Alright! So this chapter is going to be from Nathan's point of view, and the next chapter is going to be the same day but from Haley's point of view.
Chapter 28
"Should we tell him?"
Nathan paused outside of Clay's office at that question.
He was about to enter and see what Clay was up to, but he was with someone.
"He's going to find out eventually, we might as well tell him now," Quinn's voice replied.
Who would they be talking about besides him?
"Maybe we should wait a little bit..." Clay trailed off.
"Why wait? Come on, Clay. It's far enough along, he should know, right? Plus, what if he finds out from someone else?"
"Who would tell him? Haley's been keeping it a secret, there's no way she'd tell."
"Macey might mention something about it."
"I doubt Macey has any idea. Haley is good at hiding things from her, even something like this..."
What the hell were they talking about?
Yes, he shouldn't be eavesdropping. But this was his building too. Clay was his partner, odds of him entering the office were high. They left the door slightly open. This was pretty much their fault.
But what was Haley hiding that they knew about?
It had been almost two weeks since their little moment they had at the lake.
What if she was already dating Adam?
They'd hardly seen each other, besides the two play dates the kids had last week.
Even then it was a drop off pick up situation.
"Well doesn't Brooke know too?" Clay asked her.
"Yeah, but she wouldn't tell anyone either. She knows how sensitive this is," Quinn replied quietly.
Oh no. Brooke knew too? Quinn and Brooke knew? No. This was not good.
"I guess we can tell him. Like you said... He's going to figure it out sooner or later," Clay hummed.
"Let's tell him right now," Quinn said quietly.
"Or... We could tell Haley to tell him?"
Nathan frowned slightly, glancing at the door again.
"She's not going to want to do that. Plus, I want to tell him," Quinn argued.
He felt so confused at the conversation that was going on. But he knew he had to split before his cover was breached.
Without listening to another word, he quickly backtracked to his office, taking a seat back at his desk.
After a few more minutes, there was a knock at the door.
He suddenly felt really nervous.
"Come in," Nathan said, clearing his throat and rubbing his eyes, glancing at the door.
"Hey," Clay said, pushing the door open wider so Quinn could follow after him.
"Oh, uh, hey," He said quickly, sending them a mock confused look as they entered his office. "What's up?"
"We have something we need to tell you," Clay said, gesturing between him and Quinn.
"Okay..." Nathan trailed off, glancing at Quinn.
She had a friendly smile on his face. One he had not received from her in awhile.
Or maybe she it wasn't friendly and she was just smiling at his pain.
"Well..." Quinn glanced up at Clay, before looking at Nathan. "We're pregnant!"
He felt relief wash over him. It didn't have anything to do with Haley, she wasn't engaged, or married, or something else his totally dramatic brain had gone to.
His paused, his eyes widening. Did she just tell him what he thought she told him?
He stood up quickly, a grin forming on his face.
"No way," He said, stepping around his desk.
"Way," Clay confirmed, smiling brightly at him.
"Guys! That's so exciting!" Nathan said quickly, hurrying over to Clay and pulling him into a tight hug.
After a moment, Nathan pulled away and looked at Quinn, smiling at her.
"I'm so happy for you guys."
After what looked like a moment of hesitation, Quinn walked over and hugged Nathan too.
"We're so happy for us too," Clay informed him, gesturing between the two of them.
"Man... Being a parent... It's just the best," Nathan informed then, thinking back to when his own son was born.
Easily the best day of his life.
"We're probably going to need all the help we can get," Clay informed him, smiling slightly.
"Oh, you'll get it. Don't worry. Trust your instincts," Nathan said, grinning at him and looking over at Quinn. "Wow... I am so happy for you guys. This is awesome."
"Thank you," Quinn hummed, nodding at him. "We're about three months along."
"It has been so difficult not telling you," Clay said, clearing his throat and wrapping his arm around Quinn's shoulders, tugging her into his side.
"Three months. Wow," He said, nodding at them. "Well, you definitely need to let me know if there's anything I can do. I still have a lot of Nick's stuff back in Tree Hill. You might want to get new stuff though, his is pretty old."
"You're already thinking further ahead than we are," Clay laughed, shrugging his shoulders.
"I'm so excited for you guys," Nathan said again, leaning back against his desk. "This is great."
"We think so too," Quinn agreed, wrapping her arm around Clay and smiling.
"I'm hoping it's actually twins," Clay joked, which earned him a light smack on the stomach from Quinn.
"You're going to eat your words if it's actually twins. Babies are hard," Nathan chuckled, watching the two.
He missed being close with them. Of course, him and Clay were alright. But he did miss Quinn. She had such a good energy. If only he had not broken her sister's and her niece's hearts.
"Well, Haley already volunteered to babysit anytime we need her, so if we get twins we can probably pawn one off on her," Quinn said, nudging Clay.
"Don't put me down for that," Nathan joked, smirking slightly.
Haley would do that. She was so incredible.
"She also said to enjoy them while they're young because pretty soon they'll be a mouthy eight year old," Clay laughed, looking over at Nathan. "What's the verdict on that one?"
"I can't relate. My kid would never," Nathan said, shaking his head. "But, knowing both of you, I guarantee it's true."
"Oh, as if you're better?" Clay laughed, raising his eyebrows.
"You've met Katherine, right? She is as classy as they come. Top notch. Nick's so eloquently spoken, I can't even tell if he's being mouthy," Nathan laughed, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, but Haley is like that too, and Peter was so quiet he hardly spoke but when he did, he almost always said something smart, so... With that logic, Macey shouldn't be sassy," Quinn informed him, shrugging her shoulders.
"Okay, you're right," Nathan said, holding up his hands in defeat. "Maybe Nick has a little attitude every once and awhile. Kids can be mean."
Clay laughed, rolling his eyes. "It's okay, Nate. I'll protect you from our kid."
"What a relief. I was already scared," Nathan hummed, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Quinn laughed, standing on her toes and kissing Clay's cheek. "Well... I better go and let you two get some work done. I'm meeting Haley for lunch."
"Oh, call me after," Clay answered quickly, winking at her.
"You know I will," Quinn hummed quietly, kissing him once more, before nodding at Nathan. "See you, Nate."
"Congrats," Nathan called again, watching the two of them exit his office, assuming the Clay followed her to the elevators like a lost puppy.
He sat back down at his desk, his eyebrows furrowing at their ending statements to each other.
Quinn and Haley went to lunch all the time. Call him after?
After a moment, Clay stepped back into Nathan's office, a grin on his face.
"That went well, didn't it? She hugged you!" Clay said, highfiving his college friend.
Nathan rolled his eyes, shrugging. "She still hates me. I'm really excited for you though."
"She doesn't hate you, Nathan. She just loves Haley," Clay assured him. "And no matter how many times Haley tells her to stop being pissed at you, she won't listen."
"Haley tells her that?" Nathan asked, clearing his throat.
"She does," Clay confirmed, sitting down on the couch. "Hey, we're watching Macey tonight if you're interested in us taking Nick too? Gotta practice watching kids more."
"Why are you watching Macey?" Nathan asked curiously, raising his eyebrows.
"Um... I don't know," Clay answered, turning his gaze from Nathan's.
He was lying.
"You're lying," He replied, letting out a sigh. "Tell me."
"I don't know what she's doing," Clay attempted again.
"She has a date, doesn't she?" Nathan asked, pressing his face into his hands.
Clay's silence was answer enough.
"It's not a date," He finally said, causing Nathan to look over at him quickly.
"Well then what is it?" Nathan groaned, running his hand through his hair.
"Brooke, Julian, and Haley were going on a sunset hike tonight and she invited someone to come along. She was going to bring Macey but we asked if we could take her tonight so she invited him. I'm sorry, dude. It's my fault," Clay said, standing up quickly.
"Is she taking Macey's teacher?" Nathan asked, standing up too.
"I think so. Her and Quinn talked about it while I was half asleep last night," Clay said, walking over and resting his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "It's not a date."
"It's a date," Nathan said quietly.
He was so annoyed. Annoyed at himself for letting her go, but that was a constant. He was even more annoyed at Haley. Yes, she had a right to move on. But she kept saying that she just needed more time which in his mind implied that maybe they'd get there again.
But she'd also told him plainly that she was going to talk to Mr. Strong and see how things went with him.
So he couldn't really fault her. He was the one that asked.
Damn Adam, his sparkly green eyes, and his similar tastes to Haley.
"Let me listen in when Quinn calls you," Nathan begged, looking at his friend quickly.
"Nathan..." Clay groaned, shaking his head. "No way. It's just going to make things worse."
"I'm desperate, Clay. You don't get it... We had a moment last Monday. She still has feelings for me, I know it. I just need to prove that I can be constant," He said, clearing his throat.
"Look, I'm not going to let you listen in... But I'll leave my door open," Clay said, sighing softly. "And remember, I'm a great friend. You owe me one."
"I owe you a million," Nathan said, grinning at him.
"Yeah, yeah..." Clay grumbled, shaking his head and walking out, leaving the door open.
About forty minutes later, Clay called out once again.
"Oh, look! Quinn is calling me!" He said loudly and obviously.
Nathan didn't even finish the thought he was having before he jumped up and leaned against the doorway in Clay's office.
Clay glanced at him, shaking his head and answering the phone, putting it on speaker.
"Hey you," He said, humming softly.
"Hey," Quinn greeted.
"How was lunch?" Clay asked, looking over at Nathan again.
"It was good."
"Well... What are you waiting for? Give me the gossip!" Clay laughed, shrugging slightly.
"I just have to keep you in anticipation. You know how much I like teasing you," Quinn hummed.
Clay sent Nathan a sheepish look, holding his finger to his mouth.
Nathan definitely wanted to joke about that later, but he was going to keep that under lock and key since Clay was doing him a big favor.
"Yeah, I know," Clay answered, smiling slightly. "Now spill."
"So bossy," Quinn hummed, clearing her throat. "Well, she is a nervous wreck, I can tell you that. She wasn't like this with Nathan. She was so calm."
"Well, what does that mean?" Clay asked, raising his eyebrows.
"With Nathan, she knew what she was getting in to. They knew each other pretty well before they jumped into anything."
"So?"
"I don't know if she's ready for this, honestly," Quinn said, sighing softly.
Nathan suddenly felt a little guilty... Maybe he shouldn't be listening to this.
"Well, she says she is, right? Might as well let her go on a date with the guy and figure it out. Brooke with be there anyways," Clay hummed.
"It's not a date," Quinn corrected, "Or at least that's what she keeps saying. When it's a date, she'll let me know."
"How long have they been talking again?"
"Since last Monday night."
Nathan let out a sigh.
Okay, Haley. Not cool. They shared this moment that he'd been left thinking about and she'd texted Adam.
"Do they talk a lot?"
"Not really. I mean, she says they do here and there but it's usually about different books. They got to know each other a little bit, but she just invited him spur of the moment."
"I'm going to stalk him on Facebook again after this," Clay chuckled, shaking his head and looking over at Nathan.
Nathan stepped forward silently, picking up a note pad and pen off of Clay's desk, writing quickly.
'When are they going?' He wrote, pointing at it quietly.
Clay shook his head, scowling.
Nathan nodded quickly, before pressing his hands together to beg.
"When are they going?" Clay asked finally.
"Um tonight about an hour before sunset," Quinn answered.
Nathan nodded, writing again. 'Where?'
Clay frowned at him, shaking his head quickly. He pressed mute on the phone so Quinn couldn't hear him.
"No," He said, "I'm not asking."
"Do it. Please. Don't forget the time I saved you from getting food poisoning at the frat party we went to," Nathan said, leaning against the desk.
"Nathan, that was like... Ten years ago!" Clay argued, sighing softly.
"Please just ask her," Nathan said, gesturing to the phone.
"Where are they going again?" Clay asked, glaring at Nathan.
"Oh, it's the same hike that we went on with her over the summer. The one that she said would be so pretty over sunset. I think her and Brooke were talking about it earlier this week and decided to go," Quinn hummed out. "So it's not too far from here. Probably like a fifteen minute drive and then not too long of a hike up the trail."
"Anything else I need to know?" Clay asked, leaning forward and pressing his hands into his face.
"No, I don't think so..." Quinn trailed off. "I hope she has fun. She could use some of that."
"Brooke and Julian are PDA central. There's no way her or this guy will have fun," Clay replied.
"Well then maybe they can sneak off and have some time alone to get to know each other. It's been three months. It only took me a week from breaking up with David to meet you," Quinn reminded him.
Clay smiled slightly, "This is true," He replied, letting out a deep breath. "Okay, babe. Well I have to go. I'll call you later."
"Love you," Quinn responded, hanging up the phone.
Nathan pulled out his phone, holding it out to Clay. "Find me the hike."
"Nathan..." Clay groaned, "You can't do this."
"I can and I will," Nathan said simply, nodding at his phone. "Please, Clay... Come on. If I can win her back we can finally hang out at your house again."
"I feel like you're manipulating me," Clay pointed out.
"I am," Nathan answered, grinning. "I'm doing this for us, man."
"For us?" Clay laughed, rolling his eyes. "You know what, fine. But you didn't hear it from me. Even though when this all blows up, Quinn will know you heard it from me."
"If it all blows up," Nathan reminded him.
"When," Clay repeated, typing the location into Nathan's phone. "Just do me a favor, okay? Don't tell her you love her until you're sure."
"I won't," Nathan said, reaching across the desk, grabbing Clay's head and placing a very obnoxious kiss on-top of it.
Clay shoved him away, laughing. "Get outta here!"
Nathan smirked, heading out of the office but stopping in the doorway. "Hey? You remember when we saw that spider-man movie? And they said there's a superhero, and then there's the guy in the chair?"
"Yeah..." Clay answered, sending him a questioning look.
"You're my guy in the chair," Nathan responded, winking at him.
"Let me get this straight... You're crashing your ex's date and you're the superhero and I have to be the guy in the chair? Bullshit," Clay laughed, throwing a rubber football at him.
Nathan laughed, catching it and tossing it back. "Hell yes," He said, stepping out of the office. After a moment, he poked his head back in.
"Oh, and I'm going to need you to watch Nick tonight. Thanks, Dad."
xxxx
Nathan let out a deep breath, pretty much sprinting up the trail.
Hopefully this is the right spot. He just wanted to be there when they all arrived up there.
Maybe it would make him look deep, or sensitive. Some shit like that.
Alone watching the sunset was deep, right?
Maybe he didn't want this to be the right trail.
Maybe he didn't think this through at all.
What was going to happen from this? Haley would know exactly what was going on.
She was smart. Hell, Brooke would know what was going on too.
Maybe it would go over Adam's head though.
He sighed softly, stopping and lifting the hat off his head, running his hand through his hair.
Clay had tried to warn him that this wasn't going to end up being a good idea.
Did he listen? No. Of course not.
Doing dumb shit had always worked out for him in the past.
He glanced at his watch, shaking his head.
Maybe if he stayed here for a little while he'd have more of a chance of them catching him.
What was worse? Him walking in on them or them walking in on him?
He was painfully aware of what a bad idea this was now.
Okay. It was fine. Haley wouldn't be too mad. It was just a coincidence. Well... Half of a coincidence. She might think it was that.
He waited a few minutes, before beginning his trek back up the trail, trying to avoid thinking too deeply into the situation he'd put himself in.
After a little while, he reached the top.
He had to admit, it was pretty.
He'd love coming here with just Haley.
There was even a nice looking bench to sit on.
He heard Brooke's loud voice coming up the trail a few minutes later, causing his palms to sweat.
"Shh, there's someone else here," An unknown voice said, most likely belonging to Brooke's husband, Julian.
"Nathan?" Brooke whispered loudly.
Nathan looked over his shoulder at his name, raising his eyebrows to look surprised and offering a small wave.
"Uh... Hey guys," He said, frowning slightly when he noticed that it was just Brooke and Julian. Where were Haley and Adam?
"What are you doing here?" Brooke asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
Nathan shrugged, standing up. "I'm hiking."
"By yourself? On a Friday night?" Brooke asked him, shaking her head.
"Yep," Nathan answered, looking over at Julian. "Hi, I'm Nathan Scott."
"Nathan Scott," Julian said, looking over at Brooke, who nodded to confirm his suspicions. "I'm Julian Baker, Brooke's husband."
"Nice to meet you," Nathan said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It's such a nice night. Sky has the perfect amount of clouds in it for a sunset."
"Sure, yeah," Brooke said, looking out at the sky. "So, you just showed up here. Tonight. Randomly."
"That's correct," Nathan confirmed.
She was definitely onto him. Brooke was smart.
"That is so random. Isn't it random, Julian?" Brooke asked, resting her hand on her husband's arm.
"Um, yep," Julian said, shrugging. "A really strange coincidence that you don't need to spend too much time thinking about, Brooke."
Where were Haley and Adam? Had they decided not to come? Had they decided to just spend the evening together instead?
"I'm starting to think this was a bad idea!"
He heard Haley say from down the trail, followed by laughter.
"It's okay, I'm just getting eaten alive by Mosquitos. Nothing to be concerned about," Adam's voice replied.
"You put on bug spray!" Haley laughed again.
Nathan felt his heart clench. He knew Brooke was watching him, but he didn't care.
Only a second later, the two came into view.
"Nathan," Haley spoke, her eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"Hey," Nathan said, nodding at her. "Mr. Strong."
"You can call me Adam," Mr. Strong laughed, nodding at him. "I prefer it. I'd have the kids call me that if it was allowed. Mr. Strong makes me seem way tougher than I am."
Haley laughed at his joke, glancing up at him, before looking back at Nathan.
"Nathan decided to hike here today too," Brooke informed Haley, sending her a small smile.
"I see," Haley confirmed, sending him a weird look.
She knew it. Clay was going to be pissed at him.
"Well... You're welcome to join us," Adam said, gesturing between them. "It sure is beautiful."
"I agree," Julian added, looking down at Brooke.
He could tell Julian was trying to tell Brooke to calm down with his subtle glances. No one there was oblivious, except maybe Adam.
"I don't want to intrude," Nathan said lamely.
"You're not," Adam laughed, shrugging. "I mean, it's not like we own the sun, or this place for that matter."
"Haha, you are SO right!" Haley said, putting way too much emotion into it.
He could see how annoyed she was right now.
It made sense. Her ex crashing her date-not date- whatever.
Nathan could understand why she was mad.
But he had to come see for himself what was going on.
And the way they were laughing didn't sit well with him.
He'd never been so jealous in his life.
They were standing pretty close together, even now. They'd been closer until Haley realized that he was waiting for them at the top.
"So, Nathan. I'm curious, how did you find out about this hike?" Haley asked him, clearing her throat.
"I started running up this trail during the summer," He informed her, sending her a tight smile.
"That is so cool," Haley said, scowling at him.
"Hey, well..." Julian cut in, sighing softly. "If we keep talking, we're going to miss it."
"Haley, can I ask you a question really, really quick?" Brooke asked, not waiting for a response, grabbing Haley's hand and tugging her far enough away so none of the boys could hear them.
"Okay," Julian blew out, shaking his head. He stepped forward past the bench, spreading a blanket out along the mixture of grass and dirt.
When Adam pulled a blanket out of his own backpack, Nathan clenched his fists. He watched him spread it out, leaving distance between Julian and Brooke's.
Any other person might have felt extremely uncomfortable at this. But not him. Any discomfort he have was overtaken by a jealous rage that he didn't even know he could feel.
Adam had not done a single thing wrong. He made Haley laugh, he had not made her cry. He was a perfect gentleman, didn't break up with her over his fear of commitment. He probably liked her ideas, and didn't argue with her. Not like Nathan did.
Adam might be the most perfect man for Haley on this earth.
But did Nathan care? Not really. If he genuinely thought he had no chance left with Haley, he'd leave them alone. He wasn't going to let her get swept up in him without at least trying his hardest.
He glanced over to where Brooke and Haley were talking animatedly, making eye contact with Haley for a brief second but she turned away.
"She's great."
Nathan heard Adam whisper to Julian, who unfortunately was probably feeling the most uncomfortable out of anyone there.
"Yeah... She's a catch," Julian replied, scratching his neck. "So... Uh, how's your day been?"
"You know, day in the life of a teacher," Adam responded, clearing his throat and glancing over at Nathan. "Your son is a smart little guy."
"Yeah," Nathan answered, sighing softly.
"Brooke taught him last year. Loved him," Julian confirmed, nodding at Nathan.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Adam asked curiously, glancing over towards the women.
Nathan looked over again. Haley looked pretty mad. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all.
He made eye contact with Julian.
They both knew exactly what they were talking about.
"I did something really dumb today that I probably shouldn't have done," Julian said slowly.
Yikes. He was regretting this even more now.
"I see," Adam replied, clearing his throat. "Well... Nice."
"I'm sure you had good intentions though, didn't you?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Maybe so. But that still doesn't mean I should've done it," Julian responded, sighing softly. "You know... I'm going to go join them. I'll be right back."
"So..." Adam trailed off, raising his eyebrows at Nathan. "How are things going?"
"Good, good," Nathan responded, clenching his jaw. "What about you?"
"Really great," Adam admitted, smiling over in Haley's direction. "What's she like? Outside of her bubble? I'm assuming you know her well since your kids are best friends."
"Oh," Nathan began, clearing his throat. "She's nice..." He trailed off.
He could explode. But he had to control it. He was on thin, thin ice. This had to be a moment that he kept it together.
"That's all you've got for me, man?" Adam laughed, shrugging. "I can tell that she's nice."
Nathan looked over as the sun was beginning to set, feeling sick to his stomach.
He looked down when Haley stepped up next to him, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
"Are you staying?" Haley asked him, sending him a pointed look.
"I just remembered that I can't," Nathan responded slowly, letting out a sigh. "See you tomorrow, though."
"Yeah, I'll text you," Haley said simply, taking a seat on the blanket.
"Bye guys," Nathan mumbled, hanging his head in slight defeat, heading back down the trail.
Maybe he should have just listened to Clay and left Haley alone for the night.
But just maybe... This was going to work out in his favor.