Hey y'all! Yes, I'm back. Hope you're not sick of me yet. :) Well, as I promised, a day of writing, so I'm getting an early start.

daddyzangel108: Thank you so so much for your review. I'm glad you thought that chapter was cute. Nathan/Haley and Tim/Michelle, the thought has crossed my mind... (notice: I'm being vague) So sorry I couldn't update again last night. I was planning to, but I actually fell asleep watching TV. Now, normally, I do not go to sleep at 10:30 at night, but I was just tired. Hope all the updates today make up for it. :)

JLsNaley: Have I told you how much I love you lately? I mean that in all seriousness too. You are such an incredible reader. I love that you review for each chapter, even when you miss some. Yes, we can all get confused with AU stories. Hopefully, I will always remember to explain. :) And I'm so happy you're loving the naley. More to come, trust me! And thanks for giving me your favorite line... I'll try to make more like it. :) Thank you again for making me feel important!

Chapter 11:

On that very same lovely evening, Tim, Haley, and their seven guests sat down to a wonderfully prepared meal in their stylishly modern, spacious dining room. The table settings were beautiful, the centerpiece classic.

And amidst all this wonder and glory, there was silence. Complete and utter silence. It seemed that all our companions were at a loss for words, with nothing to say to one another.

There was the clinking of silverware against china plates and the faint murmuring of 'Could you pass the butter?' and so forth. To any outsider, it would've appeared a perfectly normal dinner, but slightly formal. To its participants, it was like hell on Earth. You could've cut the tension with a knife, the silence wasn't a comfortable one, but rather a nervous one, and the mixing of new and old friends made for very awkward circumstances indeed.

Andrea, tired of the silence, threw down her napkin. "Well, this is sufficiently awkward." Haley glanced up and smiled at her, grateful for her effort at starting a conversation. "No one has anything to talk about?" she prodded. "Nothing at all?" Her words were met with yet more silence. She looked at Haley and shrugged. "I tried, Hales."

Rebecca looked around at the people seated at the table. "Oh, come on, people. This is ridiculous. What the hell is everyone's problem!"

Haley groaned and hit her head lightly against the table. This whole night was a disaster. Tim rubbed her back comfortingly. "It's OK, sweetie. She was only trying to help." Haley raised her head and looked at him. And promptly burst out laughing.

The others soon joined in. Trust Tim to lighten the mood without even trying to do so. He looked around, bewildered. "What? What did I say? Are you guys laughing at me?" Haley couldn't contain her laughter at the confused expression on his face. He looked slightly angry. "Damn it! This isn't fair. This always happens. Everyone starts laughing and poor old Tim is the only one who doesn't get it!"

By now, Haley was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down her face. Alex looked at her. "Got yourself a bright one there, don't ya, Haley?" She could only nod as she continued to laugh.

Tim looked to Nathan, hoping he could provide some insight as to why everyone was suddenly hysterical. But Nathan simply laughed and shook his head, saying, "You haven't changed a bit, Tim."

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An hour later, the guys were lounging in the den, watching some basketball game, while the girls stood talking in the kitchen. Surprisingly, though she and Haley didn't talk as much to each other as they did to the other girls, Michelle seemed to fit right in. Haley couldn't help but smile at the irony.

She could only pray that her friends weren't too dense and that they'd figured out Michelle was dating Nathan and wouldn't bring up her unhealthy obsession with him in college. It was something she didn't think she could deal with tonight.

Andrea was laughing at something Haley had said, when she suddenly turned to Michelle and said, "So, Michelle, did you have any jobs in college?"
Michelle grinned. "Yeah, I worked at a fast food restaurant."

The other girls shrieked in laughter.

"Oh my god!" Andrea screamed. "I can just see you in one of those little McDonald's uniforms at the drive thru window. 'Can I take your order?'"

"Hey," Michelle threw out indignantly."I was working somewhere much more classy than that."

"Oh really, where?"" Rebecca asked teasingly.

Michelle held her head up high, as if to add emphasis to her statement. "Sonic," she breathed out, almost reverently.

The girls were soon giggling again.

In the den, the guys weren't really focused on the game on TV. "What do you think they're all laughing so hard about?" Nathan asked.

Next to him, Tim got that perverted smile on his face. Yes, the old Tim from their high school days was beginning to show himself more and more with each passing minute.

Nathan groaned. "Tim, man, we don't even want to hear it."

Tim pouted. "Hey, that's not fair, maybe everyone else wants to hear it."

Alex clapped his shoulder. "Tim, I think we've got more reason to trust Nathan right now."

"Yeah, trust Nathan my ass," Tim mumbled. He addressed the rest of the guys. "Do you know how many girls Nathan played in high school? I never played anyone."

Nathan laughed. "Dude, it's cause no girl would come near you."

"Fine," Tim grumbled. "Insult me all you want. I'll go see what the girls are doing." He stood from the couch and made his way toward the kitchen. The laughter of the other guys followed him all the way there. He walked in frowning.

The girls all looked up as they heard him come in. He gave a small smile. They smiled back almost in unison. He walked to the side of the counter closest to him, where Michelle and Andrea were sitting and slung an arm over each girl's shoulders. "What's goin on ladies?"

Michelle just laughed. Andrea giggled. "Timmy boy, you're so cute when you're clue-less."

He pouted again and walked around to where Haley sat on the other side. "Baby, they're making fun of me."

She hugged him. "Aw, I'm sorry Timmy boy." She laughed.

His pout grew bigger. "Why does this always happen?" Nevertheless, his arms circled her waist and lifted her to stand next to him. She stood in front of him, leaning back against his solid form and laying her arms on top of his own, still around her.

Michelle fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair. "So, Haley," she began. "What was one of your jobs as a college student?"

Haley laughed. "Well, I had quite a few of those."

Rebecca interrupted, laughing. "This one time, it was her first day on her new job and she told us she couldn't go to breakfast with us. So, we were like OK. Then we all decide to go to Starbucks instead of our usual place and guess who came to take our order?"

Andrea took over then. "Or the time we decided to go to this new club that had just opened and guess who was their new bartender?"

The others shared a good laugh as Haley lifted a hand to cover her face in mock embarrassment. Tim looked down at her in surprise. ""You were a bartender?""

She slapped him lightly. "Don't look so surprised. I'm Haley James, there's nothing I haven't done."

"Well, Miss Haley James, why don't you make us some drinks?" Tim suggested, releasing her and sitting on the stool she'd been occupying before he pulled her to her feet.

She glared at him, then stuck her tongue out. He scoffed, "That's cute." He pulled her into his lap.

Andrea walked to the door leading from the kitchen into the den. "Hey, guys," she called. "Get in here. Haley's gonna make us some drinks."

Alex came in first, winking at Andrea, still standing by the door. She smiled suggestively at him. Haley, seeing the interaction, rolled her eyes. For the past four years, they'd been teasing each other. Those two just needed to hook up already. Sam came in next, sitting next to Rebecca and throwing his arm over hers and Haley's shoulders. Steve entered and casually took a seat on Haley's other side, laying his head tiredly on her shoulder. Not to be outdone, Tim's arms snaked around her waist as he rested his chin on top of her head. "Aw, I feel loved," Haley smiled dazzlingly.

Then, Nathan came in, making eye contact with Haley and smirking. But he made sure to cover it up before anyone else saw. She gave a small imperceptible nod to him. "Stop moving your head," Tim whined. She just smiled as Nathan sat down across from her, next to Michelle. His arm slipped around her and Haley noticed. She gave him a small smile and carefully maneuvered her legs to use him as a footrest under the counter top where no one would notice.

"So……. this is nice," Michelle offered.

"Too quiet, though," Tim added. They smiled at each other.

"How about those drinks?" Alex smirked at Haley.

She groaned. "You just had to remind them."

"Yeah, Haley," Nathan had a smirk almost identical to Alex's. "I'm getting thirsty."

Michelle looked between the two and tried to shake the feeling there was something going on with them.

Haley carefully slipped out of everyone's grip. Steve's head fell onto Tim's rock hard shoulder. He sat up and rubbed his head. "God, Haley, trying to kill me?"

She just smirked at him and reached over to turn some music on. Andrea got up and danced with her as Rebecca got out the glasses and alcohol. "Wow, you've got a great selection."

Haley smiled. "Thanks, hey Becca, why don't you make the drinks?"

Rebecca raised a perfectly plucked brow. "Girl, please, I'd probably end up poisoning someone."

The guys just laughed at their banter. Andrea nudged her. "Go ahead. Michelle, come here. I need a dancing partner."

Kissing Nathan on the cheek, Michelle walked around to her and Andrea grabbed her hands as a fast song came on. They lost themselves in the music. Haley rolled her eyes as Rebecca got between them. She shouted over to the guys, "What do you want?"

They shouted their orders out all at once and she could just barely distinguish which was which. Before they could finish repeating them one by one, she had them all poured and mixed and was carrying them over. As she set each one down in front of the correct person, Tim looked at her and smirked. "Impressive. Who knew our little Haley had skills?"

She rolled her eyes teasingly and went to join the other girls dancing, happy that finally, everyone was getting along.

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That night, they were all exhausted getting ready for bed. When they were all changed into more comfortable clothes, they decided to just sit around watching TV and hanging out for awhile. Obviously, the guys were the first ones done. Nathan and Tim sat on opposite ends of a couch, while Alex sat in a huge, overstuffed armchair and Sam lay on the opposite couch. Steve occupied the only available chair left.

Haley met Andrea walking out of her room and they linked arms. "So, what's the deal with you and Nathan?" Andrea asked.

Haley gave her a strange look. "Nothing. There's no deal."

Andrea rolled her eyes. "Girl, I might be blonde, but I am not that dumb. OK, I know there's something going on."

As they reached the den, Haley sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you later. When we're alone."

Her face dissolved into a beautiful smile as Andrea just rolled her eyes. Disentangling their arms, Haley walked over to where Nathan and Tim were. 'Damn it!' she thought. 'They just had to sit on the same couch.' She sprawled on top of them, head in Nathan's lap, feet in Tim's. "Hey!" Tim protested.

Haley glanced at him and smiled innocently. "What? I haven't talked to Nate in awhile. Chill, Timmy." She sat up and gave him a kiss, then settled back onto Nathan. He looked down at her and smirked. She looked up at him and smiled. He felt his lips twitch and couldn't help but smile back as he unconsciously began stroking her hair, something he used to do all the time when they were dating and in this position. Tim noticed, but decided not to make a big deal of it.

Andrea had squeezed into the chair next to Alex, but he didn''t seem to mind as he put his arm around her shoulder and she settled into him, lifting her legs on top of his.
Seconds later, Rebecca and Michelle entered together, laughing. Rebecca made a beeline for the couch Sam lay on. He scooted farther back and she stretched out in front of him. He wrapped an arm around her so she wouldn't fall off. She just smiled and let him.

Michelle stood warily beside the couch Nathan, Haley, and Tim were positioned on. Haley noticed and smiled at her, reluctantly moving off Nathan and settling comfortably in Tim's lap, whispering a quick apology. "It's alright," Michelle smiled back at her and settled next to Nathan, who wrapped her in his arms.

Haley glanced over to see how Steve was fairing alone. He had already fallen asleep. She laughed. Andrea gave her a funny look. She nodded her head toward Steve and Andrea just shook her head and smiled, settling back down with Alex.

Everyone felt relaxed and at ease. It was a feeling they hadn't been experiencing very often lately and they were all grateful for it, though they knew the tension would be back tomorrow.

One by one, they all eventually fell asleep, Nathan and Haley the only ones left awake. She glanced over at him and found him looking at her. She smiled suggestively at him. He gave her a sorrowful look and pointed to Michelle laying on top of him, indicating he couldn't get up. She frowned sadly and blew him a kiss, settling back into Tim, trying desperately to go to sleep.

Nathan lay back down under Michelle and tried to find comfort in her body on his. But it wasn't the same as when he was with Haley. It took him hours before sleep finally claimed him.

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I know, not much naley in this one, but I thought we needed a sort of fun chapter for you to get to know Haley's friends. Hope you liked. r&r next chapter will be up very soon. And there will be more naley in it. :)