Author's Note: Thank you all so much for continuing to read this fic even though it's not looking to good of Naley at the moment. I can't promise you a completely happy ending, but I'll just have to go with the flow and she were it leads. Anyway, on with the chapter.

-OTH-

"What the hell are you still doing here?"

Brooke had been debating with herself the entire way there whether she should come or not. She knew that Haley didn't have any desire to see her after she completely lied to her face of an entire month, but she also knew that what Nathan said was right. It wasn't a secret that Haley didn't like to be alone, but no one ever said anything about it. Brooke or Peyton would always find some excuse to sleep over or have her come to their house for the night when her parents were gone. Haley especially didn't do alone well when she was upset. As much as Brooke trusted Haley and loved her, she was afraid of what Haley might do alone when she was this upset. So if keeping her save meant being bitched out and having things thrown at her, than Brooke would take it.

"I couldn't make myself leave," Nathan answered from his position on the porch steps. When he came back, he was just going to sit there for a couple minutes to sort through his thoughts, but it seemed that every time he tried to leave, his feet wouldn't work. He never should have come back, but it was like something was calling him to come back there. "I keep trying, but I can't leave her."

"Is this the part where I feel sorry for you?" Brooke spat out. She glared at Nathan when he looked up at her with watery eyes. She shook her head, not believing that he was doing this. He was looking up at her with those lost puppy dog eyes.

"No, Brooke…"

"Where I sit down and rub your back as you cry your cheating ass off!" She was beyond pissed at him right now. In fact, she couldn't be angrier if he was pretending he didn't care. Th fact that he was trying to get her to take pity on him was just beyond her comprehension.

"Brooke, that's not what's going on here," he tried to explain. He looked into her eyes and saw the rage in them. Okay, now was not the time for explanations. Now was the time for running.

"You are a real class act, you know that?" she hissed at him. She shook her head again. She hit him with her purse as she stomped past him. He flinched, brought a hand to the back of his head and turned around to look at her. "You're the bastard that broke her heart by cheating on her and getting another girl pregnant."

"You think I don't know…"

"And to top it off," she continues, completely ignoring his comment. "You get her two best friends to lie to her about it, so now she feels betrayed by everyone." He had enough. He knew that he deserved to be yelled at, but not for something that wasn't his fault.

"No, you know what, Brooke?" he yelled over her voice so she would listen to him this time. He jumped up and spun around to face her. She stopped and looked at him in surprise.

"What?"

"You are really one to talk," he shot at her. "I'm not the only one around here who betrayed her. If I'm not mistaken, you and Peyton both knew about what I did and you didn't tell her."

"Because we didn't want to hurt her," Brooke answered lamely. God, that sounded like the worst excuse she had ever heard now. What had she been thinking when she let Peyton talk her into not telling Haley? Nathan let out a bitter laugh.

"And look how well that turned out," he laughed; pointing towards the house Haley was in. "I've been listening to her sobbing for the past fifteen minutes, and I'll tell you, she's definitely hurt."

"Because you're a cheating ass hole!" Brooke screamed. She didn't mean to yell it that loudly, it just slipped out, but she regretted it. Not what she said, just how she said it. She was sure Haley heard her. She lowered her volume a couple notches. "I know what we did was wrong and very un-best friend like, but don't you dare even think for one second that the girl in there is crying over anything other than what you did to her."

"Oh, get over yourself, Brooke," he snapped. What she said made sense to him and he knew that it was true, but he wasn't just going to stand there and get yelled at by the local slut. He was really starting to think that staying around was a good idea. "You are just as responsible for her broken heart as I am."

"Shut up!" she screamed. Just the thought of knowing that she cause Haley any pain was enough to make her want to cry. And she knew he was right. She should have told Haley the second she found out. Then maybe she wouldn't be so upset.

"Oh, good come back," he shot back. He knew he was hitting it right on the button. He knew Brooke better than she thought he did. Brooke may act like a confident person, but she's not, she's just like everyone else. Most think that the most important thing in Brooke Davis' life was booze and boys, but the truth was it's her friends, and he knew that. If there was one thing he learned in the entire time he went out with Peyton, it was that Brooke really cared about people.

"I think you've done enough, don't you?" She needed to change the subject; she couldn't handle what he was about to say to her. The one thing that she couldn't stand was that she was a bad friend. She had let Peyton down so many times in the past, and she had promised herself that she wouldn't hurt Haley like that.

"You could say the same thing." Brooke's mouth turned into a straight line as she tried to keep her emotions in check. He smirked as he saw that Brooke was about to break down. He hated feeling this way, and when he did, he did his best to take everyone with him. "Looks like once again, Brooke Davis is a horrible best friend."

There it was. She had been thinking it over and over again in her head for the past month, but she refused to believe it. She kept telling herself that they were doing Haley a favor by not telling her, but they were - she was, just hurting her more. And for Nathan to call her a horrible best friend, was like her worst nightmare confirmed, other than Tim being her new step daddy, or course.

Brooke and Nathan stared each other down, neither willing to break eye contact first. Brooke slowly took two feet forward, walking down the steps. She stood directly in front of Nathan and slapped him as hard as she could. She wished she could say that she did it for herself, but she did that all for Haley. Someone needed to slap some sense into him and since Haley obviously wasn't going to do it, Brooke stepped up.

"If you ever come near Haley again…" Brooke's rant was cut short when she heard the door swing open behind her.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Haley asked, surprised to find Nathan and Brooke standing toe to toe. Brooke wiped around to and came face to face with a very angry Haley. Nathan on the other hand, knew better and kept his head down.

"I was just…" Nathan tried, but stopped when Haley glared daggers at him.

"Save it," she spat at him. He flinched a little at the harshness in her voice and bit his lower lip. She looked to Brooke for an answered, but changed her mind. She shook her head. "Nathan, just get the hell out of here and Brooke get your ass inside." Brooke didn't have to be told twice, she made a beeline for the door and stood behind Haley.

"Haley, I just wanted to say…"

"Nathan," Haley cut him off, her voice wavering a bit. She was finding it harder to keep her pissed off attitude when all she wanted to do was cry. He finally looked up and met her eyes. What he found there broke his heart. "Just go." He nodded and bowed his head. Shoving his hands back into his pockets, he turned on his heels and slowly walked down the driveway. It wasn't until Nathan disappeared around the corner, did Haley turn around to face Brooke.

"I'm sorry about that," Brooke began. Haley nodded and shut the door. Knowing that Brooke would follow, she walked passed her and back into the living room. She thought about sitting down, but she felt more like standing. She liked to pace when she was bitching people out.

"What are you doing here?" Brooke looked surprised, obviously expecting a verbal lashing from her friend. Ah, yes, this must be what most liked to call the calm before the storm.

"Nathan called me," she answered, eyeing Haley as she started to pace. That was more like it. Brooke knew what it meant when Haley paced, she was pissed and everyone better watch out. "He told me you guys broke up and that he didn't think you should be alone."

"So he called you?" Haley asked, stopping momentarily to raise an eyebrow at Brooke. Brooke shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. She hated when people looked at her like that, like that were examining her. Nothing made her feel more self-conscience. She was always afraid they'd find out there was nothing there.

"I guess he didn't get the memo that you hated me," Brooke joked, hoping to lighten the mood a little. Brooke stopped immediately when she saw the look on Haley's face. Not the time for jokes. "He knew I'd come, I guess."

"Why did you come?" Haley asked. She didn't mean for it to sound so harsh, she was genuinely curious. "I mean, if you knew I was pissed at you and didn't want to see you, why'd you come?"

"Cause you needed me," Brooke answered quietly. She knew she shouldn't have said it because Haley needed to vent and that was hard to do when someone is being really sweet to you. "You may not want me here, Hales, but you need me here." Haley came to a completely halt in her pacing and looked at Brooke.

"What are you talking about?" Brooke took a careful step forward. Haley suddenly realized what was going on and shook her head. "No, no. This is not how this is supposed to go. I'm supposed to be bitching and screaming at you."

"So bitch, scream. I deserve a whole lot more." Brooke closed her eyes as she realized what she was doing. She was doing the exact same thing that she got so mad at Nathan for doing. She was trying to make Haley feel sorry for her.

"You're damn right you do," Haley yelled. And now she's pacing. Deciding it would be best if she kept her mouth shut, Brooke just moved slightly so she was in front of the chair and sat down. She watched Haley walked back and forth in front of her. God, she was already dizzy. Maybe she should just look away. Hey, look, the floor! "What were you thinking, Brooke?" Uh oh. Was she supposed to answer that?

"I just didn't want you to get…"

"That was a rhetorical question!" Haley shouted. Guess not. Brooke nodded and looked back down at the floor.

"Sorry."

"I mean, I thought you were supposed to be my best friend…" Now she had to say something. Brooke's head shot up and a panicked look crossed her face. Her eyes widened.

"I am," she exclaimed, jumping out of her seat. This whole sitting and listening thing really wasn't going well. She was never good at that kind of thing. "God, Hales, I am. I know I shouldn't have kept this from you, I didn't want to, but Peyton begged me."

"Since when do you listen to what Peyton tells you to do?" Brooke had to admit that Haley had a good point. Brooke Davis was never one to follow orders, especially from Peyton. "Last time I checked, you have your own mind, as one tracked as it can be at times."

"Hey," Brooke sighed, eyeing Haley. If she didn't know any better she could swear she saw a little smile. "I resent that." Haley gave her a look and she smiled. "Okay, that's true, but I still resent it"

"I'm sure you do." Brooke smiled and stepped closer to Haley. When Haley didn't back away or stare a hole through her, Brooke continued.

"Look, Hales," she began, stepping in front of Haley. "If I could got back in time, I would tell you as soon as I found out, I swear."

"Or you could stop Nathan from doing it in the first place," Haley pointed out, with a smirk. Brooke giggled and nodded. Haley sighed. "It doesn't matter. I'm more pissed off at Peyton than I am at you, so…"

"Lucky me," Brooke cheered. She knew that she should probably be defending Peyton, trying to get Haley to see where she was coming from, but she was just so happy that Haley was forgiving her that she didn't want to ruin that. Haley also knew that Brooke was fighting the urge to say something about Peyton, but she was glad she didn't.

"I know I should still be yelling at you, but I just don't have the energy," Haley sighed, running a hand through her hair. Truth was, she was glad that Brooke came, she was dreading being alone tonight. "So, if it's okay with you, can we just skip to the end were you say you're sorry and I forgive you?"

"I'm sorry," Brooke answered quickly. She was more than happy to go with that plan. Haley laughed lightly, but Brooke could tell that the bad thoughts were starting to settle back in.

"I forgive you." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Brooke lunged forward and brought her into a fierce bear hug. At first Haley was going to laugh at Brooke's actions, but the laugh came out more as a cry. She finally let herself go in Brooke's arms.

"It's okay," Brooke whispered, feeling Haley shake in her arms. She knew right away that the girl was crying. She brought her hand up and stroked Haley's hair in an attempt to calm her down. "Just let it out."

"Tigger, what did I do wrong?" she cried. She had been thinking it since the moment she found out about Nathan and Lacy. She had racked her brain trying to find out what she did to cause this. She had to be responsible in some way. This had to be her fault some how. "Was it… was I not good enough?"

"God no, baby," Brooke cried. She shook her head frantically, rubbing circles on Haley's back. "You are more than enough. You're the most amazing person I know, Nathan doesn't even deserve to breathe the same air as you." Haley shook her head and leaned back so she could look Brooke in the face.

"I must have done something," Haley cried. Brooke shook her head and tried to wipe away the tears with the pad of her thumb, but it was no use since the tears kept coming.

"Why on earth would you think that?" Brooke whispered. Haley shook her head and looked down at her trembling hands. She chewed on her bottom lip as it quivered. Brooke gently cupped her chin and brought her face up to look at her.

"People keep leaving me," Haley whispered, her voice so low that Brooke had to strain to hear her properly. She fought to get past the lump in her throat. "They always leave me. My parents, my brothers, my sisters, Peyton, Nathan… I just, there has to be something wrong with me."

"Baby, no," Brooke said in a firm voice. Or her best version of a firm voice. The things that Haley was saying, the way she was crying, she was finding it hard to even form words. Haley was her best friend and seeing her like this, hearing the uncertainty in her voice, it was making her insides contract. "There is nothing wrong with you. Nothing."

"There has to be," Haley protested. "It can't just be…" Her knees started to give way underneath her and she started to crumble to the ground. It was as if everything was going in slow motion as Brooke brought Haley back into her arms and guided her safely to the floor.

Out of all the time Brooke had known Haley and all the times she had seen he cry, she had never seen Haley like this before. It was as it hurt her too much to form words. Haley's breath was coming in short gasps and whimpers as she sobbed in Brooke's arms.

For her part, Brooke didn't know what to do. She had dealt with a crying Haley before on many occasions, but right now Haley was devastated. She didn't know what to say or what to do that would make Haley feel better. Nathan had left Haley as a broken shell of what she used to be. Her heart was shatter and scattered all over the place.

Brooke wanted more than anything to pick up all the pieces and put them back together for her best friend, but she knew she couldn't. There was no magic word or action that was going to make things better. All she could do was be there for Haley and wipe away her tears.

Unfortunately, she knew that wouldn't be enough.

-OTH-

Okay, another chapter done. I hope you all liked it. Please tell me what you think, if you have any favorite parts, stuff like that. I know you are all wondering if this is going to end up a Naley, but I can't tell you. I mean, I know exactly how I want it to end, but I'm not telling you. You'll just have to wait and see.

And onto my shameless pimping of other stories, if you guys haven't checked it out yet, please read my other Naley fic, 'In Need of Saving'. Thanks.

Don't forget to reply.