Chapter Four - Everything Was the Same

After what felt like an eternity, Brooke was the first one to break the silent staring contest Haley and Nathan were having.

"Nathan, how are you?" she asked as she pulled him into her arms.

It took Nathan a few seconds, but he took his eyes off of Haley and responded to Brooke's hug by placing his arms around her as well. "I'm good, Brooke, how about you?"

Lucas sent Haley an understanding smile as he pulled his best friend into his arms. "We've missed you, Hales," he said, kissing her cheek.

Haley hugged Lucas back tightly. "I've missed you guys, too, more than you know."

Lucas pulled back and was surprised to see Haley crying. "Hey, I hope those are happy tears," he said, gently wiping them away with his thumbs.

She laughed. "Don't worry, they are." She looked to her right where Nathan and Brooke were still talking; well Brooke was talking. Nathan was staring at her, concern written all over his face. She opened her mouth to say something to him, but before she could she was interrupted by more of Brooke's squeals.

"Peyton! Jake! Come over here you guys!" she yelled.

Haley stepped back as Peyton hugged Lucas and Jake shook hands with Nathan, and then switched. She used to opportunity to take a good look at Nathan. He looked genuinely happy to see everyone, there was no doubt about that, but there was something beneath the surface that bothered her. He seemed introverted and shy, almost like he was lacking self-confidence. The Nathan she knew was full of confidence, and she expected him to be over-confident now, considering who he was. He looked anything but.

"Oh, you guys look so great. It's so good to see you both," Brooke spoke, cutting through her thoughts.

"You look very good as well," Lucas said, giving her a not so subtle seductive look. "Want to take a walk?" he asked her.

"I thought you would never ask," she took his outstretched hand and followed him out of the room.

"God, could those two be any more obvious?" Peyton asked, not able to control her laughter anymore.

"Leave them alone, Peyt, they're in love," Jake said, trying to defend them.

"Jake, that's not love, it's lust. There's a big difference. Could you compare what they have to what we have?" Peyton asked, feeling a little offended.

"Well, no, but…"

"No butts if you want to have a good night, Jake."

"Wow, the Mrs. is putting her foot down. And this is exactly why I tell people never to get married."

Jake regretted saying it as soon as the words left his mouth. There was an awkward silence, as both Haley and Nathan avoided eye contact, before Peyton finally broke the silence. "Okay, well I could really use a drink, what about you guys?"

Haley nodded, knowing Peyton would know exactly what to get her. Jake nodded at Nathan, "Another beer?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, that would be great."

Haley watched as Jake led Peyton to the bar, shooting her a "don't leave me along with him!" look. Peyton mouthed back, "I'm sorry" and shrugged her shoulders. She looked around the room before turning around to Nathan, who still had his eyes on her. She smiled, not really sure what to say to him.

Nathan shrugged his shoulders, obviously as unsure as she was, and Haley couldn't help but laugh. He smiled, it felt good knowing he could still make her laugh after all these years.

Haley was surprised at how fast it happened, but there was no doubt in her mind about it. Just like that, the attraction she had felt for Nathan so many years ago had returned. Well, then again she was never really sure that it had left in the first place. She had never felt for anyone else the way she felt when she even thought about Nathan. She took a deep breath and forced herself to speak. "So, how have you been?"

"Pretty busy, I'm sure you know how it is. You're all over the place just like I am. How about you?" Nathan was so happy that they were both acting like adults. He had been so worried that he was going to make an ass of himself all over again, but now in her presence he felt calm and collected.

"Well, I'm pretty good now that the tour has ended. It was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders."

"I saw you on the news today- they said that you collapsed on stage. Is everything all right?"

Haley couldn't help but feel touched by his obvious concern for her. "Yeah, I'm fine, just under a lot of stress I guess. I'm actually staying in Tree Hill for about a week so that I can rest and reconnect with the stable world- Peyton's orders."

"Well, it should be good for you, I'm sure you could use it. I wish I could stick around for awhile, but Luke and I are booked on a red eye tomorrow to Miami. This next game could potentially be our last and I have to get back to training."

"Well, you guys have had a really good season. The playoffs have been interesting so far."

"You've been watching?"

"I haven't missed a game in six years."

A short silence fell over them as Haley immediately wondered how she had let the words slips from her thoughts and Nathan pondered the complexity of Haley watching all of his games. Haley had never been a fan of sports, she only watched their high school games to see Lucas and him play. Did that mean she still only watched the games just to watch him play? It shocked him slightly and he could see that she was as well at her own admission. At that moment, he had never felt so guilty for pushing Haley out of his life so many years ago.

"I'm glad that you did," Nathan finally spoke.

Haley brought her eyes back to his and flashed her radiant smile yet again. She looked around the ballroom. "I wonder where everyone went," she stated, suddenly wanting to change the subject.

"Do you want to go get the drinks ourselves? It doesn't look like Peyton and Jake are coming back any time soon."

"Yeah, that sounds good." She followed Nathan to the bar and ordered a diet coke, wanting to have a clear head for the rest of the night. He ordered a club soda and she hoped that he had the same thought. They wandered over to an empty table along the side of the room and took a seat.

"Do you want anything to eat? I could go get a few things." Nathan asked her.

"No, I'm okay. I'm not hungry."

"Yeah, I don't think I could eat right now anyway."

Haley shot him a confused look. "Why?"

Nathan stumbled over his words. "Nothing… It's just you… and me… us…and," he cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "It's just really good to see you, Hales."

Haley's heart skipped a beat as he called her by her nickname and she could feel her cheeks blushing. She looked down momentarily before bringing her eyes back up to his. "It's really good to see you too."

She was so surprised by what was happening. She had expected to come tonight to find a despondent Nathan; one that was still hurt and hating her for leaving. One like she had found in New York. But here he was in front of her with a smile on his face. And he seemed happy to see her, just as she was to see him.

Nathan suddenly found himself short of words, but it wasn't an awkward silence that fell over them. They both were thinking about how many things had changed, but then again how so many things had stayed the same. Nathan had planned to keep his distance tonight, to continue being the jaded person he believed himself to be, but his whole plan had been shot to hell the moment he had seen Haley across the room. He could no longer deny the feelings he had for her, and it hurt to think that tomorrow he would leave and everything would go back to the way it had been before. If their relationship didn't work long distance before, it wouldn't work now. So he wanted to say a few things to her before he lost the chance to be honest with her.

"Haley, in New York…" he started.

"Nathan, don't." she cut him off. "We don't need to go there, because it won't change anything. What's done is done."

He opened his mouth to object, but was interrupted by Brooke's body landing in his lap. "You guys are so boring! I mean, we are all out there on the dance floor and you guys are sitting here talking. Get your asses out there, now!"

Haley tried to refuse, but Brooke took them each by the hand and dragged them to where Lucas, Peyton, and Jake were already dancing. The DJ was currently playing hits of 2006 and right now it was "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls. Haley laughed as she watched her friends dancing and it didn't take her long to join in. Nathan was another story and it wasn't until Brooke pushed him into the middle of their circle and started dancing on him that he finally gave in.

The moment seemed to slowdown as Haley realized that she had left a part of herself behind in Tree Hill and she had never realized it until now. She had always felt it missing, but being here with Nathan and Lucas proved it to her once and for all. She felt like a teenager again, like anything was possible. They had all come so far and had lost parts of themselves along the way, but now that they were together again they were whole.

Suddenly the music changed into the slow version of "Listen to Your Heart" by DHT and Haley didn't know quite how to respond. Brooke and Lucas and Peyton and Jake immediately paired off and Nathan awkwardly stood across from her like it was a sixth grade dance all over again. He extended his hand to her and it didn't take a second thought for her to accept it.

Nathan placed his other hand on the small of Haley's back and the lack of fabric there sent a ripple of excitement through her body. As she rested her head on his chest she couldn't help but feel that it felt right there, even after all these years. She closed her eyes and listened to the words of the song, which suddenly meant so much to her.

"Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you. Listen to you heart, there's nothing else you can do. I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why. Listen to your heart, before you tell him goodbye."

Haley suddenly became very aware of the situation, and for a moment it felt very wrong. Did she have the right to do this again – to involve him in her life, especially now? She had tried so hard all these years not to run back to his arms, so why was she falling so easily into them now? Were they both just living in the moment only to change their minds tomorrow? There were just too many questions on her mind.

She stumbled back slightly as she gently pushed out of his arms, tears starting to collect in her eyes and falling softly on her cheeks..

The only words she could say as she ran from his embrace were, "I'm sorry."

Hey All! Thanks for all of the fantastic reviews- they really mean so much to me! I've trying to make the installments shorter, bc I know it is easier to read that way, but this one just took ona mind of its own! Thanks again and let me know what you thought!

Kylie