Author's Note: Just dropping in with the next update for you. Thanks again for all the great feedback guys. I truly appreciate. Keep it coming!

Chapter 3

These Feelings Follow Me Wherever I Go

Haley always spends the evenings at home by herself.

It began when she was around eleven. Her Father got some huge promotion at work, and began staying later and later, blaming it on his overdue reports and building clientele. Little to his knowledge, everyone else in town already knew it was because of his new, attractive, and somewhat younger secretary Tracey.

Her older sister Kelly had just turned thirteen that same year, and so her mother decided it was ok to leave them alone on Tuesday nights so that she could go drinking with her friends. By the time Haley was fifteen it turned into Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays that her mother would go out. And in the fall that Kelly left for College, Lillian James decided to devote every week night from 5pm to 9pm to her friends and loyal bottle of Jack Daniels.

Haley tried to ask her mother once why she always felt the need to go out. Her mother smiled at her condescendingly before walking out of the door, curtly telling her daughter to get all of her homework done before she went to bed. Haley decided not to talk to her mother about her friends, or late nights out, or all of the empty bottles in the trash can outside anymore after that.

Most days Haley appreciates the quite fours gives you. She can come home and do her work in peace. She makes her own dinner to eat, and enjoys it without any of her sister's whining or her Dad's loud football games booming from the t.v and out into the rest of the house.

Between the time she gets home from all of her after school activities to nine o'clock at night, her home is her sanctuary from the rest of the world.

Every once in a while though, someone comes in and invades that privacy. And it's usually a tall, handsome, and overly cocky boy, who just can't seem to stay away, and to which in all conscience she can't seem to keep locked out.

She's in the kitchen making herself an afternoon snack, when she hears a soft rapping at her back door. She goes to it, and flips up the lace shade that covers the window portion of the door, and sees Nathan standing there waiting to be let in. She thinks about Brooke's lips on his again, and how they made his mouth look bruised and red, and considers just walking away, and letting him stand out there and beg. She looks up at his face, and sees him widen his eyes expectantly, waiting to hear that inevitable door lock click open.

Haley's never been the kind of girl to disobey people's wish's, it's just not in her nature. Not to say that she never wants to, or hasn't tried, but in the end, she wants to make other people happy, even if it takes a piece away from her at a time. So when the door finally does come open, Nathan breezes in as usual and goes too straight to the refrigerator, not really acknowledging her but not ignoring her either. She's not surprised.

Aimlessly he rifles through the shelves of cold food, coming out with a carton of orange juice. He opens it up and drinks straight from it, like it's his own personal supply. Haley shakes her head and rolls her eyes. She's long since stopped trying to tell him what he can and can't do in her home or anywhere else. Most of the time he doesn't listen to her anyway, so there's no point.

When he finishes devouring the rest of the carton, he places it on the table, and sets his eyes hungrily on her.

"You're quiet today."

Haley moves around the edge of the table, and looks disinterestedly down at her half-made sandwich.

She's not hungry anymore.

She pushes it away, and leans back against the kitchen counter.

"Yeah," she says and nods. She tries to keep her eyes focused on anything else in the room but him. The late afternoon sun, and how it comes through the white curtains, causing the room to take on a light orange glow. The sun's going down at a rapid rate these days, and soon it will be dark. She looks at the empty carton on the table, and her math book laying not to far from it. She tries not to think about him looking at her like he wants to kiss her, because right now all that makes her think of is Brooke. Brooke kissing Nathan, and him letting her, and today its bothering her more than other days. She won't admit it, but it's there.

Nathan sees she's thinking about something, "Why," he asks out of genuine curiosity. She's usually not this distant with him. Not unless something's bothering her, and he wants to know what's up.

"I just don't feel like talking, that's all."

"Okay," he shrugs, and moves around the table, closing the distance between them. He brings his arm out and tries to pull her to him. When he goes to kiss her however, she turns her head, brushing him off, irritated by his total indifference to everything all the time.

"What!" He has enough gall to look at her with shock and she simply sneers at him, and pulls away.

"Why were you late to History this morning," she asks without even thinking about it, and sees realization shadow over his eyes.

"Is that what this is about," he asks. He seems concerned, but not in a serious way. Like he's kicked the dog and only feels bad because he was caught doing it. This irritates her even more.

"Maybe," Haley keeps her arms tightly crossed in front of her. She feels stupid and girly for being this over dramatic, but she can't help how she feels about him and Brooke.

The corner of Nathan's mouth curves into a smile. "Haley, I already told you--"

"I know," she cuts in, and goes to sit down at the table to do her math homework. She doesn't want to hear him repeat the same story to her for the hundredth time. She's heard it enough. Right now she just wants to be alone. She wants to do her homework and eat her sandwich and then go mess with the new camera she bought herself for her birthday last month. It's her routine, and she likes to stick to it.

"Look, Nathan I've got a lot of work to do, ok. You should probably go," she finishes, and cracks her book open, leaving Nathan standing popeyed in her kitchen. He stares down at her for a few minutes, not sure if she is really serious or not. When he can tell she's no longer going to acknowledge his existence in any manner what so ever, he puffs out a long sigh, and slides out, slamming the door behind him.

Haley tries to concentrate on her homework after he's gone. Tries to remember the importance of sticking to her routine. But now that he's gone, it doesn't really seem that important at all.

......

When she goes to school the next day, Nathan's already in class before her, and he looks to be in a particularly foul mood. Part of her wants to smile at him, do something comforting. It most likely wouldn't end up helping though, so she chooses not too.

The rest of the day goes by at a monotonously slow pace, and her mind keeps drifting back to Nathan, despite her own stubbornness not to think about him. Sometimes it feels pointless to even try though, because it just makes her think about him that much more.

Part of her wishes that they had History Class at the end of the day together rather than at the beginning. That at least, would give her something to look forward to. Now all she has to look forward to is Accelerated Physics.

.......

She goes to Yearbook after school and the meeting is cut short because of Mr. Bauer's doctor's appointment. His third in two weeks. The man practically lives in the hospital, he's there so often. Haley and the other students don't mind too much, when's he's gone they get more free reign over what they can and can't do.

She's looking over some pictures for the best couple category, when she comes across a picture of Brooke and Nathan at the Winter Formal. They're standing in the corner of their cheaply decorated gym with some other people from the basketball crowd. Nathan's smiling and has his arm wrapped around Brooke waste, and she looks to be giggling about something funny somebody had just said. Her mouth open wide, showing off her perfectly symmetrical pink lips and dazzling white teeth. To anyone on the outside they would appear happy.

Haley thinks about putting famous quotes underneath all the pictures that win for each category. Considers putting something under their picture along the lines of, "When you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas." She figures that probably wouldn't be very lady like of her though, and pushes the thought aside.

On her way out, Danielle Paulson asks her to pick some books up for her at the library. She grabs up all of her books and heads to her locker. In the hallway she unsuccessfully attempts to shove said books into her locker with ease, but fails. She hopes no one sees her making a fool of herself.

When she turns around, she sees Nathan staring at her intently. She remembers the semi-argument they had yesterday, and just keeps on walking.

......

In the library Haley goes straight for the books that Danielle asked her to get. In the corner of her eye she can see Nathan standing, watching her at the end of the isle of racks. She flips through the book, ignoring him. She's not going to be the first to speak. She refuses. He can have that pleasure all to himself.

When he finally does open his mouth, what he says takes her off guard, and she quickly sees that he's playing with her, maybe to loosen up the tension between them, or make her laugh. He likes to do that often. She doesn't see what's so spectacular about her laugh, but it seems to amuse him enough.

Quickly their conversation becomes serious and she is back up against the wall, Nathan leaning over her like a predator. He's breathing down upon her neck and his eyes are intent on her mouth.

"Is that right," he asks her in a husky tone, and she remembers the first time they met. Really met. She remembers the feeling of his hand on top of hers and how his eyes would linger on her for seconds at a time. It made her feel really alive for the first time.

"Yeah, that's right," she plays along, and feels his mouth achingly close to hers. Suddenly everything else doesn't matter. Not the image of Nathan's red lips or his indifference about it, or even Brooke. All she wants is for him to be kissing her right then like he did the very first time. She remembers that day well too.

Her eyes flutter shut when he moves in closer. She goes to open them, when he starts to pull away though, but his mouth his crushed to hers before she can even follow through. At first she doesn't move, too shocked at his intensity, and maybe just a little way to get back at him. When he moves to pull away again, she pushes back, and opens her mouth fully for him so that their tongues can touch. It's a heated kiss, passionate and hot, and Haley feels completely breathless when it's over. Even more so, when he looks down at her with those gorgeous blue eyes of his and smiles. She can't help but smile back at him when he finally says her name.

She knows somewhere deep down she should probably still be mad at him for blowing off her concerns about Brooke. Kissing won't help solve problems. Despite how good it feels.

"Can I come by later," he asks, and looks to be somewhat sorry for what happened yesterday.

She doesn't hesitate in nodding her head in the affirmative. It's just too hard to refuse him when he looks at her that way.

His eyes brighten at her response and he gives her one last peck on the lips before slipping out of the racks. He winks at her as he disappears, leaving her standing there after him once again.