Okay, this Author's note is a little bit longer, but it's kind of important. I know a lot of you saw that I actually updated this story, but I quickly took the update down because I panicked a little at the potential reaction to this chapter. So... I decided to do something a bit unusual. I wrote a second version of this chapter. The one that I'm currently uploading is a little bit more... Risky, but I like it better. But, if you guys absolutely hate this chapter, I'll go ahead and replace it with the other one, that is a little bit more on the safe side. Please, let me know! I want this story to be something you guys love, and if this chapter just really doesn't do it for you, I want to try again.
Thanks again for all the love! Really, it makes my day every time I see a new review, and I often go back and read older ones too. I wasn't originally going to end this chapter here, but I felt like this was a good stopping point.
For the purpose of the story, I decided that Lydia is going to own a cafe instead of Karen or Deb.
Thank you!
"So, Nathan..."
Nathan glanced up when none other than Taylor James took a seat next to him. He was sitting at a table with Clay and Quinn, holding Logan in his arms.
"Taylor, hi," He said, offering her a smile.
"I can't believe you didn't drop the kid and come running with excitement when you saw me walk in," Taylor hummed, before glancing across the table at the Evans. "I'm kidding, of course."
"I'm so sorry, I just thought I missed you when I came in. I guess I assumed there was no way you would show up to your own family's party a half hour late," He hummed, handing Logan carefully across the table to Clay, before wrapping his arm around Taylor, hugging her briefly from the side.
"Well, we usually do it at the house and not here, but it seems like there are way more people this year so mom wanted a bigger space," Taylor hummed, gesturing around.
Nathan looked around the place that Lucas had spent quite a bit of time in his life; Lydia's Lounge. Lydia had opened it up when Haley and Lucas were both freshman in high school, giving them both a great place to work in their free time. Quinn and Taylor had also worked there until they left, if he remembered correctly.
There had been many times that he'd come here and Haley had helped him with his homework between busy periods.
"It doesn't happen very often that five of the seven James kids are around," Nathan said, chuckling quietly. "Not to mention a few family friends on top of that," He said, meeting Lydia's best friend Marion's eyes as he glanced around, offering her a wave.
"And the Scott family. Which is something I never thought I'd see again," Taylor hummed, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Leave it," Quinn hummed from across the table, nodding at Taylor.
Taylor smiled at Quinn, before looking back at Nathan, nodding at him.
"Yeah, well, Lucas and my mom really wanted to come," Nathan said, shrugging. "Plus, it's nice to see everyone."
"I see," Taylor said, patting Nathan's arm. "Well I know I like to see you, especially with the beard. It's working for me."
"You know, almost every single person I've spoken to tonight has made a comment about it," Nathan said, glancing across the table. "Did I look weird without it?"
"No," Quinn assured him, laughing. "You just look like a man, not a kid. Remember, a lot of these people haven't seen you in awhile."
"Are you dating anyone?" Taylor asked him, raising her eyebrows and cutting off Quinn.
"Uh, no. Not at the moment," Nathan answered, clearing his throat and shifting slightly.
"What's with the interrogation, Taylor?" Clay asked from across the table.
"I haven't seen him in awhile, Clay. Just trying to catch up," Taylor hummed, smiling at him.
"But if you know anyone, I'm available," Nathan chuckled, brushing Taylor off with a head shake.
This is how she was. He wasn't going to let her make him uncomfortable. She was absolutely harmless. To everyone except Haley, of course, who let it get under her skin.
"Well, I'd take you for myself if you weren't five years younger than me and my sister's ex, but I'll go ahead and keep looking for you," Taylor hummed, standing up and ruffling Nathan's hair. "Catch ya later, Nater."
Nathan laughed, looking up at her and rolling his eyes. "Never say that ever again," He said, shaking his head.
"Now that I hear it out loud, it doesn't sound as clever as I thought," Taylor laughed, leaning down and hugging him again. "It's good to see you again."
"Yeah, you too," Nathan hummed, shrugging his shoulders and smiling slightly as she walked away.
"Taylor James, ladies and gentleman," Quinn said, rolling her eyes and smiling at her sister's retreating form.
"The one and only. She's probably going to go get drunk in the freezer now," Nathan laughed, rolling his eyes.
He swallowed thickly when he made eye contact with Haley, who tilted her head towards the staircase that lead up to the roof.
He nodded ever so slightly in response, watching as she attempted to wrap up her conversation with Peyton.
He looked back over to Clay and Quinn, shrugging his shoulders at smirks on both of their faces.
"Stop it," Nathan said, shaking his head.
"Did she just call you up for a mid-party quickie?" Quinn asked him, leaning forward and raising her eyebrows. "You know her signals probably better than I do."
"No," Nathan grumbled, crossing his arms and shaking his head, glancing over again when he saw her head up the stairs.
"You two are trouble," Clay laughed, covering Logan's eyes. "I don't want him to know what his responsible, put together, Aunt Haley is becoming."
"I'm surprised you two lasted this long," Quinn teased, winking at him.
"Okay, you guys are the worst and I regret ever introducing you," Nathan hummed, standing up. "I know that this could end really badly, but everything before that is going to be a lot of fun. Now if you'll excuse me..." He trailed off, before heading towards the stairs.
The previous night had been nothing short of incredible. But, every back seat of another person's car make out session he'd ever had with Haley had been. Even with the baby car seat holding stabbing into either of them every once and awhile. He did feel a little bad, but it wouldn't be the first time.
They'd gotten a few things off their chest, and who knew the empty space could be filled so quickly with each other.
It didn't change anything, like Haley promised. They weren't a couple, and it was still an uphill battle, but the idea didn't feel quite as heavy to him.
"Oh, Nathan!" Deb called him, causing his head to twist towards her quickly, a sigh falling from him.
"Yes?" Nathan asked, stepping over and raising his eyebrows.
"I was just telling Lydia and Marion about Theresa," Deb said, clearing her throat.
She was way too excited about the idea of him having a girlfriend. This was about to be awkward as hell.
"Mom," Nathan said, shaking his head and shoving his hands into his pockets.
"No need to be shy about it, Nathan," Lydia urged him, a genuine smile on her face.
Probably no one would ever love him more than Lydia James did, and that was a fact.
"There's nothing to tell, really," Nathan assured them, shaking his head.
"Oh, nonsense," Marion urged him, winking up at him. "Tell us."
"I went to high school with her," Nathan informed them, sighing softly.
What else could he say? He didn't even really remember the color of her eyes. He felt slightly bad lying to them, but he couldn't exactly tell the truth right now.
Not to mention he wanted to go upstairs.
And he really didn't want to talk about this with anyone, let alone Lydia James. Even if the dates were fake, it was still weird.
"Her mom was crazier than me, dare I say it," Deb informed Lydia, laughing.
"I don't know if it gets any crazier than you, Mom," Nathan joked, changing the subject quickly, wrapping his arm around his mom's shoulders, pulling her into a friendly side hug.
"I'll drink to that," Dan said as he approached, nodding at them.
"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get some air," He said, clearing his throat and hurrying away. He glanced over his shoulder as he approached the staircase that led to the roof to make sure no one was watching him, well, except for Clay and Quinn who were giving him inappropriate gestures and then laughing extremely hard to each other about it.
He walked up the stairs slowly, letting out a deep breath.
This was a risky move on their part. They could easily be caught, and what would their excuse even be?
He shook his head, trying to push all of the negative, worrisome thoughts out of his head for once and just be with Haley.
He smiled slightly as he stepped through the door, seeing her standing by the edge and staring out at their hometown.
He took a moment to pause and admire her. Like really, admire her. She'd aged, if he could even call it that, so eloquently. She just got better and better. Like fine wine. And boy, did he want a drink. He wanted to get drunk on her, time and time again.
She was like a drug to him. A drug that instead of tearing him apart, lifts him up and actually makes him feel good about himself.
"You summoned me?" He asked, stepping up next to her, glancing down at her.
"It's funny how quickly we stepped back into sneaking out of parties," Haley informed him, looking up at him and smiling. "Hi."
"Hey," He said, looking out at Tree Hill. "A little cold up here, don't you think?"
"Maybe," She said, shrugging her shoulders. "But, I figured that shivering up here with you was better than answering the same questions my mom's friends ask me every time I see them."
"Well your mom asked me about my new girlfriend Theresa," He said, shaking his head. "This is going to be a mess, hm?"
"Maybe," She laughed, shrugging her shoulders and looking up at him.
Here it comes...
"I saw you talking to Taylor," She began again, clearing her throat.
Yep. He knew that's what she was going to say.
He laughed, kicking at the ground. "She was just saying hi, Hales. I haven't seen her in a couple years."
"I have a hard time believing Taylor just said hi to you," Haley hummed, shrugging.
"She did," He laughed, shaking his head. "You don't need to be jealous."
"Nathan, I'm not jealous," Haley said, looking up at him. "You think I don't know that you've been itching to talk to me all night?"
He smiled at her, raising his arm, nodding down at her.
She easily slid into his side hug, her hand wrapping around his waist, letting out a deep breath.
Now it wasn't that cold. He could probably stay up here all night. He had a warmth inside of him that he had not felt in a long time. A feeling of peace that wouldn't have been there a couple days ago.
"You know, I always felt weird coming up here," He told her, looking down at her and smiling.
"Why's that?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at him.
"This was always you and Luke's place," He informed her, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh, whatever. Just because Lucas and I liked to come up here and talk doesn't mean it's our place," She laughed, tapping his stomach lightly.
"You would write your predictions," He said, humming softly.
"Whatever you want to think," She said, shaking her head.
A smirk suddenly formed on his face as a thought popped into his brain, looking down at her quickly.
"What's that look?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.
"Actually, you know what, we turned this into our place," He said, gesturing around.
She thought about what he said for a moment, before gasping and pushing him lightly.
"What? It's funny," He laughed, shrugging his shoulders.
"You never told him about that, did you?" She asked him, shaking her head quickly. "We still come up here! He'd never want to come if he found out."
"Then I could meet you instead," He said, smirking slightly, turning to face her.
"In your dreams," She whispered, stepping closer to her.
"Already happened in my dreams," He informed her, winking at her. "And in real life."
"He would be mortified," She said, shaking her head. "We've been hanging out up here since we were kids."
He laughed, his hands coming to rest again on her waist. "Did I tell you how much fun I had last night?"
He knew he had. He'd repeatedly told her, because it was true. They'd had a great end to their date.
"Mm... I don't think so," She whispered, standing on her toes, resting her hands against his chest.
"I did," He said, his forehead coming to rest on hers.
She took the lead this time, which felt right since she'd pretty much led every single part of their relationship since they'd known each other.
She was unlike any other woman he'd ever dated. He needed her. Hell, he still did. Maybe he'd need gotten over her like he thought he did.
He almost felt bad, because he'd never needed any other girlfriend the same way he needed Haley James.
A flick of her wrist and he'd do anything for her. If she wanted him to try tightrope walking just for her own amusement, he'd do it.
Haley kissed him quickly, her hands sliding up his chest to rest on the sides of his neck.
He held onto her tighter, following her as she started to back them into the picnic table that was a few feet away from them.
"I wasn't exactly planning on you following me up here to do this," She informed him, before kissing him again.
"Yeah, well... Let's just blame it on our spot," He said softly, rubbing his hands up her sides as a chill ran through her.
"Not our spot," She mumbled, holding onto him tightly. "Who knew how much fun an adult friends with benefits relationship could actually be?"
He laughed, kissing her in response, leaning her against the picnic table. "I guess I really like being your friend."
"I can tell," She replied, gripping his shirt tightly in her palms, closing her eyes tightly as he kissed down her neck briefly. "It's great to be your friend, buddy."
"Isn't it?" He laughed, kissing her again, squeezing his eyes shut.
The cold was long forgotten. He could feel his body heat melting into hers.
Honestly, he was actually starting to feel a bit warm under his jacket, something that she seemed to sense because she pulled his jacket down his shoulders.
"You're so..." He pulled from her, staring down at her and smiling slightly.
A smile that he had not smiled in a long time. One that he saved for her.
"I hope the next words that leave your mouth are going to be positive," She said, winking at him.
"Wonderful. Just... Wonderful," He said, letting out a deep breath. "I don't think I even realized I was drowning until you came back and saved me."
"I thought you were happy?" She asked him, a frown forming on her face at that comment.
"The funny thing is, I was so happy. I liked the way my life was going... That's why I didn't realize it," He informed her, letting out a deep breath.
Her eyes softened at him. She didn't kiss him, but she was pretty close to it, her lips hovering over his. She raised her hand, gently stroking it through the hair on the side of his head, her fingers toying with his ear occasionally.
And it drove him wild. The gentleness... He'd missed her touch and he had not even realized it.
They had yet to share a moment this serene. Sure, the previous night was incredible. But this... This was a heartfelt moment.
She teased him, kissing the corner of his mouth, all while continuing to stroke her hand through his hair, the other gripping his shirt tightly.
He finally kissed her. It was gentle, and full of the passion that each of them had been missing in their lives.
Neither of them heard the door open and a third person walk out onto the roof.
Until that person spoke.
"Uh, guys?"
Nathan turned quickly at the sound of his older brother's voice, his eyes wide.
Oh shit. This wasn't good.
This was going to complicate things quite a bit between him and Haley.
"Lucas," Haley said quickly, pushing Nathan off of her and standing up straight again.
Lucas looked stunned. Like out of all the things he expected to see on this roof, Nathan and Haley making out was definitely not one of them.
Nathan couldn't get his brain to let his mouth say something smart. So instead, he said something stupid.
"Surprise," Nathan said, holding up jazz hands.
Jazz hands? Had he ever done jazz hands in his life? How the hell did he even know what they were?
Haley sent him a confused look, before looking back at her shocked best friend.
Okay, so that had not impressed her, at all.
"I'm really confused," Lucas finally spoke, clearing his throat.
Haley blew out a deep breath, rubbing her neck. "What are you doing up here?"
"I saw you sneak up here and that kinda used to be our signal that you wanted to hang out..." Lucas stuttered, clearing his throat. "I must have missed Nathan come up as well."
Nathan shoved his hands into his pockets, looking down at Haley, who had yet to glance in his direction after the stupid display of jazz hands, instead her eyes were still focused on Lucas.
He could tell she was trying to figure out what to say.
"We, uh... We were just catching up..." He began, shrugging when Haley finally looked at him.
That answer did not impress her either, apparently.
"It's not what it looks like...?" He tried again, closing his mouth when she made a face that pretty much screamed at him to stop talking.
"It looks like you two were..." Lucas trailed off, glancing at the picnic table. "On the table where we've eaten lunch since we were nine years old."
"Okay, so maybe it is what it looks like..." Nathan trailed off, sending an apologetic smile when Haley looked at him again.
She was just standing there, what did she want him to do? He could either talk, or they could all just stand there staring at each other awkwardly.
"Lucas..." Haley finally said again, letting out a deep sigh. "It's complicated."
"It's none of my business," Lucas said quickly, holding his hands up defensively.
"We're just..." Haley looked at Nathan, sending him a look that meant she wanted him to fill in the end part.
That was fair. She was letting him define the relationship.
But now she wanted him to talk?
"Hooking up," Nathan said quickly, watching a whirlwind of emotions run over Haley's face, the final being disbelief at the phrase that came out of his mouth.
Why didn't he think before he said that? Haley was like a sister to Lucas. A sister that hooked up with his brother... So maybe that phrasing was complicated. Haley was Luke's best friend that he treated and loved like family.
He was panicked. Of course, Clay and Quinn had an idea of what was going on, but he never had to explain it to them. He didn't think they'd have to explain it until they defined it.
"Still trying to figure out what's going on, is how I would have phrased that," Haley said, shaking her head at Nathan.
"It's not my business," Lucas said again, shaking his head quickly.
"It kind of is, Lucas. I mean, it's between us, but it still impacts you..." Haley said, stepping forward until she reached him, reaching behind her back and gesturing for Nathan to come as well.
"Haley," Lucas said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not going to tell anyone. I'm just... Confused. A week ago I was scared to say your name in fear that Nathan would punch in in the throat."
"We've been talking since the beginning of November," Haley informed him, glancing over at Nathan. "And... It's just complicated."
Lucas looked at Nathan, raising his eyebrows. "Why didn't you tell me? You're my little brother..."
"Because, we just slept together then decided to be friends, I don't know what the big deal is..." Nathan trailed off, shrugging.
Why couldn't he think before he spoke? It's like he saw more steam coming out of Haley's ears at every question he answered.
"It is a big deal," Lucas gestured between the two of them, scowling slightly. "Have you thought of how poorly this could turn out?"
Haley frowned, crossing her arms and looking over at Nathan, before looking back at Lucas.
That look wasn't her thinking of how poorly this could turn out, was it?
She couldn't start second guessing them now, he wouldn't be able to survive.
He was just starting to let his mind be open to the possibility of rekindling, and now she was second guessing it.
She was going to break his-
"It won't," She answered quickly, standing up straighter.
Oh, so she wasn't second guessing them. That frown was because she hated the question Lucas just asked them.
"You're two of my best friends, and I don't want to lose either of you. I could have the first time," Lucas said quickly, shaking his head.
"Lucas," Haley cut him off, scowling at him. "You didn't come close to losing either of us. I never expected you to choose me over Nathan. Nathan, did you ever expect him to stop being friends with me?"
Nathan looked at Lucas, shaking his head. "Of course not."
"I know what I want, Lucas," Haley said, gesturing between the two of them. "Believe me when I say that I've considered the outcomes, and the good outweighs the bad for me."
Nathan swallowed thickly at her words, glancing over at her.
"I told you that it was none of my business, Hales," Lucas said quickly, shaking his head.
Haley let out a frustrated sigh, looking over her shoulder at Nathan.
"I'm most upset that you guys didn't tell me... I mean, I thought we kinda told each other stuff like this," Lucas said softly, kicking his foot at the ground.
"Sorry, next time we accidentally have sex, we'll let you know," Haley said, narrowing her eyes at him.
Nathan raised his eyebrows in surprise. Now it seemed like she was the one who spoke without thinking. When he glanced at her eyes, he knew that she said exactly what she wanted to say at that moment.
She was a powerhouse.
If Lucas had not been there...
He shook his head, clearing his brain, his eyes shifting to Luke's face once again, taking in the shock on his face at her comment.
"I don't know why you're on defense, Haley, because I haven't even told you my opinion," Lucas said, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Maybe you should say it then, Lucas," Haley bit back, standing up straighter.
"Maybe I will," Lucas said, scowling at her.
"Then say it," She said, taking a step forward.
"I think that all of your friends are getting married and having kids, and you feel like you're missing out on it. You turned down Nathan's proposal, then Peter's, and now you're feeling lost," Lucas said, scowling at her. "And you know what? Now you're going back to Nathan because you knew he would drop everything for you, because he's been in love with you since before he even knew what love was-"
Nathan had not even realized it, but he'd jumped forward, swinging his fist and punching Lucas across the face, cutting him off from saying anymore.
He shook out his fist, looking at his older brother on the ground, before turning around and looking at Haley with wide eyes.
Some Christmas party, right?