A/N: well, 2 weeks later and i finally have something for all you great people. sorry about the wait. I literally have 13 different drafts of this... usually i got 2 or three paragraphs in and it sucked so bad I couldn't keep writing. But, I was really sick today so instead of going to school i sat at my computer and battled through it and I'm pretty happy with what came out.

Thanks to everyone for the reviews. they really mean alot.

ENJOY THE CHAPTER

The loud blast of the coaches whistle echoed off the walls of the gym, signaling the end of the long, grueling, first practice back since Spring Break. Struggling to take full, deep breaths, the players jogged to the sidelines, taking their seats and immediately began reaching for their water bottles. Nathan rested his elbows on his knees and his head in the palms of his hands. He was exhausted. Not only had practice taken its toil on him, he hadn't had a decent nights sleep since Mexico. Lucas, panting heavily, quickly drank half of his water and gripped his side, praying that the uncomfortable cramping feeling would disappear.

Coach K was taller than everyone on the team, which automatically made him a force to be reckoned with on and off the court. No one, especially his players, wanted to be the one that he was pissed at. Silence fell over the room as he paced the floor in front of the bleachers, laughing to himself for a reason no one knew. Finally, after the team seemed to have caught their breath, he stopped in front of them, still chuckling lightly to himself and clapped his hands slowly, making the point obvious that he wasn't impressed

"So, did you morons drink all of the tequila in Mexico, or just most of it?" he questioned sarcastically, his deep voice echoing off the walls of the gym, making it seem twice as loud as it was. His face turned red and Lucas could swear his saw a vein bulging from his neck, threatening to explode. He ran one hand through his blonde hair, clearly frustrated and threw the clipboard he was holding in the other roughly on the floor. "You're gone for a week and a half – nine days – and the few of you that don't come back out of shape and hung over are too damn distracted to be of any use to me!"

Nathan glanced up, feeling his coach's gaze burning holes in the top of his head. He nodded, silently acknowledging the fact that he needed to pick up his game before playoffs started.

Again, there was silence as each exhausted player hung their head low, feeling the shame of disappointing Coach K. The tension in the air was thick, far to thick and uncomfortable for the cheerleaders who were standing awkwardly in the corner near by. When the captain suggested they sneak away quietly, none of the girls objected.

"After today's practice, I bet our cheerleaders could give you idiots a run for your money," Coach K continued, glancing over his shoulder to give the girls a quick glare which made everyone of them feel uncomfortable. Within seconds they had crossed the gym floor to the girls change room and the boys were left alone in the silent gym. "Conditioning practice. Tomorrow, five AM sharp. Now, hit the showers! You guys stink!" Coach K boomed before turning and walking away towards his office.

A synchronized groan came from the group as they thought about the early Sunday morning practice. After gathering their gym bags and water bottles, the team slowly walked across the gym to their dressing room, longing for the hot water of the shower to ease their aching muscles. Nathan however, didn't move from his spot on the bleachers.

Roughly running his hands through his hair, he looked around at the empty gym and let out an exhausted sigh. For as long as he could remember, an empty gym has been his safe haven. In high school when his mom and dad were constantly fighting at home, he would sneak out into the middle of the night and go to his schools gym. He'd shoot free throws or run suicides until he couldn't move anymore which sometimes wasn't until two or three in the morning. His muscles would burn and he'd be exhausted the next day at school, but for those few hours, he'd forget about the problem at hand.

Looking out across the gym, he found no answers to his questions. No resolutions to his problems. For the first time in his life, he couldn't fix this by distracting himself with basketball. This was bigger than that. Resting his head in his hands once again, he let out a frustrated sigh and then sat in stillness, trying to figure out what to do next.

"You gonna sit out here all afternoon?"

Nathan jumped, startled by the voice that cut through the silence of the empty gym. He wasn't expecting anyone to interrupt his thinking, but he smiled gratefully when he saw Brooke standing in front of him. He patted the spot next to him and, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, ran his hands through his dark brown hair as he waited for her to sit next to him.

"What are you still doing here?" he questioned, focusing his gaze on the hardwood of the basketball court.

"Waiting for Lucas," she replied simply. "You?"

Silently he shifted his gaze to look at her. Shrugging his shoulders lightly, he gave her a small smile. "Just… thinking."

Without questioning him, Brooke knew that he was thinking about Haley. It seemed to be all anyone who knew her could think about these days. She gently placed her hand on his back and rested her head on his shoulder.

"How is she?" he questioned.

Brooke sighed and shook her head. "Honestly, I don't know," she answered as her eyes filled with tears. She took her head off of his shoulder and pulled her arm away from his back, wiping at the tears in her eyes. "She won't talk to me. Actually, she won't talk to anyone. I'm really worried about her Nathan. And I'm really worried about our friendship. Haley and me can talk about everything but this… she won't say a word to me about it. I think she's mad at me for introducing her to that creep."

This time, Nathan reached out and wrapped his arm around Brooke's shoulders, pulling her close to his side. "It wasn't your fault, Brooke."

Brooke scoffed. "That's what Lucas said." She smiled shyly and glanced at Nathan. "You two are more alike than you think. You would probably be best friends if you just worked through this whole long-lost-brother thing."

"It's not that easy, Brooke," Nathan replied. "If it was, I'm sure we would be friends but to much has happened over the last few years and I know that I can't take a lot of that back. Trust me, I wish I could." He thought about Haley as he spoke and how different their relationship would be if Nathan hadn't treated Lucas the way he had for the last year. Glancing down at his old friend, he gave her a weak smile. "It wasn't your fault and you can't keep beating yourself up over this. You're a good person, Brooke Davis."

"Yeah, you too," she replied quietly. Picking up her purse from beside her, she started digging until she found a pen and a small sketch book that she always kept on her incase she ever was hit with inspiration for a new piece for her clothing line. Confused, Nathan watched as she scribbled down an address onto the piece of paper and then tore it out, dropping it in his lap.

Standing up, she smiled weakly at him once more. "You're a good guy, Nathan, and I know it's killing you to not see her. So stop by… anytime." She reached out and took one of his hands, giving it a gentle squeeze before walking towards the main doors of the gym, going to meet Lucas.

Nathan stared at the piece of paper in his hands. It amazed him how not even ten minutes ago, the empty gym provided him with no answers and now, the answer to his problem was sitting in his lap in the form of a piece of white paper. After gathering his few things, he rushed into the locker room and headed straight to the showers. He had someplace to be and he wanted to get there as soon as possible.

-OTH-

Lucas knocked lightly on Haley's bedroom door before opening it and letting himself in. As he'd come to expect, she was propped up in bed with a remote in her hand and all of the Friends box sets stacked on her night table. She didn't acknowledge him as he walked into the room. She didn't even take her eyes off the TV in front of her.

"Hales," he said softly as he sat down on the corner of her bed. She shifted slightly, only because Lucas' shoulder was blocking her view of the TV. "Brooke and I were going to go for supper… do you maybe want to come with us?"

"Not tonight," she answered flatly, her eyes till fixed on the television set in front of her. "I'm just… I'm not ready yet."

"Its been almost three weeks Haley!" Lucas said loudly, his words sounding harsher than he'd meant them too. He instantly regretted saying anything as she glanced away from the TV and glared at him. No look from her was better than that look. "All I'm saying is we're all worried about you. Brooke, Peyton… me and Jake. We all just want you to be back to normal."

"Well you know what Lucas I don't think that's ever going to happen. I hate even walking out of this room because every time I see a guy; its him and every time someone bumps into me; I feel his hands touching me. I can't do that Luke. I'm not… I'm not strong enough to cope with that." Uncontrolled sobs took over her body and although she'd been yelling at him minutes before, she quickly melted into his tight embrace, feeling safer but not totally secure.

"Maybe you need to talk about this with someone," he suggested as he held her tighter. "Maybe getting it all out in the open would help you."

Pulling away from him she glared at him again. "You want me to see a shrink?" she questioned. "I'm not crazy, Lucas. I'm just… I'm just upset."

"I know your not crazy, Hales. I didn't necessarily mean a shrink. Talk to anyone. To me, or Brooke, or Jake, or Peyton. We're all here for you, you know that right?" She nodded silently as she wiped away the stray tears on her face with the back of her hand. "What ever you need, we're here for you."

He wrapped his arms around her again, half expecting her to pull away, but was pleasantly surprised when she didn't. Giving her a comforting kiss on the top of the head he pulled away and wiped the few tears she'd missed away with his thumb. "You sure you don't want to come with us? Or, we could stay home and order in?"

Haley gave him a weak smile and fell back into her bed, propping herself up against her pillows again. "Not tonight. You guys go and have fun." He eyed her carefully, waiting for any sign of hesitation but when he found none, he gave her one more quick, friendly kiss on the temple and left her room.

-OTH-

Tiptoeing, she quietly made her way through the dark apartment. Brooke was still out with Lucas, so it wasn't like there was anyone to wake, but she still moved silently through the living room, towards the kitchen. She found that she moved a lot more quietly since Mexico; like if she was silent, nothing bad could find her again.

She squinted as she opened the freezer door, her eyes struggling to readjust to the light, but once they did, she happily pulled out the container of ice cream and grabbed a spoon from the cabinet. Walking back into the living room, she plopped down on the bright red sofa and turned on the TV, lazily flipping through the channels until she heard a quiet knock on the door. So quiet, she was positive it would have gone unheard if she had been in her bedroom.

She set the ice cream down on the table and sighed. Brooke probably forgot her key, she thought as she moved quietly through the house towards the front door. Without even thinking to look through the peephole, she opened the front door. Expecting to see her roommate standing in the hall, she lost her breath for a moment when she realized it defiantly wasn't Brooke.

"Nathan, what are you doing here?"

"I know you don't want to talk to me but I need to talk to you, Haley."