She Is-He Is
CHAPTER II
LONG WAY TO HAPPY
LAX
"Flight no. 233 to north Carolina is now boarding"
"That's us" Nathan said as he nudges his brother Lucas who's currently passed out on one of the chairs. "This is me" Haley said to herself as she drags her luggage to go on board.
"Good morning miss...James" the flight attendant greeted Haley while checking her ticket for her seat no. She then silently ushered her to her first class seat. "Here you go Ms. James" she handed her back her ticket. "Enjoy your flight" the flight attendant gave her a soft smile, sensing that Haley isn't in the mood to talk and left. Haley sighs as she took her seat at the window side.
10 minutes has passed she felt someone sat next to her, she didn't even bother to look as she continues to look out the window, anxious yet dreading for the plane to take off. She hates flying, she always hated it.
HALEY's POV
So, this is it, I'm few minutes away to leaving L.A. the place I've come to know as my home. Living the people I love and valued behind. It hurts but not as much as it hurts staying here. I can't be here anymore, I don't want to be.
I just want to close my eyes and hope that when i open them I'm where I'm supposed to be. I hate being inside this plane... i hate being surrounded by all these people I don't even recognize or know.
I let out a sigh, a breath I didn't know I was holding; I rested my head on the window and closed my eyes.
"NO!!!! You're lying! Tell me...tell me you're lying, you're kidding right??? No!!!! I don't believe you! this can't be happening!!!!" a tear fell from her now closed eyes as flashes of that night appeared in her head.
NATHAN's POV
Is she crying? I asked myself when i heard the girl seated next to me sniffed, and there it was a tear fell from her closed eyes. I knitted my eyebrows together. "Great I'm seated next to a cry baby" I murmured under my breath low enough for the girl not to hear me.
I did a double take, I was about to ask the girl if she's ok when the flight attendant announced that we're about to ascend in exactly 2minutes we were then instructed to put our seat belt on.
I already had mine on but I noticed that the girl next to me hasn't moved or flinch a bit.
"Miss? Miss..." I tried to get her attention but failed.
"Miss? You need to put your seatbelt on, we're about to take off" i spoke again but it's as if the girl can't hear anything.
I got worried we only got a minute before we start to ascend; I hurriedly unbuckled my seat belt so I can lean forward and reach for hers... I was hoping to God that the girl doesn't yell at me for what I'm about to do, as I lean forward I caught her scent, sweet, I thought. I carefully reached for both sides of her seat when I grasp the seat belt I carefully buckled it around her waist, I felt her stiffen, my heart was pounding so hard, waiting for her to yell at me, and accuse me of being a pervert, I waited for a few seconds but she didn't make a move, I settled back in my seat and buckled my seat belt back on.
I relaxed after realizing that the girl isn't going to react any time soon, I closed my eyes as we start to take off when all of a sudden I felt a hand grasp one of mine. It was as if an electric shock went up my arm down to my spine. I can't help but feel how perfectly our hands fit together.
As if they were made only for each other to hold. Damn! What am i thinking??? I scolded myself. As we continue to ascend further up the air I felt her hand tighten its hold around mine, i turned to look at her and i saw how uncomfortable she is, her brows knitted together, she's biting her lips, damn those lips.
She must be hellah scared of flying. I don't know what's gotten into me but i started squeezing her hand back and found myself running my thumb on the side of her hand and i felt her relaxed. I smiled despite myself.
LUCAS' POV
Damn! My brother is fast I thought... Nathan's holding a girl's hand. I shook my head in amusement and rolled my eyes. I'm used to seeing Nathan get the girls all the time. He doesn't even have to do anything, all Nathan has to do is smile and the girls would swoon over him. I'm not jealous, I never liked attention anyways...well except of course if i happen to like the girl.
"Nathan!" I whisper shout startling the old guys seating next to me. Nathan heard me and looks my way.
I pointed at his hand which is still intertwined with the girl's hand next to him. Nathan shrugged, I frowned "wow that's new, no smirk?" I spoke only to myself. I'm used to Nathan using opportunities like this to rub it in my face who's the better Scott. What's wrong with him?
HALEY's POV
I can't believe I'm actually holding someone's hand right now, a stranger's hand. But I'm so scared of flying "damn it" I cursed inside my head. The one person who always held my hand every time i had to fly isn't here, and I'm just so damn scared of flying i feel my heart is about to jump off my chest.
As soon as i grabbed his hand i felt an electric shock went through my whole arm down to my spine. And then i felt him give my hand a squeeze. I have to admit... it made me feel less scared, and when he starts rubbing his thumb on my hand, i felt myself grow braver, but not brave enough to let go of his...at least not yet. I mean he doesn't seem to mind. I wanted to open my eyes and look at him, but I'm scared, I'd prolly turn 10 shades of red if I look at him and see him looking at me. So I fought against the urge and kept my eyes tight shut.
I felt him stopped caressing my hand and I have to admit I felt a bit disappointed... what the hell is happening to me??? We continue to hold hands and he would squeeze my hand from to time to time whenever the plane would jerk off... And I felt warm inside.
Nathan risk a look at the girl beside him, making him feel warm inside, she looks so fragile and vulnerable he thought to himself...she still has her eyes closed he realized she's fallen asleep judging by her now steady breathing.
He look away as he sighed and tried to relax in his seat still holding Haley's small hand in his, loving all too well the feel of their interlaced fingers.
He then felt Haley's head hit the side of his shoulder, even in her sleep he can tell that the girl beside him has a lot of baggage, her forehead wrinkled, he wondered what's wrong with her that even in her unconscious state she still seemed to be thinking deeply. He felt the urge to touch her face, he hesitated for a bit, he then brought his free hand to her face, and felt her soft skin, he gently lifted Haley's head to situate her better on his shoulder, and he felt her stir a bit as she left out a soft moan.
Haley felt a hand on her face, but too tired to protest instead she snuggled closer to Nathan's shoulder making herself comfortable, unconsciously loving the feel of their closeness. Nathan was relieved that he didn't wake her up; he smiled and closed his eyes.
Nathan eventually drifted to slumber. At some point during his nap his head fell on to the other side colliding gently with Haley's head still resting on his shoulder and they stayed that way for the rest of the trip until Haley woke up. Instantly she was aware of the person next to her and how close their bodies are, their hands still entwined and their heads still touching, if she'll be honest with herself she's enjoying the feeling of safety, but then the knowledge of what happened only two nights ago came flooding her consciousness and she felt awful, and undeserving of the feeling.
She should be miserable she thought, it took all her will power to remove her hand from his and straighten up.
Once she freed her hand she felt even more empty that she already does, looking at Nathan's face, eyes still closed she took the risk of touching his face, ever so gently caressing his cheekbones and the side of his jaw, taking into account all of his features, "he's perfect" she thought to herself and for the first time in the last 2 days she smiled despite herself. "thank you" she whispered thinking he's still asleep little did she know Nathan woke up a few minutes before but decided he likes their current situation and so went on pretending that he's still deep in slumber.
When he felt her hand brushed his face & caressed it he instantly had the most foreign feeling in the pit of his stomach, it's disturbing but oddly enough he loves it. Butterflies came to his mind, "what? Butterflies? Seriously what's happening to me? I'm becoming a pansy" he scolded himself in his head.
As Haley continue to explore his face he felt tingles down his spine and found himself suppressing a smile. He then felt Haley's hand leave his face he felt sadness and disappointment flood him for the lost of contact. "What is she doing to me" he thought.
He made sure Haley's settled in her seat before waiting for a few minutes to stir and finally open his eyes, pretending like nothing happened. He felt frustrated, all he wants is to get her name, and talk to her.
Talk to her? Since when did I find talking amusing? Geez what's up with me? His inner battle w/ himself continues. Normally it wouldn't take a minute for him to get a girl's name and less than 5 minutes to get in their pants, but Haley's different she's different he thought, seeing her so sad and vulnerable gave him the strong desire to get to know her, be her friend and protect her.
They were both consumed with their thoughts for the longest time and were brought back to reality when they heard the flight attendant through the speaker announcing that they're about to land at North Carolina Airport.
Soon the passengers started gathering their things and are now piling up to get to the exit.
"Nathan!" Lucas calls out to his brother. In the middle of him talking to Lucas Nathan didn't notice Haley made her way to the many people heading for the airplane door when he realized she's no longer there he felt the urgency to look for her, even with his height of 6 feet 2 inches he found it hard to see her in the crowd and he can't helped but be pissed at Lucas for distracting him. "
Man what's wrong with you? Who are you looking for?" Lucas asked.
"Luke! Man, why you got to distract me???...now I lost her" Nathan spat back annoyed.
"HEY! What did I do? And who are you talking about??? Oh yah...right the girl you're holding hands with... wow! That's the first...I mean you actually didn't end up leaving with the girl?" he smiled amused much to Nathan's annoyance.
"shut up! It's your fault! Don't talk to me" he turned around and didn't give Lucas another look, Lucas just shook his head with his brother's tantrums.
"Tree Hill...Here I come" Haley clad in a tight jeans and a simple t-shirt with her huge shades and baseball cap whispered to herself. Dragging her luggage out of the airport, without people recognizing her, she somehow felt thankful that her career hasn't taken off that far yet for people all over America to recognize her, true she's starting to make a name for herself before what happened, happened but there are still parts of America where she's basically un-heard of and she's thankful that tree hill is one of those places she can be herself without paparazzo's bothering her and asking her questions. It's refreshing to be away from the limelight, and being in North Carolina is 10,000 times better than the life she had back when she was still in L.A. She sighed, and momentarily closed her eyes to savor the peace. She then hailed herself a taxi "where to?" the cab driver asked with a smile "Tree hill, take me to Tree Hill".
"WELCOME TO TREE HILL" Lucas read the sign out loud as they enter their hometown of TREE HILL. "Man are you still not going to talk to me?? We're home" Nathan who's looking out the window ignored his brother and all Lucas could do was sighing in defeat. "I can't wait to see Brooke" Lucas thought.
"Tree Hill" Haley murmured to herself as they enter the town. "Brooke please be here" she whispered.
