Chapter Five

All it took for Nathan to make up his mind was the present. Right then, he knew that he wasn't going to wait until Monday to find out who she was.

It didn't take him long to lock his bedroom door again and go back downstairs; it was what he did after that, that was the problem. How was he supposed to look for someone he had never seen?

He tried to cast his mind back and focus on what he could remember about her. Her hair had been long; he knew that from when he touched it. However, he didn't know the colour and as he looked around he noticed that most of the girls had long hair. Not to mention, what if she tied it up?

Nathan put his thumbs in his pockets and tapped his fingers on his thighs as he did his best to remember what she had been wearing, something he hadn't really paid much attention to in the closet. When he had put his hand on her waist it had felt like…just like his jeans, actually. So, she was wearing jeans. He noticed that not many of the girls he could see were, which meant that was a help.

Nathan tried to remember something about her top before he went looking for her. It had been sleeveless and it had felt soft, but he didn't know enough about material to positively identify it. He knew that if he felt it again, he'd know for sure, but it wasn't like he could just go around touching random girls' tops. Nathan laughed at that mental image just as a hot girl was walking past him. She gave him a look that showed she obviously thought he was some freak who was laughing to himself.

Ignoring it, Nathan started to wander through the crowded rooms, trying to find someone who stood out to him. He started towards the kitchen, but when he saw Rachel there he turned the other way and walked into the living room. He had enough on his mind without Rachel bugging him.

As he surveyed the large crowd he noticed a few girls who met one part of the criteria, but not all; one was in short jeans and a bikini top, another was in jeans, but had short hair. Then, suddenly, in the corner of the room he spotted her: long, wavy blond hair, jeans and a t-shirt, which could have been what she was wearing. He had thought the girl's top was sleeveless, but a t-shirt with very short sleeves, like this girl was wearing, might have seemed sleeveless to him when he couldn't see it.

The only thing was, as he looked at her Nathan began to wonder whether this was the best idea. The girl he was looking at was…okay-looking, he supposed, although she seemed a bit young; she just…wasn't his type. The more sensible part of his brain reminded himself that his type of girl would have just got him an expensive cologne for his birthday, not something like this that he really wanted, and that was if she remembered his birthday.

Scolding himself, Nathan decided to just go up there and talk to her for a bit. He should be able to recognize her voice, but even if he didn't then he would be able to see from her reaction to him whether it had been her. Or at least he hoped it would work out that way. Nathan started walking in her direction, but was saved from having to start an embarrassing conversation by a comment from the girl's friend. Everyone in the group laughed, including the girl, and when she did her mouth opened.

Nathan couldn't help the guilty relief he felt when he saw her braces. From their kiss, he knew that the girl in the closet hadn't worn them so it couldn't be this girl. Turning around, Nathan started to wonder where he would look next when he heard someone call his name. He looked up and smiled. "Hey, Lucas."

"Hey." Lucas came up to him and gave him a manly handshake. "Happy birthday, man."

"Thanks."

"Hi, Nathan," Brooke said.

"Hey."

"I was trying to call you this morning, but you weren't picking up," Lucas mentioned.

"Oh…I was training," Nathan remembered.

Lucas laughed. "You never stop, do you? You should take a break once in a while."

Nathan smiled, but didn't inform his brother that he would have been happy to take a break from his five hour training session that morning, only Dan didn't let him.

"Anyway," Lucas continued, "I wanted to tell you that Uncle Keith got tickets to next week's Bobcats game."

"Seriously? Wow. Well, I'm sure you two will enjoy it."

Lucas chuckled. "He got three tickets. He thought that maybe you could come with us, that is, if you want –"

"Of course I want to! I'll be there."

"Alright, I'll tell Keith."

"I'll call him tomorrow," Nathan said. "So, you guys having fun?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, the party's cool."

"We were just about to join the others. Do you want to come with us?" Lucas offered.

"Sure," Nathan replied, having decided that just hanging out with Lucas for a bit might help him to clear his head.

As they walked through the crowd of people Brooke started to ask Lucas about the basketball match and when it was, giving Nathan ample opportunity to survey the girls around them unnoticed, but none of them seemed to fit. He put his hands into his pockets and felt the present on his left side where he had put it.

All of a sudden it struck Nathan that he should have realized earlier that only someone who knew him really well would know to get it for him. And, although he knew a lot of girls, none were that close to him. So, barring a stalker type – and he really hoped the girl from the closet wasn't one – she had to have asked a close friend of his what to get him.

As he listened to his friends talking Nathan knew without a doubt that the girl had asked Lucas. It was the only situation that made sense. The problem was that Lucas was Mr. Nice Guy and so he was friends with a lot of people, and approachable enough that practically anyone could have asked him.

He could just ask Lucas about it. But why would Lucas have told them to get that exact present? Nathan recalled telling Lucas which one he was missing when he showed him his collection, but that was over two months ago. Would he really have remembered it?

"What happened? I thought you guys were going to make out?" The sound of Peyton's voice pulled Nathan out of his mental debate.

Brooke shrugged. "All the good spots were taken. We're going to go again later."

Peyton and Jake laughed in reply, but Nathan's interest was captured by the third member of their group. Haley was smiling slightly at what the others were saying but she hadn't seen him yet. She was wearing jeans and a tank top, plus her auburn hair was long and loose, if slightly mussed up like it would be if someone had run their hands through it; someone like him.

Upon seeing Nathan, Peyton smiled at him. "Hey, Nathan."

The look on Haley's face made Nathan grin. She seemed shocked for a second, turning jerkily to side as she realized he was standing next to her. She looked down at the ground, not even flashing him a shy smile like she usually did, but she did start to turn slightly red.

"Hi," Nathan replied to Peyton, and to Jake, who had also said, "Hello."

"So, how's yours birthday been?" Peyton asked.

"It's been okay."

"Only okay?"

Nathan shrugged. "It's been good." Shooting a glance at Haley, he added, "The last fifteen minutes were the best though." To his delight, she turned even redder, bright enough for the others to notice.

"Hales, you okay?" Lucas inquired.

Haley nodded. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

If Nathan hadn't thought so before, the sound of her voice would have made him certain that she was the one.

"You don't look fine," Brooke stated.

"I just have a headache," Haley told them. "Too much loud music, I guess." She tried to laugh, but didn't quite manage it.

"Well, Jake and I were going to leave early," Peyton informed her.

"Yeah," Jake chipped in. "If you're feeling sick then we can give you a ride home instead of you waiting for Lucas and Brooke."

Haley smiled at them. "Thanks, guys. I'll tell you if I feel like it. I'll just go outside and get some fresh air for now." No sooner than she said the words, she turned around and walked out the glass doors leading to the pool and then the deck, from where you could go down to the beach.

Nathan watched her retreat in silence before telling everyone, "You know, I should get going too."

Brooke raised her eyebrow at him. "You're leaving? But it's your party."

"I'm not leaving; I'm just going to walk around. Talk to a few more people. I'll see you guys later."

As Nathan walked away in a direction that was to the right of where Haley had gone he could have sworn he heard Brooke say, "I bet he's going to find the alcohol."

Glancing over his shoulder Nathan made sure that none of them were looking at him as he opened the glass doors and slid them gently closed behind him. Nathan walked towards the stone steps and, when he reached the top step, was glad to see Haley standing by the pool below him.

Her back was towards him as she looked at the water. Nathan watched her silently for a few moments, unsure of what he should do next. However, when he noticed she was walking away, towards the beach, he shouted out the first thing he thought of, "Haley, wait!"