"Keith, Karen, Lucas," Deb greeted at the door, opening it for the trio. "Come on in."
Hosted at Dan and Deb's house was their annual basketball appreciation party which cheerleaders, coaches, players and their families were all invited for a catered meal. Since Nathan joined the team, the Scott's had hosted for the past three years. No one sure loved basketball quite like the Scotts.
Though everyone invited was in attendance, Keith and Lucas had opposed coming from the beginning, both thought that it could potentially be a set up since they were often targets of Dan and Nathan's antics. Karen, on the other hand, was more or less so on the fence.
A month ago at the Father and Son basketball game, Karen and Deb hit it off. What started as a conversation about Haley initially led the women to realize they had more in common than having Dan Scott's sons. So when Deb walked into the café a few days ago personally asking that Keith, Karen, and Lucas to come to the party, the Karen accepted on behalf of her and the boys.
"So through here we have the living room," Deb said giving them a tour of the house. Lucas was impressed with the beach house alone, but this house was double the size of that. As Deb was about to continue on with the tour one of the waiters came up to her and whispered in her ear. "If you may excuse me, I have to go and check on the desserts. I'll be right back."
"So what's the plan?" Keith asked, immediately turning to Lucas and Karen once Deb left.
"We could always 'caw'," Lucas suggested, as an escape plan. If anything went south sometime during the night, at least they would know how to find each other and hopefully leave.
Karen rolled her eyes. "If you just stay away from Dan and Nathan, you'll both be fine," Karen assured them. She wasn't eager about seeing Dan either, but to move forward she had to move on with her life and not live in the past of what once was.
"Keith, Karen, I'm glad you could make it. Lucas, you as well," Dan said as he shook his brother and ex's hands with his trademark car dealership smile. He had been on edge since Deb announced that she personally invited the three of them to the event. He was hoping they would not attend. Dan was positive they were out to ruin the night.
Lucas didn't bother acknowledging Dan presence. He stared straight into Dan's eyes and walked away while still getting the chance to nudge his shoulder with his. From behind Dan, Lucas saw one of the few guys on the team that actually had his back, Jake Jagielski.
"I didn't think you'd show up," Jake commented, taking a sip of his drink. He almost didn't even make it himself due to prior commitments, but his parents encouraged him to be there even if they weren't.
"Neither did I," Lucas admitted. He really didn't want to show up, but he also didn't want to let his mother down.
"Peyton's over there." Jake gestured to the curly blonde in the corner who was all by herself. "Now's your chance. Go talk to her."
Jake had been Lucas' biggest supporter on the team. When the guys were hazing him, Jake got him through it. He told him to keep his head up and that the worst of it was almost over. And he was right, sure Nathan was still a grade A douche at times but since he'd been getting tutored from Haley, he hadn't been attacking Lucas as much. There were still jabs here and there, but they were no where near the level that they used to be at.
Lucas figured Jake was right. With Peyton alone, Lucas saw an opening to talk to her. Just as he left Jake and headed in Peyton's direction an arm slinked around his, pulling him backwards. "Where are you going, Broody?" Brooke asked.
Lucas humphed, trying to keep his cool. "Brooke," Lucas said while his eyes were still locked on Peyton's form.
After a month of going nowhere with Lucas, she finally figured out why. He was in love with Peyton. And despite Peyton not saying anything, Brooke could tell she felt the same. Brooke didn't understand why Peyton couldn't just let her have Lucas. Peyton already had one Scott brother, why did she need another?
Lucas watched as Nathan walked over to Peyton and gently placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her outside. "I heard that they're trying to work things out," Brooke commented in Lucas' ear.
Lucas' face fell slightly while Brooke reveled in her mastery. She had been planting seeds in both Nathan and Peyton's heads all week. Brooke mentioned to both parties that the other wanted to get back together with them. Seeing as they went outside together, Brooke assumed the plan was actually working. With Peyton back together with Nathan, Lucas was free all to herself.
"I'm flattered, Peyton, really. I know you made a mistake when you broke up with me, but I'm over you, I'm sorry," Nathan apologized. It took him a week to realize that Peyton breaking up with him was a good thing. No longer was he tied down to a relationship. Nathan was able to go from girl to girl without the guilt of cheating weighing him down, though it never seemed to bother him in the past.
However, it seemed as if his conquests over girls had faded as someone else started to potentially attract his attention. Nathan wasn't sure how he felt, but he knew it was different than what he felt with Peyton and his one night stands. So when he heard from Brooke that Peyton wanted to get back together, it was not something he was interested in even considering.
"What are you talking about, Nathan. You're the one who wants to get back together with me," Peyton argued. This was typical Nathan behavior. Once again not taking responsibility for his actions.
Nathan cocked his head in confusion. Maybe a month ago he would have said that, but recently Peyton hadn't been the girl plaguing his mind. "Brooke told me that you were sorry about the break up and missed me. She said you wanted to get back together," Nathan explained.
Peyton's anger at Nathan dissipated from him and onto another. She had heard something eerily similar this past week. "That's funny because Brooke told me the same thing."
Nathan and Peyton turned their heads to catch a glance at the scene unfolding on the other side of the sliding glass door. Brooke practically hung off Lucas while Lucas seemed uncomfortable, but was trying to be polite.
"She set us up," Peyton surmised. She figured that Brooke must have figured out her crush on Lucas and wanted to eliminate any competition whatsoever. Peyton knew Brooke to do tricks like this before but to do this to her best friend was cruel. Hadn't their friendship meant anything? Peyton should have told Brooke how she felt last month, but a month ago her feelings were not as intense.
While Peyton wanted answers, Nathan sought vengeance. Brooke meddling in his life was not something he asked for. She was going to pay.
Peyton and Nathan hung back as the basketball team and cheerleaders exited the living room to go outside and have some fun without disapproving stares of parents. Congregated around the fire pit, some of the players and cheerleaders engaged in a game of truth or dare in which Lucas and Brooke were a part of. Nathan saw this as an opportunity to get back at Brooke for messing with his life and decided to jump into the game.
Taking control of the game by stealing Tim's turn, Nathan tried to get Peyton's attention. "Peyton," Nathan called out, signaling her to come over. She walked over to the fire pit trying to hide the displeasure in her face when she spotted Brooke and Lucas. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare," Peyton shrugged. She had no clue what Nathan was playing at, but wanted to get this over with and drown herself in some alcohol for the night.
Nathan smirked, "I dare you to show your true feelings for one person here."
His intention was for Peyton to blow up at Brooke in the middle of the party, hopefully embarrassing Brooke and prompting his parents to cancel the party midway through. He always hated the annual basketball appreciation party. It was more for their parents to show off to their friends and colleagues how rich they were.
Peyton looked between Brooke and Lucas and made her decision without second thought. Instead of yelling at Brooke and causing a scene, she stared daggers into her eyes. Brooke straightened herself and pursed her lips as Peyton walked by. Peyton ignored Brooke and grabbed Lucas by the face to pull him in for a passionate kiss. Nathan and Brooke's jaws dropped, neither had expected this. Relinquishing her grip on Lucas' face, she stormed off from the group with Lucas following her.
Nathan wasn't sure how to feel. He no longer had romantic feelings towards Peyton, but this was still Lucas. The guy he was told he wasn't supposed to worry about. He felt rather vindicated. He knew something was going on, this just proved it.
"Next time you think about messing with my love life, you better leave me out of it," Nathan spat at Brooke as he went back into the house. Though this wasn't his intention of the dare, the goal was to call Brooke out and this had kind of done the job. Brooke now knew that Nathan and Peyton were aware of the set up. And judging by Nathan's comment and Peyton's actions they were both pissed off.
Brooke couldn't stand the dirty looks she was receiving from everyone. It was one thing from Peyton, but she didn't need the rest of the team against her.
She stood straighter than ever and strolled into the house on a mission. Brooke headed up the stairs and towards Nathan's room in search of some alcohol. She knew he kept an extra bottle in his room and after the night she'd had, she needed it now more than ever.
Lucas seemed completely uninterested in her advances towards him. He was brooding more than usual when he saw Peyton and Nathan together. She knew Lucas liked Peyton, but he had to get over it and move on. Then when Peyton kissed Lucas in front of her, she knew Peyton found out about the set up. Nathan's jab afterwards only confirmed it.
She searched Nathan's dresser drawers in hopes of finding some alcohol. Thankfully, she found a full bottle of vodka. Besides the vodka and some clothes there was tin container placed neatly inside. It seemed so out of place amongst Nathan's clothes, so of course she needed to investigate it.
Opening the tin, she noticed pencils, erasers, a protractor, and some sticky notes. It looked like a little kit of sorts. Buried underneath it all was a purple envelope with a note inside. Being nosy, Brooke read the card.
Nathan,
"Believing you will do well is half the battle..." I hope this kit will help you ace your classes once I'm gone. And thanks again for not telling Lucas, I really appreciate it. You're actually more tolerable than I gave you credit for. If you ever need me, don't hesitate to call!
- Haley James
As if the personalized stationary didn't give the card's writer away, then Brooke got her confirmation at the end. She was curious to know what the secret was between tutor girl and Nathan. It must of been bad if Lucas couldn't find out.
Maybe if she looked around the room a little longer, then perhaps something would come up. Placing the card back in the tin and then the drawer, Brooke closed the dresser drawer and went in search of some incriminating evidence. She could easily get back at Nathan for embarrassing her.
She opened each dresser drawer and came up with nothing. Brooke even checked his bedside tables and once again there was nothing. She went as far as to get on her hands and knees and check under his bed. When that proved fruitless like all other attempts, she pulled herself up, accidentally hitting her head off the nearby side table.
Clutching her, she noticed that when she hit the side table she must have knocked a tape loose. Examining the tape on the outside, she knew this is what she had been looking for, otherwise Nathan would not have gone to such great lengths to hide it.
Placing the tape in Nathan's VCR player, she cracked open the bottle of vodka and took a sip as she hit play on the controller.
Nathan blocked the camera lens with his body as he tried to angle it at the bed just right. He was so grateful that his parents let him borrow the camcorder two weeks ago and forgot to ask for it back.
"Is it set up?" Haley asked eagerly from the foot of Nathan's bed.
Nathan turned around and walked towards Haley with a wicked grin on his face, placing an earth shattering kiss on her lips. It literally knocked her onto her back on his bed as Nathan towered overtop.
His hand trailed down her body and stopped at her thigh, so holster it up as she wrapped her leg around his lower back. "Tonight is definitely going to be one to remember," Nathan said in between kisses.
"Oh. My. God."
"You call and I come running," Haley announced, setting the cakes on the kitchen island.
"Haley, thank you so much," Deb praised, giving the girl a hug. When the one waitress informed her that they were short on desserts, Deb was in a panic. She had thought she ordered enough food for everyone and they had, but one of the cooks called off sick so they were strapped on time and what they could prepare.
Thankfully, Karen had calmed her by offering her some cakes from the café free of charge. She called Haley, who had taken an extra shift that night, and asked if she could stop by the party and drop some cakes off. Haley agreed and had closed up the café momentarily since she was the only one working. Business had been slow, so Haley figured it wasn't a big deal.
As the mothers waited for Haley, they had time to chat and finally clear the air between the two of them, extinguishing any animosity either could have held. Deb had made it known to Karen that when she married Dan, which was only a month after she found out she was pregnant with Nathan, that she had no clue about either Karen or Lucas. It wasn't until Lucas was born that Deb found out. She and Dan had gotten into a horrible fight because of it leaving Deb to stay with her parents for a month. If she would have known sooner, then maybe she wouldn't have married Dan.
"It was no problem," Haley said.
"Why don't you stay for the rest of the party," Deb offered as she handed the cakes to a waitress. They had more than enough food now and Haley was always welcomed in her home.
"I don't want to impose," Haley insisted, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Please, you're always welcome. After everything you did for Nathan, we owe you immensely," Deb explained. She was relieved that Nathan was no longer worried about his eligibility for basketball. His grades were at least Bs, something the straight D student never thought he would obtain.
"Thank you," Haley smiled, departing from Deb and Karen.
Looking around at the other guests, Haley felt grossly underdressed for this occasion. Everyone wore either dresses or slacks and button ups. Compared to Haley's t-shirt and jeans, she definitely did not fit in with the crowd. She thought that maybe she would catch a break and run into Lucas, but then she remembered the scene she saw when she walked in. Lucas and Peyton seemed to be engaged in a pretty intense conversation which was sandwiched in between a heavy make out session. Haley thought best not to interrupt.
"Haley?" Nathan asked. "What are you doing here?"
During their last tutoring session today, he told Haley about the party his parents were hosting. He felt bad that he couldn't invite Haley due to it strictly being limited to the basketball team, cheerleaders, and their families. Though Nathan had friends on the team, none of them were like Haley. She had become a person he could talk to and rely on.
Over the past month, Nathan had grown quite fond of Haley. When they weren't at each other's throats, she was actually pleasant company to be around. Often quirky and clumsy, Nathan always found himself smiling more and more around her. It was too bad today marked the end of their tutoring sessions. With his grades being well above passing, he no longer needed a tutor leaving their deal to be fulfilled.
Though his original intention was to go back on his deal with Haley and tell Lucas about the night they spent together, Nathan recently made the decision to honor the deal. While tormenting Lucas was at the top of his bucket list, which displeased Haley, Nathan knew he couldn't intentionally hurt her. She'd done so much for him. The least he could do was repay her with this act of generosity.
"Your mom invited me," Haley explained. "Well Karen called, and your mom needed cakes for the party. I was working tonight, so Karen asked me to deliver them and..."
"Hales, you're rambling again," Nathan pointed out as he grinned. He thought she looked cute whenever she rambled. She did that a lot. Sometimes Nathan would just catch himself staring at her, not even paying attention to her ramblings. It was something he liked about her; although there was a lot of things she did that Nathan liked.
"Sorry," Haley apologized, fidgeting with the Cracker Jack bracelet. She had started to wear the bracelet recently once Nathan inquired about it. Haley didn't mean to do it intentionally, one day she just put it on.
It was as if the hard exterior, Haley had towards Nathan weeks ago started to soften. First with the bracelet and then with the nickname. Haley would have given Nathan the death glare whenever the nickname would slip, but over the past month she didn't mind him calling her that as much. It was actually kind of nice. In fact, Nathan had been overly nice to her.
This past month definitely made them closer, Haley would even consider them friends, but the nagging voice in her head told her that what she felt was something more. As much as it pained her to admit, she had started to develop a slight crush on the basketball star. She didn't mean to, it just happened.
Haley detested his behavior towards Lucas, which admittedly had subsided in the past month, but she couldn't deny that it still occurred. However, whenever he would flash her that cocky smile, Haley had to try to not collapse into a puddle around him.
"Well do you want to go somewhere? We could even study. It would sure beat having to be around my parents' friends," Nathan suggested. Haley's company was much rather prefer to anyone in attendance at the party. She at least knew how to make him laugh and made him feel like he was more than a dumb jock.
"Sure," Haley smiled.
"Tutor girl!" Brooke called out in a slightly slurred speech. She walked over to Nathan and Haley with her red solo cup in the air so she didn't spill. Brooke reeked of alcohol. The bottle of tequila was halfway gone. "I just saw your big screen debut! You were fantastic! We set up a projector in the back so we could watch it."
"What is she talking about?" Haley asked Nathan, hoping he could explain to her what was going on. Nathan's blood ran cold, silently praying that this wasn't what he thought it was.
"I'll be right back," Nathan promised as he departed the duo to head upstairs to ensure the safety of one of his possessions.
With Nathan gone, Brooke grabbed Haley by the hand and drug her outside with the rest of the students. "Come on, it was Nathan's idea," Brooke insisted. "You're going to love this."
Brooke ran off to the projector leaving Haley ample opportunity to leave. When she spotted Lucas with Peyton and Jake outside, she decided to join them. "So do any of you know what this is about?" Haley asked the trio.
Lucas turned to look at his friend when he heard her voice. "Since when did you get here?" Lucas questioned. If he knew Haley was coming he would have hung out with her for sure; although, in light of some recent developments with Peyton maybe not.
"Deb. Karen. Café. Cakes," Haley vaguely described. She didn't feel like rehashing the details in fear of rambling once again. "I'll fill you in later."
"Brooke said she had some home movie to play for us and that Nathan had insisted everyone to watch it," Peyton filled in. "Probably a highlight reel of this past season so far. Dan makes one every year."
Haley shrugged. No surprise that Nathan wanted to gloat about his victories on the court. Sounded just like the Nathan Scott she knew.
The projector screen turned on as the video begun to play. Haley's stomach churned as she saw the video play and the date in the bottom left hand corner.
Home movie. Big screen debut.
Oh no.
The basketball team and cheerleaders watched on as it obviously Nathan was in having sex with some girl. The boys cat-called while the girls gossiped at who this mysterious girl was. Haley was just thankful that Brooke must have started the tape midway through because as of that moment her identity remained hidden to the audience.
"I wonder who it is?" Jack mused.
"Can't be me. It's after the beach house party and I left with Brooke early in the night," Peyton added.
"Well, whoever it is, I feel sorry for her," Lucas said. Haley breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Lucas wouldn't massively freak out like she expected. Perhaps he would even forgive her. "How pathetic is it to have sex with some guy who has a girlfriend? I don't put this past Nathan, but doesn't she have standards?"
Haley gulped. Maybe she stood corrected. She couldn't pretend that Lucas' comments didn't hurt. Haley had felt guilty about the whole situation and being another notch on Nathan's belt. This was humiliating. She tried to keep herself from crying, but the sniffles kept coming along with the tears.
"Guys! I think I heard something!" Tim exclaimed, focusing everyone's attention back on the screen. With all eyes glued onto the screen, all Haley could do was wait until all hell broke loose.
"Mmh," Nathan moaned as he peppered kisses along Haley's neck. His movements had slowed as he came down from his high and rested atop Haley. He started laughing as Haley grabbed him by the face, eagerly pulling him in for another round. "Again?" Haley nodded. "Oh, Hales, you will be the death of me."
"It's better to die trying," Haley commented as she pushed Nathan off her and straddled him, giving the camper a view of her naked back.
Though Haley's face had been completely hidden and most of the people in attendance hadn't recognized her by the nickname or voice. Only one person had.
Haley turned immediately to face Lucas who had been glued to the screen. "Lucas, I can explain," Haley began.
"Don't bother," Lucas spat. "Actually, don't bother speaking to me ever again. I can't even look at you right now." He was utterly disgusted with what he saw. Haley. Out of all the people to succumb to Nathan's charms, why did it have to be her? No wonder she had been so insistent on tutoring him. Lucas could only imagine what had been going on during their tutoring sessions.
Lucas pushed past Haley, leaving her in dust. She had to leave. There was nothing left here for her. And there was no way she could face everyone if the tape continued to roll. It was only a matter of time before they saw her face. She wiped the tears that were streaming down her face and collided with what felt like a brick wall.
Nathan could tell from the small frame, Haley had ran straight into him. He practically ran downstairs when he noticed that his vodka and tape were missing. However, judging by the wide-eyed faces of his teammates and the girls gossiping, Brooke had played the tape.
He had to hand it to her, it was the perfect revenge plan after he aided in the Brooke-Lucas-Peyton debacle earlier.
Instinctively, Nathan tried to wrap his arms around her. Haley pushed him away before he even got the chance. That's when he got a clear view of her face. Stained with tears as more continued to rush out, she was visibly distraught and furious.
"We had a deal!" Haley yelled, as she pounded on Nathan's chest with her fists. This gained the attention of people both inside and outside the Scott home.
"Haley, I-" Nathan tried to explain. He didn't want Haley to cause a scene. That would only prompt more questions to be raised. She didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve any of this.
"No! You don't get to speak," Haley informed him. "You promised me that you wouldn't tell Lucas, so instead you decide to show the entire basketball team with him included." Nathan continued to try to explain his side of the story, but Haley wouldn't give him the chance. For once, it wasn't his fault. Brooke set him up. "I get it that you hate Lucas and I know that will never change. But I thought, that maybe, after all this time we've spent together that you would at least show me some decency by keeping your promise. Have I really meant that little to you?"
"Of course not," Nathan said. He was on the verge of crying himself. Haley's tears had caused him more pain than he thought. He hated her being this upset and angry at him. Nathan would never betray her trust like that.
"I hope you're happy, because now Lucas won't even speak to me and come Monday, everybody is going to know me as one of the many skanks who slept with Nathan Scott." Haley gave Nathan a final shove as she tried to head towards her parent's car.
Nathan reached out for Haley's hand, trying to speak to her and explain what actually happened. "Haley, please, don't go. We need to talk about this."
"We already did. Don't ever speak to me again." She shook off Nathan's hand off hers and he watched her run off to the car. Nathan wanted to chase after her, but a hand on his shoulder prohibited him from moving any further.
"What the hell is going on out here?" Dan demanded. He heard the commotion from outside and only caught the tail end. Nathan had much explaining to do once the party ended.
"I did just what you wanted," Nathan admitted. Devoid of any emotion, he stared straight into his father's eyes. "I identified Lucas' weakness and attacked it."