2003 ― Tree Hill, North Carolina

It was time for the annual Boy Toy Auction that the basketball team held. You bid on the basketball boys, all the money goes to charity, and until midnight, the boys have to abide by the rules of the person who "bought" them. Aurora and Haley talked about it last night because Aurora told her about it since this would be Haley's first time participating in the auction. Haley told her she had the plan to "buy" Lucas because they hadn't been spending that much time together.

To which Aurora said that works out for her because at first, she was going to talk to Haley and ask her if it was okay for her to buy Nathan because she also felt like they hadn't spent one-on-one time together in forever, but she didn't want to impose if Haley's original plan was that she would buy her boyfriend, so Aurora was happy that it worked out for everyone.

The girls were currently at the school waiting for the auction to begin, and Peyton approached them. "Hey." Peyton greeted them. Aurora looked at her to acknowledge her presence, but she didn't say anything to her.

"See anything you like?" Haley asked her.

"I'm seeing everything I like," Peyton said, and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"Well, if you had your sights set on Lucas, hate to break it to you, but he's Haley's for tonight," Aurora said without looking at her, but Peyton did look over at Aurora.

"Well, thanks for the tip, but I was going to be bidding on Jake anyway," Peyton said, and Aurora shrugged her shoulders while Haley looked over at her.

"You guys are really hitting it off, huh?" Haley asked, and Peyton shrugged her shoulders.

"Just friends, really. What about you two? If Haley is buying Lucas, then Aurora, I assume you're buying Nathan. Ready to fight off these rabid shanks for them?" Peyton asked, and Aurora rolled her eyes as she turned to Peyton.

"If I didn't fight the people who directly betrayed me, what makes you think I'm going to fight over an auction? Where the donations go to charity. I won't be the one to ruin this night for the team." Aurora snapped at her.

"Right, sorry," Peyton said, and Haley awkwardly cleared her throat.

"But you're right. I'm bidding on Lucas, and Ari is bidding on Nathan. We haven't gotten to spend a lot of one-on-one time with our best friends lately. Plus, I get Nathan for free." Haley said, which made Aurora laugh. "And I'd rather him be with Aurora than anyone else in this room because they know each other, and I know them." She said.

"Alright, folks, here we go!" Whitey announced, and Aurora smirked.

Let the bidding begin.

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"Who's up next?" Haley asked as they turned to their programs. A few guys from the team had already gone and been bought, and then Aurora laughed as she saw the name after the guy who had just gone. "Oh, no," Haley said when she saw it too.

"Tim." Peyton, Haley, and Aurora said together. As if cued by their words, Tim walked out on stage, took off his jacket, and started twirling it around his head. Then he turned around and started shaking his butt, and Aurora put her head on Haley's shoulder.

"Oh, my innocence!" Aurora exclaimed, which made Haley and Peyton laugh.

"Do I hear $30?" Whitey called from the stage as Tim continued to dance horribly, and Aurora felt bad that everyone was laughing at him, but... she didn't know if Tim was doing this to be funny or if he was seriously dancing like this on purpose. "How about $20?"

No one said anything.

"Alright, this is kind of sad," Aurora said, and Haley nodded.

"Can I get a $10 spot?" Whitey asked, and everyone remained silent. Aurora felt terrible that no one wanted to buy him, but Tim was... Tim. Half the time, Aurora thinks it's just a front he puts up because he's afraid to be himself, but she also knows that you could never be too sure with Tim.

"$8!" A woman called out. Aurora followed the voice and laughed when she saw it was Deb. She knew that Deb would probably make Tim do chores around the house since Nathan doesn't live there anymore, and even when he did, he half-assed his chores anyway.

"Sold!" Whitey exclaimed, causing the girls to laugh, and Tim just smiled. Haley looked at the program, and then she turned to Peyton.

"Oh, Jake's up next. How much money do you have?" Haley asked.

"$87.53." She responded.

"Good luck," Aurora said to her. Peyton looked surprised because she could hear the sincerity in Aurora's voice, but she nodded and turned back to the stage. Jake came out, wearing the mascot costume with his jersey over top of it. Everyone laughed and clapped, and then he took the mascot head off and handed it to Whitey.

"$20!" Peyton shouted.

"I have a bid for $20. Do I hear $30?" Whitey asked as the crowd continued to go wild. The repercussions of having cute boys on the basketball team.

"$30!" Another voice across the room shouted as Jake started to take off pieces of the mascot costume.

"Take it off!" Aurora yelled in a fake valley-girl accent which made Haley and Peyton laugh. Jake found her in the crowd and winked at her, making Aurora smile.

"$40?" Whitey asked.

"$40!" The same voice that had just yelled 30 spoke up again. Aurora looked at Peyton and raised an eyebrow. Looked like someone was trying to steal her man.

"$40 right over there," Whitey said.

"$50!" Peyton yelled.

"$50 going... going." Whitey trailed off to see if anyone else would bid higher. If not, Jake would be all Peyton's.

"$75!" The other leading bidder for Jake yelled. Aurora, Haley, and Peyton were wondering who this girl was and why she was so adamant about having Jake.

"If you want to win, you have to bet it all," Aurora said to Peyton.

"She's right." Haley backed her sister up.

"$87.53!" Peyton yelled. That was all the money that she had, so Aurora was secretly hoping she would win.

"Going once." Whitey trailed off.

"$100!" The other voice yelled out. The girls looked around the crowd to see if they could find the other person bidding on Jake, but they had no luck.

"$100 going once," Whitey said.

"Who is bidding on Jake?" Haley asked. Peyton and Aurora shrugged their shoulders because they would also love to know the answer to that question.

"Going twice... sold! For $100 American. The highest man of the night. Good job, Jagielski." Whitey said to him. Jake smiled and made his way backstage. Aurora turned to her sister.

"Lucas is next," Aurora said, and Haley nodded her head as Lucas was announced, and he walked out on stage with his hands in his pockets, and Aurora could tell that he was shy and nervous. He was already pretty introverted, and this was his first auction, so she understood.

"Yeah, I got you!" Haley yelled, and Lucas looked at her with a shy smile.

"Alright, let's start the bid at $20," Whitey said.

"$25!" A random girl yelled. Aurora knew that the Scott brothers would probably pull in the most money. Dan Scott may be a piece of shit, but he has good genes.

"$35!" Another girl shouted.

"$50!" A third girl shouted, and Lucas was standing up there and still looking shy and nervous; Aurora looked at her sister because she hadn't shouted anything yet.

"$75!" The voice of the first girl yelled.

"$100!" The voice of the second girl shouted. Lucas will pass Jake as the night's highest bid if they keep it up like this. However, Aurora guessed that Nathan would probably surpass them all.

"$101!" The third girl shouted again.

"Hales, you better do something before you lose him. Because I meant what I said, I miss my best friend, and I will out-bid you for Nathan." Aurora said, which made Haley laugh as she pulled the cash out of her wallet.

"$105! $110... oh, what the hell, $115!" Haley yelled, and Whitey looked in their direction.

"Sold!" He exclaimed, and Aurora let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. I guess she figured even though Lucas isn't her boyfriend anymore, she'd rather him be with Haley than be left to her imagination of what all these other girls would do if they won him.

"Cafe savings. No way he's worth it, though." Haley said, which made Aurora and Peyton laugh.

"So, Peyton... since Jake didn't work out, what will you do?" Aurora asked.

"Probably just go home. So you two have fun with your best friends tonight." Peyton said as she waved goodbye before leaving the auction. Nathan was the last guy up, and Aurora was ready.

"Alright. We're down to our last boy toy, so loosen up those purse strings, pucker up those lips and remember, this is for a good cause." Whitey said as Nathan walked out on the stage and he was wearing sunglasses. "You're on, Nathan." He said.

Nathan tossed his sunglasses to Mouth, who was the DJ, and Mouth started the song as Nathan began to walk down the stage. First, he ripped his pants off, leaving him standing in a pair of shorts. Aurora started laughing while Haley stared at her boyfriend with wide eyes.

"Okay, do I have the first bid?" Whitey asked, and Haley turned to her sister.

"How much do you have?" Haley asked.

"$120, cafe savings... I already know he isn't worth it, though." Aurora teased, which made Haley laugh as she rolled her eyes.

"$80!" A girl yelled.

"Wow, starting high already," Aurora said, and Haley rolled her eyes. Nathan took off his shirt, and 'BOY TOY' was written across his chest and red. Aurora rolled her eyes, but she also laughed. Nathan always put on a show for the auction.

"$85." A second girl yelled.

"Hales, it smells like sex in here," Aurora said, and Haley laughed.

"$90!" A third girl yelled.

"$91!" Haley yelled.

"That's a creepy threesome," Aurora said, and Haley rolled her eyes as she looked at her sister.

"You know, you can throw out a number any time," Haley said, and Aurora laughed as she turned to her sister.

"Hales, I've been doing this auction for the last two years, and I've never lost Nathan. Just have some faith in me." Aurora said, and Haley nodded her head.

"Do I hear $92?" Whitey called out.

"How much money do you have again?" Haley asked.

"Well, with the $5 you just gave me, now I have $125," Aurora said as she smiled.

"Okay, bid it. Please." Haley said, and Aurora laughed.

"Like I said, Hales... I've been doing this for two years and never lost Nathan. He was mine anyway." Aurora said as she shrugged her shoulders, and Aurora yelled out. "$125!" She exclaimed. Nathan followed her voice in the crowd and smiled at her while Whitey nodded his head.

"Sold!" He yelled. There were disappointed groans that followed around the room, which only made the twins laugh.

"Yes!" Haley exclaimed, and Aurora shook her head.

"Wait, wait!" Brooke Davis' voice could be heard as she ran inside right as the auction ended. She only had her cards and was told it was only cash, so she went to find an ATM to get cash, but it was too late. All the boys had been auctioned off.

"I'm sorry, we're fresh out of flesh. I want to thank you all for coming this evening to support this good cause. Now, all these young men belong to the highest bidders until that midnight kiss. Let's try and keep things legal this year." Whitey said, which made Aurora laugh, and she turned to Haley.

"Don't worry. When the clock strikes midnight, I won't make out with Nathan for too long." Aurora teased, and Haley shook her head.

"Don't make me regret that my sister bought my boyfriend for the night," Haley said, and Aurora started laughing.

"Don't worry, sis. We'll keep it PG. Let's go get our boys." Aurora said as she linked her arm through Haley's and walked out to get their names and turn in their money.

"I'm so excited to have Lucas all to myself for an evening. We have not had a night to just hang out in forever." Haley said, and Aurora nodded her head as Nathan started to approach them.

"Same for Nathan and me," Aurora said. When Nathan approached the girls, he turned to Aurora with a teasing smirk on his face.

"Ari, I know you've always had a crush on me, but $125?" He teased, and Aurora rolled her eyes and shoved his chest, making him laugh, then he turned to Haley. "Hey, you." He said, and Haley smiled.

"Hey." She said.

"How about you come and see me around midnight?" He asked, and Haley nodded her head.

"Sounds good," Haley responded as she leaned up and kissed him. "Don't have fun." Haley teased.

"I won't," Nathan said in the same teasing voice, and Aurora pretended to be offended.

"You're both bullies," Aurora said, which made Haley and Nathan laugh, and Nathan turned to his best friend.

"Alright, come on. Let's go tear up the town." He said, and Aurora pointed the finger at him.

"Hey, Whitey said nothing illegal this year," Aurora said, which made Nathan laugh as he started to make his way towards his car, and Aurora turned to her sister. "Have fun tonight." She said as she turned back around and ran to catch up with Nathan.

"Let's go legally... tear up the town," Nathan said when Aurora caught up, which made her laugh as she jumped on his back.

"Sounds good to me."

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Nathan brought Aurora back to his apartment, and she was a little caught off guard by all the plastic everywhere and the fact that Nathan had no furniture. When she looked over at Nathan, she raised an eyebrow. "Did you bring me here to kill me?" Aurora asked, and Nathan laughed while shaking his head.

"The painters must have left it," Nathan said as he gestured around the apartment. "So, what do you think of the new place?" Nathan asked.

"I'm still just a little shocked you actually moved out. But I'm also proud of you." Aurora said, which made Nathan smile.

"Yep, the judge declared me officially emancipated," Nathan said, and Aurora smiled.

"Good for you, Nate. It's good that you got out of that environment." Aurora said, and Nathan nodded as he gestured down the hallway.

"Come on." He said as he led her back into the bedroom. Aurora looked and saw only a mattress on the ground and laughed.

"So, what? You got your big cool apartment, but you don't believe in furniture?" Aurora asked while laughing, and Nathan rolled his eyes. "What are we supposed to eat?" She asked.

"We got the bed," Nathan said as he sat down and pulled out some food from his bag. Aurora shrugged her shoulders and sat down next to him.

"Oh, what the hell."

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Nathan took Aurora down to the pool since the apartment complex had a pool for all the residents, and she thought this was pretty cool and knew where she would spend most of her summers. "Sweet, you got a pool?" Aurora said.

"Yeah, you want to go swimming?" Nathan asked.

"Hey, you're the boy toy. You do what I say tonight." Aurora said, which made Nathan laugh.

"You're always telling me what to do anyway," Nathan said, and Aurora shrugged her shoulders.

"It's not like you listen." She said, which made Nathan laugh as he nodded his head. "Is the pool heated?" She asked, and Nathans shrugged his shoulder.

"I don't know; why don't you test it?" Nathan said. Aurora nodded her head because that wasn't a bad idea. She knelt in front of the pool and reached her hand out to test the water temperature, but Nathan grabbed her and tackled her into the pool before she could. When Aurora resurfaced, she wiped her eyes as she started laughing.

"Nathan, oh my god!" She exclaimed, and Nathan laughed while giving her an innocent look.

"I slipped... but hey, at least it's heated." He said, and Aurora rolled her eyes as she splashed him. "You know that means war." He said, and Aurora shrugged her shoulders.

"Bring it on."

The two of them went back and forth for what felt like hours. Having splash wars, a dunking contest, seeing who could out-swim the other. It was a good distraction for Aurora to take her mind off Peyton and Lucas, and she was having so much fun spending time with her best friend for the first time in what felt like forever. Their lives are so hectic that their quality time has recently been reduced to phone calls.

Aurora was having a great time.

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After they finished playing various water games, they rested on the wall on opposite sides of the pool, and they were just talking. They reminisce about previous auctions since Aurora had bought him their freshman and sophomore year. Even though he was Peyton's boyfriend at the time, Aurora only bought him because Nathan would ask her to bid for him ahead of time because he didn't want to spend that night with Peyton for whatever reason.

She never asked.

"God, remember when we almost dated? What were we thinking?" Nathan asked, which made Aurora laugh.

"We weren't... but also, I think when you've been friends with someone for as long as we've been, it's normal to test and see if you'd work as a couple," Aurora said as she shrugged her shoulders, and Nathan nodded his head.

"Does Haley know?" Nathan asked, and Aurora shook her head.

"I assumed you'd be the one to tell her, but... I can tell her if you want me to. I'm sure she won't care since it was a while ago and back when she didn't know you." Aurora said, and Nathan sighed.

"Did you ever tell Lucas?" Nathan asked, and Aurora laughed.

"Hell no. Lucas knows I'm not a virgin, but he doesn't know who I lost my virginity to. I don't know. Since nothing came of it, we were drunk and then decided we were better as friends afterward; it's not something that I broadcast." Aurora said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Fair enough. It's weird how it made us closer, though. A lot of the times when two friends sleep with each other, it gets awkward." Nathan said, and Aurora laughed.

"I guess we're the lucky ones," Aurora said.

"True, I mean... you know, it's just sex, right?" Nathan asked, and Aurora looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, you know what, Nathan? Sure, you were good in bed and everything, but my sister deserves better than that. She's good for you, she trusts you, and she trusts me...-" Nathan cut her off because he immediately realized that Aurora didn't understand the point he was trying to make.

"...-I know that," Nathan said.

"And okay, fine. We could do it right here in the pool, and nobody would know." Aurora said, and Nathan sighed.

"Aurora." He tried to interject, but she was still talking.

"But I would know, and you would know. And I would never do that to my sister or myself. Especially given that Lucas and Peyton just did it to me. And you know what? Nathan, I wouldn't even do that to you because I love you and Haley both way too much. And you know what else? If you screw up your relationship with her, you're a bigger jackass than you used to be." Aurora said, and Nathan nodded his head.

"I know it would hurt Haley, and I know you, and I would never betray her like that. The only reason I mentioned it was to let you know that I wasn't, and I wouldn't ever pressure your sister into having sex with me." Nathan said, and Aurora's face automatically flushed red as she realized she had just gone on a rant for no reason.

"Right... I knew that." Aurora said, and Nathan laughed as a smirk came onto his face.

"You said I was good in bed." He said, and Aurora laughed as she shook her head.

"No, I didn't." She denied which made Nathan laugh more.

"Oh, yes, you did," Nathan said with a smirk still on his face, and Aurora rolled her eyes as she ran her fingers through her wet hair.

"Kill me now." She murmured as she went underwater. Nathan watched and laughed as he shook his head, and then he let out a relieved sigh.

He really loved his best friend.

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Nathan and Aurora made their way back to Nathan's apartment, and he gave her a towel to dry herself off with. Aurora looked over at the stove and saw the clock was close to midnight, which meant their evening was coming to an end soon.

"It's nearly midnight. Looks like our date is almost over." Aurora said. She used air quotes around the word 'date' since they both knew they weren't actually on a date.

"Yeah, I think I was hitting on you in the pool," Nathan said, which made Aurora laugh as she turned to him because she wasn't expecting that.

"You think you were?" She asked. Nathan smiled as he sighed a little.

"I don't know anymore, Ari. This whole good guy thing, it's new to me. I guess I'll always have feelings for you because I used to, before and even while I was dating Peyton. You've been the girl that's always there for me. During the lows and the highs, so of course, I ended up falling for you somewhere in the process. But I owe it to Haley and you to be a better guy than I've been. I just don't want to be the guy that cheats on her." Nathan said, and Aurora smiled at him.

"Nathan, you won't be. I'm proud of you, you know? Standing up to Dan, being a good guy for my sister. You're turning into the guy I always knew you had the potential to be." Aurora said, and Nathan smiled.

"I couldn't have done it without you either," Nathan said, and Aurora smiled as she checked the time.

"I should probably get home, and I'll tell Haley the truth. And don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't break up with you." Aurora said, which made Nathan laugh as he shook his head.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Nathan asked, and Aurora shook her head.

"She's my sister... I know her reactions. It'll be okay." Aurora said, and Nathan laughed.

"I guess by rule, I owe you a kiss," Nathan said, and Aurora nodded her head.

"I guess you do, boy toy." Aurora teased. Nathan laughed as he stepped up to Aurora. He laid his hands down on her arms, and the pair leaned in and gave each other a quick peck, and then Aurora smiled at him. "Goodnight, Nate." She said.

"Let me know when you get home, alright?" He said, and Aurora nodded her head.

"I promise."

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Aurora let Nathan know she got home before going to Haley's room. At first, she remembered that Haley said she was going to see Nathan at midnight, so Aurora was a little confused that she was home, but she was happy.

"Hey, Hales? Weren't you supposed to go to Nathan's at midnight?" Aurora asked.

"Yeah, I asked Lucas to check if you guys were there, but he said you weren't," Haley said, and Aurora raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know why he lied to you, but Nathan and I were there," Aurora said, and Haley tilted her head to the side because now she was confused too. Lucas lied because when he went to check the house like Haley asked, he saw Nathan and Aurora kiss. In his idiotic state, he seemed to forget that the rule of the auction was for the pair to kiss at midnight.

Just like he kissed Haley.

"Yeah, that's weird. I'll have to ask him about it. Did you have fun?" Haley asked, and Aurora nodded her head.

"Yeah, we had a lot of fun. Did you?" Aurora asked as she flopped down on her sister's bed and looked at her.

"Yeah, I had a lot of fun too. Until Lucas saw the tattoo I got for Nathan; he didn't take it too well. He thought Nathan forced me to get it." Haley said, and Aurora rolled her eyes while shaking her head.

"And I'm sure you followed up by telling him that I was the one who took you to get it," Aurora said, and Haley nodded her head. "So, I want to talk to you about something important, but I don't want you to freak out. Can you manage that?" Aurora asked.

"What could you possibly have to tell me that would make me freak out?" Haley asked.

"That I lost my virginity to your boyfriend," Aurora said. She figured it was better just to say it and get it over with instead of trying to beat around the bush.

"Okay, that'll definitely do it," Haley said as she looked at her and waited for an explanation.

"It was the tail end of freshman year and the beginning of sophomore year. You know Nathan, and I have been friends forever, so we thought maybe we were meant to be more. But anyway, at a party, we got drunk and slept together, and then the next day realized we're definitely meant to be friends, and it's never happened again." Aurora said, and Haley started laughing. "Um... is that an entertained laugh or an I should probably start running laugh?" She asked.

"No, Aurora. I'm not mad. It was before I even knew Nathan, and like Alex said when he was home, both of us always thought if you were going to end up with a Scott brother, it would've been Nathan. But I appreciate you being honest with me." Haley said, and Aurora smiled.

"Nathan and I wanted to tell you, but we didn't know which one of us should... and I said I would since I'm your sister," Aurora said, and Haley nodded.

"Well, I'll let Nathan know I'm not mad at him," Haley said, and Aurora smiled.

"Great. I told Nathan I wouldn't let you break up with him." Aurora said, and Haley laughed.

"Oh, god, no. I'm in love with him, Aurora. I couldn't even imagine breaking up with him." Haley said, which made Aurora smile. She loved that, for both of them.

"Good, because I think he's in love with you too," Aurora said, and Haley's face perked up.

"You think so?" She asked.

"I know so. I can maybe hint around to him that he should say the words. You know, if you're ready to hear them." Aurora said, and Haley laughed.

"Of course, I'm ready to hear them. I'm in love for the first time, and even if it doesn't last... right now, it feels pretty damn good." Haley said, and Aurora smiled while looking at her sister.

"Trust me, Hales... it will last."

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─── AUTHOR'S NOTE
my second favorite episode of s1, and now haley knows aurora's secret!

don't forget to vote/comment.

xoxo.