Haley shook herself from gazing at Nathan. She focused her eyes on his face and she smiled. He smiled back at her and then he spoke.
"I was just coming to see you."
Haley looked at Nathan's appearance and lifted an eyebrow.
"In nothing, but your pants?"
Nathan looked down and himself and then back at Haley. He smirked.
"I wasn't leaving right this second."
Haley laughed at his defense. He moved aside to allow her into his dorm room. He closed the door behind them and went back into the bathroom and tossed the towel that he held in his hand to hang to dry. He exited the bathroom and noticed Haley looking at the pictures on his bookshelf. He walked up behind her, looking at the picture that she held her gaze on. It was of her, Nathan, Lucas and Peyton. It was taken while they dated and it was evident in the photo. Peyton was Lucas' ex-girlfriend. They broke up when college began She went to fulfill her dream as an artist and then to start her own record label. Haley's eyes fell on her and Nathan. She smirked. He had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and his cheek touched hers as her hands rested on his arms. She went to turn around and was too close to Nathan. Her breathing sped up and Nathan held his gaze on her. She coughed.
"Sorry."
"That was a fun day wasn't it?"
Nathan had just completely shaken off just how close Haley was to him for those 10 seconds. She sighed in relief. And walked to be beside him as he looked at the picture. Her arms were crossed. She nodded.
"Yeah. I miss Peyton. She fun to be around."
"Yeah. Funnily enough I don't think I remember a better day…for all four of us, I mean."
"Yeah." Haley took a deep breath and turned to look at Nathan. He turned and looked down at her.
"Tha-" "How're-" They laughed and Nathan motioned for her to go ahead and say what she wanted to say.
"Go ahead Hales."
"No, you go."
"…you sure? Maybe you should, I mean what I have to say might cause you to not want to tell me what you wanted to tell me and that would be wrong…"
"You just confused me a little so…okay."
Nathan smiled and laughed a little and watched Haley as she continued.
"I-uh. I just wanted to thank you for last night. For bringing me back to my room and being there."
"It's not a problem Hales. Makes me feel helpful."
"Haha…also I wanted to know what you were doing today?"
"John can't hang out with you?"
"He has that killer exam to study for, but he says we're gonna do something tonight so it's all good."
"Ah, right. Well in that case, I'm all yours."
"Good." Haley walked over to his bed and sat on it. "So watcha wanna do?"
Nathan smirked and shrugged. "Whatever you want."
Haley watched as Nathan walked around his room, picking up his dirty laundry off of the floor. He tossed it into a hamper and then went back to the bathroom to hang up the towel. He exited the bathroom and went to his closet to pick out the clothes that he'd wear for the day. His back muscles contracted as he lifted his arms to pull a pair of jeans off of a hanger. Haley leaned her head to get a better look. He could feel her eyes on him and he smiled. He walked out of the closet, but she wasn't quick enough to retract to her regular position. He noticed her looking at him. He slung his jeans over his shoulders and leaned against the frame of the closet entrance.
"You checking me out James?"
"In your dreams."
"Let's make those dreams a reality." He began to walk towards her. She laughed.
"Haha. You're an idiot."
"But, you love me."
"Haha…maybe."
"Liar."
Haley raised her eyebrows and stuck her tongue out at him. He scrunched his eyebrows.
"Did you just stick your tongue out at me?"
"Maybe."
"You're dead."
He dropped his pants to the floor and tackled her with tickles. The sound of her giggles was music to his ears. She tried to fight him off, but he was too strong. She was laughing hard and Nathan continued to tickle her. They wee having fun when they stopped for a split second. She only stared at him and his gaze on her was intense. Nathan's heart rate began to increase. Her phone went off. He quit looking her. She looked down at her caller ID: John. He got off of her and let her answer the phone. He grabbed his pants off of the floor and went into the bathroom to change. He closed the door and leaned against the sink. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Damn cell phones. He tore off his track pants and threw on his jeans and red golf shirt. He ran some water through his hair with his fingers letting it take its place. He exited the bathroom and looked at Haley who had just closed her cell phone. She had a look of frustration on her face. Nathan, concerned, walked over to her and sat beside her.
"What's wrong Hales?"
"John…"
"What did he do?"
"We were supposed to meet up tonight, but he canceled to study."
Nathan put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.
"It's okay Hales. You can spend the day with me."
"That was the plan originally smart one."
"Right. So you wanna get going?"
She nodded and the two of them stood. Nathan put on a pair of socks and his shoes and the two of them were headed out the door. They made their way to Nathan's car. He opened her door for her and he smirked when she raised her eyebrows.
"Such a gentleman."
"Shut up."
He laughed at her sarcasm and he closed her door. He ran around to the driver's seat and got into the car. He pulled out of the parking zone and they headed out of the campus. There was nothing but the open road ahead of them and neither could still figure out what to do. Nathan gazed over at Haley from time to time. She always looked out the window whenever they drove together. They drove past the scenery that California had to offer. Nathan had his eyes on the road when her heard a bored sigh escape Haley's mouth.
"Is my silence boring you?"
"A little."
He laughed a little and shook his head. She caught him smiling and it made her smile.
"Why don't you find something fun for us to do."
Haley instantly became excited at Nathan's insistence for her to make the decision of things to do to make the drive more bearable.
"OOH! You know what we could do?"
"What?"
"Play the radio game."
Nathan was confused and it was evident in his expression. He looked back and forth from the road to Haley and back to the road. One of his hands still on the wheel, while the other scratched his head in wonder.
"What the hell is that?"
Haley became excited.
"Okay well, this is perfect since the radio isn't even on." She looked at Nathan who smirked. "Okay so basically you ask a question about anything and then you turn on the radio and the song playing gives you the answer to that question."
A smiled crept onto Nathan's face and she shook his head. He looked at Haley who held her gaze on him for his reaction.
"Where did you come up with that?"
"I didn't come up with it. Brooke told me about it when we went shopping one day."
"Brooke?"
"My roommate."
"Oh! You mean the one that Lucas has a crush on?"
"WHAT? When did this happen?"
"He hasn't come out and said it yet, but I can tell by the way he looks at her when she crosses his path. The same look he used to give Peyton when he had a crush on her. It's quite obvious."
"I hadn't noticed."
"Well you have someone preoccupying your time."
"Shut up. We gonna play or not?"
Nathan contemplated playing. He wasn't sure what Haley would ask and it scared him that if she asked anything to do with their past and the truth came through the radio, he'd turn red and she'd suspect something. He took a deep breath and turned his head and looked at Haley.
"So before I agree to this. How accurate are these results?"
"Why? Are you hiding something?"
"N-no. I'm just asking." He laughed nervously and Haley smirked.
"Well. When Brooke and I played she asked if John liked me and when she turned on the radio 311's Love Song was on and he asked me out later on that day."
Nathan's face fell and eh looked at Haley and took a deep breath.
"Okay James. Ask what you want at your own risk."
Haley smiled and sat there thinking. Nathan was scared of which question she'd ask. Please nothing too embarrassing. He kept his eyes on the road and waited for Haley to ask the question. He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath. Haley looked at him and smirked. He could see her out of the corner of his eye and he looked at her.
"What?"
"I have my question."
"Okay…shoot."
She held her stare on him and he began to get nervous, but kept his smile.
"What does Nathan Scott really think of me?"
Nathan watched her as her fingers went to turn the radio on. Please don't reveal anything true. As soon as her fingers pushed the button, Papa Roach filled his car. His face dropped when he heard the lyrics that had come through the speakers.
I
tear my heart open
I sew
myself shut
And my weakness is that I care too much
And my
scars remind me that the past is real
I tear my heart open just to
feel
Nathan quickly changed the station and Haley looked at him weirdly. His hands were trembling, but not enough for Haley to notice. His hands became sweaty.
"Hey! I liked that song." Thank God she didn't notice. My hands are wet.
"Sorry. I-I didn't know."
"Doesn't matter. Your turn Scott."
Nathan's eyes were on the road and he thought of what he could ask her. Are you in love with John? No, you idiot. That's not obvious at all. Grr. He was confused. He couldn't do anything about his feelings except to keep them inside. He sighed.
"Having a tough time Nathan?"
"Very."
She shook her head and laughed. She looked over at him concentrating on the road ahead of them and trying to think of a question to ask. I'm so lucky that we remained friends. He's the best thing that has ever happened to me, despite what he did to Lucas as kids. He's grown up so much and I'm so proud of him. I just feel bad that he can't have basketball. If I ever meet Dan Scott, that man will get a piece of my mind. He tells his son that he's not good enough. What an ass! Nathan's twice the man than anyone will ever be and I'm not just saying that because he's my best friend, he's really turned his life around. Nathan brought Haley out of her thoughts.
"Okay James. Here's one for you. What are you thinking of most of the time?"
Haley took a deep breath and watched Nathan's finger push the button to turn the radio to a random station. When Haley heard the music blare through the speakers she laughed.
I
got a lot to say to you
Yeah I got a lot to say
I noticed
your eyes are always glued to me
Keeping them here and it makes
no sense at all
They
taped over your mouth
Scribbled out the truth with their lies
Your little spies
They taped over your mouth
Scribbled
out the truth with their lies
Your little spies
Nathan laughed along with her. To Nathan, they had made no sense, but Haley was trying to make sure Nathan didn't notice. She had noticed that Nathan had always watched her and she was wondering why. She always wondered why. However, she never asked him. They were best friends and they should be able to share their secret with each other on a comfortable level. But sometimes, Haley found herself in uncomfortable situations around Nathan. Especially when it involved their past. She often found herself wondering what their lives would be like if they hadn't broken up. John was great. He was sweet, but sometimes, she found herself thinking of Nathan and what could have been. To be blunt, she hadn't the slightest idea why they ended things the way they did. It was on good terms, but she always found herself thinking of it.
Nathan continued to listen to the lyrics. They taped over our mouth scribbled out the truth with their lies, your little spies.To Nathan, that statement was true. Lucas had always been the one to tell Haley that he was fine and getting over her when they had broke up, if Haley had asked Lucas about Nathan. When in actuality, Nathan had been shattered to pieces and didn't want to speak with anyone. Only two people knew the reason for their break up and that was Nathan and Haley. They never told anyone why they broke up because they figured that it was no one's business. Most had accused Nathan of cheating, but they knew absolutely nothing. Nathan didn't want to think of it any longer. He focused his attention back on the road and made a left turn. They two of them had ended up at a dock, similiar to the one that they had grown accustom to at home in Tree Hill.
Nathan parked the car and they exited, walking down to the familiar spot that they loved to view the water from. They grabbed a slice of pizza and walked over to the spot that they loved. To any passerby, it seemed like these two were on a date, falling in love. Nathan would look at these people. Little do they know that I am in love, They leaned over the wooden balcony and watched as they saw many families together having a good time and couples just being there together. Nathan looked at Haley and watched her as she watched little kids running on the sand and building sand castles. He smiled as he watched her and tore his gaze away, reluctantly, before she could notice. Nathan made his eyes wander over to the ocean. It amazed him how something so big to him could be so tiny compared to the size of the rest of the world. It was kind of like what he felt for his best friend. To others around him it was so small, but to him it was vast and ran as far as they eye could see and beyond. He knew that he sounded cheesy, but it's just what he felt. He felt Haley take a hold of his arm and shake him. He shook his head and looked at her. He felt an electric surge go up his arm. He hand still rested on his arm.
"You okay? You zoned out there."
I'm
starting to fashion an idea in my head
Where I would impress
you
Where every single word I said
Would come out
insightful or brave
Or smooth or charming
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just looking out at the ocean. Something so big to me is so small to the world. Kind of like love."
Haley raised her eyebrows in surprise. She smiled a small smile and looked at him. He smiled at her and breathed deeply. She noticed a look on his face.
And
you'd want to call me
And I would be there everytime you need
me
I'd be there everytime
But for now I'll look so
longingly
Waiting for you to want me, for you to need me
For
you to notice me
Nathan smiled at Haley.
"You know that I'll always be here for you right?"
Haley gave him a soft smile and she nodded. He continued to speak.
"No matter what happens. I'll be here."
He wrapped a promising arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder.
I'm
starting to fashion an idea in my head
Where I would impress
you
Where every single word I said
Would come out
insightful or brave
Or smooth or charming
She looked up at him and he smiled. There's something different about him. He has a look in his eyes. He's preoccupied with his thoughts. I wonder…no…he couldn't…could he? Nathan interrupted Haley's thoughts.
"Hey. Are you okay? Now you're zoning out."
She laughed and then just looked at him. He raised his eyebrows and smirked.
And
you'd want to call me
And I would be there everytime you need
me
I'd be there everytime
But for now I'll look so
longingly
Waiting for you to want me, for you to need me
For
you to notice me
"It's nothing. It's just. Nathan…"
"What?"
He looked down at her in concern. He had released his arm from their spot around their shoulders and he resumed to lean. He noticed her gaze on him…friendly. I hate that look. It's not the one she used to give me. The one I miss. The one that let me know that she needed me more than anyone.
"Do you have a crush?"
Nathan turned red. His heart began to pound in his chest and his hands began to sweat again. It's now or never Nathan…tell her. He took a deep breath.
"Yeah…"
23Always&Forever23
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW…an entire Naley chapter…hope you liked it…HUGE thanks goes out to HJS-NS-23 & 23naley03 for helping me out with song choices…songs used in this chapter are…
Scars
– Papa Roach
Crush Crush Crush – Paramore
For You To Notice
– Dashboard Confessional