Chapter 10 (Part II)

Every time

Nathan was glad Haley wanted to see him. He had to talk to her, for Lucas sake and hers as well. He had to stop Haley from pushing Lucas away coz he can see its tearing them apart.

"Hey Hales, you shouldn't really be pushing yourself too hard"

"Oh not you too! Do you know that Peyton spent half of her time lecturing me about taking care of myself?"

"You deserve it"

Haley kept glancing at the doorway and it seemed pretty obvious to Nathan who she was looking for.

"He's still outside Hales"

"Who?"

"Luke. Stop pretending you're not glad he's here"

She bit her lower lip. She really didn't know how to respond to Nathan's comment about Lucas.

"Give him a chance Hales. Give yourself a chance to love him and be loved by him. Life is too short to just play around."

Haley laughed a little. "You grew up Nate, you really grew up"

"I learned that from you" he smiled, a cocky know it all smile.

Outside the room Lucas wasn't sure if he was wanted there but Nathan was right. He needed to prove to Haley that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Luke, it's okay. I'm happy you're here" Peyton smiled and patted him on the back.

"It's about time man!" Jake joked, holding a very sleepy Jenny in his arms.

"Daddy, I wanna go home." Jenny said in between yawns. Jake went in Haley's room to say goodbye. Peyton wanted to stay since the room Haley was occupying equaled that of a five star hotel. She even joked to Haley about it.

Peyton and Nathan were still in her room while Lucas was still outside.

"Um…can you ask Luke to come in?"

The two nodded their consent and after a few minutes Luke entered her room. Peyton and Nathan had to practically drag Luke inside the room because he still felt that he might cause Haley stress.

"We'll leave you two alone."

Lucas looked at his feet looking like that sixteen year old boy a long time ago. A little unsure of himself and very much in love with his best friend.

"Lucas"

He looked at her. She was pretty pale and she looked really tired. He walked towards her bed and sat on the chair beside it.

Lucas smiled and took her hands and kissed the inside of her palms, just like what he used to do when they were teenagers.

Their eyes met and somehow they understood each other. They'll sort their problems out, they'll talk about it but now…..

"Luke" Haley was crying softly but it became uncontrollable. Lucas sat on her bed and held her. He rocked her gently as he cried with her.

But every time your love is near
And every time I'm filled with fear
Cuz every time I see your face
My heart does begin to race everytime