Hey, all I have finally decided to keep this story running, I am sorry to all those people who were thinking about taking up my offer on taking over this story but I have finally found what i needed to continue on, I have this chapter and the next ready and waiting for me to post, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the one following.
Sorry for the long wait..
On with the story..
"It's so good to hear your voice, Hayley." Ethan paused, and I could tell from the tone of his voice that he was smiling.
"It's good to hear from you, too," I said, feeling my face flush slightly. I could feel a pair of eyes on me, but I didn't turn around.
"So, how's your case coming along?"
"It's going pretty well," I replied.
"God, Ella, that's great," he said, and I could tell that he meant it; the excitement in his voice made my stomach flip. "All of your hard work is finally paying off."
I smiled; it felt good to actually talk to someone who was genuinely interested in my life, in my interests, in my passion. Peyton and Rachel were great friends, but sometimes they didn't understand just how committed and passionate I was about Law. It wasn't just a hobby for me - it was my life. Ethan had always understood that, embraced it even; he had encouraged me during my hardest years of college, as a friend and more. He had been my rock, the one person I knew would always be there no matter what happened. And, I realized as I stood there, that I had taken him for granted. I had never given him the proper chance he'd deserved - a part of me had still yearned for Nathan.
"I know," I said, smiling slightly. "Tree Hill... it's great to be back."
"It is an amazing Town," he said. My stomach did a small flip-flop.
"I thought you'd never been to Tree Hill," I said suspiciously, my eyes darting around the room as if to see him standing in the corner.
"Well, Hayley, that's actually the reason I called - I'm, uh...I'm in town!" He sounded so excited, so thrilled, and I felt a small part of me reacting the same way. I hadn't seen him in months, and I suddenly found myself strangely missing his hand in mine and the way he looked when his eyes met my own.
"You're in town?" I repeated, a bit louder than I had intended; I heard the conversation going on behind me stop abruptly. "Wow, Ethan - what a surprise!"
"Yeah," he said, sounding a bit relieved; he'd obviously been worried about my reaction. "It wasn't planned, really...well, it sort of was, but I never thought it would happen. I applied for a study abroad program at Tree Hill University, and... I got it."
"Ethan!" I shrieked; I couldn't believe how excited I was for him. Butterflies swarmed feverishly in my stomach. "That's so great! I'm so happy for you!"
"Thank you, Hayley - I'm so excited about this. I start my classes next Monday, and I've just found an apartment near the university. It's small and I have a roommate, but I'm not complaining."
"Wow," I said a bit breathlessly. "I...I don't even know what else to say."
"You could say that you'll have dinner with me tomorrow night," he said, a smile in his voice.
I hesitated, but only briefly. I glanced back at Nathan for a split second; his eyes were focused on Natalie. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds great."
"Really?" He sounded slightly disbelieving.
"Yes, really. I'd love to see you again. Call me tomorrow with the details, okay?"
"Yeah, definitely. I'll talk to you tomorrow then, Hayley."
"Okay. Night, Ethan." I snapped my phone closed and smiled to myself as I returned to the table.
"So, who was on the phone?" Peyton asked, wasting no time. She stared at me intently, her honey eyes penetrating my own.
"Ethan," I said casually, slipping my phone back into my purse. I took a sip from my rum and coke, smiling at my cousin.
Her expression turned to one of surprise and her eyes widened slightly. "Oh, I thought I heard you say - "
"He's in town," I interrupted, shrugging. "He got a study abroad opportunity here at Tree Hill University."
Her eyes grew wider still; her mouth was now hanging slightly open. I glanced in Rachel's direction and saw a similar expression splashed across her face.
"That's...great," Peyton said half-heartily.
I narrowed my eyes and gave her a questioning glance. "Don't sound so excited," I muttered, returning my attention to my half-empty glass of rum and coke. I took a long drink from it, cringing slightly as the alcohol hit my tongue.
She immediately shook her head and smiled, waving her hand slightly. "No, I think it's great, Hayley!" she said a bit too enthusiastically. "Honestly!"
"So do I," said Rachel, and she was smiling brightly. "Maybe now we can finally meet him."
Nathan had sat watching this exchange with narrowed eyes and a confused expression splashed across his face. Natalie, too, had sat in curious silence, her hand briefly parted from Nathan's. I glanced at them quickly, averting my gaze as soon as Nathan's piercing blue eyes met my own.
"I don't mean to be rude, but who's Ethan?" Nathan said at last, his face still scrunched up slightly in confusion.
"A friend from New York," I said, taking another sip of my drink.
"Oh, aren't you just a liar?" Peyton said with a small laugh. "I wouldn't call Ethan a friend so much as I would call him an ex-boyfriend."
"Oh," Nathan said heavily, once again looking in my direction; I ignored him.
We were suddenly trapped in a thick, heavy silence; hoping to get the conversation going again, Natalie smiled brightly and once again began talking about her upcoming nuptials. It was met with enthusiasm, however, and I turned my attention to my thoughts as I took another long drink of my rum and coke.
"Yes, there will need to be some level of security, as I'm sure you understand," Nathan said into his mobile, his eyes fixed on his computer screen. "Yes, thanks very much." He closed it shut and sighed slightly, running his hands nervously through his hair. He scrolled down on the restaurant's website, not fully understanding what he had just done.
"What the hell am I doing?" he muttered under his breath, shutting off his computer. He began pacing the length of his flat, barely noticing the breathtaking view his long, wide windows offered. His mind was reeling and his heart was pounding in his chest; nothing seemed to be making sense.
He had overheard Peyton and Hayley talking about her dinner plans with her old boyfriend before he and Natalie had left the restaurant the previous evening. At the time he had not thought much of it, but after he'd woken up that morning, something within him had changed. He had found himself on his computer, bringing up the name of the restaurant, and then dialing the number to make a reservation for seven o'clock. And now as he stood there, his hands shaking slightly, he could not understand why he'd done it.
It was true, he reasoned, that seeing Hayley again after so much time had passed had affected him, but only slightly. He had not expected to see her that night, especially under such circumstances. But he had seen her, and he had to admit that she was as beautiful as ever with her wavy, brown hair framing her pale face. He had forgotten, or perhaps had never fully appreciated, just how lovely she was. But most of that had come from the shock of seeing her so unexpectedly, and since that night had passed he had barely given her, or their meeting, a thought.
Keep telling yourself that, he thought to himself, kicking a nearby chair as he walked by. The truth was that he had thought about her quite often, more often than he ever had since they had separated. And, he thought as he flopped down onto his couch, his hands once again tugging at his hair, I don't bloody well like it.
Natalie was his life now; he had chosen her, not Hayley, to spend the rest of his life with. He was in love with her, and this was something that he knew he would never doubt; she made him feel alive. It was not a passionate love like he had shared with Hayley, but it was comfortable and familiar and he didn't know how he would function without her in his life. He almost hated Hayley in that moment for coming back to Tree Hill, for interrupting his life, for making him question the plans he had made.
Things had been going perfectly well in his life before Hayley had come back to Tree Hill. He had been comfortable, content, satisfied with his life; now he found himself questioning his decisions and wondering what could have been if he had not allowed Hayley to tell him that the distance was too wide to make smaller.
He shook his head; he had stopped thinking about that years ago. He had stopped recreating the scene in his mind, stopped thinking of the tears that fell down Hayley's face as they sat on the dock by the lake that last day. He had stopped thinking about what could have happened if he had grabbed her and kissed her instead of simply watching her as she got up and walked away, his heart sinking in his chest as she faded into the sunset. But seeing her again, her eyes still as wide and bright as he remembered, brought all of those thoughts rushing back into his mind.
It unsettled him, unnerved him, finally knowing how simple it was for her to creep back into his thoughts. He had foolishly believed that he had mastered the art of forgetting her years ago. He was even beginning to recall small things he had not even known were stored away in his mind, like the way she always smelled of vanilla, or the way her nose crinkled ever so slightly when she laughed, or the jolt of electricity that seemed to course through him every time her fingers grazed against his skin...
"Good morning, love," Natalie said as she entered the living room, her hair slightly tousled from sleep. He jumped slightly as he was torn abruptly from his thoughts. His cheeks reddened, embarrassed of what he had just been thinking about.
"Morning," he replied, offering her a small smile. "Sleep well?"
"I always do when I'm here," she said as she put on the kettle for tea. "Your bed is heavenly."
"Sure it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you're sleeping next to me?" he said cheekily, grinning at her.
She smiled, and his stomach flipped; in that moment, she was more beautiful to him than she had ever been. Thoughts of Hayley were temporarily erased from his mind as he studied her, suddenly wanting desperately to be close to her. He wanted his fingers tangled in her hair, her legs wrapped around him, his lips grazing every inch of her skin he could reach...
"What about tea tonight, Nathan?" she said, interrupting his thoughts once again. "Fancy a night in, or are we going out?"
"Out," he said automatically, almost without thinking. It felt as though a rock had fallen into the pit of his stomach as he remembered the dinner reservation. Hayley and Ethan would undoubtedly be there; what would Natalie say if she saw them? And, more importantly, what would Hayley say if she saw he and Natalie there? He doubted either of them would believe that it was just merely a coincidence.
Natalie raised her eyebrows slightly at him and looked at him expectantly, obviously waiting for him to elaborate. "Well, love, I've made a reservation for us," Nathan said quickly.
"For where?" she asked, turning her attention to the kettle as it began to whistle.
"The Ivy," he replied. "I know how much you love that restaurant."
She smiled sweetly at him. "It sounds lovely." She walked over to him with a steaming mug of tea and handed it to him, lowering herself onto his lap, facing him. She kissed him gently and he felt a thrill ripple through him; disregarding his mug of tea, he gripped her tightly and kissed her fiercely, his hands finally in her hair.
"I love you, you know," he whispered to her between kisses, and he felt more than heard her murmur it back. It had never been that way with Hayley; she had never told him that she loved him. He thought he had heard her once as he drifted in and out of sleep, orange burning around him, but he had never been sure; instead, he often attributed it to a dream, a blissful dream he sometimes wished were real.
"I can't even imagine how excited you must be about going to university," I said to Ethan as we sat sipping our drinks at The Ivy, a restaurant I'd always wanted to go to but never had. It hadn't been easy getting the reservation; I'd had to drop my father's name in order to secure a table for Ethan and I.
"Yeah, I have no doubt that it'll be amazing," he said, smiling. "I still can't believe that I was actually accepted, to be honest."
"I know, considering how incredibly stupid you are," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.
"You flatter me," he said, chuckling. I smiled. He stared at me for a few moments, then said, "I'm really glad you're here tonight, Hayley."
I felt my face heat slightly; giving him a small smile, I replied, "So am I."
"It's been a long time," he mused, taking a sip of his scotch. "I've really missed you."
"I've missed you too," I said, and I genuinely meant it.
He looked at me, the firelight from the flickering candle on the table reflected in his wide, shining eyes. "Remember the night you left?" he said, and I felt my stomach drop slightly.
"Yeah," I said, avoiding his gaze.
"You said we shouldn't hold each other back, remember? Because of the distance that separated us." He looked at me again, his eyes piercing my own. I nodded; I had nothing else to say. He took this as a sign to continue.
"Well, now...what kind of distance is there between us? A few miles between your apartment and mine? If you miss me, and I miss you...what's holding us back now?" He paused and reached for my hand; his skin was rough against mine, but our hands still fit perfectly. My eyes drifted from his momentarily towards the door, and I half-contemplated running, just as I'd always done, but instead I squeezed his hand and half-smiled, watching as his eyes locked with mine.
"I think there's a little more than a few miles separating us now," I said gently, and his eyes shifted away from mine suddenly. "It's been months since we've seen or spoken to each other, Ethan. We can't just go back to what we were before, not that easily."
He sat in silence for several moments, but his hand never left mine. Finally, bringing his gaze back up to meet mine, he smiled. "I know," he said. "I know it won't be easy, or quick, or exactly how it used to be. But I'd like to try again, Hayley. The only question is whether or not you'd like to try again too."
I opened my mouth to reply, but no sound came out; at that exact moment, my eye caught sight of two people I had certainly not expected to see. Nathan and Natalie were being led to their private table in the far corner of the restaurant, their hands lightly entwined. I felt my face flush as a hot wave of anger coursed through my veins; had he followed me here?
Ethan's eyes followed my gaze; as they landed upon Nathan and Natalie, his cheeks tinged a light pink. "Oh. It's him."
I pulled my eyes away from the smiling couple and turned my attention back to Ethan, shaking my head slightly. "I was just surprised to see him," I said quickly. "He seems to be popping up everywhere I go lately."
He nodded, but his eyes were dark and clouded over. "I hear he's engaged," he said tonelessly. "I bet you're thrilled about that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I said, hurt laced heavily in my voice.
"I think I've finally figured out why you keep running," he said, shrugging slightly. "You're still in love with him, aren't you?"
I stared at him in disbelief, my face burning, my mind reeling. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Nathan, his eyes turned in my direction, and in that moment I knew what I had to do. Turning my eyes toward Ethan, I reached across the table and pulled him to me, my lips crashing against his. I felt a thrill run through me as his hands grabbed my face, his fingers running through my hair. From across the room I heard the sound of breaking glass, and I smiled slightly to myself as I continued kissing Ethan, pushing all thoughts of Nathan out of my mind.