Chapter 6

"Brooke? What is going on? What are you doing here?... Jake?", she couldn't help but asking and wondering what they were doing there, what she was doing there, in her room, at Duke, bags laying now on the floor of the living room.

Getting up from her place on the couch, Brooke tried to approach a still pacing Haley.

"Is that the way to greet me, Hales? Come on…" Brooke pretended to be upset by Haley's reaction. "Ok… well, here it is… Surprise!", cheered Brooke while showing Haley a pile of documents, all with Duke's stamp and logo.

"What... What is this? Brooke, are you kidding me? Jake, say something, don't just lay there, moron. What is this?"

"I'm your room-mate. There it is: Brooke Davis, room 32B. See?"

"Brooke…", sqeeled a very happy Haley, now not allowing Brooke not even to breath from the hug she pulled her in. She was so happy. Brooke, her Brooke, was there, with her, at Duke. And to top it all, she was her room-mate.

"But how? How could you?"

"Same way you could. 'Daddy dear'. As long as you still have it, why don't enjoy it, right? That bastard still owed me for me paying my own tuition last year at UCLA and so… I gently asked him to do this for me. Don't look at me like that, you know he hasn't changed a bit, so why would I spare him the suffering? Now, come and help me with the bags, girlie. We need to get ourselves ready for first day of school, right?". Brooke grabed her bags and headed in a hurry to the bedroom, happy that she finally arrived and more than content about Haley's reaction. She knew she would surprise her. Jake was right, that was what both of them needed this year, they needed each other and so they got each other.

"Thank you, Jake. I love you!", she wispered to Jake, while pulling him into a big hug.

After an hour of explaining and catching up with both of them, Jake managed to pull himself out of the room, knowing that the two girls needed to be left alone. At least he did one last good thing, he thought.

Haley was indeed happy and speechless about everything that had happened. One moment she was cursing, the next she was in full bliss. Brooke being there, with her, was all that she wanted, all that she thought she needed to survive Duke. She wouldn't be alone anymore.

Everyone was happy now, Brooke was happy because she had Haley back, Haley was happy because she wouldn't be alone anymore, and Jake… Jake was happy for both of them. Now, he knew that he could leave Haley at Duke without any worries. Well, at least for now.

---

"Come on, Brooke, we're gonna be late again. You know what happened yesterday, you want that speech all over again? Now get you ass out of the bathroom before I get in and pull a candid camera on you... Broooooke!", Haley whined, dressed and ready to go to her classes. She really didn't want to be late today, not after all the running and the preaching they both had to get from everyone just yesterday. And all because Brooke still had her stupid habits, just like in the childhood – make up, clothes, not good, change... make up again, clothes, still not good... and on and on, again. And for Haley, that wasn't quite the propper way to leave an impression as a tranffered student.

"Haley, since when do you use this?", asked Brooke throwing the shower gel at Haley. "Eww, you had someone in here?"

"NO! God, no! I went shopping the other day and somehow I mixed some of my stuff with someone elses'… that's how I got it! And it actually smells good… Now, please, get out of there so we can actually get to class today… pleeease!"

They soon managed to leave their room and head out to their Art History course they had that morning. The professor was, unfortunatly already in class, to their surprise, and he was now presenting this semester's schedule.

They slowly entered the room, trying to spill out their mumbling speech about the door numbers and missleading maps, but the professor just ignored them. Pfeew! That was close. Scanning the room for empty seats they found them at the end of the last row, to the right.

"Where are you, come on…", Haley mumbled through small breaths. God, she really wasn't good at finding things. She gave up, finally, now trying to find someone kind enough to borrow her a pen. She knew Brooke wouldn't even bother to take notes, so... Turning to her right, she slowly poked in the arm the boy that sat next to her.

"Excuse me. Hi. Ahm, do you have a pen to borrow? I kinda missplaced mine and this professor is already reaching chapter 2 of the course, so…", she tried politely, giving the guy her most sincere puppy eyes she ever gave.

Lucas stared at her in shock. There she was… again. Haley, at Duke, just like Jake said, and now having the same class as him. Waw, he thought, she looks different then on TV, younger. Lucas didn't really knew Haley. They lived in the same town for a small period of time, but they never met. She knew about her from Jake, from TV and… from Nathan. God, Nathan. He was in it for a shock and that scared him to even think about it. He didn't want to be the one to tell him, nor did he want to witness the moment Nathan would find out that Haley – his Haley – was at Duke. Everyone was in it for a surprise, he thought, sighing again. Haley and Nathan … He just hoped that, eventually, the surprise would be a good one.

"Sure. Here.", he finally answered, giving her his other pen he kept for emergencies – yeah, like that blonde's number, or that cheerleader's address. Oh, the good old days.

"Thank you! I'll give it back, I promise.", she cheerfully said, turning back to her notebook to catch up with everything that was going on in class while Brooke was now eyeing the tall blonde boy that Haley had just spoken too.

Well, well, Duke looks more and more apealing to me, she thought. Apealing, good looking, tall, blonde. Things looked good for Brooke and – not to her surprise, though, because she knew that staring would lead to it – now for Lucas too, obviously noticing the brunette that came with Haley.

Later, in the afternoon, Brooke managed to get herself to all her classes in time, and, to her surprise, she discovered that she shared some of them with the tall, blonde guy. This was a sign, she thought.

Haley, on the other hand, had a hard time pulling both theory classes and extra dancing courses she signed herself to attend to. When she finally met Brooke at the library, late in the evening, she was already out of breath, hungry and moody. But they still had some things to print for their next Art History class. So they would do this first, and then go to eat.

"Brooke, just look for the XXth Century chapters, not all modern art. And, please hurry, I'm hungry!", asked Haley not lifting her eyes from her laptop. Brooke on the other hand had more interesting things to do, like trying to approach the hot tall blonde guy.

"Excuse me. You're in my Art History class, right? Could you help me with this?", Brooke asked Lucas, who was now having his hands full of art books that Brooke just tossed.

Anything for a preety girl like you, he thought to himself. "Sure. But you think you need all these books? Maybe you should leave some for the others, you know, maybe they'll need them someday.", tried Lucas to sound convincing while Brooke just shrugged and pulled him to where Haley was.

"Here, got all of them. Satisfied?", said Brooke eyeing Lucas as a sign to put down the books so Haley could see them.

"Brooke, come one, what'd you do, cleaned out the whole library?... Oh, hi! You again. Here, I forgot to give it back to you after class. Sorry!", Haley said to Lucas, now releved that she bumped into him to give him the pen.

"Oh, I forgot. I'm Brooke Davis and this is my very best friend, Haley James."

"Hi… ahhm, I'm Lucas. Lucas Scott. Nice to meet you, both." Really nice to meet you, indeed, he thought to himself. Getting to know Brooke was all he thought the whole day and now he got that, and meeting Haley wouldn't hurt, either.

"Lucas? Jake's friend? Waw,nice to finally meet you! I'm Jake's sister..."

---

Several days had passed, school was now running smoothly for everyone: Haley managed to handle both dance classes and faculty courses, successfully, Brooke was still trying to adapt her old lifestyle to the new one, now with a little help from a new friend, Lucas, who was more than pleased to get to know the two girls, as close as he could get – having classes together and always finding themselves at the end of the day having dinner together, sometimes joined by Jake or TJ or Mouth or even Biggy. Which meant that the only person oblivious to this little arangement was… Nathan.

But that wasn't exactly intentional, though. Yes, Haley still didn't knew that Nathan was at Duke and that he was friends with her brother or the guys. Luckily for her, since the first day of school, Nathan found himself having a whole other college life from what he just had freshman year. Just like he wanted and just like he planned: basketball was his priority now and that meant practice and running and trainning almost 24/7. His only focus now was the scouting for new players for the big team. Only a week from now... and that scared him. He knew that the three weeks he had had from the beginning of school weren't enough. So that was why he pushed himself, that was why he didn't have time to hang with his friends, nor socialize as he usually did every now and then.

It was Saturday night, a rather chilly September night, actually, the air was cooler, the landscape had long time ago started to change from freshly green to the redden autumnish sight. Yes, it was Saturday night, which meant party for everyone at Duke. That night, no exception. For no one. Including Nathan. It was Ricky's birthday party and that meant she wanted all her friends there, more than anything.

Lucas and Mouth had tried all week long to convince Nathan to at least spare an hour to attend the party. Mouth almost begged. By Saturday morning Nathan was already cracking. And now he was on his way to the party, ready to at least still keep his friends happy, not push them away. One more week, that's all he needed. Just one more week without distractions or things to occupy his mind, unnecessarily.

Too bad Lucas and Jake hadn't figured out soon enough Nathan's needs, nor the fact that having Nathan and Haley at the same party wouldn't be something anyone could easily avoid. Or get over from.

"Brooke, stop contemplating yourself in the damn mirror and let's go! You've been there for an hour… and, you know what, Lucas doesn't like being late. You might want to consider that… now!" But as soon as she finished speaking, Brooke was out out of the bathroom and heading for the door. She couldn't make Lucas – oh, gorgeous Lucas – wait. She had been trying to get more than his attention for several weeks now. And maybe tonight, being together, but in different circumstances, things could change, evolve, move forward. Oh, who was she kidding, she will have him by the end of the night.

Arriving at the party, Haley was eager to find Ricky first. She knew that the brief encounter that they had a week ago at the caffee shop wasn't exactly screaming "you're my best friend, come to my private party". Even though both Lucas and Jake said that she could come, she didn't felt at ease. But in the end, she got to go mostly because Brooke had pushed her against the door… literaly. Well, playfully… almost… but that was Brooke, when she wanted something… she usually got it. But only if Haley helped her.

Half an hour later, no sign of Ricky, Haley turned back to where she knew she had left Brooke with Lucas and Jake. But now, there was no sign of them either. And the place was still as crowded as the first – and last time – she was there. The difference now was that she knew mostly everyone and Ricky's way of throwing a party hadn't change just because it was in her honour.

She didn't feel anything in the air change. Maybe it was the darkness, maybe the beat that pounded across the room – both of them muting her senses. But she thought that she would've at least sensed something – some sort of shift that would have warned her he was near.

As she tried to talk to some people she knew from Art class, she felt someone brushing past her side. Moving to let them pass they stop instead but when she turns to give them a look, they're gone. Instead her eye is drawn from the empty place where they stood, across the room to a couple that stands in the doorway.

There was Ricky. Being hugged by someone. Someone familiar... someone she couldn't see clearly, but who was screaming, begging for her attention. She couldn't take her gaze off of his familiar stature. The way he moved, the way he was just standing and the way he was hugging Ricky...

Someone catches his attention and suddenly he turns...

Oh. My. God.

„Nathan?"

The conversation she was part of continues but she was long time ago no longer part of it. In fact she suddenly felt like she was part of nothing at all – there was only that feeling, that sudden stillness and that quiet hum in her head that was repeating his name like a chant – Nathan... Nathan, here... Nathan, there.

Nathan, here, at Duke. Nathan, there, hugging Ricky. And now he looked like he was leaning to... kiss her?

The cup slips out of her hand and hits the floor. Around her, a few people look over, some start to laugh, the ones that she talked to were now starting to ask if she was OK, but she couldn't deal with them, with this, with everything, anymore. She breaks away from them with a hurried excuse to get napkins and tears out of the room.

I still feel the same, though everything has change. The pain it cost now, I feel lost inside of my own name. But I keep running… I am running… I keep living for the day that I'm with you.

She doesn't know if he saw her, saw her watching him, saw her drop her drink and then run away like some crazy person. She just knew she had to get away from there and try to start breathing again.

Luckily for her, he was oblivious to everything that had happened. With the exception of the light headache he was starting to feel coming, he felt really good to be there. Again, with his friends, just relaxing and forgetting, at least for a few hours, about basketball.

Her mind was racing with shock, fear, surprise... excitement. And a very strong wave of desire that she thought was long forgotten. She sighed frustrated as she walked across the campus, back to her room. How could he be there? Why was he there? And how come he knew Ricky? Well, obviously because she was his girlfriend, come on, you're not that dense, Haley. His girlfriend, the girl he was kissing, the same girl that used to be friendly, and dorky and funny ... and now annoying. And everything makes no sense anymore.

As she walked, upset, nervous, her mind racing to a hundred scenes and moments almost forgotten, she found herself at the same spot she discovered a few weeks ago, in broad daylight.

„Great, Haley! Really great... you did it again, moron!" she muttered to herself while scanning the place. To her surprise, the park looked better than during the day... and the almost full moon light was making the sights… sureal. Like they were from another space, another time, like they were sketched, drawings of a childhood fairytale... to her, that's what everything reminded her.

---

A new day, the sun is shining, seems I'm closer to finding that life is more than what we hide… No way that I am turning as long as this sun is burning now… it seems that all I want is you.

The fresh air of the morning was enough reason to sober up even a dead person. And Nathan knew that feeling oh to well, now, as he tried to drag his still sleepy figure through some secluded pathway, near Duke's campus. Nathan usually ran three miles out, then three miles back to the dorm, but today he couldn't do more than two miles. He felt weak, tired, the headache from last night still pumping into every cord of his body. Yeah, he got back from the party at one and only managed to get a five hours sleep, but, unlike others, he still got some sleep. Lucas on the other hand had left him hanging and now he was running all alone. Well, not quite running anymore, more like tiredly jogging.

Heading to the one place where he usually managed to catch his breath and take a break, he didn't noticed the still figure that layed on the bench. Walking past it, he suddenly fell like the air was getting colder, the wind was blowing with more power, the leaves were starting to dance aroud, in the air. That strange sensation... that feeling...

At the sudden yawning, he stiffened. Scared, surprised, panic on his face, he turned around to face what was giving him all this... familiar feeling.

„Haley?" was all that he could mutter through short breaths. His running state was now coming back to him, rapid heart beats, short uneven breaths, shacking hands, sweaty palms, lump in the throat.

There she was, her almost asleep figure right in front of him, everything moving and floating around her just like in a dream. Just like in his usual dreams. But this wasn't a dream, the reality of this was hitting him hard and reckless.

„Uh!... What.." Haley asked suddenly awake and getting up from her improvized bed, shock on her face at the unfamiliar suroundings and at the... familiar voice. What was she doing outside? How she managed to fall asleep on the bench? Oh, god, who slept on my back?

Widely opening her eyes, rapidly blinking, she managed to catch the tall male figure right in front of her. Blink once, blink twice...

„Nathan?" Oh, she must still be sleeping. Yeah, that was it. She was peacefully sleeping in her own bed, dreaming about him, as usual. But how stunningly good looking he appeared in this dream, all muscles and sweat. And he was in color, too. Hmmm. Weren't dreams black and white? And why am I aware that I'm dreaming while I'm dreaming? Interesting. Let's see what happens if I move… or speak.

"Haley?", he tried again, now with more force. "Haley, what are you doing here?"

"Hey, Nathan. Nice to see you again. You look great. Really great… Ahm, why are you running in my sleep?"

"What?"

As she got up from the bench, the fresh air hiting hard at her face and knocking some sense into her brain, she realized what was happening. And what she just said…

"Oh, my god! Nathan?" she asked again.

Starring at each other, no one could mutter a thing. The shock and surprise weren't enough to describe their emotions, their numb presence in front of each other meant more than words could describe. Time stopped right there and then.

His blue eyes were clouded with indescribable feelings – shock, anger, fear - and his brow was furrowed at hearing his name coming out from her mouth.


I still feel the same, though everything has changed. The pain it cost now… I feel lost inside of my own name.

He couldn't believe it. She really was there, at Duke. He hadn't imagined it, she really was there. Why? With who? Why now? All those questions where swirling in Nathan's mind, as he searched a way to understand, to digest everything that was happening to him.

"Hey! This is a surprise… ahm, what are you doing here?" she asked, trying to sound really calm and keeping her cool, everything that was really impossible to do while she was around him. Even now, after all these years.

"Ahm…", he started, trying hard not to look obvious that he was a nervous wreck…"I should ask you the same thing…", he said with more force as he was now staring at the bench she just sat on.

"OH, GOD! I don't know what happened… ", she let out with a little embarasment, now starting to blush a little.

God, she still did that, blushing and looking around when she was nervous. How was it possible to forget that, the way she fidgeted, the way she played with her hands, the way she looked down at her feet everytime she felt being put on the spot. Just like he was trying to do to her now.

This is too much, she mumbled to herself. Falling into an awkward silence wasn't the best thing to do… but she couldn't help it. It really was embaracing… being there, a little oblivious to the fact that she just slept on a park bench, and now… in his presence. It was too much to handle. She couldn't do it now, it was too soon. Everything happened to soon for her. She could hardly breath, she was a nervous wreck, she kept playing with her hands, with her hair, with her ring. She really needed to get out of there.

"I…", she started slowly, not daring to look him in the eyes. His whole presence was making her feel small and restless. "I have to go!"

And with that, she turned and started walking as fast as she could, as far as she could… from that place, from that bench, from the mermories that were starting to come back… from him.

But I keep running, I am running I keep living for the day that I'm with you and I am waiting I am waiting I keep waiting for the day that I'm with you… again.

She left. She just turned around and left… again. He suddenly felt like he had just travelled through time, to a place where everything that he had witnessed, first happened. She left again, leaving him watching her small figure avert.

---

Entering her room, and nearly knocking down a box that was just laying there… why is this still here, anyway, she wondered – she didn't even bother to pull the drapes, leaving her room in the still darkness that she always loved. She went straight to the bed, not even bothering to get out of her clothes. But, as she layed down, she now noticed that her bed was occupied by somebody else. Recognizing the perfume, she pulled herself near the sleeping figure. She thought she wouldn't be that mean and send her to her room, after all, that wasn't the first time they slept together. They always used to do that when they were little.

And right now, she didn't feel like being left alone, she didn't want to be left thinking about everything that had just happened…

"Haley? Oh, god, where were you?", asked Brooke, turning around to face a very tired and pale Haley.

"Let's just go to bed, Brooke. It's still morning. Go back to sleep, ok?"

"No. I was worried sick. What happened? Lucas and I looked for you all night… he was so worried about you! Tell me, did something happened?"

"Brooke…" letting out a breath "Nathan is here."

"I… Lucas told me. Last night, actually…", confessed Brooke, feeling a little awkward about everything she just found out. And she didn't knew just how much Haley knew about everything…

"Lucas knows him? How…?"

"Haley… I don't know how to tell you this… Lucas is Nathan's brother. They're both students here, at Duke.", started Brooke, now fully awake and determined to get things straight... with everything.

"What? They're brothers? And Nathan is a student here? Oh.My.God. I cannot believe this… " Haley stomped out of the bed, pacing through the room, starting to panic again, breath cought in her throat.

No. No. No. This isn't happening. No way! She felt like she was living a really bad dream, a nightmare, actually… and she just wanted to wake up. First she sees him at the party, next up, he's Ricky's boyfriend, then she bumps into him in the park – her park – and now she finds out… he's Lucas' brother and he goes to Duke? This is like a daytime tv show, annoyingly unbelieveble.

"Hales, sweety… are you ok? Please talk to me… please!" Brooke begged for Haley to say something, to do something instead of just laying there… in a state of numbness, now. Suddenly, she saw Haley lifting head and she immediately noticed the traces from the tears that were shyly streaming from her eyes. She's been crying all along… maybe before she got back to the dorm.

"Hales?"

"I don't understand… why is this happening again? Why is he here, to torment me again? And why, oh, why did my stupid brother never told me about him, huh? I hate him… I hate both of them. Brooke, I don't want to be here… I knew I shoudn't have come here… I…", she let burst, choking with her words, as she was still wiping straggling tears from her cheek.

"Hales… let's just sleep on it, ok? You'll feel better when you wake up, I promise. Come, sweety, please…", Brooke asked Haley, as she gently pulled her on the bed again, covering both of them with the sheets and leting the darkness in the room carry them to a peaceful state of oblivious… at least for now.

"The past has left its stain now, I feel the shame. I'll seize the day if you take away the chains of yesterday ... But I keep running, I am running, I keep living for the day that I'm with you, and I am waiting, I am waiting, I keep waiting for the day that I'm with you, that I'm with you." (Out of breath, Lifehouse)