AN: Thanks so much for the reviews to: jeyton4ever, Nathanlvr, crazy4fiction, chelle2911, and beautyshell45.

Chapter 20

Soon after, Nathan and Haley had both gotten all the money they needed. Haley ended up only having to kiss nineteen guys because Lucas had given her ten bucks and Nathan had ended up kissing eighteen because both Brooke and Peyton had given him ten dollars. They ended it, surprisingly with still five minutes left for their lunch period. Haley was still fuming from her encounter with Jared, and it didn't go unnoticed by, well, everyone. But mostly Nathan.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked worried, when they were finally alone. Haley looked up at him and one long look into his deep blue eyes made all her anger somehow slip away.

"Yeah," Haley said, which wasn't exactly the whole truth. And she knew that Nathan saw right through her. "Okay, well not really..." She admitted.

"Is it 'cause of Jared?" He asked, knowing the answer already, but feeling that he should ask anyway. He couldn't help it, but just at the sound of Jared's name and the idea that he annoyed Haley, made Nathan a little angry.

"You saw that?" Haley asked, referring to her little outburst at Jared earlier at the kissing booth.

"I'm sorry to say it, but I think pretty much the whole school saw that..." Nathan said. Haley sighed, but had to laugh a little at it. It was pretty ironic. The shy girl, having a remarkable fit over Jared. Of course, one of the only times in her life when she actually got very mad, the whole school had to be there to witness it. Great. "What happened?" Nathan asked.

Haley and Nathan sat down a a bench. "Jared showed up, and you know, he was just being himself. And normally I would have just ignored him, but it's just the thought that he's the reason we got into this mess in the first place. And then he had to go and kiss me, and I just snapped. Plus, of course his little girl-toy had to make stupid remarks about you acting like we weren't together-" Haley said.

"Wait, what?" Nathan interrupted. "She said what?" Haley didn't want to get more upset over some people that she didn't even care about. She didn't want to let what that girl had said to her affect her, but it already did.

"Well, she was just being an idiot, you know?" Haley said not really wanting Nathan to know what she had said. She felt a little stupid being the jealous girlfriend who always complained to her boyfriend.

"No, Hales, tell me what she said," Nathan said, softly not trying to demand her or anything, but he needed to set the record straight. Whatever that girl had said it had obviously made Haley feel bad, and that was the last thing he wanted.

Haley took a deep breath. "Well, she was saying that it was really great of me to be okay with girls being obsessed with you..." Haley said trying to sound casual about it, but not succeeding very well. "And that she never knew that we were together, 'cause you never acted like it."

Nathan knew that he was popular, and that, okay he could admit it, some girls flirted with him a lot. But this girl was seriously making this up. Nathan never even hung out with that girl, what did she know about him? The thing was, Nathan was used to getting attention from girls, he just never expected those girls to bag on Haley, that was going a little too far.

"Hales, look. It's-" Nathan started saying.

"And you know Nathan, it's fine." Haley said, unconvincingly. "I mean, I didn't expect you to you know, like yell at the top of your lungs that your dating the class-brain. I completely understand if you don't want people to know we're dating." Haley lied. Even though she tried to convince herself of this, inside she was crying.

"Hales-" Nathan tried to get another word in but it didn't work.

"Really Nathan. I mean just because all my friends seem to know we're dating, and I mean we are living together, but-" Haley said.

"Hales, listen to me." Nathan said, hating to have to interrupt her but she was talking nonsense now. Haley finally decided to shut up and give her attention to Nathan, scared as hell at what he was going to say. "That girl, that talked to you, whoever she is, I don't care, the point it, Hales, she's full of crap." Nathan said, and Haley didn't say anything so he continued. "All those girls that she says are 'obsessed' with me, who gives a damn? I mean during the kissing booth, I was looking over at your side and the sight of all those horny guys just lusting after you, I have to admit, made me kind of jealous. But I won't let that get to me, you know why?"

Haley shook her head, no. "Because," Nathan continued, cupping Haley's face in his hands, "I have you. And I love you. And I trust you. And you know what? You have me and you can trust me, and love me. I can scream it on the roof tops, at the top of my lungs if that'll make you feel better, but Hales, I'm not going anywhere. No matter how many girls want to date me, or how many people get in our way." Nathan said. "Jared's a jackass, that's just who he is. Just don't let him get to you; let him live his life, and we'll live ours." A single tear ran down Haley's cheek, and she bit her lip to stop her from letting another.

"Nathan... I didn't mean... I mean I just..." Haley said, not really able to express what she was feeling. "I didn't mean to make a big deal about it. I do trust you and I do love you, with all my heart." she said leaning in and kissing him intensely. Nathan tried to express all his love into that kiss to reassure her that he was all in.

xXxXxXx

After school, Haley had tutoring to she said she's meet up with Nathan back at his house. Surprisingly, Lucas had kept his word, and had invited Nathan to go play ball with him after school, making Haley happy. Haley's tutoring session ended a little earlier than she had predicted so she decided to stop by Echo Park, her sacred place, before going home. She hadn't been there in a while, and she just felt like she needed some alone and quiet time to relieve herself of all her worries about Jared and about Nathan.

She walked down those familiar streets, she even passed by her old house forcing herself to look at it. It hadn't changed. There was a blue sports car parked in front of it. She wondered if her parents had bought a new car. She wondered if her parents were even there. What were they doing? Maybe they were thinking about her? Wondering how she was doing? She almost went up and knocked on the door but she stopped herself. She had walked away from that life.

She arrived at Echo Park, which was completely deserted. She sat on the grass, legs crossed, and tried to just breath and relax. She even tried closing her eyes to see if that would maker her get a better hold on her thoughts. Wait a second, she thought. Jared owns a blue sports car, she thought. Oh, no. She got up quickly and ran back in the direction of her house, not even hesitating before knocking fast on the door.

Jack, the house butler who was normally only there on special occasions, opened the door. "Ah, Madame Haley, so nice to see you." Haley and Jack had always gotten along pretty well. Haley gave him a warm smile and a hug, but she was kind of in a rush so she walked in quickly and looked into the living room. She saw her father and, like she had guessed, Jared talking in there. Her mother, Haley assumed, must have been in the kitchen. She didn't bother announce herself or even greet them.

"Jared, what on earth are you doing here?" Haley asked. She didn't feel like getting very angry for a second time today, especially to the same person, but she didn't think she had a choice.

"Oh, Haley," Jared said with a smile. "We were just talking about you." He said looking at Haley's father, who looked surprised to see Haley, but he didn't let on any other expression.

"Yeah, I figured you would be." Haley replied bitterly. Who did he think he was? Talking to her parents about her. "Can someone please tell me what this is all about?" Haley asked, just as her mother arrived in the room.

"Haley," She said, but she didn't seem unhappy about seeing her but not happy either, just surprised. "We weren't expecting you to drop by."

"Neither was I," Haley answered. "I just want to know what Jared's up to."

"Haley, do now jump to conclusions. Jared had just asked, out of politeness, how you were doing." Haley's father said. "His reason for stopping by has nothing to do with you." He said and Jared nodded.

"Oh yeah?" Haley said not buying this. "What's it about then, hun?" She asked and this time it was Jared who answered.

"My father sent me here," He said, "He is considering taking on Mr. James here as his business partner. Of course, he is a very busy man, so he sent me here to do the negotiations." He said and Haley felt her heart sink.

"And that's where I come in?" Haley asked, fearing the answer. She knew that her parents were disappointed in Haley, but they were still her parents, and Haley guessed that they would want her back to live with them. Probably more to help their reputation than for their actual pleasure. Of course, if Haley moved back in with them, they would never let her see Nathan, which of course, is the main reason why Jared cared in the first place. Jared's father was the only man in all of Tree Hill more wealthy than Haley's father, and Mr. James would do anything to attain that power. And this was his chance.

"Haley, honey, your father and I regret the way we left things," Haley's mother said. "We won't make you go to the boarding school. We miss you, Haley, and you are far too young to be living with a boyfriend." It was obvious that she had to force herself to use that word. "Let alone, Nathan Scott."

"You want me to move back in with you? No way!" Haley yelled and she ran out the door as quickly as possible and ran and ran all the way back to Echo Park. What kind of family was so messed up? They had the money to buy anything in the world, yet they were so dysfunctional. And this just made it an even bigger mess. How did Jared get such a firm hold on Haley's life? This wasn't happening...

xXxXxXx

A couple minutes later, Haley still felt as enraged as she did before, and to make matters worse, she could hear footsteps behind her. Knowing that her parents would never step foot in a public park, that meant that it could only be Jared, the last person she wanted to see, let alone talk to.

"Haley, stop being so selfish." He said.

"Oh, you should talk!" Haley yelled and turned around to face him. "Is your life really so pathetic, that you have to go and ruin mine?"

"I'm not doing this to ruin your life, Haley, I'm doing it to make it better." He said, calmly.

"And how do you figure that?"

"Haley, you're going to wake up one morning and realize you're in the wrong place. Your young and naive now and you think you can do anything you want now, but that's not true. You were born to be one of us, Haley, you can't be a bird but try to live in the sea, it just doesn't work that way." He said.

"What are you talking about? I have never been as happy as I am now when I was living in that house with my parents! You can't make me live there, you think I care if my father gets to be business partners with yours? 'Cause I don't!" Haley said, her throat starting to hurt from all the yelling.

"You can say that now. But you know, Haley. You're going to regret being with Nathan for so long, if you don't end it soon. And if you don't end it soon, than trust me, he will. Now, I can guarantee you, that by next week, you'll be broken up with Nathan and living back with your folks. I tend to get what I want, Haley, that's one thing you should know about me." He said that and then walked away. Haley would have loved to run up to him and punch him in the face, but she was too buys drowning in her sorrow. She was a prisoner of her own life. If she stayed with Nathan, Jared would do anything in his power to break them apart, and the things he could do to Nathan just made her stomach ache. But if she went to live with her parents, Jared would leave Nathan alone, yes, but she would never be allowed to see him again.

Haley burst into tears, crashing to her shaking knees and buried her face in her hands, with just one sentence that Jared had said running through her mind: And if you don't end it soon, than trust me, he will.