If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark

You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary
And the soles of your shoes are all worn down
The time for sleep is now

Death Cab For Cutie

She sat on the edge of the dark water waiting for him. Every couple of seconds, she would check behind her to see if he was coming. He was late, like always. She was waiting for him, like always. There were some things that never changed.

The sounds of grass crinkling underneath his feet caused her heart to begin beating faster. She was glad that it was dark because then maybe he wouldn't see the sort of control that he had over her. She couldn't help but smile as he sat down next to her.

She glanced at him briefly from the sides noticing how pretty the moonlight reflected on his face. His features seemed darker than they normally were but she wasn't alarmed. This was Nathan. Her best friend. Her confidante. Her protector.

At that moment, she felt so much older than she really was. Haley was 12 that year. Nathan was 14.

Even at such a young age, she was able to recognize and handle the emotions of others. She was naïve enough to sometimes put the needs of others over her own. Whether she knew it or not, that was exactly what she was doing right now.

"Are you all packed yet, Nate?" she asked calmly.

She wasn't exactly sure how it was possible for her to be this calm. All she wanted to do was scream, cry and throw a fit if it would get him to stay. All she wanted to do was hold onto him so that he could never leave. But she knew better than this. She would have to stay strong. He needed her to stay strong.

And so she put on a smile and refused to let him know how sad she really was.

He was leaving her but this was something that she was used to. Every summer, Nathan would come to Tree Hill until the beginning of the new school year. As the warm air becomes cooler and the leaves start turning warm colors, he leaves. Sometimes, especially when summer is about to begin and his return grows near, Haley becomes nervous and restless. She worries that he has changed. She worries that he isn't her friend anymore the way he used to be. She sometimes even worries that he won't come back because he's found something worth staying for in New York with his mother, Deb. Every year she worries and every year he proves that she tends to overreact.

"Yeah. I finished just now. But I don't really want to go."

She smiles sadly. He says this every year even though sometimes she wishes he didn't have to. Haley already knew and things like this were better left unspoken.

"Your mom misses you though. You have to go back to her."

Nathan puts his arm around her shoulder and places a gentle kiss on Haley's forehead. They stay like this for awhile, relishing in the feel of each other's body. They might have been young but Nathan and Haley were old enough to recognize the sort of unique and undeniable comfort and warmth that would emerge whenever they were in each other's presence. Neither of them had experienced anything like this before yet they knew it was special.

"Are you sure you're really only 12?"

Haley laughs and Nathan looks at her adoringly, admiring the way her eyes lit up. Their age difference has always been a running joke especially since she was always the responsible good girl while he was the reckless mischievous trouble maker. They go together better than anyone else they know.

"Nathan, you are well aware that girls mature earlier than boys."

Nathan rolls his eyes. "James, are you calling me immature?

She smiles widely, "So what if I am? What are you gonna do about it, Scott?"

A flicker of mischief appears in his eyes. She notices this and feels even more captivated by him. This was the side of Nathan that Haley loved most. He wouldn't be the same Nathan Scott that she knew if he wasn't always finding some way or another to get them both into trouble.

"You can either start running now or you can apologize," he says, crossing his arms seriously. Or at least he tries to be as serious as he can. But it was kind of hard to take him seriously when there was no intent of wrongdoing or malice in his eyes. All Haley saw was contentment. And something else that she couldn't quite place.

Haley stands her ground, refusing to do neither. It wasn't in her nature to run away, which was something that he knew very well. Haley was stubborn and headstrong, which proved to clash with many of Nathan's own, slightly annoying personality traits.

Instead of doing as he says, Haley tilts her head to observe him better. As a child, he used to fascinate her endlessly. She used to watch him a lot when we were younger, a habit that Haley was regressing back to now.

"There's something different about you, Nate. Something has changed. What is it?"

"You're crazy."

"No, I'm not. You know I'm not crazy. I know you better than anyone."

Ever since she was 7 and he was 9, they were the connected at the hip. They didn't become best friends until years later but at an early age, they were always together. It was mainly due to the influence on Nathan's half-brother Lucas, who was her best friend ever since they were playground playmates. But her friendship with Nathan was very different from her friendship with Lucas, which was something that they both recognized and noted with curiosity.

Nathan refused to answer her question. Maybe because he knew she was always right. There was something changing in him even though it was a difficult change to comprehend. Ever since he was little, basketball had been his passion. Even though he still loved basketball, there was something different about how that ball felt in his hands now compared to before.

"I want to try out for a spot on the basketball team when I get back to New York," Nathan explains. It was a vague answer but Haley accepted it nonetheless.

Haley's eyes lit up. She knew how much Nathan loved basketball. Besides for his family and friends, basketball was the only other driving factor in his life. She knew how special the subject was to him.

"The only reason why you wouldn't get the spot is if you were competing against Kobe Bryant or Magic Johnson."

Haley manages to surprise him for maybe the millionth time since they have known each other. She was always full of surprises.

"How do you know who Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant is?"

"Lucas tries to brainwash me sometimes."

"Lucas only wants the best for you," I say teasingly.

She scoffs. "Yeah, you would think so especially since you and Luke both think that what is 'best for me' is becoming a total tomboy who only watches ESPN all day."

Nathan laugh. He does that a lot when he's around her.

"Well considering how your two best friends are boys, you already are a tomboy, Hales."

Nathan expected her to argue. But she didn't. Instead, she just wraps her tiny arms around me. It catches him off-guard but he acts out of reflex and hugs her back. She was so little that he was always scared of crushing her. But the funny thing was that she was equally capable of crushing him, even if it wasn't by physical force.

"I'm going to miss you, Nate."

Nathan is going to miss her too. But he doesn't say it out loud because she already knows this. Instead he just tightens his grip on her. He didn't want to think about leaving in the morning. He didn't want to think about the new school year. He didn't want to think about her and Luke, his two best friends in this world, hundreds of miles in Tree Hill while he was stuck in New York.

And when he was with her, Nathan found that he didn't have to think about any of those things.

Haley James stared back at her reflection in the mirror, marveling at how different she was. She wasn't a little girl anymore.

Five years have definitely made its mark on her. She wasn't twelve anymore. Her hair was much longer now. When she was younger, it was a strawberry blonde shade which had darkened over the years to honey shade of blonde.

If she had been a tomboy as a kid, no one would have been able to guess it now. Her body, like everything else about her, was flawless. Guy wanted her in their beds while girls wanted to know her exercise secrets. They had to reason with themselves that a body that perfect could only happen to someone who spends a ridiculous amount of time in the gym. Haley James did take good care of her body, always being sure to stay healthy and nutritious. A couple of times a week, she would go out for a run with her best friends, Brooke and Peyton. But otherwise, exercise was kept to a bare minimum. She didn't tell anyone this because she was already envied enough by all the other girls in school.

It wasn't just her looks, even though the years have been good to her. She was by far, one of the prettiest girls in Tree Hill. Granted, Tree Hill was a fairly small town but she would have been one of the prettiest girls anywhere outside of Tree Hill as well.

Her close bond with Lucas Scott, who like Haley, had aged handsomely, only sparked the jealousy that many girls had for her. Her best friends were the other two prettiest girls in school. They were the Golden Foursome of One Tree Hill, the high school that all four of them went to. They were hated and adored. And they could all care less. High school wasn't an institution where they could show off their power and influence. They didn't need the fame or the recognition. They were above all of that insipid high school drama, which was something that made them easy to hate.

Clad in a thin satin robe, Haley crossed her leg, causing her bare thigh to be revealed. As she heard her door open, she made no attempt to cover it up.

"We're going to be late for school," her best friend Lucas said as he strolled casually into her room.

Though she was still half-dressed, he wasn't fazed in the least. They were comfortable with each other in ways that would have crossed the boundaries of any normal friendship. But their friendship was far from normal, which was something that could be said about their individual selves as well.

Haley applied a thin layer of moisturizer on her face, while watching him in her mirror as he laid down on her already made bed.

"As if any of our teachers will care if we're late."

"Aren't we cocky in the morning?"

"You would know, wouldn't you? You're the cockiest person I know," Haley responds teasingly.

"Oh that's because I certainly am the best ever."

Haley laughs as she applies mascara onto her long, thick eyelashes. Satisfied with her reflection, Haley stands up from her vanity and heads over to her walk-in closet.

"I never know how you manage to find anything in there. You have enough clothes in there to dress a small country."

From within her closet, Haley drops her robe, revealing her in only lingerie. Her demeanor changes from demure, natural beauty to a dangerous seductress.

As she steps out from her closet, Lucas feels his breath catch in his throat as he marvels at her perfect curves. Her tan body always proved to be entertaining to him. It was so wrong but he didn't care. He found it hard to care especially when her supple breasts were threatening to spill out of her white lace bra and her matching panties that revealed the most perfect ass that he's ever seen.

"Are you inferring that I'm messy?" she asks seductively.

Lucas makes himself comfortable on her bed, watching her as she exudes pure sexuality in front of him. He was excited like any man should be if they were in his situation but he keeps his cool. It was always a game between the two of them that only made the end results more satisfying.

"I find that the word 'cluttered' is more fitting when describing your closet, actually."

"You know what I think to be fitting, Lucas?" I ask, smiling slowing like a Cheshire cat.

I watch as he struggles to keep his eyes on my face even though I notice as his eyes linger for a second on my half-naked body.

I walk over to where he is laying on my bed and straddle him, noticing immediately his need for me. I can smell his distinctive scent of cigarettes and aftershave mixed with his minty breath and I feel my body weakening but I don't give him the pleasure. I never liked to give in first.

"What?" he asks, taking advantage of our positions to grab my ass from underneath me before deciding to rest his strong arms around my hips.

His hard-on continues to grow as I begin to grind against him and I know it's only time before he gives in to me.

"I think it's quite… 'fitting' how good it is when your…dick is fitted into me," I say, making the effort to undo his belt and stroke his erection through his pants as I answer him. I was daring him to turn me down.

Lucas blinks. I feel his warm breath on my neck and I close my eyes to prepare for his lips to touch my body. Suddenly, out on nowhere, he decides to push me off.

I bite my lip to hide my smile as our positions are switched and I'm the one who is now laying on the bed watching as he takes off his shirt and begins to walk over to my door.

I admire his sculpted and muscular back as he locks my door. My parents were never home and he knew that. He was only teasing me, which was slightly working, as my heart began to beat faster when he turned around to reveal the toned, smooth muscular body that I enjoyed so much.

"Come here," I say, demanding him to come closer. He doesn't hesitate

I decided that I didn't want to play anymore. I was growing more and more impatient and the game was only getting in the way.

I slowly spread my legs as he comes closer watching the way he hungrily eyes my already throbbing wetness. Lucas wastes no time. He pulls me towards him, kissing my lips, devouring it angrily with his own lips.

My dark burgundy nails dig into his back as I feel his tongue leaving its mark on my cleavage. I begin to grind against him harder, the lust building with every touch. He takes his time in removing my bra while slowly massaging my breast.

Not being able to take it anymore, I shift positions so that I am on the top. I nibble on his ear in the spot that drives him mad with lust before I begin to make my way down to his under regions.

"You were working out today," I state while stroking him hardly. He grinds himself into my hands.

"I couldn't really sleep last night. I've been kind of stressed lately," he manages to reply.

Like I said before, we knew each other inside and out. From previous experiences we have learned that we were much better as friends. We understood each other better than anyone else but we also understood that as a couple, we were horrible. So we settled on just being friends. Friends who were able to confide in each other while being intimate at the same time.

We weren't ashamed of our physical attraction for each other but we also knew that many people would disapprove of our intimate relations so it was always something that stayed in each our respective bedrooms. Figuratively speaking, of course.

"Well, they say there's nothing better for relieving stress than fucking your best friend's brains out," I say.

He laughs and pulls me in for a kiss while using his hands to massage my opening. He inserts his fingers and expertly teases me until he finds the spot that makes me lose control.

This time, replacing his fingers with something equally satisfying, Lucas begins to thrust himself in to me. I match each of his thrusts halfway and I moan into his mouth, wanting even more of him. This seems to ignite a rather feverish reaction in him as he grabs on to ass and begins to come at me even harder. I bury my hands into his hair before pulling him into another mind blowing kiss. My tongue is battling with his, as I am pushed even closer to the edge.

Gripping on to Lucas' back, I take the time to ponder why our relationship never would have worked out. In the past, I blamed it on our friendship. It was never because if we ended up breaking up, our relationship would have been tainted. No, I was never worried about that. The bonds that we have formed from childhood was much too strong for even the concepts of betrayal, pain, hurt, and lies that are associated with a bad relationship to tear apart. The problem was more on the lines on the actual depth of our close bond. It made the relationship too convenient and safe for our own liking. As much as I hated it, we would have realized this if we continued on making that huge mistake.

There was nothing wrong with our arrangement. We knew better than to get emotionally attached. It wasn't something that occurred out of desperation. We never used each other intentionally for anything. I reasoned that it was better that he stayed with me than with some other whore.

And so we continued on with this until something else would come along and take us away from each other.