A/N: I am so exceptionally sorry that it has taken me so long to update this story. I have really been concentrating purely on uni work. I promise the next updat will be soon! But to make up for the long wait, this chapter is fairly long.

Just a summary as to what has happened up to here in the story. Haley and Nathan have finally sorted things out and have agreed to give it a proper go. Of course, Haley expects Nathan to talk Rachel about it, considering he has been sleeping with her. Luke has admitted to Brooke that he made a mistake (and has broken up with Hannah) and in the previous chapter Brooke agreed to meet him briefly. You see the outcome of that get together in the opening scenes of this chapter.

Enjoy! And please review! Flashbacks are in italics.

Chapter 21: Don't Worry Yourself

Brooke woke up and looked at the time it was much much too early for her to actually be awake. She turned over in her bed and attempted to fall back asleep. Twenty minutes later she threw back her covers in frustration. She knew what was keeping her up, it was there on her bedside table. She looked at the leather bound book and her mind immediately went back to the day she had agreed to meet Lucas.

Brooke sat on the table and took a sip of the coffee Luke had brought for her. Neither of them had spoken much. He had asked her to meet him and she had agreed, but sitting there trying to control her nerves made her think she had been silly to agree. Eventually he shifted so that he could look at her directly.

'Look, Brooke,' he began softly. 'I already told you that I made a mistake and that I want to fix it.' He paused and leaned back to get something he had brought with him. 'But I don't think you really understand how much I mean it and how much I regret not picking you.' He then handed her the leather bound book. 'This is the only way thing I could think of, that would make you understand how I really feel about you.' Brooke raised an eyebrow at him and took the book from him.

'You bought me a book?' She looked closely at it. 'A journal? Did you think I would write about my feelings and suddenly forgive you?' She asked him in disbelief. Luke laughed a genuine laugh and shook his head at her.

'No, I wrote you something.' He added a moment later and something in his expression changed. Brooke thought he looked more vulnerable. She looked at him and then at the journal she was holding. Slowly she undid the strap that had tied it together and looked at the first page. It had a simple inscription on it.

"Thoughts are only thoughts until they are put into action. Feelings are only feelings until someone returns them, and regrets are only there to remind you that you had thoughts and feelings in the first place."

Brooke didn't understand the significance of those words yet but she began to flip through the journal. Luke had filled nearly every page. She looked back at him stunned.

'You wrote all of this for me?' He nodded.

'I had started it awhile back at first it wasn't clear who I was writing it for and then it was.' He didn't elaborate on that, he just watched her, watch him for a few moments. 'Read it, Brooke and then I hope you'll understand.' He stood to leave but before he did he placed a small kiss on top of her forehead. She had no idea what to say to him. She hadn't expected this. Who would have ever expected this? An apology letter sure, an entire book written for her, no she had definitely not seen that coming. She watched him leave and then looked down at the journal in her hand, tying it back up again.

Brooke came back to the present moment and looked guilty over at the journal she hadn't opened it again since then. She didn't know what was holding her back but something was. She looked at the time, in a little bit she had to go to class, so she began to get ready for the day.

Haley shifted a bit and Nathan groaned, he nuzzled his nose into her neck and then placed a soft kiss there.

'Just a few more minutes please, Hales.' He mumbled sleepily and a small smile had spread across her face. She had been awake for a bit now and had tried to get out of bed but Nathan had insisted she should stay in a bed a bit longer. She carefully turned around in his arms to face him. Slowly, she began to trace his jaw with her finger and she could see a small smile slowly starting to grow on his lips.

'But Nathan, we have some time now before we need to get to class.' Her voice was suggestive and Nathan slowly opened his eyes to take her in. She shifted again and this time her hands went under the covers and a moment later she had removed her top. Nathan raised his eyebrows. He wasn't going to complain about this. These past two weeks with Haley had probably been one of the best weeks in Nathan's life. Barring the time when he had to talk to Rachel, she had not taken the news well and had ended up yelling at him. What's more from what Brooke was telling him Rachel was going out of her way to make Haley's life hell during practice because of it. Not that it seemed to really be bothering Haley much. Nathan's thoughts immediately went back to her as she shifted closer to him and began to place kisses on his jaw and then down his neck. He instantly wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the feel of her skin and pulled her into a kiss…

Haley sat down next to Brooke and sighed happily. Brooke looked over at her and made a face at her.

'You look so happy it's disgusting.' Brooke commented and stuck her tongue out at her. Haley laughed.

'Brooke, I don't think I've ever seen you this grumpy for this long!' Haley took out her textbook for this class while giving Brooke a pointed look. 'Have you even read the first page?' Haley asked her friend. Brooke had told her all about her encounter with Lucas and the journal and then Lucas had actually told her all about it too.

'No,' Brooke groaned in response and placed her head on the table. Haley looked over at Brooke's bag and saw the journal sticking out of it. She considered the situation for a moment, she knew that Brooke was stalling because she was scared of taking a chance on Luke again. It was really ironic for Haley that Brooke could be so brave for everyone else but herself. She reached over Brooke before the girl could stop her and pulled out the book. Brooke's head immediately shot up.

'Haley, what are you doing?' Brooke tried to grab the book back but Haley gripped it away from her. She quickly undid its string and opened to the first page. She began reading out loud.

"People say that there are moments that change their lives. Certain events that depending on their outcome will drastically affect what path they will be taking. Moments. Events. Changes. It's a common misconception. Moments don't change people lives, people change people lives. I didn't realise it until I was in it…" Haley stopped reading out loud and looked back at Brooke.

'You are going to want to read this.' She stated matter of factly, as if Brooke had never heard those words before or thought it herself. She took a deep breath and took the book from Haley. She looked down at the first page and the intimidating words on it and then finally she began to read it. Two minutes before the class began Brooke looked up at Haley-who had been expecting this.

'Go. You can have my notes.' Haley said to her friend who looked relieved and immediately stood to leave, she hadn't closed the book and walked out still reading it.

'Thank you.' A voice had emerged behind Haley and she turned to look at Lucas who had walked down to her it seemed.

'Anytime.' She said and she watched as Luke sat down next to her looking happier than he had in a very long time.

Haley checked the time and ran a hand through her hair in irritation. You can do this. She told herself over and over again. Practice was starting soon and Haley was dreading it. Rachel was seriously doing everything she could to make practice unpleasant for her. There was only so much Haley was willing to put up with and her patience was starting to seriously wear thin; but she was not going to give Rachel the satisfaction of not going to practice because of her. A few minutes later she entered the gym and found it completely empty, so she went to sit at the top of the bleachers. None of the other girls were there yet and she figured the boys were all in the locker room considering their practice had just ended. Haley had just taken out her phone when she felt a figure standing in front of her. She looked up to see Rachel looking unhappily down at her.

'I'm surprised you keep coming to practice,' Rachel icily spat at her. Haley took a calming breath.

'I am a part of the team.' She replied calmly.

'We don't want you here,' Rachel shot back. Haley scoffed at her.

'You don't want me here, Rachel because of Nathan.' Haley bluntly told her and looked at her evenly. Her words only seemed to make Rachel angrier.

'You really are a bitch! First, you get rid of Drew and then you steal Nathan from me-' Haley stood up and interrupted Rachel she threw her hands up in the air.

'I did you a favour with Drew and I can't steal something from you which you never had.' Haley knew the last part would sting but she had seriously had enough of Rachel's attitude. She seemed to blame Haley for everything and took no responsibility for her own actions, she didn't even seem to place any blame on Nathan for his actions. Haley watched Rachel glare at her, she really did not need to stand around for this. 'Excuse me.' Haley said, she picked up her bag and then made a move to leave.

Rachel stood there and couldn't actually believe that Haley had the audacity to say any of that to her. And then to make matters worse Haley was just going to walk away before she could put her in her place. That was never going to happen in Rachel's books. Before she knew what she was doing she had swung her bag down and in front of Haley's path as she had begun to walk away.

Haley was caught off guard, she had begun to walk away when suddenly Rachel's bag was blocking her path and she didn't have enough time to stop herself. Her one foot got caught in an awkward position between trying to stop her and balance her at the same time, and then before Haley realised what had happened she had lost her footing completely and had tripped over the bag and was crashing down the set of bleachers. She landed at the bottom with a loud cracking sound. She had banged her head pretty badly and for a moment the room spun around her.

'What the hell, Rachel!' she heard a voice scream and slowly Haley's senses came back to her and she registered Brooke running towards her and screaming at Rachel at the same time. Rachel merely shrugged at Brooke, she didn't know what else to do, she hadn't exactly expected Haley to go flying down the bleachers but she certainly had managed to stop her (which was what she had wanted in the first place) and that was enough for Rachel to feel satisfied with the present moment.

'She just accidentally tripped.' Rachel finally said as she started descending the stairs. Brooke stood up and turned to face Rachel head on, the fury on her face was nothing in comparison to the anger Brooke was feeling. She gave a Haley a quick look, stepped over her and went to face Rachel on the bleachers before she had fully descended.

'That was no accident,' Brooke seethed at her and took another step to face her. 'I saw you throw your bag in front of her.' Brooke paused momentarily looking back at Haley who was looking pretty banged up and seemed to be gingerly touching her ankle. 'Pack your shit up and leave, Rachel and so help me if you come back, it will be the last thing you ever do in this gym.' There was something about Brooke's voice that made Rachel falter. This was not a girl she wanted to fight with right now. She didn't say anything but turned to gather the bag she had thrown in Haley's path. She by stepped Brooke and walked down the bleachers, she didn't even glance at Haley. Brooke had finally gone back to Haley and had crouched down to check her ankle when Rachel had turned back.

'I won't be back for practice. It's not like I actually need it but,' Rachel paused and Brooke noted the awful grin that had spread across her face. 'I will see you at the next basketball match in a few days, you'll need someone to replace Haley and since I am your reserve cheerleader…' she trailed off and gave Brooke a smug look.

'I will find someone else,' Brooke shot at her.

'Please, Brooke, there isn't anyone who can learn all the cheers that quickly before the game.' Rachel then gave a laugh at the look on Brooke's face and proceeded to walk out. Brooke would have actually walked up to the girl and slapped her if she hadn't thought Haley needed some urgent attention. So, she turned back to her friend, trying to push her anger aside for the moment.

'Haley, are you ok?' Brooke asked her knowing the answer.

'I've been better.' Haley mumbled out and Brooke gave a small laugh. A moment later Haley tried to move her one ankle which immediately made her flinch, an action Brooke did not miss.

'Is it broken?' Brooke asked her concerned and then looked around for someone else.

'I don't think so,' Haley said and tried to fight the pain that was swelling up all over her body. 'I think it's just badly twisted.' Brooke nodded and then exhaled for a moment.

'Listen, Haley, not to make things worse but you cut the side of your forehead open and you are bleeding.' Brooke flinched when she saw tears start to well up in Haley's eyes. 'I need to sort that out first before we deal with the ankle.' Brooke stood up. 'So, uh, sit tight.' Haley gave a soft half chuckle at that and gingerly touched her head, she looked back at her fingers to see blood on them and suddenly she became acutely aware of just how much pain she actually was in.

Brooke looked at the gym and then the locker room- she actually couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this earlier. She made a beeline for the locker room and walked straight into it.

'What the hell!' Tim explained when Brooke walked in.

'Tim, where is the first aid kit?' she asked him quickly not caring that most of the boys around her were half naked.

'What?' he asked her back and she threw her hands up in the air.

'THE FIRST AID KIT!' she knew they had one in here, she just wasn't sure where and the longer she stood there the more stressed she felt.

Nathan and Luke had barely registered Tim's exclamation of surprise and the fact that some of the boys were all looking curiously in the same direction. They both, however, and at the same time did register Brooke's voice when she screamed for the first aid kit. They looked at each briefly and then both of them practically ran around the corner to see Brooke standing in the locker room looking anything but calm and ok.

'Brooke's what's wrong?' Luke asked her immediately, she looked over at him and immediately the tension she was feeling dissipated a bit when she saw him and Nathan.

'Haley fell down the bleachers. She's badly injured.' She watched as Nathan's eyes grew as he processed her words and before Brooke could say anything else he had left the locker room at a speed. Brooke momentarily watched his retreating figure and then turned straight back to Luke. 'Luke, I need the first aid kit. I needed it like a minute ago.' The desperation in her voice was evident and the panic Luke was feeling, Brooke was sure mirrored her own. He wasted no time and swung around, threw open a locker and mere seconds later he had the first aid kit and both of them were walking out of the locker room.

'Hales!' Nathan exclaimed as her saw her sitting on the floor in front of the bleachers he run up to her and crouched in front of her. Her face was red and blood was streaming down the side of it. Her ankle looked swollen, and she had some bruises forming on her arm. 'What the hell happened?' he asked unable to control the pure stress which was apparent in his voice. A moment later Brooke and Lucas had joined him. Brooke looked at Haley who seemed right now unable to really talk, her face was getting more red each moment that passed and Brooke ventured a guess that Haley was starting to feel a lot of the pain. She crouched in front of her and made Nathan move a bit out of the way, which was an almost impossible task. She opened the first aid kit and immediately began to clean the cut on Haley's head.

'What the hell happened?' Nathan asked again and placed his hand on Haley's arm, she looked at him but he was looking at Brooke as she worked.

'Rachel happened,' Brooke said her name with such displeasure that Luke actually flinched.

'What?' Both Nathan and Luke asked once they processed what Brooke had said.

'She threw her bag in front of Haley's path as she was walking down the bleachers and she tripped over it and literally fell down all the bleachers. I'm surprised she's actually not more hurt than she is.'

'Thanks,' Haley mumbled out and they all turned to look at her. 'I'm rather resilient aren't I. Probably a side effect of my stubborn nature.' For a moment all three of her friends seemed to relax just a bit and smile at her, and then a moment later all the tension was back.

'I'm going to kill her,' Luke said as he crouched down to look at Haley's ankle.

'Not if I get to her first,' Brooke and Nathan both replied to Luke at the same time and Haley laughed.

'If anyone is going to kill her it's me-'Haley's voice broke on the last word and she recoiled, that pained looked returned to her face and she closed her eyes.

'It's her ankle,' Luke said. 'We need ice and to get her to a doctor so they can check it out.' Without another word Luke turned to go get an ice pack from the locker room. More people were beginning to arrive and everyone seemed to be looking at them. Nathan shifted and put his hands on Haley's cheek. She opened her eyes to look at him.

'Hales, we need to bandage your ankle before we take you to a doctor,' Haley knew why Nathan was telling her this; she knew he was buffering her for the pain she would feel while they bandaged it. She could see how concerned and upset he was and in that moment she realised something but she didn't voice it.

'Ok, you do it, Nate.' She said softly and he nodded removing his hand from her cheek and unrolling some bandage. Brooke finished and placed a plaster on Haley's head. She stood up and looked around the gym. The other girls were starting to come in, just then she saw Peyton walk through the doors and as soon as she spotted them she ran over.

'Haley!' She exclaimed concerned. 'What happened?'

'Rachel!' Brooke said catching Peyton's attention. Peyton's eyes grew.

'I'm going to kill her.' Brooke gave a small laugh that seemed to be all of their go to reactions and then she considered the situation for a moment.

'Pey, can you run practice today? I want to go with Haley.'

'Of course.' Peyton said without a moments hesitation.

'Brooke, that's not necessary,' Nathan said and turned to look at her for the briefest second. 'I've got Haley.' His voice was shaking slightly and Brooke gave him an incredulous look.

'I'm coming with.' She stated and there was no room for argument. Once they knew Haley would be ok she wanted to have a word with her. A second later Luke reappeared with the ice pack and he let Nathan wrap it up in the bandage. Luke looked at Haley and he could see tears slipping out now from the corner of her eyes he figured it was from the pain. He immediately bent down and wiped them away, her eyes opened and she looked gratefully at him.

'Come on let's get her to a doctor.' Luke said softly and nodded at her. He then went to her one side while Nathan went to the other and gently the boys helped her up. The next sound they heard was a sharp intake of breath from Brooke. They all looked at her.

'Haley,' Brooke said in a rushed voice and moved towards her. 'I didn't notice!' she exclaimed and the boys suddenly felt more panicked. Then they both looked to where Brooke's gaze was and saw a portion of Haley's top stained in blood. Brooke moved to lift Haley's top up but Haley shook her head and gingerly lifted it up herself. She sighed in relief when she saw the injury.

'It's just a cut,' Haley said evenly. 'It has already stopped bleeding. Those bleachers are rather sharp.' She added and then a moment later she slumped into Nathan's side. He looked at her and he couldn't actually quite believe this had just happened to Haley. In the back of his mind he could feel the anger he had for Rachel burning but right now he just wanted to concentrate on Haley and make sure she was going to be ok.

'Come on let's go.' Nathan said softly and they all nodded, he looked at Luke who seemed to understand what Nathan wanted to tell him without him actually having to say it. A second later Luke let go of Haley's other arm and as soon as he had Nathan turned and picked Haley up completely. There was no point in helping her walk across the room, increasing her pain and slowing them down. Her eyes grew when he did lift her up but a moment later she relaxed and placed her head against his shoulder. The four of them left without another word to anyone. Luke had gone and gotten Nathan's car and then they drove to the nearest doctor, it was a quick drive and Haley seemed to be doing ok other than the obvious pain. When they got to the doctor Haley insisted that Brooke be the one to help her into the room. Once Haley was settled on the exam table, she looked at Brooke.

'Go calm the boys down, please. They looked beyond freaked.' Haley said to Brooke and gave her a small smile.

'Haley,' Brooke said seriously, 'You could have seriously hurt yourself! You literally fell almost the entire length of the bleachers and like you said they are rather sharp. Not to mention you hit your head and you could have broken a lot more than possibly just your ankle.' Haley sighed and looked at her friend, she wanted to hug her.

'Brooke, that doesn't matter because I'm ok. A little banged up but ok. I would really appreciate you calming the boys down a bit, especially Nathan, while I'm getting checked up.' Brooke seemed to contemplate Haley for a moment and then her resolve seemed to ease a bit.

'Ok,' she said and began to walk to the door before turning back to face Haley. 'I was going to tell you this later after you had been checked out.' Brooke paused with her hand on the door handle. 'But I think you need to hear it now, what Rachel did warrants you being angry. Don't let her get away with it, Haley. Sometimes it's ok to be angry and you are allowed to stand up for yourself. I feel like you've forgotten that a bit this year, always trying to play it calm when it comes to her. She's a bitch, Haley and you don't have to treat her like anything but that until she deserves otherwise.' With that Brooke left the room and went to the boys. Haley watched the door close and contemplated Brooke's words, she had to admit it wasn't something she had ever really expected to hear. Haley sighed and flinched at the same time. What a day.

Forty minutes later they had all left the doctors' offices. Haley had been given some pain killers and strict instructions to stay off her ankle for at least the next two days, which had been placed in a temporary cast. The doctor wanted her to stay awake for a few hours just to make sure she didn't have a concussion, other than that she was just a bit bruised and cut up. When they got back to campus Brooke and Lucas had both offered to stay with her but she shook her head. She made no attempt to deter Nathan from staying with her; she knew that would be a futile effort. Slowly, he helped her back to his room. He immediately positioned her on the couch with her ankle up and went to get her something to eat and drink so she could take a painkiller.

'Hey,' Haley said as she watched him fuss around his little kitchen. 'Come sit with me.' He looked at her and then his body seemed to deflate. He took the bottle of water and muffin over to her and sat down next to her. Haley positioned herself so she was leaning against his chest. Nathan handed her the water and muffin. She looked up at him. 'Thanks for your help today.' She felt Nathan place a kiss on her forehead and then begin to run his one hand up and down her one arm.

'You don't need to thank me, Hales,' he said tensely. 'This is my fault. Rachel did this because of me.' Haley stiffened at his words and with a great effort she sat up and slowly turned to face him while trying to disturb her ankle as little as possible.

'Nate, this is not your fault,' she said and placed a hand on his cheek. 'You do not control Rachel's actions. So stop beating yourself up over it.' She said firmly and then leaned in and gave him a small kiss on the lips. When she pulled away, she could tell he was still not convinced.

'Haley, you could have been seriously hurt. You are actually quite hurt!' He paused and rubbed his eyes, leaving his hand over them. 'When I saw you there, my heart just stopped. I can't even explain to you what that felt like.' Haley took a hold of his hand and removed it from his eyes.

'Nathan, I am fine. Just a little bruised. No point dwelling on what could have happened. So stop. Please.' The amount of emotion uttered with her last word, shook Nathan out of it a bit and he nodded at her. She finally went back to her original position and leaned against his chest.

'Besides, Nate, I need you to keep me awake for the next few hours, so there really is no time for you to feel guilty over anything. I need to be entertained!' Haley smiled at him and for the first time, since Nathan had found her sitting at the bottom of the bleachers this afternoon, he genuinely smiled back at her.

Brooke had immediately collapsed into a bench once Nathan had taken Haley away. Luke hesitated for a moment not quite sure what to do and then he decided to sit down next to her. He noticed Brooke looking at her hands; he looked down at them too and saw that they were shaking. Without really thinking about it, Luke turned to her and wrapped and arm around her shoulders and then very gently he pulled her to him and wrapped both his arms around her. Brooke tensed for a mere moment and then immediately relaxed, her head nuzzled into his neck and slowly she wrapped her arms around him and tried to stop her hands from shaking.

'Relax, Brooke.' Luke said into her hair. 'Everything is fine now.' He began to rub her back and slowly he felt her hands stop shaking. A minute later Brooke pulled back and looked directly at him, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

'What happened this afternoon was not ok,' Brooke said seriously. 'It was stressful and unbelievable. You didn't see it Luke, you didn't hear it.' She took a deep breath and Luke placed a hand on her arm.

'Brooke's what's wrong?' Luke asked him. He knew it wasn't just what happened to Haley that was shaking her up. She tried to look away from him but Luke gently turned her face to look back at him.

'I can't explain it,' she said and she genuinely meant it. She couldn't explain it, before she had entered the gym all she had been thinking about was what she had been reading in the journal Luke had given her. When she saw Haley all thoughts of that had left her immediately but when she found the boys, the only thought running through her head was how grateful she was Luke was there with her, with them. She knew what that meant, she knew what she wanted before she had even finished reading what he had written but she couldn't explain that to him. Not quite yet, not until she found a way to explain that and not until she finished reading the journal. That, however, didn't mean she had to stay away from him. 'Hey Luke,' she said after she realised she had been quiet for awhile. 'Can we go back to your room? I have some reading to do and could use some dinner and I don't feel like being alone.' Luke considered her for a moment, he wasn't quite sure what was going on with Brooke but this he knew was progress.

'Of course we can.' Luke said and dropped his hand from her arm before standing up. He held out his hand for her, Brooke looked up at him tentatively and then a moment later she took it. She intertwined her fingers with his and they silently walked back to his room. At this moment in time, they really didn't need words, what they needed was just to be in each other presence.

A/N: The opening scene to this fic will be in the next chapter. And really there are only about two chapters left to this story. I promise to update promptly. Please review!