Thanks to my loverly reviewers: Nathanlvr, OTH.daddy'sgurl.06, 101naley101, itsDMFkids, AngelLuva, mistydm, nemo123489, coupling-all-the-time, Emily, Nathanlvr23, LiZ457, JPNeverlosetheButterflies, jay001, and Michelle.

Nothing reveiled about it being Nathan's or not... just yet... You'll just have to wait a few more chapters for it! ENJOY!

Chapter 16

"Haley, I can't believe you're leaving! You can't do this!"

I sighed. Why couldn't anyone understand me? Why can't they just listen to where I'm coming from? I looked at Brooke. "Listen, Tigger, you just don't get it. I can't be around him right now. It hurts too badly. I may transfer at the semester, but I just have to be on my own for a while," I said and she sighed.

"Tutorgirl, you know how much he love you. I guess I just don't understand," she replied and then hugged me. "I hope you're making the right decision, Haley."

I sighed and hugged her tighter. "I hope I am, too," I whispered, more to myself then her.

We were all sitting at my house. I had just told Brooke, Peyton, Bevin, Jake, Skills, Mouth and Lucas my plans for the fall. Nobody else was really talking. Lucas stood up and hugged me. "If you ever need anything, Hales, you know where I am. I'm always gonna be here for you, no matter how far we are apart."

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "I know, Luke. You're an amazing little brother, you know that?" I asked and he smiled. I looked to everyone else. "Well?"

They all stood to hug me and wish me good luck. Bevin and Skills were excited that I was heading for California with them. I laughed. "You guys know it's a 6 hour drive from Stanford to UCLA, right?" I asked and Bevin looked confused. We all laughed. I was sad to be leaving, but I needed to go as soon as possible, but first I needed to talk to Nathan.

I left them all at my house, knowing that Nathan deserved to know I was leaving in 5 days. I drove over to his house. I walked up and rang the doorbell. Dan was the one to answer. He gave me a small smile. "Hello, Haley. Come on in," He said and stepped aside.

"Hi, Dan, is Nathan home?" I stepped inside and looked around.

"Yeah, he's up in his room. Go ahead and go up there," He replied and I started up the stairs.

I was extremely nervous. I mean, I was about to tell the man I love that I was leaving. I stood waiting at his door for a few minutes. I could hear him throwing a ball up in the air. I put a smile on my face and knocked. "Come in!" came the reply.

I took one last deep breath before I opened the door. He wasn't looking over at the door. I cleared my throat and he looked, causing him to shoot up into a standing position. "Hey, Nate," I said softly.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" he asked and motioned for me to take a seat.

I shook my head. "I don't need to sit. I just wanted to tell you something."

"What's that?"

I sighed. "I'm leaving tomorrow and I thought you deserved to know."

"Haley, don't do this. You can't just leave when things get hard!" he stood up and walked over to me.

I took a step back. "Please, you can't be this close to me right now. This is hard enough!" I yelled.

He ignored what I said and pulled me into his arms. I broke into tears, but allowed him to hold me. "Haley, you aren't being fair to me or yourself! You know how much I love you and I know that you love me! You just need to accept this and stand by my side."

I pushed back. "Nathan, you need to be by Rachel's side in this. This is for your child," I said, trying to convince myself instead of him.

"I'm not sure if this baby's mine yet, Hales. I need you to stay by me in this!" he said, pleading with me.

I turned to look him in the eyes. There were tears falling down from his beautiful blue eyes. Once again my heart broke into a million pieces. "Nathan, I want to. I want to be with you so badly!"

"Then why won't you!" he screamed.

I hugged him close. "You have a responsibility now, and it's not to me. It's to Rachel and that baby," I said and then pulled back. "I do love you, Nathan, and that's why I'm doing this."

"You're basically telling me that I need to marry Rachel," he said and I nodded. "Haley, I'm not going to marry someone I don't love. If I ever marry anyone, it's gonna be you. Now-"

"Nathan, that is so sweet, but it's not going to happen," I managed to say. It was like my throat was closing and I couldn't talk anymore. I leaned up to kiss him one last time, planning on leaving.

Nathan had other plans. His tongue slipped past my lips and I sunk into him again, remembering how good it felt. I sighed and returned his kisses whole heartedly. He led me to the bed. He laid me down and made love to me one last time. Neither one of us said a thing, we just felt. It was like we both knew it wasn't the end of us, but not wanting to voice it.

I knew Nathan would marry Rachel. He was going to do what was right. I know deep down he'll realize its what's best for his child. I just hope he doesn't fall for her. That would ruin me completely. It was the one thing I had left of him; his love.

We lay together, neither talking. We cuddled and stared at the other. I was memorizing every scar, every freckle, and every mole. I wanted to remember everything that made him my Nathan. I rubbed my hand over his cheek and gave him one last sweet kiss. I moved to get my clothes but he stopped me, pulling me back to him. "I'm not ending us, Haley. I don't care what I have to do to get you back, but I will."

I smiled at him. "I'll always be yours, Nathan. Never forget that. It just feels so wrong to actually be with you after all this," I explained.

"Haley, Rachel's going to have my baby, but she'll never have my heart. You have that and when you come back home, you'll still have that," he replied and kissed me one last time. "I love you, Haley."

I smiled. "I love you, too, Nate. I'll see you at Christmas," I said and silently got dressed.

"You'll see me sooner than that, Haley," I heard him say softly. I just acted like I didn't hear it. I stood up and gave him one last look before leaving.

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