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Nathan froze at the door as he stared at the figure of his estranged wife.

"Hi" whispered Haley again. Nathan's heart nearly melted, just seeing her standing there looking so forlorn and repentant, misery teeming out of her beautiful eyes, he nearly threw his arms around her but he stopped himself just in time.

"What do you want?" Nathan's voice was cold and callous. Haley licked her lips, tears building up in her eyes "I want to come home Nathan".

These word cut into Nathan's heart like daggers, how long had he waited for her to say those words but that it is all they are: words, in his mind they were meaningless.

"You haven't got a home, at least not with me" Nathan watched her reaction carefully, Her face whitened, her bottom lip quivered and her eyes glittered with a dam of tears welling up behind them "I deserve that" she murmured softly.

Nathan smirked cruelly, he wasn't revelling in her pain one bit as it hurt him as much as it did her, but right now even though he loved her, he wanted her to suffer like he did, he wanted her to know the pain of having the person you love the most ripped away from you

"Did you expect anything less? By the way I caught your interview, You know the one you phoned me up and told me to watch, very enlightening I must say, You said 'Haley James Scott' but yet you had no wedding ring and you were hanging off Chris Keller like he was, I don't know your husband!" Nathan snorted with disgust and pushed past Haley

"Mom, I'm going out" he called back into the house. As he stormed down the drive, Nathan felt like his chest was going to burst open but he swallowed the longing to go back and he jumped into the car and slammed the door.

Haley narrowed her eyes "Oh it's so on!" she dumped her bags and stomped over to the front of the car and stood there ostentatiously, her arms folded and her jaw set "If you want me to move, you'll have to run me over".

Nathan's face contorted "You think I'm not gonna?" he yelled revving the engine as if to prove a point. Haley tossed her head "You wouldn't dare".

Nathan was infuriated by her bravado "Why? Cuz you're my wife? Well I've got news for you cupcake, you aren't my wife, you're just some screwed up chick that looks like her". Haley's eyes flashed fire "Oh really, well last time I checked sweetheart my husband wasn't a drunken drop-out but hey things change".

They stubbornly held each others gaze until Nathan looked away "Lucas should keep his fat mouth shut and why the hell do you care anyway". Haley looked at him in incredulity "Do you really have to ask that Nathan".

Nathan rolled his eyes "Yes since I don't know you anymore, because the girl I fell in love with would have never abandoned her friends or the husband she supposedly loved for a shiny new life with Chris Keller".

Haley screamed in frustration and punched the hood "For God's sake Nathan will you get it through your thick numskull of a head : I-DO-NOT-LOVE-CHRIS-I-LOVE-YOU". Nathan noticed that blood was dripping down her hand and got out of the car.

"Let me see your hand". Haley drew back from him "It's nothing!". "Yeah and you're mayor of the Stepford wives" murmured Nathan sarcastically as he grabbed her hand, Haley rolled her eyes then winced as he examined her hand "It's just a cut".

Nathan held it up to the light "It's not just a cut Haley, you've slit your knuckle and it's pretty deep, it'll need stitches". Haley wrenched her hand away "It'll be fine".

Nathan looked at her in amazement "Haley, don't be so goddamn reckless, we need to get you to the emergency room right now or that wound could become infected".

Haley rolled her eyes "Why do you care anyway?" she commented derisively her eyes burning into him . Nathan threw up his hands up in the air "Fine I don't care anymore". "That's fine with me!" retorted Haley and she angrily picked up her bags and stalked down the drive.

Nathan smirked "Yeah, run away, it's what your best at". Haley turned, fury etched on her attractive features "No this is me leaving before I kill you!". Nathan shrugged "Your pretty good at leaving too, I'd say they're your specialist skills".

Haley looked like she would like very much to kick the crap out of him "What other option do I have? You clearly don't want me here". "Well if you hadn't have left in the first place, you wouldn't have this problem" Nathan spat viciously.

"You're the one who gave me an ultimatum" snapped Haley. "And you made your decision a long time ago Haley so now you have to live with the outcome" Nathan's expression was inscrutable. Haley's lips tightened "I'm beginning to think I made the wrong choice".

Nathan laughed sardonically "So now we figure out that running away on tour was a bad idea". Haley shook her head "No I think I made the wrong choice coming back to you, We obviously aren't as in love with each other as we thought we were, and as it turns out everybody else was right, we're just two stupid kids who rushed into getting married".

These words hit Nathan like a ton of bricks "If that's how you feel" he whispered dryly. Haley bit her lip "You know it's not". Nathan kicked a stone on the gravel "But maybe it's what we have to accept Hales, our marriage broke down the minute we started lying and stopped trusting each other".

A tear spilled down Haley's cheek "Always and Forever" she spoke softly. Nathan sat down "More like 'Never and Briefly' he joked. Haley threw him a look "I'm so happy you find the disintegration of our marriage amusing, you basketball on the brain meat-head!".

Nathan rolled his eyes "Don't throw a diva fit on me darlin', you ain't on the road now". Haley glared at him "Ha Ha very funny". Nathan glared right back at her "So you were leaving … again".

Haley ran her fingers through her hair "Do you want me to leave?". Nathan looked at the ground "I think that's the most sensible thing to do".

"That doesn't answer my question" Haley took his hands in hers "I'm not asking if you think I should leave, I'm asking if you want me to". Nathan swallowed the constricting lump in his throat "I'm going to High Flyers". Haley licked her lips nervously "Oh … you are?".

Nathan smiled half-heartedly "Yeah I applied again and with the reference Whitey gave me, they let me back in". Haley let go of his hands "Nathan don't you think it would be better to stay and work things out".

Nathan's expression hardened "No I think it would have been better if you hadn't walked out on our marriage!". Instead of being hurt, a wide smile spread across Haley's face "Nathan you're a genius!" and she grabbed him and kissed him, right smack on the forehead before grabbing her bags and practically skipping down the drive.

It took a minute for Nathan to process what had just happened "Haley wait!". Haley spun around at the bottom of the driveway an ecstatic smile fixed on her face "Yeah?".

"Can I just say, what the hell?" Nathan threw his hands up in the air "And what are you on?".

Haley laughed "You let me have my dream, so I'm letting you have yours … well you didn't exactly let me but that's not the point! I had my dream now you get to have yours! And I do realise that going to High Flyers is just a little dream step on the ladder to your ultimate dream of being a famous basketball legend but hey it's a frigging start! Well I'm gonna go now, to the café and beg for a place to sleep, see ya"

Haley turned on her heel and pranced down the drive, leaving a thoroughly bewildered Nathan in her wake. "Okay she is definitely on something!"

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