Okay, this is my first ever attempt at writing fanfiction. It's pretty much something I've wanted to do for a while, and now I've finally got the guts to do it LOL. The movie Sweet Home Alabama was a huge inspiration for this story, as it follows some of the movie's plot. Reviews are very much appreciated, good or bad.

Summery: Haley James has it all. The perfect boyfriend, great friends, and a career that is about to skyrocket. But what happens when her past catches up with her, and people left forgotten are suddenly back in her life. AU Naley

Haley and Brooke left Tree Hill during their senior year.

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with One Tree Hill or the CW.

Chapter 1-The Start of Something New

"Do I look nervous? Please tell me I don't look nervous?" Haley looked toward her best friend Brooke Davis with an anxious expression on her face as she took a sip of her coffee. She could feel the knots tying in her stomach, and as hard as she tried to mask her feelings, she knew that she was slowly falling apart.

The pair sat side by side in stools at their local coffee shop on a Friday morning. Everyday Friday for the past six years the two of them had come to this same shop to get coffee, and today was no different.

Brooke glanced over at Haley before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Umm…no honey, you look very nervous." Brooke laughed and Haley's face fell. "But have no worries. Today is definitely our day, better yet our night. When those fashion critics see my latest designs they are literally going to piss their pants."

Haley, suddenly feeling more comfortable, raised an eyebrow at the brunette's expression questionably.

"Literally." Brooke spoke back with a laugh causing Haley to laugh also.

"Come on now Hales, you know how hard we've worked for this moment. Enjoy it." Brooke lightly nudged Haley in her side with her elbow and smiled at her.

Haley sighed and finally felt her body relax. "Okay, okay. I'm relaxed, you see?" Haley replied with fake enthusiasm.

Brooke simply smirked at Haley before taking another sip of her coffee. "Sure honey…very convincing."

Haley sighed and covered her face with her hands before plopping her head down on the counter. She was never good at handling these types of situations, and now it seemed that she was finally about to break. Today was the biggest day of her career, maybe even her life, and she was letting her nerves get the best of her.

Brooke quickly finished her coffee and placed $10 on the counter. She gave her friend standing behind the counter a wink before suddenly grabbing Haley and pulling her out of her chair, almost causing the small blond to fall. She linked arms with the girl before walking out of the coffee shop and into the streets of New York.

Looking over at her friend, Brooke could tell that she definitely needed to pull herself together. They had too much riding on tonight, and now was not the time for Haley to start freaking out.

"Alright, listen to me Haley James. You can do this." Brooke told her in a strong voice, hoping to calm her nerves.

Haley started to object but Brooke quickly cut her off. "How long have we known each other Haley?" Haley sighed and shot gave Brooke an annoyed look.

"How long Haley?" Brooke asked again in a singsong voice.

Haley rolled her eyes at Brooke. "Nine years. Nine long and painful years."

Brooke laughed at Haley and released her grip on her hands. "And in those nine exciting and wonderful years, have I ever let you down?"

"No." Haley sighed. "No Brooke, you have never let me down. And your point is?" Haley asked with a roll of her eyes.

The smirk was once again plastered across Brooke's face. "So why are you so nervous? Loosen up girly. This is it. This is our moment. You and me Hales. We worked our asses off for this."

Haley finally found herself smiling. "This is my moment, huh?"

Brooke lightly punched Haley in the arm. "Stay with me here Hales. Our moment."

Both girls laughed and began to walk their apartment building, dodging traffic on their way. Having been living in the big city for the past eight years, they were experts at maneuvering themselves around New York City.

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Brooke tossed her keys on the kitchen table and went straight to Haley's bedroom. Haley closed the door to their apartment and closely followed behind Brooke, who was now stretched out across Haley's bed.

"Why is it that you can never seem to find your own bed? It's right down the hall." Haley asked, taking off her boots and sloppily throwing them into her closet.

Brooke laughed at looked up at Haley. "Because, this bed is more comfortable."

Haley sighed and motioned for Brooke to scoot over so she could sit down on the bed. "We have the exact same bed Brooke. There's no way mine can be more comfortable." Haley looked toward her friend, awaiting an explanation.

"Okay, you got me." Brooke sighed, sitting up on the bed. "But my room is just so far away though. I don't think I could make the walk." Brooke said, pouting at Haley.

Haley shook her head and laughed at her friend. "Well Brookie, you might as well get up. We have no time to relax."

Haley glanced down at her watch and stood up from her spot on the bed. "The show starts in exactly nine hours and we still have a lot of work to do."

Brooke whined and slowly got off the bed, mumbling words that Haley could not understand under her breath. "Weren't you just nervous as hell like five minutes ago?" She asked in annoyance, rising from her position on the bed.

"Keyword was. Now come on Davis." Haley pointed toward the bedroom door and Brooke slowly made her out of Haley's bedroom.

"You know what Hales?" Brooke asked with a mischievous grin on her face as she stood in Haley's doorway.

Haley looked at Brooke curiously, motioning for her to continue.

"It totally smells like sex in here." Brooke looked at Haley's sudden wide eyes and smirked before continuing. "Did Bobby come by last night and give you a little late night nookie?"

Haley felt her face turn about five shades of red. Haley and Robert had been dating for a little over eight months. They had literally crashed into each other one day while walking around the crowded city of New York. Haley had been running an errand, while Robert was trying to hail a taxicab, neither paying attention to what was going on around them. Robert crashed into Haley, pummeling her down to the cold cement. Haley looked up quickly, preparing to verbally assault the idiot who had made her fall, but one look at Robert's handsome face and 6 foot frame was all it took, she was hooked.

"Brooke, you already know Robert came over last night." Brooke shrugged her shoulder at Haley from the doorway, giving her a clueless look. "You let him in the apartment. And there is no way you smell 'sex' in here Brooke, because we didn't do anything last night. We just talked about tonight's show, which he won't be able to attend, and then he left early this morning when his mom called. Which was really annoying by the way. I mean God the woman is the mayor. You would think she has more to do than try and ruin our relationship."

Brooke laughed at Haley. "Slow down Hales, I could barely understand a word you just said. And I already know nothing happened last night. I heard him leave early this morning. I was just messing with you," Brooke shrugged.

Haley lunged at Brooke who quickly dove out of the way before Haley could reach her. Brooke stuck her tongue out at Haley and ran off to the living room. Haley laughed and went to her closet to try and find the perfect outfit to wear to their fashion show later that night.

She heard the phone ring and yelled for Brooke to answer it. When the phone continued to ring Haley stopped looking for an outfit to wear and went to answer the phone, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Haley James speaking." Haley spoke into the phone.

"Did you know that I have been trying to get in contact with you for the past two weeks." Haley let out a loud groan as she realized who was on the other end of the phone.

"Nice to here from you too sweetie." The person on the phone deadpanned.

"I'm sorry mom, I meant to call you back, but I've just been…busy." Haley said, suddenly feeling bad for not calling her mother, but she couldn't help it. Her mother wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world, and everytime she spoke to her, it seemed to bring her spirits down a few notches.

"Of course you have been." Her mother responded sarcastically. "Do you know how embarrassing it is to find out from a neighbor that your daughter is the next big thing?"

"Mom, what are you—"

"—No, of course you wouldn't know!! I had to find out about your fashion show from Mrs. Simpson! Apparently, she knows more about my own daughter's life than I do."

Haley was soon bombarded with a list of complaints. She tuned her mother out and went back to her closet to try and find something to wear. She had been expecting a phone call from her mother; she just didn't want to have to deal with her today.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes." Haley snapped annoyed. She picked up an outfit and held it up against her body, examining the way it looked on her.

"And what's this I hear that you have a boyfriend. The mayor's son no less." Haley sighed on the other end of the phone before her mother continued. It was as if her mother had some kind of unnatural power when it came to her. There was no way her mother could possibly know all of this information, even if Mrs. Simpson had blabbed every single last thing she'd read about Haley to her mother. Someone had to be telling her all of these things, but who? As if her mother had read her thoughts, she soon continued.

"Brooke keeps her mother informed on what is going on in her life. She even had the decency to answer the phone when I called one day. She told me all about your boyfriend, Ronnie, New York's 'Bachelor of the Year'. I bet she doesn't avoid her mother like the plague."

"It's Robert." Haley corrected her as she exited her bedroom in search of Brooke. Anger could not even begin to describe the way she felt at the moment. Brooke was supposed to be her best friend, and best friends definitely didn't go and talk to mothers behind their friend's back. A frown formed on Haley's face when she found Brooke in the living room, reading a magazine.

"Who's on the phone?" Brooke whispered at Haley when she saw her enter the room with an angry expression on her face.

"Hold on one second." Haley spoke into the phone. She could still hear her mother ranting on the phone as she pushed the mute button, but she didn't care.

Haley crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Brooke. "My mother."

Brooke paled. "Umm…wow look at the time." Brooke said and looked at a non-existing watch on her arm.

"Ooh no, you are not getting away that easily. Why would you tell her about Robert?" Haley asked as she sat on the couch next to Brooke, burying her face in her hands.

"Are you mad?" Brooke asked carefully. Of course she knew Haley was angry, the girl practically had smoke coming out of her ears.

Haley sighed and shook her head at Brooke. She could never stay mad at her for long.

"Okay good because your mother totally caught me off guard and tricked me into telling her. She called from the Country Club phone one day, and I answered the phone, expecting it to be my mother." Haley nodded at Brooke. Both their mother's were respective members of their hometowns elite Country Club.

"Anyways…your mother started talking about you and how you'll never find someone after he who shall not be named…and it all just kind of came out. Sorry."

"Haley Bethany James!" Haley and Brooke both jumped at the loud noise that came from the phone. Haley quickly pushed the mute button and answered her mother sweetly.

"Honestly, that was so rude. If you don't have time to talk to your one and only mother, just say it. You don't have to keep me on hold for 30 minutes while you run off and do God knows what."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Actually mom, I am kind of busy. I have to go right now, but I promise that I will call you tomorrow and tell you all about tonight's show. Okay?"

Haley quickly hung up the phone before her mother had a chance to reply and closed her eyes. Brooke opened her mouth to speak, but Haley quickly waved a hand in front of her face, signaling that she did not want to talk at the moment.

She had not even been sitting down for five minutes before the phone rang again, but this time Brooke went to answer the phone, to which Haley had no objections.

"Omigosh, Rachel!" Brooke screamed into the phone, causing Haley to give her an annoyed look, which Brooke ignored. Haley never understood why Brooke kept in contact with her. Hell, she didn't understand why Brooke spoke to anyone from that chapter of their lives period. Sighing, Haley stood from the couch and left the room as she heard Brooke animatedly talking on the phone.

This was definitely not the type of stress she needed at the moment, she thought to herself. The impending fashion show already had her nervous, and now her mother calling her out of the blue just to nag her definitely added on to the stress.

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"1…2…3…4…5…damnit, this isn't working! Antonio, why isn't this working?" Brooke whined to a petrified looking Antonio. She continued to slowly count to ten, before once again stopping in frustration.

Antonio sighed and stared at Brooke. "First off honey, you have to count backwards from ten. Not forwards. Secondly, you have absolutely nothing to worry about; these people are going to love you. Hell, they already love you, just go out there and show them what you're made of."

Antonio Thomas was Haley and Brooke's closest friend in New York City. He had met both girls during their freshman year of college at NYU, and now six years later he was their business partner and confidant. Many people thought their friendship was awkward, but they all just fit well together.

Brooke looked towards her friend and smiled. "You are so right Tony, I guess I was just having a 'Haley' moment." She said referring to her nervousness causing Antonio to laugh. She quickly looked around at the area, making sure no one had seen her sudden outburst.

"Where is your lovely sidekick?" He asked and looked around the room also. There were models clad in Brooke's latest designs frantically running around trying to do last minute touch ups to there already perfect faces, but there was no sign of Haley.

"Shit. I don't know. You haven't seen her?"

Antonio shook his head. "Not since about 20 minutes ago."

"Okay Tony, you make sure everything and everybody is ready for tonight. Okay?" Antonio nodded at Brooke as she turned to leave in search of Haley, before quickly whipping back around to look at him. "And if you see Haley tell her to get her ass in gear right now!" Brooke said before walking away quickly.

Antonio continued to nod at Brooke's narrowing figure. He vaguely heard her yell at a few of the models before he saw Haley walking toward him clad in a revealing black knee length dress and matching Prada shoes. He sighed, as Haley got closer to him, noticing that she was as nervous as Brooke had just been.

"Oh no, not you too honey!" He stated worriedly as Haley came closer, pulling her to him for a hug.

Haley leaned her head against Antonio's shoulders and let out a loud breath. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Antonio quickly pushed Haley's body off of his and backed away. "Not on my new Gucci shoes you aren't." He pointed towards his black shoes and looked at Haley as if she were crazy.

Haley rolled her eyes at the man. Sometimes him and Brooke could be so much alike. "It's a figure of speech Antonio. Where's Brooke?"

"She just ran off to go look for you. She's a little worried about you, not that I would blame her. But Hales, you have nothing to worry about, you look gorgeous."

Haley smiled at Antonio and pulled him into a hug, whispering thank you in his ear.

"I agree…you look wonderful babe."

Haley whirled around at the sound of the voice, almost knocking Antonio over.

"Robert!" She screamed, jogging over to her boyfriend. "I thought you said you couldn't make it." She asked, staring at him with interest.

"Did I say that?" He asked in an amused voice. Haley lightly punched him in the arm and he stared at her seriously. "You know I wouldn't miss this for the world." He whispered gently before leaning forward, giving Haley a light kiss on the lips.

"Well isn't this cute. Here I am, running all over the place looking for you, and you're standing around smooching with your boy-toy. Did you forget the show starts in like five minutes!?"

The couple slowly broke apart and saw a very annoyed Brooke standing next to an even more amused Antonio, staring at them.

"Well hello to you too Cruella De Vil." Teased Robert, causing both Haley and Antonio to snicker. Brooke mumbled a few choice words under her breath and grabbed Haley's hand, pulling her away from her boyfriend.

Brooke pretended to laugh and stared at her friends. "Everything's funny right?" She asked, but continued before either had a chance to reply. "It's not gonna be funny when all three of us are standing in an unemployment line fighting for coupons to the local grocery store because we can't afford food, is it?" Brooke shook her head and continued. "No, it's not gonna be funny. And you Bobby, you and your hil-arious jokes are going to be to blame."

Robert visibly flinched at the nickname Brooke had given him before raising his hands in defeat, backing away from the group. One of Brooke's classic mood swings was definitely not something he wanted to deal with at the moment. "I'm just going to go…that-a-way." He said and quickly walked away from the trio.

Brooke rolled her eyes at his retreating figure and turned to her friends. "Your boyfriend's really funny Haley." Brooke deadpanned.

"And cute too." Antonio added breathlessly. Both Haley and Brooke turned towards Antonio and laughed. "What, you know I can't resist tall blondes."

"Me neither." Brooke joked, wiggling her eyebrows at Haley. "Corny jokes aside, Bobby is looking mighty fine tonight."

Haley playfully scoffed at Brooke and Antonio as they high fived each other. "Enough with the jokes, let's get this show on the road."

"Now you're talking Haley." Brooke replied eagerly, grabbing Haley and Antonio by the arms, leading them towards the runway.

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"Oh my God! That was possibly the best moment of my life. Ever. Did you see how everyone applauded at the end? I mean we got a standing ovation, for like five minutes!! On our first show!! Who does that?" Haley exclaimed, looking towards her boyfriend.

Robert stared back at her with an amused look on his face. The show had been over for an hour, and Haley still couldn't stop talking about it.

"I'll tell you who does that. Nobody. Nobody does that, Robert. And did you see J-Lo sitting in the audience! She totally loved our show. And…and did you— "

Robert planting a firm kiss on her lips cut off Haley's speech. She moaned against his lips before giggling lightly.

"I guess I was kind of talking a lot, huh?" Haley asked as she broke away from the kiss. Robert laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"So where are we going anyways." Haley asked as she moved over closer to Robert. They had been riding around in a limo for the past 20 minutes, and Haley wasn't sure where they were going. She knew that Brooke and Antonio were planning on going to Club Celebrity for an after party, but they weren't headed in the direction of the club.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out." Robert replied as the car suddenly came to a stop. The limo driver exited the car and opened the door to the back.

"After you, Haley." Robert said, as Haley gave him a questioning look. She exited the limo and took in her surroundings. They were parked in an alley behind what looked like an abandoned building.

"Um…Rob, are you sure we're at the right place?" Asked Haley, trying not to let her disappointment show.

"Positive." Robert said as he pulled a blindfold out of his pocket. "Okay Haley, turn around." He said excitedly while holding up the blindfold.

Haley obliged and turned around. Robert tied the blindfold around her eyes and pulled on it lightly, making sure Haley could not see out of it.

"This is kinky, but I like it." Haley said from behind the blindfolds. Robert laughed at Haley and grabbed her right hand. "Trust me. You ain't seen nothing yet."

And now 15 minutes later, Haley still hadn't seen 'nothing' yet. "Robert." Haley whined. "We have been walking around for the past 15 minutes, where are we?"

She finally felt Robert release the firm grip he had on her hand. "Can I take these off now?" She asked referring to the blindfolds.

"Umm…yeah." Robert replied, reaching behind her to untie the blindfold.

"Finally." Haley said as she felt the blindfold leave her eyes. She opened her eyes and still saw complete darkness. She quickly rubbed her eyes, trying to see if it helped, but when it didn't she frantically felt around for Robert. "Oh my God Robert I think I'm going blind. I can't see!!" Haley screeched into the darkness.

Robert tried to stifle a laugh next to Haley but failed miserably. "It's not funny, you did something to my—"

Lights illuminating the building soon silenced Haley, who gasped as she took in her surroundings. "Oh…my…" Haley started, but soon found the ability to talk slowly leaving her. She slowly surveyed the room, and saw that they were inside of Tiffany's. There were 20 employees spread throughout the store, all looking toward Haley and Robert expectantly. Haley looked towards Robert, who for once had a serious expression on his face, and saw that he had kneeled down on one knee.

"Okay, let me get this out before I lose my nerve." Robert timidly said, staring into Haley's eyes. "Haley, I know we kind of got off to a rough start, being that I literally knocked you off your feet." He gave her a playful grin, to which Haley laughed and stared down at him adoringly, causing him to continue with more confidence. "I know that sometimes I can be a dumbass, and a 'wannabe' comedian as Brooke loves to call me, hell, I even begin to annoy myself sometimes. But Haley, I love you, and it's as simple as that. I love you. I know we haven't been together long, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you'll have me of course." He finally finished with a bright smile upon his face."

"I…I-I don't know what to say Robert." Haley answered honestly. This was definitely not how she had expected the night to turn out.

"A yes would be pretty good right about now." Robert told her with a nervous chuckle.

Haley looked into his brown eyes and saw nothing but love. She smiled down at Robert before finally answering. "Yes…yes I'll marry you." She said with a nod of her head. Robert finally stood up and engulfed Haley in a tight hug.

Haley broke apart from the hug as she noticed that all of the employees in the jewelry store had begun clapping for the newly engaged couple. True to his character, Robert took a graceful bow in front of the crowd of employees causing Haley and several of the workers to laugh at his antics.

"Pick one." He whispered to Haley as dozens of diamond rings were pulled out from the display cases.

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"This night definitely kicked ass." A very drunk Brooke said to a mildly drunk Antonio as they both sat on her living room couch. "As a matter of fact, I kicked ass, and you kicked ass, and Haley kicked ass."

"What are you talking about Brooke?" Antonio asked as he took another swig of his drink.

"I don't know…I think I was talking about ass." Brooke giggled into her drink.

The drunken duo both burst out into laughter as the front door to the apartment opened and closed quietly.

"Shh…did you hear that." Antonio whispered to Brooke.

"Hear what?" Brooke asked excitedly. "You can hear the birds too?" She looked towards the apartment ceiling, as if seeing imaginary birds.

"Okay, no more drinks for you honey." Antonio grabbed the glass out of Brooke's hand and sat it on the living room table. "I meant did you hear the door just open."

"Oh-do you think it's a burglar."

"I don't know…why don't you go see Brooke." Antonio lightly pushed Brooke off of the couch.

"Oh no buddy, I am not going to go and check it out. That's how the dumb blonde always gets killed in the movies."

Antonio stood up from the couch with his drink and grabbed Brooke's hand. They slowly walked around the dark apartment, checking each room for a 'burglar'. When they finally reached the kitchen, Antonio, declaring that there was no burglar in the house after all, decided to fix himself another drink. Brooke stood by in the darkness, impatiently tapping her left foot at her friend. She was so preoccupied with rushing Antonio that she didn't notice that someone had walked up behind her, that is until they lightly tapped her shoulder, causing her to scream at the top of her lungs and Antonio to spill the drink he had just poured.

"You know if I was a burglar I could have killed you both by now." Haley told them with a smirk as she sat at the kitchen table.

"Not funny Hales…you scared Tony half to death." Brooke answered as if she hadn't been the one screaming at the top of her lungs. Antonio gaped at before fixing himself another drink and sat down next to Haley.

"I didn't mean to scare you guys…I –

-Oh…my…God. Haley, what the hell is that on your finger!" Brooke yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Oh this?" Haley asked knowingly as the held up her index finger.

"Bobby proposed!" Brooke screamed walking over to Haley and grabbing her hand. "Tony, Bobby proposed!"

"I can see that Brooke." He answered happily and looked over at the ring again.

"So this is why you skipped out on the after party, huh?" Antonio asked.

Haley nodded her head and stared at the ring on her finger. "Robert took me to Tiffany's after we left the show and proposed to me. It was soooo romantic." Brooke and Antonio both awed at Haley, causing her to laugh slightly. "Until we went to go and meet his mother at a charity event she was hosting." Brooke raised an eyebrow at Haley before she continued, "let's just say Mayor Johnson's reaction wasn't as welcoming as yours."

"Fuck her. You don't need her approval." Brooke said with a shrug and took a sip of Antonio's newly poured drink. "Nobody actually cares about her anyways...what is she like a senator or something?"

"For the hundredth time, she is the mayor Brooke- how many drinks have you had tonight?" Haley asked.

"Too much." Antonio answered for her. "But seriously Haley, who cares if she doesn't like it, she'd better deal with it because you girlie, are getting married." He finished in a singsong voice. Him and Brooke both broke out into a horrible rendition of 'Here Comes the Bride', waving their arms around wildly.

"Yeah…I guess I am." Haley replied distractedly.

Antonio and Brooke shared a look between them and looked back at Haley. She sure didn't look happy for someone who had just been proposed to.

"Um…is everything okay Hales? Antonio asked her softly as her stared into her eyes.

Haley shook her head and continued to stare at the engagement ring. "No…this is horrible."

"The engagement!" Antonio asked.

"My life. My life is horrible. As a matter of a fact this is just completely fucked up. Every time I think I'm actually getting somewhere and moving on with my life, there is always something from my past stopping me." Haley sighed and put her head down on the kitchen table. "There's no way Robert will want to marry me after he finds out." Haley quietly mumbled after a long pause.

Antonio looked toward Brooke with a clueless expression on his face, expecting her to be just as confused as he had been. But when he looked at Brooke he saw that all of the color had left her face, and she looked just as sad as Haley did.

"Okay girls what's going on, you're starting to scare me." Antonio asked.

"I'm married" Haley whispered as she lifted her head from the kitchen table. Brooke quickly looked to Haley with a shocked expression on her face, which confused Antonio even further.

"No honey, you're about to get married…to the man of your dreams." Antonio said as Haley simply shook her head at him.

Antonio looked to Brooke for clarification on the situation at hand, but only got one response.

"Nathan?" Brooke whispered as she looked toward Haley, who simply nodded as a single tear fell down her cheek.