Author's note: I was really anxious in writing Superlatives: Most Unlikely Anything, that I began to stray away from the true events that make the story complete. As much as I want to continue with what I already have written down, I'm going to rewrite the chapters that I have done so far, otherwise the story doesn't flow. Sorry to those anticipating the next chapters!

Summary: In this wayward version of the show One Tree Hill, the characters are situated a bit differently. Nathan, son of Dan and Deb Scott, is one of the most popular kids at Tree Hill High, the captain of the basketball team, and adored by anything female. Lucas Roe is the son of Karen and Keith and is a fellow athlete on the basketball team. There is no real problem between the two characters, that is, until Lucas' best friend, Haley James, begins to have some run-ins with the infamous player that is Nathan Scott. The trouble is that both Nathan and Haley belong to someone else. (Disclaimer: Based on a true story. I do not claim any person, idea, etc. related to the television series, One Tree Hill, as my own.)

--

Haley James lay sprawled out on her bed, her cell phone attached to her left ear, as she doodled in a journal.

"Are you listening to me?" A male voice on the other line asked, irritation evident in his voice.

"Yes, Chris, I'm listening…"

"Okay, so, what I don't get is why this cracked out professor thinks she's so educated when it comes to…"

Haley tuned out of the conversation, more so Chris' ventilation session, once again. She glanced over at the clock that hung on her wall as her boyfriend continued gabbing about some college course that he found useless.

12:19AM.

As much as she cared about her boyfriend, his college courses were the last thing on her mind. More and more, their phone conversations had become dull and time-consuming. She didn't want to admit it but, the long-distance thing really didn't seem to be working, well on her end, anyway. He seemed to embrace it, but of course, she had no clue what he did at school when he wasn't talking to her on the phone. He was attending some performance arts university in the Midwest; she could never remember the name, while she remained in Tree Hill, North Carolina. Chris Keller had been her first real boyfriend and they'd been together for almost two and half years. She was a sophomore and he a senior, when they first met. To be honest, she had only remained faithful for one full year—the year that he was around. She had enough morals not to sleep around with anyone but she went out on the occasional date and sometimes made out with these meaningless boys.

Haley realized how estranged she and Chris had become when she saw him for less than two months in their second year of dating. He was focused on extracurricular programs provided at his school to further his musical career and she found herself out of the picture. But, for some unspoken reason, they stayed together. It didn't take a genius to figure out that, they felt safe and familiar with one another.

"Um, Chris…it's almost 12:30…" she interrupted his verbal spewing.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know it was this late,"

"It's okay. I hope that Musical Theory class picks up for you," she said blandly.

"Thanks, babe. Good luck on your first day of school. Love you,"

Even though his last words made her twinge a bit, she mechanically replied,

"Love you, too,"

With that over, she hung up her phone and collapsed onto her back. Shutting her eyes, she let the stillness of the night overtake her tired body when suddenly, her phone rang, jolting her awake. She gritted her teeth, assuming her talkative boyfriend had one more thing to say. Staring at the front LCD of her cellular phone, she was relieved to see that it was her best friend, Lucas, instead.

"You better have a good reason for calling me this late," she joked.

"Hah, a 'hello' would have sufficed, Hales," Lucas kidded back.

"Can't sleep?" she asked.

For the longest time, she could remember that for the many years they'd known each other, it had become ritual to call the evening before the first of day of school. First-day-jitters, Lucas' mom would refer to it as. Although she hadn't forgotten their little custom, it had slipped her mind.

"Mm hmm… so, uh, why the long face?"

"Luke, you can't even see my damn face,"

"But, I can hear it in your voice, you know this,"

She did, yet, it never ceased to amaze her how well he knew her.

Haley sucked in a small amount of air before releasing a deep, heavy sigh.

"Boyfriend troubles, you know the drill,"

"Why? Is Chris being an asshole?"

Lucas had never gotten along her boyfriend and she loved him for that. He'd deal with the 'asshole' so long as he made her happy.

"Not entirely; I wish that were the case,"

"When's the last time you talked to him?"

"Just a few minutes ago,"

"Ah. You know, I've said this to you before and I'll say it again; if you've lost interest, you can't force it. It's called free will, Hales,"

"I know. It's just that when he's gone, it's so much easier to forget about how hard it is than to actually do something about it. Plus, I'd rather do it in person. But, because I see him so rarely, when he does visit, I'm so happy just being with him that I change my mind. Then, it starts a whole new cycle, over and over again," She wistfully explained.

"Whatever makes you the happiest, that's all I care about,"

Luke seemed unsure when he said this, but, she felt the same way—unsure of whether she was happy or not, happy at all.

--

Haley awoke the next morning, wishing her pillow could drown out the sound of her morning radio alarm. After a few more minutes of listening to the obnoxious deejay announce traffic jams, she finally staggered out of her bed and headed towards the bathroom, down the hall.

Haley stood in front of her mirror, brushing her shoulder-length, auburn-colored hair. She was never one to care too much about fashion and felt more than pleased with a pair of worn-in jeans, a simple t-shirt, and an army-green cargo jacket. She ran black mascara through her thick eyelashes and applied a dab of cream blush before grabbing her messenger book bag and heading downstairs.

The house was empty, as usual. Her father worked consistently, out of town and her mother left before she woke up for school and came home after she was in bed.

Opening up a pastry box that read, Keith & Karen's Café, she pulled out two scrumptious looking muffins and wrapped them individually in napkins. Placing them carefully into her bag, she then grabbed two juice boxes from her fridge. Perfected with the past couple of years as practice, her timing was excellent, for Lucas had just pulled into her driveway with his red pick-up, honking his horn.

"Ooh, breakfast!"

Lucas eagerly accepted the muffin and juice.

"Haha, I don't get how I'm the one feeding you breakfast when these are your parents' muffins,"

Keith & Karen's Café was a family-run business that belonged to Lucas' parents. Ironically, it was Haley that took evening shifts there, rather than their own son.

"Me neither," he mumbled with bits of food in his mouth.

"What's your schedule looking like? I forget…" Lucas asked.

Haley pulled out the piece of paper she had tucked away neatly in the front pocket of her jacket.

"Ugh… how evil are they to put Phys. Ed. as my first period!" She groaned.

"Two-mile runs, first thing in the morning? Sounds typical to me!" Lucas sarcastically remarked.

Being apart of their school's basketball team, Lucas was quite familiar with any kind of physical activity, anytime of the day.

"See, that's because you do sports, but Haley James, does not do sports. And yet, they continue to torture me!"

"Hey, you gotta burn off some of those calories from that double chocolate-chip muffin somehow,"

"You did not…"

Haley swatted at her friend lightly for his teasing her.

"Ouch!" He complained.

"Baby!"

"Brat!"

Arriving at the school parking lot, the two hopped out of the vehicle, ready and waiting to join the crowds of their fellow returning students.

"Welcome, students, to another exciting year at Tree Hill High!"

A female announcer, probably the Principal's secretary, gave a short list events and after school activities over the loudspeaker. Students milled through the hallways, familiarizing themselves with their lockers and reacquainting themselves with their friends. As Lucas and Haley walked down the hall, they approached a small group of members of the basketball team, hovering around a particular locker.

"What's up, Luke," Jake, one of the team members, greeted him.

Haley watched with curiosity as they all shared weird, manly handshakes that turned into hugs. She never understood the gesture. The last person to acknowledge him was the ever so popular, Nathan Scott, captain of the basketball team and the owner of the locker that was the center of attention.

"Hey, bro," Nathan said coolly.

"What's goin' on, Nate,"

Haley stood planted beside her best friend, deciding whether or not she should just leave. Even though they got along well with Lucas, these people were just not her type. The captain of the Ravens basketball team suddenly noticed the petite and quiet girl that stood beside his teammate. He threw her a small smirk before turning back to another friend who had been trying to get his attention.

'Gross…' Haley thought disdainfully.

Gross is not how the female student body referred to Nathan Scott. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He was blessed with good looks: deep, dark brown hair, sapphire blue eyes, and chiseled features that matched his chiseled body. On top of his good looks, he was a charmer and was well-known for his capability to sweep any girl off her feet and then just leaving her there to swoon. To match his persona, he even came fully accessorized with a cheerleader girlfriend, by the name of Peyton Sawyer.

"Nathan!"

His girlfriend had been patiently waiting for her turn to just get the chance to talk to him. When he ignored her, she scoffed, flipping her beautiful blonde curls the way an overly annoyed girl would.

"Oh, hi, Haley," Peyton said with surprise.

"Hey," Haley softly acknowledged her.

The relations between the two girls were… well, complicated. Before there had even been a Lucas and Haley, there had been Peyton. The two had been best buddies since kindergarten up until the third grade and those were years where you couldn't simply forget who you were friends with. Although, there was no hatred towards the other the reason for the splitting up was due to the fact that Peyton had started participating in gymnastics and cheerleading. Even at a young age, the two became separated as she had started hanging out with a different crowd and Haley had begun to focus on being a straight 'A' student, labeled a 'teacher's pet' by her cruel peers. The following year in fourth grade, Lucas had moved to Tree Hill and despite his aspirations as a young athlete, he stood closely by the innocent girl who was being bullied by a group of Peyton's friends. And that was how one friendship bloomed in place of one that had wilted.

Both Lucas and Nathan noticed the brief exchange between the two girls; Nathan being the only one unaware of the depth behind the situation.

"Hales, let's go,"

Lucas said protectively as he draped his arm casually around his best friend's shoulder.

"Whoa, whoa, does someone have a new girlfriend he forgot to introduce?" Nathan teased.

Lucas turned to look at him with a fierce glare, before swiftly leaving the group of jocks, with Haley in tow. The expression on Nathan's face turned from one of humor to confusion and then he simply shrugged his shoulders, approaching Peyton.

"Damn, what's his deal?"

Peyton ignored her boyfriend's crude comment and let out a small puff of air.

"What's wrong?" He asked again, hoping this time for an answer.

"Nothing," she grimly answered.

"Whatever," he muttered, before leaving her to talk to another set of friends.

She rolled her eyes at his carelessness.

"P. Sawyer!" A familiar voice sang out.

Peyton turned on her heel to face the person behind the bubbly voice.

"How's life, Brooke?" She uninterestedly asked.

"Hah, like you give two shits," she mocked.

Being friends with Peyton for long enough, she seemed to be the only person who knew who to handle the blonde's hostile demeanor.

"Sorry, bad morning,"

"How you've lasted this long as a cheerleader, is beyond me. By the way, what is up with Lucas Roe? He is looking mighty fine… but, what's with that mousy looking girl he's with? Isn't that the girl that he's been best friends with since like middle school?"

Brooke Davis, captain of the cheer squad, had come to Tree Hill during middle school and was fully oblivious to the story behind Peyton and Haley's ex-relationship. Peyton kind of saw Brooke as the female version of Nathan, with her sleek chocolate-toned hair, and a body that many girls envied. The difference between her boyfriend and her best friend was that Brooke actually revealed bits and pieces of herself unlike Nathan who was a stone-cold wall.

Ignoring her comment about Haley, Peyton asked,

"As long as we've been going to school with Lucas, how are you just noticing him?"

"Oh, so you've noticed, too?" Brooke challenged.

Before the befuddled blonde could come back with a smart reply, her boyfriend interrupted,

"Noticed what?"

"Hmm… that you're a fuck face?" Brooke suggested deviously.

"Who's gonna fuck your face?!"

One of Nathan's idiot cronies, Tim Smith, excitedly interjected. It was obvious, what was on his mind, all the time.

Nathan laughed out loud and even Peyton had to stifle back a giggle.

"Shut up, Dim, or I'll make sure you, can never fuck anything, ever again, not that you ever have, anyway," She smoothly shot back.

"Ouch," he said out loud, as he cupped his crotch with his hands.

"Dim, please do not fondle yourself in public," Brooke commanded.

The bell rang loudly, overpowering the laughter that came from the group of friends around Nathan's locker.

"Come on, Brooke, walk me to class," Peyton said as she linked arms with her friend.

"Nate dawg, will you walk me to class?" Tim asked in his best feminine voice, his attempt at making fun of the two girls.

"Faggot is, as faggot does!" Brooke yelled, flipping him her middle finger without turning back.

"She wants me," Tim let out a breathy sigh.

Nathan shook his head in pity, unable to understand his friend's theory.

"You are so full of it, Tim," he said with a smirk.

"Full of what? Charisma? Sex-appeal?"

"Don't ever say that shit to me again,"

"Nate dawg, come on!"