This is the part y'all have been waiting for! Nathan and Haley are about thirteen, and it's full of drama :)
Things are finally starting to pick up, and I hope you like it!
Thank you SO much for all the kind reviews. You're seriously the best! This fic would not be here if it wasn't for you.
I just want to keep Naley alive, so thanks for reading!
The songs are used by Taylor Swift. (I'd Lie and You Belong with Me) Literally she has a song for everything. Haha. So I will be using pretty much one of her songs for every single chapter.
Haley's eyes were squeezed shut as she strummed the brass strings across her brand new acoustic guitar that her parents bought her for her thirteen birthday. The sweet melody filled her white-walled bedroom, along with her soft, angelic voice that brought the lyrics she scribbled down on a napkin-just this morning- to life. She was so lost in her song, that she didn't even realize the 5 foot ten- still growing- blue eyed boy, standing in her doorway.
He tells me about his night
And I count the colors in his eyes
He'll never fall in love he swears
As he runs his fingers through his hair
I'm laughing cause I hope he's wrong
I don't think it ever crossed his mind
He tells a joke I fake a smile
That I know all his favorite songs
And..
I could tell you his favorite color's green
He loves to argue, born on the twenty third
His mother's beautiful, he has his father's eyes
And if you asked me if I love him,
I'd lie
He looks around the room
Innocently overlooks the truth
Shouldn't a light go on?
Doesn't he know that I've had him memorized for so long?
He sees everything black and white
Never let nobody see him cry
I don't let nobody see me wishing he was mine
He stands there then walks away
My god if I could only say
I'm holding every breath for you...
I think he can see through everything
But my heart
First thought when I wake up is
My god he's beautiful
So I put on my make up
And pray for a miracle
Yes I could tell you his favorite color's green
He loves to argue oh and it kills me
His mother's beautiful he has his father's eyes
And if you asked me if I love him
If you asked me if I love him
I'd lie
When the song ended, Haley took a deep breath and lightly opened her deep brown eyes, jumping slightly in her seat as she noticed her best friend leaning against her door frame with an awestruck look present on his tanned face.
"God! Nathan you scared me!" Haley screeched as she placed her hands over her rapidly beating heart- which was was getting used to whenever Nathan was around. This rapid pounding was not just from being startled. It was because he always had that effect on her, and just this year she realized what that feeling meant. She was in love with him. Whether she was ready to admit it to herself or not, there was no denying it. Haley James was in love with Nathan Scott. But that was obvious already, wasn't it?
Even though it sure as hell was everything BUT obvious to Nathan.
"I'm sorry." Nathan said as his voice cracked slightly, due to his awkward puberty stage. "It's just- wow. I- I didn't know you could sing like that. I mean, God, I've known you , like, my whole life. Why didn't I know that? How didn't I know that?" He stuttered- still clearly in a trance.
Haley blushed profusely as she slid off her chair and gently placed the guitar back in its case. "I- how much did you hear?" She asked feeling extremely embarrassed.
Nathan picked up on her embarrassment but not the reason why. Haley's blood turned cold. She never liked singing in front of people, but at this moment she'd rather anyone else but Nathan to have heard her. She didn't want Nathan to know she sang. It was like her secret talent, and it was a way of dealing with her emotions. Music was what helped her sort out her feelings towards her best friend, and considering all of her songs were about Nathan, there was no way in Hell she'd ever let him listen to her songs.
"Like the whole thing. It was amazing. You're amazing, Haley James. You're going to go places some day." Nathan said with a genuine smile, making Haley's heart increase ten fold. Damn him and his stupid smile, She thought.
"Oh no." Haley quickly rushed out. "Definitely not. I- I don't want to sing in front of people. No one knows I sing. I just sing in the shower sometimes. It's not big deal."
Nathan walked closer to Haley and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hales, you're amazing. Seriously. That was really good. I can't believe I never heard you sing."
"I told you. I don't like singing in front of people. It's just- it's private." Haley insisted.
"Well now that I heard you. Can I hear another song?" Nathan asked with his dazzling blue eyes shining in the sunlight.
"No." Haley said firmly.
"Please?" Nathan begged.
"No. Just forget you heard anything. Okay?"
"But-"
"No. Nathan, please... just drop it."
"Why-?"
"'Cuz I said so."
"Hales, c'mon. Please. What are you afraid of?"
'Everything' She instantly thought, but her mouth suggested otherwise.
"Nothing." She said. "I already told you. It's not a big deal, I just sing for myself. No one else."
Before Nathan could say anything, Haley quickly decided to change the subject and lighten the mood, thankful that Nathan didn't even realize the song was about him.
She held her thumb and forefinger on the bridge of her nose, and pinched it slightly.
"You stink." She said in a nasley voice.
Nathan chuckled, and lifted up his arms to take a whiff of his underarms. He shrugged slightly, and smirked. "It's not that bad." He said off-offhandedly and allowed himself to fall back onto Haley's bed with a slight 'thump'.
Haley playfully rolled her eyes and sat down next to Nathan. "So how was basketball?"
"Good. I totally whipped Lucas's ass." Nathan said with a proud smirk, referring to his friendly game with some of his friends down at the River Court.
Haley smiled as she laid her head against Nathan's slightly sweaty t-shirt clad chest.
"I thought you said I stunk?" Nathan asked, with a hearty laugh.
"Yeah, but I smell something else." She said as she picked her head off his chest and smelt under his jaw line. "Are you wearing cologne?" Haley asked with an amused look.
Nathan diverted his eyes away from hers. "Maybe."
"You so are!" Haley accused with a teasing smile.
"Okay. Fine." Nathan said as he leaned back on his elbows and slightly pushed himself up so that he was now resting against Haley's headboard. "I am." He relented.
"I knew it!" Haley smirked. "So. Why are you wearing it?"
"I dunno. We're in middle school now. I have a reputation I need to keep." He smirked.
"Reputation? What reputation?" Haley asked bemusedly.
"Word on the street it I'm 'the hottest boy in Tree Hill'." He boasted.
Haley fought a smile. "Yeah? Says who?"
"I heard four girls say it last night." Nathan announced with a cocky grin.
Haley rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah. How was your first 'house party'?"
Nathan shrugged. "It was alright. I wish you were there though."
Haley's heart fluttered slightly, as she tried to hide her blush. "You do?" She asked in a surprised voice. "Why?"
"Because it was kind of boring."
Haley smiled. "Well I don't exactly fit in with that group, so I would've been bored, too."
"You know, if I could I would've brought you, right?"
Haley nodded. "I understand. You're popular now, Mister-star-of-the-JV-basketball-team."
Nathan smirked. "I guess you can say that." His smirk soon fell though when a more serious look came across his features. "You know, no matter what happens, you're always going to be my best friend, right?"
Haley rolled her eyes. "Forever. I know." She said with a wide smile.
"Good, because whether or not you like it, you're stuck with me, James." Nathan smirked.
Haley giggled. "Okay. I guess I can live with that."
There was a sudden comfortable silence that washed over them for several minutes until Haley finally decided to ask a thought that was plaguing her mind.
"So.. um.. did anything interesting happen at the party last night?" Haley asked, referring to a party that one of Nathan's basketball friends threw. It was a small party with just cheerleaders and the players because it was the start of their Junior Varsity, middle school basketball team. The first day of seventh grade - the beginning of Middle School-, everyone instantly flocked to Nathan. Lucas, Haley, and their friend Peyton Sawyer were left standing in the corner, watching as the boys and girls threw themselves at him. Haley didn't get it. Everyone worshiped the ground he walked on... But why? Well she knew why the girls did- because he was insanely gorgeous, but they didn't even know him. Not like she did.
Anyway, at lunch time Nathan sat down to eat with their group, but minutes later an eighth grader from the 'popular' table begged him to come and sit with them. Of course Nathan declined, because he didn't want to leave his friends, but Haley insisted. He then asked if she could join, but the eighth grader lied and said there wasn't enough room. Haley didn't take any offense and just smiled and told Nathan she'd meet up with him later. When Lucas asked if she was okay, she faked a smile and said everything was perfect. Later that day, Nathan apologized and told his friends he'd never abandon them again.
He did keep his promise, and sat next to Haley every single day, but unfortunately, more people decided to join the table, hogging Nathan's attention, so Haley barely even got to talk to him. Luckily she still had Lucas and Peyton, although they were slowly joining the 'crowd.' It didn't help matters that Rachel was now sitting at their table. Nathan tried to get her to leave but she never let up. Fortunately, Rachel was not in any of Haley's classes since 4th grade, so the teasing stopped- that is, up until this year. Whenever Nathan was around, Rachel acted like a saint and completely ignored Haley, making her seem innocent. However, whenever Nathan wasn't around Rachel would send Haley death glares. One day in the hall way she 'accidentally' pushed Haley into a locker, causing her to drop all of her books on the floor. Seconds later, though, Nathan swooped in and saved the day, picking Haley's books up and yelling at Rachel, even though she insisted she was 'innocent'. The first few days, people were coming up to Haley asking her if she and Nathan were dating, but she just blushed slightly and said no. People obviously acknowledged her, considering she was always with Nathan, but for some reason the popular group decided she doesn't 'fit in', therefore they decided not to induct her into the group. Nathan had reassured her and said that he didn't care what people thought, and he would let her be with his new friends, but Haley said she didn't want to be friends with them, and said it was okay that he made new friends. Besides, if she was hanging out with that other group, she probably wouldn't even be able to get a second alone with him, so she liked it better when they hung out alone. Despite Nathan's popularity, he made sure to see Haley every day for at least an hour. He valued their friendship, and it never wavered. He still considered her his best friend. Lucas was also becoming popular, since he was on the basketball team as well, so Haley and Peyton stuck together when the boys were with their other groups. Besides Peyton, Lucas, and Nathan, Haley really didn't have many other friends. She of course talked to a few people inside school, but she really only hung out with Nathan, Lucas or Peyton.
Haley knew Nathan would keep his promise to always be friends, but she was worried that the popularity would get to his head, and he'd eventually leave her for a new group of friends. Of course she never spoke those fears to him because she knew he couldn't only be friends with her. She had to let him have other friends- and that was okay, but there would always be a small part of her that would worry things would change between them. For now though, there friendship was stronger than ever, and she cherished every second sent with him.
She was pulled from her thoughts when Nathan finally answered her question.
"Umm, no. Not really." He lied.
Haley looked into his deep blue eyes and raised her eyebrows. "Really? C'mon I was hoping you tell me some crazy story about cheerleaders pulling each other's hair or a kid ate so much he puked."
Nathan chuckled. "Nope. Sorry. Nothing like that happened. Trust me. You didn't miss anything." He mumbled. "Next time I'm bringing you."
"No, Nathan, it's fine. Parties aren't really my thing."
"Yeah but I hate that I left you alone last night..."
"It's fine. I was finishing homework, and watching The Office. I had fun." She said with a cheeky smile.
"God, you're a dork!" Nathan teased.
Haley rolled her eyes and decided to snuggle close to Nathan. "So what's up?"
"Nothing. I don't really wanna go home." Nathan said sadly.
Haley frowned. "Are your parents still fighting?"
He nodded softly. "It's really bad, Hales. I don't know what to do."
"You don't have to do anything. Just stay here so you don't have to listen to it." Haley advised.
Nathan wrapped his arm around her shoulder and took a deep breath. "This just sucks. This morning my mom threw a glass bottle at my dad."
Haley gasped. "Oh my god! Why?"
"She was yelling at him because he came home drunk last night again. She um.. she thinks he's cheating on her.." Nathan said sadly.
Haley squeezed her eyes shut and snuggled closer to Nathan, running her hands soothingly over his arms. "I'm sorry Nathan."
"Don't be sorry." He chuckled softly. "My dad's an ass. It just sucks seeing my mom go through this. I don't even know what happened. They were always so happy, then all of a sudden he started coming home later from work and went to bars a lot. My mom's been drinking a lot too. She keeps threatening to leave if my Dad doesn't."
Haley sighed sadly and just simply listened to Nathan's problems. She really didn't know what to say, and Nathan didn't expect her to say anything, he just wanted her to listen, which she did.
"What do you think is going to happen?" Haley asked nervously.
"I honestly don't know. My Dad says he doesn't want to leave because he needs to 'coach' me in basketball. So my mom says if he doesn't leave she will, but then she said she would have a custody battle over me."
"Oh Nathan!" Haley muttered pitiably. "How do you feel?"
"I'm just- I don't know. I'm angry, and confused I guess. I kind of want my Dad to leave. My mom's really sad, and he's been really tough on me lately. I can't take it anymore."
"What would you do if there was a custody battle?"
"Honestly? I don't even know. My mom needs me, but she barely even remembers me sometimes. Then there's my Dad.. he'd obviously win the battle. I don't want him to though. All he cares about is basketball. He woke me up this morning at five am so we could practice free throws. I had to make one hundred in a row before I could do anything else. Then he made me run a mile."
"You must be tired." Haley stated. "Go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up." She said softly as she ran her hand over his cheek.
Nathan smiled softly as his eyes fluttered closed. "Thank you, Hales. I don't know what I'd do with out you. You're the best."
Haley just smiled, and placed a sweet kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight Nathan."
It was now Monday morning, two days after Nathan had slept over at Haley's house, and Haley was now standing at her locker getting her books ready for the next class she was going to. She turned slightly, sensing a presence next to her, and she fought a scowl.
"What do you want Rachel?" Haley asked bitterly.
"I wanted to see how you were doing." She said in a fake 'innocent' voice.
"What are you talking about?" Haley asked as she turned back towards her locker and put away one of her binders.
"Well I'm sure you know what happened on Friday night." Rachel said with a smirk.
Haley creased her forehead, furrowing her eyebrows together. "What happened on Friday night?"
"Nathan didn't tell you?" Rachel asked with a gaping mouth.
Haley looked behind her shoulder at the red head. "Um.. no."
"Wow." Rachel chuckled. "I guess you guys aren't really 'best' friends then."
"Rachel, look I really don't have time for this-" Haley began.
"Fine well, I just wanted to see how you were doing, but I guess it doesn't matter because you don't even know what happened."
Haley crossed her arms over her chest. "What did you do?"
"Me? I didn't do anything. It was all Nathan." Rachel stated with a coy smile.
Haley's heart pumped thickly through her chest.
"I can't believe he didn't tell you!" Rachel continued.
"It probably wasn't even a big deal." Haley said rolling her eyes. "Why are you still even here?"
"Don't you want to know what happened?"
"Not really, because I don't care."
"But this is your 'precious' Nathan we're talking about." Rachel smirked.
Haley squeezed her books tightly against her chest.
"Look, Haley, I know you're like in love with him, but Nathan doesn't feel the same way about you. I don't even know why he's friends with you-"
"I'm not in love with him! He's my best friend." Haley stated firmly.
Rachel laughed, "Well then I guess you're stupider than I thought."
Haley cut her eyes at Rachel and gave her a sarcastic smile. "I can say the same thing about you considering you think 'stupider' is a word."
"Whatever. I was just trying to be nice to you."
"Why?"
"Because Nathan and I are going to be dating soon."
Haley almost dropped her books, as her blood ran cold. "Excuse me?" She questioned loudly. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me. Nathan and I are going to date. You know, considering he kissed me on Friday." Rachel smirked.
Haley's eyes widened. "You're lying." She said simply.
"If you don't believe me, ask him yourself." Rachel continued to smile.
Haley inhaled a shaky breath, as her lungs almost burst with oxygen. She clenched her jaw tightly and slammed her locker door shut. "Nathan would never kiss you. In case you haven't noticed, he doesn't even like you, so quit wasting our time."
Rachel chuckled menacingly. "Things Change, Hales. Nathan and I got to know each other. Don't be jealous."
Haley shook her head disapprovingly and walked away from Rachel. She didn't believe a word she said. It was just another one of her lies to try and hurt her. Right?
Lunch time rolled around after five tortuously slow classes, and Haley met Nathan at his locker so they could walk to the cafeteria together. Luckily, none of his new 'friends' were there, so Haley was able to ask him the question that was plaguing her mind all day.
"Hey, Baby James." Nathan smirked when he noticed Haley approaching him. "What's up?" He asked noticing her sullen expression.
"I need to ask you something, and I don't know if it's true, because Rachel told me, but then I heard other girls in the hallway talking about it, and I just don't believe it, so I'm going to ask you-" She rambled until Nathan cut her off.
"What is it?" He asked as he felt his heart drop to his stomach.
"Did you kiss Rachel?" Haley asked reluctantly.
Nathan gulped nervously and immediately diverted his eyes from Haley's as he looked down at the vomit colored tiled floor, praying it would open up and swallow him whole.
Haley waited patiently for him to answer, but after several seconds of him not being able to look at her, she laughed sardonically. "You're unbelievable!" She spat and quickly swiveled around practically sprinting away from him. There was no way she could eat lunch with him. It hurt too much. She couldn't believe he would kiss her enemy. She didn't know what hurt more. Him not telling her, or the fact that it was finally happening. Taylor warned her about this. Nathan would realize there were other girls besides her, and start becoming interested in them. The thought alone had Haley's stomach churning. Suddenly, she wasn't so hungry, so she decided to go to the school library and write down some lyrics she would add a tune too, later.
"She wears short skirts,
I wear t-shirts,
she's cheer captain,
and I'm on the bleachers..
dreamin' bout the day
when you wake up and find that
what you've been looking for
has been here the whole time.."
Meanwhile, Nathan slammed his locker door and balled his fist as he hung his head and rested against the metal door. "Dammit!" He groaned as he closed his eyes and ran a hand through his raven black hair.
"Hey Nate. Are you coming to lunch?" He heard Rachel ask.
Nathan opened his eyes and glared at the red-head. "Why did you tell Haley we kissed?"
"Why didn't you tell her?" Rachel countered.
"Because it didn't mean anything!"
Rachel rolled her eyes, "I don't believe that."
"I told you not to tell anyone! Haley hates me now!" Nathan groaned.
"Relax! It's not like you're dating. You didn't cheat on her! I don't even get why she's so upset about it."
"That's not the point! Haley's my best friend and she doesn't like you! God, I'm so stupid!"
Rachel smiled softly and wrapped her arms around his growing muscular frame. "I'm sure she'll understand."
"Whatever." Nathan said as he shrugged Rachel off of him, and made his way to lunch. When he got there he looked around the busy cafeteria and frowned when he couldn't find Haley.
"Do you know where Haley is?" Nathan asked frantically.
"Uh no, why?" Lucas mumbled as he stole a french fry off of Peyton's tray.
Nathan groaned, "Shit! I'm screwed."
"Why?"
"Rachel told her about the kiss..."
"What kiss?" Peyton exclaimed.
"It was some stupid dare-"
"Dude, you're an idiot!" Lucas exclaimed.
"I know." Nathan said dejectedly.
"Haley's going to kill you!" Peyton muttered.
"Ugh. I know." Nathan repeated and left the cafeteria to try and find Haley.
After about searching for twenty minutes, he finally found her in the library with her nose stuck behind a book. He smiled at the sight. On his way over to the table, a group of eighth grade boys stopped him and made small talk about the up and coming basketball game. Every time he tried to walk away, someone would keep asking him questions. Finally he excused himself but when he turned around Haley was no longer there, and the bell rang, signaling the end of the period.
Nathan then saw Haley in their ninth period class, but Haley decided to not sit next to Nathan today, and when he tried to talk to her after class she completely ignored him, practically sprinting out of classroom. He sighed dejectedly. Unfortunately he was unable to try and chase her home because he had basketball practice, but he made a mental reminder to go to her house and apologize.
While Nathan was at practice, Haley walked home with her iPod, listening to the song "Should've Said No" by Taylor Swift. She didn't know how to feel. At first she was really upset, and cried for ten minutes in the girls bathroom, but then after listening to music she became angry. Angry at Nathan for not telling her, and angry at herself for falling in love with him. It was so hard. Everyday she had to watch girls fawn over him. It was so hard realizing that she was going to just be his 'best friend' forever. She loved being friends with him, and that was what was holding her back. She knew Nathan would never see her in that way, so that's why she kept everything to herself. She was so afraid of loosing him, that she would have to live with just being friends, because it was better than not having him in her life at all. The worst part was that he was potentially starting a relationship with Rachel. Haley knew this day would come where she'd have to see Nathan date girls, and she could live with that... but Rachel? That was just like a stab in the back. He knew how much Haley hated her, so why did it have to be freaking Rachel-Slut-Ass-Bitch-Gatina?
Finally, Haley made it back to her house and dragged herself into the kitchen to indulge in a large Hershey bar.
"Hey Bub, how was school?" Lydia asked with a sweet smile, as she stood in the kitchen preparing snacks.
Haley kept her back towards her mother so she could hide her tear stained cheeks. "Fine." She answered in an uneven voice.
Lydia furrowed her brows. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Haley replied quickly- still not turning around.
"Okay?" Lydia chuckled. "Do you know if Nathan will be joining us for dinner, tonight?"
At the mention of Nathan's name, Haley bit down on her lip and fiddled with her gold pinky ring. "Um. I uh.. I don't think so." Haley muttered sadly.
Lydia's interest suddenly picked up as she walked closer to her youngest daughter. "Bub, what happened?" She asked softly.
Haley looked down at the floor and harshly bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying.
"Are you and Nate in a fight?" Lydia tried again.
Haley shrugged, continuing to look at the floor, as a small tear cascaded down her cheek.
"Aw baby girl, don't cry!" Lydia exclaimed as she enveloped her in a tight hug. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"
"It's nothing Mom." Haley answered.
"It doesn't seem like nothing."
"It's stupid.I don't even know why I'm crying." Haley replied with a fake laugh.
"He's been hanging around other girls hasn't he?" Lydia asked knowingly.
Haley looked up at her mother with an open mouth, and an expression that easily read 'How-the-hell-did-you-know?'
Lydia just chuckled and kissed Haley on the forehead. "I know everything Haley." She then knelt down and ran a hand over her daughter' tear stained cheek. "Whoever the girl is, is not nearly important as you are. Nathan loves you. I love you. Daddy loves you-"
"I know Mom." Haley whined.
"Nathan's a very cute boy Hales. Girls are going to be after him, you now that. It's okay to be jealous-"
"I'm not jealous!" Haley mumbled stubbornly.
"Right." Lydia chuckled sarcastically. "Well, how about I make you some chocolate chip cookies. Will that make you feel any better?"
A small smile danced across Haley's face, and she gave her mother a hug. "Thanks Mom."
"You're welcome." Lydia answered as she watched Haley take off to her room, where she collapsed on the bed, instantly picking up her guitar and working on her new song.
It was now almost midnight, and after waiting hours for a call from Nathan, Haley finally gave up and laid back in her bed trying to fall asleep. She couldn't help but wonder why Nathan didn't try to stop by or even call her. Did she do something wrong? Usually whenever they fought he would immediately call her and fix whatever it was they fought about. Perhaps he was with Rachel.. Haley almost gagged at the horrible thought. It was minutes later, she felt herself succumbing to the sleep, until she heard a constant rapping at her window. Her eyes fluttered open, and slowly rolled out of bed to investigate what the noise was. She then pulled open her curtains to reveal the dark, starry night, and gasped when she found Nathan hanging onto the window sill.
"Nathan! What are you doing? You're going to get hurt!" Haley practically screamed.
"Just- please-help!" Nathan groaned as Haley swiftly stepped aside, and pulled him through the small window, both tumbling on the floor.
"Are you okay?" Haley asked nervously as she stood up and pulled Nathan up with her hand.
Nathan steadied his weight on his legs and looked down, smoothing out the wrinkles in his sweatshirt. "I'm fine. Are you?"
Haley nodded, and slowly made it over to her bed, sitting down, as Nathan joined her.
"I'm sorry." He began.
"Seriously, what are you doing here?" Haley asked in a concerned voice. Despite the fact she was upset with him, she still couldn't help but worry. It was midnight on a school night, and he just climbed a tree to see her.
"I would've come sooner but practice ran late, and my Dad picked me up to bring us to some stupid therapy session-"
"Therapy?" Haley asked.
"Yeah for my parents. It didn't work though. They fought the entire time. When we got home, my Dad made me go running with him and then play more basketball-"
"I'm sorry." Haley muttered.
"No. Stop apologizing. Anyway, that's not why I came. I mean, it's a plus because when I left they were still screaming, but I'm here to say sorry. I wanted to tell you but I just, I couldn't. I didn't want you to get upset-"
"Why'd you do it?" She questioned.
"It was just some stupid dare. I swear, it didn't mean anything! We were all playing truth or dare and all the guys were daring each other to kiss some of the girls. I didn't want to seem like a wimp, so I did it. I didn't want to tell you because I know how much you hate her. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I know it must've sucked hearing it from Rachel, so I'm sorry." Nathan apologized with a heavy heart.
"So you don't like her?" Haley questioned with a small smile.
"God no." Nathan swore. "I'm not going to lie, she's pretty cute-"
Haley grimaced.
"-but I definitely don't like her. I won't forget how badly she treated you. You have nothing to worry about. You're still my number one girl, baby James." Nathan said as he placed a sweet kiss on her forehead.
Haley smiled widely. "Good, because you know I would kill you if you dated her, right?"
Nathan chuckled, "I know. Trust me, I won't date anyone without your approval."
Haley faked a smile, 'I won't approve of anyone' she thought to herself.
"So do you forgive me?" Nathan asked with a hopeful smile.
"I guess so." Haley said pretending to think about it.
"Good." Nathan repeated with a smirk. "So do you mind if I stay the night again?"
Haley rolled her eyes. "Fine, but you're lucky I don't make you sleep on the floor."
Nathan chuckled, "You wouldn't dare."
"Oh I would." Haley smiled.
Nathan chuckled and curled up alongside Haley, holding her tight as he almost instantly fell asleep. Haley, on the other hand, could not sleep. Having Nathan so close to her, was intoxicating. She was relieved to learn that Nathan didn't like Rachel, but it still irked her that they kissed. She tried to tell herself it was good practice for moving on from these not so friendly feelings toward Nathan. It was just a small crush. It would go away. It had to. She shouldn't be in love with her best friend...
but she was.
I hope you liked this chapter.
I know Brooke wasn't mentioned, but when they get to High School, she will definitely play a huge role.
You probably all hate Rachel.. but that's okay because I do too. Just a tiny spoiler alert, she won't be going away any time soon...
Unfortunately I will not be able to update for about two weeks because of midterms. I really need to crack down and study. I was procrastinating all day so I could update. I hope it was worth it!
Please leave a review. It is much appreciated :)
Thank you for all the support. I'm looking forward to reading your reviews.
