I decided to stick with the same name as in the show, just so everyone is aware, I know that Logan is Clay and Sara's son but oh well.
And I promise I'm going to update Fix Me next! Thank you for being so patient.
Nathan stepped inside the house he grew up in, letting out a slow deep breath, adjusting the bag on his shoulder.
"Mom? Dad?" He called out, raising his eyebrows.
It was only a moment before the one and only Deb Scott hurried into the front entry way, pulling her youngest son into a hug.
"Nathan!" Deb said, smiling brightly.
"Hey, mom," Nathan said, clearing his throat and hugging her back.
"I've missed you, honey," Deb said, rubbing his back. "Your father just made a quick trip to the store, he should be back anytime."
"I missed you too, Mom. Sorry that I couldn't make it for Thanksgiving," He said, letting out a deep breath.
"Don't worry about it, you were stuck in a snow storm in Wisconsin," Deb laughed, shaking her head. "It's been two months since I've seen you! What have you been up to?"
"Is it okay if I go drop my stuff off, and then I come back down and fill you in?" He laughed, raising his eyebrows at her.
"If you must," Deb said, gesturing towards the staircase.
Nathan smiled at her, heading up the stairs to his old bedroom. He stepped inside, letting out a deep breath at the familiarity.
He preferred the much more relaxed look the room had now than it did when he was a teenager. He inwardly cringed at the posters that used to be on the walls. The one thing that still stood was the little basketball hoop he had on the back of the door, along with the foam ball that would still be in his desk drawer. Dan would never let Deb take that down.
He looked down when his phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling it out quickly and smiling slightly.
Haley.
Oh, Haley James. The root of his problems. He had not seen her since their conversation almost a month ago, but she was also in Tree Hill for the holiday.
He was sure he wouldn't see her that much though, because Quinn and Clay were here with their brand new son, Logan. And as much as Haley loved her nieces and nephews, Quinn's baby would be special to her.
She'd be getting in tomorrow.
Honestly, he wasn't quite sure how to react to her.
They texted each other quite often, and when they had the time, they'd sneak in a phone call or a video a chat.
But she'd said that he was going to fight for him.
What that meant... He wasn't entirely sure.
He knew that he was putty in her hands. No matter what she did, he'd fall for it. That's why he'd hoped they could be friends.
But he'd fall in love with her again. So easily, and so fast. It was just a fact; Nathan would do anything for her.
He shook his head, sending Haley a quick photo that he'd taken while stuck in the back seat with Logan in the car ride to Tree Hill from Charlotte.
He wasn't sure why he'd decided to ride with them, probably because Quinn and Clay made it seem like such a great idea. But he'd most likely try and find a plane ride back because a long drive with a crying baby was not something he'd particularly enjoyed.
He let out a deep breath, dropping his bag down on the bed and shaking his head. He loved his family. But spending time with them was stressful.
Deb could be overbearing, and he chalked that up to her being a pretty absent mother until he was a junior in high school. Dan could be just as overbearing, but in a different way.
They both had good intentions, most of the time anyways, and his relationship with them was much better than it had once been, but he didn't love sitting down and talking with them.
Thankfully, Lucas would be stopping by soon.
He stepped out of the room, heading down the stairs slowly, rubbing his neck.
He heard some noise in the kitchen, following the sound.
"Are you hungry? You had quite the long drive," Deb said, looking at him and raising her eyebrows.
"No, I'm alright," He said, smiling at her. "How are you doing?"
"I've been taking some art classes from Peyton, and it has been a lot of fun," Deb informed him, nodding quickly.
Nathan grinned at that, inwardly laughing. Maybe Deb was having a lot of fun. But Peyton sure wasn't enjoying it. Lucas had complained to him about it a couple weeks ago, grumbling on an on about how Mom had joined one of Peyton's classes and she was just terrible.
"Wow, Mom, that's great," He said, nodding at her and clearing his throat.
"I'm sure you heard about Dad being the new basketball coach too," Deb said, nodding at him.
Basketball coach was a bit of a stretch. Lucas was the coach, but Dan had some how talked him into letting him be the assistant coach.
"Yeah. How's that going?" He asked, leaning against the counter.
"Really well, actually. Dan says that he's patient, and Lucas actually backs him up on that," Deb informed him, nodding.
"As long as it's not me, he doesn't care, I guess," Nathan said, clearing his throat. "Sorry, that wasn't fair."
"He doesn't care, Nathan. You act like he holds a grudge against you because you didn't go to Duke, or to the NBA, but he doesn't care. We're proud of you," Deb said, reaching across the counter and resting her hand on Nathan's wrist.
Nathan had made the earlier mistake of setting his phone on the counter, and of course, it decided to vibrate, and of course, it couldn't have been Clay, or Lucas, or pretty much anyone else in the world. Nope. It was Haley, once again.
Nathan watched as Deb's eyes nosily flicked downward to his phone, before the widened at the name she saw.
"Do you go to a lot of games?" Nathan asked her quickly, lifting his phone up off the counter, briefly reading through the message, sliding it into his pocket casually.
Maybe she wouldn't bring it up if he didn't make a big deal.
"Some, but not a lot," Deb answered slowly, nodding at him. "How's work going for you?"
She was obviously still confused from the notification, but his plan of her not bringing it up had worked for now.
"Busy," Nathan answered, letting out a deep breath. "Ever since Clay went on paternity leave, I've been extremely busy."
"Ah, yes. How is little Logan?" Deb asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"Pretty damn perfect," Nathan chuckled, running his hand through his hair.
"I want to meet him while they're here. They should've stopped in when they dropped you off," She said, shaking her head.
"Yeah, well I think Lydia was pretty anxious to see him," Nathan said, clearing his throat and sighing softly. He needed to move away from the James family if he wanted his mom to keep her nose out of his business.
"I think she'd like to see you too," Deb said, nodding at him.
"Not likely," Nathan answered, clearing his throat. "What time did Luke say he was coming by?"
"I think pretty soon," Deb informed him. "Lee and Sawyer are bouncing off the walls excited to see you."
"I'm excited to see them," Nathan said, smiling brightly. "It seems like they grow a foot every time I see them."
"What did you get them this year?" She hummed, raising her eyebrows.
"Wouldn't you like to know," He responded, smirking slightly.
"Oh, Nathan, just tell me," Deb complained, rolling her eyes.
"No freaking way," He laughed, shrugging. He looked over when he heard the garage door opening. "There's Dad, guess we're going to have to cut this conversation short."
It was only a second before Dan walked into the room, carrying grocery bags in his arms.
"Nathan," Dan greeted him, smiling at his son. "Good to see you, son."
"Hey, dad," Nathan said, walking over and taking some of the groceries from him.
"Let me guess, still no girlfriend with you?" Dan asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Not this year," Nathan said, setting the groceries on the counter.
"How are we supposed to get more grand kids?" Dan asked, pulling Nathan into a brief hug when the grocery bags were all on the counter. "Lucas and Peyton say they're done, Nathan is too busy to date. Deb, I knew we should've had another one."
"Clay just had one, maybe we can take him on as our honorary grand kid," Deb suggested, raising her eyebrows.
Nathan knew Dan would veto that idea quick. He didn't like Clay that much. Nathan figured it was because he blamed him for him deciding against the NBA, but he wasn't positive on that.
"I think that kid probably has enough grandparents," Dan said, shaking his head.
"I can set up a date for you while you're in town, Nathan, if you want..." Deb suggested, looking at him.
Was she testing him? He had no idea what to say back. If he said no, she'd immediately jump to Haley most likely.
"Maybe," Nathan said, shrugging. "Depends on who it is. Plus, I'm mostly here to spend time with you guys."
"Well, it's Theresa, the girl you went to high school with. Her mom is in Peyton's art class with me. She got divorced last year and moved home. Now she sells beauty products on social media," Deb said, placing air quotes around the last part.
"In other words, she's involved in a pyramid scheme," Nathan chuckled, shaking his head. "You know, Mom, I don't think I want to go on a date. Really, I'm just looking forward to a relaxing vacation with my family. Check with me in a couple days."
"Guess who I ran into at the store," Dan said, clearing his throat, beginning to put the groceries away.
"Who?" Deb asked, raising her eyebrows.
Please don't say Jimmy or Lydia James, please don't say Jimmy or Lydia, Please don't-
"Jimmy," Dan said, looking over at Nathan. "He said that Haley is going to be in town for Christmas."
"Dad," Nathan warned, shaking his head.
"What, Nathan? It's been forever, you don't need to throw a fit every time you hear her name," Dan said, looking at him.
Nathan could feel Deb staring at him suspiciously.
This was all so confusing, and he didn't want to explain it to his family.
"Apparently she's not dating that guy that she was last Christmas when she didn't come home," Dan told Deb, shrugging his shoulders.
"Dad," Nathan said again, letting out a deep breath. "Can you just drop it? Please?"
"We can talk about it later, Dan," Deb said, nodding at him then looking at Nathan.
"Someone has to say it to him, Deb. Nathan, you're not going to find someone if you hold onto the anger forever. What are you going to do if you run into her? I'm telling you as a warning. Somehow, I think this is the first year that you've both in Tree Hill for Christmas since you broke up," Dan said, shaking his head.
"Dan, just stop," Deb said, sighing softly.
"She is Lucas' best friend and he can hardly say a word without Nathan leaving the room. It's been six years, Nathan. It's a problem now," Dan scolded him.
Nathan scowled at him, letting out a deep breath. Things never changed, did they? His relationship with his dad was fine now, but there were still times when he made him feel so small.
"He just got here, Dan. Stop it," Deb ordered him, scowling at her husband.
They had what Nathan could only describe as a silent argument, before Dan clearly conceited.
Nathan sighed, pushing his hand through his hair. "I'm going to go for a walk."
"Come on, Nathan," Deb said, shaking her head. "He's done."
"I'm done, son. I'm sorry. She's right, you just got home, you don't need me hounding you," Dan said, resting his hand on his shoulder.
"I just need to make a phone call. It's for work, and I forgot about it until now," He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"You promised no work," Deb said, frowning at him.
"Well, let's just call it even because you've made the same promise to me thousands of times," Nathan said, heading to the front door, sliding on his shoes and jacket, heading outside.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, sighing as it hovered over Haley's name.
What was he doing? He shouldn't do this...
But like his thumb had a mind of it's own, he tapped on her name in his call history, calling her again.
"Nathan," Haley greeted warmly after a couple of rings.
"Hey," He said, smiling slightly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm on my way home from school. Students got out at one, but I was grading their end of semester papers, so I stayed until three," She informed him, humming softly.
"Sounds brutal," He laughed, feeling the sense of warmth that talking to her always brought him.
"Some of them are," She laughed. "What are you doing? Didn't you just get home?"
"I did," He told her, sighing softly. "But, I'm on a walk to calm myself down. My dad can be an ass sometimes."
"Dan Scott? You're kidding," She said sarcastically.
"Yeah, and my mom has already tried to set me up on a date," He informed her, chuckling quietly.
"Welcome home, Nathan," She hummed, laughing into the phone.
"I shouldn't be surprised. It's fine though," He said, sighing softly. "Have you, uh, told your parents about us?"
"Us? I didn't realize that I'd already worn you down," Haley joked.
"You know what I meant," He responded, rolling his eyes an laughing.
"No, I don't want to answer all the questions," She said, humming softly. "Should I have told them?"
"No, I mean- you could've if you wanted to, but I don't think this needs to be a big deal," He said, sighing softly. "I haven't even told Lucas."
"I haven't told him either," Haley informed him.
"I'm pretty sure my mom saw your name on my screen when you texted me though, but she hasn't asked me about it," He laughed, running his hand through his hair.
"Oh well," Haley hummed, laughing quietly. "I'm sorry your dad can be an ass."
"I'm used to it. I just needed to hear a friendly voice," He said, smiling slightly. "What time is your flight tomorrow?"
"Early. Like five-thirty," She groaned, shaking her head.
"Yikes. That's not fun. At least you didn't have to drive with Clay, Quinn, and Logan," He laughed.
"Stop bragging, I haven't even seen him yet," Haley pouted.
"He's cute. When he yawns- what is it with baby yawns? They turn me into mush," Nathan groaned, shaking his head. "He likes me."
"I bet he does," Haley hummed, sighing softly. "I'm excited to see him."
"I bet you are," Nathan said, turning around and letting out a deep breath when he saw a car pull into his parent's driveway from down the street. "I think Luke just pulled into the driveway, so I have to go."
"Okay, I haven't even started packing yet so that will take me all night, I'm sure I'll unpack and repack about eighty times," She said, laughing.
"You wouldn't be you if you didn't. I'll text you, okay?" He said, humming softly.
"Okay," She replied. "Oh, and Nathan... I'm excited to see you too."
Nathan smiled at her words, clearing his throat. "Yeah, you too, Hales," He said, hanging up the phone, beginning to head back towards his parents house.
He didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he felt better after talking to her. And now he was going to see Lee and Sawyer, and that was going to help his mood do a one-eighty.
When he approached the house, they were just getting out of the car.
"Uh, Nate, what are you doing?" Lucas asked, raising his eyebrows and walking over to him.
"Oh, you know, I've been home for like fifteen minutes and then I decided to take a walk because they were overwhelming me," Nathan laughed, pulling Lucas into a quick hug.
"Sounds like them. Let me guess- grand kids and dating?" Lucas asked, raising his eyebrows.
"They threw the James family in there as well," He said, shrugging.
"Oh, yikes," Lucas laughed, ruffling Nathan's hair.
"Don't worry about it, Luke, I've got the kids," Peyton said sarcastically, lifting Sawyer onto the ground.
"I'm dealing with a crisis," Lucas joked, turning to her and stepping over to the car.
"Uncle Nathan!" Sawyer said, running over to him and jumping into his arms.
Nathan lifted her up and spun her around. "Sawyer! I missed you!" He said, smiling brightly.
"You didn't come for Thanksgiving!" She scolded him, frowning at him.
"I know, I was stuck in a huge snow storm," He said, shaking his head. "You know that I never would have missed seeing you on purpose."
She hugged him again, before squirming in his arms until he put her down.
Peyton approached him with Lee in her arms, smiling at him. "Hey," She hummed, handing Lee over to him.
"Peyton," Nathan said, nodding at her and smiling down at Lee. "Hey buddy," He greeted, laughing when he made a happy, squealing noise.
"Maybe we should go inside," Lucas suggested, grabbing onto Sawyer's hand.
"I guess," Nathan chuckled, following them inside.
He hoped that Deb had not told Dan about the text she saw on his phone. It was just... A delicate subject and he was treading lightly. He didn't want to bring other people into this until he figured out exactly what it was. Maybe she'd figure that she misread the name if he never said anything about it.
After a few hours of hanging out, Lucas and Peyton were ready to go back to their house. Both the sleeping children were rested on Luke's shoulder, exhausted from wrestling with Nathan all night.
Nathan expected Peyton was going to jump on him as soon as Lucas left the room to go put the kids in the car, and she did just that.
"Nathan, you never followed up," Peyton whispered to him, raising her eyebrows.
"I know, sorry. I've been pretty busy," He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. He fished his phone out of his pocket, holding it out to show her that he had yet another message from Haley.
"What does it mean?" She asked, looking up at him. "Let me read," She said, gesturing for him to unlock the phone.
"No," He laughed, pushing her hand away. "We're, uh, friends," He answered, clearing his throat. "I decided to be friends, but she told me she wants to fight for me. So, we'll see how that goes. You know my willpower," He whispered, glancing around in case his parents were anywhere near. He could still hear them in the kitchen though.
"Oh yeah, good luck," Peyton laughed, tapping his chest. "I can't believe she said that. Wow."
"I know, I was pretty shocked. Honestly, I still haven't processed it," He said, sighing softly.
"We'll have to talk more about this later," Peyton said, grinning at him. "Are you going to see her?"
"Probably. I never really did the sneaking out of the house thing when I was a teenager, I pretty much walked through the front door and told my parents to screw off if they asked questions, so this is going to be fun," Nathan chuckled, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, well I have no tips. I pretty much lived alone," She said, shrugging.
He laughed, high-fiving her. "Damn, we were such a power couple," He joked, smirking at her. "We could do whatever we wanted with no one there to tell us not to do it."
"Oh lord," Peyton laughed, rolling her eyes. "Goodbye, Nathan."
"Bye, Peyt," He said, hugging her briefly. "I'll see you tomorrow," He hummed, stepping outside with her and waving at Lucas.
When the car was gone, he let out a deep breath and went back inside to face the madness.
xxxx
A smirk formed on Nathan's face as he watched Lucas try to calm down Lee, trying to stifle a laugh to not alert Sawyer that he thought it was funny.
"Stop," Lucas said, shaking his head and glaring at him.
"I'm not doing anything," Nathan said defensively.
"Lee, stop crying," Lucas said, letting out a deep breath. "You can't have the cookies right now."
As expected, that made him start crying louder.
"Well..." Nathan said, tapping his hands on his legs. He looked down when Sawyer whined, letting out a deep breath when he saw her start to tear up.
"Lee, when we get to the car you can have some..." Lucas said, shaking his head quickly.
"I think I'm going to go buy some beer. Wait- is it okay to buy beer when there are kids with you?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Wait, what?" Lucas asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah, I mean... You seem to have this under control," Nathan said, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. "Oh! I have some gummy worms in my pocket!" He said, pulling out an opened pack.
"Okay, I have so many questions as to why they are just there but that doesn't matter, hand them over. Shove some in Sawyer's mouth first, then you can go," Lucas said, nodding his head.
Nathan laughed, giving a few to Sawyer then handing the nearly empty pack to Luke. "Uh, good luck. I'll meet back up with you in a minute."
Lucas sent him a look that could only be described as a mix of desperation and annoyance, before Nathan hurried away from the tearful mess that was suing.
Perks of being an uncle and not a dad. Leaving the crying kids to go buy beer.
He tapped his fingers on his legs, letting out a deep breath as he turned down the aisle, nearly bumping into a cart that was exiting.
"Oh, sorry-" He said, looking up and raising his eyebrows at who was in front of him.
Jimmy and Lydia James were exiting the aisle, which a shit ton of alcohol in their cart.
"Nathan!" Lydia said, raising her eyebrows in surprise, a wide smile forming on her face.
"What are you guys doing?" He laughed, gesturing to their cart, shaking his head.
"Oh, you know us," Lydia said, stepping away from the cart and hugging Nathan tightly, probably tighter than any hug his own mother had ever given him.
He'd see the James family quite a few times over the years, but he generally tried to avoid them.
He just felt awkward seeing them.
Understandably, since their daughter destroyed him.
"We have quite the crew coming to our house, so we're trying to be good hosts," Jimmy informed him, smiling and hugging him quickly. "Good to see you, Nate!"
"It's good to see you guys too," He informed them, letting out a deep breath, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"We heard about the drive," Lydia laughed, patting his arm.
"It was interesting," Nathan said, shaking his head.
"You planning on riding back with them on the second?" Jimmy asked, raising his eyebrows.
"As of right now, unless I'm needed back sooner," Nathan said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Good lord, you work too much," Lydia said, shaking her head and scowling at him.
Nathan held his hands up defensively, laughing quietly. "I work the correct amount for me."
"I was there for a week when Logan was born and didn't see you once," She said, shaking her finger at him.
"I was out of town," He defended, shrugging his shoulders.
"Your mom said you missed Thanksgiving," Lydia said, sending him a pointed look.
"Well, you can't believe everything you hear. My mom used to be a druggie, you know?" He said, shrugging.
"I saw your dad here last night and he said that you work a lot too," Jimmy said, shaking his head.
"Why are you back at the store if you were here last night?" Nathan asked him, clearing his throat.
"Imagine that, I forgot something," Jimmy said, letting out an annoyed sigh.
"Sensitive subject," Lydia informed him, rubbing Jimmy's back.
"I'll drop it," Nathan chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, I do work a lot. But I like it. I mean, if I didn't, I don't know what else I'd do."
"Have a life," Jimmy joked, patting his shoulder and shaking his head.
"Now I know you've been talking to my parents about it," Nathan laughed, rolling his eyes. "Do you mind if I..." He gestured down the aisle.
"Not at all," Jimmy said, nodding.
Nathan stepped past them, looking up at the aisle and rubbing his neck, letting out a deep breath.
"I hope there's some left, after we cleaned it all out," Lydia joked, gesturing to their cart.
"Yeah, no kidding. If you catch me sneaking in during the middle of the night, it's because you took my favorite," Nathan laughed, winking at her.
"Oh great, and he knows all the places to sneak in without us catching him," Jimmy groaned, clapping Nathan on the back and laughing.
"That I do," Nathan said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"We've since fixed the lock on Haley's window, so that won't work," Jimmy said, leaning against his own cart.
"I'd hope so after what- ten years of it being broken?" Nathan chuckled, shaking his head.
"One random guy sneaks through her window while she's home, and it's a big deal," Lydia said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "We told him that she was home, he must have just forgot."
Nathan raised his eyebrows, looking over at her.
"I'm kidding," Lydia said, squeezing Nathan's arm and laughing.
"I figured," He responded, laughing quietly.
"You guys are still in this aisle-"
Nathan looked over when none other than Haley James entered the aisle.
"Nathan," She said, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
Wow. She looked beautiful. In a totally platonic way, of course. Even after waking up at three Arizona time, then a five hour flight, and probably not getting any sleep. Maybe on the flight. But at least when they were dating, she never slept on planes.
"Nathan, you remember our daughter, Haley," Jimmy joked, probably trying to alleviate some tension from the slightly awkward situation.
"I think so," Nathan said softly, clearing his throat and offering her a small smile. "Hi," He said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"I was a little concerned about the amount of time they were spending in here, but now I see why," Haley said, smiling and tossing the stuff from her arms into the cart. "Hi."
"We've become alcoholics in the last year. Just wanted to try it out," Lydia laughed, nodding at him.
"Oh, it's not as fun as it sounds," Nathan said, shaking his head. "Hard to decide if I had been an alcoholic or if I was just a senior in college."
"Probably a bit of both," Lydia said, nodding at him.
"We're not actually buying all of this," Jimmy said, gesturing to the cart. "We just wanted to see Haley's reaction."
"Something tells me I wouldn't have questioned it," Haley said, letting out a deep breath and stepping up to her parents side.
"Hi Haley," Nathan greeted her once again, offering her another smile.
She stepped forward, hugging him quickly and letting out a deep breath.
"I have to say, I wasn't expecting to run into you here," Haley chuckled, patting his arm lightly, taking her spot next to her dad once again.
"Yeah, Luke wanted me to come with him. He's around here somewhere. Kids were crying so I bailed," Nathan chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.
"Luke is here?" Haley asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah, but he's been a real bitch today," Nathan chuckled, shaking his head.
"Not to me he won't be," Haley informed him, humming softly.
Lydia laughed, starting to put some of the bottles from their car back on the shelves.
"How's my boy Logan doing?" Nathan asked, nodding at Haley.
"He's incredible," Haley said, letting out a deep breath. "I mean- I only spent a little while with him before I was forced to make a trip to the store, but he is so cute."
"He cries so much," Nathan said, shaking his head. "I don't know, I'm not around kids enough to put up with the crying."
"When they're your own, it's much worse because you're the one that has to deal with the crying," Jimmy said, shaking his head. "And then they're 28, and they call home crying and then you make them cry even harder because you make stupid jokes and they just want to talk to mom!"
"Dad," Haley said, shaking her head and letting out an annoyed sigh.
Nathan chuckled quietly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Lucas goes through it with me, but I say that I just want to talk to Peyton," He joked, clearing his throat.
"Now I know that's not true because no one is old enough to have a home phone anymore, well, except these two," Haley said, gesturing to her parents.
"Oh, sweet Haley. Why couldn't you stay kind forever?" Jimmy said, resting his hand over his heart.
Nathan smiled slightly, clearing his throat. "Well, I should probably get going..." He trailed off, grabbing a six pack and a couple of different bottles out of their cart, nodding at them.
"So soon?" Lydia asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah, you know, Lucas is probably looking for me," Nathan said, offering her a smile.
"Well come give me another hug," Lydia said, gesturing for him to come over.
Nathan nodding, walking over and hugging her tightly.
Lydia pressed a kiss to his cheek, rubbing his back. "Don't be a stranger. Love you."
"You too," Nathan said, letting out a deep breath. "See ya later, Jimmy," He said, nodding at him. "Uh, bye Hales."
"Bye," Haley said, smiling at him.
He started to quickly head out of the aisle, beginning to poke his head down other aisles.
After a moment of walking, he heard Haley calling out to him.
"Nathan, wait!"
He turned around, raising his eyebrows at her and sending her a questioning look.
She jogged over to him, pushing him down the aisle he was closest to. "Sorry, I know they'll watch, but this way they can't."
"Alright," He said, letting out a deep breath and looking down at her, feeling much more relaxed next to her now than he had a minute ago.
"Hi," She greeted him again, a smile on her face.
"Hey," He said, returning her grin.
"I didn't think I'd see you so soon, honestly. I was really grumbling about going to the store and leaving Quinn, but this makes it better," She hummed, tapping his chest.
"I'm glad I can make a trip to the store bearable," He laughed, winking at her.
He couldn't help but flirt a little bit... I mean she was Haley. Fourteen year old Nathan would be kicking him if he didn't.
"You look nice," She complimented, rubbing her hand down his arm to 'feel how soft' the sweater he was wearing was.
"Would you believe me if I said I picked this out myself?" He chuckled, raising his eyebrows.
"Not for a second. Quinn, for sure," She said, shaking her head and smiling. "You smell good too."
"Oh yeah, also Quinn," He said, nodding at her. "I wonder what your parents are thinking right now."
"They were urging me to run after you and talk to you. I was just going to let you go and call you later," She informed him, shaking her head.
"That doesn't sound like the idea of someone who wants to win me back," He joked, clearing his throat and raising his eyebrows at her.
"I'm taking it slow," She said, humming softly. "Unless you want me to speed things up? Because I definitely can," She informed him, taking a step closer to him.
Nathan felt his heart rate skyrocket. He rarely felt nervous around women, but Haley James was a whole different story. She always had been.
"You know that I just want to be friends so your advances don't make a difference, no matter how fast or slow you go," He said quietly, his voice cracking a bit.
"Mhm," She said, standing on her toes and reaching for the shelf behind him, nearly pressed up against him now.
Nathan swallowed thickly, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath.
Just friends, just friends, just friends...
"Sorry, I just needed some..." Haley whispered in his ear, grabbing the first item that her hand touched, falling back on her heels when she saw it. "Tuna fish in a can. Nice," She groaned, laughing.
Nathan started laughed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "Oh, sexy," He commented, taking it from her and setting it back on the shelf.
"You couldn't have gone down a different aisle?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"You pushed me down here!" He defended, still laughing pretty hard at her failed attempt to make him break.
"Stop laughing, you jerk," She said, pushing on his chest lightly, beginning to laugh with him.
"Sorry, Hales," He defended, shaking his head. He made his voice low and husky, making eye contact with her, "Tuna fish in a can? Let me put it all over your body and eat it off you."
"Don't make fun of me," She laughed, shaking her head and grinning at him.
"You know what really gets me going? Follow me down the cat food aisle," He said, using his free hand and grabbing her wrist and pretending like he was going to pull her away quickly.
"I'm done, no more fighting for you," She said, holding up her hands to surrender. "Buddies it is."
He laughed, tugging her wrist towards him, pulling her into a hug.
"Don't you know that I'm running on no sleep? It's not nice to harass me," She said, resting her head against his shoulder, letting out a deep breath.
"That's what friends are for, Haley. It's in the rule book, I have to harass you," He said, laughing quietly. "That was so funny."
She smiled, pinching his side lightly, laughing when he jumped away. "No, that's funny."
"Don't you dare, Haley," He said, pushing at her hands.
Nathan had never been ticklish until Haley James had done it to him. And he had not been ticklish since they broke up.
She smiled, looking up at him and shaking her head. "God, I missed you," She whispered to him, letting out a deep breath.
He smiled slightly at her word, nodding slowly to show her that he agreed. He hugged her tightly once more, before releasing her and taking a step back. "I'll see you later. I really should go find Lucas."
"Yeah," She said, letting out a deep breath. "Hopefully I run into him too. Although, I don't think it will go anything like this. Never tell anyone about the tuna thing, please."
"Will do," He laughed, winking at her. "See you later, Hales..."
"Hope so. Bye, buddy," She hummed, squeezing his bicep, before practically skipping out of the aisle.
Nathan laughed to himself, turning around and grabbing the same tuna can off the shelf, shaking his head. Might as well buy this to tease her with later.
He left the aisle, glancing over his shoulder and heading off to find Lucas.
xxxx
"So, how's everything actually going?" Lucas asked, raising his eyebrows and passing Nathan the basketball.
After they'd returned back to their parents house, Lucas had suggested they go out and shoot hoops since they had a free babysitter in their mother.
"You know, not bad," Nathan said, shooting the ball towards the hoop, grinning when it sailed in.
"Really?" Lucas asked, looking at him again.
Nathan let out a deep breath, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know what you want me to say, Luke. Things are the same as they've always been."
"Have a girlfriend?" Lucas asked, shooting the ball when Nathan tossed it to him.
"Not at the moment," He said, breathing onto his hands to warm them up.
"A girl that comes by on those lonely nights?" Lucas questioned him, dribbling the ball on the black top driveway, before tossing it to Nathan.
"Not recently. I've been busy," Nathan informed him, shaking his head. "Clay's been out with the pregnancy, and then the baby."
"How does it feel to know that if Peyton and I ever went somewhere with Clay and Quinn, and we all died, you'd have all three kids?" Lucas asked him, laughing.
"That's kind of a dark thought," Nathan told him, scowling and shaking his head. "Spending too much time with Peyton."
"She's my wife," Lucas reminded him, laughing. "I guess the kids would all go to you and to Haley."
Nathan nodded, shooting the ball up from the free throw line, watching it sail in, before going to retrieve it.
"Speaking of..." Lucas trailed off, clearing his throat. "You weren't that freaked out when we ran into her in the store. What's up with that?"
Nathan looked over at him, passing the ball to him quickly.
A lot of little brothers dreamed of talking girls with their older brothers. But that wasn't him. Lucas and him were close, but Nathan had always had this 'I'm better than him' vibe that he'd put out when they were younger that stunted the girl-talk. Especially since Nathan had dated quite a few girls, and then dated Peyton, and then went back to dating quite a few girls until he started dating Haley. It would've been difficult for Lucas to keep up. Not to mention, two of those women were the most important women in his older brother's life.
Nathan almost smiled at the memory of them running into the three James family members again. He was pretty sure Haley had searched the whole store for Lucas. She'd found them just before they were going to check out. And when she'd seen the can in their cart, he swore she would've punched him if other people had not been around.
She really was magnificent.
"Nathan?" Lucas asked him, raising his eyebrows, bringing him from his thoughts.
"I don't know, Luke, it's been a long time. We're adults," Nathan answered, letting out a deep breath. "I'd already run into them in the store."
"You didn't tell me?" Lucas asked him, shooting the ball.
"What was I supposed to say? I didn't want to get bombarded with questions," Nathan said, going to get the rebound, jumping up and dunking it.
"So just like that... You're not going to be weird about it? Even after your freak out at Dad last night?" Lucas asked, raising his eyebrows and laughing.
"Freak out is a bit of an exaggerated term, but I don't know..." Nathan said, passing the ball to him. "What's the point? Would you rather I yell at her?"
"I don't know, maybe," Luke said, shaking his head. "I mean, I love her, but you never had your chance to yell at her."
Nathan felt a little bit guilty for not telling Lucas any of the thoughts going through his head. When this all eventually comes out, he was going to be the one to get upset that he didn't know they'd been talking again. His brother and his best friend. And his wife had played her own hand in this all.
Not to mention, there's no way he could trust his mom to not talk to anyone about it. If she told his dad, then his dad would use it as leverage somehow.
"Hey, Luke... I have to tell you something," Nathan said, clearing his throat and looking at him.
Lucas looked over, raising his eyebrows. "Okay..."
"The thing is..." Nathan trailed off, rubbing his neck.
"Oh, wait. I'm getting a call," Lucas said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Speak of the devil," He chuckled, looking at Nathan. "Can I answer this?"
"Go ahead," Nathan said, clearing his throat.
"Hey," Lucas answered, a smile forming on his face. "Nothing, I'm just shooting some hoops at my parents house."
Nathan tapped his hands on his legs, catching the ball when Lucas passed it to him.
"I don't know, I'll have to check. You can pretty much count Peyton and I in though. I'm sure she'll be fine," Lucas laughed, clearing his throat. After a moment, he hummed softly. "Are you sure?"
Nathan stepped back, shooting the ball into the hoop and shaking his head.
"Okay, well if you're sure, I'll ask," Lucas said, letting out a deep breath. "Okay, I'll talk to you later, Hales. Bye."
Nathan went to retrieve the ball, running his hand through his hair.
"So, a few of our friends from high school are getting together tonight. You know, Skills, Mouth, those guys," Lucas said, clearing his throat.
"Yes, I can watch the kids," Nathan laughed, trying to ease the tension that was building up inside of him. He knew that wasn't what Lucas was going to ask him to do, but it felt right to make a joke.
"Yeah, after the store? No way," Lucas laughed, rolling his eyes. "Haley actually wanted to know if you wanted to come too."
Nathan paused, looking over at Lucas and letting out a deep breath.
Should he go?