"Hi."

His head spun at the simplest word. Haley. His wife. Standing before him. Nathan could not form complete sentences in his mind. He could not wrap his head around this. What was she doing here?

"Nathan?" Haley asked worriedly.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked, not as an accusation but a real question.

"I-I just couldn't stand it anymore! I want to be with you, I need to be with you!" Haley laughed self-consciously, and said quietly, "Okay, two hours on the train and that was not how that was supposed to come out."

"I was sitting there in New York, getting ready to play, and everything just flashed before me. What was I doing there? You were almost killed, and I was going to sit there and sing like everything was okay? So, I, um…I came back."

Nathan inhaled sharply, "I came for you. I was going to do anything for you! And you just blew it off!" He yelled, angry beyond belief.

Haley's eyes blurred with not yet fallen tears. "I know, Nathan, and it was the second stupidest mistake I've ever done in my life!"

Nathan laughed humorlessly. "Oh yeah? What was the first?"

"Leaving you in the first place."

"Haley, you can't do this to me! You can't come back here and expect things to be the same! It's- it's just too hard. I'm not sure I can trust you again."

"You can, Nathan, you can!" she pleaded miserably.

Haley sighed. "And I'm going to prove it to you."

"Haley… If we can ever go back to the way we were- it's going to take time." Nathan said stonily.

"Nathan, I love you- And I'll wait forever if I have to."

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Peyton sat at the counter in Karen's Café. She looked around unsteadily and ran behind the counter.

"Luke?"

He appeared from behind the refrigerator. "Yeah? What's up?"

"We need to talk." She grabbed his hand and pulled him further away from the door.

"No-one can ever know what happened between us this summer."

Lucas sighed and ran his hand over his head. "Is this because of Brooke?'

Peyton frowned. "Partly… Listen, Luke, I will always love you…as a friend. But I know that you love Brooke-"

Lucas sighed and looked at the ground.

"And I know that she loves you- whether she's ready to admit it or not."

"You think?"

"I know!" Peyton squeezed his shoulders. "Now c'mon, we have a big day ahead of us!"

"Right, first day of school. I'll go get Haley and meet you back here, okay? We'll walk together."

Peyton looked at the floor guiltily. "I kind promised Brooke I'd go with her."

She looked at Lucas anxiously. "We still cool?"

Lucas laughed and opened the door. "Yeah, we're cool… and Peyton?"

"Yeah?'

"Can you watch after Haley? I mean, she hasn't spoken to Nathan since, you know, and-"

Peyton laughed. "Lucas, she's one of my best friends and I haven't seen her in like 9 months. See if you can pry me away from her."

Lucas smiled. "Thanks, Peyton."

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After Haley had left Nathan's that night in the beginning of summer, she went to Lucas's house, and he has accepted her with open arms. Happy to have his best friend back, she was currently living in Brooke's old room, because Brooke had moved back into her old house.

Haley and Lucas walked up to Tree Hill High, his arm protectively around her. Brooke and Peyton were sitting on a bench, but when they saw Haley approaching, both of them flew out of their seats to greet her.

Nathan had not spoken to any of his friends all summer. As he climbed out of his car, he saw Lucas, Haley, Peyton, and Brooke having a joyful reunion. His heart wrenched as he spotted his beautiful wife.

"Haley!" Brooke screamed and practically accosted her as she through herself into her arms. "I missed you! I'm so glad your back!" Brooke carefully avoided Lucas's eyes as she stepped back to let Peyton see Haley.

"Ohmigod, Ohmigod, Ohmigod!" Peyton squealed as she lifted Haley up and she hugged her tightly. "I missed you!"

"Not as much as some people." Brooke observed as she saw Nathan watching them. "If you don't mind me asking- what's the deal with you two anymore?"

Haley bit her lip. "I'm not really sure. I think I just have to prove to him that I'm still the same girl he fell in love with."

Lucas put his arm around her. "Don't worry, Hales. You came back. That's all you can do." He smiled, "Nathan will come around. I promise."

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As Haley banged opened her locker, a guy from her English Lit class approached her. Nathan, who was walking by, slowed to hear the conversation.

"What are you doing on Friday night?" The cute guy asked her.

Haley smiled, but closed her locker and started to walk away.

"I'm busy."

"But I thought you and Nathan aren't-"

Haley turned to him. "We're not- but I'm still in love with him."

The guy started to protest, but she cut him off. "Look, I'm flattered, but, I'm trying to get my life back together. And Nathan is a big part of that."

She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't do that to him." She turned and walked away. Nathan stood, looking on in awe.

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"Excuse me, but did you turn down Ryan Kingsley?" Brooke asked curiously as she sat down at lunch. Haley smiled embarrassedly as she sat down next to Peyton. Lucas smiled and looked down at his food.

"Yeah, so what?"

"So what? We are talking about Ryan Kingsley!"

Haley laughed. "Yeah, I know. But, I love Nathan. I don't want anyone else."

She smiled. "I have eyes for one guy only!"

"Yeah, a guy who doesn't want you back." Rachael, the snotty new girl, said as she was walking behind them.

"Excuse me?" Haley stood up to face her. "What did you say?"

The cafeteria quieted instantly. Nathan turned to watch worriedly, along with everyone else in the room.

"I said 'a guy who doesn't want you back.' He obviously doesn't care about you anymore."

Nathan could not believe this girl was saying this.

"Excuse me, but you do not know… 1/10 of what I'm feeling right now." Haley said, visibly upset.

"Pity? Because you couldn't keep two guys at once?'

Haley began to brake down, tears escaping her eyes.

"I- I feel so scared…and vulnerable…and alone! I-I'm just so tired… I don't know if I can d-do this anymore." Haley began to sob.

The cafeteria was silent. Nathan's chest hurt from Haley's pain. Rachael stood there smirking, until Lucas got up from his seat and pushed past Rachael. He quickly walked to Haley, pulling her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her, protecting her from their eyes. She buried her face in his chest. He closed his eyes, feeling her pain, because he knew how she felt. He knew what it was like to need someone who didn't need you back.

"I-I love him so-so much.' Haley whispered, her breath uneven.

The only two people standing in the cafeteria, being watched by the rest of the student body. Never had they seen such emotion, and surely, they had never seen so much pain.

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The next day, in the gym during cheerleading practice and basketball practice, people had still not recovered from Haley's breakdown and Lucas's rescue. Haley, feeling somewhat better, sat on the bleachers chatting with Peyton and Brooke during a squad break. Lucas kept looking at her, worriedly. Nathan watched him watching her. Nathan wanted to be the one to take care of her, the one she could come home to. But she lived at Lucas's house, and he was her best friend who had not kicked her to the curb, as he had one.

Rachael tentatively walked into the gym. "Hey, guys." She said to squad. Brooke stood to face her. The gym quieted again, much like it had yesterday. Everyone turned to watch. Brooke Davis was known to have a tendency to slap.

"What are you doing here? Get out!" she yelled outraged.

"Brooke-"

"No! You will not come into my gym after having broken my friend! You have no idea what she is going through! You can't wear us down by flirting with the guys who we care about. Hell, you can screw whoever the hell you want? But you never feel what Haley feels for Nathan, or what I feel for Lucas!" She yelled.

"What did you say? You… and Lucas?"

Brooke felt eyes on her. "That just…slipped out."

"Was it true?" Lucas asked as he took a step towards her. The gym was silent. Again, the onlookers were watching them, not saying a word.

Brooke turned towards him. She looked at him for a beat before running to him and stopped, her face inches from his.

"I love you, too." She threw her arms around him and kissed him. He smiled over her lips, wrapping her arms around her.

Haley and Peyton both cried out at the same time, breaking the silence. People laughed as they tripped over the bleachers and ran to Brooke and Lucas, who looked embarrassed and ecstatic at the same time. They jumped and laughed and hugged the couple. The team came over to congratulate Lucas, and Nathan clapped him on the back. "Good for you, man."

Lucas looked at him surprised, "Thanks, man."

Peyton sensed Haley's uneasiness at being so near to Nathan, so, to Nathan's dismay, she threaded her arm through Haley's and tapped Brooke on the back.

"Excuse me, Miss-I'm-in-love-with-a-Scott, me and your twin here are gonna go to the mall. You in?"

Brooke grinned but shook her head. "I'm going to spend time with my new boyfriend!"

Haley hugged Lucas, "I'm so happy for you!"

Lucas smiled, "You, too."

Haley stepped back and walked away with Peyton. Nathan looked after her sadly.

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