Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, or One Tree Hill.

Chapter Twelve

Its Only Love

Everyone stared at the young woman whose presence graced the doorway. They were all shocked into silence. Here was a girl none of them had heard from in at least five years. This was a girl who up and left without so much as a goodbye. So what the hell was Haley James doing standing in Brooke's apartment?

Lucas was snapped out of his shocked state first. "Haley!" He exclaimed. He rushed up to her, and embraced his childhood best friend. She may have left years ago, but that doesn't mean he didn't still care about her. "Its so good to see you."

"Its good to see you too, Luke," she said, laughing when he wouldn't let go of her.

"How have you been?" As much wrong as she had done to his brother, she was still his other half, his confidant, his best friend.

"Good, actually. Really good. You?"

Lucas walked up to Crystal, who was in a state of confusion. "Great. I want you to meet someone. This is my girlfriend, Crystal. Crystal, this is Haley..." He trailed off, unsure of her last name as of late.

"James," she finished for him. She stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Crystal took it, but was wary of this girl. She had heard many things about her, from Brooke and Nathan. Almost none of them were good, and Lucas rarely mentioned her. "Same here."

Jake and Peyton walked up and gave their own greetings. Brooke and Nathan were still standing in the back, shocked. They couldn't believe Haley was actually standing there. Brooke looked up at her boyfriend, and he looked down at her at the same time. They locked eyes, and for a second Brooke felt safe. That was until he dropped his arm which was draped her shoulders to his side and took a step away. Brooke's insides went cold. What the hell? Just because his ex wife comes back, he can't be affectionate towards his girlfriend? She swallowed hard, and just reminded herself that Haley had been very important for Nathan, and her coming back was emotional.

Haley finally finished hugging everyone and saw Brooke and Nathan standing in the back. She smiled, and walked up to Brooke. "Brooke! What, no hello?"

Brooke glanced at Nathan before returning the smile. "Haley, hi!" She hugged her, but tension was scrawled across her face.

Haley grinned. "Wow, I haven't seen you since before I went on tour. I came back, and you had already moved."

Brooke stood back. "Yeah, it has been awhile."

Haley turned to Nathan, almost shy. "Nathan," she said simply. He looked back at her. He hadn't seen or heard from her in years.

"Its good to see you," he said. Inside, he kicked himself. That was the best he could come up with?

Brooke felt out of place so she walked over to where Peyton was standing. She whispered, "Okay, this was not part of the plan." Peyton tossed her a sympathetic smile.

Nathan shoved his hands in his pocket, typical Nathan fashion. "How have you been?"

"Good, actually. I just signed a three year recording contract, so things are going good. You?"

He nodded. "Good, good." Repetition was an understatement. He looked up and locked eyes with Brooke again. She gave him a slight smile, but that small smile said a thousand words. It reassured him, and he instantly knew everything would be okay. "Do you want to take a walk?" He asked suddenly. Haley looked at him, surprised.

"Sure," she agreed. "I'll be outside." She walked out the door, and Nathan walked up to Brooke.

"I'll be back, okay? I need to do this."

"Its fine," she assured him. He pulled her close and kissed the tip of her nose.

Once they were gone, the tension had left the atmosphere. It was as though they all breathed huge sighs of relief. All except Brooke. There was no telling what they were talking about.

Mouth walked up to Brooke. "Brooke, I had no idea you and Nathan were dating. I wouldn't have brought Haley had I known about you guys."

"Mouth, its no big deal. I don't care if Haley is here. I'm happy to see her, she used to be one of my really good friends."

Peyton walked up with Crystal, and Mouth went into the other room. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Um, because your boyfriend's ex wife just showed up after years of being absent?"

Brooke shrugged. "I completely trust Nathan. I have no right to be upset about her being here."

Crystal offered, "Well, you and Nathan are way hotter. Is blonde her natural color?"

Peyton laughed. "No, she is a brunette, almost red head. She went blonde after her celebrity status rose."

Brooke sighed. "I wonder what they are talking about."

Nathan and Haley had begun walking down the street. They had no actual destination; they were just walking. Nathan asked, "So have you been with anyone serious since... you know."

"Since I ruined our marriage?" He blushed. He hadn't wanted to sound rude. "No," she answered. "Sure, I've had some boyfriends, but nothing major. Its hard, being in the music business and finding time for a guy."

"You found time for Chris," Nathan scoffed. Haley's face tightened, and he immediately regretted his words. "Sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I just..."

"Its fine. I know I screwed things up, Nathan. I would do anything to take back all those horrible things that happened six years ago."

"But you can't," he said, interrupting her. "You kissed Chris, and then left with him."

"No, I left to pursue a music career. Chris was just part of the tour."

"Haley, I didn't come on this walk to rehash our shitty history, okay?"

She sighed, and folded her arms across her chest. "I know, I'm sorry."

He stopped walking, and faced her. "What are you doing here? You don't show up for years, and then all of a sudden you are back?"

"I usually fly my parents out to visit my for Christmas, but this year they wanted me to come home instead," she lied. Nathan looked at her intently, as though trying to read right through her. She sighed. She couldn't lie to him. "Okay, that's not really the reason. I came back to see you. We ended things so badly. The last time we saw each other, it was in our lawyer's office, signing divorce papers. Nathan, if I had known things were going to turn out the way they did, I never would have married so young. That's where our problems began. We were only sixteen."

"No, Haley. Our problems began when you started blowing me off for some jack ass like Chris Keller, who by the way hasn't had one big hit. We were in love when we got married." Haley looked at him, silent.

She thought about what he said, and it was awhile before she finally found her voice. "I came back to be with you again, Nathan."

He looked at her, and for the first time ever, he saw nothing. No love, no affection. Of course, he would always love her, but he was no longer in love with her. Six years ago, if he looked at her after she left, he felt pain and hurt. Now all he saw standing in front of him was a woman he once loved dearly, but he had long since grown out of that love. It was young love, love that only existed in high schools or fairy tales. It wasn't real.

"Dammit Haley." He ran a hand through his hair. "This isn't fair. Did you ever once stop to think about me in all of this?"

She seemed confused. "Nathan, of course I thought of you! You are all I have been thinking about."

"For how long? A few weeks, maybe a month? Don't say it has been since you left. When you left, you had one thing on your mind. Music. I was this distant figure known as your husband."

"Nathan, that isn't true. I loved you!"

"Loved, Haley. Past tense. We aren't in love anymore."

Haley sighed, frustrated. "I left you high and dry, but I'm back. I want to see if things between us could be better than last time."

"Last time we were in high school," he said, as though he were talking to a child. "You put me through unimaginable hell when we got divorced. You will never know what that was like, because you did the leaving. I was a mess. I was drunk all the time, and was completely irresponsible. It was a wonder I graduated from college. I finally shaped up, and pulled myself together. When I did that, I moved on."

Her eyes searched his for answers. "What do you mean, moved on? Mouth told me you are single, and have been for awhile."

"Was," he corrected her. "Since you didn't bother to ask, let me to put it to you in plain words. I am with someone now, and I care and love her very much."

Haley began getting defensive. "If she is so special to you, where was she tonight? She sure as hell wasn't at Brooke's!"

"That's just it, Haley. She isBrooke."

Haley's face drained of color, and she felt as though she had been slapped. Certainty set in and Haley had to take a step back. Nathan, her Nathan, was dating Brooke Davis? No way, this was not happening. Brooke had always had a knack for taking the good guys. She had Lucas, but Nathan?

"You are dating Brooke Davis?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, but don't say it as a casual thing, like it doesn't mean anything. We are serious about each other. I love her, Hales."

Haley blinked back tears. She had just poured her heart out to a guy, and then to have it thrown back in her face. "How...? When..?"

They began walking again, this time back towards Brooke's apartment. "About six months ago, she moved back to Tree Hill. We became friends, and a few weeks ago we made it official."

"So you guys are serious?"

"Yeah, we are. I have fun with her. We don't fight over petty things. Of course we argue, but that's natural. We call each other on each other's shit and move on. She is good for me. I can be myself when I'm with her. She has known me for a long time, and vice versa. So being with her is just comfortable, and it feels so right. This is the first relationship I've had since you left that isn't revolved around my past with you. I am finally broken free of thinking about you constantly, and whether or not you would approve. I know that sounds rude, but I am finally in a mature relationship with a woman who loves me for what I am."

Haley sighed. She stayed quiet for awhile, just thinking about what he had said. She had wanted all those things with Nathan, but she knew that couldn't happen now. She had her chance years ago, and she blew it. She treated Nathan like crap, and never put him first. And he was right. She had tried changing him, in a way. He was the bad ass of Tree Hill, but when he was around her he was respectful and sweet. Now she would just have to accept that Nathan and Brooke had moved on together. "I'm happy for you, Nathan. You deserve to be happy, and if Brooke makes you happy, then that's good," she lied. It killed her that Brooke Davis had something she desperately wanted. She had left him once, and she wasn't going to do that again. Then again, he didn't know that.

He smiled at her. "Thanks." They arrived at Brooke's. He looked at his car. "You want to go get some coffee? As friends?"

She nodded. "Sure, as friends," she agreed. Nathan held the door for her, and she sat in the seat usually reserved for Brooke. The night had certainly not turned out as she had expected, but she wasn't upset with the outcome. Sure, she had come back to Tree Hill to take Nathan back, but he was clearly at a place in his life right then where that just wasn't going to happen. Well, she would just have to change that.

As he drove to the nearest coffee shop, Nathan couldn't stop thinking about Brooke, and how he had just dropped his arm earlier. He felt horrible, but he owed it to Haley to talk with her, and catch up with her. Their lives had taken such drastic roads, and since the divorce he hadn't even spoken to her. They may not be together anymore, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care. They needed to discuss what had happened, and now neither of them were angry with each other .

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! Sorry I left you guys hanging, hopefully this will explain her reasons and everything better. No Brooke/Nathan interaction, but there will be some next chapter as he tries redeeming himself. Thanks to my two reviewers, it sucks that FF was down last week. Anyways, enjoy and I am working on the next installment!

LivingintheOCsucks: Awhile ago, someone requested I bring Mouth into the story somehow, so I tried to please their request. I love that line, too. I was editing and made myslef laugh. Thanks for reviewing! It means so much.

msCrazy: Aw, you are too sweet for reviewing. I was afraid I wouldn't get any with FF reviewing being down and everything, so thank you so much for finding the time to review.