Thank you guys for the great reviews! Okay so this chapter introduces the main storylines, hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2: Old Traditions and New Secrets
"I can't believe we all got our own rooms this year!" Haley said. "I mean it's usually your parents in the yellow room, whichever one of Brooke's in the teal-"
"-And your mom in the maroon." Nathan finished. "Then the flower room, beach room and pirate left for any of the kids-"
"But we always just crash on the beach anyway." Haley replied, finishing their sentence. Ever since she and Nathan met, they had an instant connection and knew all about the other. Deb had coined it perfectly-they were more like twins than her own two boys.
"So you're in the pirate room?"
"I won rock-paper-scissors with Luke." He said, smiling. "Jake gets the beach room and lucky Lucas gets to sleep in the flower room. Then you girls split the colored ones. Brooke gets the teal, Peyton in the maroon-"
"-And me in the yellow." Haley nodded at her buttermilk walls.
"So when do you start back up at the cafe?" Nathan asked. Since the summer before her sophomore year, Haley had waitressed at Karen's Cafe in Tree Hill. The cozy café was on the smaller side and Karen was like a second mother to Haley. They kept in contact over the winter and Haley worked two days and two nights a week in the summer, along with Jake.
"Karen is actually in Italy at this awesome cooking school right now and doesn't get back till Friday, so I start up next week. When is basketball camp?" Lucas and Nathan both were coaches for the Tree Hill summer basketball camp in the mornings for three weeks in July.
"Next week too. Did Brooke tell you she is doing the cheer camp?"
"Yes! That will be funny, Brooke being peppy at eight am. She said she's going to try to talk Peyton into doing it, but Peyton said she wants to focus this summer on experimenting with different kinds of art before she goes off to school." Nathan nodded and leaned over to help Haley unload her suitcase, pulling out a black, stringy bikini.
"You have one of these?!" Haley looked over and snatched it out of his hands, turning a deep red. She huffed and said something about a "gag gift" and Nathan just stared at her in disbelief.
"What? It's just a bathing suit." She spat, a little harder than she wanted to.
"Fine." Nathan snapped back. They both looked at each other, eyes locked. As close as Nathan and Haley were, once their hot tempers came out it was an ugly battle. Haley knew this and she took a deep breath.
"Sorry Nate, I didn't mean to snap." Nathan nodded and went over to her, giving her a hug. Haley buried her face in his chest and took steady breaths. Nathan knew something was up, it was almost as if Haley was about to cry.
"Is everything okay Hales?" he asked, pulling his head back and looking at her, a bit worried.
"Everything is..." she started, taking a deep breath but then stopped. "Fine. Everything is fine."
"Haley," he said
"Nathan, I'm fine." She turned around and started unloading her tee-shirts into her drawer.
"Whatever, I'll just find out at Truth or Truth tonight." he shrugged. Haley sighed. Truth or Truth was their tradition where the six would sit at their special spot and spill their guts. It was always done on the first night and (if possible) strengthened their already amazing bond.
"So Lucas has gotten hotter, if possible." Brooke commented as she and Peyton laid out on the top deck of the house.
"You still have a crush on him?" Peyton asked, adjusting her sunglasses.
"Puh-lease P. Sawyer, I don't have crushes. I'm just merely stating a fact."
"Okayyy" She sighed, but she didn't believe a word. Brooke had been in love with Lucas since they were six, but for some reason she never went for it and he never realized it. Haley and Peyton didn't understand why she could hook up with any guy she wanted, but she would always shield her feelings for him.
"Excited for Truth or Truth tonight?" Brooke asked, changing the subject.
"Honestly? Kind of nervous." She answered, stretching her long legs out.
"That Jake will have a girlfriend?"
"More like that he won't have one."
"Come on Brooke!" Lucas called. In order to get to the abandoned warehouse at the docks, each teen had to climb through a broken second story window. It wasn't hard-just step on the right boxes and you were in-but in 3-inch platform sandals, Brooke was having some difficulty.
"Alright but you better all be grateful-those were my new Diors that are now stranded on the docks." Brooke huffed as she came in, barefoot.
"Good job taking one for the team," Haley chuckled.
"Okay, let's get started." Peyton said. They all got quiet as she began. "Since the summer before eighth grade, we have come to this spot and played Truth or Truth. The secrets spilled here are only for the twelve ears that hear them, no one else. This one is especially important because after this summer our lives all go on completely different tracks. Tutorgirl to University of Pennsylvania, Hot-Shot Scott to Duke, Blondie Boy to the Marines, Music Man to NYU, Tigger to UCLA and me to Boston University. Pinky's in," Even Nathan, who thought that traditions were dumb was 100 into this one. They all were and stuck their pinkies in and complicatedly figured out how to cross them.
"Okay," Brooke started, when they released pinkies. "The first secret will be told by...Lucas. Lucas?"
"Hmm..." he thought, relaxing. "This year I stole a car. February 10th, a blue Sebring from my dad's dealership. I wanted to pick up my date for the dance in style, so I swiped the keys. On the way to her house, I hit a mailbox and scrapped up the side and was so freaked that I brought it back to the dealership and bolted. I got dumped too, cuz I never picked the girl up." Everyone doubled over in laughter. "What?"
"L-Lucas Sc-Scott." Haley managed to get out. "Grand theft auto criminal-"
"-And crasher!" Peyton added, cracking up.
"Dude, Dad was so insane about that!" Nathan said.
"I know, I felt kinda bad. Oh well-Brooke, your turn."
"Me? Okay well I can't top being freaked by a scratch on a car...but I did get suspended from school. Turns out that the administration doesn't like when you are in a janitor's closet during third period...with your clothes half off...with a guy...the guy who's mom is the English teacher that found you."
"Scandal!" Peyton said, high-fiving Brooke.
"It was pretty embarrassing, but funny." Brooke said, grinning so her dimples were in full effect. "Nathan?"
"Okay...my girlfriend Anna told me she was pregnant."
"Oh my god, you are a father?" Haley shrieked, Brooke and Peyton gasped.
"No, it turned out she was cheating on me. But then my parents heard she was pregnant and sat me down and had a "responsibility talk" and they tried to guess how many girls I've slept with."
"Ew!" Jake said.
"I know, it was gross on 10 different levels." Nathan said, shaking his head.
"Peyt, you're up."
"I punched a girl." She said, earning surprised looks. "Broke her nose and everything, stupid drunk bitch. See, we were at this party and she came over to me and told me that if I drive like my mom, then I'm not allowed to drive her home because she doesn't want to end up in an early grave." The other five simultaneously spat out a mixture of curses and insults about the other girl.
"I'm sorry Peyton, that's unbelievable." Jake said.
"Yeah, well I'm alright. Can't say the same for her nose though," Peyton said, already rebuilding her tough exteriors. "How bout you Hales?"
"Um..."she began. She knew she had to tell them, it would come out eventually. Plus, these were her best friends and she couldn't keep it. And she couldn't keep it to herself any longer. As if sensing the battle in her head, Brooke reached out and squeezed her hand.
"We're here for you Hales, what's up?" Haley took a deep breath and looked down at her lap.
"I'm not going to U Penn anymore."
Cliffhanger! Lol, sorry about that guys, but I promise the next chapter will make up for it. It's titled "Answers with a side of laughter" and should be up soon :)