Author's Note: Hey. Aw, it's the second last chapter! Are you guys all excited, or what? I hope you are. But don't worry, I won't take too long to post the sequel when this is done, so it's okay. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave me a nice review, because I can't get enough of them.
---OTH---
"Hey, bro. When did you get back?"
The rest of the weekend had been completely uncomfortable. Tim and Lacy had left soon after Haley returned to the cabin. It had taken Lacy and Lucas almost an hour to convince Tim that Haley would be perfectly fine without him there. The girls spelt most of the day away in Haley's room, which was when Lucas took the time to find out what was up with Jake. After hearing everything that happened between his two friends, it had only served to further his resolve. When Brooke woke up and after explaining all the new developments, they had a long talk and mutually decided that it was for the best if they took a break. They both felt that they needed to focus on helping their friends deal with their problems, before they could focus on each other. They weren't going to be dating anyone else in the mean time, but they didn't feel it was the right time to be trying to juggle a relationship when everything around them was so crazy.
"Just yesterday," Skills answered, lining up to the basket and shooting the ball. He smiled when it went in with ease. He waited until the ball bounced back to him before turning around. "New York was crazy this year."
"How's your mom?" Haley asked, shoving her hands into her pockets as the cool air blew past her. She found it weird that it was so chilly, considering it was only early September, the last night of summer to be exact. Tomorrow was the first day back at Tree Hill High School, and she was not looking forward to it. She could just imagine the kinds of gossip that would be buzzing through the hallways.
"She's got a new boyfriend," he answered, a scowl coming to his face. Haley laughed, not surprised that he didn't like the guy. Skills went to live with his mother every summer and every summer she had a new boyfriend. He always hated them.
"This one's not a winner either?"
"He doesn't like basketball." That was all Haley needed to hear to understand why he wasn't liked. It was a sin in Tree Hill not to like basketball, so for a native to be seeing someone that didn't like it, it was unacceptable.
"Yeah, he's gone," she laughed. Skills nodded his head and gave her a smile. He could tell that she was upset about something. When he left at the beginning of summer everything had been perfect with her, so he wasn't sure what had happened. She got uncomfortable under his stare and moved over to the bench and sat down.
"So, what brings you here anyway?"
"I'm not too sure, actually," she answered. When she got home that day, there was a message on her machine from Nathan asking her to meet him at the docs at ten. Her first instinct was not to go, but after she thought about it some more, she decided that she really wanted to hear what he had to say for himself. "I was just out walking and sort of ended up here, I guess."
"That's happened to me a few times," he told her, bouncing the ball a few times. He caught it in his hands and moved over to the bench to sit beside Haley. "Just something about this place, it's a good place to go when you need to think."
"Yeah," she answered absently. He was right; she did like to come there to think sometimes. She'd go there really early in the morning when she knew no one would be there and just sat down to think things over. She wasn't sure what it was; maybe the familiar childhood feeling she got whenever she was there, but she always felt better after being there. "I was actually hoping you'd be here."
"Oh, really?" he asked with a smirk. He was sure that there was something wrong now. Sure, he and Haley were close, a lot closer than people think, but she only came to him when it was something serious. "Finally decided to ditch Mr. Big Shot and come back to me, huh?" As much as the reminded of Nathan hurt, she had to smile at him.
"Sorry, dude, not today," she answered, playfully shoving him in the shoulder. "I kind of need your advice on something." He smirked at her again, knowing that was what she had come for. There were not many people that knew this about him, but he was a really good listener.
"Wouldn't your little girlfriends be better suited for this?" He assumed that this was about Nathan. He saw her flinch when he mentioned him a few moments ago. Since he wasn't aware of all the drama that had taken place that summer, he could only assume that it was about the sex thing, which was something he wasn't comfortable talking to her about. She was like his little sister; he didn't want to know about her sex life.
"I already know what they're gonna say," Haley answered. She thought about telling Brooke and Peyton about the phone call, but she wanted to make this decision without them. There was no point in asking what they thought, she knew they'd tell her not to go. "I'd ask Luke but he and Jake are kind of dealing with the breakups and all…"
"Break ups?" Skills asked, surprised that anyone had broken up at all. When he had left at the beginning of the summer, everything had been peachy in lover's paradise. The only hitch being that Tim still wasn't getting any. "Who broke up?"
"Wow, you really did miss all the drama, didn't you?" Haley chuckled lightly at the reality that Skills still thought they lived in. She couldn't believe that it was just a couple of months ago when everything was so perfect, or at least it seemed to be. Skills looked at her strangle, trying to figure out what could have possibly changed so much in one summer. "It's a long story."
"Then start from the beginning, girl," he answered; repositioning himself so he could listen better to the story she had to tell. As much as he would deny it to anyone who asked, he was really more of a gossip queen than Brooke was, but only Haley knew that. "You're not gonna make me wait until school tomorrow, are you? I want the truth, not Theresa's warped version of it."
"Okay," Haley breathed. She ran over all the things that had occurred over the past two months, trying to think of a way to make the explanation as short as possible. "When you left the couples were as follows; me and Nathan, Brooke and Lucas, Peyton and Jake, Tim and his hand, correct?"
"Yeah, yeah," he rushed, wanting her to get on with it. "Come on, give me the dirt." Haley raised an eyebrow at him, laughing a little before continuing.
"To make a long story short," she continued. "The current relationship statuses are this; me and Nathan have broken up due to the fact that he can't keep his dick in his pants, Jake and Peyton have split for the time being until Jake gets Jenny's mom to sign the divorce papers, Brooke and Lucas are on a break until they can focus more on their relationship instead of their friends' derailed love lives, and Tim and Lacy, who is carrying Nathan's child by that way, have apparently gotten married from what Brooke and Pey told me at the hospital."
"Hospital?" was the only thing that Skills could process at the moment. He heard everything that Haley and said, but it all just seemed to crazy to be true. Haley gave him a sympathetic smile, sorry to have to dump everything on him like that.
"Oh yeah, and I died." Skills took a breath and let everything wash over him. He let out a puff of air and leaned back a little, blinking his eyes.
"Whoa," was all he could manage. Haley laughed despite herself and nodded, telling him that she still couldn't believe it herself. After a moment to digest everything, Skills turned to Haley. "So, clearly I missed an exciting summer."
"To say the least," she sighed. Even though she had tried her best to keep the hurt out of her voice, Skills had known her too long to miss it. He moved the basketball to his other hand and moved closer to Haley, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"You okay?" She gave him a fake smile, hoping he would just accept it. He saw right through it, but knew better than to push her about it, that she would let it out when she was ready. He decided it was better to just drop it. "So, you said you needed my advice on something?"
"Oh, yeah," Haley sniffled, quickly wiping her eyes of the few tears that had managed to escape her eyelids. She waited a moment until she was sure that she could talk before continuing. She blinked away the remaining tears and turned to look at her friend. "Um, when I got home today, there was a message on my machine from Nathan. He said he wanted to meet me at the docs. I'm assuming that he's going to ask me to get back together with him, and I'm not sure what I should do."
"And you're sure Brooke or Peyton won't be better to ask for this sort of thing? I'm not so good with the relationship advice, you know? I mean, the longest time I had a girlfriend was when we went out in seventh grade." A genuinely content smile spread across her lips at the memories of those happier times. She could remember Skills coming to school everyday with a flower for her that he had picked from Karen's garden on the way to school. All the girls in their class thought that it was just the sweetest thing.
"I wanted an objective answer," she explained, choosing not to tease him about the time they went out. "If I ask them, they're obviously going to say that I should tell him to go screw himself and for me to move on. I know Luke would tell me the same thing, just in a nicer way as not to hurt Nathan's delicate baby feelings." A sour look came over her face as she thought about Nathan trying to play the sympathy card on her. "I just wanted someone who wouldn't be biased towards me."
"And you came to me?" he asked; surprised that she would ask him based on the reasons she just gave. She thought he wouldn't be biased. "You don't think I'd be biased to my little sister?"
"Have I ever told you how creepy it is that you still look at me as you little sister when you were my first kiss?" Skills thought about it for a moment and scrunched up his nose at the thought. Haley laughed at the disgusted look on his face. "Good to know you find it disgusting when you think about kissing me."
"Aw, you know I love you, baby," he teased, kissing her on the cheek. She rolled her eyes and nodded, playfully pushing him away again. She was surprised how nice this felt, to be around someone who wasn't treating her strangely. As much as she loved both Brooke and Peyton, she couldn't stand seeing the pitying looks they kept giving her. It was nice to just sit there and joke around, not having to be remained that Nathan had ripped her heart out just over a week ago.
"I love you, too," she replied. They remain silent for a while; the only sound between them was the bouncing of the basketball on the rocky pavement in front of the bench. Haley waited another moment. "So, what do you think?"
"I think that you're the smartest person I know," he answered, cryptically. Haley mentally groaned at the answer. She should have known that Skills wouldn't give her a straight answer. "And I trust that you'll make the right decision."
"Urg, Skills," she groaned out loud. "Would you just give me a straight answer, for once?" He looked at her and tried to decide how to answer her question. The answer was obvious to him and he knew that Haley already knew the right answer as well, but for some reason, she just didn't want to face it. He sighed and tossed the ball onto the damp grass beside them.
"Look, Hales," he began, turning and taking her hands in his. "I really do love you, you've been one of my best friends since I was five. I know that the guys and me weren't exactly supportive of your relationship with Nathan at first, but when we saw that he treated you right and made you happy, we sort of learned how to deal with it. All I ever want for you is for you to be happy."
"I know."
"So, then the real question is," he began. "If you go back to Nathan, if you can some how find it inside of you to forget all the horrible things he has done, and be able to take him back…will you be happy?" Skills watched Haley's face fall slightly as the reality washed over her. "If you can wake up everyday and see his face without thinking about all the pain that he caused you, then I say go for it. If you think you can trust him, then there's no reason not to take him back." He squeezed her hands to get her to look up at him. "Do you get what I'm saying?"
"Yeah," Haley whispered, nodding her head slightly as she tried to hold back the tears. Everything that Skills said was right. She knew all of that already, but for some reason, hearing it out loud and from someone else, it finally sunk in. It was really over. She was really going to look him in the eyes and say no. And it was going to break her heart.
"Come here," he cooed, gently pulling her towards him. She didn't fit him at all; just fell into his arms and cried. Skills rested his chin on the top of her head and smoothed down her hair. Haley James was the strongest person he knew, and there was not a doubt in his mind that she would be okay.
--OTH--
Nathan glanced at his watch for the fourth time since he got there. It was almost ten o'clock and Haley still hadn't shown up. He was starting to worry that she wasn't going to. Though, after all, he couldn't blame her. After everything that he had done to her, he thought she'd be crazy to show up. Then again, Haley was always the kind of girl to do the unexpected.
He sighed and glanced around again, looking to see if he could spot Haley anywhere. She was still nowhere to be found. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his blue Tree Hill High varsity jacket and played with the jewelry box that was in there.
He went to every store in Tree Hill looking for the perfect ring to get Haley. It had to be perfect if she was going to take him back. When he found the one he wanted to buy, it was too expensive for him, so he had to ask his mom for some help, which she gladly agreed, not knowing what it was for.
A part of him still couldn't believe that he was going to be asking Haley to marry him in just a few minutes. He never really pictured himself getting married, and especially not at this young of an age, but he loved Haley and he needed her back. She probably wouldn't even want to get married this young, she just needed to know that it was on the table, that he was really serious about this relationship and was willing to make the commitment.
"Hey," came a voice from behind. The sadness and regret in her voice sent a shiver down Nathan's spine and he wanted to fling himself off a cliff for being the one to cause that. He took a deep breath to get his nerves in order before turning around to face her.
"I was afraid you weren't going to come," he said in way of greeted. He sent her quick glances, but was finding it hard to look her in the face. He could see the tearstains still on her cheeks and the wavering in her voice indicated that she had been crying. "I'm glad you did."
"I figured it couldn't hurt to hear you out, right?" she replied, trying her best to keep her voice level. She didn't want him to know that she had been crying. It's not as if she thought he would get some kind of pleasure out of it, she could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't enjoying it. She didn't know why, but she thought it made her seem weak that she was crying over him. She had always thought girls were so stupid for crying over boys, but now that she was on the other end, she completely understood. Nothing felt worse then feeling unwanted.
"Thank you," he told her in a soft voice, not wanting her to feel threatened of cornered or anything. He wanted her to know that if she wanted to, she had the option to leave anytime she wanted. "I know I don't deserve a second chance or anything, but I'm glad that you're a big enough person to give it to me anyway."
"That's me," she shrugged, her gaze switching between the wood beams under her feet and the blue eyes drilling a hole through her. "So, uh, on the message you said that you wanted to ask me something?"
"Oh, um, yeah," he stumbled; surprised that she was cutting right to the chase. Then again, he didn't imagine that she wanted to be there any longer than she had to be. Okay, this was it. There was no turning back. "Yeah, there is something I wanted to ask you, but I want to say something first."
"Okay." She suddenly wished she hadn't come in the first place. She knew he was going to ask her to forgive him and take him back, and the only reason she had come down there was to tell him that she couldn't take him back. As much as the thought made her want to slap herself for being stupid, she couldn't help but dread the devastated look that was going to come to his face. She thought she would want to see him in pain, but she knew how it felt and she wouldn't wish it on her worst enemy. "I'm listening."
"I know this may sound a little moronic and broken record like, but I'm really sorry for everything that happened." Haley had to suppress a laugh at his words. Did he honestly think that this was what she wanted to hear? Things had gone so far past the point of 'I'm sorry', that him saying it was almost laugh worthy. "You have no idea how much I wish I could go back in time and change everything. I wish I could be the man that you wanted me to be."
"You could have been him, Nathan," Haley interrupted him. There was no way in hell that she was going to let him martyr his way out of this. "And don't even try to pull the Dan card on me because it won't work. This isn't your father's fault. I know that you didn't have the best home life, and I'm sorry, but you had it a lot better than me. So please, just save the 'poor me' bullshit, and just get to the point."
"You're so sexy when you're angry," he commented with a smirk. She looked at him in confusion, trying to figure out why he would say that. When she saw that he was serious, she shook her head and let out a bitter laugh.
"You'll never change, will you?" she asked. She shook her head again and he looked at her in confusion, not knowing what he did wrong. "Here I thought that you were genuinely trying to apologize, as lame an attempt as it was, but you just couldn't help yourself." This was so typical of him and it made her sick. She didn't know how she ever found it cute.
"What did I do?"
"You did what you always do," she explained. "When things start looking like you might not win, you pull out some half ass remark to change the subject. I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you about our relationship, or what used to be our relationship, and you just can't keep your head out of your pants for two minutes."
"I didn't mean…"
"You say that you want to be a better man?" she continued to rant, completely ignoring anything he was doing. It felt so good to yell at him. She never really got to get her feelings out, to tell him how much it hurt her to know what he did. She was so wrapped up in her ranting that she didn't notice him moving forward and pulling something out of his pocket. "Then just be a better man. I don't know what it is with you, but you can't seem to make a commitment. When things get too serious, Nathan runs away because he's afraid of what might happen, you're afraid that you'll mess up." Nathan moved closer to her, until they were just mere inches apart and she was looking up at him, but didn't seem to register how close they were. "Well, guess what Nathan, you can't always be perfect, not everything goes as smoothly as basketball. And I'm so sick of trying to…"
"Marry me," he stated, interrupting her rant. It took her a moment to register what he had just said. She blinked a couple times and looked into his eyes to see if he was serious.
"What?"
"Marry me, Haley," he repeated. He opened up the box slowly and held it up so she could see the ring. All the air left her body as she saw the beautiful ring sitting in its holder. "I'm ready for this. You're the only girl for me, the only girl that I'll ever need and I'm ready to commit to that." She looked up at him, completely shocked at what he was saying. She couldn't believe that he was willing to marry her to prove how much he wanted her back. "Please, let me correct what I've done. I love you, Haley. Let me prove that to you."
Haley's eyes blinked rapidly as her vision started to blur. Was she hearing him right? He wanted to marry her. Nathan Scott, the guy that couldn't handle the commitment of exclusively dating her without seeing other girls on the side, was willing to spend the rest of his life with her?
Her decision just got a lot less complicated.
--OTH--
Dun, dun, dun! Oh no, what's she gonna say? She she gonna let bygones be bygones and take him back? Or is she going to decide that all of his horrible actions were just too much and tell him to go screw himself? Who knows? Well, I do and so do a few other people, but you'll all have to wait to see. Tell me what you think.
Review, review, review!
