Author Note: This update took longer than usual, but I've had company and so, even though the chapter is rather short(again, they're getting shorter), I still didn't want to be spending a lot of time writing when I could be seeing them, y'know? Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Hopefully I'll get the next one done soon. Enjoy!

Again, comments are appreciated. Thank again to ReeseHolden.

-5-

"Where are we going?" Jamie asked his parents as he sat in the backseat of their SUV.

"You're going to Uncle Lucas', remember?" said Nathan.

"Oh, okay… Then where are you going?" He asked.

"Jamie, we're going to a charity thing. It's fancy and it's not for kids." Haley said.

"Basically what she's saying, Jamie, is that it will be boring." Replied Nathan, who, knowing the event, would have agreed with what he was saying had Chris Keller not been running it.

"Oh. What's the charity for?" Asked Jamie.

"Yeah, what is it for?" Nathan asked Haley as he drove. It was not his first time asking.

"… I'm not sure yet, babe." Replied Haley.

Nathan was a little annoyed with the whole situation. Haley was making them go to a charity event and she didn't even know what the cause was. Not to mention, the suit he was wearing was borrowed from his brother and it was a little tight in some uncomfortable areas. Lucas may have been around the same height as Nathan, but they definitely had some differences in muscle quantity.

Jamie simply accepted the answer and the car went back into silence until they reached his Uncle Lucas' house. They all got out of the car and walked inside the house without knocking. Haley was used to just walking into Lucas' house because she had done it ever since she could remember.

Lucas walked to the family in his living room and smiled. "Hey Hales… Nate." He nodded at them both and then looked down at Jamie, "J-Luke! My man, high five!" He held out his hand and they did their well-rehearsed handshake.

Haley smiled at her best friend and son. "Alright, little man, we're out of here. You be good, okay?" She said as she looked down at Jamie expectantly.

"Yes, mamma." He replied.

"Alright, I'll see you in a few hours then. Love you both!" Haley gave Lucas a quick side-cheek kiss and then bent down to kiss the top of Jamie's head.

Nathan smiled at Lucas and then rubbed the top of Jamie's head. "You can go ahead and eat that ice-cream, Jamie. I know your Uncle Lucas has got lots of that around." Nathan said as he winked mockingly to his brother.

Haley laughed. "We'll see you guys later. Say hi to Peyton for me." She said to the both of them.

Everyone then exchanged another quick goodbye and Nathan and Haley walked back to their SUV.

The drive to where the charity event was being held was not an easy one. Haley had to keep calling the place to get directions while Nathan drove. Also, Nathan had to keep adjusting his jacket because it was tight around his arms and shoulders. Once they finally got there, the exterior of the building surprised them. It was an upscale restaurant that neither of them had yet been to. Once they got outside of their car and walked to the pathway to the entrance of the building, a woman Haley found familiar greeted them.

"Oh, Mrs. Keller! Good to see you!" Said Haley, giving Chris' mother a friendly hug. "This is my husband, Nathan."

"Yes, yes, I know very well who this handsome man is." Said the fifty-some-year-old woman sincerely with a smile as she patted Nathan on the back. "It's good to see you too, dear." She replied to Haley.

"Haley! So glad you could make it!" Said Chris as he walked up to the group with a random, but beautiful girl on his arm. He then looked at Nathan and said honestly, "Nathaaaan, man, nice suit!" not noticing the way it fit him. His mother then walked away and winked at Nathan and Haley as she did so.

Nathan didn't make much of an expression; he just raised his eyebrows in disbelief at Chris' greeting. "Yeah… hey, Chris." Said Nathan.

"Hey, indeed, dude. Listen, this is my date, Maxine." Said Chris.

"Nice to meet you." Said the dark haired woman in a surprisingly deep voice with a Russian accent. She held out her hand for them to shake.

"You too." Said Haley as she shook her hand.

Nathan didn't say anything, but only smiled when he shook her hand. He found the situation awkward.

"Okay, well, dinner is about to start. You can make your donations now if you'd like." Said Chris. "Oh and guess what!? I saved you two a spot right next to the Keller."

"Oh, good." Said Haley with a fake smile. Chris then walked away with Maxine.

"Why would I make a donation when I don't know what this thing is, Haley?" asked Nathan.

Haley looked around for answers and Nathan could see her eyes fixed on something as she squinted in disbelief at what she was reading. Nathan turned around to see what she was looking at and read a sign that said, "Welcome to the Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD)'s annual charity dinner event."

"Oh." Said Nathan, who was then silent for a moment. "Maybe he has changed since senior year… physically, I mean." He said, jokingly to Haley who just smiled at him in response.

"Well, I guess it's a good cause then, right?" asked Haley, who was surprised by the event title. She honestly expected it to be something centered around Chris and music or at least something with a more masculine title and theme.

"I guess so." Said Nathan, who held out his arm for Haley to latch onto.

They walked in to a back room of the building and, other than Chris and Chris' mother, Nathan and Haley recognized no one. Chris motioned for them to come sit where he was and got up to pull out Haley's chair for her as they got closer towards the table.

"Thanks, Chris." Said Haley who then looked at Nathan with a shocked and confused face. He just shrugged in response and sat down next to her.

"So," Chris started as he sat down, "It's been so long since we all last hung out. How have you been, Nate?"

Nathan clenched his jaw a little before speaking. "I've been well..."

"So it seems. You're looking a lot more muscular since I remember." Said Chris, making a mental note to try especially hard not to get in a fight with him.

"Yeah, the basketball and working out helps."

Chris nodded and the table went into an awkward silence. After awhile, Maxine started seductively playing with the collar and top button of Chris' shirt with her hand, only for him to awkwardly remove it soon after and then get up and walk over to the microphone.

"Sheesh." Said Maxine, shrugging.

"Yeah, really, Haley. What is his issue?" Nathan quietly asked his wife, thinking about his strange behavior and politeness.

"I'm wondering the same thing." She replied.

"Well, I don't trust it."

There was a sudden screeching noise for a few seconds coming from the microphone now in Chris' hand. "Oh, sorry." He said when it stopped. "Uhh… I'm Chris Keller… and welcome, everybody, to our Mother's Against Drunk Driving's fifth annual charity event! I'm pleased to be the host this evening because I hold the cause dear to me." He paused to let people clap. Nathan and Haley both figured this was, indeed, Chris trying to look good by getting some positive attention in the community. "I'm going to remind everyone to make a donation if you haven't already and I really want to thank everyone for coming out; it means a lot. Now, before we get started, I'm going to hand the mic over to my mother, Donna Keller, so that she can say grace. Then food will be brought out. I hope you enjoy! Thanks again for coming out!"

Everyone then sat in silence while Mrs. Keller said a prayer about the food and keeping people safe from drinking and driving. When she was done, she walked to Nathan and Haley's table with Chris and took the empty seat next to Nathan and Maxine. There were five seats at the table, unlike most, which had six. Haley knew it was because Chris' father had died years ago and so she didn't have a date. The waiters soon brought out the food to the tables and everyone started to eat.

"So, Haley, are you still making music?" Asked Mrs. Keller once their table was fully settled in.

"Yes, I've been working on a few things, actually. It's been hard though, seeing as I've been so busy with teaching and with raising Jamie, my son."

"Your son! Well now, isn't that wonderful? You must have had him recently?" Asked Mrs. Keller.

"Actually, he's six now." Said Haley, not surprised by her shocked expression.

Mrs. Keller smiled at both Nathan and Haley. "So, you're having troubles with your music, hm?" She asked Haley and then looked at Chris. "Christopher, why don't you help her? It sure worked out well last time." She said, but she soon took it back knowing what it did to Nathan and Haley. She was a huge fan and supporter of Chris and Haley when they first went on tour together. So, when she asked Chris why Haley had gone back home and discovered it was to repair the problems Chris and the tour caused for her relationship with her husband, she was extremely angry with Chris and wanted to severely punish him.

"Well, I was actually wondering if you'd like to do some music with me, Haley. It'd be like old times' sake." Chris proposed.

Haley looked at Nathan and only saw a look of annoyance on his face. She figured the annoyance was mostly directed at Chris being close to him. She wasn't sure what she thought about the idea of Chris and her working together again. The first time they did, it obviously didn't work out so well, but the second time was not as bad. "Oh, um… I don't know. Maybe?" She replied, thinking it would be best to talk about it with Nathan in private before making a decision. She also wasn't sure that she really wanted to.

The dinner continued in the groups' conversations about how they've been during the last six years. The group didn't say much to each other because they didn't know what to say. Mrs. Keller was the one to mostly keep conversations going. Maxine spent the whole night silently listening, but not caring. She was also bitter that Chris didn't seem to want to have sex with her. Seducing Chris was the only reason why she agreed to come. She could have been somewhere else; somewhere that she thought was more important.

Once dinner was over, Nathan and Haley made a donation and Chris, with a very disinterested Maxine on his arm, came over to say goodbye.

"It was really nice that you could come tonight, you guys. It really means a lot to me." Chris said with a genuine soft smile.

"Oh, it was actually really nice." Said Haley.

"Yeah, man, thanks for inviting us." Said Nathan. He was actually surprised that he was bored most of it. He expected Chris to be an ass and start talking about his life, but the whole time he seemed more interested in both Nathan and Haley than anyone else at the table. Of course, he still managed to be annoying. "We'll see you around, then?" he asked.

"The Keller'll be around for awhile, Natey." He said before giving Nathan and Haley an awkward hug at the same time. With Chris giving the nickname "Natey", Nathan's annoyance had returned.

"Okay, Chris, we'll see you later." Said Haley as she and Nathan, who just nodded, walked outside.

"Well that was… weird." Said Nathan once they got inside their SUV.

"I know. It's like he's been possessed by some ultimate gentlemanism." She replied.

"What are we going to do about it?"

"I don't know what we would do about it. I don't know what it means, but, well, since when is being polite and generous a bad thing?" She asked unsurely.

"Since it's Chris Keller. I mean, it must mean something's up, right?"

"I think that for now, we should just see what happens. Maybe Chris will just be sweet while he's here and then leave without affecting anyone?"

"Maybe."

"Yeah. Maybe he's just had some change of heart?"

"What do you think this charity thing was for, anyways? Like, how random was that?"

"Well, it's a really good cause."

"It's Chris Keller."

"Yeah, but, like I said, maybe he's had a change of heart?"

"Are you ever going to stop trying to see the better sides of people?" He asked appreciatively with a smile.

"Yes." She replied with a more fake coy smile.

"What?" He asked laughing with question.

"I'm kidding." She said. "Let's just drive."

"What ever you say." Nathan replied, enjoying being with his wife. "Hey, do you think Lucas would want us to pick up some food on the way back?" he said as they started driving.

"Uh, probably. We should go to the corner store by his house. It's open late."

"Sure thing." He said.

"I'm going to miss you tomorrow." Said Haley, thinking about how he was always helping her and how he would be driving back to Charlotte and she would, once again, be alone to take care of Jamie and work by herself.

He sighed. "Yeah, I know, you too." He said joylessly. He hated leaving her and Jamie.