Bad news comes don't you worry,

even when it lands,

good news will work its way to all them plans

and we'll all float on OK

Float On- Modest Mouse

Two Weeks Later

Haley took one last glance at her phone before switching off the volume and shoving it deep into her oversized pocketbook, right past the smuggled Sour Patch Kids. She took her seat next to Damien and gave him a soft smile when she saw the familiar look of concern he was casting her with. They both know she is not really okay, especially when after despite everything Nathan has been ignoring all her attempts at communication since she came back to California, but she figures the best way to get past this latest ache of loss is to fake happiness until she actually starts to feel it.

Haley tries her best to pay attention to the movie she paid $5 for but is unsurprisingly unsuccessful, as she has been in most of her recent attempts to focus on whatever task is at hand. Her mind wanders to the last night and morning in Tree Hill. It had been heartbreaking, but she truly felt that her and Nathan could maintain this long-distance friendship. They had spent the remainder of the night on the couch and in each other's arms. There was a slight hiccup when her dad grumpily woke them up early in the morning, not all too pleased to see his teenage daughter in the arms of a boy, but the rest of the departure had run smoothly.

Nathan had driven the James' to the airport and ate a nice, albeit quiet breakfast with them before they went through security. They shared a long, tender hug and told each other they loved and would miss the other. He promised they would keep in touch. He seemed sad, of course, but she honestly thought she saw some sort of hope in his eyes. Now she thinks she must've read him wrong.

She has been in contact with Lucas and Jake still, but minimally. She enthusiastically responds to every picture of Jenny she gets but doesn't want to get too much deeper with either boy. It's easier to push Nathan from her mind if she isn't reminded of him through constant contact with Lucas or having to listen to the boy mention his brother. Lucas is well aware of Nathan's radio silence and has tried to pawn excuse after excuse onto her but if she's being honest, she's pretty tired of Nathan's excuses. She understands that basketball practice is grueling, but so is switching schools and states twice in the span of a few months and she doesn't seem to have trouble making time for him.

In reality, the longer Nathan ignores her, the more she thinks he was right. California is just too far from North Carolina. Their lives are too separate. Maybe she should just forget about him and fall back into bed with Damien. It would be so easy to go back to her life the way it was before she'd gone to Tree Hill. Maybe she'll give it a try.

++++++++++++++++++She Paints Me Blue ++++++++++++++++++

Lucas minimized the Word document with his Hamlet paper and refreshed his e-mail for what had to be the 10th time in the last hour. He sighed in defeat before promptly closing his laptop. He hadn't heard from Haley in 5 days and even then, it had just been a response to the group text with him, her, and Jake, saying how Jenny looked adorable in her princess dress and how she missed her. She hasn't responded to any of his private, more personal messages.

He walks out of his room, knowing dinner will be ready soon and needing a break from homework and his concerns for both Haley and his brother. He plans on walking all the way to the kitchen to see if Deb needs help setting the table when he spies that his brother's door is open for a change.

Nathan has stuck to a pretty rigid schedule since Haley left. He wakes up at 6am for a before school workout, followed by classes, basketball practice, tutoring, and another workout. He hardly even shows for dinner these days, and if he does his only contributions to the conversation are grunts when Deb asks if he had a nice day. It's only been two weeks since Haley left and everyone seems to understand that Nathan just needs his space to adjust.

Today, however, it seems that something has interrupted Nathan's routine. Lucas peeks into his room and sees Nathan rummaging through his desk drawers. Lucas leans against the door frame while knocking on the open door.

Nathan groans in response, throwing a quick glance in Lucas' direction. Lucas can pick up on the fact that Nathan had only left the door open accidentally in his haste to search for whatever he is looking for, but still takes advantage of Nathan's mistake and stays.

"Need help looking for something?" Lucas asks casually.

Nathan's response is much curter, "No."

Lucas takes Nathan's actual verbal response as an invitation. He walks further into the room, right up to Nathan's desk and leans on the right side as Nathan's still digging through the left side drawers.

"What are you looking for?" Lucas pries.

"Nothing," Nathan responds.

Lucas nods and folds his arm. He truly just wants to get a gage of Nathan's emotions. He knows this loss was brutal for Nathan and he would love to help him transition if he would just let him.

Nathan slams closed the final drawer on the left side of the desk and looks pointedly at Lucas. When Lucas doesn't move more than an eyebrow raise, Nathan rolls his eyes and reluctantly speaks.

"Could you please get the hell out of my way?" He asks.

"Sure, once you tell me what's going on," Lucas replies.

"Christ, Lucas, why is everything such a project with you? I'm in my room, going through my drawers, did you ever consider that something could just be none of your business?" Nathan snaps.

Lucas doesn't outwardly react; he's used to Nathan's outbursts by now. They stare at each other for quite some time, waiting to see who would break first. Finally, Nathan sighs.

"Honestly, I don't know what you want from me, man," Nathan says, sounding much more defeated than Lucas was expecting.

Lucas softens at Nathan's tone, uncrosses his arms and gives Nathan a small smile.

"I just want to make sure everything is good with you, that's all. That's really all I ever care about, Nathan, just in case I haven't made that completely clear," Lucas explains.

Nathan raises an eyebrow at him, unconvinced, but doesn't directly respond to that. He does know Lucas pretty well by now though and knows he won't leave him alone until he gives him an inch.

"Honestly, Luke, I'm not looking for anything important. It's not like I'm looking for a bracelet Haley left behind or anything equally pathetic. Just something for school. You can relax. I'm fine."

"I didn't think it had anything to do with Haley," Lucas starts, quickly cut off by Nathan's sharp laugh.

"C'mon Luke, when was the last time we had a conversation that wasn't ultimately about Haley?" Nathan challenges.

Lucas stutters on a response. The truth is that Nathan's right. Ever since Haley came tumbling into their lives, she's been the center of it in one way or another.

"Okay, fine. You're right. I am here to talk about Haley," Lucas admits.

Nathan grins in victory, but shakes his head, "I honestly have nothing to say."

"I do," Lucas starts, "Just one thing, then I promise I'll leave you alone about it. I just… why are you not talking to her? Again? I mean, you guys were on good terms when she left. Why ruin it by cutting her out of your life?"

Nathan sighed and sat back in his chair. The truth was that he didn't have a great answer for Lucas. When he promised Haley that he would keep in touch with her as she went through the gate at the airport, he had meant it. Having Haley back in his life had meant everything to him. Reconnecting with her had made his life infinitely better. But the reality of Haley being gone and back on the other side of the country was another thing. Sure, he could send her a text. Ask about her day and what she did. But what would that really provide him with? That's not a connection, that's barely communication. It's keeping in contact with someone for the sake of keeping in contact. There was no real connection in it and it just felt forced. Like he was a pen pal instead of her best friend or… or even something more than that.

"It's just too hard, man," he told Lucas, "I don't want to just say 'hey' back and forth a couple times a week. I'm not getting anything out of it."

Lucas' eyes widened in shock at the straight answer he got, but he quickly tried to hide it. Nathan's eyeroll proved he was too slow. Nathan moved to get up and away from this conversation, but Lucas quickly stood from where he was lounging on Nathan's desk to stand in his path. Nathan raised an eyebrow in response.

Lucas took a deep breath before starting, "I really understand that, I do. I'm trying to talk to her, and it does sometimes seem superficial and it is hard to read her over text. But that doesn't mean you should just give up. Come on, Nathan, you must realize what your radio silence seems like to her and how she must be feeling. Imagine what she's thinking. That you don't care about her and you never did, even when she was here. That all the progress you guys had made was fake. You can't let her think those things. Her relationship with you is the most important thing to her. Don't make her suffer."

Both boys stood in silence for a moment after Lucas' speech. Nathan actually looked as though he were considering Lucas' words for once and Lucas watched the wheels spin in his head. Eventually Nathan looked back at Lucas and gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, you're right man, thanks. Close the door on your way out," Nathan replied, nodding to the door and turning to sit back in his desk and instantly clicking on the mouse, bringing his computer back to life.

Lucas hesitated for a second, unsure what he had inspired Nathan to do exactly. Deciding that whatever it was, it would probably be productive, he turned on his heel and followed his brother's instructions.

Later that evening as the Scott family gathers around the table for dinner, everything seems normal. Or, at least, normal for them. Dan and Nathan discuss basketball while Deb occasionally interjects and tries to steer the conversation into something a bit deeper but inevitably fails. Lucas responds when appropriate but mostly keeps glancing at Nathan out of the corner of his eye, trying to get a read on him, but he keeps acting normal.

It isn't until after basketball practice the following Friday night that Lucas realizes what Nathan's conclusion from their conversation had been.

Dan and Deb are in the foyer, getting ready to leave to some event, and Lucas is reading in the living room, when Nathan comes stampeding down the stairs. All eyes quickly turn to him and settle on the duffle bag in his hand. He tries to quickly slip past his parents and out the door but Deb stops him before he is able to.

"Where are you going?" She asks.

Nathan pauses and turns back to his parents, shifting his duffle bag from his right hand to his left. Lucas is shocked to find that he looks nervous. He's seen his brother go through a wide range of emotions before, but he's not sure he can say he's ever really seen him be nervous.

"I'm going to the airport," Nathan finally responds, seemingly much more confident as he holds his mother gaze when he says it.

Deb shakes her head in confusion, "The airport? For what?"

Nathan sighs like he doesn't have time for this and can't believe he's being asked so many questions before he gives his answer, "To see Haley."

"Haley's at the airport?" Deb asks, "She's back already?"

Nathan shakes his head, "No. I'm going to California for the weekend to visit her."

"What?" Deb replies, utterly lost, "You can't just go to California, Nathan. You need a ticket. You need a place to stay. You need to ask us."

"I have a ticket and a place to stay," Nathan starts, "And I'm going, I don't care about your permission."

"Like hell you are," Dan finally interjects, "You have basketball in the morning."

"No I don't. I already called Whitey to tell him I wouldn't make it. I haven't missed one practice this year, it's fine," Nathan answered.

"Nathan, I think it's great that you are so enthusiastic to see Haley, but this requires a bit more discussion. You have school on Monday and you are just a kid. Maybe next break me and you can…" Deb starts but is promptly cut off.

"No, I don't care what either of you say. It's done. I'm going," Nathan says before grabbing his keys from the decorative bowl by the front door and quickly sprinting out of the house.

He hears his parents both yelling his name and faintly registers his dad's feet running out the door, but Nathan is much quicker and is able to get his car started and backed out before he can hear any other real argument from anyone.

He pulls down the street and is happy to see there aren't any headlights pulling out behind him.

+++++++++++++ She Paints Me Blue ++++++++++++++

"That was actually a good movie, yeah?" Damien asks Haley as he's pulling down her block.

They had just seen another $5 movie and Damien was incessant on his task to convince Haley that any of the movies they saw were good. Haley was always adamant that he was wrong, because he was. They don't let you see good movies for just $5, but Damien remained unconvinced.

Haley laughed at her friend, "No, Damien, the effects were terrible and why was he her brother? It doesn't make any sense!"

"I cannot believe I am friends with you, you have such terrible taste," Damien shook his head in disgust, "It was a brilliant film, it just went over your head."

"Oh yeah, that's it," Haley sarcastically agreed.

Haley continued to smile as their conversation came to a natural pause. She was so grateful for Damien. The transition back to California had been almost as difficult as her move to Tree Hill but Damien had not given up on helping her readjust. She quickly fell back into their old traditions and was starting to find herself once again feeling genuinely happy, despite everything.

School had been easy enough. All her teachers were happy to see her back and all the clubs welcomed her with opened arms.

It was being back with her parents that had been quite the adjustment. She had grown used to being on her own and not relying on her parents, but they had made a complete 180. Before everything, they'd been pretty traditional parents. Of course, they were always there for her when she needed them and they provided her with meals and other essentials, but they'd always been pretty laidback and given her plenty of space to do her own thing. Now after everything, they were on top of her all the time. They'd even given her a hard time about going to the movies with Damien, which was something they never blinked an eye at in the past. It was frustrating, especially considering the complete abandonment right before they made her move back.

Plus, there was Nathan. He'd promptly gone back to ignoring her.

But Damien made her feel right at home. He was there immediately, ready to do whatever she needed him to. It was nice to have such a dependable and consistent person in her life.

Damien pulled into Haley's driveway. It was late on Friday night so she knew her parents would already be in bed and she began to pull her keys out of her bag. She looked to Damien to say goodnight but was caught off guard by the look on his face. He looked frozen but underneath it she could see a touch of some other emotion she couldn't exactly pinpoint. Maybe anger? Instead of asking him what was wrong, she followed his line of view. She is sure that her expression was instantly identical to Damien's.

The last thing she expected to see what Nathan sitting on her doorstep. She had barely heard anything from him in the past three weeks. And now here he was, just casually sitting on her doorstep all the way back in California? Just sitting across the house he grew up in like it wasn't a big deal to be back here? Like he didn't just come back to his home for the first time in at least five years?

Haley shook her head, at a complete loss for words. She'd previously had one hand on the door, ready to open it and go out, but now she was folded in on herself unable to move. What was she supposed to do with this?

"Do you want me to tell him to leave?" Damien asked, breaking the silence.

His voice was steady, but Haley could easily hear the fury behind it. That helped ground her a bit, because she wasn't so sure she was angry at Nathan. She didn't know if she had it in her anymore to be angry at him and she didn't think Damien starting a fight with him would be the least bit productive for her. Haley turns back to Damien and gives him the most reassuring smile she can muster.

"No, it'll be fine," Haley responds.

She turns once again to the door and is about to pull it open before Damien pulls her back.

"You don't need him, you know? You don't owe him anything."

"I know. I'll be fine, Damien. See you tomorrow at Sarah's party?" Haley asks.

Damien sighs, but finally gives a conceding nod. "Let me know if you need anything," he adds.

"I will. Thanks, Damien." Haley says before giving her friend a hug and finally going out the door.

She waits at the end of her driveway until Damien backs up and pulls away. Once he's gone, she takes a deep, steadying breath before turning to the boy in front of her. She slowly walks to him and stops when she's about a yard away. She looks at him and shrugs, not willing to be the one to start this conversation when she'd tried to initiate so many conversations over the past three weeks and all she got was silence.

"I'm sorry, Haley. It's so hard being away from you, I just…" Nathan stutters off.

"Is that it?" Haley asks after his long pause.

Nathan looks a bit taken aback by her blunt response.

"No, I…" Nathan begins.

"Save it," Haley interrupts, "I'm not interested. Go back to Tree Hill and delete my number. I hope you have a great life, honestly. But I can't keep doing this with you. Please get off my porch."

Nathan was left stunned by Haley's apathy. He had never seen her so detached. She nodded once, silently confirming something that Nathan wasn't privy to, before walking past him and going into her front door. She was about to close it when Nathan finally caught up with what was going on and tried to stop her.

"My parents are sleeping, do not make a scene. Go home Nathan." She said once more before shutting the door, locking it, and switching off the porch light.

Nathan was completely dumbfounded, and he stayed standing on her front porch for a long moment. He considered knocking on the front door anyway but thought better of it. He wasn't too familiar with the Haley he just saw but knew enough that he should be taking her seriously. He hopped in his rental car and made his way back to his hotel instead.

Nathan remained pretty numb for the remainder of the night, unsure of how he could mess up so badly so quickly but woke up with a renewed hope. He knew Haley was pissed at him. But he had made the grand gesture. He hopped on a flight to the other side of the country just to make it right with her. There is no way she could continue to ignore him. Especially if she felt even half the emotions he felt when looking at her.

He hopped in the shower and thought about what his next move should be. Though he was eager to go and see her again right away, he ultimately concluded that it would better to give her a bit more time to cool off. Haley always needed extra time to process things. He decided that he would give her the day to figure out what she wanted and maybe go back to her house around dinner time to see if she wanted to grab a bite and talk with him.

In the meantime, Nathan found himself wandering around his old neighborhood. He didn't really think much about it last night, his sole focus being reuniting with Haley, but it was pretty surreal to be back her again after all these years. Though he spent most of his childhood here, his memories seemed pretty distant. Or maybe he just suppressed them. Either way, he hadn't thought about these streets in years and being back was a shock to his senses. He almost felt 11 years old again, a scared, little boy struggling to find his place.

But another part of it felt natural. He navigated the streets he hasn't seen in years easily, making the correct lefts and rights out of pure muscle memory until he was outside of the little bakery he and Haley would frequent on Saturday mornings, back when it was just the two of them. He would always get a chocolate chip muffin and Haley would always get whatever was the baker's choice, feeling an obligation to try the new menu item in fear she would offend the baker she didn't know if she chose something else.

Nathan smiled despite himself at the happier times before opening the doors and walking into the bakery. It looked and smelled exactly as he remembered. It was pretty crowded since it was a Saturday morning and Nathan quickly made his way to the back of the line without really thinking about it. He glanced around the bakery, but none of the people looked familiar. It was a pretty small town, so he was pretty surprised at that, but also a bit relieved. He didn't know how he would feel about running into someone right now.

Slowly but surely, he made his way to the front of the line. He smiled at the cashier before ordering a chocolate chip muffin and the baker's special, which happened to be a lemon- blueberry-poppyseed scone he was not sure about. It didn't sound appealing to him and reminded him of just why he always thought Haley's mission was so unappealing.

The cashier got him his pastries and rung him up but kept looking shyly back at Nathan the whole time. She looked to be about his age so he scrounged his mind for who she could be but nothing came to mind.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Nathan asked as she was handing over the paper bag.

He decided to be straightforward, not wanting to offend anyone he should definitely know.

The girl blushed and smiled again before answering, "No, not really. You're Nathan right?"

Nathan nodded.

"My name's Millie. I'm a year younger than you but I actually always had a crush on you back in elementary school. I haven't seen you around here in years. Are you here to see Haley?" she said.

Nathan's eyebrows shot up at the girls reply. He was not expecting this girl to know him at all, let alone know his connection to Haley.

"Uh, yeah," he stuttered out, ready to get out of the bakery as quickly as he could.

"You guys should really come to Sarah's birthday party tonight," Millie started before Nathan could get away completely, "It's supposed to be the biggest bash of the year, the whole school is going to be there!"

Nathan nodded quickly while walking out the door. He had absolutely no intention of going to any party but he wanted to appease the girl so she'd let him go. He walked a few more blocks to a little park and took a seat at a picnic table. He looked reluctantly at the scone and decided against eating it. Maybe he could give it to Haley later as a peace offering. Instead he quickly devoured the chocolate chip muffin. In reality, Nathan knew it was a pretty generic muffin but there was something about it that tasted just like home.

After eating, he played a pick-up game of basketball and wandered around the town some more. He walked by all their old familiar spots, the school, the movie theater, the mall. He spent his day reacquainting himself with his old town and swimming in the memories of when he was 11 and it was just him and Haley against the world.

Before he knew it the sun was starting to set and Nathan made his way back to Haley's house. He hadn't really let himself think about what would happen once he got there all day and now that the moment was approaching, he was starting to feel really nervous. He didn't know what he would do if she still wasn't interested in talking to him.

He rang the doorbell before he could think twice about it, not wanting to give himself a minute to lose any nerve he still had. After a moment, Mr. James was at the door. That really caught Nathan off guard. He almost forgot that Haley was back with her parents and hadn't really factored them into the equation.

"Oh, hi, uh…" Nathan stuttered, "Is, uh, is Haley here?"

Mr. James did not look entertained. He stared blankly at the boy in front of him for a moment before responding.

"No, she's not. She's at some party down the block with Damien."

"Oh, uh, okay, thanks," Nathan stammered out, turning around to leave.

"Nathan," Mr. James called out before he could go all the way down the walk.

Nathan turned around, waiting for what the man would have to say.

"Just go back home. She belongs here. I know this is hard for both of you, but it will ultimately be much easier for the both of you if you nip this thing in the bud. Whatever it is, it can't survive long distance," Mr. James concluded.

Nathan gave him a tight smile before finally leaving, not wanting to get into it with Haley's dad.

Nathan remembered Sarah. She was a nice and very popular girl. She got along well with everyone, so he had talked to her a few times when he was younger. He had walked home with her one day after school when Haley was home sick with the flu so he knew where her house was. He wasn't really in the mood for a party when all he wanted to do was talk to Haley, but he figured he didn't have much of a choice at this point and he walked quickly to Sarah's.

The girl in the bakery was certainly right about the party, it was just dark, but it already seemed to be in full effect. There was loud music booming from the backyard and teenagers easily seen dancing in the front windows of the house. He watched two girls walk right in through the front door and he followed their lead, walking straight into the house without knocking.

He walked around the house a bit until he found Haley. She was in a corner with a cup in her hand, laughing with Damien and a few other people who he could not recognize. It made him regret coming to this party almost immediately. Walking around the neighborhood had been purely nostalgic, maybe a little melancholic, but mostly pleasing. It brought him back to when he was younger and made him feel a sense of calm he hasn't felt since then.

Walking into this party, with kids he hadn't seen in years but grew up with was something else entirely. It was jarring. A punch in the gut. He saw boys wearing letterman jackets and girls in cheerleading uniforms and it suddenly occurred to him how easily this all could have been his. If he hadn't had to move across the country. If his parents had thought of him and his needs for just one second, then this could be his reality. These would be his friends, his teammates. They should have been, were supposed to be. He realized he was staring at an image of what his life could've been and was hit with the reality of how much happier his life could've been if he had been able to stay. He suddenly felt the need to leave wash over him.

As he was making his way to the door to do just that, he was captured around the forearm by Millie. She was beaming at him, waving enthusiastically with her other hand, making whatever liquid was in her cup splash out all around her.

"I'm so glad you came!" She told him before turning back to her friends without letting go of his arm.

"See?" She prompted, lifting up Nathan's arm like it was some sort of prize, "I told you it was really Nathan Scott, he's here!"

"Oh my God, you're right!" Another girl next to Millie squealed, "You need to take a shot!"

Nathan shook his head "no", but it was fruitless. He was already being dragged arm first into the kitchen, surrounded by this group of girls he didn't know. He didn't want to be here taking shots with strangers, but quickly going through his options, it seemed like one of the more viable choices.

Obviously, he couldn't go up and talk to Haley right now. He was too on edge, feeling like he didn't belong and that he was an outsider looking in on Haley's life. This was Haley's turf now and he was a stranger. Plus, did she even want him to talk to her? She was laughing and appeared to be having a great time. Maybe she really was better off without him. And what was he supposed to do with that? He could barely comprehend his own feelings for Haley, he certainly didn't have the ability to handle Haley's feelings being anything less than reciprocal.

Probably the smartest thing to do would be to tuck his tail between his legs and head straight back to the airport, but something didn't feel quite right about that either. He had a really good time today reminiscing and seeing his old town. He didn't want to just abruptly leave because something wasn't working out for him right now.

So, take a shot it was. He threw back one, then another, and then another. Before he knew it, he was in the midst of a beer pong game with some people who claimed to remember him, but who he had no recollection of. Once he threw the ball into the opposing team's final cup, he stumbled away from the table before he could get pulled back into another round. He wandered around the house, wondering where exactly he was supposed to go from here. The concept of drinking to forget sounded fun in the moment, but he had no idea what the plan was now.

Then he turned the corner and once again ran into Haley. The house was big enough and the party spread out enough that he had been able to avoid her since first seeing her in the corner with Damien. She was currently sitting at a sectional, of course next to Damien, and a few other people he still couldn't recognize. There was a voice in his head telling him to turn the other way and walk out the door, but the inebriated part of his brain was louder. It was telling him to stop being a baby and to do what he had come on the airplane to do.

He strode right up to where Haley was sitting and stopped abruptly in front of her. She looked up at him, gorgeous brown eyes wide in surprise and his presence. He didn't really have a plan when he walked over, but at once he knew what he had to do. He was always letting her down, he knew that. It was because he was a screw up and had nothing to do with her. She was incredible. Singlehandedly the greatest person he's ever met. She had to know how important she was to him, how he could not live his life without her.

"Nathan?" She asked, "What are you doing here?"

Nathan laughed bitterly, "Oh, come on. You thought I'd just leave after one attempt at talking to you? I flew across the country, Haley, I'm not leaving that easily."

Haley watched Nathan sway as he talked, and her jaw tightened. "You should've just gone home, Nathan, that's what I told you to do. And you being drunk doesn't exactly make me want to have this conversation any more than yesterday."

"Stop, Haley, I'm so tired of this. I'm tired of biting my tongue around you. Everything I say hurts you somehow, so let me just say what I want to say for once!" Nathan exclaimed.

Haley looked around, aware that Nathan was getting loud and was starting to make a scene. She really didn't want to do this with him at all, but definitely not in front of the entire school.

"Fine," She said through gritted teeth, "but let's take it outside."

Haley stood up, intending to walk out with Nathan, but he didn't budge.

"No. No, I'm not following you outside just so you can tell me you don't want to hear it. I'm going to say it now, to everyone here, so that I know you actually understand me. I love you, Haley. You're my best friend. I've never had anyone else in my life that I could depend on or talk to like you. I literally can't even imagine any part of my life without you in it. I know I've been so shitty these last few years, being uprooted and taken away from the only thing in your life that matters could do that to a person.

"But I'm so sorry that you had to experience that side of me and that I've disappointed you by not being the person you want me to be. I just want to be a person that can make you happy, Haley. I want to be someone you can be proud of. I love you, Haley. That pretty much sums it up."

Nathan finished his rant and looked around somewhat sheepishly, it seemingly just occurring to him that they were in fact in front of a large crowd of Haley's peers. He looked back at Haley, who naturally did look rather mortified, but also maybe relieved?

She smiles shyly before speaking much more softly than he did, "Okay, Nathan. I forgive you. I get it. It is hard communicating cross country. We can come up with some system and figure it out. It's fine if it's not constant, I understand."

Nathan frowned at her words. He couldn't give less of a shit about how they communicated going forward. That wasn't the point. How did he get it so wrong, again?

"Okay, great, but that's not what I mean, Haley. I love you. Do you understand that? I can't live without you. I love you," he proclaimed, voice shaky.

Haley nodded slowly and grabbed his hand to try and help him relax some, "Yes, Nathan, I get it. I love you too. You're my best friend."

Nathan shook his head aggressively, removing his hand from Haley's grasp and running it down his face in exasperation.

"No, you don't get it. I love you, Haley. I'm in love with you. I have been since I was a kid, I think. You're my best friend, definitely, but also so much more."

Nathan watched Haley's eyes widen and mouth open and close, leaving him truly flabbergasted. Why was she so surprised? Haven't they kissed? Twice? He's always told her how important she is to him and just… it was just so obvious to him.

Haley who was now beet red, was utterly speechless. She stammered for a bit but was unable to really say anything. Finally, she stepped up to him, speaking so only he could hear.

"I'm sorry, I just," she paused, struggling to find the rights words that still couldn't seem to come, "I have to go."

"Haley, wait," Nathan called after her, but she didn't stop, leaving him drunk, embarrassed, and once again completely alone.

A/N: So we're back with another update in the same year as the last one! Woohoo! What an accomplishment! And we're down to only one chapter left! To be completely honest, I have developed a real interest in another fandom, which I haven't experienced this strongly in years and I have the desire to write fiction for it. But I have made a commitment to finishing this story so I'm not letting myself write anything else before I finish this. All this to say, I hope that the final chapter will be out soon-ish (at least for me). Thank you so, so much to everyone who reviews and continues to read. I truly appreciate it. I hope you enjoy, and I hope to see you soon for one last hurrah!

-Megan AKA ToBecomeAClown