Authors Note: Sorry guys. I've been kind of down lately and haven't had any inspiration for this chapter. But here it is. BTW - this chapter is dedicated to my best friend Jessica. Happy ( belated) Birthday my love !!! Without you I probably wouldn't have written it. Thanks for pushing me !

Chapter 8: Fearless? I'm Working On It.

What makes a friend? Is it the same kind of qualities that make a best friend? Is it the late night phone calls that you share listening to your friend cry her eyes out when all you want to do is sleep? Is it the fact that you can be 100 percent comfortable in front of them and be yourself completely? What happens when a friend checks out and leaves you when you need them most? Can you honestly say that still makes them a best friend? Who knows. We all have our theories. At least, I have mine. If our best friend is really in fact, a best friend, should we ever have to question if they are or not? Isn't a friends job to make sure you never feel alone? What if you have never felt more alone in you life, but your friend doesn't even notice? Not even a little. What then? Do you go through everything by yourself and just deal with the pain along the way. If this is the situation, independence is a good quality for you to have. It makes everything a little easier. Just a little.

Lucky for Haley James, she has never once in her life had to question if Brooke Davis was a best friend or not. It was always clearly written out for her. Brooke never once checked out on Haley or made her feel alone. Their friendship was the kind made in movies and it always would be.

" You don't think they make my hips look too wide?" Haley asked, self-consciously , as she stood in front of the mirror in the changing room at a store in the mall. ( The malls in Florida. They're still on Spring Break.)

"Hales, are you kidding me? You don't have any hips to begin with." Brooke said as she walked toward Haley and stood next to her in front of the mirror. Brooke put her arm around her. "You look hot." Brooke said, sweetly as Haley adjusted the skinny jeans she was trying on.

Haley's "date" with Nathan was later that night and Brooke took her out shopping to find the perfect outfit. Haley had always been a little self-conscious about herself, but Brooke was always right behind her to reassure her and make her feel confident again.

" I knew it was only a matter of time before you two would finally get together." Brooke said as she looked through a rack of clothes.

" We're not 'together'. We're just going to dinner. That's it." Haley said. She wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure Brooke or herself.

"Whatever you say. But you're extremely excited about this and you know it." Brooke said, pointing a her.

"Okay, maybe I'm a little excited. I haven't been out with a guy in a really long time and I think this is a really big step. It will remind me of what I was missing all those days I locked myself in my room watching sappy movies and feeling sorry for myself." Haley said, holding a blouse up to herself.

" Exactly ! That's the spirit Hales! You've come a long way and I'm proud of you." Brooke said. "Now, as your best friend, I think I can tell you this - that blouse in your hand will make you look like a 40 year old women." She said, grabbing it out of Haley's hands and hanging it back up.

Haley just laughed at Brooke's bluntness. " Well then what should I wear ?" she said, getting discouraged. She had a pair of jeans but needed a nice top. Nathan told her to dress casual, but wouldn't tell her what restaurant they were going to.

"Here try this on." Brooke grabbed a shirt off a rack and threw it to Haley. " Hell no !" Haley exclaimed after taking a look at the sad excuse for a shirt. " Why not? I'm sure Nathan would love it." Brooke teased.

" Love what?". The girls turned around and were faced with Nathan Scott himself and one of his friends from the basketball team.

"Oh hey Nate. I was just saying how awesome you think Haley would look in this." Brooke said, holding up the skimpy top to show him. "Brooke stop." Haley warned as she grabbed the shirt and quickly threw it back on a rack. Her cheeks turning a very dark shade of pink.

" Well I love it. But I think if I saw you in it, we wouldn't be leaving your dorm room." Nathan said, looking right at Haley and her blush only grew.

" Well then." Brooke smirked at Haley. "I think that's enough shopping for one day." Haley said. " So what brings you here Nate?" Haley asked, trying to change the subject.

" Well, Dillon and I were just bored so we decided to come here. And it was definitely a good plan." Nathan said, looking Haley up and down.

Haley noticed this and grew uncomfortable. "Well, we were just leaving. Come on Brooke. Nate I'll see you tonight. Bye Dillon." Haley said and waved. She grabbed Brooke's hand and practically dragged her out of the store.

Once they were safely outside of the store, Brooke spoke. " What the hell was that ?" "What are you talking about? I just don't feel like shopping anymore." Haley said and started walking towards the front doors of the mall.

" Oh my gosh. He was totally turning you on! Ha! Oh, this is great. Your cheeks were so red! I knew something was wrong." Brooke said, still laughing. Haley came to a stop and turned to Brooke. "This is not funny Brooke Davis ! I really like him and I don't want to screw things up. I can't help that he's gorgeous and every time I see him I just wanna kiss him !" Haley confessed.

" He's just got the most amazing blue eyes, the kind you get lost in. His arms are huge ! He works out like every minute of every day. He can be so sweet and caring -" "Uh, Haley?" Brooke tried to cut in, but Haley continued. " He lets me in when we talk and I feel like I'm actually starting to know the real him. He's absolutely perfect and that scares the hell out of me because I'm not !" Haley finished.

" Um maybe you should tell him all of that ?" Brooke said. " Are you insane? I would never tell him that !" Haley said. " Too late." Brooke said looking past Haley too the person standing quietly behind her.

Haley slowly turned around and her eyes immediately went wide as she was faced - again - with the last person she wanted to see at that moment.

" Um, we were just leaving the mall." Nathan said. His arms were crossed and he had a very amused and cocky smirk on his face. He then leaned in, right next to Haley's ear and whispered, " By the way, I do not work out 'every minute of every day' but thanks for noticing ." And then him and Dillon walked away, leaving Haley more embarrassed then she had ever been before in her life.

" That was great !" Brooke said. Haley turned to Brooke. " Whatever, I'm telling Lucas that you sleep with your mouth open !" Haley yelled and then started walking away.

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Later that day, at about 5:30, Haley was almost ready for her date. One of her good friends Jessica, who was also on the cheerleading team, was helping Brooke with her hair and makeup.

" I still can't believe your going out with Nathan Scott." Jessica said. " I thought you hated him ?" " I just never got to know him. He's actually a nice guy." Haley said, as Brooke put another curl in her hair. " I guess the heart wants what it wants." Jessica said.

" Okay, done !" Brooke said. Haley looked in the mirror. Brooke did an amazing job. She curled all of her long blonde hair and it looked awesome. Haley had dark skinny jeans on with a cute halter top, borrowed from Brooke.

The girls heard a knock at the door and suddenly got really nervous. Brooke sensed this. " It's gonna be fine. You're going to have a great time, come back and tell me all the juicy details." Brooke comforted her.

" I'll get the door. Haley, try to breath." Jessica said.

Jessica walked over to the door of Brooke and Haley's hotel room and opened it. " Hey Nathan! I'm Jessica ." she said, sticking her hand out. "Nice to meet you Jessica." he said and shook her hand. " You're a cheerleader right ?" Nathan asked. "Yep." Jessica answered. Nathan smirked at her and Jessica just melted. She now understood why Haley wanted to go out with him. " Uh, Haley will be out in a second." Jessica said.

Right on cue, Haley walked out of the bathroom and over to Nathan. " Wow, you look amazing Hales." Nathan said, looking at her. " Thanks. So do you." He had on jeans and a polo and still looked like a supermodel. " These are for you." before he handed the bouquet of roses to her he pulled two out and handed one to Brooke and Jessica. " Oh, how sweet." Both girls said at the same time. He then handed the bouquet to Haley. "Thanks. They're beautiful." she said.

" I'll put them in water Hales. You two go have fun." Brooke said and took the flowers from Haley.

Haley and Nathan turned and left the hotel, took the elevator down to the lobby and walked outside.

" So, we can walk to the place we're going. It's not that far." Nathan said, as they walked out of the hotel and onto the sidewalk leading down the street.

" Are you going to tell me where we're going before we get there?" Haley asked, as she hurried to keep up with him. His legs were a lot longer then hers.

" Nope. It's a surprise." Nathan said, slowing down a little for her. "I hate surprises." Haley quickly said back. "Well, I'll have to remember that for next time." Nathan said, smiling. " Next time?" Haley asked, amused. " I'm planning for you to like this date so much, that you'll be begging me to take you on another one." Nathan said, arrogantly. " Well, you seem pretty sure of yourself Scott." Haley pointed out. Nathan didn't say anything. He just looked at her and showed off his cocky smirk, which told her that he was very sure of himself.

" Here we are." Nathan said, about ten minutes later. Haley looked at her surroundings and noticed they were at the beach. Not a restaurant in sight. " Uh? I'm a little confused." Haley said. " Come on." Nathan took her hand and led her across the beach. Haley loved the feeling of her small hand in his big one. It made her feel safe. As corny as that sounded, she hadn't really felt safe in a while.

When Haley felt Nathan stop walking, she looked up from the sand and her breath caught in her throat. " Oh wow." Was all she could get out.

There was a small table set in the sand with a picnic basket placed on it. There were a few candles lit, that looked beautiful glowing in the almost dark night.

" So you like it?" Nathan asked from behind her. Haley couldn't remember the last time someone had gone through that much trouble to do something nice for her. In that moment she just felt like jumping into his arms and never letting go.

" Oh my gosh ! I love it ! It's beautiful Nathan. Thank you." Haley said sincerely. He pulled out a chair for Haley to sit down before sitting down himself.

About two hours later, after Haley and Nathan had both enjoyed a great mac and cheese dinner and great conversation, they were walking along the beach.

" Thanks for coming tonight. I had a lot of fun." Nathan said. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun. Haley was just so easy to talk to.

" I had fun too. And I'm glad I came. You're different than I thought Nathan Scott." Haley said. They were now facing each other and Nathan took her hands in his own.

" There's something that I've been wanting to do for a long time." Nathan said, looking straight into her eyes. Instantly, Haley knew what he was talking about. She had also wanted to do it. Ever since Nathan had first kissed her - to save her from Cole, she had wanted his lips on hers again.

She didn't say anything though. She just waited nervously as his face grew closer and closer to hers…..

Authors Note : Sorry for the 4 month wait. But I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know as always !! Review !! It means a lot to me ! Thanks - EC