Haley walked down the main street of Tree Hill browsing in all the windows of the various shops. She couldn't help but make a pit stop in the local ice cream and malt shop. Bubba's frozen custard was her favorite guilty pleasure along with trying on expensive clothes that she knew she couldn't afford.
The sun was beginning to set and as usual Nathan had called and said he wouldn't be on time for dinner. Across the street from the corner of her eye, Haley saw the music shop. Her heart skipped a little bit. It had been a few weeks since New Year's and Tric and she still hadn't called Chris Keller. She meant to and she wanted to but something was holding her back although she didn't know what. Biting her lip, she decided to stroll by. Maybe he'd be working. She had no idea but what was the harm in dropping by? She walked in and immediately began looking for CDs.
"We're closing in five minutes."
The arrogant tone was unmistakable. Chris Keller was definitely on duty.
"Hi. Um, I don't know if you remember me but…"
"Haley something or another. From Tric. You're Goldilocks' friend."
"Uh yeah. Hi. You gave me your number and…"
"You didn't call."
"I didn't. I…I've been busy with stuff. Sorry about that. I just thought I'd drop by."
"Why?"
"I don't know. To buy some CDs maybe. Or I was thinking we could talk."
"Talk about what?"
"Music. Us working together."
"You mean in the studio?"
"Yeah."
"I don't think so."
"Why not? You said…"
"I know what I said but I said it almost three weeks ago. You didn't call so the offer no longer stands."
"Sorry. I didn't know there was an expiration date."
"Call it what you want but I don't have time for your lame ass jokes. I never joke about music. See that picture up there? That's Jeff Buckley. Ever heard of the guy?"
"Yeah. Who hasn't?"
"That man's the reason I became a musician. You know why? Because he never sold out."
"Didn't he also drown in a river?"
"Listen, if you want to work in the studio with me, you've got to be a lot nicer than that."
"I do want to work with you in the studio."
"Think you're good enough?"
"Don't you?"
"It doesn't matter what I think. I asked you first."
"Well yeah…I guess."
"You guess? You can't guess. Guessing doesn't make careers or sell records. Confidence is the key. If you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect anyone else to?"
"You're right."
"I know I'm right. Now I'm cool with laying down some tracks but you have to be serious about this."
"I am", she breathed. "I'm ready."
"Okay. I believe you. Look, I have to lock up but we could talk some more about this. There's a pizza place down the block…"
"Pizza? Um, okay…sure. I have a few minutes."
Haley waited nervously as Chris continued shutting down the store. Minutes later they were walking side by side down the block. They went in and a waitress seated them at a table near the front where they ordered Cokes.
"So, you write a lot?"
"Some", Haley shrugged.
"Got anything on you?"
"Actually…"
She reached into her purse and pulled out a few folded pieces of notebook paper she had scribbled lyrics on. Chris took them and glanced over the words.
"You're a good writer."
"Thanks", she smiled.
"I said good, not great. In this business you have to be great. Good doesn't cut it. Your songs have a lot of meaning, we just need to work on making them edgier."
"Edgier?"
"Yeah. Take this part right here. What's the melody?"
Haley hummed him the tune she had been working on.
"It's too soft. The typical Celine Dion type ballad. Those are okay but you need to work on your range. Broaden your horizons. Try taking those words and making it more of a rock song."
"I don't think I could."
"Sure you can. Listen…"
He put her words to a harder harmony and a smile broke across Haley's face. She couldn't believe how different and how much better the song sounded already. Chris was really talented. Together they sat over pizza and soft drinks discussing music.
A few feet away, the front door opened. Nathan pulled out his cell phone and dialed home. No answer. That was odd. Haley should have been there by then. He felt bad about her always cooking dinner so he had decided to grab a pizza instead. Her favorite toppings varied so to be safe he wanted to consult with her first. He pushed the "send" button linking to her cell phone. As soon as he did, he jumped as he heard the ring tone from the Gavin DeGraw song "I Don't Wanna Be". That's weird, Nathan thought. Haley had that exact ring tone programmed into her cell from any phone calls from Nathan.
"Chris, excuse me for a sec. That's my husband."
Haley answered the phone but Nathan had already walked towards her.
"Hales? What are you doing here?"
"Hi, baby", she said, kissing him. "Um, you remember Chris from Tric? We ran into each other and we've been going over material to record. Isn't that great?"
Nathan looked down at the little punk who had barely acknowledged him and who was now giving him a sickening smirk. There was something that bothered him about Haley working with the guy. It bothered him even more that they were "working" over dinner.
"Yeah. It's great", Nathan mumbled.
"What are you doing here?"
"I got off early, well earlier than usual and I didn't want you cooking. I was gonna grab us a pizza."
"Oh sweetie, thank you. Um, Chris and I already ate though. I'm pretty full."
"Yeah, I bet. Anyway, I haven't eaten since lunch and I'm starving. I'm gonna get something to go. I don't want to interrupt so I guess I'll see you back at the house."
Nathan wasn't mad but he crossing the annoyed line, one that Haley recognized all too well. It was getting late and they had accomplished enough for the night.
"No, babe. I'll ride back with you. Chris, thanks so much for all your help. I had a really great time and I'm really looking forward to the studio."
He simply nodded and the couple left. On and on the whole night Nathan and endured his wife talk about recording music at the studio and writing lyrics with Chris. Chris was so cool. Chris was so talented. Chris had connection. Please. Nathan wanted to throw up. He didn't want to rain on his wife's parade. Haley was truly talented and always sacrificing for everyone else. It was good to see her go after something for herself. Still she didn't need Chris and more importantly, Nathan didn't trust him.