Season on the Brink

A/N: I was going to wait to post this chapter until I was sure that the "alert" feature was working again, but I can't wait anymore. I've promised you guys an explanation as to the whole Nathan and Haley break up, and here it is. I hope you like it!

"Nathan, can I talk to you for a minute?"

With a groan, Nathan removed his hand from the front door knob and turned to see his father in the hall. "I'm already late, Dad," he reminded his father, checking his watch for effect.

Dan nodded and motioned for his son to join him. "I know, son, but it doesn't really matter," he assured with a smile. "Just come in here for a second."

Nathan followed him into the kitchen and rested against one of the bar stools by the counter. A folder was sitting in the middle of the table, with an Oakworth jersey. "Dad, I already told you that I'm not going to Oakworth," he said.

Whenever he was about to tell someone that their opinion didn't matter, there was a sadistic smile that turned the corners of Dan's mouth. And the smile was in full effect as he pushed the folder toward his son. "But I'm your father, Nathan. And it is still my job to decide what is in your best interest."

"Dad, I'm seventeen!" Nathan interjected.

Dan nodded. "Yes, you are. And until you're eighteen, the law says I get to make the decisions here. My decision is that you're going to Oakworth, and that is final."

Rollign his eyes, Nathan stood, hitching his backpack over his shoulder. "Whatever, Dad," he sighed. Dan was always doing ridiculous things that Nathan couldn't fathom. And he always found a way to get around his father's obsessive controlling.

"I know why you're fighting this, Nathan," Dan said before Nathan was out of ear shot. "Ask yourself this, though," he said, his voice thick with sarcasm. "If she hasn't taken you back by now, what are the odds she going to now?"

Slamming the door behind him, Nathan took a moment on the porch to process what had just happened. As always, Dan had found a way to turn his thoughts in just the right direction. But before he folded to his father's will this time, there was something he needed to know.

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Reading the same page for the fifth time, Haley tried her best to focus on the take-home test in front of her. It would be figured as half of her final grade, and she had to do well. But every time she opened the history book, all she could think about was Nathan. Hell, any time she did anything, all she could think about was Nathan.

After seeing Paige and Cooper together in the parking lot, Peyton explained that she often showed up early to use the school's art studio before the students arrived. She told Haley that she had seen Cooper drop Paige off at the school on more than one occasion, and that they were always at least that chummy, if not moreso.

The knowledge had relieved Haley, but also made things ten times more complicated. It meant that nothing was standing between them anymore. Almost nothing.

As if on cue, the door to the tutor center opened and closed. Raising her eyes, Haley felt her heart flutter. "Nathan," she said, pushing her book to the side.

Flopping into a chair across the table from her, he dropped his bag to the floor and leaned back in his seat. "I need to ask you something. And I need you to be absolutely honest with me, okay?"

She cleared her throat and nodded, trying to fight the barrage of emotions that were taking her over. "Um, okay."

"What happened to us?"

Though she had always expected that he would want to talk about the break up at some point, she certainly wasn't prepared for the manner in which he started the conversation. "Nathan," she started.

But he shook his head and tapped on the table with a finger. "Look, if you just weren't feelin' me anymore, I can deal with that. But if there was something more to it, I need to know that. And I need to know it now."

Taking a deep breath, she ran her fingers through her hair and tried to think of the best way to tell him the truth that he deserved. "It wasn't because I didn't love you, Nathan. I do," she admitted out loud the one thing she had been holding back for what felt like an eternity. "Look, we're headed in two different directions, okay? I'm going to Stanford next year and you're probably going to end up at Duke or UNC. I don't know if you realize this, but that's two separate coasts, Nathan.

"And even if we did make it work through college, how are we ever going to reconcile your basketball career with whatever I end up doing?" She finally took a breath, her eyes conflicted as she searched his for answers she knew he couldn't give.

"So you broke up with me more than a year before graduation because we might not work out after college?" Nathan wasn't sure if he was more surprised at her logic or the complete lack of emotion in her eyes as she spoke.

"Yeah," she answered, steeling herself against the venom he would no doubt send her way.

He looked at the table for a moment, and then at her. "Did you come to that decision all by yourself?" She looked surprised, but said nothing in response. "It was him, wasn't it? My dad told you that it would never work, that there were too many odds stacked against us?"

She took a deep breath and stood, looking out the window. "Your dad is the mayor of Tree Hill, Nathan," she reminded him, as though Nathan didn't know that already.

"So?"

Turning, she looked at him seriously. "My dad works for the city."

The light of realization dawned in his blue eyes. "He threatened your dad's job?" When she didn't answer, he stood and slammed his chair against the floor. "Unbelievable," he growled. "So if it wasn't for that, we'd still be together?"

The tears flooded her eyes and spilled down her cheeks before she could stop them. Truth be told, she didn't want to stop them anymore. "Whether we like him or not, Nathan, he has a lot of power. I would love to be able to just say "fuck him" and be with you like I really want to be, but this isn't just about you and me. He made it about so much more."

Closing the gap between them, Nathan ran his hands up Haley's arms and rested them on her shoulders. "Haley, if I can convince my dad not to fire yours, will you have dinner with me tonight?"

She nodded, unable to speak over the butterflies fighting for position in her stomach. Feeling his touch only re-ignited the fire that had been smoldering under the surface for five months. It was like a drug and now she knew that she just wanted more.

Nathan lowered his head and dropped a brief kiss on her lips. "I told you back in April, Haley. I'm not letting us go that easily."

A sense of relief filled her as she rested her face against his chest. Nathan tightened his arms around her in a bear hug. "I love you," she whispered softly.

"I love you," he responded with another kiss as the bell rang, signalling the end of first period. "Always," he winked.

The door opened as another tutor reported for second period duty. But Haley didn't notice. For the first time in months, she felt like she could breathe again, like maybe thigns would be okay. With a wide smile, she stood on her toes and gave him one last kiss. "And Forever."

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"I can't fight you anymore."

Dan looked up from the paper work he was suffering through, into his son's sincere eyes. "I'm in the middle of something, Nathan," he stated, remaining aloof to the kid's outburst.

But Nathan wouldn't be denied. Unzipping his backpack, he pulled the Oakworth jersey from his bag. "I'll go to your stupid school, I'll play my ass off, and I'll go to Duke, just like we always planned." When Dan stood, clearly ready to revel in his success, Nathan held up a finger. "On one condition."

Motioning for his son to have a seat, Dan lowered himself back to his chair. "What is it, Nathan?"

Nathan disregaurded the invitation and leaned across the desk, his knuckles white from the death grip he had on the dark wood. "I'm having dinner with Haley tonight. If things go the way I hope they do, we're getting back together and we're going to make it work." Dan grimaced, but Nathan didn't care anymore. "I'll jump through your hoops. You can live vicariously through me all you want. But you stay away from her, and you leave her father alone."

Dan sat back, slightly stunned. He wasn't sure if he was offended at Nathan's tone, or impressed with his moxy. "Fair enough," he held his hands up in surrender. When Nathan raised a skeptical eyebrow, Dan smirked. "It's not like you guys will last two weeks that far apart anyway."