Only For a Moment

Haley was hanging out at Karen's café; she knew it had been a long time since she was in the city of Tree Hill N.C. She was waiting for the owner, Karen Roe, to come in and tell her if she still had a job after leaving for the tour with Chris Keller and the Wreckers, when she noticed her best friend Lucas walking in. It was still a shock for her to see him, since the last time was about four months ago. To her, he still looked as great as ever and he didn't look like he had changed a bit. She knew within those short four months since she had been gone a lot had changed however, and she wasn't so sure if she would be able to go back to the same loving Haley everybody knew her as. She didn't want to have to leave her friends hanging without a sure answer, but she knew she had to do something to change herself and get out of the funk she had been in lately. After the tour something had happened, and she didn't know if she was fully recovered just yet.

Lucas had been shooting hoops down at the rivercourt when he decided to take a break. He decided he would go talk to his mom at the café when he spotted Haley sitting at a table with his mom. He walked over to them and looked at Haley "mind if I sit?" he asked her smiling widely.

"Sure" she said looking up at him and she noticed his ring was gone. "What the hell happened when I was gone?" she asked in a very concerned voice as she pointed to his finger where his ring should have been and looked down. She quickly added "it's okay if you don't want to talk about it." She knew something bad had to happen for him to get a divorce from Peyton, and she hoped it wasn't anything having to deal with or someone named Brooke Davis.

"Hales, it's fine, I promise you. Peyton and I are divorced. It was a mutual decision, as we just were not in love anymore." He looked down at her hand noticing she wasn't wearing her ring as well. "Looks like we have something in common this year" He noticed how she looked about to cry and quickly changed his seat so he was now sitting down beside her. "Haley, look at me" he pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear "Haley, you deserve way better than that scumbag brother of mine."

"Luke, he left me for Brooke." Haley began to cry, her head resting on Luke's shoulder. "Lucas, let's go check our predictions, I have a strange feeling about some that I want to rip up." She said wiping her tears and standing up. She stood slowly and then she realized just how painful ripping up some of those predictions would actually be.

"Sure, Come on Hales" he took her hand in his noting how right it felt and he just smiled to himself. "Hales, no laughing at how bad or strange some of the predictions may sound" He knew his list by heart, not forgetting he wrote a few about his friendship with Haley. He hoped she wouldn't laugh when he told them to her, since some contained his true feelings for her.

Haley had started to notice the tingles shooting up her arm but she just ignored them like she had so many times before. "Dude," Haley took his hand and let him lead her to the rooftop. "I would never laugh at your predictions; unless" she trailed off and looked at him "Will I have a reason to laugh at them?" She noticed him smiling and kind of chuckled to herself. "What are you smiling at over there?" she asked him smiling to herself

"Just some things about our friendship; I have a strange feeling everything is going to change now that we are both divorced. I mean everything can just go back to the way it was before." he went and got the box that held them from the hidden spot and walked over to her and sat beside her. "Now Hales, some of these are really funny and contain some secret information, so No Laughing!" He sat beside her and opened the box slowly since his predictions were on the top of the stack.

Haley looked at the box and let his words sink in to her mind. "Lucas, what do you mean some things about our friendship?" she asked him nervously. She had liked him for a while but never really let him know. She was scared they would turn into something bad if she showed her true feelings. "I have some things I want to tell you as the predictions come up" she said looking down at the ground shyly.

Lucas grabbed one prediction off the box and handed it to her, "Haley, you read this one I just can't tell you what it says" he handed her the one that said he loved her and had loved her for a bit and that he never told her because he was to scared it would ruin the friendship they had. Lucas never wanted to lose her and he was still scared as he tried to study her facial expressions.

She read the paper and couldn't believe what she was reading. Just to make sure she wasn't dreaming she read the paper about three more times and then she blushed. She knew there was always something up with them but she didn't think it could ever be this. "Lucas, are you sure about this?" she asked him watching him nod his head. She grabbed his hand and kissed him on the cheek softly, the tears building in her eyes. He had liked her and she figured it was time to tell him her feelings as well when his talking dragged her out of her dreamlike state of mind.

"Haley, I've liked you for a long time and just never had the guts to admit it to you." He closed his eyes as he felt her lips on his and he didn't have time to react before she pulled away but he still held her hand in his. He noticed just how right it felt and he didn't want to let go. He was relieved that he wasn't the only one feeling something besides friendship in the relationship.

"Lucas, you know I've liked you for a while too and just couldn't tell you because I thought it would hurt our friendship." She closed her eyes thinking about all the things they had done together but was pulled from her thoughts by him squeezing her hand and she felt his stare. "What Luke?" she asked looking straight at him.

"Hales, how does a date on the beach with me tonight sound?" He was nervous asking her and his voice was shaking a bit. He hoped she would agree but he also knew that she could have plans with one of the girls and she could say no. He was hoping that she didn't have any other plans, especially with another guy. He was relieved when she finally spoke after about twenty minutes of just pacing around the roof and thinking.

"A date sounds good just pick me up at seven at the café, and don't be late or all dressed up, you know I hate that stuff" She left the rooftop to go get dressed for her date in about four hours. She couldn't believe that she had agreed to go on a date with the guy that had been her best friend for about as long as she could remember.

"Hales, I would never do that to you and I promise I will be here on time and just in jeans and a Tee, How does that sound Haley?" He saw her leave and went to the picnic table sitting with his head in his hands. He had just scored a date with his best friend so why did he feel like he was doing something wrong? He promptly put the wrong feeling in the back of his mind and started to relax. He knew that they could be crossing a huge line that neither of them could take back, were they ready for that step? He hoped so because after tonight there would be no going back. This could be the best thing they ever did or the worst mistake they would ever make. If it came to the latter of the two, Lucas knew in his heart he would never think anything with Haley would ever be a mistake.

Haley was at her house getting ready and she had no idea what she was going to wear. It was her first date in forever and the best part but also the scariest part was she was going on a date with Lucas, her best friend, she didn't know what to expect but she hoped it would be fun. Lucas had always been the type of guy who made everything fun so she knew she would be in for a good time. It didn't even matter what they did, she knew she was going to remember it forever.

Lucas arrived at the café at seven sharp in jeans, a tee, and his sneakers. He hoped Haley would be happy to see him and his heart started pounding. He had liked this girl for years and wondered why he had never asked her out before. When he walked up to the café and saw her standing there in a red dress, heels, and her hair all done up in a very cute up do, he realized why he had never asked her out. He didn't want anything to happen to their friendship and he had to swallow his pride as he walked up to her. "Hey Hales, you ready" he asked.

Haley turned around hearing his voice and smiled up at him. She was wearing one of her favorite outfits tonight and could tell by the look in his eyes that he liked it. She even went through the trouble of doing her makeup the way that Peyton had told her was sure to catch his eyes. She didn't tell Peyton that her date was Lucas, but she was sure she knew. "I'm ready if you are" she said taking his hand and standing up.

Lucas and Haley walked out the café holding hands with him leading her to his truck. He opened the door for her and helped her into the truck smiling and sneaking a glance at her ass. He had always loved to look at it secretly, but now that it was right in front of him he almost passed out from the beauty of it. He closed the door and got in his seat heading for the pier and the beach. He was taking her to a special dinner that he had set up before he went to pick her up. The dinner was at one of the newest restaurants on the pier and it was hard to get into. Lucas was surprised that he was even allowed to get a reservation this quickly, although his uncle Keith owned the place, and he prayed that the gods were on his side tonight. He knew Haley would be happy here and he drove off thinking how great tonight was going to be.

Haley and Lucas arrived at the little restaurant on the pier and she noticed a table that was set up with a single red rose in the middle. She knew he would have had to set this up a while ago and the thought caused her to smile inside. When he helped her out the truck she was so happy and she realized she should have been with him the whole time and not his brother, Nathan. Now Haley looked around as she sat at the table and she picked up a menu as a waiter came to take the wine order.

Lucas ordered a wine for Haley and a beer for him and he was watching her the whole time she studied the menu. He knew Haley had wanted to come here since before it was even open and she had studied the menu items online, but he already knew what she was going to choose. She chose the macaroni and cheese like she always did, calling it the food of the gods. He was smiling at her and he finally said something that he was thinking but he didn't mean to say it out loud "you look absolutely amazing, hales". He had meant to rephrase it in his mind before he said it. He realized he had made her smile and he couldn't help but reach for her hand.

Haley was studying the menu and she smiled when she found the food item she was looking for, the classic comfort food for her, macaroni and cheese. She was smiling when she ordered it and she noticed the way he was looking at her when she ordered and she could help but blush as he reached for her hand. She happily complied and let him hold her hand as they continued to eat the food. She was watching him eat his steak and when they finished she decided she wanted to see where this could go. "Would you like to go down to the beach and maybe just relax for a little bit instead of the movie?" she asked hoping he would say yes to her request.

Lucas had already set up a plan for them to go to the movies and have a romantic time watching one of her favorite movies, Almost Famous. He knew she was excited about the beach, she had always spent a lot of time there and he wanted everything to be perfect. He looked over at the beautiful blonde with her cute blushing face and replied as a perfect gentleman "I would love to go down to the beach with you Hales, just don't shove me in this time!"

Haley giggled at his comment about shoving him in the ocean, knowing he would look good all soaked and dripping wet with the cool breeze in the air, she could imagine seeing his nipples showing through his t-shirt. "Relax; it was only one time Luke." She was still imagining seeing him wet and his shirt plastered against his body as he left to pay for the meal. She took the opportunity to stare at his ass and she knew she was caught when he got back to the table.

Lucas knew she was catching glances at him as he went to pay because he could feel her eyes in his back. No girl had ever done this to him and the pain was obvious because a certain part of his body was waking up. He got back to the table and focused on Haley "Did you like what you saw my dear?" he asked helping her to her feet. He was excited about going to the beach with her but he didn't want to over excite himself in case nothing happened. He led her out the restaurant with his hand protectively hovering over the small in her back.

Haley felt his hand on her back and it made her blush. She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks and she knew she was powerless to make it stop. She didn't have a clue what was going on but she knew she needed to figure it out quickly. She headed down to the beach stopping right at the edge of the pier and kissing his cheek. She was going to find out exactly where this night was going to go. He was her best friend and she really didn't want to ruin anything they had going for them. They had been friends forever so she was shocked when he started to turn her head so he could kiss her lips running his tongue over her lips begging for access, winch she promptly granted.

He was shocked to feel her lips on his but he knew she loved it. He had wanted to kiss her for a long time, but he knew if he made the first move, it could hurt their friendship. He slowly snaked his tongue across her lips begging for access. He was pleasantly surprised when she let him in and he kissed her feeling her velvety soft tongue across his. Almost as quick as she had let him in, she ended the kiss and pulled back.

"I'm sorry, Lucas I just can't." Haley was worried about what she was doing and she knew if she kept kissing him then the friendship they had would defiantly be crossing a line that she wasn't ready to cross just yet. Lucas just looked at her shocked, but he fully understood what was going through her mind. "Hales, its okay I promise you." He said watching her. "We don't have to do this if you're unsure or you don't want to"

"Lucas, it's not that I don't want to. It's just that I'm not really sure of what I'm feeling right now and I don't want to ruin what we have." She said looking down at the ground knowing she was hurting him; she didn't want to do anymore damage so she turned to walk away but quickly snuck one last glance at him. She could see the tears glinting in his eyes, threating to fall down at any moment.

Haley sat in her favorite chair remembering all of this while her grandkids were asking questions about the uncle they never got to meet and she was grateful that she was his for a little bit. Even if it was only for a moment, it was a moment she would cherish forever.