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

I LOVE you guys! Your reviews made me smile and I really needed it. I would have gotten this up earlier but I'm going through a really rough break up. But I need this to cheer me up.

Chapter 25: Anything Could Happen

Haley could feel her world stop. Jonnie stood right inside the door of the café with a smile on his face and it was like he felt everything in his world was ok. Standing there she started to hate herself. How could she step in and throw his life for a loop? She truly hated herself right now. She couldn't stop herself from turning around slightly to look at Nathan. He looked as if he'd been punched in the gut.

"Well?" Jonnie asked, his smile faltering just a bit. "Do I get a hug or not?"

Haley smiled and moved her way to the other side of the counter. She almost felt as if she was watching this scene play out in front of her, rather than really living it. When she reached him he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight to him. She took in his familiar scent and the feel of his strong arms around her. This feeling was so familiar and she hadn't realized how much she'd missed it until now.

"I missed you, Beautiful," he whispered to her as he continued to hold her.

She wanted to speak, but she couldn't find her voice. Her throat felt dry and her heart was pounding in her chest and she was sure that he had to be able to feel it. Did she look as freaked out to see him as she thought she did? He must have known there was something wrong.

A few more seconds passed before she cleared her throat and finally forced words from her mouth. "I missed you, too."

Her voice didn't sound like her. It seemed like someone had come into her body to speak for her. Some other voice had taken it upon them to make her speak so she could appear as less of an idiot. But still, even though she knew it was her, she couldn't believe this was really happening. What was he doing here?

She took a step back from him and took a moment to really look at him. His hair seemed shorter than when she had seen him last, which really had only been a few weeks. His face was free of any stubble, she was sure he must have shaved recently. His smile was back in place and she couldn't help but smile back at him.

"What are you doing here?" she finally asked.

"I wanted to surprise you! Are you surprised?"

"Very surprised…" she said.

They turned around and walked in the direction of the counter where Ben continued to sit. Nathan still stood near the hallway watching them. He was just as confused as Haley was as to why Jonnie was here. Shouldn't he have called first or something? He couldn't believe that just minutes ago he'd been kissing Haley and everything seemed like it was falling into place. Now everything was falling apart around him.

"Hales," Nathan said finally speaking up, "I think I'm gonna go."

"Oh, do you need a ride or something?" she asked hopefully. She wanted the chance to be able to talk to him. To at least apologize.

"No," he said with a shake of his head, "I'm just gonna walk. I need some fresh air, anyways."

"Ok," she said, watching him as he made his way towards the door. She wanted him to stay and talk to her. But now that was impossible.

"It's good to see you Nate," Jonnie said, genuinely. That made it even harder for Nathan to be around him. Jonnie was always so kind to him and it just made him feel like a horrible person.

"Yeah," Nathan agreed with a nod, "good to see you guys, too."

No more words passed between them before Nathan hurried out of the café. He felt like he needed to get as far away from there as he possibly could. He had wanted to stay near to Haley, but now he just needed distance. He needed to come up with a solution to this, but he knew there wasn't one.

He stepped out onto the sidewalk and felt like he could breathe again. Taking a few steps he stopped and looked back in the direction of the café. Through the windows he could see Jonnie with his arm around Haley and he watched him plant a kiss on her head. He shook his head trying to get that image out of his head. He needed to get as far away from them as possible.

Haley watched Nathan disappear into the dark and she felt like her heart might explode. Everything was so messed up and she felt so guilty being around Jonnie now. She had to tell him everything. She had to tell him the truth but she was dreading that moment.

"Do you think your parents will be ok with us staying with you guys?" Jonnie asked breaking her out of her thoughts. "I know we should have called but I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Oh," she said and rubbed her forehead, "I'm sure one of you can have the guest room and someone can have the couch. I don't think they'll mind."

"Great," Ben said, "sorry that we're intruding."

"You're not," Haley said, quickly disagreeing with him. The last thing she wanted was for Jonnie to feel like he was intruding. "But why did you come, Ben?"

"I just thought I'd come along with Jonnie for the drive?"

"Bull shit," Jonnie said with a laugh, "you wanted to see Peyton."

Haley couldn't help the smile the spread across her face. She hadn't even thought about Peyton and Ben until now.

"You totally like her!" she yelled, noticing the blush on his cheeks. "That's so cute!"

"I just want to get to know her better," he said, trying to defend himself; even though by the looks on Jonnie and Haley's faces, he wasn't doing that good of a job.

"Whatever you say," Haley replied while laughing. "But she likes you, too, by the way."

"She does?" Ben asked, finally making eye contact with Haley.

"Yeah. But you have to understand that she's not completely over Jake and she never will be. She's been through a lot, ya know?"

"I know. I'm not looking to take his place or anything like that. I like her… I just want her to get to know me."

Haley was happy to hear this coming from him. She knew that Peyton would guard her heart from him, but she hoped that she might learn to let Ben in. Peyton deserved to be loved, she deserved to feel love again. Maybe she wouldn't fall in love with Ben, but maybe he could show her what it's like to feel something for someone again.

There was a moment where she hesitated with the idea of bringing Ben to come stay at the house. She hoped Peyton wouldn't be angry with her or anything. But she had to push those worries away. All she could do was hope that Peyton wouldn't be mad and that bringing Jonnie and Ben to her house wouldn't end badly.

Peyton had just put Jenny down for bed before going to sit with Lydia in the front room. She had a book open in her lap and the TV on quietly. She smiled at Peyton as she sat down on the overstuffed leather chair next to her. Peyton was so thankful to have Lydia and Jimmy around. It was hard to be away from her dad, especially after Jake died. If she didn't have Lydia and Jimmy she would have felt completely alone.

Lydia was the only mother she really had. Her mother had died when she was young and now all she was left with were fleeting memories of her. Since they were young Lydia treated her like a daughter. She remembered when they had their first dance freshmen year and she had gotten ready at Haley's house with her and Brooke. She sat nervously in front of the bathroom mirror trying to arrange her hair the right way but it just wouldn't work. Lydia had come and helped her finish getting ready and told her how beautiful she was and how proud her mother would be of her. That was her favorite memory of her and it was one of many.

Lydia set her book down and looked over at Peyton. "How've you been doing?"

Peyton pulled her legs up to her chest and shrugged. "I've been ok. I miss my dad and I miss Jake and sometimes it's hard."

"Have you talked to your dad lately?"

"I talked to him last week. He's taking another job off the coast of Florida so he'll be gone even longer. I know he does it so he can support me, but it's hard having him gone all the time."

"I'm sure it is. But you know he loves you."

"Yeah, I know."

Lydia could tell there was more on her mind than just her dad, "what else is going on?"

Peyton sighed and scratched her ear. "I've been seeing Jake."

Peyton could see the confused look on her face so she cleared her throat before beginning again. "A little while after he died I could see him. He would talk to me… we would have long conversations like we used to. It was like everything was normal again. Now I don't see him anymore."

"Why not?"

"He told me it was time to move on. That I had to learn to be happy without him. I'm not sure I can ever be happy without him, Lydia."

"I remember when Jake came home from his first date with you. Jimmy and I had been waiting up in the kitchen to give him a hard time when he got home past his curfew," Lydia stopped and smiled at the memory before she continued. "He came in with the biggest smile on his face. He looked at me and Jimmy and he said 'I'm gonna love that girl forever.' He smiled every time he talked about you. He loved you so much and he still does and he always will. He'd want you to be happy, Peyton."

Peyton could feel tears in her eyes as Lydia told her this story. She knew that Jake would want her to be happy, even if that meant being happy with someone else. That's how he was. He was completely selfless.

"You know something else," Lydia said looking at the younger girl. "I don't think you'll every truly be without him. You have Jenny and she's a part of him. And I've always believed in reincarnation. I think you'll see him again."

"So you don't think I'm crazy?"

"Not at all," she said smiling.

A minute of silenced passed between them before Peyton spoke up again. "What do you think he is now?"

"I think he's a raven."

Peyton smiled, "I think you're right."

Lydia reached over and grabbed Peyton's hand and squeezed it before smiling at her once more. A few seconds later the front door opened and they both looked up to see Haley coming through the door. She smiled at them both before opening her mouth to speak.

"Hi," she said, "um… I have some people with me who need a place to stay."

"Who?" Lydia asked while standing up and walking towards the door.

Haley moved out of the way and Jonnie stepped through the door. He smiled when he saw Lydia and moved to where she was standing with open arms to greet him.

"What a surprise!" Lydia said while hugging the young boy. "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to come see Haley. I don't like being away from her for so long."

Lydia smiled at him before noticing Ben standing just outside the door. She smiled at him and motioned for him to follow them inside. "I don't think I've met you before."

"No Ma'am," he said while sticking his hand out towards her. "I'm Ben. It's really great to meet you."

Peyton sat up when she saw Ben come through the door. Her heart began to race at the sight of him and she was surprised at the feeling. The only other guy who'd ever caused that reaction was Jake. "Ben," she said and stood up quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"Peyton," he said with a smile. "Hi."

"Hi," she said back, "what are you doing here?"

"I came with Jonnie. I told you that I would if he was ever coming here."

"Right."

Everyone in the room looked back and forth between them before Lydia cleared her throat. "I'll go get the guest room set up. Haley, would you mind getting blankets and pillows for the couch?"

"Sure," she said before grabbing Jonnie by the arm. "Why don't you help me?"

Peyton opened her mouth to say something but Haley and Jonnie had already hurried up the stairs behind Lydia. She turned and looked back at Ben who stood near the door with his hands in his pockets. She could tell by the look on his face that he wanted to say something. She wanted to say something, too. But no words would come to her.

"Sorry to just show up like this," he said finally. "Jonnie wanted to come surprise Haley. I would have called and told you but…"

"It's ok," she said, "it's good to see you, Ben."

He smiled and took a few steps closer to her. "You, too. I've been thinking about you a lot. I hope that's ok."

Peyton wasn't really sure what to say back to him. Part of her thought it was ok and another part of her thought it still wasn't ok. There was something inside of her that said she still wasn't ready for this, this was way too much for her. It had only been the night before that she had seen Jake. It was too soon for this.

"Um," she replied, "I don't know."

Ben was worried that he was coming on too strong. The last thing he wanted was to freak her out and showing up unannounced was probably not helping to do that. The last time they spoke on the phone he told her that if Jonnie was coming to see Haley he would come with him and now here he was. Maybe she was just being nice.

"I'm sorry Peyton. I shouldn't have come. Or I at least should have called you first… I'm so stupid."

"No," she said quickly, "I'm glad you're here Ben. I guess I was just a little taken off guard. I'm the one who should be sorry. Really. I am glad you're here."

Ben smiled and then looked away from her when Haley and Jonnie came back down the stairs carrying blankets and pillows. "Ok," Haley said, "who's sleeping down here?"

"I guess I will," Ben offered.

"I better go check on Jenny," Peyton said, excusing herself quickly.

She needed a distraction. Now the fact that Ben would be staying in the same house as her would make it harder to pretend like she didn't have feelings for him. How could she have feelings for this guy that she hardly knew? She'd only met him a few weeks ago and now here she was feeling all nervous around him. That wasn't like her at all.

But then again, maybe it was. All she'd known for the past few years was love for Jake. He was the only boy she'd ever loved and she didn't even know what it was like to feel something for someone else. Maybe it really was normal for her to feel so strongly about him. She would have no way of knowing.

She stepped into Jake's room where Jenny was sleeping in her crib and she took a few stops closer so she could watch her. She could never get enough of her. When she looked at her she could see Jake and it made her heart ache. The moments they had spent together with their child weren't enough. They should have had their whole life together and it wasn't fair that it was cut so short.

Right now she would have given anything to be able to see him just one last time. She needed to talk to him again. She needed him to tell her everything would be ok. She needed him there with her forever. Maybe if she could see him again everything would be ok and everything would make sense again.

"I wish you could talk already," Peyton whispered looking down at Jenny. "I need some advice and I know you're gonna be just like your dad. You'd be able to give me advice just like he would, I know it. People keep trying to give me all this advice… and it kinda helps. But what I really want is to talk to your daddy."

Jenny continued to sleep and Peyton leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. She got ready for bed before crawling under the covers. Sometimes she felt like she could still sense Jake here. She needed him here so bad.

Haley woke up early that morning, restlessness keeping her awake. She had tossed and turned all night going from thinking of Jonnie to thinking of Nathan. But the more she thought about Nathan the more she hated herself because she knew it would hurt Jonnie. There was no easy to solution to this whole web she had weaved and that was becoming incredibly clear. No matter what she decided she was going to hurt someone.

Thinking of Jonnie she thought about all the great things he'd done for her since she met him. He was so nice to her when she started school and he listened to her when all she needed was to be heard. He comforted her when she felt sad about Jake being gone or Nathan being so far away. He gave her space when that was what she needed and she knew that he loved her. He was the perfect guy and any girl would have been lucky to have him and for some reason he chose her.

But then there was Nathan. Nathan was her best friend in the whole world. Things hadn't always been easy with them and clearly they weren't easy now, but there was something she loved about herself when she was with him. When she was with him she never felt like there was anything she needed to hold back. She could be completely herself. Nathan knew her better than anyone, he saw her when she was at her worst and he was there when she was at her best. Her heart raced every time she saw or thought about him. When he kissed her there were fireworks.

Brooke had told her to follow whatever her heart was telling her. That was so much easier said than done. Her heart was torn in two completely different directions. In a perfect world she could have just been friends with Nathan without feeling anything more towards him. Or she and Nathan would have realized they had feelings for each other before and she would have waited for him. Nothing was perfect though.

After the first time Nathan kissed Haley, she felt things change between them. If she was being honest she would admit that that was when her feelings for him began. But she had denied them because things were just too complicated. Her and Nathan just didn't make sense back then. They fought constantly and the only thing they had in common was their love for Jake.

She covered her face and let out a sigh before sitting up. Looking at the clock she saw that it was only 7. She knew there was no way that she was going to be able to fall back asleep so instead she got out of bed and got dressed. She pulled on pair of dark washed jeans and a gray tank top before throwing her hair up into a bun. She slipped in to a pair of flip flops before opening the door and heading towards the stairs.

She grabbed her keys out of the bowl near the front door and quickly made her way towards her car. She looked back at the house once more before getting in the driver's seat and starting the engine. Pulling out of the driveway she didn't even have to think about where she was going before she started driving.

Continuing down the familiar streets it was like she wasn't even thinking. Before she knew it she was pulling into a parking spot. Her heart was beating quickly in her chest and she found herself surprised at how nervous she felt. She took a deep breath and shut the car off before stepping out.

Tall trees filled the cemetery and their leaves shook in the early morning breeze. Goosebumps began to cover her skin as she made her way closer to her destination. Once she reached the spot her eyes suddenly filled with tears as the name Jacob William James came into her line of vision. There were fresh flowers in front of the stone that she knew her mother must have put there the day before.

Her heart felt heavy as she knelt in the damp grass. Leaning forward she lightly ran her fingers over his name. Tears slid down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away.

"Hi," she said quietly. "I know it's early but I really needed to talk to you."

Silence surrounded her and she cleared her throat but then felt a new batch of tears in her eyes. "I know I haven't been here in a while and I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have stayed away this long. I don't have a good excuse other than it was just too hard. It's been so hard to have you gone, Jake. We all need you and miss you. Peyton really misses you. Nathan…"

Haley hung her head down and thought about how Nathan must have felt. He had lost his best friend and now the girl he said he loved was torn between two guys and soon he would be back on the other side of the world.

"When did our lives become like this? Nathan should be playing basketball at Duke. You should be at Duke. You should be here to raise Jenny with Peyton. It's not fair that you were taken away from us. You were such a great person and the world's just not the same without you. Nobody's the same without you."

Haley wished that Jake could talk back to her; she just wanted to hear his voice. She would have given anything to bring him back in this moment. "I really need your advice. I need you to tell me everything's gonna be ok and that everything's gonna work out. Jake, my heart is torn in two different directions. With Jonnie everything just makes sense and it fits, you know? It's like when I'm with him I never have to worry. And he's always there. He's been great to me since the day I met him and I don't know how I would have gotten through the last year without him."

"But then with Nathan," she said and smiled, "you know that me and Nathan are… we're so different. If you had told me two years ago that I would be feeling this way about him I wouldn't believe you. I would have thought you were crazy. He knows how to push my buttons and get under my skin, but he knows me. I guess there was always something there and I just never saw it. But you saw it, didn't you?"

Haley laughed quietly. "That's why you wrote us that letter. Why you wanted us to get away together. I wish I knew before. I love them both so much and they're so different. If I was with Jonnie I know how my life would go. I would have a great life with him. We've never even been in a fight. But with Nathan… everyday would be something new. I would never know what to expect and I think that's a good thing. I don't want to hurt either one of them."

She ran her hands over her face and felt a sob suddenly escape her mouth. She had never felt so alone and all she wanted was for Jake to be there to comfort her. There had been times where he had been the only person who could seem to make things better again. He was the only one who could make her see that everything would be ok. She just wanted him there again.

"Jake," she said through her tears, "please just tell me somehow that everything's gonna be ok. I need to know that everything's gonna be ok."

Haley sat there in silence for a few more seconds, waiting for anything, when suddenly a flock of birds quickly flew out of the tree above her. Her heart raced and she smiled through the tears streaming down her cheeks. That was her sign from him and she knew it.

"Thank you, Jake."

Haley sat there for another half an hour, telling him about her life; talking to him about their parents and friends and about his daughter. She smiled as she told him stories about Brooke and Peyton and she wished that he was sitting with her, talking back. Her heart ached as she said goodbye to him and told him that she loved and missed him. As she walked back to the car she felt another breeze on her skin, another sign that he was with her.

I'm sorry this chapter's so short. It's really not my favorite and it's kinda just a filler. I promise there will be way more Naley in the next chapter. Let me know what you think and sorry again for the delay.