I Will Always Love You
Chapter 1
He crashed his lips onto hers, sparing their own feelings versus the rest. It was a delicate kiss they shared; it took nothing more than a few seconds for her to start kissing back, pressing her body onto his. It was slow and gentle, rather than hard and passionate.
He pulled away and kissed the tip of her nose before facing her again with his perfectly shaded, blue eyes and a warmly nervous grin to assist it.
"You kiss by th' book." She joked softly to lighten the already-lit room.
"Quoting Shakespeare?" He chuckled as he sat up on his bed.
"I didn't know you read," she laughed, already sitting up with her legs crossed, facing him. "Do you really have to go already?"
"Afraid so," he cleared his throat, pulling his practice jersey on. "Whitey'll kill me if I'm late for practice again."
She watched as her boyfriend got ready for basketball practice.
"You don't have cheer practice today?" He asked her.
"No," she replied, adding in a convincing sigh. "I feel like I never get to see you anymore."
"Whitey has me on a tight schedule." He mumbled loud enough for her to hear. "Do you want me to drop you off home on the way?"
"Actually, if you don't mind, I think I'll just stay here and wait for you to come back," she shrugged.
"Whatever you say, Hales," he smiled as he leaned down to kiss her once more, "I love you."
She smiled with warmth and spark in her eyes, "I love you too, Nathan."
That was all just a distant memory to him now. He thought about it everyday— he thought about her everyday.
It's been about a year since their falling out. Their relationship was long, but their breakup was short. Even though he felt as if the breakup was all his fault, she thought about him, too.
She quit the cheer team halfway through the basketball season because she couldn't bare facing him at every practice and every game: that was the whole reason they had broken up in the first place— his commitment to basketball. Of course, she was always 100% supportive when it came to his love for the game, but she felt as if that was always his main focus.
When it was basketball season, Nathan was practicing. When the season ended, Nathan was practicing, only to prepare himself for the next basketball season. It was like a big, never-ending cycle that forced their relationship to revolved around him and his basketball schedule.
But she didn't blame him. Of course she didn't blame him. He loved the sport and she would never want to take that away from him.
"You sure you want to go to this party? I mean, it's for the basketball team and I know you haven't had the greatest year."
She shrugged, still unsure of what she truly wanted, trying to troop it out. "Yeah. Don't worry about me, Brooke."
Brooke kept her eyes on the road as she drove, but sensed some sort of skeptic in her voice.
"I know you miss him, Hales."
"It's been a year, Brooke. I'm fine. It's not like I don't see him around at school." She kept her eyes strictly out the window. "We just didn't work as a couple, that's all."
Brooke knew that wasn't the case. Haley and Nathan were perfect together. They had minor problems but nothing big enough to cause such a devastating breakup; one that would drag out feelings for this long. But she didn't argue with her about it, because she knew arguing with Haley about anything was just pointless. She always had the last say no matter what.
"He hasn't had a girlfriend since you two broke up, you know." Brooke hinted while they were on the subject. She secretly wanted them back together.
"Maybe it's not a girl he's looking for." Haley said, making herself giggle.
Brooke laughed, pulling into the driveway of a house Haley was very much familiar with.
"Wow.." Haley sighed in partial awe, stepping out of the car. "It's been awhile since I've been here."
Before she had a chance to step into memory lane, Brooke pulled her by the arm, entering the overly-hyped party.
Loud music, hard dancing; this was a typical Nathan Scott house party.
"I think Lucas is here already," Brooke spoke into Haley's ear as they pushed themselves through to find their brooding friend.
Brooke and Haley were like high-school royalty. It was totally stereotypical for the two cheerleader best friends to also be the school's most popular girls but in their case, it was all reality. People moved aside for them to get through and anyone who had either of them say even a single word to them felt special.
But, they were both completely secluded girls. They never looked too deep into their popularity and felt as if the only people they really talked to were each other and Lucas. If anything, they felt as if they weren't so popular.
Especially Haley, who felt as if she dropped her social hierarchy the second she broke up with basketball superstar, Nathan Scott, and dropped out of cheer-leading and other extra-curricular activities for the entire sophomore year.
"Oh! I see Lucas." Haley spoke up, spotting the tall and scrawny blonde in the sea of people.
Brooke pulled her through but they were rudely interrupted as Haley bumped into a surprisingly hard, masculine back.
"Oh, I'm—" the guy began to speak as he turned to see who bumped into him, surprised to see his ex standing before him. "Sorry."
Haley stopped behind Brooke and stared at Nathan, unable to look away momentarily.
"Haley." He said her name sweetly, as if he were a child tasting sugar for the first time, adding a complimentary half-smile. "I'm glad you came."
She bit her lip and gave him a very awkward smile. "Hi, Nathan." She rubbed her elbow as she looked up at him, keeping a good distance. The height difference between the two of them was actually to their liking.
"So," he filled in the slightly weird silence, "Are you here with someone?"
She nodded, "Yep."
"Oh." He was slightly surprised, but didn't want to show any type of emotion. "I should probably let you get back to him, then."
She laughed, noticing his sudden urge to squirm. "It's Brooke," she assured him. "I'm here with Brooke."
"Oh. Brooke.." He nodded slowly, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Your best friend, Brooke."
She nodded as well, looking around for her brunette friend.
He felt the awkwardness and couldn't bare to see her so uncomfortable for any longer, "Well, it was good seeing you. It's been awhile."
She gazed at the deep blue marbles he calls his eyes and once again, bit her lip. It was second-naturedly for her to do that.
"Good luck this season," she spoke sincerely, "I'll be cheering for the team again." With that, she turned and left his sight.
It was like hell walking away from him during an obviously incomplete conversation. They used to be able to talk hours on end. Now it just felt so forced.
But, she didn't expect anything. She didn't even expect to see him let alone bump into him.
And she wasn't complaining. It was nice being able to talk to him, regardless of the awkwardness. She knew he still cared and for some odd reason, that relieved her.
"Were you just talking to Haley?" Tim asked, doing a double take to glance at the cute blonde otherwise known as Nathan's ex.
"Yeah." Nathan said, looking back at the spot where their brief reconciliation took place. "I talked to Haley." He assured himself, still a bit surprised that she tolerated the awkwardness just as much as he did.
"Yo, she's definitely physically matured this year 'cause—"
"Tim, just say she's hot."
He laughed, "Nate, she's always been hot. I'm just trying to say that—"
"Yeah, that too," Nathan cut him short, unable to focus on anything else but Haley. He couldn't help but look around to see what she was doing. He didn't know why, but he still cared. He wish he didn't. "Anyways, don't talk about my girlfriend that way," he retorted at his best friend.
Tim raised an eyebrow. "Nate, she's not your girlfriend anymore."
"What? I know. I didn't say she was," he replied in a confused matter. He hadn't realized he called her that.
"Dude, yes you did." Tim shook his head and handed him a beer. "But, whatever. We all know you miss her."
As much as Nathan wanted to defer, he didn't. What's there to be ashamed of? Yeah, couples don't normally stay on good terms after a breakup, but it was different for them. He always looked at Haley with such awe even before they began dating in the 8th grade. Their relationship was so much more than just a boyfriend/girlfriend system and at least that much hasn't changed.. Or so he hoped.
"Hales, I thought I lost you to the power of booze." Brooke held onto her arm as they began walking along the beach shore.
"Nope. Even alcohol wouldn't be able to block out what's going on in here." Haley pointed to her brain.
"Last time you turned down a drink because your brain was too full was when you and Nathan br—" Lucas cut himself short as he saw the nervous expression Haley began to portray. "Haley, what happened?"
"I talked to Nathan." She said. "Well, he talked to me, first. Then I talked and then—"
"I'm pretty sure we know how a conversation is structured." Brooke scoffed in a humorous way. "What'd he say?"
"He said he was glad I came. It was super weird for both of us, but I could tell he was genuinely happy to see me." Haley looked down at her feet as they made footprints in the sand. "A lot has happened but at least he's still as sweet as he was when I left him."
Brooke was happy to hear them reconnect. She rested her head on Haley's shoulder, clinging onto her arm as they matched each other's walking speed.
Haley sighed as the three of them unknowingly shared the same thought.
Did he miss her as much as she missed him?
"Hey Nathan," a very annoying curly-haired blonde whispered in his ear.
Nathan groaned, looking around at all the people crammed in his beach house. "Back off, Peyton."
She raised her eyebrows and backed away a few centimeters.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just don't want to do anything with you." He said subtly, not sparing her feelings. He glanced over at Haley every few seconds as he spoke with Peyton.
Peyton looked over at where Haley was and began to realize why he was so untouchable.
"Is it because of Haley?" She asked with little emotion.
Nathan didn't respond. Instead, he took a sip of his water and moaned with hydrated delight.
"Nathan, look at me." She pulled him so he was facing her, to his dismay. "If you still like her then, great. But don't be waiting for something that has little chance of happening and go after something more worth while." She said seriously. "And no, that doesn't necessarily mean me but it'd be nice if it did." She walked away feeling somewhat wise when really she was rude and intolerable.
"Hey." He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see someone he didn't expect to see come up to him. "Can we talk?"
He nodded as he was being pulled towards the back of the beach house. "Brooke? Sure."
"First of all, great party." She patted his shoulder. "Second of all, I have a question." She didn't hesitate to ask. "How are you and Haley doing?"
Nathan buzzed his lips as if he were unable to answer. He wished that he could tell her things were great right off the bat but he knew that wasn't true.
"I don't know. Why would you ask me?"
Brooke rolled her eyes as he began to play dumb. "She's sitting on the sand facing the waves, literally close enough to be eaten by sharks. You know damn well Haley doesn't sit out from a party unless something was up."
He crossed his arms and looked at over where Brooke was pointing to, revealing Haley all alone on the sand. "Look, all we did was talk once and then I left her alone. I don't know why she's not down here partying."
"Well, I don't know, either." Brooke sighed. "I thought maybe you had something to do with it."
"Well, no. I don't think I had anything to do with it." Nathan shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to ask her?" He suggested.
"That's a great idea.." Brooke grinned smugly. "Thanks for offering, Nate. Tell me what she says." She patted his back and basically pushed him in the direction of where Haley was.
"Oh, Brooke." Nathan shook his head and began walking towards Haley. "How I've missed you and your manipulative self."
He took his time before reaching her at the short distance she sat herself at. He thought up ways to start conversation with her but he felt as if that were too forced.
"This can't be good," he said, breaking her own personal silence from behind her before deciding to sit next to her.
She looked at him in disbelief but shook that feeling off. "Why aren't you at your party?"
"I could ask you the same question."
"Maybe I don't want to party."
"Maybe I don't, either," he replied quickly.
"But it's your party."
"And you came."
She didn't respond and didn't dare to look him in the eye because she knew that if she did, she'd just get sucked back in to his charm and great looks.
"That's not the point, though," he sighed and looked away when he realized she wasn't going to break her gaze on the waves. "Brooke wanted me to ask you if there was something wrong."
She shook her head and began playing with the sand. "Nothing's wrong," she spoke softly.
"But nothing's right, either."
She stared into his leveled blue eyes and actually lifted the corners of her mouth to the point where it looked like she wanted to smile. He still understood her.
He grinned back in the spur of the moment, staring out at the waves again.
"Remember when we came here after every home game?"
She twiddled her thumbs and felt the corner of her mouth raise slightly.
"I'd be in my cheer uniform and you'd be all sweaty in your jersey."
"And I didn't even care if I caught pneumonia," he chuckled softly. The mood was slightly lifted, but the air was still heavy. "Even if we lost and I played a bad game, coming here with you always cheered me up," he confessed.
She looked over at him, biting her lip.
"We were just a bunch of sophomores back then."
He looked at her and nodded, not needing to saying a word.
"Yes! Luke, my plan is working!" Brooke pulled Lucas and pointed to where Nathan and Haley were on the sand.
Lucas squinted and began to laugh in pure satisfaction and slight confusion.
"Your plan is working..." He spoke slowly in disbelief, "But you do know the chances of getting them to date again are very slim. Those two are the most stubborn people I know." He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to his side.
"I only planned for them to redeem their friendship. The rest is up to them." She crossed her arms and began watching them in awe.