Missing You

By: Sari

Summary: AU Futurefic. Laley friendship/relationship. Naley. Brucas. It started out as friendship, but some time between now and then you begin to realize you wish it was something more.

Prologue: Where We Are Now

Haley didn't mean to stroll down memory lane, but as she was cleaning out her closet for the last time taking out old remnants of her life that she had stored at her house for lack of space in the apartment she shared with Nathan she stumbled upon the old Haley. Some she missed the old Haley that liked cartoons and lying around on Saturday nights with her best friend cruising the TV until they reached something interesting on the History channel.

Nathan didn't know that she liked the history channel.

She picked up a red golf ball and smiled. She remembered the day that Karen drove into Charleston and took her and Lucas to their first miniature golf game. She remembered two excited preteens taking three weeks to turn the roof of Karen's shop into their own miniature golf park. She remembered the many conversations they had about life, the future, and their new found popularity. She remembered their life was kind of simple then.

She took out a sweatshirt, the one that matched Lucas's own. Keith had given both of them one when Lucas had the ingenious idea to make the pair a walking advertisement. Haley chuckled at that memory, a smile of nostalgia gracing her face. Next, was the basketball that had forever changed their lives. The basketball from Lucas's first winning game that he had given to her because she couldn't make it.

Haley didn't know whether to be angry or happy about that basketball. Instinctively, she knew she should be ecstatic. Without Lucas's popularity she would have never met and married Nathan. She would have never found her first female best friend in Brooke. She would have never met the close friends she had in Peyton, Jake, Mouth, and Skills. She would have never realized her potential at singing and would have regretted that decision for the rest of her life. It was because of that basketball, it was because of Lucas, that Haley had become the woman she was today.

It was just that on some days Haley questioned her life. She wondered what would have happened if Lucas had really quit basketball and decided never to go back. Would everything had played out in exactly the same way? Was her and Nathan's love destined or a product of the choices she had made? Would she had eventually gained popularity on her own and became Brooke's best friend?

Haley doubted it, so she guessed she owed her happiness to Lucas. Not too surprising, he was usually responsible for anything good happening in her life.

Sighing softly, not really knowing what her problem was today, she dumped everything into a large box she had brought with her. Picking up the box she shut off the light to her now bare room and closed the door as she exited.

"Hey, you got everything you need?" Nathan asked, looking up from the TV as she descended the stairs.

Haley nodded, choosing to ignore the response that had popped into her head. Instead, she pasted on a smile. "Yeah, I got it. I'm going to miss Tree Hill." She said softly.

"Hey, you should be a little bit more excited. We're moving closer to Lucas and Brooke." Nathan said.

Haley's smiled brightened. "Yeah, but we're moving away from the only home I've ever known. It's kind of sad."

"New chapter Hales, just look at it as a new chapter in our saga."

Haley turned off the lights and left her spare key on the front table letting Nathan close the door behind her. She looked up at her childhood home and prayed that whatever this next chapter brought, it would be nothing like what they had experienced in Tree Hill.

Even as Haley whispered that prayer, her subconscious told her it was about to get a lot more complicated.

"Cheery!" Brooke yelled loudly. "Hey! I know I'm not the only one living in this apartment. Where are you?"

"I'm in my office." Lucas called back, his voice muffled by the closed door.

Brooke stomped into his office and threw herself onto his lap. "I'm lonely out there all by myself, what are you doing in here?"

"Work Brooke, unless you want this studio apartment of ours to be sold to the next rich couple, I need to get this editing done." He said smiling.

"Thank the lord that Hales and Nate are moving into this building, I swear I need some company." Brooke complained.

Lucas pecked her on the cheek. "Give me one more hour okay? I really need to finish this." Lucas said.

Brooke rolled her eyes but nodded reluctantly. "Fine, I'm gone. It's like I was never here. Poof, Lucas, Poof."

He grinned. "Thank you Brooke."

"I'm not here." She reminded him closing the door behind her.

Lucas sighed, pulling the manuscript out again. He had to laugh at how his life ended up. Here he was one of the head editors at Random House Publishing and living with Brooke in the big city of New York. It wasn't what he had planned for himself, but it was what he had got. It had been up to him he would be playing ball for Boston right now, but his HCM had killed those dreams in high school. So, like any supportive brother did, he lived his dreams vicariously through his younger brother and settled on his next love. Reading. He had fell into editing after a life altering meeting with one of his professors at university. He had been offered the internship on a whim, and he had made his professor proud by impressing the folks at Random House to the point where they offered him a permanent position. It hadn't been Lucas's first choice at a life, but he was happy with what he did.

Frankly, it was a miracle that he and Brooke had lasted this long. During senior year she had broke up with him claiming that she had been in this relationship only for him. Then, after a brief stint with Peyton and a string of brief relationships for her, they had finally decided that they weren't happy when they were apart. Lucas chuckled at the memory of the day when they had finally figured it out. Their friends had been so excited that they had thrown them a party and invited half of their college. It was a day in UNC history that would never be forgotten according to the security guards who had to eventually break the party up.

One year later and here he was in New York and their relationship had reached a stand still. He had talked of marriage many times, but Brooke had always quietly let him down. She didn't believe in marriage because of her parents, was the reason she had given him. After being turned down so many times, Lucas had finally gotten the hint, he had not asked her again. It was kind of let down after so many years of fighting for their relationship that they couldn't get past that final plateau. Everyone told him that Brooke just needed time. Well, here he was and he was still waiting.

Looking down at the manuscript again, he flipped through the last couple of pages at the end and satisfied with his work he put it back in a file to take into work the next day. "Brooke" he called. "I'm done."

"And we're going to be late, you know there's terrible traffic this time of night." She said sighing. "Haley and Nathan are going to kill us."

"No they're not, it's fine. We were going to have to wait for Peyton and Jake to arrive anyway." Lucas said calming her down.

Brooke smiled. "The gangs back together again Luke, isn't this exciting?"

Lucas returned the smile, but didn't answer her. Instead he led her outside and into the car that the valet had brought around for them. Lucas didn't allow himself to think until he had finally gotten them a good distance to the airport.

When he did allow a stray thought to come through, all he could think of was: "the gang together again? It was just a formula for chaos and drama."

A/N: Will I ever finish Warring Emotions or And This Too Shall Pass? Frankly, no clue. Oh, and yes, this is a Laley.