Chapter 1

The door echoed loudly in the deserted café as Lucas headed out. Haley took a deep breath and buried her head back in her arms. She needed to finish cleaning up, get the café closed, and go home. Thank God tomorrow was Saturday. At least she had a weekend to get ready for the abject humiliation that would be coming her way on Monday.

Call me if you need anything at all!! Complete with exclamation points and underlines, no less. What the hell had she been thinking to write that? Oh yeah. That only Nathan would read it, not that it would be half-time entertainment for the basketball blowout.

She wiped at the tears that had started flowing again with the dishrag clutched in her hand. Luke might have let her off the hook easy, but he was wrong. She had been stupid. Stupid to think a few conversations meant they had something in common. Stupid to think he’d be anything but his father’s son. Stupid to ever think Nathan Scott would be interested in her like that.

She bit her lip until it almost bled at she remembered the way Brooke had laughed at the “little love note” he’d passed around. Haley balled up the rag and threw it across the kitchen with a scream of frustration, then pulled herself to her feet.

She methodically began cleaning, wiping down counters and straightening tables. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been warned by pretty much everyone. Be careful with Nathan, Haley. Be careful. Be careful. Be really careful. It had been like a litany, and she’d ignored it because she’d thought he was different with her. Wasn’t that like the oldest trick in the book? Bad boy reforms for the smart girl? He was such a jerk. And she’d fallen for it, hook, line and sinker.

She gave the counter one last furious swipe as a knock sounded on the door. She glanced up to see Nathan standing in the street outside, his face serious behind the glass that separated them.

“Hey,” he called out.

She watched him for a long moment before heading silently to the door. She waited with arms crossed, the anger bubbling inside her now.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

Did he really think she was that easy? That he could show up in his letterman’s jacket, give her the puppy dog eyes, drop a sorry, and have her fluttering back, ready to tutor his sorry ass?

She flipped off the light switch and darkened the café. She could see the disbelief on his face as she turned away.

“Haley, I didn’t know,” he pleaded through the door as she walked back to the counter. “Come on, you’ve got to believe me.”

She snorted as she placed the rag under the counter and headed to the back. Yeah, right, she believed him. It was time to get back to normal. It was just . . . normal was miles away for them all now.

She sighed, picked up her keys from the hook by the back door and let herself out the rear entrance of the café.

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Nathan watched as Haley flipped the switch and walked away. Any minute now she’d turn around and come back. She had to, had to give him a chance to explain. She didn’t seriously think he’d pass around her note and make fun of her like that, did she?

He grunted in disbelief at himself. Why the hell shouldn’t she believe that he’d do that? He pulled that kind of crap all the time with people. With her even, getting her to tutor him to piss Lucas off.

Except that hadn’t really worked out. He sure hadn’t planned to end up standing in the middle of the street begging her to open a door to him. He rubbed his head, trying to ease the tension that had started before the first guest had even arrived. The whole night had been a disaster.

He watched as she disappeared from view behind the counter. She wasn’t coming back. She wasn’t even going to give him a chance to explain.

He cursed under his breath and turned on his heel, stalking back to the SUV he’d pulled to the curb. Why did he care so much if her feelings were hurt anyway? It wasn’t like he’d never ticked a girl off before. He’d done it all the time with Peyton.

He cranked the engine and threw the car in gear as the thumping sounds of some nameless rap song pounded out of the speakers. He pulled to the end of the street and waited for the red light to change as he debated. Should he go to her house? Wait for her to come home?

He glanced back at the darkened café for a minute, and pulled away, turning towards his own house. He’d find her tomorrow. Call her, go see her. Apologize again after she had time to cool down.

Right now, he mainly just wanted to kick Brooke Davis’s ass.

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Haley fumbled with the key to the back door. It was late, way later than she normally came home from closing, but she doubted her parents had waited up. She hoped not, because the red eyes were gonna be a dead giveaway and she wasn’t sure even her dad would buy that she’d gone all Kill Bill on a bushel of onions tonight.

She eased open the door, found the kitchen dark, and sighed with relief. Finally, something was going right. She tiptoed slowly through the kitchen and was headed for the stairs when a head popped up from behind the living room sofa.

“Haley-bop? Is that you? Out kind of late aren’t you, little sis?”

Haley sighed and turned. “Hey, Taylor. When’d you get here? You must be short on cash again.”

Taylor stretched and grabbed the remote, shutting off the flickering light of the silent television as she rounded the couch and pulled Haley up the stairs. “I just pulled in a few minutes ago. And can’t I just visit the fam ‘cause I love you guys?”

“You never do,” Haley muttered under her breath before whispering, “Shh, Taylor, don’t wake up mom and dad. I’m beat – I had a long shift and I really just want to crash.”

Taylor followed on her heels as Haley opened the door to her room and flipped on the light. “C’mon, Haley, don’t be so . . .” She trailed off as she got a closer look at her sister’s puffy face and reddened eyes. “What happened to you? Are you all right?”

Haley shrugged and headed over to her dresser, shucking off her jacket. “I’m fine, Tay. And I don’t want to talk about it.”

“It’s a boy, isn’t it?” Taylor asked. “Eyes like that, it always is. Is it Lucas? ‘Cause last time I saw him, he grew up tall and he grew up right,” she singsonged.

Haley frowned into the mirror as she brushed out her hair. “Let me start with eww. And no, it’s not Luke. And keep it down.”

Taylor shut the bedroom door. “But it is a boy, isn’t it?” She plopped onto the bed behind Haley. “Tell me all about it. I’ll help you come up with a good way to get back at him. Who is he? Was he cheating on you, the bastard?”

Haley sighed and laid down the brush before turning around. “He’s nobody you know. Just a guy. A popular, good-looking, not in my league, jerk kind of guy and I sort of let myself think he might be interested in me because we hung out a little. But I was wrong, and it was stupid, and I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“Haley James! What are you talking about, not in his league? I’ll have you know the James girls are f-i-n-e, fine. There wasn’t a guy I couldn’t have my senior year at Tree Hill,” Taylor protested.

Haley rolled her eyes. “That would be because you’re Taylor James, not her little sister, Haley.”

“You could totally be me if you wanted to, Haley-bop. You never go for it, really put yourself out there.”

Haley shuffled over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt, then tossed a second set to her sister. “I don’t want to ‘put myself out there,’ Taylor. That’s not what this was about, okay? I wasn’t looking to bag a basketball player for bragging rights to his jersey number.”

“Ohh, he’s a basketball player. Excellent choice, Hay. They have great hands [i]and[/i] big feet,” Taylor winked.

“Taylor, please, would you just-” Haley broke off, fighting back tears as she jerked her shirt over her head. When she finally got the shirt settled and dashed away the tears forming in the corners of her eyes, she realized she’d actually gotten her sister to shut up. A small miracle, for sure. She crossed the room and cut off the light before crawling into her bed, followed by Taylor.

“You really liked this guy, didn’t you?” Taylor asked, as she slid under the covers beside her.

“I did.”

Taylor lay quietly for a few minutes before breaking the silence. “Haley, can I give you some advice? Seriously?”

“Will you be quiet and let me go to sleep then?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.” Haley rolled over. “Talk.”

“I’m telling you this ‘cause I love you, and you’re my sister, and I want you to be happy. You’ve always gone after things full-tilt, and I admire that. You’re, like, super-organized and good at planning stuff and smart and responsible. And that’s great, I mean, sometimes I wish I could be like that. But then I remember how much fun being me is, and how uptight you are, and I think, nope, happy being the Tay.”

“Not helping,” Haley muttered.

“Right, sorry. Look, Haley, it’s like this . . . guys, relationships, whatever, you can’t take it seriously right now. Don’t over think it, and get all hung up on somebody who’s not worth it, okay? You’re sixteen. You need to be having fun, flirting, hooking up with different boys. Not giving your heart away to the first pretty boy who gives you the nod.”

“The nod?”

“Yes, the nod. The ‘I’m gonna hook up with you tonight’ nod. And you should, you know, hook up with him, whoever he is, cause it’s fun, it’s what high school’s all about. Just don’t let it be more than that. Don’t make it into some big relationship drama thing. And don’t let him make you cry, none of them are worth it, little sis.”

Haley shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know that I can do that, Tay. Na- He’s different. At least when we’re alone he is. He talks to me, tells me stuff, really opens up. It’s like we have this connection and-”

“Whoa right there with the ‘we have a connection’ talk, missy,” Taylor broke in. “What’s he like when you’re not by yourself?”

Haley rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “Kind of a jerk.”

“Exactly. Typical guy. Look, don’t do this to yourself, Haley. Find another guy, move on. Crush on somebody else who you’re not all in loooove with. You’ll thank me later.”

“You really think so, Taylor?” Haley responded quietly.

“Trust me on this one, Haley. You only get one heart.”

Haley glanced over at her sister. “You surprise me sometimes, Taylor.”

“That’s my job. I’m the unpredictable one, you know. Now go to sleep. I need my rest if I’m going to convince Mom and Dad to give me some extra cash tomorrow.”

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Nathan collapsed back onto his bed and rubbed his face with both hands. How the hell did things fall apart so fast? Stupid Brooke and her games, telling him Peyton was still into him, then pulling that crap with Haley. And passing out on his bedroom floor, to cap the evening. She’d scored a perfect ten in the biggest bitch event tonight.

Not that Peyton wasn’t giving her a run for her money. She’d been in full-on bitch mode too when he’d showed up at her house, one limp Brooke lolled across his passenger seat. She’d rolled her eyes but let him in, helping him tote Brooke inside to leave her on the bed. Angsty rock music had been blaring, but he’d ignored it, getting the hell out of there as fast as he could. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the drawing lying on her desk of her and Lucas all emo and soulful with each other.

Whatever. He hadn’t wanted to get back with Peyton anyhow, and Lucas could have his leftovers for all he cared. Nathan grabbed his basketball off the floor and started tossing it above him, flexing his grip as the ball rhythmically ascended and descended into the air. He and Peyton had history, yeah, but they didn’t fit. He couldn’t talk to her . . .

He tossed the ball several more times before he allowed himself to finish that thought . . . like he could to Haley. She was just different. Feisty. Totally called him on stuff, big brown eyes flashing . . . Nathan caught the ball and held it. Could he be more of a pansy-ass? Big brown eyes.

He tossed the ball again and caught it. Alright, he was a pansy ass. She did have nice eyes. And a cute nose. And a killer body, even is she didn’t show it off like certain skanks. Which he kind of liked about her. And she didn’t just fall all over him because he played basketball either. She seemed to actually like talking to him because he was . . . just Nathan. Not #23, not Dan’s Scott’s son, just himself.

He sat up and picked up the tin she’d given him, pulling out its contents and smiling. Very Haley. He opened the note card and reread the message inside for the tenth time. Call me if you need anything >at all!!

Tomorrow he’d do just that. Call her and convince her it wasn’t his fault. Get Brooke to tell her the truth. And then she’d forgive him and they could start over. He wasn’t blessed with the Scott charm for nothing – he could persuade her it was all a big mistake once she’d had a chance to cool down. He grinned and laid the card back down, feeling relaxed for the first time that evening.