Haley James looked up from the glistening diamond on her left ring finger long enough to see Taylor, her older sister, almost crash them into a telephone pole. "Tay!" she cried. "What the Hell are you doing!"

"Relax! I'm trying to get you to the airport on time so you can go back to Tree Hill."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Please don't kill me Taylor. I am just so not prepared to die today," she said as she removed her engagement ring.

Taylor glanced at her and saw her slipping the ring back into the little black velvet box. "What are you doing that for?"

"This is Peyton's week...her and Jake getting married is big enough. I don't want any extra attention on me...this week is all hers. Everyone should focus on her," she explained.

"Whatever, Little Sis. Ever since you won that Grammy, you've had people all over you."

"Yeah, but not in Tree Hill...everyone knows me there."

"I'm sure Jared loves the fact that you're not wearing your ring."

"He doesn't even know," she responded. "He's leaving to shoot a movie in New York."

Haley turned to look out the open window. As they were driving past the big buildings, she thought of her fiance. Jared Padalecki. He was tall, about 6'3". He was an accomplished actor, having starred in Gilmore Girls and the thriller, House of Wax. He was currently shooting his own TV show, Supernatural.

The two had met at the Teen Choice Awards. They were to present the award for Breakout Male Star together. After they did their thing, he had asked her out. She agreed, and they had been dating ever since. That was two years ago.

They had only been engaged a week. He had proposed over coffee at Starbuck's. They were just sitting there, sipping coffee, when he leaned over and asked her if she would like to sip coffee with him the rest of her life. Baffled, Haley asked what he was talking about. He pulled the diamond ring out of his pocket and held it up in the light. "This could be yours," he had told her.

Her face broke into a huge smile and she asked if he was proposing. He had told her that it was time for them to really define their relationship, and he wanted to marry her. She immediately said yes, not regretting her decision for a minute. He slipped the ring onto her finger and softly kissed her in front of all the onlookers at Starbuck's.

Thinking it over, she wished she could have had more time to think about it. Yes, she loved Jared with her whole heart, but she was running from things. She was running from the past eight years of her life. Part of her past had to deal with that little '23' tattoo on her lower back.

Jared had questioned her about it numerously. She had waved it off, saying it was just a tribute to Michael Jordan. He always rolled his eyes and told her that someday he would find out what it really meant. She prayed to God that he didn't.

---------------------------------------------------

Nathan Scott, the star player of the Los Angeles Lakers tied up his tennis shoes and grabbed his duffel bag off of his bedroom floor.

He was going back to his hometown, Tree Hill, North Carolina. His former girlfriend Peyton Sawyer was getting married, and he was in the wedding party.

He hadn't been back to Tree Hill since he had left town, a fateful seven years ago. He had gone off to college, and was drafted immediately into the NBA. He had never looked back.

Except when he saw her on TV. He could always spot her soft chocolate brown eyes and stop what he was doing to watch her. Seeing her on the screen always took him back to what they once had. That was the only time he ever looked back into his past.

A pretty blond entered the room. "You ready to go?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah, I am."

"Okay...so, your brother and his girlfriend are meeting you there, right?"

"Leslie..." He kissed her forehead. "I'm not five years old...I'll be okay."

"I know...I just wish I were going with you, baby."

"Well, maybe if you hadn't committed to that stupid business trip," he answered in an annoyed tone.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know your friend was getting married!"

"Well who I am supposed to take as my date?"

"My spirit," she teased. "Besides, it's only one week without me."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go."

...And that was how the drama began. Two former lovers about to collide again. They were both going back to the place they had come to fear the most.