"Who are you bidding on this year?" Peyton implored to Brooke as they sat down on the quad to eat their lunch.
"No one," Brooke answered which elicited gasps from both Peyton and Haley. For the past two years, Brooke never failed to bid and win a basketball player at the annual Boy Toy Auction.
"Brooke Penelope Davis, do my ears deceive me? Did you say you were not bidding on anyone at the auction?" Peyton questioned.
"It's true," Brooke confirmed. "I'm in love."
Six weeks with Julian Baker and Brooke couldn't have been any more happier. He was so unlike all her past flings and boyfriends. Julian actually cared about her and wanted more than physicality out of their relationship. He listened to her and occasionally they bumped heads together, but it was the stable relationship she'd been craving. It also helped that she found him extremely attractive.
"I never thought I would ever hear those words about my cousin," Haley commented, eating a french fry. She loved her cousin dearly but he was a huge film geek. Haley still wasn't sure how he bagged the captain of the cheer team.
"If you were with Julian, you'd be saying the same thing," Brooke argued in defense of her perfect boyfriend.
"If I was with Julian, then it would be considered incest," Haley shot back causing Peyton to chuckle.
"So P. Sawyer, you bidding on Lucas or what?" Brooke said, switching the conversation back to the auction. "You've been non-officially dating for what, almost two months?"
Peyton didn't deny it. Her and Lucas had been hanging out for two months. Making out was the farthest it ever went. Peyton's apprehension towards commitment was valid since her last boyfriend cheated on her, but Lucas waited for her and proved to be faithful. Her plan was to make it official after the auction.
"As a matter of fact I am," Peyton confirmed. "I think I'm going to make things official between us."
"Finally," Haley and Brooke said in unison. They knew the ball was in Peyton's court whether her and Lucas would date or not. The girls were relieved that Peyton made up her mind.
"Lucas has been crushing on you since we were fourteen. You have no idea how thrilled he is going to be," Haley added. Peyton was the only girl Lucas ever had serious feelings for. All he talked about was basketball, literature, and Peyton. Haley was excited that her best friend's was finally getting the relationship he waited years for.
"Almost as thrilled as I'm going to be when you admit that you like Nathan," Peyton said, causing Haley to freeze. "You think you're so slick at hiding it, but us girls know."
"The lingering glances. The way you smile when he touches your belly or when his smiles are directed at you. And there is also the way your eyes look at his body when you think no one is around. We noticed, Hales," Brooke added.
Her and Peyton had kept their mouth shut for weeks regarding their thoughts on Haley's budding feelings towards Nathan. However, with the auction coming up they decided to speed up the process and get the mommy and daddy together.
Haley cursed at herself for being so blatantly obvious. She guessed her stolen looks at Nathan had increased more over the past week. Vivian's words had continued to haunt Haley all week long since her visit. Any time Nathan and her were alone, she was had to muster all the strength she had to prevent from jumping his bones.
"Maybe I have a tiny crush on him," Haley said.
"Tiny?" Brooke questioned. Those looks and pure joy on Haley's face never indicated a tiny crush.
"Okay, maybe a huge crush. I don't know how all this happened. One minute I hate him, the next he gets me pregnant, and now I'm falling for him. I blame Vivian. Sure, my feelings have developed slowly towards him over the past few weeks, but when she started to talk about the satisfaction of pregnancy sex I almost lost it. And then Taylor had to remind me that she slept with Nathan first, making me feel inadequate and wanting to have sex with him even more. But the problem is that I don't just want to have sex with him, I want a relationship, and no offense Peyton, but his track record isn't the best with those," Haley rambled. Peyton and Brooke tried to follow every word but were left with a jumbled info dump. "I rambled didn't I?"
"It's okay Haley, none of us are going to judge you for wanting to get it on with your baby daddy," Brooke said, trying to comfort Haley. She thought it was great Haley was expressing herself. This information wasn't the type that was easy to keep bottled up.
"What should I do?" Haley implored, stressing herself out. She knew it wasn't good for the baby, but Nathan always seemed to be a reliable source when stress was involved.
"Bid on him at Boy Toy," Peyton suggested.
"Oh my god. That's a perfect idea," Brooke doubled down.
"I don't know, Brooke," Haley said, wary of the idea. "I would rather him choose to be with me than force him into it."
"What you girls talking about?" Rachel interjected, walking by the trio. "Anything I should know about?"
"None of your business, Rach-ho," Brooke spat, using her preferred nickname on Rachel.
"You guys going to Boy Toy?" Rachel questioned, waiting for a response. When she received none, she decided to twist the knife deeper. "More for me then. I'm bidding on Nathan."
"Didn't he break up with you?" Haley questioned. She heard it from Nathan himself. He explained how he really didn't want to be with her and that he was in a bad place at the time. Granted it was because he found out Haley was pregnant, but the moment he decided to play daddy Nathan dumped her. Haley didn't like the idea that he was using any girl but the fact that it was Rachel made it slightly more acceptable in her eyes. Although the thought of them together made her sick.
"Momentarily, but after Boy Toy I plan to reclaim what's mine," Rachel explained. If she won Nathan at Boy Toy and then they went on their date afterwards, she could convince him to give them another chance. She'd been trying to talk to him for weeks, but he'd been glued to Haley's hip.
"A venereal disease?" Peyton offered, playing into Rachel's slut persona.
"Funny," Rachel said. "But I mean Nathan. And I always get what I want. You better remember that."
Haley watched Rachel sway her hips as she walked away. A fire was lit underneath her. She had nothing to worry about when it came to Rachel. Haley trusted and believed Nathan when he said there was nothing there. However, she knew Rachel would pull out all the stops to sweep Nathan off his feet.
"The things I want to do to her," Brooke gritted out between her teeth. Rachel had a knack for getting under her skin. And having to deal with her at cheer practice was torture enough. "Preferably murder."
"Are you just going to let Rachel snag Nathan tonight?" Peyton asked Haley. She saw the fury in her friend's eyes. Any restraint Haley had was about to be thrown out the window.
"No," Haley assured her friends. "We are going to that auction and I'm going to be the one taking Nathan home."
"Yay, Tutor Girl!" Brooke cheered. "And don't worry, I already got you covered. I've been saving up for this auction since last year and now that I can't use it, I think I know the perfect way to spend it."
"Brooke, why do you have this much money?" Haley mused outside the auction. Brooke arrived with a plan indeed and a large stack of cash to back it.
"After last year's fiasco with my credit card, I vowed never to make the same mistake again," Brooke said, handing Haley her savings.
Last year, Brooke bid on a boy and tried to pay for him with her card, only to find out that the auction only took cash. She ran to the nearest ATM for some quick cash. Unfortunately by the time she got back, the only boy left was Tim. Determined to pay for a boy, she bid eight dollars on Tim and won.
The worst part was that he tried to make a move on her. So Brooke used her knowledge in self defense to protect herself from Tim Smith's lips. Some lady on the street thought she was being attacked and called the cops on Tim. Brooke's night ended up with her bailing him out of jail and him crying for his mom.
"But this is a lot of money," Haley argued, thumbing through the cash. "I could have used some of my tips I earned from the café you know."
"No, because that money is for the baby. This is three hundred dollars to be exact," Brooke added. "And if you're going to be bidding against Rachel, you're gonna need it."
Like Brooke's family, Rachel came from money and lots of it. Brooke did not doubt for a second that Rachel would pull out all of her daddy's money to win Nathan. So Brooke came prepared for her friend.
"How much money you got Peyton?" Haley asked.
"87.53," Peyton replied. It wasn't as impressive as Brooke's three hundred, but she also wasn't saving for an entire year.
"Well, if you need any money for Lucas, I'll spot you some," Haley whispered to Peyton, hoping Brooke wouldn't hear.
"Thanks," Peyton smiled.
"Alright girls! Are you ready to get your Boy Toy on?" Brooke cheered. Though she wasn't bidding and was in a loving, committed relationship with Julian, the auction itself was boatloads of fun. Boys on display just for the girls' pleasure. Brooke was in heaven.
Walking in with their arms locked, the trio made their way into the building. The makeshift stage accounted for about thirty-five percent of the gym, the other sixty-five percent were girls and mothers.
Haley relatively knew the auction did well and raised a lot of money for the basketball team. Nathan had mentioned it in passing to her. Suddenly, she feared how many of these girls would be going against her for Nathan.
"Haley!" Deb called, waving Haley down. She left Tim's mother and went to see the girls. "Brooke, Peyton. It's so good to see you guys."
"Are you bidding Mrs. Scott?" Haley asked.
"No, I'm just here to support and help collect the money," Deb explained. "What about you girls?"
"I wish, but Julian and I didn't think it was such a good idea for me to be bidding on other boys while we're together," Brooke said. "But right after this, and these two secure their dates, I'm heading out for dinner with him."
"So you're both bidding?" Deb asked Peyton and Haley for clarification, trying to hide her excitement. She had been hoping that Haley would be bidding. What would only make it better was for Haley to confirm her suspicions that it was on Nathan she was bidding on. For months now, Deb wanted the two of them to get together, more so with a baby on the way. She knew her son would be thrilled to have Haley as his date. He always had a twinkle in his eye whenever Deb mentioned her.
"Yeah," Peyton confirmed. "I'm bidding on Lucas."
"And Haley?" Deb pressed.
"I'm actually going to bid on Nathan," Haley admitted, praying that Deb wouldn't make too big of a deal. She knew Deb wanted her and Nathan together. Deb's sly comments to her were not as slick as she thought.
"That's wonderful, Haley," Deb grinned. "Well if you need any help fighting off some of these girls, don't hesitate to call me, I'll spot you fifty bucks."
"Deb that's not neces-" Haley began.
"She'll take it," Brooke interrupted. "Rachel's going after Nathan."
"Then I guess I have to give it to you," Deb said, getting a fifty out of her purse to give to Haley.
"That's very kind of you, Mrs. Scott, but I can't take this," Haley said, trying to return the extra money.
"I insist. You have no idea how long I've waited for you and Nathan to get together. And if I'm preventing Rachel from buying him, the better," Deb explained. "Now go, I think the show's going to start soon."
The lights dimmed signaling the beginning of a night to remember. All the girls present turned their attention to the stage where Whitey stood behind a podium in a suit and tie.
"Welcome ladies to Tree Hill's annual Boy Toy Auction. I'm Coach Whitey Durham and I will be your host for this evening. All procedes for tonight's event will go to help fund the Ravens basketball team. So without any further ado, let's get this show on the road," Whitey introduced.
One by one the guys came out and the crowd roared. The boys stripped in hopes of enticing many of the young ladies. Typically, boys sold for around forty to fifty bucks. Tim, however, sold for much much less.
He came out behind the curtain and onto the stage dancing. It turned the girls off immediately, but that didn't seem to stop him. He slowly started to remove his jacket and swirled it around in the air which he proceeded to throw into the audience. Girls parted the audience in hopes that it wouldn't land on them. The final kicker was when he faced the girls, back first, and started shaking his butt for them all to see. His classmates were disgusted and the mothers laughed. Out of pity, Tim's mother bid ten dollars on him and he immediately sold. At least it was a two dollar improvement from last year.
Not long after, Jake was up to bat. He came out in the Ravens' mascot costume and started to take it apart piece by piece until the bidding stopped. He came pretty close to completely ridding himself of the bird outfit because some girl kept jacking up the price. He sold for about a hundred dollars, the highest of the night.
The auction was coming towards the end and it was obvious Whitey was saving the Scott brothers for last. He knew that as the star players of the team they would attract the most money.
"Okay, let's have our next boy," Whitey said, calling for the next guy in the line up.
Lucas stepped out on stage looking nervous. He didn't do a strip tease like the other boys and just stood there watching the girls fight over him. This wasn't his thing and personally would have liked to opt out, but as a member of the team he had to partake.
"Yeah! I got you," Peyton yelled through the cheers to catch Lucas' attention and quell his worries. With Peyton bidding, Lucas wasn't as fearful and hoped she won him.
"Alright, let's start the bid at 20," Whitey began.
"25!"
"35!"
"50!"
"75!"
"Bet it all," Haley told Peyton with urgency. Peyton hadn't been able to get a single in word yet. There were too many girls after Lucas.
"87.53!" Peyton bid.
"100!"
"I'll go 101!"
"Here's a twenty," Haley said, handing a bill to Peyton. It wasn't like she had enough money. Between Brooke and Deb, she was set to win Nathan.
"Hey," Brooke protested. She didn't mind helping out Peyton, but that was Haley's money. If Haley lost Nathan, Brooke would comfort her and then say "I told you so."
"107.53!" Peyton yelled.
Whitey gazed around the room watching the girls who were bidding bow out. With Peyton's bid being the only one on the table, Whitey hit his gavel and yelled, "Sold!"
Peyton celebrated with Brooke and Haley at her recent acquisition. She looked back at Lucas on the stage who had a huge grin plastered on his face. He was relieved that Peyton was the one who won him.
"You ready Tutor Girl?" Brooke asked. "Last one up is Nathan."
"We'll see about that," Rachel said, making her presence known. She waited for Nathan all night and wasn't going to go home without him.
"Alright, we're down to our last boy toy, so loosen up those purse strings, pucker up those lips and remember, this is for a good cause," Whitey said. Nathan walked out onto the stage wearing sunglasses and his basketball sweatsuit. Everyone cheered at the mere sight. "You're on, Nathan." Nathan tossed his sunglasses to Mouth who was acting as DJ for the event. Walking downstage, Nathan paused and ripped his sweatpants away revealing basketball shorts underneath. "Okay, do I have a first bid?"
"80!"
"Wow," Haley said with her jaw hung open. She started to fan herself feeling all the heat in her body rush to her face. "Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?"
Nathan unzipped his shirt, revealing his bare chest. Once he discarded the zip up, his chest was clear for the audience to see. He had written the words BOY TOY across his chest which only made the girls go wild.
"85!"
"It smells like sеx in here," Peyton commented.
"Don't say that!" Haley warned. Sex and Nathan were two things she didn't want to think about. And with him on stage dressed in such little clothing, her body had a reaction. "90!"
"Do I hear 100?" Whitey asked.
"100!" Rachel yelled, smirking at Haley. But Haley had an ace up her sleeve.
"120!" Haley screamed.
"150!" Rachel roared.
And so began their back and forth, neither were ready to relent.
"160!"
"180!"
"200!"
"300!"
"Brooke, I'm almost out of money," Haley said worried. She had thirty dollars left and started to regret lending Peyton that twenty.
"Going once," Whitey warned.
"Bet it all!" Brooke urged, time was running up.
"Going twice," Whitey said, looking around to see if anyone was going to bid.
"330!" Haley yelled, praying that it would keep Rachel at bay.
"400!" Rachel bid.
Haley's heart sank to her feet. She already bid all of her money. Even if she didn't give Peyton the extra twenty for Lucas, she still would have lost Nathan to Rachel. The thought made her sick her stomach.
"Sold!" Whitey exclaimed, by far the largest sum ever received on a boy. "I'm sorry folks, but we're fresh out of flesh. I want to thank you all for coming this evening supporting the Ravens. Now all these young men belong to the highest bidders till that midnight kiss. Let's try to keep things legal this year."
"Kiss?" Haley implored. It was one thing for Nathan to be forced to take Rachel out but an obligation to kiss seemed wrong. "I think I'm going to puke."
"Not on the gym floor, Tutor Girl," Brooke insisted, wrapping her arm around Haley. She had practice tomorrow and didn't want it to be canceled because Haley threw up. "Why don't I take you home? We could have a girls night."
"What about Julian?" Haley questioned. She didn't want to impose. Brooke and Julian were supposed to have a date tonight.
"Julian's invited too," Brooke smiled, trying to make light of the situation. "Come on P. Sawyer, let's go get you your man."
Peyton got in line at the "pick up" table with Brooke and Haley. They became quickly distracted by the bickering coming from the front desk. Brooke popped her head out of line and realized that the familiar voices she heard arguing were Deb and Rachel.
"Look, I have credit cards, okay? Gold? Platinum, for crap sake," Rachel explained getting angry. She brought three hundred dollars with her in cash thinking that it would beat Haley, but when Haley out bid her, Rachel rose the price to win even if she didn't have the cash on her.
"I'm sorry. Auction rules say cash only. Okay? You bid four hundred, not three hundred," Deb reinforced, masking her pleasure turning Rachel away.
"Here's the thing, Mrs. Scott. I know you don't like me and frankly the feeling's mutual, but we have one thing in common, Nathan. So why don't you get off your high horse and let me have him for the night," Rachel argued.
"The rules stipulate that if you don't have the money, I have to give him to the next highest bidder if she has the money to give," Deb said.
"She does!" Brooke interjected. She pulled Haley and Peyton out of line and escorted Haley to the front. "She has the money."
"How much money do you have, Haley?" Deb asked.
"330," Haley answered, confused what she was doing up at the front of the line.
"Then by rules, Haley gets the boy," Deb said, handing Haley Nathan's name tag. It took a second for Haley to register what exactly had transpired. Seeing Nathan's name tag in her hands made it click for her. Rachel hadn't had the fund she claimed to have and by some miracle, Haley had secured Nathan for herself.
"Ha!" Brooke laughed in Rachel's face. Revenge was sweet. Rachel decided not to engage and just stormed out of the building, furious that Haley had out bid her. Looked like Rachel needed a new plan if she wanted Nathan.
"You have no idea how relieved I am," Deb commented once Rachel had left the premises.
"You and me both," Haley smiled.
"I didn't think you were coming," Nathan commented, walking out to the parking lot, fully clothed, to meet Haley. He mentioned the auction to her a couple times hoping she would take the hint and come. She never said anything to him which shot his hopes at seeing her.
"Last minute decision," Haley explained.
"Three hundred and thirty dollars of a last minute decision?" Nathan questioned. Before meeting Haley, he stopped by the "pick up" center to see his mother and hopefully get some intel on the lucky girl who spent four hundred dollars on him. Deb quickly filled him in on the whole Rachel debacle and how Haley was the second highest bidder.
"All curtesy of your mother and Brooke," Haley said. "You're not upset, are you?"
"Why would I bet upset?" If Nathan was being completely honest, he was over the moon when he found out Haley won him. A night spent with his favorite girl without the pretense of the baby to excuse it.
"Because instead of some tall, skinny girl, you got stuck with short, pudgy me." Haley hated degrading herself to those adjectives. They were her biggest insecurities. She couldn't do much about her height, but Haley had tacked on a few pounds due to the pregnancy.
"Nah, I'd much rather prefer the beautiful, intelligent girl who won me." Nathan wasn't a fool to know that Haley had insecurities about her body. He never had a problem with it. To comfort her, he slung his arm around Haley and squeezed her body so it was pressed up against his. "Besides those tall, skinny girls don't nearly have as good of a rack as you."
"Nathan!" Haley smacked at his arm causing him to retreat in a fit of laughter. She quickly looked down at her shirt, thankful she'd worn the tight one that accentuated her bump and boobs - two things she now knew Nathan liked.
"It's true! You make pregnancy look good." While noticing the size of her bump increase, he also had taken the time to watch other assets of Haley's to grow as well. Haley grew a full cup size throughout her pregnancy thus far and Nathan loved every second of it.
"You have to say that because you got me pregnant."
"Yes, I did." Nathan moved back behind Haley so he could entwine their fingers together to lay hands on her stomach. He had grown quite fond of just standing with her feeling his child. "He's getting big."
"Or she." Haley liked to remind him of that fact that there was always a chance the baby would be a girl. However, she had to admit that she was hoping for a little boy too. She already had a name picked out, but that was her secret.
"Whatever. All that matters is that my baby and my girl are healthy."
Haley's heart fluttered whenever he called her his girl. "We are."
"So what do you have planned for us tonight, Miss James? You bought me, therefore I'm yours for the entire night." He couldn't wait to see the evening that Haley had planned for them. No matter what it was, he knew he'd enjoy it.
"Hmm, well, I was thinking ice cream."
"Ice cream?" It wasn't quite the evening Nathan thought he would have, but as long as Haley was happy so was he.
"Mac and cheese may be the food of the gods, but mint chocolate chip ice cream is food of the goddesses," Haley said as she buried her face into her large ice cream cone.
"Rocky road's better," Nathan argued, trying not to laugh at how silly Haley looked with ice cream on her nose. "You know you got some right there."
"Right where?" Haley asked not realizing she had ice cream on her.
"Right there," Nathan reinforced. He took his thumb and rubbed the ice cream off her nose. "Got it."
"Thanks."
"So what else do you have planned for us tonight. We got an hour left before midnight." As per rules of the auction the boys were bound to the girls until the midnight kiss. And both were quite anxious to get to the kiss.
"Nothing." Haley had been so worked up about securing the date that she completely overlooked planning the date itself. The ice cream was merely a suggestion because she was hungry.
"I'm disappointed Haley James. I thought you would have had this whole night planned out for us."
"Well then what would you suggest we do."
Nathan pondered what to do. He had the next hour with Haley all to himself. There was a lot to be accomplished in an hour that was racing through his mind. None of which he thought Haley would agree to, but seeing as she dropped over three hundred dollars on their date, he assumed he could push the boundaries.
"Why don't we just skip to the end?" Nathan suggested, giddy for her response.
"Oh," Haley said slightly disappointed. She didn't think they were having such a horrible time together, but obviously Nathan hadn't viewed the night the same way she had. "Well, then, why don't you just take me home?"
"Did I say something wrong?" Nathan asked, noticing Haley's sudden shift. He thought she would be happy with his suggestion, but he must have misread the situation and the signs.
"Are you kidding me Nathan? You obviously are looking for any reason not be with me tonight," Haley explained, starting to tear up. It had been a while since she cried over Nathan and hated that he still had that power over her. "You know what? I'm walking home."
"Haley, wait!" Nathan begged.
Haley ignored Nathan and headed in the direction of her house. Her favorite ice cream shop wasn't too far from her home, so the walk wouldn't be too bad in the dead of night. It was a five minute walk max. Nathan threw out his ice cream and ran to his car to track her down, knowing that she couldn't have gone far.
"Haley! Get in the car!" Nathan yelled, honking his horn at her to get her attention. Seeing as Haley did not respond and pressed onward, he knew drastic measures had to be taken. "Damn it, Haley." Nathan sped far enough a head of Haley and turned into a random person's home to cut off her path.
"What the hell, Nathan?!" Haley screeched. He was out of control. Did he even consider how close he was to almost hitting her? "What is your problem tonight? I spent an insane amount of money just to spend time with you, that was not related to the baby whatsoever, and you repay me by wanting to end it so soon. I let my sisters, friends, and even your mother get in my head, making me think that this wouldn't be such a bad idea and then you screw it all up. Why do I keep giving you these chances when you just keep-"
Nathan couldn't take it anymore. She was mad at him but for the wrong reasons. If she just gave him a chance to explain then she wouldn't be so furious, he hoped.
Nathan marched over to Haley and seized her cheeks with his hands to hold her head in place as he kissed her. It had been driving him insane for weeks. He wanted so desperately to kiss her for such a long time, probably since the last time they kissed. And his attraction for her only grew as their baby did.
When he pulled back, Haley was in a state of shock. She fluttered her eyes as she looked back up at him with a nervous expression on his face. That was unexpected to say the least.
"You shouldn't have done that, Nathan," Haley warned. All it took was that one kiss and she was done for. She wasn't sure if she could restrain herself any longer.
"But I wanted to," Nathan said.
And with that response, she lunged herself at Nathan attacking his lips with hers. Nathan scooped her up in his arms and lifted her legs to latch onto his waist. He felt her belly pressed against his stomach and his want for her grew while she deepened the kiss.
Wanting to steady them, and to not break the kiss, Nathan walked them over towards his car, so her back was resting on the driver's side door. At the sudden touch caused by their bodies, the car alarm went off. Nathan and Haley broke apart from their kiss and rested their foreheads against one another starting to laugh at the situation.
"We should leave," Nathan suggested. He saw neighbors' lights turn on from inside the houses. It was only a matter of time for the poor people, whose lawn he ruined, to come out and see them in this compromising position. "We're going to wake these people up."
Haley noticed the house they were at and grinned. "It's a good thing my parents aren't home then," Haley whispered into Nathan's ear as she kissed the nape of his neck.
Nathan hadn't even processed that the house he had turned into was the James'. Call it luck or call it fate, but whatever it was pulled them together.
"Do you want to go inside?" Haley asked.
All Nathan could do was smile.