Forgotten Chapter.. Sorry about that..

Hayley's P.O.V

My eyes opened slowly against the onslaught of blinding morning sunlight filtering in through my open window. I groaned inwardly, wishing that I had had the sense to close the shades the night before. I grunted as I pushed myself up against the headboard of the bed, which, incidentally, was the only piece of furniture in my entire flat. Peyton had informed me the previous evening that she would be picking me up at eleven o'clock sharp ("So don't you dare oversleep, you lazy git!" she had added as emphasis) to search for new furniture. I glanced at the time displayed across the glowing screen of my cell phone, my stomach twisting as the numbers 10:43 flashed brightly at me.

"Damn it," I muttered, throwing my blankets off of my legs and stepping onto the cool hardwood floor beneath me. I rushed across the room to my bulging suitcase, pulling out a pair of jeans and a slightly wrinkled NYU T-shirt. I threw my hair into a very messy ponytail, glancing at myself momentarily in the bathroom mirror. I shrugged my shoulders and began brushing my teeth; appearances still didn't matter very much to me. Besides, I had more important things on my mind, like the prospect of my imminent demise if I wasn't ready by the time Peyton arrived at the flat.

Ten minutes later the buzzer rang, and I raced to answer it. "It's Peyton!" I heard over the intercom, and I pressed the button to let her inside. Within seconds she was inside of the flat, her eyes falling upon me instantly in an accusatory glare.

"What?" I asked innocently, playing with a strand of hair that had come loose from my ponytail.

"You just woke up, didn't you?" she said, folding her arms across her chest.

"I've been up, thank you very much," I replied, still twisting my hair in my fingers.

"For what? Ten minutes?" I could see a smile beginning to play in the corners of her mouth.

"Fifteen, as a matter of fact," I said proudly, grinning widely.

"You're hopeless," she said, shaking her head slightly. "Anyway, we should go. We've got our work cut out for us today, I think."

I groaned, following her out into the hallway. I locked the door behind me and made it to the elevator before I realized that I'd left my purse inside of the flat. "Damn it," I said in frustration as the elevator doors opened, Peyton giving me a quizzical look. "I forgot my purse in the flat. Go on downstairs and I'll meet you there in a minute." She nodded and stepped into the elevator as I traveled back down the hallway, sighing heavily as I began to unlock the door.

"Hello," a voice said cheerfully, and I turned around to face a pretty girl with striking blue eyes and auburn hair.

"Hi," I replied a bit uncertainly, wondering who on earth this woman was.

"I'm Natalie McCormack," she said brightly, extending her hand. I shook it. "I live just down the hall. I noticed that you've just moved in."

"Yeah," I said, now feeling a bit more comfortable. "I'm Hayley James. I just moved here from New York."

"Oh, how exciting," she said, still smiling. "Tree Hill is such a lovely place to live. I hope you enjoy it here."

"I'm sure I will." I smiled as I opened the door, turning once again to face her. "Nice meeting you."

"Pleasure," she replied as she walked towards the elevator, her hair swinging behind her. I stared after her for a moment, feeling somewhat grateful that I had such a friendly neighbor. I smiled slightly to myself as I walked back into the flat, quickly grabbing my purse and heading downstairs to meet Peyton.

"Peyton, that is the ugliest couch I've ever seen," I said with disgust evident in my voice. "You can't be serious."

"What are you going on about? This couch is perfect," she said defensively, sitting on the peach colored couch and smiling. "It's comfortable, too."

"I don't care. It's hideous. Besides, it reminds me of that horrible bridesmaid's dress I had to wear to my father's wedding." I sighed and turned away from her, my eyes immediately falling upon a light green couch in the center of the large showroom.

"Now that," I said, pointing at the couch, "is wonderful."

"Pea green?" she said, pulling a face. "It reminds me of The Exorcist."

"The Exorcist?" I questioned, staring at her as if she was insane.

"When the girl projectile vomits pea soup over everyone," she clarified, scrunching up her nose in disgust. "That's what it looks like."

"Thanks for the visual," I said, rolling my eyes. "And for your information, it doesn't look like projectile vomit. It's a completely non-pea soupy shade of green."

"Whatever you say, Hayley." She shook her head while simultaneously rolling her eyes. "I don't know how you're going to make a green couch work in a decorating scheme, though."

"I don't do decorating schemes," I said with a smirk. "I just throw random things together and it ends up looking artsy and creative."

I decided to buy the couch, adding it to my already extensive list of purchases. So far I'd managed to buy a new refrigerator, a bedroom set, various items for my bathroom, a kitchen set, a new TV and several other items for my living room. I realized that my bank account was almost nonexistent as Peyton and I headed to a nearby restaurant for lunch, my stomach rumbling from hunger. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, knowing that I'd be getting paid soon enough.

On the way to the restaurant we passed a newsstand, filled with glossy covered magazines and black and white newspapers; my eyes glanced in its direction momentarily, and I was forced to do a double-take at the pictures that stared back at me.

It seemed as though a million smiling photographs of Nathan were staring me straight in the eye, flooding my mind with memories that hadn't resurfaced in years. I stopped walking and continued staring at the magazines, my stomach twisting itself into unpleasant knots. A part of me had known that Tree Hill would bring many reminders of Nathan, but an ever-bigger part of me had not been the least bit prepared for them.

"Hayley?" Peyton said suddenly, her honey eyes swimming with concern. "Are you all right?"

I pulled my eyes away from the magazine stand and looked at her, nodding my head and smiling very unconvincingly. "Yeah, I just kind of zoned out there for a minute."

Her gaze shifted from my face to the newsstand, realization dawning on her as she saw the magazines with Nathan's face plastered on the cover. She frowned slightly, turning her attention back towards me. "Surprising, I know."

"What?" I said, images of Nathan still zooming across my mind.

"It's surprising to just see his face like that out of nowhere," she said. "But you've got to know that it's bound to happen. He lives here, he's loved, and the tabloids ardor him."

"I know that," I said a bit more sharply than I had intended. "And I'm fine with it. I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, but I'm not in love with him anymore. We broke up four years ago. I'm quite over it."

"Funny," she said, raising her eyebrows, "I didn't mention anything about you still being in love with him." She turned away from the newsstand and continued walking down the crowded street, leaving me standing behind her, my face burning and my mind reeling.