So, I have another story for you guys. If you can't tell by the title, I found my inspiration from the movie 'Life As We Know It'. It's going to have the same basic general consensus as the movie but with my own twist and events. I wanted to write a story that was different than a lot of stories out there but also had that realistic "it could happen" vibe to it.

It is a Nathan and Haley story, but it will probably have all of the central characters in it as well. But the focal point is Naley.

BTW, is anyone else as excited as I am for Lucas' return to OTH next week as I am? I seriously can't wait! I am in some major need to watch my Laley scenes!

Anyway, read and please tell me what you think about it. I'm planning on doing at least one update per week. Maybe more if I have the time and have the energy. :) But definitely one per week. So, I hope you enjoy.

"Here you go. We've got one Turkey on Rhy extra onions, hold the mayo with a side of potato soup." Haley said placing the plate of food down on the wooden table in front of her.

"What about the oy..."

"And oyster crackers." She interrupted the old man. "Honestly, Harold, do you really think I would forget those? I'm hurt." She mock pouted while placing her right hand over her heart.

"Oh, I should never doubt you, Haley. You are such a sweet young woman." Harold complimented.

"I bet you say that to all the girls." She countered playfully.

"Nope. Only you, my dear." He responded. "Really, how is it that a pretty, little thing like you hasn't been snatched up yet?" He questioned.

"Well, when you figure out the answer to that question, please be sure to let me know." She joked as the two laughed. "Enjoy your food, Harold." She said patting him on the shoulder before walking away. She checked on a few other customers before making her way behind the counter and set to work on making another pot of coffee.

"How are the old geezers doing today?" A voice questioned beside her.

"Same old, same old." She answered before turning her head towards the curly haired brunette. "And how was the dinner last night?" She asked.

"Well, let's see...we had Brooke's mom who is always oh so pleasant. Then, we had Dan who was constantly making snide comments 'under his breath' which were directed towards both Lucas and Brooke. Add to that Deb and her best friend, Mr. Pinot Grigio. Oh yes, the dinner was so much fun." Karen answered sarcastically.

Haley couldn't contain her laughter as she listened to Karen recant how the disastrous dinner went. "Well, you can always count on a Scott/Davis gathering to liven up an evening. But hey, at least you and Keith can take comfort in practically being the only parents who are actually sane and normal." She said.

"That doesn't provide me with too much comfort, Haley. Have you met me and Keith?" Karen joked as the two girls laughed. "It's too bad you missed it." She added.

"Oh yeah, I'm crying on the inside. Really, I definitely prefer the fun-filled night I had over a dinner like that." Haley replied.

"Let me guess, studying?" Karen deduced as Haley nodded her head with a playful roll of her eyes. "You have your mid-term coming up this weekend. Are you ready?" She asked.

"Yes and no. I know the material..."

"Well, I should hope so." Karen jumped in. "You've only been studying nonstop for the past three months. You've been working yourself too much."

"I know. Karen, I dream about studying." Haley said dramatically causing Karen to laugh before the conversation turned slightly more serious. "No, I am prepared, and I do know the material. I just feel like I'm going to go completely blank when the exam is placed in front of me."

"You are going to do fine, sweetie. Like you said, you know the material. You just have to keep your confidence up. Here's what you need to do. When the test is placed in front of you, close your eyes and take a deep breath to calm your nerves. And slowly all of that anxiety and worry will seep out of your body. I promise you." Karen advised.

"Are you my therapist now? Should I expect a bill in the mail?" Haley teased.

Karen playfully glared at the young girl while lightly shoving her. "Get to work." She ordered with a chuckle before grabbing the freshly made pot of coffee and making her rounds around the cafe.

Haley picked up an empty tub and headed towards a now vacant table to clean up the leftover mess. She heard the door chime which alerted to a new customer. She looked up and noticed the dimpled beauty making her way towards her. "Hey, Brooke." She greeted.

"Hey, Hales." Brooke returned a little less enthusiastically.

"How did th..."

"Don't ask." Brooke interrupted immediately knowing what her friend was about to ask.

"That good, huh?" Haley began as Brooke glared at her. "Yeah, Karen kind of filled me in with a brief, totally accurate overview." She said.

"It was a disaster, Haley!" Brooke exclaimed capturing a few glances from some neighboring tables. "I get that my mom isn't a fan of Lucas nor Dan of me, but they could just pretend to be happy for us. This is our decision to get married, and I wish they would just accept it." She continued.

"I'm sorry, Brooke. But you know, maybe you could just sit down with your mom and explain that it's not her decision and that her not fully supporting this wedding is hurting you." Haley suggested.

"Haley, who do you think we're talking about here?" Brooke said incredulously as Haley laughed and realized what she had just suggested was completely ridiculous. This was Victoria they were talking about. "Besides, I don't want to do anything to piss her off or upset her. She's paying for this wedding."

"Ooh, good point." Haley agreed.

"Anyway, there's a more important reason why I stopped in here today." Brooke announced changing the subject.

"And what's that, Brooke Davis soon to be Scott?" Haley questioned.

"Well, maid of honor, I'm glad you asked. We have a final dress fitting tomorrow at ten in the morning." Brooke began.

"Like I could forget. You only remind me anytime I eat any type of food with any fat in it." Haley commented.

"Well, I need you to look good in your dress when you're standing at the alter next to me." Brooke stated so casually with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Yup, that doesn't sound shallow at all." Haley said causing Brooke to stick her tongue out at her. "Don't worry, Brooke. I will be there tomorrow morning at ten on the dot, and I will fit into my dress without any problems."

"Good. That's what I like to hear. Now my second reason for stopping in here today. I just wanted to make sure everything is all set for the bachelor/bachelorette party." Brooke questioned.

"Why are you asking me? You and Lucas are planning it yourselves since you've decided to have them together." Haley pointed out confused. She took a second to really observe her best friend, and she furrowed her eyebrows. "There's something you're not telling me. Spill." She demanded.

"Okay, Haley, now don't get mad." Brooke began timidly.

"Don't give me a reason to." Haley countered immediately.

"Nathan'sdecidedtocometothebachelor/bachelorettepartyafterall." Brooke revealed rapidly in one breath before taking a cautious step back.

"What?" Haley questioned knowing that she could not have heard her right. Noticing the apologetic look on her friend's face, she knew she had in fact heard correctly. "Gosh, he wasn't supposed to come. Why is he? Can't you uninvite him?" She whined.

"Considering he's the best man not to mention Lucas' brother and my future brother-in-law, I can't uninvite him, Hales." Brooke countered.

"Stupid jackass." Haley mumbled under her breath.

"Whoa, listen to the mouth on you, Miss Haley James. Who knew you could be so badass?" Brooke teased.

"Shut up." Haley scoffed.

Haley didn't think she'd ever get rid of the "good girl" reputation she earned all the way back in middle school. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes it did feel a little suffocating. She was the girl who was nice to everyone and enjoyed helping others. She was known as the best tutor in high school and tutored probably half of the students. She never got into any fights verbally nor physically. She was never one to talk about people behind their backs. She just in general liked everyone and everyone liked her. Well, almost everyone. There was one person who never failed to get under her skin and drive her completely up the walls.

"This is just great. There goes my hopes of having a good time that night." She complained.

"Oh, quit being such a drama queen." Brooke demanded. "You will probably hardly see him let alone talk to him, and if you do, you are going to suck it up. You are my maid of honor and my best friend, and we are going to have fun celebrating one of my final nights as a single girl. Do you understand me?" She asked in a stern voice.

"Yes, I do." Haley relented with mock enthusiasm.

"That's the attitude I want to hear from you." Brooke said in a chipper voice as Haley chuckled and playfully rolled her eyes. "Well, I have to get going. Bitchtoria wanted me home like ten minutes ago to go over some last minute flower details. It's funny. She's not happy about this wedding and definitely makes sure everyone knows that, but she sure is going out of her way to make it perfect. Go figure." She said walking towards the doors.

"Go figure." Haley called as the two girls waved goodbye before the brunette exited the cafe. She watched as Brooke walked along the sidewalk outside and sighed. Her day was officially ruined. She couldn't believe Nathan was now coming. He was supposed to be busy and in California that whole weekend. Why couldn't he have just stayed away like he said he was? He was probably doing this just to piss her off. That definitely sounds like his MO. The sound of Karen's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Haley, it's really slow in here, and you've only got an hour until your shift ends. Go ahead and get out of here." Karen said.

"Are you sure?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, I can handle this on my own. Besides, I know you're itching to get home so you can study some more." Karen said with a laugh.

"Oh yes. Highlight of my life." Haley laughed sarcastically while taking off her apron and handing it over to her boss. "Well, I guess, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yup. See you tomorrow." Karen repeated.

The two girls said their goodbyes before Haley walked out of the cafe. "Studying here I come." She said aloud to herself as she felt the warmth of the spring weather hit her body. It wasn't too hot, and it wasn't too cold. It was truly the perfect day out. What she wouldn't give to be doing anything but what she had to do. It was so beautiful. She thought about going for a walk along the beach. But just as quickly as that thought popped into her head, she pushed it out. There was no use in thinking about something that obviously wasn't going to actually happen. She sighed sadly before heading in the direction of her home.

Augustine drives through the lane and puts up the basket for two. Chase Budinger blocks the shot as Johnny Flynn scrambles to recover the ball as Houston takes positions and sets up their offensive line. The Bobcats sure are taking a nice beating tonight by the Rockets who have a steady lead at 75-59.

"Damn it!" The raven-haired man exclaimed slapping his palm against the arm of the couch. He watched and listened intently as his frustration increased by the second. "Oh, come on! Where's the defense?" He yelled after Houston made a wide open three-point basket.

All of the other room occupants kept quiet as they listened to their boss' rants. They had all learned by now that it was best to not mutter a single word when Nathan got this way. They had never seen someone with as much passion and love and dedication for the game of basketball as him.

"God, we suck tonight!" He exclaimed.

The tension was so thick in the owner's box. Nobody was even watching the game anymore. All of their eyes were focused on Nathan. They were standing stiff almost as if they were afraid to even move an inch.

Nathan let out an irritated groan before pushing himself off of the couch. "I can't watch this crap anymore." He grumbled angrily while heading towards the vacant table towards the front of the suite. "What's going on with the new marketing angle, Tim?" He asked as he took a seat in one of the chairs.

Everyone else sent apologetic looks towards Tim and gave him a silent 'good luck' with their looks as Tim timidly made his way over to where Nathan was seated.

Over the course of the next twenty minutes and until the game had finished, Nathan and Tim kept themselves busy so Nathan wouldn't have to watch the disaster of a game that was playing out. The Bobcats lost which didn't surprise him one bit, but it still fueled his anger. Right now, all he wanted to do was grab his stuff and get the hell out of the arena. He didn't want to be anywhere near it at the moment. But he had to finish up with his work and get everyone prepared for the following game which was going to be be in California against the Sacramento Kings. Normally, he could wait a few days, but since he was leaving town to go back home during those days, he had to get things ready now.

It was about three hours later when he finally walked into his house. He was exhausted. All he wanted to do was grab himself a beer and sit down on his couch and watch a game he had recorded which hopefully didn't end as painfully as his team's did.

After grabbing his beer, he settled himself on the couch and flipped on the television. As soon as he found his recording, he pushed play just as his cell phone rang. He checked out the caller id quickly before answering, "Hey, Luke."

"Hey, Nate. I caught the game." Lucas said.

"Yeah, don't remind me. That was awful. I don't think I've seen the team ever play as badly as they played tonight. I wanted to tear my eyes out before marching down to that court and chucking the basketball at each and every one of the players." Nathan said dramatically.

Lucas couldn't help but chuckle at his brother. "Sorry, man. It was pretty bad." He said and heard Nathan mutter 'you're telling me'. "Well, at least you're going to get a break from it this weekend."

"Yeah, I definitely need a break. We've been doing so well this year and then tonight happens. I just have this feeling that the games are going to get worse and worse." Nathan stated.

"You're awfully pessimistic tonight. Is there something else going on with you?" Lucas questioned.

"I'm just exhausted. I'm travelling all of the time or going out all the time. I just need a break. I'm really looking forward to being back home for a couple of days and relaxing. And of course, partying with my friends and family to celebrate my brother getting married." Nathan said.

"Speaking of the bachelor/bachelorette party, I..."

"Which I still think is totally lame." Nathan interrupted.

"Anyway..." Lucas said before continuing. "I need to talk to you about the party. As you know, Haley is going to be there and..."

"God, Luke, way to make my night even worse by mentioning her." Nathan interrupted once again. He couldn't believe his brother was mentioning her. She was the last person he wanted to think about let alone talk about.

"And that is exactly why I need to talk to you about the party." Lucas said and heard Nathan groan since he obviously knew what was coming. "Listen, I know you guys don't exactly get along."

"That's an understatement." Nathan mumbled.

"But can you just try this weekend? And if you can't, can you just try to avoid her? She's been really stressed out with studying and everything..."

"Oh yeah, studying. I forgot she had to drop out of college and is only now working on her degree. What is it? Nursing?" Nathan said laughing.

"Damn it, Nathan, will you quit interrupting me! And if you know what's good for you, you wouldn't say anything like what you just said to me again, because brother or not, I am not above kicking your ass!" Lucas warned.

"Fine, Luke. Continue." Nathan said rolling his eyes.

"I was just saying that she's been really stressed out lately and has basically been held up in her apartment for the past few months. She really needs a night out-a stree free night out. And you clearly do, too. So can you just try to get along for one night. And Brooke's going to give Haley this same little speech. And if you can't do it for Haley, can you do it for me and Brooke. We just want to celebrate getting married with all of you guys. So, please just try." Lucas pleaded.

"Okay, man. I will do my best and try." Nathan relented.

"Thanks, Nate." Lucas said.

"But if she goes there, I may not be able to contain myself." Nathan added.

Lucas rolled his eyes before realizing he shouldn't have expected anything else from his brother. "That's fair enough." He conceded.

"So, big brother, you're wedding is two weeks away. Are you ready?" Nathan asked changing the subject.

"Very. It's insane that I'm getting married, but I can't wait." Lucas answered.

"I don't know how you can do it." Nathan began honestly. "I can't imagine finding one girl and wanting to spend the rest of my life with just her. Being tied down like that is not something I'm too interested in."

"Well, you don't know what you're missing. And some day Nathan, I believe you will find that special girl. She's out there. You just haven't opened yourself up to the possibility of opening your heart like that." Lucas said.

"Dude, do you realize how you sound right now?" Nathan joked not letting Lucas' words faze him one bit.

Lucas shook his head. Sometimes his brother frustrated him to no end. He wondered if Nathan would ever settle down. He was worried that Nathan would never find that one person to love completely and who loved him completely all because he was too scared and stubborn to put himself out there like that. "Whatever you say, Nate. Well, anyway it's kind of late. I'll let you get back to whatever game you're watching. And I'll see you this weekend."

"Alright, Luke. See ya." Nathan said as they ended their call. He tossed his cell phone onto the couch next to him while taking a swig of his beer. He was ready for the following weekend. He needed to see his friends and his family and just have a good time. He's been thinking about staying down in Tree Hill until the wedding. Take a full week off. He could easily do his work from there. He just wasn't sure he actually wanted to miss the games. He loved and lived for basketball. But he knew he was getting burnt out and needed some time off. He needed a break from not basketball but from his work and his job as the owner of a professional NBA team.

His mind drifted to what the following weekend was going to entail and instantly thought about Haley. He groaned and closed his eyes while thrusting he head back against his black leather couch. He obviously knew she was going to be there. She was the maid of honor and Brooke's best friend. And they've all been pretty close since high school. They were all a tightnit group within the popular crowd. All except Haley and him. They just didn't click. He thought she was way too much of a prude and "good girl" while she thought he was nothing but a jerk and "manwhore" as she dubbed it. They were literally like oil and water. They drove their friends crazy throughout the years with their constant bickering and arguing.

And even though, Nathan meant the things he's said to and about her, he mostly said them to get under her skin. He loved annoying her. It was like his favorite past time. He loved seeing her all riled up and flustered and frustrated. He was seriously waiting for the day when she was just going to snap. He could only imagine what seeing her like that would be like. He chuckled aloud before taking another swig of his beer.

He shook his head of any and all thoughts concerning Haley James and focused once again on the game playing out on the television in front of him. He could think about Haley and everything else when he arrived back in Tree Hill.

Please review and let me know what you think! :)