Here's the next part. Hope you like. Thank you so much for the reviews. They were really inspiring. Look for chapter 12 sometime later today.
Chapter 11:
The girls were at Brooke's, the boys at Nathan's. The general idea of the night was to take time away from each other, to spend time with people of their own sex, to reconnect with their friends, to not think about their relationships with their significant others; to instead pretend that they had nothing to worry about and to just go out and have a good time. To live in the moment and willingly follow wherever life decided to take you next. They would act first, and ask questions later. They wouldn't care what they looked like to others, they would do whatever the hell they pleased and not get any grief about it later. This was what they hoped to accomplish. However, it seemed nearly impossible.
Haley could not get Nathan off her mind and vice versa. The same proved true for each couple in the group. Even Brooke, whose idea this night was originally, was beginning to think it was a bad idea. She missed Lucas too damn much.
But Haley decided that it was time for them to pull it together. So, she stood from her position sprawled over Brooke's bed, and, with a look of sheer determination, began to speak. "Guys, we are pathetic. I mean, the whole reason for this night was for a girl's night out. We shouldn't have to worry about our boyfriends. And instead, we sit here missing them. Seriously, it's like besides them, we have no lives. Well, that's just wrong. I mean, they're probably sitting there right now at some bar or in some club, staring at girls who are way hotter than us and wishing we weren't tying them down. I say we go have a little fun of our own. Now, who's with me?"
Brooke and Peyton shared a look of surprise, then a smirk spread across Brooke's face as she retorted, "Never thought I trained you that well Haley. But of course, you are my best friend. I like the way you think. Come on guys, let's do some damage." With a grin, she hopped up from her position on the floor and dragged her two best friends to her closet.
It was time for a real girl's night out.
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The boys were at Nathan's house, in the kitchen, searching for something edible. Nathan looked through the fridge, grimacing at the unrecognizable food. He pulled out a tupperware container with some mass of green inside it and groaned. ""Man, what the f uck is this stuff?""
Jake sighed. "Maybe we should just head out already. I don't think we're gonna find anything here. We can stop for dinner on the way."
The others readily agreed. They all piled once again into Nathan's mustang and headed off toward whatever club they could find for the night. Tim had eagerly climbed into the front seat next to Nathan, rushing ahead of the others to the car so that no one else could take the spot. And, as the others were quickly learning, Tim had horrible taste in music. 'Note to self,' thought Nathan. 'Never, EVER let Tim sit in the front again. Or you will be subjected to this crap.'
The others stared incredulously at Tim, who sat in the front seat, eyes closed, singing along with the old woman's cackling voice to some song with no rhythm, beat, melody, or anything else. As the song, much to everyone else's relief, came to an end, Tim sighed, eyes still shut in what could only be described as pure rapture, and said, "Isn't that the best music you've ever heard, guys?""
"Man, you've got some problems," Jake said as Nathan reached over and turned the station.
"Tim, what do you do when you're not with us?" Luke asked, becoming increasingly alarmed as he learned that Tim may have even less of a life than they had previously thought him too.
Tim shrugged. "I guess not much of anything."
"That's what I was afraid of."
"What's wrong with that?" Tim asked defensively, obviously not understanding the point the others were trying to get across.
Nathan glanced at him, then quickly back at the road, "Dude, you need a life."
"But I do have a life," he answered, still confused.
"No, really, you don't," Jake stated.
Tim sighed. Why did they always single him out? Oh well, maybe he could find a hot girl at the club tonight. Well, at least one that was actually willing to talk to him. That had been a problem last time……
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Brooke, Peyton, and Haley had appeared to have accomplished their original plan, to forget about all the dramas of dating. Of course, their current boyfriends still lingered in the backs of their minds, but for tonight they would have to be pushed to the side. Now, said boyfriends would not have appreciated their own girlfriends speaking of them in this way, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, right? What was the harm in having a little fun? So, the girls had found a new club to spend their Friday night at and couldn't wait for their girl's night to officially begin.
First step, getting into the club without having to show ids. Now, given that they were three young (but not too young), hot, sexy girls who were very experienced in this department, they estimated that it would take them all of two minutes. They had this down to an art. If it had been a profession, they could have made millions. They knew you had to be suggestive enough to get in, but not too memorable. He had to fall for your charismatic sex appeal, then forget you the minute you left his sight. This, to many, was a very difficult task, but for these three girls, it took only about 2 ½ minutes to accomplish. Phase one, complete.
Next, they would each pick their own ideal guy (besides the one they were currently dating, of course) and capture his attention. They would make him want them, woo him, use all of their seductive charm, and, just when he thought he had them, they would disappear. The object: Make him want them, get whatever they could out of him (i.e. drinks and such) and then leave. Now, it was time for the selection process.
Brooke stared around almost in awe. "Ok, I have seen plenty of fine guys before, including my own boyfriend, but damn……" her voice trailed off.
Peyton stared along with her, shocked at how many hot people could be in one place.
Haley stood, already looking bored, used to all of this and so much more from her three years in New York. To her, this was just like another night in one of those clubs with her friends, getting guys to pick you up. Once she had decided that she had to be with Nathan, she had simultaneously decided to never revert back to this. To bury the person she became in New York. Because even if she wasn't the same person who left Tree Hill years before, she could try to become that person again. And to do that, she had to give up the life she had come to love. But, maybe she could have that life back for just one night. She hoped that she was strong enough to fall back into the comfort of what had been and return to what should be the next day. Because if she wasn't…… she shivered at the thought.
"Come on, ladies," she smirked, making her way to the bar. "Let the games begin."
The three girls sauntered confidently to the bar, turning quite a few heads, though acting nonchalant about it, and began scanning the room from there. Brooke spotted something on the opposite end of the room and smiled. "Ooh, what about him?"
Haley glanced in the direction Brooke pointed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Brooke. You can do better than that."
Brooke raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you talkin about? That boy is FINE."
Haley, in turn, raised her own brow, "Brooke, we want better than fine. Besides, he doesn't exactly look rich."
Finally, after much deliberation, the girls had chosen their respective companions for the evening, though said companions were as of yet, blissfully unaware of this fact. Haley had chosen a hot blonde, completely different from Nathan besides that he had an amazing body and incredible blue eyes. Brooke had picked a dark haired guy who was tall and muscular with a gorgeous smirk. Peyton had selected a tall guy with sandy brown hair and intense, smoky eyes.
Brooke smirked. "Alright girls, let's go get em."
And so, the night began.
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While their girlfriends were choosing random men to pick up, the boys had finished their dinner and were now searching for a club. They must have driven past at least three or four by now, but none had seemed wild enough. Finally, they came upon one with blaring music and two of the finest women they'd ever seen entering. "This is it," Nathan smirked, parking the car.
They all climbed out and made their way to the door where there stood an abnormally large bouncer, even for his profession. "IDs," he commanded in a gruff tone, frowning at them, appraising them with his eyes. They each handed him a fake one and he took them one by one, looking from the picture back to the person, his brow wrinkling. Nathan, Lucas, and Jake had passed this inspection. Tim was the last to come to the bouncer.
"This doesn't look like you, son. You're way too young to be the guy in this picture," the bouncer said, handing his ID back to him.
Nathan groaned and shook his head.
Jake stared at Tim in fury. Since when did he change IDs?
Luke, always the level headed one, said calmly, "Come on, he's with us. Besides, he belongs to a decent gym. Exercise can make you look 10 years younger."
The bouncer, distracted by four women approaching, relented begrudgingly. "Fine."
The boys, relieved, walked into the club. Jake slapped Tim on the head, who yelled, "What the hell was that for!"
Jake glared at him. "Why'd you change IDs, dumbass? We told you not to."
But Tim didn't answer, so the group walked further into the room, scanning it for hot chicks. Nathan nodded toward the bar and took off in that direction. The others split up, each searching for their own girl. Each praying that whatever came of tonight wouldn't affect the relationships they were already in.
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At the girl's present location, they were in the bathroom, conferring about the progress they had made thus far. Peyton relayed that she wasn't having too much luck with her guy. He was a really slow college guy and, surprisingly didn't really understand all the suggestive comments she made.
Brooke stated that her "date" had only bought her two drinks and "wasn't really the dancing type."
Haley was the only one who had, had any real luck with the guy she had picked. "Yeah," she bragged. "He's eating out of the palm of my hand. I say jump, he jumps. Seriously, the guy is whipped. He will not stop offering to buy me stuff. And you should've seen the look on his face when I danced with him. I could've sworn he was in heaven."
Peyton looked at her jealously. "How do you do it?" she asked. "I mean, there must be something we're missing. Cuz me and Brooke are two fine young women."
Haley simply laughed. "Come on, guys. Maybe you'll have more luck this time. Or, you could always pick someone else. The night is still young."
Laughing, they all filed out of the bathroom and back into the club. Haley spotted her guy over by the counter and waved to Brooke and Peyton, creeping up quietly behind him. "Hey, stranger," she purred in his ear. He turned to her and smiled.
"Took you long enough," he retorted.
She had a witty comment on the tip of her tongue, but it dissolved as she saw who was sitting next to them. Dark hair, blue eyes with a fire burning in them. A fire with little anger, but much jealousy. Uh oh. Nathan. He shook his head and stood from his seat, paying the bartender and leaving the girl he had been flirting with. "S hit!" she cursed, apologizing to the stranger she had been with and hurrying after him.
Catching up to him just before he entered the men's room, she grabbed onto his arm and whipped him around to face her. "Nathan," she muttered.
He looked down at her and sighed. "What?"
"I'm so sorry," she mumbled, finding it difficult to look into his eyes.
He lifted her chin so that she was looking at him. "Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. It was harmless. I just, you know, it's just hard to see you like that with someone else."
She smiled. "Aw, is someone a little jealous?"
He guffawed. "No!"
She cocked her eyebrow at him.
He snared her in his arms. "Maybe just a little."
Her smile widened. "It's ok, baby. You know you're the only one for me." Her arms went around his neck.
"I better be," he whispered, leaning down and kissing her.
She smiled against his lips. She couldn't get over how happy he made her. She felt like the most loved person in the world. No one had ever made her feel more special. And she loved him for it. She had yet to say those three little words to him and him to her, but they knew it all the same. They could see it in each other's eyes. She knew that their relationship would not always be this perfect, that it might not even last, but she had to believe that it would. Because he was all she had to hold onto. And without him, she would never make it.
So, she had to live in the moment. She had to live for him just as he lived for her. Because even if only for a few months, she needed this feeling again. The one she had missed the most. The feeling of warmth, of love. The feeling you get when you know that something's right. It was the best feeling in the world. And he was the only one who could make her feel that way. So, for the time being, all of her doubts and insecurities would just have to fade away. Because for now, it was just him and her. Two people who found happiness in each other. And that was the way it should be.
She pulled away from him and smiled, taking his hand. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" he asked, looking confused.
"You were right. You and me need some alone time. Tonight."
He grinned. "But what about the others? What about your girl night?"
She looked at him. "They'll just have to wait. Right now, you're more important."
He smiled and kissed her again quickly. "You are the best."
She loved how sweet he was to her. She couldn't ever imagine living without this feeling again. She knew that if she lost it, it would break her. There wouldn't be anything left to save. She would be gone. Forever. Because, after having gone through so many hardships already, something this important to her, something that made her so happy, being torn apart, would kill her. It would rip her heart into tiny pieces that were left to bleed with no one to stop them until finally, one day, they stopped on their own. And she would be left with emptiness. With the cold and lonely memories of what had been, when even they couldn't keep her warm any longer. And that would be the day that she would be forced to look inside herself and see what was really there. Nothing.
So, at midnight that Friday night, in that club, she decided that she wouldn't lose it. No matter what, she could never lose this feeling. Could never lose him. The only question was, how could she possibly keep him? She knew that all that had happened in her past couldn't just be boxed up and hidden somewhere. Until resolved, it would just keep popping up. And that would hurt him. She couldn't just suppress that whole part of her life, but she couldn't allow him to see it either. What was she to do?
But, for tonight, this issue would have to wait. For tonight, she would focus on this feeling. The feeling she got when it was just him and her. And for tonight, that was all she needed.
So, she felt more ready for this than she had ever felt for anything in her entire life as they made their way to the door. She was ready to show him how much she loved him. Maybe she couldn't quite bring herself to say it yet, for that would really mean she had let go of the Haley which had believed that love and happiness didn't exist, but she could show him. And that was what she would do. Especially if it made him happy. For she longed for him to experience the feelings she had whenever in close proximity to him. She wanted to make him feel wanted, loved, needed. She wanted him to be happy.
She could see that all she had forced on him was taking its toll on his strength. Though he was too proud to admit it, it was slowly dwindling down. While she was finally finding her strength and her faith again, he was slowly losing his. And she couldn't let that happen. So, she knew that she would have to make him happy. And, she was more than willing to. Because, as cliché as it might sound, if he was happy, she was happy. His triumphs were her triumphs. His trials, her trials.
She felt the warmth of his hand in hers and that reassured her. She knew, somehow, that everything would be ok. She was doing the right thing. And he knew it. And she knew it.
But, whenever it seems that you finally have a reason to be happy, something will happen to change that. Life has a twisted way of making the most unexpected things happen at the most inconvenient times. And sometimes, that makes us question our theory that everything which occurs in life has a purpose.
And for Haley, this event could be summed up in one word. Or rather, in one name.
Jack.
She had known he was coming, had been expecting it for quite some time now, but in the deliriously happy state which had preoccupied her, it had been pushed to the back of her mind. But there he stood, leaning against the far wall, those dark eyes of his following her every move.
She didn't know what he wanted. She didn't know what he had come back for. But, she did know that his visit certainly wouldn't serve to make things better. Instead, he would unleash what she had been trying to conceal from view all this time. The Haley from New York would be brought into the light for all to see. And it wouldn't be pretty.
