Chapter 5 –

Nathan only had 4th period with Haley. They also had the same lunch because all the juniors ate together. Nathan watched the clock, call day long, waiting for it to hit 12:25. He had never seen a clock work so slow. Finally, third period ended, and he went off to lunch. He found Haley in the courtyard, wrapped in her new boyfriend's arms. For some reason, he felt the urge to ill this Barry kid.

Haley:Hey Nathan. Weren't you supposed to go see Hope?

He had totally forgotten. At the same time, he looked at Hope, a little disappointed. HE had hoped that he would get to spend time with her during lunch.

Nathan:Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Well, I guess I'll see you fourth?

Haley:I'll be there!

Nathan smiled, and then ran all the way home, into his bedroom. She was still fast asleep. He gently sat down next to her and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. She gently stirred, and opened her eyes. She smiled and gazed up at him. He returned a soft smile.

Nathan:Hey.

Hope:Hey.

Nathan: feeling any better?

She nodded.

Nathan:Good.

He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead and then gave her a hug.

Nathan:Look, babe, I wish I could stay but…

Hope:I know, I know, you have to get to 4th, go ahead, I'll be here when you get back ok?

He nodded and ran out of the room, back to school.

Science

Nathan ran in and took his seat at the back of the class. Haley surprisingly sat next to him. She smiled at him and his heart skipped a few beats.

Haley:How is she?

Nathan:She's doing better.

The teacher came in and, started to talk.

At some point in time, the teacher's word's blended in with one another and he was not only lost, but completely and utterly bored. He looked over to see that Hope was as well. He smiled and scribbled in a piece of paper in his notebook:

Doesn't she look a lot like a chicken? Check it out, she bobs her head after every sentence!

Nathan cleared his throat lightly and Hope looked over. He smiled and showed her his

notebook. She read it and giggled. She then began to etch something in of her own.

I just wish that this chicken would fly away!

Nathan chuckled and wrote back:

Chicken's can't fly!

Haley thought about it for a second. Then, messaged back:

Aww man, that means we're stuck with her!

Nathan laughed and nodded as Haley smiled. He hoped that sometime in the future, these would be love notes. He knew though, that for right now, it was just him and Haley, as friends. And he was okay with that.

The bell rang.

Haley: I'll see you later Nate.

He smiled at her and she returned the loving gesture. Nathan had butterflies crawling up his esophagus. That smile was the single, most-thrilling thing he had ever seen.

Nathan: Bye Hales!

AN: Note that this is NOT the end. I'd never do that to you guys. I just need to work with the timeline I have for this story. I guarantee you that by next chapter, Haley and Nathan WILL be spending more time together, and by chapter 9 they will be together. I now it's a long time to wait but, bear with me.