It's Nice to Know You Care (Chapter 6)
Nathan got out of his car of the week and walked up to Jake Jagielski and Peyton Sawyer's apartment. He knocked on the door. Jake opened the door and smirked in surprise when he saw Nathan. "How are you doing, Nathan? What brings you here?" Jake asked. Nathan drove to Raleigh to visit them.
"I need to talk to Peyton," he replied, looking away to avoid Jake's curious gaze. Jake shrugged.
"All right. Come on in," Jake said. Nathan followed him into the apartment and through a small hallway into the living room.
"Peyton, someone here to see you," Jake called.
"Who?" Peyton asked, coming into the room.
"Me," Nathan replied. Peyton looked to Jake in confusion. He just shrugged. Peyton sat down on the couch and Nathan sat in a chair across the room.
"I'll give you two some privacy," Jake said, smirking. Peyton Sawyer looked at Nathan with interest.
"What's going on?" she asked. Nathan looked a little uncomfortable. Peyton sighed. "Look, I'm not in the mood for your misunderstood brooding act, all right? Other girls may fall for it, but I'm immune," Peyton snapped. Nathan looked up at her, surprised. Peyton smirked.
"What did you come here for?" she asked. Nathan sighed.
"Did Haley tell you about me and her?" he asked.
Peyton laughed. "What about you and her?" she asked.
"Uh, that we dated for a while," he replied. Peyton nodded. "She did?" Nathan asked.
"Not while it was going on, but she told me after you broke up," Peyton replied. Nathan nodded.
"Well, we've recently started to talk again," he said. Peyton looked at him impatiently.
"Get to the point," she said.
"I want her to trust me again," he said.
"Ha! Good luck," she said and laughed. His face grew serious.
"Look, Peyton, I know you don't really like me that much," he said. Peyton widened her eyes and looked at him in surprise.
"That's sugar coating it, Nathan. I hated you," Peyton said. He looked at her.
"You seem a little surprised," she said.
"I am," he said.
"Well, you shouldn't be. You walked around like you were God's gift to creation. You acted as if you owned the school and everything in it." Nathan sat back in amazement.
"You weren't nice to anyone. The only time you paid the slightest bit of attention to anyone other than your precious Taylor was when they could provide you with what you wanted. I'm looking at you now and I don't get the feeling that a whole lot has changed. In fact, I'm certain of it. You're bad news," Peyton said.
"Well, Haley didn't think so," he pointed out.
"Yeah and you proved her wrong. You know, you're lucky Haley didn't tell me about your relationship because if I had known, I would've talked her out of it," Peyton said.
"Ok!" Nathan said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I get the point. You're pissed at me for the way I treated Haley," he said.
"You're damn right I am. You betrayed her and now you've finally realized your mistake. You want her back," Peyton said.
Nathan looked at her again as he nodded. "And, let me guess. You've come to me for advice on the best way to win her over, right?" Peyton asked.
"It sounds like I'm trying to play a trick on her or something when you put it like that," he said.
"Well, aren't you? I mean, you told me that Haley told you that she needed time before she could trust you like she used to. So, rather than letting her trust you on her own time, you decided to come to her best friend for advice on how to make you trust her again, thinking that it will be so much faster," Peyton said.
Nathan sighed. "Well, sorry you wasted a trip out here. You're going to have to wait for Haley to start to trust you all on her own. I'm not going to interfere," Peyton said. Nathan smiled.
"You're a good friend," he said. Peyton looked at him.
"I don't need validation from you, but, thanks," she said, smirking.
"Look, you have every right to feel the way you do about me and I respect that you're protecting your friend," Nathan said. Peyton smiled.
"But?" she asked.
"But you're wrong about me. I made mistakes in the way I handled things with Haley, that's true, but it doesn't mean that I don't care about her," Nathan said.
"Mistakes? What you did was a betrayal, Nathan," Peyton clarified.
"I know that," he said.
"You hurt Haley, the last person in the world who deserves it," Peyton added. He nodded.
"Trust me; you don't have to tell me that. Haley put me in my place," he said, smirking at the memory of Haley being so tough. Peyton looked at him carefully.
"Oh, my God. I don't believe it," she said. Nathan looked at her in confusion.
"You're falling for Haley," Peyton said almost accusingly. Nathan shook his head.
"I care about her, I'm not denying that," he said.
"But you deny that you're falling in love with her?" Peyton asked. Nathan nodded.
"Oh, you so are," Peyton concluded.
"It's way too early for that. I barely know her," he said.
"And yet you came all this way to try to find out what the best way to win back her trust was," Peyton reminded him.
"So, you and Nathan are back together?" Maria asked her roommate, Haley James. She was sitting on her bed, looking at a magazine and Haley was sitting at her desk with a mound of homework in front of her. Her chair was turned around, facing Maria. Haley didn't answer. She merely looked at Maria.
"You're not back together?" Maria asked. Again, no answer. Just an infuriating blank stare. She hated it when Haley put up walls. Maria threw her fists down on the bed in frustration. "Well, which it is it!" she exclaimed. Haley jumped and then averted her gaze. She looked down and then back at her.
"We're back together. I guess," Haley said finally.
Maria rolled her eyes. "Well, gee, thanks. That cleared everything up," she said sarcastically. Haley cracked an amused smile but it faded when Maria glared at her.
"It's kind of hard to explain," she said.
"I got straight A's all through high school and last year. Try me," Maria said. Haley laughed.
"I guess I'm afraid of trusting him again," she admitted. Maria nodded.
"Well, he cheated on you. That's a betrayal of your trust. So, your fear is perfectly understandable," she said.
"Do you think I should trust him?" Haley asked. Maria sighed.
"You know how I feel about him," Maria reminded her. Haley nodded sadly. Maria didn't trust Nathan at all. Haley knew that all too well. The entire time she had been dating him, Maria had referred to him as "Play Boy". She looked at Haley and smiled.
"But it doesn't matter what I think. I don't know Nathan the way you do. But I do know you. I know that you don't waste your time on lost causes. So, Nathan must have some good buried deeply under all that hostility," Maria said. Haley nodded. "Very deep," Maria added.
Haley shook her head. "No, he is a good guy. I'm not the naïve girl I was when I left Tree Hill. I know he can be an ass. I've seen it first-hand," Haley said. Maria nodded.
"Just let me ask you one question," Maria said. Haley nodded.
"Do you think he cares about you?" Maria asked. Haley thought back to their encounter the day before. He cared about her. She knew that.
"Yeah, I do," she replied.
"Do you care about him?" Maria asked.
"Of course I do. I wouldn't be putting myself through this if I didn't," Haley replied.
"If you want my opinion, you're already too far gone to go back now," Maria said.
"Too far gone?" Haley repeated.
"Hales, you've fallen for him," Maria pointed out. Haley shook her head.
"No, I haven't. We only went out for four weeks," Haley replied quickly. Maria laughed.
"Oh, I'm afraid you have," Maria said. Haley thought hard for a minute. She smiled as she nodded.
"Then, I guess the answer's obvious," Haley said. Maria smiled.
"You know, for a smart girl, you can be pretty dense in the ways of the heart," she said, chuckling.
Haley opened the door and let Nathan inside. "Hey," he said. She smiled at him and nodded. He came in and sat down on her bed.
"So, where'd you go? Your roommate said you left town," Haley said.
"I went to Raleigh to visit Peyton," he admitted. Haley looked at him in confusion. Since when did Peyton stop hating him?
"Why?" she asked.
"I needed her advice on something," he said.
"Did it help?" Haley asked. He shook his head.
"She refused to give me any," he admitted. Haley smiled.
"I didn't think she would," Haley said, smiling.
"She did help me realize something," he said.
"Oh, and what's that?" Haley asked, sitting down beside him.
Nathan could feel his heart beating a mile a minute as he took one of Haley's hands and put it in between his and held it there on his knee. He had never been the first one to admit his feelings, let alone share them with the other person and it was scary because there was the possibility that she didn't feel the same way. And he was almost convinced that she didn't. That what he did to her was something that he couldn't forgive. But, here he was, about to bear his soul to her. He looked at her and smiled.
He leaned over and kissed her softly. She smiled at him. Then, he looked at her for a minute and blindly fell of a cliff as he said, "I love you, Haley." Haley widened her eyes in surprise and smiled at him. His smile faltered as he nodded and looked away.
For some reason, she was frozen in place, not able to say anything when her insides were screaming to tell him how she felt. He dropped her hand. "It's ok. I understand," he said, kissing her lightly on the cheek.
"I ruined any chance for us. I know that. I just thought that you should know," he said, getting up and heading for the door.
"I love you," she whispered. He stopped for a minute, unsure of whether he had heard her say the words or if it was just his imagination. He turned around and looked at her carefully. She didn't look any different.
"Whatt did you just say?" he asked. Haley smiled at him. She walked over to him and put her arms around his neck.
"I said that I love you," she said, smiling as the sparkle returned to his eyes. He smiled and pulled her tightly against him. She leaned up and kissed him again.