Chapter 17: The Wedge
Nathan was trying to dry his hair while running around the house making sure he had his keys and everything he needed. Today was the day of Nathan and Haley's college orientation and Nathan had to be there early to meet with the basketball coach to discuss the agenda for the year. Haley had left already, wanting to meet her professors and introduce herself before the rest of their class got there.
Nathan turned the door to walk out and was greeted by the unpleasant appearance of Dan Scott.
"Hello son." Dan said with the most devilish grin. Nathan rolled his eyes, he didn't have time for this right now.
"What do you want Dan? I have somewhere to be."
"Oh I know son. Today's your college orientation. This won't take long, can I come in?"
"Even if I say no you will anyways." Nathan reluctantly motioned for Dan to step inside to their tiny apartment on the edge of campus. Haley's stuff was still all over the floor and Dan couldn't help but glance at all the wedding stuff strewn about.
"I see the wedding is still on then yes?"
"Yes Dan. Why are you here?" Nathan had no patient for his so called father and was not in the mood to be listening to whatever he had to say that was so important.
"There's something you should know about Haley son."
"If you're here to try and magically break me and Haley up, save your breath and leave now. I'm marrying her whether you like it or not and nothing you say or do is going to persuade me otherwise. I love her and if you choose to think that she's some curse on me or something wild then whatever but she's the best damn thing that's happened to me. Besides, she actually loves and cares about me unlike someone I know. You really deserve the father of the year award." There was a hint of sarcasm in Nathan's voice when he mentioned his father, and he wanted Dan to know how much he sucked.
"I get it. I failed you and Lucas as a father but I think if you really took a second to look back, I did a pretty good job. You got everything you wanted."
"I don't have time for this right now. I have somewhere to be." Dan responded by showing Nathan the photograph of Haley and Lucas kissing.
"What the fuck is that Dan? Why are you showing me this?"
"Looks like Haley has more to her than she's willing to share with the class. I told you she was trouble."
"This isn't recent – Haley's hair is different in the picture than it is in real life. Why are you showing me this?"
"Maybe you should take some more time to get to know you're so called lover. She just looks like trouble to me. It didn't work out with one Scott boy why not go for the other? Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she came onto me next." Nathan had to use all the strength in his body to resist from punching his father square in the jaw. Haley was not some piece of meat to be talking about and she certainly wasn't evil. This had to be outdated. But still, Nathan wondered when this photograph was taken. He had been best friends with Haley for most of his life but she never once mentioned anything about Lucas and he never mentioned anything about Haley besides the sole fact of them being such best friends.
"Shut up before I knock you out. Do NOT talk about Haley like that! Just because you failed at love TWICE doesn't mean that I will. I'm NOT you Dan and I never will be." Nathan wanted him to leave. He wanted Dan to leave and to never set foot near him and Haley again.
"I'm just saying son, you really should keep an eye on your girlfriend. There has to be a reason why this happened and nothing's been said about it otherwise she would have told you about this little incident, am I wrong? One day you'll realize Nathan that you're big bad Dad was actually right."
"Get out." Nathan pointed to the door as Dan turned around and shrugged his shoulders, placing the picture on the counter. He walked out the door, waved goodbye to Nathan and took off. Nathan slammed the door shut. He didn't know what to feel. He knew his dad was just trying to get under his skin, but he also wondered why Haley had never mentioned Lucas to him. She had mentioned all the other guys, including Chris Keller, so why was Lucas an exception? He couldn't worry about this now, he had to get his head into the game and figure his shit out for orientation today. He was going to be making some first impressions on a lot of people today, and he couldn't afford to mess it up. This was his only chance to make a name for himself.
- Friends First then Love –
Ahhh. Freshmen orientation. Haley couldn't believe that she was finally here. All those years spent focusing on academics was paying off. She was at Duke University with an amazing scholarship, about to begin the next 4 years of her journey. She was so excited and so nervous at the same time. She wanted to make sure that she fit in. It didn't matter who she was in high school, this was a chance for her to reinvent herself, though she enjoyed her nerdy personality. In fact, she was here before all the students just so she could introduce herself to her professors, if they were here. She also planned to find all her classes so that when she took the route to class on the first day, she wouldn't get lost and make it obvious to everyone that she was a freshman. She always had been more on the klutzy side so if she could decrease the risk of making a fool out of herself in any way, she was going to seize the opportunity. Haley knew from standing in the middle of the quad that this is where she ultimately belonged and this was the right school for her. She had been very hesitant when she committed to Duke, constantly second guessing herself per usual. But now, standing here at the actual university everything felt right and like she was home. The best part of it all was that the man who she considered to be her home was going to share the same exact journey with her, and she couldn't have thought of a more perfect scenario.
After meeting with her professors, who surprisingly were all there, Haley headed over to the auditorium to check in by last name. She saw a table that was labeled A-J and walked over to it, preparing to get all her information. She got her packet and her landyard and headed over to the science building where her group was to meet first. She couldn't wait to compare her day with Nathan's when they got home tonight. At least they were experiencing this together.
She walked over to the science building and sat down in a classroom that looked brand new and very modern. She took a seat towards the front, and felt overwhelmed by all of the new faces. This was the place where she was going to meet new people and make some new friends. It was terrifying because she had to throw herself out there, again.
"Hi!" She heard a rather perky voice say to her as this mysterious brunette sat down next to her. She was absolutely gorgeous and had a contagious smile. Haley figured this girl must be studying theater because she had to have been an actress or model in her past life.
"Hi!" Haley replied with a smile at the girl who would hopefully be her first friend at Duke.
"I'm Alex, Alex Dupree. What's your name?"
"Haley, Haley James Scott." She stuck her hand out to shake Alex's.
"Scott? How come you're in this group?"
"Oh, funny story." Haley chuckled. "I'm actually getting married in a couple months. My maiden name is James so that's why I'm in this group."
"Oh awesome, congrats! Where are you from? What's your major?" Haley resisted the urge to laugh. This girl was like a pitbull. She was asking so many questions but Haley didn't hate it. She needed a new friendly face in her life. "Sorry, I'm super nervous and excited to meet new people. I can be overbearing sometimes, that's why my boyfriend always says."
"It's totally okay, I'm a friendly person so I'm enjoying the company! I'm from Tree Hill and I'm studying social work. What about you?"
"I'm actually from Los Angeles, originally. I moved to Charlotte about two years ago with my grandmother. I'm studying theater actually." Bingo. Haley had nailed it. This girl was from a Hollywood like city, and she wanted to be an actress.
"I've always wanted to see Cali, I bet it's absolutely gorgeous. Whose your boyfriend?"
"Julian Baker. He's actually a junior here. We met when I first moved here so I'm use to this campus already so I can totes show you around! He's studying to be a director and he's super good!"
I like this girl. Haley thought to herself. She definitely had potential. Maybe Alex could become a good friend to her.
- Friends First then Love -
Nathan loved the smell of the court. It was something that would never get old. Something about it made him feel so excited. It made him feel alive. He could never get over the way the court squeaked underneath his shoes when he was running to the net. He loved the sound of the ball when it went through the net and the crowd went wild, cheering him on. He loved the sound of the buzzer when the game was over and fate had been sealed. Basketball was his passion, something he loved almost as much as he loved Haley. Ahh Haley he thought to himself as he entered into the court seeing his teammates and the couch sitting on the bench, waiting for him to arrive. He couldn't let her distract his thoughts right now; he had too much riding on him. He had to make this first impression a good one because he was going to be spending a lot of time with these guys in this gym.
"SCOTT! You're LATE!" The coach's voice boomed through the empty gym and Nathan could feel himself sinking. He already was off on the wrong foot with the coach, it had to go up from here right?
- Friends First then Love –
Brooke sighed as she placed her elbow on the counter and let her head fall into her palm. She was stressed and exhausted. Lucas was gone, and she was alone. Haley and Nathan were off at their new apartment and Peyton was somewhere running around with Jake. She needed someone to talk to but Karen was busy trying to get the café into order during the rush hour. Brooke was distracted when the door rang and Dan Scott walked in, looking evil as ever.
"Ah the beautiful Brooke Davis, just the girl I was looking for." He eyed her as he sat down. She turned to face him, trying to hide the look of disgust on her face. She was already nauseous from the pregnancy but seeing Dan's face made it worse.
"What can I help you with Mr. Scott?" She didn't really waste her breath ever talking to Dan before, especially after all that he had done to Lucas. Dan begged and pleaded that he could be a part of his grandbaby's life but Brooke and Lucas continued to refuse his offer. She was hoping he wasn't going to ask again because she didn't have Lucas here to back her up. She was on her own two feet.
"There's something you should probably know about Lucas."
"I'm going to stop you right there. First off, you don't even know anything about your son Lucas who you chose to abandon so why am I going to believe anything that comes out of your mouth? Secondly, what makes you think that it's okay to come into THIS café acting like you own the place and come bee-lining towards your son's girlfriend?"
"I knew you were going to be difficult so that's why I brought this with me." He smacked the paper on the counter, the picture of Lucas and Haley and waited for the reaction. If he was going to break Nathan and Haley up, he might as well continue to ruin Lucas's life as well.
"And? I knew about this. Lucas told me. Nice try but whatever you're planning to do is going to fail."
- Friends First then Love -
Nathan was exhausted once he finally got home. Couch had ran him high and dry and he felt like he was disconnected from his body. He knew his entire body was going to be sore tomorrow, which wouldn't help his stamina during workout time with the team. He still hadn't talked to Haley either and that was eating him alive. She was home before him, and had dinner already prepared and put out on the table. She had made his favorite dinner, a childhood classic: spaghetti and meatballs. There was just something about this simple meal that made Nathan's mouth water. It wasn't complicated and it tasted good, which is probably why he loved it so much.
When he walked in the door she came over and kissed him hello. He smiled at her, barely kissing back but not wanting to make it obvious that he had something on his mind. When her lips touched his, all he could think about was the fact that Lucas had kissed her once too. He was never really bothered by Chris Keller's lips, but Lucas was his brother and that was weird for Nathan. He quickly changed out of his gym clothes and headed to the table trying to maintain as normal as he could before Haley could catch on. She was smart and knew Nathan better than anyone else, so it wouldn't take her long to figure out what was wrong.
"How was your day?" Haley's voice chirped as she looked over at Nathan with a loving smile. He looked so tired from today's events. Maybe I can give him a nice massage later.
"Long. Coach worked us super hard. Orientation was cool too I guess. How was yours?" He looked up at her. She looked so pretty with no makeup and her hair tied back. Haley's beauty always made Nathan breathless.
"It was really good. I actually met this really nice girl in my orientation group named Alex. I think she has the potential to becoming a close friend. I guess her boyfriend is a junior here at Duke."
"Oh really? That's pretty cool. What's his name?"
"Julian Baker. Do you know him?" Nathan dropped his fork. Of course he knew Julian Baker. Julian was the biggest nerd he had ever met. Nathan use to go to day camp with Julian when they were younger. He hadn't seen the guy since they were 10 but he was sure that nothing had changed.
"Yeah, I actually went to camp with him when we were younger. What a nerd."
"Hmm weird pairing then. Alex is super talkative and wants to be an actress." Nathan didn't really say anything back, mostly because he wasn't sure what else to say. He didn't have an interest in Alex. He was glad Haley had made a friend and was happy for her, but he couldn't stop thinking about the photo that Dan showed him earlier.
"Is everything okay Nate? You've barely touched your food and this is your favorite meal."
"Y—yeah, I'm fine."
"You're lying. Nathan, I'm not stupid I know when something is up. Can you please tell me what's bothering you?"
"Lucas." Nathan swallowed the big rock in his throat. He was diving in.
"Lucas? What about Lucas? Are you upset because he was doing drugs? If you are – don't worry he's .. " Nathan cut Haley off before she could finish.
"No. You and Lucas."
"What about me and Lucas?" Haley felt her palms starting to sweat. She had been meaning to tell Nathan about the incident with Lucas but it had happened so long ago that it was such a blur and she didn't see it as being of any importance. Nothing had come from it.
"You guys kissed. I saw a picture. Why didn't you tell me when I asked you if there were any other guys Haley?"
"It was in high school – like freshmen year. I didn't see it as being important Nathan, honest."
"It is important though Haley. It's important because I asked you if there were any other guys after I found out about Chris. Why did you lie? And don't give me any of that "it's not important" crap. It is. You obviously lied about it for a reason so just tell me."
Haley was speechless. She didn't know what to say. Nathan was right; she had lied about there being more guys. She just didn't want to tell him because she was embarrassed. Lucas was her best friend, basically her brother. No one was suppose to know about it so how did Nathan see a picture? Someone was trying to make a wedge between them and she had the perfect idea of who it was.