You guys continue to amaze me with the reviews and support! I know a lot of you were upset about Lucas's behavior but I promise he will turn around
A/N: I changed the timing a little from the show. In the show Keith gets murdered when they're seniors and Lily doesn't come into play until much later. However, I wanted her to be a small part of this story so I changed the shooting to be during their freshmen year.
Chapter 7: Suddenly I Am in Front of the Lights
It happened so fast. One minute Haley was getting ready for prom with her best friend and winning prom queen, to trying to stop her best friend from drunk driving and getting into a car accident. This night was suppose to be perfect, nothing was suppose to go wrong but it did. Haley's head hurt and she could barely remember what happened. She was mad at herself for not taking the keys from Lucas sooner, for not putting up more of a fight when he commanded her to get into the car. She was scared of him, she saw a Lucas she didn't recognize. She wish she had just let him go, but then again, this matter could be much worse. His face when he broke down into tears telling his best friend that he was scared was etched into her mind. The truck headed towards them and Lucas erratically swerving and winding them in a ditch was going to haunt her for a while. She expected several nightmares to come, several fears of driving in the dark to grace the surface. The worst part was she couldn't even open her eyes her head hurt so bad. She couldn't move either because her right side was so bruised and broken that it hurt to breathe. She just wanted Nathan, she didn't know where he was or if he even knew that she had been hurt but her heart broke. Her heart broke for Brooke who was alone at prom, not knowing where Lucas was. Her heart broke for the unborn baby, because she wasn't sure if Lucas was even alive. Her heart broke for Lucas, who was terrified of being a dad and becoming Dan. Her heart broke for Nathan, who was probably frantically searching for her and leaving her voicemails begging for her to please get in touch with him so that he could know that she was okay.
Nathan was panicking. Haley wasn't picking up her cell phone and he was kicking himself in the ass for not stopping Lucas or Haley soon. How could he be so naïve to let Lucas take alcohol into prom with him and to hand him his? He should have swatted it away from Luke, not given it to him so gladly. He was distracted when his phone rang and he saw the familiar number of his mom's.
"Hi Mom." Nathan really didn't want to have one of those "how is my baby doing" conversations with his mom right now. He wanted to hear from Haley and be comforted that she was okay. Brooke was now standing besides him sniffling. It was apparent that she had been crying and Nathan just wanted to tell her to go away, but he knew that she needed a friend right now and frankly, so did he.
"Nathan listen. There's been an accident…" Deb's voice was soft. Nathan could feel his heart drop into his stomach. Please don't let this be about Haley.
"What do you mean there's been an accident?"
"Haley and Lucas… they're in the hospital. Everything's okay but Haley's pretty banged up." Nathan wanted to punch Lucas in the throat. Lucas was the reason why Haley was hurt and lying in a hospital bed right now. Lucas was the reason why his girl was hurt and he wasn't there to comfort her.
"I'll be right there." Nathan hung up and looked at Brooke. He decided that he should tell her before she got the news from someone else and it was too late. Brooke Davis did not like to be the last person to know of anything, especially when it came to Lucas. "Brooke, we gotta go to the hospital. Haley and Lucas were in an accident and they're hurt."
"Oh my god this is all of my fault! I shouldn't have told the cheer squad that I was pregnant!"
"Brooke this isn't the time for that! Stop being so focused on yourself for once okay?!" Nathan didn't mean to snap but he was pissed and worried and all of these emotions were flooding him at once he didn't know how to handle it.
Nathan drove like a maniac all the way to the hospital silently thanking the Gods that he didn't get pulled over. He frantically entered the lobby and began looking around for a familiar face and was comforted when he saw Karen and Deb's.
"Where is she mom? I need to see her."
"It's only family right now Nathan, we have to wait."
"I don't give a damn if it's just family right now. She's gonna be my family one day so I need to see her right now." Nathan had never acted like this before about anyone in his life and he was not one to talk back to his mother. Dan on the other hand, he could talk back to him all day he didn't give two shits what his dad had to say. But Haley was special, and Nathan needed to see her and needed the world to know that this girl meant the entire world to him and he wasn't going down without a fight. So he did what any Scott man would do, he fought with anyone who told him no. Eventually the nurse got tired of him harassing her and she reluctantly got permission from the doctor and Haley herself to let Nathan into the room. As Nathan was headed to her room he heard the familiar voice of Lucas and he stopped dead in his tracks. It happened to work out that Lucas's room was right across from Haley's so he strolled right in to see Lucas laying there with his arm in a cast and Brooke sitting across from him. How the hell did she get in here before me?
"Oh hey Nate look, I'm sorry – " Nathan cut him off.
"You're sorry?! You better be fucking sorry. If you weren't in this hospital bed right now I would punch you so hard. HOW DARE YOU! How could you be so stupid, acting so recklessly like Dan!? Does Haley mean NOTHING to you!?" Nathan fired off and saw Lucas cringe when he mentioned Dan. Nathan didn't care, he wanted Lucas to know that he had messed up.
"Nate, no of course I care about Haley!"
"Do you Lucas? Because from what I saw tonight you don't care about anyone but yourself. You got into a car intoxicated and drove in it with my future wife and almost killed her! And what about Brooke?! Last time I checked you got your panties tied into a knot because she was telling people she was pregnant with YOUR baby! I seriously want to punch you so much right now but I'll let you sit through and watch Haley in pain because of your mistakes!" And with that Nathan slammed the hospital door shut behind him and walked across to Haley's room. She smiled when she saw him and he swore that her smile alone could brighten up the dreariness of this hospital room.
"Hi Hales." He said, as he smiled so big and proud as he walked over and kissed her forehead. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Future wife huh?" Nathan's cheeks got red. "Yes, I heard your entire conversation with Lucas. It's sweet of you to stand up for me but it was an accident and we're okay." She smiled. Nathan loved that no matter what happened to her, Haley James always tried to remain positive.
"Yes, I hope that didn't upset you. I want you to be my future wife one day Haley James, and that day, when it comes, will be the best day of my life. Always and forever." He kissed her lips so softly, being sure to not damage her anymore than she had already been damaged.
- One Tree Hill -
It had been almost two weeks from the accident, and exactly one month until graduation and things were anything but normal in Tree Hill. Haley still hadn't talked to Lucas. Nathan wouldn't let her and every time that Haley attempted to talk to Lucas, he would just walk away. He apologized profusely to her when they were discharged from the hospital but that was it. She wondered why he was being so cold, and figured it had to do with the fact that Nathan had ripped him a new one and the entire school was gossiping about him and Brooke. Brooke and Lucas weren't doing so well and the publicity wasn't helping their situation. When Lucas was out of the hospital Brooke ripped him a new one too and was wondering why Lucas was so embarrassed about being the father of her baby, their baby. Lucas blamed it on stress and fear. He also said that he was upset that she had told people without him knowing since they had decided together to not say a word. He then began to wait on Brooke hand and foot to try and make up for his Dan-like mistakes but she was being a hard egg to crack. She wasn't letting this go so easily, and she wanted to make that known.
Nathan and Haley were stronger than ever, but people were gossiping about them too. Some students went as far as saying that Nathan was dating Haley just so he could graduate with good grades, but Haley knew that was just a rumor. She enjoyed those kinds of things and laughed at how ignorant people could be. She took it with a grain of salt, just like everything else that happened in her life. Everytime that she felt any pain she would look at Nathan and his face alone gave her hope. If he wasn't around, she would look at the beaded bracelet that he made her with her favorite colors when she was in the hospital, to make her feel better.
Flashback
"Hey Hales, how are you feeling? Any better?" Nathan always made sure that his girl was okay.
"Could be better but I'm making it through the day." Today was a hard one. She was feeling the full effect of her broken ribs and she winced every time that she took a deep breath.
"Listen, I got you something to cheer you up. Well, I kind of made it with the help from Lily." Lily was Keith and Karen's four-year old, Lucas's half-sister. She was the cutest little thing and she was always so full of energy and life. She never knew her father since Dan had killed him four years ago, their freshman year.
"Awww, you didn't have to."
"I know, but you looked like you could use a pick me up. You can't be positive all the time Hales, but I like how you always try." Haley liked that she didn't have to pretend with Nathan like she did with everything else.
He handed her a bracelet. It was pretty girly and it was obvious that Nathan wasn't very good at arts and crafts but to her it was the best thing she ever saw.
"Don't say I never gave you anything.." He replied as he slid it on her skinny wrist.
Right now Haley had been playing with this bracelet a lot. She needed some comfort as she watched her friend group falling apart at the seams right before graduation. There had to be something that could bring them together before they went their separate ways in September.
"Haley! Haley! Guess what!" Nathan ran up to her locker, waving a piece of paper in his hand. It looked pretty official and Haley could see through it that it had an official stamp on it.
"What is it?!" Haley loved how excited Nathan got when he had something to tell her. It was like watching a little kid on Christmas, so excited to open all the toys that Santa had brought.
"I GOT INTO DUKE!" Haley cheered and gave Nathan a big hug. She was so happy for him but at the same time her stomach dropped. Her and Nathan could be separated if she didn't get into Duke. They both had applied late, and the national day to make the decision was only a couple of weeks away. She also hadn't told Nathan that she even applied to Duke. As far as he knew, she was going to Stanford.
"Nathan that's so great! I'm so proud of you! This calls for a celebration tonight." She winked and his jaw dropped. He knew exactly what she was talking about.
"Damn! My girl's hot!" He said as he attacked her lips. They were interrupted by the familiar throat clearing of Brooke Davis.
"As much as I love watching you two make out and all, I need to talk to you both." Brooke was impatient. Always had been and probably always will be.
"If this is about Lucas then I don't care." Nathan was quick to respond. It was obvious that he was still bitter, and Brooke responded by rolling her eyes.
"You need to get over that at some point. Tutor girl is still here and I am so thankful that you two are alive. I know what Lucas did was absolutely stupid and idiotic but he is sorry. He doesn't even drive anymore, it's so annoying. I literally drive us everywhere." Brooke complained. This was news to Haley. Lucas was serious about feeling bad but there also was something else going on that was making him act so erratically.
"He's been acting weird since before prom. I think there's something going on that he isn't telling any of us. Especially when he acted out at his mom. The Lucas I grew up with only did that when he was going through something." Nathan rolled his eyes. Haley always liked to analyze people and try to figure out their lives. It was cute at first, but now it was annoying and Nathan was just tired of everyone talking about Lucas.
"You know Tutor girl, you may be on to someth –" Nathan cut her off before she could finish her thought.
"What is it that you had to talk to us about Brooke? I have to send my acceptance in to Duke so I don't have time to be standing around gossiping and playing, 'Let's figure out whats wrong with Lucas' all day."
"Woah, asshole much? Anyways, I've noticed that our friend group is falling apart and graduation is rapidly approaching. So I did something, I rented out my dad's cabin by the lake for the weekend. It'll be me, Lucas, you two, Bevin, Skills, Mouth, and Peyton if she ever comes back to school and stops spending all her free time with Jake." Peyton hadn't been around in weeks. She only had 2 classes and a study hall, and then she would disappear to Jakes for days. They were lucky to get a text from her once every three days to know that she was still alive.
"Woah, that's awfully sudden isn't it?" Nathan asked, he wasn't so sure about this.
"Yeah, but I've already talked to everyone and everyone is all for it. Besides Lucas, he thinks we are going away for a romantic weekend. It's probably better if he doesn't find out til later anyways. Please say you'll come! This is my last time to really enjoy my friends and freedom before baby Scott comes along."
"We would love to come Brooke." Brooke squealed and walked away in delight at Haley's response.
"Haley, I don't know about this. It's going to take a lot of willpower in me to not crush Lucas. I may still be a little angry at him for endangering your life."
"I'll keep you distracted Mr. Scott, don't worry." She winked as she pulled his tie and turned to walk in the other direction to her class.
"You kill me Hales!" He said as he watched her walk down the hallway. She was so perfect in every single day. He was still in awe and he couldn't wait to surprise her at graduation. He had been planning it with Mouth since the day after prom and he knew it was going to be worth the wait. He just hoped that it was the right move and wouldn't make things bad between them.