Chapter 6: A Tree Hill Raven always holds his or her ground… unless someone accidentally pulls it out from under them.
Haley sat on her bed, glancing over at the Happy Bunny calendar she had placed on her wall; the little bunny obnoxiously staring back at her with the words "I'm not spoiled, I deserve everything I have," written below it as the slogan for October. Yeah, that's probably why I have nothing compared to these kids, Haley thought to herself.
It had been five weeks and four days since she'd arrived in this quaint private school full of privileged teens, spawned from critical parents. So far, although she knew she was different, not part of the "rich-kid" crowd, Haley hadn't let that stop her. In fact, she'd enjoyed everyday here thus far. She'd gained some close friends, continued her outstanding grades that had preceded her here, and even managed to find a boy… although she didn't know it yet.
Nathan Scott, what a complex character. He and Haley had been playing this little game for weeks now. Fight, giggle, joke, scrutinize, and ultimately flirt, yet don't acknowledge any of it. They could feel the connection between themselves, hell everyone did, yet neither of them had acted on it. Nathan just kept his feelings to himself, and Haley profusely denied any accusations. However, much to their dismay, their feelings would come out sooner or later, it was only a matter of time.
As Haley lay on her bed, just thinking about her time at Tree Hill Prep so far and smiling to herself, she heard a faint knock on the door. "Come in," she yelled, turning to sit Indian style on her flowered comforter.
"Hey," a voice said, popping their head in the door.
"GiGi! What's up?" Haley instantly questioned, giving her friend a smile.
"Eh, not much actually. Just bored and don't feel like dealing with the roommate," she replied, giggling to herself.
"Well, Brooke and Peyton took the monthly bus trip into town to go shopping so my room will be free for a while. You're welcome to stay."
"Sweet deal," GiGi said, plopping herself on a bed, pulling a book out from behind her.
"I see you came prepared," Haley noted, pointing at the book in her hand.
"I had a hunch they were gone, so I brought over a book on the off chance you'd let me stay in here with you for a bit."
"Please G, you don't even have to ask. Come on over anytime. Especially when Rachel's around. That girl is trouble."
"Tell me about it," GiGi said, rolling her eyes. This one phrase though, made Haley's brain spark into action. As her wheels of knowledge began to turn, she couldn't help the curiosity that was sparked… she had to ask.
"Uh, GiGi?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think you could uh, tell me about it?"
"About what."
"Well, why is Rachel the way she is? Has she always been like this or, I don't know…"
"Do you mean has she always been a bitch or has she always been trailing Nathan?" GiGi questioned, giving Haley a critical eye.
"Well… both I guess," Haley said blushing. "I mean, it could help explain why she's so cold to me."
"Alright, then I guess I'll try and explain this. Rachel came to our school starting her freshman year, as did most of us. She was much different then though. When I first met her, she was a bit timid, but you could tell she was growing out of it, a bit of a follower, and her clothes were well, tacky," GiGi stated, noticing Haley scrunch her legs up to her chest at the word tacky. It seemed as though that's how many described her sense of style.
"Oh no, Haley. I didn't mean it like that. Besides, your style isn't tacky. I mean, she would were oversized one color shirts and sweatpants all the time. Like she was trying to cover up her body. I don't know why, it wasn't like she was fat or anything. I mean, she still had a bit of baby fat around her face, and you could see a bit of flab on her upper arms and stomach, but who doesn't have that? Anyway, that shy, self-conscious girl stayed like that all through freshmen year, and then when we arrived back for grade ten she was a changed person. She had a perfect body, nice, though revealing, clothes and was about as outgoing as you can get."
Haley hugged her legs tighter to herself, suddenly feeling self-conscious about her not-so-perfect body. "I see," she replied before urging GiGi to go on.
"Well, no one really knew what sparked this drastic change until Bevin, her roommate that year was told the story. Bevin is well, a big mouth, so word traveled fast. It turns out that freshman year Rachel came here after shedding a hundred pounds off of her body. Her taste in clothes was both to hide her sagging skin left over, and because she still wasn't comfortable with herself yet. That year she discovered the school gym though, and worked out most of freshman year into the summer and thus came back with the perfect body. Her boobs though, totally fake. She said they were a gift to herself for working so hard. I personally think that's loony."
"Wait, so let me get this straight. She shed some pounds, which I mean, is good for her, then came back with a nice body and was all of a sudden Ms. Queen Bitch?"
"Well, not exactly," GiGi began. "When she came back looking like she does now, the guys started to notice her. I mean, she had the exotic look going with her red hair and she's nowhere near ugly. And once the guys started running after her, it all kind of went to her head. All those years with no attention from boys kind of culminated into one year. So, she suddenly got all high and mighty on herself, thinking she was better than everyone else. That's basically where the bitch persona came from."
"What about her and Nathan? I mean, not that I care. But he's kind of my friend and she kind of hates me for that so…" Haley stated timidly.
"Now that's a complicated story I don't know quite all the details of. I know a lot though, I mean our school is small and word does travel fast," she said laughing before continuing on. "Let's just say after gaining all her confidence from the guys hounding her Rachel decided to make a move on Nathan, who is one half of the hottest guys at school. Lucas of course being the other half, but Nathan's got the bad boy edge about him. Anyway, he's a guy, and I'll be blunt, guys think she's hot. So, they started hooking up. It kinda turned into dating, but not really. It was more, sneaking around so the teachers couldn't catch them doing the dirty."
"Oh god GiGi, TMI!" Haley squealed.
"What you asked?" GiGi said giggling.
"Whatever," Haley said, laughing before falling back on her bed. As she laid her head on the pillow she glanced out the window noticing what a nice day it was. "Hey G, I'm going to go walk outside, it's so nice. Want to come?"
"I think I'll stay inside. I feel a cold coming anyway," she said shrugging her shoulders before glancing back down to her book.
"Alright, then I guess I'll see ya," Haley said before grabbing a light button down sweater and pulling it over her flowered thermal shirt. As she skipped down the steps, her loose brown curls, Haley couldn't help but giggle at the lightheartedness she was feeling right now. Fall was her favorite season, and going outside just to feel its cool, but not cold air, and to look at the trees changing color while thinking about whatever crossed her mind, was just what she wanted to do. She stepped out the front door and immediately found herself making her way towards the back of the stone dormitory. Her destination already thought of in her head.
As she rounded the corner she saw it, that little brown swing hanging from the most random of trees by two thick ropes. Considering the time of day, Haley was surprised no one else was outside, using the basketball court just a mere ten feet away or even just reading in the grass. She sat on the swing, gently guiding herself back and forth. Not pumping her legs but just gently tapping her feet on and off the ground to get a small momentum going.
As she idly sat there on the swing, Haley began to think to herself, mainly about the conversation she just had with GiGi. It opened a bit of a new outlook on Rachel. She had to commend her for her valiant effort to loose wait, but it's also kind of sad that she lost herself in becoming a new person. Especially when that new person was a bitch. But what Haley didn't get was why Rachel hated her. I mean, she wasn't prettier, in fact, Haley knew she didn't even compare to Rachel or most other girls at Tree Hill Prep… at least in her eyes. And she wasn't as outgoing. Guys didn't flock to her, nor did attention. So why on earth did Rachel have such a grudge against her? And that's when she felt it. Her snap back into reality.
Haley instantly exited her thoughts realizing now that she was swinging extremely high, not high enough to flip over the branch or anything, but high enough to know that a person who was idly tapping on the ground for momentum could never do.
"What the?" Haley stated before turning her neck to see someone pushing her, that is, right before she toppled helplessly to the ground.
"Oh my god! Are you okay?" The tall boy with handsome features asked.
"Ohhh my head," Haley said, clutching her forehead before placing one of her hands back behind her to lean on as she glanced up at the person, giving them 'the look'. "Geez, Nathan, trying to kill me?"
"Haley I am so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he said, placing a hand on her forearm, both noting the tingling sensation that formed.
"Then what the hell were you doing sneaking up on me!" Haley exclaimed before clutching her head that continued to pound.
"I don't know I just came out to shoot some hoops and I saw you just sitting there in a daze, and I don't know. I just started pushing and you didn't say anything so I just thought you wanted me to keep going. I didn't want to interrupt whatever Haley James concoction you had brewing in that mind of yours," he said with a laugh.
"Very funny. But seriously, you would have known if I'd noticed you because you probably would have gotten that look you always call me on."
"You mean the, I'm annoyed at you look?" He said, a smirk on his face.
"Wipe off the smirk, and yes. Like the one I'm giving you right now."
"Yeah, I should have known. But seriously Haley, are you okay? You're still clutching your head."
"Well it hurts like hell Nathan! You try falling on head from like seven feet in the air!"
"I guess you're right. Let me just see it," he said going to move her hand off her forehead.
"No Nathan, really I'm fine." Haley stated, keeping her hand firmly on her forehead.
"Haley just let me see it-" Nathan began before being interrupted by a shrill voice from above.
"Oh, little Hawey. Did you fall off the swing?" A redheaded figure called from above, making a baby-like voice.
"Oh god," Haley groaned rolling her eyes as Nathan quickly glanced up.
"How sweet of you to help her Nate," Rachel chided, leaning out the window in conveniently only a bra, giving the two of them a full show. "But let me know if you need any help. And I don't mean with granny sweater over there. I mean, YOU and your, let's say, personal needs."
"Whatever Rachel," Nathan stated firmly, disregarding her and immediately turning back to Haley as Rachel closed her window in a huff. Haley kind of looked at him in a bit of shock. Turning so quickly away from a girl who was leaving nothing to hide, towards the girl, who had well, nothing to show. "Now please just let me see it Haley."
"What? Uh, fine," Haley stated, now sort of embarrassed at herself as she watched Nathan intently.
"Uh oh," Nathan stated, looking at Haley's forehead.
"Oh god? What is it?"
"Don't freak but you've definitely got a bruise coming in, and there's a bit of blood," Nathan replied, looking her straight in the eye.
"That's exactly why I didn't want you to look at this. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. I hate blood," Haley stated, now getting frantic.
"Haley, chill for a second. It's really not that bad."
"Oh it is Nathan, I mean, I see one drop and I am like down for the count."
"Then don't look, and don't worry I'll take care of you."
"For some reason, the words doctor and Nathan don't really coincide with each other in my mind," Haley said sarcastically.
"Well, they do. I've dealt with many a sports injury. I'm like a pro at ice and band-aid usage now. So just trust me okay?" He said, giving her a sincere look.
"Alright but if it turns into some puss, gang-green infected sore…"
"Something tells me you can't get gang-green on your forehead…"
"Well whatever, if anything happens I blame you," Haley said jokingly.
"I'm willing to take that chance. Now let's get you to your common area so I can fix you up," Nathan stated, getting up and brushing the dirt of his Levi's before lending his hand down to Haley to help her up.
"Shall we?" He stated before lightly touching the back of her right arm to guide her towards the building.
"We shall," Haley said smiling, before letting out a giggle. "The sooner I'm fixed up the better."
"Yep," Nathan stated, giving her a side-glance. "Oh and Haley?"
"Yes?" She said, turning towards him, her bruise now darker, her cut no longer bleeding.
"I don't think your sweater looks like a grandma's," he said quietly, causing them both to smile as they walked towards the front of the dormitory. And it was in that moment that unbeknownst to Haley, but known to everyone else that her question was answered. Why did Rachel dislike her so much? Because Nathan would do anything for her, she's just been too scared to acknowledge it.
Well what'd you think?? I don't know about you, but I awed a bit at the last little paragraph lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and let me know what you think -- good and bad! Please leave reviews with feedback... peace out!