A Way of Working Out
Chapter 3
Haley sat fidgeting, looking at Lucas across the table from her. He looked so happy. She really hated the idea of telling him something that could quite possibly ruin his good mood.
Lucas watched as Haley fidgeted. He could tell that something was up, but was unsure what it was. He reached across the table and placed his hand on hers. Looking into her eyes, he questioned her, "Is something wrong?"
"Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know," Haley sputtered.
"Well, which is it?" Lucas was becoming slightly nervous.
"I don't know."
"You know you can tell me anything."
"I know. That's why this is so hard," Haley paused, and took a deep breath before continuing, "Remember how I called last night and said I'd be home late because I was going to have a few drinks with a friend?"
Lucas nodded his head, fearing the worst. He prayed that this wasn't going to be the Mouth situation all over again.
"Well, that friend was Nathan Scott."
"That's awesome. How's he doing?"
"He's doing fine. But there's more."
"More?"
"Yes. During our conversation, it was mentioned that he has feelings for me."
"How did you respond to that?"
"Like any loving girlfriend would. I told him that I was seeing you. He told me that he knew we were together. That he took it as the chance to tell me. Because then, being the nice person that I am, I wouldn't feel like I needed to return the sentiment."
"That's kind of odd. But if that's all it was, what's bothering you so much?"
Haley looked away.
"There's more isn't there," Lucas looked at Haley, "Isn't there."
"Yes. Lucas, I am so sorry," Haley started to cry.
"You slept with him! Is this Mouth all over again?"
"No! God no. But there's something you need to know. Up until this past year, just a few months before we got together, Nathan was 'the one.' I'd had deep feelings for him since middle school, on and off again of course. But in March, I gave up the dream. We'd had our chances, both of us, but we never did anything. So I decided it would never be more than that - a dream. It was hard at first. And all of my friends knew that if I ever had the chance with Nathan, I would take it."
Lucas just stared at her, a look of sorrow on his face.
"But now that I'm with you, and love you, I find out that he has feelings for me too. I just feel torn."
"But you don't really love me," Lucas stated solemnly.
"What?" Haley was shocked.
"Don't deny it. If you truly did, the thing with Mouth wouldn't have happened."
"It was a mistake. He was vulnerable."
"But you weren't." Lucas sat quietly before asking, "What does Peyton think?"
"She doesn't know."
"You tell her everything."
"I wanted to wait."
"I think you should take the chance."
Haley gasped, "What!"
"You should go for it."
"But what about us, about you?"
"I don't want to be your second choice. To forever know that you love someone else mre than me. Maybe Mouth was just the beginning. You need to find out if you're truly over him. If you are, my door is open. Until then, well, I guess I wait."
"What are we going to do about our living situation?"
"I'll move home. Karen and Keith will understand. I'll just tell them that we decided we weren't quite ready to live together."
"Couldn't you just move into a different room?"
"I don't think so. I couldn't handle you bringing him home. Besides, you already have one male roommate, whom you've also slept with may I remind you. Having two ex-lovers living there and bringing home your new boy-toy probably isn't the greatest idea. It might scare him." Lucas couldn't believe he'd just said that. If Nathan got scared, it would pave the path for him. But, he knew this needed to be done.
"Lucas, you are the greatest," she leaned over to kiss him.
He backed away, "I hope you still think so in the end."
"Can I still see you?" Haley couldn't believe things with Lucas were really over.
"Of course. You know the number," Lucas stood up, threw some money on the table and said, "I'll be gone by tomorrow when you get home from work."
As Lucas walked away, Haley whispered, "I'll always love you, no matter what."