A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews! I know I usually update more often than this, but I've been having exams so I don't have much spare time. They'll be finished in 2 weeks though, and then updates will be back to normal.

Chapter Nineteen

"So I thought we could watch a movie…is that okay?" Rachel asked Nathan once he was inside.

Looking over at the TV screen in the living room not far from the entrance, Nathan nodded. "Sure." He started moving that way when Rachel stopped him.

"Where are you going?"

He gestured to what was most likely the largest television he had ever seen. "There."

Rachel smirked. "I have a TV in my room."

Nathan's eyebrows went up as he heard one of the boys snort into microphone. "Well, we can watch it here. I mean, your TV probably isn't as big as this one and uh–"

Rachel laughed and shook her head. "You Scott boys are so shy!" She took a few steps toward him and pulled him by the arm to the staircase.

"Shy? Yeah, right," Jake whispered into the microphone so only Nathan could hear.

"Shut up," Nathan muttered.

"What?" Rachel turned around.

"What?" Nathan countered.

"You said something."

"No, I didn't."

Rachel's eyebrows came together in confusion. "I'm sure you said something."

Nathan shrugged.

Rachel brushed it off and took his arm again and led him upstairs. She all but dragged him inside her room, the one closest to the staircase. Observing its enormous size and the television that was only marginally smaller than the one downstairs, Nathan realized what life could have been like for him had he had a rich family. That, and had he been a girl, he added to himself on noticing the frilly pink curtains.

"So just make yourself comfortable," Rachel told him and plopped down on the far side of the bed. She picked up the remote on the side table and switched the television on.

Nathan was standing next to a desk, so he pulled the chair out and sat down on that.

Rachel giggled. "I said be comfortable. Come sit here next to me," she patted down the side of the bed closer to him.

"I wish that was me," Tim commented, loud enough for the mike to pick it up.

"Don't be stupid, Tim," Fergie said. "No girl would ever say that to you."

Fighting back the urge to laugh, Nathan stood up and went up to the bed. He sat down on the side and kicked off his trainers, before lying down, far enough away from Rachel so that he was comfortable, but close enough so that she wouldn't think he was weirder than she already did. As much as he would have liked to remain sitting in that chair, her thinking he was avoiding her after he was the one who asked her out, wouldn't really help the case.

The movie began to play and Nathan started to go over in his head the best way to get Rachel talking about the drugs. As he wasn't paying attention, Rachel found it very easy to do what can only be described as pounce on him. Nathan was so taken aback that he physically moved away from her impulsively, forgetting that he was already quite close to the edge of the bed.

"Are you okay?" Rachel exclaimed, her head popping out over the side of the bed to look down on Nathan, who was now lying on his back on the ground.

Closing his eyes, Nathan grumbled and managed a nod. He wasn't sure what hurt worse. His head from the fall or his ear from the loud laughter coming through the earpiece now that the guys had realized what happened.

"Do you need any help?" she offered.

"No, I'm fine," Nathan reassured her, and proved it by sitting up on the floor by himself.

"Are you sure you don't – what's that?" she asked suddenly.

"What's what?"

"There's something in your ear!" she squealed.

Nathan put a hand up to his ear and realized that the laughter hadn't been dying down – the fall had just loosened the tiny ear piece and it was coming out of his ear. He adjusted it hurriedly and racked his brain.

"What is it?"

"It's a hearing aid," he blurted out.

"A hearing aid? Oh my god! So, you're, like, deaf?" she wondered.

"Uh…hearing impaired."

"Oh my gosh." As she rested her chin on the palm of her hand, propped up on her elbow, Nathan saw she actually was interested. "Why don't you have one in your other ear?"

"It's only my left ear," he explained.

"So what's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Being deaf? Not being able to hear everything properly?"

"Well, I…with the hearing aid I can pretty much hear everything."

"Oh, right, of course." Rachel scooted back over to her side to make room for Nathan. "Shall we get back to the movie then?"

Haley was almost at Chris' apartment. His block was close to where she lived, but slightly further from school, which was his excuse for getting late nearly everyday, much to Whitey's amusement. Not.

She had borrowed Peyton's car, which she'd had with her since before college. The old thing was coming apart, but whenever Haley suggested Peyton get a new one she always replied, "Not until he breaks down on me. Right now, he still gets the job done." Which was kind of true. Haley wasn't the best of drivers, but Peyton's trusty old car, named Pete by some of their friends for reasons Haley still wasn't quite sure about, was still holding up.

She parked in front of the block of flats, narrowly missing hitting the mailbox in the process, and jumped out of the car. Haley didn't know what she was going to say to Chris, but she felt like she had to face this problem now or otherwise she never would, and they'd go back to the way they had been for months: together, but not really. It had come to the point where she didn't like to go out with Chris if his crazy friends weren't coming along so she could have a laugh, or she longed for Peyton to suggest something the two of them could do together so she wouldn't have to go out with him.

He had given her a key so entering the flats was no problem. She jogged up the stairs and soon arrived at the second floor. Once she reached Chris' apartment she took a deep breath, and then knocked.

Two minutes later the door was opened by a surprisingly familiar face. "What are you doing here?" It was only after the words had left her mouth that the answer came to her.

"You know, you really need to relax," Rachel commented to Nathan as he got back on the bed.

And there's the opening, he thought immediately. "Uh, yeah…you know, lately I've actually been having a lot of trouble just relaxing…"

"Why, what have you been doing?" Rachel flashed him a knowing grin.

It took all Jake had not to snicker.

"Nothing much…I just can't seem to relax. I was wondering if maybe you could help me with that…"

Rachel quirked an eyebrow. "I guess I could give you a massage."

"No! No, that's okay…I was actually wondering if maybe…you had any…weed?"

"No," she told him.

No?

"I don't have any more of that," Rachel continued. "However, I have something else…" Rachel got up and knelt on the floor before pulling a box out from underneath the bed.

Nathan leaned over so that he could see for himself and to coax her into talking about what she was in her hands. She needed to say it outright before Junk, Fergie and Tim could come in. Although, the fact that she had implied she used to have weed meant they had some sort of evidence no matter what she had in her hands. Thoughts of what he could do now that it was very likely the case was over started to come to him. Well, for one thing, he'd definitely be going on better dates than this. Holy crap! Nathan thought suddenly when he saw what was in the box she was holding. There was enough to last her for weeks in there!