Anarchist278: It wasn't confusion, Angie. It's a little thing I like to call a sucky chapter. Sorry about that. I was working on Time Just Won't Stop, I swear I was, it just wasn't coming along. That chapter is giving me problems, and yeah, it basically sucks. Maybe I'll just start from scratch and it'll be better. I'll try hard, I promise.
Nachochillicheese: Thanks! I know. Hilary is just cruel. Lucas is pretty much getting everyone angry. Maybe this chapter will change that? Hopefully. And I love Nate. He's so fun to write.
OTHbaby08: I know, Hilary seriously is a bitch. I love Nathan, too. He's my favorite character, I think. Emilie, I'm expecting an update from you soon. It's been a while, now.
HalesnLukeBFF4ever: Well stated, Amber.
OTHretard: Thanks! Haha. I love it when Karen says that. Yeah, Hilary and Lucas need to break up.
CCScott23: Thanks! There are four chapter left. I'm going to Thirty, or twenty-nine, really. And I'm not giving away the Haley dying thing, lol. Don't worry, It'll be good, I hope. Haha.
ForeverBrucas: Me too. Hilary had it coming.
Daddyzangel108: I wouldn't have slapped her. I'd have gotten my ass kicked, haha. That's good, you know? If you stay neutral with everyone, then no one has a reason to be like that to you. Brooke, on the other hand..
Bubblz: Lol. Yeah, she pretty much is.
Hilaryhilary: Haha. Well, Hilary, frankly, I don't think you're as bad as the Hilary in the story. But you may want to change your screename, because my friends the reviewers here may just kick your ass.
Cait: Thanks so much! Wow, I can't get over how much I love your reviews. Seriously, dude, thanks. Lucas does need an eye-opener, and you'd think that Nathan would be the person to do it for him, as they're not only brothers, but close friends, but you never know with that guy. Yeah, it wasn't really different, it just sucked. I don't know what happened during the last chapter, but I do apologize as to how bad it was.
Jacqueline22393: Jackieee! I miss you! I know, Hilary's a whore. Lucas has got lots of problems. I mean, lots of 'em. The guy needs a little bit of help.
Chad'sBrucas: Thanks! Hehe, you'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Brucas4ever: Thanks! Yeah, most people don't like Hilary. Haha. He really is.
Angelicxox: Thanks! I'm glad you like it! And you'll just have to wait and see about what'll happen with Brucas.
Lizzie: Hehe. Aww, Lizzie, I miss you. We never talk anymore. It's so sad. Hilary's a whore. She just randomly shows up at people's doors, and there's not much we can do to stop her other then wish and pray. Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie- we can't just run Hilary over, that would be mean. (Pshhh- who am I kidding? Do what you want. She's locked up in my closet, ready for whatever you may want to -err- 'accidentally' do to her..)
XxAdorableShortyxx: Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it!
Tiffany Rae: Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it, and even re-read it. That means a lot to me.
Only The Good Die Young
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Ghost of A Good Thing
Haley walked towards Brooke's locker, where her sister was deep conversation with Peyton. As soon as the two girls saw her, they nudged each other incessantly and closed their lockers, then sealed their lips shut and attempted to play it cool.
"Please don't tell me that's your idea of stealth." Haley chuckled at her sister's expense.
"You're hilarious," Brooke rolled her eyes, "But no. Peyton and I were just talking about something we don't want you to know about."
"Good job, Brooke. That'll do a great job of not making her curious." Peyton said sarcastically, shaking her head.
"Yeah, so I'm curious now. What's going on?" Haley tried to peak in at Brooke's binder, which she slammed shut quickly.
"Nothing, nothing. Oh, look at the time. Goldilocks and I are going to be late for cheerleading. See you later, Hales."
Haley bit her lip. Brooke was being beyond suspicious. And it wasn't like she was trying to hide it either.
Sighing, Haley leaned against the nearest locker to her as a wave of dizziness hit her hard. The world went completely blurry, and she leaned into the locker, locking her eyes shut.
When she opened them two minutes later, the world was fine. Completely still. Just like it had been the last time.
Brooke held Peyton's hand tightly, and the two girls giggled as they made their way towards the gym.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Brooke squealed excitedly.
"And she wouldn't ever see it coming." Peyton agreed.
Brooke pushed open the door to the gym, where bunches of people were doing different varieties of jobs.
"How much time do we have left?" Nathan shouted from inside, as he blew up a balloon.
"Just under two hours. Come on people, let's get to work!" Brooke clapped her hands, and made sure to lock the door behind her as she entered.
7:50 PM.
The clock ticked away slowly, and Haley had never found herself more bored in the tutoring center. She'd finished up with all her students, who had been surprisingly abrupt and eager to get done.
Now, she had ten minutes until her shift was over. Any student could at any point come in and ask for help with something, but she doubted it. In ten minutes, she'd meet Brooke outside, and the two would probably stop for food-
Her stomach grumbled. Food. How long had it been since she'd had some of that? Her eyelids fluttered for a second, and she almost thought she would fall asleep.
7:52 PM.
Had it only been two minutes?
Haley stood up, mumbled, "To hell with it." , and signed herself out. She had just reached the door, her hand right on the knob, when someone from the other end pulled it back, along with her.
She fell onto the person, who quickly balanced her out. Looking up, she saw that it was Nathan.
A frown fell upon her face, and she slapped his arm. "You scared the hell out of me!"
Nathan grinned. "I'm sorry. Basketball practice just finished, and I took a shower and everything, and then I figured you'd be here since you tutor until eight."
"Oh, well in that case.." Haley smiled, leaning up to kiss her boyfriend firmly on the lips.
He grabbed her hand, and the two proceeded down the hallway. Haley shivered, leaning against Nathan.
"Why is it so dark? I mean, don't they ever keep the lights on in case someone's walking through here at night?"
Nathan chuckled. "You tell me. I don't usually walk through these hallways at night."
"Me either. I just took up the late tutoring shift because it matched Brooke's schedule. It's like- the most boring thing I've ever done."
"I thought you liked tutoring."
"Yeah, when you're actually tutoring," Haley laughed, "Everyone's usually done by six-thirty. So, I've pretty much been sitting in there by myself since then."
"Why don't you just leave?"
"Because someone could come in, needing tutoring, and I wouldn't be there, and they could get a bad grade or something, and then that'd be on my conscious, which would-"
"Hey, hey."
"Sorry."
They left the building, and headed towards the parking lot. Nathan stopped dead in his tracks.
"Aw, damnit."
"What?"
"I forgot a book in the gym. I was studying whenever we had breaks, and I forgot to put it back in my backpack."
"Well," Haley bit her lip, "Okay, let's go back."
Nathan smiled thankfully, and the two made their way towards the gym. Haley sighed. Why did the world seem to look so dark tonight? She looked towards Nathan, and stopped.
"Your hair isn't wet."
"What?" Nathan ran his hands through his dark locks, and frowned.
"You said that you took a shower, but your hair isn't wet."
"I-uh, I blow-dried it."
"I'm sorry. You what, now?" Haley shot him a look of disbelief.
"I blow-dried it?"
"Your hair?"
"Yes. I didn't want to get sick. Wet hair gets you sick."
"Right."
Okay, something was definitely up. Her sister was being secretive, her tutees were in a hurry to finish, and her boyfriend was blow-drying his hair.
"Can we go?"
"Oh, yeah. Sure."
Nathan pulled the door of the gym open. Haley squinted through the darkness, and felt around the wall for a light switch. She reached it, and hitched her thumb up, flicking it on.
Light poured the room, and all of a sudden, so much was visible. There were people, food, decorations. She didn't have enough time to soak this all in, as everyone jumped up, screaming: "Surprise!"
Caught off guard for what seemed like the twentieth time that night, Haley jumped backward, falling onto Nathan.
"What is all this?"
Nathan gestured towards the large banner hanging from the ceiling, the words, 'For All That You've Done, Haley Davis!'.
Tears came to her eyes, and Haley immediately searched the crowd for her sister, obviously the master of the plan. When the two saw each other, they embraced tightly.
"Thanks, B." Haley mumbled into her sister's shirt.
"No problem. Now come on. Enjoy your party, Sis."
Haley admired the purple and silver balloons quietly to herself as she held onto her sister's hand.
Everyone was focused on her. So many people had come up to her to tell that they loved her and that she was great, that she had lost count.
Nathan appeared at her and Brooke's side, a grin on his face.
"So, do you like the party?"
"Like it? I love it. It's amazing. Thank you, you guys. This really - it really - means a lot to me."
"Us too." Brooke smiled.
Suddenly, Haley burst into a fit of laughter, and Brooke and Nathan shot each other questioning glances.
"I'm sorry Nate, but you blow-dried your hair? That was possibly the lamest thing I'd ever heard in my life."
Brooke shot Nathan a look. "You told her that you blow-dried your hair? That was like asking to get caught, you idiot!"
"Hey, hey. Don't shoot the messenger here. Shoot the, uh, non messenger…" Nathan trailed off.
"Just stop talking, Nate. It'll do you a lot of good."
"Right." Nathan made a gesture of sealing his lips shut, and strung his arms around the two girls.
"I still can't get over this party. It's so perfect."
"Well, you mean a lot to us, Hales. We wanted to show you that." Brooke kissed her sister's cheek, and brought her in for a tight hug.
In the background, a very obnoxious Tim Smith could be heard saying, "Yeah! Sister on sister action"
"I'm going to kick his ass." Nathan shook his head, laughing.
"Don't bother." Haley smiled.
"Yeah. It's really not Tim's fault," Brooke bit her lip. "He's just - a little - out of the ordinary."
Brooke snuck out of the gym, into the dark hallway of Tree Hill High. She adjusted her silky midnight blue dress, and stood up taller in her black heels.
She was okay. This was okay. Wasn't it? Her situation was getting continuously worse, and now she had no idea what she was going to do anymore. Haley was getting more and more sick, and Lucas had completely slipped away into the arms of another girl.
Sighing, she adjusted her side pony tail. She looked good, she just- didn't feel good. The sound of someone nervously clearing their throat got her attention, and she looked up to see Lucas.
"Oh, um, hi." She stuttered, backing away an inch or two.
Lucas nodded in response, and it was about a minute of awkwardness before he spoke once more.
"This is really great. What you did for Haley. The party, I mean."
"Thanks. I uh- I'm glad you like it."
"So, I heard that Hilary was being rude to you, and I'm sorry. I didn't- I mean, I thought - maybe, I don't know, that.." He trailed off, at a loss for words.
"It's fine. I got her back." She gave him a trademark Brooke Davis smile. It was a smaller one, but her dimples still seemed to pop out at you.
"I want you to know that I - me and Hilary - we-"
"Luke, it's okay. You don't have to explain yourself to me. We're not together anymore."
"No. Hilary and I broke up. I wanted you to know that. I broke up with her because of what she was doing to you."
"Thanks, but that just makes me feel worse."
"And also, because I was sort of using her. As a way to make you jealous."
"Well," Brooke looked down at the ground, kicking at it with the tip of her shoe, "It worked."
"It was immature. I'm sorry." He came closer to her now, and Brooke wasn't sure if he was heading for her or the door behind her.
"That's okay." She said quietly.
Now, he stood right before her. Close, dangerously close. Her eyes studied his carefully, and she could tell he was doing the same thing to her.
"Look, maybe, maybe.." Brooke trailed off, their faces growing closer together.
Their faces were a mere centimeters apart when they heard the scream.