Disclaimer: I do not own anything, sigh, it all belongs to WB!

Chapter 2 – The Way You Looked Tonight

Haley walked into Razz, one of the trendiest restaurants in the upper side of New York. It was not uncommon to see famous people dining and wining at the restaurant. She walked up to the maitre and he automatically recognized her.

"Miss James! Whom shall you be dining with tonight?" The maitre spoke in a loud voice, as if to signify her presence in his restaurant.

"Chris Keller. I believe he is already here?" Haley said, eager to sit down. She had bought new shoes that looked awesome with her outfit, but they still had to broken into.

"Off course, right this way!" The maitre said, scuttling off towards one of the balcony seats. Haley followed at a slower pace, until she spotted Chris. She quickened her pace and plopped down in her seat. Chris smirked at her, knowing the cause of her pain.

"Hale, did you buy another pair of shoes which will take you a month to break and by the time you do, you are sick of them and buy a new pair?" Chris asked sardonically, opening up his menu.

Haley shot him a dirty look, knowing what he said was actually perfectly true.

Chris smirked again, "Oh well, you look very nice tonight."

Haley smiled her thank you. For some reason, she took pains in dressing up tonight. She and Chris went out to dinner frequently, just to unwind but it was usually to smaller restaurants. Razz was a big deal; there were always paparazzi around as well as reporters. Haley wore a simple black dress, which can never go wrong.

Dinner commenced nicely as usual. As they were eating their dinner, Haley saw a flash of light go off. Chris noticed it too, but chuckled. They both looked in the direction of the flash, noticing a few patrons, pulling out pens and pieces of paper for autographs.

"That wasn't for us. We aren't that important yet." He said, sipping his wine.

"Speak for yourself!" Haley said, giggling.

Just then, a flash of light went of in her face. The flash startled her, causing her to poke herself in the face with her fork. Chris chortled while Haley sent him another death glare. She wiped her face with her napkin, still glaring at him.

"Hey, Miss Famous Star, that is what you get for being important." Chris bantered.

"Shut it." Haley said jokingly.

"So, what are your plans for the weekend?" Chris asked, leaning back in his chair, full from his meal.

"Not much really." Haley said, picking at her food. "Lucas is coming into town this weekend, so he and I are going to get together and just spend a day, the two of us."

Chris nodded, knowing how much Lucas meant to her. He had always felt a little guilty for taking her away from Tree Hill. But he knew that it was for the best. Haley had a raw talent that needed to be heard, that needed to be released. Chris was just there at the right moment to help unleash it. He never regretted giving up his opportunity to her. It was a slight compensation to her.

"That's good. Catch up on some stuff. Show him the whore houses of New York." Chris smirked, knowing that would get Haley's goat.

"Chris! Please, do not be so crass. He isn't a player. He just likes girls." Haley admonished him, "Plus, I remember him saying something about being serious about a girl. But anyway, what are you doing this weekend?"

"Oh, well being less important, I think I am going to just relax around my pad. Spend some time with Samantha. Haven't had much time to do that lately." Chris said, signaling the waiter to bring the check.

"Aww, that's great! How is she doing by the way? How has she trained you?" Haley joked.

"Chris Keller ain't gonna let anyone train him." He said smirking, "She is doing great. She is going to be graduating from NYU next month. Then she said she is going to go to Italy for a few fashion designing courses, so I want to spend as much as I can with her."

"That's wonderful!" Haley said, truly happy for her friend. She fished out her wallet from her purse. It was a ritual. Chris always paid the bill and Haley always paid the tip.

They both stood up, gathering their belongings and started walking towards the exit. Unfortunately, the table with the autograph seekers was right in their way. Haley glanced at the occupants of the table, stopping suddenly when her eyes came in contact with one of the patrons. He stared at her with a shocked look as well. Chris bumped into her, and grabbed onto her arms for support.

"Lucas?" She half whispered, half mouthed.

Lucas stood up in his seat. The other two occupants had finished signing the autographs and noticed their other guest standing with a stunned look on his face.

"What's up Luke?" Nathan asked, before following Lucas' line of sight stopping with shock as well. Brooke's leaned back, looking slightly cattish.

'My, this is awkward.' Haley thought. She began fidgeting with her shawl. She had yet to notice the other two occupants of the table. She was just staring at Lucas. Chris, on the other hand, already had locked his gaze with Nathan, who returned it with full force rage. Chris touched Haley's shoulder, indicating that he was leaving.

"Haley! What a surprise to see you here!" As Lucas' shock wore off, genuine happiness settled in, he went over to her and hugged her.

Haley giggled, the giddiness hitting her full force as well. Her best friend was here. She threw her arms around him and hugged him all her strength. She looked over his shoulder to the two other people sitting at the table and froze in his arms. Sitting less than 5 feet away from her was Nathan Scott.

As she and Nathan stared at each other, the world seemed to fade. She noticed that he looked the same, but he had filled out. His face had strong planes, the baby fat all gone. His physique had always been excellent, but due to the strenuous workout of professional basketball, it was amazing. The only thing that was the same were his eyes. The piercing blue eyes, usually filled with love when directed towards her, were now coolly gazing at her.

Nathan was appraising Haley the same way she was doing him. She had gained a bit of weight, but it wasn't noticeable to anyone else, She had filled out, was a little more rounder and feminine. Her hair was straight and hung down her back. He noticed that it was a darker shade than her natural color. She was wearing a black dress, which emphasized her curves.

Brooke surveyed the scene, half amused, half gleeful and half pissed. Yes, she didn't like Haley at all for what she did to Nathan, but in the past, she had always considered Haley to be a good friend of hers. The fates must really dislike them all because it was a far-fetch coincidence that Haley, Chris, Brooke, Lucas and Nathan were all in the same restaurant, the same night, at the same time. She noticed how Haley looked at Nathan, with the masked love her eyes, and she noticed how Nathan lethally glared at Chris. She also noticed the cool gaze that Nathan gave Haley. Knowing Nathan for almost her entire life, she knew that he got that look whenever he was trying to control his emotions.

Haley tore her gaze away from Nathan and stepped out of Lucas' arms. She waved to Brooke, who smirked back to her.

"Well, tutor wife, how are you doing?" Brooke drawled, not noticing the nickname. As soon as the words left her mouth, Brooke realized her mistake. Lucas shot her a look, Nathan stiffened and Haley paled, but tried to play it off.

"Doing well, Brooke thanks for asking. How is the modeling going along?" Haley answered, trying not to think about the nickname.

"Not bad, I'm getting paid to do what I do best, looking gorgeous!" Brooke smiled, as Lucas hugged her from the side.

"That's good! Well, I have to go, Lucas, we are still on for tomorrow?" Haley quickly said before the awkward silence could fall.

"Absolutely!" Lucas said cheerfully, noticing Haley's discomfort.

Haley gave one last look to Nathan, who was staring in the other direction, with his jaw clenched. Brooke gave her a small smile and a tiny wave. Haley smiled and turned around, willing herself to walk to the door instead of fleeing.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

The trio watched Haley walk away. As soon as she was out of sight, Brooke and Lucas whipped their heads to look at Nathan. Nathan pretended to not notice that but after a few moments, he sighed.

"What do you want me to say?" Nathan asked, bracing himself for the flurry of questions, which he had heard a million times.

But this time, the reply he got shocked him out of his wits.

"She still loves you." Brooke said softly, "I can see it in her eyes." Lucas nodded his head, agreeing with his girlfriend.

Nathan counted to 10 in his head silently, trying not to hit the table with his fist. "Oh I see. So, it was the love she had for me that caused her to get on that bus with that bastard and come to New York." Noticing the look on Brooke's face, he added in, " I don't care what you guys say, but I am not reconciling with her at all."

Brooke snapped her mouth shut. Lucas gave her a looked that clearly said that 'Don't you dare try to set them up because I will feed you to piranhas' look. Brooke gave him a look back that said 'you are a big meanie. If it were up to you, then everyone would be brooding' but she didn't say anything. Nathan just sat there amused at his friends.

In reality, he did want to reconcile. It was a chapter in his life that was over, but it had no closure. He wanted that closure. For example, when he left his parents, the emancipation was his closure. He had sent her the annulment papers in hopes that she would sign it and at least let him start his life. Too bad she felt the need to stay in his life.

Strangely, he felt no need to push her out after seeing her tonight.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews! I'm glad to see you all enjoying the story. Trust me, Nathan and Haley interaction will be coming up. Next chapter: Brooke and Nathan talk, Lucas discovers something about Haley

- Tina