Brooke, Peyton, and Lucas stood quietly for what seemed like forever. Then, Lucas walked forward and hugged her.
Her was Haley. She had come back. For real… it was almost unbelievable. She was really back… it wasn't just a dream. Her skin glowed, her hair shined. She looked like a totally different person, but at the same time, the same Haley that everybody remembered.
From the way back of the room someone shouted, "Who is that?" Another, "Why is everyone so quiet?" And another, "Is that her?"
Lucas held her in his arms while she sobbed into his neck. Brooke and Peyton could hear her muffled voice saying that she was sorry for everything. He was soothing her, stroking her hair, whispering words of comfort into her ear. And all the while, Nathan and Tim stood frozen at the door.
Brooke and Peyton quickly adjusted the lights and turned up the music. In a matter of moments, the guests had forgotten the commotion and began dancing and partying. Peyton herded Haley, Lucas, Brooke, Nathan and Tim behind one of the club's giant black curtains.
"Ok, so what's going on here? Why did you come back?" Peyton questioned.
Haley leaned up against the wall, drying her fresh tears. "I needed to. I missed everyone so much, and I needed to see you all."
Nathan was just staring at her, unable to comprehend what she had said. Was she really back? For good? And if she was going to stay, were they still together?
Tim laughed saying that Nathan's little wish came true. Peyton and Brooke looked at him like he was an idiot. Lucas put his arm around Haley and told Nathan that since his surprise party was going on, they might as well go back out and party. Tim and Peyton gladly ran out to dance, while Brooke, Nathan and Haley hung back. Lucas went to check on his mom and Deb.
"Brooke? Why did you call me and tell me about this party?" Haley asked.
"Because I saw how depressed Nathan was and I knew that you wouldn't want to miss this. Look, Haley… I'm sorry for what I said that day. It was a really rude thing to say… and I meant what I said in that message. You two really do love each other."
"It's okay, Brooke." Haley pulled Brooke into a hug. Brooke whispered, "I'll leave you alone with Nathan… I know you two can work it out." She gave Haley's hand a little squeeze and walked out into the party.
Nathan took Haley outside. He guided her past Tim's car in silence and they walked the mile or so to the beach, all in silence. They climbed up to the docks and sat at the end of the one with the least light.
She was starting to wonder what they were doing here when he finally spoke.
"I'm sorry, Haley."
She was quiet and in shock for a few moments. "You're sorry? Why would you be sorry? It's my fault for leaving you."
"I'm sorry for leaving you that night. It's my fault that you were, um, attacked, and it's my fault that you left. If it wasn't for me coming in and thinking that you were unfaithful, you never would have left… so I'm sorry, Hales."
Haley swallowed her breath and folded her hands.
"I'm sorry, too, Nathan. I'm sorry for leaving and not saying anything. I'm sorry for not calling, and for waiting so long to come back. I should have never gotten on that train… I should have never believed in the lie that Chris made sound so real and possible. And most of all, I'm sorry for not loving you enough." She finished.
"Can I ask you why you decided that you needed to leave in the first place? Because I thought that you were happy here."
"I just didn't believe in what I had at the time. Everything I had was so new to me… you, the new popularity… my accident… it was all so different uniformity. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches everyday are fine by me. Everything you did for me was unreal, I wasn't used to love and touch and hugs and kisses… and that's what you gave me. But now---"
"Of course I gave you love… I loved you. I still love you. I will continue to love you, even when you look like that one lady we saw in health class who had all those wrinkles and creepy eyes."
She laughed and continued, "But now, I know how to love. I know now that touching and kissing and hugging is okay to do. You see Nathan, my parents don't do kisses and hugs or 'I love you'. So when you did all these things, it was difficult for me to understand why you were doing it. And I know that it's okay for me to love you, and to want to be with you. Now all I need to know is if you want to be with me as well."
"Haley, you're a smart girl. Do the math. My love, plus your love equals… relationship?" He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. As soon as he did, she felt the tears start to pour from her eyes.
"You're too good to me, Nathan." She said.
"Hales, don't cry. What goes around come around. You've been an angel for me, and now it's time for me to be yours." He kissed the top of her head. They sat for a few more minutes and he convinced her to come back to the party with him, as his girlfriend.
They got back into his car and drove to the party. His hand was gently interlaced with hers. His thumb stroked her index finger and his other hand held onto the wheel.
As soon as they got back into the party, everyone watched them once again. Nathan had to laugh and what had happened to the party since they had left. He could see Tim without a shirt watching two girls dance. Brooke and Lucas were talking and supervising a Jell-O shot competition. Peyton was maintaining the music, bobbing her head up and down while Mouth and Erica watched in amazement.
Peyton noticed that the direction of most of her party-goers had shifted towards the door. She looked over and saw Nathan and Haley, then lifted up her portable microphone. Haley nodded and winked at her, which was the signal Peyton had told her to give if they got back together.
"Give it up, ladies and gentledudes for Nathan Scott and his recently restored girlfriend, Haley James!"
Brooke and Lucas looked up with interest and started the clapping. Clapping. Haley covered her face with embarrassment, while Nathan stood back and enjoyed his moment of fame.
The guests returned back to their dancing and/or Jell-O shots and left the couple to dance alone. Before they could even move five feet towards the floor, Brooke popped up with Lucas and Peyton in tow.
"So? Are you two…?" Brooke asked, a huge smile spreading across her face.
"Yes, nosy. We're back together." Haley said, and laughed.
"Awe, no engagement yet? Here's you $10, Sawyer." Brooke handed Peyton a bill and crossed her arms. Everyone laughed and then Peyton had to return to being DJ.
"Oh, I almost forgot to say! Haley, I need you to sing tonight." Peyton said nonchalantly.
Haley's mouth dropped open. "What! No, I cannot sing. I will die of embarrassment before I even sing. I'm sorry, Peyton, but I can't."
"Oh, don't be such a drama queen, Tutor Girl! Just sing a couple songs and it'll be over with! Everyone will love your voice, I promise. And, I've got your guitar and a new keyboard, just for you!" Peyton got down on her knees and begged. "Please? Please, please, PLEASE? I'll do anything you want me to for the next YEAR if you just sing!"
Haley looked down at her. "You're pathetic, Peyton. Fine, I'll sing for this stupid party! But I will not enjoy it!" She stomped off with Peyton and Brooke following her talking about dresses and lighting.
Nathan and Lucas walked slowly after them, behind the bar and up the stairs to where the girls had went. They sat outside the dressing room door and waited for them to come out.
"I really hope it all works out this time. I love her so much, Luke." Nathan set his head back against the wall.
"I know you do, man. But actions speak louder than words. Don't say something if you're not going to follow through, especially with my best friend. Cause I'll have to hurt you, little brother."
Nathan laughed, and a few moments later, the door opened and out walked Brooke, Peyton, and Haley. Haley looked beautiful, to say the least. The two girls had pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail with her bangs side-swept onto her right cheek. They put her into a black and white striped halter dress, and did her makeup to make her eyes pop out. Her ruby red lips sparkled and she smelled like right after a rainstorm.
She smiled nervously and went straight to Nathan. He put his hands on her waist and she twisted a bit to shake her bangs.
"What do you think?" She asked and smiled a bigger smile.
He ran his hands up and down her sides and laughed. "I'm amazed that Brooke and Peyton are geniuses!"
"Oh shut up! You knew it all along!" Brooke tossed back, giggling. "Oh, and when you sing, Tutor Girl, make sure you sing that Beautiful Disaster one. It's my favorite."
Haley lifted her eyebrows. "How do you know about that song?"
"Through creative detective work!" Brooke and Peyton ran down the stairs laughing. Lucas smiled at her, gave her a hug, and followed the girls.
"You look so hot, Hales." Nathan said, and kissed her. They held the kiss for what seemed like an eternity.
"I'd forgotten what that felt like." Haley whispered.
They kissed for a while longer and then they heard Peyton announce that Haley would be singing. The crowd clapped pretty weakly and continued talking and laughing.
The two pulled apart. "I love you, Nathan."
"I love you too, babe, good luck." He gave her one last hug and quick kiss. He stayed at the top of the stairs as she descended gracefully. Towards the bottom, she almost tripped, but Lucas was at the bottom to catch her, just in case. Something Peyton or Brooke set up, probably.
She walked over to the stage and sat at the keyboard. She played a few chords and sang along to them to warm up her voice. Over the notes she could hear Brooke's drunk voice yelling, "Whoo! Tutor Girl! Sing it, Tutor Girl!" Haley blushed furiously and cleared her throat.
"Hey, everybody. Um, Peyton asked me to sing a set for you guys, so I hope you enjoy it. This first one is called Hear Me… I um, just wrote it a few days ago." She took a deep breath and played the first three notes. She started singing and when she reached the chorus, Peyton slipped in Haley's almost finished record and turned down the vocals, so all that was heard was the rest of the instruments.
After she finished the song, she spoke a little more about the next one. She sang the song You Found Me, and Where is Your Heart.
"Ok, I'm almost finished tonight, but one of my friends made a special request that I sing a song I wrote a few months ago when I was in the hospital… this is Beautiful Disaster."
The song went smoothly and just the way Brooke imagined that she would sing it. Brooke looked up at Nathan, who was looking at Haley with amazement in his eyes. He obviously had figured out that the song was about him, and was enjoying the fact that she had written such a wonderful song about him.
She finished her last note and the crowd erupted in cheers. Apparently everyone loved the songs, but no one knew that Haley James could sing. Brooke, Peyton, Nathan, and Lucas all ran onto the stage and gave her a hug. Deb and Karen announced that it was time to eat, and practically everybody raced to be the first in line for the buffet.
Brooke and Peyton ran to the front saying that since they threw the party they got to go first. They called for Lucas, Nathan, and Haley to come over as well. Lucas quickly followed, but Nathan and Haley took their time walking over.
"You did a great job, Haley. I'm really proud of you." He said, and gave her a sideways hug.
"Thanks…" She gave him a kiss and they walked to the front of the line.
"Took you long enough, lovebirds, now come on over here and eat before Tim gets it all." Brooke said, with Tim right behind her.
"Hey, no one can hog food from The Tim." Tim responded, in his usual idiot manner.
After everyone had gotten his or her food, they sat at their tables. Table one consisted of Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, Jake, Tim, Mouth (Erica had left), and two empty seats. The empty seats, Peyton explained, was a surprise for Haley.
Over the next twenty minutes, all that you could hear was voices talking, laughing, glasses clinking, forks being dropped, and all the like that you'd hear at a party. Peyton got up from the table and went to the door. She opened it, and some people walked in; although Haley couldn't tell who they were.
The two adults, Haley had established, walked over to their table, and her mouth dropped open.
"Mom? Dad! What are you guys doing here?" She jumped up from her seat and raced to give them hugs.
Her parents stepped back a little when she flung herself at them, a little shocked.
"Well, your friend Lucas called us and asked us to come to your boyfriend's party, and we thought that it would be a good idea to come."
Haley tried once again to give them a hug, and they awkwardly patted her on the back. She giggled nervously and smiled at her friends.
"Um, you guys, these are my parents, Lydia and Jim. Mom, Dad, you can sit here. Peyton saved these two seats for you guys." She smiled at her parents and sat back down next to Nathan and her mom. Nathan squeezed her hand.
"Are you alright?"
"Yea… I told you, I'm used to this by now. I just thought I'd try and do what you and I do… but I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks." She half smiled and kissed his cheek. "But thanks for asking."
The party went on smoothly from there. Everyone had left by midnight, including Haley's parents. They said that they'd be swinging by the next day to visit before they left for the Bahamas.
The five friends sat on the stage. Haley leaned against Nathan, Brooke played with Peyton's hair, Lucas fiddled with his I-Pod.
"We have to clean this up, don't we?" Brooke asked, groaning.
"Yep… at least we had a good time though. It's not like the party sucked and now we have to clean up a bunch of crap… it was fun. And it was all under $500!" Peyton commented, still buzzed on her many Jell-O shots that she and Brooke had made.
"I have the worst headache! Oh, I'm gonna throw-up." Brooke stood up and ran to the bathrooms, with Peyton and Haley running after her, laughing.
Nathan and Lucas sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Are you and Brooke going out still?" Nathan questioned.
"No… we broke up a while ago." Lucas mumbled.
"Yeah… I guess that was my fault. I'm really sorry about that, Luke. I was a jackass back them. I can't believe I had the nerve to do that to you. Or to Haley. I'm… I'm sorry, Lucas." He rubbed his forehead.
"It's alright… it's all for the best. I'm sure I've done worse." Lucas replied.
Nathan brushed off his comment, but it left a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach. He walked over to the bathrooms and stood outside. He could hear the girls inside and wondered what it would be like to have had Lucas' life.
For one, he would have had a better family life. Even with only one parent, Lucas' mom was a way better parent than both his mom and dad combined. He wouldn't have his red corvette, or his home gym. He wouldn't have the basketball court set up in his backyard. He wouldn't have the wealth and popularity he got for wearing the clothes he wore, or the things he said. Haley would have been his best friend instead of girlfriend, he would have dated Brooke, cheated with Peyton, and shaved his head. Played at the River Court daily, gotten in a car accident with Keith, and had his heart broken more times than not.
Inside the bathroom, Brooke was leaning over a toilet with Haley and Peyton holding her hair back. She coughed and sat up.
"This sucks. Stupid Jell-O shots. I should have known never to drink anything made with discount liquor."
The girls laughed. "So, Brooke, are you and Lucas an item? Cause you looked pretty cozy over at the bar tonight." Haley questioned.
Brooke wiped her face. "No. I want to, but I don't think it's ever going to happen again. Ever since we broke up, I've been thinking about what it would have been like if we would have stayed together. By now, we'd have been pretty serious. Maybe even engaged! Oh God, never mind. I do not want to be married in high school. Anybody that gets married in high school is missing out."
"My mom and dad got married in high school!" Nathan called from outside.
The girls shrieked. "How long have you been listening to our conversation?"
"Since Brooke threw up her last Jell-O shot. Are you better now, Brooke?" Nathan asked.
"Yea…" The girls stepped out of the bathroom. "Here, Brooke." Peyton handed her a stick of gum.
"Thanks."
Lucas came over to the group. "Brooke, you and Nathan should probably sit this out. Me, Peyton, and Haley will finish the cleaning."
Nathan and Brooke spoke at the same time. "No, it's okay, I can clean too."
"No, you guys, Nathan this was your party. And Brooke, you're not feeling well." Haley said.
The two reluctantly agreed and sat on the stage.
"So are you still going to do it?" Brooke whispered.
"Yea, I'm planning on it for tomorrow, when we go out to dinner. They finally re-opened her favorite Italian restaurant."
"Cool. Do you need me for anything?"
"Sure. You and Lucas and Peyton could just act totally normal." He laughed. "Don't say anything about this at all. I'm going to tell Lucas and Peyton right before we leave tonight."
"Are you two going to live in your apartment since her parents left?"
"That's why her parents are coming over tomorrow. They're going to say that they're moving and that they need to sell the house. That's the truth, but after they leave, I'm going to take her out to dinner and do it. This way we can live together in our own apartment. Without any parents to bug us." He finished.
"Awesome. Nathan? I'd like to apologize for bitching you out that day at the hospital. It was pretty rude."
"No, Brooke, don't apologize. What you said made a difference. I stopped with Peyton. You made me see that if I kept doing what I was doing, then I'd lose Haley. I should be thanking you."
They continued talking for the next two hours, and then their friends were finished cleaning.
"Are you ready, Nathan?" Haley asked, yawning.
"Yes. We need to get you home. Go ahead and get into your car, I'll be down in a sec. I have to ask Lucas something."
"Ok. Just don't take to long; I'll probably fall asleep."
She went outside and Brooke clapped her hands excitedly.
"How can you be so energetic at two AM?" Peyton asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Nathan has to tell you two something!" She giggled and danced in a little circle.
"I'm um, proposing to Haley tomorrow night, you guys. And I need you not to say anything to her." He said.
"Oh my God! You're proposing to Haley!" Peyton screamed, and she ran over to Brooke. The two girls giggled and squealed, slapping their hands together the way girls do when they're excited.
"Be quiet! She'll hear you!" Nathan said, but had to laugh.
Lucas was quiet and whispered, "That's great, Nathan. Good luck."
"Thanks man. And ladies. So I'll call you with the news. Good or bad. Hopefully good." Nathan said.
"It better be good. You're taking one of my best whores!" Brooke shouted, obviously a little hysterical.
"Ok. I'll try my best." He said his goodbyes and got hysterical hugs from Peyton and Brooke. Lucas man-hugged him, and Nathan walked out the door.
He walked down to Haley's car and got in the driver's seat.
"Let's go back to my apartment, Hales."
She yawned and nodded her head. "Okay. I love you, Nathan."
"I love you too." He responded and drove back to his house.
"And that's the last time we ever saw them single-ish." Peyton commented.
Brooke half-heartedly agreed, and Lucas didn't say anything for the next ten minutes. Peyton caught on.
"You've got to be kidding me."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I wanted to make the last line funny, because in my mind Peyton is hilarious. Read + Review! Thank you to EVERYONE who has reviewed; you guys have no idea how much it helps.