Finding The Way Back
Chapter 38
Nathan jogged up to the house after his morning run, raising his eyebrows at the guy that was sitting outside of their house, a guitar case sitting next to him. "Hey?" He questioned, pulling his headphones out of his ears.
"Dude, are you running for fun?" The guy asked him, standing up and picking up the guitar case.
Nathan looked at him, nodding slowly. "Dude, are you sitting outside of my house for fun?" He questioned, scowling slightly.
"I'm waiting for Haley to come out." He said, shrugging. "I'm the guy she was on a date with when she bought you."
Nathan sighed softly, nodding. "Tough break." He said, looking at him. "Who are you?"
"Chris Keller." Chris said, smirking slightly. "Haley never mentioned me?"
"Name sounds familiar." Nathan said, shrugging slightly. "Well... I'm going to go in now. So good luck out here." He said, walking past him.
"Wait, wait. Can I come in? I've been sitting out here for awhile and I'm starving." Chris said, looking at him.
Nathan sighed softly, opening the front door. "Fine." He grumbled, stepping into the house. "But stay in the kitchen. Don't walk around and explore." He said, leading Chris into the kitchen. "Haley?" He called out.
"Upstairs!" Haley replied from their bedroom, letting out a deep breath.
"I knew she was home." Chris said, shaking his head and walking to the fridge, searching through it.
"Right, okay. Well... Stay." Nathan said slowly, hurrying up the stairs and into their room. "Chris Keller is here?" He said in a questioning voice, raising his eyebrows.
"Tell me you didn't let him in." Haley groaned, shaking her head.
"I could tell you that but it wouldn't be true." He said, shrugging slightly. "What's wrong with that guy... Does he just act like that all the time?"
"Unfortunately." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair.
"You knew he was out there?" He asked, looking at her.
"Yeah. He knocked about a half hour ago. I saw him through the window." She sighed, shaking her head.
"Why didn't you open the door?" He questioned, sitting down next to her.
"Because I spent enough time with Chris this month." She grumbled, looking at him.
"Well, your stupid husband let him in." He chuckled, kissing her head softly. "I have to shower, then I'm going to go see Luke before he leaves with Karen and Andy, so you have fun."
"Really?" She sighed, looking at him. "Because I was thinking that maybe we could have sex." She suggested, leaning over and kissing his jaw softly.
Nathan looked at her, laughing quietly. "Tempting, really. I told him to stay in the kitchen and I'm not sure he'll listen to me, so it's better that one of us stays down there."
"I was pretty sure that would work. I need to say goodbye to Lucas too." She said, standing up and letting out a small sigh.
He stood up as well, kissing her forehead. "But if he hits on you, my fist will hit on him- that sounded a lot cooler in my head. I'll beat him up." He said, laughing quietly.
Haley smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a kiss. "Alright." She said, sighing softly. "I'll go talk to him." She kissed him once more, before walking out of the room and down the stairs.
"Haley!" Chris said, walking over to her and hugging her quickly. "Mm, you smell nice. And you look hot."
Haley sighed softly, stepping away from him. "Thank you." She said, nodding at him. "So... What are you doing here? How did you find my house?"
"What? I can't stop by the love of my life's house?" Chris asked, hugging her again. "Oh how I missed you, Haley."
"I saw you like two weeks ago." She said, shaking her head. "Really, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to eat a sandwich." Chris said, holding up the bread. "Your husband told me I could."
She sighed, sitting down at the counter. "Nice." She said, glancing up the stairs.
"If you were here, why didn't you come to the door?" He asked her curiously.
"Oh, you know..." She trailed off, looking at him. "How's the record coming along?"
"You moved out of your apartment." Chris said to her, frowning. "And you didn't even tell me."
"Sorry, I didn't realize I had to run all my decisions past you." She said, blinking at him.
"But I live in California." He pointed out.
"I know." She laughed, raising her eyebrows. "And I live here now."
He sighed softly, "I did have sex with the girl that moved into your apartment though." He informed her, nodding.
"Good for you?" She said, sighing softly. "Sorry for not telling you that I was moving out. I guess I just assumed that it didn't matter. Or that you figured it would happen because my husband lives here."
"I hate that you're married. I thought that we would end up together, Haley." Chris said, winking at her. "We talked about growing old together."
Haley laughed, rolling her eyes. "No, we didn't. We never ever said anything about that."
"Who did I talk about that with then?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. "You sure it wasn't us?"
"I'm positive." She said, shaking her head. "So why are you here?"
"I need your help, Hales." He said, looking at her, reaching across the counter and grabbing her hand.
Haley looked at him, raising her eyebrows. "What?" She asked him cautiously.
"I want you to come on tour with me." Chris said, nodding at her.
"Chris..." She began, sighing softly.
"No, no. Hear me out. Before you say no, just listen." He said, looking at her and shrugging. "You're hot. And I'm hot. We have great on stage chemistry, Haley. And we have a lot of fun together."
"Chris, I can't." She said, shaking her head.
"Haley, come on. I know you're married but why should your husband get to go off and play basketball while you stay home? Come on tour with me, please. I promise, I won't fuel any rumors of us dating, or anything like that." He begged, nodding at her.
"Chris, I actually can't." She said to him, letting out a small sigh.
"Look, Hales... If this is because all the sexual tension that we have, it's okay. Nathan doesn't need to know." Chris said, winking at her.
She raised her eyebrows, rolling her eyes. "We don't have sexual tension, and it's not that."
Chris looked up as Nathan stepped down the stairs, letting go of Haley's hand. "Hales, come on."
Nathan raised his eyebrows, moving to stand behind Haley, resting his hand on the back of her chair. "What are you guys talking about?"
"He wants me to go on tour with him." She said, looking over her shoulder.
"We would leave in two months, and we'd only been gone for three months." Chris said, nodding at her.
"Which is not going to work out at all." She said, shaking her head.
"Well, why not then?" Chris asked, scowling at her.
Haley over at Nathan again, who shrugged slightly. She looked back at Chris, sighing softly. "I just can't, Chris."
"Blink once if he's forcing you to say that." Chris said, eyeing her.
Nathan scowled, rolling his eyes. "Dude, I will kick you out of my house."
"He's not forcing me to say that." Haley said, glancing up at Nathan again and sighing. "Look, I'll play a couple of shows with you, but I really can't go on tour."
Chris let out a loud sigh, shaking his head. "But, Haley... People love us. We're a dynamic duo."
"For the love of god, Chris... I can't!" She said, letting out an annoyed sigh. "Honestly."
"But I need a solid reason or else I won't stop asking." Chris said, nodding at her. "I want you to go on tour with me. You love touring. You had so much fun."
"Because I'm pregnant, Chris! Is that a good enough answer?" She snapped to him, leaning her head back against Nathan.
Chris was quiet for a second, looking back and forth between the two of them. "Dude, totally not mine, I swear." He said, holding up his hands in defense.
Nathan glared at him, rubbing Haley's shoulder softly. "I've known you for like ten minutes, man... And I already want to punch you in the face."
"Peyton didn't mention this to me when I harassed her for you address." Chris said, frowning. "Now that you mention it, it does make sense." He said, his eyes looking over Haley.
Haley's jaw dropped a little bit, and a scowl formed on her face. "You're a jerk." She said, crossing her arms. "And Peyton is going through some stuff right now. Plus, none of this is any of your business. I only told you that so you would leave me alone."
"Peyton doesn't know. You told good old Uncle Chris Keller before you told crabby Aunt Peyton!" Chris said, smirking slightly. "Can I name the baby?"
Haley looked up at Nathan, pulling a face and letting out a deep sigh. "This is why we shouldn't tell people, and we should just move somewhere far away."
"I've been telling you that, Hales." Nathan hummed, kissing her head. "Chris, Haley and I were just leaving."
"And we'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this yet. We'd like to wait a little longer before the word gets around." She added, standing up slowly. "I'll be right back, I'm going to go get my purse."
Nathan watched her walk up the stairs, turning and looking at Chris. "So... You just act like this?"
"Act like what?" Chris asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Nice." Nathan said, shaking his head and taking Haley's seat.
"You want to see my guitar?" Chris asked, unbuckling the case.
"No, no. That's alright." Nathan said, waving his hand.
"She's beautiful." Chris hummed, pulling the guitar out. "Haley James."
"What?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows.
"That's what I call her. My guitar." Chris said, smirking slightly.
"Are you kidding me?" Nathan grumbled, standing up.
"Hey, man. You don't have claim over her name. Haley was mine first." Chris pointed out.
Nathan let out a deep breath, "Okay, time for you to go. Keep your mouth shut, Keller." He said, grabbing the guitar from his hands, putting it in the case and handing it to him.
"Hey, congrats on the baby." Chris said, taking the guitar. "Tell Haley to call me, or else I'll call her first. Oh, and tell her she looks hot. From me." He smirked, nodding.
Nathan grabbed Chris' shirt collar, yanking him towards the door, opening it and pushing him outside. "Bye." He grumbled, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it.
Haley came back downstairs, raising her eyebrows. "Kicked him out?"
Nathan nodded in response, sighing softly. "I think I'm ready to go up there and have sex now."
"Come on, buddy. Let's go see Luke." She laughed, walking over to him and wrapping her arm around his waist and pulling him towards the garage.
"Lucas?" Nathan called out, walking into the house through Lucas' room, stopping in his tracks when he saw Peyton sitting on his bed.
Haley ran into his back, raising her eyebrows. "Nathan, what are you doing?" She began, looking past him. "Oh. Hey Peyton."
"Hey guys." Peyton said, letting out a deep breath.
"So you sent Chris to our house." Haley said, shaking her head. "That's messed up."
"Sorry, I just... Didn't wan to deal with him. I figured the best move was to give him what he wanted." Peyton said, sending a small smile in her direction. "Are you going to go on tour with him?"
"No. But we can talk about it later." Haley said, waving her hand and sliding past Nathan.
Lucas walked into the room, raising his eyebrows. "Uh, hey guys."
"Hey Luke, we just came to say goodbye..." Nathan trailed off, clearing his throat.
Lucas nodded slowly, "Thanks. I should be off in about an hour." He said, glancing over at Peyton.
"I just stopped by to say good bye too." Peyton said, standing up.
Haley nodded, walking over to Lucas and hugging him tightly. "I'm going to miss you, buddy. Please don't be gone long."
"I won't be." Lucas assured her, kissing the top of her head. "I love you, Hales."
"I love you too." She hummed, smiling at him.
Nathan walked over slowly, giving Lucas a brief hug. "Hey, take care man."
"You too, little brother." Lucas responded, ruffling Nathan's hair.
"Look at my boys." Haley said, covering her mouth and letting out a deep breath.
"Pregnancy hormones are striking already." Lucas joked, before freezing. "Shit. Sorry."
Peyton looked up at Haley quickly, "What? You're pregnant?" She asked.
"Thanks, Lucas." Haley said, punching his arm softly, looking at Peyton. "This is not the way I wanted you to find out."
"Haley! That's so exciting!" Peyton said, hurrying over and hugging her tightly.
"I did some work too." Nathan said, holding up his hand.
Peyton looked over at Nathan, "You'll get credit when you carry a baby inside of you for nine months." She teased, winking at him before walking over and hugging him. "I'm happy for you guys." She said softly.
"You two are so grown up now." Lucas said, smiling at them. "I know I already told you how happy I am for you last night, but... I am. Happy for you."
"Thanks guys." Haley said, smiling at him. "Now, please do a better job at keeping it quiet than Lucas just did. We haven't told that many people yet."
"Got it." Peyton said, hugging her again. "This is so great! I guess that explains why there will be no tour."
Haley nodded, looking at Nathan and kissing his cheek lightly.
"I better get going." Peyton said softly, nodding at Lucas. "I'll see you when you get home, Lucas." She said, hugging him briefly, and walking out.
Nathan turned to Lucas, raising his eyebrows. "What was that about?"
"She just came to say goodbye." Lucas informed him, letting out a deep breath, picking some clothes out of his dresser.
"Oh yeah? You say her name at your wedding and she just comes to say goodbye?" Nathan asked, sitting down on the bed.
"Too soon." Lucas grumbled, shoving the clothes into his duffle bag.
Haley rested her hand on Nathan's shoulder, smiling slightly. "You think this is the right thing to do, Luke?"
"Yeah, I need to get away from it all and clear my head." Lucas said softly, nodding at her.
"I get that." She said, looking down at Nathan for a second. "But sometimes running away isn't the best thing to do."
Lucas looked over at Nathan, before looking back at Haley. "I think I just need to spend time with my mom and Lily."
"Alright." Haley hummed, walking over and hugging him again. "How long will you be gone?"
"Probably not too long." Lucas assured her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"Good." She said softly, squeezing his side. "Just remember that we're here for you and we love you."
"Of course." Lucas said, kissing the top of her head. "Take care of that kid." He said, smiling at her. "Oh, and the baby too."
"Funny. I'm glad you're leaving." Nathan said, shaking his head and standing up, laughing.
"If you guys need me, I'll come back. Might be hard because I'll be on a boat... But I'll find a way back." Lucas chuckled, nodding at them.
"Where is everyone, anyways?" Haley asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"They're getting everything ready. My mom will be back in a little bit." Lucas informed her. "It would be great if you guys stayed until she got here."
Nathan nodded his head, "Sure." He said, picking up a basketball that was sitting on Lucas' floor, spinning it in his hands.
The two of them stayed there for awhile longer, before heading home. They were laying in bed later that night, both of them nearly asleep when Haley lifted her head up off of Nathan's chest, looking down at him.
"Hey." She said softly, resting her hand on his cheek, kissing his chin softly.
"Hm?" Nathan mumbled, tightening his arm around her.
"I'm going to miss this. When the season starts again and you're spending most of your time in New York." She said softly, brushing her thumb over his cheekbone.
Nathan blinked his eyes open, clearing his throat and looking down at her. "I think we should talk." He mumbled, reaching over to the bedside table and turning on the lamp.
She sat up slowly, raising her eyebrows. "What?" She asked him, frowning.
He sat up, running his fingers through his hair, standing up. "What if I didn't go to New York?"
"What do you mean?" She asked him slowly, rubbing her eyes.
Nathan let out a deep breath, disappearing into the closet. He emerged a minute later, dropping something in her lap.
Haley lifted it up, raising her eyebrows. "Is this real?" She asked him, standing up.
"Yeah. I know I should've talked to you about it first... But I wanted to surprise you. This is what Clay and I have been talking about." He said, smiling. "I transferred teams. I'm a Point Guard for the Hornets now." He said, looking at her.
She smiled brightly, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. "Nathan! This is amazing." She said, kissing him deeply.
"I know I'll still be away from home a lot, but this way I'll be closer. Which will be so much better, especially with a baby on the way." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly.
"I'm so excited for you." Haley said, kissing him again, slapping her hands on his shoulders lightly. "My husband is such a sexy basketball star." She said, smiling at him. "I love you so much, Nathan."
"I love you too, Haley. Thank you for coming home to me." He whispered, kissing her head.
Haley pushed him down onto the bed, winking at him and smiling. "And we thought we were just going to go to sleep tonight."