A Lot Can Happen At Boarding School (One Tree Hill FF)

Chapter 21

Chapter 21: A Tree Hill Raven always knows actions speak louder than words, but emotions tell the truth.

Haley stands over the sink in the dining hall bathroom, refreshing before heading down to the field games. Her hands clench the marble countertop as she looks in the mirror, trying to contain her smile. She was an adult, a twenty-seven year old woman. She shouldn't feel this blossoming in her chest from a simple gesture. Nathan had always been unexpectedly kind, and understanding, and gentle. It should come as no surprise he's taking the high road in an unimaginably awkward situation.

And yet... in expecting the worst, she was feeling the best. Her heart pounding at a hummingbird-beat she hadn't felt since high school. He hadn't just told her to stay; he'd called her Hales. HALES! It'd rolled off his tongue as if he'd said it every day the last ten years. Hearing it was like a wormhole pulling her back to a time she never dared to revisit. First love. Only love. But just in this moment, before she pulls it together and dons the emotional armor she knows she'll need, Haley allows herself a moment of total comfort in the words of Nathan Scott. And it felt damn good.

She releases the marble countertop, hugging her sides in excitement, a giggle escaping her lips. Someone enters the bathroom, confused by whatever they just walked in on. Haley not so smoothly, starts patting down her side.

"There was a bee on my shirt," she says, her face red with embarrassment.

"There's a bee in here?" The person says, squealing as they run into a stall. "I'm allergic!"

"Okay, no, not really," Haley squeaks out as she leaves in a hurry out the bathroom door. She doesn't stop her power walk until she's out on the campus green. God, Tree Hill Prep really did reduce her to her teenage self – a puddle of unchecked emotion. Gosh, she felt like such a dork! A bee? Really?!

...

Nathan, Peyton, and Jake sit in one of the boxes of the wooden bleachers overlooking the recreation fields. Other teams are starting to gather in surrounding box seats. People stop to greet Nathan and every now and then he gives the occasional autograph (much to his chagrin). When he finally has a moment of peace, he turns to the co-conspirators.

"So," Nathan says, eyeing them with amusement.

"So..." Peyton replies.

"What the hell was that?" Nathan asks.

"What the hell was what?" Jake asks innocently.

"Me being cornered into asking Haley to stay."

"I don't know if I'd say cornered," Peyton remarks.

"I definitely wouldn't say cornered," Jake notes. "Maybe persuaded. Maybe, highly recommended. Maybe, conscionably swayed. But not cornered."

"Congratulations, you studied English Lit," Nathan jokes. "Any way you cut it, you two pulled some shit. What is this, some sort of plan?"

"Why would you think there's a plan?"

"Because there's always a plan," Nathan spits out.

"Ah, no," Peyton retorts. "If anything, the plan would be to keep you and Haley separated at all costs. If Brookie-two-shoes had her way."

Nathan laughs to himself. "Sometimes I thinks she took things harder than me."

Peyton nods in agreement.

Jake looks at Nathan, all kidding aside. "Look man, you know we're buds. And I'll always have your back. Always have. But, I know you know that whatever went down leading up to graduation, we don't know the whole story. You don't know the whole story. I'm not going to burn someone at the stake for something I know nothing about."