Author's Note: Hey, everyone. Thank you so much for the great replies, they means so much to me. I was surprised that there were so many considering there was no Naley, hell, neither Haley nor Nathan were even in it! But I guess, it's the common hatred for their parents that you liked. I will admit, I really enjoyed writing Brooke bitching at her mother, she deserved it! Anyway, this chapter is mostly Naley; it takes place a couple hours were we left off. I'll try to make it as sweet as possible, so I hope you guys all enjoy it.
-OTH-
--And it will fall out as in a complication of diseases, that by applying a remedy to one sore, you will provoke another; and that which removes the one ill symptom produces others.--
Haley was surprised at the fact that even after all these years, she still found that movie funny. How many times can you watch someone hump a pie and still find it entertaining? She figured it was some kind of comfort for her, being able to forget about her more serious problems and focus on other people's. It was also the familiar feeling she gets when watching it. There was something about knowing what was going to happen that made her feel better.
In real life, she didn't have that feeling, most people didn't. She had no idea what was going to happen next in her life. Hell, she didn't even know what she would be doing an hour from now. And it was that uncertainty that made her feel uneasy. It had become somewhat of a routine for her over the years, not knowing if she'd survive through the night, but it still scared her.
She knew that was safe now, at least safer than she was before, but there was still that nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that was telling her that she wasn't out of danger yet. Her father could very easily walk through that door any minute now and drag her back to her old house. She wanted to believe more than anything that Brooke could keep her safe, but she knew that wasn't true. If her father came back here, there was nothing Brooke could do to stop him.
A shiver ran through her body at the very thought of seeing her father again. She could almost feel his hand tightening around her wrist, bruising and breaking the skin on the surface. Without realizing it, she pulled her knees up against her chest, trying to keep herself covered. She snuggled into the back of the couch, wishing it to fold her into the fabric.
Nathan smirked as he clicked the stop button on the converter and tossed it onto the table. The sudden noise caused Haley to whimper and bury her face in her knees. Nathan looked over at her and was surprised to find her shaking. He wasn't sure what to do. His first instinct was to pull her into his arms, but he knew that contact wouldn't be welcomed at the moment.
"Haley?" he called out softly. He wasn't sure what was wrong, a few seconds ago she was perfectly fine, but he didn't think it would be a good idea to startle her. Haley stopped whimpering, but didn't look up. "Haley, are you okay?"
"Nathan?" she asked, he voice waving near the end. Nathan had to fight down the urge to hold her when he heard the lost tone in her voice. Without answering, he moved closer on the couch, reaching out to a lay a hand on her knee.
"I'm right here," he answered when she didn't look up. He was thankful that she didn't jump or recoil at his touch. After a few moments of silence, she slowly lifted her head off her knees to look at him. When he saw her eyes, he gave her a warm smile to let her know that everything was okay. "Hey."
"Hey," she greeted back. She looked down at the hand resting on her knee before looking around the rest of the room. She felt all the muscles in her stomach unclench when she realized that her father wasn't there. She had just gone off in her hand, getting lost in the horrible thoughts of her father.
"You okay?" Haley caught the note of concern in his voice and couldn't help but let a smile grace her lips. She let out a nervous laugh, embarrassed at her behavior and nodded. She noticed that his brow was still furrowed in concern; she could tell that he didn't believe her. She laughed and reached forward, rubbing his forehead in an attempt to make the worry lines disappear.
"I'm fine." When he nodded, she dropped her hand to her side. She waited for Nathan to move away some and she stretched her legs back out on the couch. Sensing that he was still a little worried, she sighed. "I'm sorry, I just got caught up in my thoughts, that's all."
"That's okay," he assured her. Nathan leaned for the remote and flipped off the television. He glanced at Haley a couple of times, wanting to make sure that she was really okay. "Did you want to talk about it?" Haley frowned slightly and shook her head.
"Not really," she answered softly. She felt bad that she was kind of rejecting him, but she didn't mean it like that. She just wasn't comfortable enough with him to talk about her father. He was a nice guy and she knew he would be a big help in the coming weeks, but she didn't want to share this with him, at least not yet.
"Okay."
"It's nothing personal," she quickly assured him. She felt so bad when she heard the sadness in his voice. "It's just, I was having a really nice time with you today, you know. We were just hanging out, without you treating me like I might break. I just don't want to let this thing with my dad disrupt that."
"I understand," he replied, giving her a reassuring smile. He'll admit, it hurt a little that she wasn't willing to talk about it with him, but he didn't understand why she didn't want to. "It's cool."
"Today was supposed to be about forgetting everything that happened," she continued. She still wasn't convinced that nobody's feelings were being hurt. "I just want to act normal for a change, pretend that my father's not a complete jackass." Nathan nodded. "I have Brooke to talk about that kind of stuff with. She understands everything."
"You guys are pretty close, huh?" He jumped at the chance to change the subject. Now that he thought about, he was kind of glad that she didn't want to talk about her father. He wasn't sure if he could stop the intense feeling of hatred that always seemed to boil in the bottom of his stomach every time he thought about what Haley's father did to her.
"The closest," Haley answered without hesitation. This was a subject she was more comfortable discussing with him. "It's weird, even after all this time being separated, we still know each other better than anyone. I swear, even if Brooke suddenly turned blind, she'd still be able to read me like a book."
"Really?" Nathan asked with a laugh. He pushed himself up on the couch, tugging his feet under himself and turning to face Haley. He found it to be quite interesting to hear how different his friend was with her sister than she was with her friends. "Cause she never seems to get the hint around the gang."
"Yeah," Haley nodded, laughing at the thought. That was definitely the way Brooke would act. "I think it's just like a sister thing or something. She could never take a hint. I'm not sure if she doesn't get it or if she doesn't care."
"My moneys on the second one," Nathan commented. He loved Brooke, he really did, but he also lover teasing her. Haley laughed and nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.
"Probably." She liked this feeling, laughing. She knew it won't last, she couldn't pretend that everything was fine forever, but for now; she was content to live in the moment. The laughter slowly stopped, and ignoring the pain that was shooting through her because if it, she calmed down. "Seriously though, Brooke's the greatest. She's been everything to me over the past two years."
"It's good that you have that," he replied, his expression turning more serious as well. "That you have someone that loves you as much as Brooke does. You should have seen her before she left, she was freaking out." Haley raised an eyebrow at his statement.
"Really?" He nodded. "How come?"
"She's just really worried about you," he answered. As much as he thought that Haley should know how Brooke felt, he didn't feel it was his place to tell her about the conversation he had with Brooke earlier. He was sure that she wouldn't appreciate that. Haley rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I know," Haley sighed. She loved Brooke, more than anything and she knew the feeling was mutual, but sometimes Brooke could go overboard. "I know she's worried that I'll break or whatever, and I totally understand that, but she really needs to except that I'll be okay."
--If there is one thing worse than being an ugly duckling in a house of swans, it's having the swans pretend there's no difference.--
"Will you really?" he challenged. Everything in him was telling him that he needed to just shut up and let it go, but he couldn't. There was just something about this girl that made him feel protective of her. He could almost she the pain in her eyes and he felt it wasn't fair that she had to hide it. "Will you really be okay?"
"Yeah," she answered unsurely. She didn't like where he was going with this and she defiantly didn't like the look in his eyes. She suddenly felt uneasy under his intense stare. "Why won't I be?"
"Cause you're hiding the way you really feel," Nathan pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Haley looks taken aback at his comment, surprised at what he just said. "I've known you for five hours, and I can see that. I see the way your eyes darken when you talk about your father, or the way they light up when you talk about Brooke."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Haley mumbled. She hated the way he could read her; it scared her to death. She had gotten used to the way Brooke could read her mind, but the fact that any stranger could made her feel uncomfortable. "You don't even know me."
"You're right, I don't know you," Nathan answered back, nodding his head. He could tell that Haley wasn't comfortable with what he was saying, but he felt that she needed to hear it. He's seen what happens when you hide your true feelings; people get hurt. "I hardly know anything about you, but I do know that you're hurting and that you're trying not to let anyone see it."
"So what do you want me to do?" Haley was really starting to get annoyed now. Who the hell did this guy think he was? He just starts telling her how to live her life? "Do you want me to run up to Brooke's room and lock myself in there? Should I just crawl into the fetal position and cry?"
"If it'll help," Nathan answered simply. He became a little uneasy under the death glare Haley was shooting at him, but he knew he was right about this. He knew what Haley was trying to do, and it wasn't going to help anyone. "You want Brooke to stop treating you like nothing happened, then you have to stop pretending that you're okay with what did happen. You can't expect others to be honest when you're not."
"I think you should just mind your business," Haley snapped. There was nothing she hated more then being told what to feel, but she couldn't fight the fact that he was right and that just pissed her off even more. Nathan felt bad that she was pissed off, but she needed help and if he could give it to her, he would.
"Brooke's my friend, she is my business," he explained with a smirk. As much as he hated the fact that Haley was hurting, he always loved to be right. "You mean everything to her, which makes you my business too." Haley let out a bitter laugh and sat up straight, mimicking Nathan's sitting position and looking at him in fake interest.
"Okay, Dr. Phil," she replied sarcastically. "You're so old and wise, you seem to know how I should be feeling, tell me; what am I doing wrong?"
"Do you really want to know what I think?"
"I really do."
"I think that you're more worried about Brooke's feelings than your own," he answered. Haley thought over what he just said and opened her mouth to deny it, but suddenly felt the need to bite her tongue. "You know how much Brooke loves you and you're afraid that if you let yourself break down and show her how much you're really hurting over this, that she'll feel like crap for leaving you with that bastard for so long."
"No, that's not..."
"You know it is," he cut her off. "You're willing to mask your own pain to make Brooke feel better and that's not fair to you or her." Nathan decided that he should give her a couple minutes to think about that. He grabbed both their empty bowls and walked into the kitchen. He rinsed them out with water and let them soak in the sink for a while. He waited a few more minutes before returning to the living room.
When he came back into the living room, Haley wasn't in the same spot as before. She had shifted a little, her feet resting firmly on the ground. She was bend forward, her elbows resting on her knee and her head was in her hands. He didn't say anything, just slipped passed her and sat back down at his end of the couch. They sat in silence for a few more moments before Haley sighed and leaned against the back of the couch with a huff of frustration.
"You're right," she answered. Her voice was so low that Nathan almost didn't hear her. She hated situations like this because she hated talking about her feelings with anyone that wasn't Brooke, but there was just something about him that told her she could trust him with this.
"I always am," he teased, hoping to lighten the mood somewhat. She smirked at him and he was happy that it appeared to have worked. "You'll learn that in time."
"You don't know Brooke," she began. "Not the way I do. She doesn't like to see people in pain, it's almost like she feels some sort of material instinct to help them or whatever, and she's always been that way. But when it comes to me, she just goes crazy."
"So I've witnessed," Nathan commented. He caught the look Haley was giving him and smiled. "When I came over, I made some remark about being her brother in law and she thought I meant it like we were going to get married..."
"Let me guess," Haley interrupted. She could play this entire scene out in her head. Brooke was just so predictable. "She threatened to castrate you if you came near me."
"Not in some many words, but..." Haley nodded, telling him that she knew hat he was talking about. Brooke always insisted on meeting all the guys that asked Haley out before they went on their date because she didn't want her to end up with some sicko rapist. Stop and marvel at the irony.
"That's just Brooke," Haley concluded. She had stopped trying to understand how her sister worked a long time ago. "She's always taken it so hard when I get hurt. The first time I told her about our dad hitting me, it took me over an hour to get her to stop crying."
"It's just cause she loves you so much."
"Yeah, I know." Haley couldn't count the number of times Brooke had told her that over the past two years, she didn't need Nathan telling her that too. Haley bowed her head and suddenly found the hem of her shirt very interesting. "Nathan, if I show her how much this is hurting me, it will kill her. I can't do that, I won't."
"But this is hurting you," Nathan pointed out. He didn't understand where Haley was coming from, he didn't have the same relationship with Lucas that she had with Brooke. "I don't understand how you can keep something like this from her."
"She'd do anything to keep me safe, and I'd do the same for her," she answered. She didn't expect him to get what she was saying, he couldn't. "So, if that means I have to suffer to keep her from that kind of pain... I'm okay with that."
"She won't be." He sighed and ran a hand over his face. He gave up. She obviously wasn't going to listen to him, so he wasn't going to waste his breath. "Look, if I'm able to tell you're hiding the way you're feeling, then she will be too."
"You don't know that." Nathan eyed her and shrugged. She could tell that he didn't agree with her, but he didn't want to say anything. She could appreciate a guy that knew when to shut up.
"I'm just saying," he replied. "When she finds out that you're in pain and didn't tell her, she's gonna to be upset." Haley certainly couldn't argue with that, Brooke would have a hissy fit. "And you guys are going to have to have a long talk."
"Well, I'll deal with that when it happens." Nathan decided it would be best not to point out the fact that she said when and not if. Haley was impressed when he didn't jump on her mistake. She thought that was very gentlemen like of him. They shared a knowing smile for a moment, before they both turned away. Nathan cleared his throat and looked over at the blank screen.
"So, do you want to watch another movie?" A sweet smile came to Haley's face and she shook her head. She leaned towards him and took the remote out of his hands. Without looking at the television, she clicked it off and tossed it back on the table.
"Actually, I think I'd like to hear more about you." They had spent the whole afternoon talking about her and she realized that she hardly knew anything about him. All she knew was that he had a brother and liked to play basketball. Nathan looked at her strangely for a moment before nodded hesitantly.
"Okay," he said, unsure of what he was getting himself into. He didn't know if he liked that smile on her face. "What do you want to know about me?" She smirk that was on her lips, slowly turned into a genuine smile.
"Everything." And she was surprised to realize how true that statement was. There was something about him that drew her to him. She wasn't sure if it was his perfect smile or his amazing blue eyes, but she just felt the need to get to know him. But the thing that surprised her the most was the fact that everything almost seemed right in the world as long as she could hear his voice.
-OTH-
That's all for now. I hope that you guys liked it. I'm sorry if it sucks. I stopped half way through it and when I came back I couldn't remember what I was trying to say. Anyway, please tell me what you think. Thanks and take care.
