A.N Hey guys decided to slip you another update today because I am seriously running out of time until I have to be out of my house so need to take advantage of the internet access while I still have it. All of your waiting and begging and pleading is finally about to pay off I just hope the BIG SECRET is not a let down for you. Will be looking forward to hearing what you think of it.

Ange x.

sammyjo5678 You have no idea how excited I get when I check my reviews and I find one from someone new. Its always so great when someone new tells you that they are enjoying your story. I hope you continue to enjoy it even though you will find that this story will be a bit of a bumpy ride at times. I have so many twists and turns planned. Now as for your FINALLY comment you can only imagine how my other readers have been feeling who have been wanting me to divulge this secret since the story began. Just be glad that you chose to join just at the right time. Thankyou so much for your complimentary review. Looking forward to hearing what you think of the other chapters that are still to come.

hilaryhilary What did you know about Haley leaving? I didn't think I'd told you what the reason wasfor her departure. Looking forward to chapter 65. But I'm begging you be gentle!. LOL.

MeSpikeAndAngelinA3sum Hey glad you enjoyed Deb's little attempt at subterfuge and espionage. Yes it's finally time to learn Haley's secret. Hope it doesn't disappoint. The reviews have definitely been bringing a smile to my face its just going to be hard to use reviews for such a purpose because when I become homeless and jobless on Saturday I also become computerless and Internetless which unless a miracle occurs will mean no updates till I find somewhere else.

kaos2405 Ok so you have your suspicions about what the secret is. Any you would like to share? I love hearing people trying to guess where they think the story is going. Your comment about being stuck I'm assuming related to your story so all I can say is I really hope its resolved itself but if you ever want a sounding board for ideas and gooseless is busy with her own story feel free to drop me a line. Now as for your little request at the start of your review the same goes triple for you. You are so right with your other comment. Where would we be without our fantasy worlds to slip into? I'm glad you're still enjoying the story I was starting to worry people were losing interest.

heather dawn Well it looks like all of your patience is finally about to pay off. I hope this is up soon enough for you. I swear job hunting must be one of the most frustrating things in the world especially with the way things are going at the moment. Hope the wait has been worth it for Haley's secret.

cherrymfzb Great to see Josh is Mr Popularity. Can't say I'm surprised. I'm not that much of a fan of him myself and he's a figment of my imagination. LOL. Although it is all planned out in my head I haven't actually wrote the chapter where Josh's secret is revealed so there is a bit of a possibility that you may be left hanging on that point for a bit longer. I'll do my best though to get it up in the next couple of days.Hope Haley's secret lives up to expectations. Sorry to hear about your job hunt. My problem is a bit different. There are heaps of jobs in my field I'm being told that I have excellent experience and all but the problem lies in my UK visa which runs out in April next year which means no one is willing to take me on because I can't commit for a minimum of a year. Incredibly frustrating.

Chapter Twenty-three

Less than ten minutes later Haley heard his car pull into her drive. She remained where she was sitting for the moment unable to force herself to go to the door. The sound of Nathan pounding against the door broke her from her reverie and she stood robotically and walked towards the door. Opening if she stood back as Nathan immediately pushed past her entering the house. He looked around quickly scanning for any sign of the other man's presence.

"So I take it by the fact that the rental car is no longer parked out the front that lover boy is gone?"

"Yes," Haley coughed nervously clearing her throat "he left to go back to Chicago about half an hour ago."

"Good," Nathan commented simply "that means things can get back to normal. I assume you'll be staying at my place again tonight."

Standing up he walked through to her bedroom,

"Let's get your things and get going."

Haley stood coming to lay a hand on his arm.

"No Nathan that wasn't why I called you. I told you we need to talk."

Nathan looked at her slightly puzzled then shrugged and sat down on her sofa.

"Alright come here," he said indicating the spot on the sofa next to him "let's talk."

Haley saw the flirty light in his eyes and walked to the other side of the room perching on a chair facing him. He was confident that this would be when Haley would tell him that she had ended things with Josh and she was ready to move forward with him. He was a little confused as to why she wouldn't sit beside him while she told him this but decided that she just didn't want to become distracted before she had had a chance to say her piece. Seeing him watching her she shifted uncomfortably in her seat before standing up and starting to pace back and forth across the room.

"Hale's what did you want to talk about?"

She looked at him nervously unsure of how she should begin. Reaching a decision she ceased pacing coming to a stop in front of where he sat.

"Were you really happy with me all those years ago?" she asked him point blank.

He looked slightly taken aback at her question but wasted no time in answering.

"Of course I was Haley I was in love with you and I thought you felt the same way about me."

"I did," she assured him "and in some respects I still do. You were the one who taught me what love is and how wonderful life could be."

"Then I'm more confused than ever Hales if everything was so wonderful then what made you leave the way you did?"

Haley paused searching for the right words she was going to have to answer his question she owed him that much but she couldn't do that until she found out a few things for herself.

"Nathan didn't you ever wonder if we were doing the wrong thing getting engaged at such a young age?"

Nathan appeared to consider her words for a moment before looking at her almost disdainfully.

"Why would I Hales we were young and in love it was natural to get engaged? Are you trying to tell me that you didn't feel the same way?"

"Nathan I already told you that I loved you but we were so young."

"What the hell does age have to do with anything?" he said his voice rising with every word.

"When love comes along you don't question it simply on the basis of age. Think back Haley you know how in love we were. You know how much I was looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you. You remember what I said the night we got engaged don't you?"

Haley allowed her mind to wander back to that time that was so perfectly engraved in her memory.

Flashback

Haley was not in a good mood by the time she got home from school. Nathan had been in a strange mood all day and she had barely seen him. It seemed every time she had he had been deep in conversation with Lucas or just about to run off on what he assured her was some sort of urgent mission. Then to top it all off after waiting more than ten minutes for him at his locker after school he had finally arrived with the news that she would need to make her own way home as he had some things he needed to do. By this time anyone that she might have been able to get a ride with had already left and so she was forced to catch the bus.

When it had finally arrived half an hour late she had been hanging onto her temper by a thread. Getting off the bus she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and commenced the twenty minute walk home in the rain from the closest bus stop to her house cursing the inconsideration of men all the way.

Eventually arriving at her house she had entered the front gate and been confronted with the sight of Nathan's car parked in her drive with no sign of the man himself.
Dripping wet she approached the front door as it swung open in front of her and Nathan stood there with her overnight bag in hand. She really wasn't in the mood for his games and so with hands on hips turned a scathing glare in his direction.

"What is going on?"

"Hey Hales," he responded apparently not noticing the daggers that were shooting from her eyes in the direction of his heart.

"You got here just in time."

"In time for what?" she snapped not prepared to give an inch.

Still refusing to give a straight answer he answered her question with another one of his own.

"Are you ready to go?"

At that point the thin rein she had held on her temper snapped and she advanced threateningly towards him.

"Nathan if you don't tell me what the hell is going on right this second I swear you will live to regret it."

To her chagrin Nathan laughed at her outraged expression and with a casual grin tenderly brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Haley baby chill out."

She crossed her arms over her chest and stood glaring at him not wanting to be placated until she had some sort of explanation for the weird behaviour she had been subjected to from him all day.

"You're really not going to relax until I tell you what's going on are you? There goes the idea of giving you a surprise."

But Haley was not going to be swayed and remained glaring at him awaiting his justification of the day's actions. He looked slightly disappointed for a moment that she was obviously not prepared to just trust him.

"You know Haley I would really prefer to keep my plans a secret can't you please just get into the car with me and just have faith in me."

Haley for a moment felt guilty then she felt a trickle of water run down her back from her hair and her resolve hardened once again. Looking at him mutely she shook her head in denial of his request. He sighed as he looked at her and shook his head in displeasure.

"Ok Hales have it your way. But don't blame me when your surprise is spoilt."

He looked at her expectantly for a moment in hope that she might tell him to keep her surprise. Shrugging resignedly he continued.

"Ok here's the plan. You and I are driving to Vermont for a three day weekend. I've booked us a cabin."

Haley looked at him in complete shock. She had been acting like a grade a bitch ever since she got back here and now she finds out that this had all been part of a wonderful surprise. She felt terrible.

"Oh Nathan I'm so sorry that sounds so great. I can't wait."

"Well then it's just as well you don't have to wait isn't it. Shall we go?"

Smiling happily she got into the car. After a long drive they arrived at their destination and were forced to run inside to avoid getting wet as the rain pelted down from above. Laughing they entered shaking the droplets from their hair as they did.

"So what do you want to do now?" he asked.

She smiled at him "Oh I'm sure we can come up with some ideas. After all we have a beautiful cabin and no one else around for miles." she said suggestively running her hand down his chest.

"And I happen to have this really hot girl standing in front of me dripping wet," Nathan said teasingly. "Have I ever told you how much you turn me on when you're all wet?"

Smiling saucily at him she slipped her hands under his t-shirt "I'm not exactly averse to seeing you all wet either," she told him.

"Hmm, so I wonder what we could possibly do to pass our time then."

Haley didn't bother to speak she simply grabbed his hand pulling him over to the huge bed and pushing him down onto it.

"Yeah I wonder." she said with a grin.

Hours later they lay wrapped around each other in bed. Nathan kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Close your eyes Hales I have something I want to give you."

She did as he asked and he leaned over the side of the bed hunting through the side pocket of his overnight bag. Sitting up next to her he gently pulled her hands away from her face.

"Haley I want to ask you something."

Spying the small black box in his hands she gasped.

"Nathan,"

She couldn't bring herself to say anything more simply staring back and forth between his face and his hands where that little black box lay so enticingly close.

"Haley I know we're still in high school but I also know that you are the only one for me.

I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you and I really hope that you feel the same way."

Seeing that she was still speechless he pressed on.

"If you'll let me Hales I promise that I will spend the rest of my life making sure that you are happy and have everything you could possibly ever want or need."

Haley looked at him and felt tears welling in her eyes.

"I love you so much Nathan but are you really sure that you want to get engaged.

We've both got so much ahead of us to do and see."

Nathan smiled at her "You're exactly right Haley but I want to see and do all those things with you by my side."

"Do you really mean it?" she said the tears now rolling down her cheeks.

"Of course I do Haley. So what's your answer Haley? Will you be my wife?"

Haley threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest.

"Nathan of course I'll be your wife nothing would make me happier."

The rest of the weekend was spent just enjoying each others company until Monday rolled around and they returned to Tree Hill with the dubious honour of telling their respective family and friends their wonderful news.

End Flashback.

Nathan was watching her and by the far off look in his eyes she got the distinct impression that he too had been remembering the proposal.

"Nathan do you have any idea how scared I was during that time?"

"Scared," he said in disbelief "what did you possibly have to be scared about?"

Taking a deep breath for the first time she shared some of the concerns that she had held but never voiced to him.

"I was scared that we were jumping into something so major together when we had never had the opportunity to experience what else life had to offer. We had never been with anyone else and were so young."

Nathan looked at her with distaste "you're really going to have to do better than that Hales. There had to be something more to it than that."

"Ok you want a better reason then how about this I was also worried about you. I was terrified that if we got married any chance you had of a basketball career would go out the window. I was so scared that you would end up resenting me for getting in the way of your dreams."

"But surely you knew that none of that mattered to me if we couldn't be together. Basketball was never going to be the same without you. Let's face it you leaving certainly didn't save my basketball career if anything I gave up on any ambitions I had in that direction when you left. I didn't care about basketball all I cared about was finding you but it didn't seem to matter what I tried I just continually met dead ends. So what else have you got for me Hales because at the moment you have offered me nothing more than pathetic excuses? Anyone of those things you could have come to me and talked about but you didn't even try instead you took the cowards way out and ran away. Away from me and any chance we had of a life together."

Thinking about all these things from so long ago caused a surge of anger to course through his veins.

"Haley you had no right to walk out on me the way you did, to just throw away our future without even doing me the courtesy of saying goodbye. Who the hell made you God Haley? Who gave you the right to completely destroy my life? I thought we had our lives completely mapped out and then I wake up one morning to find you gone and no-one had the slightest idea of where you were. It nearly killed me Haley spending all my time sitting by the phone just praying you would call and tell me that you were ok but you never did and then five years later you come swanning back into town as if nothing ever happened."

Haley was mortified and she felt her emotions bubbling up inside her she had to get Nathan to stop. It was too much for her to bear. She had to say something, anything to make him stop.

"Nathan please, please just stop."

"Why the hell should I Haley do you honestly think that you don't at the very least deserve this?"

"No Nathan I know I do. I deserve this and so much more but please just not now. I can't deal with it."

"Oh well poor you. Lets all feel sorry for Haley."

She couldn't remember ever seeing Nathan so angry and it frightened her a little.

"Did you even once stop to consider how I was feeling Hales, just once?"

"Nathan please," she begged once again.

"No Haley you're not going to put me off this time. You are going to tell me everything whether you want to or not."

Haley could feel a pressure building up in her chest and she couldn't stop the words bubbling out. It was like a giant pressure valve had been released and everything that she had spent so long protecting was now on display for all to see.

"Fine Nathan you really want to know. Then here it is. I was pregnant."

Heaving a deep breath she continued in an almost robotic voice.

"I was pregnant and I didn't know who the father was."

Spoilers:- Haley's secrets aren't over yet. Nathan's reaction.