"You don't know me and you don't even care..."

Each day is the same in a sense that nothing interesting ever happens; same people and same meaningless drama that never stimulates. There is never a moment when something changes and you feel - alive. Sometimes you can't help but wonder that if something strange and unexpected did happen, would you even notice? After awhile life just becomes a series of actions that you go through, not really paying attention, just doing the moments. You end up not giving much thought to the decisions you make, because in the end it all comes out the same. There are never moments when you are left wondering if everything you knew could be questioned. Moments like that are what shape you and make you strong, but if one never had them, how could they learn?

In a strange sense we all want one thing, and that is to feel that we matter, that there is someone out there who cares about us, who makes us feel so great. We thrive on the touch of the one who loves us. It overtakes you in such a way, that it as if you completely leave this world and find another. A place where your dreams do matter and everything that your heart feels can come true. There is no fear in the one you love, because they embrace who you are and what you are, but in the simplest of terms, they embrace you. They don't question what you are, or even why you are that way, because they know no matter what they say you won't change.

There they sat, arms crossed and tempers flaring. It was the same argument and to be honest, they were both tired of it. Tired of trying to find the silver lining, the light at the end of the tunnel, or whatever metaphor one chooses to use. "I have nothing left to say." She muttered incoherently. What was the point of trying to explain anything to him? He was mentally incapable of seeing anything the way she did.

"You know that's a lie." He fired back. "I know that no matter what I do and no matter what I say, you can't ignore me. You thrive on the fact that you want to change who I am. I am nothing but a charity case to you!"

She gave a sharp intake of breath and glared. How dare he try and twist her actions around for something completely false. What right did he have to think he knew who she was and what she was doing? "I cannot believe you!" The girl shrieked. "All I have been doing for the past year is opening up to you, trying to get you to at least open up with me!"

"Right, I'm sure." He replied coldly. What did she know? It was endless with them, constant fights that would go on for hours. Nothing changing how they felt, it was always the same. "You are infuriating." Nathan muttered under his breath.

Haley looked up from the familiar spot she had been studying on the ground. "Excuse me? Care to share that with the class? I'm infuriating? Apparently you have not met yourself. Nathan , you are the one that no one can stand. People just put up with you because you are Mr. Basketball Star . If you switched places and lived in my shoes for one day, then you wouldn't be so tolerated. Your attitude is not appreciated by people. You find pleasure it hurting others and that is sick."

"Oh shut up, Haley ." Nathan said with a bitter laugh. "Do you really think that you are some freakin' saint? Little Miss Haley James is sure loved by everyone. You are nothing but a doormat." The words were harsh and Nathan knew it, but he couldn't let her win. Letting her win was a price he could not pay. "It only took me a month to get you in my bed." He should have seen in coming, but he was completely focused on his rage. Her hand flew across his cheek and he was left stunned. "Bitch."

Now it was Haley 's turn to laugh. "How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!" She yelled, her chest rising with each intake of breath. "You completely took advantage of me and now you bring it back to haunt me? What kind of sick twisted bastard does something like that? Oh right, you!"

"I'm the bastard?" Nathan questioned. It motivated him to egg her on. Push her buttons until she finally showed her true colors. Over the year that he grew to know Haley , she was quite reserved at times. It would take a lot to force her anger and Nathan loved pushing it. She took chances with him and Nathan loved it. Haley James was not the girl that most people thought. There were moments when she was completely cold and angry, just as he is. "What are you so afraid of Haley ? Does it scare you that maybe, just maybe you aren't the perfect princess everyone thinks you are?"

Her whole body shook with anger and only Nathan Scott could do that to her. "I never claimed to be perfect, Nathan ." Her voice was an eerie calm, but Nathan knew better. He could see in her soulful brown eyes that she was thinking and working, trying to find the perfect set of words to throw back at him. "You pass so much judgment on me, but yet you never stop and examine yourself. At least I know who I am Nathan . Can you honestly say the same?" She waited a moment for him to respond, but words never came. "I figured. Nathan , if you think that I am predictable, take a look at yourself. I can predict what your future will be without even really knowing you. Anyone could really. This is where you will be in the next year, playing basketball for Duke University with endless women on your arm. It's been set in stone that this is the life you will have."

"What if I don't want that?" His tone of voice surprised her. The sincerity behind it was strange and unfamiliar. "Everyone just assumes that I want that life. Maybe I don't really care for it..."

Haley sighed loudly, picking at her nails. "I want to believe that's true Nathan , but be real here. If you didn't want this life, you would have changed. Don't sit here and tell me you are not happy, because I know you are. Every time I try and talk about your real dream, you change the question immediately. What is a life without dreams and goals?"

"I have dreams." Nathan said in quick defense. "Sorry that they aren't has deep and meaningful as yours, but I do have things I want in life. Maybe I just believe in that whole, don't tell or it won't come true thing..."

Despite the uncomfortable feel of the situation, Haley smiled. "Those are wishes, Nathan ."

"Same thing."

You see how they are at this very moment, the anger and pain clouding who they use to be. Who are Nathan Scott and Haley James ? Some may seem them as two complex souls searching for something that seems lost, but others just see them as two people who want so much more out of life. Isn't that what we all want? The chance to find something in life that is meaningful? Perhaps they wanted to find a purpose or something more? "You don't know me, Nathan ."

"You don't know me either." His response was cold and distant, but that came as no surprise to Haley . "You really couldn't handle who I truly am. No one really could"

Haley scoffed and stood up, brushing off her jeans. "Sure, I don't know you, whatever Nathan . I can't do this anymore. I can't care anymore."

Sometimes it just made sense to tell a lie. The pain of the truth was far too much for Haley to handle. She desperately wanted to tell Nathan how much she loved him, but in the end it would only end badly. Nathan Scott couldn't fall in love and Haley James knew that.