Taking a seat on the swing, the swing that has come to feel like home, Haley examined the envelope resting in her hands. Without a doubt she knew it was from Nathan. No one has as horrible a handwriting as him. But the question is why… Why would he take the time to write her a letter? What more did he have to say to her? Obviously it was something he wanted her to see, otherwise he wouldn't have placed it on the swing. He's the only one who knows Haley can't go a day or two without sitting there. The question however is… should she open it?
Toying with the back of it, she wills herself to start ripping it open. But as soon as she starts, she stops. As much as she wants to know what he wants to say, it'd probably do more bad then good. Well, bad is a relative term. It's really only bad for Haley. She could just imagine the words written on the inside that will probably cause her stomach to flip-flop and make her weaken in the knees… much to her dismay. Nathan just had that affect on her as much as she tried to avoid it. But that's the thing, Haley was trying to avoid it. She didn't need to let someone like Nathan into her life. Someone she could see herself leaning on, and someone she knew she was attracted to. Yes, that's right. Haley James is attracted to Nathan Scott. She'd never say it aloud though. Because once you say it aloud then it's real. And this feeling in the pit of her stomach, the ache in her heart, it couldn't be real. It can't..
So, instead of reading it, she folded it in half and shoved it in her back pocket. For once in her life, or at least right now, she would not let her curiosity get the best of her. Because if it did she was scared of what the letter would say, and she had a sinking feeling that it would be exactly what she wanted to hear.
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After a failed attempt at getting Haley's attention the night before (instead seeing Rachel's unwanted face in the window), Nathan went to bed and got ready for his early flight. His dad had chartered a private plane for him to fly back home on, even though it was only a three-hour drive, and then a chauffer to take him back to the house. Oh the benefits of being a Senator's son, right? Wrong.
Nathan was dreading going back home. It's not so much that he doesn't get along with his parents; it's more that they put too much pressure on him. But, heaven forbid the child of a politician makes a mistake, that'd be the worst thing in the world. Forget global warming, forget the millions in poverty, forget starvation… keeping the Scott legacy going is the top priority. The only upside is that Lucas arrived home the day before so his parents are probably a lot less antsy then when they were first expecting their boys home.
Opening the front door, he walked through the foyer, immediately greeted by his mother.
"Nathan, sweety! You're finally home," Deb cooed, enveloping her son in a hug.
"Hi Mom," Nathan stated eager to get up to his room. "Is uh, Lucas around?"
"No, he and your father went out to the gym."
"Of course," Nathan retorted, making his way up grand staircase.
"What is that supposed to mean, sweety?"
"It means of course they're at the gym the day before Thanksgiving. This isn't about the holiday, it's about Dad being about to train us into his basketball pedigrees!"
"Nathan!" Deb calls from the bottom of the steps. "You know that's not true!"
Hearing this, Nathan turns from his place at the top of the stairs and faces her. "Don't you dare stand up for him Mom. You and I both know that all he cares about is making himself look good. It's been like that all our lives. So don't you dare, don't you dare stand there and try to tell me otherwise."
"Nathan honey-"
"I'm going to my room. Bye," Nathan stated before huffing off to his wing of the house. Once he got to his room, he threw his bag on the floor and flopped onto his bed. This is exactly why he didn't want to come home. He knew that as soon as he did, his dad would be busting his ass about basketball. It's been like that since he was younger; all free time must be devoted to basketball. Why? Because Dan Scott was a basketball legend and Dan Scott was Senator. Therefore, his two sons had to be basketball stars too. And it's not that Nathan didn't have the potential or ability to strive in basketball, I mean, he's captain this year and he's only a junior, it's just not necessarily his top priority.
Speaking of priorities, Haley James. He couldn't get enough of her. She's so different from anyone else at Tree Hill Prep and he loves that about her. She also scares him; the way she's making him feel. Nathan had never really cared about a girl before. He knows he's a player and he's not exactly happy about his never ending past with girls, but with Haley it's different. It's not just a physical attraction with her or a one-time thing. It's a yearning in his heart, and that scares the hell out of him. He loves the way he can make her blush, the way she rolls her eyes and wriggles her nose in annoyance, her sarcasm, her quiet yet thoughtful nature, her beautiful chocolate eyes, and basically everything about her. Although he's not sure he's in love quiet yet, Nathan Scott knows one thing: whatever this is, it's definitely on its way to turning into love. That's why he needs her to open up to him; he needs her to say she needs him to; he needs her to act on all the feels he knows she's feeling.
That why, sitting on his bed, all Nathan could think about was the letter he'd written her. He left it on the swing, knowing she'd certainly find it, but that's the thing. Did he really want her to find it? Two things could come of it: love or embarrassment. She'd either come running up to him, trailing kisses down his jaw line and they'd be happily ever after or she'd reject him, leaving him alone with his embarrassment. Truthfully he was hoping for the latter of the two, but with Haley he just didn't know what would happen. Only time would tell…
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Thanksgiving Day finally rolled around, and Haley realized she wasn't the only one of her friends stuck on campus. At dinner the night before she saw Jake trail in, their eyes meeting, and instantly she had a comfort that she wasn't so alone. They decided to eat dinner together and then went back and watched a movie in his commons room together. That morning they'd met for breakfast, and decided they'd meet again for dinner, neither wanting to be alone on Thanksgiving and both enjoying each other's company.
The more Haley spent time with Jake, the more she grew to like him. He was funny and even when she met him she knew he'd be loyal, their time together has further enforced that though.
Walking towards the dining hall she saw Jake standing outside waiting for her.
"Hey, it's a little chilly, you didn't have to wait outside," Haley stated, walking to stand next to him.
"Haley it's North Carolina. I don't think it ever gets that cold," he chuckles before extending his arm out to her to lead her to dinner.
"Why thank you kind sir," Haley giggled as they walked inside, finding a table and digging into the food presented for them. The hall was fairly silent with only about fifteen kids being left on campus, so all that could be heard was the clinking of dishes as everyone filled their plates.
Stuffing her face, Haley looked next to her at Jake who was staring intently at his plate.
"What's the matter Jake?" Haley questioned pointing over at him. "Don't like turkey."
"Oh, I like turkey. But not uh, whatever this is," he stated, pointing toward the browning mound on his plate.
"Jake that's turkey," Haley replied, stifling a laugh.
"Oh no it's definitely not! Look it jiggles," he exclaimed, shaking his plate so the brown mound began to violently jiggle.
"Oh god. I know what that is! Jake you took from the wrong plate! That's tofurkey!" Haley squealed, laughing at him.
"What the hell is tofurkey?"
"You know, a tofu turkey!"
"Gross!" He exclaimed, pushing the plate away from him. "Suddenly I'm not so hungry."
"Aww, Jakey, don't get disgruntled!"
"Somehow I just can't deal with the fact my food can jiggle like that."
Looking over at him, Haley couldn't help but laugh. He looked so sad. "Hey, I'm not even that hungry. What do you say we get out of here?"
"Great!" Jake stated, getting up from his seat. "Actually, what do you say we have a little party of our own?"
"A party?"
"Mm-hmm," Jake stated, cocking an eyebrow. "Follow me."
After getting rid of their dishes, the two walked out of the dinning hall and made their way across campus towards the lake. Haley had never really been down there but had glanced over every now and again, noticing the many students practicing for the crew team.
"Uh, Jake. You're not taking me down here to kill me right?" Haley giggled.
"Of course not," he stated laughing.
"Ok good. Cause you know, deep water, deserted area, no onlookers."
"I know, I know. But don't worry just follow me. I will make note however that should I decide to kill someone down by this lake would be a fairly good spot," he kidded. Making their way down the slight hill towards the shore of the lake, Jake lead her towards the boats.
"What exactly are we doing?" Haley questioned.
"We are about to have our own Thanksgiving party!" Jake exclaimed as he walked over to a rather shabby looking boat.
"If you think I'm about to get into that boat you have another thing coming Jagelski. It looks like it would sink in a heartbeat!"
"That's exactly right," he laughed. "That's why we keep out stash under here because no one ever uses it."
"Your stash?"
"Mm-hmm," he states, lifting the boat slightly to pull a metal box out from under it. "Yes, it's still here!"
Taking a seat where the grass meets the sand, Jake placed the box on his knees as Haley took a seat next to him. Brushing the dust off of the box, he opened it to reveal a bottle of vodka, some red solo cups (the epitome of a party), and a brown bag.
"Jake Jagelski! Were you planning on getting me drunk?"
"Never would I ever," he joked. "But I figured this is the season of celebrating, so why not have our own little party since we're stuck here on Thanksgiving!"
"I see… what's in the bag? Weed I'm guessing?"
"Oh you are so far off Haley James. We don't roll that way. You know, athletes and all. That my friend is a bag of Twinkies."
"Twinkies?"
"Yes, Twinkies."
"So you expect me to sit here and eat year old Twinkies?"
"Well, it's much more appetizing then whatever the hell they were serving up there!" He laughed. "Besides, what's a party without vodka and Twinkies. Me and a bunch of the guys come down here every once and a while and just chill… drinkin' and eating Twinkies."
"Wow, you guys are a weird bunch," Haley stated laughing. "But I'm not about to eat a year old Twinkie."
"Whatever. You're missing out. Besides, Twinkies have like a shelf life of about ten years anyway."
"Thanks anyway," Haley joked. "But you can fill me up a cup if you'd like!"
And with that, Jake filled cups for both of them and the two sat side by side on the beach, looking over the water, talking, and making their drab Thanksgiving back at school much more interesting.
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At the Scott household, Thanksgiving went by just as quickly, except not so much for Nathan. As soon as his father had returned from the gym the day before, he'd been riding him about getting into shape for basketball season. While he did the same for Lucas, he has a lot more tolerance than Nathan. For Nathan, it wasn't about basketball, it was about making his dad look good. And he was sick of that. Sick of the fact that all Thanksgiving he had to walk around with a smile plastered on his face, kissing all these debutants ass just to make his dad look good. Truth be told, he'd rather be back at school. The food may have sucked, but at least Haley was there.
He'd managed to avoid the topic since getting home, but during desert his dear old grandmother decided to bring it up. Looking across the table at the boys, in front of all the random people Dan invited to share this meal… to up his status, Mae Scott asked the dreaded question. "So boys, any new loves in your life?"
Oh the dreaded question. The question Nathan hoped to be scathed free of this one time. All the other times he could easily blow off the question because well… he had no attachments. He used to not be an attachments kind of guy. But that was before he met Haley and although he wasn't with her, there was a connection there. A connection he couldn't deny. However, in front of his family he decided it was best not to bring it up. Lucas, being the wonderful brother he is however did not get that memo.
"Nope, no one for me Grandma," Lucas stated, before his hand and outstretching it onto Nathan's shoulder. "Nathan here however. He's got his eye on a certain someone."
Oh, if looks could kill.
"Nathan! You never told me that," Deb cooed from the end of the table where she was seated next to Dan.
"That's because there was nothing to say," Nathan stated between gritted teeth, not too pleased with his brother.
"Now, come-come Nathan. Tell us about this girl!" His grandmother persisted.
"It's nothing Grandma. Really."
"What's her name son?" Dan stated, finally stepping in.
"You know I don't even know if it's going anywhere so you know…"
"Just tell us her name son."
"Fine. It's Haley dad. Haley James," he finally stated.
"Interesting. I've never heard that last name before. What do her parents do?" Dan stated, instantly poking for material desires.
"I don't know Dad. And I don't really care. It's about her, not her fucking family. But oh wait, wouldn't want me mingling with someone below you level right?" Nathan sneered before getting up from the table and walking out of the room.
"Nathan!" Deb called after him.
"I'll go talk to him," Lucas stated before excusing himself.
"Seems my boy is a little emotional," Dan stated laughing, easing the tension that now lingered over the table.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Nathan sat on his bed in his nicely ironed Ralph Lauren polo and Dockers, throwing a basketball over his head, catching it, then repeating the process. With a little knock, the door soon opened, Lucas standing in the doorway.
"Go away Luke."
"Nate don't get mad at me."
"I'm not mad at you. I just don't fee like talking."
"Just listen. We both know Dad's an ass. Just don't let him get to you."
"You know, it's much easier saying that then actually doing it," Nathan growled before sitting up on his bed. "I don't know how you do it, but he just has this way with him that he can just so easily get under my skin and I just can't shake it."
"I know. I can barely control myself sometimes. But just try Nate. Try."
"I will. It's just. He's so fucking annoying about certain things. He only cares about himself and for once I wish he would just care for me. And for you. And for mom. I mean, it's not the fucking 'Dan Scott is our king let's all bow down kind of world', ya know?"
"I know what you mean. I just don't let him win Nate."
"I won't."
"Good. We cool?" Lucas stated, extending his fist.
"Yeah, we're cool," Nathan stated, bringing his own first up for a little fist pound. "But I have to let you know that I'm going back to school tomorrow. I'm sick of all this and I want to see Haley."
"Nate, you've wanted to see her since you got home."
"I know. But uh, I kind of left something for her that's got me all antsy."
"Oh god. What did you do?"
"I wrote her a letter. I'm not going to tell you what about or what it said for fear of forever being mocked, but I want to see her reaction."
"Man, you're trippin'."
"I know Luke. That's what's so scary. I'm never like this."
"You're telling me. You go from ending the year as like champion man-whore to becoming Mr. Domesticated."
"Whoah, whoah, whoah. One, I'm not a man-whore. I just like to test the waters. Two, I'm not Mr. Domesticated! I just want a relationship for once. Is that so bad?"
"No, dude, it's not. I was just joking. I think you and Haley would actually be pretty good together."
"You think?"
"I know. But let's stop talking about all this cause I'm kind of feeling like my masculinity is dropping."
"Dude, you don't have any masculinity to drop," Nathan joked, causing a punch in the arm by his brother.
"Whatever, man. Ask Brooke about my masculinity!"
"No way! You and Brooke Davis?"
"Yep," Lucas stated smiling. "We've been keeping it on the down low though."
"No kidding. So you're like dating?"
"Yep. We've been hooking up here and there but we decided to make it official."
"Good for you man."
"Thanks. Now it's your turn bro."
"Tell me about it. All I need is for Haley to stop hiding and just let me in."
"She will Nate. She will."
"One can only hope."
"True that. Now let's go back downstairs. You know, stick it to Dan that he can't get to you. Plus, Grandma made that crazy chocolate cake that we obviously can't pass up," Lucas prodded.
"Fine," Nathan stated getting up from his bed and walking out the door with his brother. "But I'm only doing this to wipe the smug look off his face, and because that cake is damn good."
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Many swigs, and many conversations later, Haley and Jake sat near the lake, a little more than tipsy, a little less than drunk. After chatting for a couple hours, and playing several games of 'I Never,' the two were laying side by side looking up at the stars. The cool, yet not cold, breeze lightly nipping at their faces.
"Jake, you didn't bring me down here to get me drunk and cop a feel right?" Haley stated a bit slurred, laughing at herself.
"Hell no!" He shouted. "Not unless I want an ass kicking by Nathan Scott. Besides, I like Peyton. No offense."
"None taken buddy," Haley stated a bit relieved. "But uh, why would Nathan kick your ass?"
"Because you're off limits."
"I am?"
"Nathan is totally crushing on you. We both know that. If anyone were to make a move on you, it's practically a guaranteed ass beating."
"I see…" Haley stated. "Want to know a secret?"
"Mm-hmm," Jake stated, turning to face her.
"Now, you can't tell anyone Jakey," Haley reminded, a bit tipsy.
"I promise I won't. Scouts honor!" He shouted, placing his three fingers in the air.
"I like Nathan too," Haley finally stated into the darkness. Blushing as she pronounced that for the first time. "But shh… no one else knows."
"Uh, Haley. Everyone knows," Jake stated laughing.
"No, everyone else thinks. But only you know. Now pinky promise you won't tell!" Haley exclaimed, jerking her pinky finger into the air.
"I pinky promise I won't tell," Jake smiled, linking his finger to hers. "Just promise me you'll tell him eventually. I've never seen the kid like this over a girl before."
"I promise I'll consider it."
"I guess that's close enough," Jake giggled. "Now let's hide this stuff and walk back up before neither of us can lug our sorry asses up!"
"Fine by me," Haley joked, picking herself up and pulling Jake to his feet. The two better acquainted friends walking up the hill together, Nathan's letter looming in Haley's back pocket. Her curiosity was getting to her and eventually she would give in.
I know, I know. You probably want to kill me! I mean, no Naley and no letter! I'm evil (an evil genious of course!, haha). But don't worry. I smell some lovin' in the near future... say maybe a chapter... or two... I don't know. I really want to write some fluff though so... Anways! Leave reviews and let me know what you think! Hope you enjoyed. I know there was no Naley but Haley finally admits her liking for Nathan and you see some character relations and whatnot that will definately come into play later on (cough, Nathan's relationships with people, cough). Leave reviews. Peace, love & OTH, I'm out!