A Way of Working Out

Chapter 5

Nathan drove by Tim's on the way home. Even though it was 12:30 at night, the light was still on in the living room, so he decided to stop. He walked up to the front door and knocked lightly.

Teresa peaked through the curtain on the window before opening the door. "Hey Nate, to what do we owe this late night visit?"

"I know it's late, sorry. But I saw the light on. Is Tony still up?"

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, he and Jake are in there on the computer with that dumb new game, completely oblivious to the time."

From the other room, Tim asks, "Hey hon, who are you talking to?"

Teresa winked at Nathan, "My lover. He stopped over since you were busy."

"Oh, okay," Nathan could hear him mutter something to Jake, "Wait a minute! What?" Tim came out into the living room.

"Finally, something got your attention. Oh, Nate's here," she motioned to the sofa. "I'm stealing the computer. Come get me when you're done. I'll send Jake out."

"Nate, what are you doing here man?"

"I had to talk to someone. And this is perfect since you're both here."

Jake walked into the room moments later, "Hey Nate," he paused and sat down, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. Well, at least I think so. That's what I need to talk about."

Tim and Jake looked at him curiously.

"I just came from visiting a friend."

Teresa hollered from the other room, "Bet he was with Haley!"

"Teresa, if you're going to eavesdrop, just come sit out here."

Teresa grinned as she walked into the room, "Sorry."

"It's okay. I might need a woman's opinion anyway."

"Did you really go over to Haley's?" Jake questioned. "What about Lucas?"

"Man, no wonder you weren't home when we called earlier."

"Yes, I was over at Haley's. You should see her place, it is so nice. Anyway, Haley and Lucas broke up, and he moved out."

"Because of you?"

"Basically. It ends up that Haley's liked me as ling as I have her."

"Ooh, this is good," Teresa clamped her hand over her mouth, "Sorry."

"We talked quite a while, and then I kissed her."

"Way to go Nate!"

"Then, just before things went too far, I decided I should leave. We both agreed that we would regret going too far so soon."

"So, do you think you have a chance?" Tim pondered.

"Yeah, I really do. But why do I not feel happier about it?"

Jake spoke up, "Because you're a nice guy, stealing a girl from a friend, who also happens to be a nice guy."

"I know, I know. But it just seemed like the right thing to do. I couldn't live any longer without her knowing. But I never intended to cause her and Lucas to break up."

"I still can't believe you finally did it. What a time to finally grow some." Tim commented.

"Me either. I still feel like it's a dream."

"But it's all VERY real Nathan. and weather you like it or not, it's probably going to end up with Haley choosing between you and Lucas," Teresa paused, "And she might NOT pick you."

"I realize that, but I'll worry more about it when it happens." Nathan stands up, "Thanks guys, I should probably get going. I need to plan my next move. I never expected it to go this far."

Teresa hollered after him, "Kiss her again! And court her. Pretend you're back in high school, and take it slow."

Haley went to work the next day in a very quiet, yet happy mood. Brian noticed this, and asked, "How's everything?"

She glanced at Brooke briefly, "Good."

"How's Lucas doing?"

Haley glared at Brooke this time, who put her hands up, pleading innocence. Haley sighed, "I guess you'd find out sooner or later, so I might as well tell you now. Lucas moved out."

Brooke's jaw dropped and Brian stopped what he was doing, "What!" they replied in unison.

"Mouth told me, but I couldn't believe it," Brooke whispered.

"He moved out on Sunday."

Brooke stood slient, but Brian pushed with more questions, "Why? What happened? I thought things had gotten better since the whole Mouth thing. You both seemed so happy. I was sure you would end up married."

"We still could. Right now it's only a temporary break. We weren't having any more problems. Something just came up, and he's giving me the time and space I need to make a decision."

Brooke spoke up, "Were you cheating on him again?" Brian's eyes lit up.

"No. I wasn't cheating on him. But this is about another guy."

"Who? I know it's not Mouth this time."

"No, it's not. It's Nathan."

Brian scrunched up his eyebrows, "The baseball guy you stalked?"

"That's the one. He came in on Saturday and we went over to The Rib Shack, where he proceeded to tell me how much he cares about me," Haley paused, "It was the chance I've always wanted. Lucas told me he couldn't hold me back. Nathan came over last night. We talked more, I told him how I feel, and we kissed."

"Wow Haley, your life's beginning to sound like Brooke's. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet. There are still a lot of feelings to sort out. As awful as I know this sounds, I'm weighing my options. I've been with Lucas for a year. And we've been living together for four months. We've bonded in an amazing way."

"Yet, you did cheat on him."

"Exactly. And I know I can't take that long with Nathan. it wouldn't be fair to Lucas, or anyone else."

"It sounds like you've been thinking about this a lot."

"Only every moment of the day and night."

"So Nathan's okay with this?"

"He knows that there's the possibility of me going back to Lucas. It's a risk he seems ready to take."

"Does he know about Mouth?"

"As a roommate?"

"Either way?"

"No, not yet."