AN: Wow, a month since last update. Bad Fes, bad Fes! But during that month I did finish my final thesis (60 pages total) and graduated from college with a BBA degree. :) Hence, the lack of updates for a while. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter and as always: please review. :)

Quote of the day: Dwight (The Office)

(talking about his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend): "Andy and Angela seem very happy. I hope nothing horrible ever happens to them."

Chapter 9. "Oh When It All, It All Falls Down."

Week 4.

"If you ain't dirty, YOU AIN'T HERE TO PARTY!"

Haley chuckled out loud when she exited her bedroom and heard the loud music from downstairs. It was almost 8 pm and the party was full on. The others had started drinking and having fun about an hour earlier but Haley had felt tired so she had decided to take a nap.

She looked at the downstairs area curiously while descending the stairs. The living room type hang out area with the comfy couches and the huge speakers had been turned into a club with the strobo lights, the deep base music and the disco ball that was now hanging from the beautiful, expensive, antique chandelior.

"Only in MTV…" Haley mumbled to herself while looking at the beautiful chandelier that had to be worth a fortune.

"Yoooooo, Haleeeees!"

Haley turned to look at the drunk, shirtless Tim who was holding a salt shaker, a slice of lemon and a tequila bottle.

"What's up, Tim?" Haley said with a genuine smile not really minding Tim's drunken behavior.

She had always liked Tim. He was sincere, nice, funny and easy to read. Sure, he had his goofy, guy-ish moments but truth to be told, who didn't? Especially in this environment, in this house, Haley thought. She also appreciated the fact that he almost never lied, most likely because he couldn't, and he also seemed to be loyal to his team mate, Bevin.

Honesty and loyalty wasn't easy to find in a person, especially if you were competing for 200 000 dollars but Tim seemed to hold both of those qualities.

"Just partying it up, sistah!" he said. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Taking a nap but I'm here now, ready to party." Haley said smiling.

"Awesome!" he said his eyes lighting up. He suddenly held up the stuff he was holding. "Body shot?"

"No." Haley said with a smile and patted him in the back while walking past him to the kitchen.

"Well, if you change your mind, I'm here. The whole night. You know, whenever is fine!" he yelled after her.

"I'll keep that in mind. Are the others in the kitchen?" she asked.

"Yeah, Nathan was looking for you a while ago." he said.

Haley looked at him thoughtfully while continuing her way towards the kitchen. What could Nathan possible want from her?

"Hey, people."

"HALEY!" Rachel yelled and jumped to give the wide-eyed girl a big hug.

"Whoa! Yeah, umh. Hey, Rach-whore, I mean Rachel." Haley said accidentally using Brooke's nice nickname for Taylor. When she realized that Rachel didn't even notice it, Haley patted the drunk girl in the back.

"I'm so glad you're here." Rachel slurred while poking Haley on the cheek.

Haley looked over Rachel's shoulder trying to find help, from anyone really. Her eyes met with Nathan's who was leaning on the kitchen counter while chatting with Taylor and Lucas. With a smirk, Nathan nodded his head and walked towards the two girls.

"Hey, Rachel. Do you mind if I steal my partner for a second? Thank you…" he said politely and started to push Haley towards the back door that led to the patio before Rachel had time to even answer.

"Yeah, of course not…" Rachel said but the two were already outside.

Rachel shrugged her shoulders and turned to find her next hugging victim.

"TIM!"

Nathan and Haley peeked inside the kitchen and they both let out sighs of relief when they saw Rachel running towards Tim.

"Wow, thanks." Haley said still shaking her head in disbelief. "How much has she drunk?"

"Don't know, don't care." Nathan said as they sat down on the sun chairs that were by the pool.

They both stared at the calm, cool pool for a while in a comfortable silence.

"So, anything new with you?" Nathan asked trying to make small talk and get Haley to tell him what was going on.

"Not much, the same. I'm glad we didn't do so badly at the challenge." Haley said.

"Mm hmm." Nathan nodded his head in agreement. "So, what's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked as coolly as possible even though she was completely thrown off.

"You and Taylor earlier with the whispers and everything." he said. "And not just today, this whole time here. I'm not stupid, you know. If something's going on-"

"Nothing's going on."

"-then I need to know." Nathan continued ignoring Haley's comment.

Nathan stared at Haley for a second while she was playing with the hands, suddenly finding them extremely interesting. She took a deep breath and turned to look at Nathan.

"Nothing's going on." she said again.

"Okay." Nathan said and stayed silent for a minute his patience starting to run low. What does she think I am, a retard?

"But if something is-" Nathan started with an annoyed voice but didn't get far.

"Stop it!" Haley snapped but then softened up. "Sorry, didn't mean to sound bitchy. I guess I'm still a bit sleepy or something. But to answer your question: no, there's nothing going that could influence our game. Don't worry, partner."

"Ok…" he said first annoyed but then feeling guilty. What if nothing was going on? He had just jumped to conclusions and almost yelled at her.

Haley sighed and got up. "I'm gonna find Tay. Talk to you later."

"Just like old times…" Nathan muttered, as Haley went back inside.

Though she had denied it, he was almost positive that something was going on and he was now even more determined to know what was going on. He went inside and started to look for Haley feeling the need to know everything even stronger than before.

Nathan didn't know why he was being like that, so nosy and pushy. There was just something about her that made him want to know everything. He kept telling himself that it was only for the game, only so that they could become closer and better for the game.

Haley stormed inside and straight out of the kitchen. She was intending to go to her room, lock the door and avoid Nathan for the rest of the time or at least till the next Challenge. She was about to walk upstairs when Brooke came out of the den, holding a phone.

"Hey, Haley. It's for you." Brooke said studying Haley carefully.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Some Matt guy."

Haley opened her mouth in shock and stared at Brooke, suddenly going pale.

"Come again?" Haley asked quietly.

"Phone call from Matt."

Haley reached her hand and took the phone from her slowly. She stared at Brooke for a second, gave her a tight smile and started to walk upstairs with shaky steps. As soon as she got to her room, she slammed the door shut and took in a deep breath.

"Hey, Matt." she said with a shaky, quiet voice not knowing what to expect from the call.

Brooke was still staring at the staircase confused. The discussion she had had earlier was now proving to be a fact. There was something definitely going with the James sisters.

Brooke walked to the dining room where the rest of the group was sitting and drinking. She sat down next to Taylor who was flirting heavily with Lucas. At the same time, a frustrated Nathan came inside.

"Where's Haley?" Nathan asked with a rude voice not even bothering to be polite.

"Huh?" Taylor asked.

"Where's Haley?" Nathan asked impatiently.

"I don't kno-"

"She's upstairs." Brooke said and turned to look at Taylor.

Taylor saw the weird look on Brooke's face and gave her a confused look when Brooke didn't say anything but merely stared.

"What?" Taylor asked confused.

"Who's Matt?" Brooke asked staring at Taylor carefully who was taking a sip from her whine.

Immediately after hearing the name, Taylor choked a bit on her wine and started coughing.

"Excuse me?!" Taylor asked her eyes watering from the lack of air.

"Who's Matt?"

"How… I mean… Wait, what?!" Taylor snapped, now completely covered from the coughing.

"There was a phone call for Haley from some Matt. She's now talking with him." Brooke articulated slowly with a hint of sarcasm. She was slowly but surely starting to lose her patience.

Taylor stared at Brooke with a shocked expression, trying to understand everything she was saying.

"Oh my god." Taylor whispered while jumping up from her chair and sprinting towards the staircase.

"Nuh-huh, this ends tonight." Brooke mumbled as she followed Taylor, Nathan and Peyton right behind her.

"What the hell just happened?" Skills asked confused from the others that were still in the room. They all shrugged their shoulders confused and went back to their drinking, not really even caring what was going on.

Taylor ran the stairs as fast as possible until she got to the bedroom door.

"Hang up the phone, Haley! NOW!" she yelled as she stormed inside the room.

Haley, who was sitting on the bed, wiped away a few tears from her eyes and looked up abruptly when the whole gang stormed in her bedroom.

Taylor snatched the phone from Haley's hand with force. She lifted the phone against her ear and was about to start yelling when she noticed Peyton, Brooke and Nathan staring at her. Instead, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Do not call again, Matty." she whispered and hung up the phone.

The room was silent.

Peyton and Brooke were staring at Taylor who had thrown the phone on the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. Taylor was staring at them both, daring them to say anything. Nathan was staring at Haley who was sitting on her bed trying to hide behind Taylor. She was looking at her feet like they were the most interesting things in the world. Her eyes were red and Nathan had seen her wipe a few tears when they had entered the room.

The silence was broken by a small sniff from Haley and everyone turned to look at her.

"Can we get some privacy?" Taylor asked with a strained voice.

"The hell you will!" Brooke yelled. "What the hell is going on?"

"Nothing that concerns you. Now, leave." Taylor said with a quiet but rude voice and then added with a sugary sweet, borderline sarcastic voice. "Please?"

"We're your friends! We care about you!" Brooke said in a hurt voice.

Brooke couldn't understand why the sisters didn't trust her or Peyton. She knew that they had only known each other a month but to her it felt so much more. They had spent every minute together talking, laughing and gossiping. She had told them personal stuff about her life and now when they refused to do the same, she was felt hurt.

"We wanna help you. Obviously, something's wrong. Please, let us help you." Peyton said with a softer voice.

"There's nothing you can do." Haley said with a dead voice that snapped Nathan out of his staring.

"We can try." he said not taking his eyes off of hers.

"You can help by leaving us alone and giving us our privacy." Taylor said.

When no one made a move, Taylor grabbed Haley by her arm.

"Fine, we're leaving." she said and left the room with Haley.

"Wait, Haley!" Nathan said.

Haley stopped to look at him for a second. She shook her head sadly as if telling him to let it go, and followed her sister. When they were outside the house finally away from the others, Taylor turned to look at Haley with a desperate look.

"How could you do that?! You should've known better!" she yelled with a heartbreaking voice not even caring that there was a camera man and a sound guy right next to them.

"I'm sorry!" Haley said holding back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"You might've compromised everything we've worked for! You know what's at stake here!" she yelled with a sad voice.

"I know!" Haley said apologetically. "But it's Matt!"

"Exactly! It's Matt! You should've never taken his call, Haley. Never! We talked about this!"

"How could I not take his call? You know how things ended between us. I'm glad they, especially him, are even willing to talk to us. To me!"

"They don't understand." Taylor said. "I mean, I know the whole thing is ridiculous but it's not like they came up with anything better."

"I know." Haley said.

Taylor took a deep breath and hugged Haley who swallowed nervously and took a step back. Taylor saw the look on her sister's face. It was dead serious and she didn't have an inch of color on her face.

"What is it?"

"Umh, there's something that…" Haley started with a shaky breath. "I'm so sorry, Taylor. There's something that… something that Matt said that might… It might become a problem." she finished with an ashamed look.

"What problem?" she asked confused.

"I'm so sorry, Tay. I screwed up everything."

Taylor looked at her confused but then a second later she continued with a serious voice and a paler face. "The problem?"

Haley nodded her head slowly.

"Haley! How could you be so stupid?!" Taylor yelled and sat down on the ground with a thud.

Haley sat down next to her. Taylor leaned her head against Haley's shoulder.

"What are we gonna do?" Haley whispered.

"We can either deny everything. Pretend that nothing happened." Taylor said and then laughed bitterly. "Which is gonna be pretty difficult since we're talking about it here right now." she said acknowledging the camera man and the sound guy in front of them.

"We could come clean." Haley said and Taylor let out a laugh. "No, I'm serious."

"What?"

"We should come clean. On our own terms." Haley said suddenly feeling better.

"You're insane." Taylor said.

"No, just think about it." Haley said. "They're gonna find out anyways. This way we control how it's presented. They'll hear our side of the story. And who knows, maybe we won't be kicked out of the show."

"I don't know..." Taylor said.

"Do we really have a choice? By now the producers know everything. We need to do damage control."

"Ok but I can't be there. I can't handle it." Taylor said. "You need to tell them on your own."

"Fine." Haley said actually relieved that she wouldn't have to keep any secrets. Also, she knew how Taylor felt about the secret. The less people talked about it, the easier for Taylor.

They sat there for few minutes in silence, both wondering if it would be their last night in Mexico.

They saw three people walking their way, Molly; the young woman who was an assistant to someone who they had met on their first day in Mexico and also Rob and Elliott; MTV producers who pretty much ran the entire show.

"Haley, may we have a word?" Rob asked as Elliott looked dead serious.

"We've been expecting you." Taylor said and looked at Haley with a small smile. "Go get 'em, Haley-bub." she said using the nickname their family had for Haley.

Haley stood slowly, ruffled Taylor's hair with a smile and a wink and started walking towards the trio.

"Can we go somewhere private?" Haley asked.

"You know we can't-" Molly started and looked at the camera man, thinking that Haley didn't want any cameras around.

"No, I know they will be around. I just meant somewhere away from the house." she said.

"Of course." Rob said with a sympathetic voice. "How about we go to the crew facilities?"

"Sounds good." Haley said and they started their way to the small house that was near the house where Haley had lived the last month.

Once they got there, they went to sit in the back yard, where there was a picnic table and benches. A nervous Haley sat on the one end while the two producers sat opposite of her.

Molly, who was standing, looked at Haley sympathetically.

"Can I get you anything? Food? Something to drink?"

"Could I get some tea, please?" Haley asked.

"Coming up." she said with a smile and went back in the kitchen.

Haley was now alone with Rob and Elliott, the producers. She sat in silence, thinking of how to start her speech. A few minutes later, Molly came back with her tea.

"So, you probably heard the phone call." Haley stated twirling the hot cup of tea on her hands.

Both the men nodded their heads.

"Haley… If what we heard is true, we need to have a very serious conversation. You and your sister lied to us. We need to know exactly what's going on." Rob said seriously.

"So, why don't you tell us everything. In your words, in your way. We won't interrupt you." Elliott said with a kind smile.

Haley took a small sip of the hot tea and took a deep breath.

"I'm sick."

Even though they already knew it because they had heard Matt mention it on the phone, both men and Molly gasped in shock.

"I have cancer. Had cancer. Well, I mean I guess you can never really know for sure it won't return. It's called Non-Hodgins Lymphoma. I was diagnosed when I was 13 and since that I've been doing mostly radiation therapy and some chemo. It was diagnosed aggressive but curable. I am cured. I've finished all therapy and I'm now in remission. The cancer is gone – for now – but my family and I are stuck with hospital bills of almost $100'000 which we don't have. And not to even mention that there's no guarantee it won't come back." she said and took a deep breath.

The entire speech she had spoken with a polite, professional voice as if she was talking about some fictional character instead of herself. It was obvious she had had that speech too many times in her life.

"Look." Haley said in a softer, more personal voice. "I don't need any special treatment, trust me I've had enough treatment for a lifetime but like I said, the cancer is gone. I'm not dying or anything. The reason why Taylor and I applied for this show is to win the money so we can pay off the hospital debt. I know it's a long shot and the odds of that happening are slim to none but at least it's a chance, no matter how small it is. Please, let us stay in the show."

"Why weren't you honest from the beginning? I mean, we had a similar situation with the Fresh Meat season in 2005 and everything went fine." Rob said.

"I never really watched the show to tell you the truth, it was more Taylor's thing but the reason we never talked about it was because we were afraid you wouldn't let us on the show for medical reasons. Above all, it was because I wasn't ready for the whole country to know something that personal about me. I didn't wanna become some charity case for people to pity on."

"I understand but I still hope you would've been honest." Elliott said with a sigh and turned to look at Rob who just nodded his head.

"Well, this doesn't mean that you or your sister are out of the show." Rob said and smiled when Haley let out a sigh of relief and gave a huge, happy grin. "But we will have to talk to your doctor to find out every little detail. If he says you're fit to continue, we have no reason to disagree with that."

"Yes, of course. It should be fine, he's aware that I'm here now. I'll give you his contact information." Haley said happily.

"You do realize that all of this will air? Everyone will know about your condition." Elliott said.

"Yeah, I figured as much." Haley said sighing. "I'll learn to deal with it by then."

"Is there anything you need?" Rob asked.

"No, I'm fine. I've been living with this for the last 8 years. But I promise I will let you know if anything comes up."

"Good. Are you gonna tell the other people? Nathan?" Molly asked quietly. Nathan and Haley had been her favorite team since the beginning.

"I don't know, they're all freaking out 'cause they don't know what's going on. Tay and I were supposed to lay low and not act weird but that obviously didn't work. I don't know if I'm ready to tell anyone anything yet. I'll have to think about it." Haley said.

"Sounds good." Elliott said and they all stood up.

"Thanks for listening and understanding." Haley said shaking the men's hands.

"Thank you for being honest. We'll be in touch with you after we've talked with your oncologist." Elliott said.

"Thank you." Haley said and wrote down the information they needed to contact her doctor.

Haley waved goodbye to everyone and started to walk back towards the house. She had mixed feelings about everything that was happening. She was incredibly glad that she didn't have to lie to MTV anymore but she also knew the situation back at the house.

Haley was mad at herself for letting her issues become so big in the house. Nathan, Brooke and Peyton were all part furious, part concerned and part confused about everything that was happening. They must've been thinking that that Matt guy was her abusive ex or something.

Matt. Haley scoffed out loud while thinking his name. Matt was her oldest brother, the most out-spoken in the family, the one who hated anything mainstream and all reality TV. He was the one who was more against Haley and Taylor participating in a reality show than any other member in their family and he was also the one who had gotten the whole family against Haley and Taylor.

After Matt had convinced the entire family that the MTV reality show would damage Haley's future and possible even cause psychological trauma, he had also argued that the girls couldn't live a normal life after the show aired and that Haley becoming the pity case for the entire country because of her past cancer, would screw up her changes for a normal, stable future. Not to even mention the possibility that the sisters might be portrayed badly by the editors of the show.

Matt, though he despised reality TV, knew what kind of people took part in those shows and he didn't want her sisters to have to live with that kind of reputation.

Matt happened to also be a lawyer which meant that he was very much capable of making long, impressive, manipulative speeches. He had managed to get the entire family against the idea of the girls taking part of the show and when Taylor and Haley had stuck by their decision, their parents and all of their siblings had exploded.

Their parents had cried, their sisters had begged them not to do it, the twins Chris and Brian had gotten angry and Matt had just decided to take the quiet stand. Haley and Taylor had stuck with their decision even though it had gotten to the point where they hadn't talked with Matt for over two months. That was until now. Haley had almost given into her family's demands but Taylor's decisiveness and will to help her sister had changed Haley's mind.

Family was the most important thing in Haley's life so when everyone had been mad at her, against her and practically not talking to her, Haley had been miserable. Her family's inability to support her and Taylor's decision had affected her so much that she had also started to doubt the decision to try to win the money through a reality show. That's why she had been so much against the show the first few weeks they were there.

And now Peyton was worried, Brooke was angry and Nathan was confused. Her and Taylor's decision to "lay low" and not talk about the cancer had backfired badly. She had no idea what the others were thinking and what they thought was going on.

Haley gave an angry huff while continuing towards the cast house. All of this drama, trouble and heartache because of a stupid tumor she didn't even have anymore. So, she had had cancer. Past tense. No cancer no more. She was fine and healthy. Sure, a bit skinny and anaemic but other than that fine. Except for the fact that I owe a hundred grand for the stupid treatments because of the stupid cancer, Haley thought annoyed.

Haley could still remember the day she found out about her cancer. She had felt sick and weak for months but thought it was just part of growing up and hormons and everything teenage girls went through when they started to grow up.

Her parents had taken her to a doctor and then a few weeks later, the day before her 13th birthday, she had gotten the call. Non-Hodgins Lymphoma. Aggressive. Radiation therapy. All before she had even had her first kiss.

Her entire teen life had gone by in different hospitals, in different rehabilitation centers, with shrinks, crisis workers, et cetera, et cetera. The first year she had wallowed in self pity. Why her? What had she done wrong? How could the world be so cruel to her?

Then one day she had gotten a new roommate at the children's hospital, an 8-year-old girl, Linda, with aggressive brain cancer. Linda told she had 10-12 months left to live. The girl died a year later, right after her 9th birthday.

That had opened Haley's eyes. Though she had cancer, they had found it early enough so it hadn't spread. The radiation therapy was tough and she had lost hair and lot of weight but she was never in fear of dying, she had always had good odds of surviving. She was getting healthy again. Haley realized how good her life actually was and how bad it could've been.

After that she never pitied herself again but what she wasn't prepared for was everyone else's pity.

As soon as anyone heard the word cancer from Haley's mouth, they all reacted the same. Huge eyes, a small gasp of horror, mouth open a bit in shock, a quiet whisper of "oh no" or "oh my god" or the one that Haley hated the most: "you poor thing".

When Haley tried to explain that she was not dying and that her life wasn't that bad, they all gave sympathetic smiles and pats on her shoulders thinking that she was trying to deny her sickness and be strong. Haley hated that pitiful look on everyone's face. In fact she hated it so much that she had refused to speak about her cancer to anyone. In her mind, it wasn't even an issue anymore. It had been years since she conquered it. Now, if she only got rid of the bills, she could finally forget that she was ever sick.

The only person who didn't treat her like a fragile piece of glass was Taylor. Sure, she had been devastated in the beginning but it was like she saw the change in Haley and understood that being pitied was the worst thing that could happen for her. Taylor was the only person who Haley was absolutely comfortable with.

Taylor made Haley feel like a normal person mostly because she didn't pity her but also because she refused to talk about the cancer. For Taylor, if she didn't talk about it, it didn't exist and Haley was more than fine with not talking about it. It wasn't as if she liked to be reminded about it either.

Haley took a deep breath as she opened the front door of the MTV house. Should she tell the others about her cancer or just keep her mouth shut? It would be easier if everyone knew and she wouldn't have to lie anymore.

She opened the door and froze when she saw the waiting group of people staring at her. Peyton and Brooke looked half angry, half confused. Taylor was looking at her as if trying to silently ask if they could stay in the show. The last person Haley looked was Nathan.

He was sitting on the stairs, leaning his arms on his legs, staring at Haley with face of mixed emotions. Haley could identify sadness, confusion and worry in his features but there was something in his eyes that was different, something different but very familiar to Haley. Haley closed her eyes mortified when she realized what it was.

Pity.

Oh no.

Haley took a deep breath, making her decision.

Nathan can never know.

AN: So, any thoughts on the chappie? MANY of you guessed what was wrong with Haley on your reviews (I think one of you even figured it out like 5 chapters ago) :) So yeah, it was pretty predictable huh. :) And yes, I also know it's a total rip-off of the Fresh Meat season where Diem had cancer and didn't tell anyone. The reason I even decided to have Haley go through the same was 'cause Diem was my favorite that season and the friendship she had with Derrick was just so beautiful.

Besides, all stories need some drama to keep the storyline interesting. But don't worry, I won't make Haley's past cancer the main thing, it's just something that gives her character and Taylor a bit more debth and makes the reader understand that they are not just in the game to get famous.

On another note, I have no experience with cancer personally and have no idea how long remission is or how long a patient even has time to pay off the bills so try to bear even if you know that something I wrote is incorrect. ANYHOO, please review as always. :)

And let me know your opinion: Do you think Haley will tell Nathan? If so, when and how should she do it?

xoxo

Fes