I do not own One Tree Hill.

Okay, I got this idea from Hilarie and Joy's panel in the convention in Wilmington in July.

Chapter 36

Haley paced around her dressing room, sucking in slow, deep breaths. She was about to perform with Trevor, and as usual, her nerves were getting the best of her.

"Okay, Haley. You need to calm down." Nathan chuckled, looking up at her from his seat, spinning around in it. "You've been on tours, and performed hundreds of times." He said to her, smiling slightly.

"Nathan, shut up, shut up." Haley grumbled, shaking her head. She looked at him, stopping after a second and letting out a small sigh. "I'm sorry. It's just been awhile." She said, letting out a deep breath.

"Come on, baby. You're great. You're so, so talented. Even if you are singing with that tool Trevor." He hummed, standing up and grabbing her hands.

Haley looked at him, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Nathan." She sighed.

"I'm sorry. I'll be nice." Nathan chuckled, looking down at her.

He kissed her softly, holding her close to him. Haley gripped his arm softly, pulling back after a second.

"You've already messed up my make up once, Nathan." She laughed, smiling at him.

"Guilty." He replied, hugging her tightly. "You're going to be amazing, Haley. You always are. I'll be right there watching you." He whispered.

Haley nodded her head, holding onto him tightly. "I love you, Nathan. Thank you. You have no idea how bad I would be if you weren't here to calm my nerves." She laughed.

"Hey, I'll always be here to calm you down. Always and forever." He smirked, winking down at her.

Haley grinned up at him, brushing her fingers through his hair.

Someone poked their head in, "One minute, Haley." The person said, before they were gone.

"Okay, go out and kill it. I know you will. One last kiss for good luck." Nathan chuckled, kissing her briefly.

Haley laughed, looking in the mirror, sucking in a deep breath.

"You look beautiful, Haley. Now go." He hummed, smiling at her.

Haley nodded her head, pinching his chin, and rushing out.

"Hello everyone! I'm Joan Johnson and today we have a very special guest for you today. She's one half of a very unusual couple, but she's also so much more than that. I'm excited to introduce to you singer-songwriter, Haley James Scott, along with an emerging face in the music business. Someone who has just signed with Red Bedroom Records, Trevor Wilson. Here they are with their version of 'All I want for Christmas is you.' " Joan said, before stepping off the stage when Haley and Trevor walked on.

She stood next to Nathan when they started singing, glancing up at him. "Nathan Scott. I almost didn't recognize you with the beard." She laughed.

Nathan chuckled, nodding his head. "Yeah, I'm trying it out. We'll see." He hummed, watching Haley.

"So, everything is going fine with you and Haley? Because if I'm not mistaken, that's the guy from the pictures that have been emerging of her." Joan asked him.

He nodded his head quickly, "Everything is great, yeah. Thanks." He replied, crossing his arms and smiling as Haley looked over at him, winking.

Once they had finished singing, Joan walked back out, smiling at them. "That sounded wonderful, you two. Thank you so much. I was just talking to Nathan, who is backstage, and he seemed absolutely smitten, probably a very good representation of the rest of America today. Thank you both for coming out today. Everyone, keep an eye out for Trevor. We'll hear more from Haley after the break."

Haley hurried off the stage to Nathan, hugging him quickly. "It always feels so amazing to be out there. You're so right, I love this so much." She laughed, smiling at him.

"You sounded great. And you looked sexy as hell." Nathan chuckled, winking at her. He looked at Trevor, sucking in a deep breath. "Hey, man. Nice job out there." He said softly.

Haley smiled up at him, kissing his cheek before walking to Trevor and hugging him tightly. Trevor lifted her up, spinning her around.

"Wow, Haley. That was so amazing. Thank you so much." He said, kissing her forehead. "Thank you." He repeated.

Haley smiled at him, "Hey, thanks for not messing up." She laughed, hugging him tightly.

She turned back to Nathan, resting her hand on his chest. "Stop glaring at him like that. It was a friendly thing. Lucas does it all the time." Haley whispered to him, nodding slowly.

Nathan let out a deep sigh, hugging her close to him. "You were amazing, baby. Good luck with the interview. I'll be here." He chuckled, rubbing her back.

"You better be. Stay right here so I can see you from where I'm sitting." She laughed, kissing him briefly, before hurrying back onto the stage.

"And we're back, and to any of you who are just tuning in... I'm here with the amazingly talented Haley James Scott." Joan said, gesturing at Haley. Haley smiled, waving as the live audience started clapping. "Haley just performed the song "All I want for Christmas is you" with Trevor Wilson. She also released a whole Christmas album yesterday, so make sure to go check that out." Joan said, before turning her attention to Haley. "So, Haley. Let's talk about Trevor Wilson. How did you two meet?" She asked, smiling.

"Well, he actually went to Tree Hill High School, and I used to tutor him. So I've known him for quite awhile actually." Haley responded, nodding her head.

"What brought this whole duet thing into play?" Joan asked her.

"Well, I like to join Mia on tour for the last couple of shows, and our paths just crossed at one of the shows. I don't think I've seen him since I graduated, so 13 years. He still looks the same though, so I recognized him. And I like to think that I still look the same, and we started talking and he asked me if he could stop by Red Bedroom and record something for his Mom for her birthday. And I said yes, and he was talented so we discussed a duet. Here we are." Haley smiled, nodding her head.

"It's been awhile since we've gotten some new music from you. You've had the occasional show over the last few years, but it's been very quiet. Can we expect anything soon?" Joan asked her.

Haley smiled, nodding her head. "Yeah, actually. I've got some new music all ready to go to the studio, and I'm planning to have a new album out next year." She said, her smiling growing as the crowd started cheering. "That's how I feel too. I'm pretty excited for all of you to hear it." She hummed.

"We're all on the edge of our seats. So, can you tell us... What with such the long break? You were going strong there for awhile, but then you just kind of stopped. What happened?" Joan asked her, leaning forward a bit.

Haley looked at her, before looking out at the crowd. "I've been trying really hard to be the best mother I can be to my children, and the best wife I can be to my husband. And I know that they would all be okay with it. Nathan has been nagging me for a long time to get back out here, but I don't know. New music means more performances, and more performances would spark the need for me to tour, and I can't take my family with me every tour." She said, shrugging.

"Well, that's a pretty good reason. Family is important." Joan agreed, smiling at her.

"But, I'm really hoping to get back out there soon. Every single time I perform it just lights up my world. So we'll see what happens." Haley chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. "We can't wait." Joan agreed, smiling at her.

"So let's talk the Scott brothers." Joan began, nodding at Haley.

"That's a subject that I know a lot about." Haley laughed, tapping her hands on her legs. "Hit me, let's talk about them." She said, smiling past Joan at Nathan.

"Okay. I want your honest answer when it comes to this. Who would win in a fight?" Joan asked her curiously.

Haley laughed quietly, shrugging her shoulders. "Okay, this is going to come back to me. But I honestly think that Nathan would win. Lucas, if your watching... I'm sorry. All I know is what I see, and Nathan has huge biceps, and a very nice chest." She said, winking at Joan. "We were in Hawaii for Nathan's mother's wedding awhile ago, and they actually got into this argument. So hopefully I didn't start it again." She added, shaking her head.

"Well, just make sure they watch out for their pretty faces." Joan laughed, smiling at her. "So, you and Lucas have always been very close? And it's been a long time, but did things change after you and Nathan got married? Are things still not like they used to be?" She asked.

"Lucas and I are still very close. I have my days where he's the person I want to be around more than anyone in the world. He's my best friend. I would say, yeah... Some things did change once Nathan and I got married, and it's still different because he's married. But he's always been this constant thing that I could lean on when there was nobody else, and I don't think that will ever change." Haley said, nodding her head.

"Is it weird to think about how they used to not like each other?" Joan asked her, scooting forward to the edge of her chair.

"It's kind of weird, yeah. They spent so much time without the other in their life, and to look at them now... They're brothers. Completely. They take care of each other, and look out for each other no matter what. Lucas came to visit probably two months ago, and we ran into him at the Rivercourt, the concrete basketball court in our town. And it was probably like 3 o'clock, and Nathan decided to stay with him. They were out until close to 11." Haley laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Lucas is the one with the bad heart, but I swear those boys are going to give me a heart attack. They both love to tease me, and when they're with each other they think it's a good idea to team up on me. It's really not fair, because I do a lot more embarrassing things than them." She shook her head, smiling brightly.

Joan smiled at her, "So you and Nathan just celebrated your 15th anniversary, right? Can you tell us about it?" She asked, crossing her legs.

"That's right, yeah. Nathan is outstanding, let me tell you. He really treats me so special, and out shines me every year. One year I'll get him though. This year he did this sort of scavenger hunt type thing and made me go all around our home looking for gifts. It was super sweet and very romantic. I got him a few little things, nothing super big. A lot of times I get him repeat gifts like basketball tickets, because that's what he wants. But this year I also got him this gorgeous golden retriever puppy, and our family just loves him. His name is Max, and I've always been very reluctant to get a dog because I knew that I would end up being the one taking care of it, regardless of who's dog it was. But nope, my children, and Nathan, have really stepped up and taken responsibility. It's great." Haley hummed, nodding her head.

"So you and Nathan have been married for 15 years, and you've been in the spotlight for quite awhile, yet you try to keep a low profile when it comes to your relationship, and your family. Why is that? I mean, you attend events together, and post the occasional photo with each other or with your family when your doing interesting things, like going to Hawaii or Paris, or celebrating a 15th anniversary, but the majority of the time you try to keep to yourselves, and keep your family private, and most of the time you're successful in that but there's the occasional times where you two blow up and become a top story. Why try to keep everything so closed off?" Joan asked her curiously, tilting her head.

Haley nodded slowly, thinking for a second. "I've been sort of in the spotlight since I was 16. I mean, I wasn't a big deal but people recognized me occasionally, and knew who I was. I'm fairly used to it, and Nathan is used to it. But we don't want our kids to be walking down the street, or out with their friends and have people taking pictures of them. We aren't always successful in this, but so much of our lives have been exposed to the world by Lucas' book, and we aren't the main focus of the book by any means, but there is still personal stuff in there. And yes, it's sometimes difficult and sometimes I just saw screw it and post the pictures anyways. But the point is, we want our children to grow up and make names for themselves. We want them to be treated fairly at school. It can be a scary world out there, and I don't want to have to worry about my kids' safety, you know? I do post the occasional thing with them, and Jamie has his own social media that he's in control of, but the picture will be just as cute on my phone as it would be on someone scrolling past it's phone. Does that make sense?" She said, shrugging slightly.

"Yeah, I think it makes a lot of sense. Thank you." Joan hummed. "Alright, we're going to take a quick break and then we'll be back with questions from viewers."

Haley stood up, walking over to Nathan and letting out a deep breath.

"Here you go." Nathan hummed, handing her a water bottle.

"You're amazing." She hummed, taking a drink.

"I do what I can for the girl who says I can beat up my older brother." He smirked, flexing his bicep.

She rolled her eyes, laughing quietly. "Yeah, yeah. What did you think?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.

"I think you did amazing and that your answers were great." He smiled, kissing her forehead.

"Thank you. Do I seem nervous?" Haley asked him, looking up at him.

Nathan shook his head, "You're fine, Hales. I promise." He said, grinning at her. "You've got a fast brain in that head of yours. I'm trying to figure out how I would answer the questions. It would probably be yes or no." He hummed, shrugging.

"You know, you're not the first person to tell me that today. But it means the most coming from you." She joked, tugging on his shirt a bit.

Haley glanced over her shoulder, sucking in a deep breath. "Well, I better get back out there. Don't you go anywhere, Nathan Scott." She hummed, winking at him and hurrying back.

"Welcome back! We're just about to ask Haley James Scott some questions that you all sent in." Joan said, nodding over at Haley.

Haley smiled and waved, before turning her attention back to Joan. "So, Morgan wants to know when exactly we can expect an album from you?" Joan asked, looking at her.

"Well, I have some things that are going to be keeping me busy next year. As many of you probably know, I own a cafe with my friend Brooke Davis, and I hate to admit it but I've been slacking a lot lately. So I'm going to need to give her a lot of time off probably." Haley laughed, shrugging. "But besides that, I really hope to knock it out of the park early next year. This Christmas album, most of the songs were recorded in one day. So once I have the songs, it's easier to get them done. We'll see though. Speaking of the Christmas album, and my amazing husband deserves a little bit of credit for the song you just heard. He sat in the booth for hours and helped us record it." She added, smiling at the applause that followed.

"Maybe he can follow in your footsteps. The next question is from Tom. He asks if you have any plans to tour next year?" Joan asked.

"Good question. As of right now, there are no plans to tour next year. I'm sorry, I'm working on it guys. But it's hard to leave my family for so long." Haley said, smiling slightly.

"We can at least expect a few shows next year though, right?" Joan asked her, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh hell yes. For sure. And they won't all be in Tree Hill, I promise. I'll travel. Maybe I can do like a mini tour and have five shows in a row somewhere?" Haley shrugged.

Joan nodded her head, "Alright, Alice wants to know about Chris Keller. Her question is, why would anyone leave Nathan Scott for Chris Keller?" She asked, laughing quietly.

Haley chuckled, shaking her head. "Chris really isn't that bad, I promise. He puts up this whole act, but he's actually a nice guy. And he was offering my dream, and I couldn't turn it down. The way I handled the situation, I regret. But I don't regret going on tour with him. It was amazing." Haley said, shrugging.

"Okay, this next one is a little odd but we thought it was kind of interesting. Who has better handwriting out of all of what we consider the five main characters in Lucas Scott's book?" Joan asked her, laughing quietly.

Haley laughed, smiling and shrugging her shoulders. "Well, it's not Nathan, in my opinion at least. It's not so much that his handwriting is bad... He just writes in all capital letters. It drives me insane, and it always has. Okay. Maybe insane is an exaggeration, it bothered me more in high school because I would read over his rough drafts for papers, and it would be so annoying to read. When I was pregnant I would make him rewrite them, bless his heart. Anyways, back to the question. I think Brooke has beautiful handwriting, but I've also been told that my handwriting is pretty nice. Lucas writes rather small, and Peyton has pretty handwriting, but when she's writing fast it's hard to read. So I'm going to go with Brooke. This was kind of a weird question, but hey. It's fun." She laughed.

Joan nodded, smiling. "I would of guessed you, but Brooke Davis would make sense. This next question is from Mary. She asks how do you maintain the perfect relationship?" Joan asked, looking over at her.

Haley glanced over at Nathan, before looking back at Joan. "The perfect relationship. This is a loaded question. Now tell me, what exactly is the perfect relationship? Can it exist? If you look up perfect in the dictionary, it will probably say something along the lines of 'without flaws or faults.' Is it possible to have a relationship without flaws? Aren't arguing and fighting what make a relationship real? Don't get me wrong, I do not think that a relationship should have arguing and fighting all of the time. But it's how you bounce back from the disagreements. That's what makes a relationship. This is a good question, and I'm not trying to make it sound bad. But I think that people tend to look into me and Nathan's relationship too much, and dig for things that aren't there. We have a great relationship, we do. Most of the time we communicate well with each other. Most of the time. But we are two very different people, and we always have been. So we argue. Sometimes about little things, sometimes about big things. But we always bounce back and apologize to one another. I don't think Lucas's book, or Julian's TV show really captures Nathan and me in the correct way. I've seen comments that say that right from the beginning of our relationship, I was conflicted. I was, and all I was doing was tutoring him at that point. People thought I was conflicted because I was already in love with him, and I've seen things that say I probably had a crush on him for years. And I'm sorry when I say this, but that was a giant hell no for me. Nathan already knows this, so it's not news to him. I watched girls want to sleep with him, I watched people want to hang out with him or be him. And I was not one of those people, by any means. I don't think that the book or the show really capture exactly how much I hated him. Because I really, really did. A lot of people think the 'Don't say I need gave you anything' line was what changed my heart about him, and made me want him. I just don't understand that, because it made me so frustrated. I felt so angry when I was around him, and I felt like I was betraying my best friend. Thankfully, those feelings aren't there anymore, and yes I know that you're all dying to know, he still does say that line to me today and now it does make me weak in the knees." Haley chuckled, shaking her head. "But the only reason I started tutoring him, was so that he would leave Lucas alone. That's it. I didn't want to kiss the ground he walked on, and I didn't want to sleep with him. I was just trying to help out my best friend. Thankfully, I got over that and here we are 15 years later, and I get to make him wear ugly Christmas sweaters when he comes places with me. Side note, that is a picture I will post later, for sure. Nathan and I most certainly do not have the perfect relationship, not even close to it. There will always be fighting, and there will always be arguing. But at the end of the day we made a commitment to love each other forever, and it's not hard to keep. I don't think that a perfect relationship can exist." She said, tapping her hands on her legs.

"Wow. There you have it." Joan said, letting out a deep breath. "Sorry, give me a moment to pause for the awe effect." She laughed, smiling at Haley. "That seems like a good place to leave off the questions. When we come back, we'll be playing a game or two with Haley." Joan said, nodding at the camera.

Haley stood up, walking over to Nathan and letting out a deep breath. "How was that?" She laughed nervously, shaking her head.

"You really expressed your dislike for me on National Television." Nathan joked, smiling at her.

Haley punched his shoulder softly, "That's not what happened. Did I go off too much?" She sighed, shaking her head.

"No, baby. You did a great job at answering the question. You didn't say anything wrong." He said, rubbing her arms. "Now, do you know what game you're playing? Because that worries me." He chuckled, kissing her forehead.

"No idea. It'll be fun though. I can't remember the last time I did this." Haley hummed, smiling up at him.

"You look great on a stage, Mrs. Scott." He complimented, winking at her.

"Thank you." She replied, letting out a deep breath.

"You're not still nervous, are you?" He asked, rubbing her back. "What? No, no. I'm fine." She hummed, smiling up at him.

Nathan looked down at her, raising his eyebrows, eyeing her carefully.

"Nathan, I'm fine." She said, brushing the back of her hand over his cheek. "I'm going to go back out there. Wish me luck." She laughed, hurrying away.

"Okay, so the game we'll be playing is called Two Truths and a Lie." Joan said, turning to Haley. "Are you familiar with it?" She asked.

"Well, it sounds fairly self explanatory. I'm guessing I say three things, two of them are true and one of them is a lie?" Haley asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, and we have to guess which is which, so don't make them too easy. We'll give you a second." Joan said, nodding.

"Alright, alright. I'm trying to think of things that not even Nathan would know." Haley hummed, tapping her fingers on her chin. "Okay, okay. The first one. I've beat my husband at basketball before." She said, smirking slightly.

"I've already got my opinion on that one." Joan laughed, shaking her head.

"Okay, okay... Let me think. Hm... I used to have a crush on Lucas Scott." Haley said, laughing quietly.

"Wowza, that's an awkward family reunion." Joan laughed, smiling at her.

"And the third one..." Haley looked around the room, "Hm... Give me a second." She said, drumming her hands on her legs momentarily. "Let me think... Okay, okay. I've got one." She hummed, smiling. "I'm pregnant." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well this got interesting. Let's see if we can guess this." Joan said, turning to look at the audience. "Alright, so Haley said that she's beat her husband, who used to be in the NBA at basketball, she used to have a crush on Lucas Scott, and that she's pregnant. Honestly, I thought it was the first one but now I'm not so sure. So you tell me, what do you think?" Joan asked.

"Lie!" The audience yelled.

Joan looked at Haley, raising her eyebrows.

"That was not the lie." Haley said, smiling at them an shrugging her shoulders.

"Care to elaborate on that?" Joan laughed.

"Well, let's just say the score didn't start in his favor. We were playing to what was it, honey? 15?" She asked, looking over to Nathan, who nodded. "Sorry, my husband is back there. Anyways, 15, and he started me at 13. By the time the game ended, he had 14 points. So yes, I beat him. But it's safe to say that I'm still very terrible at basketball." She laughed, shaking her head.

"That's alright, you're a talented singer. So the one. Do you all think that she used to have a crush on Lucas Scott?" Joan asked, looking to the audience.

"Truth!" They called out, everyone's focus on Haley.

Joan looked at Haley, raising her eyebrows. "Well? Did you write Mrs. Lucas Scott all over your notebook?" She asked.

Haley looked over at Nathan. He was rocking back and forth on his heels, and he had a nervous look on his face. She smiled slightly, before looking back at Joan.

"Nope. That was the lie." Haley said, smiling brightly.