Author's Note: Thanks to all of you who replied, it really means a lot to me. So please continue to reply. I hope you enjoy this update.

--OTH--

"Sweetie, can you get that table?"

After Haley had left Jake's house, she had wandered around a bit. She had told Jake that she needed to get to the Café to work her shift, but the truth was she wasn't working until five. She just needed to get some air. She needed time to think things over in her head. All the new information that she learned today still hadn't really entirely sunk in yet. After a half a hour of walking around, she decided that she needed to do something or she was going to go crazy. In the interest of staying sane, she headed over to the Café to start her shift early. She just hoped that none of her so called friends decided to swing by because she didn't know if she could handle seeing any of them right now.

"Yeah," Haley called to Karen, placing the saltshaker back on the counter and grabbing her order pad. She didn't recognize the people at the table, of which she was grateful. If she knew them, then she would have to make conversation, and she wasn't up for that.

Karen watched as Haley walked over to the table, her head down and took the people's order in a robotic fashion. She raised an eyebrow, finding it weird that Haley was acting so strange. Usually she was chatting up the customers, making new friends left and right. It seems today, she wasn't. When she saw that Haley was coming back, Karen quickly busied herself with the saltshaker that Haley had abandon moments ago.

"Here you go," Haley sighed, ripping the sheet off that had their orders and handed it to Karen. She didn't smile or anything. Karen was really starting to worry. It must be something really big if she didn't have the energy to even fake like she was happy.

"Thanks." Karen took the sheet out of her hands, without breaking eye contact and passed it to the waitress that was walking by. After making sure that the waitress gave the order to the new cook, she turned back to Haley. "What's wrong, honey?"

"Nothing," Haley sighed, plopping down on the stool that was right beside her. She knew that was a weak answer, but she knew that it was no use in trying to pretend that everything was okay. Karen knew her too well to fall of that. And a mother never stopped probing if there's something wrong with their child.

"Once more, with even less feeling," Karen teased, pushing the things on the counter aside so she could see Haley. Haley let out a huff of breath and leaned over on the cool surface, burying her head in her arms.

"Very funny."

"Come on, baby," Karen tried, ruffling Haley's hair. Haley pouted even though Karen couldn't see her and raised her head. The lame mask that she was wearing before had disappeared and Karen could see all the pain in Haley's usually bright eyes. "Tell mama Karen what's wrong."

"You know if I start, I won't be able to stop, right?" She wanted Karen to be prepared for what she was getting herself into. She knew that Karen loved her and would do anything to help her feel better, but Haley was on the verge of a full-blown breakdown and there was no way of stopping her once she started.

"I've always got time of my kids, you know that." Haley nodded and looked around at all the customers in the Café. There wasn't that many, maybe a totally of five tables were full and most were all regular customers.

"What about the customers?" Haley asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder, indicating that people behind her. "I have a table that I need to serve."

"Sheri can handle it," Karen said, flipping her hand in the general direction the other waitress was in. Haley looked over to see her talking to the table that she was supposed to be waiting on. "Come on, we'll go in the back."

"But-"

"Sheri?" Karen called out to the girl as she grabbed Haley's hand and started dragging her around the counter. Sheri turned away from the man she was talking to. "We're just gonna be in the back of a bit. Can you cover everything out here?"

"Yeah, sure." She could tell that something was wrong with Haley the moment she came in for work and she knew how close she and Karen were. If it meant that Haley would start acting like her regular self again, then she was more than willing to wait a couple extra tables.

"We'll try not to be long." Sheri waved her hand, telling them to take all the time they needed. Karen smiled gratefully at her and pulled Haley through the doors. Once they were in the back, Karen guided Haley over to the couch. "Now," she began, pushing Haley down on the couch before sitting down next to her. "Tell me what's wrong."

"It's Nathan," Haley started with a sigh. Karen nodded, mentally smacking herself in the forehead. Of course it was Nathan. The only other thing that could get Haley to act so un-Haley like would be something with her parents.

"Okay," Karen breathes, preparing for a girly talk. She was afraid she wouldn't be in shape for this, but she was going to try her best. She also had to take a breath in order to keep her emotions in check. She warned Nathan not to hut Haley. "So, what happened? Did you guys get in another fight?"

"Uh, no," Haley said, almost laughing at the thought. When was going on was so much more than a fight. She didn't even know if she would be able to look at him ever again, let alone actually speak to him. "Not yet, anyway."

"Oh, God," Karen gasped, a thought just entering her mind. Haley jumped at the outburst and quickly looked around the room for something that might be wrong.

"What?"

"Are you pregnant?" Haley's eyes widened at the mere thought of it. "Cause I thought I had enough of those talks with you and Lucas. I thought I got my message across pretty well." Karen continued to ramble, not bothering to look up and Haley to see the slight amusement in her eyes. "How could you be so stupid?"

"Hey!" she defended, holing up her hands. For a minute she was scared of the glare that Karen was sending her way, but soon relaxed when she remembered that she didn't do anything wrong. "Don't be calling me stupid."

"Well, you have to be to get pregnant at your age!"

"I'm not pregnant," Haley informed her, bringing the volume of her voice down a few notches. The door separating the backroom and the main area was thick but it wasn't soundproof. "I remain the Virgin Haley."

"Really?"

"I promise."

"Oh, thank God," Karen cheered, letting out a huge sigh of relief. All the muscles in her stomach unclenched and she could breath again. She was surprised at how worried and angry she could there. She really didn't have the right to be angry; she certainly wasn't one to talk.

"Good to know you think I'm that much of a slut," Haley teased, making sure to keep her voice light so Karen knew she was just joking. She actually found it kind of sweet that Karen got that angry at the thought, which just showed how much she cared.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Karen laughed, laying her hand on Haley's knee. "It's just that you're acting really weird and you said that it was about Nathan. Plus, you said there would be lots of fights. Pregnancy was the first thing that came to mind."

Haley sighed and turned her head. She couldn't look at Karen whens he said it. She couldn't stand the thought of all the pity that she knew she would find in them. There was no feeling in the world that was worse than being pitied. But she needed to tell her because she needed to talk to somebody about this. Though, Jake was a great listener, he wasn't cut out for this kind of thing. What she needed was a good old-fashioned girl talk and since her two best friends turned out to be lying bitches, Karen was her only choice.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you weren't completely wrong." When Karen didn't answer she turned to look at her face and was greeted with a confused expression.

"Wait, I'm confused," she confessed. Her forehead scrunched up in the way they do when people are confused. "I thought you said you weren't pregnant." Haley sighed, a little frustrated that Karen had figured at least some of it out. She realty didn't want to have to spell it out for her.

"I'm not," Haley said quietly, throwing a few quick glances Karen's way. She saw some of the confusion leave the older woman's face. "But Lacy is."

"Lacy?" Karen repeated, not seeing how all that involved her and Nathan. Haley let her eyes wander to the ground and nodded her head slowly. "But what does that have to do with Nath…Oh!"

"Yeah," Haley whispered, making sure to keep her eyes on the floor. She closed her eyes, trying her hardest to hold back the tears. Even though she knew it was a lost cause, she had to try. She hated crying in front of people, and she knew that Karen couldn't stand to see her cry.

"But isn't she Tim's girlfriend?" Karen asked, apparently still a few steps behind. Haley, not trusting her voice, simply nodded. "So, Nathan cheated on you with your friend and now she's pregnant with his child?" Haley couldn't help but flinch at the brutally honest way she was describing it. She let out a bitter laugh, pulling back and roughly wiping the tears away.

"Thanks, Kare," she snapped, sarcastically. "I knew I could count on you to cram those complex issues into a nutshell." Karen cursed herself, not believing she had been so insensitive. She was just so shocked over the new information that she had just received; she wasn't really paying attention to what was coming out of her mouth.

"Oh, baby," she cried, immediately reaching forward to bring Haley into her arms. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I just did that. I usually have more tact than that."

"I know," Haley replied, letting herself be held in the first time in what felt like forever. Nathan usually held her, but she always thought of it as a mutual kind of thing, like he needed to be held just as much as she did. People always need some form of human contact, and Nathan was no different. "Your brain just wasn't functioning with your mouth. I've been there."

"I'm still sorry." She ran her fingers through Haley's hair, hoping that it would somehow magically make everything all right in her world. She used to do this all the time when Haley was little. Even when she was eight, her parents were leaving her alone. Of course at that time, they had to make sure she had a place to stay before completely taking off for a month, but it hurt her just the same.

"It's okay."

"So what are you going to do?" Karen asked softly. She wasn't sure if she should be asking that, but she knew Haley pretty well and she knew that Haley already had a plan all set out. She was not the type of person to let things take their course, everything was planned out carefully.

Before Haley had a chance to answer her, the door opened slightly and Sheri's head poked through the hole. She gave them both an apologetic smile, sorry that she interrupted.

"Sorry to interrupt," she began, watching as Haley slowly moved out of Karen's arms and sat up. "But Nathan's just came in and he's asking for you." Karen shot a concern look Haley's way, not sure how she was going to react to seeing him. She was about to tell Sheri to send him away, but Haley cut her off.

"Okay," she replied, wiping away the few remaining tears left on her face. "Tell him I'll be right out." Sheri nodded and disappeared, leaving them alone. Haley took a deep breath before standing up and fixing her shirt. She ran another hand over her face and turned to Karen. "How do I look? Can you tell I've been crying?"

"No," Karen answer quickly. "But are you sure it's the best idea to see him this soon? And what was he thinking coming here this soon? Does he want me to kill him?"

"I don't think he knows that I know," Haley informed her, running a hand over her hair to make sure that it wasn't messed up. She let out a bitter laugh as she thought over what she had just said. "God, when did this all get so complicated?"

"Life always is, sweetie," Karen told her, standing up. She pushed a few strains of hair out of Haley's face. "No matter how hard I tried to shield you and Luke from it, it always seemed to come up eventually." Haley nodded and look closed her eyes. "You don't have to see him, you know. I could go out there and yell at him and we can keep talking some more."

"No, it's okay," Haley decided. She loved Karen to death, she was her mother, and that's why she didn't' want to do this. You don't have this kind of conversation with your mother, no matter how cool she was. "I'll have face him sooner or later. And the sooner I get this done, the sooner I can move on."

"If you're sure."

"I am." She gave a solid nod to prove her point. Karen smiled sadly at her and kissed her on the forehead.

"I love you, baby," she told her as she pulled back. "Just as much as I love Luke and I will always be here for you. Even if you are pregnant." Haley had to laugh at her comment. "So if you want to talk, I'm always here."

"I love you, too." With one more hug, she walked to the door. Haley mustered up all her courage and self-control and pushed open the doors. The first thing she saw was Nathan standing on the other side of the counter, hands in pocket and mumbling something to himself. Haley assumed he was practicing what to say to her. After he didn't notice her, she cleared her throat and got his attention.

"Hey," he greeted, almost completely emotionless. The hollowness in his voice sent a chill up Haley's spin. She had never heard him like that before. Even after he found out about his parent's divorce, he always sounded sad or angry, something, but this was scary.

"Hey," she said back. It took all her self-control not to yell and scream at him for lying to her. She had to keep telling herself that she wanted to hear what Nathan had to say for himself before she went off on him. She really wanted to know how long this whole lying crap was going to go on. "What are you doing here?"

"I really need to talk to you," he answered. His eyes did that thing that drove Haley crazy. When they narrowed and sort of glazed over. It always happened when he was sorry or guilty about something.

"So talk." She stood there, arms crossed over her chest, waiting for his big confession. He looked behind him at all the customers and over at the counter where Karen was sending him death glares.

"Not here," he suggested, looking around again. Haley could tell that he was having trouble looking at her. Good, she thought, at least he was feeling somewhat bad for what he did. "Can we go to your place?" Haley looked over at Karen to see if it was okay. Knowing what she was asking, Karen nodded.

"Sure," she finally answered, turning back to Nathan. She reached behind her and undid her apron, taking it off and putting it on the closest stool. She waved at Karen before walking passed Nathan. "Let's go."

"Okay." He reached out to take her hand, like he always did. He needed to feel the comfort of his hand in hers, knowing that it could possibly be the last time. At the touch of his hand, Haley immediately pulled her arm away before he could grab hold of it.

"I can walk myself," Haley informed him as she glared at him. Nathan looked at her in surprise. "I don't need you." The words cut through Nathan like a knife. A part of him already knew that she wasn't going to forgive him, but there was still a little piece of him that wanted to believe that their love was strong enough to survive this. He shook his head, cursing himself for being so stupid. There was no way they could get out of this with their relationship in tact. It just wasn't a possibility. He just hoped they could still be friends.

--OTH--

That's all for now. Please, I'm begging you, drop me a reply to tell me what you think. I'm beginning to worry that you guys are losing interest. Don't worry, drama junkies, I have a whole new storyline to revile in future chapters. Anyway, thanks for reading.

Also, if you haven't already, you should check out my new fic, In Need of Saving. It's a darker one, but I think you might like it.