Before I get to the story, I'd like to say a couple of stuff – just to get it out of the way.
First, I made Haley tell Brooke that she thinks she's pregnant because Brooke just so happened to be the first person she saw and as you might have noticed, they've become quite close over the previous chapters.
Second, some of you have expected Haley to be pregnant, while some of you haven't. I'm actually pretty glad about it because the whole pregnancy thing was just half of the surprise – which leads me to . . .
Lastly, I have a very, VERY huge shocker at the end of the chapter but before you guys skip on to the last part, let me remind you that you have to read the WHOLE chapter before you understand why or how it happened. Yes, I purposely put it there to make you guys suffer. Haha.
Disclaimer: One Tree Hill is definitely not mine (trust me, I've checked more than once). Also, I would like to give full credit to a certain B.P. Davis for making this chapter possible. Thank you so much, Kristin! You rock!
The crowd was going wild as Mouth's excited voice filled the entire school gym. "Lucas Scott has the ball – he's looking for an open teammate – he sees Nathan – fifteen seconds on the clock – Nathan tries to make shot but is blocked – ten seconds left – he passes it to Jake Jagelski – back to Lucas – six seconds – back to Nathan – he makes a shot – can he do it – three seconds – two – one . . ."
The gym suddenly waited in hush, hoping, praying . . .
"The ball is through! The Ravens win! The Ravens are going to the finals!" Mouth shouted. Everyone from Tree Hill High was in an uproar.
The basketball team ran to the middle of the court, hugging each other and yelling.
"Nathan!" Haley called, running towards him.
He pulled her into his arms, lifted her into the air and kissed her senseless.
"I'm so proud of you, Nathan! You were amazing!" Haley said happily.
They kissed with unreserved desire as if nobody else was with them.
"Could you please stop sucking Haley's face so we could congratulate you?" Peyton and Brooke asked from behind them.
They tore apart, Haley blushing slightly.
The both hugged him, proud of what his winning shot. "Haley's right, Nate. You were amazing out there." Peyton remarked.
"Thanks. I thought I'd never play that well again." Nathan said, grinning.
Haley looked up at him, her heart clenching painfully with guilt. He was so happy – evidently happier than he had ever been for so long.
She couldn't tell him now. She couldn't ruin it – not now.
"Babe, are you okay?" Nathan asked worriedly. Somehow, Peyton and Brooke were already gone.
"I'm fine, really," Haley stood on tiptoe so she could give him a reassuring kiss. "I love you, Nathan. You were more than amazing."
"You're – you're pregnant -?" Brooke repeated, dropping all the clothes she was holding.
"Well, I think I am. I haven't been feeling all too well lately. I've been getting weaker and I threw up thrice this week. I thought I was just going to get the flu but I missed my period the other day…" Haley's voice began to shake. "I went to buy a pregnancy test during free period and I just tried it now."
"What does it say?" Brooke asked.
"I – I don't know. I can't look at it."
"Oh, Tutor Girl…" She hugged her. "Tell you what, why don't we look at it together?"
Haley nodded weakly. Trembling, she picked up the stick from the cup and turned it over.
"Oh my God –" Haley whispered, collapsing on the floor.
"I thought you were on the pill!" Nathan shouted.
"I am on the pill but you know how those things don't always work!" Haley screamed.
"You probably didn't take it on the right time then." He accused.
One brow shot up. "So it's my fault that I'm supposedly 'pregnant' now?"
"Well, yes because one, you were taking the pills and two, you're carrying the baby!"
"It's your fault too because one, you told me to take the pill and two, it's your child!" Haley yelled.
"I don't want a damn kid, Haley! I have a basketball scholarship I don't want to lose!" Nathan cried.
"Fine. You can just lose me instead." Haley said quietly. And with that, she left.
Haley sobbed uncontrollably into Brooke's shoulder, remembering that awful pregnancy scare they had.
"It could just be a mistake. I mean, this is a kit that you buy in any convenience store. It could be wrong." Brooke said, trying to soothe her.
She wiped away her tears with her sleeve. "I know, which is why I took another pregnancy test in the lab of the hospital. They're going to call me tonight –"
Her voice died when her cell phone began to ring. For a while, all they could do was stare at it.
"Answer it, Haley."
"I – can't."
"You have to."
"You answer it then."
Haley pressed the answer button and quickly handed it to Brooke so she couldn't object any further.
Brooke glared at her then raised the phone to her ear. "Hello? No, this isn't Haley James. I'm her – uh, sister. She was feeling a bit nervous so she asked me to take the call. What do you mean you can't tell me the result?! Fine, wait for her to decide to talk to you while realizing that you're going to be paying for a ridiculously expensive phone bill…" The indignation in her voice suddenly wore off. "Oh. I'll – I'll be sure to tell her. Thank you."
"Well? What did they say?" Haley asked anxiously.
"You're a month pregnant. I'm so sorry, Haley."
-
"You've been so distant tonight. What's wrong?" Nathan asked Haley.
They were outside of Rachel's house, talking. His arms were around her small body as he rested his chin on the top of her head.
"I wasn't being distant."
"Sure, you were. Every time I would kiss you in front of someone, you'd suddenly stiffen up. I asked you thrice if you wanted to go up to one of the rooms but you just ignored me. We've been out here for half an hour now and you haven't said a word." Nathan pointed out.
Haley was quiet.
"See?" He spun her around so she was facing him.
"I just have a lot on my mind."
"Talk to me then."
Haley kissed him gently, hoping that the kiss would make him half-deaf or something.
When they pulled apart, her lower lip began trembling. "Tell me you'll love me no matter what."
"I'll love you no matter what." Nathan promised.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. He squeezed her hadn in reassurance.
Haley looked up at him and said the words so quietly that at first, she thought he didn't hear her. But he did.
"You're – you're pregnant?" Nathan stammered.
"Yes, I just got the results awhile ago and –"
He clutched her by the shoulders in panic. "Haley – please tell me you're kidding. Please…"
Haley pushed him away. "How could you think I'm kidding about something like this?"
"No – no – I'm not ready for a kid, Haley. We both aren't."
"Well, the 'kid' is our child, whether you like it or not! The 'kid' is going to be your son or daughter and that's the way it's going to be."
"What about our future, Haley?" Nathan asked in a terrified whisper.
"This baby's our future now. There's nothing we could do."
Nathan stared at her, a wild expression on his face. "I – I have to go think about this –"
"Nathan!"
It was too late. He was already gone.
"You're what?!" Brooke shouted.
"I'm breaking up with you." Eric said smoothly.
"You mean you came to this party just to break up with me and look for a rebound girl?!" Brooke asked shrilly.
"Pretty good idea, huh?"
She let out a gasp of indignation. "You're one hell of an asshole, Eric."
He grinned arrogantly. "You seriously thought I was going to stay with you longer than a month? Please, I have a long list of girls' numbers just waiting to be used."
Brooke was seething with anger. "That's good because your list is probably longer than your dick anyway."
And with that, she stormed off to the bar.
Haley walked to Nathan's house the next day, hoping that things would get better between them after they talked – that is, if he'd let her in the house.
Last night was a nightmare. After Nathan left her outside, Haley lost all eagerness to have fun so she went home. Even there, his words were ringing in her ears and she couldn't help but feel guilty.
It's not your fault you're pregnant. Nathan should have the balls to stand by you. A voice in her mind said.
You've been saying that all night. It's getting pretty old. Another voice said.
"Haley, where are you off to?" It was Lucas, who was already jogging towards her.
"I'm going to talk to Nathan. You?"
"I'm going to exchange my basketball jersey with his. It got mixed up by accident." Lucas said, lifting up a jersey with the number 23 on it.
"That's great. I could use all the moral support while walking there." Haley said.
Lucas put an arm around her shoulders. "I heard about that. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was going to, really. I just couldn't find you all day." She explained.
"It's going to be okay, Hales."
"That's kind of impossible, after Nathan's reaction last night." Haley said ruefully.
"Hey, you're going to talk to him right? Maybe it'll work out." He assured her.
They finally reached the apartment. To their surprise, the front door was unlocked. They walked in, looking around.
"Nate? Anybody home?" Lucas called.
Suddenly, they heard a scuffle in the bedroom.
Haley opened the door and nearly let out a scream.
Brooke and Nathan were standing in the middle of the bedroom, apparently changing. Nathan was wearing boxer shorts while Brooke was wearing his shirt. The rest of their clothes were strewn all over the floor.
"Brooke?!"
"Nathan?!"
I know you'd have thoughts on this chapter, so please click that "go" button next to the "submit a review" option. You know you want to. ;p