AN: *Waves white flag* Please don't hate me. I know I am a terrible person, but I just had major writer's block and then I got really busy and okay, I'm done with excuses. Wait, I lost my free period when it became the new semester, resulting in me losing close to four hours (I really did the math) of writing time per week. Okay, now I'm done.
Disclaimer: If I f-ing owned this show than I wouldn't have let James Lafferty only sign up to be on seven episodes in the last season. I would have strapped him to a chair and made him act! Oh, I am so funny. #irony. I hope I didn't just put a hashtag there, this isn't Twitter. Okay, stop ranting, Megan, you're insane, you're scaring away the readers.
Don't make it bad,
Take a sad song and make it better,
Remember to let her under your skin,
Then you'll begin to make it better
Hey Jude- The Beatles
"You're house is awfully quiet." Brooke muttered against his lips as she pushed him into his house.
"They're out." He answered simply, not wanting to be rude and ignore her comment but also not wanting to interrupt their current state of intimacy.
"It's a school night. Where the hell is everyone?" Brooke asked, finally pulling away from Lucas, causing him to sigh. He knew that she was just concerned for him, but he didn't want to talk about his family.
"Dan and Deb had to go to some business dinner or something." Lucas answered, hoping she wouldn't ask about Nathan, but he knew that she would anyway. He didn't know if Nathan wanted people to know what he was doing tonight, but he didn't want to lie to Brooke either.
"And Nathan…" She started, clearly wanting Lucas to finish for her.
"He's out with Haley." He answered, letting out a defeated sigh as he took a seat on the couch.
"What?" Brooke asked, shocked as she took a seat beside Lucas.
"He asked her to go out and she agreed. He wants to fix things with her. Listen, Brooke, I know you're not Haley's biggest fan, but please just give her a chance if she's able to mend things with Nathan. She's really nice and-" He stopped once he was interrupted by Brooke.
"What are you talking about, I don't not like Haley."
"Brooke, come on, it's clear you haven't been getting along. Haley told me that you had an argument."
Brooke rolled her eyes before explaining herself, "It was just that, Lucas, an argument. She didn't like what I had to say because she was being a baby. She doesn't want to take any responsibility for her situation with Nathan right now and it's not fair."
"Why would she have to take any responsibility for anything? She didn't do anything wrong."
"Oh yeah?" Brooke began, "They didn't have to lose contact in the first place or in the least she didn't have to react so harshly when he did find out. She's being a bitch. I'm not saying that she didn't have a right to be hurt or mad, but it comes to a time where it's enough. Nathan's sorry, he can't change it and she has to move on."
"See, you don't like her. Which is fine, you can feel how you want, just for Nathan's sake."
"If she treats Nathan well and doesn't make him feel any worse about himself than we won't have a problem. I just think Nathan deserves a friend. Plus, I am already helping him try to win her back, so you can save it, I'm way ahead of you."
+++++++She Paints Me Blue+++++++
Nathan slowly made his way back to his car that he parked along the docks. He felt bad about Haley having to make her own way back to her apartment by herself, especially at night, but he let her, not wanting to push her. He didn't think it would be a good idea to go over his limits. Plus, he needed sometime alone to himself anyway.
He never really knew Taylor, but neither did Haley. Taylor was the sibling that snuck out at night and wore too much makeup, especially considering she was only fourteen when he left. She was the one that Haley considerably liked the least- there was always a feeling of betrayal when Haley talked about her sister. Nathan knew Haley hated the fact that she could never really trust her sister, and that they never really got along.
Still, that didn't make her death hurt any less, for both Haley and Nathan. She was still there, still a part of his childhood and his old life.
As he made his way home he couldn't stop himself but thinking that that was the problem—his old life. It was old for a reason. He's far from who he was then and even though he may have liked where that Nathan was going better than where he is now, he couldn't change it and he didn't like being tied down and bounded to that Nathan. It was too much responsibility, and what he felt were, too many expectations. He wanted to be there for Haley, be a person who could be her best friend again, but if that meant being put up to the same expectations as eleven year old Nathan had then he didn't think he could do it.
"How'd your dinner go?" Lucas asked right as Nathan walked into the house, as Nathan sighed in response. He knew there was no way he was getting out of talking about it, but he still had a little hope.
"Fine." He answered shortly, though taking a seat next to Lucas on the couch anyway, facing the inevitable conversation.
"Did you know her sister died?" Nathan asked, getting straight to the point.
Lucas looked taken aback for a moment before redeeming himself and shaking his head slightly, "No, I had no idea. Is she alright?" He asked, concerned.
"Yeah, she's fine. She died before Haley even came to Tree Hill. She wasn't the best sister in the first place, but she still lost her sister and now her parents are off too and she doesn't have anyone."
Lucas didn't respond at first, he just sat, taking in his brother's response. It's one of the first times since he first moved to Tree Hill that he saw Nathan look upset or desperate or vulnerable and not hide behind some façade. It also didn't go unnoticed by Lucas that the only times he's ever seen Nathan in such a state is when it had to do with Haley. He respected their relationship and admired his brother's ability to care so much about someone.
"She has you, Nate. And me and Jake. She'll get through it." Lucas offered, not completely sure how he should deal with his brother's current state, but trying anyway.
It seemed that Nathan immediately tensed up, realizing that he was looking vulnerable in front of his brother and tried to change the subject.
"What are you doing this weekend?"
Lucas frowned slightly at his brother's obvious attempt at changing the subject, but he went along with it anyway, "I don't know. What's going on?"
"Haley's birthday is next week. You should throw her a surprise party."
"I should?" Lucas asked, confused at Nathan's suggestion. He didn't even know it was her birthday. Plus, it seemed like a good shot at redemption, he thought Nathan should be the one taking that bait.
"Yeah. You can throw it at the beach house and tell her that you want her to come over. Jake could even bring her or something."
"That's not exactly what I was confused about," Lucas murmured to himself as he watched his brother walk and grab a notebook from the bookshelf in their den.
Lucas continued to watch as his brother searched intently through the pages of the marble notebook. He had to stifle a laugh that he knew threatened to come out of his mouth. He looked like a child, being so excited and enthusiastic over the smallest of things.
"I already have everything planned out and set up- Brooke and Peyton helped me to organize it, you would just need to invite some people you think she may like to see there, lure her there and take the credit."
"Nathan, I don't know—," Lucas started, feeling bad about the plan. He thought that it was a great idea and a nice plan and didn't want to get all of the credit for it.
"Lucas, please. It would mean a lot to her, and to me. She has to know she has someone."
"She has you," Lucas started only to be interrupted by a rather desperate sounding Nathan, "Lucas, please."
Lucas sighed while running a hand over his face. Even though he still didn't feel completely sure about the situation, he knew that he would be unable to say no to him, "Alright, just give me the details."
Lucas couldn't help but reciprocate the smile that he saw creep onto Nathan's face once he agreed. He was genuinely glad that his brother was this happy—he was getting places and making progress.
+++++She Paints Me Blue+++++
Haley seriously considered ditching school the next day but decided against it. She would have to face Nathan again sometime and she knew that hiding in the meantime and falling behind on her school work would not help her situation.
She had a rough night, playing the details of their 'date' over in her mind. Haley quickly began to feel bad about the way she treated Nathan the night before. She knew that last night she was still angry at him because of him not recognizing her, but she knew she blew the rest way out of proportion. She was so upset and confused about Taylor and her parents and he was the only one there to yell at, so she blew up at him, which she knew truly was not fair.
Though, on the other hand, Haley still had a hard time with him forgetting her. She came to the conclusion that that is not simply because he couldn't recognize her, but because of what meaning came out of it. He didn't recognize her. Maybe it was subconsciously. Maybe he had had a better life in North Carolina without her; maybe he didn't want to remember her. She didn't realize how presumptuous and maybe even unfair she was being by thinking he would remember her and that he would drop everything to accept her. That was a different Nathan- of course he changed in five years, she knows that she certainly has. In the end, she just came to the conclusion that she was really messed up and had to figure out what the hell was going on.
"Hey Haley, you doing anything Friday?" Jake asked Haley during homeroom, seemingly breaking her out of some sort of daze.
He was excited about this party and figured it would be a good thing for Haley. He had learned about all of the stuff that she was going through and he wanted to help her out in any way that he could.
"Oh, I'm sorry, what did you say?" Haley asked quietly, clearly not being too keen on the conversation Jake was trying to make with her.
"I asked if you were doing anything on Friday. Are you alright? You seem kind of off." He said, picking up on Haley's hesitance.
Once she realized that she was acting slightly out of the normal, Haley plastered a smile on her face and shook her head no slightly, "Yeah, I'm fine. And no, I have nothing to do on Friday."
"Alright," Jake began hesitantly, not believing her, "That's great, because Lucas and I want to celebrate with you on Friday at Lucas' beach house."
"Celebrate?" Haley questioned.
"Yeah, it's your birthday next week, isn't it?" Jake asked with a smile, knowing that he wasn't wrong—his source was very reliable.
"Uh, yeah it is, but that's okay, we don't need to celebrate." Haley stated, trying to get herself out of it. She loved spending time with Jake and Lucas, but she didn't need them throwing her a mini party- it almost seemed pathetic to her.
"Come on, it'll be fun." Jake said, trying to convince her. This was the one thing that he had to successfully do for this surprise party and he was not going to let himself fail.
"Fine. What time should I-?"
"Great. I'll pick you up at seven." Jake said excitedly before walking away, leaving a questioning Haley behind.
…
Lucas sighed as he entered the beach house. He knew a gathering hosted by Nathan was going to have a lot of people that Haley didn't necessarily care about and a decent amount of alcohol, but he didn't think that it was just going to be just an average other high school party, with the only indication of it being anything otherwise is the banner, streamers and balloons in the house. No one seemed to notice though, or care, that they were supposed to be there for a specific event. Lucas thought there would have been at least people hiding behind couches and jumping out with a "surprise" but there was nothing. Haley was going to hate it.
He considered his options. Telling Haley not to come, tell her Dan decided to use the beach house tonight. Or maybe just send her to Jake's house instead and let the three of them hang out there. He didn't want to bring Haley here.
Lucas decided to make his opinions known once he found Nathan, "What the hell is this, man? She's going to hate this."
Nathan looked slightly taken aback at first. He was slowly allowing himself to get used to the fact that Haley was not only his now, and other people considered her too. Though, he quickly recovered, responding to Lucas' protests, "No she's not. I know her, Luke."
"Are you kidding me? I was only able to drag her to one party so far and she had a miserable time at that one." Lucas defended, crossing his arms as he accused his brother.
Nathan subconsciously shuddered at the mention of the party Haley was at in Tree Hill, though he was unsure if that shudder came about because of the events that happened on the beer pong table or the way he made her feel after.
"Well, this is different. This is a birthday party, now stop questioning me, Lucas, you're pissing me off."
"Fine," Lucas began, starting to grow mad himself, "Then you take the wrap for this party. I don't need her getting mad at me. Oh wait, is that what this is? Are you trying to sabotage my relationship with Haley?"
"Jesus, Lucas, what are you on? I'm not sabotaging you, she's going to love it. You're pathetic, man."
Lucas sighed in defeat as Nathan walked away to greet a few new party goers. He didn't know what his brother was up to, but he didn't want to ruin this night for him, or for Haley for that matter.
+++++++++++++++++She Paints Me Blue+++++++++++++
"Jake, what the hell is this?" Haley questioned as she pulled up to the beach house with Jake.
The music was blasting from the house and you could hear it straight through the closed doors of his car. The guys from the basketball team carrying a keg into the front door didn't help either.
Jake looked panic momentarily, before opening his mouth to say something, willing something to come out, though it didn't prove to be sufficient. He didn't know what to say, he himself was surprised at the type of party that he was about to enter. Yeah, he knew it was Nathan throwing the party, but he still thought it would have had more class then it already appeared to have. It was, after all, for Haley.
"Dammit, Jake, are you kidding me? What the hell is this? I knew something was up once you refused to take Jenny with us."
"Uhh, I don't, I don't know, maybe... Hey, look, it's Peyton, you like Peyton, right?" Jake started, then finished once he spotted a certain pretty blonde girl who was headed their way. He was grateful for the distraction and for the chance that we would be able to get off the hook of convincing Haley to stay.
"No, Jake," She started, but was interrupted once Jake walked out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him. Haley then let out a heavy, dramatic sigh and muttered a curse under her breath before following suite and exiting the vehicle as well.
"Hey, Haley. They're telling me it's your birthday, so I guess I owe you a Happy Birthday." Peyton greeted the girl she had come to like over the past few weeks.
"Thanks." Haley retorted sharply, faking a smile, knowing that her annoyance was being placed incorrectly, but being unable to stop herself nonetheless.
Since Haley was told about the supposedly cozy gathering she was rather concerned and alert, and when she was told it would be taking place at the Scott beach house, well, that was just icing on the cake for her. She knew something was certainly up, considering that since she had been in Tree Hill there had not been a single weekend when there was not a party at the Scott residence. She didn't think that the kids of Tree Hill High would have been so considerate in giving up their party hall for one weekend. Haley had guessed correctly.
"Were you not expecting this?" Peyton asked, slightly uncomfortable and with a knowing look on her face.
Nothing inside the house was going to be welcoming to Haley, or anything that would scream surprise party, causing Peyton to be unsure if that that was what was truly going on. Yeah, there were pretty decorations, but wasn't Haley supposed to be the focus of the party, then? And since she knew she wouldn't be once they got inside, Peyton didn't necessarily consider it a surprise party, so she felt no reason to hide it.
"Let's just go inside. Lucas is waiting for you." Jake suggested, though all three people could hear the hesitance and uncertainty in his voice. He clearly didn't know what to do either.
Haley only nodded as she followed Jake and Peyton into the house. She hadn't really considered who was throwing her the party, and accordingly who she would be offending by not entering and appreciated it. If Lucas was the one throwing her the party, the best she could do by him and their friendship would be to but a happy game face on and look appreciative. She supposed that he didn't necessarily know her that well yet, and would let him off of the hook, though giving him a stern warning in school on Monday that he may never have the ability to reproduce if he did such a thing again.
Haley practically gagged on the alcohol that was oh so present in the air when she went through the doors of the beach house. There was an overabundance of partying teenagers in her path to the kitchen to search for Lucas and to thank him. Though, she was blockaded once she was spotted by a certain boy she had been avoiding for a while now.
"Hey, Haley, Happy Birthday." Nathan began, uncertain of how to approach her, not even sure if she would allow him the opportunity to approach her.
Haley offered Nathan a small, polite smile before responding to him, "Thanks. Have you seen Lucas, I uhh, I want to thank him for this." Haley finished, gesturing around the house, with an unconvincing voice, while the both of them exchanged faces, silently acknowledging Haley's true opinion of the party.
Nathan sighed, the true reason behind it unbeknownst to Haley at the current time. "Yeah, I think I saw him go somewhere with Brooke."
"Oh, okay, thanks." Haley said, smiling awkwardly before turning to leave.
"Haley, wait," Nathan interrupted her departure, "I'm sorry about the other night. I think we should talk. I want to talk."
"Yeah, I know we do, just not now, alright? I want to try and have a good time." Haley replied, turning and finally being able to slip into the crowd, leaving a tired Nathan behind.
Haley sighed in relief when she left her conversation with Nathan. She was always so tense whenever she saw him nowadays. It was sad to her, but the truth nonetheless.
She could only imagine where Brooke and Lucas went to, and shook her head when she was presented with images that she did not every want to see again. Although, she still continued her search for her friend, wanting to talk to him about the party, all the while hoping she wouldn't have to find him in a compromising position.
She once again let out a sigh in relief when she found Brooke leaning against the keg in the kitchen, talking to some girl that Haley recognized as cheerleaders. Although she wasn't necessarily on the best foot with Brooke, she still went to approach her, hoping she would be able to lead her to Lucas.
"Hey, Broo-"
"Haley! Hey, Happy Birthday! Do you want a drink?" A very drunk Brooke asked, temporarily forgetting her anger at the blonde, while cutting Haley off and gesturing to the keg.
While shaking her head 'no', Haley continued with the conversation, "Have you seen Lucas, I want to thank him?"
"Thank him," Brooke scoffed, "Why do you want to thank Lucas?"
"For throwing me this party." Haley explained, forcing herself to not roll her eyes at the very intoxicated girl standing in front of her.
"Well if you're looking to thank someone for this, then you're looking for the wrong Scott brother."
Haley scrunched her face is confusion before making it known, "What are you talking about?"
"Nathan was the one to throw you this party, I mean, it was all his idea. He has a whole notebook made up and everything, it was so cute!" Brooke explained, smiling at the end of her answer. Since she was forgetting that she wasn't exactly keen on Haley, her racing thoughts allowed herself to think of Nathan and Haley's relationship romantically, which was something she thought should be seriously considered.
"But Jake said it was Lucas' idea, he said that he did all of the planning and everything." Haley countered, while shaking her head in denial. Brooke was drunk, she didn't know what she was talking about.
"Oh, that's right!" Brooke started, throwing a hand over her mouth, "That part was supposed to be a secret, too. Nathan wanted Lucas to take all the credit for this at another pathetic attempt to make you like him again. Boo, I forgot I didn't like you." Brooke pouted, finally remembering her stance on Haley.
"Oh, I—"
"Hey, Haley, Happy Birthday. Do you like the party?" Lucas interrupted their conversation. He looked somewhere between concerned and confused. He knew very well that the two girls didn't particularly get along.
"You mean, do I like the alcohol infested high school party that's measly disguised with a couple of streamers? No, not really. But, you know, it's a good thing you don't have to worry about that considering it was all Nathan's idea."
Lucas winced when he realized his secret had been revealed and now he was in trouble with his friend. He feigned innocence, "I'm sorry about that, but it was all Nathan's idea, okay? He was desperate; I couldn't tell him that I wouldn't do it. He would have been crushed."
Haley sighed before replying, "I know, I'm sorry, I just… Never mind, just, have you seen him, Nathan?" Haley let out quietly. She was slightly thrown back right now.
"Yeah, I think I saw him go out back." Lucas answered, fighting a smile. He was genuinely happy that Haley was looking for him. He really wanted the two friends to become friends again.
Flashback
"TV is so ridiculous. High school parties are not that extreme." Haley commented with a roll of her eyes as the thought of it really sunk into her. A bunch of immature kids illegally drinking was not very appealing to the ten year old who was rather content to spend her Friday nights with the Scott's big, empty house, popcorn, a bad movie and her best friend.
"And how would you know? You've been to many?" Nathan asked with a sarcastic smirk, while plopping down onto the couch next to his best friend, with rocky road ice cream in hand.
"Ha, ha." His best friend retorted with a smile, taking a spoonful of the ice cream that was being extended to her.
Reveling in the taste of the ice cream and the familiarity of the situation she let out a satisfied smile.
"I mean, why would I ever want it to be different than this, you know? This is perfect; this is where I'm happiest. I don't think I'd ever want to waste a Friday at some party when I could spend it with you." Haley explained, watching as her best friend genuinely smiled at her comment.
"Well, who said I don't ever want to go to any of those big parties, James? Who says I'm not going to ditch this scene?" Nathan questioned teasingly. Yeah, he thought about high school, and of course he wanted to go to those parties, especially knowing that most of them would be for celebrating him and his basketball accomplishments but, in reality, he agreed with Haley. This would always be where he would be happiest. This is where he would always want to be, too.
"Oh, shut it, Nathan, you'd miss me too much." Haley teased back, though with a very slight sense of uncertainty in her voice.
Haley wasn't stupid, even at the age of ten, she knew what was going to happen in high school. She knew that Nathan would ever completely let her go or ditch her, but she knew it would be different. You'd have to be blind to say that Nathan had no talent playing basketball, and that was going to take him far in life, and far away from her in high school. She had no place in the scene that he was going into and it scared her to death on occasion.
"You're right," Nathan agreed, breaking Haley out of her thoughts, "But that's why we're going to go to parties together. Me and you, those high school parties will never know what hit them." Nathan smirked.
"Yeah, right," Haley laughed, "That's what's going to happen to me in high school, I'm going to become a crazy party girl."
"Hey, you're making this a joke, I'm completely serious." Nathan started, and then began to clarify once he saw that she was just dismissing his comments, "Haley, I'm serious. You just wait 'til high school, I'm going to throw you a birthday party like that. It'll be for your sweet sixteen."
"Then I'm not going." Haley countered.
"Oh, yes you are, you can't not go to a party someone throws for you." Nathan responded.
"I can do whatever I want. You better not throw me a party like that, or I will hate you for forever." Haley finished, yelling in a jokingly manner.
"Yeah, we'll see." Nathan muttered, sighing in defeat. Haley might have thought she won with the satisfied smirk that was plastered on his face, but she'll just have to see in six years.
End Flashback
After the conversation with Haley, Nathan wasn't much in the partying mood. It's not that the conversation went extraordinarily bad or anything, but it reminded him too much of the past. He remembers very clearly their first conversation about the high school parties, where he promised that he would throw her one for her sixteenth birthday. On that day, when he pictured the party, it was nothing like it was today.
For starters, Damien was supposed to be there. The annoying kid would have lured Haley to the household, with her being extremely reluctant because she obviously knew what was coming. It also would have really been her first high school party, not the second. And most importantly, she wouldn't be inside, talking to the brother that at that time he didn't even know he had—she definitely would have been enjoying it with him, after she got over the initial fury that he did indeed throw her an average high school party. But he didn't let himself think about the possibility that she may have even been kissing him at this party because something, by this point, would have happened between them. No, he wouldn't let those thoughts happen at all.
His thoughts led him outside, to the beach, where he took a seat on the sand. The party was too overwhelming at this point and he just needed some fresh air. So, he'd been on the beach, basking in self-pity for the last while.
"It's a nice night today." Nathan heard a small voice say, breaking him out of his thoughts. He instinctively smiled when he recognized the voice and felt the owner of it sit on the sand next to him.
"You're a year late, you know." Haley teased, with a slight smile, hoping that Nathan did through her this type of a party because of his promise from when they were ten, and not because he thought she would truly enjoy it.
He smiled at what she said, ecstatic that she remembered. "Seventeen's the new sixteen, right?" He teased back.
Haley laughed lightly, feeling relieved about Nathan's acknowledgement. The duo fell into a comfortable silence as both their thoughts took over. Haley didn't know what to make of the revelation. She didn't really expect Nathan to remember and to do it all for her. She especially didn't understand why he was hiding the fact from her. Why did he let Lucas take credit for the party? Maybe he wanted to keep his promise, but hoped that Haley wouldn't realize. She didn't know if he did it because he felt he owed it to himself or because he wanted to make Haley happy.
Haley came to the conclusion at this moment in time that she was no longer mad at Nathan. It was a mistake and she's over it. But the thing that still gets to her, the thing that she is still very unsure about is how Nathan feels. She really doesn't want to push him back into their friendship; she should never have come back to Tree Hill and forced such a decision on Nathan. She still couldn't get over the feel that she was forcing all of this on him and that he very easily could have been better off without her.
Haley started to feel overwhelmed, even more so when she remembered why she came here in the first place. She was unable to take it anymore, she needed someone to talk to and Nathan was the only person here at the moment. Haley didn't care if he wished to talk to her or not, she needed to talk to him.
"It just, it just hurts so badly, Nathan." Haley let out, quietly, barely breaking the silence that they were enveloped in.
Hearing her sad voice, Nathan looked up at her. It crushed him to see her like that, with the tears welling in her eyes and her voice being cracked. And it didn't help that he was still the one that was causing her to feel such a way.
"Haley, I know," Nathan started his apology desperately, "I'm sorry, I know I didn't remember you, but—"
"I mean, I was never her number one fan," Haley started, interrupting Nathan, realizing he had misunderstood her, "And she mine, but, you know, she's my sister. And then I get blamed. I think that's the part that gets me the most. They blame me, Nathan. They're mad at me and they couldn't handle me anymore. They say it's all my fault."
Nathan suddenly grew even sadder, though equally happy at the same time. Sad for Haley, and what she was going through; it pained him that anyone would hurt Haley intentionally, he knew that Haley deserved nothing but the best from everyone she came in contact with. Happiness for himself and their relationship; this was clearly some sort of breakthrough for them. She was being needy and vulnerable with him again. She was acting like he was her best friend.
"It's not your fault." Nathan responded in a small but strong voice, needing to convince her of what he was saying.
"Of course it is," Haley fought back, "They're my parents, and they practically disowned me now because of it. They wouldn't do that- wouldn't stop talking to me if there wasn't a reason for it."
"They're just upset, Haley. They're in denial and they're thinking irrationally. I promise you they'll come around, okay. You're amazing, Haley. It's not your fault Taylor died, its Taylor's."
At this point Haley had nothing else to say, and could only respond by launching herself into Nathan's arms and crying on his shoulders.
"I've missed you, Nathan. You always make me happy."
A/N: IT'S DONE! I am so incredibly sorry that it took me so long. I am the worst person ever, I know, but this is the longest chapter yet, by more than one thousand words, so I hope that that helps in making up for it.
Please review, if you do you'll get a preview (once I start writing chapter 10)!
Thank you!
-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown
