Don't Leave Me

Nathan stumbled across the street with a bloody nose, a black eye, and one of his teeth missing. Vincent's work? Naw, Vince let him go...this is what happens when you run full speed into a stop sign. At site of the band's van, he tried to use all his remaining strength to crawl the last few feet, coughing out small portions of blood as he did.

Meanwhile, Lucas, Peyton, and Brooke stood in the now diminishing crowd.

"Brooke, those were brand new converses! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Peyton, are you blind? I did you a favor. Now you can come with me to Journeys and buy some real shoes. I saw the cutest black ones yesterday..." Brooke's voice faded as her and Peyton walked away, leaving Lucas standing there in a trance. He thought back to when Haley was playing onstage. It made him think of her in a totally different way..."Wait, eww NO! She's your best friend" ran through his mind, but he couldn't help it. Haley deserves someone better than Nathan...someone that would never hurt her. Lucas thought as he noticed her sitting in a black van with a "You suck and that's sad" Happy Bunny bumper sticker on the side.

"Hales, what are you doing in there?"

"Umm..." Haley was at a loss for words. She didn't know how to tell him she's leaving. Luckily she was interrupted the sight of Nathan crawling towards them.

"Dude, what happened to him?"

Haley laughed. "I think Vince did that to him."

"Hey, I like that guy already!" Lucas said but his smile faded when he saw the serious look on Haley's face.

"Luke, can we go somewhere to talk?"

"Sure."

Haley and Lucas headed back to the old tree house. They didn't know it then but it was far from the last time they would be there. They took a seat inside and Haley took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Luke, I'm leaving."

"What? How? Why?" All the interrogatory words in the English dictionary came to his mind all at once.

"I need to. I'm sorry but I have to get away."

Lucas couldn't believe it. In his devastation, he started singing though he didn't notice he was. "Don't leave me all alone, just drop me off at home. I'll be fine it's not the first, just like last time but a little worse and She said that I'm not the one that she thinks about and She said it stopped being fun, I just bring her down. I said Don't let your future be destroyed by my past. She said Don't let my door hit your ass."

"Luke don't make this harder."

"One more chance, I'll try this time. I'll give you yours, I won't take mine. I'll listen up, pretend to care. Go on ahead. I'll meet you there."

"Lucas, come on."

"Oh yea, I bet this is hard for you. Yea, your best friend's leaving you in this town where well let's face it...Peyton's boring, Brooke's a drunk, it looks like Nathan won't be able to talk for a while, Tim's retarded, and Jake's always stuck babysitting...who am I supposed to hang with?"

"You'll be ok."

"Yea, whatever just go."

"Luke, I don't want to leave with things like this."

"Then don't leave."

"I have to."

"Then I guess that's it. Go. Have fun in your little rock band...hey write a song about the best friend you left behind."

"I can't believe this. I thought you of all people would understand." Haley said as she got up with a tear hovering in her eye. As she walked away, Haley heard Lucas scream out these last words, "Let's try this one more time with feeling."

As Haley got closer to the van, she wiped away her tears hoping that no one would notice.

"Hey you. Ready to go?" Vincent asked.

"Yea...wait, can we make one stop before go?"

"Sure."

The van pulled up beside Haley's house. It was 2:53 in the morning. Her parents would be fast asleep. "I'll just be a minute, I promise." Haley said as she climbed the terrace to her window.

"You sure this thing is steady." Vincent said looking at the wooden terrace suspiciously.

"Yea. I've climbed this thing tons of times." Haley said a little to Vincent's shock.

Haley went inside her room and tried to figure out the best way to say goodbye to her parents. Waking them was out of the question. They would never let her go. So she decided to write a note. She tore out a sheet of paper from one of her many notebooks and quickly explained why she had to go, though she knew whatever she wrote they would never understand. Then she cleared off all the books and papers and left the note in the center of the now empty desk. After that she emptied her backpack and threw a few necessities into it: some clothes, a few cds, her cd player, and a notebook where she had been writing some poems and songs. She figured anything else she needed, she would just buy on the road. She came out of her house ten minutes after she had entered and they drove off.

While Tom and Michelle practiced a new song in the back of the van, Vincent whispered to Haley, "Hey, are you ok?"

"Yea. Sure. Why?"

"Well, when I came to the van Tom told me you went to say goodbye to your friend Lucas and when you came back it looked like had been crying." Haley was surprised he had noticed. "I didn't want to say anything in front of the others. So what happened with him? ...if you don't mind me asking."

"He was mad at me for leaving him." Haley said remembering all the times Luke had been there for her.

"Do you guys go out or something?"

"No, he's my best friend."

"Well if he's really your best friend, he'll come around."

"What if he doesn't? What if he never speaks to me again?" Haley said her thoughts aloud.

Vincent laughed. "I saw the way he was looking at you when you were playing. He'll definitely be speaking to you again."

"What do you mean?" Haley said confused.

"I think you know what I mean."

"Eww. You're joking right? Me and Luke? Come on, we could never be like that. We've been best friends since kindergarten."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I donno. It would just be too weird, like dating my brother or something. Anyway, I'm kinda done with guys for now."

"Whoa, I didn't know you were like that. Maybe you'd feel better talking to Michelle." Vincent said winking at her. Haley slapped him on the arm.

"Is that all guys think about? I meant I just got out of a bad relationship and I'm not looking for any more of that."

"Oh..." Vincent said acting disappointed. "...well joining the band is perfect for that. They'll be lots of flings."

"Yea sure, like every guy will be lining up to be with me."

"Why wouldn't they?" Vincent said seriously.

"I don't know because I'm me."

"Yea, you're you. You're smart, hot, and you can sing."

Haley half smiled at his attempts to boost her confidence. "In the past no one's really seen that in me."

"Well I do." Haley checked his eyes to see if he was serious. The rest of the ride was silent except for Tom's guitar. Haley looked out the window wondering if it was a mistake to leave Tree Hill.

The van finally stopped at a hotel four hours later. They were in Virginia. Haley noticed a sign in the distance. "Van's warped tour?" She said aloud in amazement.

"Hehe. Yea, I thought I'd surprise you. One of the bands dropped out last minute and we're filling in for them."

"Oh my God! You're not serious!" Haley could barely hold back her excitement. Then she realized it meant she would have to sing at the Warped Tour...in front of hundreds of people. Fear overwhelmed her. Vince knew what was going through her head and he tried to reassure her. "Yea, it'll be awesome. We're playing in two days. Tomorrow we'll catch you up on the song lyrics." He said as he walked out carrying some instruments. The stage crew and the rest of the band unloaded all the stuff from the van and walked into the hotel lobby. Haley got out of the van and just stood there in a daze.

"Haley, you coming?" Michelle said snapping her out of it.

The band decided to get two separate rooms, to the guys disappointment. Tom and Vincent would room together and Haley and Michelle would share a room. Vincent jokingly warned Michelle about what Haley had said earlier. Haley punched him of the shoulder to show him he wasn't funny. Then they went up and got some sleep, considering that none of them had slept in the last 24 hours.

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Meanwhile back home, Haley's parents were yelling at her empty room to get ready for school. Finally they went inside and found the note. It read:

Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm leaving. Well, by the time you read this I'll already be gone. I'm sorry you had to find out this way but I knew you would never let me go if I told you. I just couldn't take it anymore. I feel like I've worked so hard and for what? Your disapproval? A cheating boyfriend? Oh, right you guys never knew about Nathan. What? Surprised? You wouldn't let me have a dog, why would you let me have a boyfriend? I don't mean to sound angry, it's just what I'm trying to say is it was all becoming too much. I'm sixteen and I feel like I'm watching my life pass me by. I'm sorry but I can't stay here and follow your plan for me. I need to figure out what I want to be on my own. I've joined a rock band and have finally begun to live my life.

Love,

Haley

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The next day, well technically the same day 8 hours later, the band practiced all the songs they were going to perform. Then they went out for dinner. While they ate, Vincent's cell went off. He went outside to answer it. When he came back in he smiled at Haley.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just that I was right. I'm always right."

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll see."

The next day, this time literally, Haley paced back and forth in her room. She was so nervous about the concert tomorrow. The rest of the band was off swimming. Haley didn't want to swim but she told them she could use a tan. Then Vincent went off about how sunlight will ruin her voice and that she should stay in her room, which made absolutely no sense. She finally got bored of going over all the possible scenarios of how things could go wrong when she sang and decided to wander around the hotel. But before she could go out the door, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Haley said wondering who it could be.

"Haley? Finally! It's impossible to get a hold of you." Haley cringed at what she imagined would be said next.

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That's all for now. Tell me what you think. Do you guys like Vincent? Please Review!!!