Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of its characters

Chapter 21: Come Around

Some things get easier with time. It's easier to accept the hard things after some time has passed. But this wasn't one of those times. Seeing Haley with Jonnie this whole trip was driving Nathan crazy and he was glad to finally get back to Tree Hill and leave Jonnie at the beach house. He was glad to not have to see them kiss and smile sweetly at each other. He was surprised he hadn't snapped at them already.

But the worst part was, Jonnie was a great guy. He was the type of guy that was supposed to be with Haley James. He was polite, he held the door for her, pulled out her chair, kissed the back of her hand and told she was beautiful. He was who she was supposed to be with. And that's what killed him. He couldn't make up any more lies for why he should be with her. There wasn't anything he could say. Jonnie was obviously better for her.

Nathan felt like he was broken. He'd been through too much for someone his age. No one should have to watch his best friend die. And he knew that she needed someone who was whole to help her heal. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he just wasn't that guy.

Pulling his car into the driveway of his parent's house he was glad to finally be home. It had only been a week but he was glad he was home. He almost felt guilty for being away from Tree Hill in the short time that he would be home. He took this town for granted when he was growing up and he told himself he wouldn't do that anymore.

After turning off the engine he and Lucas grabbed their bags from the car and made their way into their house. When they walked through the door they saw Keith and Karen in the kitchen. Music was playing on the stereo and they were dancing with smiles on their faces. Candles were on the table accompanied by glasses of wine.

"We clearly ruined the night," Lucas said with a quick laugh before moving on towards his bedroom.

Nathan nodded but continued to watch his parents. He was sure that there wasn't a more perfect couple in the world than them. It almost wasn't fair how perfect they were. He would never say it out loud, but he wished that he could one day be like them. They were the picture of happiness and he envied them.

Keith smiled at his son while continuing to dance his wife around the kitchen. "Hey! How was the trip?"

"It was alright," Nathan said with a shrug. "Don't let us interrupt."

"You're not," Karen said with a shake of her head.

"Get back to what you're doing. I have to get my stuff ready for tomorrow anyway."

There was a dinner party in Charlotte for the troops and he was supposed to be going. He knew that he would see a lot of the guys from Iraq, and he was excited, but he also knew that it was going to bring back some of the bad memories he had from being away. But he had to get used to that, he would be back with them all again soon enough.

Walking into his room he looked around. It was always the same. He wasn't sure what he'd expected to change, but it felt like something should have. After all the changes that had been going on in his world, his surroundings should have changed too. But they never did.

He stepped in front of his closet and pulled open the door. He grabbed his dress uniform and his dress shoes and hung them up next to his bed. He made sure his name pin was straight and everything was in the right order. After that he moved on to unpacking his bag from the trip. Everything inside smelled of salt water and had bits of sand stuck to it.

In the midst of brushing off sand he heard his phone from his pocket and he reached in and grabbed it. He couldn't help the smile that came across his face as he watched Haley's name flash across the screen. He slid the arrow to answer it and pressed it up against his ear. "Hey Hales."

"Hi. So I'm looking through my closet… what do I wear to this sort of thing?"

Nathan laughed and shook his head. "I told you, whatever you wear will be fine."

"But I mean is this fancy? You're wearing your uniform, so I need to look somewhat nice."

"You always look nice."

When Nathan saw that he was allowed to bring a guest to this dinner, there was no one else he would have wanted to bring. He wanted her by his side throughout everything and he was thankful that she was more than willing to do that.

"Well thank you," she said he could tell she was smiling just by the tone of her voice. "Ok, I think I have the right thing to wear then."

"Ok. I'll call you tomorrow before I come to pick you up. You're just gonna get ready there right?"

"Yep."

"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow Hales."

"Bye Nathan."

He heard the click of the line going dead and he tossed his phone onto his bed before continuing to unpack. All the while he was trying to get Haley out of his mind, which was never easy, but he had to try.

Peyton watched Jenny sleep. She had missed this sight. Something like this was just so perfect and she had missed it in the week she'd been away. She knew that leaving her was going to be hard, but she never knew it would be that hard. It felt like a part of her heart had been ripped out. It was so hard to be away from her and she never wanted to let her out of her sight again.

"I missed you," Peyton whispered and lightly ran her finger over Jenny's cheek while she continued to sleep heavily. The feel of her soft skin was so amazing and she couldn't stop herself from leaning further into the crib and placing a kiss on her forehead. "Mommy loves you."

Suddenly she felt her phone begin to vibrate in her pocket and she reached for it. She didn't recognize the number but she brought it to her ear. "Hello?" she asked.

"Peyton," the voice said on the other end. "It's Ben. Um, I know you're probably wondering how I got your number. I promise I'm not some kind of stalker or anything. I just, I got it from Haley and I thought I'd give you a call."

"Ben, did anyone ever tell you, you ramble when you get nervous?" she asked with a laugh.

"I'm not nervous…" he said and then cleared his throat. "Anyway… how are you?"

"Well since I saw you this morning… I'm pretty good. Why are you really calling me Ben?"

"Uh, well, I guess I just wanted to talk to you. Is that weird?"

Peyton bit her lip and let out a sigh. "I don't think so."

Since she'd met Ben, she couldn't stop herself from liking him. He had made her laugh and smile more than she'd remembered laughing and smiling in a long time. Maybe even since Jake. And that just made her feel incredibly guilty. How was she supposed to feel like that? It wasn't ok.

"Good. How's Jenny?"

Peyton had spent the majority of the trip talking with Ben about Jenny and Jake. It was nice to have someone listen to her that hadn't been around forever. That didn't already know every detail of her life. And Ben was refreshing. She'd enjoyed getting to know him.

"Amazing. I missed her so much. I've been watching her sleep since I got back."

She heard Ben chuckle on the other end, "I'm sure she was happy to see you."

"I hope so."

"She was."

Peyton smiled while looking down at her daughter again. "I didn't think it was possible to miss her so much."

There was a few more seconds of silence before Ben spoke up again. "I'd really like to meet her."

Peyton was taken aback by that statement. She hadn't expected him to say that. It wasn't like she had really gone out and met new people; no one new had come into her life. No one that she would have to bring into Jenny's life.

"I mean if that's too weird or something-"

"No," Peyton said. "If you're ever in town I'd love for you to meet her."

"Great! I'll come up with Jonnie and then I can meet her."

"I'm looking forward to it."

They talked for a few more minutes about anything and nothing. She realized that she already missed talking with him and that was something new and unexpected.

"Who was that?" she heard from behind her after she hung up the phone. She turned around quickly and saw Jake standing near the door.

"Just a friend I made at the beach house."

"Oh," Jake said with a hint of a smile. "A guy?"

Peyton laughed uncomfortably and ran her hands through her hair. She felt like this was something she just couldn't talk about with Jake. Not with the boy she was still in love with and would I always be in love with.

"It's nothing. We're just friends."

"Ok. Look Peyton it's not like you can't meet new guys."

"I'm not meeting new guys!" Peyton said feeling suddenly frustrated. "We're just friends."

"You don't have to explain it to me."

"I'm just saying," she said with a sigh before bringing her hands down to her side. "He's just my friend."

"Maybe he should be more."

"Why would you say that? Jake I love you."

"I love you too," Jake said and took a few steps towards her. "But it's not like it's fair for me to stand in the way of your life anymore. Maybe you need to move on from me."

"No!" Peyton said with a shake of her head. "I don't want to be with someone else."

"Well you can't be with me!" he sighed and shook his head. "I'm not here anymore."

"Then why are you still here?" Peyton yelled and instantly regretted it. She had let the anger get the best of her and that was something she never meant to do and not with Jake. She knew that she was lucky to get to see him still and she didn't want to take it for granted.

"I'll leave you alone for awhile."

"No, Jake-"

"It's ok," he said before taking another look at Jenny and then heading towards the door. Before she knew it he was gone.

Brooke stood outside of Karen's Café contemplating the idea of going inside. She had played the scenarios of what would happen over and over again in her head. Karen would both be nice to her, and treat her the way she always had, or she'd yell at her and accuse her of breaking her son's heart. And what if Lucas was there? He was bound to ignore her more and continue to make things awkward. All she wanted was for things to go back to normal. But they would never be normal again.

Finally she pushed her nerves aside and walked into the café. She was hit with the warm, familiar sensation she always got when she was there. It felt like it always had. Maybe she was just being crazy and over reacting. It was time to find out.

She walked over to the counter and sat down. Pulling out a menu she scanned over the items even though she always got the same thing; an iced tea and a slice of cherry pie. Sometimes she thought of branching out and trying something different, but she never did. Always stick to the usual.

Brooke looked up from the menu when she saw Lucas out of the corner of her eye. He walked out from the kitchen and stopped in his tracks when he saw her. The awkward tension in the room was palpable and they were both sure that everyone in the café could feel it.

"Lucas," Brooke said and stood up quickly. She'd hoped that she might actually get the chance to talk to him.

"Brooke," he replied with a tilt of his head before he hurried towards the door and outside. Brooke sighed and dropped her hands to her side. She felt embarrassed and sad. Losing Lucas was something that she had never wanted, but it felt like there was no way to get him back. All she wanted was a friend in him, and it was clear they were nowhere near that.

"He'll get over it."

Brooke turned around and saw Karen standing behind the counter. She had the palms of her hands resting on the counter top and an apron tied around her waist. "He's just hurt, but he cares too much about you to just cut you out of his life."

Taking her original seat again, Brooke ran her hands through her hair. "Are you sure? Cuz I think he actually hates me. That's the most he's said to me since we've been home this summer."

"Boys don't handle rejection very well, Brooke. But I know my son. He'll get over it and soon enough you guys will be friends again. Things always have a way of working themselves out."

"Really?" Brooke asked, "because it seems like I have a way of always messing them up."

Karen suddenly looked towards the door when she heard the bell above it ring and Brooke turned around towards where she was looking. She was surprised by the young man standing near the door dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a light blue plaid button down. The scruff on his chin was the result of skipping a few days of shaving and his dark blonde hair looked perfectly ruffled.

"Julian?" Brooke asked, taken aback by his presence. "What are you doing here?"

"Um," he replied and took a few steps towards her, "I came to find you."

She stood up again and looked back at Karen who nodded at her to go talk to him. Her heart felt like it was racing a mile a minute and she felt like she was suddenly unsteady on her feet. Something about Julian always caused that sort of reaction within her.

"Well you found me," she said with a shrug.

"Wasn't too hard. I mean this is a pretty small town and I saw your car out front… Do you think maybe we can go talk somewhere? I feel like everyone is staring at us."

Brooke glanced around the café and noticed that he was right. Almost everyone was watching her conversation with this boy that they didn't know. She nodded and grabbed his arm while leading him towards the door.

Once outside they were hit with the heavy North Carolina summer air. They walked down the sidewalk under the shade of the buildings, letting the silence surround them. She felt like she had so many things to say to him, but she couldn't form the words. It was too hard to think of the right thing. Sometimes she just couldn't think at all when she was around him.

"Brooke," he said, "I know I told you I was gonna give you time. You know to figure everything out? And I think I have. I just… I need to know how you feel."

"Julian," she started, "I don't want you to think that I'm blowing you off or something. It's not like I've been trying to avoid you-"

"Really?" he asked, "because you haven't replied to any of my texts or answered my calls."

"I know. I just needed to get everything straightened out here and I'm just not sure-"

"How you feel about me?"

"No! I know how I feel about you Julian. It just scares me."

He stopped walking suddenly and faced her. "The Brooke Davis I met was fearless. What happened to her?"

She bit her lip and shrugged. "You told her you loved her."

He laughed a little. "You see normally that's a good thing."

"It is a good thing. Look Julian… the only other person who's told me they love me is Lucas. And I hurt him. I have this tendency of pushing people away once they get close to me. And I don't want you to go anywhere. That's why it's easier for me to just… keep my heart out of it."

"But my heart's all in, Brooke. I'm in love with you. I think I have been since the moment I met you. And I'm not scared of that and I know how I feel and I'll tell you every day. So tell me how you feel."

"Julian-"

"I love you, Brooke Davis."

"I love you, too."

She'd finally said the words. The words he'd been dying to hear for months. She loved him too and she could finally say it back. She'd pushed away whatever fear she'd had and now he knew that she felt the same. He took a few steps towards her and pressed his lips into hers. He felt her kiss him back and he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him. Out of all the times he'd kissed Brooke, this was by far the best, because he knew that she loved him too.

Standing in front of the hotel's full length mirror, Haley ran her hands over the lavender dress she wore. She felt like her palms were sweating and she couldn't stop her beating heart. It was like getting ready for your first date, but that's wasn't what this was at all. She had to remind herself that this wasn't a date, not anything close to that. Just her going to a dinner with a friend.

But even as she kept repeating that to herself over and over again in her head, she couldn't stop the butterflies from flying around in her stomach. She was nervous, and she didn't know why. This was just Nathan, and she never had to feel nervous or scared when she was with him. He was her best friend, right? Wasn't he the one she was supposed to feel the most comfortable with?

There was a knock from the door and she looked at herself once more in the mirror. She checked to make sure her hair was still perfectly curled and she quickly stepped into her pair of nude pumps. Hurrying over to the door, she wasn't fully prepared for what awaited her on the other side.

Nathan was dressed in his dress uniform, his name pin placed perfectly on the pocket. If he looked amazing in normal clothes, then there were no words to describe how handsome he looked in his uniform. It almost took her breath away. Suddenly she was worried that she had been staring and she shook her head.

"Hey!" she said, "you look handsome."

Nathan smiled, but he could barely register what she was saying. She was dressed in a light purple dress that hugged her every curve. The halter top of the dress tied behind her neck and the hem line stopped just under her knees. The shoes she wore on her feet made her legs look amazing and he had to stop and wonder if he might be drooling all over himself.

"Thanks," he replied softly, "you look…" he stopped to think of the right words before making eye contact with her finally. "You look so beautiful."

She felt the blush spread across her face and she looked down at the ground hoping that it might go unnoticed. Suddenly she felt him lightly take her chin in his hand and tilt her head back up to face him. His eyes were a shade darker and she watched as he subconsciously licked his lips. "Really, Haley, you look amazing."

"Thanks," she choked out, finally. She felt like her body was on fire just from his gaze and part of her felt herself wanting to kiss him, just once more to remember what it felt like.

But then Jonnie popped into her mind and she suddenly felt like the worst person in the world. She shook her head and said, "let me grab my purse real fast and we can go."

She walked over to her bed and grabbed her clutch and shook her head once more. She needed to clear her mind and remember her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who she loved. He would be so hurt if he knew the feelings she was trying to ignore when it came to her best friend.

He smiled at her when she came back to the door and he offered her his arm. "Ready?" he asked and she nodded before closing the door.

The dinner was on a river boat. It looked like it had been freshly painted and the inside had been decorated nicely for the dinner. The dining hall was full of soldiers and their family members. Haley watched as Nathan talked to a few and even introduced some of them to her. She liked seeing him with these people, she liked getting to see this side of him. It was different than the Nathan she saw, and she wanted to see every side to him that she could.

"Scott," they heard from behind them and they turned around to see a tall man with dark hair standing in front of them. He was few inches taller than Nathan and Haley felt like if she took off her high heels, this man would tower over her. "Glad you could make it."

"Thank you, Sir."

The man looked at Haley and she smiled before sticking her hand out to him. "I'm Haley."

He smiled and looked back at Nathan before shaking her hand. "I've heard quite a bit about you. It's great to finally put a face to the name."

"Hales," Nathan said, "this is my Captain, Owen Morello."

"Great to meet you!" she said, "I've heard a lot about you, too."

Nathan smiled as he watched her talk to his captain. He loved the way Haley could instantly win over anyone she talked to. He'd practically watched all the men in the room fall in love with her as she engaged in a conversation with them. She had that effect on a lot of people and it seemed like Owen was no different.

"If you'll excuse me," Owen said, "I left my wife alone at the table and she'll kill me if I don't get back soon." He smiled at Haley again and patted Nathan on the back before walking off towards his wife.

"He seems great," Haley said while turning her attention back to Nathan.

"He is. He keeps us all in line."

Nathan looked around the room and saw Clay and Tony standing outside on the deck and he took Haley's hand in his. "Come on, I have a few more people I want you to meet."

She let him lead her outside and towards two more men. They smiled when they saw him and embraced him like he was an old friend. She couldn't help the smile that spread on her face while she watched them. She was happy to see that these men treated him like he was family. It was what he needed.

"Big time!" one of them said, "I was wondering if you were gonna show up." He looked at Haley and smiled, "so this is your woman."

Nathan shook his head. "Tony, Clay, this is Haley. Haley this is Tony and Clay. I met Tony during training and I met Clay in Iraq. They're both from North Carolina."

"Nice to meet you both," she said while shaking their hands.

"I'm glad you're here," Clay said, "you'll get a chance to meet Sarah and Logan."

Clay motioned towards where a beautiful blonde was helping a small boy tie his shoe. She looked up at him and smiled before picking the boy up in his arms and walking over towards where they were all standing. "Nate, this is my wife Sarah and my son Logan."

Nathan watched as Clay wrapped his arm around his wife's waist before smiling at his young son, who couldn't have been more than four years old. He looked like he was already tired and about to fall asleep in his mom's arms. "Sarah, this is Nathan and Haley, and you already know Tony."

"Of course. It's so nice to meet you guys. I'd shake your hand, but my hands are kind of full," she said motioning to the young boy in her arms.

They talked with them for a few minutes before Nathan and Haley walked farther along the deck until they reached the back of the boat. They watched as they moved along the Catawba River and the sun sank more in the sky. "It's so pretty," Haley said, captivated by the sight.

Nathan stared at her and said, "it's beautiful."

Haley turned towards him and smiled shyly, "I'm really glad you asked me to come with you. It's nice to get to spend some time, ya know just us two. And I really like getting to see this part of your world."

"I'm glad you get to see it."

She smiled again before placing her hand on top of his that rested on the railing. He looked down at their hands and he couldn't stop the voice in his head that said they looked so perfect. It didn't matter that she had a boyfriend, he knew how he felt about her and there was no way that anyone could love her more than he did.

Suddenly he thought back to a moment on the trip. He'd been sitting on the beach trying to get away from Haley and Jonnie when he felt the presence of someone come up next to him.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?"

Nathan looked up and saw Peyton standing next to him. She bent her knees and took a seat next to him in the sand and looked out at the water.

"I don't know," he replied, "trying to clear my head or something."

She nodded and then turned to look at him. "So when are you gonna tell her that you're in love with her?"

"God," Nathan said with a shake of his head, "does everyone know that?"

She laughed and shrugged. "It's not like you do that well of hiding it. I see the way you look at her and I've known you a long time and I've never seen you look at anyone that way."

"Yeah, well she's with Jonnie."

"So what?" Peyton asked, "as far as I'm concerned, he's got nothing on you. He's a really great guy, but Nathan you and Haley have been trying to deny this thing you've had going for years. And maybe it's finally time that you guys just admitted it."

Nathan sat there soaking in what she was saying to him and he couldn't help but think maybe she was right. He'd been trying so hard to deny how he felt about her and all it was doing was killing him. He needed to at least tell her how he felt. Maybe that way he could finally move on from her.

"Do you wanna dance with me?" Nathan asked.

Haley turned and looked at him and smiled, "I'd love to."

They walked through glass double doors and towards the dance floor where other couples were dancing. She felt him wrap his arms around her waist and pull her flush against him. Her arms wound around his neck and she smiled up at him as they began to dance. All night she'd been struggling to keep her heart beat slow and this was certainly not helping. But everything about being with him felt so right.

"Can I tell you something?" Nathan asked suddenly.

"Of course," Haley replied, "you know you can tell me anything."

His heart was racing a mile a minute and he couldn't stop the thought in his head that was screaming at him what are you doing?! Was he really going to tell her everything when he knew how it would end? Most likely in rejection and his heart ripped out and stomped on? Why was he doing this again?

"Nathan?" Haley said gaining his attention, "what do you want to tell me?"

He looked into her eyes and smiled a bit, "you know you're my best friend, right?"

"Yeah," she said and her smiled spread across her face, "and you're mine."

"You've been so great to me and I don't deserve it after what an asshole I've been over the years. But that's the way you are. You're forgiving and you see the best in people even when they don't deserve it-"

"Nathan-"

"No… I need to get this out," he said. "I think I've always known how amazing you are. I mean since we were kids, I've always known and it took me so long to realize it. Last summer before I left, I kissed you and I tried to tell myself that it was a mistake. I talked myself out of the way I felt for so many reasons. You're Jake's little sister, I was leaving, it just wasn't right. But I spent all year thinking about you. You were who I had to come home to."

Haley was trying to process what he was saying, they were things that she had wanted to hear him say for so long but now she felt like she was at a loss of words.

"I know you're with Jonnie," Nathan continued, "and I know you really like him and he seems like he's so great for you and I hope that you're happy with him. That's all I want for you Haley, but I need you to know how I feel. I have to tell you if I'm ever going to be able to move on. I'm in love with you, Haley. I have been for a long time. And it scares the shit out of me, but there it is."

She felt like her palms were sweating and her heart was about to explode. "Wow… there it is."

"I don't expect you to say it back, I just needed to tell you-"

He was suddenly cut off by her lips on his in a kiss that would change everything.

Please review! I'm so so sorry for the long wait on this, I feel so horrible about it. I hope people are still reading this!

Also, the song for this chapter is Come Around by Rosi Golan. Please give it a listen.