Sorry it too so long to update! Here is Chapter 12 though.. ENJOY!

bChapter 12: I Wanted To Know You /b

It had been a week since Nathan and Haley had started officially dating and all was well. Actually, mostly everything was going well. Some kids at school hadn't exactly been gracious in accepting their relationship, but it was growing on them, and Haley was a little upset because Lucas kept giving her the cold shoulder. Of course however, Haley was a James, meaning she was stubborn, and she felt she did nothing wrong; therefore, she had nothing to apologize for. It was up to Lucas to approach her. I mean, he was the one who had overreacted… right?

Nathan and Haley were up in her room for their what now became daily, tutoring session. Haley was lying on her bed trying to study for a history test, while Nathan was sitting at the desk taking a practice quiz. He turned around to tell Haley he was done, but then decided to wait a bit and just watch her. "God, she's beautiful," he thought to himself.

He looked at the girl in front of him, oblivious to her admirer, just lying there in a worn pair of jeans and a cotton tank. Her hair was up in her usually messy bun with little wisps of hair framing her face. Nathan couldn't help but sigh and thank whoever or whatever in this universe brought this girl into his universe. He was so lucky to have Haley… ihis Haley/i. His attention now however, was drawn to her face. He watched as the skin between her eyebrows furrow as she chewed on the eraser of her pencil and concentrated on what was in front of her. That's one of the things Nathan loved most about Haley. Her determination and extreme concentration whenever she did something; not just something that was important to her, but anything. He however, couldn't help but think that the concerned look on her face, which bordered on looking stressful, was not just coming from the work in front of her.

"Hey Hales," he said, causing her to snap her head out of whatever thoughts she was engrossed in.

"Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"What, yeah I'm fine. Are you done with you quiz?" she questioned, oblivious to the fact that he had just been admiring her for the past five minutes.

"Yep, here it is," Nathan replied while walking over to her bed. She scooted over a bit, and he sat down next to her, their backs against her headboard. He handed her his quiz and then put one arm around her as Haley leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. She began checking his quiz, sighing every now and again, as she had been all throughout their tutoring session, as Nathan looked down at her, wondering what was bothering her.

"Haley are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes Nathan, why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. You seem a little stressed and you keep letting out these little tiny sighs which I of course find cute, but know that something is obviously bothering you."

"It's kind of a weird subject to talk to you about but yeah there is something bothering me."

"Haley, you can tell me anything. No matter how weird, I can help you. Protect you."

"Well, it's just. It's Lucas. He hasn't spoken to me since that night you saw him run off from my house before our date. I mean, we got in a fight, but he started it. I did nothing wrong. I don't want to just cave in and apologize for nothing. I'm just waiting for him to come talk to me but all I keep getting is the cold shoulder."

"Hales, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too. Lucas can be so stubborn," Haley said as Nathan stifled a cough and chuckled. "And what is so funny Mr. Scott?"

"Well, it's just that you can be a little stubborn yourself missy."

"Yeah, well… so what! Lucas was in the wrong this time. I tried to tell him about us, he flipped out, ran out of my house and barely let me explain myself."

"Wait, all this is over us?" Nathan said concerned.

"Uh, yeah. I thought you knew that?"

"I knew you guys fought as I was coming to get you, but I didn't realize it was specifically about me and you… us."

"Whatever, Nathan. It's okay. He'll eventually get over it and start talking to me again. He should just be glad I'm a forgiving person. I just hope he does it sometime soon. I miss him. He's my best friend."

"I know that Hales. That's why it's not okay. You need your best friend."

"Nathan, I know. He'll come back soon. I just… I wish he would be more accepting of us. It's not like he's never done anything I wasn't exactly the biggest fan of. I still supported him though. Actually, befriending you was one of those things," Haley said giggling at herself.

"Ouch, that hurts Hales."

"Aww Nate, that was before I knew you! You're a changed man now." Haley exclaimed, giving him a little kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Hales. But hey! I just remembered I have to go do something. Want to meet up for dinner tonight?" He said as he got up of the bed and started putting his jacket on.

"Sure, how about Lafferty's Pizza at seven?"

"See you there hot stuff."

"Nathan!" Haley giggled as she jumped up and punched his arm. He laughed with her but then grabbed her arm and pulled her into a nice long hug. He looked down at Haley who was snuggling into his chest and gave her a peck on the forehead. Then she looked up at him and he titled her chin so they could share a short, yet passion filled kiss.

"See you at seven Hales," he said as he walked out of the room.

Haley looked out of the window until he was in his car and driving off down the road. Then she turned and made a giant leap into her toss pillow filled bed, grabbed the pillow Nathan had just been leaning on and hugged it to her chest. She let out a big sigh and then giggled nervously. It was there that she was left with her thoughts until seven o'clock rolled around. She couldn't help but wonder what had made Nathan leave so abruptly, but this thought was swiftly brushed to the back of her mind as the scent of Nathan's cologne wafted up from the pillow to her nose. She was falling in love… fast. And she had never felt this good in ages. She of course, had Nathan to thank for both of these things.

UP NEXT: Where's Nathan?

There you go! Sorry it took so long for me to update! Life's been uber busy, but it's calming down now so hopefully I'll update more frequently. Hope you enjoyed this chapter it had some Naley cuteness and filled you in on the aftermath of the Laley fight. Next chapter should be up within the next couple days. At least, that's what I hope for. Please leave reviews… they really mean a lot. Your encouragement or criticism or suggestions are always welcome! Alright, I'm off. Leave the good, the bad, the happy, the sad!