Disclaimer - Again sadly I do not own anything remotely to do with One Tree Hill, not even the damn dvd's! But come July, oh I will! Just you watch Mark, just watch and wait to see me owning One Tree Hill...the dvd's of course!

A/N - Well guy's I'm really sorry for the wait, and the terrible job I've done of updating this as of late. My only excuse is, it's been the end of the school term and I've had exams. But come next Tuesday, I will sit my final one, and be free to write till my heart's content...or until July 22, when I go on holiday for a month. But can we just check out the number of reviews? Over a 100, people, and every single person that left one, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH! I wish I could thank you in some other way, but I can't, but thank you all so much! And what a review for number 100, do I like neon signs? Well I didn't until last week, I my have to change my opinion on it now. Anyway, here's chapter 11, I hope you enjoy, and please always feel free to review.

Chapter 11 - Return of the Nathan.

Monday had rolled around again, starting off a new school week. Haley's first day back since her unfortunate meeting with Nathan, she just hoped to God, that she wasn't left alone with him. She had reached the conclusion, that no matter how hard she tried, it was inevitable that she was going to see him at some point throughout the day. Sure Tree Hill High was a relatively large school and you could go a few days without seeing the same person twice, but if they happened to run in the same group as you, it would be without fail that you saw them a good few times throughout the day, no matter how much you wanted to avoid them. So she was just going to have to suck it up and bare it, just so long as she didn't have to speak a word to him. But she guessed, constantly having Brooke or someone else at her side, would put Nathan off coming anywhere near her. She hoped anyway.

It was a bright, sunny day and there wasn't even a white cloud in the sky, she should be basking in the morning sunshine enjoying the feeling of the hot rays the sun was giving off, Haley thought to herself, not dreading stepping foot in the halls of her high school. She hated that Nathan still held some sort of power over her, that he still made her feel scared. She had been so caught up and focused on everything that was happening with her and Brooke, that she hadn't thought of Nathan all that much, which was a good thing, because she didn't want to think of him, and the way his hands felt when they were hitting her. Those thought were pushed all the way to the back of her mind, where they only resurfaced in her dreams, or should that be nightmares? Yeah, nightmares was the right word, after all, dreams were what your heart desired, and all the things Nathan had done to her, was really not something she ever desired to feel again.

So here she was standing in front of the main entrance of the school doors, where Taylor had dropped her off almost ten minutes earlier, and she had made plans to meet both Peyton and Brooke inside at her locker, all she had to do was move her feet in the direction of her locker. Walking seemed to be a problem though, no matter how hard she willed her body to move, it wasn't co-operating with her. Not in the slightest. She felt like she was a stone statue, looking over the school, just watching what was going on around her. Maybe she shouldn't have come back today. Maybe she should have just stayed at home, under her blanket, hiding from the rest of the world, in a world of her own, that only consisted of Brooke. But if she did that wouldn't that just give Nathan more power over her? Proving that she couldn't get over what he had done to her. She wasn't going to let him think that.

A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts and without thinking, she flinched and pulled away, ready for the worst.

"Woah Haley, it's just me," Lucas greeted her, frowning at her actions. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah Luke, I'm fine," Haley replied with a genuine smile, walking closer to him, and hugging him. "Why does it feel like I haven't seen my best friend in forever?" she questioned him.

"Because it feels like we haven't." Lucas replied, walking with her, with one of his arms around Haley's shoulders. "What's up with that? Brooke said you were ill, is that true?"

"Is it true?" Haley repeated his question, knowing she was about to lie to her best friend, something they had swore never to do, but this was an exception. "If you had seen me at all last week you would know just how truthful Brooke was being. I felt like I was under 20 feet of crap and sinking fast." she told him, and she had, waking up after Nathan had finally finished, there way no denying how crappy she felt. Crappy wasn't even the word to describe it. "There was snot, coughing, sweating, everything. It wasn't for the weak at heart, and you don't want me to start with the whole retching story do you?"

"Spare me the details please Hales, I just finished one of my mom's breakfasts and I have no desire to see it yet again." he told her, with a slightly pale complexion.

"You never were good with the yucky stuff were you? Any sight of it and there you were adding to it." Haley said with a laugh.

"I'm so changing the subject, we really need to move on from the disgusting-ness of the previous conversation." he explained to her, changing the subject. "So how come Brooke Davis knew more about my best friend being sick, than her own best friend? I didn't even know you and Brooke hung out."

"Brooke witnessed the whole 'sick' thing, so of course she would know, if she witnessed it." Haley reasoned, trying not to let to much slip.

"Yeah but Brooke? I didn't know she cared about anyone but herself yanno? Maybe she was feeling charitable." Luke finished off with a laugh, that wasn't followed by Haley's own, like he thought it would be. Instead he found himself suddenly stopping in the middle of a semi-busy hallway, near Haley's locker, where infact Brooke stood waiting with his girlfriend.

"Lucas how could you say that?" Haley began, she couldn't believe what he had just said, it was so out of line that you couldn't even see the damn line anymore. "If you actually took the time to get to know Brooke when you were dating her, you would find that she is infact what you call a human being, I know, I know, that's a foreign concept to you right? When was the last time you did anything humane?" she asked rhetorically, how dare Lucas even say that? He had no right, he didn't know Brooke, like she knew Brooke. Brooke was kind, caring, everything. "I mean did you expect her to be nice towards you? Did you? I mean you were the one that cheated on her, with her best friend nonetheless. Goes to show how much you know about caring huh?" she finished off, her tone angry.

Glaring at him one last time, she turned on her heel and walked towards Peyton and Brooke. As she reached them, her arm slipped through Brooke's and she pulled them away, leaving a dumbfounded Lucas behind and Peyton who was staring at her boyfriend accusingly.

"Pey..." he began, only to stop as he saw Peyton turn around, much like Haley had, and walk away from him. "Well, what a damn fine way to start the day." he muttered to himself, before walking away.

xxxx

"I can't believe he said that!" Haley raged, still angry at Luke. "He had no right, what an ass!"

"Haley, it's all right." Brooke told her, they were in the school rest room, the only one's there. "I don't care, about what he said."

"But I do Brooke! I do, he had no right! Sure, maybe you can be a little bitchy and stuff, but so can everyone, that doesn't mean you're not a nice person and that you can't care about someone, who isn't yourself, because you can Brooke, you can." Haley stressed.

"Hey," Brooke began, taking Haley's hands in her own. "Look all I care about is that you know that, what he said isn't true. Everyone else can think what they like, and I wouldn't give a damn. It wouldn't be the first time I've heard the name, slut, bitch, snob, and my name go together. I ignore it, cause they don't know me Haley, none of them do. Until recently only Peyton really did, until you came along. And you're the only person who's opinion matters, a hundred people could call me a selfish bitch, and I would laugh it off, but the minute it comes out of your mouth, then I would care." she finished explaining.

"I would never say that about you Tigger, I know you, so I know that no matter how you act in front of your friends or the whole school, that it isn't you. The real you is just hid away till school's over, and I'm glad I'm one of the select few who get to see the real you, cause she's beautiful and I'm so glad that she's mine." Haley told her, causing Brooke to smile.

"I'm yours?"

"Uh..well I thought...you know with the kissing...that we were..." Haley stuttered, cursing herself at her choice in words, stopping only when Brooke caught her lips in a chaste kiss.

"I like that, I like being yours." Brooke told her. "But you have to be mine, as well."

"Like I was ever going to be anybody's else's." Haley replied, looking at Brooke like she was mad for thinking otherwise.

"I know we haven't talked about it, and the school bathroom probably isn't the best pace for it, but this isn't some phase for me, that I jumped into, to forget Lucas. I want this Haley, I want you. I want everything that comes with dating you, the goofy stares, the fluttery feeling I get in my stomach whenever I see you, the kisses in the morning, the feeling I get when I'm not with you, but then I know I'm seeing you the next day, the arguments, the make up's, your crazy sister. Everything." Brooke gushed, almost on the verge of a full out babble.

"I know it might seem a little fast to you Brooke, but I want that to." Haley told her honestly, Brooke's confession, making her want to say her own. "I know I'm just out of, for a lack of a better word, a relationship, with Nathan. It may seem like I'm just jumping into the arms of the next person that happened to walk along, but I swear it's not like that, you're not some rebound thing for me. The first time we kissed, blew me out of the water, it felt right. It never did with Nathan, it felt nice with him sure, but it was nothing compared to what it was like with you. I want this Brooke, I want you." she stressed, repeating Brooke's earlier sentiments.

"Well that works out really well for both of us then huh? Us both wanting this to work, I'd say that's a pretty decent foundation for a relationship. Don't you think?" Brooke pointed out with a smile.

"Oh I'd say, it's a pretty good foundation, great even." Haley agreed, her sour mood for earlier gone. It always amazed her that no matter what mood she was feeling, Brooke always seemed to cheer her up all the more.

"I really want to kiss you right now." Brooke whispered, into the silent room.

"Well, I really want you to kiss me right now. So what's stopping you?" Haley whispered back, walking closer to Brooke.

"You. Me. School bathroom." Brooke reasoned, but walked to Haley. "That being said, it's never stopped me much before, and I don't see why I can't kiss my girlfriend, anywhere and anytime I want." she finished, leaning down and fusing her lips with Haley's, in what had promise to be a scorching kiss, that would no doubt leave them both breathless. All the factors were there and raring to go, when the bathroom door swung open, and several laughing voices were heard, causing Brooke and Haley to pull apart.

"I don't see anything Hales, are you sure you can feel anything in there?" Brooke asked, covering for them both.

"I'm pretty sure I can feel it Brooke, can't you see anything?" Haley asked, playing along.

"Nope, I can't see anything." Brooke said, pulling back. "Maybe if you blink a couple of times, it won't feel as weird."

"Uh Brooke?" one of the voices piped up.

Turning to the voice, Brooke gave them all a fake smile, and addressed the voice that called her name. "Theresa, what can I do for you?"

"What are you doing with her?" Theresa asked, with clear disgust in her voice, when mentioning Haley.

"She had something in her eye, I was checking it out for her, do you have a problem with that?" Brooke questioned, not in the mood to deal with Theresa today, it was bad enough she had to associate with her at cheerleading practice, but outside that as well? It was just to much.

"I didn't know you reached out to the less fortunate, what is it? Give the losers a break day? If it is, I didn't get the notice."

"You know Brooke, maybe I should go..." Haley began, only to be cut off when Brooke took hold of her arm.

"No Haley, I think we both should just go. I mean, look at our present company, an air head who can't even spell words with her arms, and is more comfortable laying flat on her back than standing up. Why would I wanna stay here with that, when I can have an actual conversation with you, than what passes for a conversation with her." Brooke remarked cattily with just the same amount of disgust as Theresa had, when she was talking earlier. "Come on." was Brooke's parting words as she and Haley left the rest room, leaving behind a dumbfounded Theresa and more than a few amused faces.

xxxx

They say time flies by when you're having fun, but what about when you're stuck in a classroom, with no one other than yourself and the one person you desperately wanted to avoid today and always? Does it tick by so slowly, that every second is painfully prolonged for ever more? Right at this moment that was how Haley was feeling. Not five minutes ago she was making plans to meet Brooke and Peyton by Peyton's car, so they could go off campus for lunch, preferably to Karen's Cafe, and she was happy. She had been walking along minding her own business, when she had suddenly felt an arm grab her own injured arm and was pulled into an abandoned classroom. She had been so surprised, she hadn't put up much of a fight, she just wanted the pressure on her arm to stop. So now here she was, with Nathan. Alone.

"What the hell do you want?" she asked him harshly.

"Hales, you have to let me explain..." Nathan began, walking closer to her, stopping when Haley hurriedly backed away.

"Look Nathan, I don't want to hear it ok? In fact, I'd be really quite happy if I never had to see you ever again." Haley told him, keeping her distance from him. The last thing she wanted was a repeat performance of the last time they were together.

"Hey you're still my girlfriend, I have a right for you to hear me out." Nathan demanded forcefully, making it sound like he had more authority over Haley than she did herself, and it lasted for all of a second, before he heard Haley's laughter fill his ears.

"Girlfriend?" Haley asked beyond belief. "Oh Nate, if you think I'm still your girlfriend, you really need to think again. There is no way on this earth that I will ever feel the way I did for you ever again. The minute you laid a finger on me it was over. Do you get that? It's over."

"No, it's not, I say when it's over and it's not over ok? You're mine for as long as I want you, not the other way around sweetie," he told her with a smirk. "Now, I want to explain my state of mind when I was doing those...things to you," he began uneasily. "You see, I wasn't thinking straight, I never seem to think straight when you're involved, you just drive me crazy. Sometimes that's a good thing, and well, as you know it can be a bad thing as well. Now, I think we can get over this, if we set a couple of ground rules ok?" Nathan asked, as he paused for breath, and smiled at her. "Those would be, number 1, don't make me angry, I think we both know what the consequences of breaking that rule are, number 2, do what I tell you and everything will be fine, and number 3, get rid of Peyton and Brooke as friends, I don't want you around them, and if I see you anywhere near them, well, I won't be happy. Ok? You got that? Let's get out of here, I've missed you and we have a lot of making-out to catch up on." he said to her as he finished.

"Are you delirious Nathan? I mean really are you? Did you honestly think you'd find me, just so you could proceed to tell me what the hell I can and cannot do?" Haley asked him. "There's no chance what so ever of me coming back to you. You expected me to what, run into your open arms and say 'Oh it's all right Nathan, all is forgiven, it doesn't matter that you broke a few rib, but next time can you do it harder?' It doesn't work like that, don't you get it? We are over!"

"You're making me angry Haley, please don't make me hurt you again, I don't like doing it, but I will if I have to. So come on we'll forget about it, just put it to the back of our minds and get out of here, ok?" he reasoned with her, clenching his un-cast fist tight, trying to keep his anger in check.

"I am not going anywhere with you, understand that. Nowhere." Haley told him standing her ground.

"Damn it Haley!" Nathan yelled at her, kicking the desk that separated them, making it fall over, causing Haley to move backwards. "If you don't move your ass and come with me right now, I will make you hurt so much more that I ever would have, to begin with." he finished off gravely, waiting for Haley's answer.

"No." was her unwavering reply.

"She's should have been here by now, Peyton." Brook told her again, for the sixth time in less than a minute.

"Yeah, I know she should be back Brooke, but she'll be ok thought," Peyton reassured her. "Right?"

"Yeah...of course she will be, she's Haley." Brooke replied, pushing herself off of Peyton's car.

"Yeah, she's Haley." Peyton agreed. "She was only going to the bathroom right?" Peyton wondered.

"Yeah, and then she told us she'd meet us out here, that she wouldn't be long, cause you know bathroom stops don't exactly take all that long." Brooke said, staring to pace. "But what if Nathan found her?"

"Well he wouldn't touch her would he? Not after what you did to him, right?"

"He'd be crazy..." Brooke trailed off, suddenly not liking the fact that Haley wasn't near her. She should have just went with her, it would have been so simply. Why didn't she go?

"Does she have her phone with her?"

"Peyton, I really don't think that this is the time for that sort of question, do you?"

"We could call her on her mobile, and see where she is, that's what I was getting at." Peyton told her.

"Good idea!" Brooke told her, grabbing her bag out of Peyton's front seat, looking through it until she found her phone, and then flinging it back to where she found it. Flipping open her phone, she dialled Haley's number and listened as it rang and rang, over and over, until it suddenly stopped. "That's weird." Brooke commented.

"What?" Peyton questioned.

"It just stopped, it was ringing and then there was nothing." Brooke told her frowning, then dialled the number again, only this time there wasn't a ringing tone. "She is to in the area." she whispered to herself, then looked at Peyton. "I think we need to find Haley, now." she told her, already heading in the direction of the main building, with Peyton hot on her heels.

"All you had to do is come with me Haley, it was that easy. Why'd you have to go and make it so complicated? It's all your fault, everything I'm going to do to you, is your fault." Nathan told walking towards her, stepping on the smashed mobile phone on the floor, crunching it up even more.

"Nathan think this through, we're in school, who can you possible get away with this?" Haley questioned, keeping her distance from him. 'All I have to do is keep him talking till Brooke comes, that had to be her calling, please let it have been her.'

"I don't care where we are Haley," he raged at her. "Do you think after what you've done, I'm just going to let you go? Of course not, you deserve to be punished."

"You've lost it haven't you?" she asked him rhetorically, but believing he really had. "What happened to you?"

"You. You were always leading me on, flaunting yourself around, then pulling back at the last moment, is it really hard to believe, that you made me like this. So I thought, the next time she tries it, I'll show her who's boss, and I did, and I'm going to again." Nathan explained.

"That's some pretty twisted logic."

"Yeah but it's my logic." he told her, then without warning, lunged for her, grabbing Haley and pushing her up against one of the classrooms walls. "Now tell me you want me," he asked her, with a sick smile.

"I hate you." Haley wheezed, struggling under his grip, trying to break free.

"That wasn't the right answer, but we'll work on that." Nathan replied.

"She's not in the bathroom, Peyton, she should be, where the hell is she?"

"I don't know Brooke, I don't know." Peyton answered, uneasily.

"She's here somewhere, all we have to do is look for her." Brooke instructed, walking forward, intent on finding Haley, stopping when she was in front of Theresa. "Have you seen Haley?"

"Who?" Theresa asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"The girl I was with in the bathroom?"

"Oh her, no." Theresa replied, dismissing Brooke and going back to her group.

"Damn it," Brooke cursed to herself, getting ready to storm off again.

"Uh Brooke?"

"What is it Bevin?" Brooke asked her testily, wanting to be gone. Both her and Peyton were itching to go.

"Haley's that tutor girl right?" Bevin asked her hesitantly.

"Yeah, why have you seen her?" Brooke wondered, apprehensively.

"I saw her about 5 maybe 10 minutes ago, she was walking along, when someone pulled her into a classroom." Bevin told both of them.

"Which classroom?" Peyton asked, anxiously.

"Um, Mr Barker's, math's class." Bevin replied.

"Come on." Peyton said to Brooke, grabbing on to her arm and pulling her away, hurrying down the hall.

"Haley!" Brooke yelled rushing through the door, stopping short at the site in front of her.

"Brooke." Haley breathed out, smiling at her.

"Are you ok?" Peyton asked, as her and Brooke walked closer to where Haley was standing.

"I'm fine." Haley replied.

"What happened to him?" Brooke asked, glaring down at Nathan who lay on the floor.

"He had me up against the walk and he was just about to hit me again," Haley began, walking closer to Brooke and reached for her hand, taking it in her own. "But I wasn't going to let him do that to me again, I mean, if I did, he would just keep on doing it over and over, so I did the first thing that came into my mind. I got him where it hurt, and well he fell and crawled up like a little baby." she explained.

"We should get you home." Peyton advised.

"Yeah, I would like that." Haley agreed.

"Let's go." Brooke said, walking with Haley and Peyton out of the classroom, leaving Nathan laying on the floor groaning.

xxxx


"So are you sure you're ok?"

"Brooke, really I'm fine." Haley told her.

"Are you really sure?" Brooke asked her again, laying down next to her on the sofa.

"I'm really, really sure." Haley assured her. "But thank you for coming to my rescue."

"Oh I hardly came to your rescue, you were doing pretty well yourself, I don't think you needed mine or Peyton's help that much. though I do wish I was there, when you actually did it, that would have been a memory I would have treasured, forever." Brooke told her.

"Next time, I'll remember a camera so I can capture it in a photo." Haley joked.

"Oh no, I think I can pass on it. I mean I can live without the photographic proof, simple because I never want it to happen again." Brooke reasoned.

"I think we can both agree to that."

"He's crazy though, isn't he?" Brooke questioned.

"The way he was talking, completely."

"What if he tries it again?"

"You think he would?" Haley wondered.

"If he's crazy enough to try it at school, then I think he may be crazy enough to try it again." Brooke told her. "I'll just have to make sure that he doesn't get you alone. Not that I plan to be to far away from you. I have this thing about being near you. That it has to be all the time." Brooke told her with a smile.

"You being around me all the time?" Haley questioned mostly to herself. "Like that's ever going to be a bad thing."

"To be honest, I'm really looking forward to it."

"You're not the only one. But I have to say, I must be getting the better end of the deal." Haley told her.

"How so?" Brooke wondered.

"Well, I'm gonna have you around almost all day everyday, I can't possible see how that's a bad thing."

"Well I am amazing company." Brooke informed Haley, smirking.

"Big headed too." Haley replied with a laugh, that got louder when Brooke swatted her arm.

"If you had've let me finish, I would have said, it was only because of the company I'm in, mainly you."

"Aww, baby, you're so sweet." Haley gushed.

"I know." Brooke replied before leaning in and kissing her soundly on the lips.

"I never get tired of that." Haley told her softly, bringing her hand up and brushing Brooke's hair out of her face.

"That's good, because I never get tired of doing it." Brooke replied, leaning in again.

"Stay tonight?" Haley asked after pulling back.

"For you anything." Brooke agreed, smiling at Haley, as they continued to talk, laying on sofa.

End of Chapter 11.

That's all folk's! For this chapter at least! Remember, be good and nice and all things sweet and leave a review, they warm a cold heart at night...