Five days, eleven hours and seventeen seconds. That's how long they have been living together. Haley couldn't decide if it had went fast or slow. Some days she woke up and for that split second before she re-familiarised herself with the her crazy situation, she felt like she was at home. Snuggling into her pillow and sighing at how wonderfully comfy and relaxed her body was, with the silence of her home, apart from the faint snoring of a sleeping Brooke, who badly denies it, across the hall. She longed to feel that way now. But watching as the clock ticked its way to midnight, she could hear the faint sound of snoring coming from Nathan. Nothing here was familiar to her. Although this huge, one-bed roomed suite would be utter perfection to anyone else, it wasn't home.

The clocked ticked midnight. Haley pulled back her sheets and stepped out of bed. With the moonlight coming through the window she actually smiled at how free she felt. Adventurous. She wasn't sure if you could call this an adventure, she should be worried, but with her feet padding on the cold, hardwood floor and her silk nightie swaying as she walked and especially with Nathan sleeping on the couch, ready to pounce on an intruder any second, she felt safe.

This wasn't her home but Haley felt protected. She felt happy. Like she could re-invent herself.

Leaning against the doorframe she stared at the back of the couch where Nathan was sleeping. She did feel bad making him sleep there, but he insisted that she take the bed. Haley gently walked across the room, glancing at Nathan and smiling at how peaceful he was. Heading into the kitchen she decided to make herself some tea. After sitting for half an hour drinking her tea, Haley still want tired. It was safe to say that she wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. But she didn't mind, yesterday they had spent almost the whole day out shopping, just like what Haley would have done. The days start off being awkward but by the time lunch comes Haley and Nathan begin to feel natural. They walked along the streets of New York, laughing at the desperate tourist trying to take pictures of the yellow cabs and traffic lights. They had nearly fell over when one shouted "oh my God, that looks just like the Friends building" , and Haley had to grab onto Nathan's arm until she regained composure. They swore there was something in their coffee that day.

Haley tried to think of ways which would help her sleep. Normally tea does it and if that doesn't work she would head for the shower. That was starting to become more appealing to her. The warm water hitting her body, she could almost feel it. Haley smiled at the thought and started to walk to the main bathroom. Over the past few days she had grown more accustomed to the main bathroom, purely because of the huge rain shower. Sure the en-suite off the bedroom was nice but the shower was relatively normal compared to the jets in the other one.

Releasing her hair from its clip she let the curls fall around her shoulders. She turned the water on but left the jets off, sometimes they got a bit noisy and she didn't want to wake Nathan. She slipped the pale blue chemise off her body and stepped into the shower.

Washing the water over her body, Haley instantly felt relaxed. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself. Standing against the shower wall, Haley breathed deeply as her wet hair stuck to her body. Shower always does it. she thought.

Nathan turned for the umpteenth time. He glanced at the clock on the wall an noticed it was nearly one am. How could he crash out so early? Normally he was awake until about two. He sat up at glanced over the back of the couch. He saw Haley's door slightly ajar and could make out the moonlight seeping in through the window. He was glad she was asleep. Nathan sleepily stood up and began to walk to the bathroom. He rubbed his forehead, his fuzzy eyes making him feel slightly dizzy as he stumbled towards the main bathroom. He opened the door and walked in, never expecting the light to be on, he was blinded slightly until his eyes focused on Haley's face. "Haley?" he asked confused. He took a step back. Haley? Oh shit Haley's naked!

Haley washed her hair quickly and opened the shower door. She placed one foot on the ground and then the door opened. What the fuck? Haley glared at Nathan for what felt like forever but was only a couple of seconds. He hadn't seen her yet, he was clearly blinded by the light. Oh shit. Haley pondered about what she was gonna do. But she didn't think fast enough, her eyes locked with Nathan's. Good, well at least he's looking at my face. she thought but as Nathan's vision started to focus, she could feel him burning holes in her skin with his gaze.

Oh my God. Nathan couldn't move. He was speechless. Haley was perfect. Perfect. His eyes raked over her naked body, he couldn't help himself. She was standing with one foot placed on the ground and the other in the shower. God had it only been seconds since he opened the door, it felt like forever.

He was knocked back into reality when Haley suddenly tried to grab a towel.

"I, uh…I'm sorry Haley I thought you…I didn't." Focus Nathan, "I thought you were asleep."

His words went unheard. Haley's attempt to quickly grab a towel failed. She stumbled as she tripped out of the shower, clutching a white towel in one hand. She was an expert at preparing herself for falls. It happens way to many times for her not to get used to it. But as she thought she was going to hit the floor and most likely break a bone, her waist was suddenly caught by the strong hands of Nathan.

She stood there motionless. Staring into Nathan's eyes as he gripped her waist she couldn't help the tingles it sent up her spine to feel his hands on her bare skin. Neither of them knew what was happening, Haley didn't know if Nathan felt the electricity too. Her eyes wandered down his body, although fully clothed, her breath caught in her throat at the slight bulge in his pants. She wondered if he had noticed it yet.

Nathan stared into Haley's eyes. Here he was holding a naked Haley and he was looking into her eyes. But he couldn't help it, they were so captivating. He noticed that Haley stared at his body and he followed her gaze down to his pants. Oh shit! Nathan ripped his hands away from Haley and walked out of the bathroom.

Haley wrapped the towel around her and followed him. "Nathan I'm sorry, it's okay." She shouted after him, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Oh God," Nathan breathed as he stopped in mid-track. "No Haley, I'm sorry, God you must think I'm a perv but honestly I did not know you were in there. I didn't mean to see you hot, I mean naked, sorry, but you are hot. Oh God sorry this must be horrible for you, after the plane and that ass tried to…you know-"

"Nathan." she said chuckling and placing a hand on his chest. "Sit down."

Nathan sighed, Haley's hand caused a warmth to run through him. "I…" he started, embarrassed at his erection.

"Its okay." she said slowly, "Sit."

Nathan and Haley took a seat on the couch.

"I don't think you're a perv Nathan." she laughed.

"Thanks." he whispered.

"Nathan, the plane journey doesn't bother me, well of course it does because we don't know where that crazy wifey is but Nathan its in the past. Okay? That guy didn't rape me, sure he tried but believe me I've had a lot of men make moves on me. I just ignore it and tell them to get a life. That guy's dead, he's never gonna hurt me and that makes me feel safe." she said looking into Nathan's eyes. "And so do you." she said quietly.

Nathan smiled. "Okay. I'm sorry for walking in on you."

"Don't apologise, I should have locked the door. Plus I got you to admit I'm hot." Haley laughed at Nathan's smirk.

"Yeah well you think I'm hot too."

"Ha!" she chuckled as Nathan laughed.

"Is it still weird Haley? I mean me being here with you, does it make you uncomfortable?"

Haley's heart skipped at how thoughtful he was. Nathan was doing things for her that was certainly easing the pain.

"Not any more," she smiled, "I like it."

"Good" he nodded.

"Its just I'm still a bit angry you know? I hate those guys so much and I know I said its in the past but sometimes I wish I could have been the one to shoot them."

"Yeah, well I tell you what, we'll head down to the gym tomorrow to relieve some of that frustration."

Haley could think of better ways to do that. She glanced at Nathan's shorts and saw his erection was still evident.

"Well…" she started. She had no idea why she was doing it but she felt the need to be with Nathan. Haley situated herself so she was straddling Nathan's lap.

Nathan was shocked, what the hell?

"How about another way of taking out frustration." she whispered into his ear.

She placed a light kiss behind his ear. Nathan couldn't believe what he was feeling, of course he had had sex before, many times in fact, but God this was Haley. The Haley he loved after a week of knowing and he couldn't let her do something that she might regret.

"Haley…" he said taking a hold of her bear thighs and loving how smooth and tight her skin felt.

"I don't think we should do this."

Haley sat upright and stared at him.

"Isn't this what you want?" she asked.

"Haley, of course I would love to do this with you, but I think we should wait."

"Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do and I don't want you to feel like you have to "reward" me. I'm only doing my job."

And that was that. All of Haley's thoughts about him feeling the same way she did had gone.

How could I be so stupid. Obviously he doesn't believe in love at first sight, he's a guy. I have just embarrassed the hell out of myself! Great now he thinks I'm desperate for sex. Fuck!

Haley quickly stammered off his lap and ran into the bedroom. The words "I'm only doing my job" replayed in her head as tears started to run down her cheeks.

"Haley?" Nathan asked, knocking on her door.

No answer. "Haley?" he asked again, starting to worry. "Just tell me you're okay."

"NO!" she shouted. "How the fuck could I be okay Nathan? I just want to go home."

Nathan felt a pain in his heart. He knew that this was weird for her but he never thought she would wanted to leave. He was trying to make her holiday peaceful but he wasn't going to have sex with Haley and then leave her once this trip was over. He couldn't do that to her. He wasn't sure if he could do that to himself. Nathan cared about her too much to do that to her.

How the fuck could I have told her "I'm only doing my job." It's the complete opposite.

Nathan needed her to know that.

"Please talk to me Hales, open the door."

"Stop calling me Hales Nathan! You cant call me that!"

"Why? Haley what's so bad about it?" he shouted slightly angry.

"Just stop Nathan! I just… I want to go home. You're right, its too weird."

"Why Haley? Are you not happy being here with me? Because that's a lie and don't deny it! I've seen you smile and I mean genuinely smile when you don't even realise it, so don't tell me you want to go home because you made a mistake Haley because that's being weak!" Nathan sank back against her bedroom door. After a while he figured Haley was asleep and so he got up and left.

Haley lay in bed thinking about what Nathan had said. He was right, she really didn't want to leave just yet. She was happy, but to have Nathan tell her this whole thing was just his work was…well it was devastating. And Haley wasn't sure if she could see the point in staying when they would have to go their separate ways in two weeks.

Nathan had stopped talking to her. Deciding he must have fallen asleep, she closed her eyes and soon drifted off.

The next morning Haley didn't wake up until eleven. She had been exhausted and to be honest the extra sleep could only do her good. The first thing she thought about was her fight with Nathan. She was mad at him but figured they would have to talk.

Haley slipped on her robe and opened the double doors that led into the large living area.

"Nathan we have to-" Haley froze. Was this a dream?

"Hi" he said gently, "I'm sorry, I get it now."

Haley couldn't believe it. She glanced across the living room. All the pictures of random scenery were gone. They had been replaced with ones of her Aunt. A couple were colourful and showed her dancing in a 70's outfit. Some were black and white themed based on the 40's. Some she had never seen before, her aunt on the beech, on a swing.

"This is why you liked room 204 so much isn't it?" Nathan asked.

"How did you know-" Tears began to well up in Haley's eyes and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"You're aunt was a model, a very beautiful one too."

Haley smiled as she watched Nathan admire one of the pictures. She couldn't believe he had done this. Room 204 was filled with these pictures.

"I always wondered why you wanted that room so much" Nathan smiled.

"Nathan how did you manage to get-"

"Well I had to pay Miranda a few bucks." He chuckled and saw Haley did too.

There was a silence between them. Haley stood looking at the floor.

"I'm sorry-" he began.

"No Nathan. I'm sorry. I made such a fool of myself I thought you might… but you don't, its fine."

"I didn't-"

"Nathan please don't say whatever you were about to, lets just go back to being friends and when this trip is over it wont be so hard for us to part."

Nathan smirked, "The thing is Hales, sorry, Haley, I got a call this morning…."

And?" she asked confused.

"My brother's getting married."

"Well congrats but-"

"He lives in Tree Hill."

"What?" Haley was stunned, "what does-"

"After this I'll be going to Tree Hill."

"But that's where I live." Haley stuttered making Nathan laughed.

"Yes I know Haley."

"But what about your job-"

Nathan fell silent. "I uh, I have taken a year out."

Haley felt like her jaw dropped to the floor. "So why are you still here?"

"Because I wanted to help you-" he said shyly. "I'm sorry about what I said last night I was an ass-"

Haley walked towards him until she stood only a few feet away. "Nathan Scott, I would kill you if I wasn't so damn grateful for you doing this," she motioned to the pictures, "and so thankful to you for saving my life but-"

"No buts Hales, lets just live it okay?"

Haley smiled. "Thank-you." she said leaning in to give him a hug. "And I'm sorry for coming onto you last night, I was just so frustrated and you were here. I just wanted to thank you and I didn't really want to, I just thought that you would…"

"Haley I would," Nathan said making Haley laugh, "But I knew you weren't ready."

"You are something else," She chuckled and hugged him again. "But you'd be the best if you made me breakfast."

Nathan pretended to sigh, he couldn't resist those puppy-dog eyes. "I suppose so…"

Haley chuckled and walked into the kitchen behind Nathan.

Sitting at the table eating bacon, toast and eggs, Haley smiled at Nathan. He too was tucking into his breakfast, wearing a grey t-shirt and basketball shorts. They shared the occasional, comfortable glance. Haley crossed her ankles and lightly swung her legs back and forth under the table, her plum coloured robe swaying with her movements, just like what she would do at home.

"Feel's like home." She smiled whilst eating a bit toast.

"I know." Nathan smiled back at her. Anyone who walked in at that moment would think they were a married couple, not just two people, who had met a week ago, rapidly falling in love.

"So who's this brother of yours?"

"Oh his name's Lucas, not seen him in a while but he asked if I would be the best man."Haley's eyes widened, "Lucas Scott?"

"Yeah…"

"As in the Lucas Scott who is marrying a Brooke Davis?"

"Okay how did you know that?"

"I'm the maid of honour!"

"What?!"

"Brooke's my best friend!"

Haley and Nathan stared at each other. Both slightly in shock but both very happy.

"I need to call Brooke." Haley stood up and began to walk away, "Thanks for breakfast honey." She chuckled.

Nathan laughed, "You are so on the dishes," he shouted whilst searching for his phone to call Luke. Who would have guessed that the best man and maid of honour had already met under very weird circumstances. Fate was definitely on their side.

There goes chapter 7! Thank you for reading, REVIEW!

Next chapter:

Nathan and Haley pretend to be a married couple for the sake of a free dinner.

Events catch up to Haley…

Nathan makes a confession…