The Realities That We Can't Face (Chapter eight)

A week earlier…

Haley was sitting down at a table in the tutoring centre, waiting for Nathan to show up. When he finally showed up, he sat down and smiled at her. Haley frowned at him. "You're late," she said firmly.

"Practice ran a little late," he said, shrugging. Haley looked at him in disbelief. "I'm serious. Whitey sat us down on the bleachers and gave us this whole speech about how we were embarking on a new stage in our lives."

"Why is there a practice a week before we graduate?" Haley asked.

"Why are you tutoring me a week before we graduate?" he shot back. Haley rolled her eyes.

"Because you have an exam in two hours and you called me yesterday, begging me to go over the material with you beforehand," Haley reminded him, smirking as he remembered calling her.

"Sorry," he said. Haley shrugged.

"Well, just hope that you pass this exam so that you can go to Duke and I will finally be rid of you," Haley said, laughing as he glared at her.

"You're going to miss me and you know it," he said. Haley shook her head.

"I'll miss Jake, Lucas, Peyton and even Brooke," she corrected him. His jaw dropped.

"Well, I'm going to miss you even if you won't miss me," he said. Haley rolled her eyes.

"Of course I'm going to miss you, silly. Jeez. Sometimes you can be very dense," she said.

/Three days until graduation and I could barely stand still, I was so excited that high school was almost over. The end was so close, I could taste it. Haley and I were finally friends again and who knows? Maybe we'd become something more. Neither of us had been dating other people at the time, but Haley had her own demons that she was fighting and I was too stupid to realize it./

Nathan walked into the tutoring centre beaming. He had passed his exam and he was on his way to tell Haley the good news. It was three days before they were to graduate and they had already made plans to celebrate the end of high school that night. Of course, they were just going to go to Karen's Café and eat dinner, but as long as he was with Haley, he didn't care where they went. He was surprised to see that Haley wasn't in the tutoring centre. She was always there when he couldn't find her anywhere else in the school. He walked over to the bare desk that had belonged to Haley. It was completely cleaned out. What the hell? Haley had cleaned the desk out already. He turned around and realized that the files were gone too. He walked to his locker to get his jacket because he was going to go by her house. He opened his locker door and a small envelope fell to the floor. There was one name on the front. His. He opened it and sighed as he recognized Haley's handwriting:

Dear Nathan,

Unfortunately, I am not going to be at school anymore. Scott called me, saying he needed my help in Montreal. So I am moving to Canada and living in Montreal. I will be going to school there too. I've enrolled to the Schulic School of Music of McGill University. I heard that you passed your exam. Congratulations! I knew you could do it just like I know that you're going to have an amazing time at Duke U. I wish you all the best. I know you'll do well in whatever you decide to do with your life. Good luck.

Love your friend,
Haley J.

So Haley had disappeared once again. At least she had told him this time. But he still would've liked to say goodbye to her. He wished her all the luck in the world too. He would miss her more than anything but he understood why she had left this time.

Six years later…

Haley James got out of her bed and started unpacking her things and putting them away in her new New York apartment. She had just returned to the US a few days before from Canada. She was heading up the NYC division of The JL (James Label). Her parents had expressed in their will that they would love to see their children take over the business. Her brother Scott headed up the Quebec/Ontario location and she had been there receiving education while discovering her own love of music and furthering her vocal ability. She was even signed onto the label as a recording artist. She was on her way to do an interview with some reporter from THUD magazine.

About twenty minutes later, Haley was sitting down at a local coffee shop where the magazine had asked her to meet their reporter. She waited for fifteen minutes until a woman around her age walked in. She sat down across from her and her eyes widened in recognition. "Haley? Oh, my God, it is you!"

"Yes, I'm Haley James," she replied, shaking the woman's hand. She laughed and ran her hand through her curly blond hair.

"Haley, it's me, Peyton," the woman said.

"Peyton Sawyer?" Haley asked. Peyton smiled at her.

"You do remember me! But, actually, the last name is Jagielski now," Peyton said. Haley looked at her in confusion. "I'm married."

"To Jake Jagielski?" Haley asked. Peyton nodded. She was floored. She knew that Jake and Peyton had dated after high school, but she didn't think they were still together.

"So, I'm the reporter here. It's my job to ask you questions," Peyton said. Haley nodded and smiled. "What have you been up to these past few years? I heard you were in Canada studying at some French music school."

"I was studying at the École de musique Schulich in Montreal and it's actually a Canadian school," Haley replied.

"And what did you major in?" Peyton asked. Haley had to smile.

"Music," she replied simply.

"Oh, I know that. What kind of music?" Peyton asked. Haley answered the question and Peyton began jotting down the answers. They began talking about how their lives had been, personal and professional.

A week later…

Nathan woke up and walked to his apartment door. He could've sworn there had been someone knocking on it. He was about to leave when something stuck to his door caught his eye. It was a magazine and there was a sticky note posted on it. He picked it up and smirked at Peyton's writing:

Nate:

This is the latest issue of THUD Magazine. There's an article in it you might want to check out. Talk to you later.

Peyton Jagielski

He brought the magazine in and plopped down on the couch with it. He opened it and smirked as Peyton had highlighted a page number. He flipped to page 87 and almost dropped the magazine when he saw the title of the magazine: "Returning With Musical Inspiration: The JL in New York Has a New CEO". He began to read the article.

Returning With Musical Inspiration: The JL in New York Has a New CEO

The JL (James Label) is one of the most prestigious music labels in the country. They have offices all around the world. It was created by the late Lydia and Jimmy James and remains intact by their six children, each heading up a branch of their own in different parts of the world. The New York JL has now received a new CEO, one of the James children.

The youngest and adopted child, Haley James, who has spent the last six years in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, studying at the prestigious Schulich School of Music (École de musique Schulich), a branch of McGill University, has just returned home to the States to carry on her parents' vision as well as furthering her own vocal career.

Surprisingly, Haley is the only one in the James family with musical talent. She went to school to learn music business as well as expanding her vocal talents. She's also signed to the label, hoping to release an album of original material later on in the year.

When questioned about who the lucky guy in her life is, Haley just smiled and said: "There is no special guy." Did you hear that guys? Not only is Haley talented in both music and business, she is also single. Well, at least for now.

Article written and illustrated by Peyton Jagielski

/When I read that Haley was back in the states and living in the same city as me I was shocked, to say the least. A thousand different feelings were running through me and the only one I could isolate was hope. I have been waiting for six years for Haley James to come back into my life and I can't wait to see her. Now all I have to do is run into her/

Haley couldn't believe that she had let Peyton drag her to a basketball game of all things. She had told her that it was Jake's first game of the season. He played on the North Carolina team and they had been national champions the last year. Peyton said they owed it all to their shooting guard, but wouldn't tell Haley who that was. After the game, Peyton and Haley waited outside the gym for Jake. Jake came out ten minutes after they did and he hugged and kissed Peyton and when he saw Haley, he ran over to her and hugged her. "It's about time you started to show your face around town," he exclaimed.

"I missed you, Jake," Haley said.

"I missed you too, Hales," he said. Then the door opened and out walked someone Haley hadn't even thought of running into. Nathan Scott came over to the group. He was taller, leaner, and more handsome than Haley remembered. His deep blue eyes met hers and they froze.

"Hi, Nathan," Haley said. He smiled.

"Hi, Haley. It's nice to see you," he said.

/So when I came back to the Sates, I had hoped and dreamed but I never thought that I'd actually see Nathan again. After all this time, it amazes me how he can still make my heart beat just a little bit faster. I missed him over the years and I'd constantly think about what he was doing or how he was or if he still thought of me. He recognized me and remembered who I was without anyone pointing me out to him so I guess I have my answer/