Chapter Three
Disclaimer: I own nothing again! The lyrics used in this chapter are Jesse McCartney's. The song Because You Live gave me the inspiration for this fic in some ways.
Jesse spotted his fiancée almost immediately but his also spotted the man who was close to her. He felt himself take a step back in surprise at whom it was. He knew the face from pictures he had seen and could sense the danger in the situation. Jesse had worked so hard to pull Haley from misery all those years ago and he wasn't going to let her slip away that easily. Nathan had always been the name that hung between them, now it was time to extinguish him once and for all.
Moving at a lightening speed he made it to his fiancée's side. "Haley sweetheart… I heard about you singing again and came straight from Washington? How was it? Was it fun to be up there again?" He asked. His voice was bubbly and filled with happiness for his soon to be wife. It was there as a warning to Nathan that she was his' now. Not anyone else's. Jesse slipped his strong arm once more around his fiancée's waist and smiled at her, pretending not to notice the other man. "Let's go dance to celebrate," he said and before she could answer Haley was being dragged away onto the floor, and more importantly away from Nathan.
Nate watched in astonishment as the blonde man appeared and stole Hales so quickly from him it was almost like he'd done it with a puff of smoke. Nathan had seen the arm go around Haley's waist the most. The movement had made his stomach contract and his heart ordered him to wrench that arm away from her. To take back what it still saw as rightfully his. Hales' would always be the woman that Nathan wanted and needed. The one his mind would scream to grab hold of.
He watched in jealousy as Jesse and Haley danced. The happy couple. Nathan scoffed as he downed his Jack Daniels and ordered another. If there was one thing that would never change it was alcohol. Alcohol was always there to take the sting out of things. However that night it did something different. The liquid combined with a strong sense of male pride created a dangerous mixture. A mixture that wasn't safe to be around when it exploded. As Jesse was soon to find out.
Haley however was trying very hard to ignore the narrowed eyes from Nathan as she danced with her fiancé. Nate was supposed to have lost the right to be jealous when he served her with those annulment papers. He didn't want her to be Mrs Scott anymore and she had agreed to his wishes however badly it had hurt her. She had signed her love away and let him move on. So why the hell hadn't he? Surely there should be some beautiful blonde hanging on his arm? Someone to make him feel good as Jesse did for her? Someone to hold when the darkness took over? Someone to do the things she had once done for him? Why hadn't he found that woman? She ordered herself to stop thinking such stupid thoughts and just get on with her life. To leave the ache in her heart behind and stop caring if he was jealous. This thought running through her head she sighed as the song changed.
Staring out at the rain with a heavy heart
It's the end of the world in my mind
Then your voice pulls me back like a wake up call
I've been looking for the answer
Somewhere
I couldn't see that it was right there
But now I know what I didn't know
Haley danced her heart out as the lyrics hit home. Why this song? Why? She had heard this the day after she received the annulment papers, the morning she had signed them. The morning she had wondered if they were ever true about her from Nathan. This song had haunted her life for the past seven years, whenever she turned on the radio it was there and taunting her with what she had lost.
Because you live and breathe
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help
Because you live, girl
My world has twice as many stars in the sky
Nathan listened to the song and the words ran all the way through to his shattered heart. That was exactly how he would always feel about Haley. That she was his reason to be alive. She was his reason to breathe and keep doing through the world he was forced into by everybody. Why had the DJ chosen this bloody song anyway? It was the one Nathan had heard after receiving the papers back from Haley, he had turned on the radio to cover the sound of his tears but the song had only made it worse. The words held a meaning for both the heartbroken souls and neither knew how the other felt. All Nathan could see was Haley dancing with another man to a song that had marked the end of their relationship.
It's alright, I survived, I'm alive again
Cuz of you, made it through every storm
What is life, what's the use if you're killing time
I'm so glad I found an angel
Someone
Who was there when all my hopes fell
I wanna fly, looking in your eyes
He had found an angel, and he had let her fly away like one as well. He always felt his soul fly when his eyes met hers with their merry, inquisitive twinkle. He never understood why this song had had quite such an effect on him and now he realised that even back then he had been damning himself to a life alone and without the warmth of a woman's smile and flesh. Nathan had let go of his only chance at love and now he was paying dearly for it.
Because you live and breathe
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help
Because you live, girl
My world has twice as many stars in the sky
Because you live, I live
Haley saw him out of the corner of her eye and couldn't look away for a moment. The expression on his face caught her by surprise. There was deep hurt there, but also something in his eyes that she recognised even after all the years. Love. She saw love through all that pain and wanted to rush to him. To feel his arms around her and soothing away the pain that he inflicted on her. She had left, he had in-turn shattered her heart. Jesse had been there to pick up the pieces that Nate had created of Haley James and would soon be her husband. Her loving, caring husband that would never hurt her because he just couldn't. Nathan had been let in too deep, she had made him her reason to wake up in the mornings and go to bed safely at night. With Jesse it was different. If he left it would sting for a while but Hales knew she would get over it easier than she should do. Nate had been different. He had existed under her skin and stuck around no matter how hard she tried to shake him away. How hard she tried to forget him, nothing would ever do the job. The ache went away but still that sting would forever remain and seeing him had just made it worse again.
Because you live there's a reason why
I carry on when I lose the fight
I want to give what you've given me always
Because you live and breathe
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help
Because you live, girl
My world has twice as many stars in the sky
The stars in Nathan's sky were alighting with fury and despair as he slammed down his drink and set his resolve in stone. He couldn't live without her and he refused to live without her. She could fight him off, she could push him back, but one day she would be his again. One day he would feel her body curled next to his in bed and he would be able to sleep well for the first time in seven years. She would be there to carry his children and make his life complete. She would be his Haley once more.
Because you live and breathe
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help
Because you live, girl
My world has everything I need to survive
Because you live, I live, I live
As the last notes of the song played Nate strode across the room and everyone saw his arm reel backwards and smack the Prince of Denmark straight in the nose. They all heard the crack as the bone broke and Nathan simply smirked. Going very bodyguard his arms reached out and grabbed Haley. Tossing her as if she weighed like feather over his shoulder and walking out the club as if nothing had happened. Thankfully no one had seen his face clearly and the police would therefore not be able to get a complete identity of him. His friends were the only one who knew who he was in that club and they would cover for him if need be.
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"What the hell Nathan?" Demanded Haley as she beat on his back. He didn't speak. He just kept walking, not knowing where his feet were going or why. Nate just knew he had to take her somewhere where they could talk, could clear the air. He didn't care that she was engaged and broken his heart. No matter what she was going to listen to him. "Nathan? Nathan put me down!" She ordered but the pounding on his back barely registered. Just the feel of her curves so close to him made his heart beat too hard for simple words to get through to his mind. She was creating a pleasurable fog with her mere presence and he gladly got lost in that fog.
He was about to turn a corner when he got a slight shock. Gathered on the pavement in front of him were four people, somehow they had managed to follow him and seeing the general direction he was headed they had hastened after the tall, dark figure with the petite girl thrown over his shoulder. Lucas was standing in the middle with Jake on his direct left. Brooke, Luke, Jake, Peyton. They stood as a wall, stopping him going any further with this madness. Haley noticed them and almost cried with relief. Nathan was holding her so tightly it was almost painfully. She wanted to be put down because she knew that if she stayed there much longer she would lose her thoughts about letting him go completely. The mere feel of his strong muscles tucked against her stomach was causing a feeling in the very pit of her that she didn't want at that minute in time.
"Put. Her. Down. Nathan." Lucas spoke up and made sure that every word was separated and packed a punch. His voice was deeper and stronger than usual and filled with a commanding tone that just didn't suit his personality. Nate met his brother's eyes with the same stony resolved glare. He had his world back in his grasp, literally, why would he put it down again? Why should he let go of everything that he wanted a second time? Why should he go back to living a tenth of a life? Why should he put down the one thing that would make him happy? But then the word hit him, thing. Haley wasn't a thing she was a person. He seemed to have forgotten that momentarily and he groaned inwardly. He'd been seeing her as a possession instead of a person and that had been what caused him to blow up. He felt all the blood and anger drain away. He let Hales slip to the floor and he watched her hurry away to stand behind the four people who had rushed to her rescue. Her eyes were wide and Nathan felt his heart constrict, she was scared of him. The love of his life was scared of him.
"I'm so sorry Hales… Hales please don't look at me like that." He pleaded as he watched her face closely. He wanted that fear to disappear but instead of that it just got worse. Turning on her heel she ran away. He watched her flag a cab almost immediately and then she was gone from his life again. Gone because he had moved too fast. He had his work cut out if he was going to repair this latest blunder.
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Haley stood over the sink in the hotel and cleaned the blood from her fiancé's face. "Did you know he was going to be here in LA?" Asked Jesse seriously. He needed to know if his future wife truly loved him or whether their relationship was based on a one-sided devotion.
"No," lied Haley convincingly. She lifted a hand and tenderly ran it over his cheek. He couldn't help smiling down at her; maybe she really did love him. He had seen the sparks flying between her and Nathan but that was only to be expected; he was her ex-husband after all. There was bound to be a residual emotion.
"Ok then, come on let's get to bed," he grabbed the hand that was holding his cheek and gave it a light tug, she readily followed not wanting to upset him further and make him question her lie. Jesse loved her, Jesse trusted her, Jesse was the one who had picked up Nathan's pieces, Jesse understood her, Jesse was always there for her. All these thoughts were running through Haley's head as she allowed herself to be led through the suite and into their bedroom. He may not be Nathan but he was a close second.
She had to live with what she had chosen. She'd made her bed and now she'd have to lay in it. Even though it was with the wrong man…
A/N Sorry this took so long... My muse died... Reviews always make me type faster!