Chapter Twenty-Eight: We Know So Much Yet We Know Nothing At All
Nathan drove back to Lucas' house once he dropped off Haley. He parked the car in their driveway and walked up to their house. He went through the front door and walked to Lucas' room. Lucas was in there reading and typing on the computer.
"I will never, ever be able to figure out how you play on the computer and read at the same time."
"It's a gift! I am able to concentrate on more than one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is a beautiful thing!"
"Ha! Okay I have a question for you now."
"What did you mess up this time, Nate?"
"I didn't mess up anything, Luke. Haley and I wanted to know if you and Brooke wanted to go out on a date together."
"Oh yeah...the double date Brooke thought of. That sounds fine to me and I know Brooke would love it. When do you want to go out?" Lucas told Nathan as he got up from the chair he was sitting in after he shut down his computer.
"I was thinking this weekend...Saturday maybe?"
"I'll let Brooke know. That's when we were planning to have our next date so the timing is perfect."
"Are you sure you guys don't want to be alone since you already had this planned?"
"Nope! We've been dating for a while now so it will be fun to have you guys there."
"Alright. I'm going to go to bed since I have to wake up early to go tell Haley that we are going out with you guys this weekend."
"I'm going to head in to the cafe early tomorrow morning too. Do you want me to wake you up when I get up?"
"Yeah that'd be great!"
"Good deal! Okay, night."
"Night Luke!"
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The next day Nathan and Lucas walked to the cafe and told Haley about the plans for the weekend. She too was very excited that they were all going out together. Nathan and Lucas decided that they would pick up their girlfriends separately and then they would all meet at the river walk on Saturday evening at seven o'clock. Nathan decided to go play basketball at the river court once he finished talking to Haley. Lucas decided to help his Mom and Haley since the cafe was still a little busy.
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It was already Saturday evening. Nathan and Lucas were getting ready in Lucas' bedroom.
"Are you excited, Nate?"
"Yeah, I think this will be fun. Plus, Haley really hasn't been able to get to know any girls in this town so I think it will be nice that she will be able to befriend Brooke."
"I never really thought of that. All Haley really sees is you."
"Yup! Not that I'm complaining though."
"Ha...you ready to head on out?"
"Yup!"
Nathan and Lucas both got into their vehicles. Nathan drove his silver SUV that he got on his 16th birthday and Lucas drove an old Jeep that his mom let him borrow. They both drove to their girlfriend's homes and picked them up. Nathan and Haley got to the river walk first so they reserved a table at the restaurant.
"Thanks for planning this, Nathan."
"Sure! I'm glad that you'll be able to meet Brooke. She's a really good friend and I'm sure it will be nice for you to get to know my friends better."
"Yeah...I realized today that the only people I really talk to in this town are you and Lucas...which is fine by the way...hehe...but it would be nice to have some gal pals."
Just then, Lucas and Brooke walked through the front doors of the restaurant. Nathan stood up and walked over to them so they would know where they would be sitting. They walked to the table and sat down. Nathan and Haley were sitting next to one another, which meant Lucas and Brooke were sitting across from them.
"I am so glad you decided to double date with us!" Brooke said with a huge smile on her face.
"Me too Brooke! I was telling Nathan how I really haven't gotten to know very many people yet so hopefully you and I will be able to become friends."
"Oh you can count on that Haley!"
The waiter came to the table and took their orders. Nathan ordered a porter house steak, Haley ordered macaroni and cheese, Lucas ordered spaghetti, and Brooke ordered chicken salad. Nathan noticed that Haley had ordered macaroni and cheese so he leaned into her so that he could whisper into her ear.
"I thought you said you only ate macaroni and cheese when you were nervous."
"Yeah...I'm a little nervous actually," Haley whispered back to Nathan.
"Don't be nervous okay, Hales. They're going to love you," Nathan whispered into Haley's ear. He gave her a small smile and turned back to the table.
"So what are you two whispering about?" Brooke said curiously.
"I just had to tell her something, Brooke."
"Oh okay! So Haley, how do you like Tree Hill?"
Haley put the water glass she was holding back down on the table and looked up at Brooke.
"I really like Tree Hill. It's so different from Denver so I'm surprised I like it so much. To be honest with you though, I haven't really been to many places or talked to many people so I'm pretty much making judgment off of Nathan, Lucas, and Karen's Cafe...which are all great by the way."
"Well I'm sure it just takes time to get used to everything. Once school starts up, you will have a much better idea of what this town is like."
"Yeah...a couple more months until school starts though, so I suppose I will have to wait a while."
"Believe me Haley, this town is pretty small. You will probably know most of the people in this town even before school starts."
"Haha...I guess we'll see in a couple of months how far I've come in getting familiar with this town."
"So Haley, what is your favorite television series and movie?"
Haley was caught a little off guard with Brooke's question. She was so used to her dates with Nathan when they would talk about how they were feeling and whatnot. She realized that this date wasn't going to be too stressful after all.
"My favorite television series would probably be Felicity and my favorite movie would have to be Casablanca."
"I didn't know that!" Nathan exclaimed as he turned to Haley.
"Yeah, my older sister got me hooked on Felicity when I was younger and I've always been pretty interested in old classic movies. I swear I live on that Turner Classic Movie channel!" Haley said as she chuckled.
"I have never heard of Casablanca, Haley. Maybe you could show it to me sometime?" Brooke asked sweetly.
"Sure! I would love to show it to you Brooke!"
"Fantastic! Okay next question...who is your favorite singer?"
"My favorite singer would have to be Sarah MacLachlan. She has such a soulful voice to her and her lyrics are absolutely amazing. I could easily spend a whole afternoon in my room just listening to her music and reading the album inserts with the lyrics in them."
"I didn't know your favorite singer was Sarah MacLachlan, Hales." Nathan said still looking at her.
Brooke could tell that there seemed to be some confusion across the table from her so she decided to tell Haley a little about Nathan.
"Well Haley, did you know Nathan's favorite movie is Caddyshack? I remember watching it with him a couple of years ago. I swear that boy of yours never stopped laughing. I highly advise you to watch that movie without him if you want to hear the actual lines of the movie!" Brooke said jokingly.
"Huh...I didn't know your favorite movie was Caddyshack, Nathan."
Brooke decided to change the subject once again.
"So Nathan, are you excited about your basketball camp coming up?" Nathan looked at Brooke and then back at Haley.
"Basketball camp?" Haley said shyly to Nathan with a confusing look on her face.
"Yeah...I...I leave for a basketball camp in a week and will be there for about a month."
Haley looked at Nathan and looked almost hurt. Why hadn't he told her about this camp? Nathan felt so bad when he looked at Haley's face. He could tell that he had a lot of explaining to do once they got to be alone.
Brooke noticed the mistake she had just made and mouthed an 'I'm sorry' to Nathan. He nodded and then looked back at Haley. Nathan and Haley began to stare at each other with confusing looks on their faces. Lucas and Brooke could definitely tell that they were acting funny tonight.
Luckily to break the silence, the waiter came with their food. Instead of talking during the dinner, they all ate quietly. It wasn't a comfortable silence, though. Brooke and Lucas were afraid to ask anything more about Haley's life because they didn't want Nathan to feel bad that he didn't know much about her. Nathan and Haley just kept to themselves barely even looking at each other. Not until tonight had they realized how much they didn't know about each other. They all finished their meals and were given the bill. Nathan and Lucas went up to the front of the restaurant to pay their separate bills. Meanwhile, at the table, Brooke decided to apologize to Haley.
"I'm sorry that I made this night so awkward for you and Nathan."
"Oh Brooke, this isn't your fault, really. I think you just kind of gave us this wake-up call that we don't really know each other all that well."
"I'm still sorry. Can I make it up to you?"
"Haha...how about you come over to my house sometime and watch Casanova with me? You mentioned earlier that you would like to see it so I'm offering a girls night out. What do you say?"
"I say you should go home and start popping popcorn!" Brooke said with a smile on her face.
"Good! Well should we go meet our boyfriends at the front of the restaurant?"
"Yeah, let's go Haley."
Brooke and Haley walked towards the front of the restaurant. Haley trailed behind Brooke because she was nervous to talk to Nathan. They reached the cashier and saw Nathan and Lucas standing outside waiting for them. Haley said goodbye to Brooke and Lucas and then walked to the car with Nathan. Nathan and Haley occasionally smiled at each other but other than that the car ride to Haley's house was completely silent. They acted like they didn't even know who the other person was. Once they arrived at Haley's house, they both got out of the car and sat on Haley's front steps. Nathan was the first one to speak.
"Haley, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the camp. I should have told you sooner."
"It's okay. I was really caught off guard at dinner though. Can I ask why you didn't tell me?"
Nathan looked at Haley and took her hand. "Everything has been going so well with us lately. I didn't want all of our fun to be ruined."
"Why would it be ruined Nathan?" Haley said as she stared into his deep blue eyes.
"Because I'm going to be gone for a month, Hales. I didn't want you to start getting sad about me leaving or me getting sad that I was leaving you. Plus, this is a brand new relationship and I don't want to put it on the rocks already."
"Nathan...you're not putting it on the rocks. We will still be able to talk on the phone everyday and see how the other is doing. I guarantee you that when you get back from this camp Nate; that I will still be waiting for you. I can promise you that."
"I'm not allowed to have a phone at the camp."
"Oh..." Haley muttered as she looked out at the night sky. It had been a cloudy day so the sky was pitch black with not a star in sight.
"What if we write to each other Nathan? It's not like we're not used writing to each other. Besides, it might be kind of fun to communicate that way again. You even said that it was nice to write your thoughts on paper," Haley said as she looked back at Nathan.
"You do realize that you will be getting a letter from me everyday right?"
"Yeah and you will be getting a letter from me everyday too. So it's a deal then! We'll be pen pals again."
"As long as I am able to have some communication with you Hales, I am good."
"Good! Now on to what happened at the dinner table this evening...did you realize how much we don't know about each other?"
"Yeah but at the same time...I don't know...I think you and I have much more in depth conversations than Lucas and Brooke do. They're the couple that's really into going to movies, listening to music, and watching television. They care about it each other so much but I don't think they have conversations like we have conversations."
"I don't know Nathan."
"I do. Look Hales...every time I get together with you, I learn more and more about you. I'm not bothered by the fact that I didn't know what your favorite movie was. Sure at the table I was a little taken aback because I couldn't even answer Brooke's question about you but after a while I realized something."
"What did you realize?"
"I realized that I know more about you than most people do. I know that you like to play basketball at night under the stars just like me. I know that you love to sing and play the piano yet you won't let anyone know that you do. I know that you had a hard time with your parents before you moved here. I know that you were always afraid of riding in the lake again until I took you out in your row boat a few days ago. I know that macaroni and cheese is your comfort food and that you eat it only when you are nervous. Brooke and Lucas didn't even think it was funny that you ate mac and cheese tonight yet I noticed right away that something was bothering you. See Haley, we may not know the simple things like what's your favorite TV show but we know far more important stuff. I would much rather know who you are and why you are the way you are than what your favorite singer is."
"Nathan..."
"That came out wrong...I want to know who your favorite singer is and what your favorite movie is Hales but the fact that I know things about you that no one else knows about you, makes me...I don't know...really makes me feel like we are in a relationship. Besides, aren't relationships supposed to be about the significant things that we talk about?"
"Nathan..."
"Haley, I know this dinner tonight made you worry about us. I want you to know though that I have learned more about you in the past month through talking and the past year through writing than I have ever learned about my friends that I have known since junior high. Okay...I"m done now."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Good!" Haley said as she threw her arms around Nathan's neck and kissed him passionately on the lips. He put his hands around her back and lightly grazed them on her t-shirt, back and forth. After a couple of minutes, they finally let go of one another, regaining breath.
"When we were at the restaurant tonight, Nathan, yeah I was really thrown off guard when I realized how little we know about each other, but you also just showed me tonight that the things we talk about are much more important than what the entertainment industry is offering us. I want to know what makes your heart beat and the things we talk about definitely makes me understand you better."
"So we're okay then Haley?"
"We're more than okay Nathan."
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Lucas pulled into Brooke's driveway and they too went to sit on her front steps.
"I can't believe I did that to Nathan and Haley, Luke. I feel awful."
"It's okay Brooke, I promise. You probably even did them a favor. Now, maybe this will give them an opportunity to get to know each other better."
"Yeah I guess. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. You and I knew about that simple stuff on our first date. They've known each other for a while now and it seemed like they didn't even know each other."
"Well Brooke, their relationship is much different than ours. When I talk to Nathan about him and Haley, it seems as though they bypass the simple stuff and go straight to the nitty-gritty important things."
"Why don't we do that Lucas? Are you saying we don't talk about important stuff?"
"No, no. I love the fact that I know the simple things about you. I know how to make you smile and laugh. Sure, I don't know a lot about your family life and your past but I'm sure we will get to that eventually. Besides, we just started to date."
"Nathan and Haley just started to date and they practically know each other's family tree. It's like you and I are just friends with benefits or something."
"Brooke..."
"No Lucas, maybe I did you and I a favor tonight...I think tonight gave me some clarity about us. Lucas I want what Nathan and Haley have."
"What do Nathan and Haley have that we don't, Brooke?"
"They have a relationship, Luke. I want that. I want what Nathan and Haley have. I want a relationship," Brooke said as she laid her head on Lucas' shoulder.
Lucas looked down at Brooke and realized the truth in what she had just told him.
"I want a relationship too, Brooke" Lucas said as he rested his head on top of hers.
