Running Out of Time

Chapter 2

A/N - I think that was officially the most reviews I've ever gotten for one chapter of anything. lol. I just want to thank everyone that reviewed, and to all of you who are fading in your Naley hope, I still love them! You should too! But seriously, thank you all for reviewing and telling me what you thought of the first chapter. This is only 3 chapters long so you know, and even if it is after the holildays I'm still going to finish and hope that you guys like it.

For the second time Haley was the first to open her eyes and look over towards their glowing alarm clock. It was flashing nine o'clock, which was a lot earlier than yesterday. She took her time falling out of bed and trudging to the bathroom to start the day. The night before had ended with not a lot of sleep being bestowed upon her. She and Nathan had stayed up late into the night, talking. It certainly hadn't started with talking but things had ended with them discussing what they wanted individually from the marriage and what they wanted to accomplish together. It had made Haley feel a lot better knowing that their marriage hadn't been based on sex, they could have an intelligent conversation. The marriage was worth something.

When she exited the shower she walked back into the bedroom across the hall to find her husband lazily sprawled out on top of the comforter watching the tv in front of him. He seemed to drift in and out of consciousness as swiftly as the commercials came. Haley quietly set her body down onto the corner of the mattress, towel covering any piece of skin she didn't want to be exposed.

He slowly lifted himself from the sheets and looked over towards his brunette wife, slowly recounting the reasons why he married her. She turned to look at him and he knew only one reason that stood out. She loved him. No one else had ever cared about him the way she did. That meant more to him than she would ever know, and to top it off...he loved her too.

"Nathan? Hello?"

"Huh?"

"I've been talking to you for like five minutes and you've been staring at the wall. Am I really that boring?" she questioned, nearly looking offended, but a playful smirk gracing the corners of her mouth.

"Never. What were you saying?"

She grinned at his answer before repeating herself. "I was saying why don't you give Lucas a call and I'll call Peyton and we can see if they wanna take a ride and get a tree. Unless you'd rather have Jake and Brooke along."

"Um, I'll give Luke a call then. I don't know if he's even gonna be up though."


Lucas was startled awake by the shrill ringing of his cell phone. He threw his arm over towards the table beside him and groggily tried to focus on the small screen. When he was finally frustrated enough he quickly flipped the gadget open and pulled his voice out of his throat.

"Hello?"

"Luke, hey it's me, Nathan."

"Hey, what the hell are you calling so early for?" he questioned, curiously.

"Oh well I was wondering if you and Peyton wanna go get a tree with me and Hales in like an hour? We were gonna go by ourselves but number one I don't have a truck and number two I need some help cutting it down," he responded timidly.

"Yea, um sure. No problem, just lemme get a shower and I'll be over in a little bit."

"Ok then. Haley's giving Peyton a call now so you might wanna swing by and pick her up," he told his brother through the receiver and heard a grunt in return. Lucas quickly made motions at something in the room and returned to the phone against his ear.

"See ya in a little while then," the blonde hung the phone up and stood from his position on the bed. Gathering a few things together and grabbing a towel he drug himself into the bathroom and started the water. He walked back into the hallway and seeing the thing he'd been eyeing for sometime he grabbed it and pulled it into the bathroom with him.

"Now, did I say you could use my shower?"

"Did I say you could use me last night?" he retorted playfully.

"Well now Mr. Scott you seemed very pleased when you fell asleep on me ten minutes afterward."

"Now, Ms. Sawyer you were something last night. I ran out of energy after the first three. What can I say? You tire me out. What did Haley say? Did she know?"

"She didn't know anything. She told me to call you and ask you to pick me up on your way but I guess that won't be necessary," she told him with a laugh following.

"Guess not," he breathed into her neck and she melted under his touch as he lifted her into the shower and followed behind. Dropping a kiss onto her lips he entered her slowly, letting himself relax and savor the moment. Moans escaped her mouth at the action, her nails penetrating the skin of his back and reopening in the wounds made only hours before. They would never admit to it.


The two blondes pulled up in Lucas' truck in front of the apartment complex. Peyton smiled as he pulled her close to him and kissed her, hard, before exiting the truck. She was left in dreamland for a few moments before the world came floating back. They walked to the door together and barely knocked before Haley answered the door.

"Hey guys!" she said in a perky manner.

"Hey Hales," Lucas grinned, hugging her and letting himself in. Peyton and Haley were immediately caught up in discussion about the tree and Christmas before they were even fully in the door. Nathan came out in a pair of gray adidas pants and a black Nike sweatshirt. His wet hair laid matted on his head, he was fresh from his shower. He sat on the beige couch to tie his sneakers and Lucas sat down beside him.

"So, where we headed?"

"Um, Haley said there was some tree farm she wanted to check out. She told me it was like a half hour away. Hopefully we don't hit traffic. I figure the girls can take the car and we'll take your truck," he told the boy next to him and the blonde nodded.

They all piled out into the cold, the girls with coffee in mugs and the boys each holding a Gatorade. Haley and Peyton jumped into the small car the Scotts owned while Lucas and Nathan drove along in the red truck.

"So, you gonna let me in yet?" Haley pestered and Peyton breathed out a small laugh.

"On what?"

"On the you and Lucas situation...I've been bugging you for two days. I know you want your little secret but don't think that I don't already know. I'm waiting for confirmation," Haley said confidently.

"There nothing to confirm, Haley. Lucas and I are best friends right now. We spend a lot of time together -

"And we just have fun. She's someone I like being with a lot," Lucas finished inside the truck. Explaining the same topic to Nathan at that precise moment.

"Yea sure. You like being with in what fashion?"

"As friends who hang out," he retorted and Nathan laughed.

"Peyton, do you think I'm that stupid?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, curious to the answer she was about to receive from the brunette.

"I know. You may think I don't but I do," she returned cryptically. Peyton was dumbfounded. "I'm not stupid. When I called this morning, you were at home, sure. But you weren't there alone. Lucas was laying right next to you when the phone rang. You're never that happy in the morning. Also, you might wanna hit the end button on your cordless phone next time you try to hang up instead of hitting the on button. I heard you two in the hallway after you "hung up" and believe me I actually hung up after the 'Now Ms. Sawyer you were something last night'," Haley told her, mimicking the conversation from earlier.

Peyton flushed a deep crimson red. Not knowing what to do, she sat quietly. Haley knew fully of her situation and heard their private conversation. Not a good position to be put in.

"See! I told you!" Haley bragged at the embarrassed girl in the passenger seat.

"Ok, you win," she said quietly. "I, Peyton Sawyer, am currently having sex with your best friend, Lucas Scott. Is that what you wanna hear? We're not dating and we're not anything besides fucking partners," she said teary eyed and Haley stopped the car on the side of the road. She looked over to find the blonde in tears, looking distraught over the whole situation.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"You wanna know?" Haley nodded to the blonde and Peyton continued. "That's just it. We're not dating, we're not anything. That's it right there. He doesn't want anything else. This whole thing started at that stupid party and then we both agreed to just do this thing. This whole let's not go out but just do this whenever we need a little fix. I agreed because I figured it's easier, no emotional shit. But I want more. He was with Anna last weekend. Do you know how much that hurt? He doesn't want me like that and it's not the things he says that hurt. It's the little things he doesn't say to me, like let's be more than this. I want him for me and I know he doesn't that or me," she blurted out and looked over to find a reaction.

"She doesn't want that, man. She doesn't want a relationship or me. I wish she did, because I love her but I don't wanna push her away again. We agreed on this none emotional sex thing and yea the sex is great but I want her," Lucas told Nathan who nodded. 'These two cannot get things together' he thought.


Not long after, Peyton was cleaned up and they were pulling into the parking lot of the farm that lay ahead. The girls stuck together, looking for the perfect tree, while the guys tagged along waiting for the strenuous work to begin. When Haley shrieked, finding something she liked Nathan ran up behind her, wrapping his arms around her mid-section.

"You want that one?" he asked, pecking her cheek lightly.

"I want this one!"

"Um, not to wreck the moment but there's a red tag on it. Someone else already has it on hold," Lucas said, bursting the happy couple's bubble. Peyton glared at him and he shrugged, innocently. He stepped up beside the blonde and stole a glance, catching her eye for a split second. Laughing silently to himself as she blushed.

Haley was crestfallen when she realized that Lucas' statement was true. She slumped her shoulders, that tree had been perfect. She bonded with it. She walked, circling the small evergreen while Nathan watched on.

"Screw that," he muttered. Standing on his tip-toes he reached up for the red tag and yanked it from the branch. Swiftly, he threw it under another nearby plant before getting down on his stomach and putting the saw against the hard bark. Haley watched and laughed at his boldness. Peyton was amused and Lucas laughed before getting down across from his brother.

"Nice move," he commented and Nathan chuckled while he continued sawing.

"Haley wanted it. I wanna see her happy."

Lucas smiled at that statement. He looked back on times when he hated Nathan for what he was doing to his best friend. Now, he could honestly say there was no one else for Haley and vice versa. The two matched...almost as well as he and the blonde who stood just a few feet away from him. He was going to take matters into his own hands.

When the tree finally fell over and Lucas caught it, pulling it up over his shoulder Nathan walked over to his wife. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him with enough passion to knock him over. He greedily accepted while Peyton walked away awkwardly.

"Thank you for that," Haley said softly. He smiled, a genuine smile that she was graced with rarely, and pulled her closer.

"Ya know that bathroom back there is free."

Lucas and Peyton walked steadily to the booth where they were to pay. Nathan had handed him the money, telling him he'd meet him there in a second. At the moment, neither of the Scotts could be seen. The line was going to be at least 10 minutes and Lucas heaved a sigh. Now should be the perfect time but he couldn't make himself tell her.

She looked over at him. He was brooding, she could see the wrinkles on his forehead emerge and the squint form in his eyes. She giggled and he looked over, questioning her motives but she looked away again. An old conversation popped up into her head while she thought of his facial expression.

'Would you say yes if he asked you out?' Haley had questioned.

'It depends. What song is playing...what mood am I in...is he smiling when he asks or is he doing that goofy brooding thing he does?'

'Oh, you know, I think he's definitely doing the brooding thing!'

'He does that all the time!'

She laughed again, quietly to be sure he didn't realize anything again. He still hadn't asked her out but he still did the goofy brooding thing. In reality, nothing had changed between them. Not dating wise, maybe relationship but they were still stuck in that fantasy world.


She slammed roughly against the wall of the bathroom. His lips crushed hers, meeting her halfway. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she would've agreed, but somehow she ended up here. To be truthful, it felt good.

"This...is...so...bad," she mumbled, nearly incoherently. He took no notice as he pulled her shirt up over her head in one motion before she wildly tore at his clothing. Too caught in the moment to see anything but each other. Nearly five minutes later they were close to letting go, he slammed in one more time and as she felt herself hit the wall she felt herself release in unison with him. "Oh god!" she screamed out and he smirked through the sweat that fell. She let herself have a little fun this one time and she enjoyed it, he saw it.

They dressed quickly, and as she brushed her tousled hair and he wiped the sweat from his brow Lucas and Peyton stood, pondering over their situation and where in the hell the others had gone. When they came running, Peyton grinned and Lucas let a smirk out.

"Peyton come with me," he demanded and she followed. Haley winked at her and Peyton nodded. They tied the tree up in the back and all piled into their cars once more. Lucas and Peyton remained quiet the whole ride. Nathan and Haley on the other hand talked like it was going out of style. They argued over how bad that was. Haley smiled like an idiot. She could now say she had done it in a public bathroom.


When they all arrived at the apartment complex, Lucas and Peyton remained in the truck. Neither saying anything, they both just knew they had to stay. Nathan and Haley grabbed the tree and headed inside. They understood, things needed to be sorted through.

"I'm only gonna do this one last time. If you run again then I don't know what else to do for you. I know we agreed to do this whole sex thing. No relationship or emotional attachments, but I'd be lying if I said there was no emotional attachment. I don't want Anna or Brooke or Nikki or Haley or any other girl on the face of this earth. I want to have everything with you. I want it all. I want us, Peyton," he repeated an earlier speech and a smile immediately broke onto her face.

"Today in the car Haley was bugging me and I told her that you didn't feel that way. That's why you went with Anna last weekend. I thought you didn't want me that way. You just wanted the sex and for a while I told myself that it was all I wanted. But the truth is, I want all the same things you want, I do. And I want them with you," she told him. Also, repeating something she told him earlier. Each speech had ended in someone running and this time they both sat, unmoving, inside the truck. His smile wore on from ear to ear as he let his hands roam around her waist and pull her closer.

"No more running," he told her softly and she nodded to his declaration. Letting him lean down, he caught her lips in a kiss that meant more to her than any of them ever had. She smiled into his kiss and a giggle escaped her throat as she granted him entrance. He traced her mouth while her arms snaked around his neck.

There Haley and Nathan stood, on the steps watching the scene unfold. Not hearing words, but seeing actions were enough. Haley felt like she won the super bowl when Lucas finally kissed her. She was overjoyed.

"It's like the game point of a basketball game! It's so exciting. Touch down!" she yelled, giddily and Nathan rolled his eyes.

"It's not football," he explained but she waved him off.

"Whatever, it's still just as great."

"So was the bathroom," he said leaving chills down her spine. She looked back up at him before pushing him backwards, tripping into the house.

"What about Lucas and Peyton?" he asked, knowing they could walk in.

"I think they're gonna be a while too," she responded pulling him to the bedroom, and lifting his sweatshirt up over his head as the door closed behind him. She pulled his head down to meet her in an electrifying kiss before they both fell backwards onto the mattress behind them.

Thanks for reading. So, this chapter was a little, well there was a lot of making out, and things ;-). lol. Review and tell me if you liked it at all. If there was a part you hated, tell me. I don't know if I'm good with humor or fluff. This wasn't a lot of humor. Hopefully the last chapter will be! I know this chapter was kind of split with the couples but I got a few requests for Leyton so I thought I'd be nice. The quotes from previous episodes I found at I'd like to thank them for the scripts even if they'll never see this. I'll be updating soon!! Review for me!!