A/N: I know all of you are dying for happy Naley right now but it will be a little while before that happens. It will happen though so don't worry. I tried to get this up Friday but it wouldn't let me so blame the website. Anyway, enjoy and drop the love. :)

Hollow

Haley just watched him walk away. She watched Peyton run after him. And she watched Brooke smirk. She watched Lucas' amused face. What a freaking nightmare. She felt her heart break and she wanted to run after him but she knew she wouldn't. She couldn't. She didn't have it in her. What little bit of soul she still possessed, she watched slink away with his retreating figure. Then she felt it. Hollow.

"Wipe that smirk off your face Brooke." she heard Lucas command. Brooke just rolled her eyes and walked inside of her house slamming the big red door behind her.

"Thanks." Haley mumbled never letting her eyes leave Nathan's retreating figure.

"I'm sorry I was a jerk earlier." he started and Haley tore her gaze from Nathan to him.

"You don't owe me anything Lucas." she stated simply.

"No, I really mean it. I don't deal with all the emotional stuff the morning after." he replied honestly and she fought the urge to cut her eyes in disgust.

"I lied."

"About…" he asked confused.

"I don't have feelings for you Lucas so you don't have to be nice to me." she replied tiredly running her hand though her hair. Lucas quirked up an eyebrow and she continued knowing he needed a fuller explanation. "I love him okay." she said throwing her hands in the direction where Nathan had been only moments before.

"Like I already didn't know that." he said sarcastically but in a light tone that put Haley at ease. "What I don't know is why you lied."

"Just can't go back." she offered lamely but Lucas didn't buy it. She dropped down on the steps in front of her and Lucas mimicked the motion.

"Bull Haley. I haven't known you that long but your feisty, you don't put up with crap. And this- this is crap. Why are you giving up?" he watched her intently calling her out.

"Because I'm allowed to give up one thing in my life. I'm allowed one mistake that's all my own. This is my mistake, to let it get this far and it's my thing I'm giving up on."

"Or it's a mistake that your giving up on him." he replied simply.

"Why do you even care?" she asked not really bitter but more frustrated than anything. This was a disaster. Only Haley James could pull this off.

"I, I don't know." he said unsure and she scoffed at him. Typical. He doesn't. "Well maybe I care about you and Nathan because I kinda care about you and…and…" Haley turned her attention from the leave she was staring hole into to Lucas. "and damn it, he's my brother." he blew out and visibly winced. Haley busted in a fit of laughter. "What's so funny?" he scowled.

"That was really painful to admit wasn't it?" she asked, still not letting up on her laughter. He continued to scowl for a few more minutes before letting go and joining in on the laughter too. Haley listened to his laughter and all the while thinking how weird her world had become in such a short time. She was losing Nathan and gaining Lucas as a friend and that was just backwards.

"I miss him already." she said sadly.

"I know."

ddddNathan didn't think he could even get that moment out of his head for the rest of his life. Who was he kidding, every single heart wrenching memory he had of her he couldn't forget. Not one. It was etched into his brain. It was a nightmare. She would haunt his dreams, even worse now. And then he felt it. Hollow.

"Nathan, wait!" he heard Peyton call out to him and he felt he owed it to her to stop and listen to her even if he didn't want to. He stopped, not turning around and waited for her to catch up to him. "Hey." she said trying to catch her breath.

"Peyton, I need to just go ok?" he pleaded. He did. He just needed to be alone and be by himself. It was the only way he could shut down. He would dream about her, he knew that, but while conscious, he would not.

"I don't really believe for a second she has feelings for Lucas and not for you." Peyton said trying to assure him. She saw in his eyes the flicker of pain and then nothingness.

"It doesn't matter." he replied unfazed. Emotionless.

"Of course it matters." she said soothingly running her hand over his arm.

"No, it really doesn't." he said stepping away from her, letting her hand drop. "I can't do this Peyton. I've been fighting with this for over a year now and I refuse to do it again. I won't beg her to love me. I want her too. But it hurts. Too much. " he emphasized and Peyton nodded. She knew, she saw it in his eyes.

"I don't know you very well Nathan," she started, unsure of herself all of a sudden. "but I do care about you, I think. You really a good guy and I know you're hurting and that's ok. I understand you want to just cut yourself emotionally off and I'm probably the queen of that. But there are moments, just brief moments, when that pain seeps out and it cuts you. Deep. And I think that's worse than actually letting yourself feel it once in for all. It's too late for me…"

"I get it." he said interrupting her. "I do." he added more softly. "It won't though. It never has. I did the same thing with Dan. I can do it with her too." he said trying to assure himself more than her.

"But Dan doesn't love you like Haley does."

"Maybe." he conceded. "But Haley doesn't love me like I love her."

One month later

Haley rushed around her room, throwing things into her overnight bag and was very near to pulling her own hair out. She was that stressed. Somehow, by a complete freak disaster of nature, she had managed to land herself a permanent spot on the cheerleading squad. It hadn't happened until a week ago when once again, Brooke had begged her to come back, apologizing profusely, and promising that she would be on her best behavior. Haley had only agreed on one condition: Brooke and Peyton teach her privately, away from Nathan. She had managed to avoid him completely for the past month, even working at his mother's diner.

"You ready Hales?" Lucas asked showing up in her doorway. She smiled fondly at the nickname he so quickly adopted.

"Yeah almost." she grumbled. This would be the first night that she would actually have to see Nathan. It was an away game, her first game since that madness a month ago and she felt panicked. She told her mom she was staying over at Peyton's which really was a half truth. She didn't know where she was going to end up. Lucas was throwing a party afterwards and that was where they were heading. Yeah, because the last one turned out great.

"You more nervous about shaking your ass in front of all those people or seeing Nathan." she shot him a death glare. It was uncanny how well he had gotten to know her in the last month. Tutoring was still ongoing, but somehow they had managed to hang out. Without the messing relationship part.

"I'm fine." she gritted out.

"Uh huh, that's why your trying to kill inanimate objects." he said referring to all the clothes she was sloshing around. "He might be coming…" he started and she shot her eyes up to met his. "Nathan…"

"Lane?" she asked for false hope. "Right." she conceded. "Why Lucas?"

"Because he's my teammate and he's my…" Lucas started but trailed off. He still had trouble admitting that part of his life.

"Your brother." she finished for him. "It's ok, I understand. You two are really doing ok… considering?"

"He doesn't trust me with you. He told me that first day that if I ever hurt you, I would regret it. I told him nothing was going on with us and I don't know if he really believed it or not but he hasn't talked about it since." Haley nodded. She knew Nathan, he had shut her out. Same thing she saw done about Dan.

"Alright, lets go." she announced pulling them out of their silent reverie. He held his hand out for her bag and she gladly handed it over to him. "Thanks. For everything I mean." Lucas nodded knowingly. He didn't know how it had happened, or how easily but they had settled into this little friendship and he had been the shoulder she cried on. He never questioned her, he knew it hurt her. She didn't show it often but she couldn't hide it either. There was something deeper there, something she refused to reveal and he didn't push.

Nathan never really knew how to 'prepare' for a game. He'd only had a few in the short time he'd been on a team and only one with Haley. They had laid on his bed and talked and laughed and that had put him more at ease than anything. And that was the first time since he warned Lucas that he had let her slip into his mind conscious. And it stung. Peyton had been around, lending a shoulder if needed it but he made it clear after a couple of times that he wasn't going to let it happen. He had lost his best friend and soul mate in all of one day. Lucas had been nice to him, he thought more to make up for Haley bashing in his heart which he considered a decent thing to do.

"Hey man, you ready?" Jake asked walking into Nathan's door and sitting down in the computer chair. Nathan had been lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. He really could care less. He and Jake had actually been hanging out and talking more, playing ball at the river court and that filled one void in his life.

"Yeah, I guess." Nathan said sitting up and rubbing his hand tiredly over his face.

"Did uh, Lucas tell you?" Jake asked hesitantly. Nathan looked at him unmoved and confused and Jake hated he had to be the one to tell Nathan. "It's uh, Haley."

"What about her?" he asked a bit too harshly than he intended.

"She's going to be there tonight…" Nathan still looked at Jake wondering what could be so special about that. "…as a cheerleader." Jake finished and watched all the color drain out of Nathan's face.

"Your kidding right?"

"Not really. Peyton said she and Brooke have been practicing with Haley for the last week privately. " he said sadly. He saw Nathan's face drop and he felt bad for the guy. Jake and Peyton had been talking a lot more now too. It wasn't like they were together, he would call it, but she was cool to hang out with and he didn't try to shove her way into his life which was perfect for him at this moment.

"Right because this night couldn't get any better." he grumbled. That and the fact that his…God, his brother, had asked him to a party. A party which he now knew for a fact Haley would be at. He felt all the walls he had quickly put up this past month crumble as thoughts of Haley swam in his mind.

"Come on, it'll be alright. We'd better get going before the buses leave and Whitey kicks our ass." Jake said patting Nathan on the shoulder and following him out the door.

Haley felt more nervous now than she had that first game. Brooke was being so sugary sweet it kinda made her want to gag but it was better than Brooke bashing her again. Peyton had told her from day one that although he didn't believe for one second that Haley didn't love Nathan and that she didn't understand it but would respect it. And for the most part she had. In fact, Peyton had become Haley's first really girl companion.

"Lucas was right. You are a ball of nerves." Peyton came up beside her, as if on cue.

"What was I thinking? Letting Brooke talk me into this again! This is going to end in disaster. I have successfully avoided him the last month and now I'm, I'm going right out there to see him face to face. What is wrong with me?"

"Haley…you're rambling and it's unflattering. You miss him. We get it. We don't get why you won't be with him but we get that you miss him. It's ok. " Peyton assured her. "Come on, we're on." she said pushing Haley out into the gym, followed by the rest of the squad. They had just announced the guys and Haley glanced nervously towards the Scott brothers. Lucas smiled at her and Nathan just stared at her. She felt that hollow feeling again and she felt like dying, right there in the middle of the gym floor.

Nathan had tried to psych himself up for this. Tried his very best to put up the cold front and in the end, just looking at her melted all the ice around him. He avoided the diner at all cost, and it had worked out very well for him. School was a breeze, he was thankful, for once that he and Haley had no classes. And looking at her right now, he didn't know what was harder. Being away from her all this time or being around her all of a sudden. He didn't have long to think, before they were done with their routine and the game at started.

Haley had watched both Scott boys play their hearts out and she couldn't help but feel more than proud of them. She had been smiling but frowned thinking of Nathan. She had no claim to him anymore. He didn't know it, she hoped he felt it, but he held her heart. It was always him. There had been no punches thrown this game, no twisted wrists. Just broken hearts and a struggle of emotions. Swoosh. She barely felt or heard all the commotion around her as the crowd jumped up in applause until Peyton pulled her to her feet and told her to cheer. Nathan had made the winning shot.

It was a short time later that Haley and Peyton, tagging along with Lucas in the middle, had made their way to the beach house. Her eyes darted around, looking for Nathan and she felt sad that she didn't see him. She didn't have to be sad for very long; she smelt him before she ever laid eyes on him. She turned slowly to see that he was behind her, Jake in tow. Peyton smiled at Jake and pulled him off in one direction while Lucas grunted and nodded at Nathan, walking off in another. Leaving them alone. The world around them slowly fell away and it really was just the two of them.

"Hi." she offered lamely, speaking up first and breaking their gaze. She looked down at her feet and shuffled them a bit before he laid his hand on her cheek steadying her. He pulled it away almost immediately, as if he was burned and Haley flinched.

"Hey." he returned almost silently before he gave her once last glance and walked away. Yup, this would be quiet the party. She gave the party one final go around with her eyes. Seeing Jake and Peyton flirting outrageously and Brooke and Lucas doing the same. Wait- Brooke and Lucas. Holy crap. She made her way over to Lucas, fighting not to go to Peyton, the lesser of two evils.

"Lucas…" she said tentatively, not wanting to interrupt. He looked up at her, his laughter dying a bit before dying completely, noticing the look on her face.

"You ok?"

"Yeah…I'm, I'm just going to go." she said trying to make a clean break. She felt like she was suffocating. Lucas nodded, understanding, and pulled her into a hug before kissing her on her cheek and letting her go.

"Wait, Haley." Brooke called out and Haley grimaced. "Just stay for a bit longer. Play a game with us." she tried and Haley felt like this was Brooke's more better way of being friendly. She thought briefly it was to bash her again but found some sincerity in her voice.

"Hales…you don't have to." Lucas started.

"I'm game." Haley heard a voice sound from behind her. Lucas paled and Brooke smiled which only meant one person. Not that she didn't recognize the voice immediately. She sucked in her breath and prepared for the worse.

"Sure, why the hell not?" she shrugged turning around a facing Nathan.