Disclaimer: I'd like to be the genius behind One Tree Hill, but I'm not.
Haley walked into the kitchen the next morning and was surprised to see Peyton, instead of Brooke.
"Peyton? What are you doing here?' Haley asked, frowning.
"Oh, Brooke let me in." Peyton answered cheerfully as she handed Haley a cup of coffee.
She gingerly took a sip. "Well, you certainly make better coffee than Brooke."
Peyton laughed. "Believe me, that's the only good thing I can whip up in the kitchen."
"So where is she?"
"She went out with her new "boy toy' named Eric."
Haley nearly spat out her drink. "Brooke has a new boyfriend?!"
"Yeah, she does. Didn't she tell you?" Peyton asked, as if it wasn't quite a shocker.
Haley shook her head in reply. "She didn't mention anything."
Peyton joined her on the chairs in front of the kitchen counter. "Wow, some roommate you are."
"Come to think of it, Brooke was going to tell me something last night but I wasn't in the mood to listen to her," Haley said rather thoughtfully. "Where did she meet this Eric dude?"
"They met in that party in Tric – you know, the one where you and Nathan were supposed to –"
"Yeah, I remember," Haley cut in, her tone bitter.
"Anyway, she gave him his number and he called her the other day. Now, they're dating." Peyton continued.
"Is he good-looking?" She asked.
Peyton grinned. "Hales, he is a keeper. Not only is he way above Brooke's standards – you know, really hot and with the right merchandise – but he's athletic and rich."
"Wow, Brooke actually scored with this one. What else is there to know?"
"That's pretty much all I could remember. I zoned out when Brooke started to describe the way he kissed her in full detail." Peyton said, laughing when Haley made a face.
"You seem suspiciously happy today." Haley observed.
She was quiet for awhile, as if considering something.
"Come on, you can tell me." Haley urged.
Peyton was beaming as she blurted, "Jake asked me out on a date this Friday!"
"Oh my God, really?!" Haley cried, hugging her. "What are you guys going to do?"
"I don't know, but whatever it is, I can't wait!"
"I'm so happy for you, Peyt." Her best friend said sincerely.
Peyton glanced at the wall clock. "It's almost eight o'clock. We should get going."
"Twenty minutes until I see Nathan again. Whoopee." Haley said sarcastically as they stood up to leave.
Peyton smiled apologetically. "It's going to be okay, Hales."
"That's what Brooke said yesterday and Nathan nearly beat up a guy." She said sullenly.
Peyton linked her arm with Haley's as they walked out the front door and to the car. "You'll never really know. Maybe he'll actually murder someone today."
"Oh, very funny, Sawyer."
"Good morning, Haley. Nathan is waiting for you in there." Miss Spencer said, pointing to a closed door.
She plastered a smile on her face. "Thanks, I'll see you in a bit."
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she walked inside. Nathan was already seated on a chair in front of the table. He looked up at her, smiling slightly and Haley was sure that her heart rate was way above normal. Strangely, he still had that effect on her.
She took a seat next to him, trying to regain compusure.
It's just Nathan. No big deal. So he hugged me yesterday. So what? He hugs a lot of people. It's okay. Things are going to be okay. I'll get through this without breaking down. Just got to stay focused.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Haley mumbled.
Nathan shrugged. "It's alright, I didn't wait long."
An awkward silence hung between them until he cleared his throat and said, "I'm sorry about yesterday."
"Don't worry about it. I mean, it's not really a big deal now, right?"
"No, I shouldn't have thrown him against the wall and threatened to beat him up." Nathan insisted.
"It's okay, I swear."
Then he said quietly, "And I'm sorry about hugging you yesterday."
There, he said it. Haley looked away, afraid to see the expression on his face.
"You don't have to apologize." She said softly.
He cautiously put a hand on her arm, which she winced away. "Hales…."
Hales. She had always loved it when he called her that. She still did.
"Nathan, don't –"
Haley was sure that his voice was trembling slightly as he spoke. "I know how awkward it is for the both of us right now. We can't even look at each other straight in the face but I don't want this for the both of us. And I'm pretty sure you don't want it, either. The thing is, I would really like it if we could still be friends, even if – if it's over between us."
She dared herself to look up at him.
"You want that, don't you?" He asked tentatively.
Haley felt like her heart was ripped out of her chest and stepped on. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to smile and praying that she wouldn't burst into tears right then and there. "If I said yes, could we actually start tutoring now?"
He grinned. "Sure, that could be arranged."
Nathan watched her tuck a strand of stray hair behind her ear and flip through the Math textbook, amazed at how pretty she was. Unless he was imagining it, he was sure that she was trying to blink back tears but before he could really make sure, she turned her head.
He was tempted to hold her hand (which was only a few inches away from his) but he forced himself to think about something else.
Just friends now, Nathan, he thought to himself. You're just friends.
"Thought I'd find you here," Haley said, walking towards Lucas, who was shooting hoops in the River Court. "It's like I haven't seen you in ages."
"Yeah, I had a couple things on my mind." He said, taking a seat on the grass next to her.
Haley played with a single blade of grass as she spoke. "Remember when we were in middle school, and we used to play this game called 'Whose-Life-Sucks-More?' all the time?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"Let's play it again, for old times' sake." Haley said, staring at her sneakers.
"I'm falling for Brooke and she's crazy about someone else." Lucas said sadly.
Haley smiled apologetically. "I always knew you'd fall in love with her."
He sighed. "Honestly, it's hard not to. And it couldn't have come in a worse time."
"Oh, come on, Luke. Give yourself a little credit."
"Haley, he has everything Brooke could possibly want in a guy. How could I compete with a guy named Eric Hunter? I mean, even his name is sexier than mine."
She laughed, patting his shoulder sympathetically. "Don't underestimate yourself, Luke. You're one hell of a good guy, and I know Brooke will see that beyond anything that Eric Hunter guy has."
"Bet you can't top mine." Lucas said moodily.
Haley bit her lower lip and said quietly, "Nathan decided that we should just be friends now."
At first, Lucas looked shocked then he pulled his best friend into his arms. "Oh Hales, I'm so sorry."
She burst into tears and he let her cry into his shoulder for a couple minutes, then she pulled back, wiping her eyes. "I tried to see the good in all of it but it's not enough. We were married! We love each other! We – we were going to have kids and live in this house with a white picket fence – he was going to play college basketball and I was going to be with him in Duke - and now, we're just friends. I love him so much and I couldn't even tell him that I wanted him back more than anything. I just sat there and said it was okay. How pathetic am I?"
Lucas hugged her again. "You're not pathetic, Hales."
"I was just afraid that if I told him that I wanted him back, things between us would be even worse. I mean, at least we're talking now and it's better than nothing, right?" Haley buried her face into his shoulders, sobbing uncontrollably.
He stroked her hair, comforting her. Lucas pitied her so much and she was such an emotional wreck without Nathan that it was amazing how she was still able to face everyone in school, much less smile and appear that everything was okay.
She cried some more, letting out all the pent-up pain, frustration and anger in her for the first time in so long.
"God, I don't even think that he's as broken up as I am." Haley said tearfully.
You have no idea, Haley.
Hope you enjoyed that! Oh and btw, that "Whose-Life-Sucks-More" game is from Grey's Anatomy. I just found it amusing so I put it here. Full credit goes to them. I've already written chapter eleven and twelve so the more reviews, the faster the updates! ------Sera