This chapter really wrote itself, wow! I had so much fun, and I'm actually very pleased with it. Only a few more chapters left in this short story. I'm so thankful to everyone that reads and reviews.
P.S. I am currently working on my other stories, they just aren't flowing as well right now. So sorry for the delay!
Nathan stood up quickly when Haley approached the table he was seated at inside a coffee shop, clearing his throat.
He could feel his heartbeat quicker, and his palm start to sweat.
It wasn't fair, the effect she had on him. Especially after their history, and all the time that had passed. When she smiled at him, he couldn't help but smile back at her.
She made him smile in a way that only she could.
Flashes of the night they spent together popped into his head. She made him feel things that no one else could.
"Hey," He said when she finally reached him, letting out a deep breath.
"Nathan," She responded, smiling brightly up at him.
He reached down and hugged her briefly, glancing around at the few people that were in the coffee shop.
"I didn't think I'd hear from you so quick," She told him, resting her hand on his arm, smiling slightly.
"Think I'd wait another six years or so?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows and shrugging, sitting back down in his seat.
"Something like that," She said, sitting down across from him.
"I, uh, ordered you a drink," He said, rubbing his neck, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed by it. "I was going to go with what you used to get, but then I wasn't sure, so I just got you what I usually get and I don't like coffee that much so it pretty much consists of cream, sugar, and flavoring," He said, clearing his throat.
"You're rambling, that's my thing," She said, smiling at him and shaking her head. "Thank you, Nathan."
"No problem," He said, nodding at her. "How are you?"
"I'm doing well," She said, nodding. "Went shopping for baby stuff with Clay and Quinn yesterday, which was a trip," She said, shrugging.
"Get anything good?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I think so," She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "You'd think after the thousands of nieces and nephews I have, I'd be able to answer that, but I really don't know."
He laughed quietly, brushing his hand through his hair. "Did they, uh, ask where you were?"
"No," She said, shaking her head. "They knew where I was," She informed him, meeting his eyes. "Of course, Quinn said she called it."
"Called it?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"That we'd sleep together if we saw each other," She said, shaking her head.
"I highly doubt that," He said, rolling his eyes.
"That's what I said. She just likes to be right," She said, laughing.
"What? A James sibling? They never like to be right..." He said sarcastically, smiling at her.
"I resent that," She laughed, shaking her head at him.
Nathan's smile widened with her laugh. She had the most beautiful laugh he'd ever heard in his life.
Now that she was sitting in front of him, he'd realized just how much he missed her. Of course, after they broke up he missed her for awhile. But then as time passed, he started to feel the anger and the pain whenever she came to mind, and he really didn't miss her anymore.
But right now, he felt it. He felt the years of not having her with him. Before they dated, she had been one of his closest friends. She was the person that he told his secrets and his fears. She saw him in his lowest moments, and his highest.
It's funny that now she was his lowest moment, along with his highest. Dating her was still the best time of his life. When she broke up with him, that was definitely the lowest.
"This is weird, huh?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.
An odd question to ask, but he figured she would respond appropriately.
"Yes," She answered quickly, nodding at him. "It's so weird."
"I don't know how to act around you, really," He said, letting out a deep breath. "When you followed me, I was at the gym and I almost fell off the treadmill."
"Sorry," She laughed, shrugging her shoulders.
"No, it's okay, but... I went through everything that night. The whole timeline, pretty much."
"So did I," She told him, clearing her throat.
He opened his mouth, closing it when the coffee was brought over to them, saying a quick thank you, then looking down at the mug in front of him.
"You looked like you had something to say," Haley said, nodding at him.
"I don't know," He responded, rubbing his neck.
"If you have something you want to say, Nathan, just say it," She said, letting out a deep breath.
Nathan glanced around. There weren't that many people there, which was good. But he still wasn't sure how to phrase was he was going to say.
"I just want to be friends," He finally said, looking up at her.
Okay, so that was one way to put it.
Haley nodded at him, sending him a smile. "Nathan, it has been six years since we broke up. I didn't tell you that I regretted it because I wanted to jump into a relationship with you, I told you that because I wanted to give you the closure you deserved."
He let out a sigh of relief, visibly relaxing in his chair. "Okay, cool. So, uh, how do we be friends?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.
"First we should decide whether we should address the problems, or just forget about them?" She asked him, laughing. "Because I have more to say if you're willing to listen without bolting."
"I think I can handle that," He said, clearing his throat.
"Awesome," She said, smiling at him. "I'm sorry for hurting you, Nathan, and I'm sorry it took me six years to finally say that."
He nodded, taking a long drink of his coffee, letting out a deep breath. "I've moved past it."
"No, you haven't. I know you haven't because I never did," She said, smiling at him. "Because if you had, we wouldn't have avoided the hell out of each other."
"I have plenty of ex girlfriends that I never see," He told her, shaking his head. "In fact, the only one I see regularly is Peyton."
"If we're going to do this, Nathan, I just want you to be honest, okay?" She said softly, letting out a sigh.
"Fine," He said, rubbing his neck and leaning back. "Okay. I never got over it."
She smiled at him, nodding slowly. "And I'm really sorry about that."
He shrugged, tapping his fingers on the table. "Maybe we should slow this conversation down? Just... Ease into it a little? I mean... If we're going to be friends then maybe we should get to know each other again before we hit the gas on a difficult conversation."
"Sure," She agreed, shrugging her shoulders.
"Do you actually like Arizona?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows.
"I actually do. I've never really thought of it as a permanent place, but I could see myself there for at least another few years. Maybe moving back when I'm ready to retire," She said, humming softly.
"Huh," He said, clearing his throat and thinking back to the conversation he had with Peyton yesterday about her job interview in Tree Hill.
"What?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"I always just pictured you in Tree Hill," He commented, shrugging.
"It's on my list," She said, smiling slightly. "But I don't know exactly what I want."
"That's unusual," He joked, clearing his throat. "You like plans."
"I'm spontaneous now," She said, shrugging her shoulders. "I went to Italy on a whim this past summer."
"Did you really?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I did," She said, pulling her phone out, messing with it for a minute, before holding out a picture to prove it.
"Wow," Nathan said, smiling slightly. "I'm impressed."
"Of course, I'll never lose my true love for a good plan," She laughed, shrugging slightly. "Which is why I'm planning another trip for next summer."
"Where?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I was thinking London," She informed him, biting her lip.
"Ah, London. Your dream vacation," He said, nodding slowly.
"Yes," She said, smiling brightly. "And I'm really excited for it."
"I've only been scouting in Europe, never really gone sight seeing or anything," He said, shrugging slightly.
"It's beautiful," She said, letting out a deep breath. "I mean, you see pictures, but when you're actually there it's so different."
Nathan felt his stomach flutter as she spoke, a soft smile forming on his face.
Friends. They were going to be friends. He needed them to be friends. She lived across the country. He couldn't handle another heartbreak, not from her.
"Sounds incredible," He said, nodding at her.
"I think I'm going to try to go on a trip every few years," She said, humming softly. "I just loved it."
He glanced down at the photo one more time, before handing her phone back to her. "I'm happy for you. Send me a postcard or something from London."
With the joy he felt for her, there was a twinge of jealously because that was supposed to be their vacation.
He'd always planned on surprising her with a trip to London, one day.
It hurt a little to see her planning it without him.
But he could get over that. They were becoming friends, after all.
She smiled, taking a drink of her coffee, raising her eyebrows.
"You hate it," He groaned, pressing his face into his hand.
"No, no," She laughed, shaking her head quickly. "It's very sweet, which is different."
"It's okay," He laughed, shrugging. "I can get you something different."
"Don't worry about it, Nathan," She laughed, "It tastes good."
He sighed, laughing quietly. "I should've just gone with my gut and gotten you what I used to get you."
She shook her head, smiling at him. "Oh, knock it off. You're being too tense, Nathan."
"I know," He said, rubbing his neck and looking at her. "I guess I'm just nervous. Because like we already said, this is pretty weird."
She nodded, letting out a deep breath. "So tell me everything that's happened to you."
"I somehow graduated from Stanford," He said, shrugging slightly. "Then I started working at the same play as Clay, and we hated it so we left and started Fortitude."
"And now it's huge," She said, smiling at him.
"Kinda," He laughed, rubbing his neck. "Athletes like working with other athletes, even if I don't play anymore, I understand them and what they want in an agent."
"Makes sense to me," She hummed, resting her elbow on the table, placing her chin in her palm.
"Yeah, and what better place to have a business than the city that my favorite sports team plays in?" He laughed, grinning. "Season passes, court side seats whenever I want them. I love it."
"Well, I'm very impressed," She said, smiling at him.
"I owe it all to you. You talked me into this," He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh, I won't take any credit for this," She shook her head quickly, rolling her eyes. "And don't try to give me any of it. This is all you and Clay, Nathan."
He met her eyes, nodding slightly. "Yeah, I guess it was," He said, clearing his throat.
"It's important that you understand that," She said, smiling at him. "Honestly, I'm really proud of you, Nathan. I mean, everything new I learn about you seems just incredible."
He felt his soar at her words, letting out a deep breath.
One thousand different people could say that same thing to him, but it would never mean as much as it just did coming from Haley's mouth.
Even though they really didn't know much about each other anymore, she felt like the only person that really knew him.
"Thank you," He said graciously, tipping his head at her. "I think you're just impressed because of how mature I finally am."
She laughed, shaking her head. "Trust me, Nathan, I've always thought that you were pretty mature," She assured him, humming softly.
"Oh, really?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Well... Okay, when you were thirteen I thought you were pretty damn annoying and immature, I'm not going to lie," She said, shrugging her shoulders.
"All I wanted was your attention," He said, touching his hand over his heart, pretending she'd wounded him with her words.
She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Well, all you got was negative attention."
He chuckled, shaking his head and running his hand through his hair. "So not cool."
"I do have to ask though..." She began, raising her eyebrows at him. "At what age did your facial hair finally start to come in looking alright?"
"Twenty-three. Thankfully," He laughed, rubbing his hand over the slight beard he'd been growing out.
"I like it," She hummed, nodding at him.
"Yeah, me too," He agreed, shrugging.
After a few more minutes of just talking, they'd both finished their drinks.
Nathan stood up slowly, clearing his throat and looking at her. "So, uh, do you want to keep hanging out?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. "It's okay if you have plans with Quinn already, I know you probably want to spend time with her..."
"No," She said quickly, shaking her head and standing up. "We can keep hanging out."
"Cool," He said, smiling at her and letting out a deep breath. "I have the perfect thing for us to do."
"Am I going to regret hearing those words?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Hales," He said, clicking his tongue at her. "I promise that you won't."
xxxx
"Okay, we're here," He said, gesturing outside the car, a big grin forming on his face.
Haley looked outside, raising her eyebrows and looking at him. "Axe Club of America?"
"Yes!" He said, getting out of the car quickly, gesturing for her to follow him.
She laughed, shaking her head and doing as he asked, following him into the building.
Nathan approached the front desk, the grin never leaving his face. "Hello, sir," He said, tapping his hands lightly on the wood. "We are going to need a lane for two."
Haley started to argue when Nathan pulled out his card to pay, but he made a face in her direction, sticking his tongue out at her, and continuing what he was doing.
"Ah yes, there is that maturity," She said quietly to him, smiling and shaking her head.
"You're going to have to listen because I'm not going to teach you how to do it," He said, gesturing to the young guy that was leading them to their lane.
He explained the safety precautions briefly, before showing them a few different ways to throw the axe. After that he handed it over to Nathan, nodding and walking away.
"Have you ever done this before?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at her.
"Nope," She laughed, shrugging. "Never even considered it until this moment."
"One of my buddies got married a couple years ago and we came here. Clay and I have been hooked ever since. Before Quinn got pregnant she would come with us quite a bit," He said, nodding at the target on the wall in front of them. "You go first."
"Why?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows. "So you can make fun of my athletic ability?"
"Don't give me that, Hales," He laughed, rolling his eyes. "Fine, fine. Watch me," He chuckled, standing at the line painted on the ground. He threw the axe at the wall, watching it by the butt of the handle, then bounce off.
"Wait, I thought you wanted it to stick," Haley said jokingly, grinning at him.
"Ha. Ha. Funny. I'm a little rusty," He said, walking over and picking up the axe, handing it to her once he returned. "Okay, you go. The trick is to make sure you keep it vertical."
Haley stepped up to the line, glancing over her shoulder at him, shaking her head, before focusing in on the target. She let out a deep breath, throwing it towards the wall.
She cheered when it stuck into the wall, just off from the center, turning to look at him quickly.
"No way," He groaned, shaking his head. "Luck. Try again."
"What? No way was that luck! Don't be a sore loser, Nathan," She hummed, winking at him, happily going to pick up the axe.
"I'm not being a sore loser," He grumbled, taking it from her and letting out a deep breath, throwing it at the target once again. This time, it stuck for a moment then fell to the ground.
Leave it to him to totally screw up in front of Haley James. That's how it always went. If he had been with anyone else...
Not that it mattered.
"Great," He grumbled, shaking his head and walking over to go pick it up.
"It's okay, I'm sure you'll get it next time," She joked with him. "Want me to show you how to do it?"
"Do you do stand up on the side?" He asked her, shaking his head and laughing, handing over the axe and crossing his arms.
"I've been considering it," She informed him, laughing and stepping up to the line.
She threw again and this time it hit just off the center again, but on the other side.
"Such a show off," He said, shaking his head.
"You're kidding me, right?" She asked him, laughing. "Nathan, do you know yourself? You're a giant show off."
"Me?" He gasped, raising his eyebrows.
"You? Yes, you," She laughed, picking up the axe and shaking her head.
"Name one time," He said, shrugging innocently.
"One time you talked me into playing basketball with you and you dunked on me five times in a row," She hummed, shaking her head.
"You liked when I dunked," He reminded her, taking the axe and shaking his head.
"On other people. By the fifth one, I was ready to never go to another game again, I was so annoyed," She laughed, shrugging.
"The truth comes out," He said, groaning and throwing the axe once again. He clapped when it stuck into the wall in about the same spot as her first throw.
He went and got it, handing it to her and raising his eyebrows. "Maybe next throw you should try to bruise my ego even more, it seemed to work."
"Oh, stop it," She laughed, throwing it again, hitting the second ring this time.
"Losing your touch?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Watch it," She said, smiling at him. "You haven't seen anything yet. I think I'm going to have a new found love for Axe-Throwing after this."
"Oh great, next time you won't skip a beat," He groaned, shaking his head. "Clay is worse than me, so I think I'm going to stick with him."
"Can't handle losing?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "How about we say this, loser buys lunch? No wait- winner buys lunch. I'm worried you might lose on purpose."
"You know what- fine," He said, letting out a deep breath and taking the axe. "You're on."
xxxx
Haley had ended up winning, and after that, they ended up going to lunch, where they just sat and talked for another two hours.
She told him all about being a teacher, and her methods, some of which he rolled his eyes in response. He told her all about his job, and funny experiences he'd had while traveling.
It really had just been perfect.
Afterwards, he'd challenged her to bowling, which he'd beat her in.
Her excuse to that was 'I mostly going bowling with my nieces and nephews, which means I usually have the fence things up.'
Then, they'd decided to go to dinner together.
He had missed her so much, he wasn't quite ready to let her go back to Clay and Quinn's house yet.
Plus, they hadn't touched on any of the more serious topics he'd avoided earlier in the day.
After dinner, he said screw it a drove her to the dog park that he liked to jog around.
Which is where they were now, walking around the cement path.
"Your tour of Charlotte was much more interesting than Clay's," She informed him, smiling slightly.
"Can I get that on video?" He laughed, smiling at her and shaking his head.
"I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed there aren't any dogs here," She laughed, gesturing around.
"It's because it's windy and cold. Not to mention..." He gestured to the sunset, "Getting dark."
"Still," She fake pouted, shrugging her shoulders.
"That's the only thing I regret about all the traveling," He told her, sighing softly. "I would love to have a dog."
"Maybe one day you'll settle down, and only travel every once and awhile. I mean... You are getting up there in age."
He gasped, looking at her with raised eyebrows. "Haley James, do we really want to have this conversation?" He questioned her, shaking his head. "Hm... Last time I checked, you're a year older than me. So if I'm old, what does that make you?"
"You're right, forget it," She laughed, shaking her head.
Nathan smiled at her, gesturing to a park bench that was near them, taking a seat and letting out a deep breath.
"I've had a good day," Haley said softly, sitting down by him and smiling.
"Me too," He said, nodding at her. "I like hanging out with you."
"Same here," She hummed, looking out at the sunset.
"So, let's talk," He said, clearing his throat. "About the real stuff."
"Okay..." Haley said cautiously, looking at him.
"Why are you here, Hales? What made you decide to tell me what you told me?" He asked her quietly, raising his eyebrows.
She sighed, leaning back against the bench.
Nathan could tell that she was collecting her thoughts before she answered.
"I dated this guy for two years," She began, clearing her throat. "You know, I loved him, but I could just tell that something was off," She said softly, shaking her head. "It actually made me angry that I felt it because he was perfect on paper. He treated me really well, we had very similar interests..."
Nathan swallowed thickly at the jealously that started to bubble in his throat. He didn't want to feel it, but it was there.
"He proposed to me last New Year's Eve," She said, rubbing her hand over her face. "And that's kind of when it hit me."
"What hit you?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I felt off because of you, Nathan. Not because I still wanted to be with you, but because I said no to you," She said softly, shaking her head at herself. "I felt off because I knew that I could be living this completely different life right now, if I'd just made one little decision. And it sounds bad, but I started to compare what I had in that moment, to what we'd had when we were together, and what we'd probably have right now..." She sighed, running her hand through her hair. "And as much as I wanted to say yes to this guy, I had to say no. And I just couldn't stop thinking about what we could've had, and I put myself in your shoes and thought about how heartbroken you must have been. I was heartbroken too, Nathan, believe me..." Haley trailed off, finally looking over at him.
"Oh," He said, rubbing his neck and smiling slightly at her.
"I really loved you," She said quickly, nodding at him.
"I know," He said, clearing his throat. "I never doubted that, honestly."
"So, the more I thought about it, the more it ate me up inside. I was finally going through the emotions I tried to force myself not to feel when we broke up. I knew I'd chose wrong when I pictured the life we could've had, and I looked at what I had in that moment. And I love my life! I really do, but..." Haley trailed off, shaking her head.
"I know what you mean," He said quietly, offering her a smile.
"The more I thought about it, I just knew that I'd been wrong. I could feel it. I should've said yes," She said, shaking her head and letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Yeah," He agreed, clearing his throat. "You should have."
She laughed, looking at him and smiling slightly.
He returned her smile, leaning back and letting out a deep breath. "So, let me get this straight... You've had two different guys propose to you and you said no to both of them."
"I'm terrible," She laughed, rolling her eyes at herself.
"No you're not," He said, shaking his head. "You're not, Hales."
"I'm so sorry that I hurt you, Nathan. I wish... I wish you could've understood what was going on in my brain," She said softly, biting her lip. "It may have been the wrong choice, but I had thoughts that justified it at the time."
"Are you okay?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows. "I mean, you said you dated the guy for two years..."
"Oh, I'm totally fine now," She said, waving her hand. "He was perfect on paper, but not for me."
He nodded, watching the sunset for a moment. "Well, I've got you beat, I've proposed to three other girls and they've all said no."
"You're lying," She said, nudging him with her elbow.
"Of course," He chuckled, looking at her again. "No one would turn me down except for Haley James. That's how it was my whole life."
"Oh, stop it," She said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.
He smiled at her, letting out a deep breath. "It's true," He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"We dated for three years, I'd hardly call that rejection," She said, rolling her eyes.
"You're forgetting all the years before that where I begged you to look at me," He reminded her, laughing quietly.
"Okay, we had this conversation when we were dating. You were Lucas' younger brother! I knew you when you were a gross sixth grader, Nathan," Haley laughed, nudging him again.
He shook his head, laughing along with her. "I didn't realize how much I missed you until now," He said softly, turning to look at the sun again.
"What, the picture you've been throwing darts at over the years hasn't given you enough of me?" She joked, raising her eyebrows.
"Oh, I stopped that years ago. Although, there was a fair share of that," He said, humming softly. "But I'm serious, Hales. You were my best friend."
"Even over The Tim?" She questioned him, raising her eyebrows.
"Even over him," He laughed, shrugging his shoulders.
"You were my best friend too, Nathan," She said, nodding at him. "It was fun dating your best friend, wasn't it?"
"Oh absolutely," He agreed, smiling at her.
"I've missed you too, Nathan," She responded, touching his arm momentarily.
He let out a deep breath, clearing his throat and nodding.
Who knew that adult conversations could go well every once and awhile?
He never expected it to be so light hearted, but they were actually talking about real problems.
"So... Should we talk about the other night?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.
Nathan looked at her again, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know."
"We were never very great at fighting, right?" Haley joked, shifting in her seat.
"I guess not," He laughed, rubbing his neck. "I mean, you kissed me and I just couldn't help-"
"Wait, no. You kissed me," She argued, shaking her head.
"Okay, I'm pretty sure that's not true. I was pissed at you," He laughed, raising his eyebrows.
"No, I was pissed at you. I would not have kissed you. You kissed me," Haley said, poking his arm.
"Okay, whatever. Agree to disagree," He laughed, rubbing the spot she poked him. "The point is, it just kind of happened, right? I don't think it needs to be confusing..."
"Okay, I agree," She said, letting out a deep breath. "I'm sorry, again."
"I didn't get it, Haley, I still don't, but you don't do things unless you feel like you're making the correct choice. I didn't see that then, hell, I didn't see that yesterday. I didn't understand it until right now," He said, shrugging his shoulders. "So as much as it sucked, I'm going to have to let it go if we even have a shot at being friends."
"I really did think I was making the right choice," She said softly.
"I know you did," He hummed, clearing his throat. "But damn it feels good to hear you say that you were wrong."
"You're such a great guy, Nathan," She said, letting out a deep breath. "I'm so happy that you're happy."
He smiled at her, wrapping what he justified as a friendly arm around her shoulder because she seemed a little cold.
They sat there quietly, watching the sun rise, thinking about the conversation they just had, and where it could potentially go from there.
When Nathan pulled up to Clay and Quinn's home a short while later, he could tell that Haley was in a deep thought. She'd hardly said anything the whole car ride.
"What's wrong?" He asked, turning to her and raising his eyebrows.
Haley was quiet for another second, staring out the front window, until she finally looked over at him.
Nathan recognized the look in her eyes as her determined look. She had her mind set on something again.
"You said you want to be friends," Haley said, clearing her throat and nodding at him. "But I don't."
"What?" He asked, raising his eyebrows again.
"You fought for me for years, Nathan. And I know we're different people now, and we're at different stages, but I'm going to fight for you," She told him, letting out a deep breath.
"Fight for me?" He questioned, shaking his head. "Why?"
"Because, I've lost you once before, and I don't want to do it again. So you say you want to be friends, I'll respect that. But I'm going to fight for us," Haley said, nodding at him. She leaned over the center console, kissing his cheek briefly. "Hopefully I can see you again before I go. Goodbye, Nathan."
And just like that, she had gotten out of the car and hurried into the house, leaving a dumbstruck and confused Nathan in the car.
She was going to... Fight for him?