This one is really more of a filler. I'm sorry it's been taking me so long to update!

Chapter 37

"So... I have a question for you, Miss James."

Haley glanced up from the assignment she was grading, looking at Quentin. He was the only student left in her classroom. The others had finished their work fairly quickly, and she'd given them permission to go. But for some reason, Quentin wasn't motivated by that and had decided to take his own sweet time.

"Yes, Quentin?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and nodding at him.

"What's with Nate?" He asked her, tapping his fingers on his desk.

Haley looked at him, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Was he really asking her about her boyfriend? Sure, Quentin, Nathan, and Lucas had spent quite a bit of time with each other since Lucas picked up Nathan in the middle of the night to go play basketball a few days prior. He'd really helped Nathan begin to let himself fall back in love with the game, but surely this was an inappropriate question.

"I'm sorry?" She asked him, clearing her throat.

"I get the nerves of playing basketball, but it's like a switch flips inside him every once and awhile and he just seems so angry and cold. What's up with that?" Quentin asked her, raising his eyebrows.

"Quentin, I'm not sure that's an appropriate question to ask me," Haley said slowly, nodding at him and sighing softly.

"I know, but I was just wondering if you'd tell me," He responded, nodding at her. He then shifted his gaze back down to the assignment he was doing, and began to work quietly.

Haley pursued her lips, watching him and letting out a small sigh. "Nathan has had a difficult last few years, and sometimes he gets inside of his own head. That's all I'm going to say about it," She told him, tapping her fingers on her desk.

Quentin looked up at her and grinned, "Never thought that I'd become buddies with your boyfriend, did you? Look at us, swapping stories about him."

"Quentin," Haley groaned, shaking her head. "Do your work so that you can go."

Quentin was quiet for a little bit, before looking up at her again. "Is he okay? With the whole basketball thing?"

She looked at him, raising her eyebrows and nodding slowly. "He's doing alright, I think."

"Good. Luke thought he wouldn't give it a chance," Quentin informed her, shrugging his shoulders.

Haley looked down at her papers, before looking back up at Quentin, "Thank you, Quentin. I think that he's enjoying it more than he'd admit, and you're a big part of that."

Quentin flashed her a grin, nodding his head. "No problem, Miss James. So, when can I come over for dinner?"

"Get back to work, Mr. Fields."

xxxx

Nathan groaned, pressing his face into the pillow beneath him, gripping the bed sheets lightly.

"That's the spot right there..." He trailed off, letting out a deep breath, gritting his teeth as her hands applied more pressure onto his lower back.

Haley smiled down at him, letting out a deep breath, shifting her gaze from his back to his head.

He was so cute. Since he'd returned home a short time ago, he'd been rubbing his back, complaining about how sore and tight his muscles were. At first, she'd been concerned, but he assured her it was a different pain, and she'd gone back to looking at her laptop.

Of course, he'd sat down next to her on the couch, letting out painful sighs every once and awhile, leaning forward and occasionally glancing over his shoulder at her.

It had confused her, because he wasn't a big complainer, but eventually she caught on to what he'd been trying to get her to do, and offered to give him a massage.

He'd all too quickly scooped her up and rushed upstairs despite having a 'sore back.'

And from the sounds he was making, she could tell this wasn't going to be a one time thing.

Not that she was complaining, of course. She definitely didn't mind the opportunity to have her hands all over him.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked her after a little while, relaxing under her hands as they moved up his shoulders.

"You," She hummed softly, shrugging her shoulders, tickling her fingertips over his ribcage.

He squirmed slightly underneath her, laughing and shaking his head. "Why?"

"Because I love you," She informed him, leaning down and kissing the back if his head, before kneading her hands into his back once again.

"I love you too," He responded, smiling in approval at her words.

"I'm going to find a puppy tomorrow, I think..." She informed him, letting out a deep breath.

"Finally," He laughed, shrugging slightly. "I thought you would have done it the first weekend you were here."

"I've been a little preoccupied," Se informed him, shifting herself up to her knees, applying more pressure onto his back.

"With your other dog?" He asked her, chuckling quietly.

"Yes," She replied, shaking her head. "Just kidding, baby. You're definitely not a dog."

He smiled, moving his arms to cross under his head, letting out a slow deep breath.

"Quentin was asking a lot of questions about you today," She informed him, looking down at his back, biting her lip.

"Yeah?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows and yawning. "About what?"

"He wanted to know why you're so distant sometimes," She informed him, sighing softly. "And I don't blame him for wondering."

"I don't think I need to explain myself to a kid in high school," Nathan chuckled, grabbing her hand that rested on his shoulder, pressing a kiss to her palm.

She smiled down at him, letting out a deep breath. "I think it's healthy when you open up to people."

"Everyone I feel the need to open up to already knows," He responded, sighing softly. "Sure, Q is great, but he doesn't need to go telling on me when I'm in a bad mood."

"I don't think he was telling on you, Nathan. I think he was genuinely curious," She told him, shaking her head and frowning. "Anyways, I just told him that you've had a difficult last few years."

He sighed softly, closing his eyes. "Thanks," He mumbled, stretching his arms out across the bed.

She slid her hand along his bicep, looking down at him and smiling. "He's starting to become a softy towards you, Nathan Scott. What have you done?"

"I have no idea. I think he's a little shithead," Nathan chuckled, smirking an shrugging slightly.

Haley leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. "He's even being a little less difficult in class."

"It's because I have a temper and he knows that if he crosses you, I won't even give punishing him a second thought," He informed her, laughing quietly.

"Mm..." She hummed, kissing the side of his neck. "I really love you, you know that?"

"Yeah?" He asked her, smiling and letting out a deep breath. "Well that's good, because I happen to feel the same way."

She ran her fingers through his hair, biting down on her bottom lip lightly, resting her cheek against his back, shifting so that her legs were stretched over his.

He chuckled, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Make yourself comfortable."

"I already have," She informed him, letting one hand lightly stroke his side, while the other rested on the bed. "If only you didn't have all these rock hard muscles."

"Ah, yes... If only," He responded, smirking slightly. "If you want, I can't stop exercising and start eating super unhealthy."

"That's okay," She said, scratching her fingernails along his side lightly. "I'll make do."

"Well... We could always get a little exercise of our own in tonight," He informed her, lifting up his head slightly.

Haley kissed his shoulder blade, before moving to get off of him. "I actually think I'm going to shower, but you're free to join me."

"I'm in," He chuckled, standing up. "You go get in, I washed some of your towels while you were so I'll go get those out of the dryer."

"You did laundry for me?" She asked him, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, is that okay?" Nathan responded, sitting up and looking at her.

"That's like the sexiest thing you could've ever said to me," She said, sitting up, grabbing his chin and kissing him. "If I didn't mean it before, I mean it now. I love you."

"Okay, you're exaggerating big time," He laughed, rolling his eyes and kissing her again. "Go get that sweet ass in the shower, and I'll join you in a few minutes..."

Haley smiled at him, standing up quickly. "Sounds like a perfect plan," She informed him, winking at him and heading into the bathroom.

Nathan chuckled quietly as he watched her go, heading down the stairs quickly to the laundry room. He grabbed two towels from inside the dryer, smiling at the smell of Haley's fabric softener. She really picked the best of everything out there. The best furniture, the best clothes, the best places to eat, hell, the best fabric softener.

He hummed softly to himself as he rushed up the stairs and back into her bedroom. He was about to head into the bathroom when he heard a knock at the door downstairs. He sighed, dropping the towels onto the bed.

He could just ignore it... But then there was another knock, and another.

And if Haley found out he was ignoring the door when he was fully capable of answering it, she probably wouldn't be too pleased.

He glanced towards the bathroom door, groaning in frustration.

New plan. Get rid of whoever was at the door quickly, and then hurry back to his naked Greek goddess waiting for him in the shower.

He picked up his shirt from off the ground, tugging it over his head and making a face. Yeah, he didn't love the feeling of his shirt against his lotion covered back.

He walked out of the room slowly, dragging his feet a little bit and grumbling to himself.

Nathan stepped down the last stair, walking to the front door and sighing softly, pulling it open.

It was an older couple, not too old, definitely older than the age his parents would be.

They looked at little surprised to see him, each of them raising their eyebrows. Something was very familiar about them though...

"Well, you definitely aren't Haley James," The man spoke, a joking grin forming on his face.

The woman laughed, and looked at him, before looking back at Nathan. "You know full well who this is, don't you?"

"Of course, it's Nathan Scott. She didn't tell us that he was here. She never tells us," The man responded, nodding at him.

Nathan cleared his throat, looking at the two of them. "Uh, hi," He said, raising his eyebrows.

"Sorry, sorry. Is Haley here? This is her house, isn't it?" She said, taking a step back and looking at the numbers by the front door.

"She's in the shower right now. Can I take a message to her?" Nathan said slowly, looking at them.

God, they were familiar...

"Oh, no. We'll wait," The man responded, sliding into the house past Nathan, the woman following his lead. "We'll just set our stuff in the guest room. Wait- unless you're staying in there?"

"Oh, you shut your mouth, we know full well that he's not staying in there, Haley wouldn't make the poor boy do that," She responded, smacking her husband.

Nathan had no idea what was going on. They just... Walked in.

"Hey, Nate... Can you show us the guest room?" The man asked him, raising his eyebrows. "Can I call you Nate? I'm going to call him Nate, honey..."

"Original," The woman responded, rolling her eyes and looking over at Nathan.

"I'm sorry, I..." Nathan looked around the room as if there was supposed to be some kind of clue. Thankfully, his eyes landed on a photo hanging on the wall.

A group photo of Haley and her siblings, standing in the center were the two people standing in front of him now.

Her parents.