Reviews

I. bergin 94

So glad your back wa starting to miss this. But none the less great update as usual. It was pretty funny for nate to just show up at haleys house, invite himself in and just sit there doing nothing. I was laughing at that bit for the whole chapter. I was expecting the old nathan scott temper to show and for him to blow up in haleys face but nope haley was right the silence was worse that what he could have said. It was unexpected but was pretty cool that you took an unusual turn in this chapter and had him sit there instead of scream or something at her. Can't wait for next chapter and a nathan pov. Looking forward to it!

Eve

Great Chapter! I hope next time Naley meets...it involves talking :)
Please update soon

Can't be Anyone Else

S01e31

Episode: Awkward silence

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

~Dorothy Nevill

Silence.

Silence always seemed to have been her best companion. At times it had seemed like her enemy too, where it had went from a companion to an overpowering boss trying to dictate her life. Loneliness would soon follow... And then the solitude she had once graved would become an enemy rather than an asset.

But more often times than not, she had found it a great refugee. It had followed her, and she had appreciated it beyond words; the quite sense of self. The aspiration to look not only throughout but within. It was in the silence, the quietness, that she searched for answers to find - she searched for herself amongst other things.

... A certain somebody had decided to ruin that for her!

She quietly scowled at her new "companion" and the awkward silence that came along with him. No longer was the silence a refugee - it was merely awkward! She couldn´t really afford to voice her complains out loud since her own action had cost him a great deal more than awkward silence - she knew that.

The dark haired guy sat yet again on her couch. He seemed to have become a permanent attire to the living room: His feet were casually slung up on the couch, one hand behind his head, and the television had been going ever since he stepped foot into the room. It seemed to have become his routine. A routine that Haley didn't appreciate nor understood.

He was still there!

It had been a couple of days since the big reveal and since Nathan had first stepped foot in her house. He had since decided that that should be a permanent thing: Him showing up!

You would think it would be nice to have someone else around…. But it wasn't!

Granted, Nathan's company wouldn´t have been so bad if he just would say... anything! But he didn't... he never did.

To be honest she never thought she would see him again after that day, after their confrontation, so imagine her surprise when he had knocked on her door only a few days later. She must have looked even more shocked than the first time she saw him, as a small playful grin graced his lips as he took in her expression! He then proceeded to walk right past her and into her house without as much as a hallo.

Now he doesn't even bother knocking anymore! He just walks in like he owns the place... He was being such a guy about all of this. A quiet, broody, alpha-male!

If she too hadn´t been such a girl about it, she would have held his stereotypical behavior against him! But she had been so unconfrontational, timid and scared that she too had become nothing but a mere caricature of herself. She guessed that neither of them knew what to do with one another, since they behaved that way.

She looked at him again: His casual way of being there confused her more than his silence. Actually it was a contradictory to his silence: If he was in such ease, why didn't he do anything?! Then he should surely have the strength to do something, say something, be something?! But then again, maybe it was a mask - just like she had seen him mask his emotions at school?

Haley´s brown eyes narrowed as if she tried to see trough him and his exterior. Surely there must be more to the man than a brick wall of silence?! She had after all written with him- she had had an insight to who he was and what he was thinking.

"James?"

Her eyes fluttered at the foreign sound. She must have spaced out, as she saw a very confused Nathan starring at her questionably.

Haley cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she caught his stare.

Since when did he call her James? Wait - since when did he even talk to her?!

"I asked if i could play on your X-box?" he asked again with a puzzled expression on his face - much like Haley's own.

"Sure" Haley finally muttered surprised, staring at him wide-eyed in amazement: He could talk!

Nathan barely mumbled a small thanks, as he connected the game to the TV. Soon continuous rapid clicking on the game-controller filled the living-room to the kitchen.

Click. Click. Click.

Since the name/identity confusion with Haley/Halihma/Brooke, Nathan had apparently decided he would call her by a completely different name as if to detach himself from it all. James - her last name - seemed to fit that resolution.

Click. Click. Click.

Haley decided not to bother to try and figure out Nathans trail of thoughts anymore – it was clear that his mind went places she clearly couldn't follow - instead Haley tried to focus on the paper in front of her.

… only the excessive clicking made it a really difficoult task!

Click. Click. Click.

Though the words in front of her were as clear as ever - yet they didn't seem to make any sense. She moved her body restlessly as impatiens filled her body.

Click. Click. Click.

This isn't going to bother me, Haley thought to herself, as an annoyance worse than silence continuously filled her ears.

Click. Click. Click.

Haley sighed in frustration as she scowled quietly at Nathan and the damn controller.

Click. Click. Click.

"Oh come on!" Nathan exclaimed under his breath as the opponent's team got another 3-pointer.

Basketball?! Of course he was playing basketball, Haley scoffed to herself.

"You know you really suck at it"

Both Nathan and Haley looked at each other in surprise. Had she really just said that out loud? Okay, not really the best conversation-starter she could have opted to go for! Her heart raced, as Nathan narrowed his eyes at her.

Haley started to panic and her thoughts were racing away: Since when did she even do something irrational like that? Since when did she just blurt out things? Now he was going to hate her even more. He would kill any chance she had to have a normal school experience. He would make her living hell: She could already see it unfold before her very eyes.

As Haley stared straight ahead caught in her own stream of thoughts, she had yet to notice the sly smile that had crossed Nathans face, as he quirked up a challenging eyebrow:

"Is that so James?" He asked forcing her to focus on him again. She just barely managed to withhold an eye roll at the new "nickname" he had taken upon himself to give her, when she realized the slight bemusement in his voice.

"Is that a challenge?" he continued.

Haley looked at him, and was astounded at his invitation: Was this her window of opportunity? Her olive-branch? Was he seriously going to give her a second chance... When she was totally gonna beat him at NBA?!

"You're on Scott" She said as she matched his smirk and marched towards the couch.

Let the games begin!

~…~