"Here it is," Haley said as a hint of awe entered her voice as she looked at the tall buildings and beautiful shops, "5th Avenue." Smiling, she momentarily forgot who she was with and added jokingly, "Where all your dreams come true."

Nathan raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that DisneyWorld?"

"Maybe to little kids but not me. Here, this is where dreams come true." She whispered to herself, "New York." Ignoring Nathan, she took a few steps forward as the energy and livelihood of the streets took hold. A genuine smile appeared on her face as she turned around and for a moment, he smiled back and it felt different. It felt real.

But, she immediately wiped the smile off her face as she reminded herself that the past was past. It was gone. Why couldn't she get that through her head?

Nathan's brow furrowed as he noticed the sudden change in her attitude. The words of concern formed in his mouth before he forced them down. He no longer cared for Haley James anymore. She was a part of a past he didn't want to rekindle. She was nothing to him.

Nothing.

"I hope you brought some money," Haley said, her voice flat, "This stuff ain't exactly cheap."

"I know," Nathan said as she pointed at the the store around the corner, "There."

Haley looked up, not surprised with which store he chose first, "Saks, of course."

They walked together down the street, side by side. To any onlooker, they would've been the perfect couple. The ultimate picture of success. A wealthy, handsome young man with his beautiful and sophisticated trophy wife.

Appearances were always deceiving.

Entering the store, Haley followed Nathan around as he browsed. They both remained quiet before he finally spoke, "So, you plan to just take me shopping for the whole day?"

"I can take you elsewhere. I just figured you'd want to do the tourist thing and shop," Haley said as she shrugged.

"Right," he held up two suits and asked, "The black one or the navy blue one?"

"Is there a difference?" Haley asked with a raised eyebrow, "Seriously, go for a little variety." She browsed the racks and picked a rich blue that wasn't too light and wasn't too dark, it was perfect for his height and with the right shirt, it would bring out his eyes, "Here, try this one."

He frowned, "I don't like it."

"You didn't even look at it," Haley said as she pushed the suit into his hands, "Just try it."

He raised an eyebrow but never got a chance to open his mouth.

"Please, Nathan?" She added, knowing that he needed that little extra push. Smug bastard. "Here, try this shirt along with it and," she paused, looking around, "This tie."

A few minutes later, Nathan reappeared and Haley, unconciously, took in a large breath. He was delicious and the perfect picture of wealth and prestige. He looked... Haley paused before sighing, this was going to turn out bad. She could already tell. Even though he was an ass to her, she still had a soft spot for him. Blame it on her soft side but even she couldn't deny that Nathan Scott affected her more then she wanted him to.

She took a few steps forward and smiled, not knowing that her whole face was glowing, "Wow, I'm impressed."

He examined himself in the mirror though he paid more attention to the petite brunette standing behind him then the actual clothing, "I like it," he said softly. Though what he liked was left uncertain.

She raised her eyes to his and was slighlty taken aback by the intensity in his gaze, "It looks good on you."

"I can't figure out this tie though," he said with a slight pout, "Never could put them on properly."

Laughing, she took the tie in her hands and began putting it on for him, "That's kind of depressing, isn't it?"

"Now I wonder why you're so good with this," he said in a slight teasing tone.

"Brothers and a dad with no coordination. It was crucial that I learn," she said as her voice got softer as she thought about her family.

Nathan's eyes were on her the whole time and he couldn't have helped but wonder what could've been. This whole scenario could've been playing out in what should've been their picture perfect family. Haley as his loving wife and him as the successful father. She would help him with his tie and afterwards, they would kiss, like in the movies. Like in the dreams and fantasies he had when he was young. When she was done, she leaned back slighlty and smiled at him again. And, for the first time in a long while, he felt a tingle in his cold heart.

She was a perfect reminder of what should've been. What could've been. What was supposed to be his.. but wasn't.

Before he could put any more thought into it, a saleslady walked up to them with a wide smile and glaring white teeth. "So, does the wife like the suit?"

Haley frowned, first off at her words. You'd think someone on the female side would be a little bit more careful with her words but nope, the saleslady was just as bad as the rest of them. This was what spending too much time uptown would do to you. "I'm not-"

"We're satisfied," Nathan cut in before Haley could finish, "I'll take it."

Haley stared up at him in confusion but smartly remained quiet.

He was an enigma. He always was and most likely always would be.

Maybe, there was a part of the old him still left inside. Haley watched as he turned around, giving her a hint of a smile as he walked towards the dressing room.

Maybe.

--

"So, where to next?" Nathan asked as they walked out of the department store.

Haley looked up and down the streets before sighing, "Well, we could shop for a few more hours and then go check out the Met or the Guggenheim." She paused, "Are you at all interested in art?"

He looked amused at the question, "Why? Don't I look it?"

"I really wouldn't coin you as a connossieur but," her voice trailed off as she looked away. What was this? Was she actually being amiable to him? This was the jerk that degraded her only an hour ago by verbally abusing her and she was being amiable. It didn't make sense. It was like something inside her just didn't want to be cruel with him. He was Nathan. That used to mean something special to her.

Now, she didn't know what it meant.

"What's the exhibit at the Guggenheim right now?"

"Rosenquist, I think. They might've changed it already though."

"Rosenquist," Nathan paused, "Modern art?"

"Very," Haley nodded, "Think pop art."

"Ahh," he shrugged, "I'm not really into that."

"Not surprising," Haley muttered as she crossed her arms, unsure of what to do next. This was just beyond weird.

"Food," Nathan said suddenly, "I'm dying for something sweet."

Haley bit her lip as she thought, never noticing how Nathan's eyes narrowed at the movement.

What the hell was wrong with him? A simple gesture like that shouldn't have gotten to him as much as it did. But, he found himself with a craving for her. A craving to be near her and invoke any emotion. That was why he was so cruel to her earlier. Not just because he was confused, though he didn't show it. He didn't know what to do and so his defenses came up. He went through the normal stages of denial, trying to convince himself that he was no longer interested in her... after all, she was supposed to be nothing to him, but she was something.

She always had been.

6 years had passed though. That should've changed everything but Nathan was beginning to wonder if anything had changed at all. Sure, physically they did and their situations were different with the relocations but mentally, were they still the same? He knew that he was better at getting his defenses up and manipulating but deep inside, he was still the same lost and confused little boy... the one that just wanted somebody to care and love him. But, he was alreayd in his mid twenties, and still, he refused to reveal that fact to himself.

He was not weak.

His father taught him never to show weakness. Haley James was a weakness.

The question was, what was he going to do about it?

"La Maison du Chocolat," Haley said suddenly as she snapped her fingers, "They have this cafe in the back room and oh god, their hot chocolate is so good."

"The house of chocolate?" Nathan asked, "Is this place good?"

"I'm sure it'll meet your standards," Haley said, laughing slightly, "I didn't know you knew French."

"Took 4 years of it in high school."

She resisted the urge to flinch when those words came out of his mouth. There it was. Reality knocking at her door. There was a past. There was a high school. There was a Nathan and Haley at one point.

No denying it, as much as she wanted to.

"Right," she whispered softly before clearing her throat and regaining composure. "I didn't know."

"Foreign language was always my forte. Never needed any help with it."

Unable to speak of the topic any longer, she said quickly, "Right, so it's not that far away, a few blocks," she began walking quickly, not waiting for him. This was bad. This was very very bad. High school, overall, was a tormenting period of her life. She had never been popular that was until sophomore year when she was thrusted into the world of basketball and wealth. Things had never been the same since then.

She hadn't been the same since then. She considered that period of her life as the time where she came out of her world filled with school work and Lucas.. and into reality. Nathan had been the first to introduce her to the bitter taste of betrayal and so much more. He was her first, in so many ways.

And, a part of her couldn't forget that. As much as she wanted to.

High school sweethearts were highly overrated, she knew this and yet, when senior came, she had such high expectations. She never thought that they would all come crashing down. Maybe she didn't face reality then. She was just thrusted from one fabricated world into another. Right now, what she was experiencing, it was reality.

At least, she thought it was. She didn't know what to think anymore. Everything was too confusing beyond recognition and all she wanted were some answers.

But how could she get those if she didn't even know what to ask?

"In a rush to get somewhere," Nathan asked as he matched her pace.

Lost in her thoughts, she never even noticed that he was right next to her until he grabbed at her arm. Looking up, she stopped and took a step back, "What?"

"Ignoring me already?"

"Sorry," she said before she could stop herself. Nathan didn't deserve any apologies and certainly not her sympathy. Yet, she found herself slowly falling into his web.

"Something on your mind?"

"A lot of things are on my mind," she said vaguely, not comfortable with revealing anymore.

"I'm sure. It helps to take your mind off of it though. Do small things to keep yourself busy."

She raised an eyebrow and stopped walking, "What is this?"

"What?" He asked, slightly surprised.

"What is this?" She repeated.

"What do you mean?"

"We're not friends, Nathan. We barely even know each other now," she said harshly, "Like I said before, I'm not looking for a great conversation partner in you. I'm here to do my job and that's to guide you around New York." She said forcefully, "Nothing more. Nothing less."

His face hardened at her words and all trace of humanity in him was gone. "Right, how foolish of me."

Haley felt a tinge of regret at how she spoke to him. True, she was no harsher then he was earlier but still, it wasn't like her to lash out like that. Throughout her whole life, she always remained controlled when it came to emotions. Around Nathan, those rules went out the window. Things were no different now.

She was telling the truth though. They weren't friends. They were never friends and they could never be friends. It would be too confusing and awkward. It was better to break off whatever new 'thing' they had going on right now then to let it continue into something more. She already knew it was going to end bad, so why even put the effort and emotion into it?

"I don't want to go to a chocolate shop," Nathan said coldly.

"Where then?"

"You're my guide," he said it depreciatingly, "Figure something out."

Wincing at his tone, Haley sighed, knowing that she had this coming to her. What else was she supposed to have expected? "Maybe, we should just part ways."

Nathan shook his head. He refused to let her off that easily. She had hurt him, though he didn't want to admit it in her words. He also didn't want to realize that she was behaving the way he had behaved earlier. He could dish it out, but he couldn't accept it in return. It was one of his biggest flaws.

"Your job is to introduce New York to me. So far, you've introduced nothing," the last word was enunciated as he glared daggers at her, "You know if you don't then I'll-"

"Get me fired," she said in a montone, "I know, I know. You can save the threats, Nathan, they're getting to be a bit repetetive."

"Promises, Ms. James. Not threats."

She looked up at him, unable to read his face as he stared at her coldly. Sighing she said, "Do you want to stay uptown or go somewhere else?"

"Somewhere else," he said in a hard tone, "This," he waved all around him, "Is sickening me," he stared right at her as he said it.

Haley bit the inside of her lip as she nodded and hailed another taxi. "East Village it is then."