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Nathan's P.O.V
"Nathan, I'm not trying to be difficult. I'm only trying to explain to you that we were supposed to have dinner with my parents tonight. You made this commitment weeks ago." Natalie folded her arms across her chest, her expression stern; Nathan inwardly groaned, suddenly having a strong urge to pull each and every strand of his hair out.
"Natalie," Nathan began, careful to keep his voice light, "you made the plans for us to go out with your parents tonight. To be fair, you didn't consult with me beforehand, nor did you tell me about the dinner until last night. I've already made other plans. I'm sorry."
"You've got to start figuring out your priorities," she snapped, a bit of pink rising in her cheeks. "I am going to be your wife, Nathan. That tends to rank a bit higher than going out and getting drunk with your mates."
"I'm not going to have this argument with you," Nathan said, feeling his patience rapidly slipping away from him. "Lucas and Jake want to go out tonight, and I'm going. I haven't had a proper night out with them in months. In case it's slipped your mind, I've been too busy planning our wedding."
"You say that like it's a chore or something," she retorted. "And, honestly, I've been the one doing most of the work. You've barely given your opinion on anything."
"That's because when I give it, you completely disregard it," he said, his voice rising steadily.
She remained silent for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words. Nathan sighed loudly, shaking his head; this seemed to fuel her anger even further.
"Your heart isn't in this as much as mine is," she said finally, her voice quiet. "That much is obvious from your behavior right now."
"How can you even say that?" he said, his eyes going wide. "Natalie, I want you to have the wedding of your dreams. That's why I've let you take over so much of the planning. The details don't matter much to me. All I want is for you to be happy. Can't you see that?"
She was quiet for a moment, her eyes shining; finally she said, "I just wanted to do this together."
Nathan looked at her, wondering how a discussion about dinner plans had turned into this. He inwardly groaned as a barely audible sigh escaped his lips.
"I'm sorry," he said at last, even though he didn't feel sorry in the least. "I'll be more involved in the planning from now on. I promise."
Natalie nodded, sniffling. "So you're still going out tonight, then?"
"Yes," he replied without hesitation.
Again, she simply nodded, turning her back on him as she walked into the bedroom. "Fine. Don't expect me to wait up." The loud slam of the door was his indication that the conversation was over.
Sighing, he shoved his hands deep in his pockets, traipsing around his flat idly. In all honesty, he wasn't much looking forward to the night that stretched endlessly ahead of him; in fact, he hadn't been looking forward to anything at all. All he truly wanted to do was sleep, and that had been escaping him exceedingly since his disastrous attempt at telling Hayley how he truly felt about her. He clenched his fists, shaking his head; he had successfully avoided thinking of her in the days that had passed, and he wasn't about to start now.
Without checking the time, Nathan grabbed his keys and exited the flat, letting the door slam behind him. He was angry, and he couldn't quite figure out why; his row with Natalie had irritated him, but he knew that wasn't the only thing bothering him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew exactly what was bothering him, but once again, he chose to block those thoughts from his mind. Tonight wasn't going to be about regrets, he decided; tonight was going to be about forgetting.
"Good evening, Mr. Scott," the receptionist greeted him from behind her large, wooden desk, somewhat interrupting his train of thought.
"Evening," he replied, offering her a half-smile. "Could you please send David 'round to the front? Thank you."
"Of course, Mr. Scott." She smiled at him as she picked up the phone, muttering a few words into it; within a minute, his driver was stationed at the front of the building, waiting for him.
"Have a good night," Nathan said to the receptionist before exiting the building, spotting his stylish black BMW almost as soon as he stepped outside. David, his driver, was standing beside the car, nodding his head towards him as he approached.
"Evening, sir," David said, opening the back door.
"Evening, David," Nathan said as he climbed into the car. "You know where to go."
"Yes, sir," David replied as he started the engine, expertly pulling out into traffic.
Before long the car was pulling up in front of a very trendy new club. Soon he found himself inside of the club, knowing full well that he was over an hour early to meet Jake and Lucas; pushing past the crowds of people, he finally spotted the bar. He made a beeline for it, wanting nothing more than to drink his worries away; thoughts of a large scotch on the rocks were already dancing around in his mind.
And then it happened. In the moments that followed, he often thought if he had not tripped over that discarded martini glass, he may never have seen her that night and everything would have turned out differently.
But he had tripped, and he now found himself facedown on the ground, his eyes starting at a pair of dangerous-looking black heels.
"Nathan?"
The voice was striking, clear and familiar, despite the noise that surrounded him. He looked up. Her mouth was hanging open, looking as surprised as he felt. Still, she bent down, her face nearly level with his; soon, a large grin was spread across her face as she extended her hand to him. He took it and she pulled him up, feeling his face heat in embarrassment.
"What happened to you?" Hayley asked, her smile still spread across her lips.
"I tripped," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I guess I was a bit overexcited to get to the bar."
She raised her eyebrows at him, but said nothing. Instead, she looked around, seemingly at a loss for words. His stomach was clenching unpleasantly, his mind reeling; what was she doing here?
"Funny we should end up in the same club tonight," Nathan said at last, his hands once again buried in his pockets.
"Yeah, I guess so," Hayley replied, biting her lip. "I'm just here with Peyton and Rachel."
"Oh," he said, spotting Peyton's bright blonde hair a few feet away from them. "I'm meeting Jake and Lucas... and... actually, I thought Peyton and Rachel were supposed to come as well..."
Hayley's face darkened, her eyes narrowing as she glanced behind her towards Peyton. "Isn't that just a funny coincidence," she said quietly, shaking her head.
Nathan didn't know what to say, so he opted to say nothing at all. Instead, he simply looked at her, taking every inch of her in. She looked so tired, her hair pulled back from her face, but beneath it all he knew she was still there.
"Why don't you come and sit with us?" she said suddenly, pulling him away from his thoughts.
"Yeah," he said without really thinking about it; she smiled and he followed her blindly through the crowd until they reached Peyton and Rachel. As soon as he made himself visible, a large grin spread across Peyton's face.
"Hello, Nathan," she said brightly, her eyes sparkling. "You seem to be a bit early."
"Yeah," he said, sitting down across from her. "I didn't really pay attention to the time."
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Hayley shoot Peyton a death glare; choosing to ignore this, he refocused his attention back on the table.
"I haven't seen you in ages," Rachel scolded him, pouting slightly. "I thought you'd almost certainly fallen off the face of the planet."
He grinned, shaking his head. "Unfortunately, no. I've just been ridiculously busy with wedding plans." He glanced at Hayley quickly, who had just downed a double shot of a very dark liquid. She kept her eyes averted from his, and he felt a small pang in his stomach.
"You and Hayley are going to end up killing yourselves over these weddings," Rachel said, taking a sip of her martini. "Personally, I think that's what wedding planners are for. They do the work so you don't have to."
"Natalie wanted to be very involved in the planning," Nathan said. "She wants her dream wedding. I think it must be the same for every woman, though."
Beside him, Hayley scoffed. "Hardly. I would have gladly shelled out thousands of pounds for someone else to do this work for me, but Ethan will have none of it."
Nathan stared at her for a moment before speaking. "Then why are you doing it?"
She simply looked at him, her expression blank; across from him, Rachel shifted uncomfortably. "Because I love him, and I want to make him happy." Her eyes were burning with intensity, and he soon found that he couldn't bear to look into them any longer.
Hearing her tell him that she loved Ethan was almost like a dagger going straight through his heart. He looked down at his hands, his mind reeling; he almost wished that he had never seen her.
Damn that martini glass, he thought bitterly to himself.
"I think you need another drink," Hayley said to Nathan, her eyes bright; in the hours that had passed, he had found that he could not tear himself away from her. Her sudden energy was infectious, her laughter contagious; he saw her turning more and more into the girl he so terribly missed as each minute passed.
"I think you may be right," he said, laughing. "Maybe another scotch."
"You've been drinking scotch all night," she said, shaking her head. "Change it up a little. For instance, I started off with my usual rum and Coke. I moved on to Screwdrivers, then martinis, and now I'm enjoying a lovely Cosmopolitan. You should do the same, I think."
He shrugged, watching as she turned away from him to order another drink at the bar. A few moments later she returned with two highball glasses filled with orange liquid, a grin spread wide across her face.
"Here," she said, handing one of the glasses to him.
"What is it?" he asked before taking a sip.
"Sex on the Beach," she said matter-of-factly, taking a generous drink out of her glass.
His cheeks tinged pink as the words left her lips; at that moment, all he could picture was sex on the beach with her. Shaking his head, he said, "Because that doesn't sound girly or anything."
"It's not," she said, taking his hand and coaxing the glass up to his lips. "Try it. It'll change your life."
Reluctantly, he took a sip of the drink and found it to be surprisingly refreshing. "All right. You win." He grinned at her, noticing that a small strand of hair had fallen into her face.
"I always do," she said, sitting beside him on one of the club's many plush couches. "But, aside from my awesomeness, I would truly like to know how you've been, Nathan. It's kind of sad how we only talk at social functions we're forced to go to."
"Well," he said, taking another sip of his drink, "I can either tell you the honest truth of how I've been, or I can lie to you so you don't have to hear about my trials and tribulations."
"I want to hear the truth," she said seriously, her eyes starting straight into his. He knew just by looking at her that she was being sincere, and it wasn't just the liquor talking; neither one of them were drunk.
"Well, then, I've been lousy," he said, downing the last of his drink. "This wedding is creeping up on me faster and faster, and in all honesty I'm just not ready for it. Natalie's pressuring me into doing more, more, more, but I don't know what else I'm supposed to do."
Hayley stared at him for a moment, her expression unreadable. "I think we may be the same person in different bodies," she said, a small chuckle escaping her lips, "because I feel the exact same way."
"Really?" he said, his heart beating a bit faster.
"Yes," she said, nodding. "All of this is just overwhelming. You know, I never thought I'd even get married. And now I'm running around like a madwoman trying to plan the perfect wedding. It just...it doesn't seem to fit."
"Things change, though, I suppose," he said, shrugging.
"Not all things," she said, looking at him intently. "Some things never change."
A silence fell between them, both of them realizing the meaning behind her words. He looked at her, his eyes falling straight to her lips. He was so close to her, but not close enough; and in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to close the space between them.
"No way!" Hayley exclaimed suddenly as a classic rock song began to blare throughout the room. "I thought they only played shitty music in here!"
"Apparently, Thursday nights are rock-themed," he said, grinning.
"I can't believe this...I haven't heard this song in years," she said, suddenly standing up from the couch. "This is Bad Company. You've got to dance to this."
"How are you supposed to dance to rock music?" he asked as he stood up with her, following her into the center of the room.
"You just move," she said over her shoulder. "Especially to this song. It's easy."
And suddenly, Nathan began to realize how easy it really was.
"I feel like makin' love!" Hayley belted out, her hips swaying; Nathan stared at her in disbelief, watching as she moved out onto the dance floor. "Feel like makin' love! Feel like makin' love to yooooouuuu!"
He stood back, unable to control his laughter; she looked ridiculous, but he didn't care. Her inhibitions were gone, the one thing that always seemed to hold her back; now she seemed free, happy, her eyes absolutely dazzling.
"Come on!" she shouted to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him out onto the dance floor with her. "You can't expect me to dance alone!"
Soon she was moving against him playfully, knowing that she looked like a complete fool, but he found that he was having the time of his life with her. He could not help but notice, however, that the lyrics seemed oddly fitting for his mood.
"Feel like makin' love to you..."
She moved once more, her head thrown back in laughter. His arms were around her, his heart soaring; this was the closest he'd been to her in years. He felt like he was the same eighteen-year-old boy he had been all those years ago, lovesick and delirious; she was absolutely intoxicating.
From a distance, unbeknownst to the two of them, Peyton stood watching with a smirk on her face. Everything was going exactly the way she thought it would. She turned and left them alone on the dance floor, her smile never quite leaving her lips.
Hayley's P.O.V
"I could've easily gotten a ride home with Peyton," I said to Nathan for what seemed like the millionth time after we'd gotten into his car. "You didn't have to trouble yourself by taking me home."
"Hayley, it's not a big deal," he said from beside me in the backseat. "Really."
"Well, thanks," I said, smiling. It felt as though a swarm of butterflies had invaded my stomach, fluttering relentlessly; my hands were shaking from nerves, although I knew I had no reason to be nervous at all.
The night had certainly been an interesting one. Peyton had very obviously tricked me into spending time with Nathan, but at the moment I didn't quite care; it had been the most fun I'd had in months. Things somehow felt different between us now, as though we had closed an ever-widening gap for good. I felt warm all over, and I knew it wasn't only the alcohol that was to blame.
"So," he said as the driver made a right turn, "did you have a good time tonight?"
"I really did," I said without hesitation. "I really needed it, too. I just felt like I needed a break from everything, you know?"
"Yeah, I do," he said quietly, his hand inching closer towards mine on the seat.
"That's why I'm so glad Ethan's staying at his flat tonight," I said without thinking, immediately wondering why I'd said it at all. "I mean...like I said, I just need a break."
He nodded, his eyes staring into mine intently; I suddenly felt like I had all those years ago, getting lost in the never-ending depths of his beautiful eyes. He seemed to be telling me something with those eyes, something I couldn't, or wouldn't, understand. Instead I looked away, determined not to let myself fall once again.
Before long, the car had slowed to a stop outside of my tall, looming building. "Thank you, David," I said to the driver as I exited the car.
"Hold on a moment, Hayley," Nathan said to me, his body halfway out of the car. I waited as Nathan stuck his head back into the car, overhearing his conversation with the driver.
"Take the rest of the night off, David," he said. "I'm going to stay with Natalie tonight."
"Goodnight, Mr. Scott," he said as Nathan closed the door, and I watched as the car drove away into the night.
"Let me walk you upstairs," he said, turning to me. "I might as well, right?"
I smiled. "You really don't have to," I said, although a very large part of me did want him to. "I think I'll make it upstairs just fine on my own."
"I'm sure you would," he said as he opened the tall glass doors that led into the building. "But, for my own peace of mind, let me walk you."
"All right," I said as we headed towards the elevators, the bellhop surprisingly absent. For some reason, I was extremely grateful for this. We stood in the elevator in silence, nothing but tension settling itself between us.
I expected Nathan and I to part ways after we'd gotten off the elevator, me going one way and he going the other towards Natalie's flat. Instead, he followed me down the hallway to my door, looking at me a bit expectantly as I rummaged through my purse for my keys.
"Well," I said at last, offering him a smile, "I had a really great time tonight, Nathan. Thank you."
"So did I," he said softly. "I've really..." He trailed off, his eyes burning with something I couldn't quite decipher; and soon, without truly thinking about it, I knew what he was going to do. And, for once, I wasn't going to try to stop him.
Seemingly having made up his mind, his hands cupped my face and he brought his lips crashing against mine, hard and passionate. The keys I had been holding dropped to the floor along with my purse, forgotten; my hands soon found their way into his hair, and it felt so familiar yet so completely new. I couldn't stop kissing him, even as my mind screamed at me to push him away, slap him, anything to get him away from me. But I knew as his hands moved lower down my body that I wouldn't be stopping him anytime soon.
Everything was so wrong that it felt completely right. My hands tugged at his shirt hem, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath my fingertips. I pressed myself against him, wanting nothing more than to be close to him; in that moment, I realized that I had been waiting for this for four very long years.
"Let's go inside," I said suddenly as we broke apart, our cheeks flushed and our lips swollen. He simply nodded, not saying a word as he picked up the keys and my purse. Soon the door was open and we were inside, mindful to lock it behind us once again. Without a moment's hesitation, his lips were against mine as we stumbled into the living room, unsure of where, exactly, this was taking us.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was tugging at his shirt; within seconds, it was off. My hands found their way to his belt buckle, but I hesitated; he seemed to notice this and stopped kissing me long enough to look into my eyes, searching them for an answer. I simply nodded, and a small hint of a devilish grin spread across his lips. His hands wrapped around the fabric of my shirt, and in one swift movement he had torn it in two; gasping, I reached for his belt and undid the clasp, watching as his pants fell to the floor.
His hands were everywhere, his mouth trailing kisses down my chest; his breath was hot against my skin. Before long I found myself being thrown against the wall, his kisses hard and aggressive, but for once I didn't mind. I wanted this more than I had ever wanted anything.
We didn't speak, but his eyes, burning and intense, told me everything I needed to know. I closed my eyes and bit my lip as he pulled me up, our bodies connecting, finally closing the space between us.
"What should we do?"
I directed this question at Nathan the following morning as we sat on my bed, nothing but sheets separating us. My mind was spinning; the events that had transpired the following night still seemed too insane to be true. I could not quite believe that I had jeopardized everything for a one-night stand with an ex-boyfriend.
Only, I could believe it. And, if I was being truly honest with myself, I didn't want it to end up being a one-night stand at all. I wanted it to be something that went on forever.
Beside me, Nathan sighed. I glanced at him quickly, noticing how disheveled his hair looked; feeling my face heat up, I looked away.
"I don't know," he said at last; his voice sounded like an odd mixture of sadness and euphoria. "I really don't."
This had not been the answer I was looking for. I wanted him to tell me that last night hadn't been a mistake, that he wanted to end things with Natalie and be with me. But I knew that expecting this answer was as foolish as actually believing things could turn out that way.
"Neither do I," I said, deciding to keep my thoughts to myself. I didn't want to put myself out there only to be shot down once again.
"You're getting married," he said suddenly, and I looked up at him sharply. "And so am I."
"People who are engaged to be married don't usually sleep with other people," I said, my eyes level with his.
"How am I going to tell Natalie this?" he said, placing his head in his hands. His words stung; how could he be thinking of telling her about something neither of us fully understood?
"I suppose you'll have to figure that out on your own," I said, my voice harsh. Careful to avoid his gaze, I dressed quickly and exited the room, feeling hot tears spring to my eyes. This was not going to end the way I wanted it to, and I thought that perhaps I'd always known that.
"Hayley," Nathan said suddenly. I looked up to see him fully dressed, his hair still unkempt.
"What?" I replied, sounding like a petulant child.
"I don't...I can't..." His eyes were shining, but I could not look away. "We were drunk last night, Hayley. Right? It was..."
"A drunken mistake," I finished, although I knew full well that I hadn't been drunk. I had chosen to sleep with Nathan, and I knew that if I could go back and do it differently, I wouldn't.
"We've both got our own lives now," he said, although the look in his eyes said something much different. "We're both getting married to different people. This..."
"It ended a long time ago, right," I said, dropping his gaze.
There was so much more I wanted to say to him, and I knew there was more he wanted to say to me. But we were both afraid, now, of being left behind. Our situation was uncertain, unstable; neither of us could bring ourselves to ruin the happiness of the people waiting for us. It was heartbreaking to know that the love of my life was about to walk out of the door, leaving me behind forever, but I knew, and understood, why he would. We were in love with each other, but we could not walk out on what we had already established for ourselves.
It seemed as though our fates had been sealed long ago. As I sat there, tears threatening to spill over any second, I knew that we had always been destined for this disaster, this excruciating heartbreak.
Nathan finally turned and walked away, and I half-expected him to come back and tell me everything that I so desperately needed to hear. But he kept going, never once looking back.
The slamming of the door made me realize that the end of us had finally come.
Hey all sorry if Nathan doesn't sound like Nathan with all the blushing and tripping over, this was the only way I could think of to write this chapter.. Well I thought it when pretty well.. Review and please tell me what you think thanks..