"Yeah, it's me." she said as she stood up. As soon as she was standing Nathan engulfed her in a huge hug.
"What are you doing here?"
"I need a fresh start. So me and a friend moved back here."
"Wait, you're Brooke's roommate?"
"Guilty."
"Why didn't Brooke or Lucas tell me you were back?"
"Because I asked them not to. I wanted to be the one to tell you that I was back. I didn't want you to hear it from someone else. Don't be mad at them."
"I'm not, I am just trying to accept the fact that you are standing in front of me. So are you going to tell me the real reason why you are back because Brooke and Lucas are very hush-hush about it?"
"I can't. It is just too painful." she stated. The thought of what happened brought tears to her eyes.
As soon as Nathan saw Haley's eyes fill with tears his eyes flashed with concern and he didn't think twice before pulling her into another hug.
"It's okay. You don't have to tell me. Whenever you want to talk about it though I'll be here."
"Thank you." she muffled into his shirt seeing as he was still holding her.
"Hey, look. Coach has a girlfriend." yelled someone in the group of guys approaching them.
With that Haley and Nathan abruptly broke apart and turned to face the boys walking towards them.
"Hales, this is my team for the summer basketball camp that I am coaching at. I promised them a game tonight against The Rivercourt Boys. Jake, Skillz and Tim should be here in a few minutes. You can stay here and watch if you want."
"Coach, I thought you said that this was an emergency practice? Not a game against you and your old teammates." asked a high school aged boy with blonde hair.
"That was just the excuse I gave to the head of the camp so he would let you out after curfew. Not going to tell on me, are you Mac?"
"No way. You and you're friends are awesome ball players. And we would love the chance to beat you guys."
"Who said that we were going to lose?"
"I just did."
"Yeah, we'll see about that. So, Hales are you going to stay?"
"As much as I would love to, I can't. Why don't you and the guys come over to mine and Brooke's apartment for dinner tomorrow night. Tell the guys to bring dates. It will be fun."
"Okay. Well Jake will bring Peyton and Skillz will bring Bevin, but I don't think that Tim will bring a date."
"Great! I can't wait to see Peyton again. It will be just like high school! Brooke and her guy of the moment, Jake and Peyton, Skillz and Bevin, Tim by himself and you and me. It will be awesome!"
"You and me?" Nathan asked. 'Maybe she still loves me. I know I still love her, but she has probably moved on.' he thought to himself.
"Oh, look at the time. I got to go. Come by around 7 tomorrow night."
"Yea,
sure. I'm really glad you're -..."
"Coach, do you want
us to start warm-ups?" one of the players interrupted him.
"Yea, start with lay-ups, then run the drills we do at practice. So as I was about to say, I'm really glad you're home, Hales." he said as he turned around only to find her gone.
"Hey, Nate. What is with the confused look?" a tall man with shaggy brown hair asked as he walked up to the court.
"Yea, you got that 'Confused Scott' look that you and Luke always do on your face." another man said. This man thought was African-American with a shinny bald head.
"Nothing guys. I was talking to someone, but I had to tell the team something and when I turned back, she was gone."
"New girl caught your eye, Nate?"
"Nope, just a blast from the past, Skillz."
"Oh, really? You going to tell us her name?"
"It doesn't matter. You can find out tomorrow, she invited us over to dinner. She said for you to bring Peyton, Jake. And for you to bring Bevin, Skillz."
"So this girl knows who we are and knows who we are dating. Sure she isn't a stalker?"
"Nope, she defiantly not a stalker. You guys used to know her."
"Hey, Coach Scott. Where'd the hot girl go? Her name was Haley, right? How do you know a girl like that?"
"Don't worry about it Mac. Finish your warm-ups and mind your own business!"
"Geez, possessive much? You said she wasn't your girlfriend. I'm just curious."
"Haley? So that is the mystery girl's name?" asked the third man with short brown hair, who finally decided to join the conversation.
"Yes, now can we please stop talking about this?"
""Hales is back in town? I haven't seen her since graduation. Maybe you can stop moping around. You always said if you ever got a second chance, you would never let her go."
"Yes, Haley is back in town. So is Brooke. And who said I want to be with her again, Jake? And I haven't been moping."
"Yea, you have. All you do is work and hangout here. You haven't been on a date in years. So even thought you don't say it, you know in your heart that you still love her and want to be with her."
"Sure, maybe I still love her. I probably always will. But why would I want to be with her again? We tried that once already and it didn't work. Why would it work this time?"
Because your face lights up when you talk about her. And this is the first time in a long time that you have actually smiled. And because you keep that picture of the two of you in your closet. And because you guys were so in love. Whenever Peyton talks about me and her she says 'I hope that we are as happy as Nathan and Haley used to be. Those two were supposed to be together forever.' And I agree with her."
"Yeah, dawg. Bevin says that you and Hales were always her favorite couple. She said that she thought you two were meant to be and that she didn't care who everyone else wound up with as long as the two of you were together. If I were you I wouldn't let her go this time."
"Jake, you and Peyton are as happy and as much in love as me and Haley used to be. Skillz, it is my choice if I want to be with Haley again. Plus, how do I know that she wants a relationship with me again? And Tim, you just look confused so we're not going to talk about this anymore. Now we are going to play basketball, forget this conversation and not mention any of it to Haley tomorrow. Got it?"
"Yea." Tim stated.
"Sure." Skillz said.
"If that is what you want. But you know that Haley made you happier than anything else."
"Good, now let's beat these guys." Nathan said ignoring what Jake said.
"Brooke! Lucas! You guys here?" Haley yelled as she walked into apartment 24.
'Maybe they went out.' she thought to herself. 'Or not.' she thought as she walked into the kitchen to find Lucas and Brooke in a very heated make out session.
"So this is something I never want to see again." Haley said as her best friend and the love of her life's cousin broke apart, realizing they weren't alone.
"Hales! What are you doing here? You do realize this isn't our apartment? We live in the one with the 23 on the door." Brooke said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Don't remind me. I already have too many things attached to that number. If it isn't the fact that 23 was Nathan's jersey number, than it is the fact that it is tattooed right above my a. So no, I'm not in the wrong apartment."
"My cousin branded you with his number?"
"No, I did it myself. Right before winter break of senior year. So do you want to know what I am doing here?"
"Yes. The faster you tell us, the faster I can get back to making out with the hotter of the two Scott boys."
"So you think I'm the hotter one?"
"Not a chance. Nathan is way better looking than you. No offence. He looks like he hasn't changed at all."
"Lucas, I think you are better looking than your cousin. But Hales, when did you see him? Cause all you say this morning was him from like 10 feet away."
"Just now. At the rivercourt. And ask me how it went. I'll tell ya. It was good. Sure when I first saw him I broke down into tears, but he comforted me. He wasn't cold or bitter about the way we ended things. He was nice. In fact I invited him over for dinner tomorrow night. I told him to tell the other people that we used to hangout with in high school to come if they still live here. It will be a chance for us to hangout with our old friends and our new one." she said as she looked towards Lucas.
""Hales, that's great!" Brooke said as she ran over to give her best friend a hug. "Well not the crying part, but the fact that you actually talked to him. I'm so proud of you!"
"I am too, Haley. Maybe you guys can be friends and he can finally stop moping around the house all the time."
"Yeah, then the four of us can hangout with no awkwardness. My best friend, her new boyfriend, my ex-boyfriend and me. It will be super fun!" Haley said, her voice dripping in sarcasm.
"Well maybe you and Nathan can become more than friend."
"Yea, because that worked out so well the first time, Tigger."
"You don't know until you try. And I have a pretty good feeling that my cousin doesn't want to be just friends with you."
"Really?" Haley asked hopefully.
"I'm almost positive." Lucas replied.
"Well nothing can happen." she said. "Oops! I totally forgot that I needed to do something. I'll let you guys get back to what you were doing. I'll see you guys later. Luke, meet me and Brooke at the café tomorrow for lunch. Bring Nathan if you want to. Brooke, I'll probably be asleep when you get home, so I'll see you in the morning. Night!" she yelled as she walked out of apartment 24 and next door to apartment 23.
