A/N, thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. I hope youre all enjoying it. For those who are wondering, a big Nathan and Haley confrontation is coming up in a few chapters.

Chapter 20

In the food court at Tree Hill mall, two females who looked very similar to each other sat opposite each other at a table. One felt incredibly awkward and self conscious, while the other was pretty much feeling happier than she ever had. The awkward one had many questions for the other, questions that had been on her mind for a while, but ones that she hadn't been ready for the answers to. For some reason, she felt that now was the right time to ask.

"Haley? Can I like ask you some stuff?" Ollie asked her nervously.

Smiling warmly at her, she nodded.

"Ok, you're married to my dad right?" she began.

"Yep." Haley answered cautiously.

"So you got married in high school?"

Haley nodded again.

"Right. And you still wear the ring, or is it from someone else?" Ollie gestured to Haley's finger and the ring she had noticed back in the shop.

"No, its still the one Nathan gave me." Haley answered smiling sadly.

"Oh, what about Luke? Elise told me about what happened with you and him that night after you dropped me home. Dads hardly talked to him since he found out about it."

"Me and Luke were best friends since we were little kids." She shrugged. "I just wanted to see him. I'm sorry there not talking though, that wasn't what i wanted at all." Haley told her genuinely feeling guilty that she caused trouble in the brother's relationship.

Ollie nodded accepting what she had said. Then a small pause, she began to ask the one question that was the most important for her to know. "Are you goi...

"OH MY GOD you're Haley James," someone shrieked from beside their table, interrupting what Ollie was about to ask.

She saw Haley force a massive smile at the girl who asked for an autograph, before signing for the girl who skipped away excitedly.

Suddenly feeling incredibly self conscious herself, Haley turned back to her daughter, "I'm sorry." She apologised, expecting Ollie to be mad and go back into her shell. But surprisingly she wasn't.

"That's Ok." Ollie replied. "Umm what I was asking before. Well, are... umm, are you going to leave again, or are you going to stay here?" she looked down at her plate, fearing the worst of what the answer would be, over the past few days, she was starting to realise that maybe Haley wasn't a horrible person. After all, since Haley had been back all she had tried to do was be nice to everyone.

"Nope, I'm staying, forever." Haley told her certainly, knowing within herself that even if both Nathan and Ollie still refused to speak to her after this day that she would still never leave.

At this response, Ollie started to smile, small, but an honest smile all the same. It was time she felt, to start giving Haley a real chance without the anger and hatred. "Good" she nodded.

Haley's face broke out into the happiest expression imaginable hearing Ollie say that about her staying, it hadn't been the reaction she had expected at all, more like silence with a hint of hostility is what she had thought would have been the reply.

"What about your music though?" Ollie asked sensing a loophole.

"I'd rather teach than tour any day", Haley answered honestly.

"So you don't play anymore?"

"Yeah I do sometimes, just to myself though. Do you play much?" Haley asked, thinking of the few times she had heard Ollie perform, and how great she was at singing and guitar.

Ollie blushed, remembering the feeling of the guitar smashing against the pile of Haley James C.D's and destroying everything. Therefore while she was ready to begin accepting Haley's presence in her life that was not something she was willing to share with her yet. So she just shrugged.

Sensing her discomfort, Haley immediately ceased the music conversation, easily able to guess why Ollie wouldn't talk about her own music playing. She figured that Ollie had probably stopped playing because of her.

The two sat in an awkward silence for a few seconds, neither really knowing what to say to the other anymore. In the silence, Haley glanced around the mall and saw the women Brooke had been coaxing into buying from the shop, exiting carrying three bags full of clothes and a slightly guilty look on her face as if she knew she had spent too much. Haley chuckled, shaking her head a little as Brooke exited the store with a proud of herself look on her face and came over to them.

"Guess who just made the biggest sale in the history of Tree Hill Clothes Over Bros?" Brooke bragged grinning cockily as she took a seat at their table. They just chuckled at her. "Well, I guess you two just don't understand business like I do." She jokingly told them in fake condescendence. Noticing them rolling her eyes at her, she did so right back at them before sneakily winking at Haley and asking, "So, what have you two been up to?"

Ollie shook her head, once again rolling her eyes as she saw Brooke wink to Haley in a way was meant to be stealthy but was really quite obvious.

Brooke really was not a subtle person, no matter how much she was convinced otherwise.

In the gym at Herons Beach, Nathan watched from the stands as Charlotte's team faced off against Heron beaches. His own team, who had won their first game, were either in the stands as well, at the hotel or somewhere round the very small town.

Remembering his own days on these tournaments, he knew not to be too strict with them, because if they were going to get into trouble, no matter how hard he tried, he really wouldn't be able to stop them. As the quarter time buzzer went off, Charlotte was leading by seven and it was pretty clear they had the upper hand. Deciding that the game would probably go to Charlotte anyway and it was the last game of the day, he didn't see much reason for him to stay.

Making his way down the bleachers and out of the gym, he glanced around him wondering what he should do with the time he had before going back to the hotel. Spotting a little cafe, really quite similar seeming to Karen's, he headed toward it. The Cafe was a little bit smaller than Karen's, but the smell of coffee inside was warm and inviting. Sitting down at a booth, he ordered a coffee and a muffin before leaning back into the booth and relaxing, letting the quiet of the relatively empty cafe wash over him, the lack of noise welcome after having spent the whole day in the loud gym. After a couple of minutes his order came. While eating, he heard the outside door open. Turning to look, for lack of anything better to do, he saw someone very familiar. The woman at the door noticed him too and came over.

"Nathan?" she asked sounding surprised.

He grinned at her, "Rachel Gatina."

She looked down at him, he was wearing a Ravens coach shirt; she could see that he had aged incredibly well since High School, as she belived she had herself. Smirking, she glanced down at his fingers and was delighted to see the finger ring-less. Always, she had known he and Haley wouldn't work. Now it was her turn to get a chance with hotshot Nathan Scott.

Nathan gestured for her to take a seat once she had placed her order, genuinely happy to see his old, sort of, friend from high school. "How have you been Rachel" he smiled.

She grinned, "Great, Since high school I've been working as a model in LA. Took a holiday, came down here to visit some family. I'm actually on my way to Tree Hill" She said lying completely. Not once had she modelled or worked. The first old rich guy that she had come across, she had married and taken for pretty much everything in the divorce settlement. Also she had no family in Herons Beach and even if she did she probably wouldn't visit them or come to stay in a hole like this to see them. She was merely passing through on her way from Miami to Washington and had stopped for a coffee on the drive. Only now since seeing Nathan did her plans change to going to Tree Hill.

"That's great Rachel," He smiled, pleased life had been kind to her, "It'll be good having you in Tree Hill again, nearly the whole old gangs back there now."

"You've stayed in Tree Hill for all this time?" She asked sweetly, inside actually surprised that he hadn't become the basketball star that everyone had once predicted.

He nodded as the waiter set her to-go coffee on he table.

"Well I better go," she smiled, "don't want to be driving all night."

"Yeah," he stood to hug her friendlily, "Hey here's my number, give me a call in Tree Hill."

She nodded farewelling him, the slip of paper with the number he had just given her clasped in her hand. Turning, she headed out of the cafe, a triumphant devious grin plastered over her face.

In Brookes car, Ollie and Brooke were driving back home from the mall. Brooke, because she was driving, was fully focussed on the road and Ollie was gazing out the passenger seat window.

Continuing to look out the window at the passing people and houses, Ollie said, "I know that you set today up Brooke."

A sheepish look rose to Brookes face as she realised she had been caught out completely, even though she thought her plan had been incredibly sneaky. "Oh" she answered briefly blushing a little.

Inside the car it went back to silence for about a minute and Brooke was almost certain Ollie was angry and giving her the silent treatment, but then she heard the young girl ever so quietly say,

"Thank you."