Realizing the Truth
Haley took a deep breath as she walked backstage and started to put her things away. The door opened and she smiled at Lucas and Peyton. Peyton's face was wide with excitement. "You were amazing, Haley! Craig said that you had taken more voice lessons to improve your sound, but we had no idea…" Peyton trailed off.
"Now, that was a compliment," Haley joked and smiled. Peyton looked at her for a minute and then started laughing. Lucas stepped forward and hugged Haley.
"You really did well, Hales. I'm proud of you," he whispered into her ear.
"Thanks, Luke," she said, pulling away.
Peyton grabbed her hand and said, "Now we've got to go celebrate." Haley pulled her arm back and Peyton with it.
"Uh, I should get going," she said.
"No, no. Come on, Haley, you can't sing like that, save my club and not celebrate," Peyton said. Before Haley could respond, Peyton and Lucas had already dragged her out of the room and to the table.
"Well, it's the next Mariah Carey," Brooke said. Haley frowned at the description. Brooke noticed and said, "She's got a strong voice, Haley." Haley nodded and smiled.
"Would you prefer she call you the next Jessica Simpson?" Taylor teased. Haley glared at her. Taylor smiled because she knew that Haley was not a fan of Jessica Simpson.
"No, I prefer Mariah," she replied. Brooke nodded triumphantly.
"Well, either way, you did a great job, Haley," Craig said. Haley smiled at him appreciatively.
"You do have an amazing voice," Emily added.
"Thank you," Haley said. She glanced at Nathan and noticed that he was looking only at Emily.
"I especially liked the last song. Who wrote that one?" Emily continued.
"Uh, I did," she admitted. Emily widened her eyes in surprise.
"Haley's a triple threat," Taylor said. They all looked at her in confusion.
"She doesn't dance or act," Craig reminded her.
"I meant a triple threat in music. She sings, she writes and she plays two instruments," Taylor explained. They all nodded.
TEN MINUTES LATER
Haley got up from the table and went to order a drink from the bar. "Could I have a Pepsi with ice?" she asked. She never drank alcohol. For one thing, she hated what it did to people and she thought it tasted revolting. She stuck to water and sodas. The bartender smiled at her and within seconds, he was handing her a glass of Pepsi. "Thank you," she said as she put her money on the counter. "Keep the change," she said as she turned around and started walking towards the table. Then an arm grabbed hers and spun her around. It was Nathan and he was clearly upset.
"So you regret what you did, huh?" he asked. Haley was caught off guard and without thinking she nodded. "Exactly what do you regret, Haley, walking away from me and us or never calling me?" he asked.
"I regret hurting you the way I did, Nathan," she said.
"So you don't really regret leaving, do you?" Nathan asked. Haley shook her head.
"No, I don't," she said simply. Nathan shook his head and started to walk away. "Nathan, don't walk away," she called to him. He turned around and looked at her. Haley could see the pain in his eyes. It was killing him to walk away from her.
"At least I'm not running away, Haley," he said, before turning around and heading back to the table.
Nathan sat down at the table and looked at Emily who was looking at him in confusion. "What?" he asked.
"Why did you leave the table to go talk to her?" Emily asked. Her tone was edged with jealousy and it was getting on his nerves.
"Because I wanted to talk to her," he said.
"About what?" Emily asked.
"It's none of your business," he snapped.
"Nathan!" Emily exclaimed. He turned around and faced Peyton, Lucas, Craig, Brooke and Taylor. Haley was walking up to the table and started to sit down beside Craig. "Haley," Emily said. Haley turned and looked at her. "What were you and Nathan just talking about?" she asked. Haley looked at Nathan and then at Emily.
"Why do you want to know?" Haley asked.
"Because he won't tell me what it was," she said.
"Well, then, I'm not going to tell you if he doesn't want you to know," Haley said.
"My boyfriend goes up to an old high school friend that he obviously hasn't seen in a while and starts having a pretty heated conversation with her and doesn't tell me what it is. Can you imagine what I must be thinking?" Emily asked. Nathan saw Haley's eyes narrow in anger. He guessed that it was the accusing way that Emily was speaking to her that made her angry.
"Of course I can, but I don't care," Haley said. Emily looked at her in fury. She was about ready to tell Haley off, but Nathan turned back to her.
"Emily, I told you: We're not dating. This is just a night out together, which after this, will not be happening again," he said. Emily scoffed.
"What the hell are you saying, Nathan? We had sex and now you don't want me?" she asked. Nathan shook his head.
"I don't do relationships, Emily. I thought you would've figured that out by now," he said, getting up. He looked at Haley who was as white as a ghost. He felt a pang of concern, but shrugged it off and left the club. Emily had stormed off a few minutes later, but Haley was still sitting in her chair while the others carried on a conversation about the upcoming wedding in shock.
"You guys were right," she blurted out. They all snapped their heads in her direction.
"What are you talking about, Haley?" Lucas asked.
"Nathan," she whispered.
"I think she's finally realizing that Nathan isn't very happy," Craig said.
"I knew all along. I guess I just didn't want to admit it," she admitted.
"Why?" Lucas asked.
"Because I don't know if I'll be able to help him like you guys seem to think I can," she said. Lucas, Peyton and Brooke all looked at each other. Haley smiled. "Do you really think I couldn't tell what all of those glances were about?" Haley asked. She was telling them that she was onto their little plan. Each of them looked embarrassed.
"Well, well, well. I guess there are still some remnants of Tutor Girl," Brooke joked. Haley laughed.
"I didn't have a lobotomy, guys. I've just grown up," Haley said.
"Toughened up is more like it," Peyton remarked. Haley looked at her in confusion.
"You handled yourself pretty well with Emily and all of us," Lucas said.
"But am I tough enough to help Nathan?" Haley asked them. They all looked at each other and nodded.
"Hell, yeah," Taylor said.
