Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or its characters

Thanks so much for the reviews on the first chapter ya'll! inspiration for this story comes from Leaving Paradies by Simone Elkeles

Chapter 2: Same Night Sky

February 17th, 2010

Nathan stood at the 3 point line and bounced the ball against the gym floor. He could hear the loud sounds of the crowd surrounding him but he tuned them out. He looked down at where the ball left his hands and bounced against the floor. Bringing it up one last time he twirled it in his hands before getting his stance ready. He stared up at the basket and then shot the ball effortlessly through the red rimmed hoop. A familiar smirk graced his face as he watched the ball fall back to the ground. He could hear the cheering from the student section and from his teammates as he ran back down the court. He couldn't deny that he loved this moment. He loved living it over and over again.

There was only 2 minutes left in the game and the Ravens were now up by 3. Cove City was a good team, but the Ravens were better. He knew this was a night he was never going to forget. They were going to be state champs in just under 2 minutes and the clock couldn't wind down fast enough. He knew that when they won, he would never feel more proud of himself then he would in that moment.

He watched as one of the players from Cove City geared up to shoot the ball. Making his way through two players guarding him he quickly prepared to block his shot. When he saw the ball beginning to soar through the air he jumped up quickly and grabbed the ball from the air. Without thinking twice he began to dribble the ball down the court back towards their hoop and he could hear the sounds of the eager crowd. When he got close enough he jumped up and shot the ball back towards the hoop. It bounced on the rim and he could feel his nerves kicking in as he thought there might be a chance that it might not go in. Seconds later it fell back into the hoop and he released all the air in his body through a sigh of relief.

In just a few more seconds he heard the buzzer sound and he knew that they had just won. His teammates jumped around him and he could feel their hands slapping on his back. He saw Jake Jagelski make his way towards him. The bright look of excitement evident on his face. Nathan smiled back before slapping his hands together with his friend. He couldn't deny that this was one of the best moments of his life. He glanced over to the side of the court and saw Haley next to Brooke. Both of them jumping up and down and cheering happily.

He felt a pair of arms encircle him and he turned around and faced Rachel who had her arms tightly wrapped around him. He smiled before leaning down to kiss her lips. "Good job baby," she said with a smile on her face before leaning up to whisper in his ear. "That definitely deserves a reward later."

He smirked, "from who? You?"

"Of course me," she said, "who else?"

He leaned down and kissed her again. When he pulled away he saw Haley standing over on the sidelines with Brooke and Lucas. He also saw Erik Fowler. He was pretty good friends with Erik. He was on the basketball team with him. He knew that Erik had a thing for Haley. He was pretty sure anyone could see that. Except maybe Haley. She didn't seem to notice how he felt about her. Sometimes Nathan felt like Haley didn't really see how amazing she was. She was obviously pretty and funny and incredibly smart. How could someone not fall for her. If they weren't such good friends, he might have liked her too. But she was out of his league anyway. And he had Rachel.

"Where's your head? Are you even listening to me?" Rachel said getting Nathan's attention again. He looked at the redhead in front of him and half smiled.

"Of course I'm listening," he said.

"Well come on Super Star," she said, "we have some celebrating to do!"

September 24th, 2010

The building looked exactly as it had last year. Not that he expected it to change. But still, maybe a little different would have been fine. But no, it was completely the same as it had been before. The same painted blue rock out front with his number in silver paint. The same cars parked in the usual places in the parking lot. "Why are you just standing here?" he heard Brooke ask as she walked up next to him. "You act like you've never been here before."

"No," Nathan said, "I was just noticing how… the same it is."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest while waiting for her brother to continue.

"It's just that…" he trailed off, "never mind."

"Ok?" she said, "well I'm gonna go."

Nathan watched as she walked off towards the doors and inside. He let out a sigh and followed slowly after her. He was dreading this moment. The moment when the news spread that Nathan was back. The second he walked through those doors, everything was going to change. People would be so different to him now. Afraid of him. Not just afraid like they used to be when they thought he might beat the shit out of them just for the fun of it, but afraid of him because he was the kid who was in Juvy. He was the one who had hit Haley James when he was driving drunk. He was the one who fucked up everything.

Walking through the doors he felt every pair of eyes land on him only seconds later. Some people looked shocked like they thought he was a ghost. Did they honestly think that he'd been locked up for life? The looks on their faces said that's exactly what they thought. He felt like yelling 'sorry I'm back. I'd leave if I could.' But then he thought it probably wasn't a good idea to make a scene. Letting out a sigh he walked down the mostly silent hallway. He knew that his locker would be next to Brooke's. When he reached it he saw her and Lucas standing there. Lucas looked up and smiled at him.

"Hey man," he said and stuck his hand out to him. "It's good to see you!"

He knew that Lucas would be supportive of him being back. He'd always been that way. Lucas was their cousin, and one of their best friends. But he was also Haley's best friend. Nathan could only imagine that he felt completely in the middle of all of this. That's how he would have felt if he was Lucas.

"Thanks," Nathan replied softly.

"Weird being back?"

"Yeah, really weird. Everyone's like freaking out."

"Duh," Brooke said, "you were in jail."

"Not Jail," Nathan said reminding Brooke, who shrugged.

He walked over to his locker, "same code," she told him and he turned the lock to open it. When he did he saw it was already full of books and notebooks. "I got them for you last week when I found out you were coming home."

"Thanks," he said. He also saw his schedule taped to the inside of his locker. He smiled again before grabbing his US History book and notebook. When the bell rang he turned and headed for his first class since he was back. As he walked down the hall he could hear the buzz of whispers around him and he couldn't help but shake his head. He knew eventually something would happen and they would get over the fact that he was back. He hoped that was soon. He never really liked being the center of attention. Except when it came to basketball. But this, this was so different.

Walking inside the classroom he saw everyone look up and stare at him as he stood in the doorway. Everyone fell silent as they looked at him. He ignored the looks and headed for a seat in the back of the class. He dropped his back pack to the ground and placed his book on the desk. "Nathan!" he heard someone call his name and he looked up at the door. He saw Tim Smith rush into the room and towards the seat next to him. "Nathan! You're back!"

Nathan laughed a little, "nothing gets past you."

"Oh thank God, Man. You don't know how boring things have been without you. You were gone all summer!"

Nathan shook his head. Did he really think that he didn't know that. "Yeah," Nathan said, "I'm pretty aware of that."

"We gotta have a party to celebrate you coming home!"

"I don't really think that's a good idea Tim."

"What?" Tim asked, confusion evident in his voice. "Why?"

"I'm not really supposed to be partying. And I'm definitely not allowed to drink. I have to focus on school."

"That's boring," Tim said, "come on. It'll be fine. Just a small party."

"Right," Nathan scoffed, "your parties are never small parties."

"Please Nate?" Tim practically begged, "I promise it'll be fine."

"No," Nathan said, "I'm gonna have to pass."

"Tim are you still trying to get Nathan to hook up with you?"

Nathan looked up and saw Rachel standing in front of his desk looking down at Tim. Her hair was longer now, even a little darker than the last time he saw her. She wore a pair of jeans with a tight black sweater. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she wore a look of annoyance on her face. Come to think of it, that was kind of always what her face looked like. She turned her eyes away from Tim and down at Nathan. "Hey Nate," she said, "good to see you back."

"Thanks Rach," he said, "it's good to see you."

She smiled before walking over to the desk on the other side of Nathan and sitting down. Nathan thought she would have said more to him but instead she leaned forward in her seat and started to talk to Bevin who was seated in front of her. Nathan couldn't help but think that was odd. He was sure that Rachel would have been happy to see him. She was practically attached to his side 24/7 before. But that was before. Apparently things had changed a lot when he was away.

He let those thoughts pass as soon as his teacher began to teach class. He paid extra attention, even took notes for the first time in a long time. He was going to turn over a new leaf. He as really going to try hard this year. It wasn't going to be like last year. He couldn't let it be like last year.

All anyone could talk about was the fact that he was back. Anywhere Haley went that's all she heard people talk about. Even the teachers wouldn't shut up about it. So what? Why was it such a big deal to all of them? Sure, it was sort of a big deal to her, but only because she'd been dreading that day when he would come back to Tree Hill. But why did everyone else have to freak out about it? Was it truly that amazing? In the hallways she heard some of the guys talking about how that now that he was back the Ravens had their chance back at getting to state. And the girls, she was about to slap someone. All they could talk about was how he'd gotten even hotter. She didn't understand what the obsession was. It had to be the whole bad boy thing. But even still, she didn't want to hear anymore about him. She didn't even want to hear his name.

"Haley?"

She looked up and saw Erik sitting across from her looking at her. "I'm sorry," she said, "my minds sort of somewhere else."

"Yeah I noticed," he said, "let me guess, it's Nathan right."

Haley rolled her eyes a bit and nodded.

"I figured. Everyone's sort of freaking out about it."

"I know," she said, "I wish they'd all shut up."

Erik nodded. He knew that this probably wasn't the easiest thing for her right now. It had to suck to have everyone so excited that the guy who had ruined your life was back in town. He felt bad for her. This was something that she probably wouldn't ever get over. Not that he could blame her. You don't just get over something like that.

"I know this is probably a stupid question," he said, "but how are you doing with all this?"

"Well," she said, "I mean it's not like I didn't know that he was going to come back. Obviously he would. I just thought I would have more time. I thought someone had to tell me when he was coming back. I didn't think I'd just see him one night. But of course that would happen to me."

"I'm sorry Hales," Erik said, "I'm sure this isn't easy."

"Far from it actually," she said and let out a sigh. She looked down at the books on the table in front of them. "But whatever. I'm supposed to be tutoring you," she said, "so we should get back to that."

"Alright," he said with a smile, "let's get to it."

Erik had come to Haley at the beginning of the month. It was only September but his grade in Pre Calc was already slipping and he needed help. Of course she'd agreed to help him and she'd even helped him get a B on his last test. He was so proud of himself and she could see it on his face and hear it in his voice when he told her about it. She loved helping people, being a tutor was one of the greatest things she could do now. Plus, she really liked Erik. He was a sweet guy and he was funny. When she'd first met him he was quiet and shy but the more she got to know him the more she liked him. She definitely counted him as one of her good friends.

After sitting there for a few minutes he looked up at her. "Can you check this?" he asked and slid his notebook towards her. She looked down at the problem and reviewed his steps before smiling and sliding it back to him.

"You've got this," she said, "there's no way you don't ace this quiz today!"

"You think?"

"I know!"

He smiled shyly at her before looking back down at his work. He knew that without her there was no way that he would have gotten this. "Haley?" he asked and she looked back up at him. "Do you think…" he trailed off and ran his hand over his short light brown hair. "Do you think you'd wanna hang out sometime? Like not tutoring, but just hanging out?"

"Uh," she said, "like a date?"

He smiled, "yeah, like a date."

She smiled, "yeah I think I'd like that."

"Really?" he asked, almost surprised.

"Of course."

"Great," he said before looking back down at his notebook. He couldn't deny the fact that he was surprised that she'd said yes. He always figured that Haley would be with a guy who was just as smart as she was. Not someone who needed her help with homework. He hated to admit it, but he almost didn't feel good enough for her. But he liked her so much and he was really glad that she'd said yes. Now he felt like he could concentrate better on his math. All session he'd been worried about when he would finally ask her out. He knew he was going to do it today, but he was surprised that he'd gotten over his nerves and actually done it. But he was glad he did. If he hadn't, he would always be wondering about what she might have said.

When the bell rang he closed his book and packed it into his bag. That was the last class of the day and he was going to go to the gym. He had started weight lifting and was already training for basketball season. He was going to take them to state this year. He'd always been a great player, but people just fawned over Nathan Scott. But not this year. He was going to be the one who took them to state.

He watched Haley stand up and reach for her crutches. He saw the frustrated look on her face and he picked up her books off the table. "I can get them," she said.

"I know you can," he said, "but I want to."

She smiled and placed her crutches under her arms before making her way towards the door with Erik behind her. They made their way out into the busy hall and when they reached her locker she looked down the hall and saw Nathan standing at his. She'd heard people talking about him all day but she'd somehow managed to miss him all day. It was probably because she'd put all her books in her back pack and carried them with her all day so she wouldn't have to go to her locker. She was going to make it through this year without talking to him if she could. Without seeing him would be the best, but she had a feeling that wouldn't happen.

Erik looked down the hall were her gaze was planted and saw Nathan at his locker. He looked away from him and back towards Haley. He could see the tension running off her body in waves. He hated that she had to feel that way. It wasn't fair for her. He knew that things were already hard enough for her. "You ok?" he asked.

Haley nodded, "yeah, I guess I just need to get over it."

"Nah," Erik said, "I wouldn't expect you to just get over it."

Haley shrugged and then went back to putting her things back in her back pack. She hated that Nathan was back, but she didn't want to let it get to her. If she did, then it would just eat away at her. She didn't have to talk to him, and she wasn't going to. She was just going to ignore him. He didn't exist in her mind. She wished that he really didn't.

Nathan sat on the kitchen counter while the tall man in front of him spoke to him and his parents. Chuck Battle had been brought on as Nathan's… well his Parole officer. It was his job to make sure that Nathan stayed out of trouble, and out of juvy. He had seen a lot of kids like Nathan, kids who had taken just one wrong turn and because of it they ended up in a lot of trouble. Sometimes, those kids were able to turn their lives around, sometimes it was harder than that. But he was determined to help Nathan. He knew what it was like to make one mistake and have it weigh down on you.

"Nathan get off the counter," Deb said to her son. Nathan jumped off the counter and then crossed his arms over his chest while he listened to the man in front of him. He didn't think it was necessary to have him here. It wasn't like he needed to be babysat now that he was home. He wasn't going to make the same mistakes that'd he'd made before. It just wouldn't happen. He wasn't going to let himself become a screw up. At least not more than he already was. He wanted to turn things around so that he could get out of this town. Tree Hill was wearing him down and he absolutely hated it here.

"I'm gonna be checking in on you every week and see how things are going. I'll be checking at your school to make sure you're keeping your grades up. School should be your top priority right now. We want you to graduate on time with everyone else."

"I've only missed a month."

"But this year is important," Deb said, "you need your grades to be good, just in case basketball falls through."

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked turning to face his mom. "It's not gonna fall through."

"It's just more important that you focus on your grades right now Nathan," Chuck said.

Nathan looked at his dad. Now Dan Scott would choose to be quiet. Normally he would be arguing about how important it was that Nathan get to play basketball. He would be arguing about how they were just ruining their plan. But he was being surprisingly quiet. Nathan wasn't sure what to make of that. Was he just building up his anger for later? Was he planning on causing a fight about basketball later? Or did he just not care anymore? The thought that maybe he'd given up on Nathan hadn't failed to enter his mind. How could his dad not be pissed that he'd been put in juvy. He had to be pissed that because Nathan was away he didn't get to go to High Flyers over the Summer.

"Alright," Nathan said, "whatever."

"It's really important," Deb said.

"I know that," Nathan said. "Look am I done here? Is there anything else you need to say to me?" he asked. He wasn't trying to be rude, he just really didn't want to talk about this anymore. He didn't need people telling him how important it was that he get his life back together. He knew all that.

"There's one more thing we need to talk about," Chuck said.

"What?"

"Haley James."

Nathan felt his nerves kick in at the mention of her name. What was there to talk about? He knew what'd he'd done to her. It wasn't like he need a refresher. "What about her?"

"I know that since you live right next door to her and you go to the same school, it's going to be hard, but you have to stay away from her as much as possible. This is a hard situation and we don't want to make it any harder. She wasn't notified that you were going to be home and her mom filed a complaint with our office. She doesn't want you anywhere near Haley when at all possible."

"It's not like I'd hurt her."

"I know that Sweetie," Deb said resting a hand on her shoulder, "but we don't need things to be any worse. If we can just avoid them as much as possible then it's better. I know you and Haley were friends, and I'm sure this is just as hard on you as it is on her, but-"

"Whatever," Nathan said, "I'll stay away from her. Is that all?" he asked.

Chuck nodded his head and Nathan hurried out of the kitchen. Of course he was going to avoid her as much as possible. Wasn't that a given? Why would he try to see her? She hated him. She made that pretty clear last night at the River Court. He wasn't going to make it any worse. He wasn't stupid.

He grabbed the basketball he'd dropped by the door last night and walked out the front door and towards the driveway. The basketball hoop was still in its place. He shot the ball towards the net and watched it go through effortlessly. He'd missed basketball. It was one of the few things that he'd missed when he was away. Sure, he'd missed his family and friends, but they'd all changed when he was away. But basketball was constant. The rules were always the same. The game never failed him.

He continued to shoot the ball through the hoop a few more times. The last time the ball rolled past his feet and down the slope of the driveway. He watched as hit the tire of the car that was parked at the end of the driveway. It was a black GMC. It was Rachel's car. The door opened and she stepped out of the large car. Her long red hair fell over her shoulders and she pulled a black leather jacket on tighter to herself. "Hey Nate," she said, "I see you're not busy," she said picking up the ball and bouncing it back towards him.

"Guess not."

"Good," she said and walked closer, "we need to talk."

"Yeah I figured," he said and shot the ball towards the hoop and it sailed in again.

"I see you haven't lost your touch," she complimented. Nathan shrugged and bounced the ball on the pavement a few more times before looking back up at her. She pushed her hair back behind her ears and then crossed her arms over her chest. "Look," she said, "you need to know something, now that you're back. After you went away, it was hard for me. I've been seeing someone."

"Ok," Nathan said, "I figured you would."

"Yeah," she said, "but, um, it's Felix."

"Taggaro?" Nathan asked.

Felix Taggaro was one of Nathan's good friends. At least he used to be. Apparently that all changed after he left. He couldn't deny the fact that it hurt that Rachel had moved on. He loved Rachel and it was hard to hear that she was with someone else. Especially that she was with one of his friends. But he couldn't say that he was surprised that she'd moved on. She was never good on her own. She needed a guy, and apparently Nathan just wasn't that guy.

"Yeah," she said, "we started going out in June."

"I left in May. At the end of May."

"I know," she said.

"So you waited, not even a month before you moved on to one of my friends."

"Nathan don't act like this. You're the one who left me."

"Not by choice!" he said, "it's not like I thought it would be a good idea to go to Juvy. Trust me that wasn't my idea."

"Whatever," she said, "I came here to tell you the truth. I should have known you'd act like this."

Nathan shook his head before turning his back to her and shooting the ball towards the hoop. He really didn't want to hear this. He thought that he would be ok if she had moved on. He thought it would have been with some random guy that she'd met. Not one of his friends. And not even a month after he'd left.

"I missed you Nathan," she said walking up to him. "I missed you so much."

"Yeah I bet," he said, "good thing Felix was here to keep you company though."

She put her hand on his cheek and directed his gaze back to her. "I know you're mad now, but you'll get over it. And who knows what'll happen now that you're back. We've always been kind of perfect for each other Nathan. Maybe in time things will go back to normal."

He took her wrist in his hand and moved her hand from his cheek. "You should go home Rachel."

"Ok," she said and moved her hands back to her sides. "But just so you know," she said, "I really did miss you."

"That's great."

She rolled her eyes and started to walk back to her car. She turned her head over her shoulder and looked at him one last time before getting back into her car. She had always been like that. Coming by at the most random times to drop the most inconvenient news on him. Some things changed a lot, and some didn't change at all.

Haley stood by her window and watched as Nathan and Rachel talked in his driveway. She hadn't meant to spy on them. She really could care less what he did with his time now. But when she heard the sounds of the basketball on the court, she couldn't help herself and she went to look. When she did she saw him shooting hoops in his driveway. Of course he was just as good as he'd been last year. It really wasn't fair. He was still just as talented as he had been before everything that happened last May. But not her. Everything she was, was gone.

A few minutes later she watched Rachel pull up. Of course. His number one groupie would be back at his side. She watched them talk and from the looks of it, he looked mad. What were they talking about? She knew that she was being nosy, but she couldn't help herself. She didn't know why she wanted to know so bad, she knew that she shouldn't care, but she did care. No, she thought to herself, she didn't care. She rolled her eyes at them before walking back to her bed and sitting down on her pillow top mattress.

She looked at the photo album that laid on her bedside table. She'd pulled it out earlier and she was going to look at it before she'd heard Nathan in his driveway. She leaned over and picked it up before flipping it open. The pages were full of pictures of her from when she was younger, and then there were pictures from just last year. Back when things hadn't changed. Back when she could still dance. Back when it didn't kill her to just walk around at home or school.

The pictures showed her dancing on stage, during performances. Some of the things looked so intricate and hard, but back then they were second nature. Like her body was made to move that way. She was normally a klutz during everyday life, but when she danced, she was graceful and elegant. She missed it so much it hurt. The day the doctors told her she might never dance again she thought a part of her died. Dance was what was going to get her out Tree Hill. It was going to keep her from being a waitress in Karen's Café for the rest of her life. But not anymore. Nathan took that away from her.

She slammed the album shut and dropped it on the floor. She couldn't look at it anymore. It was hurtful. It was just memories of things that would never be again. She could feel the tears in her eyes as she thought about it. She would give anything to have things the way they used to be.