made Haley more aggravated about today. She argued with Lucas for a whole half hour for the sake of Nathan and all that just so he could be late, that is, if he is showing up in the first place. People were right about him, he was devastatingly handsome and cocky as hell. He didn't even bother introducing himself the previous day since the whole town knew who he was and that smirk of his screamed superiority. Haley was so lost in thought about her encounter with Nathan that she didn't notice the object of interest making his way towards her. She finally noticed him coming her way with and that damn smirk plastered on his face annoyed her.

"Morning. I brought you some coffee", said Nathan as he sat down opposite Haley.

Wow he doesn't even have the decency to apologise she thought but kept her face composed. "Well how thoughtful of you", she said while grabbing the coffee and walking away with cup towards her bike.

Nathan sat there stunned for a few seconds until he came back to his sense and went after her. "What the hell Haley? Where are you going?" he asked.

She whipped her head towards him, looking angry and hot as hell. "You expect me to wait on you like an idiot while you take your own sweet time?".

Nathan was taken aback for a moment and mumbled a quick 'sorry' kind of feeling afraid of her at the moment. I shouldn't be scared! She's probably around 5'5". She's practically tiny in front of me.

"Listen I'm bending my rules for you here, the least you could do is come on time"

"I know and I'm really sorry it won't happen again I promise", he said. Once he noticed her relax, he released a breath he didn't know he was holding. She totally caught him off guard today. He knew he was late and was hoping he could charm his way out of it but she didn't even give him a chance. He realized that his usual tricks won't work on this girl he's going to have to try a different, more subtle approach if he wants to impress her.

They walked towards the docks and settled down at their respective benches. They started working on math straight away. Once the session was done she just packed up and walked away after telling him to come on time the next day. Geesh! Talk about a stuck up bitch he thought.

... = ...

It had been a tiring day for Nathan. Basketball practice was torturous to say the least. He had to wake up earlier than usual to go for his morning run and make it for his tutoring session. His thoughts drifted to his tutor. The whole day, he found himself thinking about her. At first, Nathan felt annoyed that she is so uptight but once he calmed down he realized that she was like a breath of fresh air. Most girls basically fall at his feet the first chance they get but Haley was the exact opposite. She took none of his crap and put him in his place and in a weird twisted way that made him feel good.

He entered his room thinking about his tutor when he spotted Peyton lying on his bed. Well I guess I could use a distraction for tonight. "Hey", he smirked her way. His face sobered upon seeing her tensed face. He has been noticing these days that she is extra moody and most of the time they end up fighting. He's starting to think that this relationship is more destructive than beneficial.

Upon hearing his greeting, she got up and sat on the edge of the bed. "I can't do this Nathan it's over", she said, "And I mean it this time".

"Seriously Peyton are we really gonna do this again?" He was tired of this back and forth game that has been going on with her.

"Yes and this time, I'm ending it for good"

Damn when did she get so annoying? "Whatever", he said and started looking into his closet. This was long overdue anyway.

Peyton was slightly surprised by his dismissal. I guess now I know for sure how much I mean to him. This realization was the final push she needed to walk out that door and not look back.

He knew that Peyton had left when he heard the door slam. He expected himself to be at least a little upset but he felt no such thing whatsoever. He should probably feel bad about it but he didn't coz in the end, it's for the best. He stripped down to his boxers and settled into bed, his mind fogged with thoughts about a certain girl. Surprisingly, the girl was not his current ex-girlfriend.

Please do share your thoughts.