I hope you all like this one.
Chapter 10
Haley's eyes raked over Nathan's body as he got them a drink from the bar. She could see every muscle in his back through his shirt, and damn his back was sexy. When Jamie had woken them up a few days ago, it had been awkward to say the least. They both had killer hangovers, and couldn't remember much of what happened, but they knew their relationship was taking a turn in the wrong direction. They'd spent four years pushing it to the side, but Haley wasn't sure how much longer she could do that. Or how much longer she wanted to do that.
Nathan walked over, handing her the drink silently, letting out a deep breath. He moved to stand next to Lucas casually, glancing over at Haley. Out of all the models they'd seen tonight, she was the most beautiful person in the room. But apparently he needed to be drunk to be brave enough to tell her that. He let out a small sigh, looking up at Brooke, who rushed over to them.
"So? What did you guys think?" Brooke asked, raising her eyebrows.
"It was great, Brooke." Haley said, smiling at her.
"Everything you do is amazing, Brooke Davis." Lucas hummed, winking at her.
"I thought it was good." Jake agreed with them, shrugging slightly.
Peyton nodded her head, smiling at her friend. "You did awesome."
Brooke turned to Nathan, raising her eyebrows. "What about, Nate? Anyone catch your eye?"
"Uh, yep. Great job." Nathan said, shrugging his shoulders and glancing over at Haley very briefly.
"Thank you." Brooke hummed, letting out a deep breath. "I feel so much relief now that it's over." She chuckled, nodding at them.
"It was great, Brooke. You were worried for nothing." Lucas assured her, nodding.
"You have to say that." Brooke reminded him, before letting out a deep breath. "Let's go get a drink, Lucas. Since Nathan only brought Haley one and didn't think to ask the rest of us." She said, turning to Nathan and sticking out her tongue, before grabbing Lucas' arm and rushing towards the bar.
Nathan rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "In my defense, none of you told me what you wanted." He said, looking at Peyton and Jake.
"Neither did Haley." Jake said, looking at the two of them, raising his eyebrows.
Haley let out a deep breath, shaking her head. "Yes I did." She said simply, shrugging her shoulders. It was a lie, but she didn't want to bring any attention to Nathan and herself.
"Mhm." Peyton said, nodding at them. "Jake, go get me a drink. Surprise me." She hummed, nodding towards the bar.
Jake looked at Peyton, nodding slowly. "Don't stick your foot where it doesn't belong, Sawyer." He grumbled to her, before walking after Brooke and Lucas to the bar.
They could feel Peyton's eyes on them, observing how they were with each other. Nathan was standing awfully close to Haley, slightly behind her. Haley's shoulder was almost leaning back into Nathan's shoulder. They looked like a couple. It was none of her business, but she was going to intervene anyways.
"Nathan, a word." Peyton said, clearing her throat.
"Uh, I'm alright. Thanks though, Peyton. Wouldn't want to leave Haley all alone." Nathan responded, nodding at her.
Haley looked up at him, shaking her head. "I'll be fine, Nathan." She said, nodding at him and biting her lip. "I can take care of myself."
Nathan looked between the two girls, letting out an exaggerated sigh. "Alright." He grumbled, letting Peyton drag him away.
"Look, Peyton- I don't want to talk about it." Nathan began, shaking his head.
Peyton looked over to where Haley was standing. "You like her." She said simply.
"I don't want to." He whispered, letting out a deep breath. "She has a boyfriend."
"Don't you have a girlfriend?" She questioned him.
"No." He responded, sighing softly.
"Nathan..." Peyton trailed off, looking up at him.
"Save it, Peyton. I'm not going to do anything about it." Nathan grumbled, rolling his eyes. "There's too much to lose."
"I think you should go for it." Peyton said simply, shrugging.
"I know, Peyton. It would mess everything- What?" He asked her, blinking in surprise.
"Don't think about Jesse, don't think about Jamie. Think about yourself." Peyton said, resting her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe let a little of smug, every girl wants me, high school Nathan Scott out if you need to."
"I can't, Peyton. I just can't." He said simply, shaking his head.
Peyton looked up at him, before looking over at Haley. "I don't want to see Haley hurting, Nathan. So if you hurt her again, I'll beat your ass. But I don't want to see you suffering because if you don't do something soon, you could lose your chance. If she turns you away, that sucks. But don't wonder what if." She said simply.
Nathan followed her gaze over to Haley, nodding slowly. "It could get messy." He said softly.
"It could." She confirmed, shrugging slightly. "But eventually she's going to get over your stupid ass and realize how great Jesse is for her."
"He's not that great for her." He grumbled, shaking his head.
"Or maybe it will be another guy." Peyton responded, nodding in Haley's direction. A guy had appeared at her side and struck up a conversation with her. "But eventually, she's going to find someone. It's up to you to decide whether you want that someone to be you or not." She said simply, brushing off his shoulder. "I'm going to go find my husband." She said, before rushing away from him.
Nathan let out a deep breath. Peyton didn't make sense to him a lot of the time, she never had. But the message she was sending was clear. Could he risk it and put it all out on the line? Brooke would slap him upside the head and tell him to leave Haley alone. Lucas would tell him that he wanted him and Haley to both be happy. Jake would probably tell him the same as Peyton. He knew that his feelings for Haley were emerging, and he definitely knew he didn't like the guy that was talking to her right now. But... He did like Jesse. He thought Jesse was a good guy. He could cut off any friendship ties with him easily, though. Jamie was where it got the most complicated. If they started up their relationship, and things didn't work out... It would crush their small son. But if it did work out... They'd bring him a lot of joy. Was his the possibility of his sorrow equal to the possibility of bringing him some joy? Nathan had no clue. He could feel his heart rate speed up at the thought of telling Haley how he felt. They were becoming friends again. Coming closer to the bond they had in high school. But he'd hid his feelings for her then, and it took them years to tell each other how they felt. If he waited years... She could be married. He felt sorrow from just the thought of her being married to another man. He didn't want that.
Nathan let out a deep breath. He was going to tell her. Tonight. Eventually... Maybe. Hopefully. He just needed to find the perfect time and the right words and he'd be set. Opening up and being vulnerable wasn't his thing, but he'd give it his best shot. For Haley.
He headed back over to her, pausing behind her and clearing his throat.
The dude healthy was talking to met his eyes, blinking quickly. "Your boyfriend is Nathan Scott?" He said slowly.
Haley raised her eyebrows, glancing up at Nathan. "Um..." She trailed off, thinking for a second, before nodding. "Yep." She said, shrugging slightly.
Nathan looked down at her, resting his hand on the small of her back. "I've been looking for you." He responded, nodding at her. He met the guy's eyes again, "It's nice to meet you." He said, smirking slightly.
"I am so sorry, I was just hitting on your girl." The guy grumbled, shaking his head. "I'm a huge fan."
"It's alright." Nathan chuckled, pulling Haley into his side.
"Dude, this is so awkward but can I get a picture with you?" He asked quickly, nodding at him.
"Yeah. Sure." Nathan chuckled, looking down at Haley. "Hales, do you mind...?" He trailed off.
"No, not at all." Haley said, taking the guys phone, taking a quick picture of them.
"I'm sorry for bothering you guys." He said, nodding at them. "Have a great night." He said quickly, disappearing.
Nathan turned and looked at her. "Are you okay?" He asked her quietly.
She nodded at him, raising her eyebrows. "Yeah, I'm fine. He's harmless." She said softly. "Are you okay?"
"I'm alright." Nathan replied, shrugging his shoulders and looking at her. "So boyfriend, hm?"
"Shut up, I don't need some college kid hitting on me. I'm a mother." Haley laughed, shaking her head and shoving him softly.
"Is a rule that you're not allowed to hit on people once they become moms?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.
"We all got together and decided that if they look like they haven't hit puberty yet, and approach you by asking for your number because they forgot theirs, then it's a no go." She said, smiling up at him.
"Damn. Guess I need to cross a few women off my list." He said, shaking his head. "It takes bravery to talk to a girl as stunning as you, and you turned him away."
"What can I say? I'm mean." She said simply, shaking her head. "He told me that his sister is one of the models though, so do with that what you will."
"Babe, you're all I want." He said, shaking his head and winking at her.
Haley felt her cheeks flush at that. He was just joking, she knew that. But she didn't want him to be. It was terrible of her to want him so bad, when she had a boyfriend. And she continued to tell herself that, but she continued to care less and less.
"Funny." She grumbled, rolling her eyes.
"So tell me more of these 'Mom' rules that you and all the other moms is the world have decided upon." He said, laughing quietly.
"Make fun of me all you want, Scott. Don't forget, I'm your kid's mom." She said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Trust me, I would never forget." He said, smirking at her.
She looked up at him, letting out a shaky breath. The look in his eyes made her insides melt. That damn smirk on his face made her heart speed up. Stupid Nathan Scott and his stupid handsomeness.
"Well, there's the rule of never letting your children leave the table until they eat their vegetables." Haley said softly.
"Funny, I didn't realize you were my mother. In college you wouldn't let me leave the table until I ate my vegetables." He responded, laughing.
"Oh shut up. That's not true and you know it." She said, rolling her eyes.
"Sorry for interrupting, continue." He said, crossing his arms and nodding at her.
"Well, I have to endlessly torture him with piano lessons." She said, laughing. "He's not a big fan of that one."
"If he wants to be as talented as his mother, he better keep working at it." Nathan said, nodding at her.
Haley smiled at him, nodding slowly. "That's what I keep telling him." She said softly, letting out a deep breath. She watched as Nathan took a subtle step closer to her, glancing around.
"It's funny, you know." He said softly. "This whole thing." He mumbled, gesturing around the room.
"What's funny?" She questioned him, raising her eyebrows.
He hesitated for a second, swallowing nervously. "All these models, but the most beautiful girl in the room wasn't one of them." He said in almost a whisper, winking at her. Maybe he was braver than he thought, and he didn't need to be drunk.
Haley closed her eyes, biting down on her bottom lip. She forced herself to look up at him, "Oh?" She said softly.
Nathan looked down at her, studying her features for a moment, before meeting her eyes. "And when I say that, I mean Brooke Davis, of course." He said, smirking slightly.
She laughed softly, nodding her head. "I'd have to agree with you on that one." She said, smiling at him. Of course, she knew he wasn't talking about Brooke. He had made it perfectly clear that he was talking about herself. But he was making the situation a little more light. Did they really need to get into feelings? She was honestly enjoying Nathan's presence and friendship again. She'd forgotten over the years just how much she liked spending time with him one on one. He was genuine with her. After their break up, they'd lost that bond. But she could feel it rebuilding.
"So, let me ask you something." Nathan said, looking at her once again. "What pick up lines are you supposed to use on moms?"
"Assuming just being Nathan Scott doesn't impress people enough, you need to use pick up lines? You must be off your game, Scott. In high school, you always had someone interested in you." She hummed, shrugging slightly. "It depends on the age."
"Say... Twenty-four?" He said, looking at her and smirking. "Hypothetically, if I was going to hit on a twenty-four year old mother, of course."
Haley kinked one eyebrow, laughing quietly. "Alright, if you were hypothetically going to hit on a twenty-four year old mom, I would guess anything from 'Are you an interior decorator? Because when I saw you, the entire room became beautiful.' to 'Even if there was no gravity on earth, I'd still fall for you.' Or, if they happen to have a five year old son, striking a conversation about Mickey Mouse works just as fine." She said, shrugging slightly.
"This is good stuff. I should be writing it down." He said, chuckling and looking down at her.
Haley looked back at him, biting down onto her lip nervously. His gaze was intense. Almost like he was having the same inner argument with himself that she was constantly having with herself when she was around him. Fighting the urge not to grab the other and kiss them right now.
Nathan cleared his throat, "Well, Haley James. Are you an-" He was cut off when he felt two arms wrap around him from behind, playing tugging open the buttons on his shirt, and someone's tongue licking up the back of his neck. What the hell was going on? Who would do that to him? He could name off a list of names in his head, actually, but none that Brooke would have let into this thing. He made eye contact with Haley for a brief second, before whipping around quickly.
"Surprise." The high pitched, voice of his high school ex girlfriend rang out.
"Rachel." Nathan responded, in disbelief. "I thought I saw you up on that stage!" He said, smiling slightly. "I figured my eyes were playing tricks on me. Your hair is darker."
"Well? Are you going to just stand there, or are you going to give me a hug?" Rachel asked him, raising her eyebrows.
He wrapped his arms around her quickly, pulling her into a tight hug.
Haley watched the scene play out, rolling her eyes slightly. She remembered Rachel. She was a bitch and a slut in high school, but for some reason, Nathan had really liked her. For the brief time they dated, Nathan sort of became a jerk again. Not the same guy he was before, but he would blow off their study sessions, or forget he was supposed to go play basketball with Lucas. He'd always apologize and promise he'd make it to the next one, and sometimes he would follow through, and sometimes he wouldn't. Rachel moved here their senior year, and it didn't take her long to get expelled and move away. She'd gotten caught with some cocaine, of course. Nathan had been upset, but not enough to keep a long distance relationship alive. Rachel had not been the biggest fan of her. She thought that Haley spent too much one on one time with her boyfriend. If only she'd known how many times Nathan would sneak into her room at night, even after being with Rachel, and climb into her bed next to her. Here she was again. As far as she knew, this was the first time Nathan had seen Rachel since high school. But the way her fingernails were scratching over his back made Haley extremely uncomfortable. They'd been hugging for awhile. She couldn't help but sigh at the thought of Nathan and Rachel possibly reconnecting. Brooke had somehow become friends with Rachel and never told anyone, she guessed. If Brooke could get over everything Rachel had done, then Nathan definitely could. She felt her heart drop slightly at that, fiddling with her fingers. She was fairly certain that Nathan was about to use one of the pick up lines that he was not so discreetly questioning her about. Who was she to judge, though? People change after high school, and maybe Rachel was different now. Haley had not recognized her with her darker hair. Maybe she was a good fit for Nathan now.
Nathan turned around after another minute, keeping one arm around Rachel. "Rachel, you remember Haley. Hales, Rachel." He said, smiling over at Haley.
"Haley! It's great to see you." Rachel said, walking over and pulling her into a hug. "You look great!"
"Um, thanks Rachel." Haley responded, nodding at her. "You looked beautiful up there tonight. You really do Brooke Davis justice." She said politely, watching Rachel hurry back to Nathan's side. She couldn't help but feel like this was a bit of an act.
"I'd say it it's the other way around." Rachel hummed, watching Nathan button up his shirt again. "So, I heard that you two have a kid together. That's so great! I didn't even know you got married."
Nathan looked over at Haley quickly, before looking back at Rachel. "We didn't... We're not, um..." He stuttered out.
"We're not married." Haley finished, shaking her head slowly.
"Really?" Rachel asked curiously, looking over at Haley. "How have you been, Haley?"
"I've been doing well, Rachel. I'm a teacher at Tree Hill now. We have a great son. Everything is going great." Haley responded, nodding at her. "What about you?"
Rachel laughed, laying her hand on Nathan's chest. "As you can tell, I'm great. I'm a model now, thanks to Brooke. And I love it." She said, resting her head on Nathan's shoulder for a brief second.
Nathan looked uncomfortable, which gave Haley some hope. His arm was still draped around her shoulders though, and he was letting her hands roam all over his torso as she pleased. She looked up when she realized that Rachel was still talking, nodding slowly in response. She had no clue what was just said to her, but she didn't really feel the need to have Rachel repeat it.
"So, are you seeing anyone?" Rachel asked Haley bluntly, raising her eyebrows.
Haley plastered a tight smile into her face, nodding her head slowly. "Yeah, I am."
Nathan let out a small sigh. She was seeing someone. Someone that wasn't him.
Rachel looked up at Nathan, "What about you?" She asked, her hands moving to the open skin on his chest.
"Not currently." Nathan said slowly, shrugging slightly.
Haley has mostly figured this out, but it was like a breath of fresh air that Nathan wasn't seeing Carrie any longer. But of course, here Rachel was. She'd probably seize the opportunity to be with big time basketball star Nathan Scott. Anything to boost her fame. Her thoughts were a little unfair, because maybe Rachel was being genuine, but she suspected otherwise.
"Hm." Rachel said, undoing one of the buttons Nathan had just done up. "Why don't you we go dance then?"
Nathan looked over at Haley, letting out a shaky breath. He really didn't want to leave her. He could sit and talk to her for hours, but as she had just reminded him, she had a boyfriend. And his confidence from before was disappearing at that. The pep talk Peyton had given him was almost a distant memory, even though it had not been that long since she'd talked to him. She terrified him. He had worked up all this nerve and was going to continue trying to sweep her off her feet, but within seconds, he was back to fighting himself.
"Go." Haley said simply, biting her lip. "I'll be fine. I'll find someone else to talk to." She said softly, nodding at him.
He sighed softly, closing his eyes for a second. That hurt a little bit, that she was trying to push him towards Rachel. He nodded slowly, sending her a small smile, and letting Rachel pull him away.
xxxx
The two of the didn't speak for the rest of the night. Nathan always had Rachel hanging around him, and Haley just hung out with Lucas while Brooke was busy.
Since they were in the same hotel, they shared a car ride back though. It was quiet the whole ride, until the driver pulled off to the side of the road before they reached your hotel.
"This is your stop." He said curtly, nodding out the window.
Nathan raised his eyebrows, clearing his throat. "No, it's not." He said, shaking his head.
"I was given specific instructions to drop you off two blocks before your hotel." He responded, shrugging.
"It's pouring rain out there." Nathan said, scowling slightly.
"Sir, I just do what I'm paid to do."
"I'll pay you to take us all the way there." Nathan replied, shaking his head.
"It's fine, Nathan." Haley said softly, sighing. "We can walk." She shrugged, pushing open the car door and getting out.
Nathan blinked at her, glaring at the driver and following her out quickly, slamming the door shut. "What a jerk." He grumbled, shaking his head.
Haley nodded slowly, letting out a small sigh, beginning to walk in the direction of their hotel.
Nathan matched her pace, letting out a deep breath. They walked quietly for about a minute, before Haley turned to him.
"How was Rachel?" She asked him softly.
"She was doing fine. I don't know why I ever dated her, though." He said softly.
"Yeah, I've asked myself that question about a lot of the girls you've dated." She said softly, shaking her head.
"Well, you kind of forced me to her tonight." He replied, crossing his arms.
"You looked at me like you needed permission, Nathan. You seemed fine with her hanging all over you, so I figured you wanted to go off with her. And I was right, you spent the whole night with her." Haley said simply.
"I wanted to spend the night with you." He argued, shaking his head.
"Yeah, well we could be spending every night together if you hadn't kissed Carrie four years ago, hm?" She snapped to him, letting out a deep breath. This was why they couldn't work. Haley still held onto the anger she felt seeing Nathan and Carrie together. It didn't have much to do with Rachel, or any other girl. But the memory of Nathan kissing another girl while they were engaged crushed her. She didn't want to feel that pain again. She worried that if they got close again, he would run off with Rachel, or some other girl that he decided he liked better.
Nathan stopped, grabbing her arm and looking at her. "What the hell did you just say?" He asked her, scowling.
Haley looked up at him, before looking away when the rain started dropping into her eyes. "You heard me." She said softly.
"Say it again, Haley." He demanded, shaking his head.
"I saw you, Nathan. Four years ago. I saw you kissing her." She said simply, letting out a deep breath. "It doesn't matter anymore, I shouldn't have said anything."
"You think I kissed Carrie?" He asked her, frowning down at her.
"You liked her. You let her flirt with you, you let her put her hands all over you, Nathan. I don't think you kissed Carrie, I know you did." Haley said, shaking her head and beginning to walk again.
Nathan grabbed her arm, running his hands through his wet hair. "Haley, we broke up over that?"
"It was a number of things, Nathan. But I couldn't take it after that. I gave you three days to come clean." She said, pushing him softly. "Every time I looked at you, my heart just broke because you weren't the man I loved. You kissed her, and you never came clean about it or anything! I had no clue if it was an on going affair or anything like that."
"Carrie kissed me." He corrected her.
"Does it matter?" She asked him, scowling. "God, Nathan. I knew this was a bad idea. Why should we even talk about this? It isn't going to make a difference."
"Why have we never talked about this, Haley? That's the real question." He asked her, shaking his head. "Do you realize that our whole lives could be different if you would've talked to me?" He snapped, rolling his eyes.
"Maybe you should've talked to me, Nathan! If you would've come clean then maybe we wouldn't be like this."
"Did you see me push her away, Haley? Tell her that I loved you too much to ever let anything happen?" He asked her, shaking his head.
Haley fell silent, looking up at him. She thought back to the memory that she tried so hard not to think about. It was almost as if New York City fell silent for a moment, the only noises she could hear were Nathan's heavy breathing, and the rain pouring down around them, soaking them both. She had not seen him push her away. But the moment their lips touched, Haley couldn't stand to watch anymore, and she left for a few hours. Once she'd returned, Nathan had already been asleep, Jamie as well. Those next days were miserable for her. Her heart ached constantly. To find out it all could've been different... It brought back the aching again.
"You didn't see that." He said, shaking his head. "You assumed the worst out of me, Haley. Just like tonight you assumed that I wanted Rachel draped all over me, and I wanted to dance with her. You were wrong then, and you're wrong now." He said, shrugging slightly. "You're the only person I want." He informed her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked him quietly, turning to look at him.
"Carrie was quitting anyways, and I thought that maybe I could forget it and we could go back to being us." He said simply, looking at her and letting out a deep breath.
Within seconds, Haley was pressed up against him, shivering slightly. She rested her hand on his cheek, brushing her thumb over his wet skin. "Nathan." She said softly, pulling his face down and kissing his cheek softly.
Nathan closed his eyes, resting his hands on her hips carefully, pulling her closer to him. He couldn't believe how much hurt he could've saved her if he would've told her what happened. Or how much hurt he could've saved himself. Carrie had always been a negative influence on their relationship, and the fact that he'd brought her into his life again was an idiotic move. One that he would spend the rest of his life hoping Haley would forgive him for. The fact that she was worried he would ever cheat on her brought so much sorrow to him. He shook his head, looking down into her eyes. They were full of regret, but also full of want, and maybe a little of need. Peyton's words popped into his head. Forget about Jesse, for get about Jamie. Think about Haley.
With that, Nathan pulled her flush against him, letting his arms wrap around her, closing the distance between their mouths and capturing her lips in a heated kiss.