That must be the fastest chapter I've ever gotten out. That's what good reviews do. Ahem, hint, hint.
Anyways, I wanna advertise Brittany's (xtutorgirlx) new forum (http / z 4 .invisionfree. com/The(underscore)CW/index.php?act (equal sign) idx). JOIN! I mean...yeah, check it out. (Without the spaces, and for the underscore&equal sign, use those symbols, lol) Okay, without furthur ado, here's chapter 9:
Chapter 9: Regrettable Decisions and Uncontrollable Feelings.
Brooke panted as she tried to catch up to Nathan. "Nathan! Wait up!" she yelled, out of breath when she finally caught up to him and slowed her stride. "Look, that really wasn't what it looked like. I'd never elope with a bastard like him."
Nathan raised his eyebrows skeptically. "So you never slept with him either?"
He was answered with silence, as the brunette girl in front of him was unable to say anything. "I guess that answers my question," he shrugged, walking away.
"Wait-," she pleaded, reaching out her hand to grab his arm. "It was a mistake. I would never hurt Haley on purpose, and I know that's not an excuse, but you have to believe me Nathan."
"A mistake only happens once, Brooke," he informed her, turning around to face her as he folded his arms across his chest.
"I know, and I am completely to blame. It's just that Haley left, and she didn't inform anybody at all. I was hurt, mad, and confused as to why she didn't confide in me like she always had. Somehow he was there, and I guess we had too much too drink, and one thing led to another," Brooke explained, the argument seeming trivial even to her as she went on.
"She would be devastated, Brooke," he said. The look in his eyes was unmistakable, and she knew then that this guy possessed a deep concern for Haley; the way his eyes were etched with sorrow at even the thought of her finding out such a thing.
"I know." Brooke took a deep breath as she fell onto the ground, and buried her face in her arms. "I know."
Nathan sighed as he dropped down next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Brooke looked up at him, her eyes starting to water with regret. "Nathan, please don't say anything. I know I'm asking for a lot, but I couldn't bear to ever hurt Haley in that way."
"You already have," he told her softly, "I won't say anything, but I think it's in your best interest to tell her." They fell into a comfortable silence for a while after, neither speaking a word as they got consumed in their thoughts.
Nathan knew that no matter what, he could never look Haley in the eye and tell her something that would hurt her in such a way. Yet he also knew that if she found out in a different way, it would hurt her even more.
Even though this had all just started to get away from his father, and earn a little extra cash, along the way he had developed genuine concern for Haley, and had really grown to care for her. Her annoying attributes had somehow turned adorable. He was beginning to enjoy their little bickering sessions, and sometimes he even looked forward to them, for arguing with her over a petty thing was better than not talking to her at all. She had certain spunk to her, a spark that he had never witnessed before. No doubt about it, he was starting to fall for Haley James.
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Haley walked out of the entertainment room, getting ready to go see if Nathan had gotten the cake and food arrangements settled. She had finally arranged all the decorations in the church, and everything was taken care of except for what she had asked Nathan to do.
She smiled thinking of how much of help he had been. Sure, she was paying him, but somehow when he helped her it seemed genuine, like it wasn't his job to do it, but he sincerely wanted to. One might call her delusional, but it was the feeling she got. She had begun to enjoy spending time with him, whether she liked to admit it or not. She loved to go walk into his room and talk to him, even if it was a mere one minute bickering. She was starting to enjoy their pointless remarks at each other, and even his cockiness was starting to seem cute, not annoying. No doubt about it, she was starting to fall for Nathan Scott.
The grin remained on her face as she continued walking through the small hallway. She hummed to herself, stopping by her room to pick up a diamond bracelet she had found earlier and knew Brooke would adore, which went perfectly with her wedding dress. She scrunched her eyebrows together, seeing Brooke sitting in the hallway a few feet down, obviously upset about something. She walked a little closer, wanting to comfort her sister, when she caught sight of another figure next to her.
Nathan.
She bit her lip, and took a few steps back as he placed his hand on her shoulder. She didn't know why this small display of affection bothered her so much, but she couldn't deny that it did. Not to mention it was completely insane, because Brooke was crazy in love with Lucas, and her sister would never do something like that to her. It wasn't even like Nathan was her fiancé anyway, so she had no excuse to be upset with him. Yet, that didn't stop a slow tear from falling out of her eye, as the sensitive side of her took over and she ran to her room, and fell onto her bed.
It was stupid, really, crying over something that seemed so trivial. It wasn't even like they were doing anything, but seeing Nathan so intimate with someone else really struck a nerve in her. The worst part was, she knew that he didn't belong to her. At the end of the day, he had no reason to remain faithful because their relationship was a lie.
It was all based on a scheming, fraudulent lie, and to think it all started to make her ex-fiancé jealous.
She almost chuckled to herself, thinking why this whole thing had started. She didn't even have the tiniest amount of feelings for Chris anymore, and the butterflies she used to get were long gone. The way her heart broke when she saw him flirt with another girl, or that feeling that used to consume her when she hadn't spoken to him, it all just wasn't there anymore. As odd as it seemed, all the feelings she had for him then, weren't even close to measuring up to what she felt for Nathan right then, at this moment.
She hated herself for feeling like this. Feeling like she had to cry over something so silly, so jovial. But along the way, she had grown to love this man so much, that it hurt. It wasn't the simple high school crush thing, it was the heart aching not knowing he's okay type thing. Yet, it felt so silly to her, to feel so completely powerless, like she was still in high school and couldn't tell her crush how she felt, or something.
"Hales?"
She quickly wiped her cheeks at the voice, faking a smile as she turned around, and brought herself into a sitting position. "Hey Nathan. What's up?" she asked casually as he advanced further into the room. It took all her willpower not to breakout into tears, when all she wanted to do in that moment was to run into his arms and have him hold her.
"Hales, what's wrong?" he asked as he took a seat on her bed, knowing the moment his eyes found hers that everything wasn't okay.
"What are you talking about Nathan?" Haley rolled her eyes casually. "Everything's fine, why wouldn't it be?"
He looked at her sadly, knowing that every word coming out of her mouth was a lie. Instinctually, he reached his hand out to her cheek. "Your eyes tell me different. What's got you so down?"
"It's nothing. It's stupid, really, forget about it." Her voice broke off as she talked, and tears came down unwillingly. She didn't know why she was crying so much, but the emotions caught up to her, as she gave up and started sobbing uncontrollably.
"Hales…" Nathan whispered softly as he took her into his arms, and started rubbing her back soothingly. He wondered what was wrong, having spoken to her just barely two hours ago. He hoped to god that she hadn't heard the conversation between him and Brooke, but all he knew was that he never wanted to see her this broken again.
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