A/N HEY GUYS SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE BUT I WAS ON VACATION..ANYWAYS I'M BACK NOW SO I'LL BE POSTING UPDATE SOONER…PLEASE REVIEW!! I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH THOSE ARE IMPORTANT TO ME…LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK…
"So it's really over?"
Brooke looked over her shoulder at Haley, "That's what I told him." She turned her gaze back to the mirror in front of her, turning to the side to admire the way the black dress clinged to her body.
"What did he do this time?"
Brooke rolled her eyes and reached over for her favorite perfume, "The ass-hole had the nerve to stand me up after he promised that last night would be all about me and him." She sighed and her eyes locked with her best friend through the mirror, "I'm just tired of it all y'know? I mean during the summer everything's always good between us…perfect even…but once basketball season starts he turns into this complete jerk and completely forgets about me most of the time."
Haley shrugged as she shuffled through the magazine in her hands, "Well you know how it is…basketball season is a killer."
"So what if it is? That doesn't give him the right to treat me the way he does. Like his freaking doormat that he can discard and use however he pleases. No. I'm done with it. I'm done with all the fighting and hang-ups between us. I deserve better y'know?"
Haley sighed and she set the magazine down on the bed, "You're right. You don't deserve to be treated that way. But have you ever really talked to him about it? Instead of just yelling at him and breaking it off?"
"What's the point? It's not like he ever listens."
"The point is that you have to try if you ever want to fix the problems between you." she paused, "Look…my sister once told me that the couple that fights the most is the one most in love. When you fight, it shows that you care enough to notice the other one screwed up and if you talk to them about it…it means that you care enough to tell them so that they can fix it. When you stop fighting it means that you stopped caring."
"Well I'm done fighting and I sure as hell am done caring." She shuffled through her jewelry collection, "Look I've always said that having a good boyfriend should be like having a good bra. Y'know…all about support. And it has to go both ways. It's always been one sided when it comes to Nathan and me." She picked up a pair of gold earrings and threaded them through her ears and swiveled around slowly striking a pose, "So what do you think?"
Haley looked over at her, she was wearing a low-cut black dress with a pair of low-heel sandals, her shiny brown locks falling softly around her shoulders, "Like you're ready to hunt down your next victim." She shook her head, "You don't waste any time do you?" she teased.
Brooke rolled her eyes, "Well I'm not going to sit around and mope around am I? I mean this is Brooke Davis you're talking to. Sitting around crying is not my style." She fumbled for her purse, "Ready to hit the town Tutor Girl?"
Haley groaned, "On a school night?"
Brooke raised an eyebrow, "That was the plan if I remember correctly. C'mon you can't bail on me now Tutor girl. Are you really going to leave your best friend to deal with a break-up all on her own?"
"Yeah you look really broken hearted." She muttered.
Brooke giggled and fumbled through her closet and pulled out a short denim skirt and tossed it to her. "C'mon Haley it'll be fun. Think of all the cute guys we're bound to meet."
"You do realize I don't pick up random guys right?" she shook her head, "Besides you know I have to be at the tutor center before first period tomorrow morning."
Brooke waved her hand at her, "Details, details. Anyways I'm going downstairs for a drink, you better be ready by time I come back up." she opened her bedroom door and stepped outside, shutting the door behind her.
Haley stood up and reluctantly pulled on the short denim fabric. She sighed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, wondering how in the world she let Brooke talk her into doing things like going to a club 20 minutes out of town on a school night, nonetheless.
A beeping sound alerting her she had a new message broke her out of her thoughts and she walked over to her purse pulling out her cell. It blinked telling her she had a new picture message and she hit the ok button to receive it.
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock. A picture of Nathan pinning Rachel against the lockers, embraced in a full on kiss stared back at her. It only took her a second to realize that whoever sent it to her meant to send it to Brooke, seeing as though the only difference between her number and her best friend's was the very last digit.
"Hey what are you looking at? Ooohh…it's got to be something dirty judging from the look on your face." Brooke teased.
Haley jumped slightly and snapped the phone shut, not having seen her best friend come in. "Oh…it's uh…um…" she cleared her throat and ran her hand through her hair nervously.
"Are you ok?" she laughed, "Damn…it must have been really dirty if it's got you all flustered like this." she walked over to her and extended her hand, "Let me see it."
Haley clutched her phone and shoved it in her purse, "Trust me you don't want to see it." she laughed nervously, "It was just one of Tim's stupid jokes. You know him and his stupid text chains…"
"Oookay....if you say so." She tilted her head and peered at her curiously, "You sure you're okay? You look a little pale all of a sudden Haley."
She gave her a tight smile, "Yeah…I'm fine…" she fumbled for her jacket and pulled it on, "You ready to go?"
"Sure let me just get my keys."
Haley took a deep breath and clutched her bag angrily. She didn't know what the hell was going on. But one thing was for damn sure. Nathan Scott had a lot of explaining to do.
Lucas walked into school the next morning clutching a black garbage tightly in his hand. He looked around and spotted the tall raven-haired basketball player by his locker.
He wasted no time in striding over to him and shoving the garbage bag into his chest, "Trashing my locker not enough for you Daddy's boy?" he spat, "You had to go and trash public property?"
Nathan smirked as he pushed his hand away, "I don't know what you're talking about." He said coolly.
Lucas let out a humorless laugh, "Of course you don't. Can't even be man enough to own up to your actions can you?" he shook his head and smirked, "Just like your father."
Nathan straightened up and he shoved the blonde boy slightly, "Right. But you wouldn't know anything about that would you?" he taunted.
Lucas's eyes glimmered angrily, "Bring it on Scott…throw anything you want my way. As much as you want it to, it won't make me or any of this go away." he digged in the black garbage bag and pulled out a black spray can and tossed it at him, "I don't know why you wasted your time with this on the river court. You're gonna need it to paint over your scoring title in the gym, 'cause guess what? I'm taking it from you."
Nathan scoffed, "Yeah keep dreaming punk. There's only room for one of us on this team. It's only going to get worse, man."
Lucas shook his head furiously, "Throw whatever stupid games you got planned at me. I don't care. Whatever you got, you better bring it Daddy's boy, 'cause I'm not going anywhere."
Nathan rolled his eyes as he watched the tall blonde walk away, "Yeah…we'll see about that big brother." He muttered darkly. He slammed his locker shut and walked off in the direction to his first class.
He paused as he spotted Brooke leaning against her locker talking with Brad Fisher, one of the guys from varsity. His hand tightened on the strap of his backpack and he took a deep breath, before striding over to them.
He placed his hand on the locker next to Brooke's, making his presence known. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"
Brad stepped away from Brooke and glanced at Nathan nervously, "No man, we were just talking."
Nathan shrugged, "Well looks like to me like you're conversation is pretty much over Fisher." He shot him a pointed look and pushed away from the locker.
Brooke rolled her eyes and took a deep breath cursing her heart for the way it always reacted whenever he was near. She looked at Brad through lowered eyelashes, purposely ignoring Nathan, "Walk me to class handsome?" she asked sweetly.
Nathan clapped his hand tightly on the blonde boy's shoulder, not giving him a chance to respond. "Yeah, don't even think about it Fisher." He warned dangerously.
Brad laughed nervously, "Wouldn't dream of it Scott." He shot the pretty brunette an embarrassed smile, "See ya later." He mumbled, "Later man."
Brooke glared over at Nathan once Brad was gone and shoved him. "What the hell was that?"
"What?" he smiled at her innocently. "All the guys know better than to mess with my girl."
"You're not my damn keeper." She hissed, absolutely pissed. "Ugh, I hate your macho territorial bull shit and do I even need to remind you that we're not together anymore?"
He rolled his eyes, "Oh, that." he looped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him. He leaned down and teased her ear with his lips, "Why don't you give it up baby? I mean how long are you planning to pretend that it's over?" he pulled back and looked into her eyes. "I thought you'd realize by now that it could never be completely over between you and me." he whispered huskily in her ear.
She shut her eyes and fought everything inside of her to push him away. Why did he have to get under her skin so easily? No. she told herself. Do not let him win. Do not give in so easily. You are Brooke Davis damn it, she reminded herself. Boys chase you, boys are wrapped around your little finger. Definitely not the other way around.
She took a deep breath and wriggled out of his grasp. She pulled her book bag over her shoulder and smiled at him sweetly, "Really? Cause I thought I made it pretty clear that I wanted nothing from you anymore. Why don't you give it up Scott? You had your chance…and you're lucky I let it go this far between us…cause frankly? I was getting a little bored.." she threw him a triumphant smile, "See ya later…ex-boyfriend."
He sighed and rubbed his hand across his forehead as he watched her walk away. Okay, so this was going to be harder than he had thought. Hard. But definitely not impossible, he reminded himself, fully aware of the way she had reacted when she had been in his arms.
"You are a world class act you know that?" a voice hissed behind him, before a hand reached out and smacked him straight across the chest.
"What the hell?" he swiveled around and came face to face with a pissed off Haley, something that was very rare.
"I should castrate you right now." She said angrily, glaring at him forcefully. "Seriously, what the hell were you thinking?"
"Okay, first of all what the hell are you talking about?"
She digged around in her purse and smacked a paper into his chest, "You want to tell me what the hell this is about?" she hissed.
He shot her a weird look and looked down at the frame-sized poster she had shoved at him. His eyes widened in shock at the blown up picture of him and Rachel engaged in a full on make-out session against the lockers, "Where the hell did you get this from?"
She threw her hands up, "Does it really matter?"
"Hell yeah."
She narrowed her eyes at him, "You're lucky I came in early this morning for a tutor session, otherwise you'd be pretty much screwed, seeing as though that lovely little poster was taped right over a certain cheer captain's locker. Not to mention…"she digged in her book bag and pulled out her cell phone. She scrolled down and held up the phone for him to see, "Somebody was kind enough to send this to Brooke."
His mouth became dry, "Wait..she saw this?"
She rolled her eyes, "No moron…someone was stupid enough to confuse my number with hers."
He looked at her closely, "You're not going to show this to her are you?" he asked worriedly.
She crossed her arms in front of her, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't?"
"How about you tell me why you haven't?"
"For what? To hurt her more than what you already have? What is it about you Scott? Do you purposely like to hurt her?"
He looked around the empty hallway in relief, "No." he said firmly, "That's not it…Haley…you know how much I love her." he said quietly.
"Then why?! Why this then?!" she pointed at the blown up picture of him and Rachel, "Because you can't deny that is you and Rachel making out…if you claim to love her so much…why pull this shit on her huh?"
He let out a breath, "Look Haley…I don't know where the hell this came from or from whom…but I can tell you one thing for sure. It did not mean anything." he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"Look Rachel…she came out of nowhere and she just…kissed me…before I had a chance to react. You have to believe me."
She tilted her head and gazed at him through narrowed eyes, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. She let out a sigh, "Fine. I'll believe you this time. And I won't tell Brooke…simply because I don't want to hurt her anymore than what you already have." She pointed a finger at him warningly, "But so help me God…Nathan…I know you guys aren't together anymore but-"
He cut her off and grinned confidently, "We will be again."
"Whatever. All I'm saying is pull something like this again and I promise you won't live to regret it."
He raised an eyebrow at her, "Wow…is that a threat?" he teased.
She rolled her eyes, "You've been warned Scott." She took the blown-up picture from him and rolled it back into her purse, "Well…off to destroy the evidence." She said dryly.
He squeezed her shoulder gently, "Hey thanks again Haley…for not…well you know."
She sighed, "Don't thank me. Cuz I'm not doing this for you."
He nodded, "Well either way…thanks again."
She watched him walk away and sighed. She would keep this to herself this one time, but she hoped he kept his promise. Because one thing was for sure. She would not let him hurt her best friend again.
"Hey Jake!"
Jake looked up from the text he had silently been reading for the past half-hour and smiled at the perky brunette.
"Hey Brooke, are you lost or something?" he teased waving his hand around the library.
She rolled her eyes at him playfully as she plopped down in front of him, "Haha…I'll have you know I know my way around a library thank you very much."
He nodded, "How could I forget that our school stocks Vanity Fair?"
She plucked a piece of paper and wadded it up, throwing it at him laughing, "Did you eat little clowns for breakfast this morning Jagielski? Or are you always this funny?" she joked.
He laughed, "Little clowns?" he shook his head, "You're so weird Davis."
"I prefer one of a kind, thank you."
He smiled, "That too."
She tilted head and smiled at him, "Y'know I never realized…but, I've missed you."
His heart did an unexpected flip-flop in his chest and he smiled, "You see me everyday."
She shook her head, "No I just meant.. well we used to be so close. What happened?"
You and Nathan...
Shaking his head, he cleared his head. "Things change, people drift away Davis." he said lightly.
"Well, yeah but I guess what I'm trying to say is we grew up together Jake. You me, Haley and Nate and well it just seems that after the whole Nikki deal.." she suddenly paused, noticing the involuntary flinch that crossed his face. "Open mouth, insert foot. Sorry."
He offered her a smile and she smiled back, "Hey, it's okay." He cleared his throat, "So you never did tell me, what brings you into this lovely establishment we like to call the school library?"
The smile faded from her face and she sighed as she looked around. She leaned in close as if to make a confession, "I've got English this period."
He quirked an eyebrow at her questioningly, "Uh…okay.."
"No. You don't get it. I've got English. With Nathan." She stressed.
He nodded slowly understanding. He'd heard of the break-up from the guys on the team. It took but all of 2 seconds for it to spread through the grapevine. "Ah..the old ex-boyfriend dodge."
She groaned, "I thought I'd be okay y'know? But then it's like I saw him this morning and…"she shook her head, "I'm pathetic aren't I?"
He smiled ruefully, "No..you're just in love."
"Yeah, but sometimes I wonder..." she sighed. "Sometimes I think that it's time to let go y'know? I mean we've been together for so long. Sure, on and off but still. I guess it's kinda hard to imagine that I could be just Brooke and not one half Brooke-and-Nathan." She shrugged, "I mean, I've often wondered if the only thing that holds us together is the history and all that's left is the image and status. You know, the star basketball player and the captain of the cheerleading squad."
"Is that how you really feel?"
"I don't know. I mean sometimes…But then when I'm not with him, when we're fighting or when I don't see him...I can't handle it." She paused and looked back at him, "I probably am crazy aren't I?"
"No. Not crazy. Just confused."
She stared ahead of her thoughtfully, "I love him, I really do but sometimes I wonder why it has to be so hard y'know? Love is supposed to be easy and.." she trailed off and looked away embarrassed. She took a breath and pushed back the chair, looking at her watch, "Anyways, I probably should get going. I don't need Ms. Lee catching me ditching her class. I cannot afford to miss tomorrow's big game."She glanced back at him, "Speaking of which…you're going to Nathan's house afterwards right?"
He shrugged. Nathan always threw the now traditional party at his house after the first game and as part of the basketball and cheer team it was an unspoken rule that they all to be there. He just didn't know if he felt up to it, "Sure…maybe I'll see you there." He said non-committably.
Her eyes lit up, "Hey, maybe we can go together?" she suggested.
"And have Nathan kick my ass?" he joked.
She rolled her eyes, "Please. He wouldn't dare." She denied, knowing full well that he would.
He raised an eyebrow, "Are we talking about the same Nathan Scott?" he laughed and studied her closely, "Umm…well, I mean sure…I can wait for you after the game and we could head over there together…."
She grinned, "Great! See you then!"
He paused as he watched her go and turned slightly in his chair, "Hey Brooke?"
She turned around, "Yeah?"
"No guy is worth your tears….and the one who is? Would never want to see you cry." He said softly.
She smiled, "Thanks…" she paused, "Hey Jake? It was really nice talking to you again…you know…like old times…I forgot what a good friend you were."
His smile wavered slightly. Right. Friend. "Yeah…it was nice talking to you too. I'll see you around Brooke."
She waved and bounced off in her usual bubbly manner and he turned around back to his books and sighed.
Who was he kidding? The teenage father and the Queen Bee of their school? Yeah…maybe in another fantasy.
Lucas made his way over to his seat angrily and slumped down in it, muttering to himself darkly.
Haley looked up from her notebook and she turned around in her seat to peer at him curiously. "Whoa, what happened to you? Or should I say who?"
"Isn't it obvious by now?"
She nodded slowly, understanding, "What did he do now?"
"You mean other than being born?" he retorted.
Her eyebrows shot up. Okay, so she did not expect that from him. That was more of a Nathan thing to say…but then again…they did share the same DNA…
"That bad?"
He shook his head as he pulled out his notebook roughly, "He completely trashed my locker the other day and now he decided to redecorate the River Court, y'know the place where me and my friends always play. Our spot."
She furrowed her eyebrows, "And you're sure it was him?"
His eyes shot up to meet hers, "Well who else would want to screw with me that way?" he shook his head firmly, "No. I'm positive it was him. But of course, the asshole couldn't even man up enough to admit it."
She bit her lip, "Look, that's messed up…it really is, and please don't think I'm justifying his actions here in any way but…have you ever thought that maybe…having you around isn't any easier on him than it is on you? I mean, have you guys ever even talked?"
"Yeah, sure." He scoffed, "We text each other all the time too. Look Haley, I know you've known Nathan for a long time and I also know that he's dating your best friend, but there's no justifying his actions. The guy's an ass, plain and simple."
She paused and fiddled with her pen, wondering if she should say anymore. She decided against it and quickly changed the subject, "Are you excited about tomorrow's game?"
He furrowed his brow and he let out a deep sigh, "Right. The game." He ran his hands through his short locks, "Would it be totally girly for me to admit that I'm terrified to death?"
She smiled, "No. But I'm sure it's not going to be that bad. You forget that I have been watching you practice the entire week. You'll be okay." She shrugged, "You'll be better than ok, actually."
He smiled back, "I sure hope so. I can't afford to blow it. Especially not now. When everyone's expecting me to."
"Well not everybody." She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and flashed him a quick grin, "Y'know what helps calm my nerves the day before a big test or tournament? A relaxing trip down to the downtown Cinema with a stopover at the ice-cream shop. So how bout it?"
He grinned, "Why, are you, Haley James asking me out on a date?" he teased.
She blushed, "Well not a date exactly…but…well y'know…two people hanging out. Together."
He laughed, "So yeah. A date."
She rolled her eyes at him playfully, "Anyway…are you up for it?"
He smiled, "Yeah, definitely."
She grinned back, "Great. They have this new movie that I'd been dying to see…you know the one with Nicholas Cage?....I hear it's…"
He tuned her out as she chattered on excitedly. Although she had insisted it was not a date, his heart and mind were not listening to him. His pulse was racing and his heart was pounding in his ears at the prospect of spending some alone time with her. Just the two of them.
Damn. Now, he really did have something to be nervous about tonight. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the game tomorrow night.
Brooke hummed alongside the radio as she danced around her bedroom in her underwear. She felt rejuvenated and full of energy as she always did after a good work-out. She picked up her hairbrush and danced over to her system, turning up the volume and waving the brush in front of her as she sang along.
"Wow…is it hot when girls do that? Or is it just you?" a teasing voice called out to her.
She swiveled around and the brush fell from her hands. Her heart thumped involuntarily in her chest and she glared at Nathan, "What are you doing here?"
He shrugged, "I wanted to see you." He said simply, his gaze wandering over her skimpy attire. He looked back up and his eyes held hers. "I miss you."
She ignored the shiver that made its way down her spine and scrambled around for her bathrobe. She had to get him out of her house as soon as possible or she was bound to fall for whatever line he was sure to spring on her.
He stopped her movement, "Don't." he grinned slyly, "I'm definitely enjoying the view."
She tilted her head and smirked, "Well it's too bad it's a sight you won't get to enjoy any more now is it?"
His eyes made their way down her thin frame once again, "Yeah. Definitely my loss." He said huskily.
She yanked the bathrobe on and tightened it around her body, crossing her arms over her chest protectively, "What the hell do you want?" she snapped.
He stepped closer and ran a hand down her arm, "You know what I want." He said softly.
She took a deep breath and pushed away from him and went to open her bedroom door, "Well you won't be getting it from me anymore, so why don't you run along? I hear the strip downtown definitely gives you your money's worth." She spat.
He shook his head and walked over to her, trapping her against the door, "That's not what I meant."
She looked up into his baby blues and...Damn it..she couldn't help it. She licked her lips self-consciously, "Well what do you want?" she whispered.
He brushed her hair away from her face softly, "It's simple. I want you. All of you."
She shut her eyes. There it was. One of his sweet nothings that always got to her, no matter how much she tried not to let it. She pushed him away, "Stop." She pleaded.
He wrapped an arm securely against her waist, "You really don't want me to." He whispered confidently.
No. She really didn't.
"Nathan…" she sighed and looked up at him, "What's going to make it different this time?"
He leaned down slightly and brushed a soft kiss across her cheek, "This time it's going to be me."
"I want to believe you. I do. But you always say you will and you never do and we always end up back where we started from. I mean don't you get tired of it? Because I do."
He shook his head, "Don't say that. Look I promise this time it's really going to be different." He looked behind her and sighed, "You just…you have to understand…this punk is on the team now and my Dad's been riding me about it." he paused as he brushed his knuckles tenderly across her jaw, "I know none of this is your fault and I shouldn't take it out on you. And I promise you that I'll work on it. But you just gotta give me a chance Babe."
She bit her lip, "How many more chance am I going to give you Superstar? I mean this is getting real old, real fast. Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't just put an end to it? Cuz every instinct inside my body is telling me to."
"Because…" he looked down at her, "Because I love you." he said quietly, "And because I know you love me too."
Her heart jumped in her throat and she had a hard time catching her breath. He'd never come outright and said that to her, at least not phrased it with those particular words.
"Nathan…" she began, he silenced her as he pressed his lips to her softly, wrapping his other hand around her waist.
She sighed against his mouth and brought one to cup his cheek while she wrapped the other one tightly against his neck.
He groaned against her lips and his hand snaked inside her bathrobe, swiftly untying it and slipping it off her shoulders.
She pulled away from him breathless and lifted up his shirt placing soft kisses down his chest. She looked back at him and pulled him to her roughly, crashing her lips onto his. God, she had missed this and it had barely been a full day since she had broken things off with him, since she had last been with him. How did she let him get to her so easily? How did he have this damn power over her?
She moaned softly as he unhooked the clasp of her bra and slipped it off her shoulders, his hands and lips assaulting every piece of bare skin he could find. He turned her around and walked her backwards to her bed.
Her legs hit the side of the bed and she fell back on it, bringing him down on top of her
Who was she kidding? She loved him and that's all there was to it.
"God, you are acting like such a girl right now." Peyton rolled her eyes as she saw Lucas change his shirt for the fifteenth time. Well, not really, but seriously. How hard could it be for a guy to pick a shirt?
Lucas glared at her, "And you're here again why?"
"If it takes you this long to get ready for a non-date with the girl, I'd hate to be think about how long it'd take you to finish up when you go out with her on a real date. That is, if you ever gather the nerve to ask her."
He reached for a simple baby-blue T-shirt and studied it thoughtfully, before pulling it over his head and smoothing it out.
"And we have a winner!" she mocked in a playful manner. "Finally. So what's next Sir Lucas Scott?" her eyes twinkled with amusement, "Hey..I've got the most perfect shade of shadow that would just complement your shirt and bring out your eyes perfectly."
Lucas groaned, "Peyton, please. Shut up. You're not making this any easier."
She rolled her eyes, "Lucas, c'mon. It's a simple outing to the movie theater. Not to the Prom or anything. You really think she cares what shirt you wear?"
"You don't get it." He mumbled digging around for a sweater.
"Probably not." she agreed. She looked at the clock on the nightstand, "Weren't you guys supposed to meet at 8:45?"
He looked up, "Oh shit." He muttered noticing it was almost 8:30.
Peyton digged around in her purse and tossed her keys over to him, "Here take the Comet."
He shook his head, "Thanks, but I think I'd rather walk…y'know help clear my thoughts."
She shrugged, "Suit yourself." She got up and stretched, "Well I'm outta here Lover Boy. Got the most amazing night planned with my math book." She walked over to him and hugged him playfully pinching his cheek, "Awww.." she squealed, "My boy's first date! I'm soo proud of you honey."
He swatted her away laughing, "Get out of here Sawyer."
She laughed, "Call me later with the details Dude." She teased.
He shook his head smiling and looked in his reflection in the mirror one last time. He groaned realizing Peyton was right. He was acting like a girl.
Haley looked at her refection in the mirror for the fifteenth time that evening. Well, not really. But she felt like she'd checked her image a million times.
She ran her brush through her hair in an effort to smooth out some of the frizzies.
She groaned. God, she was acting like such a girl right now and she hated it. Since when did she let a boy get to her like that? I mean it was just a movie. Her and Lucas were just friends right?
Right. So then why did her heart feel like it was going to beat out of her chest as the clock ticked closer and closer to the time they were supposed to meet? Why did her mouth feel dry at the thought of spending an entire evening away from school, away from every one, just the two of them? Alone together, if at least for a couple of hours.
She sighed and looked into the mirror, "Get it together." She told her reflection firmly. She fished around for her keys and hoisted her purse over her shoulder turning off the light switch as she walked by.
She stepped out of her room and shut the door quietly behind her. The house, she noticed, was unusually quiet. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, she told herself, thinking of the few nights a week when her father would actually come home.
She paused as she caught the light pouring out of the kitchen.
"Oh…hey honey." Her mom looked up from her spot behind the counter, her eyes uncharacteristically bright, "You going somewhere?"
She swallowed back the disappointment as she saw her mom stumble slightly. Great. She thought. Here we go again.
She took a deep breath and eyed the brand new bottle of bourbon on the counter. "Mom…" she said softly. "Please…please don't overdo it tonight." She couldn't and wouldn't be able to handle another sleepless night watching over her mother.
"Right." She scoffed, throwing her head back and gulping down the rest of the liquid , "Why don't you also tell your father come home once in a while? To stop screwing the secretary?" she reached for the bottle again and poured her next fill into her cup.
Haley took in a sharp breath, "Mom…you know Dad has a lot of work at the office that prevents him from making the long drive back home."
Her mother let out a bitter laugh and she took a long sip of her drink, "So young. So naïve." She pointed her drink at her, "Just don't say I didn't tell you so, when you find out what your Daddy dearest is really doing those long nights that he doesn't come home."
Lucas glanced down at his watch. It was exactly 8:42 and he quickened his step, realizing he was running late. He cursed himself, wondering why he hadn't just taken Peyton on her offer to take the Comet.
He hoped Haley would understand. The last thing he wanted now was to upset or anger her in any way. Not now. Not when they were just starting to get to know each other.
As he hurried along deep in his thoughts, he failed to notice the van that screeched to a halt behind him. A couple of guys jumped out and before he knew what was happening, they quickly surrounded him and grabbed him, dragging him and pushing him straight inside the van.
It all happened in a split second and before he had a chance to react a brown paper bag was thrown over his head and his hands were wrenched towards his back and he felt the rough piece of rope as it burned into his skin.
"What the hell?!" he muffled, "What do you want from me?"
Nathan looked back through the rearview mirror and he let out a snicker. He stepped on the gas pedal and swerved around expertly, driving for a couple of minutes before making an abrupt stop.
All the guys poured out of the ban and Tim and Tyler pulled Lucas down with him, swiftly pulling the bag off his head.
Lucas blinked and looked around him at his assailants. His eyes hardened in anger as he recognized them as the guys from the team. "Let me go." he struggled against Tim and Tyler who were holding him back, "You guys are such cowards." He spat, "Sure. Attack me from behind."
Nathan laughed and crossed his arms in front of him. He nodded towards Tim and in one swift move, he was pushed into the stream.
Lucas emerged, struggling to stand up, Nathan walked up to him and freed his hands, "Well, well. The gang's all here. I told you it was gonna get worse. Now, see, normally this is when you become part of the team. We'd have a keg, tell some war stories… but you had to know that wasn't going to happen, right? Look… these guys made a choice to back me up. But we're going to be nice, and we're going to let you walk away. Just quit the team, man. Otherwise, it's going to get ugly." He looked at the other guys, "Now what do you guys say we get out of here?" he suggested.
Tim game him a last shove, "Bye, Pucas." He mocked.
The rest of the guys laughed as the tall blonde stumbled and came in contact once again with the murky water. They walked behind Nathan jumping into the van and hightailing it out of there.
"Fuck!" Lucas stood up and kicked against the dirt in anger. How the hell was he supposed to get out of there? Most importantly, how in the hell was he supposed to get to Haley?
Haley looked at her watch for the second time that night and sighed. It was almost 9:15. She realized she'd been standing in front of the Cinema for at least a good half an hour. Waiting. With no sign of Lucas anywhere.
She looked around once more and swallowed back her disappointment as she realized Lucas wasn't going to show up. God, she was so stupid and such a girl, for getting so excited about a movie with a guy she barely knew. She momentarily wondered if he was all right, but in the next instance it was gone. Of course he was all right. What could've possibly happened to him in the short walk he claimed it took to get from his house to the theater? No. He was most likely all right. He just didn't care.
So then why should she? Why should it bother her so much that this almost stranger, someone she had barely so much as given a second look at a week ago, had stood her up? It shouldn't and it didn't.
She stuffed her hands in her pockets and let out a breath. As long as she kept telling herself that the whole way home, then maybe she wouldn't feel this strange sense of almost hurt, beating at her chest. She checked the time once more and slowly walked in the direction of her house, wanting nothing more than to cuddle up in bed and forget about the entire awful thing. First her mother and now this?
So much for a fun relaxing night.