AN: Hi, thank you so much for all the reviews: Nathanlvr, mistydm, AngelLuva, OTH.daddy'sgurl.06, and chelle2911.

Chapter 29

"I don't want to go," Haley breathed into Nathan's chest, still damp from her tears earlier. They had stayed there a little longer in each other's embrace. Stealing a kiss once in a while, whispering sweet nothing's into one another's ears, just reveling in the feeling that they hadn't felt in what seemed like forever. Nathan tightened his hold on her.

"Then don't, come with me back to my house," Nathan said, completely serious, resting his head on top of hers, rocking her slightly.

Haley actually considered this, but she knew it wasn't the right thing to do. As much as she wanted to just leave and be with Nathan and live with him, she also wanted to, once and for all have an honest, real, adult conversation with her parents about Nathan. If they didn't love her enough, to understand, than she would be able to finally let them go, now that Nathan was here to break her fall.

She knew that she could live without them. But she wasn't going to be the one to make that decision this time. It was Nathan that she couldn't live without, and if they couldn't see that, than too bad for them. But she needed to try and sort it out first.

"I need to go back home," Haley said sighing into Nathan's chest and then pulling back a little to look him in the eye. "I need to talk to them," She said knowing that Nathan understood who 'them' was.

Nathan nodded, he understood what she was saying. "Do you want me to come with you?" He asked concerned. He knew how sensitive Haley was, especially now, he wanted to support her.

"No," Haley said finally, although she was tempted to take him up on his offer. "I need to do this alone," She said, not ready to let him go.

"Okay," Nathan said, not letting her go either. He took a deep breath, the sooner she left, the sooner she came back, he told himself. He leaned down and his lips met hers in a searing kiss before he pulled back.

"I'll be here waiting," He told her, relieving her. Slowly, and regretfully, Haley got up, wiped her face and gave Nathan a weak smile. "It'll be okay," He reassured her, not so sure about this himself.

"Thank you," She whispered before turning around and slowly walking back to her house. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw Nathan sitting in the same position looking at her intensely.

---

Haley stood in front of her door for a couple minutes before gathering the courage she needed just to open it. By then the dinner party had thankfully ended, and Haley found both her parents in the living room.

"It's not going to fade," Haley said quietly entering the room. Her mom and dad looked up at her confused. They tried to show no emotions through their faces, like they always did. It made Haley wonder. Why do some people try so hard to be inhuman?

"Excuse me?" Haley's mother asked.

"The love Nathan and I have. You told me it was going to fade. It's not," Haley said confidently.

"This Nathan Scott nonsense, again?" Her father said, obviously mad. He barely ever spoke to her, but this particular subject seemed to peak his interest. "Lydia, I thought you'd talked to her about this," He said to her mother.

"I did," She said defensively and then turned back to Haley, "Haley, honey, we already talked about this. And where have you been? You can't just walk out when we have guests here," She said as if guests were the most important thing in the world.

"I had something I had to take care of," Haley said sitting down in the armchair across from them.

"Oh, like strutting around with Nathan Scott?" Her father said in a strong tone, that significantly showed his disapproval.

"I wouldn't call it 'strutting around', but yes, actually," Haley said, but then she decided to ease up a little. "Look," She said making her voice smaller, "I'm sure that if you just met him-"

"We did meet him, remember?" Her father said, "When he devised that whole plan to humiliate Jared, remember?"

"To catch Jared, dad!" Haley yelled, that was enough. There is a line, and he had just crossed it. "How could I even think that you guys would understand," She wondered out loud.

"Honey, we understand," Her mother said, "We understand that you're young, and that you have a crush, but-"

"I'm in love with him!" Haley said, wondering when they were going to get that fact into their minds.

"But," Her mother continued, "In this family we cannot take risks like that. Is this... this fling really worth the bad name you're putting upon this family and yourself?" She asked completely seriously.

"Look," Haley said calming down again. One last attempt to get them to understand. If they don't want to hear it, fine, Haley thought, wishing it were actually that simple. "If it were just a fling do you really think that right now I would be considering choosing him over my own family?"

The room suddenly turned absolutely silent. Haley could barely hear herself think, but that could be because she wasn't thinking. Her eyes were watered, but she promised herself she wouldn't cry. Her head ached and her voice felt like it was going to break from shaking so much.

Haley didn't need to hear it. She didn't need to hear those words, her parents telling her that if she was with Nathan, she couldn't be their daughter. It wasn't a new feeling to her. And right now, she didn't want to or need to hear it. She saw it in their blank, emotionless faces.

She got up to leave, finally having her answer, and finally ready to let them go. By leaving this house she was making a statement. And she promised herself she wasn't going to look back, not for a second. Before leaving she said one last thing to her former parents, "When you realize what a huge mistake you're making, your apologies are always welcome," She said cooly before closing the door behind her and not once looking back.

---

Haley took off running towards Echo Park, the second her feet touched the sidewalk. She kept her eyes dry and her focus straight, trying not to think about the place she just left behind, but only about the place she was running towards.

Was this all really worth it? Haley wondered as she reached Echo Park. But the second she saw Nathan there waiting for her, she knew she was a fool to ever even doubt that he was worth it. Her heart filled with love when she saw him and her feet moved against the grass even faster.

Nathan stood up and stretched out his arms wide with a smile on his face. It was amazing how every second he was making Haley more and more sure about her decision. She felt wanted. Loved. And when she reached Nathan she couldn't help a smile from forming on her face as she jumped into his arms with so much energy to make them topple over.

Laughing and rolling onto the grass, Haley was freed from all the despair she had just felt and she had been feeling for a week away from Nathan. She turned to face Nathan lying next to her staring up at the sky. He seemed like he was in his own little world and he was pretty lost in thought, so he was surprised when he felt Haley nipping at his neck, and then kissing her way up to his face.

Her lips found his and they kissed again, reveling in the feeling. Their hearts were beating so fast they felt like they were going to explode. But far too soon, if you asked Nathan, Haley pulled away. She propped herself up on her elbow.

"Let's go home," She whispered.

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AN: OK guys, there is one last chapter left! I hope you liked this one, and thank you so much for reading. Please leave a review!