*AUTHOR'S NOTE: WOOOOO! It's been a long time hasn't it! Well, I'm back and sure, busier than ever, but I WILL finish this story.

Thanks for staying with it!

Chapter 5

Haley's head was reeling. Nathan's kiss still lingered on her lips as she shut the front door. She peeked through the window and watched him drive out of sight. She smiled dopily and bit her lip. She didn't realize how much she liked him until the kiss. Now, she couldn't stop thinking about it and most importantly, she couldn't stop smiling. Quietly and slowly she made her way up the stairs to her room, trying not to wake up her parents.

She was just about to her door when her parents' door creaked open. "Haley-bob," she heard her dad say in his deep voice. She turned around. Her dad was a handsome man, tall, brown hair, with some resemblance to Huey Lewis. But his usually smiling face had a concerned frown and a furrowed brow. The lamp in the hallway cast an eery shadow on his face that made it look like a child's face does when they stick a flashlight under their chin while telling ghost stories.

"Hey dad," she said, knowing that he had some kind of knowledge about what happened. Her parents weren't too thrilled that she was hanging out with one of Tree Hills bad boys. Everyone in the town knew that he and his gang caused problems around town, were always in detention or skipping detention.

"What are you doing up so late?" he asked, clearly already knowing the answer.

"Well," Haley thought about lying, but she couldn't. She had too much of a conscience for that. "Nathan dropped by. I don't think he realized it was so late. But he wasn't here long, just a few minutes."

Mr. James took a deep breath in and then exhaled sharply through his nose. Haley bit the inside of her cheek, waiting for something along the lines of, "I forbid you to see that boy again!" She'd seen The Notebook. She knew it was coming. "Well," he said finally, "just remind him that if it's after eleven, calling your cell phone is a better way of getting your attention than throwing rocks at our window."

Haley couldn't help but smile a little. "Yes sir," she said. She walked over and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "Good night, dad." She said returning to her room. That night, she dreamt about Nathan Scott.

The next morning, Haley grabbed her book bag and headed out the door. In the driveway, Nathan was standing next to his car. "Hey," he smiled. Haley grew weak at the knees. What was it about him that captivated her so? Was it the smile? The hair? The bad boy reputation? Or the sweet nature she knew he had under the rough exterior? She walked over to him and he took her hands in his. He kissed her forehead and she smiled.

She honestly thought for a split second when she woke up that morning that Nathan's visit the previous night had been a dream. But she could still feel the warmth of his lips on hers.

On the way to school, they sat in a very comfortable silence. It wasn't awkward or painful, but relaxed and easy. Finally, once they'd parked at school, Nathan turned to her.

"I have to tell you something." His faced looked serious. Haley was a little worried. This was probably what he needed to tell her last night but never got around to because of the unexpected… kiss. "I've been hanging out with Damien and Tim for a while now. I know how they operate and while yes, Tim is pretty harmless, Damien is ruthless. I've seen him commit some pretty big crimes and get away with almost all of them. He almost doesn't have feelings. I've been trying to find a way out of this for a while, but I don't think I can. Damien's not big on girlfriends, especially if he doesn't have one and Tim or I do."

"So," Haley started. "You're saying, there's not possible way for us to be together?"

"Sort of," Nathan replied. "Or there's the alternative."

"Which is?"

"We could see each other in secret. Keep it from everyone."

"I couldn't even tell Lucas or my friends?" She was worried. She'd never kept a secret from Lucas and wasn't sure she could even if she wanted to.

"I suppose it's alright for them to know, as long as they don't mention it to anyone else." Nathan said, looking into Haley's chocolate eyes.

She looked down, and then back at him, contemplating the pros and cons of the situation. "Well," she said, "If that's the only way I can be with you, then I guess it'll have to do." And with that she grabbed the back of his neck and gently pulled him toward her into a kiss.