It's been more than 5 years since I updated this. I know, I am so ashamed. I lost so many files on my old computer, but I have always been clear in my mind as to what direction I wanted this story to go. I am excited to continue this and even more excited to hear your thoughts on it. Also I apologize for the lack of Peyton in this chapter, as this chapter is centered around the boy-toy auction. I am aware that my writing in this chapter is not my best, as I am still struggling to get back into the mix of things, so your honest thoughts are more than welcome.
Don't screw this up.
Felix pulled his bottom lip into his mouth as he squinted down at his phone. More than a little annoyed, he let out a breath and swiftly typed back.
Chill. I've got this.
Snapping his phone shut, he straightened up to his full length and looked around him briefly before striding across the street. Penelope's glittered brightly above him as he opened the door and stepped inside. Walking briskly into the somewhat familiar place, he was glad that it was early enough in the evening where the place was devoid of it's usual crowd. His gaze swept quickly around the space until he found exactly what he was looking for.
Striding over casually to the bar, he flashed a charming grin to one of the waitresses passing by, and motioned for a drink. Settling himself in comfortably on one of the stools, his gaze swept around until he caught the eye of the bartender. As the waitress slid the drink next to him, he shot it straight it down, never once breaking eye-contact with the bartender. Realizing that time was of the essence, he stood up quickly, all the meanwhile pulling something out of his jacket. Sliding the now empty glass towards the bartender who was keeping a watchful, yet suspicious glance on him, he smirked and said nothing as he stood up.
As he headed outside, he fished his phone out and briskly typed out a simple done and didn't throw a backwards glance.
"Out of all the conniving, underhanded things to pull, she does this!" Brooke fumed as Haley sighed, watching her best friend run a trail of furious steps ahead of her.
"Brooke, come on. Don't you think you're overreacting just a little bit?"
Broooke whirled around to face her and Haley stopped in her tracks. The look she was receiving in turn was one she was all too familiar with.
It was the deathly glare of Brooke not hearing what she wanted to hear.
"Overreacting? Do you even hear yourself right now Tutor Girl?" Brooke shook her head furiously as she stared at Haley aghast. "How you fail to see this as another way of that slut to mess with me is beyond me!"
Haley stared at the brunette carefully, "And why would Rachel choosing Jake tonight mess with you?"
Brooke stopped, confused. "What do you mean?"
Haley's eyes took on a familiar almost knowledgeable glint. "I mean, it's just a silly auction Brooke. A couple of hundred dollars to spend 4 hours tops with a member of the team for a good cause. Who cares who auctions for whom?"
"Because okay! It's Rachel we're talking about." Brooke frowned, more than unsettled. She didn't get why Haley didn't see where she was coming from. "That bitch always has something up her sleeve, and the last thing Jake deserves is to be on the other end of whatever fucked up game she's playing."
"Game? Come on Brooke." Haley rolled her eyes, "I'm sure Jake is more than capable of taking care of himself. Besides, wasn't the important thing tonight that Rachel not bid on Nathan?"
"Well, you made sure to take care of that perfectly didn't you T.G?" Brooke shot back, crossing her arms in front of her. "Seeing as how she never even once challenged you, which brings me back to my original point! She planned this whole thing for whatever twisted game she's playing and you can't even see it! Doesn't it strike you odd how she never even once bid on Nathan?"
Haley was about to respond when a sudden movement to her left made her hazel eyes light up in joy.
"Well, hey there hot-stuff!"She teased with a smile as she watched Nathan walk towards them. "You ready to go?"
Nathan rolled his eyes and lifted one shoulder in obvious disinterest, locking eyes with Brooke briefly. "Whatever, let's just get this over with."
Haley just shook her head, an amused smile lighthing up her pretty face as she watched Brooke's longing glance as Nathan walked past them. Giving her best friend a quick hug good-bye, she silently hoped that maybe this night would make everything fall back into it's rightful place.
"Better offer?" Jake joked lightly as he watched Rachel smile down at her phone as she typed a swift text message back.
Snapping her phone shut, the redhead smiled flirtatiously up at him, "Of course not gorgeous."
"Good, y'know it wouldn't do much for a guy's ego to have someone bid an insane amount of money on you, only for the girl to bail." He chuckled lightly.
Rachel swept her hair over to the side and she tucked her arm through this as she pulled him towards the school's parking lot, "Worth every dollar if you ask me."
Jake cleared his throat, a little uncomfortable at the sudden invasion of space. He still wasn't sure why Rachel had decided to bid on him of all the guys, but he didn't want to question it too much. Really, he should be thrilled that such a beautiful girl was apparently so eager to spend a couple of hours with him. Still, the turn of events of the evening left him feeling more than a little unsettled.
Sensing the sudden uneasiness from him, the fiery redhead stopped in front of him. "Jake, you're cute and all but you're way too serious. Let loose a little bit tonight and give me a chance ok? I promise you, it'll be a night we will all remember."
"Nice place." Lucas offered weakly as he took a sip of his water and glanced around the establishment.
Brooke fought the urge to roll her eyes as she shot Lucas a forced smile. "Thanks. Best 15th birthday present ever if I do say so myself."
Another awkward silence fell upon them as Brooke took a sip of the champagne that had been chilled specifically upon her request. She glanced at the blonde basketball player in front of her and sighed. As handsome as he was, Lucas was extremely boring and she could not for the life of her figure out what Haley saw in him. Pouring some more champagne into her glass flute, she quickly drained it and excused herself.
Sauntering over to the bar she motioned to the new bartender. "Listen, James is it? How about a little something stronger yeah?"
"It's Jason." He responded dryly and smirked as the beauty brunette waved off his response. Going to the other side of the counter, he expertly mixed several concoctions into two tall beer glasses, all the while keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings.
Whistling, he set the two drinks in front of Brooke, "Drinks are on the house."
"Well, duh." Brooke glared at him as she grabbed the two drinks. Was this guy for real? Taking a sip of the drink, she fought the reflex to gag as a strong unfamiliar taste made it's way down her throat.
Eww, probably cheap rum
She'd have to remind herself to have a talk with Mike about this Jason guy. Excellent references be damned, not only was he rude, but he sucked at making drinks.
"Y'know, if I'd known that you were just going to ignore me all night, I would've just spent my hard earned money on some other guy." Haley stated lightly, though her tone had a trace of hurt in it.
Nathan rolled his eyes and shrugged as he lifted the shot glass to his lips and shot it straight it down. "Maybe you should've bet on y'know your boyfriend?"
Haley sighed as she watched him pour another shot for himself. They had been at his Dad's beach house for an hour and this was the first time he had even spoken to her, preferring to down shot after shot instead of actually speaking to her. She really shouldn't be surprised, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt all the same.
Walking over to stand next to him at the kitchen counter, she took the shot from his hand and proceeded to gulp it down quickly.
Nathan glared over at her, though a part of him was more than a little impressed. In all the time he'd known Haley, he'd never seen her down Jack. Choosing not to comment on that, he instead poured another shot and he slid it over to her.
When she glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, he smirked. "Go ahead, y'know since you're all about trying out new things tonight. Like pawning your boyfriend on your best friend. Didn't know you and Pucas were into some twisted version of square dance partners. But to each their own."
"Nathan, that's not what is going on here." Her mouth dropped open at his accusation. "You ever think that maybe tonight is about me trying to spend time with you and trying to get our friendship back?"
"Yeah, well good luck with that." He scoffed, pushing away from the counter and heading towards the living room.
Frustrated, Haley watched his retreating form and she grabbed at the sink counter.
Feeling a cold spray of water hit him square in the back, Nathan turned around to see the blonde grinning triumphiantly at him. Shaking his head, he started towards her, a mischievous glint in his ocean blue eyes.
"Oh, it is so on."
"Wow, nice!" Lucas let out a whistle as he watched Brooke easily knock a ball into one of the pockets. "I didn't know you could shoot pool."
"There's a lot you didn't know about me." Brooke responds coyly, taking that opportunity to take another aim.
"Really? Like what?"
"Like I love it in the summer when there's heat lighting at night, and up until the fourth grade I called squirles squirrles...and I love to beat boys up at pool."
Lucas smiled back at her as he took a sip of his drink. Gone was the awkward silence between them and he was pleasantly surprised at how much fun he was having with the beautiful brunette. Sure, he could blame that on the obvious amount of liquid courage that both of them had consumed over the past hour, but he found that she was not the snob he always thought her to be.
"Well, you're good." Lucas admitted, watching her take another perfect shot. "Where did you learn to play like that?"
Brooke freezes momentarily and the previous sparkle in her eyes fades away. "Nathan."
"Sorry, Brooke I didn't mean to bring him up." Lucas let out a breath, "Not that I really brought him up, just that..well I didn't know he taught you how to play pool and well..when did we even bring him up?"
Brooke giggled at his adorable confused rambling. Wait, adorable? Where had that thought come from? Glancing down at her drink, she suddenly felt the floor shift underneath her and she hit the pool table, distinctly feeling Lucas's arms hold her up.
"Woah." Brooke giggled, fanning her face. Why was it so hot in here? Looking over at her blonde countepart, she found that he too was having a hard time balancing himself. How many had they had to drink?
Apparently the same though was running through the blonde basketball player's mind as he laughed when he caught his balance. "My Mom is going to kill me if I get home like this."
"Didn't know you had it in you ." Brooke giggled again. Why couldn't she stop giggling? What was wrong with her? "Look at you letting loose. You're not so bad, I can see why Haley likes you."
"And I can see why my jerk of a half-brother has a hard time letting you go." He returned, grinning stupidly at the beautiful brunette in front of him as she signaled the bartender for another drink.
"Really now? Y'know speaking of, I still love him."
"I know you do." Lucas returned, "I think everyone does."
"Yeah, well he hurt me." Brooke placed an arm on his shoulder, enjoying this open, honest sudden camaderie between the two of them.
"You ever going to forgive him for it though? Y'know Haley lied to me for the longest as to why she was spending time with Felix, but I forgave her for it. Why not forgive Nathan for Rachel? It's so obvious he loves you."
"I think I already have." Brooke admitted in her drunken stupor. "It's just so much easier to hold on to the anger. But I'm done with it. I just miss him and I want to be with him." Throwing her arm around the blonde basketball player, she was acutely aware of close they were standing together. "How funny is this..my jerk of an ex-boyfriend is spending time with your girlfriend. I wonder what they are up to?
"They're probably not having as much fun as we are." He pointed out sensibly, laughing as the beautiful brunette tightened her hold on him.
"Ok, ok stop!" Haley gasped, half-laughing as she tried to wrestle from underneath Nathan's grasp.
"Nope! Not until you say it!"
"Never!" She shot back laughing even as a cold stream of water hit her right in the face. She sputtered and tried to grab the sink hose sprayer from the much stronger basketball player's hands.
"Ok, don't say you didn't ask for it."
"Nathan!" Haley shrieked, as she felt her feet give way from underneath her until she realized he had picked her up and thrown her over his shoulders. Her eyes widened as she realized he was taking them both outside. Seeing the glistening ocean ahead of them, she struggled even more to get out of his grasp.
"Truce! I call it ok! I'm waving the white flag...Nathan!"
In his more than slightly alcohol induced state, the raven haired player chuckled as he ran across the sand towards the shore, all the while keeping firm of the blonde on his shoulders.
"Truce ain't going to cut it Hales." He let the term of endeament he had always bestowed upon her roll off his tongue. "Five magical words and I won't drop you in. May I add how cold the water is right now?"
Haley beat at his back, "This is so unfair you jerk! You're much stronger than me!"
"Five words." He teased, wavering her back and forth on his shoulders.
"I hate you Nathan Scott!"Dropping her in swiftly into the freezing waves, he laughed heartily as he saw her sputter and struggle to get up. "Wrong answer."
"Umm, is it even ok that we are here right now?" Jake didn't know why he felt the need to whisper, but he did. The whole place just seemed too creepy. Granted he'd never been to the Country Club Hall, but the fact that it was obviously set up for Saturday's event and there was no soul in place, well it just really weirded him out.
Taking a swig of the champagne bottle Rachel had snagged, the redhead shrugged. "Relax Jake, no big deal. Here take a drink."
Sucking in a breath, the brunette basketball player swigged a drink, much to the redhead's surprise. Truthfully, he had been on edge all night and maybe a little liquid courage is what he needed to relax.
"Impressive." The redhead commented, nodding as she took the bottle back from him and drank swiftly and hungrily from it herself. "Never knew Jake Jagielsky could let loose."
"Never knew Rachel Gattina would bet on me and bring me here." He shot back lightly, "Seriously, what is this all about?"
"Why does it have to be anything?" Rachel rolled her eyes as she propped herself up on the bar. "What is it with you people in this town trying to overanalyze everything? We're 17, not 30. Why can't a night just be about breaking a couple of rules and just having fun?"
"Because, maybe not all of us have the same freedom as you Rachel." Jake sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Some of us have actual responsibilities like a daughter to take care of. So it's not all about fun and games all the time."
"And maybe some of us have parents that don't actually care about if you're alive or not." The redhead shot back lightly, though her eyes betrayed her tone. "So maybe it is all about fun and games."
There was an awkward silence that fell upon them as they both contemplated each other's statements. It was more than Rachel could take, so she took another swig of the bottle and pulled Jake up and towards her.
"Honestly, I'm just rebelling against the 'rentals and you are too in your own way. If you want to leave, let's just go. Just don't forget, you still owe a kiss at the end of the night." She teased, and Jake couldn't help but laugh. If anything, this night was turning out to be more interesting than he ever thought it would be.
Haley shivered as she towel dried her hair, all the meanwhile glaring at Nathan as he sat across from her seemingly unaffected, eating pizza.
"You're such a jerk." She stated, though her soft tone betrayed her statement.
Nathan shrugged and let out a small laugh, "You're the one that started it."
The blonde smiled and went over and sat over next to him, grabbing a slice of pizza. "Anything to hear that laugh of yours."
Nathan sighed as he dropped his half-eaten slice back onto his plate, "Haley.."
"No, Nathan don't ruin it ok?" She reprimanded softly. "The night is almost over and it's good right now ok? Let's just leave it at that."
"Yeah, whatever." Nathan replied, picking up his slice of pizza again and taking a bite. "I wonder how Brooke and Lucas's night went."
Haley smiled as she bumped her shoulder against him, "Probably not as fun as ours did."
Brooke rolled over to her side and muffled a groan. Why did her head feel like it was going to split open at any second? Suppressing the urge to scream, she hazily sat up, grasping for her phone.
"What the fuck?" She mumbled, realizing she was absolutely naked. Feeling more than disoriented, she struggled and snapped her bedside light on, sighing in relief when she realized she was in her own bed.
Her relief was short-lived as she heard the sound of a male voice groan to her and she looked over to her left and realized she was not alone and there was an equally naked male next to her.
Her throat dried up as she struggled to breathe and tears sprung to her eyes. "Lucas?"