"Oh. my. god… You're stoned! I can't believe I didn't catch it." Nathan accused after abruptly pulling back from his wife.

"What? Nathan what are you talking about?" Haley asked confused as hell as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and moved off of Nathan's lap.

"Haley, I could taste the weed in your mouth. At first I didn't know what the taste was and didn't connect the two, but. Haley I know what weed tastes like."

"And how would you know?" Haley asked as quickly as her mind could think.

"I've done it before, I just never thought you would."

"Well stop thinking it cause I'm not using it Nathan." Haley lied.

-------------------------------------------------

"Nathan just give it back." Haley snapped as she watched Nathan pull out the stash pen.

"Yea Nate, it's just so not your colour." Brooke joked, her laughter seizing as Nathan unscrewed the pen, letting 2 perfectly rolled joints fall to the ground, well one and a half.

"Oh, wow." Brooke whispered in amazement, her eyes not looking away from the joints that lay on the table in front of them.

-------------------------------------------------

"Hey James. I thought you were spending the night with Nathan." Holly smiled as she joined Haley on the couch.

"Yea. Um, he kind of found out about the weed." Haley mumbled.

"What? But how?"

"We were making out and then he pulled back saying he could taste weed and that everything made sense now. I tried to deny everything but he grabbed my bag from me and rooted through it before finding the pen and opening it. Brooke and Lucas were there and saw the whole thing. It was bad Hol, like really really bad." Haley confessed as Holly watched doe-eyed.

"Shit Hales."

"Yea, I know."

"So how'd you end up here?"

"They cornered me so I snuck out the bathroom window and luckily had my phone in my pocket so I called a cab."

-------------------------------------------------

"Haley. Go, be with Nathan. He loves you and he's trying so hard to be there for you. And so is everyone else. You've got a great support system. Not everyone has that. I certainly didn't and look where I'm ending up. Let them help you." Holly whispered before she pulled Haley into a tight hug.

"This is not fair." Haley muttered into the other girls embrace.

"It's not. But then what's fair about what we've been through? I'll call you when I get settled. Thanks for being here for me." Holly gave her farewell and Haley mumbled her response and watched as her friend ascended the stairs.

"Haley?" Nathan called again to his wife's back.

"I just want to be happy." Haley whispered before turning around to face her friends, allowing Nathan to take her hand and lead him to his embrace.

"And we want to help you get there. Without drugs."

Part 25

"You have any more drugs we should know about?" Brooke demanded as her Nathan and Lucas began the first of many steps to getting 'their' Haley back.

"No." Haley answered quietly.

"Are you sure you're not lying about that?" Nathan asked harshly. Ever since the group stepped out of the car, from their painstakingly long and silent ride home, Nathan had been more than standoffish towards Haley.

"Nate" Lucas scorned as Haley shifted uncomfortably.

"Ignore him. Haley, we need to know. Was it Holly that gave you the stuff? Or is there someone we don't know about?" Brooke asked softly, she knew that despite any harsh feeling towards the other girl she had to remain calm and friendly or any progress made would be shot to hell. A concept that, apparently, Nathan hadn't grasped.

"Can we do this tomorrow?" Haley pleaded her voice drained of emotion.

"You can go to sleep and brood in a minute, we just want to make sure we know the 411 on this."

"You mean you want to know how long I've had the drugs and who's to blame. Last night was my first time ever doing it and I'm the only person to blame, so if you want to hate someone for this hate me. I'm going to bed." Haley lectured and left no room for objection as she slammed the bedroom door behind her.

"Nathan!" Brooke scorned as soon as the door shut.

"What?"

"What the hell was that?"

"I'm going home. I'll be over tomorrow morning." Nathan ignored the question and left the apartment.

"I'll go talk to him." Lucas sighed as he followed Nathan's trail. "Nathan!"

"What now Lucas?"

"What went on with you and Haley? You've been an ass to her since we got here."

"Nothing happened so why don't you just mind your own business for once and go be with Brooke or something." Nathan snipped as he climbed into his car and drove off, leaving Lucas alone in the parking lot.

XoxoxoxoX

"You're home early." Karen commented when Lucas returned home after being left in the parking lot and then saying goodnight to Brooke.

"Doesn't feel early." Lucas sighed as he dropped dramatically on the couch across from his mom.

"What happened? Is Haley okay?" Karen asked worriedly, snapping to attention at the tone of her drained son.

"Not really mom." Lucas answered, his voice cracking.

"Honey, she'll get through this. Haley's such a strong person and she has great support from you, Nathan, Brooke, myself, Keith, Peyton. This list goes on. She will get better Lucas, it's just going to take some time." She comforted as she moved to sit beside the boy.

"Nate caught her with marijuana." Lucas admitted stoically.

"What? Haley James?"

"Haley Scott." Lucas clipped. "We were all supposed to watch a movie but Nathan found out that Haley was stoned and it went from there. She snuck out the bathroom window and went to Holly's and now Holly is being sent to Texas because her parents found out that she had also been using drugs. Haley's home with Brooke now though. Oh and on top of all that Nathan has decided to go back to being an ass. Always makes for fun times."

"Oh wow… I am so terrible sorry that any of you have to go through this. And I can't believe Haley would do drugs. That is just so out of character for her." Karen thought out loud before she silenced herself.

"Yeah… I just. We don't know how to help her ma." Lucas spoke with deep emotion.

"We'll get her through this. We just have to stick together. And Nathan will come back around he just needs some time to process this. We'll have Haley back in due time, we just have to work at it." Karen told him sternly while rubbing his back comfortingly.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Rise and shine missy." Brooke sang cheerfully as she drew open the curtains, flooding the bedroom with sunlight.

"Too early." Haley moaned, covering her head with her blankets.

"Oh no. We need to start your rehab before you start going through withdrawal." Brooke explained while taking away Haley's blankets.

"You do know that it was weed right? Not crack." Haley muttered after sitting up and making her way to the bathroom tiredly.

"What's the difference, both are drugs and both are illegal." Brooke called through the now closed bathroom door. "At least she can't escape through our window."

"She awake?" Nathan asked insistently after Brooke opened the door to his knocking.

"Only if you plan on not being an ass to her. And good morning to you too." Brooke smiled falsely before returning to her coffee she had left on the island.

"Whatever Brooke."

"No. If you're going to be like that all morning then I'm not asking, I'm telling you to leave. I don't know what happened between you two but she's still Haley and she's still recovering from Billy so unless you're here to help her then you're not wanted here at all." Brooke returned in a hushed but stern voice to keep Haley from hearing.

"It's too early for this." Nathan muttered as he turned around and left the apartment just as quickly as he came.

"Was that Nathan?" Haley asked as she emerged from the bathroom to see the front door closing.

"Um yea. I just, I sent him on an errand. He'll be back in a little bit." Brooke smiled worriedly. "But now for you…"

"Brooke I don't know what you've read or seen but I didn't use weed long enough to go through withdrawal. And on top of that users don't normally suffer from withdrawal from weed anyway. Please, just drop it."

(following nathan)

"You going inside or planning a future as a gargoyle?" Peyton joked as she sat beside Nathan who was perched on the staircase to the girls' apartment.

"She lied to me. It was so obvious that she was high and yet she lied about it over and over, yelling at me because I caught her. If I hadn't of found her stash she probably would have continued to deny it. And she didn't even flinch or make any sign of remorse, she just straight up lied to me." Nathan confessed, his attitude completing a 180.

"Okay, straight to the point today…She probably panicked. And she was high so she wasn't thinking clearly anyway. Don't take it personally Nate. She was cornered, it's nature to defend yourself in any means possible." Peyton comforted, inwardly thanking Brooke for calling her last night with the latest details.

"It's just…how am I supposed to trust her when she continually lies to me? She knows that's what it's about between us. She knows. I told her." Nathan cried with an emotion that Peyton had only ever seen him portray when Haley left him for her music.

"She's not Haley right now…"

"Brooke. Drop it!" Haley's voice sounded loudly, a slamming door heard soon after.

"Nuh uh Haley. You did the crime, now you pay the time." Brooke's voice followed after the slammed door re-opened.

"Oh, try being just a little more cliché." Haley barked back.

"Whoa. Retract the claws." Peyton stepped in before another remark could be made by either one of her friends. Peyton made to stand between the two girls, Brooke standing in the doorway to the apartment while Nathan stood from his place on the steps, now behind Haley.

"She won't listen to me." Brooke whined.

"Are you five?" Haley snipped to Brooke. "Maybe if you knew what you were talking about I'd listen rather than you trying to force me to do something."

"Haley," Peyton tried.

"No. I won't let her force me to do something I don't want to do." Haley continued though her voice strong but now scared.

"Well why don't you just go with Peyton. At least she knows first hand what she'd be talking about." Brooke steamed, unfazed by Haley's fear.

"Brooke!" Peyton cursed looking guilty between Haley and Nathan.

"What?" Brooke asked clueless to Peyton's panic. Then she saw Peyton tilting her head towards Nathan. "Ohh right. Sorry."

"You know, just, whatever. Let's just all go inside and deal with all this." Peyton tried to reason.

"Hell no. I'm not going back in there with her." Haley protested.

"Be sure the feelings mutual." Brooke replied smugly.

"What happened to not being an ass Brooke?" Nathan asked speaking for the first time since the girls came outside.

"Well that was before Haley went all bitch." Brooke returned before going back inside the apartment, closing the door behind her.

"You did kind of go off on her." Peyton smiled, trying to make light of the situation.

"Well she attacked me she's treating me like I'm some crack whore or something."

"You were using weed Haley." Nathan scolded.

"Not you too." Haley sighed.

"Whatever Haley. You messed up you could at least own up to it." He pressed before making his way down the stairs to the parking lot, Haley left staring brokenly at his retreating figure.

"I messed up bad Peyton." Haley sighed, only now allowing herself to breakdown after holding her strong exterior for Brooke and Nathan.

"You were hurt and scared and while that doesn't excuse using drugs it was understandable."

"Well because of it my roommate and my husband are pissed at me. And Holly was sent away. Life just keeps getting better." Haley mumbled as tears continued to roll down her face.

"Brooke is just confused. She wants to be able to help you and yea if you don't take her offer then she takes it personally but just talk to her, apologize for snapping at her. You two will be fine. And as for Nathan. He's confused too but mainly hurt. I think I'd start with him. Give Brooke sometime to cool off." Peyton advised.

"Thanks Peyton." Haley let out a small smile and wiped her eyes, her tears slowly coming to an end.

"No problem. And um, while you're dealing with Nathan, I'll talk to Brooke about the whole drugs and withdrawal thing for you."

"Okay, now I owe you."

"And we can discuss payments while we find that husband of yours. Let's go." Peyton laughed, throwing her arm around Haley's shoulders as the two descended the stairs.

A/N: I'm am so sorry this took so long to get up. It doesn't even feel like a month has gone by, well almost a month. I am so sorry that I let myself get that far behind with this. The last chapter was the last of my preplanned chapters, so that's a part of the wait, the other was writers block, life, etc. Anyhow, so I have to sit down and add some more to my outline for this story and then we should be back in business.

Also, I'm not sure what it is but I felt like this chapter was maybe too fast or all over the place, I don't know. I just felt something was off with this chapter…maybe it was the slight hiatus…or the fact that I have a summer cold…anyhow…

Thank you to everyone who is reading and especially big thanks to you who are replying!

Much Love

-Debbie