Chapter Fifteen

A/N Finals are over, finals are over! Yay. Too bad I have to work at five am tomorrow. No matter, I have no studying or homework to do so I can write and read with a clear conscience.

Lucas watched Haley disappear into the girls' washroom and let out an exasperated sigh. She was clearly avoiding him. He'd been trying to talk to her all day but every time he got within ten feet she would find a way to slip away. Since she wasn't going to make this easy for him, he was going to have to do this the hard way. He took a deep breathe, prayed that there was no one else in there and followed her into the bathroom.

"Hales? So this is where you girls disappear to when you want to talk about us."

"Lucas!?" Haley shrieked. "What are you doing in here?"

"I need to talk to you and since you kept running away from me I figured this was my best shot."

"Lucas, in case you haven't noticed, this is the girls' washroom. Get out!."

"Actually, I did notice, it's a lot cleaner than ours. And I'm not leaving until you hear what I have to say."

Haley stepped out of the stall and looked at Lucas face to face. It was immediately clear that he wasn't kidding. He had every intention of staying in that bathroom, and preventing her from leaving it, until he got his way. "Okay, fine. Speak."

"I know you're mad."

"Gee, how astute of you. You know, I always thought you were smarter than that."

"Nice to see you haven't lost your sarcasm."

"Yeah well, gotta give the people what you want. This is all nice and charming Luke but what did you want?"

"I talked to Nathan?"

"When?" Haley asked, surprised. She and Nathan and gone back to his house together after the confrontation with Lucas and had driven in to school together today. When would they have talked.

Lucas cringed at the memory of the early conversation. "At four am this morning."

"Four am as in in the morning? Why?"

"He called me. He was upset that you were upset. He wanted to make it better."

"Oh." 'That's so sweet.' She thought to herself.

"So we cleared the air between us, like really cleared it. We were out until seven getting things out in the open. I think it really worked this time."

"You do?" Haley wanted to believe him but every time Lucas and Nathan took a step forward they always seemed to take two steps back.

"Yeah I really do. I know you need him Hales and I admit that that bugs me but not for the reasons you think. I hate it because you don't need me like you used to. Our friendship's never going to be the same and I'm having a hard time accepting that."

"That's not true Lucas." But deep down she knew he was right.

"Sure it is. You and Nathan are having this baby. You're going to be a family. You'll have this whole life that I can only have a peripheral part of. I've always felt like I was at the center of your life Haley and selfish as it sounds, I still don't want to give that up."

"Doesn't mean we won't be best friends Luke. I'm sure there will be plenty of times when Nathan will piss me off and I'll need you to listen to me rant. Not to mention all the baby-sitting you're going to do."

"Baby-sitting?"

"Sure. The best friend of the mom is always happy to baby-sit. Don't make that face Luke, the baby's not going to be born tomorrow."

Lucas, becoming aware of where they were, blushed and got very uncomfortable. "Um Hales, maybe we should take this conversation somewhere else."

Haley looked at their surroundings and laughed. "Hey, you're the one who thought this would be a good place to chat but okay." She made sure the coast was clear and signalled for Lucas to duck out the door.

"So what made you agree to talk to Nathan at such an unholy hour. I know how much I need your beauty sleep."

"I am insulted. I happen to be blessed with naturally good looks. I wanted to make things right with you. Besides, I don't think he was about to take no for an answer."

"Kind of reminds me of someone else I know, maybe someone who followed someone into the girls' restroom."

"Okay maybe we do share a stubborn streak."

"You know I didn't mean what I said yesterday, about you getting out of my life."

"I'm glad."

"So.are we okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay."

***

"Yo, Jake!" Nathan tapped on his team mates shoulder after class. He'd noticed he'd been barely awake in class and wanted to make sure everything was okay.

"Huh? Oh hi Nate."

"You're a little out of it. You okay?"

"Yeah. My parents are out of town so it's just me and Chiara this week. I haven't been able to start studying or homework before ten and I'm running on about two hours of sleep. Normally my mom watches her when I have school stuff but my parents haven't had a vacation in years."

"Oh." He took a look at Jake, the poor guy seemed exhausted. "Hey, why don't I watch her for you tonight."

"What?"

"Come on, I've spent some time with her the last couple of weeks. She knows me and I'm pretty sure she doesn't think I'm a monster. I'll pick her up after school and you can take an evening off."

"You serious? I mean, you don't have to."

"I want to. It'll be good practice right? Besides, I might need you to return the favour some time in the future."

"Okay. Well thanks Nathan. I can't tell you how grateful I am."

"No problem. So who watches her while you're in school?"

"Whitey."

Nathan coughed. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. I was going to skip class all week but he insisted. He has a soft side."

"Who knew."

"Okay, well meet me at Whitey's office after school and I'll tell you everything you need to know."

"Sure, see you after school."

***

A few hours later

"Okay. She usually eats around six, there's food in the bad. There are also bottles in the side pockets. She's just had a nap so she'll be wide awake for a while. Normally she's out by ten and I'll swing by around then to get her. All the numbers you need to know are on the back if you need anything."

"Jake, relax. I promise I won't drop her."

"I know. It's just hard leaving her. You'll understand when your baby's born."

"I've got it from here. Go home and enjoy you're night off."

"Again, thank you so much."

As Jake walked off, Nathan glanced at Chiara. "Do me a favour, don't make this to difficult for me."

She cooed at him and waved her hands. ""Glad we understand each other. Let's go."