AN: I suck. I know. I've become one of those huge procrastinators that always say 'tomorrow, tomorrow' and don't follow through, but thank you mon cherie's for sticking with me and reviewing. I feel the love. I'm not going to start a schpeel about how I'll update on so and so date, I'm going to do my best though to make sure the gap isn't as big as it was for the first chapter. Patience love. But nonetheless thank you so so so much for your reviews and to those who added this story to their favorites. You are all my favorites. Okay enough talking. Enjoy! As always reviews are love.

I wish we could back
to the beginning
cause there's something missing from your eyes.
We lost a lifetime
when I disappeared,
now I am coming back to you.

-- The Rescue, American Hi-Fi.

x*x

5 years ago…

She impatiently tapped her foot against the cool cement, hands crossed against her chest and her hip stuck out in a stance that screamed "Brooke Davis-will-never-see-the-light-of-day-if-she-doesn't-show-up-now". Haley was exhausted, to say the least. She could feel the jet lag taking control over every inch of her body; her mind was ready to shut down on her and the rest of her limbs quietly breaking away from her. Aside from her physical exhaustion, Haley's mental exhaustion was taking a toll on her day by day ever since her best friend since birth Brooke Davis requested...well more like blackmailed her to fly half away across the country, from the sunny California air to the breezy coastal area of North Carolina. And Haley true to her form began listing every scenario Brooke could have gotten herself into, and knowing her best friend like she did it was a never ending list.

There was no explanation, just a demand, a plane ticket and a phone number. Even a detailed description of only one carry on allowed and what exactly was to be in carry on, only the bare necessities. This was just like Brooke, to send Haley early into her grave by giving her no control or information about this sudden impulsive trip.

Sure they had spoken over the phone and kept in touch with each other through emails and text messages since they both went their separate ways for college, her pursuing her dream of going to Stanford while Brooke packed her bags and set off to another whole chapter of her life that Haley wouldn't be there for at Duke. And that right there is what scared Haley, as much as she wanted to pursue her dream, Haley and Brooke were never separated for this long. Brooke, the bubbly head cheerleader, fashionista extraordinaire was best friends with the quiet, organized tutor. Somehow they got each other and for the past 19 years they never had to know what life was like without each other, until now.

It's not that Haley didn't know who she was without Brooke, she did. It's just when the loneliness crept in, it didn't come alone. It brought back a whole bag of insecurities along with fear. Haley didn't know when that fear first began, maybe it was when she was six when her father walked out on her and her mother, or maybe it was when she was 9 when she realized that it was due to her mother's infidelity that broke up her family. Maybe it was on her eleventh birthday which she spent all alone in her house, sitting and waiting patiently at the dining table for her mom to come home from the hospital but never did. Or maybe it was the days after her eleventh birthday when she came home to a lonely house, no remnants of her mother ever living here or coming home. Not even the faintest smell of her perfume, her bedroom door always closed. Haley preferred it that way, leaving all memories of her nonexistent mother locked and hidden away. Out of sight, out of mind.

After a while, Haley got use to the emptiness of her house, the quiet reverie became imprinted in her mind. It made Haley realize to stop expecting or more importantly hoping for one day her mother to come home, for one day her father to pick up the phone and just say hello. She stopped expecting things from people in general, her boyfriends, granted only two serious relationships, she never went into the relationship thinking too much of it. Wanting to get too much out of it. She never expected her mother to wish her on her 16th birthday or even remember it. She didn't expect her mother to congratulate her on becoming her class valedictorian or be by Haley's side when her acceptance letters started flowing in.

Breaking out of her reverie, Haley inwardly groaned as she felt the exhaustion slowly start to shut down her body and on top of that her stomach would start to rumble any second. That's the thing with Haley; she never gets tired of food and can get hungry in a matter of instances. She looked around the airport terminal to see the nearest coffee and snack stand, once spotted she let out another groan at the lineup that was slowly forming. Giving up she started to make her way through the crowd to where the seats where but as her fate would reign in, she managed to trip over her right foot and started a land heading straight to the floor with her carry on falling to the other side of her. Expecting to hit the cold hard floor, suddenly an arm sneaked out around her waist and pulled her back up, preventing the fall.

"Whoa! Are you okay there?" A strong male voiced peered out to her, helping her stand back up to regain her composure.

Haley turning around to thank for savior from a broken nose should have mentally prepared herself for the sight in front of her.

In front, stood a 6 foot 2 or possibly 3, dark raven hair and possibly the most pure color of blue eyes she has ever laid eyes. Chiseled jaw on a light tan skinned. Broad shoulders and body that Haley could tell was not jacked up on steroids for he looked something straight out of a GQ magazine. Sporting a black short sleeved polo with light khaki shorts, Haley's mind stood speechless as her thoughts of the boy standing in front of her, curiosity running through his ice blue eyes.

Nathan quietly waited, although confused at the same time if this petite honey blonde beauty was either mute or somehow suffered an injury from her almost fall. He shamelessly decided to give her a one over while waiting for an answer, in light beige shorts, slightly tanned legs, with purple flip fops and a purple wife beater hugging her curves that Nathan already approved of, smirking to himself as he checked her out.

"Look lady, a simple thank you would have been nice but I'm guessing your mute or don't understand english" He finally let out after he finished checking her out.

Nothing.

"Okay so you are mute then, that's cool, I guess and quite a shame because I'm sure with a body like yours…" As he let that comment out Haley broke away from her trance and caught the end part of his sentence, how dare he stare at her like a piece of meat!

"Excuse me?!" She exclaimed.

"Oh" He smirked. "So you do speak, that's cool. It took you a while there; do you have a speech deficit?"

Haley's irritation of this boy she was once admiring now turned into a full fledged annoyance and hate for him. First he shamelessly checks her out, then he accuses of her being mute and now he wonders if she has a speech deficit! How rude!

"Listen mister! First of all I am not a piece of meat that you can just leer out like a perv…"

"Oh you mean like how you were leering at me first? " He smirked. She wanted to wipe that smug look off his face. Stupid jerk!

"… and second of all just for being rude I had planned on thanking you for your generosity but it seems that you really don't deserve it, ass"

Nathan, on the other hand was amused at this petit fireball in front of him, she was feisty and angelic at the same time, her stance and posture gave out as a timeless creature while her speech was like a volcano erupting . For him it felt refreshing to see a girl with fight in her, to see that those chocolate eyes had a blazing fire surrounding them. For some reason it amused him to see that this girl wasn't a typical bleached bimbo who instantly started to flirt with him, making suggestive comments about wanting to get into his pants. Not that they normally come onto him in an airport, well okay that is a bit of a lie right there but you get the point, Nathan shook his head slightly in amusement which didn't go unnoticed by Haley either.

"I'm sorry, was I telling you a joke here? I don't recall that"

Nathan looked up to see Haley, under his dark lashes his cobalt blue eyes memorized her features once again and ingrained it in his memory. He couldn't understand it why but her presence just calmed him but at the same time made him anxious, an itch that needed to be scratched. Knowing that this is probably the only time they would cross path, a thought that made him inwardly frown. He didn't understand why or how Haley's presence could ignite so many emotions, thoughts and questions around him.

"Great, now you're the mute one" Haley scoffed. She didn't have time for this, standing here wasting her time talking to rude and inconsiderate and gorgeous jack ass. She was tired, she needed food and more importantly she needed Brooke to explain to her what she was doing in an airport in North Carolina, halfway across the country. "God Brooke Davis you better have a damn good reason for bringing me to this hellhole" Haley thought out loud.

Nathan, catching whim of that sentence, suddenly remembered the reason why he was at the airport in the first place, after being blackmailed by his brothers annoying and pesky girlfriend he was instructed to go to the airport to pick up some chick which Brooke threatened that if he did anything wrong or messed it up somehow ( as if he could mess up something as simple as just picking somebody up from an airport; gee thanks Brooke, nice to see your confidence in me) she would make sure that not only would everyone on the campus of Duke know about his personal sleepwear but he shouldn't bank on the possibility of ever having hopes for a family.

Nathan never understood how someone so annoying and pesky could instill the fear of god in him at times.

"Wait; did you just say Brooke Davis?" Nathan questioned her.

Haley looked back up at him and narrowed her eyes "Uh, yeah, I did. Why? Do you know her?" Her eyes widened slightly, leave it to Brooke to send her a really good looking but annoying jackass typical jock, and make a fool out of herself. Thanks Tigger, we are best friends for a reason.

"Do I know her?" Nathan exasperated "God more like why do I know her?! She's the most talkative and annoying yet extremely bubbly person I've ever met. I didn't know it was possible to actually want to smother a person and still feel sorry for someone at the same time" Nathan ranted

"Hey mister! That's my best friend you're talking about!" Haley stomped her foot, wait. Did she just stop her foot? Good one Hales, show him more of your 5 year old self now won't you.

" Best friend? Oh god now there's the two of you" Nathan gritted out " Well Brooke's best friend I've got a lot of things do, so the sooner you grab your stuff, the sooner we leave this place the sooner I can hand you over to Brooke's wrath and the sooner I can get back to my day and not cater as someone's chauffeur"

Haley blinked twice or maybe it was thrice? Either way she never knew someone else who could cram so much in such little breathe but also be able to have so many grammatical errors while he spoke. The tutor in her came in overdrive when she heard the first grammatical mistake. Wait a minute?! Here was a gorgeous jackass waiting to pick her up, granted he did accuse her of being mute first and did check her out like she was today's special or something, and all she could think of was how many grammar mistakes he made. Good Job Haley and you wonder why your last relationship was an epic fail.

"Oh great, you're mute again" Nathan exasperated "This is just fucking great."

x*x