Title: The Living, the Forgiven, and the Leaving Town Alive

Author: Firefly1344

Word Count: 1,647

Summary: She's standing at the edge of a cliff, and all he's asking her to do is jump. Chris/Haley (mostly friendship) Nathan/Haley (implied)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

A/N: This is a Chris/Haley friendship story with implied Nathan/Haley. Reviews are love.

Valiant - When he walks off the stage that night, it's for her - to give her a turn in the spotlight, to push her into it if he has to - and he prays to God she thinks he's just being a conceited ass because Chris Keller does not do noble.

Wonder - She's sitting with Nathan when he comes over, and Haley has to wonder if, maybe, he's not quite the jerk he tries to be.

Walking - He thinks about his life up to this point, and as he walks out of Tric, he knows that this is, by far, the best decision he's ever made.

Wishes - They stand together in the studio and though she doesn't know it now, one day she's going to realize this is what they were talking about when they told her to be careful what she wished for.

Nowhere - When Chris asks her to go on tour with him, it occurs to her that nowhere in her wedding vows did it say she has to give up her dreams.

Jump - She stays, but then he's back in Tree Hill, and once again, she's standing at the edge of cliff and he's asking her to jump.

Serenade - An hour and a half into the drive, she's still curled up in her seat, silent and miserable, so he sings to her, something silly and stupid and childish, but it makes her smile, and he couldn't ask for anything more than that.

Quarrel - They've been on tour for exactly seventeen hours and forty-one minutes when she tells him she's going to kill him if he calls himself Chris Keller one more time; she's surprised she held out this long.

Whimsy - The first time he leaves her alone on the bus, he thinks he's going to come back to poufs and lace and frills and all that girly crap, but when he climbs up the stairs, the only difference he sees is someone there waiting for him for the first time in his life.

Quirks - By their fourth show, she knows that no matter how tired she is, after their performance he's going to come back to her room and talk at her for two hours straight; she thinks she's starting to look forward to it.

Birthday - They spend his birthday holed up in a truck-stop diner while the bus is being repaired; three days later, in a moment of weakness, he tells her it was the best birthday he's ever had.

Balcony - The night after Nate visits, he finds her sitting quietly out on her balcony; she tells him how much she hates that she can't see the stars.

Weddings - He doesn't notice until a week later that she stopped wearing her wedding ring; he thinks that pale strip of skin bothers him more than the gold band ever did.

Quiet - It's quiet on the bus that night, but as Chris looks over at Haley, he can't help but think that as long as she's there, the quiet's not so bad.

Victory - The day she gets the annulment papers, he walks just a little bit lighter, but she's devastated, and he thinks maybe winning's not worth it if she's the one who lost.

Sordid – While she's catching up with Brooke and Luke, he tells her not to leave out any of the sordid details, even though the only time they shared a bed was that night they fell asleep talking about Nate's accident.

Question - Late one night, after an exceptionally long day of writing and recording, he asks her if she's happy; three hours later, just as he's falling asleep, it occurs to him that she never did answer.

Quitting - She expects him to yell - to tell her how stupid she's being, to make her see that she owes it to herself and her music to stay - instead he just shakes his head and walks away; he doesn't know how that simple gesture hurt her more than anything he might have said.

Waste/Wasteland - He drives her to the airport himself, and after she's gone he tells himself she was just a waste of his time; his heart calls him a liar.

Defeat - She hasn't called him once since she left, but as he's packing up to move on to the next town, he finds a picture of them, and that's all it takes to remind him that Chris Keller doesn't accept defeat quite so easily.

Jousting - The way he figures it, if Nate can put aside their differences long enough to call and ask for help, he can, at the very least, show up; he was going there anyway.

War - Part of him wants her back; wants her with him, on tour, making music, but another part just wants her to be happy, and that part seems to be winning; he doesn't know when he became that person.

Stupidity - It takes her five weeks to realize that her Caped Crusader wasn't who she thought he was; it takes her a lot longer to admit he saved her life.

Belief - He sticks her name up on the map in the cafe, and she wonders when his faith in her became so unflappable.

Near - When he tries to kiss her, he very nearly gets his ass kicked, but the next time he sees her smile, he knows it would've been worth it.

Soliloquy - She tells herself over and over that she hates him; he tells himself that she's just jealous.

Virtuous - When Chris finds out she was arrested, he almost doesn't believe it; he always thought of her as innocent.

Sorrow - It depresses the hell out of him, the day she finishes Halo, but he's also never been prouder in his life.

Jewel - He stands in the studio, several hundred dollars short, and wishes he knew when the hell she started meaning more to him than his guitar.

Neutral - When Nathan tells her that he left town, she says she doesn't care; she wishes he would've said goodbye.

Whiskey and Rum - He hears about the school shooting and decides he's going to get drunk - really, really drunk - until he no longer remembers that she could've died today.

Breaking - The next time she sees him, they're broken down on the side of the road, and he's their only hope for salvation; she knows he's loving every minute.

Balloon - Haley sits down next to him under a giant archway made of balloons; they don't talk but it's the happiest he's been in a long time.

Just - He puts his hand on her stomach and when the kid kicks him, he knows that she's finally got everything she deserves; it's so much more than he could have given her.

Solitary - He looks around the empty bus and almost sees her in every corner; he wonders if maybe this is the way it's supposed to be.

Blessing - He calls her two months after her son is born and even though he says "A baby at eighteen; yeah, that was a good move", what he means is "I'm happy you're happy"; he knows she understands.

Waltz - Fifteen months later, he shows up, unannounced, at her front door and waltzes in like he owns the place; she won't admit that she missed him, but he knows anyway.

Natural - When the kid comes running at her and she scoops him up in one smooth motion, it's the first time he's actually glad she left the tour; not that he'd ever admit it.

Worry - They don't talk for two years, but he doesn't let it worry him; he knows she'll always be there.

Bias - She's listening to music and watching Jamie in the pool when a voice behind her announces that "This is the best damn record I've ever heard"; she thinks he's a little bit biased.

Nuance - He's so afraid she'll be different, but twenty minutes later, he decides the only thing that's changed is her hair.

Sojourn - She wants to know how long he's staying, and he tells her he's just visiting; when he leaves later that night, it surprises her that she's sad.

Jester - The next time he has a show in North Carolina, he sends her a couple of tickets, and he thinks he's being funny when he tells the crowd that Haley James Scott is going to sing with him; she thinks she's going to kill him instead.

Bane - After the show, when she tells him she hates him, he just throws his arm around her shoulders and waits for Nate to hit him; he's not disappointed.

Horizon - The day she graduates, she finds him sitting on her doorstep wanting to know if she's coming back now that she's done broadening her horizons; part of her wishes she was.

Breathing - One day, she sits down in Peyton's studio and just starts singing; it comes as naturally as breathing.

Share - It's not until three months after the fact that Chris finds out she's recording again; he hates that she didn't tell him.

Sarcasm - The next time he shows up on Haley's front porch, Sam answers the door; they spend ten minutes trading insults back and forth before he even asks who she is.

Burning - When she tells him she's going back on tour, he asks where she got this sudden, burning desire to fulfill her potential; she calls him an ass.

Smirk - She waves at her family in the front row while Chris smirks at her from three feet away, and as they begin to play, she decides that this is perfect; he's just happy to have his best friend back.