He dwelled on his thoughts, about the last past three years of his life. He
went back to when he had just found out that Haley had broken her leg. Her
mother was talking about how worried she was about her, and Nathan happened
to be in town that day for a game. As soon as he heard it, he dropped
everything. He was to play in six hours, but he didn't care. All he wanted
to do was fly to Haley in her time of need. But Lucas stopped her, and he
would never forget what he said.
"She needs to live on her own."
They weren't hurtful words, but they scarred him more than anything else. Because it was then when it dawned on him. She was gone, and she would be living a life without him. Either he gave up his dream and go to her or do the one thing he loved in life. Plus, Haley would have killed him if he had dropped basketball. She said she never wanted to be a part of his unhappiness, by ruining his future. But the thing was, being in void of her was his unhappiness, and it was the most painful thing in the world.
He had met Adrian in a celebration party. It had only been a week since he found out about Haley. Funny how one week was a motif in his life. But anyhow, he needed someone to keep his mind off of Haley, and Adrian was the first woman to walk up to him. He started to talk to her and found her surprisingly smart, interesting, and sweet in many ways. They hit it off right away and started to date. But even when he was dating Adrian, living with her, sleeping with her, kissing her, he knew one thing. She would never be Haley. And for a while that was ok, because she was exactly what he needed. Or so he thought.
When he bought the engagement ring, he wasn't sure what he was thinking. He never really saw marrying any but Haley in his future. But somehow, he did it. When he bought the ring, he thought of Haley. And when Adrian was jumping up and down, he smiled because he envisioned Haley, not Adrian. It was a mean thing to do to Adrian. She didn't deserve to be second choice. She deserved to marry someone that actually loved her and only her. But being Nathan, he got selfish. If he couldn't have Haley right then, he would find someone to fill that empty space in his heart, even if it meant taking her away from her true half. But really, her piece in his heart was like a loose puzzle in the wrong puzzle set. It didn't fit in the place it should have, but somewhere else. And no matter how much he punched the piece in, it never fit right. He cut her up and tried to mold her to be that perfect fit, but that never worked. He knew that Haley was that missing piece, and no one would be able to fill that hole in his heart except for her.
He was stupid to propose to Adrian. He only did it because she was second best at that time. It was his worst mistake. What made it worse was the fact that he led her on even after finding out about Haley. He could have just broken up with her right after finding out. But he knew the publicity would be bad, and he would never bring Haley into this. They would probably call her the 'other woman'. She was everything but. She was the love of his life, the one piece in his life that made him complete. Without her, he would never be complete.
Everything in his life was always reachable, everything except Haley. Everything about her was hard, but that's what made their relationship so special. He could never love Adrian the same way he loved Haley. He would never love anyone more than he loved Haley. He loved her, only her, and would do anything to have her. But now, everything seemed hopeless. It was too late. Even if he wanted to call off the engagement, they paparazzi would be all over him, and he didn't want that. What he wanted was to have Haley for himself. He didn't want to inflict any confusion or pain on her. He knew that him being with Adrian was killing her. It was killing him, seeing her so sad. But he didn't want her to be known to the world that 'broke up the dream couple', or so the magazines all said. He didn't want the world to see her as the 'home-wrecker'.
He sat in the living room for a while before the door swung open. He jumped up to see Adrian, and guilt overcame him. He was sitting in their living room, thinking about another woman two weeks before their marriage. She smiled and walked towards hive, giving him a sweet kiss on his lips. She sat down next to him and immediately became concerned. She could tell something was wrong with him.
"What's wrong Nat?"
He hated that that nickname. Or at least, that nickname said by anyone except Haley. She used to call him Nat.
"I told you too stop calling me Nat."
"Wow, what crawled out and bit your butt today?"
She was still smiling, but he wasn't.
"I don't feel like talking."
She softened and caressed his cheek with her finger. He pulled away. He only liked it when Haley did it. He only liked it when Haley did a lot of things.
"Are you sure you aren't sick? Lucas and Peyton invited us to dinner."
"I don't feel like going."
"Nathan, it's a welcoming party for one of your old friends. It's like a triple get together or something
He froze. He never told her about Haley. He couldn't. But she was going to find out sooner or later. He really didn't want to go because he couldn't think of seeing her with anyone else. It pissed him off really. But what did he expect? After all, he was the one getting married, and the one who seemed to move on. She kept out for him, all this time. And he had to see whom she would bring as her date.
"I'll go. It's tonight right?"
"Yeah. Are you sure I'm ok? We don't have to go if you don't want to. I mean, you seem a little pale."
"I'm fine."
He became a terrific liar over the years too.
*~*~*
She didn't know why she even agreed to this in the first place. She knew he would be there, and she couldn't bear to see him all happy with his girlfriend. No wait, his fiancé, soon to be wife. It hurt like hell now it comes to it. She wanted to hurt him too, take a date and everything. But she didn't want to inflict the same pain he had on her. It would kill him, and it would kill her knowing she hurt him. So instead, she called up Kevin, a friend was high school both her and Nathan knew. There was never anything going on between them.
He picked her up, and she thanked him profoundly for doing this one favor. He said it was not a problem, and he hoped that she felt better. They talked about what they have been doing for the last three years. She found out he was actually in a serious relationship right now. His girlfriend, Wendy, was also a high school friend and Wendy completely understood it. But it didn't stop her from yelling at her right before they left.
"Only for tonight!"
That was fine for Haley. She just needed a friends support, and Lucas was going with Peyton so she couldn't ask him. They reached the restaurant to find that the other two had already arrived. She walked in with Kevin, and saw anger and jealousy flair up in Nathan's eyes. But then, he softened when he saw her.
She was wearing a modest black dress that showed more skin than Haley normally would show, but it wasn't trashy in any way. It was simple and perfect, just like she was. "Hey you guys. This is Kevin, in case you forgot."
Nathan looked directly at her, but his trance was broken when he remembered whom he came with. Adrian smiled, not knowing a thing about their history.
"Hi! I'm Adrian. It's great to meet you, Haley right?"
"Yeah."
"The strangest thing, Nat never mentioned you to me. But Peyton tells me you were pretty close friends. Nat, why did you never tell her about me?"
"Oh, you call him Nat?"
Haley felt like crying. That was her nickname for him, the one that she was only allowed to call him. But then this model steps in, and not only takes away her love, but also some of the secrets she shared.
"Yeah, he hates it when I call him that, but I thought it was cute. It makes me feel like we are more of a couple. Right Nat?"
He wanted to crawl under a rock. Adrian wasn't doing it on purpose or anything, she just tended to blab on about stuff. This was one of those things he didn't want her to blab about though. He knew as soon as she called him Nat things were going to be worse. Haley was the only person ever allowed to call him Nat. And as he looked at her, he knew tears were to spring out in a matter of minutes.
"Well look at that, my eyes are getting dry. I am going to go and put on some eye drops. Be right back."
She was still a horrible liar. Everyone in the table except Adrian knew it was a straight lie. So Adrian just smiled.
"Come back soon."
Nathan couldn't watch her leave and cry her tears out, at least not alone. So he thought of an even better lie to follow her.
"I'll be right back. I have to call coach and tell him I can't make it tonight. I totally forgot to tell him."
And as before, everyone but Adrian knew that was a lie.
"Come back soon Nat."
He cringed at that name. He walked to the bathroom and waited for her to come out. Within the walls, she was silently letting the tears flow out. Adrian was calling him Nat. It was like that name didn't mean anything to him. It was suppose to be their special name. And the sad thing was, under different circumstances, she would have been a friend with Adrian. She seemed so nice, and sweet. Of course she was beautiful, her being a model and all. Haley sighed. Adrian was everything Nathan would want, everything he deserved. She would never be able to compete with that, Adrian's beauty, grace, class, status. Adrian was the type of person who got everything, you could tell. So Adrian got Nathan, Haley didn't. It was depressing her though. They probably had a really cute combined name, like Adrithan or something.
She splashed a bit of water on her face and sighed. She never did wear a lot of make-up so she applied a little bit more off and tried to look normal. Her eyes were puffed up and her face was all blotchy. Maybe she could just say she wasn't feeling good and leave.
She pushed open the bathroom door and ran right into Nathan. He looked at her and dragged her to a more secluded corner where they could talk. He looked right into her eyes and kissed her forehead.
"What can I do to make you stop?"
"Stop what?"
"Stop crying."
Another trail of tears were appearing. Her heart was racing, and butterflies were zooming around in her stomach. She wanted to hold him, knowing that they were Naley again. She wanted to know he was hers, not Adrian's. And she wanted to know that Nathan was marrying her, not Adrian. Adrian seemed to have everything she didn't have and wanted. She had Nathan.
"Are you happy?"
He wiped away her tears with his thumb and leaned his forehead onto hers.
"You know I'm never happy without you."
"But you have Adrian. She's perfect for you. I mean, she's smart, sweet, nice, beautiful, everything you ever wanted in a girl right?"
"Except that she's not you. I don't care if she was the world's most perfect woman. Because I want you Haley. Your it for me, and I don't think I need anyone else."
"But I can't bear to think you're unhappy. All I want is for you to be happy."
"Then be my wife. Be with me."
"Nathan, you know."
He crushed his lips onto hers and all rationality flew out the window.
"She needs to live on her own."
They weren't hurtful words, but they scarred him more than anything else. Because it was then when it dawned on him. She was gone, and she would be living a life without him. Either he gave up his dream and go to her or do the one thing he loved in life. Plus, Haley would have killed him if he had dropped basketball. She said she never wanted to be a part of his unhappiness, by ruining his future. But the thing was, being in void of her was his unhappiness, and it was the most painful thing in the world.
He had met Adrian in a celebration party. It had only been a week since he found out about Haley. Funny how one week was a motif in his life. But anyhow, he needed someone to keep his mind off of Haley, and Adrian was the first woman to walk up to him. He started to talk to her and found her surprisingly smart, interesting, and sweet in many ways. They hit it off right away and started to date. But even when he was dating Adrian, living with her, sleeping with her, kissing her, he knew one thing. She would never be Haley. And for a while that was ok, because she was exactly what he needed. Or so he thought.
When he bought the engagement ring, he wasn't sure what he was thinking. He never really saw marrying any but Haley in his future. But somehow, he did it. When he bought the ring, he thought of Haley. And when Adrian was jumping up and down, he smiled because he envisioned Haley, not Adrian. It was a mean thing to do to Adrian. She didn't deserve to be second choice. She deserved to marry someone that actually loved her and only her. But being Nathan, he got selfish. If he couldn't have Haley right then, he would find someone to fill that empty space in his heart, even if it meant taking her away from her true half. But really, her piece in his heart was like a loose puzzle in the wrong puzzle set. It didn't fit in the place it should have, but somewhere else. And no matter how much he punched the piece in, it never fit right. He cut her up and tried to mold her to be that perfect fit, but that never worked. He knew that Haley was that missing piece, and no one would be able to fill that hole in his heart except for her.
He was stupid to propose to Adrian. He only did it because she was second best at that time. It was his worst mistake. What made it worse was the fact that he led her on even after finding out about Haley. He could have just broken up with her right after finding out. But he knew the publicity would be bad, and he would never bring Haley into this. They would probably call her the 'other woman'. She was everything but. She was the love of his life, the one piece in his life that made him complete. Without her, he would never be complete.
Everything in his life was always reachable, everything except Haley. Everything about her was hard, but that's what made their relationship so special. He could never love Adrian the same way he loved Haley. He would never love anyone more than he loved Haley. He loved her, only her, and would do anything to have her. But now, everything seemed hopeless. It was too late. Even if he wanted to call off the engagement, they paparazzi would be all over him, and he didn't want that. What he wanted was to have Haley for himself. He didn't want to inflict any confusion or pain on her. He knew that him being with Adrian was killing her. It was killing him, seeing her so sad. But he didn't want her to be known to the world that 'broke up the dream couple', or so the magazines all said. He didn't want the world to see her as the 'home-wrecker'.
He sat in the living room for a while before the door swung open. He jumped up to see Adrian, and guilt overcame him. He was sitting in their living room, thinking about another woman two weeks before their marriage. She smiled and walked towards hive, giving him a sweet kiss on his lips. She sat down next to him and immediately became concerned. She could tell something was wrong with him.
"What's wrong Nat?"
He hated that that nickname. Or at least, that nickname said by anyone except Haley. She used to call him Nat.
"I told you too stop calling me Nat."
"Wow, what crawled out and bit your butt today?"
She was still smiling, but he wasn't.
"I don't feel like talking."
She softened and caressed his cheek with her finger. He pulled away. He only liked it when Haley did it. He only liked it when Haley did a lot of things.
"Are you sure you aren't sick? Lucas and Peyton invited us to dinner."
"I don't feel like going."
"Nathan, it's a welcoming party for one of your old friends. It's like a triple get together or something
He froze. He never told her about Haley. He couldn't. But she was going to find out sooner or later. He really didn't want to go because he couldn't think of seeing her with anyone else. It pissed him off really. But what did he expect? After all, he was the one getting married, and the one who seemed to move on. She kept out for him, all this time. And he had to see whom she would bring as her date.
"I'll go. It's tonight right?"
"Yeah. Are you sure I'm ok? We don't have to go if you don't want to. I mean, you seem a little pale."
"I'm fine."
He became a terrific liar over the years too.
*~*~*
She didn't know why she even agreed to this in the first place. She knew he would be there, and she couldn't bear to see him all happy with his girlfriend. No wait, his fiancé, soon to be wife. It hurt like hell now it comes to it. She wanted to hurt him too, take a date and everything. But she didn't want to inflict the same pain he had on her. It would kill him, and it would kill her knowing she hurt him. So instead, she called up Kevin, a friend was high school both her and Nathan knew. There was never anything going on between them.
He picked her up, and she thanked him profoundly for doing this one favor. He said it was not a problem, and he hoped that she felt better. They talked about what they have been doing for the last three years. She found out he was actually in a serious relationship right now. His girlfriend, Wendy, was also a high school friend and Wendy completely understood it. But it didn't stop her from yelling at her right before they left.
"Only for tonight!"
That was fine for Haley. She just needed a friends support, and Lucas was going with Peyton so she couldn't ask him. They reached the restaurant to find that the other two had already arrived. She walked in with Kevin, and saw anger and jealousy flair up in Nathan's eyes. But then, he softened when he saw her.
She was wearing a modest black dress that showed more skin than Haley normally would show, but it wasn't trashy in any way. It was simple and perfect, just like she was. "Hey you guys. This is Kevin, in case you forgot."
Nathan looked directly at her, but his trance was broken when he remembered whom he came with. Adrian smiled, not knowing a thing about their history.
"Hi! I'm Adrian. It's great to meet you, Haley right?"
"Yeah."
"The strangest thing, Nat never mentioned you to me. But Peyton tells me you were pretty close friends. Nat, why did you never tell her about me?"
"Oh, you call him Nat?"
Haley felt like crying. That was her nickname for him, the one that she was only allowed to call him. But then this model steps in, and not only takes away her love, but also some of the secrets she shared.
"Yeah, he hates it when I call him that, but I thought it was cute. It makes me feel like we are more of a couple. Right Nat?"
He wanted to crawl under a rock. Adrian wasn't doing it on purpose or anything, she just tended to blab on about stuff. This was one of those things he didn't want her to blab about though. He knew as soon as she called him Nat things were going to be worse. Haley was the only person ever allowed to call him Nat. And as he looked at her, he knew tears were to spring out in a matter of minutes.
"Well look at that, my eyes are getting dry. I am going to go and put on some eye drops. Be right back."
She was still a horrible liar. Everyone in the table except Adrian knew it was a straight lie. So Adrian just smiled.
"Come back soon."
Nathan couldn't watch her leave and cry her tears out, at least not alone. So he thought of an even better lie to follow her.
"I'll be right back. I have to call coach and tell him I can't make it tonight. I totally forgot to tell him."
And as before, everyone but Adrian knew that was a lie.
"Come back soon Nat."
He cringed at that name. He walked to the bathroom and waited for her to come out. Within the walls, she was silently letting the tears flow out. Adrian was calling him Nat. It was like that name didn't mean anything to him. It was suppose to be their special name. And the sad thing was, under different circumstances, she would have been a friend with Adrian. She seemed so nice, and sweet. Of course she was beautiful, her being a model and all. Haley sighed. Adrian was everything Nathan would want, everything he deserved. She would never be able to compete with that, Adrian's beauty, grace, class, status. Adrian was the type of person who got everything, you could tell. So Adrian got Nathan, Haley didn't. It was depressing her though. They probably had a really cute combined name, like Adrithan or something.
She splashed a bit of water on her face and sighed. She never did wear a lot of make-up so she applied a little bit more off and tried to look normal. Her eyes were puffed up and her face was all blotchy. Maybe she could just say she wasn't feeling good and leave.
She pushed open the bathroom door and ran right into Nathan. He looked at her and dragged her to a more secluded corner where they could talk. He looked right into her eyes and kissed her forehead.
"What can I do to make you stop?"
"Stop what?"
"Stop crying."
Another trail of tears were appearing. Her heart was racing, and butterflies were zooming around in her stomach. She wanted to hold him, knowing that they were Naley again. She wanted to know he was hers, not Adrian's. And she wanted to know that Nathan was marrying her, not Adrian. Adrian seemed to have everything she didn't have and wanted. She had Nathan.
"Are you happy?"
He wiped away her tears with his thumb and leaned his forehead onto hers.
"You know I'm never happy without you."
"But you have Adrian. She's perfect for you. I mean, she's smart, sweet, nice, beautiful, everything you ever wanted in a girl right?"
"Except that she's not you. I don't care if she was the world's most perfect woman. Because I want you Haley. Your it for me, and I don't think I need anyone else."
"But I can't bear to think you're unhappy. All I want is for you to be happy."
"Then be my wife. Be with me."
"Nathan, you know."
He crushed his lips onto hers and all rationality flew out the window.