Author's Note: Thank you to Drewbieee for your awesome awesome review! You have no idea what it means to me to get your feedback! I hope you enjoy this chapter; thank you! New readers: It'll be lovely if everyone reviews to let me know how I'm doing! Thanks!

Disclaimer: All OTH characters belong to the creator of the show, Mark Schwahn.

***

{FLASHBACK}

"What is the matter guys? It's not like you both like her," Brooke laughs. "I mean Nathan hates Haley. I mean really hate her."

{END FLASHBACK}

After witnessing Haley stormed out of Brooke's house last night, Clay couldn't sleep. All he kept replaying in his head was what Brooke said last. He's confused, not knowing what to think. Does Nathan like Haley? If so, what will he do? Nathan is his best friend but Clay have love Haley his whole life. He turns to the left side of his bed, rubs his eyes and takes a glance at his alarm clock. It was six o'clock in the morning. He yawns and pulls the blankets up to his head. It took him five seconds later to realize he will not sleep. He gets up, tumbling to the bathroom.

***

"Can you believe Nathan likes Haley?" Brooke's jaw still rests on the floor.

"Nate doesn't like her. He just doesn't hate her anymore." Julian corrects as he starts the coffee dripper.

"Oh sure. You wake up one day and be like 'oh I don't hate you anymore.' Pssh, I have news for you, it doesn't work that way. You either hate that person or you don't. Simple as that."

"Why does everything have to be black and white? Why can't there be grey?"

Brooke looks at her boyfriend and shakes her head. "Because grey, my dear, is too complicated. It's like boxes on an application. You either check single or married; there isn't a third option called…" Brooke snaps her finger, trying to get her thought across.

"Undecided?" Julian finishes.

"Exactly"

"But there is an undecided option" Julian grins a big grin.

"Well…well okay, whatever, the point is, hate is hate, love is love. It's only one-sided" Brooke said as she puts crème into Julian's mug.

"No it's not" Julian shrugs. "Love and hate is not one-sided. It's more then one side, it's an octagon."

Brooke looks at her boyfriend and tries to hold in her laughter. "Really? You're comparing love and hate with an ugly shape?"

Julian swirls the spoon in his coffee cup and takes a sip. "It's a metaphor. Anyway, my point is love and hate is messy and there will always be a grey area for it so people just have to learn and deal with it."

Brooke sighs. "How can you deal with your best friend liking your girl? I mean that's a tough one. I don't think you'll ever learn how to deal with that."

Julian's eyebrows rise. "Interesting that you say that, Brooke because I'm trying to figure out that one. I know this girl who won't let go of her first love who's also her best friend by the way and last night, when she heard that he got engaged, there's this painful expression across her face that her present boyfriend witnessed. And I have to tell you, I don't think her present boyfriend can deal with it…"

Brooke's eyes widen. She knows this story. She gulps and tries her hardest to mutter something. But nothing comes up. "Julian…"

"But then I thought, if you really love this person, you'll learn to deal with it. To go along with it, even if it hurts you because as long as you're around that person, it's enough." Julian looks longingly at Brooke, and then slowly grabs his mug and walks out of the kitchen.

***

"Well, hi Nathan, you're early" Miranda puts her hands on her hips.

"Sorry to pop in like this but are you busy?"

"Well, considering your friend Haley is doing a good job, keeping me unemployed, I say no. Please have a seat" Miranda gestures Nathan to sit down. "So what can I do for you?"

"I know you had a talk with Clay yesterday…"

"I did. Boy - does both of you boys like Haley." Miranda chuckles.

Nathan scoots his chair back and shakes his head. "What, wait, no. I just don't hate her anymore that doesn't mean I like her."

Miranda taps her finger playfully on her desk calendar. She folds her hands and looks at Nathan. "Then why do you feel there is a need to explain? Obviously there is some truth to it because it bothers you this much to come all the way down here to asks for my opinion."

Nathan looks down and exhales. Then he looks up. "Look, I'm not here to explain anything. Honestly I just feel bad that I didn't tell Clay I spoke to you about Haley. I had no idea why I didn't say anything. I didn't think it was my place, considering I don't like it when people talk about my business and vice versa. I just don't understand why all of a sudden, Haley became a big deal…"

"A big deal? To who? To you?" Miranda smiles.

"No" Nathan stated sternly. "No. She's not a big deal…to me. She's causing me all this trouble. I shouldn't have talk to you and know all this crap about her. We weren't friends and we're still not friends."

"Well then…you answered your own question. So…move on."

Nathan shakes his head. "It's not that simple. She thinks I blabbed all her business to Clay. She walked in on us yesterday arguing about. –"

"About?" Miranda's eyes widen.

"Her" Nathan looks the other way. "And she probably assumed I told Clay everything but I didn't. I swear."

"Cross your heart and hope to die?" Miranda tries not to chuckle and Nathan shot her a look.

"Okay. All jokes aside, you need to explain to her what you guys were arguing about. What exactly were you guys arguing about her?"

***

Clay stumbles through the kitchen, puts some water in a kettle and starts the stove. And then reaches up to open a cabinet and get an earl grey tea bag and sets it on the marble counter. He exhales and suddenly his attention starts to perk up when he hears someone at the door, knocking. Who can that be, he thought? He goes quickly to the door and turns the knob. His face stunned when the door swings open.

"Hi Clayton."

Clay's mouth remains open.

"Well, aren't you going to invite me in?"

Clay blocks the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I visit my old lover?" She smiles vindictively.

"I'm not your anything" Clay stutters, trying to hide is anger.

"God you sound like a broken record. Wait, are you still afraid of me telling---?"

Clay interrupts before she finishes. "No. We meant nothing."

"You still like her all this time. Wow. Dude move on already!"

"It's none of your business." Clay stated sternly as he looks away.

"Well, you made it my business, when you were the one pulling me into the bathroom" She said very distinctively.

"I was drunk." Clay replies shortly.

"No. No. Drunk is when you chug down a tons of beers and pass out later on but you were clearly awake and you made a logic decision to pull me into the bathroom when you saw them together." She reminds him, smiling. "That was a pretty awesome day. Messed up but awesome."

Clay gulps. "What exactly do you want?"

"You." She puts simply.

Clay lets out a laugh. "You have got to be kidding me."

"I'm not" She stares.

Seeing her stare, Clay knew she wasn't kidding. This overwhelming yet frightened feeling came over him.

***

Haley stands at the front porch of her beach house. She looks at the beautiful waves crashing towards the shore. She wishes her life is that easy, being able to go wherever the waves take you. She crosses her arms and hugs herself from the chilly breeze that suddenly sweep by her. She then takes a look at the beach one more time and turns around to slide the gliding door and witnessed Oliver drinking for the fifth time this morning.

"Baby, come join me" Oliver said in a raspier voice. You know the kind of voice you get when you know the person has been drinking alcohol for a while. His throat was clearly damage.

"What happen to you? What happen to us?" Haley kicks the alcohol bottles.

"We're having fun. Isn't this what's it all about?" Oliver snickers, going for another bottle in the mini-refrigerator, which by the way sits next to the couch.

Haley runs over to the grab the bottle out of his head and throws it across the room. The bottle cracks open and tiny pieces of glasses flies in every direction while you can hear the alcohol fizzing on the wooden floor.

Oliver breaks out laughing and opens the refrigerator yet again and grabs another one.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't put my life on hold for you"

"I'm not asking you too." Oliver sits up.

Haley looks down and sighs. "You don't have to. For the last two years, you got what you want, now I'm finding out what I want."

"Tell me what you want. I'll get it for you."

"Actually, you can. You can pack up and leave."

Haley walks out of living room.

***

"We can't happen." Clay walks away from her.

"Why? Because of her? You realize you're invisible right? She doesn't see you. You will always be the boy who's her friend and that's what you'll always be."

"I'm happy to be her friend." Clay honestly replies.

"You are. So it makes you happy to see that she's making out with another guy in front of you? Hm. How heroic."

Clay smirks. "See this is the difference between me and you. Happiness is not about pleasing yourself. It's about seeing the one you love happy and if she is, it brings me happiness, regardless if she's with me or not."

"Deep. But let me remind you; there's no difference between you and me because if there were, you wouldn't have asked me to be with you that night." She grins, a big grin.

***

Lucas sees Nathan comes out of a building and screams for his brother from across the street.

"Nathan!"

Nathan looks around to see where that voice was coming from, and suddenly he catches the sight of his brother and j-walked to him.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asks.

"Well, considering I saw you, I should ask you first. Where did you come from?"

Nathan bites his lip. "Um, I just talked to Miranda."

"Miranda? Miranda. Miranda. That sounds familiar. Oh. Wait. Isn't that Haley's --?"

Nathan nods before Lucas can finish his sentence.

"Why are you talking to her? You're not trying to switch careers are you?

Nathan burst out laughing. "Uh, no, I'm well aware that I can't sing but thanks."

"So?"

Nathan remains silent.

"It's Haley, isn't it?"

Nathan looks away. "Sort of." He replies shortly.

"So Peyton is right. You can't just stop hating a person all of a sudden."

"I don't hate her but that doesn't mean we are friends."

"So why did you went to talk to Miranda?"

"Because I wanted to know what she was telling Clay because obviously that had to do with why Clay was all riled up yesterday."

"Can you blame him? I mean he has been in love with Haley for the longest time and all of a sudden he hears that there is a possibility that his best friend likes her as well, I mean man, how can you deal with that?"

"Again, I don't like her."

Lucas looks at his brother, starting to doubt his answers.

"I don't" Nathan shrugs. "I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Lucas said nonchalantly.

"Trust me, this is the only promise I'll be bringing to my grave."

***

Clay hears the last words linger on the back of his spine and gulps, knowing that there were some truth to it. "Well, let me remind you, that – that was only one night. Don't take it literally because it doesn't mean you're important; it means that you were easy."

She grows a bit angry. She walks up to Clay and runs her fingers from his shoulder down to his back. Then her fingers make their way to his waist. He exhales; she exhales as their eyes meet. Her fingers finally meet the button on his pants and she unhooks it.

Clay backs up and pushes her away. "Stop it."

"You know you want me. " She twirls her long hair.

"No, I don't. When I look at you, it just reminds me that I can't have your sister. I'm sorry, Taylor."

***

Haley comes back into the living room, seeing piles of clothes scatters everywhere. Oliver she thought. She sees the suitcase on the other side of the room but it was empty. She turns around and sees Oliver standing there, holding a sharp silver knife.

"Oh my god put down that knife, Oliver."

"No!"

"Okay – okay – okay. What can I do for you? What do you want?"

"I want you to say that you won't ever leave me."

"Alright, put down that knife and we can talk, alright?"

"No! No! No! If I put down the knife you will walk away."

"No I won't. Please, please, please put down that knife."

"Tell me you love me."

Haley begins to shake.

"Tell me you love me Haley!" Oliver screams.

Haley jumps with frightened. "I-I-I-I…"

"Say it. Say it. Say you love me Haley!"

"Please, Oliver, please, put that knife down. We have our whole lives to talk."

"Haley, say you love me, says it!"

"I care-e-e-e for you" Haley begins to cry.

"You care for me?" Oliver cries as he bangs his fist into the wall.

A shriek comes from Haley. "Please, please stop, you're scaring me."

"Say it. Say you love me."

Haley keeps quiet as tears comes streaming out like a faucet running. Oliver holds up the knife with his big budging eyes and slashes a line down his chest.

Haley lets out a frightening scream as she drops to her knees.

"Say you love me Haley!"

Haley looks up, seeing blood drips from Oliver's chest and suddenly flashes of Clay and Nathan come to her mind. She was praying hard that either one of them could come to her rescue.