Disclaimer: everyone knows this belongs to the WB. That's why it's a fan fiction. Rating: PG This is a future fic, so don't yell at me for them being a little out of character. Time can do that to you! Loopholes!

Prologue

"So this is it?"

She looked away, anywhere but his eyes. This was too hard everything about them was hard. Their relationship didn't start off like a fairy tale. Far from it. It was rocky and something always seemed to be in the way. May it be parents, friends, and even the status each held at school. But none of that all didn't matter anymore. Because they would both embark in a journey in life, which would not have anything to do with each other.

She was offered a job in Europe, one in which could start her career up high. And although she was offered a job at the Los Angeles Times, she knew she would only be a gofer there. But in Europe, she had the chance to start off high and end up beyond anyone else's expectations.

He was to be drafted for the Lakers, which meant the world to him.

But this also meant that either one of them gave up their dream or they take separate paths in life. And it was as simple was just breaking up and taking separate ways.

Nothing about them was simple. Ever.

"Please don't."

A river of tears were already springing out of her eyes, flowing down and hitting the front of his shirt. And the most unexpected thing was, he was the one that was clinging onto her, not willing to let her go.

"Can't we work this out?"

But both knew the answer to this. The distance was too much. They had both attended UCLA, both moving away from their dear little town in the East coast. What comforted them both was the fact that they were together. And now, that would no longer be such a comfort.

He didn't want to let her go. He didn't want to be rational. He wanted to be with her forever. But she was rational. And even though it hurt like hell, she knew what they had to do. They both did.

And with one final kiss, a passionate kiss, she let go, so they could both feel the cold breeze upon them. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box. Inside was a beautiful white gold bracelet, with 'Naley' inscribed. She couldn't help but smile. He put it on her right wrist, which also had on it the first bracelet he had ever given her.

"Never forget me."

She looked at him with watering eyes and smiled.

"I won't be able to."

And they hugged one another, right before she had gone into the terminal. Neither knew it would be a full five years later before they would see one another face to face again.

Part one:

"We'll miss you Haley!"

She smiled and waved back to the people she had worked with for the past five years. She was finally going home, permanently.

She had visited as much as she could, but she was always busy doing one thing or another. But they were going to transfer her to the Los Angeles Times, not as a gofer, but a top journalist. She was extravagant at her field, which would explain how she climbed the ladder so well. She worked hard, worked well. And that finally paid off. She no longer had to travel to far away from home. She would finally be able to be home with loved ones.

As she sat in her first class seat, she looked down at her right wrist and smiled. Maybe, after all these years, they stood a chance. She fell asleep, drifting into a dream of utter bliss.

When she woke up several hours later, she was happy to see that the sun was shining and she was only three hours away from landing. After ten minutes, she became restless. She wasn't exactly known for being patient. So she reached for the nearest magazine and started to flip through.

The name 'Scott' caught her eye.

'Scott has finally tied the knot.'

It couldn't be, could it? Couldn't it be Lucas? But that would have been ridiculous since he and Peyton tied the knot five years before, a few days before she had left. So she read the brief paragraph about it. And from the looks of it, Nathan Scott was to marry his long-time girlfriend, model Adrian Kummel. Her heart sank. But what did she expect? Him to wait for her? It wasn't like she didn't date after that day. But she couldn't find herself committing to anything but her work. She sighed and put her head down, letting her tears trail down her face. She wiped them away and sniffled.

No, she wouldn't cry over this. She was going to be happy that at least one of them was able to get over the other. She would land, congratulate him, and that was it.

*~*~*

"She's coming today."

Nathan looked up at Lucas his older brother. Sometime in high school, he got over the entire 'hate Lucas' thing. He had learned to instead, try to create a normal, brotherly relationship with him. Plus, he was dating Haley then. He couldn't date her and be hated by her best friend. Get the girl he wanted and a brother. It was a win win situation.

"Who's coming today?"

"You know perfectly well who is coming today."

It had hit him just then. Haley. And he sighed. It was one thing to see her, but seeing her and knowing that she was now off limits hurt him even more. He couldn't have her anymore.

And the entire time, he was attacking himself. If he had held the proposal for a week, a whole week, he would have been able to stop it all. Because it was only after a week of proposing to Adrian that he found out Haley would be moving to Los Angeles for good. And since then, he hadn't been able to face it. But today, he would have to.

"You gonna have to tell her you know."

Nathan sighed.

"I think she might already know."

"Don't get all conceited not Nathan."

"Our engagement wasn't exactly the most private thing in the world."

"Oh yeah, good point."

Nathan sighed in frustration. Lucas tried to comfort him the best he could, but couldn't. So Peyton came in and gave Nathan a hug.

"It's ok."

Nathan looked up, and both Lucas and Peyton were surprised beyond belief. There was a trail of tears coming down from Nathan's eyes. Nathan was king of holding back his feelings, never letting his emotions get the best of him. But whenever it came to Haley, he was always crazy. Even three years ago, when Nathan found out that Haley had broken her leg, it took everyone they knew to stop him from flying all the way to Europe, and dropping everything.

"It's not going to be ok. You know why? Because I screwed up. If I had waited one week, I would have been able to know she was coming back. I would have had a few months to break up with Adrian, so I can go back to Haley. You know why? Because girls like Haley are zero to none. If everyone in the world as born with another half, she was it for me. There is no one else. I tried to replace her with Adrian, but it isn't possible. Haley is irreplaceable, and I hate that. I hate that even after all these years, I am holding onto a relationship that ended five years ago. God, it's like high school all over again. But you know what? I would be willing to go through that hellhole if it had promised me being with Haley. So we could be Naley again."

He closed his eyes and wiped the small trace of tears in his eyes. He got up to leave the small diner, just as the bell rang. And there she stood. He looked at her right wrist and hope was gone. She no longer had the bracelet on.

She was hoping to not run into him until later. But the world loved playing cruel jokes on her. She had taken both bracelets off right before she got off the plane. And although she seemed so naked without it, she couldn't wear it. She wasn't going to show up with it on, showing how she had never moved on when he was able to. She wanted to be able to just congratulate him and them move on. She would move on, since he had already.

Lucas went over and embraced her into a hug.

"This place just isn't the same without you."

Peyton chipped in from the back.

"He's been moaning about losing his best friend for years and won't stop playing miniature golf. I am feeling neglected."

Haley let out a laugh, right before looking at Nathan. Her heart jumped and all she wanted to do was hug him and kiss him until neither could breathe. Nothing had changed. Except that he was to be married within the month. She tried to be as friendly as possible, and gave him a hug.

All that was running through his head was, God, she is still beautiful. She is still Haley, my Haley. She had matured, but the essence that made her who she was didn't leave her. So when she hugged him, he thought it was possible she didn't know, and that for a moment, he could act like nothing had changed.

But before he could initiate this act, she spoke up.

"Congratulation on your engagement."

Their worlds, hopes, and dreams fell.

"Oh yeah thanks."

She put on the best smile she could strangle out of herself.

"Well I would love to stay, but I have to go. Bye you guys!"

And she left before anyone could even say bye to her. She walked calmly to the corner before she heard her name being called. She sucked up all her courage and put on a smile.

"Hey Nathan."

When she had walked out of the diner, he couldn't help but chase after her. She was right there, in front of his face, and he couldn't even do anything. She was in reaching distance, it was like as if though life was mocking him, saying 'you can see her and dream of her all you want, but you can never have her.' And nothing in Nathan's life was not beyond his reach. Nothing but her. And here she stood, with her eyes glittering. He knew this look well. It was right before she would cry. And that was one thing he wanted her to do. It was selfish of him, but he wanted her to cry, to show that he wasn't the only one that missed the other. They walked along, and before they knew it, they were in a secluded part of town. It was exactly what he wanted. He walked closer to her, closing the gap between them as he intertwined his fingers with hers. Both of their hearts stopped.

"I've missed you Haley."

She tried to break away, but it was too hard. He was so much stronger, and she didn't want to. He was right in front of her, and there was nothing that could happen.

"But I hear you found someone else."

"Haley."

She broke down the walls she was holding up, letting the tears run down her cheek.

"Did you know I left Europe thinking that I would come back, into your arms, and just continuing where we left off? Stupid huh? I mean, how could I expect you, probably the number one bachelor in America, to hold up for me?"

He tried to wipe her tears away, but she turned her head.

"Don't make it harder on me that it already is."

He let out a frustrated groan as he turned her head so she could see him.

"It's as hard on me as it is on you. Do you have any idea how hard it is to be here with you, knowing that I am never having you again? Do you know how much I wanted to kill myself when I found out only a week later after proposing to her that would come back? If I had waited that week, I know for a fact that this all would have been different. You would be with me, and I would have you for myself. I know it's selfish, but when I found out that you weren't with someone, I was jumping for joy. And yet, I had someone. But she can never be you."

"Nathan, it's ok. I'll get over it ok? Congratulations, I hope you are happy."

She let her tears fall down onto his shirt. It was like the past was repeating itself. But this time, there was no chance of them ever getting back together.

"Don't you understand Haley? I don't want anyone else, I don't need anyone else except you."

He was now letting his tears fall, and she couldn't take it. She used to be able to just kiss away his tears, but she couldn't do that anymore. He was off-limits. So she pushed him away gently and whispered softly to him.

"Then you should have never proposed."

And she ran off before he could grab her.