Someone mentioned something about line breaks again, and I would do that if I could figure out how to do it. So I'm all ears, if anyone knows. But I'll just do xxx to tell the break in scenes, I'm sorry. I know it can get confusing.

Chapter 4

"When does he get home?" Jamie asked Haley, spinning around in circles in her chair by her desk as she erased her board.

"I'm not sure, Jame." Haley said, shrugging slightly and glancing over at her son. "You're going to make yourself sick by doing that."

"Why don't you ask him when he gets home?" He asked her curiously, stopping the chair.

"Because I don't have time right now, baby. Why don't you ask him when you call him tonight?" She suggested, letting out a small sigh.

"It's almost my birthday. Will he be back for my birthday?" He asked her, frowning slightly.

"He's always here for your birthday, Jamie. He wouldn't miss it." She said, leaning over and kissing his forehead.

"What are we doing?" He hummed, standing up slowly, nearly falling over from being a little dizzy.

Haley rested her hand on his shoulder, pulling him over to her. "We're waiting for one of my students to show up for detention." She informed him, smiling slightly.

Jamie picked up a marker, holding up to her. "Ravens blue." He informed her, taking off the lid and beginning to draw on the board.

"You know, Jamie, she just erased that... And here you are drawing all over it." Nathan's voice said behind them, causing Jamie to whip around.

Jamie ran over to Nathan, hugging him tightly. "You've been gone forever." He said, looking up at him.

"Have I?" Nathan asked him, scooping him up and hugging his son tightly. "Three days, forever... Pretty much the same thing now a days, right?" He looked over at Haley, nodding at her. "Hey." He said, before looking down at Jamie.

"You know, you're supposed to get a visitors pass before you just waltz in here." Haley informed him, shaking her head.

"I know. Luke let me in." Nathan said, shrugging and looking around the room.

"Can I talk to her for a second?" Jamie asked, pointing over to Haley. "Just one second." He hummed, nodding slowly.

Nathan raised his eyebrows, setting Jamie down and sitting in a desk in the middle of the classroom.

Jamie rushed over to Haley, grabbing her hand and tugging on it until she bent down so her ear was level with him. "Can he come over for dinner tonight?" He whispered into her ear.

Haley sighed softly, glancing over at Nathan, who was pretending to be asleep. "Why don't you ask him?" She suggested, rubbing his back and nodding over to him.

Jamie smiled at her, nodding quickly and rushing back to Nathan. "Hey." He said, tugging on his sleeve.

"Hm?" Nathan asked, blinking his eyes open and grinning. "Sorry, I was doing an imitation of me in high school." He joked, looking up at Haley.

Haley laughed quietly, walking over and sitting in the desk next to him. "If we're imitating us in high school, this would be where I sat, and this-" She paused, punching him in the shoulder, "Would be what I would be what I'd be doing." She teased him, smiling.

"Sounds about about right." Nathan grumbled, rubbing his arm and looking down at Jamie. "She was mean to me in high school."

"You were mean to me first." Haley informed him, standing up once again and walking back up to her desk. "This is where I sit now, I can't punch people so it's not as fun. But I can hand out detention."

"Oh, so you're that kind of teacher." Nathan smirked slightly, standing up and picking up Jamie, setting him on one of the desks.

"Are you surprised?" She questioned him, raising her eyebrows.

"Not really. You've always been the kind of person that doesn't put up with anyone else's crap." Nathan said, looking over at her and winking.

"You're just lucky you aren't in my class." Haley informed him, nodding at him.

"I wouldn't necessarily say that." Nathan responded, smirking at her.

"Trust me, I would not have had any patience for you in high school." She said, turning back to the board and raising her eyebrows. This conversation seemed... Odd. They'd been on fairly good terms the past few years, but mainly avoided having one on one conversations that didn't involve Jamie. Since Nathan's season ended, things have seemed a bit different between the two of them. If he was away, Haley would let Jamie talk on the phone with him, then after Jamie went to bed, Nathan would ask her about her day. And now they had this flirty banter going on between them. She shook her head slowly, to bring herself out of her thoughts, listening to the conversation that was happening behind her.

"Can you come over for dinner tonight? Then I can go to your house and spend the night." Jamie said, looking at Nathan and grinning.

"I'd love to come to dinner." Nathan said, ruffling Jamie's hair. "As for spending the night, we'll have to see. It's a school night, and you get hyper and my house and sometimes have trouble sleeping."

Jamie nodded, looking over at Haley. "He said yes, Mama!" He informed her, giving her a thumbs up.

Haley smiled, looking over her shoulder and holding a thumbs up in response.

Nathan looked up at Haley, smiling at her. "What time should I come over?"

"Five-thirty?" She suggested, nodding at him.

"Why don't you come over now?" Jamie groaned, getting off the desk and sighing softly.

"It's okay, buddy." Nathan laughed, resting his hand on top of Jamie's head. He looked up when Jesse walked in, sighing softly.

"Hey Haley." Jesse said, glancing over at Nathan and Jamie. "Hey Jamie, Nathan." He said, sending them a small wave.

"Hi Jesse." Haley hummed, walking around her desk and leaning up against the edge of it.

"I was wondering if you were free for dinner tonight?" He questioned her, smiling slightly.

She glanced over at Jamie, watching him sink back into Nathan's legs, a small frown forming on his face. She let out a deep breath, turning her attention back to the man in front of her. "I can't tonight." She said to him, resting her hand on his arm for a second. "But maybe this weekend?" She suggested, looking over at Nathan.

"I have a thing Saturday night, so Friday works best for me." Nathan chimed in, clearing his throat.

Haley looked at him, kinking her eyebrow slightly, before looking back at Jesse. "Friday?" She asked him, standing up straighter.

"Sounds great." Jesse said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. He turned to Nathan, "My schedule is about to clear up for the summer. So golf soon?" He suggested, shrugging slightly.

Nathan nodded in response, picking up Jamie. "Yeah, sure. Just let me know." He replied.

"Great. I'll see you all later." Jesse said quietly, glancing over at Haley one last time, before heading out of the room.

"Where's the person that has detention, Mom?" Jamie asked her, raising his eyebrows.

"I guess they decided not to show up. I'm going to wait around for a little bit longer. Why don't you go with Dad and he can just bring you when he comes over?" Haley said, humming softly.

Jamie looked at Nathan, nodding. "Yeah! Let's go swimming." He said, smiling brightly.

"I don't know if swimming is the best idea. But, I did buy something that you'll think is super fun. But it's a surprise." Nathan said, smiling down at him. "You sure you don't want the company, Hales?"

"It's fine, I have some papers to grade. I'm the mean teacher that is still handing out homework." She said, smiling over at him.

Nathan laughed, shaking his head. "Make them suffer." He shrugged, setting Jamie down. "Go give your mom a big hug."

Jamie rushed over to Haley, hugging her tightly, "Thanks." He said, smiling at her.

"Of course. You don't have any homework, do you?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Nope! My teacher is nice." Jamie said, sticking his tongue out and running back over to Jamie.

Haley fake gasped, resting her hand over her heart. "James Lucas Scott, how dare you." She said, smiling and shaking her head.

"Come on, Jamie. Let's get out of here before she mades us write a paper." Nathan said, smirking at her, scooping up Jamie and rushing out of the classroom.

xxxx

Nathan and Jamie walked into Nathan's house shortly after. Nathan set Jamie on the kitchen counter, walking over to the fridge. "Let's see... What would make a good after school snack?" He asked, glancing over at his son.

"Ice cream." Jamie informed him, sending him a big grin.

"You're just like your mom." Nathan said, smiling at him. "When she was pregnant with you, I swear I had to make so many midnight ice cream runs. Mint Chocolate Chip." He informed him, pulling some ice cream out of the freezer. "But you're more a Rocky Road kid, right?"

"I like chocolate." Jamie said, nodding at him.

"Well Rocky Road is chocolate on steroids." Nathan said, smirking at him and getting out a bowl.

"What's steroids?" Jamie questioned him, raising his eyebrows.

"Ask your mom." Nathan chuckled, scooping Jamie some ice cream.

It was quiet for a minute, before Jamie spoke up. "Why don't we all live together?"

Nathan sighed softly, looking over at Jamie. "Because that's the way it is, buddy."

"My friends' parents all live in the same house." Jamie said, kicking his legs.

"It's hard to understand, Jamie." Nathan said, setting the ice cream next to him on the counter.

"Uncle Lucas told me that you used to love each other." Jamie said, sighing softly. "And we lived in the same house for awhile."

Nathan brushed his fingers through Jamie's hair, smiling slightly. "We still care about each other, Jamie. But it isn't the same as it was."

"Why?" Jamie asked him, letting out a frustrated sigh.

Nathan looked at him, rubbing his back softly. "I'm sorry, Jamie. I don't have all the answers for you."

Jamie looked down at his ice cream, before looking up at his father again. "It's okay. I just wish we could be a family."

"Hey, we are a family." Nathan said, hugging him tightly. "I promise, Jamie. Your mom and I... We'd never let anything happen to you. You're our whole world and we'll always put you first. We're a family."

Jamie nodded slowly, letting out a small sigh. "Okay." He said, looking at him.

"Good. Now time to smile, because I bought a new video game for us to play!" Nathan said, lifting Jamie off the counter and setting him on the ground. "I'm going to let you eat your ice cream in the living room. But you better be careful." He laughed, following his son into the living room.

xxx

Nathan walked up to Haley's front door at around five-thirty, Jamie trailing behind him. He smiled slightly, "Come on, shorty. Chop chop." He laughed, clapping his hands.

Jamie looked up at him, sighing softly. "Why did we have to bring her flowers?"

"Because she does so much for you, so it's a nice way to show her you appreciate her by giving her flowers." Nathan informed his son, nodding down at him.

"But you paid for them." Jamie said slowly, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, well you can start paying for them when you have money." Nathan laughed, moving so he was standing behind Jamie and knocking on the door.

Haley opened the door a second later, smiling at them. "Hey. Come in." She said, gesturing them inside.

Jamie held out the flowers, "These are for you. Daddy says I'm supposed to appreciate you more." He said, smiling up at her.

Haley's smile widened, "Thank you." She said, kissing his head softly. "This is so sweet of you." She hummed, taking them from Jamie and glancing at Nathan.

Jamie nodded, rushing past her into the house. "Come on!" He called after him, looking over his shoulder at Nathan.

Nathan smiled at Haley, shrugging slightly. "Duty calls." He laughed, sliding past her and walking over to Jamie.

"Dinner is ready, so wash up." She said, letting out a deep breath and closing the door.

Nathan scooped up Jamie, hanging him over his shoulder and heading into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, they were all seated at the table while Jamie gave a play by play of his whole day to his parents.

"And then, I gave half of my snack to a girl in my class because she was pretty." Jamie informed them, a small grin on his face.

Haley raised her eyebrows, looking over at Nathan, who had a smug smirk on his face, then back at Jamie. "Jamie Scott, you are too young to think that girls are pretty. What about cooties and stuff?" She asked him, shaking her head.

"I think that you're pretty, Mama." Jamie informed her, shrugging slightly.

Haley smiled at that, shaking her head. "Thank you." She said, sighing softly.

"I think it's smart to figure out that girls don't have cooties early on." Nathan said, nodding at his son.

"What are cooties?" Jamie asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Things that girls have. Until they become moms. Then they don't have them anymore." Haley informed her son, nodding at his food. "Keep eating."

"So, Hales... How was your day?" Nathan asked, looking over at her.

"Fine. I spent the whole day dealing with high school kids who just want to stop learning, but I won't let them." She laughed, shrugging slightly.

"It's almost summer." Nathan said, shaking his head. "They shouldn't have to keep learning."

"Everyone should be constantly learning, Nathan. That attitude is why you were a C student." She said simply, shrugging.

"C plus." He corrected her, clearing his throat.

"Oh, excuse me. My bad." She laughed, rolling her eyes. "What about you? How was your day?"

"I shot some footage for a new video game, got on a plane and came home. That's about it." He hummed, looking at Jamie.

"Oh, that's all you did today?" She said sarcastically, raising her eyebrows.

"Best part of my day was hanging out with Jamie." Nathan hummed, smiling slightly.

"Best part of my day too." Jamie agreed, nodding at him.

"Hey, mister. I thought spending time with me was the best part of your day?" Haley asked in mock hurt, resting her hand over her heart.

Jamie looked at her, before looking back at Nathan, shrugging slightly.

"One second my baby is giving me flowers and the next he's crushing my heart." She said, shaking her head and laughing.

"Sorry Hales, kid knows what's up." Nathan said, winking at her.

Haley looked at him, shaking her head, deciding to brush off the wink. "Just remember who made this dinner for you." She said, gesturing at her plate.

"I can make Mac and cheese too." Nathan pointed out, shrugging.

"The box kind." She argued, smiling at him.

"My cooking definitely does not do your cooking justice." He said, returning her smile.

"That's what I like to hear." Haley said, nodding at him. She looked at her son, raising her eyebrows. "Are you done already? You didn't eat much?"

"I'm full." Jamie said, nodding at her. "Can we go play?" He asked, looking over at Nathan.

"That may be my fault. I gave him a couple bowls of ice cream before we came here." Nathan chuckled, shrugging.

"Can we go?" Jamie asked again, climbing off his chair and walking over to Nathan, tugging on his arm.

"What if I'm still eating? It doesn't happen very often that I eat something besides take out or frozen food." He said, looking at his son.

Jamie let out an exaggerated sigh, looking over at Haley. "Why don't you eat here every night then?" He asked Nathan, looking back at him.

Nathan ruffled his hair, "Because I'm a busy man, Jamie. You've spent the day with me plenty of times to know that I have a strict schedule. I have to play video games from six to nine every day or else I get grumpy." He joked, shaking his head.

Jamie sighed softly, looking between his parents. He turned back to his mother, "Why don't you let him live with us?" He asked her.

"Jamie..." Haley sighed, looking over at Nathan.

"We talked about this, Jamie." Nathan cut in, clearing his throat.

"I know." He said, sitting back down in his chair and looking at his food, resting his chin in his palm and pushing the food around with a fork.

The rest of dinner went by with little talking. Nathan had volunteered to do the dishes, which Haley shut down and told him to go play with Jamie. When he did so, his son was different than the happy boy he'd seen earlier. It seemed upset, and a little distant. Nathan wanted nothing more than to tell his son that maybe one day they could all live together again and be the picture perfect family the young boy had in his mind. But it was unfair to make promises that very well may never come true.

He was sitting next to Jamie in his bed, tossing a rubber basketball back and forth between his hands. After a moment, he looked down at the blonde haired child. "If I make this shot, you have to go to bed because it's a school night." He said, smiling at him. "If I miss, then we'll lock the door and stay up here for another hour and not tell your mom."

Jamie looked across the room at the small basketball hoop in the corner of his room. "Deal." He said, nodding towards it.

Nathan shot it, watching it sail through the net. He looked back at Jamie. "Sorry Jimmy-Jam. Maybe next time." He laughed, standing up.

"I don't want you to leave." Jamie sighed, climbing under the comforter.

"I know you don't. But I'll see you tomorrow. Then you can spend Friday night at my house. And when it's summer, I'm going to see if Mom will let you come up to Charlotte with me for awhile to hang out with the guys." Nathan said, bumping his fist against Jamie's.

"Really?" Jamie asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah. I think you're old enough now." Nathan smiled, nodding at him. "Goodnight, James."

"Goodnight." Jamie said softly, waving at his father and laying back against his pillow.

Nathan looked at him, winking. "I'll leave the door open, okay?" He said, waving at Jamie. "See you tomorrow, buddy."

"See you tomorrow." Jamie responded with a small sigh.

Nathan headed out of the room and down the stairs, finding Haley sitting at the table with her head in her hands.

"Hey." He cleared his throat, "I'm going to head out."

Haley stood up, letting out a deep breath. "You don't need to. Maybe we should talk for a little bit?" She suggested.

Nathan nodded slowly, shoving his hands into his pockets and following her into the living room, taking a seat on the opposite side of the couch.

"He's been asking me a lot of questions lately. And I'm assuming he's been asking you some too." Haley said, nodding at him.

"Yeah." He sighed, rubbing his neck. "He just wants to understand. I don't know how to explain it to him in simple terms because part of me still doesn't understand." He said simply, shrugging.

She looked over at him, nodding slowly. "Yeah." She said softly.

After a moment of silence, Nathan looked at her. "What happened, Haley? Like, really. What exactly happened to us?"

"I can think of a thing or two. For starters, your parents thought I was trying to trap you." Haley said, rolling her eyes and letting out a deep sigh.

"They're working on their issues, Haley. My mom more so than my dad, but he's still taking steps." Nathan defended his parents, shaking his head. "And you know I don't speak highly of my dad, ever. But he's been trying."

"Look, Nathan... I don't know if we should talk about this. We've spent almost four years burying this and we're almost to a place where we can let it all go." She said, crossing her arms.

"No, Haley. We broke up and then didn't ever really talk about what happened." Nathan said, shaking his head.

"Because we need to worry more about Jamie, than about us, Nathan." She said, letting out a small sigh.

"I want to talk about it. I don't know how to answer questions that I don't know the answer to myself." He grumbled, glancing at his watch. "You're the one that told me to stay so we could talk."

"About Jamie, Nathan. I want to talk about Jamie. Not this." She said, gesturing between the two of them.

"Well I want to talk about it, Haley. I've been respectful, and I haven't brought it up for a couple years. I'm not looking to start things up again by any means. I just want to know what happened." He said, letting out a deep breath.

"You were thinking about giving up your dream, Nathan. To stay at home with us and I couldn't let that happen." Haley said simply, shrugging.

"That's a weak excuse." He grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"I can think of another reason too." She said, narrowing her eyes at him.

Nathan immediately knew what she was thinking about, one of the things they had spent a lot of time arguing about. "There was nothing going on with her, Haley. I've told you that a million times!"

"All I know is we hired her to watch Jamie when we needed her, when we had a class at the same time, and you spent more time watching her then she did watching Jamie!" Haley said, rolling her eyes and letting out a deep breath.

"I didn't have a thing for her, Haley! I thought it was a stupid idea to hire her anyways." Nathan retaliated. "I talked to her when I was around her."

"I know what I saw, Nathan." She responded, sighing softly.

"Yeah, well I have a date with her Saturday night." Nathan said, shaking his head. "There was nothing going on back then, but we'll see what happens now." He snapped to her.

Haley looked at him, letting out a deep breath. "This is too hard, Nathan. I thought that maybe we were getting to a place where we could be friends. But I can't do this anymore." She said, shaking her head.

Nathan looked down at her, sighing softly. "I'm going to go." He said, nodding slowly. He headed for the door, looking over at her. "I want you to know that if I could change this, I would. If I could be married to you and in love with you today, I would." He said to her, shrugging slightly and heading out the door.

She looked after him, letting out a deep sigh and heading up the stairs to Jamie's room, looking in and finding his back to her. If she had taken a closer look, she would've noticed that he was definitely not asleep, but wide awake after listening to his parents yelling back and forth downstairs.