The gang was now inside the airport, waiting for Matt and the rest of Haleys friends to arrive. None of them said anything. Haley was to nevous to talk, Nathan kept thinking about what his father had said, and the others simply didn't know what to say for once.
"So, are you excited on meeting your friends again?" Brooke asked Haley, deciding to break the silence.
"Excited wouldn't be the word I'd use. More like nervous in the, Can-we-go-back-so-I-can-go-run-and-hide kind of way."
"It won't be that bad. When you see them again, you're gonna wish that they would stay forever." Brooke reassured her.
"I hope you're right."
"Of course I'm right, I'am always right!"
"Haley!" they heard someone calling behind them. As they turned around, they saw six people practically running towards them.
"Matt!" Haley yelled and started running as well. Right into her boyfriends waiting arms. He lifted her up and spun her around, then laid a passionate kiss on her lips. It felt good to be in his arms again and to feel his warm, gentle kisses on her lips, Haley thought. Yet, it was something different about it, that she couldn't put her finger on. Then suddenly she heard someone clearing their throat, which made her break the kiss. She noticed that Nathan, Brooke, Lucas and Peyton had walked up to them and it seemed that Nathan had been the one who had cleared his throat and when she looked at him, he looked very uncomfortable.
"Sorry about that." she said and then remembered her other friends from L.A who looked at her with smiles on their faces.
"Are you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna come say hello?" one of her friends asked.
"A.J!" Haley exclaimed and hugged him tightly. Then she hugged the rest of them. "I've missed you so much!"
"We've missed you too!" they all said at the same time. Brooke had been right. She didn't feel nervous anymore. At least not with her friends. Matt was another story. When they finally broke apart, Haley decided to introduce everyone.
"Guys, these are my new friends, Nathan, Brooke, Lucas and Peyton. Everyone, meet my old friends, Matt, A.J, Sarah, Kyle, Sami and Kate." she said and she pointed at each of them as she said their name. After that there was a lot of hellos and handshakes and then the whole group decided to go back to Haleys house to catch up.
When the were back at Haleys, they didn't do much really. They laughed, talked, ate a little...Just hanging out. Haley didn't say much. She just sat there, on the couch, with Matt beside her. She still couldn't forget about the kiss. There had been something different about it, she just didn't know if it was a good different or a bad one. She just couldn't put her finger on it and frankly, it was starting to annoy the hell out of her. She noticed Nathan cast quick glances at her. She didn't know why but she did know that she didn't mind. Not at all actually. It was definitely a strange night. At least Rachel wasn't there. That would have been the last thing she needed.
"Hales, can I talk to you for a minute? Outside?" Matt whispered in her ear.
"Yeah, let's go." was all she said and started to get up, bringing Matt with her. "We're gonna be right back." Haley told the others but they were to wrapped up in their conversation that they only nodded in response. Everyone that is, except Nathan who just looked at her.
Haley and Matt went out to the backyard and immediately saw the many beautiful stars across the sky.
"It's a beautiful night." Matt said.
"It is." she agreed. "So what was it you wanted to talk about?"
"Honestly? I didn't really want to talk, I just wanted to be alone with you."
"That's sweet."
"I missed you so much." he said and captured her lips with his own.
She didn't say anything. She just kissed him back. She remembered all those times they had spent together before she left. She had missed this, she really had, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. Maybe she was just being paranoid. She hadn't seen him in months, no wonder she felt a little off with him, right?
When they finally broke apart, they sat down on the grass next to each other and just enjoyed each others company. Well, at least he seemed to. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what.
"Do you rememeber that last time we did this?" Matt asked, breaking Haley from her thoughts.
"Yeah, it was the night before I left."
"You looked amazing that night. Of course, you still do." he added quickly.
"Thanks, I think..." she said and laughed.
"Nothing has changed between us, right? You're not seeing anyone else or..."
"No. No one else, just you." she interrupted.
"Good. You know I love, right?"
"Mhmm. I love you too."
The question was, was she trying to convince him or herself?
Meanwhile, Nathan was sitting on the floor in the livingroom, hearing the others talk around him. He nodded his head at times so they would think he was listening, when really, he was just listening half of the time. The rest of the time, he would just think. Or more specifically, think about Haley and that Matt guy.
He didn't know what it was, but there was something he did not like about that guy. Even though Haley and himself didn't always get along, he did feel that this past week they had gotten closer and he definitely didn't want her to get hurt.
They were from two different world. They both knew that. And he could admit that he had been wrong about things before, more than once actually. But he doubted that this was one of those times. Something was wrong and he was going to find out what it was...
There ya go, another chapter! Finally! I know that there wasn't any Naley in this chapter but it will come later, as well as other couples, I promise! I also wanted to say thanks to those who has R&R, it means a lot! I'm gonna go away to Finland for a few days. I'm gonna leave on Wednesday and I'll be back on Monday, which means I won't be able to update this weekend as I had originally planned, because I won't have access to a computer. But review and I'll update as fast as I can after I get back!
Micki
