Chapter 11:
The evening air was cool with a slight nip in it. Most of Boston was either heading home from work or heading to work for the nightlife. Even so, the neighborhood where our apartment was seemed eerily quiet, not a child in sight, no dogs, no business men and women bustling past to get home, just the occasional car.
"So?" Nathan began awkwardly, shoving his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket. We had just left my apartment, after dropping Lucas off and letting Nathan greet Brooke, Jake and Jenny.
"So." I repeated, knowing I'd have to take the initiative in this scenario. Nathan had never been good at these kinds of talks. "You want to tell my why you chose this particular time to seek me out for closure?"
He sighed and let out a bitter chuckle. "Always straight to the point, huh, Hales? No small talk."
"Small talk can come later." I replied, as we came upon a bench and sat down. "We haven't seen or talked to one another for six years, Nathan, which was mostly your doing by the way." I added. "Then, out of the blue, you call me and say you're flying up to see me so we can talk, get some sort of closure, after six years of the silent treatment. I think I have the right to know why."
"Truthfully," He frowned. "I don't know. It's just, the day we were playing basketball and you called Luke's cell, I felt my world come to a grinding halt and haven't been able to get it back on track since. My relationship with Lexi soured and you were on my mind constantly. I thought seeing you would help me right things, talking to you would give me closure, so I can move on in my life."
I drew in a deep breath and looked across the street, where a little girl had just emerged from her house with a tabby colored kitten in her arms. "You know, Lucas said something like that to me this morning. He said that the chapter of my life that relates to you is still open, undecided whether it should close or continue. He's right. That's why we're here. For us to decided what to do with a chapter that's been lying around for six years undecided. So, what do we do Nathan?"
"I don't know, Haley." He grunted. "I've never been good with the answers, remember?"
"No, you just didn't know how to look for them. You took the easy way out, relying on others to knock some sense into that thick skull of yours. Well, it's your turn to knock yourself some sense." I looked over at him. "Things have changed between Lucas and I and I don't know how to handle it, until we've come to a conclusion with us."
"You and Lucas?" Nathan glanced up sharply, a bewildered expression on his face.
"I don't know." I sighed. "Things got complicated all in the course of three days and the one things I always counted on is changing on me. Something's different in our relationship now, but seeing you is bringing back all these memories. I don't know what to do. I need your help coming up with the answers this time."
"I wasn't good at it then, Haley, you think I'm good at it now." Nathan rolled his eyes. "I suck at relationships, the only one that seemed to work out is with Lucas and now he's leaving me."
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "You and Lucas are tight now."
"Yeah, then why didn't he tell me about the Celtics. It's all over the news you know." Nathan snapped.
"It wasn't a sure thing Nathan, and he's leaving the team, not you." I ran my fingers through my hair.
"You always take his side, don't you?" Nathan stood and began to pace. "He never does anything wrong."
"That's not true and you know it. After all the Peyton/Brooke crap, he was pretty screwed up, in case you can't remember." I felt myself begin to get worked up.
"Yes, Saint Lucas, being fought over by two gorgeous girls." Nathan sneered. "What a hassle."
"Okay, first of all, this stuff should be between you and Lucas, so I don't know why you're taking this out on me." I bristled. "Secondly, I did not come out here to fight with you. I came out here to talk things out with you."
"If you didn't come out here to fight with me, then why'd you bring up things between you and Lucas?" He was angry now, but I wasn't sure if the anger was directed at me or at Lucas.
"Because you have the right to know! As much as you don't want to be, you play a part in my decision with Lucas." I stood up, refusing to be submissive to him.
"So Lucas is just second best?" Nathan snarled.
"No, I agreed to meet with you, knowing there was going to be a slight chance that we might rekindle things tonight, it depended on how I felt. If we seeked closure, then I would have decided whether I want to change my relationship with Lucas." I struggled to rein in my temper. "This isn't about Lucas, Nathan, it's about us. You and me and our history together."
"And guess what, it all started over Lucas. You were just a way to get to him." Nathan retorted.
"Saying that used to hurt me, but not anymore, I know you loved me, Nathan, you've proved it so many times, so stop trying to hurt me. You did enough damage when you broke my heart." I lowered my voice.
"You think you're heart was the only one that was broken? Mine broke too, Haley." Nathan rounded on me. "You were the first person who accepted me for who I was, faults and all, the first person I ever loved, you helped me get my brother, you made me better, I wanted to marry you! Breaking up with you was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I did it because I didn't want to be the boyfriend who got drunk and cheated on you because you're better than that."
"No, you just didn't trust yourself." I replied, wrapping my arms around my middle. "You just quit on me, after telling me we'd make it work because we could do anything."
Nathan sighed, collecting himself. "I loved you more than anything and the last thing I wanted to do was disrespect you or do something I could never forgive myself for."
"I understand that, to some extent, but you've quit a lot of things Nathan, but you never quit on us until that moment." I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes. "You always fought for us, no matter what stood in the way. You didn't even let your father break us up and I didn't either because you thought we were something worth fighting for, so I did too. Yeah, you screwed up a lot, but so did I. But, you let a few thousand miles and fear win and I lost faith in you the moment you shattered my heart into a million pieces."
"It took me six years to put it back together, Nathan, six! You know, I've never slept with anyone since the night before you left for California, the night I gave myself to you. No one has ever come close to what we've had. I'm twenty-four years old Nathan and I don't even date anymore. At least, not until last night." I felt the tears spill over, but refused to swipe them away. "Lucas has given me hope, Nathan. What about you?"
He squeezed his eyes shut, as thought struggling with some inner battle. "I can't say that I was that broken over us. I didn't really date through college, but when I met Lexi, things just clicked."
"You loved her." I stated, trying to keep my voice even, although I wanted to scream.
"I loved you more, no wait, I love you more. Seeing you again, it's like those feelings I buried are reawakening. Now it's time to see if the spark's still there." He stopped pacing and turned to face me.
"How do you propose we do that?" I asked dubiously.
"This." He stepped forward, cupped my face in his hands and brought his lips down on mine.
All right, another chapter down. Four more to go! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this story is soon coming to a close. I have made my decision on whom Haley will end up with and it will be revealed in the next chapter. Do not worry, the guy that does not get chosen will not end up alone. Anyway, Tim will make a dramatic return in the Brooke area, Peyton will visit Jake, the basketball issue will be settled, Haley will end up with her guy, and all loose ends will eventually be tied. Keep on reviewing and the chapters will keep on coming. Because, I'm already writing the Wedding Sequal to the this fic, it'll be shorter, but full of fluff and of course a wedding!
I'd also like to apologize for such a bad updater I have been of late. I have a job now and it gets busy during the summer. I come home exhausted and forget about my fics. I promise to try and update faster. Again, I'm so sorry. I hope you all are still willingly to read this fic because I enjoy writing it and there's a lot of action coming up.
The evening air was cool with a slight nip in it. Most of Boston was either heading home from work or heading to work for the nightlife. Even so, the neighborhood where our apartment was seemed eerily quiet, not a child in sight, no dogs, no business men and women bustling past to get home, just the occasional car.
"So?" Nathan began awkwardly, shoving his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket. We had just left my apartment, after dropping Lucas off and letting Nathan greet Brooke, Jake and Jenny.
"So." I repeated, knowing I'd have to take the initiative in this scenario. Nathan had never been good at these kinds of talks. "You want to tell my why you chose this particular time to seek me out for closure?"
He sighed and let out a bitter chuckle. "Always straight to the point, huh, Hales? No small talk."
"Small talk can come later." I replied, as we came upon a bench and sat down. "We haven't seen or talked to one another for six years, Nathan, which was mostly your doing by the way." I added. "Then, out of the blue, you call me and say you're flying up to see me so we can talk, get some sort of closure, after six years of the silent treatment. I think I have the right to know why."
"Truthfully," He frowned. "I don't know. It's just, the day we were playing basketball and you called Luke's cell, I felt my world come to a grinding halt and haven't been able to get it back on track since. My relationship with Lexi soured and you were on my mind constantly. I thought seeing you would help me right things, talking to you would give me closure, so I can move on in my life."
I drew in a deep breath and looked across the street, where a little girl had just emerged from her house with a tabby colored kitten in her arms. "You know, Lucas said something like that to me this morning. He said that the chapter of my life that relates to you is still open, undecided whether it should close or continue. He's right. That's why we're here. For us to decided what to do with a chapter that's been lying around for six years undecided. So, what do we do Nathan?"
"I don't know, Haley." He grunted. "I've never been good with the answers, remember?"
"No, you just didn't know how to look for them. You took the easy way out, relying on others to knock some sense into that thick skull of yours. Well, it's your turn to knock yourself some sense." I looked over at him. "Things have changed between Lucas and I and I don't know how to handle it, until we've come to a conclusion with us."
"You and Lucas?" Nathan glanced up sharply, a bewildered expression on his face.
"I don't know." I sighed. "Things got complicated all in the course of three days and the one things I always counted on is changing on me. Something's different in our relationship now, but seeing you is bringing back all these memories. I don't know what to do. I need your help coming up with the answers this time."
"I wasn't good at it then, Haley, you think I'm good at it now." Nathan rolled his eyes. "I suck at relationships, the only one that seemed to work out is with Lucas and now he's leaving me."
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "You and Lucas are tight now."
"Yeah, then why didn't he tell me about the Celtics. It's all over the news you know." Nathan snapped.
"It wasn't a sure thing Nathan, and he's leaving the team, not you." I ran my fingers through my hair.
"You always take his side, don't you?" Nathan stood and began to pace. "He never does anything wrong."
"That's not true and you know it. After all the Peyton/Brooke crap, he was pretty screwed up, in case you can't remember." I felt myself begin to get worked up.
"Yes, Saint Lucas, being fought over by two gorgeous girls." Nathan sneered. "What a hassle."
"Okay, first of all, this stuff should be between you and Lucas, so I don't know why you're taking this out on me." I bristled. "Secondly, I did not come out here to fight with you. I came out here to talk things out with you."
"If you didn't come out here to fight with me, then why'd you bring up things between you and Lucas?" He was angry now, but I wasn't sure if the anger was directed at me or at Lucas.
"Because you have the right to know! As much as you don't want to be, you play a part in my decision with Lucas." I stood up, refusing to be submissive to him.
"So Lucas is just second best?" Nathan snarled.
"No, I agreed to meet with you, knowing there was going to be a slight chance that we might rekindle things tonight, it depended on how I felt. If we seeked closure, then I would have decided whether I want to change my relationship with Lucas." I struggled to rein in my temper. "This isn't about Lucas, Nathan, it's about us. You and me and our history together."
"And guess what, it all started over Lucas. You were just a way to get to him." Nathan retorted.
"Saying that used to hurt me, but not anymore, I know you loved me, Nathan, you've proved it so many times, so stop trying to hurt me. You did enough damage when you broke my heart." I lowered my voice.
"You think you're heart was the only one that was broken? Mine broke too, Haley." Nathan rounded on me. "You were the first person who accepted me for who I was, faults and all, the first person I ever loved, you helped me get my brother, you made me better, I wanted to marry you! Breaking up with you was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I did it because I didn't want to be the boyfriend who got drunk and cheated on you because you're better than that."
"No, you just didn't trust yourself." I replied, wrapping my arms around my middle. "You just quit on me, after telling me we'd make it work because we could do anything."
Nathan sighed, collecting himself. "I loved you more than anything and the last thing I wanted to do was disrespect you or do something I could never forgive myself for."
"I understand that, to some extent, but you've quit a lot of things Nathan, but you never quit on us until that moment." I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes. "You always fought for us, no matter what stood in the way. You didn't even let your father break us up and I didn't either because you thought we were something worth fighting for, so I did too. Yeah, you screwed up a lot, but so did I. But, you let a few thousand miles and fear win and I lost faith in you the moment you shattered my heart into a million pieces."
"It took me six years to put it back together, Nathan, six! You know, I've never slept with anyone since the night before you left for California, the night I gave myself to you. No one has ever come close to what we've had. I'm twenty-four years old Nathan and I don't even date anymore. At least, not until last night." I felt the tears spill over, but refused to swipe them away. "Lucas has given me hope, Nathan. What about you?"
He squeezed his eyes shut, as thought struggling with some inner battle. "I can't say that I was that broken over us. I didn't really date through college, but when I met Lexi, things just clicked."
"You loved her." I stated, trying to keep my voice even, although I wanted to scream.
"I loved you more, no wait, I love you more. Seeing you again, it's like those feelings I buried are reawakening. Now it's time to see if the spark's still there." He stopped pacing and turned to face me.
"How do you propose we do that?" I asked dubiously.
"This." He stepped forward, cupped my face in his hands and brought his lips down on mine.
All right, another chapter down. Four more to go! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this story is soon coming to a close. I have made my decision on whom Haley will end up with and it will be revealed in the next chapter. Do not worry, the guy that does not get chosen will not end up alone. Anyway, Tim will make a dramatic return in the Brooke area, Peyton will visit Jake, the basketball issue will be settled, Haley will end up with her guy, and all loose ends will eventually be tied. Keep on reviewing and the chapters will keep on coming. Because, I'm already writing the Wedding Sequal to the this fic, it'll be shorter, but full of fluff and of course a wedding!
I'd also like to apologize for such a bad updater I have been of late. I have a job now and it gets busy during the summer. I come home exhausted and forget about my fics. I promise to try and update faster. Again, I'm so sorry. I hope you all are still willingly to read this fic because I enjoy writing it and there's a lot of action coming up.
