Again- you guys are incredible! Thank you so much!
Nathan blinked his eyes open as the sun reflecting brightly from his window hit them in the morning.
Why did he feel so... Weird?
He raised his hand to rub his head, glancing over when his elbow gently connected with another person in his bed.
What he saw almost made him fall out of bed. Haley.
Memories from the night before came flooding back to him, his eyes widening.
He looked back up at the ceiling when he noticed her shift like she was waking up, letting out a deep breath.
His expression mirrored one of complete shock. His lips were pursed, and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Well, not so much in confusion, more of 'what the hell did he do in this situation?'
He could tell she'd woken up because he could still see her in his peripheral vision.
She looked like she was trying to piece together exactly what happened too.
They'd been rage drunk. The fury in the air had switched to more of a sexual tension somewhere along the lines. And that had carried each of them to the point of exhaustion, leaving the problem at hand to be left until they both were thinking clearly in the morning.
Nathan noticed her tug his bed sheets higher up.
Yeah, this was kind of weird.
He opened his mouth to say something, before closing it quickly. He tilted his head, thinking hard about what he wanted to say, opening his mouth again, but it closed when he realized he had nothing to say.
"So..." Haley finally said, clearing his throat.
The uncomfortable air was suffocating, really.
"So..." Nathan repeated back to her, keeping his eyes pinned on the ceiling.
"I should probably go, you know, because Clay and Quinn are going to be wondering where I am," Haley said slowly.
"Right, yeah," Nathan agreed, nodding. "And I have, y'know, stuff to do at..." He glanced at the clock. "7:06 in the morning. Yep."
"Exactly," She said, biting her lip.
"Uh, if you want you can take a shower," He told her, gesturing towards the connected bathroom.
"Um, yeah, okay," Haley said, not moving to get out of bed.
Nathan looked around the room to see if he could find sweats, boxers, or anything, but he distinctly remembered clothes shedding on the way to the room.
He scratched his head lightly, clearing his throat. "I'll just... Go?"
"Sure, yeah," Haley agreed, still not making a move.
Nathan didn't make a move either. It was just a little awkward to get out with zero articles of clothing to change into immediately.
"Why don't I take the sheet and go grab my clothes, and you can put some clothes on while I'm gone?" She suggested, clearing her throat.
"Good plan," He nodded, sliding the top sheet off himself, pushing it in her direction.
Haley got out of bed, making sure the sheet was secured around her.
As she walked out of the room, Nathan couldn't help but admire her, a small smile on his face.
Haley James was one of a kind.
He climbed out of bed, quickly pulling on some clothes.
When she walked back in, he gestured to the bathroom, rubbing his neck. "Uh, go ahead. There should be a clean towel in there."
"Thank you," She said slowly, looking at him, before heading into the bathroom.
Nathan rubbed his eyes, shaking his head quickly.
This was so weird.
He walked out of the bedroom, hurrying into the kitchen. Should he... Make her breakfast?
What did he do when his ex girlfriend who he had not spoken to in years came over looking for a fight and then ended up staying over?
He shrugged slightly.
He'd never been a make breakfast kind of guy. Especially not with a one night stand?
What if it had the potential to turn into something else?
No, it didn't... Could it?
He sighed softly, putting a piece of toast in the toaster.
This would be good enough.
He looked at the clock on the microwave, letting out a deep breath.
He shook his head, pulling open the fridge. He really needed to go grocery shopping.
He'd been traveling a lot so it had not been worth it.
He pulled a yogurt out of the fridge, checking the expiration. That was still good.
He poured it into a bowl, grabbing blueberries and raspberries out of the fridge next.
He then went to his pantry, grabbing granola and putting it in the bowl.
Okay, a parfait and toast. That was enough.
Really, they could've just eaten cereal. Or not eaten at all.
But it felt too weird to send Haley on her way without feeding her.
When she walked out to the kitchen, she cleared her throat.
He looked over at her, setting her food down on the bar in the island.
"I, uh, made you breakfast," He said, gesturing to it.
Haley offered him a small smile, sitting down where he'd set the plates.
Nathan decided to just eat cereal, rather than go through the whole process again. He sat next to her, cringing at the awkward silence.
"I forgot to ask you..." He trailed off, "How did you find my apartment?"
"Clay said he was going to order food to you and said it really loudly from the kitchen. I figure since food never arrived then that means he was just trying to get me to come over here," Haley responded, tapping her fingers on the smooth granite lightly.
"Nice," He responded, clearing his throat.
"It's nice," Haley gestured around, offering him a smile.
"Yeah, I really like it," Nathan agreed, glancing out towards the living room.
"Very clean," She stated, shrugging.
"Yeah, no one likes to come over to the messy guy's house," He chuckled, shrugging. "You know, by that I mean, my friends. Not that I'm bringing home girls," He pulled a face at his words, clearing his throat. "Not that it would matter either way if I was or if you were seeing someone too, that would-"
"I didn't take it that way," Haley assured him, laughing quietly.
Nathan nodded, rubbing his neck. "Yeah. I actually think it stays clean because I'm not home to make it a mess."
"You really travel that much?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah. When Quinn hit about seven months, Clay didn't want to be too far in case something happened, so I started traveling more. We have other people that work for us but I don't really mind," He said, shrugging.
"Fortitude is really great," She said, nodding at him. "I'm amazed by the business you and Clay have built."
"Yeah, we've put blood, sweat, and tears into it," Nathan said, clearing his throat.
She smiled slightly, standing up once she finished her food.
"Leave it," Nathan said, nodding at the bowl. "I'll get it."
"You know that's not who I am," She said, walking over to the sink, washing it out.
"I have to unload the dishwasher, so you can just put it in the sink," He said, shrugging slightly.
"It sounds so strange to hear that phrase coming out of your mouth," She laughed, shaking her head.
"I wasn't a total deadbeat boyfriend. I unloaded the dishwasher and cleaned," He said, frowning at her.
"No, you weren't, not at all," She said, glancing over her shoulder at him.
Nathan smiled slightly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I better go," Haley announced, tapping her hands on her legs. "This has been fun, and surprising, and y'know... Awkward."
"Emphasis on the last one," He said, shoving his hands into his pockets. He walked her to the front door, letting out a deep breath.
"You know what, let me get your number so that we can meet up another day and talk about last night, or not talk about it, whatever," Haley said, waving her hand dismissively.
"Yeah, okay," Nathan said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
Haley did the same, blinking down at the screen. "Wow, that's a lot of missed calls and texts. Okay, it's fine," She said, pulling up her contacts.
They quickly exchanged numbers, immediately going back to the awkward front door situation.
Was he supposed to hug her? Kiss her? High-five? The whole situation was getting more awkward by the second.
He leaned down, giving her a very brief hug, clearing his throat.
"I'll call you," He said, nodding at her.
"Okay," Haley said, resting her hand on his shoulder for a moment, before pulling open the door.
"Wait-" He said, frowning and grabbing her arm to stop her. "Did you take a cab here?"
"Yeah," Haley answered, shrugging slightly.
"You didn't call another one," He said, frowning at her.
"I was just going to wait outside and call one," She said, looking up at him.
It oddly made him feel better that she thought this situation was uncomfortable too, but he didn't want her to wait outside for a car.
He ran a hand through his hair, lifting his keys off the side table in the entry way. "Come on, I'll give you a ride."
"Nathan, you don't have to do that," Haley assured him, waving her hand.
"Come on, Hales," He said, nudging her out the door, following after her.
The car was filled with an awkward silence the moment they got into it.
"So..." Nathan trailed off as he started driving towards the Evans household, glancing over at her. "How's Brooke?"
A smile formed on Haley's face at the mention of Brooke Davis.
"Her and Julian got married," Haley said, nodding at him. "Which I'm sure you know."
"Yeah," He said, nodding slowly.
"And they have twin boys," She informed him, tapping her hands on her leg. "Davis and Jude."
He smiled, glancing over at her. "Good for them."
"Brooke's clothing line blew up a few years ago," She said, nodding.
"Clothes Over Bro's," He said, clearing his throat. "I've heard about it. And Julian is a hot shot director now?"
"Pretty much," Haley laughed, relaxing into the seat. "They're doing fantastic. I don't see them as much as I'd like, but it's kinda difficult for me to take time off in the middle of a school year."
"Isn't that what you're doing right now?" Nathan questioned, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes, but I just really wanted to see Quinn," Haley said, shrugging. "I've never been to their house, and they've lived here for three years."
Nathan glanced over at her, clearing his throat. "Yeah, sorry about that."
"Why?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.
"They probably wanted to meet you in Tree Hill because I didn't want to see you," He said, shrugging.
"Nathan, I never wanted to come here," She said, shaking her head. "It wasn't them. It was me. I didn't want to risk seeing you probably as much as you didn't want to risk seeing me."
"Oh," He responded, glancing over at her.
"Yeah," She said, nodding at him.
He let out a deep breath when they pulled up in front of Quinn and Clay's house. "Well..."
"I guess I'll see you later," She said, resting her hand on his arm.
He smiled, nodding at her. "I'll call you."
"Alright," She said, smiling at him and getting out of the car.
Nathan waited until she'd gone inside, before pulling away from the house quickly.
Once he arrived back to his apartment, he walked into his bedroom, letting out a deep breath.
His gaze narrowed in on the bed, running a hand through his hair.
He shook his head, heading into the bathroom to take a quick shower.
He couldn't believe what had happened last night. They had not seen each other in six years, and they fell into bed together so easily, during an argument nonetheless.
They were never very great at fighting.
A small smile formed on his face as he remembered the night.
He got out of the shower, quickly getting dressed and ready for the day. He knew exactly who to call.
He sat down on the end of the bed, glancing over his shoulder to where Haley was once laying.
He pulled out his phone, quickly finding the desired contact.
"Hello?"
"Hey Peyton," Nathan said, clearing his throat.
"What's up?" Peyton hummed into the phone.
"Just calling to chat," He told her.
"Lee, I'm getting it for you buddy, just give me a minute," She told her and Lucas' 18-month old son.
"Bad time?" Nathan asked her.
"No, he just wants his apple sauce and he wants it now," Peyton laughed.
He laughed, smiling slightly. "He's a great kid."
"Yeah, he's supposed to be napping now," Peyton cooed at him.
Nathan smiled slightly. Who would have thought that Peyton Sawyer was going to be the most incredible mother?
"Well, Nathan, you don't call me on the regular. What do you need?" Peyton asked him.
"I'm just calling to chat. Check in with the kids," He defended himself, chuckling quietly.
"I'm sure Sawyer would be more than happy to take her attention from the cartoons she's watching to talk to you," She hummed.
"No, no. I want to talk to you," Nathan assured her, sighing softly.
"Okay..." Peyton trailed off.
"How are you?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I'm doing great," Peyton said, clearing her throat. "I'm happy, Luke is happy, kids are sometimes happy."
"Very cool," Nathan said, laying back against the bed and staring up at the ceiling.
"Yep," She agreed.
"I had an idea. Maybe you should bring the kids here," He began quickly, continuing before she could talk. "I slept with Haley last night," He added in, before speaking again before she could react. "Yeah, or maybe I could come there and hang out with them. What do they want for Christmas? I'd love to get them something awesome."
It was quiet on the line for a moment.
"What did you say?" Peyton asked him slowly.
"I thought I could come there and watch the kids. I miss them," Nathan said, clearing his throat.
"Before that," She demanded.
"Oh yeah, you could bring them here too," He suggested, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Nathan..." She trailed off. "Did you really?"
"Yeah, I did," He said softly, letting out a deep breath.
"You're lying," Peyton said quickly. "There's no way."
"It's true," He told her, running his hand through his hair.
It was quiet for another moment.
"When you say slept together, you mean-"
"Yes."
"How?" Peyton asked him quickly.
"Uh, don't know if you want those details," He joked, sitting up slowly.
"How did you even see her? How did you end up, y'know... With her like that," Peyton asked him. "Sorry, I have little ears around so I have to be careful about what I say."
"She's in Charlotte visiting Quinn. We've been messaging each other through Instagram the past week, and I ran into her at the office yesterday while Clay was giving a tour," Nathan informed her, blowing out a deep breath.
"How have we not heard about this? You've been talking to her for a week?" She asked him quickly.
"I didn't want to tell Luke because he wouldn't get it, Peyton," He said simply, rubbing his hand down his face, glancing over to the spot where Haley had slept.
"I'm so shocked by all of this," She said, letting out a deep breath. "Let's hear more."
"Okay, so I went to lunch with them, and it was kind of awkward but it was okay, and then I was going to bail because who wants to hang out with the person that literally crushed your soul, right?" He chuckled, rubbing his neck.
"Of course, yeah," Peyton agreed, nodding.
"But she talked me into staying, and Clay reinforced the idea by making it seem like a good idea. He said we're both adults, and it's time to get over it, pretty much," He chuckled, tapping his hand on the comforter.
"Okay..." She trailed off, clearing her throat. "Then what?"
"I went to their house and hung out with them for awhile. Then Quinn got really tired, so Clay took her to bed and promised he would be right back. Haley turned to me and tried to start the conversation," He said, sighing softly.
"When you say the conversation, do you mean THE conversation?" She asked him.
"Yep," Nathan said, shrugging. "The 'hey it's been six years, let's talk' conversation. But since I'm immature, I said no way. Catch you in another six, maybe."
"Of course you did."
"And then I went home. But Clay gave her my address," He said, rolling his eyes. "I knew he was going to meddle. That's why I didn't want to tell anyone but he found out I'd been messaging her because he stole my phone the day after we started."
"Okay, so Clay gives her your address, she comes over, and then?"
"I started saying some pretty jackass things to her," He said, letting out a deep breath. "They weren't too bad, but I was only saying them to try and hurt her. And then she said that she'd been wrong. She should have said yes. And we kissed."
"And the rest is history..." Peyton blew out a deep breath. "So, uh, where does that leave you?"
"In an awkward spot," Nathan chuckled, running his hand through his hair. "I told her I'd call her. I don't know if I will."
"Well it sounds like you both still have feelings, and Haley doesn't admit that she's wrong unless she knows she is. Who made the first move? Like who messaged who?" Peyton asked him.
"Haley messaged," He said, standing up slowly and letting out a deep breath.
"So it sounds like Haley has been making all the first moves. I'd say ball is in your court, buddy," She said, humming softly.
"You know I love when you use basketball metaphors to reason with me. How can I say no to that?" Nathan laughed, rolling his eyes. "I was calling you for advice, Peyt. I really don't know what I should do."
"Well, would you be interested in possibly opening that door again? That's all I can say, Nate. I can't tell you what to do."
"I don't know, she said she was wrong. Which means she wishes we were married right now," He said, clearing his throat.
"I guess what you have to figure out, is do you wish you were married to her right now? Or are you happy with the way the cards have fallen? She lives in Arizona, which is far," Peyton said, letting out a deep breath. "And I'm not supposed to tell anyone this because she asked us not to, but at the end of the school year, she's going to interview for a job at Tree Hill High."
"Oh, wow," Nathan said, clearing his throat. "Do you know-"
"Mommy, who are you talking to?"
Nathan heard Sawyer ask, a small smile forming on his face.
"I'm talking to Uncle Nathan," Peyton told her daughter.
"I want to talk!" The three year old begged.
"Okay," Peyton said, sighing softly.
Nathan heard her switch the phone to speaker phone.
"Nathan!" Sawyer cheered.
"Hey Sawyer," Nathan said, a grin forming on his face.
"Can't see him," Sawyer said loudly to Peyton.
"It's just a phone call," Peyton told her, laughing quietly.
"Uncle Nathan..."
She continued on babbling things that Nathan couldn't quite make out because she was talking so fast.
"She's telling you about the cartoon she was watching," Peyton informed him, laughing quietly.
"Well I can't wait to watch it with you, Sawyer," Nathan said, letting out a deep breath.
"You coming here?" Sawyer asked him quickly.
"Soon," He assured her.
"Yay!" She cheered, a hum following it.
"And she's gone," Peyton laughed, "She ran back to the couch and is watching her show again."
"I should probably go too," He said, letting out a deep breath.
"Well, keep me posted," Peyton told him, clearing her throat.
"Maybe. Don't tell Luke, okay?" He said, sighing softly.
"You got it," Peyton said, laughing. "Talk to you later, Nathan."
"Bye, Peyton," He said, hanging up the phone and letting out a deep breath, falling back onto the bed once again.
He glanced over and caught sight of a few of Haley's hairs left on his pillow case.
Good hell. What was he going to do?
xxxx
After wasting most of the day away by cleaning things that didn't need to be clean (a habit he had picked up from Haley a long time ago), binge watching shows, and going to the gym and shooting some hoops, he finally ended up back at his apartment.
He let out a deep breath, sitting down on his couch once again. His day had not taken his mind off of Haley at all.
Peyton had hardly helped him, so calling her had been a big waste of time.
Okay, maybe that wasn't true. But he was still hoping for more clarity after speaking with someone about the situation.
He brushed a hand through his hair, staring at the blank flat screen that was hanging on the wall.
She crushed him. How could he even consider some of the thoughts that were running through his mind?
But the memory of her telling him that she had been wrong last night... It brought a smile to his face.
He'd always known she was wrong, but hearing her admit it was music to his ears.
He let out a deep breath, pulling his phone out of his pocket, staring a text message to Haley James.
The text read:
Can we meet up tomorrow?