AN: I am SO sorry I haven't updated, but between school and the amount of homework and revision and extra homework I suggested I do, and rehearsals for WWRY, I just haven't had time. But thank you so much for your response to this fic, it's been amazing so far and hopefully you'll continue to like and review this! I gotta say, this chapter = big. Well, no. Well, yes, actually...oh I don't know, decide for yourself. But there's a big event at the end of this chapter that may or may not interest you(a)

Just one personal question, last year, I took my GCSE Sociology (sorry if you're not British and have no idea what I'm on about, just help me out) exam a year early. It was a trial run to see if year 9s (that's 8th grade in America) could cope with exam pressure. So I took it, and I did pretty well. I got a B, 77%. I needed 80% for an A, so you see how close it was. This year it's my second year, and I'm not sure whether I should retake the exam or not. I'm desperate for an A in this subject, and I know I can do it, but I'd need at least a high A (85% at the minimum) in my second year exam to get it. The way our country's examinations work now is that you only get one resit. And they don't necessarily take your highest grade any more, either. I've got a lot to lose. So my question, is it worth the gamble to take it again and then have to revise for my second year exam a week later? Or do I stick with the grade I've got?

Review replies:

Godschildtweety: Thank you :-) x

hey-torch: Well hopefully this chapter will intrigue you more than any chapter so far...mwahahahaha. ;) Thank you so much! X

23LaffertysGurl23: You'll find out soon enough...by that I mean preeeeetty soon. And it may not happen in the way you'd think. ;) mwahaha, enjoy! X

can'tgetenoughof23: I really want to answer your questions, but I can't! The fic will do that for you in the coming chapters. :-) Thanks for the review, though! X

TessyMeeniac: I feel bad for writing him like this, lol :( But all will be revealed, promise! X

Ashley: IF ANYONE IS STILL READING THIS THEN GO READ ASHLEY'S (obsessiveprincess) FICS BECAUSE THEY'RE AMAZING AND YOU JUST NEED TO READ THEM K? There you go. :D I wouldn't have done it if I didn't have to! He should, but he can't! WAIT! X

shelleylovenaley: I know how it seems but honestly, the next few chapters will explain everything! X

hebewe: You'll find out soon...I promise. :P All your questions will be answered! X

AleshaaaRose10: Then you'll love this one even more...;) x

naley12: Good glad you like it! X

Enjoy :-) OH and also, just gotta say, I may have borrowed a name from a certain duo of girls...I totally don't own her, or them, I wish I did, though. If you don't know what I'm on about, just read on...

Chapter 4

Saturday came, and Brooke had taken Haley on a shopping spree in preparation for her date with Chris that evening. She'd insisted that whatever Haley was planning on wearing wasn't nearly suitable enough for a date. She may have had to drag her out of bed and near enough forced her into her car, and drag her around the mall with her, but when Haley realised Brooke was going to be sensible about what she was going to pick out, she'd stopped resisting as much.

Eventually the pair had agreed on a long pale pink top, a pair of dark skinny jeans and a pair of pink ballet pumps to match. Brooke was insistent Haley ventured out to a pair of heels, but Haley insisted she didn't want them. She wanted to make an effort for her date, but she didn't want to go overboard and look desperate. After all, she was going out with a rock star; he's hardly interested in the shoes she wore.

She wanted to make tonight special. She really liked Chris; he seemed like a great guy. They had a lot in common, too; their love of music, for example. They were both very much avid music lovers and listeners, except Chris was taking that love to the next step and making his own music. Haley loved music, but she was far too shy to ever go as far as Chris has. She'd take one look at her audience and probably have an anxiety attack.

She wasn't very good with crowds of people. She'd tried it once, and it hadn't turned out that well. She wouldn't do that to herself, not again. Tonight was about having fun with Chris.

As promised, he picked her up right on time. She'd hugged Brooke and Peyton on her way out as they wished her luck, checked her appearance in the mirror one final time before walking to the car and her date.

"Hi, Chris." Haley smiled as she got into the car.

"Hey. You're looking fine tonight." He stated as he smiled and started to drive towards the restaurant.

"Thank you." She blushed at his compliment. "I'm not underdressed am I?" She checked, seeing his dress shirt and jeans.

"Nah, not at all." He replied. "Like I said, you look great."

Meanwhile, back at the house, Nathan was sulking (well, he tried to convince everyone he wasn't sulking) in the living room watching a game on ESPN. He had no idea who was playing who, or what the score was, but he needed something to take his mind off of the small blonde girl occupying his thoughts. He couldn't stand Chris, and he'd only met the guy briefly at a club. But as much as he hated him, he had to admit that he was insanely jealous of him. He would give anything to be in his position. He had been once, and he wished that he didn't take it for granted.

He thought back to their earlier argument, the one they'd had as she was getting ready, and how it had turned to a huge argument so quickly. He hadn't wanted it too, but he didn't blame her for it. He just wished that she would have given him the chance to explain himself, but she didn't. She hadn't wanted to hear anything he had to say; she thought there was no reason to justify what she found, but what little she knew. There was a perfectly good explanation; she just hadn't given him the chance to say it.

Earlier that day

Nathan was in his room as per usual when he heard the door shut downstairs. He presumed Brooke and Haley were back, since they weren't around this morning. He knew Haley had her date with Chris tonight, and he presumed Brooke had taken her on a shopping spree to get something to wear. It was no secret that Brooke didn't approve of Haley's wardrobe. He left his room as he heard them coming up the stairs, and smiled at them.

"Hi, boy toy." Brooke smiled brightly.

"Hey, Brooke." He replied as she walked into her room, before looking to Haley. "Haley." His smile instantly widened and he couldn't help himself.

"Nathan. What are you smiling about?" She asked, noticing his smile grow.

"Nothing. You just look really pretty today. Not that you don't normally but…yeah. I'm…gonna stop talking. Hope you had fun on your shopping trip." He rambled. He never normally got so flustered and nervous in front of girls, but Haley wasn't just a girl. She was the girl.

"Thanks…I guess. Did you want something?" she asked.

"Do I have to want something to talk to you?" He replied.

"Well you usually do."

"Well this time I don't. I was just trying to be nice."

"Well don't. It's creepy, and we all know you don't like me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to Brooke." She says as she brushes past him and walks into Brooke's room.

He went back into his room, and went back to playing NBA live. After a while of playing, and winning, he was bored with the game, and decided to be a bit more social. He turned off the console and went downstairs to talk with his brother. When he returned, he found Haley snooping through his things. The last thing he expected to see was her in his room, let alone going through his things. He'd made it clear to everyone that she was to stay out of there, and had managed to keep her out so far. This time, he'd failed.

"Haley, what are you doing in here?" He asked, trying to make out he was more angry than anything.

"I was looking for my iPod; I thought you'd have it." She replied calmly.

"Me? Why would I have your – "

"But then I found this." She cut him off, and picked up a photo frame. This wasn't going to go down well. The only photo's he put in frames were the ones of him and –

"Haley, it's not what you think, okay? I'm not like that." He tried to explain to her, but she wasn't having any of it.

"It's not what I think it is? So tell me, Nathan, what is this, because if I'm not mistaken, this looks like a picture of us, and funnily enough, I don't remember taking it. And I don't ever remember letting you kiss me either! What the hell is going on!" She exclaimed, looking up at him.

"Give me that!" Nathan said reaching up and grabbing the frame from her, worried that she would break it while she was waving it in the air. "Haley, you don't understand!"

"You're damn right I don't! So make me understand, tell me what this is! What did you do, just Photoshop a picture of us making out! What the hell is wrong with you!" She shouted, her anger increasing.

"I can't…Haley; I wish I could tell you. I want to explain but I can't." He sighed in defeat, knowing he wouldn't be able to tell her.

"Do you know what? Forget it. Whatever you're doing with this, just stop. I can't deal with this…I have a date to prepare for." She sighed, as she walked out the door. And as she did, Nathan swore he could feel his heat break even more than the first time she'd broken it.

As Chris pulled up at the restaurant, he looked over to his date to notice she seemed a little distracted. He wanted to question it, but he didn't want to pry into her life before their date had even started, so he figured he'd just alert her of their arrival and then take it from there.

"Haley." He said as he looked over to her.

"Huh? Sorry, completely spaced out." She replied.

"It's fine." He replied. "Chris Keller just wanted to let you know we're here. You seem a little distracted."

"Yeah, sorry about that, it's nothing. Let's just…go inside." She half smiled, as she stepped out the car and waited for Chris to do the same.

As he walked around to her side of the car, he offered her his arm. "Shall we?" He asked as she linked her arm through his. He guided her to the entrance of the restaurant, and gave his name to the waitress who directed them to their seats. It wasn't too much of a posh place; it was a quiet little place on the docks, the perfect location for a first date. The waitress placed the menus in front of the pair, before speaking.

"My names Caitlin, and if you need anything, just shout." She said, almost seductively. She sounded like she was definitely flirting with Chris, and it kind of put Haley on edge. "Can I get you two a drink?" She asked.

"Um, I'll just take a coke." Haley requested as the waitress wrote it down.

"And you?" Caitlin asked as she looked over at Chris.

"Surprise me." He winked, as Caitlin gave a seductive smile and walked away.

Haley knew she was never one of the popular girls, never one of the blonde, peppy cheerleaders that ruled the social hierarchy of high school, but she was happy with herself. She was jealous of the other girls and their looks, sure, but she didn't want to be them, or like them. She just wanted to be Haley, and she hoped a guy would eventually like her for that. And now that Chris had taken her out on a date, she hoped that he liked her for her. Seeing a leggy blonde like Caitlin flirting with her date gave her little, if not no confidence in herself. And seeing Chris eyeing her up definitely didn't help either.

"Everything here looks good." He stated, looking at the menu.

"Mm." Haley agreed. "I think I'll just order mac and cheese. It's my favourite." She half smiled.

"Aw, come on, that's like, food for five year olds." He scoffed. "I'll just order the chicken, or something."

When Caitlin came back to the table, they ordered their meals respectively and decided to get to know each other a little better whilst waiting for their order.

"So tell me about yourself, Chris." Haley asked.

"Chris Keller is a rock star. Not much to tell other than that. The Keller hooks up with girls on the road, and rarely ever does relationships, so you should feel special. Chris Keller tours with The Wreckers, and music is everything and anything Chris Keller needs. What about you?" He questioned.

"Um, my life is a lot different to yours." She laughed slightly. "I graduate from Tree Hill High on Monday, valedictorian." She smiled in pride.

"Oh a smart chick, Chris Keller likes them smart." He interrupted.

"Okay…" She looked down quickly. "I live with my three best friends, and one of my best friends' arrogant ass of a brother." She ranted. "I'll be attending Stanford in the fall. I got in on scholarship, had to work my ass off for it but it's worth it, Stanford is my dream school. I've wanted to go there since we took my sister there on visit when she applied when I was eight." She smiled at the memory. "I'm not…the most confident person. I was a cheerleader my last two years of high school because Brooke forced me into it. Surprisingly enough I enjoyed it."

"Cool. You seem distracted, are you alright?" He asked, noticing her absent mindedness.

"Um…yeah. Well, not really. I just…let's not talk about it. It's okay, I'm fine."

"Alright." He doesn't question her further as their waitress arrives with their food.

"Alright, here you go." She smiles as she places the food down in front of them.

Back at the house, Nathan was sitting on his bed, head down, staring at the framed photo Haley found, among the others she hadn't come across. He'd kept them all this time, even after her accident, it hurt him too much to let them go. He needed some sort of reminder that what they had was real. He couldn't let the memory go, he couldn't let the memory of them go. He needed to be reminded that there was once something between them, and that she did once love him, and he loved her back, more than anything.

When he found her in his room earlier, he wanted nothing more than to tell her the truth. He wanted to just scream it from the rooftops, and explain to her the whole story. He couldn't let her think what she did; it just wasn't an option for him. He had to explain the whole story to her. But he couldn't. The doctors said he shouldn't, her parents said he shouldn't, Brooke and Peyton said he shouldn't, and even Lucas said he shouldn't. Lucas was like a possessive older brother to Haley, and wouldn't let Nathan anywhere near her if he thought he was going to tell her something he agreed not to.

He heard a knock on his door as he stroked his thumb over the picture. He ignored whoever was at the door, as he was content with staring at the picture he held in his hands.

"Nate, you can't keep doing this to yourself." He heard the voice of Brooke in his doorway, and he briefly looked up from his picture. "You know what –"

"Yes, Brooke, I know what the doctor said. Don't you think I remember? Does nobody realise how much this is hurting me! When she found this picture earlier," he held up the frame in his hands for exaggeration. "All I wanted to do was tell her everything. I just wanted to tell the love of my life that I love her, and that the picture isn't a fake; that she did love me once. And that I loved her too, more than anything in this entire world." He started to raise his voice. "But that's the one thing that I couldn't do. The one thing I want, the only thing I want, I can't have. Brooke, she's not just a girl, she's the girl, and I would do anything for her. I just want her back. And I can't have that. And right now, she's on a date with some fancy pants rock star because I can't tell her the truth! Do you have any idea how I feel?" He questioned her, as he looked up at her.

"No."

"Of course you don't, because your boyfriend didn't spend a month in the hospital, in a coma. Your boyfriend knows who you are, and the significance of you. Your boyfriend knows you're in a relationship! So until you know how I feel, which you never will, don't judge me, Brooke. Don't judge me, don't give me orders, don't…just don't. And you know what, I can't just sit here and wait for the love of my life to come home from her date and tell us all how great it was. I've got to do something. I can't just let her date this guy." He actually sounded like he was emotional about this subject, and Brooke knew that he was serious. Who was she to stop him? He was in love, and she couldn't deny that. How could she deny him of love?

He stood up, grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair, and headed out the door.

"Nate! What are you doing? Where are you going?" Lucas called after him, but it was too late, he was already out the front door, and running down the street faster than Lucas had ever seen him run before.

"So Taylor Momsen just started flirting with me, and I just told her where to go. The Keller doesn't do gothic rock chicks. Chris Keller only hooks up chicks that show signs of rock stardom." He told her with a nod, as she sighed heavily and rested her head on her hand. Chris had been talking about himself for the past half an hour and Haley was starting to get sick of it. She had never heard of half of these people, but she just went along with it. Maybe Chris wasn't the guy she thought he was.

From the distance, she saw a guy running along the street. He looked quite muscular, and as it was summer and didn't get dark until very late, he looked to have black hair, just like Nathan's. As the figure came closer, she realised that it was in fact Nathan. What the hell was he doing here? The last time she saw him, they'd argued over a picture she was sure he had photo shopped as a cruel joke towards her.

Oh what the hell, who even cared what he was doing here? She'd be grateful for anything to get her away from Chris right now. He was boring her with all his stories about rock stars he'd turned down, and how he was basically, god's gift to women. She continued to watch him as he got closer to her, and noticed he started to have some trouble as he approached the entrance. The waiter wouldn't let him in for anything. So then he started to shout for her.

"Haley! Come on, Hales. I need to talk to you!" He shouted across the entrance to her.

"I'll be right back." She stated to Chris, with a half-smile and walked out of the restaurant to meet him. "Nathan, what the hell are you doing here! Are you trying to sabotage my date!"

"No! Well, yes."

"Nathan, what the hell!" She exclaimed, hitting his chest.

"No, Haley, listen to me!" He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"What could you possibly have to say to me, Nathan?"

"Oh forget it, to hell with caution." And with that, he stepped closer to her, bent his head down to meet her height and caressed her cheek with his hand. He was so close; she could feel his breath on her top lip. He stared into her bright brown eyes, parted his lips slightly and moved the final half an inch to press them against hers.

REVIEWS?

*PS - I totally don't own Taylor Momsen or The Pretty Reckless, I really wish I did, though.*