Author's note:

I'm sorry it took so long to update and respond to your questions in the comments. With having no internet access I work, I am limited to when I can reply and write. Seeing as I have received many questions concerning the pairings, I am setting the record straight.

The intention of this story is to be Nathan and Haley centric. All other pairings take a backseat. In the summary of the story, I had listed the four most prominent characters (Nathan, Haley, Lucas, Peyton). I was under the assumption that it was clear those would be the main pairings with others as well.

I should have addressed this sooner and now I will know for the future to explicitly state my pairings in the first chapter or in the story summary. I apologize for the confusion I have caused, because truthfully I am impartial to the Brucas and Leyton pairings. However, this story is seeming to lean more Leyton. I'll probably throw in Julian later down the road, but it is not for certain. I did not realize how much of an uproar this would cause.

I hope this clears everything up and you guys enjoy!

"I thought you left," Nathan admitted. Since Lucas had stormed out an hour ago, he hadn't seen Haley the rest of the night. He just assumed she went when Lucas did.

The party was practically over once Lucas left. Some of the partygoers felt uncomfortable with the scene Nathan had caused, like Brooke and Peyton. They thought he had went too far and decided to go home with the cheer team's designated driver. With the cheerleader's gone, the basketball team had started to trickle out along with everyone else.

Nathan was cleaning up some of the empty cups and bottles when he noticed somebody sitting on the railing of the pier by the water. Not ready for the night to end, he grabbed a bottle of vodka and headed out towards the beach. He had planned to drink himself away into oblivion after the night he had, but all plans were halted at the mere sight of Haley James.

"Yeah, uh, I tried to, but Lucas seemed to have left without me and if that stupid cab would ever get here..." Haley trailed off.

She had heard commotion from the bathroom and decided to stay put, not wanting to get involved. When it had died down, she went in search of Lucas. However, one quick glance out the window told her that he bailed. It didn't take her long to put two and two together as to why Lucas left so suddenly. She figured that Nathan had something to do with it.

Not really feeling the party or wanting to deal with Nathan and other members of the basketball team, she hid out on the pier hoping to be left alone until her cab arrived. Unfortunately for her, forty-five minutes later she was lacking a ride home and was graced with the presence of Nathan Scott.

"Well, I'm glad you stayed," Nathan smiled. He was glad she stayed. It gave him ample opportunity to try to woo her or possibly convince her to tutor him yet again. He didn't care the order in which it happened as long he got what he wanted. Nathan held up the bottle of vodka in his hand and extended it to her. "Wanna drink."

"I don't drink," Haley responded, pushing the bottle back to Nathan.

"Why not?"

"No reason in particular, I just, uh, don't really feel the need to."

"Have you ever tried it?"

"Do you remember Taylor James? She graduated a few years ago."

Of course Nathan remembered Taylor James. Who didn't. Nathan grinned at the memory of her. "Yeah, I slept with her when I was fourteen," Nathan explained.

Taylor James had actually been the one to take Nathan's virginity and had showed him the ropes. Two years later, his encounter with Taylor had paid off. Every week it seemed like Nathan had a girl in his bed, most of the time it wasn't even his girlfriend.

He constantly cheated on Peyton. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help himself when a pretty girl walked by calling his attention. If alcohol was involved, then he was sure to be a goner.

"That's my sister for you," Haley commented, suddenly feeling awkward by Nathan's admission. With wild child Taylor James for a sister, she was bound to run into people who claim to have slept with her. If she had a nickel for every time someone told her that, she would be a very rich woman.

Not only did Taylor like to sleep around, but she also liked to party and drink. One time, she played a prank on Haley by slipping her warm bourbon instead of Haley's usual tea. Haley practically spat it out when she tasted the bitterness. She was only thirteen.

Nathan's eyes practically bugged out of his skull. "Taylor James is your sister?" Nathan asked for clarification. How had he not put it together? Examining Haley, briefly, he noticed that they had the same eyes, same nose...same legs. Nathan stopped his wandering eyes and met Haley's face as she nodded, answering his question. "Then how come you're not..."

"I'm not wild and crazy like her," Haley offered. Nathan didn't have to nod his head to let her know what he was thinking. Many people assumed that Taylor James younger sister would be just like her, but Haley was the farthest thing from being like Taylor. "When you grow up the youngest of six kids, and the one closest to your age is Taylor, you learn to take a bit of backseat."

"Five siblings," Nathan commented. He never realized Haley came from such a big family. He extended the bottle of vodka to her again. "Maybe you need this more than me. I can't even handle half of one." Nathan didn't even notice his slip, but Haley clocked the admission. She eyed Nathan and the bottle suspiciously, questioning why he was so insistent on her drinking. "It's not roofied, I swear. I'll even take a drink myself to prove it to you." Nathan unscrewed the top and took a swig from the bottle. This stuff was nasty, he wasn't a fan of straight vodka, but it was all he could find since the team practically ransacked his parent's liquor cabinet. "See. I'm all good. You try."

Nathan smiled at Haley, encouraging her to take a sip. Haley snatched the bottle from Nathan's hands and took a sip. Once the alcohol ran down her throat, she coughed at the taste. It was like drinking cleaner, she thought.

"Why do you drink this stuff? It's awful," Haley questioned, still reeling from her last sip.

Nathan shrugged, "It's all that's around."

"I see."

"You can have more if you want, drinking with someone beats drinking alone." Nathan didn't mind Haley's company. They were actually having a civilized conversation which boded well for his tutoring proposal.

"No, no, no. I need to get home." Haley handed the bottle back to Nathan and started to head back towards the beach house.

Nathan caught her wrist, stopping Haley in her tracks. "You can't leave. Your cab hasn't showed up yet."

"Then I guess I'm walking."

"Why don't you stay the night?"

"Hmm..." Haley faked consideration. The answer was quite obvious. "Stay the night with Nathan Scott. Yeah, I think I'll pass."

"Please," Nathan begged. "Look, we have a guest bedroom. It's late and you've been drinking and..."

"I've only had one sip," Haley interjected.

"I'll drive you back tomorrow morning when I sober up," Nathan promised. "Nobody will know."

Truthfully Nathan was concerned for Haley's safety. She was a nice, pretty girl and Tree Hill was a relatively safe area, but there were still creeps who haunted the streets at night. Plus there was the potential of maybe convincing her to tutor him, if he played nice. He considered that maybe his approach had been all wrong. To get to Haley's heart he would have to be kind and not the douche he typically was.

Haley felt this was going to be a losing battle. Nathan Scott was not one to give up so easily. The gesture was sweet and she was miles away from her house. It sure beat walking alone in the dark at one in the morning.

"Thanks," Haley said.

"Alright. The guest bedroom is upstairs first room on the left. There's a bathroom attached to the room. If you need anything, I'll be down here," Nathan said, pointing to the beach.

"You aren't coming back?" Haley questioned.

"Nah, I think I'll stay down here. Listen to the ocean. Watch the waves crash. Clear my head a bit," Nathan said, waving the bottle of vodka in the air. That was the plan anyway before he had run into Haley.

"Do you want some company?"

Just an hour ago, she had despised Nathan, now she was volunteering to spend time with him. Had the world gone mad?

It was the kindness Nathan displayed that had provoked her. The moment he offered her the guest bedroom, Haley saw behind his tough guy exterior. Perhaps there was good guy inside him after all. Maybe if she talked to him, she could get him to understand that Lucas was not as bad as he initially thought.

Nathan smiled.

"I never...crashed a bus," Haley giggled. When she saw that Nathan wasn't drinking, she decided to call him out on it. "Drink up mister!"

"I never...crashed...a bus, Hales. I'd stolen one...but never, never ever crashed it," Nathan slurred.

Nathan and Haley begun the night watching the waves crash as they took turns with the bottle of vodka. Nathan had suggested that the two play a game of I never to get to know each other better. Haley had been hesitant, but the alcohol flowing through her agreed.

They took shallow digs at each other to get the other to drink. After about six drinks each, both had a hard time containing their drunken giggles and forming sentences.

"Let me try again," Haley insisted.

"Those aren't the rules," Nathan teased, wagging his finger in front of her face. Haley pouted and crossed her arms. "I never kissed Lucas."

Haley grumbled and snatched the bottle from Nathan to take a drink. "You do a friend a favor one time and it haunts you for the rest of your life," she mumbled.

It was the summer going into seventh grade, Haley and Lucas were twelve. They'd heard stories from other kids in their grade about their first kisses and how awkward they'd been. Lucas and Haley thought to avoid the awkwardness with someone they liked, they would rather bite the bullet and get it over with themselves.

Like everyone said, it was awkward. Probably more so for Lucas and Haley as they were best friends. Haley was Lucas' honorary sister. She spent more time with him and Karen than her own family it seemed.

The kiss itself had been a quick peck and the two vowed to never speak about it again. She almost forgot it even happened until Nathan had to drudge up the past with the silly game.

"Okay, let me think...I never...I've never...been tutored by Haley James," Haley said, tossing the bottle to Nathan. The question didn't even make sense, how could she tutor herself, but the pair were too drunk to question it.

"Low blow, Hales," Nathan said, finishing the bottle off.

Haley giggled again. She never thought she would be the giggly type when drunk. "I like it when you call me that," Haley admitted.

"What?"

"Hales." Earlier in the night when Nathan had called her that, it had left a cold chill down her spine. Not a pleasant chill, but a sinister one. Now that she was inebriated, she didn't mind him using her nickname as much. Haley liked the way it sounded coming out of his mouth.

Nathan grinned, "Well, then, Hales." Haley giggled again. "Can I be honest with you?"

"I don't know. You tell me," she said poking at his chest.

Nathan closed the distance between the two of them and grabbed the hand that had been poking him. He placed it on his chest and held his hand overtop hers. "I think you look really pretty tonight."

It hadn't been a lie. Haley was a beautiful girl. It surprised Nathan that he didn't notice her around school sooner. If he had, he would have sought her out years ago. He figured that since he tried to block out Lucas from his life that those who hung out with him slipped right through his radar, like Haley.

"Really?" Haley asked. No one aside from her family, Lucas, Karen, or even Keith told her she looked pretty. Being tutor girl and number one in the class had its perks, but it didn't attract guys attention towards her.

"Can I be honest again?" Nathan asked. Haley eagerly nodded her head, holding onto every last word. He leaned in closer to her ear, getting a whiff of her vanilla shampoo. Haley's breath hitched at the contact of Nathan's hot breath against her cool skin. "I would really like to kiss you."

Nathan leaned in slowly to kiss Haley, giving her the ability to run away if she so chose, but she didn't. Instead, she met Nathan's mouth halfway.

Blame it on the alcohol or Nathan's kind actions because Haley was curious to feel his lips on hers. She was relieved and pleased when she began to enjoy every second of him attacking her mouth with his. Haley didn't have much to compare it to. The last time she kissed someone was Lucas at age twelve. This was definitely not how it had gone four years ago.

Nathan snaked his hand around her neck and weaved his fingers through her hair, slightly pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss. Haley had mimicked his movements and run her fingers through his hair, bringing Nathan closer than she thought possible.

Wrapped up in their own little world, Nathan used his free hand to wrap around her leg and boost her onto his lap. Haley didn't miss a beat as she straddled Nathan in the sand.

When he was no longer satisfied with just kissing, he removed his hand from her hair and snuck it under her shirt. Haley's eyes almost popped out from their sockets when she felt his hand brush against her stomach. She was more surprised at the fact that she did not push him away. His touch made her crazy and she was desperate to have more.

Haley and Nathan finally broke a part from what seemed like an hours long make out session on the beach. Their breaths were heavy as they rested their foreheads together before breaking out into a fit of laughter. The laughter had eventually died down, but Nathan and Haley remained in the same position. She cupped his cheek with her hand and whispered, "I want you."

Nathan smirked. Never in a million years did he believe Haley James would say those words to him, drunk or not. And it was not like him to turn a woman down, especially in his state.

He gently pushed Haley off his lap, allowing him to stand so he could bring her to her feet. He grabbed the empty vodka bottle and hurled it into the ocean while Haley giggled. Her laughter was music to his ears. Nathan turned to face her, cupped her cheeks with his hands, and brought her in for another passionate as the waves crashed behind them.