I am in no way affiliated with One Tree Hill, The CW or Mark Schwahn. Nor do I own or claim any rights to these characters. I am merely playing with them before returning them to their rightful owner. No copy infringement intended. I also do not own Anna Nalick or her song/lyrics for Breathe: 2AM in which the title has been taken from.

Winter Just Wasn't My Season
Chapter 1 – Some For The Better, Some For The Worse


24th December, 2008

Haley James brushed away the few tears that had managed to spill onto her cheeks during her flight. She had promised herself, no more tears. She wouldn't cry over him anymore; she wouldn't cry another single tear over him. He wasn't worth it; but no matter how many times she tried to tell herself that, she knew it wasn't true. He was worth it; he always had been. From the first time she met him, she knew he was going to change her life, and she didn't even know his name.

She was standing on the corner of the dance-floor. She was dancing without a care in the world as she tried to forget about everything that was resting on her shoulders and the fears she had. She let the music wash over her and let the worries and the bad memories flow out of her body, leaving her a free spirit; at least until the end of the song. The lyrics and the beat of the heavy dance music hypnotised her as she swayed her hips to the music. She was completely oblivious to the stares of the young man who sat at the bar, beer in his hand and his eyes focused on her. As she turned around, still completely under the spell of the music, her eyes met his and a shiver went up her spine when she realised he had been watching her. She hadn't felt this good in so long. After the torturous few months that had just passed, tonight, right in the moment of this song, she felt freer then she had in a long time. With more confidence then she knew she possessed, Haley continued to sway her hips without losing eye contact with the guy at the bar.

Suddenly, she felt two arms slip around her waist from behind and someone whisper in her ear, asking if she wanted to dance. After politely declining the offer, she attempted to walk away but his arms remained wrapped around her. Struggling to walk away, she tried to pry this jerk's arms off her and after a few seconds, she was successful in untangling herself from this guy who obviously didn't know how to take 'no' for an answer. Starting to walk away, he once again grabbed her arm, attempting to pull her back to him. Haley ripped her arm out of this idiot's grasp. Her arm swung back from the force of her pull and was caught by another hand. She spun around, ready to tell whoever it was to leave her alone but when she turned her breath caught in her throat - it was the mysterious guy from the bar, the one who she had been staring at earlier.

Her words she had been planning to say remained unsaid, even when he led her to the centre of the dance-floor. She saw the glare he shot at the annoying guy over his shoulder and bit back a smile. She didn't know him, but she had to at least be thankful to him; he had gotten her away from that creep. Suddenly he stopped and turned around to face her, placing his hands on her hips and beginning to dance with her. Not knowing what else to do, she placed her hands on his broad shoulders. He was gorgeous, she concluded. His deep cerulean eyes were dark and sexy but they held a secret pain. She wasn't sure what but it was there – she could see it. From his tall and fit frame, she assumed he was an athlete.

She didn't even notice that the song had ended. She just stood there looking at him, as he continued to look at her. He leaned towards her and her eyes fluttered closed, her lips tingling with anticipation. Just as he was about to kiss her, just when she could feel his warm breath on her lips and his hands move from her hips to lock around her waist…

"Dude, I was wondering where you were? We're going. Come on!"

Haley's eyes fluttered open and she blinked, trying to regain her senses. He hadn't even kissed her but look what it was doing to her. She moved her arms, from where they had come to rest around his neck, to her face, brushing away a stray piece of hair as she blew out a shaky breath. His arms remained around her waist as he turned to glare at the interruption – a good-looking young man, with dark, tanned skin and deep brown eyes. They were soulful and beautiful, but she liked his better. His were a deep blue that appeared darker now then they had before he leaned in to kiss her.

The guy who had interrupted them, clapped his hand on his shoulder and tried to steer him away, but he was not moving from his place next to her. He was strong, very strong, and determined, it seemed. He raised his arms, and removed her arms from around his neck. Haley had to control herself from whimpering at the loss of contact as he moved away from her, taking a few steps towards the nearby bar. He reached behind, producing something that was hidden from her view. Walking back to her, as his friend stood by, watching curiously, he grabbed for her hand, grasping her slender wrist with his slightly calloused fingertips. He turned her arm around, so that her palm lay flat against his forearm, she responded by grasping it loosely, out of slight curiousity but mostly due to strong desire to be in contact with him. She watched as he produced a pen from the other hand and began to mark the supple skin on the inside skin of her wrist. She stared at her arm for a few seconds before looking back up at him, gasping softly when she saw how intensely he was staring at her.

Her eyes fluttered close as she saw him, once again, leaning in closer to her but was surprised when she felt his warm, soft lips upon wrist, just above the place he had marked her with blue biro ink. She didn't even know what she was now inked with, but quite frankly, she couldn't care. As his lips closed around the juncture where her arm met her hand, she gasped softly, as he lips pressed softly to her skin, his tongue skimming across the surface of her vein. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, that small action did something to her. Something foreign, but undeniably good, as small flutterings began in the bottom of her stomach. Something so innocent couldn't possibly feel so good, so erotic. Could it?

Her eyes remained close even after his lips were no longer on her wrist, and she had to stop herself from bringing her other hand across to touch her still warm and slightly damp wrist. Her breath caught in her throat when she felt his warm breath on her ear, as he uttered the first words either had spoken since they met before walking away.

"I'll be seeing you"

After that first meeting, fate had brought them together again and they had fallen in love. He was the love of her life, she realised that, but everybody makes mistakes and their mistakes, together and apart, had cost them their future together. It couldn't go back to the way it had been, never again. It couldn't and she wouldn't let it; she wouldn't let herself be hurt like that again. It wasn't just her that had been hurt. She knew that she had hurt him as well, but they could have gotten past that. But one thing had destroyed their relationship, and in the process, destroyed her. It was over; she had finally come to accept that. Now, she had more important things to worry about; someone more important to worry about.

"Good afternoon passengers. This is your Captain speaking. We are now beginning our descent into Tree Hill. Thank-you for flying with our airline, and we hope you enjoyed your flight."

After a few minutes, Haley felt the jolt of the plane hitting the runway and began to pull her bag out from under her seat. Glancing up, she saw the seatbelt sign had been turned off so she began to unbuckle the safety restraint. It was time to face her past. It was time to face Tree Hill. It was time to face him.

During the flight, she had tried to convince herself that she was prepared for this; that she was prepared to face him again. But as she walked through the tunnel, exiting the plane and making her way into the main terminal, the small amount of confidence she had quickly disappeared. She was back here again, a place she had moved to only a mere year ago, a place she had said she would never return to. Not after the last time she had been here, when it had changed her life – some ways for the better, some for the worse. It was still hard for her to believe that she had walked through this exact airport as a broken and grief-stricken seventeen-year old who had just lost her mother to breast cancer and was being forced to move across the country to live with the father she hadn't seen in two years.

The year before she had first arrived in Tree Hill had been one of the hardest of her life. Between trying to stay strong for her dying mother and dealing with her own fears of the cancer that was stealing her mother away from her, it had been hard on the young teen. She would always remember the day she was told that her mother had a terminal illness, and there wasn't anything that could be done to stop its progress.

"Mom, I'm home! Mom? Mom?" Haley called to her mother as she walked in the front door of the Californian house. She loved this house, there were so many happy memories that had been formed here. Sure, it wasn't an extravagant house by any means, but it was home and both Haley and Lydia loved living there.

"I'm in my bedroom, honey" came her mother's response, echoing down the hallway to where Haley was standing in the main foyer. She made her way down to her mother's bedroom, knocked on the door and entered. The beautiful young teen found her mom sitting on the floor looking at photos from when Haley was a baby.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Haley asked when she saw her mother's teary eyes. She scurried over to her mother, sitting down.

"I'm okay, I just want to talk to you" the teary eyed Lydia Beaugard replied, flipping the page of the album as her eyes took in the photos in front of her. She was a woman of only thirty-nine, but she had aged well and still had a youthful appearance. Currently, that flawless face was streaked with tears and her gorgeous daughter was terrified of what could have her mother so upset. She was an emotionally strong woman and it took a lot for her to break down. Haley looked at her mother expectantly, waiting for her to continue with what she needed to say. After sitting in silence for a few minutes, it became clear that she wasn't going to say anything, so Haley decided to break the silence.

"Oh, do you remember that?" Haley asked, pointing to a photo in the album that was perched on her mother's lap. It was a photo of a younger Haley, six or seven years old, sitting on the step of their house holding a small piece of paper and grinning widely at the camera, missing teeth and all. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the small paper was a certificate.

"Of course I do. I remember how you jumped off the bus and ran straight into my arms," Lydia reminisced, pulling Haley into a side hug and stroking her hair, "You were waving that certificate everywhere, a smile so wide on your face I thought your face was going to split in two. That was about a week after you started first grade and you had won that academic excellence certificate. The first one in your class and I knew then that you were going to be my little genius."

"Mom…" Haley blushed, bowing her head but still letting a small smile creep onto her face.

"Do you know how proud I am of you? You are a beautiful young woman Haley Ann James and I love you very much. I will always be here for you, okay? No matter what happens, I will always be with you."

"Mom, what's wrong? You're scaring me" Haley asked, extremely concerned. Her mother was a tough woman. Something must have happened for her to be so emotional and upset.

"I have cancer, sweetie" Lydia informed her daughter, as another tear slipped onto her cheek. It was still a lot for her to come to terms with, but Haley was her daughter, her best friend, and deserved to know straight away.

"Oh" Haley responded, merely because she was too shell-shocked to form a coherent sentence. What was she supposed to say? Her mother had just told her that she had a life-threatening illness. It was a lot to digest and she hadn't ever been in this situation before, or a situation remotely close to it. How could anyone prepare themselves for this; when someone they love tells them they have a possibly terminal illness. It was impossible to do so because no one even thinks about it happening to them. But here Haley was, being told that her mother was suffering from a disease.

From there, Haley's mom had gone on to tell her that she had breast cancer.

It was too far progressed for any treatment options to work.

Too caught up in her memories, Haley James didn't realise that she was still standing in the middle of the terminal, people dodging and weaving past her as they continued on their way. She wondered what their story was, what had happened to them that led them to this moment. It fascinated her that everyone had their own story to tell and their own lives to lead, but right now, her purpose in Tree Hill was to ensure the survival of one life in particular, a life that meant very much to her.

Grabbing her small bag of luggage, with contained only the necessary items she would need for her stay, Haley walked out of the airport. Standing on the curb, she placed her bag beside her feet and hailed a cab. Climbing into the back seat of the taxi, she told the driver the address. She couldn't believe that she had just told the driver to take her there.

It was like she walking straight back into the past, a place she repeatedly told herself was history and was to stay where it belonged – behind her, never to be spoken of, or revisited, again.

She rested her face in her elbow, which leant on the window frame of the cab, watching all the scenery, and all of the memories, roll past. It brought back so much pain and so many feelings, especially when they passed the high school and then the hospital. But more than her feelings rested on this trip and she could put her fears and reservations aside if it meant she could save a life. For that was what she had came here to do.

As the taxi pulled up into the driveway, she noticed all of the cars that were parked in the driveway and on the street. With everything else that was on her mind, she had forgotten that it was Christmas Eve and that they would be celebrating, just as they did every year.

However, an annual Christmas party with hundreds of important, and rich, clients as well as family and friends, could not be spared when something more precious was at stake.

Grabbing her bag and flinging open the taxi door, Haley slid across the seat and climbed out. She was hit with a wave of nausea as it really sunk in where she was and who she was about to see. Taking a deep breath, and after thanking and paying the driver, she cautiously made her way up the driveway and to the front door. The tiny sliver of confidence she had managed to conjure up during the drive over vanished and all that remained was a distraught eighteen-year old girl, looking for help that could only be provided by coming here. Raising a shaking hand to the door, she knocked once, softly, before knocking once more, louder and more determined. It was time to suck it up and be brave – she had to be, for his sake if not for her own.

The door swung open and she was met with two blue eyes that she would know anywhere.

His face was a surprised as she had expected it to be.

"Hi Lucas" was all she could manage to say to him. She was glad that it was him who had answered the door. She had missed him.

"Haley" he choked out, smiling at her before bringing her into a bone crushing hug. She wrapped one arm around his back, the familiarity of his hug causing a few tears to leak onto her cheeks before she pulled back. She needed to do what she came here to do.

"Is he here?" was all she said, but the way she said it spoke a million words. She wasn't looking for him and that confused the sandy-blonde boy, but regardless he led her into the house, closing the door behind them. He offered to take her bag and coat, but she merely shook her head and followed him further into the house. As she walked past all of the rich clients, dressed in their designer dresses and suits and dripping in diamonds, she tugged her coat closer to her. She felt self-conscious in her plain denim jeans and red coat but continued to walk, trying to ignore all the stares she was receiving.

After following Lucas for a few minutes, as he weaved in and out of people, sometimes being stopped to be introduced to someone or to talk with another, they finally reached the trophy room of the house. Figures that's where he would be on a night like this, boasting about his success. As he cleared his throat at the entrance of the room, which caused everyone to look his way, Lucas spoke clearly and confidently as though she hadn't just turned up on his family's doorstep.

"Dad, there's someone here to see you" he said before stepping aside so she could be seen. It was then that her eyes came into contact with his. The beautiful blue eyes, so different from the paler ones she had been greeted with at the front door, she had been hoping to avoid. His face was one of pure shock and Haley thought she saw a flicker of regret in his eyes. She merely glared at him, before turning her head away from him. His father seemed just as surprised to see her.

"I need to speak with you" she said determinedly, looking straight into the eyes of Dan Scott.

Closing the door to his office, Dan moved to take a seat in the leather chair that sat behind the mahogany desk. She walked up to the desk, placing her hands on the wooden table and looked straight into his eyes, as hers started to brim with tears at the thought of what would happen if he didn't agree.

"I need your help. It's Ryan. He's dying and only you can save him. Please help me save my son. Please help me save your baby grandson."