Nathan and Brooke walked down the halls of Tree Hill High School together. It had been a couple days since Haley's return, and she hadn't been to school yet. Brooke was relieved they hadn't seen her since the morning she arrived back in Tree Hill. She really didn't want to deal with what could happen now that Nathan's soon-to-be-ex wife had come back to town.

She spotted Peyton at her locker, and pulled Nathan toward the blonde girl. "Hey, best friend," she said, hugging her.

"Hey, Brooke. Hey, Nate. How are you guys doing on this lovely day?" Peyton asked.

"You're way too cheerful to be my best friend. Why are you so happy?" Brooke asked, eyebrows raised.

"I'm just in a good mood. There's nothing wrong with that. Can't a teenage girl be happy?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, a teenage girl can be. You can't be, though. It's not your style," Brooke replied.

"Well, it is from now on. I'm finally happy. Jake and Jenny are back, and things are going great," Peyton explained, unable to keep the smile from her face.

"Good for you. I'm glad that things are finally falling into place for you, Pey. You deserve to be happy," Brooke said, hugging her friend. "Well, we have to go to class, but I'll give you a call later tonight." Brooke and Nathan walked away from Peyton, going towards their last class for the day. "Nathan..."

"Yes, Brooke?" he asked, knowing what she was going to say already. He also knew that he couldn't deny her what she was about to ask.

"How about we just skip class today and go back to my place?" Brooke asked, smirking up at him.

"Sounds good to me, babe," Nathan said, pulling her against him and kissing her on the forehead.

The two started towards the parking lot. They were busy teasing each other to notice the pair of friends that was headed in their direction. Brooke looked up and saw Lucas and Haley a few feet in front of them. She nudged Nathan in the ribs to draw his attention to the pair.

"Hey, little bro, what's up?" Lucas asked.

"Not too much. How's it going?" Nathan asked, pulling Brooke instinctively closer to him.

"It's going good. We were just going to go get Haley's homework, so she can catch up with everyone," Lucas explained.

"Cool. Well, we're going to cut out of here early, so I'll talk to you later," Nathan replied, pulling his girlfriend away from the other couple.

"Gee, that wasn't uncomfortable at all, Nathan," Brooke teased.

"No sht. Both of our exes at once. How nice," Nathan replied, opening the car door for Brooke. She got in and waited for him to climb in the driver's side door.

"She's not your ex yet, baby," Brooke reminded him.

"It's only a matter of time, Brooke," Nathan said, reaching across the seat to take her hand. He pulled her to him and kissed her. Brooke melted into the kiss and sighed. She pulled away and rested her forehead against Nathan's.

"I know, Nate. I'm just not a patient person. I want it to be official, so we can be a real couple," Brooke said, looking into his eyes.

"We are a real couple, Brooke."

"Not to everyone else," Brooke told Nathan, looking down. "Nobody takes our relationship seriously except for us and Peyton."

"Who cares, Brooke? We know that we're serious. That's all that matters to me," Nathan said.

Brooke looked back up into Nathan's eyes. A slow smile crept to her face when she saw how he looked at her. She leaned up and kissed him again. "You're right. It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks. The only thing that matters is that I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you, too, Brooke Davis," Nathan said, kissing her again.

"Come on, stud. Let's go to my house. You can play when we get there," Brooke teased her boyfriend.

"Hell yeah," Nathan said, starting the car. They pulled away from the school, not knowing that someone had been watching them the entire time.

Haley walked into her parent's house and went straight to the kitchen, knowing her mother would be there.

"Hi, honey," her mother greeted her. "How was your first day back?"

"It was okay. I have a lot of catching up to do, but I'm sure I'll be fine in all of my classes," Haley replied, taking a seat next to her mother at the table.

"What's wrong, honey? You look so sad."

"I am sad. I really made a mess of things, Mom. Leaving Nathan was the stupidest thing that I have ever done. I mean, I knew it was wrong when I was doing it. I knew it was a terrible thing to do to him, but I didn't care. I just wanted to get away from Tree Hill and live my dream. If I had known that Chris randomly runs off with girls in every town he goes to, I definitely wouldn't have given it a second thought," Haley pouted to her mother.

"Haley, can I be completely honest with you?" her mother asked.

"Of course, Mom. We've always been truthful to each other."

"Okay. You're not going to like what I'm about to say, but it needs to be said. Haley... you screwed up. You ran away with another man while you were married. Your actions went against everything your father and I have ever taught you about right and wrong. Except for one thing... you followed your heart. Maybe it just isn't meant to be with you and Nathan. I know that it hurts to hear that, but if you had doubts for even one minute during your marriage then.... It just wasn't meant to be, Haley. Now, I have to go run some errands before your father gets home from work. Think about everything I've said. Think about what you have to do now," Haley's mother concluded, getting up from the table and leaving.

Haley sat there, replaying her mother's words in her head.